neighbor is trying to selectively ban me from walking on the beach in front of her

What is the name of your state? delaware

I am renting off of broadkill beach and my fiancee's father owns and lives in a beachfront home on the same beach. The beach is accessible year-round to the public and is used daily by non-resident fishermen, tourists, locals, and vacationers. It is also used on a daily basis by locals and visitors alike who walk their dogs with and without leashes. I have lived here for over three years and walk my dogs twice daily. Today, a seemingly irrational neighbor - with whom I have never interacted with before- ran out to the edge of the fence surrounding her home and began yelling and cursing at me to put my #@% dogs on a leash. My dogs were on the beach, not up on the embankment with the beach grass, and certainly not anywhere near her fence. She threatened to call the State Police AND shoot my dogs if I or my family walk on 'her beach' again, but will 'allow' anyone else passage - dogs and all. There is no easement that I am aware of, and there is no signage posted anywhere along the beach.
1- Are easements and right of ways automatically conferred upon a beachfront owner, or are these legal documents and rights that one must secure?
2- Is she able to selectively discriminate against me and allow other beach traffic unnobstructed access even if their dogs are on/off a leash?

A few years ago, "locals" tried to stop vacationers and non-residents from using the beach for their personal enjoyment (fishing, bathing, etc). Since the county annually dredges and replenishes the beachfront lost to mother nature at the tax payers' expense, it was argued and won that public access was to be maintained. The dredging equipment is already in place this spring, and my tax dollars are supporting the preservation of "her beach" - does this help me at all? I plan to stay out of this loon's way, but I wanted to know what recourse/ rights I had when compared to peers using the beach in a similar manner.

PS Is her threat to shoot my pets benign/irrelevant, or should I file a report with the local police?

Thank you so much if you have any input

You and your furchildren shouldn't be contaminating a public beach with urine and feces where people walk barefooted and lay on the sand. You should walk your dogs in an appropriate place on a leash so that they are under control. Many cities and towns have dog parks where dogs may roam unleashed under the supervision of their owners. Most cities have leash laws, please check with your local government and in the mean time, be a good neighbor, let them poop in your yard!

rmet4nzkx said:

You and your furchildren shouldn't be contaminating a public beach with urine and feces where people walk barefooted and lay on the sand. You should walk your dogs in an appropriate place on a leash so that they are under control. Many cities and towns have dog parks where dogs may roam unleashed under the supervision of their owners. Most cities have leash laws, please check with your local government and in the mean time, be a good neighbor, let them poop in your yard!

Click to expand...

And now for the LEGAL answer. The neighbor has no legal grounds to control the beach. The city, state or Federal government will own the access rights so that is the first place you need to check. As for the threat, call the police and file a complaint. If the threat was made to you it may have been made before and such behavior should not be tolerated.

OP must according to DE state laws keep her dog on a leash no longer than 6 feet while on the beach and clean up after it, the Sussex Co SPCA enforces the leash laws as there is no local govermental enforcement agency. They rely on good neighbors, somehting OP needs to learn to be. The State of DE has had leash laws since the 1800's.

From Deleware state site/State parks:
http://www.destateparks.com/pets/index.htm
Delaware State Parks is pleased to welcome you and your pet to enjoy the great outdoors together. While in the park, a dog or cat pose a real danger to wildlife and may disturb other visitors. In order to help keep our parks open to pets, responsible pet ownership is the key.
General Guidelines

* All pets must adhere to the appropriate licensing and vaccination requirements.*

* While in the park, your pet must be leashed (not to exceed 6 feet) and under your control except while:

o In designated off-leash areas.

o Actively training for hunting in designated dog-training areas.

o Hunting with the appropriate permit.

* Honor all park signs that prohibit the entry of pets in specific areas.

* Guide dogs are permitted in all pedestrian areas.

* You must clean up after your pet. Please use the "doggie dooleys" (waste composting receptacles) where available.

* Never leave pets unattended, even in your vehicle or camper. This is especially true in the summer when the inside temperature of vehicles can become life threatening. Park Rangers are authorized to break into vehicles in order to rescue an animal in distress.

* Horses are only permitted on trails and beaches designated for riding.

* Special regulations apply to unusual or exotic pets.
Please call (302) 739-4702 for information.

http://www.destateparks.com/wilmsp/wilmsp.htm
Pets

Pets are welcome in the parks as long as they are on a leash and under the control of their owner. Please clean up after your pet.

Three areas within Wilmington State Parks are managed as "off leash" areas for dogs. Two are located in Brandywine Park and one in Rockford Park. Dogs must be on a leash until reaching the boundaries of the off-leash area. Rules are posted in each area. Please contact the park office at 577-7020 with any questions.

Sussex County Delaware
http://www.kate-jody.com/dediscussboard.html
Let's NOT forget some of the lesser known beaches of Southern Delaware - those hidden little places that not even the locals know much about. These are all along the Delaware Bay, north of Lewes. They are in order: Broadkill Beach and some call it the old name Broadkiln Beach; next to the north are Prime Hook Beach, Slaughter Beach and then Bowers Beach. These little beaches, each one with a unique personality of its own have no commercial establishments to amount to anything, no boardwalks and very little rental property market. The homes are mostly very modest older homes but that is changing fast.

