Boston Globe — Ballard’s faces $50,000 in fines over tiki bars, fences

Ballard’s Beach Resort, which is owned by Steve Filippi, on Block Island on a cold summer day in mid-June 2023. Alexa Gagosz

August 3, 2023

By Brian Amaral — The legendary Block Island bar had a tumultuous season last year, culminating in a chaotic music festival last August.

PROVIDENCE — State regulators are hitting ballads with five $10,000 fines in an ongoing battle over allegedly unauthorized tiki bars, fences, and other amenities on the beach at the Block Island bar and resort.

The Coastal Resources Management Council issued the fines in five separate letters to Ballard's in Realty, LLC on July 31. The letters cite problems with the canopy, fences, a pergola, tiki bars, and a structure over a stage. State regulations require applications for CRMC approval to place such things within 200 feet of a coastal feature, and Ballard’s didn't submit complete applications for them, CRMC said. The agency has been scrutinizing Ballard's over the amenities on the beach for months. Those issues have now escalated to five-figure fines.

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