EastBayRI — CRMC orders public access to Nayatt seawall

An assent with the CRMC requires that the property owner install and maintain a sign or plaque at each end of the riprap retaining wall “clearly visible to the public, indicating that passage atop the riprap shall not be denied the public, per order of CRMC…” A trip to the property on Monday, Aug. 29 revealed a different sort of sign staked at the edge of the property. It reads: “Private property, No trespassing, No walking on seawall.”

PHOTO BY RICHARD W. DIONNE JR.

Aug 31, 2022

By Josh Bickford — The southernmost section of Elm Lane is easy to mistake for a driveway.

The short stretch of pavement, which is bookended by large bushes, travels downhill from Nayatt Road toward Narragansett Bay. As Elm Lane approaches the water, it swerves a bit and then terminates abruptly in a small grassy area. To the immediate south is the bay — large, blue and mostly flat on this mild mid-summer afternoon.

It is low tide, meaning that the concrete seawall, the large riprap boulders and a 15-foot section of seaweed-covered sand are exposed to the sun high overhead.

In just a few hours, when the tide rolls back in, the bay will migrate closer to the Nayatt Point homes and cover the sand and rocks. The water will lap up against the concrete wall or maybe splash over the top if there is enough wind.

At high tide, or really anywhere close to high tide, the top section of the seawall is all that stands between Narragansett Bay and the sprawling lawn at 85 Nayatt Road. Many locals remember it as the former home of professional golfer and commentator Brad Faxon, but today it is owned by Lance Sheffield and Holly Slater Sheffield, who purchased it in 2021 for nearly $4.6 million.

People looking to cross from one side of the seawall to the other are left with limited options, and they often resort to walking along the top of the concrete retaining wall. For years, dog walkers, beachcombers, joggers and fishermen crossed the seawall, either moving toward or away from Nayatt Point.

But a few months ago the owners of 85 Nayatt Road hired a security guard, installed alarms, and made it abundantly clear that their yard and the seawall were off-limits.

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