ROW SUBCOMMITTEE MEETING

Tuesday, April 8, 2025; 4:00 p.m.

Administration Building; Conference Room A
One Capitol Hill; Providence, RI

MINUTES

 

Subcommittee Members Present
Raymond Coia, Chair
Ronald Gagnon
Patricia Reynolds

Staff Present
Jeffrey Willis, Executive Director
Laura Miguel, Deputy Director
Anthony DeSisto, Legal Counsel
Mark Hartmann, Legal Counsel Asst

 

Chair Coia called meeting to order at 4:25 p.m.

1. Approval of Minutes for March 11, 2025

Motion: Ms. Reynolds
Second: Mr. Gagnon
Motion was carried on unanimous voice vote.

2. Staff Report

None.

3. Status and Update Presentation:

Buttonwoods ROW – Comstock Road, Warwick

• Richard Langseth the petitioner was present
• Christopher D’Ovidio, Esq present for Buttonwoods Beach Association (BBA)

Mr. Langseth explained that he had submitted a Motion for Summary Judgement to the Subcommittee, through CRMC staff, based on the fact that the BBA went to the General Assembly and asked them to accept a map to make it available the to Buttonwoods Fire District for taxation purposes and to make the road public. Mr. Langseth stated that the General Assembly accepted the map which presents the road as a public highway.

Mr. D’Ovidio addressed the Subcommittee requesting clarification of the process of the Right of Way Subcommittee regarding the presenting of a Memorandum of Law. Mr. D’Ovidio stated that the respondent should have received a copy of the Memorandum of Law prior to the meeting to be able to respond to the Subcommittee re: Memorandum of Law, for consideration in their deliberations.

Mr. D’Ovidio requested an extension of time to be able to review the ROW petition file as well as provide a response.

Mr. D’Ovidio also asked the Subcommittee to hone the issues as to what is being considered by the Subcommittee.

Both parties confirmed receipt of the record.

Mr. Langseth expressed concern that the BBA has had 6 years to respond to his initial petition for designation of ROW and has not responded until hiring an attorney just prior to the staff report being due. Mr. Langseth stated he believed they had plenty of time to be ready and most of the information in the file was submitted by the BBA.

Mr. Langseth asked that the Summary Judgement be scheduled for the May meeting.

Mr. D’Ovidio made his case for an extension and also stated that the motion for summary judgment needed to be denied if there are disputes of material fact. Mr. D’Ovidio also stated that by CRMC regulation the Summary of Judgement should not have been allowed as it was submitted less than the regulatory timeframe for consideration.

Mr. Langseth stated that he looked forward to the response to the petition and the summary of judgement and that he will be objecting to everything submitted on behalf of the BBA if the motion of summary judgement is denied.

Mr. D’Ovidio stated the will respond to the petition and will submit a response to the motion for summary judgement.

Mr. DeSisto advised the Subcommittee that it would be best to continue the matter and that the summary of judgement should be considered.

Mr. Gagnon motioned for the matter to be continued to the May 27th meeting of the ROW Subcommittee.

Ms. Reynolds seconded the motion.

Chair Coia called a Roll Call vote:
Mr. Gagnon Aye
Ms. Reynolds Aye
Chair Coia Aye

Motion to continue the matter to May 27th passed.

Mr. D’Ovidio to submit materials on May 12th and Mr. Langseth submit his response by May 16th

4. Status and Update Presentation:

Everett Avenue

Mr. DeSisto addressed the Subcommittee on these issues:

• The opposition has withdrawn their objection.
• Matter was heard by the ROW subcommittee and Council many years ago.
• The Town of Westerly is in favor of the ROW.
• Based on no opposition and recommendation by ROW Subcommittee, it is in order to be sent to the Council for the final designation.

Mr. DeSisto asked if the Memorandum should be review by the Subcommittee first or sent directly to the Council.

It was decided that the Memorandum would go directly to the Council.

Ms. Reynolds motioned to recommend to the Full council that Everett Avenue in Westerly be designated as a public right-of-way to the tidal waters of Rhode Island and give a travel of the matter in a written Memorandum from Attorney DeSisto. Mr. Gagnon seconded the motion.

