GRAND RAPIDS, MI (WHTC) - There were no comments made by attorneys for Saugatuck Township and the holding company for developer Aubrey McClendon after they had reportedly met in the chambers of a US Magistrate in Grand Rapids yesterday.
They are attempting to hammer out an out-of-court settlement of McClendon’s federal lawsuit against the municipality over tax and zoning issues pertaining to land at the mouth of the Kalamazoo River. An earlier agreement was rejected by the court on the grounds that it would have been too restrictive to future township leaders. McClendon wants to build a luxury resort-condo complex on some of that property; environmentalists want to preserve “pristine” dune land at that site, and had unsuccessfully petitioned the court to have yesterday's meeting held in open court instead of behind closed dfoors.
The legal battle has had its ramifications: Voters narrowly approved a millage increase to pay for the township’s legal “war chest” in defending itself; township Clerk Jane Wright and her assistant Lori Babinski were charged but later absolved of wrongdoing in handling ballots following that vote which negated a requested recount; a township board meeting was disrupted by honking vehicles as residents voiced concerns over the situation.
