26 September 2008
Boy Scout Sell-off
Posted by admin under: camps .
The Chicago Council of Boy Scouts of America, owners of the rugged 4,800-acre property in northern Muskegon County, closed Owasippe to outsiders because of liability concerns, said council Scout Executive Charles Dobbins.
Dobbins said he checked into the issue when he was appointed to the executive job in June.
Further down into the story, however, I found this gem.
The decision likely will upset local users already perturbed by the council’s decision to sue Blue Lake Township over its refusal to rezone the reservation for residential use. That lawsuit is pending in the Michigan Court of Appeals.
The council is looking to sell off large sections of the reservation and claims the current zoning that limits the property to camp and recreational use unfairly restricts its value.
Oh, brother. The BSA is suing a town because the town won’t let them sell to people who want to build homes or businesses in a recreational area? This is seven shades of wrong. Why are they selling their property instead of keeping it for the use of Scouts and preserving the environment? I’m pro-business, but then to sue a small town because they won’t change their zoning laws to allow you to make more money? Is this a Chicago thing? About a year ago an Associated Content blogger/writer nicknamed Sharkbytes wrote about it.
I’ve e-mailed the Chicaco Area Council to get their side of the story. I assume I’m going to get the “can’t afford to run the camp any more” line, but I’m still trying to figure out the lawsuit part. The closure of the area to the residents that the council is suing gives an appearance of extortion. I wonder if the council realizes that.
Update: Lynn has filed a new report which states that some of this might go away.
Chicago Boy Scouts are trying to get out of a purchase agreement for the Owasippe Scout Reservation that sparked a zoning lawsuit and fears that the pristine property would be turned into residential subdivisions.
The Chicago Council of Boy Scouts’ board of directors met Thursday to discuss an “Owasippe sale contract termination settlement” involving a $19 million offer by a Holland-area bank executive and his investment group.
However,
But Studaven said Dobbins won’t make everyone happy as he continues to pursue a planned downsizing of the 4,800-acre Owasippe reservation. The Chicago council has said it can’t afford to operate the reservation — which includes several Boy Scouts camp areas — at its current size.
“There are some hardliners who do not want (the Chicago council) to sell one inch of it,” Studaven said. “It’s not practical — it’s just not practical. I imagine if they went about it in the right way in the beginning, they would have been able to get rid of some of that property.”
The Boy Scouts already have sold off about 8,000 acres of Owasippe, which the township agreed to rezone and has since been developed into neighborhoods. The township even helped pay for some of those subdivisions’ roads.
The council never replied to my message. Actually that’s a surprise because the BSA has been pretty responsive, but I guess they figured the story I was asking about had already been resolved. It’s a sad thing when talking about selling off part of a camp is better news than you previously had.
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One Comment so far...
» Owasippe Scout Reservation Saved! Says:
7 November 2008 at 1:12 pm.
[...] Moore at MLive.com has some great news about that story regarding the Boy Scouts of America Chicago Area Council and their plans to sell part of …. The contract termination discussion has resulted in a reversal of the council’s previous [...]
