Inside the expensive battle for beach paths in Rhode Island | Rhode Island PBS Weekly
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 14 окт 2024
- Activists say there should be a public path to the Quonochontaug Barrier Beach. The Weekapaug Fire District says they have no right of way. As part of a collaboration with The Public’s Radio, reporters Isabella Jibilian and Alex Nunes take an in-depth look at the controversy over beach access consuming Westerly, Rhode Island.
About Rhode Island PBS Weekly: Rhode Island PBS Weekly is a Newsmagazine anchored in journalism that searches for truth and examines today's most important regional and local issues. Viewers are introduced to individuals, ideas and places in Rhode Island and beyond that they won't see anywhere else.
Rhode Island PBS Weekly airs Sundays/Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m.
Subscribe to the Rhode Island PBS RUclips Channel: bit.ly/3wVZSY7
Follow Rhode Island PBS on Instagram: bit.ly/40J0rT9
Like Rhode Island PBS on Facebook: bit.ly/3l1jE1K
Follow Rhode Island PBS on Twitter: bit.ly/3Yoi3RX
For more Rhode Island PBS Weekly, visit www.ripbs.org/w...
Now that I watch this video, I think I have a new beach to explore!
A lawn to piss on too, happy travels.
Go for it! they don't OWN the shoreline!
Omg the “private property” over shoreline. Stop letting people build houses on shorelines & keep beaches as nature intended.
Completely agree.
Obviously these awful miscreants have been allowed to take over and destroy a public ROW for years without any consequences because their money is more important than the people they’re supposed to be serving.
How do figure that? The access is always open to the taxpayers of the fire district that the district serves, and for nine months of the year it is open to the people they don't serve.
@@roynajecki1100 Its open for 9 months because thats when the rich are gone. They don't live here year round.
The ocean state! But only for the rich!
I bet those rich pricks let "some people" in to clean their homes and mow their lawns though.......
Same in Mass the rich swarm in and it's all over better move out the way.
Clear the old access
About ten years ago, a RI DEM officer confronted me for walking out to the point at Quonochontaug to do some striper fishing as I had always done since I was a kid. I told the DEM officer that the law in RI was ten feet from the high tide line was public property. She reluctantly agreed and had to let me continue my walk to the point. That land was always allocated as a wildlife refuge and accessible to the public. Then suddenly the town of Westerly started selling it off to the elites so they could build their palaces. To me, that is the real crime here. How and who allowed this land to be sold for profit?
The same people who say they own everyone's property and make billions off of property tax every year
Keep beaches public! Poor moody beach in Wells Maine was taken from us, only now making headway on getting it back.
The filthy rich act filthy.
🔥
I want to win the lottery and become filthy rich, just like you
@@Do.Christ Some people won't be filthy rich because they share the wealth tho.
Absolutely terrible behavior blocking people to public spaces.
So you think the general public should able to cross the yard of the neighboring house at any time to get to the beach? Or go across my yard to get to the town forest behind my house?
@@roynajecki1100a path connected to a parking lot is not your yard
@@planetofthegames3174 The deed to my property says it is mine.
@@roynajecki1100 🤡 your deed doesn’t mean anything if it’s not properly recorded or mistakes were made. You know how many times people think they own something and turns out they don’t? And then a land surveyor confirms that they don’t because actual due diligence is done to prove it. History backs up that the path is public, and why else would the path be there for decades and decades when you can already access the beach from your house? And why on earth does it matter in the first place, are you scared of a handful of people enjoying the beach not even directly behind your house? How insecure are you with your manhood to fight people about a little beach path. What a loser 😆
@@roynajecki1100 what your deed says is meaningless if it wasn’t recorded properly, and all it takes is someone to point it out, call a land surveyor, and provide documents if necessary. You know how many times people think they own something and they actually don’t because of that? A land surveyor who does their due diligence will be able to point that right out, unless of course you pay them off because you’re privileged, corrupt, and have power in your local area. How insecure do you have to be with your manhood to fight people over a small beach path and spend millions doing so lol. You could’ve helped hundreds of people, in your own community at that, with that money instead of crying over a handful of people enjoying the beach occasionally. Backwards thinking from a feeble minded fool.
