– Riparian rights include the right to access, dock, boat, fish, and have an unobstructed view of the water.
– The construction of a dock does not give the owner title to the submerged lands underneath it.
– Docking is limited by the line of deep water (line of navigability) to prevent blockage of the water channel. 1. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has developed considerations for estimating riparian rights lines for docks, taking into account the bending coastline.
2. The Second District Court of Appeals has established a common law qualified riparian right to construct piers or wharves from the riparian owner’s land onto submerged land, subject to the rights of the public and applicable regulations.
3. Under common law, the crown in England held the title to the beds of navigable waters, while after the American Revolution, title to the beds of navigable waters was held by the states in trust for their people. 1. When Florida became a state, all submerged land within the state belonged to the State of Florida.
2. Riparian holders are defined as those who own land extending to the ordinary high-water mark of navigable waters.
3. Riparian owners have the right to build piers or wharves, but this right is subject to the superior rights of the public as to navigation and commerce, and to the concurrent rights of the public as to fishing and bathing.
4. Riparian owners may not exercise their exclusive rights in a way that injures others in their lawful rights.
5. Riparian owners whose lots do not extend to the low water mark do not have the right to construct wharves beyond the low water mark out into the bay to the channel. 1. The Supreme Court in the Freed case denied the request for an injunction against the construction of a pier that encroached upon submerged land, ruling in favor of the corporation.
2. The Supreme Court in the Williams case confirmed the riparian right to construct piers and wharves, subject to obtaining a license from the State and considering the predominant rights of the public in navigable waters.
3. The lesson learned from these cases is that neighboring landowners must act quickly to challenge construction of docks in order to obtain an injunction. 1. The 1957 Hayes decision involved the interplay of riparian rights and the rights of owners of privately held submerged lands.
2. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of submerged landowners in the case of Hayes v. the Abbotts, allowing them to dredge and fill submerged lands.
3. The court also recognized the common law riparian rights of upland owners, including an unobstructed view and the right of ingress and egress over the foreshore from and to the water.
4. In Belvedere Development Corp. v. Department of Transportation, the Florida Supreme Court quoted with approval the special concurrence of Judge Hersey that riparian owners have the right to “wharf out to navigability.”
5. This language has subsequently been relied upon by the Fourth District in multiple opinions related to riparian rights. 1. The court in Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund v. Medeira Beach Nominee, Inc. recognized a qualified common law right to wharf out to navigable waters in the absence of a statute.
2. In Krieter v. Chiles, the court determined that the Trustees had the authority to prohibit the construction of a dock on submerged land in a park held in trust by the Trustees, as it was in the public interest to do so.
3. The Tewksbury v. City of Deerfield Beach decision addressed the scope of a riparian owner’s right to erect a dock on privately owned submerged lands, including the operation of an outdoor dining area on the dock. – Riparian rights are a subset of property law that deal with disputes over waterfront property ownership.
– Florida law recognizes that these disputes often lead to litigation among neighboring landowners and the state.
– The goal of riparian rights is to promote fair and equitable use of shorelines and waterways among private property owners.
https://www.jimersonfirm.com/blog/2015/08/riparian-rights-in-florida-florida-law-concerning-docking-and-wharfing/
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