When you own waterfront, you get more than
just property. You get a view, you get certain risks (like
flooding and erosion) and you get what are known as
riparian rights. A waterfront owner does not own the water,
and does not own the land under the water, or even the land
below the tide-line, but does own access to the water. Such
a right, however, can be encroached upon by a neighbor’s
pier, or transferred to a community association for the
rights of the community, or otherwise impeded. These
situations can create great conflict within a community, and
have grave and permanent implications to the economic and
personal interests of property owners.
Maryland’s Court of Appeals has described
riparian rights as follows:
It is well
established that the title to land under navigable water is
in the State of Maryland, subject to the paramount right of
the United States to protect navigation in the navigable
waters.
The owner of the
fast land, however, has a common law right to land formed by
accretion adjacent to the fast land and has the right of
access to the navigable part of the river in front of his
fast land, with the right to make a landing, wharf or pier
in front of his fast land, subject, however, to general
rules and regulations imposed by the public authorities
necessary to protect the rights of the public.
When the statutory
law grants the right to a riparian owner to extend his lot
or to improve out to the limits prescribed by the public
authorities, the riparian owner receives a 'franchise-a
vested right, peculiar in its nature but a quasi property of
which the lot owner cannot not be lawfully deprived without
his consent.'
When the lot owner
makes improvements in front of his lot, complete title then
vests in him in the improvements provided it is in front of
his lot and does not appropriate the riparian rights of his
neighbors.
Parsing the language, one finds the following
principles.
1. The
State owns the land under the water, and the United States
has an overriding interest in preserving navigation.
2. The
waterfront property owner has the right to accretion (such
as a beach deposited by currents) and access, but a
government may regulate access to assure that public rights
are protected.
3. The
right to extend and improve, where granted, transfers with
the property.
4.
The right to
extend and improve does not allow a landowner to intrude on
his neighbor’s rights.
Since everyone has neighbors, the relative
rights of one’s neighbors can become an issue, as can the
extent of the government’s right to regulate. And such
issues can and do evolve into open disputes.
If you find yourself in conflict, there are
some immediate steps that must be taken. First, be aware
that your rights could be foreclosed by the statute of
limitations. In Maryland, the general statute of
limitations is 3 years. In some cases, however, a contract
may extend or shorten the period in which action must be
taken. It is even possible (through a doctrine known as
adverse possession) for title to pass after 20 years of
possession. Second, document the facts: take pictures;
obtain copies of and permit applications; find public
records. Many cases are determined by who marshals the
facts first – the head start can be crucial. Also – and
this may need to be your first step – consult a lawyer. A
lawyer’s time can be expensive – but not when compared to
the cost of losing forever the rights attendant to
waterfront property.
