Glen Lake Township Proposed Ordinances

[lshauser]

There's a good article on road-end issues in the latest Leelanau Enterprise: Public use at road-end beaches targeted (08/28/2008: sect.1, p.1). It says Glen Lake Township is moving to adopt an ordinance that "would prohibit shoreline activities such as installation of docks and boat hoists, overnight mooring, overnight parking of watercraft or trailers, 'sunbathing, lounging and picnicking'." "One intent of the ordinance," it's said, "is to preserve allowed uses such as boating, swimming, and fishing."

[Enterprise Reader]

Leelanau Enterprise Editorial (Sept. 18, 2008)
Road End Plan Unnecessary

Glen Arbor Township is considering adoption of an ordinance that would, among other restrictions, stop people from “loitering” or “sunbathing” at road ends to Glen Lake. Our advice: Drop it. While some portions of the ordinance might make sense — preventing folks from putting out private docks, for example — trying to discern whether someone has spent too much time soaking in one of the most beautiful spectacles in the country seems overambitious, at best, to us. At its worst, the ordinance can be interpreted as an elitist attempt to keep “common folk” from enjoying the lake.

We really don’t want to get into the intentions of those pushing for the ordinance. This may simply be a case of elected officials — in this case, the township board — paying too much attention to what they are authorized to do at the expense of common sense. The board asked for and received a legal opinion explaining that Michigan Court of Appeals and Supreme Court opinions likely give townships the authority to regulate many public road ends at inland lakes.

The issue arose from a proposed bill in the state Legislature — a bill that was not passed — entrusting to local governments the right to determine road end use. The county Road Commission has said it would back townships that jump into the road end business. But the ordinance proposed in Glen Arbor would become an enforcement nightmare. Does the township expect its Zoning Administrator to issue tickets to stationary people in rights-of-way? Should a county Sheriff’s Department deputy heel a trench around visitors standing still, much like a constable puts a chalk mark on a parked car to determine how long it’s been there?

Consider this scenario. A loud party of boats drops anchors just yards off a road-end, and commences to whoop it up. On the other side of the lake, a quiet sunlover on a blanket soaks up a Leelanau summer. It’s the sunlover who would be breaking the ordinance if passed. Or consider the grandmother who called up the Enterprise, concerned because she likes to watch her grandkids swimming off a road end beach while she sits in a lawn chair. Who wants to tell grandma that she’s breaking the law?

Road ends have traditionally been used for public access to Leelanau County’s many beautiful lakes. An ordinance banning or regulating the placement of private structures (docks) on road ends sounds reasonable, if that has been a problem. But more traditional uses, including sunbathing and especially loitering, should be encouraged rather than banned.