ME - Moody Beach access: Group urges Wells ME to join public access fight
WELLS, Maine — Members of a local group are asking the town to partner with them in ongoing efforts to increase public access to Moody Beach, particularly in the areas where seaside property owners restrict the uses by others of the intertidal zones.
In an open letter to Select Board Chair John McLeod III on Sept. 5, the steering committee for Free Moody Beach urged Wells to follow the same approach as Kennebunkport when it successfully argued, in a case decided in Maine Superior Court in 2019, that the town owned Goose Rocks Beach.
Free Moody Beach represents more than 170 people in the Moody community, according to Jeannie Connerney, a member of the steering committee. Members include year-round residents, seasonal homeowners, renters, visitors, and supporters.
In the letter, the group argued the Kennebunkport case showed legal pathways exist for Wells, despite a 1989 court ruling — in the case of Bell v. Town of Wells — stating certain intertidal zones on Moody Beach were privately owned.
“Were Wells to undertake similar actions, it’s likely the right to recreate on Moody Beach would be returned to the public,” the committee wrote in the letter. “Let’s work together to institute solutions for the benefit of all users of Moody Beach.”
Currently, another group, Our Maine Beaches, is hoping a Maine Superior Court judge will rule in its favor in response to a motion its attorney, Benjamin Ford, filed in May. In the motion, the group is seeking a summary judgment declaring many uses of the state’s beaches and intertidal lands are legal and allowed under current law.
The motion singles out three Moody Beach property owners as defendants: Judy’s Moody, LLC, OA2012 Trust, and Ocean 503, LLC.
The judge has not yet ruled on the issue.
Previous story:Lawyer pushes back in Moody Beach public access dispute
Free Moody Beach group calls on Wells Select Board to take action
In its letter, the Free Moody Beach committee lists a number of steps it hopes the town will take to help the cause.
Wells Town Manager Michael Pardue responded to the letter in an email on Sept. 11. Pardue said before answering the town would need to confer with legal counsel, given that some of the issues and questions mentioned in the group’s letter are currently part of the pending litigation.
