Lower Township has introduced an ordinance prior to executing easements with property owners along the Delaware Bay to improve public beach access points. According to the Cape May County Herald, the measure would ensure the public has access to the beach or bayfront across private property based on the New Jersey Public Trust Doctrine, which “provides that public rights to tidal waterways and their shores in the state are held by the state in trust for the benefit of all of the people.”
The points of access mentioned in the ordinance are privately owned by the Property Owners Association of Cape May Beach Inc. and Historic Townbank Inc., running from the street ends at Englewood Road north through Avalon Road. According to the ordinance, the parties involved recognize that the access points have fallen into disrepair and need to be improved to ensure public safety. Township Manager Mike Laffey the township is instead planning to handle the entire project at a yet undetermined cost.