Current News

Some talking points for your convenience: (provided by Michigan Waterfront Alliance)

The Legislation would be Unconstitutional: While it is true that the Legislature can effectively "overturn" court decisions involving existing statutes by amending the statute, the Legislature cannot take away property rights and deprive a person or entity of property without due process and without paying compensation - that would be unconstitutional. For the overwhelming majority or road ends in Michigan, the adjoining riparian property owners own the land under the public road right-of-way/easement to the center thereof. See Shell Oil vs. Village of Kalkaska, 433 Mich 348 (1989); Morrow vs. Bott, 203 Mich App 324 (1994); Loud vs. Brooks, 241 Mich 452 (1928); and Thies vs Howland, 424 Mich 282 (1985).

The Legislation would be Invalid: Just as Lyon Township at Higgins lake could not by ordinance expand usage rights at public road ends, neither can the Michigan Legislature legislatively expand the usage rights at public road ends by legislation. Jacobs vs. Lyon Twp. 199 Mich App 667 (1993); Higgins Lake Property Owners Ass'n vs. Gerrish Township, 255 Mich App 83 (2003); Lyon Township vs. Higgins Lake Property Owners Ass'n, (unpublished Michigan Court of Appeals, Case No. 265162, dated April 11, 2006).

The Legislation would betray the public trust: Even if the proposed legislation did meet constitutional challenges, these bills would deprive the vast majority of the public of the space in the water at public road ends that allows the public to go into and out of the water. Little children would now have to swim and play around a long line of boat hoists. The people who like to fish would also be impacted. At the Committee on Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources hearing held on March 20, 2007, Kelly Huntsman, a representative of the Higgins Lake Civic Association, testified that when there were approximately 500 boats moored at the public road ends at Higgins Lake everything was great. She is right. Everything was great for the 500 private individuals who took over the public right of way for the whole summer with their boats and hoists. It was a shame for the other 6500 near shore summer residents who accessed the lake around all those 500 private boats and hoists. This legislation would create a circus Coney Island like atmosphere on all the lakes in Michigan that have roads dedicated to the Public in the State of Michigan. According to an attorney who helped write the proposed Bills, "all the Bill's supporters want this Bill to do is to allow private hoists and boats to be placed at the Public road ends in Michigan". This is why the Michigan Townships Association oppose these Bills, as does the DEQ ad the DNR.

If a Township wants to create a Marina: To create a legitimate marina, all the township has to do is buy lakeshore property and get a DEQ Marina Operating Permit. Part of the DEQ permitting process ensures sound water and lake shore management including balancing the needs of the public and the private waterfront owners. If these Bills pass, it would be devastating to Michigan's legitimate marina operators and wreak havoc on the environment of Michigan's Inland Lakes!

These Bills would be unworkable: Under this legislation, townships could "subcontract" with private neighborhood associations and individuals, who would then operate the floating "marinas" at public road ends. It is not difficult to predict how that would work out. The friends and supporters of the township supervisor and township board would most likely be the ones who end up with the free seasonal wet storage at public road ends.

The legislation would create commercial activities in mostly single family residentially zoned communities: How would you like it if your township decided to make a seasonal RV parking lot on the road in front of your house?

As I wrote to you in January of 2007, at the end of the past boating season, at almost every adjudicated road end at the lake, the Jacob’s ruling, prohibiting road end mooring, was respected. A letter has been sent to the few violators advising them that, should they moor at a road end this coming summer, they will be taken to court. We have initiated court action against the two most blatant violators. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has ruled that Maplehurst and Hitchcock road ends were being operated as marinas without permits. Citations were issued followed by a DEQ and Court ruling that the boats must be removed. There should be no boats at these two road ends this coming summer, much to the relief of the adjacent riparians.

