CRMC issues annual ROW report

WAKEFIELD, December 15, 2011 –The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) has released its 2010-2011 annual report on rights-of-way in the state, “Designation of Public Rights-of-Way to The Tidal Areas of The State.” The report is available online at http://www.crmc.ri.gov/publicaccess/row2011.pdf.

From July 2010 through June 2011, the CRMC continued its ongoing efforts to discover and designate public rights-of-way to the tidal areas of Rhode Island, under its legislative mandate (RIGL 46-23-17). Beginning in 1978, this mandate tasked the Council with identifying and designating all public rights-of-way to the shore. To meet this charge, the CRMC created a Rights-of-Way Subcommittee. The report details actions of the subcommittee, as well as legal proceedings stemming from these activities and subsequent actions of the Council.

Significant actions during the reporting period include the continued tracking of legal cases that have resulted from the Subcommittee’s activities and actions regarding the proposed construction of a public boat launch ramp and parking facility at a CRMC-designated right-of-way.

While no new rights-of-way were designated during this time period, the Subcommittee was advised on the status and proceedings of issues pertaining to four issues: ongoing litigation between the City of Newport and the use of a portion of the Howard Wharf ROW by a liquor licensee; ongoing litigation regarding a challenge to the validity of the CRMC ROW at Clipper Way in Bristol; an ongoing investigation with the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office on potential rights-of-way and public beach access in the Town of Westerly; and the filing of a motion and involvement in a trial concerning a marina-related structure located within the boundaries of a CRMC ROW in East Greenwich.

According to the report, the goal of the CRMC is to designate at least one public right-of-way for each mile of shoreline. With 221 sites designated along 420 miles of Rhode Island shoreline, the Council is more than halfway to its goal

The Council continues its partnership with municipalities in the discovery of potential rights-of-way to the shore through the Harbor Management Planning process. Several cities and towns continue to work with the CRMC actively on this process; the Council will utilize the HMPs as a complement to its work toward designating ROWs. Two examples of this, which took place during the report period, are:

• A CRMC consistency review of the Town of North Kingstown draft HMP resulted in a current ROW Subcommittee investigation of three potential rights-of-ways that might be designated during the next report period; and
• Another similar review in Bristol, which identified one potential right-of-way to be designated soon by the Council.

The CRMC has created a number of public access opportunities by way of assent stipulations under Section 335 of the RI Coastal Resources Management Program (or Red Book). Section 335 stipulates that a public access plan must be prepared when the following activities are proposed: commercial and industrial development and redevelopment projects as defined in section 300.3; new and significant expansions to marinas as defined in section 300.4; and activities which involve the filling of tidal waters as defined in section 300.10, other than those considered as maintenance as defined in section 300.7.

The CRMC also established an Adopt-an-Access Program to form partnerships between the Council, municipalities and private groups or individuals to improve CRMC ROWs. The program works through a memorandum of understanding that establishes each partner’s role. To-date, 13 CRMC rights-of-way have been adopted under the program by a variety of groups.

For more information on the CRMC ROW designation process, go to the web site at http://www.crmc.ri.gov/publicaccess.html.