The Crystal Lake Watershed Association has dropped a lawsuit against Benzonia Township, but still plans to pursue legal action against a developer.
The lawsuit centered around Sunkissed Hills, a housing development on the shore of Crystal Lake that violated its soil erosion permit after sediment flowed off the site and damaged a nearby wetland during construction in 2023.
Last December, Crystal Lake Watershed Association sued both the developer for violating state environmental law and local zoning codes, as well as Benzonia Township for failing to properly permit and monitor the project.
But the watershed association said it dropped its lawsuit against the township after local officials agreed to certain changes.
Those include hiring a new zoning administrator; using a consulting firm to review and suggest changes to the township’s zoning code; and creating a committee to improve transparency with the community.
Crystal Lake Watershed Association is still continuing its lawsuit against the developer of Sunkissed Hills and says the site still needs remediation.
"Our concern is that they want to do more development on this site," said Kristyn Houle in an interview with IPR last December. Houle is the attorney representing Crystal Lake Watershed Association. "We're trying to be proactive and say, 'OK, if if you're not going to work with us, we don't have a seat at the table. Then what we'd like to do is go to court and see if we can get some relief from the from the judge.'"
