McCardel v. Smolen

This appeal brings to the Court for the fourth time a dispute over beach access rights in platted Higgins Lake subdivisions. All of the litigants own property in the "First Addition” to Michigan Central Park Subdivision. Lots in the subdivision are separated from the waters of Higgins Lake by a strip of land designated on the plat as Michigan Central Park Boulevard. The boulevard was dedicated to the county, ostensibly as a public street. But the "boulevard” is actually nothing more than undeveloped beach property. We are asked to decide who owns the riparian rights in the boulevard frontage…