The Public’s Radio — R.I. Superior Court finds no wrongdoing in coastal agency’s mediation with Block Island marina owner

Champlin's is one of three commercial marinas in Block Island's Great Salt Pond.
SOFIE RUDIN / THE PUBLIC'S RADIO

Sep 9, 2021

By Sofie Rudin — Rhode Island’s coastal agency followed the law when it went into mediation with a Block Island marina owner. That’s the decision released Thursday by Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Lanphear. 

The mediation was aimed at resolving an 18-year battle over Champlin's Realty Associate's proposal to extend its marina 240 feet into Block Island’s Great Salt Pond. Local groups said that would restrict public access and harm the pond’s ecology.

The state Coastal Resources Management Council denied Champlin's application in 2006, and the two have been litigating the case ever since. Last November, the CRMC voted to go into mediation with Champlin’s, and the two struck a deal for a more limited expansion. 

The mediation was challenged by the town of New Shoreham, several local environmental groups and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha. They argued that the mediation violated state law and the CRMC’s own policies because the agency did not allow public input and did not explain how the mediated agreement addressed the reasons the CRMC previously denied the application. 

The Superior Court rejected the concerns raised by these groups. Lanphear wrote that the mediation “conformed to conventionally accepted standards of behavior.” But he left the door open for the opponents of the marina expansion to challenge the “fairness and legality” of the deal itself. 

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