WEST OLIVE, Mich. (AP) — A group of western Michigan homeowners are fighting a seawall that could prevent two houses from tumbling into Lake Michigan.
The wall will interfere with their ability to co-use the neighborhood’s shared beach area, according to some members of the Dunes Homeowners Association in West Olive.
They’ve asked an Ottawa County Circuit Court judge to block construction of a rock revetment wall along the lakeshore, WOOD-TV reported.
Owners of the homes in danger of falling from an eroding bluff say the wall could save their houses and would only overlap a small section of the beach area, according to court documents obtained by the television station.
Homeowners on both sides of the issue declined to comment on the lawsuit. A trial is expected to start Tuesday.
West Olive is northwest of Grand Rapids.
Rising Great Lakes levels and storms over Lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior have caused beach erosion, flooding and damage to seawalls and roads.
An October storm battered the Lake Michigan shoreline near Spring Lake, Michigan, and swept away up to 20 feet (6.1 meters) of dunes in some communities.
Michigan environmental regulators said in October they would expedite permits for homeowners seeking to place rocks or build seawalls to prevent erosion.
