More Bad News For Beach Access

On May 21st, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled against the Texas Open Beaches Act in the case of a Galveston woman whose house became beach after Hurricane Rita.  As I understand it, this was not even a residence, but property acquired by property rights activists for the sole purpose of trying the law.

I am all for protecting private homes and am not a fan of eminent domain in almost any case, but beach access is a different matter.  The Texas Constitution includes public beaches as a right that Texas citizens are meant to have forever.  That means that property owners should know what they are getting into and not buy close to the vegetation or dune line if they are not willing to take the risk.

Recent court decisions mean that all someone who wants their own private beach has to do is buy close to the line and wait for a storm.  With that sort of thing going on, it will not take many years or many storms before all of our beaches are closed to public access.

This is wrong.  I hope these rulings can be overturned.