Malik's legal appeal for right to develop houses and a marina on Harsens Island moves forward

7.30.08

Harsens Island development appeal heading for final pretrial

By Nicole Tuttle
Voice Reporter

The appeals process for two development companies looking to build a housing project on Harsens Island will take another step forward.

St. Clair County Circuit Judge Daniel J. Kelley ruled last week that the final pretrial hearing for Grand Pointe Development LLC and Lucky 7 Development LLC will be Aug. 25.

The date was set after Kelly heard the pretrial for the case July 21 in chambers. The case originally had been scheduled for Circuit Judge Peter Deegan's courtroom, but was moved after a conflict of interest surfaced when attorneys involved learned that Deegan's court reporter, Kathy Schweikart, is a member of the Clay Township Planning Commission.

The case is in court because the developers are appealing the planning commission's decision to reject a request for a special land use. The developers planned to create a 348-unit cluster housing development on the former Boys' Club property on the North Channel. The developers appealed the decision to the circuit court March 19.

Clay Township John McNamee said the judge will want to review documents, such as possibly the minutes of the planning commission meeting and what the commission considered before rendering a decision.

He said that he and Gary Fletcher, attorney for Grande Pointe Development LLC and Lucky 7 Development LLC in the case, will need to determine which documents relating to the planning commission decision can be submitted to the judge for review.

"The court wants us to reach an agreement as to what is the appropriate record for review," McNamee said.

Once this process is complete, the judge will set a schedule for attorneys to submit briefs, Fletcher said.

In addition to the appeal, developers applied to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality's Land and Water Management Division in 2007 for dredging and a marina operating permit. The project would impact 16.6 total acres of wetland with excavation and fill activities. Existing roadways would also be impacted. The DEQ will make a decision on the permit on Aug. 28.

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NOTE: Grande Pointe Development LLC and Lucky 7 Development LLC are entities controlled by Detroit-casino syndicator and developer Michael J. Malik, Sr. Mike Malik shares an office at the headquarters of Ilitch Holdings, Inc. and has partnered with Mrs. Marian Ilitch on various casino ventures.

Developer still in pursuit of Harsens Island Bridge despite set backs

7.30.08

Harsens Island bridge stalled in negotiations

By Nicole Tuttle
Voice Reporter

Developers of the Harsens Island bridge [aka Harsens Island Crossing] are currently negotiating roadblocks to their progress with the Department of Environmental Quality.

The bridge, which would link the Algonac mainland to Harsens Island over the North Channel, is the project of the Detroit International Bridge Company. The private company seeks to build the bridge as a commercial venture.

The Harsens Island Transportation Authority met with the bridge developers July 15 at the Harsens Island Lions Hall. Don Verslyte, a member of the HITA who led the meeting, said that Bridge Company President Dan Stamper told HITA they were working to overcoming the objections that caused the DEQ to deny them a permit to build the bridge. The DEQ denied the permit last year.

One objection was the question of riparian rights. The bridge plans interfered with some privately owned property. Verslyte said Stamper told the HITA they had overcome this by purchasing a marina.

Another objection related to interference with the spawning ground of sturgeon. Verslyte said Stamper told the HITA there was no spawning ground where the bridge would cross.

"They resolved that by taking pictures of the bottom," Verslyte said.

Verslyte said Stamper told the HITA the company would be willing to provide funds to help build a spawning ground on Dickinson Island.

The third objection related to interference with wetlands on the island side of the bridge. Verslyte said Stamper told HITA the issue was still under discussion with the DEQ, but the company anticipates resubmitting for a permit with the U.S. Coast Guard within 45 days.

Stamper did not return messages by Voice deadline.

Robert McCann, a spokesman for the DEQ, said the company has not actively pursued an appeal of the denial. "They have the option to appeal or start over with new plans," he said.

Discussions of the issues, particularly the sturgeon and wetlands issues, are still under discussion with the DEQ and the Department of Natural Resources, McCann said.

"We have been discussing the issue with them," he said. "We have heard both for and against from the public."

The DNR is still in discussions with the developer regarding the sturgeon issue, said Mary Dettloff, a DNR public information officer. She said that the DNR has caught sturgeon in the area.

