12-28-2006, 06:18 PM
Public has time to comment on Proud Lake land
[url "http://www.spinalcolumnonline.com/1editorialtablebody.lasso?-token.searchtype=authorroutine&-token.lpsearchstring=Josh%20Jackett&-nothing"]Josh Jackett[/url]![[Image: z.gif]](http://www.spinalcolumnonline.com/images/z.gif)
December 27, 2006 - There's still time for those wishing to submit comments on the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) land consolidation strategy for Oakland County — including a proposed recommendation to sell several hundred acres of Proud Lake Recreation Area land in Commerce Township — following a Tuesday, Dec. 12 public hearing.
According to DNR Forest Land Administrator Kerry Wieber, residents and others interested in the fate of DNR parcels throughout the county can submit comments to the DNR up until March 8. That's the date when DNR Director Rebecca Humphries is expected make a final decision and sign orders about land the DNR will keep, offer to other organizations to manage, or dispose of.
Wieber said, however, that in mid-January the DNR Land Exchange Review Committee will incorporate public comments into its final recommendations about the DNR's Oakland County parcels, so those wishing to make their opinions known may wish to do so by then.
The public hearing that was held at the Oakland County Sportsmen's Club in Clarkston on Dec. 12 part of the DNR's land consolidation strategy process, which includes a review of state-owned parcels that fall outside DNR project boundary lines for state parks and recreation areas, state forests, state game and wildlife areas, and other DNR facilities.
Those boundaries were determined in 2004. Parcels have been reviewed by the DNR for retention, alternative conservation ownership or disposal, and the recommendations discussed at these public meetings are preliminary.
According to the DNR, detailed preliminary recommendations for the parcels in each county can be found at the DNR's web site at [url "http://www.michigan.gov/dnrlandreview"]www.michigan.gov/dnrlandreview[/url].
DNR land holdings in all counties throughout the state are going through the same review process as part of the DNR's land consolidation strategy process.
In Oakland County, 328 parcels totaling 1,854.34 acres are being reviewed. Of those, the DNR is recommending to retain state ownership of 196 parcels totaling 1,174.45 acres. The department's preliminary proposal calls for offering 43 parcels totaling 67.50 acres to an alternative conservation organization or local unit of government to manage. Another 89 parcels totaling 612.39 acres have been identified by the DNR as land to dispose.
The effort to review property for the land consolidation strategy has been ongoing for more than two years, and started with the DNR seeking partnerships with communities and other parks or conservation entities to maintain current state land.
At this point in the process, every seven months, the DNR is reviewing 10 counties to determine which parcels will be disposed of and which will be retained.
Once the reviews are completed by DNR field staff, the parcels are classified one of three ways: for retention under state ownership and DNR management, transfer to another unit of government or an alternative conservation organization, or disposal because the parcel has limited natural resource, recreational or cultural value. Parcels are identified for retention by the DNR for a myriad of reasons, including public recreational opportunities, hunting opportunities, wildlife habitat or water and boating access.
Many of those who spoke at the DNR's Dec. 12 public hearing in Clarkston spoke about the 564-acre portion of the Proud Lake Recreation Area located on Wise Road in Commerce Township that's not contiguous to the main body of the recreation area. The DNR's preliminary recommendation is to dispose of the 564-acre area.
Randolph Ston, of the Commerce Township-based Save Our State Land group, said he's not optimistic the DNR will reconsider disposing of the property.
Save Our State Land has been fighting to preserve the land as it is now, as open space, and to prevent it from being sold to a developer.
The Commerce Township Board of Trustees rezoned the property with a recreational land use designation within the past year in an effort to prevent residential or commercial developments from sprouting up if the land is sold to a developer.
Commerce Township Supervisor Tom Zoner has said the township is interested in purchasing the land, but has said the township can't afford it based on an initial appraisal figure of just under $15 million.
"The neatest thing that came out of (the public hearing) was there was an 8-year-old boy who spoke on behalf of probably everybody's concerns, saying that he walks that property, sees wild animals on that property, and he wants it to stay the same," Zoner said. "It was kind of a heart-breaking thing. He did a nice job. He's a Commerce Township resident."
The DNR's Wieber said a lot the concerns presented at the public hearing were based on the perception that the DNR is trying to sell the Proud Lake property to a person that will develop it.
"The DNR doesn't want the property developed," she said. "We're not trying to sell it to a developer."
Wieber said she believes there are creative ways for parties interested in keeping the land in its current state to secure funding for it, such as through partnerships between the community, land conservancies, and other parks organizations.
"I don't feel that's been explored fully," Wieber said. "We want these entities to come to the table to find a way to keep it maintained as open space."
She said the DNR would be willing to sit in on any discussions with such parties.
The Proud Lake property that could be sold — which is approximately one-third wetland and was purchased in 1945, in part, with state fish and game money — was intended for fishing and hunting use.
