Posted on October 12, 2017
By Amy Biolchini, MLive
The state is holding a public hearing on a developer’s plans to dig a boat marina out of the dunes along Lake Michigan near Saugatuck.
The plans for the 300-acre dune property have reignited a debate between conservationists and developers over use of private land on the north side of the Kalamazoo River on Lake Michigan. The land was formerly owned by the late oil tycoon Aubrey McClendon.
The land is now in the hands of Jeff Padnos, who is pursuing a home and marina development called North Shores of Saugatuck. Working with local developer Brian Bosgraaf, Padnos’ plans call for 23 homes to be built around a 6.54-acre marina basin.
There are also seven home sites on Lake Michigan and eight home sites Kalamazoo River that have been listed for sale to date. Prices range from $1.5 million to $2.95 million.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality will be hosting the hearing 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17, at the auditorium in Saugatuck High School at 401 Elizabeth Street. Before the hearing the DEQ will also host a question-and-answer session at 6 p.m.
The DEQ is considering two permit applications.
The first is a special use project under Part 353, Sand Dune Protection and Management, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. The developer is asking to build a new road around the proposed marina to give access to the home sites, as well as to construct a 4,000-square-foot community building and a 5,600-square-foot boathouse.
The second permit application under the same part of the NREPA. The developer is asking to build a 33-slip marina basin off of the Kalamazoo River that would be used by future residents.
About 241,750 cubic yards of sand would have to be removed from the dunes to create the basin. The marina would be 1,639 feet long, 200 feet wide and about 18 feet deep.
About 80,000 cubic yards of the removed sand would be spread along the beach, and about 161,750 cubic yards would be stockpiled elsewhere on the property.
Initially the permit applications from North Shores to the DEQ were on hold, as several items were missing. The developer has filed the missing paperwork, including an environmental impact statement.
Sand excavated to build the marina would not leave the property, the developer said. Soil surveys indicated there is no contaminated soil in the area where the marina would be built, documents show.
Additionally, the developer hired Stephen Hinshaw, who is retired from the University of Michigan, to conduct a bird survey. The developer also hired Michigan State University specialist Michael Sanders to conduct a rare species survey. There were no findings of threatened or endangered birds, or rare plant or wildlife species, documents show.
The marina project will also require a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Army Corps permit is contingent upon the DEQ’s approval and is still pending, said Katie Otanez, regulatory project manager with the Army Corps.
Otanez said she plans to attend the DEQ’s Oct. 17 hearing, but the Army Corps would not be an official part of the event.
The DEQ is concerned with the parts of the project that impact critical dune areas, and the Army Corps is concerned with the parts that impact navigable waterways.
Source: MLive
