Lawsuit filed to stop impending Onset Bathhouse demolition

Ten Wareham residents have filed a lawsuit against the town and the Buzzards Bay Coalition to stop the demolition of the Onset Bathhouse.

In the lawsuit, which was filed in Plymouth Superior Court on Oct. 29, the residents allege the town illegally leased land to the Buzzards Bay Coalition. The New Bedford-based nonprofit is dedicated to the restoration, protection and sustainable use of the bay. Coalition officials were set to tear down the bathhouse this year to build the new $5.3 million, two-story Onset Bay Center. Coalition officials want to construct a headquarters for on-the-water programming intended to serve thousands of people each year. Originally, the coalition planned to open the center in summer 2019.

The bathhouse, in some form or another, has been a fixture at Onset Beach since the 1800s, and is located on public land protected by a court case that dates back more than 100 years. Known as the decree of 1916, the Supreme Judicial Court decision protected 40 acres of land in Onset from development. 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 now-defunct association developed much of Onset in the early 1900s.

The residents argue that a 99-year lease the town signed with the coalition in 2017 included land beyond the scope of the project, according to Attorney Philip Schreffler of the Lowell-based firm Eno, Marin, & Donahue.

“The contention is the town leased a much wider footprint than authorized to do so,” said Schreffler, who represents the 10 plaintiffs. “They’re looking to prevent the town from leasing that property.”

Authorization for the lease and spending $215,000 to renovate the bathhouse were both given at Spring Town Meeting in 2016.

In an email sent to the media, the plaintiffs say that vote was illegal.

“Voters approved $215,000 of Community Preservation Act money to ‘rejuvenate’ the bathhouse. Subsequently, a number of actions…revived the defunct [Onset Bay Grove Association] corporation and resulted in an illegal lease that includes not only the bathhouse but more than 16,000 square feet of Onset Beach, the adjacent coastal bluffs, and part of the dedicated park land known as Bay View Park,” the email read.  

The 10 plaintiffs are: Lisa Morales, Mark Herring, Ralph Strawn, Laurie Strawn, Nancy Miller, Marie Strawn, Holly Harootunian, Harold Harootunian, Donna Ryan, and Gail Herring.

Schreffler said his clients contend the money authorized at Town Meeting was for the renovation of the bathhouse, not for its demolition.

“Knocking down the walls is not exactly a restoration,” said Schreffler.

Schreffler noted the defendants will be served in the next week or two. Following that, court dates will be set and the lawsuit will go before a judge, he said.

Buzzards Bay Coalition President Mark Rasmussen said as of Monday afternoon he had no been notified of the lawsuit.

“The Buzzards Bay Coalition has not received any lawsuit as of this afternoon and therefore cannot comment,” he said in a statement. 

In a statement on behalf of the town, Selectman Peter Teitelbaum said Wareham officials had also not yet been notified of the lawsuit.

“We have not yet seen the alleged lawsuit, and in any event it is the Board of Selectmen’s policy to not comment directly upon threatened or actual litigation,” said Teitelbaum.