A doctrine under which the state holds title to navigable waters and tidelands in trust for the public. The public holds rights to use those lands and waters for navigation, fishing, and recreational purposes. The doctrine prevents private parties from converting those public rights into servitudes that run with land.
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How its tested
Common Examples
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Private Dock Privilege Excluded
The Coastal Museum owns land bordering a tidal inlet designated for public fishing under the public-trust doctrine. The museum records a document granting Warren a perpetual right to build a private dock across the submerged land for his gallery's exclusive commercial use. When Warren sells the gallery to Gina, the museum asserts that the privilege is not an enforceable servitude. The court holds that the littoral right remains subject to the public-trust doctrine and cannot be converted into a running private interest.
Coastal Access Condition Challenged
The California Coastal Commission conditions a building permit for oceanfront property on the owners dedicating a public access easement across their beach. The owners argue that the condition effects a taking. The commission defends the requirement as necessary to protect public rights preserved by the public-trust doctrine in the tidelands and adjacent dry sand. The court evaluates whether the access condition bears an essential nexus to the public interests the doctrine safeguards.
Nollan v. California Coastal Commission483 U.S. 825, 834 (1987)
The Nollans own a beachfront lot in Ventura County, California.
A concrete seawall approximately eight feet high separates the beach portion of their property from the rest of the lot. The historic mean high tide line determines the lot's oceanside boundary. The Nollans originally leased their property with an option to buy, and the building on the lot was a small bungalow totaling 504 square feet.
The Nollans' option to purchase was conditioned on their promise to demolish the bungalow and replace it. On February 25, 1982, they submitted a permit application to the California Coastal Commission proposing to demolish the existing structure and replace it with a three-bedroom house.
The Commission informed them that the permit would be granted subject to the condition that they allow the public an easement to pass across a portion of their property bounded by the mean high tide line and their seawall. On June 3, 1982, the Nollans filed a petition for writ of administrative mandamus in the Ventura County Superior Court to invalidate the access condition. The court remanded the case to the Commission for a full evidentiary hearing.
After the hearing, the Commission reaffirmed the condition. The Superior Court ruled in favor of the Nollans on statutory grounds and directed that the permit condition be struck. While the Commission's appeal to the California Court of Appeal was pending, the Nollans tore down the bungalow, built the new house, and bought the property. The Court of Appeal reversed the Superior Court. The Nollans appealed to this Court, raising only the constitutional question.
Does the public-trust doctrine create servitudes that run with land?
No. The Restatement expressly excludes the public-trust doctrine from the definition of servitudes. Rights arising under the doctrine remain public rights held in trust and cannot be recharacterized as private running interests through recorded agreements.
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What lands does the public-trust doctrine cover?
The doctrine covers land flowed by tidal waters up to the mean high-tide line and navigable waterways. In many states it also extends to the dry sand area immediately landward of the high-water mark when necessary to allow public enjoyment of the foreshore.
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Can a private agreement override public-trust rights in tidelands?
No. Private grants or covenants attempting to create exclusive rights in tidelands or navigable waters remain subject to the public-trust doctrine. Courts treat such attempts as ineffective to the extent they conflict with the public's retained rights.
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How does the public-trust doctrine interact with coastal land-use permits?
Agencies may impose access conditions to protect public-trust interests, but those conditions must satisfy constitutional nexus and proportionality requirements when they burden private development rights.
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483 U.S. 825, 834 (1987)
…psychological barrier to access created by the new house is rejected. The condition is an unconstitutional exaction under the doctrine of Nollan v. California Coastal Commission . The Commission’s permit condition cannot be sustained as a valid exercise of its land-use power. The condition does not substantially advance…