The owners of a waterfront Sakonnet Point home who seek state permission to build a small dock on Sakonnet Harbor have accused Little Compton officials of potential “legal, statutory and ethical violations” that taken as a whole “suggest that municipal authority has been used to advance a vindictive, personally targeted campaign against us.”

Timothy and Isabella Ehrlich, who split their time between their main home in Massachusetts and Little Compton, own properties at 9 and 10 Minnesota Road and rent out a home there on a short term basis for a portion of the year.

Last year, they sought approval from the state Coastal Resources Management Council to install a private floating dock behind the home. But the couple’s plan has been staunchly opposed by neighbors and some town officials who believe the dock is incompatible with the harbor and would impede public shoreline access, could create environmental and safety issues, and conflicts with the harbor’s historic character.

As opposition to the project grew among neighbors and some town officials last year, the Ehrlichs accused the town and its residents of being uncharitable, unwelcoming and xenophobic:

“We had assumed Little Compton to be a welcoming community,” Tim Ehrlich told members of the Little Compton Town Council last November. “What we have experienced is sadly the opposite.”

New accusations

There has been little outward movement on the plan since late last year, and the project remains before the CRMC.

But on Friday, Oct. 2, the Ehrlichs wrote a seven-page letter to town council president Patrick McHugh and town clerk Heather Cook, alleging a host of ethical and legal violations by the town in officials’ dealings with the issue. Though the letter does not institute legal action, the Ehrlichs threaten it:

“We are offering the Town an opportunity to discuss our concerns, but that offer should not be mistaken for hesitation or any limitation of our determination to pursue all available legal and administrative remedies based upon the facts as they are developed,” they wrote. “The Town’s conduct has caused substantial distress and disruption to us and our family. We are determined to continue to investigate these matters and if necessary pursue them to their conclusion in defense of our individual rights and the collective right of residents to lawful, transparent and accountable government.”

McHugh declined to comment on the Ehrlichs’ recent dispatch, and at least one recent council agenda notes that councilors were discussing “potential litigation” in closed executive session.

The claims

Among other things, the Ehrlichs claim that:

•The harbor commission exceeded its authority when the chairman, among other things, “solicited private contributions specifically to finance opposition to our application;”

• Town officials were not able to produce communications and records associated with the town’s discussions on the matter;

• The town allegedly enlisted the United States Army Corps of Engineers to defeat the dock application;

• Town officials continue “to challenge our riparian and littoral rights” and have treated other harbor-area property owners differently — “we are prepared to pursue [an] equal protection claim through the Fourteenth Amendment.”

• Town officials allegedly failed to give public notice and potentially misused executive sessions;

• And other claims

Next step?

The Ehrlichs wrote that they are prepared to take the following actions if our investigation reveals them to be supported by the facts and the law.” They include:

• Declaratory judgement and injunctive relief establishing waterfront lights, determining the limits of town and harbor commission authority, stopping any town activities that exceed authority, and halting any unauthorized expenditures by the town;

• Relief before the CRMC challenging the town’s and commission’s authority;

• The filing of APRA and Open Meetings Act complaints with the Rhode Island Attorney General, “together with a separate public-integrity referral concerning potential corruption, misuse of office and unauthorized financial activity.”

•Ethics Commission complaints;

• And a civil rights claim against the town and officials in their individual capacities.

“We intend to hold the Town and all responsible officials accountable,” the write. “In connection with any such filings we will seek all available damages, attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses, including personal liability and punitive damages against individuals where legally available.”