The Public’s Radio — COVID-19 heightens tensions over shoreline access in Rhode Island

Scott Keeley, left, and Mark London, right, talk in South Kingstown on Saturday, June 27, 2020, just outside the Charlestown Town Beach limits. In the background, private security guards patrol the beach area.
PHOTO BY ALEX NUNES

By Alex Nunes — This summer, advocates say new parking restrictions and actions by private property owners are making it harder for some beachgoers to enjoy a day at the shore. 

Scott Keeley is ready for some fun in the sun. 

He’s got a folding chair out, his fishing pole at his side, and a sign he’s stuck into the beach sand that reads “Shoreline Access Protected by the Rhode Island Constitution.”

He says he wants people at the Charlestown Town Beach to know they can move out into the sand beyond the town beach limits.

“The Constitution already says that we have access to it,” Keeley says. “When you come to the beach, spread out and use the whole shoreline. Don’t feel you have to stay inside the roped limits.” 

Keeley’s technically sitting in South Kingstown, just over the town line. He was arrested in this spot last year for trespassing. The town quickly dropped the charges and agreed to a $25,000 settlement. 

Keeley says, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s important people understand their rights so they can safely space themselves apart.

“This is a time when we need to spread along the shore, not be blocked from it,” Keeley says. 

The state Constitution protects public use of the entire Rhode Island shoreline, but it doesn’t define the boundary, so there’s long been disagreement about where public rights end and trespassing begins. 

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