RI Bill for Access To Shoreline

[Carl]

R.I. Bill Would Guarantee Access To Shoreline
By Katie Warchut

Published on 3/24/2006 12:00:00 AM in Region » Region News

Westerly –– State Rep. Matthew J. McHugh started getting complaints from beach-goers last summer. They wanted to take a walk along their shoreline, but were stopped by signs that said “Keep Out, Private Property,” and “No Trespassing.”

McHugh, a Wakefield Democrat who represents South Kingstown, Charlestown, New Shoreham and Westerly, said he wants to protect the constitutionally guaranteed right of Ocean State residents and tourists to access the shore.

He is co-sponsoring a bill, with Rep. Peter T. Ginaitt, D-Warwick, that would better define the beach area. The state Constitution says people shall enjoy fishing and swimming rights, in addition to passage along the shore, but does not define what “the shore” is.

The proposed bill defines it as a 10-foot wide strip of sand above the high tide line, even if the land is deeded privately.

“The intent is to be able to freely walk, without having to wade into the water,” McHugh said, because property owners “don't own the actual beach.”

It would also authorize the Coastal Resource Management Council to require landowners to remove any obstacles they have to build to keep the public off their property.

Those barriers include fences, walls, or riprap, which are boulders put in the ocean, McHugh said.

When the complaints came in, specifically at Matunuck and Green Hill beaches in South Kingstown, McHugh said he contacted CRMC to investigate the obstacles. They were reluctant, however, because of a fear of lawsuits from private property owners, he said.

McHugh decided to strengthen the law, because beach access is a “longstanding tradition” in the state, he said.

In Westerly, there are at least 12 rights-of-way onto beaches designated by the state Department of Environmental Management, said Town Manager Joseph T. Turo. There have been complaints in the past, but they haven't been from the public, he said.

“The property owners say there's too much access,” he said. “I have not seen anyone preventing passage.”

McHugh's bill was presented at a hearing before the House Environmental and Natural Resources Committee last week, and has been continued.
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I wonder if this will have any effect. Whadaya think?