Background

The land where Rainbow Ponds now sits was originally low, swampy, and unbuildable. In an era before strict environmental controls, the developer’s solution was the construction of two large shallow ponds. The earth removed was used to build the two earth dams and to fill lots along Intrepid Lane near the ponds. 

Commerce Oil included in each deed an undivided ownership interest in the 11.84-acre lot containing the 2.81-acre upper and the 2.2-acer lower Rainbow Ponds. In simple terms, every lot owner owns all the land, but no one owns any of the land exclusively. The Association, by the bylaws, is responsible for paying taxes, insurance and maintaining the property and dams. 

Although man made, the ponds were created after July 16, 1971, and by state law fall under Department of Environmental Management (DEM) jurisdiction. In the 1990s the DEM conducted an inventory of all freshwater bodies of water in the state. In West Reach the Association was cutting grass to the waterlines and they were “grandfathered” and allowed to continue this cutting. Beginning in 1995 the Association worked with DEM and the Jamestown Conservation Commission on a multi-year project to develop a pond management plan that provided access to the pond while allowing it to take on a natural appearance. 

Rhode Island dam regulations take precedence over DEM rules so the Association can cut and maintain the dams without getting permission from DEM, but that does not extend to the paths (trails). DEM agreed to allow the Association to maintain a path on the east side of the lower pond to reach the upper pond dam and then continue around the upper pond to reach the storm drain inflows pipes on the upper pond. A path is not permitted on the west side of the lower pond. Limited fishing accesses are also permitted. 

 A DEM “buffer zone” extends 50-feet from the water line regardless of topography for all freshwater bodies of water in the state. This photograph shows a simple way two people using a tape measure and with a line level can measure the horizontal distance from the edge of a pond. 

The DEM 50-foot protection buffer includes all land within 50-feet of the pond edge, not just the Association managed property. Some private lot lines are quite close to the edge of the ponds. Lots at 40 Intrepid Lane, 50 Intrepid Lane, and 60 Intrepid Lane are each about 25-feet feet from the pond in some areas, making the back 25-feet or so of their lots within the buffer and subject to DEM regulation (distances are approximate and would require a survey to fix precisely). Other lots that appear to be in the DEM buffer zone include areas at the back of 4 Ranger Court, 169 Intrepid Lane, 175 Intrepid Lane, 185 Intrepid Lane, and 191 Intrepid Lane. The back 5-feet to 10-feet of these lots appear to be within the buffer. The lot at 90 Intrepid Lane includes an area that falls within the buffer, but this is in an area of standing water and is unlikely to be cleared. 

During the development of the pond management plan DEM identified violations and imposed administrative penalties on some lot owners for illegally removing trees and brush within the buffer zone. Out of concern that an inspection by DEM could result in some adjacent lot owners being cited for buffer zone violations, the Board has avoided applying for permits to expand work at the ponds that could trigger a DEM inspection.

The State expects all landowners to know and abide by DEM buffer zones, but there is no notification program by the state. The Board has alerted lot owners about the buffer when they are found to be encroaching, In the 1990s the Association lawyer advised the Board to closely abide by DEM rules and to put any lot owner known to be encroaching on the buffer zone on notice and to keep a record of that notice to help protect the Association from an administrative penalty due to the action of individual lot owners.

DEM Rules and Regulations outline the steps necessary to cut or work within the buffer zone. The cutting and removal of fallen tree and shrubs is limited to cutting to remove tree limbs or dead or diseased trees or shrubs. Cutting grasses or weeds, other than on the dams and on the approved paths, requires DEM permission.