OT: Annual list of beach tag prices in NJ Deal tops the list at $200
- Thread starter newell138
- Start date
Maybe if they raise them as high as the great wall of China! And then the houses would all be surrounded by a giant moat? Can't fool Mother Nature!
Side note- I have yet to catch up with Hector at Leggetts. A friend was playing a private party there, and he was supposed to deal with Hector. I was inclined to run down to catch up with him. Friend called me, and told me Hector was not there.
Yep. Spoke with developer. Said Manasquan can have nearly 100% buildable lot coverage. Brielle, Wall, Spring Lake, Sea Girt very different.
There was an interview with Paul Kanitra old point Pleasant mayor now assemblymen and Manasquan mayor Mike Mangan. Saying one of the few things they agree on, Dem and Rep, was the horrible new flood zone restrictions. Interviewed the new owner of Carlsons. Owner wants to renovate but would have to raise the building 12-18 ft or something along those lines. Said it would be cost prohibitive and Would make the restaurant nearly non accessible to most people.
I would assume new construction just a few blocks from the beach would be over $1M, especially in Manasquan. Hell, houses go for $900K in Toms River on main roads not on water.
Believe the owners of the license retain the rights to it for a certain period. Will be valuable if a restaurant tries to open up and wants one.
Someone has to pay the lifeguards, beach combers, beach patrol, sanitation, etc. As someone that lives in a beach community, I'm glad the people using the beach pay for those services instead of adding it to my property tax.
neither is Florida and the beaches are outstanding for the most part
Probably most residents of beach communities feel the same as you, but those just visiting feel differently.
Searching by google found :
>The proceeds from your beach passes directly fund:
- Lifeguards: Hiring, training, and maintaining lifeguard stations.
- Beach Cleaning: Picking up trash, emptying bins, and daily sand raking.
- Facilities: Maintaining public restrooms, boardwalks, and showers.
- Security & EMTs: Keeping the beach and boardwalk safe<
- Because out-of-town visitors heavily use these shores, local communities use specific funding models to cover costs without charging daily beachgoers:
- Local Property Taxes: Year-round residents and property owners subsidize the beaches. This can lead to higher local taxes, as the town must support services (lifeguards, daily clean-up) that are utilized by millions of free visitors each year.
- Tourism/Lodging Taxes: Towns often levy a local lodging or "room tax" on hotels, motels, and vacation rentals. This allows the tourists themselves to indirectly pay for the infrastructure, cleaning, and safety, easing the burden on local homeowners.
- Commercial Revenue: Boardwalks, parking, and local business taxes generate secondary revenue streams that are reinvested into the municipal budget to offset beachfront costs.
- While some NJ towns use beach badges/tags to directly cover these costs, communities with free-access beaches rely on this blend of taxation and tourism to balance their municipal budgets<
stop, this is such an old argument
the problem is that beach towns want to be independent and have their own communities and survive on the summer trade to include this. You don't need 5 different police departments to travel from seaside to Belmar up 35
I remember when you could buy a house at the beach for $35k then later the land other than beachfront for $50k,
Color me clueless but as much as I like it here I'd never pay the current going rate.
No doubt. I paid $130k for my old house in Bradley, the one next door sold for $1.3M a year or two ago.
The place has been around for a very, very long time
If anyone wants the residents to pay for the beach while it costs visitors nothing then the towns should be able to ban all but residents.
I'm missing your point. Can you re-explain why this is an old argument and not valid? I'm sincerely curious in your opinion.
In Florida free beaches might not be so free, California the same . Someone pays ! (google search found)
Yes, many beach communities in Florida use property taxes—or localized special assessments—to fund beach renourishment, protection, and maintenance. However, the exact funding method varies depending on whether the property is incorporated, unincorporated, or a tourist-heavy district.
How Beach Communities Fund Safety and Upkeep
1. Municipal Services Taxing Units (MSTUs) & Special Assessments
Many beachfront counties and cities levy specific property assessments only on residents and businesses located on the barrier islands or in zones that directly benefit from beach renourishment and flood protection. For example, in unincorporated Flagler County, property owners and HOA communities on the barrier island pay special assessments to generate millions annually for beach construction and protection. [1]
2. Tourist Development Taxes (TDT or "Bed Tax")
Rather than relying solely on local residents, many Florida beach towns use a "bed tax" (a short-term rental tax on hotels, motels, and vacation rentals) to pay for beach cleaning, shoreline restoration, and inland lake protection. Florida law allows counties to implement these local option taxes to keep the maintenance burden shared with visitors.
3. General Ad Valorem (Property) Taxes
In some municipalities, the beach is viewed as a massive economic driver and county-wide asset. In these cases, a portion of the standard county-wide ad valorem property tax is allocated to fund beach renourishment or county-employed lifeguards and law enforcement.
Yes. California beach communities often implement local parcel taxes or assessment district fees in addition to the standard statewide property tax to specifically fund coastal environmental protection, water quality, and infrastructure.
These additional taxes function on top of the traditional 1% base property rate and are highly localized
Here is exactly how these communities fund their coastlines:
- General Property Taxes: Basic property taxes in California (fixed at a baseline of \(1\%\) Understanding California's Property Taxes) go into the city's general fund. From there, municipalities allocate money to their fire departments (who often handle water safety and lifeguarding), public works departments (for trash collection and restroom cleaning), and park maintenance.
