Beach access debate continues as proposal targeting high fees dies

A bill that would have banned municipalities from imposing exorbitant fees that restrict many out-oftowners from using public beaches will die without a vote or a public hearing this year.

Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, D-Fairfield, co-chairwoman of the Planning and Development Committee, confirmed this week that her panel won’t act this session on the measure, which also would have prevented communities from barring outof-town visitors exclusively to prevent COVID-19 spread at their beaches.

McCarthy Vahey said her panel has its hands full this session with two other controversial issues, municipal zoning reform and affordable housing, and simply couldn’t tackle one more hot-button topic before its reporting deadline of April 5 .

“We’ve certainly seen tremendous interest and public involvement” in measures raised that address the need for more affordable housing in Connecticut’s suburbs, she said.

But McCarthy Vahey quickly added that the beach access debate “is worthy of conversation. There are very real issues of access, and we recognize the municipalities had questions and concerns about investments and costs. There is an important discussion to be had there.”

That discussion won’t go away any time soon, Rep. Roland Lemar, D-New Haven, who introduced the beach access bill, said Wednesday.

“I personally will not let it go away, and I’m certain other organizations will not,” said Lemar, whose efforts quickly earned praise from the Connecticut chapters of the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union.

“I’m embarrassed that the will of the General Assembly is not to move forward this year with action,” he said.

Lemar says Connecticut’s shoreline and beaches are “a core asset” that have benefitted from millions of dollars of public investments in clean air and water and park development programs, and every resident should have an opportunity to enjoy them.

But some shoreline communities, particularly in Connecticut’s affluent southwestern corner, say parking is limited at municipal beaches and residents should have priority over visitors from out-of-town.

They also say some communities invest heavily in their beaches, relying on more than revenues from parking fees and access passes to pay for maintenance and amenities.

Lemar and other critics counter this argument is an excuse to price poor urban residents — and particularly racial and ethnic minorities — out of their beaches.

Westport, an affluent Fairfield County community, made headlines three years ago when local officials set the prices for a seasonal beach parking pass at $50 for residents — and $775 for visitors from most other towns. Residents of neighboring Weston pay $375.

David McGuire, executive director of the Connecticut ACLU, said when Lemar introduced his bill that fair beach access is an issue that has haunted Connecticut for too long, with most restrictive policies grounded in politics, not health science.

“We know Connecticut has a long history of shoreline towns using a number of different policies to keep a number of people off their beaches,” he said, adding that “a lot of times, these policies are nothing more than thinly veiled racist policies.”

And Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut NAACP, said, “Westport should be ashamed of themselves. In this day and time, Connecticut should not be involved in this level of discrimination.”

Gov. Ned Lamont, a wealthy Greenwich businessman, has stayed out of the beach access debate.

The governor’s office took no position on Lemar’s bill when it was introduced in early February. And when asked about the measure Wednesday, Lamont’s communications director, Max Reiss, said the governor’s office had reviewed the bill but had no position.