Westerly Sun — Groups file lawsuit over Fort Road designation

Westerly Town Hall / Westerly Sun FILE

May 6, 2023

By Ryan Blessing — WESTERLY — The Watch Hill Fire District and Watch Hill Conservancy fired a legal salvo Thursday over the Westerly Town Council’s attempts to designate a right of way on Fort Road, the popular access route to public lands on Napatree Point.

The fire district and the conservancy filed a lawsuit in Superior Court seeking a declaratory judgment that, they say, would protect the point by preventing what they called a “taking” by the town that violates their property rights.

Both plaintiffs argue that Fort Road is not and has not been a legal right of way, and are asking that the town be prevented from declaring it as such.

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