It’s been on the books for only about a month, but already, Rhode Island’s new law on shore access rights is having an effect on the state’s beaches.
That includes Ballard’s Beach Resort on Block Island. The famed bar just steps from the ferry is locked in a dispute with the state’s coastal regulatory agency about what it can and can’t have on the beach there.
And in its most recent letter, sent on July 14, the Coastal Resources Management Council told a lawyer for Ballard’s that the bar had to remove snow fencing running perpendicularly to the water in part because of the new access law.
Ballard’s owner Steve Filippi told me on Tuesday that the fencing had already been rolled back 10 feet to comply with the new law.
”Ballard’s is enjoying a fun and busy 2023 summer season,” Filippi said in a text. “To be clear, Ballard’s is in full compliance” with the new shore access law, he added.
In other words: Because of the new law, a snow fence at Ballard’s that ran to the water is now 10 feet shorter. It’s a high-profile and concrete example of the way the law – which provides people access if they’re no more than 10 feet landward of the recognizable high tide line – is playing out in Rhode Island.
But a shorter fence won’t resolve all of Ballard’s issues with CRMC and the town of New Shoreham.
CRMC spokeswoman Laura Dwyer said in an e-mail Tuesday that even if the fence in question is no longer blocking lateral access, it’s still not permitted, according to CRMC’s previous findings, so Ballard’s has to remove it or apply for it. To simplify things a bit, CRMC issues approvals for building things along the shore and enforces the rules when people ignore them.
The July 14 CRMC letter, written by CRMC environmental scientist Brian Harrington, also took issue with the snow fencing to the north of the property along the jetty, which CRMC said appeared to have been installed on property that Ballard’s doesn’t own and wasn’t authorized. And the tiki bars on the beach also lacked CRMC approval, Harrington wrote. CRMC issued a cease-and-desist order to Ballard’s on June 22.
Ballard’s lawyer, Dean J. Wagner, previously told CRMC that the tiki bars didn’t need CRMC approval and has challenged the agency’s facts and legal conclusions on other matters. No doubt more volleys of letters will follow.
Ballard’s has been in the spotlight recently after a tumultuous 2022 season. Filippi says things at Ballard’s will be new and improved this year, but some on the island look at the continued issues over things like tiki bars on the beach as evidence to the contrary.
“I’m pleased that CRMC is actively engaged on this,” Keith Stover, first warden of the New Shoreham Town Council, said in an e-mail. “The real question is what’s next – the Notice of Violation was issued last year; the Cease and Desist last month; and this latest letter this past week. At some point, enforcement has to happen, or faith in the process will be shaken.”
Elsewhere in the state, CRMC has gotten a number of e-mails and phone calls about other access issues, Dwyer said, although a flurry of cease-and-desist orders hasn’t yet ensued.
Some private property owners are suing to block the law, but it remains in effect.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Brian Amaral can be reached at brian.amaral@globe.com. Follow him @bamaral44.