The following letter was sent to Lewes Mayor and City Council, with a copy submitted to the Cape Gazette for publication.
As we know, the beach below the high-tide mark is public property. Likewise, the street-end sections of the beach are public. The public is also entitled to reasonable access to the beaches.
This reasonable access can also be viewed in the context of government investment in maintaining the beaches. Just last fall DNREC was called upon to clean up oily debris on beaches from Lewes to Bethany. Similarly, back in 2012 DNREC footed the bill for beach replenishment, including at the Children’s Beach House and the Cape Shores community. In 2011 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used dredging spoils from the Roosevelt Inlet to bolster Lewes Beach. So the good taxpayers from faraway Wilmington and even farther-away California are chipping in to keep Lewes Beach suitable for people to enjoy.
Thus, the residents of Lewes Beach do not have an exclusive claim to “their” beach. Similar issues were raised in Connecticut 20 or 30 years ago as to the Long Island Sound beaches, and my recollection is that that court rulings recognized the public’s right to reasonable access. Likewise, in California.
What is reasonable, thus, becomes the focus, and pretextual efforts to block public access should be rejected.
Julian Karpoff
Lewes
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