A law school diploma and understanding of the public trust doctrine might be more valuable than beach towel, sunglasses and Coppertone on a hot summer day in southwestern Connecticut. Paul Kempner found that out four years ago this month when he was slapped with a $92 fine for simple trespassing while riding his bike to the beach in Greenwich.
Why?
Because the Stamford retiree refused to pay the town's $10 daily beach fee for nonresidents at Greenwich Point Park, which he called prohibitive. The fee has since been reduced to $5 and is waived for resident and nonresident seniors alike.
"I wanted to ride my bike. It's a beautiful park, and also it's public trust," said Kempner, now 79.
Kempner's Tour de Greenwich
-- "tort" may be the more appropriate word -- rekindled an old debate over how much access the public has to the waterfront along the Connecticut coast, one that lingers at the start of another summer like the salt air.The sound barriers
From Milford to Greenwich, the area covered by this series, the coastline is a madras pattern of impeccably-manicured compounds, industrial era relics, modest capes and idyllic beaches, some more accessible than others.
Much of the shoreline is nicknamed the Gold Coast, and they don't call it that for nothing, with private homeowner's associations, beach and golf clubs owning some of the best pieces of waterfront real estate.
"Most places, the rich people who own houses along the
Every decade seems to have its own Paul Kempner.
In the 1990s, it was Brenden Leydon, the law student who helped overturn Greenwich's residents-only beach policy.
In the 1970s and 1980s, it was Ned Coll, who led busloads of inner city children from Hartford to Greenwich to test the same policy, which he called "a blatant, racist act," during his famous hike along the Connecticut coast.
In Bridgeport, a much different type of obstacle looms for those trying to get to the water.
Pleasure Beach, a once-popular destination for city residents and former home to an amusement park by the same name, is a ghost town. The barrier beach was cut off from the rest of the city after a portion of the bridge connecting it to the mainland caught fire on Father's Day 1996. A tossed cigarette was suspected.
Former U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays, R-4, who made his home in Bridgeport, helped secure a budget appropriation from the federal government to establish ferry service to the beach by next summer.
Decried by some conservatives as an earmark, the $1.9 million expenditure has won the support of the man who unseated Shays last November, Democrat Jim Himes.
"I think our waterfront access is a real treasure," Himes said. "It's hard for the public to get access to it. I think we could use a lot more."
The right to access
Average Joes do hold a giant trump card when it comes to coastal access.
Under what is known as the public trust doctrine, the area below "mean high tide mark" on a beach is widely considered to be the people's land -- err, water.
"This is ancient legal doctrine that goes back to Roman law," Ellickson said. "Public trust doctrine evolved to allow those involved in fishing or boating who might have to land their boats in a storm."
Where the mean high tide mark begins is not exactly akin to drawing a line in the sand, however. The most common interpretation of the mean high tide mark is the wet area of sand along a beach, according to Ellickson.
"So people can €¦ take off their shoes and walk along the area that is being washed by the waves," Ellickson said.
In Massachusetts and Maine by contrast, Ellickson said the law differs and allows for some private ownership claims beneath the mean high tide line.
Venture farther from the water onto the dry sand here in Connecticut, though, and that's where things get complicated.
"That area is what's in dispute because that's where people put down their beach towels," Ellickson said.
Greenwich is ground zero in that debate, prohibiting outsiders from sticking their toes in its sand until the state Supreme Court struck down the town's residents-only admission policy in 2001.
The landmark ruling evolved from a 1994 lawsuit brought against the town by Leydon, a Rutgers University law student from Stamford, who was denied entrance to Greenwich Point while jogging because he was a nonresident.
Leydon successfully argued that Greenwich's residents-only admission policy infringed on his rights to exercise free speech at the public park.
"Greenwich is the worst. The public bus doesn't even go down there, which I think is insane," said Leydon, now 41 and a Stamford lawyer.
Passes and parking fees
In the wake of the ruling, the town entertained a proposal to sell only seasonal beach passes to nonresidents for $308 a year, a price that officials said was commensurate with taxes paid by residents to maintain the facilities.
Greenwich backed away from the controversial policy and adopted a $10 daily admission fee for nonresidents, as well as a $20 parking fee per car.
Nonresidents can now get into the beaches in Greenwich for $5, plus the $20 parking fee, but must buy the passes at an off-site location.
Despite the career-defining court victory, Leydon still has not ventured to the beach in Greenwich.
"I almost feel like it would be ratifying the illegal conditions they've put on it," Leydon said.
Greenwich officials took umbrage that they were trying to skirt the ruling.
"I definitely think that we have put in place the various procedures that would allow access to the waterfront, through a seasonal pass system and day pass system that allow residents and nonresidents alike to use the facilities," said Joseph Siciliano, the town parks director.
Siciliano added that the area as a whole has made strides when it comes to coastal access.
"In traveling around, I think Fairfield County has definitely made some opportunities available to access waterfront locations," Siciliano said.
Leydon didn't just single out Greenwich in his criticism, saying that Darien and Westport haven't gone out of their way to welcome outsiders to their beaches.
"They're pretty restrictive and Westport is as well," Leydon said.
Westport First Selectman Gordon Joseloff disputed those allegations.
At Compo and Burying Hill beaches, he said, the town does not charge for admission.
The parking daily fee for Compo is $20 on weekdays and $40 on weekends and holidays for nonresidents, according to the town's Web site. Seasonal parking stickers for residents are $35.
Joseloff pointed out that there are also numerous access points to the water along the Saugatuck River.
"So I think we are basically not restrictive as far getting into the beach," Joseloff said. "We've never had any complaints."
Efforts to reach Darien First Selectwoman Evonne Klein were unsuccessful.
Darien charges a $40 daily admission fee at its beaches for nonresidents, according to the town's Web site. Residents pay $35 for a seasonal beach sticker.
At Greenwich Point Park, a 147-acre peninsula with views of the Manhattan skyline, run-ins between police and a certain cyclist have stopped.
Kempner can now get in for nothing, the beneficiary of free passes for resident and nonresident beach-goers 65 and over alike. He goes there every day, taking two or three laps through the park.
"It's not a problem at all," Kempner said.
Staff Writer MariAn Gail Brown contributed to this report.۩
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