NJ.com — Ocean Grove could be fined $25K a day if it keeps blocking beach on Sundays, state says

Camp Meeting Association members stand in front of the pier entrance at Ocean Grove's beach on September 3, 2023.Alexandra Pais | For NJ Advance Media

Oct 31, 2023

By Rob Jennings — State officials have notified a Jersey Shore landowners’ association that it could be fined up to $25,000 a day if it resumes blocking beach access on Sunday mornings next summer.

The latest warning from the state Department of Environmental Protection came 10 days after the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association filed a lawsuit seeking to continue using chains and padlocked barriers to block beach access from its Monmouth County boardwalk on Sundays.

The association blocks access to the beach between 9 a.m. and noon on Sundays — starting Memorial Day weekend and continuing until Labor Day weekend every year. The tradition of limiting access to the sand on the “Lord’s Day” is tied to Ocean Grove’s history as a Methodist community retreat, the group said.

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