Bill renews debate over beach access
Proposal takes aim at fee policies and entrance rules
A push to make beach access more affordable across Connecticut is gaining renewed attention among state lawmakers while also drawing criticism in seaside towns such as Greenwich and Stamford.
A bill that would require coastal towns to lower the cost of visitor beach passes to charge the same as state parks was recently introduced by state Rep. Roland Lemar, D- New Haven. The bill would also prevent communities from barring beach visitors from other towns based on public- health concerns about the spread of COVID- 19, measures that some communities have invoked.
The latest proposal from Lemar follows a long- running and contentious debate over beach access in Connecticut, and whether a town’s high cost of beach passes for out- oftowners is discriminatory.
“It doesn’t surprise me that every approach that any of these communities take is to limit who can access public beaches,” Lemar said. The state lawmaker called the system used by seashore communities discriminatory, comparing them to restrictive land covenants and exclusionary zoning policies that barred low- income Blacks and Hispanics from buying homes in the suburbs.
But the shoreline municipalities defend their fee policies as necessary to cover costs.
In Greenwich, a resident can pick up a seasonal beach pass for just $ 35. A daily pass for beach access is $ 8 per person for residents and nonresidents, but out- oftowners must also pay $ 40 per car to visit the beach in Greenwich. Nonresidents must also take a separate trip to a parks- and- rec office, as the passes are not sold at the gatehouse to Greenwich Point.
First Selectman Fred Camillo called the beach- pass system in Greenwich a fair policy.
“In Greenwich, we were one of the only towns to remain open to nonresidents during the pandemic, save for when we entered a red zone. Our beach access policy has been very measured, open, and well thought out, as well as reasonable and fair,” he said in an email this week.
In Stamford, out- of- towners also pay higher fees to access the shoreline. On weekdays, a car not registered in the city is charged $ 42.50 for a weekday pass, nearly double the fee for a car registered in Stamford, $ 26.50. A seasonal pass for a resident is $ 26.59, while a nonresident pays $ 292.46.
Mayor David Martin said he believed the city was maintaining its accessibility to non- residents in a fair manner, while not burdening city residents.
“We’ve seen a few cities up and down the coast take a very exclusive way of dealing with other people that, ‘ These are our beaches and you can’t have them. Go to Stamford,’ ” Martin said.
The lowest cost for visiting the beaches is for those who have cars registered in Stamford, and therefore pay vehicle tax to the city, he said.
“Technically, we’re not charging to use the beach or to use our parks. It’s a parking pass is what it really is,” Martin said. “We’re saying, ‘ For those who want to use the beaches in Stamford, you’ve got to pay a parking fee. But since you’re not paying for a car registered here in Stamford, the Board of Representatives has set a higher fee for that.’”
The fees apply to visits to Cove Island, Cummings, West Beach, Southfield, Czescik Marina, Dorothy Heroy & Newman Mills Riverbank Walk Parks in Stamford.
In one costly example, the town of Westport sells a seasonal beach pass to local residents $ 50, while nonresidents are charged $ 775. A daily pass on the weekend costs $ 65 for an out- of- towner. First Selectman Jim Marpe has said the town’s fees cover the cost of beach operations while not imposing a heavy burden on local taxpayers.
Limiting access
Seashore access has also been restricted by some municipalities during the COVID- 19 pandemic, which has also drawn criticism from civil- rights advocates. The town of Fairfield, which charges a nonresident $ 250 for a seasonal beach pass, temporarily blocked all out- of- town visitors from its shores last summer.
Stamford’s Martin disagrees with that policy. “My bigger issue, and this happened in the last summer, is that if all the other cities up and down the coast are going to make it exclusive to themselves and block everyone else, then we are put in the same position,” he said.
“I’m hopeful that we’ll recognize that beach access, waterfront access should not be restricted to just a few individuals. This is a diverse community, and I want to respect that diversity,” Martin said.
But state Rep. Stephen Meskers, DGreenwich, said he felt the issue was valid — “I understand the concern”— and might be worthy of discussion by the state legislature. It would be unwise to impose a single standard on different towns, he said, and a “municipality by municipality” approach seemed more reasonable.
“You want a balanced approach,” said Meskers, whose district covers the shoreline from Byram to Old Greenwich. “I want to make sure there’s fair access to the residents, and fair consideration for out- oftowners. I think there’s a balancing act in Greenwich, in a nuanced and fair way.”
Camillo said the state legislators should work on other issues. “For the sake of our state, please get to work on legislation that is forward- thinking and smart, not divisive and attention- getting,” said the Greenwich first selectman, who is a former state representative.
Long- lasting debate
Brenden Leydon, a Stamford lawyer who filed a lawsuit in 1998 against the town of Greenwich after he was turned away from Greenwich Point while jogging, said he still supports measures to make beach access less expensive and restrictive.
A 2001 state Supreme Court ruling prohibited Connecticut municipalities from banning nonresidents from their beaches, saying access must be granted to the public. But the issue of fees and permits was left unaddressed in the ruling, allowing municipalities to craft their own policies.
“Price discrimination, that is clearly being done,” Leydon said, citing the $ 775 fee for a nonresident season pass in Westport. “All of these things are in contradiction to the [ state] Supreme Court saying it’s a fundamental right.”
The bill proposed by Lemar, the New Haven legislator, has been referred to the Committee on Planning and Development.