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Residents split as council hears hours of comment on East Bay PUD boat slips and chronic flooding; council asks for original documents
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Summary
Hundreds of pages of public comment focused on a request from East Bay Village to permit motorized-boat mooring; residents raised covenant, safety, environmental and long-standing drainage concerns and council agreed to gather PUD, master-deed and engineering records and to place drainage issues on the next agenda.
The Walled Lake City Council heard extensive public comment and a heated exchange of arguments over a proposal by East Bay Village condominium owners to amend their 2002 PUD to permit motorized-boat mooring and up to a dozen boat slips.
Opponents, including Jerry Anderson (Lake Area Homeowners Association), said the original PUD and condominium documents prohibited motorized boats and that the city had granted developer concessions in 2002 without securing infrastructure funding. Anderson said the dispute has created long-standing friction and urged the council not to change the PUD.
East Bay residents and board members asked the council to approve limited boat slips on riparian-rights grounds. Kelly Adams, a co-owner at East Bay Village, urged delay for a full review and said the associationhas turnover since an older vote and wants time to evaluate legal validity, safety, environmental impacts and cost allocation. An East Bay board representative (Speaker 12) said their attorney had certified an 11-year-old vote as recorded and advised moving forward without a new vote.
The public-record hearing also surfaced persistent drainage and flooding complaints from homeowners near the East Bay complex (Sparks Lane, Leon Road, Decker and nearby streets). Multiple residents said detention-pond and backflow-prevention work promised or required during development was incomplete, that yards frequently flood after storms, and that stormwater infrastructure repairs initially scheduled for 2018 were not completed. One resident said repeated yard flooding damaged property and posed safety concerns for children.
Councilmembers asked staff to assemble the historical PUD and master-deed documents, condominium voting records, BOSS Engineering correspondence and any DNR or DEQ guidance on boat capacity and safety so the council can make an informed decision. The mayor directed staff to place the drainage and flooding complaints on the next meeting agenda for expedited review and to report on possible remedies and responsibilities.
What happens next: The council did not adopt substantive changes at the meeting. Staff will provide the requested PUD and deed records, and a follow-up agenda item will examine drainage complaints and potential municipal responses; interested residents were told to submit written materials and evidence to staff for the record.