"There would be a loss of aquatic habitat if the bridge is built," Dettloff said.

Dettloff said the DNR has worked with other developers in the past to create "mitigation for loss of habitat" and that would be part of the permit process.

One area that the HITA is concerned with is working out an agreement with the company to control toll rates, Verslyte said.

"That is a problem we have now with the ferry system," Verslyte said.


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Detroit casino syndicators selfishly pimp the environment on one coast but not the other

In California where they seek approvals for twin casino resorts in Barstow, Detroit casino syndicators argue it wouldn’t be prudent to build a casino resort on the shoreline of what’s said to be an environmentally sensitive and significant lagoon; but in New York they’re bankrolling plans that would develop a larger casino resort on the shores of the Great Peconic Bay – part of the Long Island Sound ecosystem.

Detroit casino syndicators lead by Mrs. Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr. are bankrolling plans for twin casino sites in Barstow by arguing, among other things, that even a modest Big Lagoon Rancheria Casino on the tribe’s existing reservation in Humboldt County would disturb the ecosystem of the Big Lagoon. They have said it “would potentially result in significant adverse impacts to off-Reservation lands and resources…” including the Big Lagoon Subdivision on the southern end of the Big Lagoon – two primary neighborhoods: (1) the 76 cabins/cottages dating to 1929 that constitute the Big Lagoon Park Colony; and (2) 33-newer homes in the Big Lagoon Estates.

They say the Big Lagoon has long been recognized as an important and environmentally sensitive natural habitat area – although they fail to explain it was used at one time as a bombing target practice range by the military and remains on the Defense Department’s pending cleanup sites lists; it’s surrounded by active timberlands downstream from a significant sawmill that was in operation for the better part of the 20th Century. Despite these facts, Peter Douglas, executive director of the California Coastal Commission, wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle that the area is “pristine” and referred to the Big Lagoon as an “untouched natural resource.”

The lagoon, separated from the Pacific Ocean by a narrow sand spit, is said to be a natural habitat for many special-status plant and animal species. The heavily wooded Harry A. Merlo State Recreation Area (a 1000-acre unit of the California State Park system), Humboldt Lagoons State Park, and Big Lagoon County Park surround the lagoon. The lagoon itself is a State Wildlife Area managed by the California Department of Fish & Game. There's never any mention of an additional 16+ acres the tribe also owns along the shoreline that's not yet held in Trust by the U.S. Government.

And while all That sounds rather noble and altruistic; and it might even be enough to persuade you that environmental protection was a sincere objective on their part; consider the following...

In New York these same Detroit gambling interests are bankrolling a billion dollar lawsuit and singing quite a different tune; ultimately intended to win approvals for the Shinnecock Indian Nation to develop a casino & hotel resort off-reservation lands on Long Island’s East End (that’s on the outskirts of the posh resort area called "The Hamptons"). That property sits along the shore of the Great Peconic Bay National Estuary and is within the fragile and unique Long Island Pine Barrens – Peconic River Complex. And development in the surrounding area today is low density residential similar to the Big Lagoon Subdivision.

The Great Peconic Bay is the body of water between the North Fork and the South Fork of Long Island. It is bordered on the West by Flanders Bay and on the east by the Little Peconic Bay. The dividing line between the Great and Little Peconic Bays is Robins Island. The Shinnecock Canal provides access from the Great Peconic Bay to Shinnecock Bay.

The Nature Conservancy has named the East End of Long Island one of the "Last Great Places of the Western Hemisphere." The Peconic Bay system is recognized as one of 28 nationally significant estuaries and has been named as one of the nation's "Aquatic Great Places." The Pine Barrens is not only a unique and fragile ecosystem but a critical watershed supplying Eastern Long Island's sole water supply.

Peconic Estuary Program
Nature Conservancy - Peconic Estuary
Pine Barrens Society
New York State Central Pine Barrens
Saving the Last Great Places of Long Island

Other Big Lagoons of significance

Big Lagoon, Humboldt County, California, USA

The 20-acre Big Lagoon Rancheria sits on the southern edge of the Big Lagoon near the city of Trinidad, in Humboldt County, California.

