By Dave Alexander | Muskegon Chronicle October 11, 2009, 2:56AM MUSKEGON — Muskegon Yacht Club members for years have wanted to replace their aging, floating docks on Muskegon Lake.
Adjacent Bluffton Bay neighbors say they have been upset with the yacht club nearly as long, due to parking congestion, boat traffic and late-night activities.
So when the club began what has become a lengthy process to obtain federal and state approval for its proposed new and expanded dock system, neighbors have been fighting it every step of the way. That neighborhood “spat” spilled on to a recent Muskegon Planning Commission agenda, with the dispute seeming to have no end in sight.
Muskegon planners were asked to approve a $1.4 million marina expansion as it related to shore-side parking that would be needed for the 16 additional slips proposed by the yacht club.
Opposition to the expansion came from the group of neighbors.
“What we have here is a neighborhood spat between the neighbors and the Muskegon Yacht Club,” said Muskegon Planning Commissioner Bill Larson. “But where should the city get involved?”
Planning commissioners decided not to take a stand yet, tabling the Muskegon Yacht Club request for a site plan review for its marina expansion at 3198 Edgewater. City planners want the club to produce a Michigan Department of Environmental Quality marina operating permit before taking up the issue of shore-side parking.
The DEQ permit has been a seven-year issue and potentially faces more legal hurdles in light of neighbors’ opposition.
An original 2002 yacht club dock expansion application was denied by the DEQ in 2003, but the club filed a “contested case” — a process just now winding down to a conclusion. A proposed settlement has been reached between the DEQ and yacht club, state officials said.
The DEQ’s Land and Water Management Division office in Grand Rapids came to an agreement with the club to scale back the dock expansion. The settlement includes a “conservation easement” that would restrict any further club expansion into Muskegon Lake, according Luis Saldivia, the Grand Rapids district supervisor.
Saldivia’s office has published the proposed settlement and taken public comment that will be considered in a final decision. That decision will come through negotiations with the yacht club, Saldivia said.
After a final decision to grant or deny the revised marina expansion request, state officials said the yacht club or aggrieved neighbors will have 60 days to file for a hearing before an administrative law judge, whose decision can be appealed to a state circuit court.
Muskegon attorney and yacht club neighbor Cindy Brady told The Chronicle that her group will continue to fight the yacht club expansion.
Muskegon Yacht Club spokesman Phillip Lundwall said the club hopes to have the old floating dock system that dates back to 1985 removed this winter and the new expanded docks constructed for next sailing season.
“Because of the size of the slips and conditions of our docks, they need to be replaced,” Lundwall told city planners. The owners of larger boats are asking to moor on the docks, and east winds over the years have damaged the current 71-slip floating dock system, he said.
The Muskegon Yacht Club revised plan calls for 87 slips with two main floating docks of up to 385 feet and 355 feet, along with 33 finger piers from 50 to 25 feet in length. Coming from the south end of the property is a proposed 660-foot-long, 8-foot-wide floating dock to break the east winds and waves.
“We are trying to bring this most valuable land to its highest and best use,” Lundwall said of the 75-year-old club.
Brady — who lives at 1820 Edgewater, on Muskegon Lake, 150 feet north of the club — said the neighbors have consistently opposed expansion of the yacht club docks.
Muskegon Planning Commissioner Larry Spataro reminded city planners that the city has a limited role in the ongoing dispute — the parking configuration for marinas outlined by the city’s zoning ordinance.
“Anything else is between the DEQ, the parties and the courts,” Spataro said.
E-mail Dave Alexander at dalexander@muskegonchronicle.com
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