I’ve been going to RI for years and for decades people always had a right of way to the ocean. I enjoy fishing, calming and relaxing by the ocean. In recent years the overwhelming development of this pristine coastline is being closed off to the public. I can understand why anyone would not want strangers walking across their property, I wouldn’t want that either but you shouldn’t be allowed to change the rules.
I live in CT and almost our entire shoreline is restricted for public access. Between private property and towns closing off beach access it’s pretty discouraging. In recent years the CT legislature passed legislation that stipulates towns must allow access to their beaches. This is accomplished by allowing non residents to purchase passes to the town area’s beaches.
Hopefully there will be some good that’ll benefit everyone. Access to the ocean shouldn’t not be limited to those who are fortunate enough to be able to afford a vacation home on the shoreline.
Not only beach access but parking also
Rich people always think they own everything. They always talk about poor people entitlements, but I have never met a more entitled man than this man being interviewed with his property. “It’s mine he says.”
At what is the time stamp does he say "It's mine...".? I can't find it. I do hear him say that it belongs to the Weekapaug Fire District which is the collection of homeowners in that area.
“We like the facts, the facts support us”, and we have a limitless supply of money to fight off the peasants.
@@marthabakry7353 I don't live in that fire district so I don't know what the members approved regarding the cost of litigation, but you imply having inside knowledge of them approving spending a limitless supply of money. The lawyer for the plaintiffs is Michael Rubin, former RI Assistant Attorney General, and he has a reputation for knowing rights-of-way law and environmental law better than most RI lawyers. So I'm confident that he will present an excellent case for the plaintiffs.
Yet I don't understand if this is beach access is so important to Westerly residents why the Town Council hasn't exercised the power of eminent domain to acquire the access, just as the nearby Town of Coventry has done to acquire Johnson's Pond (Flat River Reservoir). I would think the cost of that process would be less than what is being spent on lawyers.
This is an election year, VOTE!
My neighbor owns all the way up to the water on my end of the property. he says I can't access the water because he owns it. little does he know the water in our state is mostly owned by the electric companies... So good luck trying to keep me off the pond... Oh yeah, and by the way, he doesn't live there, eleven months out of the year.
In The state of HAWAII, ALL BEACHES are OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. AND all parking is FREE.
The Hawaiians have the right idea- the ALOHA spirit. ALOHA means LOVE!❤
People who own property think they own the beach. They shouldn’t be able to own the beach.
True, and that is guaranteed by the RI Constitution and Royal Charter since the 1600's. But inwards of the recognizable high tide line plus 10 feet the land may be privately owned.
Clear the old ROW if it’s still there
This is happening all over the country.
It is private private property with an easement to allow public access . A 50 foot right of way has been shown to exist on a private property , thus , thus is the public .
New jersey went through this in 1984. 40 years ago is about right
Sad part is where I live tiverton little Compton areas all private. I served my country protected my country but yet I can’t get to the beach. Ridiculous. Can’t have just one public path. Nope. The public beach’s in this area are insanely expensive..but so is everything in today’s world. 🤷♂️
"I have seen all the evidence, there is nothing that shows a right of way"
"What about this map from the 40's say 'right of way?'"
"Speak to my legal team, please"
😆
A map does not legally create a right of way unless the Town accepts and recognizes it as such. Also per the law it appears it needs to have been annually used by wheeled vehicles (such as a farmers cart, wagon, car, truck, etc.). In my town I've viewed several surveyors maps of the same piece of land , and one showed a right of way that don't appear to really exist. Turns out it was a path used by neighboring property owner to drive his pick up truck in the woods to dump junk. Anybody can go into town hall and get a map recorded but it doesn't always mean what is depicted is legally binding. Nowadays when a map is recorded the town puts a stamp on the map stating that the map itself isn't creating a new property boundary, subdivision, right of way, etc. Generally the map itself is pictorial reference to what is being said by the words on the deed.
