Boston Globe — Property owners’ suit seeks to block new R.I. shore access law

Written By Cate Brown

In 2021, property owners in Charlestown erected fences and posted signs marking their territory on Charlestown Town Beach. Now, some coastal property owners are suing to block Rhode Island's new shore access law.LANE TURNER/GLOBE STAFF

July 7, 2023

By Brian Amaral — A lawsuit filed Friday by the Rhode Island Association of coastal taxpayers opens a new chapter in Rhode Island long–running a fight over Shore access.

PROVIDENCE — That didn’t take long. Just three weeks after the General Assembly passed a new law on shore access, a group of private property owners is suing in federal court to block it.

“The government can’t take private property without paying for it, and this basic principle applies even when the government pursues popular goals, like public access,” J. David Breemer, a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, said in an e-mailed statement accompanying news of the suit.

RELATED: R.I.’s shore access bill is now law. Will it survive court challenges?

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Cate Brown
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