Christian Group Under Fire for Blocking Beach on Sundays

Ocean Grove and the state are in a standoff over the resort town’s rules limiting access to the beach on Sunday mornings as the Jersey Shore heads into the unofficial end of the summer on Labor Day weekend.

The Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association — the Methodist group that oversees the Ocean Grove section of Neptune in an unusual agreement with the Monmouth County township — does not allow access to the beach from the boardwalk before noon on Sundays.

The tradition stems from Ocean Grove’s origins as a Christian seaside resort. Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association officials said limiting beach access on Sunday mornings improves the “religious and secular” quality of life along its boardwalk.

That runs afoul of the state’s Coastal Area Facilities Review Act, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection, which sent a warning letter to the association Aug. 10 objecting to the use of chain and pad lock barriers barring beach access.

“The purpose of this warning is to advise you of the above potential violation to provide you with an opportunity to voluntarily take corrective actions and to engage in discussions with the DEP. Please be advised, that the DEP may continue to monitor the site for compliance and we are available to provide guidance as needed,” Robert H. Clark, a region supervisor for the state Bureau of Coastal and Land Use Compliance and Enforcement, wrote in a letter.

The Sunday morning ban on beach access is enforced during the summer season, according to the Ocean Grove website. This Sunday would be the last week of 15 weeks this season when the beach entrances are chained off until noon.

Michael Badger, the president of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, confirmed the group received a letter about a “potential violation” and are in an “ongoing discussion” with the state.

“We’re just trying to understand the law together because there are elements of this that are applicable in this situation that I don’t think have been adjudicated yet, and has been fully fleshed out,” Badger said.

The nine “step entrances” — access points from the Ocean Grove Boardwalk onto the sand — are closed between 9 a.m. and noon on the Sundays between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

The boardwalk and pier remain open, and the beach is still accessible by walking along the sand either north from Bradley Beach or south from Asbury Park.

Beach badges are required in the summer in Ocean Grove. They sell for $12 a day — or $95 a season for adults and $50 a season for children 12 and older and seniors.

The Sunday policy is scheduled to resume on Memorial Day weekend in 2024 when beach badges would again be required to get on the beach from the steps from the boardwalk.

“The outcome of the step closure enhances religious and secular quality of life experiences in Ocean Grove which society recognizes as valuable. During this 0.5% of the year, the view of the ocean from the OGCMA’s boardwalk and pier is of sublime natural beauty without the visual elements of beach umbrellas, tents, and masses of people,” Badger wrote in a response to state Department of Environmental Protection provided Friday to NJ Advance Media.

No fines had been issued to the camp meeting association as of Friday afternoon, said Larry Hajna, a spokesperson for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The dispute over Sunday beach access is the latest in a series of controversies involving the Camp Meeting Association and some Ocean Grove residents. Ocean Grove’s decision to rebuild a beach pier in the shape of a cross drew objections from some residents earlier this year.

Some beach-goers have been bypassing the chained entrances and sitting on the beaches Sunday mornings this year. Shane Martins, a founder of the nonpartisan community group Neptune United, said beach-goers arriving before noon on Sundays have been confronted by defenders of the meeting association’s policy.

“Every Sunday, since Memorial Day, Neptune United has been raising awareness,” Martins said.

Township police have been on the scene but have declined to either remove those on the beach, or take away the pad lock barriers, which Martins said is contrary to federal law protecting access for people with disabilities.

“They are in direct violation of state and federal law and it is time they be held accountable,” Martins said.

The state’s letter to the Camp Meeting Association about the Sunday beach access was shared online by Neptune United, whose members have also been some of the most vocal critics of Ocean Grove’s new cross-shaped pier.

Ocean Grove, referred to as God’s Square Mile by some of its residents, has about 3,000 residents. Though it is only a small section of Neptune Township, it has a unique charter that allows it to set some of its own rules under the Camp Meeting Association.

The Ocean Grove Meeting Association was sued in 2007 when it barred same-sex couples from using its boardwalk pavilion for civil union ceremonies. A judge later ruled that ban violated the state’s anti-discrimination law.

The policy to close the Ocean Grove boardwalk entrances to the beach on Sunday mornings has been in place for 154 years and this was the first season the association received complaints, Badger said.

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