Action by the township board last week will require two residents near Elkhorn Lake to comply with recommendations from a wetlands consultant, or face fines from the township as early as April.
But the owner of one of the properties in question said the latest report, prepared by Carlisle/Wortman Associates, Inc. ignored a related study from October of 1999.
The issue of wetlands filling on the properties of Jerry Moon and Dale Kotila was profiled in The Review after being brought to the board’s attention late last summer.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department has been called to the area numerous times over the past eight months for what have been labeled as ‘neighbor disputes.?
Nick Cucinelli and Tracy Jensen, who reside across the street from Kotila on Elkhorn Lake Road, have addressed the board on several occasions regarding Kotila’s filling of a wetland with woodchips and construction of a berm near his property line.
Both Moon and Kotila were present at last Monday’s meeting to hear the report from Carlisle/Wortman wetlands expert Sally Elmiger.
‘We feel that if Mr. Moon is able to do what the MDEQ requires, and if it’s done within a timely fashion, this essentially will produce what the wetlands ordinance is trying to produce,? Elmiger said.
The township voted unanimously to receive and file the report and required Moon to submit a restoration to the township by April 1.
‘Mr. Kotila had been putting woodchips in the wetland on his property and also constructed a berm to divert water away from this wetland area,? Elmiger said. ‘The MDEQ was notified and essentially said it would do more damage than good to remove the woodchips from the area.?
Elmiger said the woodchips would eventually decompose and the wetlands would regenerate itself.
She added that any berming should be removed to allow the water to reach the wetland area.
Trustee John Steimel presented a motion to receive and file the report from Carlisle/Wortman. The motion also called for the township building officials and other parties involved to set a schedule for the removal of any berms along the property and that a wetland delineation be conducted on the property.
The motion received unanimous support.
Steimel said he expects to see a report from the building officials by the board’s first meeting in April. He said that if action is not taken by the property owners by then, they would be subject to fines.
Trustee Matt Gibb presented an additional motion, also unanimously supported, to have the planning commission examine the wetlands ordinance and give those parties involved access to Carlisle/Wortman consultants.
Moon’s property in question is located near where Kempster and Elkhorn Lake Roads meet, while Kotila’s land is located at Elkhorn Lake and Pine Roads.
Kotila has said repeatedly that the issue with his property boils down to road work done by the county on nearby roads, which have led to flooding on his property and others along Elkhorn Lake.
He said the Carlisle/Wortman report did not take into account an important drainage study from October of 1999, which called for a cleanout of the drainage course and the construction of a ditch along Elkhorn Lake.
The study offered a $74,000 estimate to solve drainage issues, but that expense falls on the subdivision.
‘If we didn’t have water running down from the other subdivisions, all our problems would go away,? he said.
Kotila said the installation of the berms was simply to prevent flooding as a result of the water run down and added he has no issues with the wetlands portion of the report, which he was already following.
At the conclusion of Monday’s board meeting, Jensen thanked the board for their actions and added that she feels at risk as a result of speaking out on the matter.