Petition Attachment - Facts and Argument.pdf

White Birch Lakes Recreational Association Petitioner Vs. Township Of Lincoln Respondent · 26-001270-TT

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White Birch Lakes Recreational Association 

v 

Township of Lincoln 

Docket No 26-001270 

 

In 2025, White Birch Lakes Recreational Association (“Association”) placed deed 

restrictions on all parcels that make up the Association’s common elements. The 

Declaration of Use Restrictions (“Declaration”) was recorded in the Clare County Register 

of Deeds prior to December 31, 2025, and is therefore part of the chain of title for each of 

the subject parcels. The Declaration described the permitted uses of the subject property 

and, with respect to authorized users, contains the following language: 

“Use of the Property shall be limited to members of the White Birch Lakes Recreational 

Association, together with their guests and invitees, all in accordance with and subject to the 

Association’s bylaws, rules, regulations, and the Existing Restrictions. No member of the 

general public shall have any right of access to or use of the Property.” 

 

The Declaration further specifies that the subject parcels shall be used solely for parking 

and pedestrian access to Teel Lake and for use as Stuart Park, available for the exclusive 

use of members of the White Birch Lakes Recreational Association, together with their 

guests and invitees. Permitted uses include vehicular parking, pedestrian ingress and 

egress, access to the shoreline of Teel Lake, and passive recreational and park-related 

activities customarily associated with the use and enjoyment of a lakeside park. The 

Property may also be used for paths, walkways, and open-space areas incidental to such 

parking, access, and park purposes. 

No use of the subject parcels other than those permitted uses is allowed. The Declaration 

provides that it shall run with the land and be binding upon the Association and its 

successors and assigns, with an initial term of twenty (20) years, automatically renewing 

for successive ten (10) year periods. The Declaration may only be amended or terminated 

upon the approval of at least seventy-five percent (75%) of all Association members eligible 

to vote, and no amendment is eƯective unless recorded in the Clare County Register of 

Deeds. 

White Birch Lakes Recreational Association consists of seven (7) platted subdivisions and 

various common elements deeded to it by the original developers. The subject parcels 

constitute common areas within those platted subdivisions, held and maintained 

exclusively for the benefit of Association members.

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The restrictions recorded against the subject parcels are permanent deed restrictions that 

run with the land and are part of the chain of title. They are not internal Association policies 

or bylaws—they are recorded encumbrances binding on the Association and any future 

owner, enforceable by law. They can only be removed by a vote of at least 75% of all eligible 

Association members, and any such change must itself be recorded with the Clare County 

Register of Deeds to be eƯective. Because these restrictions so severely limit what the 

property can be used for and who can use it, they directly reduce the value of the subject 

parcels for assessment purposes. 

State Tax Commission Bulletin 1 of 1990 addresses the valuation of community property in 

recorded, platted subdivisions. It recommends that assessing oƯicers review the deed 

restrictions placed on common elements, and recommends that a zero assessed value be 

entered for certain types of common elements whose value is already reflected in the sales 

prices of the lots in the subdivision. The types of common elements identified in the 

Bulletin for zero assessment include: a park reserved solely for subdivision lot owners; a 

boat ramp or lake access reserved solely for subdivision lot owners; and a community 

building, swimming pool, or tennis court reserved solely for subdivision lot owners. The 

subject parcels fall within one or more of these categories. The Bulletin also specifies that 

this zero-assessment treatment applies only where the common element is restricted by a 

permanent, irrevocable plat dedication or deed restriction. The recorded Declaration 

satisfies that requirement. 

A copy of the recorded Declaration of Use Restrictions was hand-delivered to Lincoln 

Township in January 2026 by a member of the White Birch Lakes Recreational Association 

Board of Directors.

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