Rejects Beach to remain open to non-residents of Newport – newportri.com

NEWPORT A City Council resolution that would have allowed only residents of Newport to use Rejects Beach, as it is widely known, was doomed before discussion of it took place Wednesday evening, never mind a vote on it.

The resolution sponsored by Councilwoman Kathryn Leonard called for stationing a staff member or police officer at the beach daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to allow entry only to people who could provide identification showing they were Newport residents, "while the COVID-19 health issue compromises the health of Newport residents."

Before discussion began, Mayor Jamie Bova cited a memorandum from City Solicitor Christopher Behan that said the resolution would be illegal under the conditions of the beachs deed.

The Spouting Rock Beach Association, the owners of the adjacent Baileys Beach, granted the beach property to the city in February 1970 for use by the "general public" in return for two other city-owned parcels.

The council cannot legally take away beach access from the general public and restrict the right to Newport residents, Behan said.

Bova asked Leonard to withdraw the resolution but Leonard refused, saying the resolution "warrants a bigger discussion."

After reading her resolution, Leonard made an amendment to the resolution that instead asked City Manager Joseph J. Nicholson Jr. "to implement a plan to limit parking in the area of Rejects Beach." The reworded resolution ultimately passed 7-0.

The beach earned that name locally because residents said it was for people who could not get into the private Baileys Beach. When the land was granted to the city, it was called in the deed "Peoples Beach," or "east beach" because the beach club has the larger western section of the beach.

By ordinance, the city does not allow parking on Bellevue Avenue, Coggeshall Avenue, Lakeview Avenue and most of Ledge Road, all roadways close to Rejects Beach.

Neighbors said people have been parking illegally in surrounding residential streets, many of them on Ledge Road and on Rovensky Avenue, where there are also legal parking spots for non-residents.

"We have illegal parking that leads to a proliferation of people on this beach," Leonard said. "I want people who live here to have access to their beaches and feel safe."

"Cars from New York and Massachusetts park in front of my house," said Lisette Prince of 2 Rovensky Ave., during the public comment period. "People from New York would rather pay the $25 (parking) fine. Its not just weekends if the weather is not crummy, they show up every day. Theres drinking and pot on the beach."

"This year is worse than ever," said Mark Lewinstein of 61 Ledge Road. "Ledge Road is a circus Theres vandalism, evidence of human defecation. Dogs dont use toilet paper."

"Shrubbery has been torn up," he said.

Lewinstein suggested the city install bollards along Ledge Road to limit access to the end of the road, where parking is allowed.

Leonards resolution said Rejects Beach "continues to be a gathering place for large, uncontrolled crowds of people," but City Manager Nicholson pushed back on that claim.

He said the city has a police officer or private security personnel there daily to make sure no more than 200 people are on the beach.

Councilman Justin McLaughlin said he went to the beach this past Sunday afternoon about 2 p.m. and there were about 150 people on the beach.

Nicholson said parking aides and police officers have been enforcing parking restrictions. During the Fourth of July weekend, more than 800 parking tickets were issued throughout the city, he said.

The $25 parking fine may not be much of a deterrent because "you can pay that at some downtown parking lots," Nicholson said. He will consider increasing those fines under the emergency powers granted to him by the council because of the pandemic, he said. Those powers expire on July 28, he noted.

Nicholson said he will consider other traffic control and monitoring measures, such as putting up traffic cones along some problem streets or installing a camera near the entrance to Rejects Beach.

He reminded council members there are parking problems throughout the city, not only in this area around the relatively small beach.

"We do get onslaughted by cars on the weekends," Nicholson said.

sflynn@newportri.com.