Projo — Coastal property owners dislike shoreline access bill. Will they sue to stop it?

East Beach in Charlestown. Under H 8055, the seaweed deposited by recent high tides would be a “recognizable high tide line,” and the public would be allowed to go 10 feet above it. The Providence Journal, File

April 6, 2022

By Antonia Noori Farzan — Is the General Assembly willing to throw its weight behind an idea with broad popular support, knowing that it's all but guaranteed to lead to lawsuits?

That was the main question left to be answered after the shoreline access bill introduced by Rep. Terri Cortvriend, D-Middletown, and Rep. Blake Filippi, R-Block Island, received its first hearing on Tuesday night. 

H 8055 would establish that the public has the right to be 10 feet above the "recognizable high tide line," where seaweed or other visible markers have been left by the receding tide. Proponents, some of whom waited several hours to testify, described it as a common-sense solution to longstanding conflicts along the coastline.

"This is not just about if you live in Westerly, or if you live in Weekapaug," testified South Kingstown resident Susan Cornacchia. "The people in Woonsocket should have exactly as much access to the shore as anyone else here — the same amount of access as people who abut the shore."

Meanwhile, a handful of lawyers and coastal property owners made the case that the bill would be an unconstitutional taking of private property and was sure to face legal challenges.

…