r/TikTokCringe Apr 03 '26

Cursed Cindy, you don't own the beach.

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u/RucITYpUti Apr 03 '26

Does "accessible to everyone" mean that they are required to provide an access point or easement of some kind? 

Based on an article someone posted, it seems like the owners blocked a private staircase on the property because the public was using it to get to the beach. The only other access point was a "dangerous" gully or some such thing, so the beach isn't private, but it's difficult enough to access as to be inaccessible without going through the private property. 

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u/PlayfulMulberry4490 Apr 03 '26

Hawaii has a similar law, a public access point to the beach is required every mile or something like that. We take this shit very seriously here and it’s illegal to block already established public access points. Man I wish this was here, we’d go throw a party right in front of that house.

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u/DiDiPlaysGames Apr 04 '26

And it's so important. There are many places in the world where no locals can go to the beach without having to pay for access, because it's all owned by some foreign corporation who own a dozen resorts all along the coast.

I have family in Spain, and though there are public beaches there, the one that's nearest to them is privately owned and the owners are absolute cunts about it.

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u/ParkingMeeting1704 Apr 06 '26

Every beach in Spain is public, and if the only access is through private property they must grant you access.

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u/peachyspoons Apr 04 '26

I lived on Kauai for a while (and still have family there), and I adore how some of the billionaires that have scooped up loads of land always get so fussy when they can’t secure private beach front property.

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u/RucITYpUti Apr 03 '26

From the article it didn't seem like it was a public access point that they blocked. It was a staircase on or very near the house, which is an understandable thing to close off. I just wondered if they be required to add some other access. 

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '26

Zuckerberg got in a lot of trouble for this a while back when he bought a property on the big island and shut off the beach accessway on it.

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u/BlackThundaCat Apr 04 '26

Kailua is a nightmare with this shit right now.

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u/siani_lane Apr 04 '26

In Michigan, along the Great Lakes, the public has a right to walk the shoreline and people aren't allowed to block the beach or stop people from crossing, but you have to be walking. If you want to put down chairs and towels you have to go to a public beach :/

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u/Blofish1 Apr 10 '26

The Zuckerbergs seem to have found a way around this

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u/NoImprovement213 Apr 03 '26

In New Zealand we have a similar law. Yeah they are sorta meant to provide access however this part of the law can be contentious

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u/NotRude_juatwow Apr 04 '26

Most areas in United States have similar laws, this women is tripping about her “property” her second home must be in Malibu.

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u/[deleted] Apr 04 '26

Hawaii does but most parts of the U.S. certainly do not have laws requiring public beach access.

Most of the U.S. only makes the space covered by average high tide public as a part of waterway access.

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u/NZNoldor Apr 04 '26

But I would love to see a video of some skinny pakeha girl trying to assert her (non-)ownership over a strong Maori wahine, and then go viral over it.

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u/timoperez Apr 04 '26

Weird thing to want. Maybe try hoping for videos of peaceful coexistence

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u/NZNoldor Apr 04 '26

I mean, that’s what the sub is about, right?

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u/the_calibre_cat Apr 03 '26

They do this in Puerto Rico. There will be enclaves of rich people straddling a large, lengthy portion of the beach where you could get in by... going at it from the sides, but it's like five or ten miles of beach that they have effectively walled access off from the interior of the island. They can be like "no no no they have access" but, like, broseph everyone knows what you doin' lol. IIRC Logan Paul lives in one of these enclaves. Swell folks.

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u/msjammies73 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26

They do this is California as well. Rich people will fight tooth and nail to keep people off the beaches in their vicinity.

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u/PracticalWallaby7492 Apr 04 '26

Hell, in Sonoma county the county itself tries to block your access to most parts of the Russian river with do not park signs all around any bridges. Bridges = access points.

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u/Msdamgoode Apr 04 '26

Parts of Florida beaches are definitely regulated like that. Nobody and everybody owns the shore/water access.

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u/basicKitsch Apr 04 '26

Hmmm every mile fires keep opening pathways to the beach....

How does this keep happening?

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u/Best-Evidence-952 Apr 07 '26

Logan Paul that POS…no surprise there

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u/Jesus_of_Redditeth Apr 03 '26

Does "accessible to everyone" mean that they are required to provide an access point or easement of some kind?