Until 1974, however, the site was used as part of the Detroit NIKE Missile Base Network, and had three underground silos. After that air-defense facility closed and the site was cleaned up, the Civilian Conservation Corps used it for six years. It has remained as open space since.
According to Paul Yauk, land program manager for the DNR Parks and Recreation Division, it has been among the state properties with the most frequent violations, as there have been complaints about unauthorized off-road vehicle and paintball activity on the land.
Ston said Save Our State Land has worked with state Rep. David Law (R-Commerce, Wolverine Lake, West Bloomfield) and Sen. Nancy Cassis (R-Commerce, Milford, Highland, White Lake, West Bloomfield, Orchard Lake, Wixom, Walled Lake and Wolverine Lake) to introduce legislation that would require the DNR to sell the property to Commerce for $1.
"The DNR misrepresented where the money came from in the first place," Ston said. "They said they need the highest and best use amount (in a sale) because the state fish and game money bought the land, but we researched it and found it was state general fund money and some fish and game money."
He said about only 10 acres of the total 564 were purchased through fish and game money.
DNR Natural Rivers Administrator Steve Sutton said the department is encumbered by several legal restrictions on how it can proceed with the Proud Lake property. Because fish and game funds were used to buy some of the Proud Lake land, the entire 564 acres must be used for hunting and fishing.
"For example, a one-sixth game and fish fund purchase, with a five-sixths general fund appropriation to buy land — because of the one-sixth game and fish fund contribution, which is for wildlife protection and public hunting and fishing — is legislatively mandated for that type of use," he said. "Any amount of fish and game fund money requires that type of use for a whole property."
Since federal funding was involved in the property's initial purchase, the land must be used for its intended purpose or the DNR could lose approximately $7 million in annual federal funding, according to DNR officials.
If Humphries approves the current recommendation to dispose the Proud Lake property, Sutton said the DNR must sell the property for its appraised value, which is based on its highest-valued use — in this case, residential use — regardless of its zoning.
"We can't give it away for a dollar or through other easy-outs," he said. "We need fair market value."
With market values having dropped, he said, a re-appraisal after March could result in a lower appraised value than the nearly $15 million figure set near the start of the DNR's land consolidation strategy process.
The DNR, Yauk said, is looking to dispose of the property because not only is it not being used for fishing and hunting, but there's no use for it at its size and location, which is about two miles the west of the full 4,300-acre Proud Lake Recreation Area; an additional four miles from the 5,800-acre Highland State Recreation Area; and directly south of the 3,600-acre Pontiac Recreation Area.
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[url "http://www.spinalcolumnonline.com/1editorialtablebody.lasso?-token.searchtype=authorroutine&-token.lpsearchstring=Josh%20Jackett&-nothing"]Josh Jackett[/url]
December 27, 2006 - There's still time for those wishing to submit comments on the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' (DNR) land consolidation strategy for Oakland County — including a proposed recommendation to sell several hundred acres of Proud Lake Recreation Area land in Commerce Township — following a Tuesday, Dec. 12 public hearing.According to DNR Forest Land Administrator Kerry Wieber, residents and others interested in the fate of DNR parcels throughout the county can submit comments to the DNR up until March 8. That's the date when DNR Director Rebecca Humphries is expected make a final decision and sign orders about land the DNR will keep, offer to other organizations to manage, or dispose of.
Wieber said, however, that in mid-January the DNR Land Exchange Review Committee will incorporate public comments into its final recommendations about the DNR's Oakland County parcels, so those wishing to make their opinions known may wish to do so by then.
The public hearing that was held at the Oakland County Sportsmen's Club in Clarkston on Dec. 12 part of the DNR's land consolidation strategy process, which includes a review of state-owned parcels that fall outside DNR project boundary lines for state parks and recreation areas, state forests, state game and wildlife areas, and other DNR facilities.
Those boundaries were determined in 2004. Parcels have been reviewed by the DNR for retention, alternative conservation ownership or disposal, and the recommendations discussed at these public meetings are preliminary.
According to the DNR, detailed preliminary recommendations for the parcels in each county can be found at the DNR's web site at [url "http://www.michigan.gov/dnrlandreview"]www.michigan.gov/dnrlandreview[/url].
DNR land holdings in all counties throughout the state are going through the same review process as part of the DNR's land consolidation strategy process.
In Oakland County, 328 parcels totaling 1,854.34 acres are being reviewed. Of those, the DNR is recommending to retain state ownership of 196 parcels totaling 1,174.45 acres. The department's preliminary proposal calls for offering 43 parcels totaling 67.50 acres to an alternative conservation organization or local unit of government to manage. Another 89 parcels totaling 612.39 acres have been identified by the DNR as land to dispose.
The effort to review property for the land consolidation strategy has been ongoing for more than two years, and started with the DNR seeking partnerships with communities and other parks or conservation entities to maintain current state land.
