< Previous10 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 A mong the things Texans hold dear are unfettered public access to beaches and property rights. Both sacred concepts occasionally, well maybe often, collide on the upper Texas coast. It would be a mistake to take public beach access for granted. Texas is rare when it comes to free and easy beach outings. Consider New Jersey has the dubious distinction of being the only state that charges people a fee for the use of most of its beaches. Beaches in California are public up to the mean high tide line. But there are many beaches in the Golden State that people can’t get to because of private land or other restrictions. Walking the public beaches here has been a right since Texas was a Republic. In 1959, the Texas Open Beaches Act was passed to ensure the pub- lic has the free and unrestrict- ed right of ingress and egress to and from public beaches. The law has a special resonance in Galveston because former state Sen. A.R. “Babe” Schwartz, who was born on the island and represented the city for decades, wrote and shepherded the bill to passage. In 2009, Texans voted 77 percent to 23 percent to enshrine the Open Beaches Act into the Texas Constitution. Schwartz, for whom a Galveston beach is named, al- ways warned the fight to maintain public beaches would never end. Recently, Texas beach lovers were alarmed by bills filed this legislative session by state Sen. Mayes Middleton that many said would erode rights spelled out in the Open Beaches Act. Middleton argues his bills were never intended to erode the Open Beaches Act or undermine public access Texans have enjoyed since there have been Texans. The bills were meant to give beachside property owners the same rights as those in the rest of the state by shifting the burden of proof from the property owner to the state in disputes about where the public beach was after storms caused ero- sion, Middleton said. Middleton heard the outcry, met with current and past Texas Land Office commissioners and developed a more palatable version of the bill. Despite the backlash, it’s important to remember this isn’t a fight between good and evil. Texas prides itself on its strong protection of private property rights. And most own- ers of beachfront homes are protecting their investments and own enjoyment of the beaches. What both sides can prob- ably agree on is that Texas beaches are worth protecting. In this issue, dedicated to beaches, you’ll find people working to keep the beaches open for all to enjoy. They’re also working to keep them clean for people and safe for marine life. It’s worth noting that free and unfettered access isn’t a license to trash our shores, as too many feel comfortable do- ing. A little less of that among visitors might go a long way toward cooling the conflict. No one should feel comfortable messing with Texas beaches. 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Mike McAfee The Open Beaches Act that guaran- tees our beach access even though we do not own beachfront property. Ellis Pickett Accessibility! Ric Legge The most valuable thing about the beaches of Texas and Galveston is that they are totally open to the public to enjoy. Bobby Martin That they are open to the public. Deanna Hepler Grissom The right to access them! Donna McBrien Fraley They are public and free. Stephen Rodwell Sr. Openness. Free access. John Collins That they belong to all of us and are so easy to enjoy! Linda Dobbs Willis Accessibility. Stop the practice of segmenting our beaches with bollards from dunes to tide line. This effectively makes private beaches for wealthy vacation homeowners and that is wrong. Tommy Forester That almost everywhere I have to drive to on the island I can take a road to see the beach. Stephanie Caravageli Jinks Free and open access, birds galore, sunrises and sunsets. Holly Thorson PHOTO: LYNNE TOMLINSON The opportunities it has given my children to grow up and enjoy the island life. My son surfs and fishes almost daily. My son loves nothing more than exploring the Gulf dai- ly. It’s a gift most people will never understand. Christina Strommen Johnson Free! Helen Pausewang Open beach is a Texas treasure. Kathleen Brennan Absolutely openness. Joyce H. McLean That even after the worst day, you can grab a lawn chair, park your toes in the sand, close your eyes, breathe in the salt air, listen to the seagull sounds overhead and feel the vastness of the ocean as you watch the sun set and the waves roll in. It’s a fantastic way to put things in perspective, and it’s a privilege not everyone gets to experience so easily. Tiffany Hanson Heallen The beauty and the vastness. All of this close to home! Rick Wade For my grandchildren, it’s the warm water temps. They live in California and Florida. John Merritt That I can walk on the sand any time I want! Bobbey White Encountering visitors from other states and countries and seeing them enjoy our beautiful beaches. Forest Riggs Openness. Joe Jaworski The sound of the waves lapping at the shore and the view of the hori- zon. The beach is one of the few places where you can see all the way to the curvature of the planet. Leroy Naschke III Finding the lucky beans! Debra Monford They are free and accessible and the Beach Patrol is great and the Park Board guys keep them as clean as they can! My