In 1917, John and Carrie Klock deeded a half mile of lake Michigan frontage to the City of Benton Harbor Michigan in memory of their deceased daughter Jean. Their gift consisted of 90 acres of globally rare natural resources that included Great Lakes Dunes, a Great Lakes Marsh and interdunal wetlands. The donated land was named Jean Klock Park and was dedicated "FOR THE CHILDREN" - "in perpetuity" - "FOREVER."
Give Than To Receive", to the Mayor and Common Council of the City of Benton Harbor, offering the gift of Jean Klock Park to the City. In that letter, John Klock made it clear what he and his wife's intent was in donating the land to the city: "It is our wish that the lakefront always be preserved in its natural state and be a playground for the children and a bathing beach for all the people." John Klock's written offer was followed by the City Council of 1917's resolution accepting the gift.
survived but in 2003 came the beginning of a new, and at the time, unforeseen threat. The city announced an interest in selling a portion of the park’s property for a lake front residential development. A lawsuit took place that was settled out of court allowing the development in exchange for permanent protections of the remaining 73 acres of the park. Within a matter of months it was discovered that there was a secret and far bigger interest in developing the park. That interest and ultimate threat to the park was of the Whirlpool Corporation’s desire for a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course and a glitzy second home community that would become the “Harbor Shores Golf and Beach Club." Two members of the Friends of Jean Klock Park have challenged the Michigan Court decisions to allow three holes of a privately owned golf course to be constructed inside JKP. They continue to allege that the City of Benton Harbor Michigan has entered into an illegal lease agreement with Harbor Shores for the Whirlpool driven Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Club. By entering into this agreement the City has violated not only the terms of the 1917 Klock deed, but also a 2004 Consent Judgment that was intended to protect this public park from further privately owned development. These atrocious rulings set a disastrous precedent that threatens every deed restricted public land in the country! In addition, the park had further development restrictions due to a federal Land and Water Conservation Fund grant the city received for improvements to JKP. With the help of Michigan's Governor Granholm and Congressman Fred Upton, every layer of state and federal protection that was placed on Jean Klock Park was politically undermined. Please help us to SAVE JEAN KLOCK PARK from private development by supporting our efforts and making a Donation to this extremely important cause now!
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| Save Jean Klock Park |
Friends of Jean Klock Park | PO Box 8988 | Benton Harbor, MI 49023 info@savejeanklockpark.org | www.savejeanklockpark.org © 2009 Friends of Jean Klock Park. All Rights Reserved. |
A separate and equally
important Federal Court
lawsuit regarding violations of
environmental law is ongoing
as well. For more information
about the contaminated land
that's being used to replace
pristine sand dunes please visit
www.protectjkp.com.
important Federal Court
lawsuit regarding violations of
environmental law is ongoing
as well. For more information
about the contaminated land
that's being used to replace
pristine sand dunes please visit
www.protectjkp.com.
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