@@roynajecki1100 right, but context clues here, like the public parking spaces, aerial photos, the map saying right of way, and eyeeitness testimony, tell us there's a public right of way. the only rebuttal was essentially "nut uh, it's private"
People throw the term “dipshit” around willy nilly but then you have Bob McCan!
Rich people restricting peasant’s from accessing the beach is disgusting
Same rich people that take peoples property through eminent domain don't want you anywhere near theirs.
Do what Oregon did. No building on the water side of the roadways. I lived on a lake in Michigan once and never again. People placed swing sets, huge propane tanks, trees and sheds on public right aways, trying to hide/close them. Horrid, selfish people.
Me, me, me, me. Who owns our natural resources?
In the USA they are owned by individuals, companies, states and the federal government. For example, I own the land and trees on my property and the state owns the land and trees behind my property.
There’s parking for about 8 cars there. Just open the path and the people will be happy and let it go.
who pays taxes on it?
So, I guess they own the ocean…
No, the RI Constitution and State Law states the public can walk upon and use the waters and shoreline up to the recognizable high tide line plus 10 feet. None of that has ever been owned by private individuals. The state constitution does not say land inwards of that 10 foot line is automatically public property. Though there are places where the state has bought land inwards of the 10 foot lines, such as Salty Brine Beach, Goddard Park, Scarborough, Colt State Park, etc.
they don't want the great unwashed on their beach.
I think they want to reserve daytime access for three months of the year to the homeowners in their fire district that pay the fire district tax whether they have washed or not. My fire district tax is about $500 per year on top of my town property tax, so I suspect their district taxpayers want something for their money.
I have been a RIMS member for 50 years.We have been using that area for camping and fishing .The wealthy there have been trying to stop our access for all of that time
“I don’t know why they built public parking.” What a dipshift
Bob needs to get over himself. Karma !!!! You don’t own the beach!!!
True, he doesn't own the beach and he didn't claim that he did. The fire district claims they own the land inwards of the 'recognizable high tide line'. Below that line (the water side) is public.
@@roynajecki1100 He is trying to stop people from using a beach access that has been available to the public for years and years, it even has a parking lot. I am sure there are many homes and businesses near by that utilize this access. He might as well have claimed he owns the beach!
I live in a beach town in SC, homeowners and HOAs make it near impossible to access the beach. If they took away a public access in my town it would be devastating to those who can’t afford to own an oceanfront home.
@@refosco1993 In Rhode Island there are dozens of legally recognized rights-of-way to coastal areas. The CRMC on their website has a map of them. And in Westerly there is already a public access beach over a mile long, so it's not as though folks in that town don't have easy access to the beach. As to the Fire District parcel having a right-of-way that's a matter for Superior Court to decide. I've read the RI General Law on the subject and not being a lawyer I don't fully understand it. But in my reading of the law it sounded like the right-of-way had to have continuous use (ie at least once a year) by a wheeled vehicle like a farm cart, wagon, etc, or the land owner had to acknowledge that the public had a right to cross the land. Anyway this shakes out it will be interesting to read the Superior Court decision.
"Privately owned paths to the shore, that have been used for a period of ten consecutive years by the public, may become public ROWs if the requirements of Chapter 34-7 of the Rhode Island General Laws are met. This method is commonly referred to as an easement by prescription. In order to create a public ROW by this method, the public has the burden of establishing actual, open, notorious, hostile and continuous use of a way under a claim of right for 10 years. In addition, the law specifically does not allow a public ROW to be established by footpaths; the pathways must have been used by carriages or vehicles."
@@roynajecki1100 Ok boomer…. Don’t waste your energy on me though, trust that I won’t be raising from the south anytime soon to go to the beach in Rhode Island, especially if this is how the locals act!
Didn’t know about this. Going to protect my public access rights this weekend.
These clowns love their “privacy” but when they get damage from storms, they sure as hell want their public socialist handout for repairs.
Why not use eminent domain for something good for once?
