SOUTHWICK – North Pond resident Bruce Mason hopes the town can help longtime lake residents retain their access rights.
Mason approached the Board of Selectmen this week for advice about what he and fellow lake dwellers can do to keep new residents from taking their lake access. The problem, he said, is access was deeded and when new lakefront homeowners and developers come in, they define their property lines without leaving access for other lake area residents.
“People are trying to steal lake property,” he said. “The latest thing is they declared Lily Pond Drive available to anyone.”
The Lakemont Street resident claims their rights to the lake are being denied, but the new homeowner at 5 Lakemont St. said he is not denying anyone access. The state did that when it put up a guardrail several years ago as part of a Community Development Block Grant improvement of the road.
The new homeowner, who asked to remain anonymous until the property is recorded in his name, said the guardrail was placed at the end of Lakemont where residents had gained access in the past. His property is next to that access and he – and the previous homeowner – does not want people walking on his property to get to the lake.
“It’s a liability concern,” he said.
The homeowner is in the process of claiming half of the former access as his property, along with Lily Pond Road, which is a paper road that runs from his property under the lake. By doing this, he said he can then clean up the property.
The property owner said this is allowable because the state considers the area a derelict road and he and the neighboring property owner can claim the property.
His plans for the area do include clearing the access path, which has been overgrown for many years. He said if the residents whose deeds specify they have water rights can convince the state to open the guardrail, he has no problem with people walking to the lake as long as they sign a waiver that he would not be held responsible for any issues. He will not allow anyone to walk on the property that came with the purchase of the home.
He is waiting for approval of a permit that would allow him to clean the property on the lakefront.
Southwick Lake Management Director Richard Grannells said he is aware of the concerns of Mason and other neighbors, many of whom have lived there for 60 years. Grannells said there is not much the town can do for them.
“The bottom line is this is not an accepted road,” Grannells said. “The town cannot spend any money there or make any decisions.”
Grannells said when the state came in to improve the road, including putting in new pipes and drains, it installed the guardrail for safety reasons because at the end of the road the land drops to the lake. The state gives the town funds to plow the road in winter but the town has no authority over the road.
Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart asked Mason if he knew of any official neighborhood association on Lakemont Street – part of the Bungalow Village neighborhood – that could show there was legal access given in the deeds.
“I don’t believe there is,” he said.
Stinehart said the town could not do the research required to find out if such an association ever existed because the town does not own the road. Stinehart suggested Mason and the neighbors could do the research and give the results to the town.
“People are willing to do something at this point in time – we can create one,” Mason of an official association. “We’ll look into it.”