Broadkill Beach, where I had an office for several years, was originally just squatters who did not own the land but had little "cottages" there, usually made of spare pieces of lumber and stuff picked up in the personal junk piles of the farmers who spent time there. Broadkill Beach still has some incredibly unique and sometimes ugly homes scattered among the beautiful modern showcases. Gradually the older homes are being removed by the new owners and larger and usually spectacular homes put in their place. Prices in Broadkill are less than half of those in Lewes, sometimes far less than half! There are no lifeguards, no beach cleaning, no town hall, no police, no mayor or government of any kind and few restrictions. This is a great fishing community. There are thousands of prehistoric Horse Shoe Crabs that mate and die on the beaches each summer but the locals consider that keeps the citified people away and they like that.

Prime Hook Beach or Primehook beach depending on which map you use is far less expensive than Broadkill. There are far fewer modern homes there but the trend has started. Little by little the older, sometimes rough homes at Primehook are being refurbished. The waterfront homes at Primehook were always far larger and nicer than those at Broadkill. Many of them are not being removed, but are one by one, being restored.

Broadkill and Primehook as well as Slaughter Beach are all surrounded by huge barriers of wetlands behind them and between them. Fishermen can surf fish in the bay but mostly it is just the view from these beaches that the residents enjoy and the lost in time lack of modern restrictions and commercialism. Slaughter Beach does have its own volunteer fire department which serves as the social focus of the town. But mostly there are just good neighbors and a laid back life available at these old beaches. If you want something else, you'll have to drive a half hour or so to one of the small towns inland to find it.
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However:
The original building that houses the DE SPCA - Sussex Chapter was built in 1973. It is a nonprofit organization that contracts with the state to enforce Delaware State Dog Laws for Sussex County.
Digest of Delaware State Dog Laws
TITLE 7 CHAPTER 17 1702A
1. The owner of any dog, 6 months of age or older, on or before March 1 of each year, shall apply to the Department or its duly authorized agents on a form pre-scribed by the Department for a 1, 2 or 3 year license for such dog.
2. All dogs must have a rabies inoculation before a license can be obtained.
3. The dog license must be attached to a collar and worn at all times. There is a fine from $50 to $100 for not obtaining a license. For each subsequent offense occurring within 12 months of a prior offense, the person shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $200.

TITLE 7 CHAPTER 17 1705A
1. No dog shall be permitted to run at large at any time, unless the dog is accompanied by the owner or custodian and under the owner's or custodian's reason-able control.
2. There is a fine from $25 to $50 for dog at large. For each subsequent offense occurring within 12 months of a prior offense, the person shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $1 00.
3. A female dog in season may not run at large at any time.
4. Anyone found guilty of poisoning or attempting to poison a dog is subject to a fine or imprisonment or both.

DE CRIMINAL CODE TITLE II SECTION 1325
Fines up to $5,000 and three years in jail for cruelty to animals, if a person is guilty of the following:
1. Cruel mistreatment, cruel neglect.
2. Failure to provide proper shelter from the weather elements as required to prevent unnecessary or unjustifiable physical pain or suffering by the animal.
3. Failure to feed properly or provide veterinary treatment.
4. Dogs confined with chains must be at least 6 feet or three times length of dog.
5. Abandoning a sick or disabled animal to die in any public place in the State is prohibited by law.

The State of Delaware has a pooper scooper law.

Leash Law

Dogs must be leashed at all times - This is a Delaware State Law!

Dogs on the Beach

* Dewey Beach - The beach is closed to the public between the hours of 1:00 am and 5:00am. They must be on a leash, attached to the owner.
* Bethany Beach - Dogs are allowed on the beach and boardwalk after October 1st.
* Rehoboth Beach - No dogs are allowed on the beach or boardwalk until after October 31st.
* Delaware State Beaches - Pets in campgrounds and state parks must be kept on maximum six-foot leash.

Did you enjoy this diatribe? Because it has absolutely nothing to do with the legal issue being asked.

The neighbor has no control over the water access. That rests with the state and/or federal authorities.

If the neighbor wants to file a complaint with them she is more than welcome. But the ANSWER TO THE QUESTION posed was given.

beachfront access rights and aggresive neighbor

BelizeBreeze and rmet4nzkx - Thank you very much for your input. Belize Breeze, I have taken your advice and filed a complaint and I am going to look into who owns the beach access and at what level of government. Thank you very much again.

rmet4nzkx, just to clarify, my dogs are walked prior to going out onto the beach - the beach is deserted at this time of year, and it is our opportunity to go out and exercise. During busier seasons, they are always on a leash, because I am not willing to risk harm to them or other beachgoers - plus despite how friendly they are, not everyone is a dog person. Never have my dogs eliminated on or near this neighbor's "property", and when I do walk them along the road, I clean up after them. In the three years that I have lived here, this is the first time that I met her, and she came at me with guns blazing-so it's not as if this was a recurrent nuisance that she has had to endure. Also, the issues at hand were: does she have the right to deny me access to that part of the beach, and how should I respond to her threat.

Again, thank you both for your input!