EMMET CO., MI -- A law is working its way through state legislature that would give clearer guidance to the issue of waterfront use at the end of lakeshore road ends.
The proposed law would make it illegal for homeowners who don’t live on the waters edge to put a dock at the end of public roads unless it’s authorized.
For a long time, people have used road ends to put up a private dock, and in Emmet County, the road commission has told those homeowners to remove the dock because it’s public property.
The new law would establish what has been determined in several court cases about the legality of the docks at the end of public roads.
“Any road ending, especially if it’s a public road, technically the public owns that road ending, and in order to have a dock there, a lot of people put their private docks at private road endings, if you see a dock there, technically, the public should have access to that dock, not just the private land owners,” explains Brian Gutowski, the Emmet County Road Commission Manager/Engineer.
Private dock owners could be sued if somebody gets hurt on their dock that’s on private property.
Emmet County allows townships to put road ending docks in because they have insurance – and Gutowski says he supports the proposed legislation.
