Rhode Island U.S. Sen. Jack Reed has asked the head of the Interior Department to get involved in the handling of a federal lighthouse property transfer in Westerly now that the town has said it wants to own the land instead of having the government give it to a private non-profit.
The Westerly Town Council voted 5-1 July 31 to send a letter to Reed, U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner, and other federal and state officials to ask for ownership of the land and associated roads and easements in order to maintain public shoreline access to the important fishing area.
Access advocates and fishermen are worried public use could be significantly curtailed if the land is given to the non-profit that was already selected by the National Parks Service, the Watch Hill Lighthouse Keepers Association, which currently manages the site under a license agreement and posts rules that say the property “is to be used only for sightseeing and casual strolling.”
In a letter sent two days after the council vote, Reed notified Interior Sec. Deb Haaland of the details of the town council resolution, which also calls for the Lighthouse Keepers to own the lighthouse buildings free of town property taxes. Reed said, “As this is a new development, I would ask that you or a senior member of your office connect with Shawn Lacey, the Town Manager of Westerly to discuss this resolution and the Town’s options.”
Reed adds, “Preserving our Nation’s heritage and access to our coasts and other wildlands is a priority for us both, and I look forward to your response.”
Reed also addressed the issue in an interview during a visit to Westerly last Friday.
“I hope everyone can get to sit down and work it out,” Reed said.
Reed said the matter is “ultimately the decision of the Department of Interior now,” and the department will need to establish what its options are in a situation where a surplus lighthouse property has already gone through the application process and been awarded to a non-profit organization, although the deed has not yet been formally transferred. “What can they do? They’ve already gone through the process,” Reed said. “But this issue of open access is really critical.”
Reed also highlighted the state’s new law establishing where people can be on public trust land along the shore in Rhode Island, which, he said, “has to be enforced and respected.” 
When contacted by email about the Watch Hill Lighthouse Thursday, the Interior Department’s director of communications, Melissa Schwartz, said, “We have nothing to share on this.”
A spokesperson for Rep. Magaziner, James Kwon, said, Magaziner made sure the Interior Department is aware of the town’s resolution and “hopes that the Department will convene the stakeholders involved to work out an agreement that is acceptable to all parties.”
Westerly Town Councilor Joy Cordio, who was among the council members to approve the resolution, said she’s been in contact with the National Parks Service and Reed’s office regarding the issue and was told the federal government has never awarded a lighthouse property under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act that was subsequently challenged by the municipality where the lighthouse is located. She said federal officials are trying to establish what the process would be going forward in the unprecedented scenario.
On Thursday, members of the Westerly Harbor Management Commission followed up the town council’s recent vote by approving a letter they want sent to members of Rhode Island’s congressional delegation and other authorities involved in the lighthouse matter to outline steps the town would take as the owner of the property in contrast to the Lighthouse Keepers plans for the land.
The town’s letter calls for expanded fishing hours before sunrise and after sunset, restroom facilities, including at least one Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant portable restroom, a shaded seating area, picnic tables, trash receptacles, water fountain, and a “minimalist ocean-going kayak launch.”
Under current rules, the Lighthouse Keepers restricts access to between 8 a.m. and sunset and does not provide bathrooms to the public. The site is the premier location for striped bass fishing in the state of Rhode Island, according to Jason Jarvis, a commercial fisherman and board president of the North American Marine Alliance who sits on the Westerly Harbor Management Commission.
The commission plan also calls for seeking designation of the lighthouse property as a town and state-designated right-of-way to the shore.
Councilor Cordio said the letter would now go before the town council at its next meeting Aug. 21, and she hopes the council would then instruct the town manager to send the letter.
Debate over the future of the Watch Hill Lighthouse property has caused considerable controversy in the coastal town, where public access issues have become a focal point of business before the town council and strained relations between Westerly’s coastal enclaves and the year-round parts of town.
The Watch Hill Lighthouse Keepers maintains that expressed fears about the future of public access at the property are unfounded accusations. Leadership of the organization says the group should be credited with the job it’s done stewarding the property since entering an agreement with the federal government nearly 40 years ago.
After the council vote to request ownership of the lighthouse property, Town Council President Edward Morrone, a Watch Hill property owner who was the lone no vote, abruptly quit the council, saying the episode had shown him that disputes over shoreline access in Westerly had gone too far.
The town is involved in two rights-of-way cases in Rhode Island Superior Court and has several potential paths to the shore under consideration for state designation before the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council.
[CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the Westerly Town Council vote count on the Watch Hill Lighthouse resolution. The vote was 5-1.]
Alex Nunes can be reached at anunes@thepublicsradio.org
