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A sand dune is rebuilt on Long Beach Island in May. A new appellate court decision holds that owners have to be compensated for lost views - even if eminent domain did not come into play for lost ocean views, according to a report by the New Jersey Law Journal.

(Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger)

OCEAN CITY — A group of oceanfront owners are entitled to compensation for lost ocean views, even if eminent domain is not used to build sand dunes, according to a report by the New Jersey Law Journal.

A precedent was set by the appellate court ruling Petrozzi v. Ocean City, when it was issued Monday – the day before the first anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, the report said.

The appeals court said the eight property owners were entitled to compensation because they relied on the municipality’s promise to limit the dunes’ height, the report added.

By 2002, the dunes had naturally grown as much as six feet above the level promised by the city – and the state Department of Environmental Protection at that time had changed permitting regulations. The DEP denied a permit to lower the dunes, a decision upheld on appeal in 2008, according to the report.

An actual takings argument wasn’t considered by the court – and the inverse-condemnation claims were thrown out by the judges, the report said.

The new ruling comes more than three months after the state Supreme Court decided in Harvey Cedars v. Karan, that compensation paid to owners whose views are blocked by protective dunes must take into account how much that protection benefits the property.

Initially, 95 individuals who owned 63 beachfront properties brought suit against Ocean City. But plaintiffs dropped out of the case, eventually leaving eight with claims for recovery.

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