It's horrible we have all this shoreline we just can't use it sad in every way we still fighting the same fight every year for people who use these houses just for summer and think they are better then everyone
‘Bob’ is what I think every Florida condo HOA president is like.
this doesnt really exist on the west coast thousands of miles of beach access are for the public!
I remember I was 11 years old and I was down in point Judith. I would go down there every Friday or Saturday and I would catch lobsters and crabs and go fishing.
I had a couple locals that had called the DEM. Didn’t like the noise I made skateboarding down to the docks, even though I had to walk most of it because it was mostly sand.
I was told I wasn’t allowed to come back and I was being a nuisance and shortly after that decided to start hanging out and eventually took up smoking pot on the weekends
This was in the late 90s
@@honestlynate7922 I hope ya smoked it on the beach
Sorry folks, the beach belongs to us all.
Fight tooth and nail for public access to public land
How does the town fire department…..a government entity…..have PRIVATE property rights?
Rich people are entitled to everything, or so they feel.
Westerly Rhode Island is a total crap hole anyway. I lived there for a while and I can tell you that after coming back 15 years later, that place has fallen into crap. The only new stuff is corporate stuff that’s leading you to the beach. Otherwise total shit hole.
But there is no private beaches there private property, but i believe Rhode Island has that in Law no private beaches
Correct, but ten feet above (inwards) of the recognizable high tide line is usually private property. There are many exceptions where it is public property, such as Narragansett Town Beach, Colt State Park, Misquamicut State Beach, Goddard Park, etc.
I live nearby and I've been going to Weekapaug for over 50 years, both as a season member and as a regular visitor. I don't find the restrictions onerous only because there's public options minutes away in both directions (Quonnie Beach - it's the other "half" of Weekapaug- and Misquamicut.) And since I prefer going later in the day, there are no restrictions at Weekapaug anyways.
I question whether the "peoples" radio can impartially report on an issue that involves private property rights. Beware those who want to take your property for their use, it's a slippery slope.
So all those septic tanks spew into the ocean.....raise the fecal count in the water and close the beaches maybe the fire district could grow a pair and install sewers
Failed septic systems and cesspools had to be replaced per the RI Cesspool Act of 2007.
Adverse possession. Public using "private" property for years conveys a right.
So if they make rules like time limits I’m certain they think that also gives them the “authority” to exercise power over Rhode Islanders visiting that beach. This will eventually lead to use of force scenarios which I believe is what they really want. Power and violence. Open the beaches!
Can they have the land surveyed by an engineering contractor?
I'm a bit astounded at some of the comments. It seems some people think that you can cross anybody's property to get to the beach. Some commenters think if you own property next to the ocean, Narragansett Bay, a state/town park or forest, etc. think you can't prevent them from crossing over your property to get to the public property. Since the 1600's Rhode Island salt water shoreline is open to the public up to the recognizable high tide line. Yes, that's easy to do if you have a rowboat or kayak. But to get access over land in the past hundred years the towns and State has purchased lots of land to make access readily available to over seven miles of shoreline, such as Misquamicut, Narragansett Town Beach, Goddard Park, Colt State Park, etc. In addition, the CRMC has maps of public access points to dozens of shoreline places. True not every mile of shoreline has access from a town road but if the town or state really wants public access they can acquire it through eminent domain.
As for this case it seems the RI Superior Court will make the judgement based on the law and evidence presented by the RI Attorney General and the Fire District.
Is somebody paying taxes on these areas?
Homeowners and property owners in the fire district pay a tax to the fire district. That tax is in addition to the property tax they pay to the town.
Native Lands.
Can they just use Plain ol' english to explain this,,,,, too much blah blah blah. Not enough facts!! Can they just say 'The People with beachhouses think they OWN the beach'
Can everyone stop crying about the beach?
nobody should be able to own the beach,
True, and nobody does. The issue is public access over the dry land to get to the beach.
That man looks absolutely miserable, you can see it in his old, sad eyes. I pity him, wholeheartedly.