The Sunset Beach Sportsmen's Club is located in Lower Township.
A private sportsmen’s club founded in 1949 has been ordered by an appeals court to leave its longtime headquarters on state-owned land overlooking the Delaware Bay in Cape May County.
The Sunset Beach Sportsmen’s Club must vacate the site in Lower Township because it failed to renew its lease and continued to sell alcohol in violation of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regulations, the court ruled.
The 20-page ruling on Sept. 30 by the New Jersey Appellate Division upheld a 2024 lower court decision that granted the DEP possession of a vast area of bayfront property known as Sunset Beach and Higbee Beach.
The club’s history with the land dates to the 1970s, when it acquired a liquor license and began using the site as social space. In 1982, the club entered into a lease with the former private owner of the land. Under the lease agreement, the club retained ownership of the building and paid property taxes, according to the appeals court.
However, in February 1999, the DEP purchased the 1,160-acre Higbee Beach area to preserve the coastal wetlands, beachfront, dunes and forests. The state-controlled land is known as the Higbee Beach Wildlife Management Area.
The club tried, but failed, to negotiate a new lease with the DEP, but continued to stay on the land for more than 20 years, despite not having a formal agreement. It also continued to serve alcohol in violation of DEP rules, according to the appeals court.
“There is no dispute, the Club maintained its liquor license despite DEP regulations prohibiting the consumption, possession, or control of alcoholic beverages on property managed by DEP without its consent,” the court wrote in its ruling.
In 2018, the DEP asked the club’s operators to stop serving alcohol, but the liquor continued to flow. The DEP then offered to buy the club’s headquarters at fair market value and provide the funds for the club to relocate on a piece of private land. The club rejected the offer, the court said.
Then, on Feb. 1, 2022, the DEP gave the club a three-month notice to leave the property and then followed up with litigation in June 2022 asking the courts to remove the club. The club responded with its own litigation, claiming that the DEP had overstepped its authority and violated the terms of the lease.
“Here, the Club challenges DEP’s motives for seeking its removal, suggesting that its sale of alcohol is a ‘red herring.’ However, as the opposing party, it was incumbent upon the Club to present competent evidence, beyond mere speculation and fanciful arguments to defeat the motion,” the appeals court wrote while summarizing the turbulent relationship between the club and DEP.
The state Superior Court ruled in the DEP’s favor on May 7, 2024, dismissing the club’s counterclaims against the agency. The appeals court, in turn, upheld the lower court ruling.
“(It) is undisputed that DEP owns the premises occupied by the Club; the Club has remained a holdover tenant for over twenty years; and no genuine issue of material fact exists as to DEP’s authority to terminate the lease,” the appeals court said.
The Sunset Beach Sportsmen’s Club was founded in 1949 by a group of friends as they fished the shorelines of Cape May Point. The club indicated that it has not given up hope of staying at its bayfront headquarters.
“Our request is simple: that the NJDEP find a reasonable solution that allows the Sunset Beach Sportsmen’s Club to continue operating in our historic location on the Delaware Bayfront,” the club said in a statement on its website.