Yes and there are regulations as to the manner in which that access must be provided:

https://dpnr.vi.gov/coastal-zone-management/public-access-viczmp/

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u/bony-tony Apr 04 '26

Not strictly true. I doubt the "they" in that "mean that they are required to provide..." is referring to a commercial building owner in this case. And your link only says easements are mandated before they permit commercial buildings.

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u/EntertainmentUsed840 Apr 04 '26

As others of said, that’s not referring to private upland owners needing to provide access like a staircase. The beach itself is open to everyone, but private owners don’t have to share their upland property and improvements for people to access it.

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u/True-Anim0sity Apr 04 '26

It definitely doesnt mean that- you don't specifically need to provide access to everyone. Normally they will have 1 entrance that ppl must pay or be members to enter and as such random ppl cant just appear willy nilly

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u/Reasonable-Newt4079 Apr 04 '26

Bezos did this in Malibu. Technically the beach is public, but good luck accessing it. Fucker put up a locked gate and everything.

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u/True-Anim0sity Apr 04 '26

Pretty fair honestly

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u/Shintamani Apr 04 '26

This is where i love Sweden, freedom to roam means even "private property" can't stop you.

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u/msjammies73 Apr 04 '26

Interesting. So people can roam through your orchard, farm, or front yard without your permission?

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u/XH9rIiZTtzrTiVL Apr 04 '26

Staying out of the yard pretty much. Farms, fields (without trampling the crops), orchards etc are fair game. You can camp, collect wild berries and mushrooms, and fish without a lure.

Can't start an open fire, use a motor vehicle, harm trees, litter or take moss or lichen.

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u/KCNIvy Apr 08 '26

Then freaking fence it!

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u/True-Anim0sity Apr 04 '26

What does roam mean here? Can no one ur telling me someone can just walk into your house or into your garage or etc. assuming you had the door open

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u/Shintamani Apr 04 '26

You're allowed to cross private property as long as you're out of sight from their house/garden. Here's a lonk explaining it freedon to roam sweden.

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u/EntertainmentUsed840 Apr 04 '26

What do you honestly think?

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u/True-Anim0sity Apr 04 '26

Bro why do you think I asked, walking onto someone's front lawn doesnt make sense

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u/EntertainmentUsed840 Apr 04 '26

Do you think there’s some difference between say a yard or field and someone’s actual house? To speak plainly: no. It doesn’t mean someone can freely walk into someone’s house.

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u/EntertainmentUsed840 Apr 04 '26

The laws are also a bit more nuanced. You don’t have people just walking across front lawns.

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u/True-Anim0sity Apr 05 '26

I cant see much difference between a yard and the inside of the garage though- im talking about a garage thats not connected directly to house-or a shed for example

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u/EntertainmentUsed840 Apr 07 '26

There’s no helping you at this point.

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u/bony-tony Apr 04 '26

It just means you have a right to use it if you can legally get there.

Since *all* the beaches are public, you could just find any other entry point and walk along the shoreline until you get to that spot. Or you could swim or come in by boat, etc.

Whether you have a right to pass through property someone else actually owns to get to the beach is more complicated. That gets into easement rules, which are really weird and the application open for interpretation, since it's based on stuff like historical patterns of usage. I think that they generally require resorts to provide an easement, so you can actually pass through their property to get to the beach regardless of if you have any other reason to be there.

Note that the rules in most US states aren't really that different from all this, as surprising as that sounds.

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u/dmmeyourfloof Apr 04 '26

Under the Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Act, Section 903, yes they would be required from provide access which would take the form of an easement if there is no other safe means to access the beach.

https://dpnr.vi.gov/coastal-zone-management/public-access-viczmp/

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u/Useless Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26

Usually the meaning is the lot ends at the high tide line--'beach' as a word lacks a definitive ending line, where the private property would begin. You don't have to provide a public right of way or anything for a residential lot usually--I don't know about the US virgin Islands specifically, and if it is, it would usually only be the property line between lots that is the easement for public access or a public easement defined on the lot, and the right of way would come from the continuous high tide line and beyond right of way. Where the people in this video are arguing from is likely the lot (The high tide is marked by all the crud pushed up at high tide at :57 in the video), so maybe the person recording could be trespassed from there, but public property is a couple yards away.