Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Parks topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City attorney: 1999 Mercer Beach grant requires continued public access; charging fees unclear
Summary
A 1999 natural-resources grant (~$97,000) for Mercer Beach requires public access on equal and reasonable terms; the agreement is silent on charging entry fees, so councillors questioned whether paid parking for nonresidents would be permissible without further legal review.
City Attorney Van reported June 16 that a 1999 state natural-resources project grant of roughly $97,000 for Mercer Beach requires that land and water access be open to the public "at all times on equal and reasonable terms." The grant agreement does not expressly address charging entry or user access fees.
Council members asked whether a paid parking regime (for non-Walled Lake residents) would conflict with the grant. Van said the agreement appears silent on parking and that street parking is likely outside the grant’s scope; if parking improvements were new property held as part of the beach parcel, the grant terms could be relevant. He recommended staff review property lines and the original grant documents to determine whether a differential fee structure (free or reduced for residents) would be lawful.
Council discussed license-plate reader systems and resident exemptions used elsewhere; Van said the city should review title and property boundaries and confirm whether grant terms apply to any potential parking lot improvements before pursuing a paid-parking model.
Next steps: staff will reexamine the 1999 grant documents and property surveys to identify whether parking improvements or fees would violate grant requirements and report back to council.
