Updates from the OH

13 October 2004

Town Council Vote Gives First Victory
by Leslie Brown

A unanimous vote by the Westerly Town Council last night, October 12, 2004, gave Charles M. Royce the first victory in his quest to restore the Ocean House.

At the end of a long meeting, the Council voted to allow Royce's proposal to rezone the Ocean House as an "historical ocean front hotel." Just days ago, the owners with abutting properties had signed on with Royce in a series of covenants designed to protect the landscapes and ocean views for the foreseeable future.

There were only three dissenters to the proposed zoning change: Nancy and Tim Fry of Misquamicut and William Griffin, Jr. of Stonington.

For everyone else, the evening was an inspiration. The mutual support of Westerly and Watch Hill in a meaningful effort to save the old hotel worked to everyone's advantage.

Finally the longtime antagonism between the two populations gave way to a heartfelt common cause.

Yellow Ocean House caps, available for sale at Puffins on Bay Street in Watch Hill, dotted the audience. Some, like Royce's attorney Thomas Liguori, wore yellow colored ties, while others wore yellow sweaters or sported Ocean House yellow bags or other paraphernalia as symbols of
Ocean House solidarity.

The mood was hopeful from the start when supporters as widely varied as the Chamber of Commerce and the Rhode Island Historical and Preservation Commission presented in favor of the proposed zoning change. So energized were these speakers, representing divergent groups, that many players, including Westerly's Town Planner, Bill Haase, called the meeting "unprecedented."

Watch Hill resident Margot Burke put the meeting's karma this way in a morning-after email to Paula Ruisi: It was "one of the most honest, thorough and kindest exchanges this community has seen in generations; possibly ever. I know my family thanks you and my father and yours would be proud."

Last night's vote was only the first of many steps in restoring the Ocean House, but it was resonant.