Sturgeon Bay Won’t Join Challenge to DNR’s High Water Mark Ruling

The Sturgeon Bay Common Council will not be joining the appeal of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) ruling on the Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM) on the westside waterfront.

A group of citizens brought the appeal to challenge the Jan. 3 DNR ruling that affirmed the settlement reached between the city and the Friends of the Sturgeon Bay Public Waterfront that placed the OHWM at the 1835 meander line established by surveyors of that time. The appeal argues in part that the settlement will set a dangerous precedent for private waterfront properties elsewhere in the city and the state.

Among the citizens named on the appeal are Bill Chaudoir, former Door County Economic Development Corporation director; former Waterfront Redevelopment Authority members Thomas “Cap” Wulf and John Asher; and former council member Stewart Fett. Also included are John Yount, Robert Loss, Fran Shefchik, John Wiese, Mark Holdridge, Mike Langenhorst, Mark Deprey, Chris Moore, David Hatch, Richard Jeanquart, Jim Collins, Phillip Gordon, John Baumgartner, Daniel Nesbitt, Brian Peterson, Joan Wake, Jon Vandreese and Robert Fischer.