At this point in the process, every seven months, the DNR is reviewing 10 counties to determine which parcels will be disposed of and which will be retained.
Once the reviews are completed by DNR field staff, the parcels are classified one of three ways: for retention under state ownership and DNR management, transfer to another unit of government or an alternative conservation organization, or disposal because the parcel has limited natural resource, recreational or cultural value. Parcels are identified for retention by the DNR for a myriad of reasons, including public recreational opportunities, hunting opportunities, wildlife habitat or water and boating access.
Many of those who spoke at the DNR's Dec. 12 public hearing in Clarkston spoke about the 564-acre portion of the Proud Lake Recreation Area located on Wise Road in Commerce Township that's not contiguous to the main body of the recreation area. The DNR's preliminary recommendation is to dispose of the 564-acre area.
Randolph Ston, of the Commerce Township-based Save Our State Land group, said he's not optimistic the DNR will reconsider disposing of the property.
Save Our State Land has been fighting to preserve the land as it is now, as open space, and to prevent it from being sold to a developer.
The Commerce Township Board of Trustees rezoned the property with a recreational land use designation within the past year in an effort to prevent residential or commercial developments from sprouting up if the land is sold to a developer.
Commerce Township Supervisor Tom Zoner has said the township is interested in purchasing the land, but has said the township can't afford it based on an initial appraisal figure of just under $15 million.
"The neatest thing that came out of (the public hearing) was there was an 8-year-old boy who spoke on behalf of probably everybody's concerns, saying that he walks that property, sees wild animals on that property, and he wants it to stay the same," Zoner said. "It was kind of a heart-breaking thing. He did a nice job. He's a Commerce Township resident."
The DNR's Wieber said a lot the concerns presented at the public hearing were based on the perception that the DNR is trying to sell the Proud Lake property to a person that will develop it.
"The DNR doesn't want the property developed," she said. "We're not trying to sell it to a developer."
Wieber said she believes there are creative ways for parties interested in keeping the land in its current state to secure funding for it, such as through partnerships between the community, land conservancies, and other parks organizations.
"I don't feel that's been explored fully," Wieber said. "We want these entities to come to the table to find a way to keep it maintained as open space."
She said the DNR would be willing to sit in on any discussions with such parties.
The Proud Lake property that could be sold — which is approximately one-third wetland and was purchased in 1945, in part, with state fish and game money — was intended for fishing and hunting use.
Until 1974, however, the site was used as part of the Detroit NIKE Missile Base Network, and had three underground silos. After that air-defense facility closed and the site was cleaned up, the Civilian Conservation Corps used it for six years. It has remained as open space since.
According to Paul Yauk, land program manager for the DNR Parks and Recreation Division, it has been among the state properties with the most frequent violations, as there have been complaints about unauthorized off-road vehicle and paintball activity on the land.
Ston said Save Our State Land has worked with state Rep. David Law (R-Commerce, Wolverine Lake, West Bloomfield) and Sen. Nancy Cassis (R-Commerce, Milford, Highland, White Lake, West Bloomfield, Orchard Lake, Wixom, Walled Lake and Wolverine Lake) to introduce legislation that would require the DNR to sell the property to Commerce for $1.
"The DNR misrepresented where the money came from in the first place," Ston said. "They said they need the highest and best use amount (in a sale) because the state fish and game money bought the land, but we researched it and found it was state general fund money and some fish and game money."
He said about only 10 acres of the total 564 were purchased through fish and game money.
DNR Natural Rivers Administrator Steve Sutton said the department is encumbered by several legal restrictions on how it can proceed with the Proud Lake property. Because fish and game funds were used to buy some of the Proud Lake land, the entire 564 acres must be used for hunting and fishing.
"For example, a one-sixth game and fish fund purchase, with a five-sixths general fund appropriation to buy land — because of the one-sixth game and fish fund contribution, which is for wildlife protection and public hunting and fishing — is legislatively mandated for that type of use," he said. "Any amount of fish and game fund money requires that type of use for a whole property."
Since federal funding was involved in the property's initial purchase, the land must be used for its intended purpose or the DNR could lose approximately $7 million in annual federal funding, according to DNR officials.
If Humphries approves the current recommendation to dispose the Proud Lake property, Sutton said the DNR must sell the property for its appraised value, which is based on its highest-valued use — in this case, residential use — regardless of its zoning.
"We can't give it away for a dollar or through other easy-outs," he said. "We need fair market value."
With market values having dropped, he said, a re-appraisal after March could result in a lower appraised value than the nearly $15 million figure set near the start of the DNR's land consolidation strategy process.
The DNR, Yauk said, is looking to dispose of the property because not only is it not being used for fishing and hunting, but there's no use for it at its size and location, which is about two miles the west of the full 4,300-acre Proud Lake Recreation Area; an additional four miles from the 5,800-acre Highland State Recreation Area; and directly south of the 3,600-acre Pontiac Recreation Area.
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