12-07-2006, 08:05 AM
Proud Lake land likely to come up at hearing
[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 06, 2006 - The 564-acre portion of the Proud Lake Recreation Area located on either side of Wise Road in Commerce Township — a block of land that's not contiguous to the main portion of the recreation area — may be a hot topic at a Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) public meeting in Clarkston on Tuesday, Dec. 12.
The meeting, which is set up for the public to address the DNR's land consolidation strategy for Oakland County, will be held at the Oakland County Sportsmen's Club, located at 4770 Waterford Road in Clarkston, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.
"The DNR is conducting an inventory and a review of all of the lands outside its dedicated boundaries," said Paul Yauk, land program manager for the DNR Parks and Recreation Division. "The meeting is to allow public review and comment on the land consolidation strategy."
At the meeting, DNR staff will review the state-owned parcels in Oakland County 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 public meetings like the Dec. 12 hearing are preliminary.
According to the DNR, details on recommendations for parcels in each county can be found at the DNR web site, at [url "http://www.michigan.gov/dnrlandreview"]www.michigan.gov/dnrlandreview[/url].
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. It's proposing to offer 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 land.
At this point in the process, every seven months, the DNR is reviewing its holdings in 10 counties to determine which parcels will be disposed of and which will be retained.
According to Yauk, Oakland County is among the fifth group of 10 counties being reviewed.
Once the reviews are completed by DNR field staff, the parcels are classified one of three ways: 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, as wildlife habitat or for water and boating access.
The DNR Land Exchange Review Committee will incorporate public comments into its final recommendations to DNR Director Rebecca Humphries, who will sign orders to retain or dispose of the department's parcels.
The 564 acres of the Proud Lake Recreation Area represents the majority of the 612.39 acres in Oakland County the DNR is looking to dispose of, according to Yauk. He said the DNR would provide the first opportunity to bid on the land to Commerce Township and other members of the conservation community, including possibly Oakland County and the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA).
Yauk said the first option would be to allow one of those entities to acquire the Proud Lake land through a land exchange, but that would likely result in the DNR receiving land in another community in return. The second option would be to sell the land to one of those entities.
Because the land consolidation strategy is a long, step-by-step process, Yauk said the DNR wouldn't be able to open up the bidding process to those entities until the summer of 2008.
If none of the entities are interested, the DNR would then take bids from other entities.
"If there is any interest, we'll work closely with any of those conservation entities," Yauk said.
All sales would be at an appraised value based on the highest and best use of the property.
Commerce Township-based Save Our State Land has been fighting to preserve the Proud Lake land as it is now, as open space, and to prevent it from being sold to a developer.
Commerce Township's Board of Trustees approved rezoning the property for recreational land use within the past year to further prevent residential or commercial properties from sprouting up if the land is sold to a developer.
Township Supervisor Tom Zoner has said the township is interested in purchasing the Proud Lake land can't afford it.
Yauk wouldn't comment on a sales price, but according to a letter from the DNR to the Commerce Township Downtown Development Authority (DDA), the property — which is split by Wise Road into two parcels — is valued at $8.19 million for one parcel and $5.01 million for the other. Those figures don't include 10 percent transaction fees for each.
The Walled Lake Consolidated School District has expressed interest in obtaining a small portion of the property.
Save Our State Lands has contended the figures presented to the Commerce DDA are based on residential development and shouldn't be because of the township's recreational zoning designation for the land.
Yauk said he doesn't know how the site's current zoning would impact a future sale.
The property, which he said is approximately one-third wetland and was purchased in 1945 in part with state fish and game fund money, was intended for fishing and hunting use.
Until 1974, the site was used as part of the Detroit NIKE Missile Base Network, and had three underground missile silos. After that closed and the site was cleaned up, the Civilian Conservation Corps used it for six years. It has remained as open space since, and according to Yauk has been among the state properties with the most frequent violations related to off-road vehicle and paintball activities.
Randolph Ston, a member of Save Our State Lands, which has been outspoken in the effort to preserve the site as open space, said the group 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 (to buy the Proud Lake land) came from in the first place," he said. "They said they need the highest and best use amount because the state fish and game money bought it, but we researched it and found it was state general fund money and some fish and game money (that was used for the purchase)."
Ston said only 10 acres were acquired through fish and game fund monies.
Yauk said regardless of the percentage of property purchased using that funding, the whole site is dedicated to hunting and fishing use.
Ston said he's not optimistic the DNR will reconsider disposing of the property, but said he hopes people come to the Dec. 12 meeting in Clarkston and speak out in support of leaving the land in its natural state.
