A
real estate developer is seeking to transform a “critical dune area” located in
Saugatuck into a residential neighborhood. Under the Sand Dunes Protection and Management
Act (SDPMA), MCL 324.35301 et seq.,
the developer applied for permits from the Department of Environmental Quality
(DEQ). Between 2014 and 2016, the DEQ issued
a number of permits to the developer for the project. The petitioners and intervenors are individuals
and groups who have property interests in close proximity to the sand dunes. They challenged the issuance of the permits
in administrative contested case proceedings, which were ultimately dismissed
for lack of standing. On judicial
review, the circuit court reversed as to the petitioners and remanded for
further proceedings. In an unpublished
opinion, the Court of Appeals reversed the circuit court and reaffirmed the administrative
orders dismissing all petitioners and intervenors for lack of standing. The Supreme Court has ordered oral argument
on the application to address whether appellants Jane Underwood and Charles
Zolper, as “owner[s] of [] property immediately adjacent to the proposed use”
at the time of their intervention in these contested cases, satisfy the
statutory standard for standing under MCL 324.35305(1), notwithstanding the
developer’s subsequent sales of land located between each appellant’s
respective property and the property being developed.