Town Wants to Take Harris Marina

The town of East Greenwich is taking steps to take ownership of Harris Marina, once and for all.

Independent Newspapers reported that the town has filed a lawsuit in Superior Court to claim the land against the estate of Kennith Harris, who owned the property before his death earlier this year and apparently had no heirs.

The property had been a source of contention a few years ago after it was discovered that Harris had been operating the property, located at the end of Rocky Hollow Road, without proper permits from the State Coastal Resources Management Council.

Eventually, Harris was ordered to remove the docks and other objects in the waters and the state Superior Court in 2011 affirmed the Coastal Council’s order after Harris appealed.

The East Greenwich Town Council is set to discuss the issue in executive session next week.

The CRMC had argued that Harris’s floating docks required a permit, even though the marina predates the establishment of the CRMC. The agency said there were two ways Harris have gotten a permit: to have applied for one between 1994 and 1999, a grace period set by the General Assembly, or to gain “grandfather” status from the Army Corps of Engineering (ACOE).