Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A doctrine under which the state holds title to navigable waters and tidelands in trust for the public. The public holds rights to use those lands and waters for navigation, fishing, and recreational purposes. The doctrine prevents private parties from converting those public rights into servitudes that run with land.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Private Dock Privilege Excluded
The Coastal Museum owns land bordering a tidal inlet designated for public fishing under the public-trust doctrine. The museum records a document granting Warren a perpetual right to build a private dock across the submerged land for his gallery's exclusive commercial use. When Warren sells the gallery to Gina, the museum asserts that the privilege is not an enforceable servitude. The court holds that the littoral right remains subject to the public-trust doctrine and cannot be converted into a running private interest.
Coastal Access Condition Challenged
The California Coastal Commission conditions a building permit for oceanfront property on the owners dedicating a public access easement across their beach. The owners argue that the condition effects a taking. The commission defends the requirement as necessary to protect public rights preserved by the public-trust doctrine in the tidelands and adjacent dry sand. The court evaluates whether the access condition bears an essential nexus to the public interests the doctrine safeguards.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Restatements
Casebooks
Hornbooks
Course Outlines
Study Supplements
Dictionaries
Nollan v. California Coastal Commission483 U.S. 825, 834 (1987)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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Does the public-trust doctrine create servitudes that run with land?+
No. The Restatement expressly excludes the public-trust doctrine from the definition of servitudes. Rights arising under the doctrine remain public rights held in trust and cannot be recharacterized as private running interests through recorded agreements.
Supporting sources
What lands does the public-trust doctrine cover?+
The doctrine covers land flowed by tidal waters up to the mean high-tide line and navigable waterways. In many states it also extends to the dry sand area immediately landward of the high-water mark when necessary to allow public enjoyment of the foreshore.
Supporting sources
Can a private agreement override public-trust rights in tidelands?+
No. Private grants or covenants attempting to create exclusive rights in tidelands or navigable waters remain subject to the public-trust doctrine. Courts treat such attempts as ineffective to the extent they conflict with the public's retained rights.
Supporting sources
How does the public-trust doctrine interact with coastal land-use permits?+
Agencies may impose access conditions to protect public-trust interests, but those conditions must satisfy constitutional nexus and proportionality requirements when they burden private development rights.
Supporting sources
483 U.S. 825, 834 (1987)Property
…psychological barrier to access created by the new house is rejected. The condition is an unconstitutional exaction under the doctrine of Nollan v. California Coastal Commission . The Commission’s permit condition cannot be sustained as a valid exercise of its land-use power. The condition does not substantially advance…