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Court rules Rockport path to the sea is open to the public based on map from 1819

In a decision that hinged on copies of deeds and maps dating to 1813 - and in particular, an 1819 map - the Massachusetts Appeals Court ruled today the public has the right to walk atop a seawall that a Rockport shopkeeper has been trying to keep shut.

In 2005, Wendy Stone-Ashe put a fence across the path in front of her property at 25 Dock Square. The state got involved, saying the fence was against the law because the seawall extended past the historic high-water line into tidelands over which the state has jurisdiction.

The case wended its way through state regulators, a state appeals board and Superior Court, where each side presented its own experts to battle over just where the high-water mark was there and when the seawall was actually built.

The state Department of Environmental Protection initially sided with residents who wanted the path re-opened. Stone-Ashe appealed to an administrative magistrate, who agreed with her, but then the state commissioner of environmental protection overturned that and sided with the residents, which sent Stone-Ashe to Superior Court, where she lost, so she appealed to the next higher court.

In its ruling, the Massachusetts Appeals Court said that looking back, the key part of the seawall was well past the historic high-water mark after which the state has say - with that "historic" mark being defined as the place where the high-water mark would have been before people started doing things like dumping fill to extend coastlines.

When superimposed on the present location of the seawall-walkway, the 1819 map places the high water mark landward of the seawall-walkway. ... While the plaintiff's surveyor suggests that the map is unreliable because we cannot travel back in time to evaluate the work, that rationale would apply to any historic map. The department, by regulation, has determined that reliance on historic maps is appropriate. ... Accordingly, based as it is on expert testimony comparing the 1819 map with current conditions, we have little difficulty concluding that the commissioner's decision is based on substantial evidence and we discern no error in the decision of the Superior Court judge upholding the final decision of the commissioner.

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Comments

If only Ms. Stone-Ashe could find a 1980 map, then all might be in her favor....

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Several commercial websites have historical aerial views for sale. Some have been previously referenced in stories on UHub.

No doubt Rockport would be found, as I saw maps back to 1956 for a small Maine town where I own a seasonal cottage.

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Then things might have gone better for her.

Sheinwald said Stone-Ashe even told her once that she was loitering on the walkway when she was talking to a neighbor.

and ...

Stone-Ashe's deed allows the walkway to be crossed by foot traffic for any reason

Sounds like a totally lovely, community-minded person.

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Being unfriendly to the residents of your community isn't great for your local business. Though perhaps locals don't frequent her shop and it's mainly tourists.

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While I'm glad Rockport residents are fighting the fight for public access, I find it a little ironic. The town keeps many of its public beaches virtually inaccessible to nonresidents through parking and access restrictions.

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It isn't far away and the summer weekend runs have a special car to hold the bikes.

Makes the whole trip rather pleasant, actually.

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