No hearing scheduled yet
By
EcoRI
A bevy of signs up and down Charlestown Beach Road all say the same thing. (Joanna Detz/ecoRI News)
A
bill that would give the public the right to walk on state beaches up to 10
feet above the seaweed line was introduced on March 28.
House Bill 8055 would
establish that the public has the right to be 10 feet above the
“recognizable high tide line” on any sandy or rocky shoreline. It
was introduced by Rep. Terri Cortvriend, D-Portsmouth, and House
Minority Leader Blake Filippi, R-Block Island.
A
12-member study commission examined state shoreline access issues for six
months, and supported expanding
the public’s right to pass along the shore up to the seaweed line. Individual
members disagreed on the additional of space needed beyond that for beach-goers
to access this right.
Private property owners and shoreline access advocates have been arguing over beach access for decades, as the commission learned over its six months of meetings.
The Rhode Island Constitution enshrines
rights to enjoy the privileges of the shore, but leaves unanswered the question
of where on the shore do those rights begin and private property owners’ end?
A state Supreme Court decision in 1982 clarified the boundary line at the mean high-water line, but that has its own problems. The actual mean high-water line is nearly impossible for any casual beach-goer to see, unless they happen to be packing sophisticated scientific equipment.
Shoreline advocates have long
called for changing the boundary line to the more visible seaweed line, where
high tide is marked on the sand by the debris it leaves behind.
The
bill has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, but is not yet
scheduled for a hearing.