Authority approves shoreline management plan for Grand Lake

Published: June 12, 2008

VINITA -- Grand River Dam Authority directors have unanimously approved a shoreline management plan for Grand Lake that has been mired in controversy for three years.

The directors voted for the plan during their meeting on Wednesday, doing so after surprisingly little public comment. Only two people asked to speak about the proposal, which places some restrictions on new development.

The plan also contains a provision that leaves open the possibility of building in wetlands and other areas deemed to be environmentally sensitive. GRDA officials said most proposals concerning development would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Kevin Easley, the GRDA's chief executive officer, said the low turnout for comment on the proposal likely was attributable to people being tired of discussing the issue.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must give final approval to the plan. One provision will be that the GRDA has 120 days to come up with a policy on so-called "habitable structures," which are cabins built over a lake.

Despite encouragement by the federal commission since the early 1990s to develop a shoreline management plan for Grand Lake, state officials resisted doing so until three years ago.

After the proposal's first draft, developers and some private property owners deemed the plan too restrictive.

The GRDA conducted 27 separate public meetings about the plan, and Casey Davis, who reworked the plan, said he received about 400 written comments, 37 percent of which opposed the plan's final draft, saying it remained too restrictive.

The GRDA is a state agency the Legislature created to manage the waters of the Grand River and its tributaries, along with Grand Lake, Lake Hudson and W.R. Holway Reservoir.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.

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