Through the years, the face of Independence Township has changed, but that fa’ade could have been drastically different if not for the work of resident, former township attorney, and current consultant Gerald Fisher.
Fisher, who has been practicing municipal law for nearly 35 years, has been part of important litigation in the township, helping to maintain its appearance as well as control the sound that pours from summer concerts at DTE Energy, formerly Pine Knob, Music Theater.
Fisher worked with the township in the early 1980’s to stop the Edward C. Levy Company’s attempt to create a gravel pit, more than 500 acres, near Pine Knob.
‘It would have changed the character of the whole community.?
All the people, experts, and politics that were involved in that litigation upheld the township’s ability to dictate it’s own future, rather than let a company decide the community’s fate. That made the case very memorable for Fisher.
If the company had come into the area, it could have taken, by Fisher’s estimate, more than 50 years to mine all the land.
‘Gravel pits don’t just come and go. You don’t just come in and mine 500 acres of gravel overnight,? he said.
‘If you look at a map, that’s at the center of the township and if you think of the number of trucks going in and out of there from all directions ? the noise and the dust, water draw, would have had an effect on the desirability of the community. It would have greatly detracted from the character of the community.?
The ongoing work, as well as the dredging involved to create the intended 200-acre lake on those grounds, would have had a horrible effect on the concerts many residents and out-of-towners enjoy during the summer.
‘Can you imagine between I-75 and Clarkston road, where Pine Knob is, having how many gravel trucks going up and down there when they’re going to have a show? Disaster.?
Fisher said experts had all agreed during the case that the proposed mine encompassed some of the finest and most pristine land in the state. Those lands are now part of Independence Oaks County and Clintonwood parks. The township purchased the property after the Levy company withdrew its plans and negotiated long-term commitments not to mine its other properties in the area.
Another big case for Fisher and the township came in the early 1970’s. The property on the north end of Deer Lake, which is now comprised of Deer Lake Farms, was planned for a massive amount of apartment buildings. Fisher defended the township’s zoning regulations, which would not allow for such a development.
‘It would have been a huge difference in what this township would have been. They were really setting the tone for how the township was being developed.?
With that decision for the township, the developer altered the plan to its current state, a quality, single-family development, as Fisher put it.
Fisher’s concern is not limited to Independence Township. He served as legal counsel for the villages of Ortonville, Brandon, Lake Orion, and Bingham Farms, and Oakland, Bloomfield, and Waterford townships, as well as Birmingham.
Fisher has dedicated himself to the many cases where environmental preservation was on the line.
‘The whole idea of preserving the environment in order to make a better life for everybody is an instinctive thing for me.?
As counsel for Bloomfield Township, which began in 1988, Fisher argued for boaters on Square Lake against overcrowding on the water, mostly from a neighboring condominium development.
The litigation went all the way to the state’s high court and was a victory for the township.
‘Defending it up to the Supreme Court was like a dream for a lawyer,? Fisher said.
By his son’s estimation, Fisher has attended more than 3,000 municipal meetings.
‘I was very interested in municipal law generally,? Fisher said.
He enjoys the closeness of local government.
‘The critical thing for me has always been, the almost direct form of democracy that you get at local government. If you look at discussions historically, you find Thomas Jefferson discussing how important local government is in placing people close to the decision makers.?
Presently, Fisher’s full-time profession is teaching law to aspiring students at the Thomas M. Cooley School of Law at the Oakland University campus, which he has been doing for three years.
‘My career now is teaching, which is kind of giving back to the greater profession and the people that made me part of the profession. (Also) attempting to provide insight that I learned over the years that might make people better attorneys for themselves and for the legal system.
‘It’s an extremely rewarding experience’it’s a significantly different lifestyle than practicing law, even though I’m teaching law.?
Not every lesson a young attorney needs can be taught in the classroom.
‘The truth is, what you learn in the next several years after your first 10 years or so is that you need to utilize your insights and your abilities of practice to bring about resolution and win-win situations, rather than strictly win-lose solutions,? Fisher said.
In his schooling days, he attended Michigan State University, graduating in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in English, psychology, and business. He earned his master’s in education administration in 1969. He received a law degree from Detroit College of Law in 1972 and finished his masters in law at Wayne State University in 1989.
As an undergrad at MSU, Fisher was a Central Collegiate Hockey Association champion goalie for the Spartans in 1966.
‘It was a dream in the sense that this team was the last team anybody picked to win,? Fisher said.
He had been playing hockey since he was 9 years old, and played his way all the way through the Detroit Red Wings farm system. After high school, Fisher played one season of professional hockey in Saskatchewan, Canada, but returned home so he could go to college.
His size and athletic ability landed him between the pipes as a career goalkeeper.
‘I was small, I was short and I had relatively fast reflexes. They needed someone to play goal and that was the end of that,? Fisher said.
‘I was so lucky, it was unbelievable the teams I played for.?
In October, the MSU championship team had a 40th reunion commemoration at a MSU hockey game and the following afternoon at Spartan stadium on the field.
‘The really neat thing about it was seeing people’you get so close to these people. Some of these people I had not seen in 20 years, some I had not seen in 40 years. Just seeing those people again was unbelievable.?
In the law field, Fisher has been recognized for his work. In September, Fisher received a national award for being one of the best lawyers in America, as selected by his peers.
The Cooley Law Review awarded Fisher the ‘Michigan Supreme Court Distinguished Brief Award? in 2001, and he was named one of 10 lawyers of the year by the ‘Michigan Lawyers Weekly? in the same year.
‘Staying on the high road and getting this kind of recognition was the best thing that could have happened for me,? Fisher said.
He has been married to his wife, Julie, a teacher at Everest Academy, for 27 years. The couple met while Julie was teaching in Ortonville and they were introduced through an acquaintance.
The couple has two children, Jessica, 24, and Martin, 26. Jessica is teaching English as a second language through the Peace Corps in Ukraine, and Martin is finishing his civil engineering degree at the University of Illinois.