KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine — The town of Kennebunkport is filing a motion for reconsideration to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court after it handed down a ruling vacating the public right to Goose Rocks Beach last week.
Selectwoman Sheila Matthews-Bull said the Board of Selectmen met with town attorneys in executive session Wednesday to discuss the court case.
“We had a session with [Town Attorney Amy Tchao] and she informed us of an interpretation of why the Supreme Court did what they did and what steps are next,” Matthews-Bull said. “It’s more like: ‘What do you think you want to do? Take some time to think.’”
Tchao said the deadline to file the motion for reconsideration is next week.
In the Feb. 4 decision, the Supreme Court stated that it vacated “the judgment awarding the town and backlot owners a prescriptive easement over Goose Rocks Beach, and deciding that the public has a right to engage in ocean-based activities in the intertidal zone pursuant to the public trust doctrine.”
The decision could have precedent-setting ramifications statewide regarding public access. The case is being watched closely in neighboring York, where public access to the Cliff Walk is being disputed.
A judge in York County Superior Court ruled in October 2012 that backlot owners in the Goose Rocks Beach area and the public have a right to use the beach, citing a longstanding history of the beach being used for a full range of recreational activities and the town’s involvement in facilitating the use of the beach by the general public. That decision was overturned last week.