PROVIDENCE — The beach around Narragansett’s Dunes Club is going to look a lot different this winter.

The historic, private beach club obtained approvals from coastal regulators to reinforce its 350-foot-long seawall against erosion, much to the consternation of environmental groups concerned about shoreline access.

Under the plans approved by the Coastal Resources Management Council during its last full meeting of the year, on Dec. 9, the new seawall will consist of a fiberglass-reinforced steel sheetpile and jut out one foot closer to the ocean than the old one.

Steve Sterling, the longtime general manager of the Dunes Club, told CRMC members a series of recent winter storms in 2023 and 2024 shifted the sand on Narragansett Beach, causing scouring that undermined a nearby historic home and threatened nearby structures.

“The greatest risk we all face is the lengthy undermining of the wall footage that will lead to a collapse of the seawalls, along with loss of fill and possible structural loss,” Sterling said during the project’s CRMC hearing.

Part of the Dunes Club presentation were similar applications from nearby homeowners John Francis Barry and Daria Becker Barry and Joseph Healey. They own the properties adjacent to the club on the town beach side and the seawall extends in front of their properties as well.

Lateral shoreline access is guaranteed to be impeded on Narragansett Town Beach this winter. The beach in front of the seawall has long been popular with residents and beachgoers looking to walk down the shoreline or reach the western bank of the Narrows River, which has an outlet at the northern end of the beach.

The beach directly in front of the Dunes Club main building is one of the thinnest stretches of the beaches on that part of the state’s shoreline. It is not uncommon during higher tides for the ocean to lap at the seawall.

Because they often worsen erosion, instead of protecting shoreline as intended, CRMC remains iffy on seawalls and other hardening structures in places with busy ocean waves. The agency is in the middle of a nearly three-year long battle with the Quidnessett Country Club, which built an unauthorized seawall in 2023. Type 1 waters, like those in front of the Quidnessett Country Club, have prohibitions on seawalls.

But the Dunes Club, and its seawall, predate such regulations, and even CRMC itself, by decades. Both were constructed in 1939, after the Hurricane of 1938 wiped out the club’s original structure.

To mitigate shoreline access concerns, the club has proposed a landward alternative path to shoreline access while construction is ongoing. The new path would be marked with concrete barriers or fencing leading around the club and two private properties to the side of Beach Street. Regular lateral access to the shore would resume once construction on the new wall is completed.

CRMC noted in its report a typical maintenance proposal of an existing structure would normally be decided internally, but because the beach was a popular lateral access area, the matter should be kicked up to the full council for a vote.

Staff also suggested their own stipulations: this would be the last time the club was allowed to expand the seawall seaward, and all work on the wall should be completed by May 15, 2026. Lateral access, as well as any damage to sand dunes, should be restored after that date.

“We’ve always respected the rights of the public to pass along the shore, enjoy the entirety of the beach, whether it be fishing, surfing, swimming, or enjoying a boat on the Narrow River,” Sterling said. “And this will continue as proposed during our maintenance project.”

Some groups still have concerns about the project. Jed Thorp, director of advocacy for Save The Bay, warned council members further hardening the shoreline would result in greater erosion in front of it.

“Narrowing the beach in front of these three walls would negatively impact the public’s ability to laterally access the prime public trust resources along the beach,” Thorp wrote.

Isabella DeFrancesco, northeast regional manager for the Surfrider Foundation, echoed Save The Bay’s concerns. She recommended the club pursue hybrid alternatives that combine nature-based solutions like living shorelines or vegetative berms to work with the beach’s natural sediment processes.

“Integrating nature-based strategies and long-range adaptation planning now will better safeguard both the built environment and the natural systems that make Narragansett’s coastline so valuable to residents and visitors alike,” DeFrancesco wrote.