In the third meeting to discuss Lakeville Lake resident Jonathan Dreffs? proposal for a special land use to build a covered boathouse, at his residence at 595 Army Road, the Addison Township Planning Commission finally reached a verdict.
After deciding the eight criteria needed to grant the special land use had not been met, the commission voted unanimously to deny Dreffs request Aug. 11.
As one of the points of criteria, the commission agreed that ‘not all possibilities for dock access to the lake with dredging have been exhausted and whereas, reasonable access to the lake is possible as indicated (through dock access).?
Township Planner Rand Bowman explained that while the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) might have had a preference that having a boat hoist was more environmentally-friendly ‘there is no indication that they would not be willing to consider a dredging/dock option.?
‘On that basis, I don’t believe all the options were exhausted. The elephant in the room was brought up by Mr. (Commissioner Chuck) Sargent last month and he asked, ‘Are you aware of the draft of your boat?? and at that time, the applicant was not certain,? Bowman added. ‘The boat piloted by Mr. Sargent adequately maneuvered (in) 30 inches of water. The elephant in the room is you might have a boat that is too big for the shore area that you are accessing. You mentioned some damage to the boat. With a shallower draft boat, would there be more reasonable access to the lake with less dredging??
Dreffs said the draft of his boat is approximately 24 to 27 inches.
‘I should point out that it is a prop inboard/outboard (motor),? he said. ‘It is not adjustable.?
Bowman asked with dredging as one of his proposal if he could get right up to his shoreline dock.
‘Yes, with the dredging I proposed, I was already there,? Dreffs replied.
However, he disagreed with the definition of reasonable access.
‘I think when you say reasonable access, I don’t think selling a boat, buying a boat and being asked to swap hundreds of thousands of dollar to gain access,? he said. ‘I don’t find that to be reasonable.?
Bowman believes ‘the draft of the boat is a little more than perhaps what is suited.?
‘The good news is, you’re free to dredge,? Bowman said. ‘We are only dealing with the boat house and boat hoist. The good news is you should still be able to dredge and you should be able to get a dock.?
Dreffs? proposal not only included a covered boat hoist, but an upland cut for a boat well, dredging of approximately 3,000 square feet, vegetative mat removal of approximately 3,750 square-feet and a swim area of 20 feet by 200 feet. Bowman pointed out at the July 14 meeting, the mat removal and dredging is under the jurisdiction of the DEQ.
During the public forum Gene Crombez noted he was concerned about arsenic in the lake. ‘If we do dredging, will it potentially do something to the lake or effect wells or kill fish in the lake? How do we find out scientifically??
Fellow lake owner Wayne Hodges said he had a copy of a document that was furnished by the MDEQ showing there is arsenic in Lakeville Lake.
‘It’s not my interpretation, it’s (the) MDEQ’s interpretation on their own data,? Hodges said.
Having not read the report, Commission Chairman Lawrence Smith asked Hodges if after reading it, he would he come back with a 1-10 (level of seriousness) opinion.
‘Is it that diverse, that direct and that complete,? Smith asked.
‘To be very candid with you, it’s not my area of expertise,? responded Hodges. ‘You have two issues. You have arsenic in the water and then the question becomes how much of that arsenic will leach into the sediment.?
The studies that he has seen indicate ‘if you have iron, manganese or aluminum in your sediment, then you’re going to accumulate the arsenic in your sediment.?
‘Well, guess what? We (have) got a very mineral rich water and sediment out there. I believe it’s loaded with iron and manganese, so you can draw your own conclusion on that,? he said. ‘There is no actual data I know of on our lake defining that relationship.?
As far as finding the effect on the lake, Sargent said he had access to data that he could provide to Crombez as well.
‘The reference material is the Oakland County Arsenic Samples DEQ, Waterchem data base, 1983 to 2003 collection period of samples,? Sargent said. ‘The data base samples and the results of those samples identified concentration greater than 20 and greater than 50 parts per million at the shore line of 595 Army Road. ?
Dreffs could not be reached for comment.