The Watch Hill Fire District filed a lawsuit Thursday, asking a Rhode Island Superior Court judge to invalidate the town of Westerly’s designation of a public path to Napatree Point and bar the town from ever again asserting that a public right-of-way exists to the popular summer destination.
The district is also asking that the town be prevented from marking or building a right-of-way while the court considers the case, or “directing the public to cross” parcels on Napatree Point owned by the fire district or Watch Hill Conservancy.
The area is already used year-round by people to walk onto the Napatree Point peninsula, although the fire district restricts vehicles. Shoreline rights advocates say pedestrian access is poorly marked and should be more clearly designated so beachgoers can know where they’re allowed to visit.
The district says it’s taking legal action with the conservancy to protect the fragile ecosystem of Napatree Point and defend its property rights from a so-called taking by the town of Westerly. The state of Rhode Island, which owns land on Napatree Point along with the town, is also being sued by the district.
The dispute is over the Fort Road right-of-way along Watch Hill Cove that was designated a public path to the shore across a fire district parking lot through a resolution by the Westerly Town Council in 2008. The fire district says that designation is not legitimate and that it rightfully owns the land the “alleged” right-of-way goes through.
The district filed its lawsuit along with the Watch Hill Conservancy after months of recent debate on Fort Road before the Westerly Town Council. Much of that discussion has been about the town taking steps to mark the designated public right-of-way to make it more visible to visitors to the summer resort area.
“The Town’s current efforts are misinformed and misguided and will threaten over 70 acres of conservation property, pedestrian safety, and will result in a loss of public parking,” the district said in a statement emailed to The Public’s Radio.
The Watch Hill Fire District argues there is misinformation being circulated about private property rights in the Napatree Point area as well as the district’s stance on beach access. The fire district says it’s fine with allowing the public to use Napatree Point – and has for decades – but only under terms the district sets. The district’s statement says there were “well over 40,000 visits to Napatree in 2022 alone.”
“The Fire District has worked for decades financially and otherwise to preserve and protect Napatree and its unique natural environment,” the district’s statement said. “At the same time, the public has enjoyed continuous access to this beautiful conservation area.”
When reached by phone, Westerly Town Council President Edward Morrone said he could not comment on the lawsuit because it’s pending litigation. He said town councilors will be briefed on the case by the town’s legal counsel at their next meeting, May 15.
A spokesperson for Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha says Neronha’s office is reviewing the district’s complaint, and while Neronha has prioritized the issue of shoreline access, his office is not yet formally involved in the case and would not comment further on pending litigation.
Napatree Point was once the site of the U.S. government’s Fort Mansfield, but its parcels were sold off to individual property owners generations ago. The majority of the land was eventually acquired by the fire district, which oversees the area with the Watch Hill Conservancy.
On its website, the conservancy says the 86-acre Napatree Point Conservation Area is “owned and managed” by the conservancy and fire district, although other private property owners have land on the peninsula, in addition to the state and town. Those other property owners are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
In declaring Fort Road a public right-of-way in 2008, the town noted that it owns land on the peninsula, and a right of passage to Napatree Point extends to the public at large. The resolution noted that “historical photographs, town meeting and utility records and other reliable archival information indicates the historic use of Fort Road as a Public access way to Napatree Point.”
A Westerly real estate attorney had previously reviewed the title history on Napatree Point and determined there was not sufficient evidence that a town road existed. But, he said, other evidence outside the land records should be considered.
“Anecdotal evidence of continued, uninterrupted, unchallenged use by private citizens for a significant period of time may aid in determining if the roadway is open and apparent and in use by the public,” the attorney, Charles Soloveitzik, wrote.
Under the stipulations of a 1988 regulatory permit from the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, the Watch Hill Fire District agreed not to restrict public pedestrian access to Napatree Point in order to get permission to build a bulkhead at Watch Hill Cove.
There is no CRMC-designated public right-of-way in the area, although the Westerly Town Council is expected to take up a proposal to send the Fort Road right-of-way to CRMC for review and possible state designation. It’s unclear how the fire district’s lawsuit might affect that process.
Advocacy around protecting the Fort Road right-of-way has intensified since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as shoreline rights have emerged as a significant issue in South County and elsewhere in Rhode Island. The debate over Fort Road got further attention after a new town council, considered to be more in favor of public access to the shore than previous councils, took office in 2022 and advocates for shoreline access began speaking out at town council meetings.
During one meeting, Westerly Town Council member Philip Overton even suggested that the town could take land in Watch Hill by eminent domain in order to protect public access.
The fire district has also been involved in the issue behind the scenes, submitting its own memos to the town.
The right-of-way is also at the center of conflict of interest accusations against Westerly’s town council president, Edward Morrone. Morrone worked as a consultant for the fire district and Watch Hill Conservancy beginning in 2019, after leaving office as town council president, up until 2022, before being elected to the town council and voted in by other council members as president.
Morrone said his work involved monitoring town meetings that could affect the two entities and monitoring the status of a grant awarded to the fire district by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management to improve public access to Napatree Point in the area where the district says a public right-of-way does not exist.
Facing persistent criticism from the public as well as pushback from some of his fellow councilors, Morrone recently sought an advisory opinion from the Rhode Island Ethics Commission on the matter. He said by phone he expects a written decision soon but would not be able to provide The Public’s Radio today with a copy of the question he submitted to the ethics commission.
Morrone is also a property owner in the Watch Hill Fire District. Previously, the Ethics Commission ruled a Westerly Planning Board member from the Weekapaug Fire District should not participate in discussions or votes on a contested right-of-way in that fire district because of the effect it could have on the value of his property.
So far, Morrone has refused to recuse himself from discussions on Fort Road, despite claims by members of the public and fellow councilor Joy Cordio that he’s been using his position to steer discussions and decisions in favor of his former clients in Watch Hill. The town’s solicitor, William Conley, said at a previous council meeting he does not see a problem with Morrone being involved in the Fort Road issue.
The Watch Hill Fire District is a state chartered entity that has its own fire department. But it operates much like a real estate company with benefits to Watch Hill property owners. It manages beaches, parking lots, and even operates its own antique carousel.
Shoreline access advocates say the fire district’s intent is to privatize the popular summer community, a claim the district strongly denies.
Alex Nunes can be reached at anunes@thepublicsradio.org
