ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (WXYZ) — A St. Clair Shores waterfront property owner is facing more than $15,000 in fines for docking his boats along his own property, and his attorney is now taking the fight to a higher court, arguing the city ordinance behind the fines is unconstitutional.
Watch Peter Maxwell's video report:
Michael Droogleever owns the land and the boats, but the city of St. Clair Shores says that does not give him the right to dock his boats where he chooses. The fines have accumulated at $500 per day.
"I own it. I pay lots of property taxes on it. I am pretty sure I can access the water," Droogleever said.
For many people who own waterfront property in St. Clair Shores, having a boat out back is part of the lifestyle. But Droogleever says the mounting fines have left him frustrated.
"I am a little shocked that it just keeps going and going and going. Especially since we're going through the court system here like, ' Hey, I think there's a misunderstanding here; we can work this out. Why does this have to keep on happening?" Droogleever said.
The reason the fines keep accumulating comes down to what is missing from his property: a house. The St. Clair Shores ordinance states that the floating or mooring of a watercraft along residential riparian property is permitted "provided a residence exists and is occupied."
Droogleever's attorney, Nicholas Somberg, argues the ordinance strips property owners of their riparian rights.
"What the city is saying is because you not only have a house here, you can have a house as big as the one behind you in that video. If you don't actively live in it. If it's your second home, if you're building a home. If you don't have an occupied home, you can't have a kayak in your backyard. You can't have a single boat at all, stripping them of their riparian rights," Somberg said.
The central legal question is whether St. Clair Shores can require a home to be occupied before a property owner can moor boats on the property.
"You can't take somebody's right to have a boat entirely away from them simply because they don't have an occupied dwelling," Somberg said. "In the state of Michigan you have absolute rights to have when you own a piece of land that abuts water to use that water and to keep boats on that water."
Somberg says Droogleever is not renting out slips, operating a marina, or running a charter business from his property. However, a neighbor who declined to be identified, citing fear of retaliation, offered a different perspective.
"They were bringing a party bus on and off the property, trucking people in and out," the neighbor said. "If he wants to build a house here and be a neighbor like we all here, I have no complaints against it, but the marina atmosphere isn't why we are here. I live here."
A district court has already denied Droogleever's constitutional motion to dismiss, but Somberg says that outcome was expected.
"We intend to appeal this case all the way up to essentially get the law overturned because the law is unconstitutional," Somberg said.
The city of St. Clair Shores declined to comment, saying it does not comment on ongoing litigation.
Droogleever says he hopes to break ground on the property soon.
"We are looking forward to building our forever home here very, very soon," Droogleever said.
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