« Judge orders Barrington teen held in Bristol park crash | Today | Update: Power back on at CCRI Warwick campus »

January 3, 2008

Judge wants show-cause hearing on B.I. marina appeal

In what seems to be a positive development for Champlin’s Marina, Superior Court Judge Netti C. Vogel has directed lawyers litigating the Block Island marina’s controversial expansion plans to “show cause” why she should not grant an appeal of a state decision that denied its expansion.

Vogel said the hearing would be held in light of a recent Supreme Court opinion that found another state agency, the state Department of Human Services, was not following state law in its conduct of administrative hearings. That decision established standards requiring that all evidence in a hearing must be on the record and available to all parties.

Vogel said “undisputed evidence” shows that during the two years of hearings by the Coastal Resources Management Council for the Champlin’s case, council members communicated off the record with each other and with CRMC staff, particularly over an alternative, compromise expansion plan drawn up by CRMC staff.

Lawyers in the case are expected to make their arguments to Vogel in two weeks.

The Champlin’s case has been the biggest and most controversial issue heard by CRMC in a decade.

-- Journal environment writer Peter B. Lord

Extra: Read the unrelated R.I. Supreme Court decision Judge Netti Vogel is considering as she prepares her decision in this case

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 5:27 PM | Permalink

Comments

Post a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email Address:

URL:
Remember Me? YesNo

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)