Block Island Times — Rhode Island CRMC issues violations notice to Ballard’s

The erection of snow fencing and other unauthorized structures on the beach by Ballard’s Resort have recently come under the scrutiny of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council. (Photo: R. Meyer)

Sep 29, 2022

By Renee Meyer — Following on the heels of the incidents that fell on Victory Day in August, with the throngs of concertgoers packed onto Ballard’s Beach and the ensuing fights at Ballard’s and on the Block Island Ferry in the evening, residents and officials on Block Island started asking questions about just how Ballard’s Resort came to grow under the radar over the past few years. Naturally, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council came into play.

The Block Island Times started investigating the CRMC’s permit database and found a dearth of applications from Ballard’s. One application though, stood out – an application for portable trailers on the beach during the summer season. The application was made in June of 2015, and no decision was ever granted by CRMC, meaning Ballard’s never received permission for the trailers. The file was “closed” in January 2016. Most of the other applications since then are simply for beach and sand maintenance.

Somehow, those “portable trailers” morphed into tiki bars and other structures that appear to be wired for electricity, and in some cases plumbing. Their portability can also be questioned as the wheels appear twisted and
rusted. For at least last winter, the “tiki bars” stayed put on the beach.

A couple of weeks ago there were rumors that the CRMC was coming to the island for an unannounced inspection, and on Tuesday, Sept. 27, the agency issued a “Finding and Notice of Violation” to Ballard’s Inn Realty, LLC, care of Steven Filippi.

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