dog, Buddy, and I walk on the beach every day! Mary Cooper The feeling of calm serenity they provide, an escape from the hustle and bustle of life. Donita Brannon They provide a safe and protected habitat for birds and sea turtles. It also provides a place where families can get outside and away from their televisions and comput- ers and get in touch with nature and all the good things that go along with that. Nikki Pattillo Listening to the sounds of the water and seagulls is so peaceful to me! Denise Sowell Shead There are 32 miles of beach for all to enjoy in Galveston. Stacey Gottlob The sand between my toes and the waves under my surfboard. They may not be the best waves in the world, but they’re our waves. Karen Barbier The beauty of the water. Being able to relax and watch and listen to the waves. Beautiful sunrise and sunset. Easy access to the beach itself. Miriam S. Davis Open beaches and purple beach umbrellas and chairs around 17th Street. Several times a year we just rent one for the day and pretend to be tourists! Kay Sandor What do you value most about Texas beaches?Schedule an appointment: houstonmethodist.org/jointpain .. without joint pain KEEP YOU MOVING Live life without joint pain. At Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, we know that joint pain affects every part of your life. With treatment plans customized for you, our specialists in Clear Lake offer a full range of advanced nonsurgical and surgical techniques. Our expert joint care includes: •Innovative pain control methods •Physical therapy to improve mobility and range of motion •The latest technology, including minimally invasive surgical techniques that help reduce recovery time Clear Lake14 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 15 FEATURE A LINE IN THE SAND Texans fight to keep beaches open and free story by B. SCOTT MCLENDON T he idea that the beauty and bounty of the seashore be- longs to the public is ancient and global. But public beaches are rare in the United States, ex- cept in Texas, where that’s the law and the mere notion of barring people from the sand and surf is an abject affront to many. Consider that New Jersey has the dubious distinction of being the only state that charges people a fee to use most of its public beaches. And in 2018, a new Florida statute went into effect regarding the public’s ability to use public beaches and adjoined property. Almost immediately, charges were made that the governor and the legislature were turning Florida’s public beaches private and denying the public access to them. Beaches in California are public up to the mean high tide line. But there are many beaches people can’t get to because of private land or other restrictions. In Texas, public access to Gulf Coast beaches isn’t just the law, it’s a constitutional right. Walking along the beach in Texas has been a right since Texas was a Republic. In 1959, the Texas Open Beaches Act was passed to ensure the public has the “free and unrestricted right of ingress and egress to and from” public beaches. The law has a special resonance in Galveston because former state Sen. A.R. “Babe” Schwartz, who was born in Gal- veston and represented the island for decades, wrote and shepherded the bill to passage. Schwartz, for whom a Galveston beach is named, always warned Texans the fight to maintain open beaches would never end. In 2009, Texans voted by a 77 percent to 23 percent margin to enshrine the Open Beaches Act into the Texas Constitution. The Texas Land Commissioner is charged with protecting the public right for all Texans by enforcing the act. A public beach is any beach extending inland from the line of mean low tide to the natural line of vegetation. The line of vege- tation might shift because of wind, wave and tidal actions caused (Left) The freedom to access Texas’ beaches is important to Galveston resident Janese Maricelli, who is a surfer and an ardent beach advocate. PHOTO: STUART VILLANUEVA16 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 FILE PHOTOS: JENNIFER REYNOLDS Former Texas Sen. A.R. “Babe” Schwartz and his wife, Marilyn, pose for photos May 26, 2016, during the dedication of Babe’s Beach in Galveston. (Opposite) Spring break crowds fill Babe’s Beach from 89th to 61st streets. COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 17 FEATURE by storms and hurricanes, creating constant tension to occasional out- right conflict between the public and beachfront property owners. ‘NOT VERY TEXAN’ A glimpse into the history of hu- manity’s relationship with the beach reveals innumerable poems, songs, stories and all manner of art inspired by a reverence for places where sea meets shore; it also uncovers tales of powerful people attempting to claim it as their own. Modern-day beach advocates across the Lone Star State most recently were whipped up into a storm of objection over a bill by state Sen. Mayes Middle- ton that many said would erode rights spelled out in the Open Beaches Act. Islanders were further stirred by a de- veloper’s attempt to remove hundreds of parking spots at Sunny Beach on Galveston’s West End. For beach access advocates, it’s an old and constant fight to hold the public’s line in the sand. “It’s scary to think in one gener- ation we could lose access and every- thing we love about the coast — and that’s not cool, man,” cover