The Wastelands

Protect Jean Klock Park

Wasteland

Exchanging Dirt for Dunes

Text Box: "Known groundwater and/or soil contaminants found at these sites include metals, chlorinated solvents and aromatic hydrocarbons …”

“Thirty-eight acres of replacement land will be provided as part of the conversion, with over $2,500,000 of

upgrades, road improvements and walking trails provided for the park system. An important element of

the conversion is the mitigation acreage, connecting the Park from Lake Michigan to the St. Joseph and

Paw Paw Rivers, with walking trails into the downtown and neighborhoods of the community. “ Jean Klock Park Conversion and Mitigation Proposal

BOGUS EXCHANGE; EMPTY PROMISES

LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND ACT: to preserve, develop and assure accessibility to all citizens, quality and quantity of outdoor recreational resources

“The purposes of this part are to assist in preserving, developing, and assuring accessibility to all citizens of the United States of America of present and future generations and visitors who are lawfully present within the boundaries of the United States of America such quality and quantity of outdoor recreation resources as may be available and are necessary and desirable for individual active participation in such recreation and to strengthen the health and vitality of the citizens of the United States …” Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965

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In the mid-1970’s, the City of Benton Harbor received a grant under the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (the Act) to make improvements to the park. All Jean Klock Park acreage was then subject to the grant’s terms, which include the provision that the City may not sell or commercially develop the acreage without prior approval of the National Park Service which regulates the Act.

A most critical requirement of the law is that acreage to be converted must be exchanged with equal or better land. Further, that land must be viable as parkland and ready to occupy. Land which is exchanged will then carry the “protections” outlined in the Act.

What the developer has offered in exchange for Lake Michigan lake frontage, including dunes access and the dynamic views they afford, are scattered pieces of river frontage and wetlands left over from the days when the industries which occupied and contaminated the sites needed watercourse transportation. Most are forsaken scraps of polluted waste land.

The are NO DUNES anywhere any longer to exchange. There is NO MORE LAKE FRONTAGE. Equal or better is out of the question. Technically, then, there should be NO CONVERSION of Jean Klock Park.

The developer has tried to justify this cockeyed, preposterous replacement by offering an appraisal of $714,000. for the most expensive mitigation parcel (‘H’, pictured here to the right and below) for its 1.4 (one point four) acres of contaminated post industrial debris. That represents 80% of the total appraised value of Jean Klock Park’s 22 acres subject to conversion. (See Map Gallery for comparison) Nine-hundred thousand for the parkland is a farce, as goes without saying.

The largest mitigation parcel (‘E’) is a wetland, inaccessible until a connecting path is constructed along the golf course’s Hole 17 and a pedestrian bridge and viewing platform installed. Both were to have been completed by September, 2008. Thus far, not one nail has been pounded or board put in place to accomplish this.

Scattered parcels along the Paw Paw River are the trade for Jean Klock Park acreage. They are to become part of a trail system within 5 years from July, 2008.

Pictured : far left, close-up of the ground at Mitigation Parcel ‘F’. Near left, a portion of Mitigation Parcel ‘D’, formerly an industrial and city dump.

Above, view from Parcel ‘H’ looking southwest

Panoramic view from Mitigation Parcel ‘H’, a former Whirlpool Corporation manufacturing site, requiring two feet of clean fill before it can be used for parkland. Currently no proposed public access point to this parcel exists on the most recent Harbor Shores development illustration maps.

Text Box: “Soil and domestic/industrial waste disposal and installation of an isolation zone on Parcel F to provide an exposure barrier to a walkway along the parcel will be scheduled to coincide with the completion of construction of a bridge over the Paw Paw River in July-September 2008. This bridge links Parcel F to other mitigation parcels as part of the park trail system. Upon approval of the conversion and mitigation proposal, maintenance activities such as mowing and trash removal will be carried out spring, summer, and fall. Signage will also be installed to identify the property as a city of Benton Harbor public access site.” Jean Klock Park Conversion and Mitigation Proposal ~—~ NO maintenance, NO clean up, NO signage. And NO exposure barrier!