- Voter-Approved Local Taxes: To cover the high costs of beach renourishment (importing sand), cleaning, and seawall repairs, communities frequently propose local ballot measures San Clemente, California, Measure BB, Beach Maintenance .... For example, voters in coastal cities like San Clemente have considered local sales tax increases and parcel taxes to specifically fund sand placement and wildfire prevention Sales tax hike for San Clemente beach, wildfire projects ..., San Clemente Residents to Vote on Another Sales Tax for Sand.
- Special District Assessments: Some rare areas implement localized parcel taxes. For instance, Port Hueneme introduced an unprecedented special assessment for beach-area homeowners, charging an annual fee based on their proximity to and aesthetic view of the ocean to help fund beach maintenance
So you just want to pick towns.........
Perhaps look at the small towns that dot Atlantic and Cape May counties. Places like Avalon, Stone Harbor, Beach Haven, Surf City, Ship Bottom, and Longport.
Avalon has 1/5 the population of Manasquan yet more officers.
NJ, like Ca., collect enough taxes to pay for those services, not to mention the ancillary taxes paid by the businesses who support all of the visitors going to the beach, thus also supporting them being there. Ca. has absurd tax levels but even the moronic government here isn't stupid enough to also charge people to touch sand and ocean, and we have those services almost the entire year. No one should own the beach, much less the government. It's a grotesque money grab. Just wrong on so many levels. It's NJ though. Not surprised.
pick towns lol
what I said is applicable as beach tag revenue goes into the general fund for any town. I grew up on the shore, have owned homes in more than one shore town, I get how it works.
charging fees to use the beaches should be outlawed. It's abhorrent grift by towns
Said by someone who "Used to" live here.
I say if you want to use the beach, you pay. If you don;t, it costs you nothing. Democracy! Freedom of choice!! The American way!!!
Would you rather be taxed for beach expenses?
Yes NJ has high taxes but nothing like CA so you’re paying for the beaches but just in a different way and the people who never use the beach also pay. Shore town tax revenue helps the whole state. Charging a fee also prevents people from camping out on the beach all day like all the zombies in Venice I never had a problem paying for beach tags even when I lived in north Jersey. Like Knighty says you use, you pay, you don’t use, you don’t pay. Seems pretty fair to me. National and state parks charge a fee to enter, kind of the same thing. I don’t think $30-40 for the year is all that expensive but I will say towns charging $200 is a bit much but we all know why towns like Deal do that. I also like collecting them, I have them from all the way back to the 1980s from various towns. This is just my OC collection
Fine, we are of course paying via taxes, but it’s not as gross as forcing g people to get a pass. People who can’t afford it should be able to enjoy Mother Nature. Beaches are for all.
NJ has plenty of free beaches up and down the coast for those who don't want to pay and places like Island Beach State Park, which IMO is the best beach in NJ only charge like $6 for a car, thats basically free.
interesting response, nice to see we've some elitists on board here
beaches need to be free for all families in all towns.
how is that elitist? Using your logic national parks should also be free which they aren't
@newell138 has a good take here.
One thing that gets missed with Florida and California and their free beaches is that these are year round destinations that collect lots of $$$ in hotel and occupancy taxes to pay for beach revenue. It's paid for by tourists. In NJ, most beach locals don't mind paying for an annual beach badge. And you said free- have you seen the beaches in the early evening when the badge checkers leave?
I get all of that and know the economics of all of the discussion points very well
beaches should be free, nothing will ever change my mind on that. Every family should be able to enjoy the beach, free of charge
The thing is NJ beaches are more wide open and have better access to the public than many states being mentioned in this thread. Many beaches in FL and CA are restricted to the public because they are “private”. Owned by individual homeowners,HOA’s, resorts etc…. The entire NJ coast line is open access.
according to AI, 60% of FL coastline is privately owned
Yes, Florida has private beaches. In fact, roughly 60% of Florida’s coastline is privately owned. [1, 2]
How Beach Ownership Works:
- Public: Under Florida law, all land below the Mean High Water Line (MHWL)—the wet sand where the waves break—belongs to the state and is 100% public.
- Private: The dry sand above the high-tide line can be privately owned by beachfront homeowners, hotels, or resorts. [1, 2, 3, 4]
That’s not a picture of free. That’s a picture of not enforcing laws. I promise you I could take you to 50 beaches along the coast that would blow away anything in NJ, and no one needs a “beach tag”. Bet they have a bunch of other stupid rules when you’re on those mid beaches too.California's "free" beaches... no thanks
And those numbers are skewed significantly. Much of the 40% not privately owned are in un or underdeveloped areas. All of the Jersey coast is mostly developed. Outside of Island beach state park there is very little uninhabited real estate on the Jersey coast. Which is all open access.
There is going to be a crash over the next few years and prices are going to come down.
But, between Lakewood, Deal and Netflix, they're not going to come down in that region to the extent they will other places.
To see people pay 1M to live in Neptune nowhere near the water is totally wild. I can't figure it out.
I really don't concern myself with such things but I've been told by someone I trust in the business that in a few years $2 million will be the norm here.
No matter what happens, if I sold it would be a nice nut.