Old-school democracy practiced during a special meeting of the Addison Township Board on Oct. 24 led officials to decide against pursuing a piece of property that could have provided a public beach on Lakeville Lake.

Officials voted to take “no action” regarding a request from Supervisor Bruce Pearson to allow himself and township attorney Bob Davis to contact the owner, or representative, of 70 Smiths Landing to look into potentially purchasing the 1.65-acre property, currently listed for $765,000.

Located just west of Rochester Rd. and south of Annandale  Rd., the property has 631 feet of lake frontage, including a sandy beach area. It also has a two-story, 3,000-square-foot home and garage.

Pearson brought the issue to the board to find out whether or not there was any interest in buying the property and using it to create a public beach, complete with a small parking lot, pavilion, picnic tables, restrooms and changing rooms, and areas to play volleyball and pitch horseshoes.

His hope was this would give the “91 percent” of township residents who do not live on the 460-acre lake a place to go swimming, have picnics and hold gatherings.

Pearson saw it as place to potentially store the homeowners’ association’s two weed harvesters and the Oakland County Sheriff’s boat used to patrol the lake.

He also thought creating a public beach would help “alleviate” the problem of people congregating on the lake in front of other people’s houses.

If the township were to become a lakefront property owner, Pearson noted it would pay the special assessment for weed control like everyone else along Lakeville.

The supervisor made it clear he was “neutral on the issue.” His intent was to learn what the board and the public thought of the idea and go from there.

There were at least 24 people in the audience at the meeting, most of whom own property on the lake.

Pearson asked audience members to raise their hands if they were for or against the concept. Based on the show of hands, the vast majority were opposed.

The board took its direction from that informal vote.

Given the “overwhelming” opposition, “I would say we forget about this,” said Trustee Erich Senft.

“I don’t know if the township as a whole has spoken on (the idea), but if the residents in the area are opposed to it, I don’t think it makes any sense to proceed,” said Trustee Linda Gierak.

Although she thinks having a beach is “a great idea,” Clerk Pauline Bennett said she’s a “firm believer” in developing property based on its zoning and since this land is zoned for residential use, it was important for her to know how the homeowners around it felt before making a decision.

Speaking during the public comment portion of the meeting, Addison resident Sandra Rippetoe said “there is a lot of interest” in having a beach on Lakeville Lake that’s open to township residents only, not “the general public.”

“I’d just like that put out there,” she said.

Tim Brinker, who owns property on Lakeville Lake, expressed his opinion that instead of buying lakefront property to create a public beach, the township should consider building a community center with a swimming pool and gymnasium.

A facility like that could be used year-round and it would save Addison residents the trouble of  driving to Oxford, Rochester or Romeo for those type of amenities, he explained.

“I think that would be a better way to spend that money,” Brinker said.