R.I. lawmakers want buyers of oceanfront property to know shore access law

Charlestown, RI- 11/17/21 - Property owners erect fences and post signs marking their territory on Charlestown Town Beach. Coastal regulators with the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council are tasked with protecting public beach access, often a contentious issue as private landowners seek to limit visitors. (Lane Turner/Globe Staff) Reporter: (Brian Amaral) Topic: (19RIcrmc)Lane Turner/Globe Staff

PROVIDENCE — State lawmakers are trying to build on last year’s landmark shoreline access law with new legislation, including one bill that would require more disclosure about access rights from sellers and buyers of oceanfront properties.

The bills were introduced by state Representative Terri Cortvriend, a Democrat of Portsmouth, and state Senator Victoria Gu, a Democrat of Charlestown.

“This package of bills gives towns and the (Coastal Resources Management Council) the tools needed to preserve walking trails and ensures new homebuyers won’t be surprised by existing public access near their home,” Cortvriend said in a news release Tuesday.

The bills would:

• Require sellers of oceanfront or shoreline property to disclose things like public access restrictions, coastal regulatory permits, or rights-of-way on the property, and require buyers to acknowledge in a disclosure form that they have read the public’s rights and privileges to the shore as part of last year’s law.
• Allow towns to abandon roads for walking, biking, or recreational purposes, not just abandon them to abutting property owners. Michael Rubin, a shore access advocate and former assistant attorney general, said the current way of abandoning roads can often lead to reduced access.
• Give the CRMC the ability to designate historic footpaths as public rights-of-way by a legal principle known as adverse possession. Right now there’s a requirement that paths have to be used by carriages or vehicles, not just by foot traffic, to be designated in this way.

“These bills will give the CRMC and municipalities more tools to preserve historic rights-of-ways so that every Rhode Islander can enjoy them,” Gu said in a news release.

Last year the state passed legislation giving people the right to access the shore if they are no more than 10 feet higher than the recognizable high tide line. Some property owners have filed lawsuits, which are ongoing.

So, too, are efforts to advance the cause of shoreline access. That’s welcome news to people like Mike Woods, chair of the New England Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.

“Backcountry Hunters and Anglers is thankful for Senator Gu and Representative Cortvriend’s continued commitment to protecting and enhancing public shoreline access in the Ocean State, and we’re excited to see each of these bills come before the General Assembly,” Woods said in a news release.