Coastal agency once again takes up B.I. marina case

Published May 7, 2010 at 9:46 p.m.

The battle over expanding Champlin's Marina on Block Island, already one of the longest and most costly coastal disputes in state history, is about to resume.

The Coastal Resources Management Council, the state agency that first began considering Champlin's expansion plans more than seven years ago, has scheduled a new hearing for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Narragansett Town Hall. A second hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, May 27 at the same location.

Brian Goldman, CRMC's lawyer, said that lawyers at a pre-hearing conference seemed to agree that two or three more meetings should be sufficient to wrap up the case. But then he conceded that no one has been very good at predicting what would happen with Champlin's.

The CRMC has already held 23 hearings and generated more than 3,000 pages of testimony over the simple, but very emotional issue posed by Champlin's application: should it be permitted to add 4,000 feet of additional piers that would cover four more acres of Great Salt Pond.

Back | Read more at Projo News Blog