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December 21, 2003Selective mooring measure proposedWalker bill bans many open water mooringsByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - A state lawmaker is proposing legislation that would benefit lakefront property owners by banning others from mooring boats in portions of the Great Lakes. Rep. Howard Walker, R-Traverse City, introduced the legislation, which is favored by people like Jon Andrus, a boating enthusiast and Old Mission Peninsula resident. "I just got fed up with what I call urban sprawl on the Great Lakes," said Andrus, who does not own lakefront property. "There's no other place in the state of Michigan you can go and plop yourself down on state property without a permit." Property owners on the Great Lakes, known as riparians, own to the high water mark. The state holds in public trust the shore below the high water mark and the bottom lands under the lake. Kingsley resident Barry Arsenault is not a boater but opposes the Walker plan, saying it attempts to strip away rights held by all Michigan residents. "If you have 100 feet on shore you get to use Lake Michigan like your own private swimming hole," he said. Walker's legislation, House Bill 5288, replicates legislation previously introduced by former state Sen. George McManus, R-Traverse City. The McManus bill never received a hearing and died in committee. The House Great Lakes and Tourism Committee will hold public hearings on HB 5288 in 2004, committee chairman David Palsrok said. Walker called the bill "a starting point" and acknowledged that a bill limiting moorings to riparian owners is sure to become a political lightning rod. He said he doesn't intend to eliminate moorings in open waters, and also said the bill needs a lot of work and local input. "Our interest is not to get rid of moorings in the Great Lakes, but to protect the interests of public safety and somewhat of the rights of the riparian owners," Walker said. "It makes it hard for landowners to enjoy their beach frontage when you have a lot of boats stacked out in front," he said. Traverse City attorney Jim Olson specializes in public trust law and said the legislation sounds like a waste of time. Riparian owners already have a right to moor in front of their property, and legislation that restricts public use of the Great Lakes violates the public trust doctrine. "The public right is paramount to any riparian right," Olson said. Riparian owners have contributed more than $10,000 to Walker campaign coffers, but he discounted any connection to the mooring bill. "For the record I have not talked with one contributor (regarding HB 5288)," he said. The bill allows riparian owners one mooring without a permit but they would need a permit for more than one. Andrus said at one time a property owner in Old Mission Harbor had 30 moorings in front of his property. Those buoys are now gone, but the anchors remain. Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Dennis LaBelle worked with both Walker and McManus to develop anti-mooring bills. LaBelle, who lives on East Bay, spent a day removing abandoned mooring anchors that were above or just below the surface. They become a navigation hazard to small craft and personal watercraft, he said. Labelle wants the state's exemption of mooring buoys from regulation rescinded and he wants the local sheriff's department to have the ability to enforce mooring regulations. He's also pushing for regulations on how the buoys are made, to help prevent boats from breaking away during storms and damaging other boats and docks.
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