Text Box: “Parcel ‘H’ has some sample locations that exceed residential direct criteria for Arsenic and Trimethylbenzene. as well as one sample location where the residential ambient air particulate soil inhalation criteria is exceeded for Chromium.” Michigan Department of Environmental Quality letter to Harbor Shores developer, April 20, 2007

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May, 2010: all mitigation parcels remain unimproved and require environmental clean-up

Text Box: Trust Fund Board Hears from Park Advocates and Residents About Contamination on Un-built Trail System Before the conversion proposal could be submitted to the National Park Service, Michigan DNRE Trust Fund Board approval was required. On October 18, 2006, the Board approved a conceptual plan with the proviso that yearly updates would be necessary. After that meeting the then-chair, Sam Washington, told the Michigan capital news service, Gongwer, “There’s a lot of if’s …” He also stated that the dunes would be left intact [not true] and that the replacement land could not be contaminated. In October and December, 2009, Harbor Shores was met with probing questions from the Board, and city residents made presentations on the many liberties the developer has taken as a result of the Board’s approval of a conceptual plan.

Parcel E, 14.56 acres, largely wetland across a shallow section of the Paw Paw River from a U. S. EPA superfund site, formerly known as Aircraft Components, Inc. Below,

drawing of Parcel E, showing trail along the riverbank.

Above, top, aerial view of Parcel F and environs; bottom, roadway entrance to Parcel F, where the road, Graham Avenue, was to be extended as part of the agreement the Harbor Shores developer made with the City of Benton Harbor in 2006. There are no plans currently to complete this work.

“This mitigation parcel [Parcel E] is in close proximity to one golf hole. As a Par 3 hole there is a smaller safety zone along this fairway, so the public will not be in any danger from golfing activities. Additionally, the golf course designers left an existing tree line of mature trees to further separate the fairway from the public trail.”

Jean Klock Park Conversion and Mitigation Proposal

Below, top, river view of planned Parcel E trail location; bottom, measuring distance between rough and the water’s edge at proposed Parcel E trail way. The developer advised the public, “There is also the establishment of a minimum 25-foot native vegetation buffer between manicured turf and wetland areas, streams, rivers and watercourses.”

Public Comment Summary and Response Document, June, 2008

Text Box: Why did the state and National Park Service allow contaminated land to be used as mitigation for a Land and Water Conservation Fund park conversion? An April 9, 2007 email from the state to the developer advises: “The NPS will not accept contaminated sites for grant assistance or as mitigation.” A November 1, 2007, email between two state employees says: “The first is the statement that there are serious deficiencies with the proposed mitigation. I told him that I believe that our discussion centered on providing clearer documentation on usefulness; if they had serious concerns we need to know specifically what we need to do to document resolution to those concerns. Jim [Omaha NPS office] sought advice and replied that we need to address potential contamination issues, interim uses, former park designation and development schedule”

Text Box: a) The level and extent of contamination alleviated by the qualified taxpayer's eligible activities to the extent known to the qualified taxpayer: The property is contaminated with metals, PNA’s, and VOC’s. The total cost of remediation and due care is expected to be approximately $50,000 and will be reimbursed through Brownfield TIF dollars. Subject: Large Brownfield MBT Credit Approval Harbor Shores HV Construction, LLC Harbor Shores Parcel 3 (L-2) [See Graphics Below] City of Benton Harbor, Berrien County (NOTE: The property is part of Benton Harbor only because P.A. 425 allows a temporary transfer of land from one jurisdiction to another. Parcel 3 (L-2) will go back to St. Joseph within 20 years from 2005. It was transferred to Benton Harbor only because Benton Harbor is a CORE community, eligible for tax credits for infrastructure. St. Joseph is not. )

In December, 2009, the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) granted Harbor Shores brownfield tax credits to apply to the environmental remediation of the former Whirlpool Corporation industrial property which includes JKP mitigation Parcel H. The 12/15/2009 memorandum states the following:

“This project will redevelop approximately 13 acres of property in the City of Benton Harbor, Berrien County as part of the larger Harbor Shores project. It will include between 200-215 condominiums and/or residential townhomes and 34,000 square feet of commercial/retail space and marinas. Also included will be a portion of the 12 mile trail-way system which is part of the entire Harbor Shores development with public access to a river walk, marina and commercial areas.”

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Above: Snapshot from Harbor Shores 2007 Brownfield Map showing color coded parcel legend. Left: another snapshot from the 2007 Harbor Shores Brownfield Map showing the Whirlpool Corp parcel as L-2 (see color legend for parcel L color). Map here identifies part of the Whirlpool Corp property as Parcel 2.