Chair Coia called a Roll Call vote:
Mr. Gagnon Aye
Ms. Reynolds Aye
Chair Coia Aye

Motion carried.

Anthony Palazzolo stated that there was no objection to approving the ROW from the Westerly Harbor Management Commission.

Mr. Palazzolo also asked that the Committee take up the Water’s Edge ROW next.

5. Status and Update Presentation and Hearing of Pending Motions:

Spring Avenue Extension Right of Way

Parties Present:
William Conley, Town of Westerly
Sara O’Toole, Town of Westerly
Rondelle Boots, Attorney General’s Offices
Sean Lyness, representing Caroline Contrata
Joseph Farside representing Weekapaug Fire District

Responses received from AG’s office, Town of Westerly and Ms. Contrata regarding the Motion to Stay submitted by the Weekapaug Fire District.

Atty Farside addressed the Council on behalf of the Weekapaug Fire District asking that the Subcommittee stay the Spring Avenue Extension matter until the Superior Court litigation culminates. Mr. Farside explained that the lawsuit had been re-filed pursuant to directive by Judge Raspallo in Washington County Superior Court and that the lawsuit would decide that the district owns Spring Avenue Extension outright and has the right to exclude others, including the general public from use of Spring Avenue Extension. Mr. Farside stated that Judge Raspallo did not want to see delays in the case and set a deliberate schedule.

Atty Farside stated that the District is still waiting to hear from the AG’s office on their request for documents being withheld and would submit a motion to compel if the Subcommittee proceedings move forward.

Atty Farside stated that Save The Bay was not prepared at deposition and did not provide documents requested.

Atty Farside talked about deposition of witnesses stating that there are no documents stating this is a ROW, not one witness could give definite proof of ROW, they did not know the exact location and admitted that there was no evidence of a pathway. Proponents asking for ROW designation based on zoning maps with stampings from 1939.

Atty Farside stated that the proponents moved to dismiss the Superior Court case but motions of that kind were denied in the past and would be denied again based on their submittal.

Atty Farside stated that there was no reason to continue a parallel proceeding and that the District will suffer irreparable harm – time and money of the taxpayers on both sides.

Atty Farside ended by stating that for the reasons given, the Subcommittee should stay the Spring Avenue Extension matter pending the outcome of the Superior Court litigation.

Atty Conley, Town of Westerly addressed the Subcommittee and stated the following:

• This is a significant issue for the CRMC, the ROW Subcommittee and the citizens of the Town of Westerly and State of Rhode Island.
• What this motion really is about is the question of whether or not the ROW Subcommittee and the CRMC has jurisdiction to determine rights-of-way to the tidal waters in the State of Rhode Island.
• If you choose to stay the matter, you would relinquish your jurisdiction over the determination of ROW to the coastal waterways of RI which is one of the council’s primary explicit responsibilities – designation of public rights-of- way to tidal waters- which has been exercised 337 times over 216 sites in RI.
• Whatever Superior Court does with the case, cannot interfere with CRMC’s jurisdiction and responsibility of determining ROWs.
• Intervenor not included in Superior Court case.
• 27 facts were stipulated to the Subcommittee in June of 2024, which still need to be heard by this Subcommittee. Why is this motion to stop you from conducting your hearing and to stop the Council from conducting its hearing being brought now?
• It would appear that the District does not want the Subcommittee to hear the evidence/facts.
• Two means by which a public right of way can be established – through common law recipient dedication and through statutory dedication, and both of those means are satisfied in this instance.
• 1939 revisions to a plat, Local process to support a finding of statutory dedication.
• 1920 plat, recorded in 1921, map of Weekapaug Beach belonging to Weekapuag Beach and Land Co. establishes incipient dedication. 1886 plat recorded in 1915 puts a map of Weekapaug Beach belonging to John A. Taylor further supports the incipient dedication. 1911 plat recorded between 1911 and 1913 of the property of the Weekapaug Beach and Land Imp Co. supports incipient dedication. We would like the opportunity to build a chronology for the Subcommittee.
• Representation of new lawsuits filed, one of declaratory judgment requests says that the Town and the RIAG’s office should be barred from questioning WFD’s ownership but should be barred from asserting a public right-of-way through the CRMC process.
• Where is the irreparable harm that would be had by WFD? There is nothing in the papers and nothing in the presentation to you that suggests there's a real, imminent injury. Financial and economic matters cannot be irreparable harm.
• If you deny the Town of Westerly and its citizens access to the Subcommittee historic jurisdiction that the RI Supreme Court says we have, we are irreparably harmed.
• RI the Legislature also directed the Council to establish its proceedings. It was done by establishing a process.
• The public has a right to be heard
• Don’t give up your jurisdiction, get to the truth. Determine if this is a ROW, hear the evidence, don’t cut out the public and protect the process that has provided 216 ROW to coastal tidal waters of the state of RI.