As you know, from our last letter and information posted on our web-site -- www.hlpoa.org -- there have been some local discussions between our members and HLCA members in three subdivisions, MCP1 (known as Kelly Beach area), Almeda Beach, and Sovereign Park about some increased legal access. In exchange our members would have the subdivisions replatted in a way that would eliminate all “paper roads.” This would end recreational activities and pedestrian traffic by their front windows. The HLPOA offered not to pursue legislation to codify the Jacob’s ruling if the HLCA would not pursue legislation to circumvent the Jacob’s ruling. This offer was turned down recently by the HLCA at a meeting also attended by the Lyon and Gerrish Township Supervisors, and representatives of the Roscommon County Road Commission, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Joel Sheltrown. Everyone in the room felt that we should pursue additional local legal access; only the HLCA and possibly a Lyon Township Trustee, were in favor of a statewide statute to give local units of government control of road ends and would allow boat mooring at road ends. The HLCA wants additional local access and also to overturn Jacobs at the state level. They want to have it both ways.

The HLCA decision is very unfortunate. During the grant process for the Gerrish Township Marina the Township was told by the state that Higgins Lake has “more than enough public access.” This is the reason that it is not called a marina but the Gerrish Township Park . The Township would have been disqualified for grant funds if the request were for just additional public access to Higgins Lake .

In the last year the state has allowed a “drop and go” policy at the two state parks and the west launch site when they reach capacity. This coming summer Lyon Township and the DNR have agreed to expand the west launch site parking area to accommodate an additional eighty (80) vehicles. In light of these major increases in access opportunities we can only conclude that the HLCA’s goal is not additional access but preferred access at their specific road ends. Some HLCA members have actually told us they want deeded access. We need to assure retention of the previous court rulings and not subject local officials to increased political pressure.

This past summer the HLCA replaced their moderate president and vice president with two hard line individuals. Both of the new officers have, in the recent past, defied the DEQ, the courts and the requests of both township supervisors (Lyon and Gerrish). It even required Lyon Township to resort to court action to get the required compliance. The HLCA also replaced their attorney of the last twenty years. We can only conclude that their only goal is to attempt to overturn the Jacob’s ruling by whatever means necessary. The fact they turned down our offer to not seek a legislative solution will require the HLPOA to be very active both legislatively and in the court system.

I am sorry to say that this means that the costs for our lobbyists and attorneys will obviously increase this year. I ask that when you send in your dues, that you consider what it is worth to have uncluttered road ends and a cleaner and environmentally healthy lake. We are asking you to be generous with your donations to our legal and general funds, so we can protect your riparian rights and maintain protection of the road ends at Higgins Lake . We have enclosed a second dues envelope with the hope that your relatives and adult children who enjoy the benefits of Higgins Lake will consider joining our organization and support our efforts to protect this beautiful lake.

There are two other issues that we will have to keep an eye on regarding additional pressure on the lake. One is a proposed amusement park complex in the advanced planning stages in the Grayling area off I-75 near 4 Mile Road . If this complex materializes it will be a Cedar Point type of amusement park with a hotel and other facilities. Secondly, on the North side of Higgins Lake there are three new subdivisions and more are planned. Higgins Lake is a finite resource and we must be prepared for increased pressure for access and the impact this growth will have on our lake, and it must be protected from unreasonable pressure so that we can protect its delicate environmental balance.

Speaking of environmental issues, Rick Meeks has been very busy testing the lake water and working with numerous groups to keep the lake healthy. There is going to be a new environmental group that will replace the disbanded Higgins Lake Advisory Committee. The difference is that the supervisors of both townships will chair the committee and all local and state officials will be represented at the quarterly meetings. Having all the decision makers in the room will allow us to cut through all the red tape and move forward more quickly in obtaining grants and initiating projects which impact the lake.

There are so many things we have been involved in regarding environmental issues and community activities that I do not have room to detail them in this letter. We will have more articles in our Spring Waterlines newsletter (due out in May 2007) that you will find interesting and enlightening. You will be proud that your organization is doing so much to protect the health of the lake and make our community a better place to live and visit. (due out in May 2007) that you will find interesting and enlightening. You will be proud that your organization is doing so much to protect the health of the lake and make our community a better place to live and visit.

