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February 27, 2005 The Associated Press Joan Glass walks along the Lake Huron shore in Alcona County. Glass filed a lawsuit in a feud with neighbors over access to the beach. The Michigan Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the case March 8. Sandy footsteps lead to courtCase could decide who can walk on beachBy JOHN FLESHERThe Associated Press Who owns beaches?
Q. Who owns the Great Lakes beaches?
Q. What is the ordinary high water mark?
Q. What happens if the Michigan Supreme Court rules that land below the high water mark is private?
Q. Does the debate affect publicly owned beaches? It's still winter -- hardly prime time for a leisurely stroll on the beach. Crusty snow piles litter the sand; ice floes bob in shallow water near shore. But to Glass, what matters is being able to come here whenever the mood strikes her. "As long as they don't come up on your property or your house, I think everyone has a right to walk up and down these beaches," she says, shivering in the stiff breeze. "The lakes are there to be enjoyed." Beach walking is a cherished activity in the Great Lakes region, with its thousands of miles of shoreline. But some worry that a lawsuit between Glass and her neighbors might lead to limits on the beach access that people have long enjoyed. The Michigan Supreme Court hears oral arguments March 8 in the case, which is drawing attention from groups representing property owners, businesses, environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts. The outcome could affect not only beach walking, but the balance of power between riparian landowners and government regulators on shoreline environmental issues. "What's at stake is losing control of our beach," said Ernie Krygier, president of Save Our Shoreline (SOS). The property rights advocacy organization has tangled with state officials over landowners' authority to clear beach vegetation. Keith Schneider, deputy director of the Michigan Land Use Institute, said a ruling in SOS's favor would continue a trend in the state courts of "stripping the public of its rights and conferring them to a group of generally wealthy private property owners." The debate has spread to other Great Lakes states. A property rights group in Ohio filed suit last year over Lake Erie beachfront ownership. Glass, 73, lives in rural Alcona County, on the other side of U.S. 23 from Lake Huron. The deed to her land, purchased in 1967, includes an easement allowing her family to walk along one edge of a waterfront lot across the road to reach the lakeshore. Glass says Richard Goeckel bought the property containing the easement in 1997 and began "harassing" her family as they made their way to the lake. She filed a lawsuit, which eventually was broadened to deal with not only the 15-foot-wide easement corridor, but a swath of the beach itself. Glass contended she had a right to be there; Goeckel said she was trespassing. "This isn't just about me any more," Glass says. "It's become a whole issue of who can or cannot use the lake." Scott Strattard, an attorney representing Goeckel, said his client was unhappy with Glass for trimming shrubbery along the easement path and felt she treated the beach as though she owned it as much as he did. In part, the clash was triggered by a sharp decline in Great Lakes water levels in the late 1990s. The dropoff exposed sometimes wide areas of previously submerged bottomlands, raising the question of who owned them. Courts have dealt with the issue over the years as water levels fluctuated, but disagreement persists. All sides agree that waterfront, or riparian, property includes everything above the ordinary high water mark. But Goeckel contends riparian property extends to the water's edge, and includes exposed land below the high water mark. SOS and business groups including the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, which have filed briefs in the case, support him. Glass believes land below the high water mark belongs to the state and is open to everyone under the public trust doctrine, a position supported in briefs from several environmental groups including the Land Use Institute. An Alcona County judge sided with Glass but was overruled last year by the Michigan Court of Appeals, whose written opinion drew criticism from both sides. The appeals court said the state owns land below the high water mark, but owners of adjacent riparian property -- in this case the Goeckels -- have exclusive use of it and can kick others out. Pamela Burt, attorney for Glass, said the decision created "a hybrid that's really unfamiliar to people." She is asking the state Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court decision, saying it forces beach walkers to keep their feet in the water to avoid trespassing. "The water can be cold, even in summer, and in some areas it's rocky and slippery," Burt said. "The effect would be to curtail use." Property rights groups want the high court to affirm Goeckel's victory but also to declare that riparian ownership extends to the water. The appeals ruling conveys a mixed message that needs clarification, Strattard said. "If I were a betting man, I'd say that's probably why the Supreme Court took the case," he said. That's what worries Schneider of the Land Use Institute, who says Michigan's highest court has a conservative majority with a track record of elevating private property rights above the public good. If Goeckel and SOS win, he said, beach walkers will begin seeing their path blocked by fences and "No Trespassing" signs. "There are folks who own beachfront property and don't want their neighbors or members of the public to be there," he said. "That is a huge shame, and it will affect the tourist industry of this state." Krygier said few if any shoreline owners would try to halt beach walking. Most have no problem with it -- many do it themselves -- but they want to protect their property from abuse, he said. The state of Michigan will file a brief in the case next week, said Skip Pruss, deputy director of the Department of Environmental Quality. It will argue that the public trust doctrine and long-standing custom grant citizens a right to walk on bottomlands near the water's edge -- but not to treat them like a public park. "Volleyball, sunbathing, camping out or partying on riparian property is farther than we think is appropriate to go," he said. Glass says trashing the beach is the last thing on her mind. "I just don't want to lose my right to walk over to the beach and sit," she said. "I never had any problem for years, but all it takes is one person to mess things up for everybody."
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