CRMC Postpones Hearing on Quidnessett Country Club

Save the Bay accuses the panel of ‘political favoritism and abuse of power’

The embattled Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council is awash in criticism again — not for a controversial decision, but for the lack of one.

In a Nov. 25 email to the council, also shared on its website, Save the Bay Executive Director Topher Hamblett accused the panel of coastal regulators of “political favoritism and abuse of power.”

A council subcommittee was scheduled to hold a hearing at 4 p.m. Tuesday on Quidnessett Country Club’s application to ease development restrictions for its waterfront property in North Kingstown. But the meeting was canceled, extending the saga over an illegal seawall built along the club’s shoreline nearly two years ago.

Hamblett alleges the delays are intentional.

“The Council’s months-long series of delays gives the country club an unfair economic advantage over law-abiding coastal landowners and businesses who spend money and time applying for permits to comply with the law,” he wrote in the email.

“The Council is opening the door for more violations and sending the message that it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission…”  Click here to read the full article.