In closing, I want to let you know that your Board of Directors will be diligent and relentless in protecting Higgins Lake and your riparian rights.

March 2007 -- Two new bills addressing road end marinas have been introduced in the House of Representatives. These bills are HB 4463 and HB 4464, and may be viewed by clicking on the link below. Then click on the district map and list of representatives to find your local representative and corresponding phone numbers and e-mail. You may also visit www.mi.gov, click on legislature and then look up any bill numbers and view their activity and progress. The intent of these two new bills is to place marinas at road ends where a road ends at a body of water in the State of Michigan.

The House of Representatives held a hearing on March 20, and the bills were not voted on at this meeting. Another hearing will be held when the House returns after Easter, sometime after April 15th.

Please take the time now to write (preferred), phone call, (or e-mail), your local Representative and let them know that you are opposed to these two new bills. A written letter mailed to the appropriate parties is the preferred method of action.

I regret to report that the HLCA has made the unfortunate decision to pursue legislation to overturn the Jacob's ruling. As you are aware Bill Carey and I approached Gerrish Township early last spring to offer our assistance in increasing access to the lake in area's that would also help our members. We then had a meeting with Tom Koscinski and Bill Horton the attorney for the HLCA. We, as a group agreed that we would work toward a comprehensive agreement in Gerrish Township.

Bill Carey was working with Bill Horton in regard to an agreement in Alemda Beach and MCP1 (Grosbeak area) and Rick Meeks and I were working on Sovereign Park. This past summer the HLCA changed leadership and their attorney of twenty years. Tom Koscinski , the vice president and Bill Horton were replaced by hard-line members Ric Federau and John Shreck and they hired Chris Bzdok, an attorney from Traverse City.

Our attorney and I again approached the Township and the office of representative Sheltrown to let them know that we desired an amicable and legal solution to the lake access issues. Through the Townships and Sheltrown's office a meeting was arranged to attempt to facilitate an agreement. Also there was a meeting in Lansing on October 28th between the lobbyist and attorney's who represented both sides and three state representative's and their staff. Chris Bzdok the attorney for the HLCA attempted to argue that the State had the authority to over rule the court's and redefine the scope of the dedication at the road ends. The meeting ended with the two sides agreeing to disagree regarding this legal argument.

When the Democrats won control of the house in November it seemed to change the dynamics of the situation. I had a meeting the next day with Greg Gaylor and Brady Shickinger at which time Brady informed us that the HLCA was going to seek a legislative solution because of the change in leadership. This idea was very upsetting to Supervisor Greg Gaylor and he voiced it to Brady. I believe due to Gaylor's obvious displeasure I received a phone call from Brady by the end of the week informing me they had changed their minds and would agree to continue the talks.

However it soon became clear that this was not their intention because of the lack of cooperation on getting the groups in the subdivisions together. I had attempted for six weeks to get names and arrange dates for meetings with no success. Two weeks ago after being rebuffed on numerous attempts I threw the ball into Supervisor Greg Gaylor's court to see if he could get through to the HLCA leadership. Being put in the situation where they had to go public with their position I received a phone call from Ric Federau. When I returned his call he informed me that they had invested a lot of money in their lobbyist and thought that they were in a strong position in Lansing. Therefore they were going to pursue legislation to circumvent Jacob's in the next session of the legislature.

It is unfortunate the HLCA would not take this opportunity to seek peace and increased legal public access to the lake. They have put the subdivision involved and our members in general in a position that we cannot agree to a local solution that has the threat to be held null and void by the legislature. Immediately after the first of the year I will sit down with our attorney's and lobbyist and discuss our options regarding this unfortunate decision by the HLCA. Rest assured that we will pursue ever legal and legislative remedy necessary to protect our members riparian rights that the court's have consistently upheld all the way to the Supreme Court of Michigan.

