A Land Court judge is considering a request from Chappaquiddick homeowners for a preliminary injunction to halt public vehicle traffic along some of the sandy trails at the northern end of Cape Pogue.

Judge Sarah Turano-Flores on Tuesday listened to arguments from the attorneys for Victor and Dawn Colantonio, which own two parcels on Cape Pogue and filed the underlying lawsuit, and the Trustees of Reservations, a conservation nonprofit that manages the miles of oversand vehicle traffic along the barrier beach at the eastern edge of the island.

If approved, the ruling would limit the quieter side of Cape Pogue that is known for its fishing to Trustees staff, Trustees-led tours and pedestrians, while cutting out people driving with oversand vehicle permits.  

Legal fights over the trails have been going on for years amid growing tensions over who is allowed to traverse the different paths that lead to the remote stretches of beach. Last week, Judge Turano-Flores ruled that the Trustees was exceeding the limits of an 1891 easement across the Colantonios land. 

In response, the Colantonios called on the court to stop the Trustees from allowing people to buy oversand vehicle permits to cross over an area near Tom’s Neck Road to continue to the northern end of Cape Pogue. 

But during the hearing, the attorney for the Trustees argued that the trails included in the 135-year-old easement aren’t the same ones that are used today by the public, and aren’t subject to the rules that limit the easement to just the property owners in the area near the Cape Pogue Lighthouse.

Attorney Dylan Sanders pointed to an affidavit from Chris Kennedy, the former director for the conservation nonprofit. Mr. Kennedy testified that the evershifting sands have changed where the trails have gone. 

The trails that fall under the 1891 easement, known as partition trails, are not the same as the ones that are used now, according to the Trustees.

“There has been a network of trails that are used,” Mr. Sanders said. “The fact that one partition way may burden the property should not limit the Trustees’ use of the entire properties out here.” 

He argued that the Colantonios need to prove that the trails that have the 1891 easement and the ones in use now are the same. 

“It is the plaintiffs’ burden to show that these partition ways, which we dispute,” Mr. Sanders said. 

The Colantonios asked for a preliminary injunction with the court in July after the Trustees made a marketing push to get oversand vehicle permit owners out to the northern reaches of Cape Pogue. 

The state Department of Environmental Protection ruled earlier this year that the Trustees can allow 275 oversand vehicles onto Cape Pogue at a time, across Leland Beach, Wasque and trails north of the Dike Bridge.

That allowance was, according to the Colantonios’ attorney Denise Chicoine, a violation of the 1891 easement. 

“Even limited vehicle traffic is a real burden on the residents in terms of safety and in terms of emergency access,” said Ms. Chicoine. “The boundaries of private property are not marked on any of the Trustees’ maps. When they hand out their OSV trail signs and give these permits, it just emboldens people to drive anywhere they see fit that has a dashed line on the map.”

The Trustees have sold about 1,100 permits this summer and an average of 56 drivers this summer turn north after going across the Dike Bridge, which provides the only vehicle access to Cape Pogue. Not all of those drivers are going as far as the easements at the center of the litigation.

The Trustees called on the court to keep the status quo while the dispute is hashed out. 

“Visiting these beaches is a cherished tradition, both for Islanders and summer visitors alike,” Mr. Sanders said. “The Trustees have a legislative mandate to make such special places accessible to the public, as they have been doing since 1959. This injunction seeks to destroy the status quo.” 

Judge Turano-Flores took the arguments for the injunction under advisement and said that many other issues in the overall lawsuit from the Colantonios still need to be considered. One new point, an easement from the 1980s, was also raised by the Trustees as a potential sticking point in the case. 

The judge set a Sept. 22 hearing to go over the new evidence and consider the next steps of the case.