The Orion Township Board passed a resolution Monday night that could lead to an ordinance banning gas-powered boats from Square Lake.
Some three dozen residents living on or around the lake spoke during a 40-minute public hearing before the board action, all but five of which spoke in favor of the ban.
Eighteen-year lake resident Audrey Blake presented a petition to the board two weeks ago with over 150 signatures, sparking the hearing.
‘We believed that this regulation was already in place, and that this was already a gas-free lake,? Blake said.
It turns out the lake did not have a ban.
Kelly Theisen and Chad Hermans, who owned the boat in question, said they would have been much more responsive to their neighbors if they had explained the situation on the lake.
‘I just want to extend my friendship,? Blake said, noting that she was ’embarrassed? by how the situation developed.
‘He deserves better than he’s gotten,? said resident Doug Osborne. ‘I think the root of the problem is that 90-percent of the people believed this was law already. I wish the people that knew it wasn’t law would have spread that around.?
Several other residents also extended apologies and wished of friendship to Hermans and Theisen during the hearing.
‘That’s basically what we wanted in the first place,? Hermans said afterwards.
Many residents said they moved to the lake because they thought it was not an all-sports lake, and they wished to keep it that way.
‘We were looking for three years to find a non-sports like,? said Dorthe Holzbaur, a new resident on the lake. ‘We are commuting to Farmington Hills and Troy, so this is something we gladly accept because living on this lake is just like a vacation.?
Another resident said he bought a parcel on Square Lake instead of Lake Orion because of the quietness of the lake.
After a brief discussion, the board unanimously adopted the Department of Natural Resources Watercraft Resolution, directing that the matter be forwarded to the DNR for further investigation and another public hearing.
Clerk Jill Bastian said the DNR has 90 days to report back to the township on whether an ordinance is warranted. The board would then have to adopt an ordinance as a final action on the matter.
‘If the DNR goes forward and recommends an ordinance, we’ll respect their decision and abide by it,? Hermans said.
There was some confusion towards the end of the board’s discussion as to whether Square Lake is classified as one lake or two (Little Square Lake and Big Square Lake).
A handful of residents on ‘Little Square? said they would like the ordinance to apply to them as well, though the board was under the impression that they were only acting on the larger portion of the lake.
‘We’ll have our attorney and clerk look into that,? Supervisor Jerry Dywasuk told the residents.