Introduction

The Huron Dunes subdivision’s shining asset is its truly spectacular sandy beach. 

Huron Dunes is a waterfront community situated on Lake Huron between the villages of Port Austin and Caseville. Association members enjoy glorious sunsets, a beautiful sandy beach, and watercraft activities. Lot owners can walk to neighboring Port Crescent State Park and the park’s three miles of sandy shoreline, numerous hiking trails, and dark sky preserve.

Yes, Huron Dunes is a wonderful place, but regrettably I must digress. This website was not designed to extoll the wonders of Huron Dunes but rather is intended to inform current and prospective lot owners that the Huron Dunes beach is common property reserved for the use of all the lots owners. The website presents the “legal stuff” (plat map, deed restrictions court opinions and rulings) and association by-laws, pertaining to the common property dedication. Pretty boring, eh? But wait. We have background material, a dispute, trial testimony, court decision, appeal court ruling, and hopefully- a happy ending. Could this possibly be a good read?

BACKGROUND MATERIAL:

The subdivision plat specifies property boundaries for the 76 residential (44 “front” and 32 “back”) lots, and identifies the beach as a private park dedicated to the use of the lot owners. Deed restrictions reserve the private parks for the use of all lot owners, and the association’s by-laws define subdivision private parks as “common property” (i.e. dedicated to the use of all of the members of the community).

THE DISPUTE:

The defense (The Huron Dunes Association) asserted that they could allow a “front” lot owner to build a deck for his exclusive use in the beach private park. The plaintiff disputed this assertion.

LEGAL “STUFF”:

The subdivision plat, deed restrictions, court opinions and by-laws presented herein are documents recorded with the Huron County Register of Deeds.

OBJECTIVE OF THIS WEBSITE:

To promote community harmony and goodwill via an informed membership.

This web site was designed by William Boyle (owner of lot 71) to preserve and provide ready access to the varied legal documents establishing and clarifying the property rights and governance of the subdivision and Association. As an aside, the above beach pictorial provides a record of the beach private park as it appeared in June 2018.