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[url "http://www.spinalcolumnonline.com/1editorialtablebody.lasso?-token.searchtype=authorroutine&-token.lpsearchstring=Josh%20Jackett&-nothing"]Josh Jackett[/url]
December 06, 2006 - The 564-acre portion of the Proud Lake Recreation Area located on either side of Wise Road in Commerce Township — a block of land that's not contiguous to the main portion of the recreation area — may be a hot topic at a Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) public meeting in Clarkston on Tuesday, Dec. 12.The meeting, which is set up for the public to address the DNR's land consolidation strategy for Oakland County, will be held at the Oakland County Sportsmen's Club, located at 4770 Waterford Road in Clarkston, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m.
"The DNR is conducting an inventory and a review of all of the lands outside its dedicated boundaries," said Paul Yauk, land program manager for the DNR Parks and Recreation Division. "The meeting is to allow public review and comment on the land consolidation strategy."
At the meeting, DNR staff will review the state-owned parcels in Oakland County 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 public meetings like the Dec. 12 hearing are preliminary.
According to the DNR, details on recommendations for parcels in each county can be found at the DNR web site, at [url "http://www.michigan.gov/dnrlandreview"]www.michigan.gov/dnrlandreview[/url].
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. It's proposing to offer 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 land.
At this point in the process, every seven months, the DNR is reviewing its holdings in 10 counties to determine which parcels will be disposed of and which will be retained.
According to Yauk, Oakland County is among the fifth group of 10 counties being reviewed.
Once the reviews are completed by DNR field staff, the parcels are classified one of three ways: 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, as wildlife habitat or for water and boating access.
The DNR Land Exchange Review Committee will incorporate public comments into its final recommendations to DNR Director Rebecca Humphries, who will sign orders to retain or dispose of the department's parcels.
The 564 acres of the Proud Lake Recreation Area represents the majority of the 612.39 acres in Oakland County the DNR is looking to dispose of, according to Yauk. He said the DNR would provide the first opportunity to bid on the land to Commerce Township and other members of the conservation community, including possibly Oakland County and the Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA).
Yauk said the first option would be to allow one of those entities to acquire the Proud Lake land through a land exchange, but that would likely result in the DNR receiving land in another community in return. The second option would be to sell the land to one of those entities.
Because the land consolidation strategy is a long, step-by-step process, Yauk said the DNR wouldn't be able to open up the bidding process to those entities until the summer of 2008.
If none of the entities are interested, the DNR would then take bids from other entities.
"If there is any interest, we'll work closely with any of those conservation entities," Yauk said.
All sales would be at an appraised value based on the highest and best use of the property.
Commerce Township-based Save Our State Land has been fighting to preserve the Proud Lake land as it is now, as open space, and to prevent it from being sold to a developer.
Commerce Township's Board of Trustees approved rezoning the property for recreational land use within the past year to further prevent residential or commercial properties from sprouting up if the land is sold to a developer.
Township Supervisor Tom Zoner has said the township is interested in purchasing the Proud Lake land can't afford it.
Yauk wouldn't comment on a sales price, but according to a letter from the DNR to the Commerce Township Downtown Development Authority (DDA), the property — which is split by Wise Road into two parcels — is valued at $8.19 million for one parcel and $5.01 million for the other. Those figures don't include 10 percent transaction fees for each.
The Walled Lake Consolidated School District has expressed interest in obtaining a small portion of the property.
Save Our State Lands has contended the figures presented to the Commerce DDA are based on residential development and shouldn't be because of the township's recreational zoning designation for the land.
Yauk said he doesn't know how the site's current zoning would impact a future sale.
The property, which he said is approximately one-third wetland and was purchased in 1945 in part with state fish and game fund money, was intended for fishing and hunting use.
Until 1974, the site was used as part of the Detroit NIKE Missile Base Network, and had three underground missile silos. After that closed and the site was cleaned up, the Civilian Conservation Corps used it for six years. It has remained as open space since, and according to Yauk has been among the state properties with the most frequent violations related to off-road vehicle and paintball activities.
Randolph Ston, a member of Save Our State Lands, which has been outspoken in the effort to preserve the site as open space, said the group 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 (to buy the Proud Lake land) came from in the first place," he said. "They said they need the highest and best use amount because the state fish and game money bought it, but we researched it and found it was state general fund money and some fish and game money (that was used for the purchase)."
Ston said only 10 acres were acquired through fish and game fund monies.
Yauk said regardless of the percentage of property purchased using that funding, the whole site is dedicated to hunting and fishing use.
Ston said he's not optimistic the DNR will reconsider disposing of the property, but said he hopes people come to the Dec. 12 meeting in Clarkston and speak out in support of leaving the land in its natural state.
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