The group opposed to building a hotel on the west side waterfront of Sturgeon Bay has filed suit against the city and the waterfront redevelopment authority. The suit was filed in the federal district court in Green Bay . The group, the Friends of the Sturgeon Bay Public Waterfront, point to an unanswered letter to Mayor Thad Birmingham and the members of the city council, dated June 23rd. The group points to a public trust doctrine in the Wisconsin constitution giving the public a right to all lands that were submerged at the time of Wisconsin’s statehood (1848).
According to the Midwest Environmental Advocates, a public interest law firm, at least two thirds of the property to be used sits on land that is below the ordinary high water mark and is therefore public land. The Sturgeon Bay Legal Defense Fund has announced its support of the suit.