Thank you and may you and your family have a Happy Holiday Season:
Pat

During the first week of November both area papers, the Roscommon Herald and the Houghton Lake Resorter, ran articles stating that the HLPOA, the Higgins Lake Civic Association and local government agencies were discussing lake access issues. We would like to clarify exactly what these discussions entailed and how they would affect the lake and our members. The focus of the discussions was very narrow and would affect people in only three subdivisions.

Carey & Jaskowski, P.L.L.C. represent the riparians in all three subdivisions; Sovereign Park, Almeda Beach and the 1st Addition to Michigan Central Park. All three subdivisions have platted boulevards that run parallel to the lake. Each of the boulevards present problems for the adjacent riparian owners. In each of these subdivisions our members literally have people walking and recreating very close to their front windows. The riparian owners in these subdivisions feel that their lives would be better if, in exchange for some seasonal mooring privileges, the lakeside boulevards are vacated.

We would like to emphasize that the only three areas open for discussion would be the three subdivisions where there is something to be gained for our members. At the same time, we reiterate the HLPOA will not support any discussion or negotiations that are inconsistent with the Jacob’s ruling. Any agreement will require a replat to create township parks. Replatting would require agreement by the township, the Roscommon Road Commission, the Department of Environmental Quality and all residents in the subdivisions involved. If all of the necessary participants agree, a consent judgment would result. The township would then be responsible for policing the mooring and dockage.

The only other issues being discussed are related to the Baxter Marina (Higgins Lake Boat Yard) and the B&B Marina. Both the Townships have expressed an interest in the conversion of these marinas from private to public. Lyon Township may also research the possibility of a public mooring area at the DNR west launch site. To implement public mooring, the townships would charge market rate mooring fees and a road-end ordinance. The road-end ordinance would ban mooring at road-ends. Such an ordinance would relieve HLPOA of the responsibility of enforcing the rule of Jacobs by contempt proceedings.

In closing, we would like to emphasize that the HLPOA wants to show a good faith effort to reach an amicable resolution to the access issues which have plagued Higgins Lake for many years. The HLPOA is serving as a facilitator in the meetings involving the subdivisions that are in conflict. The final outcome is up to the property owners within those subdivisions. Beyond being a facilitator, HLPOA is being careful to make sure that the Jacob’s rule of law is not modified or compromised in any way.

We would like to wish you and your families a very happy holiday. While you are away from your beloved lake, please rest assured that HLPOA will be diligent in protecting your interests and the health of Higgins Lake.

July 22, 2006 - Water quality testing continues and has produced some very positive results. Higgins Lake is testing well for water clarity and chlorophyll but did not score well for phosphorus. this indicates issues with use of fertilizers and sedimentary runoff and must be addressed in the near future. With the increases in residences at the lake, the HLPOA environmental committee is concerned with the near shore conditions and is working with Huron Pines, DNR and the townships to obtain near shore water testing grants. The Committee may be contacting lakefront property owners in the next year for permission to conduct water testing.

The Eurasian water milfoil panels are being brought up, cleaned and returned to new milfoil sites in the lake throughout the summer months. Weevil effectiveness will be checked in the fall.

The Cut River Dam is the subject of a possible project to update the current dam structure and increase efficiency.

A boat washing station is being explored and may be operational by summer of 2007.

The HLPOA continues to work on environmental issues concerning the lake and also reaching out into the community in support of local projects and organizations.

The 2006 - 2007 HLPOA Member directory is at the printer and members will be receiving their copies soon.

HLPAC is interviewing political candidates and will mail recommended endorsements to members soon.

The HLPOA urges members to register to vote at their Higgins Lake address if possible, due to the impact a single vote can have in our local political races.

Ken Dennings awarded the Friends of Higgins Lake Award to William and Jane Case to honor their many years of selfless service to the HLPOA for the betterment of Higgins lake.

