Friends of the Sturgeon Bay Public Waterfront Receive New Public Endorsements

On Dec. 10, the Friends of the Sturgeon Bay Public Waterfront and Sturgeon Bay residents filed a brief in federal court opposing a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against the City of Sturgeon Bay and its Waterfront Redevelopment Authority regarding the city’s proposed sale of Public Trust land. Midwest Environmental Advocates has joined attorneys from Wheeler, Van Sickle & Anderson to represent the local residents and support their constitutionally protected right to due process and access to the lakebed property held in public trust by our state government.

One of the founders of the Friends group, Shawn Fairchild, explains, “These lands are held in trust for the people of Wisconsin and all improvements done on the land should benefit everyone, not just one private developer. We oppose the selling of this public waterfront land to a private party. We believe that fundamentally it is no different than selling a state park.”

Fairchild continued, “We hope that the courts will consider the available evidence so that our state and local governments continue that protection of public shoreline in one of Wisconsin’s most unique places.”

The Friends group established a fund at Associated Bank and is seeking contributions toward legal expenses. In addition to monetary donations, the Friends group has sought the support of nonprofit advocacy groups. They announced recently that new public endorsements have come from the Democratic Party of Door County and the Great Lakes Commons; these are in addition to prior endorsements from the Door County Environmental Council, Door Property Owners, Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, Midwest Environmental Advocates and Preserve Our Parks. For more information visit friendsofsturgeonbaypublicwaterfront.com.