Toms River forced to allow private walkovers of beach dunes; does it endanger everyone?

TOMS RIVER - The township will allow private property owners to build dune walkovers to access the beach in front of their homes, after a Superior Court judge ordered Toms River to revise its beach access rules in response to a lawsuit filed by oceanfront landowners in the Normandy Beach section.

Township Council members voted unanimously to revise a Toms River ordinance that barred the issuance of permits for dune walkovers in front of private homes. The new ordinance will permit such walkovers to be built, as long as the homeowners can prove they have the legal right to cross over the dunes; such easement rights were usually established when private, oceanfront communities like Normandy Beach were first developed.

Normandy Beach, a community which is split between Toms River and Brick, was established in 1916.

More than 400 Normandy Beach residents have signed a petition opposing the ordinance revision, and many came to the recent council meeting to say Toms River's action will make the community less safe by threatening the integrity of the dune line.

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The dispute over dune walkovers shows the fear that still remains in barrier island communities, more than a decade after Superstorm Sandy caused devastating damage in the area. Residents who object to the walkovers say they worry that wooden beach access structures will damage dunes and destroy dune grass, putting the entire community at risk.

They said the Normandy Beach Improvement Association, the private organization that owns the dunes and beach in Normandy, plans to appeal the decision by Superior Court Assignment Judge Francis R. Hodgson Jr., and asked the township to consider maintaining its ban on private walkovers until the appeal is heard.

Township Attorney Gregory P. McGuckin said Toms River was forced to change its ordinance after beachfront owners successfully sued the improvement association. Since the U.S. Army Corps replenished beaches in the area in 2019, the township has required that private property owners obtain the permission from the association before Toms River would issue a dune walkover permit. Hodgson ruled that the beachfront homeowners did have easement rights that allowed them to access the beach over the association's property.

'Nobody wants to compromise the integrity'

Randolph Langenfeld, an oceanfront property owner in Normandy Beach, said he was forced to sue the association in 2021 after the group repeatedly denied his efforts to build a walkway over the dunes for his family, including his autistic daughter. The association built fencing along the dunes that blocked his direct access to the beach, forcing him and his family to walk out into the street to reach one of the public beach openings, according to his lawsuit.

"Nobody wants to compromise the integrity of the dune," said Langenfeld, whose previous Normandy Beach home was damaged by Sandy. He said the walkover he will build will conform to state Department of Environmental Protection regulations, with two-foot-high dune fencing around it, to help build up the dune.

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The DEP says such walkovers can't be more than four feet wide, and homeowners cannot dig into the dune to build them.

Langenfeld noted that dune walkovers for private homes exist up and down the Jersey Shore, including in Long Beach Island, which generally suffered less damage than the northern Ocean County barrier island during Sandy.

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'The community is being ignored'

But many other Normandy Beach residents have a differing view.

"We have a petition of 400 people, exceeding that," said Normandy Beach resident Steve Kirby, who said his family has lost three homes in the community during Sandy, Hurricane Donna in 1960 and a strong December 1992 nor'easter. "It seems to me that the community is being ignored. You’re afraid of a lawsuit that we have been fighting for years."

Elizabeth Dorer's Normandy Beach home was knocked off its foundation and wound up in the bay when it was struck by the brunt of Sandy's storm surge. The ocean came across the neighborhood and met the bay that night, and Dorer said the beachfront openings that exist in the community were designed at an angle by the Army Corps to minimize future storm damage.

"We are our community," Dorer said. "Let’s try and continue to make our community work and protect the land, all of the land. That takes a community working together, respecting those right of ways and protecting that property."

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The township was pulled into the lawsuit because Toms River's ordinance barred the issuance of permits for dune walkovers for private beaches — like Normandy Beach — that aren't owned by the township. Toms River has its own agreements with private beach associations, including Normandy Beach, to provide public access dune openings so that residents can reach the sand.

McGuckin noted that Judge Hodgson issued an order last year mandating that the township revise its ordinance to permit private walkovers. Toms River could have been liable for paying millions of dollars in damages to the 28 oceanfront property owners in Normandy Beach if the township did not revise its ordinance; in essence, the township would be denying those homeowners the use of their land.

The homeowners agreed to waive damage claims if Toms River changed the ordinance now, he said, saying Toms River could be liable for $5 to $8 million if the township did not revise the law. McGuckin noted that neighboring Brick allows private walkovers in its portion of Normandy Beach; private walkovers also exist in other oceanfront neighborhoods in the township, including in Ocean Beach, Chadwick Beach and Silver Beach.

Council President Matt Lotano said the issue is not just about the integrity of the dune line, but is about homeowners' property rights.

"I have to defer to the judge on the legality of the easement," Lotano said. "I want all the best for our beachfront community and the entire township. We don’t want to destroy the integrity of the dune. It’s a property rights issue."

Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and has been writing about local government and politics at the Jersey Shore for nearly 39 years.  She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Toms River OKs private beach dune walkovers; many fear flooding