Updates on Permits; Restrictions on BPW's Hillside Trail Parcel

Updates on the Proposed Marina Permits + DNR’s Proposal to Purchase Holland BPW Land to Expand Saugatuck Dunes State Park

Happy November everyone!

Here’s a quick overview of where things stand in our efforts to stop the proposed NorthShore of Saugatuck Marina:

Lawyers retained by the insurance company representing the Saugatuck Township’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) have filed a motion asking the Allegan County Circuit Court for clarification on the Court’s order to consider new evidence to determine whether the Coastal Alliance has standing to challenge the 2017 marina permit. A hearing has been scheduled on Monday, December 11, 2023.

Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is still in the process of reviewing the application for permits to build the marina. They’ve advised us that they currently expect to make a decision by November 26.

Separately, at the Coastal Alliance’s request, an Ingham County Administrative Law Judge dismissed our lawsuit against EGLE contesting their 2008 decision to grant the proposed marina permits, which expired early this year. This officially closes out the expired permits.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is in the seventh year of its review, a process that typically takes three months. We learned this week that NorthShore requested an extension of the deadline to provide information on its mitigation plan required for the agency’s Section 106 (National Historic Preservation Act) Review. USACE agreed to extend the deadline for the submission of materials to Nov. 20.

Update on DNR’s Proposal to Purchase BPW Property to Expand Saugatuck Dunes State Park

The Coastal Alliance recently learned that that the Holland Board of Public Works (BPW), their realtor, and the MichiganDepartment of Natural Resources (DNR), have been notified of restrictions in the deed for BPW’s property at 4036 Hillside Trail in Laketown Township that prohibit the land from being used as a public park and restrict divisions. The deed restrictions date back to the 1960s. Attorneys for homeowners immediately adjacent to the BPW property raised this issue in a letter dated October 11. The restriction against use as a park, of course, would prevent DNR from purchasing the land to expand Saugatuck Dunes State Park.

The Coastal Alliance is grateful to the Outdoor Discovery Center (ODC) Network, Michigan State Representatives DeBoer, Andrews, and Hood, the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund, the DNR, The Geenan Group, and local citizens for working collaboratively to seek to protect, preserve, and conserve this land as part of the State Park.

2018 site of proposed marina.

2023 site of proposed marina, after clear-cutting and grading.

And, as always, thank you to our many supporters for joining us as we protect and preserve the Saugatuck Dunes and Kalamazoo River Mouth!