Randell Boots for RIAGs office:

• Justice Raspallo has never said that these proceedings should cease.
• This jurisdiction does belong with you.
• Please do not set precedent.
• You are not disagreeing with Superior Court by keeping this matter here.
  Many of the counts in the complaint that has been filed in the Superior Court
  are irrelevant to this proceeding.
• The Privilege log was in the hands of the Fire District for about 7 months
  before returning it to the RIAG’s with broad issues.
• Would like the subcommittee proceedings to go forward.
• Please deny the motion to stay.

Sean Lyness for Intervenor Caroline Contrata:

• Judicial proceedings are just different forums than administrative ones
  because judicial proceedings do not allow for public participation.
• It is important that the public be part of this
• Please deny the stay.

Joseph Farside -- Rebuttal

I don't want to bluster about this being a jurisdiction issue; all we are asking for is a stay while Superior Court looks at our proof and assesses whether that proof is enough that we should be subjected, not only to this process, but to all of the discovery issues that we've been subjected to over the last couple of years. To the cloud on our title, to the fact that there's going to be an appeal by some party after this proceeding ends, this fact-finding proceeding ends.

Ms. Contrata was left out of lawsuit as she did not want to be included in first lawsuit.

A Stay is not foreign concept; The RI Supreme Court laid out the elements in the seminal case Narragansett Electric Co v. Harsch, 367 A.2d 195

Counsel spoke of an opportunity to build chronology. We’d love to see the chronology.

All we ask is that we be granted a reprieve from this particular proceeding while we put on our evidence in Superior Court before Judge Raspallo, he has a chance look at our affirmative proof, determine if that proof is enough, as we think it is, to get us out of this process and end the Spring Avenue Extension dispute for good. Period of time to get summary judgement in that case -- 8-10 months’ time.

No Questions from Subcommittee

Atty Boots stated that the Superior Court is not the fact finder here. The ROW Subcommittee is the Fact Finder here.

Atty Farside stated that the Superior Court is a separate proceeding with separate burdens of proof.

Atty DeSisto stated that the arguments are legal as opposed to factual, to determine whether or not there should be a stay of these proceedings while the Superior Court case is going forward.

• Under 46-23-6 Subsection 5, jurisdiction for the determination of these public rights-of-way to the tidal waters of Rhode Island is granted to the agency.
• The administrative remedies haven't been exhausted yet for this. This came before the Superior Court case was filed by the Weekapaug Fire District.
• No Stay has been issued from the Superior Court.
• You have original jurisdiction for matters of this nature.

Atty DeSisto stated that his recommendation would be to deny this motion to stay and have this matter proceed forward.

No questions for Atty DeSisto from Subcommittee.

Mr. Gagnon stated that he agreed that the Subcommittee continue the process and motioned for the denial of the Motion to Stay. Ms Reynolds also agreed that the Subcommittee continue the process and seconded the motion to deny the Motion to Stay.

Chair Coia called a Roll Call vote:

Mr. Gagnon Aye
Ms. Reynolds Aye
Chair Coia Aye

Motion to Stay is denied.

6. Adjournment:

Motion: Ms. Reynolds
Second: Mr. Gagnon

Motion carried on unanimous voice vote.

Meeting adjourned at 5:35 p.m.

 

Minutes respectfully submitted,
Lisa A. Turner, Recording Secretary

 

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