Thompson’s Point: How Public is Public?
by Nancy Wood,
March 24, 2011, page 1.....

Whiskey Bay, located on the north shore of Thompson’s Point, has long been a popular year-round access to Lake Champlain for Charlotters and others in the know from around the region. Scuba divers use it as a launching area for underwater lake exploration; ice fishers head out onto Converse Bay from there, sheltered by Garden Island from the cold north wind. The secluded beach is a quiet spot for sunbathers and swimmers.

But where to park? Other than on the side of the road, which is public, there is no parking area set aside for visitors. The Town of Charlotte owns the land surrounding it, but it is leased to the Thompson’s Point Association (TPA) or to individual leaseholders who have 20-year leases. Their property rights trump those of the public, creating occasional tensions. Problems increased last summer when a greater number of visitors arrived. Erich Finley, the superintendent of the TPA who lives year-round nearby and maintains the property, believes the increase was due to the inclusion of Whiskey Bay on a tourist map distributed by the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC) as part of the Vermont Byways Program.

The Selectboard, at the March 14 meeting, was considering using Byway funds for a consultant to review and make recommendations for parking and signage at Whiskey Bay and four other Thompson’s Point public lake accesses that are identified in the Charlotte Town Plan. Finley, along with David Conard, president of the Thompson’s Point Leaseholders Association, and Jim Foster, requested the involvement of Thompson’s Point leaseholders in the discussions. They reminded the Selectboard that there is a difference of opinion about the number of public access points, and that there are concerns about how to control uses so as not to interfere with the rights of the summer residents. Currently there are misunderstandings about what areas are open to the public, and, on occasion, people park their vehicles and walk on property that, because it is leased, is not public.

Summer residents at Thompson’s Point are feeling economic pressures. Many recently received new appraisals for their lots, the first increase since 2004, which will result in close to doubling the annual cost of their leases starting in 2012. In addition, they pay real estate taxes on buildings and improvements based on the 2008 reappraisal of the whole town. That reappraisal was based on high pre-recession sales of lakeshore property. Add to that the substantial cost of the community septic system shared by most of the leaseholders: a $700 basic payment per year, plus four cents per gallon. Bills for the summer can exceed $1,000 for septic waste, according to a longtime summer resident of the Flat Rock area.

The four other lake accesses shown in the Town Plan are at the old dock at the very end of the Point, Deer Point on the northeast side toward the back of Converse Bay, an area midway down Lane’s Lane on the southeast side of the point, and the beach at the end of Town Way on the southwest. This last area is the one that the TPA disputes, pointing out that the road goes through leased lots that in their descriptions and on the tax map show no public access.

Dan Albrecht, who writes grants for the CCRPC, said that the town could set whatever rules it wants over the use of public lands. But, he confirmed after the meeting, the use of federal Byway funds – even if only for a study to determine appropriate signage and parking sites -- would amount to an agreement that the general public, including tourists, would have access in the future.
The Charlotte Town Beach is subject to this requirement because of federal funds used in its development. This is not the case for the Shelburne Town Beach, which can be restricted to town residents because it was town funded. Maps, such as the one that shows the location of Whiskey Bay, could in the future include all public accesses on Thompson’s Point.

The Selectboard tabled the consulting agreement using Byway funds. It is expected that other funding sources will be sought to deal with the need to provide parking and signage to facilitate appropriate public use. Town roads and trails through the public lands at Thompson’s Point are popular for walking, biking and cross country skiing. There are open fields and woods with abundant wildlife, and the public accesses to the lake are among the few available in Charlotte. A parking area and signs indicating what is public and what is not would help reduce misunderstandings between visitors and summer residents.