Westerly - It's the real estate opportunity of a lifetime.

The land for sale is almost 4 acres of spectacular scenery on Winnapaug Pond, possibly the most private tract in Misquamicut, and the object of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on private property rights.

Owner Anthony Palazzolo, 88, is selling 3.73 of the 18 acres that were the focus of the 2001 U.S. Supreme Court case, Palazzolo v. Rhode Island. The outcome of that case, which Palazzolo called “a very favorable decision,” was the creation of one house lot where a single-family, three-bedroom home could be built. He said the price is negotiable.

Palazzolo bought the property in 1960 with the intent to develop it. His applications to make the marsh suitable for building were denied, and he argued his case before state courts, the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and then the U.S. Supreme Court. His legal argument in the federal court was not that the state was wrong, but that taking away the use of his land amounted to a form of eminent domain.

He is selling the lot now because “I didn't have the money, and the bills have piled up,” he said. “I need to sell this. While I can't benefit from this, someone else could.”

Palazzolo has done the site work and has gathered the necessary permits, including permission to build a de-nitrification septic system designed by the Coastal Resources Management Council.

”I'm doing it to alleviate any hassle for whoever buys the property,” he said.

He stressed that he will not be doing any actual building; that will be up to the new owner.

The property is set back enough from Atlantic Avenue that the noise and bustle of the summer beach crowds may as well be nonexistent. With 1,500 feet of pond frontage for a backyard, the new owners could fish, swim, clam, sail, kayak or windsurf practically out of their back door. Across the street, there is a right of way to the Atlantic Ocean. He said the emerald-green marsh grasses, surrounding pools of water that sparkled in the summer sun, may be a dream come true to some homeowners.

”There's no grass to mow,” he noted.

Although Palazzolo's name can be found on any number of Web sites that discuss the rights of private property owners, he said the issue is not as simple as these organizations try to make it.

”There's so much to this,” he said. “For every zig, there's a zag.”

But now that the property rights been settled by the highest court in the land, the new owner will be able to just sit back and enjoy the sunsets over the pond.

”You'll never find another place like this,” Palazzolo said