Legislative and legal efforts are continuing on several fronts and members will receive updates concerning all the various issues in the next newsletter.

Of concern at the annual meeting were zebra mussels and swimmer's itch - many people reported getting swimmer's itch this year. Some helpful hints were suggested and include:

Towel off as soon as you get out of the water as this is when the organisms enter the skin.

For more information, contact our office - -we have several informative flyers that we are happy to mail out.

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Newspaper article in Detroit News, April 23, 2006, regarding road ends and dock/hoist issue -- including comments made by Assistant Attorney General James Riley regarding the installation of hoists and boat mooring at road ends:

Install one on public land, as Mich. residents have done for years, and risk fines or jail time. Doug Guthrie and Amy lee / The Detroit News

Families accustomed for years or even decades to installing docks on lakes where they don't own waterfront property this year risk hefty fines or even jail time if they ignore a ruling to desist.

And while the tension over water access is a perennial problem on Michigan's thousands of inland lakes, the epicenter of the issue is on Higgins and Houghton lakes in the state's northern Lower Peninsula. There, judges spent much of the offseason enforcing court rulings that local authorities were reluctant to recognize.

As the new boating season begins, residents and cottagers throughout the state prepare for battles on the lakes and in courts. Those without waterfront property remain legally barred from a generations-old practice of creating temporary marinas with docks and hoists at the ends of public roads that terminate on lakes.

In the Roscommon County court dealing with Higgins and Houghton lakes, a judge slapped six people -- one from Macomb Township, one from St. Clair Shores, one from East Lansing, one from DeWitt and two from Roscommon -- with $450 fines apiece and court costs for violating an earlier ruling. A Roscommon man in November was fined and banished from using Higgins Lake this year, a ruling altered last week. A Taylor woman was briefly jailed and fined after a courtroom outburst in November.

And civil process servers still are looking for John Schreck, 45, a Canton Township resident who owns 75 acres a half-mile from Higgins Lake. Despite a new sign warning the practice is illegal, Schreck followed family tradition last spring, installing a hoist for a 24-foot-long pontoon boat at a road end. Now, he's accused of contempt of court on suspicion he tried to evade being served with orders to appear in court.

"I haven't decided what I'm going to do when they deliver the notice to face the judge," said Schreck, who said he has not hidden to avoid being served. "He will say I'm guilty, but we've used these road ends all my life because that was the understanding when my family bought the land back in the 1940s."

With the demand for recreational access ever increasing and lakefront owners looking to protect their expensive property from overcrowding, courts throughout the state continue to hear similar arguments.

The case that recently defined the public's right to stroll along Michigan's Great Lakes shorelines started as an argument on Lake Huron between lakefront and back-lot neighbors in Greenbush, south of Alpena. The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review the Michigan Supreme Court decision that allows public beach walking below the historic high water mark.

Houghton and Higgins lakes dominate the controversy about public access each year because a plethora of roads end at them. Some inland lakes in Metro Detroit lakes have roads that dead-end at the waterfront, but many simply curve around the water and therefore do not create an access point for boat moorings or docks.

"People like to use them for public access, but most of the time they're just shooed away by nearby property owners," said Commerce Township Supervisor Tom Zoner, who estimates the township has four roads that dead-end into lakes. "They're actually kind of hard to find, so it's usually residents who know the area pretty well and they're just looking for a party spot."

Issue brings waves of cases

On Houghton Lake, Chesterfield Township resident Marty Prehn has been sued by an association of residents that operates a marina next to his cottage.

"It's an amazing reversal of logic where they are claiming my boat hoist in front of my cottage is sitting on an underwater easement they somehow purchased years ago," Prehn said.

The Sunshine Bay Dock Association argues Prehn's dock extends onto its lakefront property and is not at a road end at all, said Scott Hess, the lawyer who represents the association.

It's an example of the entanglements that surround lake access. The problem with seasonal road-end marinas is statewide, but Higgins Lake, with 94 dead-ends at the water's edge, is a hotbed, said James Riley, an assistant state attorney general who represents the Department of Natural Resources and Department of Environmental Quality in water access lawsuits.

