January 2, 2008 McClendon Requests Settlement Agreement Be Tabled Saugatuck Township Board's Wednesday meeting, once again held at the Saugatuck High School to accommodate another anticipated standing-room-only crowd and TV cameras, kicked off with a surprise request by Aubrey McClendon, new owner of the Denison property, to table his proposed settlement agreement with the township. In the highly contentious agreement McClendon's Saugatuck LLC offered to drop various lawsuits pending against the township in return for rolling back, for one year, the current R-4 zoning of the property to the much less restrictive R-1, 2, and 3B zoning in place prior to the purchase. Many felt the agreement was sprung on the public with far too short of notice, just hours prior to the Board's December 5th meeting where it was to be voted on. An alarmed crowd packed the township hall and forced the board to table consideration of the agreement and schedule the subsequent December 19th special session, where action on the proposal was once again tabled amidst impassioned pleas from a full house, with more packed in the doors from the hall. Clearly everyone expected another emotional evening of trying to convince the Board to vote down the agreement. Instead, Saugatuck LLC attorney James Bruinsma read a statement from McClendon requesting the Board table further action on the agreement. "Saugatuck LLC has listened to the concerns of the Saugatuck community voiced in recent township meetings and in the many letters to the press," he read. "Responding to those concerns, we have asked the township to table its vote on the proposed settlement agreement, for later consideration in connection with our PUD application." The statement also said Saugatuck LLC would 'stay' the 2007 real estate tax tribunal cases for a period of one year. Reactions from the crowd ranged from relief to misgivings. David Swan, president of the Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance, which has worked intensively for preservation of the Denison property, said "The McClendons are visionaries and great philanthropists. We are all neighbors in this." Swan expressed his hope the McClendons would now act in a manner sensitive to the well established goals of the local communities as expressed in our Tri-Community Comprehensive Plan (9.8MB) which forms the basis for the long sought R-4 zoning of the Denison property. Phil Miller, Co-Chair of Saugatuck Save Our Shoreline, the organization most actively involved in the attempted purchase and preservation of the Denison property, was pleased with the news but said "we are involved in a marathon, not a sprint." He added "If they agree to keep the South (half of the Denison property) completely undeveloped and keep homes fewer than 80 on the North, we're willing to keep open minds." State Representative Patricia Birkholz, who was instrumental in the creation of Saugatuck Dunes State Park and has worked for years to add the Denison property to the park, presented a less cheery view. She read a letter from Paul McEnroe, one-third owner of the 80-acre Riverside Farm adjacent to the Denison land. McEnroe said that Saugatuck LLC has issued ultimatums and used raw power plays that "are an affront to this community's sensibilities." McEnroe's letter then addressed the township trustees and asked, did you, as elected officials "listen to our community's conscience about doing business with a developer who issues ultimatums to families, threatens lawsuits and repeatedly fails to describe its goals that could very well transform our community into something ordinary?" Other views expressed by the public during the comment period included "They are threatening to sue us, yet they say we should trust them," and "Mr. McClendon is playing a game. I would be very skeptical of trusting him." A number of people suggested that McClendon had backed away from a threat he realized he did not have adequate legal standing to press home and that responding to this "change of heart" was simply facilitating him. They felt the township should meet Saugatuck LLC head on and vote to reject the proposed agreement. Mike O'Brien, ex truck stop developer turned organic meat farmer asked "Why would you come to an area out of love and threaten lawsuits?" He urged the council not to table but to "vote the agreement down." Marcia Perry, President of Laketown Alliance for Neighborly Development, told the board "We will help you stand up to the deep pockets you are seeing." Kate McPolin and Dave Burdick, members of the City of Saugatuck and Douglas planning commissions, respectively, offered to donate their commission stipends toward township attorney fees. Ultimately, the board voted 5-0 to comply with McClendon's request and table the action. Township attorney Bultje reminded the board that McClendon's agreement to stay the tax case doesn't mean he's withdrawing it. "They could come back and challenge 2007 and ’08 assessments in May 2009," he said. Is this yet another impasse, progress, or a step back? The board tabling action basically means McClendon may now present a planned unit development that does not conform with R-4 zoning which the township would review "in good faith", per their September 2006 agreement with McClendon. Meanwhile, in what has the potential to be a "divide and conquer" strategy, McClendon has offered to lease the South Denison to the City of Saugatuck at no cost. Return to Concerned Citizens for Saugatuck Dunes State Park Resources & Reference page. www.SaugatuckDunes.org