San Diego Law Review
Document Type
Comments
Abstract
This Comment examines the potential use of the public trust doctrine in the context of public beach. The author argues that reduced stream flow has resulted in much less sand being transported to California beaches and that much of the coastline is eroding at an alarming rate. The author further argues that the public trust doctrine provides that the tidelands are held in trust by the state for the benefit of the public, but that most legislation regarding the public trust doctrine has focused on ownership interests in public trust resources. The author suggests a system of public rights to the sand that makes up public beaches, arguing that a system of sand rights would provide a basis for judicial enforcement of the state's fiduciary duty to maintain beaches in the face of threats to sand supply.
Recommended Citation
Michael A. Corfield,
Sand Rights: Using California's Public Trust Doctrine to Protect against Coastal Erosion,
24
San Diego L. Rev.
727
(1987).
Available at:
https://digital.sandiego.edu/sdlr/vol24/iss3/8