SMP Debate Could Last Another Three Years
It may be three years before the Grand Lake Shoreline Management Plan issue will be settled, Rusty Fleming, founder of Grand Lakers United Enterprise (G.L.U.E.) told Grove Rotarians this week.
He also predicted Wednesday that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would not like the revised GRDA plan as it currently exists, and that a round of lawsuits from both sides would eventually ensue.
The GRDA Board of Directors will consider the current plan at its November meeting and then send it to FERC, where a 60-day comment period will exist.
He told Rotarians that GLUE has 220 members, with only three commercial marina owners. "The majority are waterfront and non-waterfront property owners just like you and me."
"I am a pro-GRDA guy and although they are not perfect, they are preferable to overseeing Grand Lake than FERC," he said. The 50-year-old license that GRDA had since 1940 ran out in 1990 and the 1992 re-license brought about changes, one of which is FERC insisting on a shoreline management plan.
FERC recommended the hiring of Kleinschmidt, a Maine consulting firm that also has a number of ex-FERC employees, Fleming said, to do a study begun almost two years ago. When the first draft came out "only two people" favored it, he said. Waterfront use was broken down into 17% for commercial development, 3% for GRDA operations, 52% for limited use, and 28% designated as "sensitive." It was judged far too harsh, especially relating to shoreline tree clearance.
The latest plan, re-written by GRDA with input from GLUE and hundreds of pages of testimony from area hearings, designates 71% of the waterfront as "responsible growth" area for commercial and residential development areas. There is no separate designation for residential use.
Opponents of the latest plan say it is just another invitation for the big commercial marinas to expand, and the new plan says nothing about on-water homes, or dockominiums. They say the GRDA board is loaded with conflicts of interest and has historically favored commercial installations and has been arbitrary and capricious in making dock and retaining wall decisions based on the influence of the applicant. Some predict that FERC may put a residential land use category back in the plan.
He also predicted Wednesday that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) would not like the revised GRDA plan as it currently exists, and that a round of lawsuits from both sides would eventually ensue.
The GRDA Board of Directors will consider the current plan at its November meeting and then send it to FERC, where a 60-day comment period will exist.
He told Rotarians that GLUE has 220 members, with only three commercial marina owners. "The majority are waterfront and non-waterfront property owners just like you and me."
"I am a pro-GRDA guy and although they are not perfect, they are preferable to overseeing Grand Lake than FERC," he said. The 50-year-old license that GRDA had since 1940 ran out in 1990 and the 1992 re-license brought about changes, one of which is FERC insisting on a shoreline management plan.
FERC recommended the hiring of Kleinschmidt, a Maine consulting firm that also has a number of ex-FERC employees, Fleming said, to do a study begun almost two years ago. When the first draft came out "only two people" favored it, he said. Waterfront use was broken down into 17% for commercial development, 3% for GRDA operations, 52% for limited use, and 28% designated as "sensitive." It was judged far too harsh, especially relating to shoreline tree clearance.
The latest plan, re-written by GRDA with input from GLUE and hundreds of pages of testimony from area hearings, designates 71% of the waterfront as "responsible growth" area for commercial and residential development areas. There is no separate designation for residential use.
Opponents of the latest plan say it is just another invitation for the big commercial marinas to expand, and the new plan says nothing about on-water homes, or dockominiums. They say the GRDA board is loaded with conflicts of interest and has historically favored commercial installations and has been arbitrary and capricious in making dock and retaining wall decisions based on the influence of the applicant. Some predict that FERC may put a residential land use category back in the plan.
Labels: GRDA
posted by Editor | 2:00 AM
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