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July 30, 2005Court: Beaches walkablePublic has right to access, justices ruleBy JOHN FLESHERThe Associated Press TRAVERSE CITY -- People can stroll along Michigan's 3,200 miles of Great Lakes beaches whether owners of adjacent private property like it or not, the state Supreme Court ruled Friday. In a case that put the legality of a cherished tradition to the test, the court unanimously sided with Joan M. Glass, an Alcona County woman who sued a neighbor over access to the Lake Huron waterfront. But the justices disagreed over the width of the area open for public walking and the legal principles under which that access is granted. A five-member majority held that the public has a right to wander anywhere between the water's edge and the ordinary high water mark -- the spot on the shore where continuous water action leaves a distinctive mark. Two other justices argued that walkers have a right only to the wet sand immediately by the water. The Supreme Court overturned a ruling by the Michigan Court of Appeals, which said the state owns land below the high water mark, but owners of adjacent riparian property have exclusive use of it and can kick others out. "It's a tremendous victory for the public interest and for Michigan's economy, much of which is based on tourism and access to Great Lakes beaches," said Keith Schneider, deputy director of the Michigan Land Use Institute. The case doesn't affect public beaches, but 70 percent of shoreline in the state is privately owned, according to the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit environmental group. The debate was triggered in part 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. The case drew attention from groups representing property owners, businesses, environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts, who filed friend-of-the-court briefs. "The bottom line is there's this stretch the public has the right to use," said Pamela Burt, attorney for Glass. Ernie Krygier, president of Save Our Shoreline, a lakefront property rights group, said he hadn't seen the ruling but voiced disappointment. "I'm surprised, I truly am," said Krygier, of Bay City. He said the group's board would convene shortly to consider its options. - On the Net: Michigan Supreme Court: http://courts.michigan.gov/supremecourt/
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