A group of Onset residents say it's illegal to charge for parking there, and they've brought their case to the state's Attorney General.

The Concerned Citizens of Onset, a community group led by Marilyn Knowlton and Marie Strawn, held a meeting inside the Onset VFW Thursday night to discuss the parking issues in Onset. The group claims that the streets of Onset were dedicated to the public for free use nearly a century ago by the state Supreme Court.

The group also held an informational meeting on Aug. 14 where Knowlton explained her opinion on the parking situation by invoking a decree from the state Supreme Judicial Court in 1916.

The decree stemmed from a 1915 court case with the Onset Bay Grove Association that said the "parks, streets, avenues, paths, and shore fronts" in Onset were "dedicated to the public forever" for bathing, boating, fishing, parks and open space. The decree was accepted at Wareham Town Meeting in 1917.

Knowlton said the decree states the streets were to be left unobstructed and open to each and every public use.

"When you are using a street, you don't just drive by and wave—you park. That's a use. That's our argument," she said.

On Aug. 18, Knowlton was contacted by someone in the Trial Division of the Attorney General's office and explained the case to him. She said the office is reviewing the case and that all they can do now is wait.

"It doesn't happen overnight and I know everyone is anxious to get this resolved," Knowlton said.

While some might consider a nearly century-old court decision as dated, Knowlton cited a legal memo current Selectman Peter Teitelbaum helped write to the Onset Protective League in 1999 on his research of the decree of 1916.

It read: "The town's role is that of a trustee of the land… As a trustee, the town's role is to merely ensure that the Decree land is used only for its dedicated purposes. The town does not own the land; the town may not use the land as it sees fit; the Town may only act to ensure that the purposes for which the land was dedicated, e.g., bathing, boating, fishing, parks and open space are met."

Later in the meeting, resident Neil Westgate asked if the group or the Onset Protective League plan on bringing this issue to a Selectmen's meeting.

Nancy Miller said she had a brief and informal conversation on the topic with Selectman Alan Slavin. She believed the Selectmen won't feel comfortable commenting on the issue until the Attorney General's office weighs in.

"I don't agree with that at all. We need to go right up there as a group and we'll go up and ask the Selectmen some of these questions," said Knowlton. "They need to be accountable for what they're doing to us in Onset."