Martha’s Vineyard Residents Blast Push for Public Beach Access

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey is seeking to change the state’s rules on beach access to open up more sandy stretches in Martha’s Vineyard to the public, angering residents of the wealthy enclave.

Massachusetts has some of the strictest protections in the country for private beaches, allowing property owners to claim even the narrow strips of sand that run between the ocean and so-called great ponds, bodies of water larger than 10 acres. A provision tucked into a larger environmental bill proposed by Healey would change that. If it passes, the state would claim ownership “in perpetuity” of land that was once part of a great pond but that erosion or other forces have turned into a barrier beach.