Saturday, September 27, 2008

Road construction at park delayed until Oct. 2 court hearing

9/26/08
By KEVIN ALLEN
H-P Business Writer
First part of article:
BENTON HARBOR — Harbor Shores construction crews are halting work – at least temporarily – on a new beachside boulevard at Jean Klock Park, developers have reported.
Opponents of Harbor Shores’ plan to build three holes of a Jack Nicklaus Sig­nature Golf Course in the park have requested a re­straining order against con­struction there until a decision is made in a federal lawsuit re­garding developers’ lease of the city-owned land.
Harbor Shores representa­tives are waiting for a judge to consider the restraining order request at a hearing Oct. 2 in U.S. District Court in Wash­ington, D.C. If the request is shot down, developers said they will con­tinue working on the road Oct. 3.
If the restraining order is ap­proved, Harbor Shores will not be able to do any more work in the park before a deci­sion is made in the lawsuit, which was filed in August by a group called Protect Jean Klock Park.
Defendants in the case are Benton Harbor, the Michigan Department of Natural Re­sources and the National Park Service for allegedly ignoring environmental regulations in approving the park lease. Har­bor Shores, which stopped the work Wednesday, has filed to intervene in the suit.
A hearing date has not yet been set for the lawsuit.