Not be confused with these other more frequently referenced “Big Lagoon” locations:

• Big Lagoon State Park, Florida (Gulf of Mexico)

• Big Lagoon Wetland and Creek Restoration at Muir Beach, Marin County, California (Golden Gate National Recreation Area)

The Big Lagoon in Humboldt County includes 1,470 acres of open water and marsh; it is one of three lagoons in the Humboldt Lagoons State Park. This Big Lagoon is separated from the Pacific Ocean by a narrow sand spit. The heavily wooded Harry A. Merlo State Recreation Area (a 1000-acre unit of the California State Park system), and the Big Lagoon County Park (overnight camp sites, picnic grounds, boat launch, etc.) surround this lagoon. The lagoon itself is a State Wildlife Area managed by the California Department of Fish & Game.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers also has oversight for this Big Lagoon as it is a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS); a onetime bombing target practice range (including the Rancheria’s lands) for military practice maneuvers.

These “Big Lagoon” references are generally associated with the Big Lagoon in Humboldt County:

· Big Lagoon 203 Dam

· Big Lagoon County Park

· Big Lagoon Indian Reservation

· Big Lagoon Marsh (partially under public stewardship)

· Big Lagoon Spit

· Big Lagoon Park Company (Big Lagoon Colony)

· Big Lagoon Estates

· Big Lagoon Mill (Sawmill)

· Big Lagoon Subdivisions

· Big Lagoon Bombing Target Range

The Nature Conservancy has targeted Long Island's Central Pine Barrens for conservation

Long Island’s Central Pine Barrens

This region is a diverse mosaic of pitch pine woodlands, pitch pine-oak forests, coastal plain ponds, swamps, marshes, bogs and streams. Ecological Importance We have been given a rare op­portunity to pre­serve a large, con­tiguous, ecologically func­tional landscape in the midst of a heavily ur­banized area. It is our challenge to protect the hydrological and ecological integrity of the Long Is­land Pine Barrens, while recog­nizing human needs and accom­modating develop­ment in the adja­cent compatible growth area (Long Island Pine Barrens Protection Area). For a wealth of information, visit the Central Pine Barrens Commission website. Conservation Concerns Extensive residential and commer­cial devel­opment has consumed much of the Pine Bar­rens in recent decades. About 52,000 acres of relatively intact Pine Barrens still remain in what we call the core area. Much of this core is contigu­ous, expansive Pine Barrens. Al­though various roads cross the core area which also contains some houses, agricultural fields, golf courses, and limited commer­cial development. The surrounding area has a greater density of resi­dential, commercial, and agricul­tural devel­opment. Wildland fires play a very prominent role in the Pine Barrens which are considered by Conser­vancy scientists and others as "fire dependent" natural communities.

Pine Barrens Facts Size: 53,000 acre core area; 50,000 acre Compatible Growth Area Location: Central Long Island Animals: A variety of animals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians make use of the diverse and varied habitats of the Pine Barrens ranging from water dependent tiger salamanders to fire adapted Coastal Barrens Buckmoth. A long list of rare damselflies, lepidoptera as well as a variety of migratory and breeding bird species make the Pine Barrens a hotspot for naturalists of all interests. Plants: Globally rare Dwarf Pine Plains with stunted pygmy pitch pines, Coastal Plain Pond shores host more than 50 species of state rare plants including numerous species of bladderworts the shrubby scrub oak, and smaller heath species such as huckleberry, blueberry, sheep laurel, wintergreen are also characteristic Pine Barrens plants. Click for: Complete Details on Central Pine Barrens @ the Nature Conservancy’s website © The Nature Conservancy 2007

YouTube: See just how concerned Detroit Casino syndicators are about the environment & preservation of "pristine natural resources"

In California, Michael J. Malik, Sr. and Mrs. Marian Ilitch have encouraged environmentalists who say the Detroit casino syndicators should be allowed to build twin casino resorts in Barstow in order to protect Humboldt County's Big Lagoon and the surrounding nature areas from the kind of negative impacts that are inevitable if the Detroit pair's Indian partners are allowed to build a modest casino on their existing Big Lagoon Rancheria, instead.

