Ohio Lakefront Group 1 Ohio Lakefront Group Annual Meeting May 30, 2013.

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Ohio Lakefront Group www.ohiolakefrontgroup.com 1 Ohio Lakefront Group Annual Meeting May 30, 2013

Transcript of Ohio Lakefront Group 1 Ohio Lakefront Group Annual Meeting May 30, 2013.

Ohio Lakefront Groupwww.ohiolakefrontgroup.com

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Ohio Lakefront GroupAnnual Meeting

May 30, 2013

Ohio Lakefront Groupwww.ohiolakefrontgroup.com

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What is the Ohio Lakefront Group

• Non-Profit and non-partisan

• Incorporated in 1999

• Grassroots volunteer organization

• Ordinary citizens; shoreline residents

• At present there are over 7,000 members

• There are 15,000 parcels along Lake Erie in Ohio

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Purpose

• Prevent taking of shoreline property by the State of Ohio

• Protect the use of Lake Erie and the environment through reasonable regulation

• We are NOT anti-environment, we just want our deeds honored !

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Nominees for Board of DirectorsBaeppler, Greg Bay Village

Bunsey, Bob Huron

Coles, Lisa Sandusky/Milan

Cyvas, Vitas Willowick

Kemmerer, Kent Willowick

Limbert, Kevin Timberlake

Plymale, Nancy Marblehead

Prout, Mike Sandusky

Rennell, Rick Bay Village

Tatter, Ken Sheffield Lake

Yankel, Tony Bay Village

Ohio Lakefront Group

Treasurer's Report

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Ohio Lakefront Group

Treasurer's Report, Cont.

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Ohio Lakefront GroupAnnual Meeting

May 30, 2013

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Year in a Nutshell

Judge Lucci gave us another great decision.

Attorney General Mike DeWine appealed that decision.

Ohio Lakefront Group

Who Are We Fighting

• Attorney General Mike DeWine

• National Wildlife Federation

• Ohio Environmental Counsel

• Not ODNR

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Ohio Lakefront Group

Judge Lucci Gave Us

• A boundary that was essentially “If your feet are in the water, you are OK, if not in the water, you are trespassing.

• Voided all leases above the shoreline.

• All lease payment to be returned.

• ODNR to provide education.

• Same class certification as before.

• Made us the prevailing party.

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Ohio Lakefront Group

What Has Mike DeWine Done?

• The same old thing—appealed Lucci’s decision.

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Ohio Lakefront Group

What Has The Appellate Court Done?

• Threw out most of Mike DeWine’s grounds for appeal.

• Will hear only arguments regarding classification.

• Timing ??????

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Ohio Lakefront Group

What Are Our Issues?(Public Statement Nov. 14, 2011)

• ODNR off our property

• No Public Trust rights on our property

• Restoration of land lost due to avulsion

• Void leases on private property

• A clear definition so that trespassing laws can be enforced.

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Ohio Lakefront Group

What Are Our Claims (Public Statement Nov. 14, 2011)

• Attorney Fees• Deeds have been altered and need to

be corrected• People have paid for leases and fees

on land that they own• People need to be compensated for

the land that was temporally taken by the State for the past 10-20 years

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Ohio Lakefront Group

What Is In The Future?Attorney General Mike DeWine is prepared to

challenge every request we make in Court:

– For Attorney Fees– For a clear definition of private property

and what is trespassing– For restoring altered deeds– For lease payments– For the temporary regulatory taking of

property

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Glass v GoeckelMichigan Supreme Court

Changed the Law in Michigan:

• Took away owner’s “exclusive use”

• Created a right of “beach walking”

Ohio Lakefront Group

Lessons Learned from Michigan

• Public opinion matters

• Judge’s perceptions of the best public policy may prevail over decades of prior law

• The Fifth Amendment Protection of Private Property is eroding

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Ohio Lakefront Group

Attorney General DeWine’s PositionAt The Supreme Court

• The public has the right to enjoy the lake itself and the waterfront.

• All Ohioans, be they sportsmen, nature lovers, or riffraff, have right to use Lake Erie, as well as our backyards.

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Questions

Ohio Lakefront Group

Expand OLG ???

• Gain more members and we gain more political clout. But:– Is timing is right ?– Should we finish our lawsuit first ?– Should we be ready to expand when the timing is

right ?

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Ohio Lakefront Group

What to Expand Into?

• Not only the Lake Erie shoreline, but all streams, rivers, and inland lakes.

• Focus on Property Rights.

• Do less litigation and more lobbying.

• Operate more as a trade organization that speaks for the Property Rights of all water front owners.

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Ohio Lakefront Group

How Would We Expand?

• Mail solicitation and “word of mouth” based upon a good public relations effort.

• Assist landowners in ongoing or new property rights battles.

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Ohio Lakefront Group

Discussion

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