7 November 2008
Owasippe Scout Reservation Saved!
Posted by admin under: Uncategorized .
Lynn 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 Owasippe Scout Reservation. The contract termination discussion has resulted in a reversal of the council’s previous position.
It’s a new day for the Owasippe Scout Reservation, with the property’s owners officially scuttling a developer’s plans for hundreds of houses and vowing to work with conservationists and others to preserve the property.
An agreement with a Holland development group to purchase the property for $19 million has been terminated, the Chicago Area Council of Boy Scouts announced Friday.
In addition, the council intends to “rebuild” the Boy Scout camping facilities, which have fallen into disrepair from neglect and arson fires. It also plans to rebuild relationships tattered by the purchase agreement and an ensuing lawsuit to rezone the land so the purchase could go through.
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What remains unclear is the status of the lawsuit filed by the Boy Scouts against Blue Lake Township seeking to force rezoning of the land for residential development — a contingency for the now-canceled purchase offer from the Benny V development group. That lawsuit is currently pending in the Michigan Court of Appeals.
I assume the council will drop the lawsuit if they’re really trying to mend fences. If they don’t then it would be a sign that they’re just going stealth on future plans. This result is mostly spin since nothing contradicts earlier sentiments that the reservation will have to be sold off a bit in the future. However, the most cancerous element of this whole situation, the bullying of a small town by the BSA, seems to have been resolved. Thank goodness and thanks to Lynn for continuing to follow this story.
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- Sheboygan Girl Scouts Fight Merger
- Sheboygan Wins, Merger Delayed
- Eagle Scout Helps Accident Victim
- Hunters Force Closure of Scout Camp
