A Coastal Resources Management Council subcommittee voted against a Quidnessett Country Club petition to reclassify waters at a seawall it built without permission near its golf course.
PROVIDENCE — Environmental groups are praising a recommendation that the Coastal Resources Management Council reject a petition to reclassify waters at the seawall that a North Kingstown country club built without permission.
But the owners of the Quidnessett Country Club say they are disappointed by that recommendation from a CRMC subcommittee, and believe they’ve made a convincing case to change the classification of the waters near the club’s golf course from Type 1 “conservation areas” to Type 2 “low-intensity use,” a classification that brings fewer restrictions.
On Tuesday evening, the council’s Planning and Procedures Subcommittee voted 3-0 to recommend rejecting the petition, which the club filed in April after it erected a 600-foot-long wall along the 14th hole of the 18-hole golf course. No date has been set for the full council vote.
That seawall has drawn sharp criticism from environmental groups and from Attorney General Peter F. Neronha, who see the petition as nothing more than an attempt to change the rules after the country club violated them by building the rock wall without approval. The dispute has fed mounting pressure to replace the politically appointed 10-member council with a state department of coastal resources, as critics say the council too often ignores its professional staff.
But lawyers for the country club have argued that the uses of the waters where the wall was built have changed since they were originally designated Type 1. They say the club has spent more than $1 million over 30 years on non-structural shoreline protections to prevent erosion and damage, but they haven’t protected the golf course from stronger and more frequent storms. Supporters have emphasized that the club bolsters the local economy, providing jobs and a community venue.
Janice Mathews, vice president of The Jan Companies, which owns the Quidnessett Country Club, said she is “very disappointed” in the subcommittee vote.
“The facts spoke for themselves,” she said on Wednesday. “I thought they would have realized an error was made in the late 1970s giving us a designation of Type 1 waters when it should have been Type 2. We’ve tried sandbags, we’ve tried all the recommendations they asked use to try, and they’ve all failed.”
But Jed Thorp, director of advocacy for Save the Bay, hailed the subcommittee recommendation.
“We’re pleased that the subcommittee did the right thing tonight, and we hope the full council supports the recommendation of the subcommittee,” he said. “The sooner they wrap this up, the sooner we can get the wall removed.”
Thorp said the environmental impact from the seawall itself is a concern. “But the bigger concern is the precedent,” he said. “Why would anyone go through proper process in the future if they know they can change the rules after the fact?”… Click here to read the full article.