However, 3,000 miles away in New York the pair of Detroit business people shows much less concern for the environment and they are bankrolling plans to build a large scale Shinnecock Indian off-reservation casino resort on the Long Island shores of the Great Peconic Bay National Estuary and within the fragile and unique Long Island Pine Barrens-Peconic River zone; showing very little regard for what the Nature Conservancy has called one of the "Last Great" places in the Northern Hemisphere.

The following video is an excerpt from a longer feature opponents of the Shinnecock Casino Resort had produced to explain their concerns about the environment, traffic, crime, etc. (note: it references the tribe's previous financial partner/developer Ivy Ong).

Alternative views of the Big Lagoon area

Proponents of the Big Lagoon gaming Compact for Barstow use glamor photography taken from perspectives that hide any blemishes to sugget that the Big Lagoon is "pristine" and an "untouched natural resource."

These pictures begin to provide a more balanced picture of the world that surrounds the Big Lagoon. While the Lagoon is certainly worthy of conservation and preservation of some form or another; it's not what proponents of the Big Lagoon Compacts would have legislators and reporters believe.

click for larger view

The Big Lagoon Rancheria is 8.3 miles by car from the Cher-ae Heights Casino also in Trinidad sitting on cliffs overlooking Northern California's coastline. Residences, trailer parks and camping areas straddle Highway 1o1 in between the two Reservations.

The Rancheria is adjacent to the Big Lagoon Subdivision on the southern edge of the Big Lagoon. The Subdivision is made up of 76 homes within the Big Lagoon Park Company (Big Lagoon Colony) and another 33 homes in the Big Lagoon Estates.

click for larger view

The majority of land not in public stewardship that surrounds the Big Lagoon/Big Lagoon Rancheria and most of Humboldt County's North Coast planning area is covered in active commercial timberlands. The Big Lagoon Sawmill, a commercial operation, was active upstream of the Big Lagoon for the better part of the 20th Century. The Hammond Log Pond is buffered from the Big Lagoon by marshlands and is still owned by Green Diamond/Simpson Timber Company. Evidence of active logging surrounds the pond.

click for larger view

The 20-acre Big Lagoon Rancheria (reservation trust land) is comprised of two parcels: the original 9-acre site where the tribe's members have erected homes (top of this photo) and the 11-acre site (the foreground of this photo) where the tribe had begun construction of a casino in the 1990s. Commercial development would be prohibited on these two parcels under terms of the current compact under consideration but not on another 20 acres or more that the tribe owns but which is not yet held in trust and lies between these current trust lands and the Big Lagoon Subdivision.

US Army Corps of Engineers, Sacrameto District - Status of Formerly Used Defense Sites Clean Up

	United States Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District Formerly Used Defense Sites
· Current Projects · Resources · List of Sites	The Defense Environmental Restoration Program-Formerly Used Defense Site Program (DERP-FUDS) was established in 1984 by the United States Army with the mission to protect the environment and natural resources for present and future generations as well as human health and safety by removing hazardous material from the environment. The FUDS Program is responsible for environmental restoration of all properties that were formerly owned by, leased to, or otherwise possessed by the United States and under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense. Currently there are over 9,800 FUDS properties nationwide that have been reviewed for program eligibility and evidence of Department of Defense contamination. Over 2,650 of these properties have been determined to require environmental cleanup action with an estimated cost to cleanup over $18 billion. Within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District (consisting of northern California, Utah and Nevada), there are approximately 457 properties alone and an estimated cleanup cost over $2 billion. The annual budget to clean up and closeout these sites vary every year, which extends the time for site restoration completion and prolongs the startup of sites that have yet to begin.

When it comes to the environment, Detroit Casino syndicator is two-faced with "green"

In California where they seek approvals for twin casino resorts in Barstow, Detroit casino syndicators argue it wouldn’t be prudent to build a casino resort on the shoreline of what’s said to be an environmentally sensitive and significant lagoon; but in New York they’re bankrolling plans that would develop a larger casino resort on the shores of the Great Peconic Bay – part of the Long Island Sound ecosystem. It's all about "green" but not Al Gore's "green."


