Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Pace Environmental Law Review
Journal Abbreviation
Pace Env't L. Rev.
Abstract
The public trust doctrine is often accused of undermining property rights, when in fact the doctrine is actually a property concept, and a venerable one. Instead of threatening property rights, the doctrine functions to harmonize public and private rights in important resources, mostly those close to the land-water edge. This article demonstrates how this reconciliation takes place by examining case law recognizing the lineal and conceptual divisions by which the doctrine separates public and private rights. It also considers other ways in which the public trust doctrine balances public and private rights, such as ratifying small privatizations of public resources, transforming fee simple absolutes into defeasible fees, and recognizing pubic easements on private land titles. The article concludes that the public trust doctrine, if properly understood, can perform the important function helping to modernize property law.
First Page
649
Last Page
667
Publication Date
2010
Recommended Citation
Michael Blumm,
The Public Trust Doctrine and Private Property: The Accommodation Principle,
27
Pace Env't L. Rev.
649
(2010).
Available at:
https://lawcommons.lclark.edu/faculty_articles/34
Included in
Environmental Law Commons, Land Use Law Commons, Natural Resources Law Commons, Property Law and Real Estate Commons