The Rhode Island Senate passed a shoreline access bill Thursday that would allow the public to exercise its shoreline rights up to 10 feet landward of the seaweed line.
Under the Rhode Island Constitution, the public can do things like collect seaweed, fish, walk, and leave the beach to go swimming along the shoreline, but the state Constitution gives no boundary for where those rights end and private property rights can be enforced.
The line currently used is based on a state Supreme Court ruling from the 1980s that says people can access up to the mean 18.6-year high tideline, a marker many people say is difficult to determine. Disagreement over where people are allowed to be on the beach has led to confrontations in the summer months between beachgoers and property owners.
One of the bill’s sponsors, state Sen. Victoria Gu, says she hopes the bill will help eliminate confusion.
“We’re trying to clarify things for both the public and for the property owners,” Gu said. “I think the key part is that it’s a visible boundary that you can see as you’re walking along the beach.”
In order for a shoreline access bill to make it to Gov. Dan McKee’s desk, House lawmakers will first have to amend their proposed legislation to move the boundary from 6 feet beyond the seaweed line to 10 feet, as outlined in the Senate bill.
The Senate has already amended its bill to say that, when multiple seaweed lines are present on a portion of the shore, people should use the most seaward line, a change intended to win over House lawmakers.
State Rep. Terri Cortvriend, one of the House bill’s sponsors, says Speaker Joseph Shekarchi supports making the 10 foot amendment, which she considers a “more conservative approach” now that the distinction about multiple seaweed lines has been added.
“I do think there’s agreement,” Cortvriend said when asked if she thought passage of the bill in the House is likely.
Cortvriend said she hopes a House vote will happen next week, but that she’s not sure where the governor stands on the issue.
In an interview last year, McKee indicated he was open to a similar bill introduced by Cortvriend that came after a special House commission studied the issue amid surging activism around the issue of coastal access.
“The principle of the idea I’m on board with,” McKee said at the time. “If it comes to the desk, we’ll evaluate the policy and then determine whether it actually fits the need or whether it’s an overreach.”
Alex Nunes can be reached at anunes@thepublicsradio.org
