DEEP: Part of fence must go

State says Shenecossett Beach Club’s barrier and sign extend into public trust waters

Groton — A portion of the Shenecossett Beach Club’s fence installed along a stone jetty, as well as a sign, extend “below the Mean High Water mark into Public Trust waters” and must be removed, the state has determined.

The stone jetty is on the eastern end of the private club’s beach, which borders a small publicly accessible beach on the University of Connecticut-Avery Point campus.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection did an inspection, after Manchester resident Mark Connors, who walks the area, noticed the fence and sign and contacted the DEEP. Under the public trust doctrine, “private ownership ends at mean high water line” and the public can use the area of beaches waterward of the mean high water

mark, according to the DEEP.

The beach club installed the fence and the sign in the spring to prevent people from walking on the rocks, after two people were injured the year before, the club’s vice president has said. She had also said the club respects the public’s right to access the shoreline below the mean high-water mark and had no intention of violating that.

In an Oct. 23 notice of violation to the club, DEEP said the fence extends approximately 8 feet waterward of the mean high water mark. The DEEP said the beach club must remove 10 feet of the chain link fence, which is constructed in 10-foot sections, and the small sign that says “Shenecossett Beach Co, Inc. Members only.” The DEEP said they should be removed within 10 calendar days of the notice.

Brian Golembiewski, supervising environmental analyst at DEEP, said he did an inspection of the jetty on Oct. 4 and analyzed tide charts, files, aerial photos and GIS data layers of the property.

The DEEP also said in the notice that a total of about 30 feet of the fence and the sign are waterward of DEEP’s Coastal Jurisdiction Line, without authorization. The club would have required permission from the DEEP to install them, the notice of violation stated.

The notice said the beach club, within 45 days, must either remove the additional 20 feet of the fence between the mean high water mark and the Coastal Jurisdiction Line or submit an application for permission to keep the fence.

For the work done “without required authorization,” the agency is requiring the club “to enter into a Consent Order and pay a civil penalty,” the notice states.

The Board of Directors of Shenecosset Beach Co. met last week and expressed the desire to comply with whatever requirements the DEEP indicates, Vice President Karen Parks said in a phone interview Friday.

As the notice gives options for how the club could comply, the board will likely call a meeting to determine exactly how to proceed.

Connors said he was encouraged that the DEEP issued a notice of violation to the Shenecossett Beach Club Inc for installing a fence on a stone jetty that prevents public access to the beach below the mean high water line. But he is looking for more information on how they made the 8-foot determination and hopes they took into consideration the Ninth Circuit Court’s 2009 ruling on the mean high water tide and how to measure it.

He also said he thinks there should be a safe, handicap accessible way to get to the beach, preferably removing some of the rocks of the jetty so people can cross. The DEEP said it is considering the request.

Connors had requested the University of Connecticut install a public information sign so people can learn about the public trust doctrine.

University of Connecticut spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said by email Friday that though UConn has been aware of the fence issue, “we believe it’s most appropriately left to DEEP and the Beach Club to resolve.” She said no decision has been made yet on the signage request.

The club had received an initial permit for the stone jetty in 1982 and then a subsequent permit to restore it in 2013 after Superstorm Sandy.