Projo — How much of RI’s shoreline is the public entitled to? Commission seeks clarity

Dec 9, 2021

By Antonia Noori Farzan — Three summers ago, Scott Keeley set out to make a point about his constitutional right to the shoreline, and collect some seaweed for his garden while he was at it.

He succeeded on the first count: After a security guard accused him of trespassing in front of a beachfront home, he was arrested, only to have the charges dropped when South Kingstown police realized they couldn't prove he’d done anything wrong. The incident sparked pretests that led to renewed interest in Rhode Islanders’ fundamental right to use their own coastline.

But the bag of seaweed that he’d hoped to use as fertilizer got lost in the chaos.

“I don’t have high hopes for a great legacy, but I would love to be the last person illegally arrested for trespassing on the Rhode Island shore,” Keeley said recently. “I’m sure other people have loftier goals in life, but I like that one.”

Keeley’s arrest — and the $25,000 settlement he was later awarded — highlighted a longstanding problem: Hardly anyone can identify where the publicly owned shoreline ends and waterfront homeowner’s private property begins.

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