Somewhere in East Cambridge, a very small group of people are having a good laugh at our expense.

The Commonwealth's Chapter 91 law, as I understand it, requires public access to properties near any substantial body of water (among other things).

The law seems clear-cut when it comes to open bodies of water such as the ocean, ponds, lakes, and streams.

The law is less clear when it comes to filled tidelands, specifically those up to 1/2 mile from major bodies of water.

Seeing as major parts of downtown Boston are built on landfill, you can understand the ramifications.

Just about any project's viability is open to debate.

Last year (or the year before), local residents in East Cambridge sued the developers / owners of the proposed NorthPoint condo project, saying that the state had overlooked the requirements of the law when approving the project.

The residents' complaint was less about public access and more about stopping the project completely because they didn't want the $1 billion development to be built.

The first two buildings at NorthPoint are nearing completion, but the Supreme Court recently ruled that the land is subject to Chapter 91 regulations.

Unfortunately, now every other project, proposed, under construction, or built, may be ruled illegal.

Many prominent properties are affected, such 75 State St. and One Post Office Square in downtown Boston, as well as projects now in construction, such as the Mandarin Oriental hotel at the Prudential Center and the 23-acre Seaport Square in South Boston. They could be required to make expensive public accommodations that no one contemplated, lawyers said.

In case you were confused, here's a map showing the location of the Mandarin Oriental. I wanted to show where the nearest body of water is, but couldn't make the map big enough.

The state is trying to fix this mess, by passing regulations that allow these types of projects to continue.

Meanwhile, we all suffer because a small group of ill-minded people decided to be cute.

Complete story: Ruling calls developers' projects into question - By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., The Boston Globe