Playing the "green" card
Detroit casino syndicators lead by Marian Ilitch and Michael J. Malik, Sr. are bankrolling plans for twin casino sites in Barstow by arguing that even a modest Big Lagoon Rancheria Casino on the tribe’s existing reservation in Humboldt County would disturb the ecosystem of the Big Lagoon and “would potentially result in significant adverse impacts to off-reservation lands and resources…” They have failed to mention that the Big Lagoon is a former military bombing target practice range that remains on clean up lists maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control.

They are exploiting environmental concerns to justify turning plans for one casino on the Big Lagoon Rancheria into a twin casino resorts jackpot in Barstow. That spin might be enough to persuade some that environmental protection is a sincere objective on their part…until you consider the following:

Without regard for "green" off Long Island Sound (WATCH VIDEO)
In New York these same Detroit gambling interests are bankrolling a billion dollar lawsuit ultimately intended to win approvals for the Shinnecock Indian Nation to develop the only casino resort, on Long Island’s East End (that’s the posh resort area called The Hamptons); that property (off reservation lands) sits along the shore of the Great Peconic Bay National Estuary and within the fragile and unique Long Island Pine Barrens – Peconic River Complex. The only development in the surrounding area today is low density residential similar to the Big Lagoon situation.

The Great Peconic Bay is the body of water between the North Fork and the South Fork of Long Island. It is bordered on the West by Flanders Bay and on the east by the Little Peconic Bay. The dividing line between the Great and Little Peconic Bays is Robins Island. The Shinnecock Canal provides access from the Great Peconic Bay to Shinnecock Bay. And it’s all part of the larger Long Island Sound ecosystem

The Nature Conservancy has named the East End of Long Island one of the "Last Great Places of the Western Hemisphere." The Peconic Bay system is recognized as one of 28 nationally significant estuaries and has been named as one of the nation's "Aquatic Great Places." The Pine Barrens is not only a unique and fragile ecosystem but a critical watershed supplying Eastern Long Island's sole water supply.

Nevertheless, the same developers who say they should be awarded the privilege to build two casinos in Barstow in order to preserve the environment in Northern California are fighting to build an unprecedented casino resort without regard for the environment on the East Coast raising serious credibility issues.

It seems the only thing "green" that these casino developers care about is made by cutting down trees and can be deposited in their bank accounts. These people are clearly comfortable talking out of both sides of their mouths.

• YouTube: See just how concerned Detroit Casino syndicators are about the environment & preservation of "pristine natural resources"


• Peconic Estuary Program


• Nature Conservancy - Peconic Estuary


• Pine Barrens Society


• New York State Central Pine Barrens


• Saving the Last Great Places of Long Island

Despite gaming agreements, Tribe could pursue commercial development at Big Lagoon

Proponents for ratification of state Gaming Agreements with the Big Lagoon Rancheria say approval will forever block commercial development by the Tribe on the southern end of the Big Lagoon in Humboldt County, CA; and they say that is a positive move because it will help to maintain the integrity of the Big Lagoon, part of the Humboldt Lagoons State Park.

That’s not the whole truth.

The Agreements do virtually prohibit commercial development on the Tribe’s current sovereign reservation lands – two parcels of approximately 20 acres – referenced in the Agreements as Parcels A and B. However, since those agreements were struck in 2005, the tribe has acquired several other parcels within the Big Lagoon Subdivision along the southern shoreline of the Big Lagoon. Those parcels, more than 16 acres in all, are not yet held in Trust by the U.S. Government but are eligible for consideration at some point in the future. Those parcels are currently zoned for commercial uses and are not encumbered by the gaming Compact or related Settlement Agreement.

Xxx Current Trust Lands (Reservation) - held by the U.S. Government for the Big Lagoon Rancheria

Xxx Non-Trust Lands - held by the Big Lagoon Rancheria and zoned for commercial uses; eligible for trust consideration at a later date

zoom view

click for additional detail & larger view

Big Lagoon Bombing Target

Former military target range at Big Lagoon State Park presents explosive hazards

A 153-acre site located adjacent to Big Lagoon, near the Big Lagoon Rancheria. Property is currently part of Dry Lagoon State Park. Acquired by leasehold condemnation June 13, 1944. Used for rocket target practice. Abandoned July 1, 1945 due to hazardous conditions. Property known or suspected to contain military munitions and explosives HAZARDS.



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