Settlement agreement doesn't end controversy at Sunkissed Hills

May 18—FRANKFORT — Residents continue to express concerns about a Crystal Lake development where past missteps have led to civil lawsuits and accusations of Open Meetings Act violations.

Sunkissed Hills is a project by Terra Innovations, a Maryland-based property firm with projects in Florida, Maryland, Montana and Michigan, founded by its president, Billy Becker, according to a company website.

The project, situated between Mollineaux Road, a public state-owned boat launch, and a portion of the Betsie Valley Trail, includes eight, five-bedroom, 4,400-square-foot vacation homes, adjacent to one another on a steep slope on the south side of Crystal Lake.

Residents previously complained of clear-cutting that left the property vulnerable to washout, confusing changes in septic plans, a private access road they say was built without a permit and accusations of continued wetland issues.

"This community has been concerned about the Sunkissed Hills project for years," Anne Noah of Benzonia recently told the township board.

"Failure to notify those interested parties, who have been faithful attendants at meetings and who have been essential informants for hired and elected officials, was negligent," Noah said.

A portion of Noah's written comments were read into the record at the township's regular meeting last week, and while others told the Record-Eagle they share her concerns, they declined to speak on the record.

"We're trying to keep the discussion civil, to work with our elected officials and not against them," one man said.

A phone number for project manager Jon Gallagher was out of service, and he did not return a call seeking comment placed through an attorney who previously represented the LLC.

Disagreements between elected and appointed officials and Sunkissed Hills LLC, were aired in court this spring when Sunkissed Hills accused officials of changing the requirements of a private access road, after they approved a site plan.

Officials, however, in court documents said their approval was conditional and use of the road was barred until those conditions were met by the developer.

A settlement agreement, signed in March by Judge David A. Thompson, required Sunkissed Hills to make specific improvements and pay defendants $2,632.45 for engineering costs.

Those improvements, according to the settlement agreement, include installing guardrail fencing on steep portions of the road and revegetating clear-cut areas by planting trees and other plants by July 1.

Officials agreed to allow the private road to serve all eight homes, plus seven additional homes on an adjacent property, which Sunkissed Hills LLC also owns.

There is so far no sign of any new construction, and while a real estate website shows at least two of the $1.4 million homes are under contract, all eight last week appeared unoccupied.

Meeting minutes show the lawsuit and the development were discussed during a special meeting of the township board March 7, but Noah said that meeting is yet another problem.

It wasn't properly noticed, she said, of the meeting held the same day court records show the settlement agreement was filed in court, and never posted on the township's website, as the Open Meetings Act requires.

Noah and others have also questioned how Jason Barnard can serve as both Benzonia's township supervisor and zoning administrator of the West Benzie Joint Planning Commission, which serves Benzonia and Platte townships.

Having one person serve in both roles is a conflict of interest, critics have said, adding that it may have contributed to previous enforcement problems at the site.

Barnard did not return a call seeking comment, though previously told the Record-Eagle permitting the complex project had been a learning experience.

He also maintained his role as supervisor improved his work on zoning duties and he would not change a single action.

"And I fully stand behind that statement," Barnard previously said.

"It was always understood, if a situation arose that would be a conflict between offices, that I would recuse myself — and that has not happened once in over six years of fulfilling these dual roles," Barnard said.

This two-job controversy was raised again recently, when Benzonia Township board members voted unanimously to transfer $4,000 from the general fund to ease a joint planning commission's payroll shortfall, and Barnard did not recuse himself from the vote.

Noah said she and other residents have urged Benzonia board members to work with their counterparts in Platte Township on hiring a zoning administrator who is not also an elected official.

Leaders of an area nonprofit organization, the Crystal Lake & Watershed Association, have sought to forge goodwill with the developer and township officials, though recently expressed dismay over the lack of public input into the settlement agreement.

"The negotiations took place out of court," the association said, in an email to members and supporters. "CLWA was disappointed that it had no opportunity to express the concerns ... during a public review of the proposed settlement."

Sue Brown, association president, could not be reached for comment, but did say, in a letter published this spring in the Record-Patriot, that the organization believed claims made by Sunkissed Hills LLC in the lawsuit were without merit.

Meeting minutes show township officials since late January have hosted seven special meetings to discuss various topics, such as the annual budget and the Sunkissed Hills development.

Notices of these special meetings, too, have been posted outside the door to the township hall, but not on the township's website, as is required by the OMA.

Benzonia Township trustees at a regular meeting last week continued ongoing discussions of revamping the township's website to better communicate with residents.