Department of Natural Resources v. Bayshore Associates, Inc

533 N.W.2d 593, 210 Mich. App. 71
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 21, 1995
DocketDocket 137980
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 533 N.W.2d 593 (Department of Natural Resources v. Bayshore Associates, Inc) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Department of Natural Resources v. Bayshore Associates, Inc, 533 N.W.2d 593, 210 Mich. App. 71 (Mich. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

Per Curiam.

The Department of Natural Resources appeals from an order of the circuit court granting declaratory judgment in favor of defendant. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand.

This case involves a dispute over a marina owned and operated by defendant Bayshore Associates, Inc., and compliance with the Inland Lakes and Streams Act (ilsa), MCL 281.951 et seq.; MSA 11.475(1) et seq. This dispute has involved extensive litigation and administrative action. In this case, the dnr charitably may be described as an agency zealously enforcing the environmental laws under its jurisdiction. Its conduct may be described less charitably as that of a rogue agency wielding its extensive power to punish and harass a landowner for daring to insist on and asserting its constitutional and statutory rights.

Bayshore purchased the marina in question in 1987. The marina is located on Swan Creek, a tributary of Lake St. Clair. The dnr had originally issued a marina operating permit to the facility in 1971, allowing the use of 303 boat slips. The slips were located along three canals, designated A, B, and C. The C canal is shared with other riparian *74 landowners, with Bayshore’s docks located along the north side of that canal.

In September 1986, Bayshore sought a dnr construction permit to allow it to allow them to expand the marina to 369 docks, dredge the canals, add a seawall, and pave the parking lot. The dnr held a public hearing on the matter in April 1987 and, on December 10, 1987, a dnr water-quality specialist denied the construction permit in an opinion letter. The dnr noted that safe marina standards recognized by the dnr required a minimum fairway width of 1.5 times the dock length to ensure safe navigation, 1 and concluded that the placement of Bayshore’s proposed piers did not meet this standard. The water-quality specialist further concluded that a permit could be issued for dredging and for construction of a seawall provided that the existing fairway widths were increased to comply with the 1.5 rule, with no docking along the C canal. As a result of the denial of the construction permit, Bayshore operated the marina under the original operating permit, which had been reissued under Bayshore’s name on March 13, 1987. The permit had an expiration date of December 31, 1989.

Litigation began on March 22, 1988, when the St. Clair County prosecutor filed a complaint against Bayshore and its president seeking to enjoin Bayshore from conducting activities in violation of § 3 of the ilsa, MCL 281.953; MSA 11.475(3). The complaint was supported by the affidavit of the dnr water-quality specialist, Steven Spencer, who stated that Bayshore was operating the marina contrary to the terms and conditions of the current operating permit by expanding its facilities without a construction permit. The affida *75 vit alleged that Bayshore was dredging, removing structures, and constructing new structures to expand the marina in violation of the ilsa. The trial court issued a temporary restraining order.

After the temporary restraining order was issued, the parties entered into a consent agreement and order dissolving the temporary restraining order. Under the consent order, Bayshore agreed not to exceed 303 boat slips as listed under the original operating permit, to allow Spencer to inspect the marina, and to submit an after-the-fact permit application covering any modifications or other construction that had not been grandfathered in under the original permit or otherwise exempted by statute. Bayshore, however, never submitted an after-the-fact permit application, asserting that no dredging, modifications, or otherwise nonexempt construction had ever been performed contrary to the ilsa or its operating permit. Bayshore has consistently argued that it did not change the configuration of the marina and that any construction performed was maintenance work that was exempt from permit requirements under § 4(j) of the ilsa, MCL 281.954(j); MSA 11.475(4)(j). At the conclusion of this litigation, the trial court determined that Spencer’s affidavit alleging violations of the ilsa had no basis in fact or law. In any event, despite entry of the consent order dissolving the temporary restraining order, the controversy between the dnr and Bayshore continued.

On May 2, 1988, Bayshore filed a countercomplaint against the dnr seeking declaratory and injunctive relief. Bayshore alleged that the dnr had abused its discretion and regulatory authority by failing to act on its application for a construction permit and by demanding an increase in fairway widths under the 1.5 rule. Bayshore fur *76 ther alleged that the terms and conditions added to the construction permit were illegal and unauthorized under the ilsa. Bayshore also alleged that Steven Spencer had submitted a false affidavit in support of the original complaint and that Spencer and another dnr employee, Thomas Bennett, had wilfully attempted to coerce Bayshore into submitting to the dnr’s illegal demands. Subsequently, Bayshore filed an amended countercomplaint that sought a declaratory judgment that the dnr review and a permit were not needed to perform regular maintenance and repair work, that the ilsa and administrative rules did not support the conditions placed upon Bayshore’s construction permit, and that the dnr exceeded its authority in denying Bayshore a dredging permit. Bayshore asked the court to enjoin the dnr’s administrative proceedings concerning the revocation of its operating permit, to order the dnr to grant a construction permit without the bond requirement, and to order the dnr to permit the requested dredging.

The above-mentioned dredging permits and administrative hearing arose from an August 1988 application by Bayshore to the dnr and the Army Corps of Engineers for permits to dredge the marina. The corps of engineers granted the request. However, Chris Schaefer, chief of the dnr Great Lakes Shorelands Section, refused to process the permit request. In a December 22, 1988, letter, he stated that the permit could not be processed because of the pending litigation and existing violations at the marina. Schaefer cited unspecified, unauthorized structures in noncompliance and wrote that Bayshore’s dredging application would be held in abeyance until the circuit court resolved the issues or the marina was brought into compliance.

Bayshore received a second letter from Schaefer, *77 dated December 22, 1988, wherein Schaefer ordered it to appear for an administrative hearing on January 19, 1989, to show cause why Bay-shore’s marina operating permit should not be revoked. The letter noted that the dnr was in litigation with Bayshore over unauthorized construction work at the marina and stated that "[r]eview of the unauthorized work showed that a majority of the docks at the facility do not meet minimum fairway standards for safe navigation or satisfy marina operating permit criteria for issuance of a permit.” The hearing was held before the dnr’s acting chief of environmental enforcement, John Shauver.

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Bluebook (online)
533 N.W.2d 593, 210 Mich. App. 71, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/department-of-natural-resources-v-bayshore-associates-inc-michctapp-1995.