Boston Globe — Would R.I. lose lawsuits if it expanded shore access? Probably not, an expert says.

Property owners erect fences and post signs marking their territory on Charlestown Town Beach. LANE TURNER / GLOBE STAFF

Jan 27, 2022

By Brian Amaral — When someone starts talking about expanding shore access in Rhode Island, a warning often follows: You’re going to get sued for taking private property without paying for it, and it’s going to cost the state a lot of money.

But that’s probably not true, a legal expert told a state study commission looking at ways to get Rhode Islanders more lateral access to the shore.

Rhode Island lawmakers could actually redefine the rights of the “shore” further landward than the law does now, said Michael C. Blumm, professor at the Lewis & Clark Law School.

If it did, “the state legislature would not seem to open the state up to successful takings claims,” Blumm wrote to the commission.

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