- Quidnessett Country Club opened in 1960 and once hosted former US President George HW Bush
- Currently, the club is in a different kind of political turmoil over the par-five, 526-yard 14th hole at its golf course
- The club is accused of having built a sea wall along the course of the hole without obtaining permission
A famous old Rhode Island country club faces a $50,000 fine for possibly breaking state law to build a seawall to save the 14th hole of the club’s golf course.
Quidnessett Country Club opened in 1960 and once hosted former US President George HW Bush, who held a $1,250 per plate fundraiser for the state Republican Party in 1990.
Currently, the club is in a different kind of political turmoil over the par five, 526-yard 14th hole at its golf course.
The club is accused of having built a seawall along the course of the hole without obtaining permission.
The move is similar to one made by pop superstar Taylor Swift in 2013, who left local residents furious after erecting a wall on her Watch Hill property without any public approval.
A famous old Rhode Island country club faces a $50,000 fine for possibly breaking state law to build a seawall to save the 14th hole of the club’s golf course
Quidnessett Country Club opened in 1960 and once hosted former US President George HW Bush, who hosted a $1,250-per-hour event. plate fundraiser for the state Republican Party in 1990
Swift did not need to acquire building permits from the city and only had to obtain permission from the state Coastal Resources Management Council — an environmental organization that held no hearings before giving its go-ahead to undertake the construction — estimated at more than a million dollars.
Seawalls are generally not allowed along the state’s coastline and require at least a lengthy public hearing period due to environmental impact.
While the walls may stop erosion where they are intended to prevent, it may accelerate erosion in other areas.
“Thus, structural shoreline protection measures can be a very costly adaptation measure with little return on investment,” says the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Program.
Back in 2013, CRMC explained Swift’s easy process for getting her seawall built by saying she was simply bringing one dating back to the 1930s up to standard after decades of disrepair.
Quidnessett Country Club has already been issued three fines of $10,000 and has been told to stop work on the wall.
“This activity is in violation of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Program,” Brian Harrington, senior environmental scientist for CRMC, said in August.
They were not told to take down the sea wall in a letter to the club, but they face more hefty fines and more sanctions.
Currently, the club is in a different kind of political turmoil over the par-five, 526-yard 14th hole at its golf course
The club is accused of having built a seawall along the course of the hole without obtaining permission
Seawalls are generally not allowed along the state’s coastline and require at least a lengthy public consultation period due to environmental impact
CRMC has the ability to issue daily fines of $1,000, but will according to Boston Globe.
The agency has met with the owner of the property and the club has until March 23 to respond and the wall is apparently finished.
A lawyer for the club, who previously chaired the CRMC from 2017 to 2021, wrote a letter to the regulator’s legal team.
“As discussed previously, we would like to engage in immediate settlement discussions to see if we can resolve this matter through a consent agreement,” Jennifer Cervenka wrote in October.
“Please let me know your and your client’s earliest availability for a call or meeting to review.”
They have not yet issued any public comment.
