The Tonnadoonah Board was requested by some residents to look into my family's use of an RV trailer, which as I recently discovered, violated Tonnadoonah's archaic (circa 1960) "Warranty Deed" which included 10 deed restrictions. (Among others, it restricts the use of trailers and also limits the size of houses to a maximum of 2 stories.) I had never seen nor heard of this list - but someone had, and they asked the Board to get after me, so they voted unanimously to hire a lawyer and look into any "violations" they could pursue against me. Things came to a head at the 2022 annual meeting where I was singled me out for "not living up to Tonnadoonah standards". My family's lifestyle was effectively put on trial and I was publicly dragged through the mud. It was ugly, it was inhumane, and as a result, that session is seared in my memory banks. (I try hard to do things well and above board, so I don't take that kinda stuff lightly.)
(Notice what name you don't see on this sign - mine!)
Here is a narrative explaining (from a historical and a legal perspective) why am taking exception to the situation with Tonnadoonah and the accusations made against me regarding the deed restrictions. Some background on my family and on the legalities this issue. (1 page)
5-4-23 note to Kevin McCabe (Tonnadoonah President) regarding deed restrictions and HOA dues: Note to Kevin
5-20-23 follow-up note to all of the Tonnadoonah Board members regarding my situation and HOA dues: Note to the Board
Summary of issues and due options for different means to consider fairly apportioning Tonnadoonah dues (a summary of the 3 documents below): Dues Issues and Options (1 page)
Various Dues Issues with a required flat fee dues system. (1 page)
Here is a list of options for different means to consider apportioning Tonnadoonah dues: Different Dues Method Options (1 page)
Here is a detailed method for a fairly simple means to apportion the fee for the dumpster service in a means that I believe would be fair to everyone.
(It accounts for both residence size and the 3 different lifestyle situations (ie seasonal, year-round cottage, or homestead). Dumpster Club Model (3 pages)
Property Lien Issue
Here is a case summary regarding the property lien Tonnadoonah filed against me. (1 page)
Here is some additional information about my family's trailer usage:
Mark Hilal opinion that I requested regarding my rights to sustain the ("grandfathered") non-conforming usage to not only maintain an RV trailer on our property, but to remove it from time to time for trips with it. (3 pages) I got this opinion before I removed my parents old trailer as I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong.
Kuhn Rogers opinion that I requested regarding my family's rights to sustain the ("grandfathered") non-conforming usage of maintaining an RV trailer on our property including the right to update the trailer itself. (4 pages)
Klevorn info for the Tonnadoonah Board containing everything he could dig up on me and my family from some very old deeds and Health Dept. records he was directed to. (7 pages) Of note, no deed restrictions were actually presented to my parents when they bought our property - just the disclaimer of "... and restrictions of record." (Gotta love those disclaimers.)
Here is some additional information about my septic system:
Here is the Cease & Desist letter I got from the Health Department. This letter was issued before they ever spoke to me, got any information about the septic system, or performed any inspection. Once they completed their inspection, I was told my well permit was not going to be granted until they approved a compliant septic system, but I was under the impression the Cease & Desist was rescinded based on the fully functional system we have always had. Turns out I was mistaken on that. (FYI - a fully compliant system would need to be a pump based system, so it would be less reliable than the gravity one we have now.)
Health Dept. Cease & Desist Letter issued Sept. 17, 2021. (2 pages)
My most recent letter to the Health Dept. which calls out the numerous inaccuracies they propagated about our septic system that falsely supports their Cease & Desist. (4 pages)
Data file from MET (Mackinac Environmental Technology) showing the soil constituents around my septic system and the water table level.
Data report from Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council showing the E. coli level in lake water at my beach. (It was undetectable - ie none.)
We also tested 2 samples from ground water wells bored very near the septic drain field - those were also both negative.
Wells #2 & 3 can be seen. (#1 was not successful due to blockage from a large rock.) 2 is thru the drain field, and 3 is adjacent to it.)
Here are two accountings I made of the 2022 Tonnadoonah annual meeting, one is intended to be used with a lawsuit against the Health Dept. to provide and indication of how much trouble the Dept. stirred up with the flagrantly inaccurate information about my property that they disseminated. The other one was to my lawyer giving him an indication of what occurred.
Description of 2022 Tonnadoonah Annual Meeting in much my trailer and septic system was discussed at length .
Letter to my lawyer in the summer or 2022 after I was harassed at the annual Tonnadoonah meeting based on my trailer and the (highly questionable) Cease & Desist .
The Land that Time Forgot This is the story of my family's penchant to take camping trips when I was groing up. It's also the story of our Lake Charlevoix property with information and my opinions on the situation I'm having with the NW Michigan Health Department and the Tonnadoonah HOA. This is a true story, but it is written with a boat load of comedic and dramatic license, so please keep that in mind if you read it. I definitely don't think that the Health Dept. goes around with a bull whip - not literally. But I sure do think they do so figuratively, because they are doing it to me - whipping me repeatedly in public in an apparent effort to shame me into submission - either to disconnect my trailer from my septic system, or to remove it completely as I was more recently suggested that I do. People that twist science and enforcement code to try to enact the social change they support are bullies. So are people that single people out for living a honest lifestyle that they and their parents led. The Environmental Dept. of the Health Department of NW Michigan are such people, and so some residents on Cedar Lane. There's bullies everywhere - we all know that. But when confronted in a manner that offends me, I feel compelled to try to stand up to them as best I can, for my own sake, and for the sake of others that may face the same ominous plight. For what it's worth, I shall do my best to stand up to both of these two. We'll see.