model and ardent beach advocate Janese Maricelli said. “That’s not very Texan.” WHEN IN ROME The beach wasn’t always the coveted, hotly contested real estate it is today and it’s difficult to decipher exactly when it became a destination for vacationers. But, by 79 A.D., the Roman island of Capri was a bustling seaside resort town with more than 130 waterfront villas that were buried under ash from the erupting Mount Vesuvius. Researchers say nothing like it exist- ed in the world at the time, mean- ing it could have been the earliest beachside resort. Under Emperor Justinian I, the Ro- mans thought certain things belonged to all or to no one, by natural law. “Thus, the following things are by natural law common to all — the air, running water, the sea, and conse- quently the seashore,” wrote Roman legislators about 1,500 years ago. “No one therefore is forbidden access to the seashore, provided he abstains from injury to houses, monuments, and buildings generally.” The Romans even used a line similar to the Texas Open Beaches Act to mark the public beach, saying the seashore extends to the limit of the highest tide in the time of storm or winter. Perhaps it’s not surprising Texas fol- lowed the Romans’ lead. What some consider surprising is that modern-day man continually attempts to amend “It’s scary to think in one generation we could lose access and everything we love about the coast – and that’s not cool, man.” JANESE MARICELLI18 COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 FEATURE what generations before him set forth. Sure, much has changed since 533 A.D. — but humanity’s right to the planet’s beaches shouldn’t, said Mar- icelli, an islander, surfer and member of the Galveston chapter of the Sur- frider Foundation. SYNONYMOUS WITH SUMMER Maricelli, a Baytown native, traded the Gulf for the West Coast for a few years with her fellow surfer husband before returning to Galveston Coun- ty after Hurricane Ike, which struck in 2008. Maricelli wanted to be on the beach, so she and her husband charted a course for Galveston, where they immediately joined the Surfrider Foundation and found their “ocean ecology clique.” The Surfrider Foundation has a stated mission to protect the world’s oceans, waves and beaches, and the enjoyment of them by all people, through a powerful activist network. “It only seemed fitting that we joined an organization that was pri- marily focused on the source of all of our joy and livelihood,” she said. “We got married here on the beach; we raised our daughter on the beach; we spend as much time as possible on the beach.” Maricelli took being on the beach for granted until she lived on the West Coast, where many beaches are private, she said. “The freedom to access our beaches at so many points is amazing to me,” Maricelli said. “To think that our daughter might not be able to fully appreciate various parts of the coast- line that are now in jeopardy. To be able to bring my daughter there for 11 “The freedom to access our beaches at so many points is amazing to me. ... To be able to bring my daughter there for 11 years strong and to think one day she might not be able to take her kids – that’s very scary.” JANESE MARICELLI Janese Maricelli and her daughter, Prudence, walk on the beach near 85th Street and Seawall Boulevard in Galveston. PHOTO: STUART VILLANUEVA COASTMONTHLY.COM | MAY 2023 19 years strong and to think one day she might not be able to take her kids — that’s very scary. “Summer days are synonymous with Galveston beaches and just family in the surf. It’s a gentle, family friendly beach, and it is so amazing that we have access to that.” DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS Fifth-generation Galvestonian Jeff Seinsheimer “will never not live near a beach,” he said. “Once I got turned on to surfing, nothing else mattered,” said Sein- sheimer, chairman of the Galveston chapter of Surfrider Foundation. “I went in halves on a surfboard with my best friend, and his parents would take us to Bermuda Beach, where they could park on the beach and keep a close eye on us.” After surfing in many countries around the world, Seinsheimer still marvels that Galveston beaches are such a big attraction. “There are beaches nearby with better sand and water color,” Sein- sheimer said. “So, it is important for us to continue to offer amenities that those beaches don’t. That includes maintaining truly open beaches for tourists and residents alike. “In my opinion, what makes Galveston attractive to tourists is also what makes it attractive to its residents.” Before retiring from the family insurance business, driving to work and seeing undisturbed shoreline the entire route made Seinsheimer’s day, he said. “It’s so easy to access Galveston beaches,” he said. “I could change from a suit to board shorts, surf, then change clothes again on my lunch break. “Our kids and grandkids deserve PHOTO: JENNIFER REYNOLDS Jeff Seinsheimer, chairman of the Galveston chapter of Surfrider Foundation, is an ardent supporter of Texas’ Open Beaches Act. He learned to surf on the island’s West End, he said. “There are beaches nearby with better sand and water color. So, it is important for us to continue to offer amenities that those beaches don’t. That includes maintaining truly open beaches for tourists and residents alike.” JEFF SEINSHEIMERNext >