NOV. 3 BALLOT

Prop 9 would protect access to beaches, backers say

Opponents say it interferes with private property rights.

Fifty years after the Legislature passed the Open Beaches Act, Texans will get a chance to enshrine public access to the coast in the state constitution.

Supporters say Proposition 9 would help protect beach access from the threat of lawsuits and legislative meddling. But opponents fear the amendment could erode private property rights along the Texas coast.

Voters will consider the proposition in the Nov. 3 constitutional amendment election. Early voting began Oct. 19 and ends Friday.

"The Texas coast and its beaches are God-given treasures to be used and enjoyed by all Texans and those who visit our wonderful state," said Ellis Pickett, spokesman for the Texas Upper Coast chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, an environmental group that supports the proposition. "Constitutional Amendment No. 9 is about the common good."

Adopted in 1959, the Open Beaches Act was designed to protect the public's right to access Texas beaches, as developers and homeowners began erecting fences between their property and the Gulf of Mexico. As the state sees it, the law establishes a rolling public easement at the so-called line of vegetation, preventing building between that point and the waters of the Gulf.

The easement works out to be about 150 feet of public access to the shoreline along the Gulf Coast.

But over the years, hurricanes have steadily eroded the beach, moving the line of vegetation — and public access — farther inland. That has sparked lawsuits from landowners whose structures fall into the ever-moving stretch of public access. The Texas General Land Office, charged with enforcing the act, has spent about $250,000 fending off three lawsuits, officials say.

Another controversy over the Open Beaches Act erupted in the Legislature this year when lawmakers passed an exemption designed to allow property owners to rebuild structures destroyed by Hurricane Ike. State Rep. Wayne Christian, R-Center, who helped craft the provision, was among the homeowners who would benefit from it.

Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said lawmakers could no longer meddle with public access to beaches if Proposition 9 is adopted. The Legislature overwhelmingly approved a measure to put the proposition on the November ballot, and Patterson, who supports it, figures voters will pass the proposition, too. Voter approval is required for constitutional amendments to take effect.

"While everybody is on board, let's make sure it gets enshrined in the constitution so the Legislature can't mess with it," Patterson said. "Think about the public uproar if all of a sudden people could fence to the water line. ... People who have never even been to the beach wouldn't like that."

J. David Breemer, who represents one of the plaintiffs suing Texas over the Open Beaches Act, says the amendment won't affect that lawsuit. His client, Carol Severance, is fighting to keep houses she owns in Galveston now that Hurricane Rita has altered the line of vegetation and left her property in what the state says is public domain.

A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for Nov. 19 in the Texas Supreme Court.

Breemer, a lawyer for the nonprofit Pacific Legal Foundation, said the state has been misinterpreting the Open Beaches Act and unfairly taking private property in the process. If he's successful, Breemer said, the constitutional amendment will have to bend to the ruling of the high court, not the other way around.

"The amendment is not going to define our case," Breemer said. "Our case is going to define the amendment."

Now: Early voting for Nov. 3 election

Early voting for the Nov. 3 election began Oct. 19 and ends Friday.

In addition to some local elections, there are 11 constitutional amendments on the ballot. They include Proposition 11, which would prohibit governments from taking private property for private economic development.

Counties are coordinating elections for most municipalities, and information can be obtained from the county. Please contact other municipalities directly.

For continuing election information, go to www.statesman.com/elections.

• Travis

www.TravisCounty Elections.org

512-854-4996.

• Williamson

http://wilcogov.org/elections

512-943-1630.

• Hays

www.elections.co.hays.tx.us

512-393-7310.

• Bastrop

www.co.bastrop.tx.us/ips/cms/othercountyoffices/electionsadministration.html

512-581-7160.

• Burnet

www.burnetcountytexas.org/default.aspx?name=elect.home

512-715-5288.

• Caldwell

512-398-1830

• Llano

www.co.llano.tx.us/ips/cms/countyoffices/elections.html

325-247-5425.