Rules and Regulations for the Development and Operation of Beavertail State Park, Jamestown, Rhode Island ( 250-RICR-100-00-4)

It is the intention of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management ("DEM") to obtain 170 acres of federal surplus land on the Beavertail area of Jamestown, Rhode Island. The Department has worked with the Town of Jamestown ("Town") toward creation of a Beavertail State Park which would be made up of the surplus land and 26 additional acres now owned or controlled by the Town. In moving toward creation of the park the Department and the Town have analyzed the characteristics of the land in question and have drawn plans for a park which will meet the needs of users while preserving the fragile ecological, scenic and historical characteristics of Beavertail. This plan is explained and described in the attached documents, known as the Beavertail Descriptive Plan, which is attached hereto in § 4.4 of this Part. The Beavertail Descriptive Plan portrays the size of the Park, and describes the manner in which it is to be developed. In addition, please see the associated guidance document entitled, "Parks and Recreation Guidance Document for the Development and Operation of Beavertail State Park, Jamestown, Rhode Island," which includes an analysis of the physical and biological characteristics of the Beavertail Peninsula.

The attached Rules and Regulations for the Development and Operation of Beavertail State Park, Jamestown, Rhode Island, are authorized pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws § 32-2-4 and Chapter 42-35.

A.Based on the foregoing, the Department of Environmental Management adopts the following regulations which shall govern the development and operation of Beavertail State Park:

1.Except as specifically provided for the attached Beavertail Descriptive Plan, roads and bikeways at the Park shall be constructed only on roadways existing at the time of the State's acquisition of the land.

2.Vehicular traffic, including bicycles, shall be restricted to the roads, bikeways, and parking lots. Parking shall only be allowed on paved or graveled areas specifically denoted as parking areas.

3.To the maximum extent possible, pedestrian traffic will be limited to the pedestrian pathways provided for in the Plan.

4.The total parking capacity shall be limited to 150 cars, dispersed among five separated parking areas of 30 cars capacity each.

5.Vehicular traffic is to be managed in such a way as to discourage or eliminate traffic from Beavertail Point, in the vicinity of the existing light house.

6.No restrooms shall be constructed except on soils marked as Newport Series, and only then when appropriate percolation tests show suitability of the soil for sewage disposal systems.

7.Management of the Park shall be conducted in such a manner as to encourage dispersion of visitors around the park, rather than their concentration in any particular locality.

8.No development of any sort whatsoever shall be allowed in the large open spaces provided for and depicted in § 4.4 of this Part. These acres shall be preserved for natural plant succession and wildlife habitat.

9.There shall be allowed at no time overnight camping within Beavertail State Park.

10.The overriding principle of the Park's development, operation and management shall at all times be the restoration and preservation of the natural features of Beavertail Peninsula.

11.An Advisory Committee shall be constituted as follows:

a.The Advisory Committee shall comprise five (5) members.

b.Three of its members shall be selected and appointed by the governing body of the Town of Jamestown, by whatever process that body sees fit.

c.One of its members shall be chosen by the Director of the Department of Environmental Management, or its successor agency, if any.

d.The fifth member shall be mutually chosen by the Town and DEM, shall be a citizen of Rhode Island not a resident, permanent or seasonal, of Jamestown, and shall be knowledgeable in matters of environmental protection and preservation.

12.The Director of DEM shall consult with the Advisory Committee not less frequently than twice annually regarding the operating of Beavertail State Park, and in any event shall consult with the Advisory Committee before making any policy or development decisions with respect to such Park.

13.The Director of DEM shall consult with the Advisory Committee prior to seeking to amend, through the procedures provided in the Administrative Procedures Act, R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 42-35, any part of these regulations.

14.The development, operation, and management of Beavertail State Park shall at all times strictly comply with these Regulations, and § 4.4 of this Part attached hereto.