Ohio Lakefront Group 1 Ohio Lakefront Group Annual Meeting May 26, 2005

Ohio Lakefront Group 2 What is the Ohio Lakefront Group Ordinary citizens; shoreline residents Grassroots volunteer organization –Only one paid employee (lobbyist) Non-profit corporation Over 4,000 members

Ohio Lakefront Group 3 Purpose Prevent erosion of shoreline property rights Protect environment and the use of Lake Erie through reasonable regulation Advocate reasonable common-sense goals for ODNR We are NOT anti-environment !

Ohio Lakefront Group 4 Data Source for Graph Low Water Mark ft Natural Shoreline shown for Dec 15, 2002 – ft High Water Mark ft Ordinary High Water Mark Low Water Mark Regulatory Property Taking by ODNR ODNR forcing homeowners into leases for any structures in this area including erosion control or structures to access the water Legally Deeded Private Property State Property Dry Beach Area Natural Shoreline Historical Water Levels 1918 to 2003 (ft above sea level) Year

Ohio Lakefront Group 5 Current Problems Coastal Management Office of Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) –Taking deeded property without compensation –Declaring that the Public has the right to access our property –Violating littoral rights of lakefront owners –Making permitting process much more costly and burdensome

Ohio Lakefront Group 6 We Desire Meaningful Regulation Provide meaningful regulation that –Protects Property Rights of shoreline owners –Protects the environment and health of Lake Erie –Prevents indiscriminant dumping into the lake

Ohio Lakefront Group 7 Public Trust in Ohio Submerged land is owned in trust for the people of the state but subject to: –“the public rights of navigation, water commerce, and fishery” –“the property rights of littoral owners, including the right to make reasonable use of the waters in front of or flowing past their lands”

Ohio Lakefront Group 8 What are Littoral Rights (also called Riparian Rights) Special property rights given to shoreline property owners Right to build structures beyond your property boundary to access or wharf out to navigable water Right to take title to natural additions of land (accretion and reliction) Right to restore lands lost by avulsion

Ohio Lakefront Group th District Court Case (Beach Cliff) “It is ODNR’s position that, despite any reemergence of the beachfront property, the property has been artificially filled, thereby satisfying the definition of ‘territory’ sufficient for the issuance of a submerged land lease.” How many of you have some sort of fill on your property? Do you know if any fill has been dumped behind your property over the last one-hundred years?

Ohio Lakefront Group 10 Regulatory Property Taking by Coastal Management Office of ODNR Dry Beach Area Deed says your land ends here (low water mark) ODNR says your land ends here (high water mark) First ODNR Took This

Ohio Lakefront Group 11 Regulatory Property Taking by Coastal Management Office of ODNR Dry Beach Area ODNR calls this “historic fill” and says your land ends here Deed says your land ends here (low water mark) Now They Want More

Ohio Lakefront Group 12 Consequences of ODNR’s OHWM Use Municipalities have no jurisdictional authority or police powers over State land. Vast portions of most lakefront property have some fill on it and will have to be leased from the State. Private Property along the entire Ohio Shoreline will be given over to Public access.

Ohio Lakefront Group 13 Ohio Greenways Source: The Greenway Collaborative, Inc.

Ohio Lakefront Group 14 Comments of Great Lakes United Restore shoreline and littoral processes by removing groins and seawalls where possible and softening hardened shorelines. Establish development setbacks and vegetated buffers sufficient to protect water quality and habitat around all wetlands, lakes, rivers/streams, and Great Lakes shorelines.

Ohio Lakefront Group 15 Legislative Activities HB 218 was introduced in 2003 by then State Representative Tim Grendell. Bi-partisan support in the House where it passed In 2004 ODNR aggressively fought the Bill in the Senate and managed to stall the Bill. The Governor is siding with ODNR. HB 218 ultimately died with the last legislative session at the end of 2004.

Ohio Lakefront Group 16 Legislative Activities--Update HB 206 has been introduced in the House by Representative Earl Martin of Avon Lake. Senator Tim Grendell of Lake and Geauga County introduced companion SB 127. We have had 3 hearings in the House on HB 206 that went well. The Senate is involved in the Budget and nothing else is moving there.

Ohio Lakefront Group 17 Legislative Activities—Testimony The Director of ODNR testified last week that ODNR does “not have authority to pass judgment on deeds”. However, less than two years ago an ODNR official declared that: “what is on a deed description captures a moment in time”.

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Ohio Lakefront Group 21 The Lawsuit We have tried the Administrative route and the Legislative route, because they were not overly expensive. So far, these have fallen short. We are now involved in very expensive legal action in Lake County Common Pleas Court and Federal Court. We will only be as good as the legal help that we can afford.

Ohio Lakefront Group 22 Lake County Common Pleas OLG filed the lawsuit May 28, ODNR’s approach to the lawsuit has been to drag it out and try to bankrupt us. They do not want to address the merits of the case. We have won virtually every motion we made in this case. The case was going well. We were scheduled for a hearing on Class Certification on March 3, 2005.

Ohio Lakefront Group 23 ODNR’s Cross-Claim: Federal Court On February 28, 2005 the ODNR filed a cross-claim against the US Army Corps of Engineers. This pulled the lawsuit out of State Court and put it into Federal Court. As a part of that cross-claim, ODNR stated: “Federal law and Ohio law hold that after statehood, the title and rights of riparian (upland that borders a river, stream, or other such water course) or littoral (upland that borders a ocean, lake or the bay of such body of water) proprietors in the soil below the ordinary high water mark are governed by the laws of the several states, subject to the rights granted to the United States by the constitution.”

Ohio Lakefront Group 24 Status of Lawsuits Our lawsuit in Lake County is on hold and will continue to be on hold as long as the Federal action is in place. The US Attorney has filed a motion in Federal Court to dismiss ODNR’s cross- claim. The earliest we can expect for a ruling on this motion to dismiss is early July—ODNR would have slowed us down by a minimum of 4 months.

Ohio Lakefront Group 25 Chances of Success We have our Deeds on our side. We have the complete history of our Deeds on our side. We have the Ohio and the U.S. Constitution on our side. Our lawyers have thus far won every argument in Common Pleas. ODNR has time and apathy on its side.

Ohio Lakefront Group 26 Apathy/Excuses I do not want to donate money because: –The Group is doing fine without me; –My neighbor should donate because he/she is rich; –My neighbor should donate because I should not have to pay for him; –Big companies should pay for this because they have more to lose; –ODNR has not approached me to sign a lease; –I do not like to give money to attorneys; –I cannot afford it.

Ohio Lakefront Group 27 What is my property worth? What is my property worth with Public Access? What happens to the Lawsuit if we run out of money? What would it cost me to pursue my own lawsuit? ASK YOURSELF