Many local governments and counties have outlawed the practice, but some townships took the opposite tack, adopting local ordinances supporting off-lake residents in their quest to keep long-standing docking and mooring at road ends. A Michigan Court of Appeals decision released April 11 determined that local governments can't make laws allowing overnight boat mooring and hoists.

"There is no statewide ordinance, only case law established by previous lawsuits, so the matter is left up to neighbors to sue each other, road after road and subdivision after subdivision," Riley said. "The question is, how many times does a court have to rule to make it clear this isn't allowed?"

The practice continued on Higgins Lake despite numerous lawsuits resulting in court opinions against it that date to the 1980s.

"Enforcement is very difficult politically here when the majority of the voters don't own lake frontage, but want to continue enjoying the lake," said William Carey, a lifelong Higgins Lake resident who also is a lawyer representing lakefront owners.

"Any board or unit of local government around here knows enforcement ensures a recall election. That's happened several times already so it gets turned over to the courts, and the courts chastise the townships for not taking on their responsibilities, and then, nothing happens."

Indeed, back-lotters successfully recalled three Lyon Township Board members in Roscommon County in early 2003 when the board passed a township ordinance that barred boat moorings at the end of roads that abut Higgins Lake. Voters broomed Supervisor Paul Tatro, the township's treasurer, and one trustee; Tatro won back the office during the November 2004 election.

During his nearly two-year absence, the new board fought in court to gain road-end rights. Again, the courts ruled against the seasonal marinas, and slapped the township with a $2,000 fine for challenging the court on its earlier ruling.

"People are just now realizing that this isn't going to change," Tatro said.

"Obviously people who live two blocks from the lake and moored their boat at the road end for the last 20 years are not happy and they're not going to be happy. What we're doing now is trying to find better and more access to the lake for people who don't own lakefront property."

Judge cracks down

When the local judge stepped aside because of claims about conflicts of interest, a visiting judge was assigned to oversee two lawsuits. Higgins Lake frontage owners, at least a quarter of them from Metro Detroit, had again sued back-lotters docking at the road ends.

Newaygo County Circuit Judge Terrence Thomas warned last spring the road ends were meant for swimming and temporary recreational access including fishing and launching small boats. A dock can be installed, but picnicking, sunbathing and overnight boat mooring aren't allowed.

Thomas cracked down during the offseason. The names of more than 100 boat owners who violated his orders last summer were provided to the judge, Carey said. Most weren't punished after agreeing to never do it again. About a dozen got fined after unsuccessfully arguing their innocence before the judge.

"We aren't trying to keep people off the lakes. It's about respecting private property and public rights of everyone to use those road ends," said Pat Springstead, president of the Higgins Lakefront Property Owners Association and owner of Nemo's Bar in Detroit near Tiger Stadium. "They should not have special privileges on public land just because their grandfathers did."

That was essentially the argument posed by the seven men who pleaded no contest to violating a judge's ruling barring the creation of seasonal marinas with docks and hoists at the end of a road that terminates at a lake. An eighth man who argued he moored his boat in front of a public park was ordered to pay $750 in fines and court costs and barred from using Higgins Lake through 2006, although last week a judge relented and agreed to allow the man to use the lake again. At the end of that contentious November hearing, a Taylor woman was slapped with a $100 for cursing at the visiting judge.

Ric Federau, president of the Higgins Lake Civic Association that represents 1,200 back-lotters, said losing mooring privileges will hurt off-lake property values.

"This is a war of front-lotters against back-lotters," Federau said.

"There are more than 400 displaced boats now on Higgins Lake. That's a lot of frustrated people who are thinking this is a judge legislating from the bench."

You can reach Doug Guthrie at (734) 462-2674 or dguthrie@detnews.com and Amy Lee at (313) 222-2548 or alee@detnews.com.