recorded, lands dedicated by plats were deemed to be held in trust by the local unit of

government having jurisdiction over that land. The Plat Act, 1839 PA 91, as amended by 1887

PA 309, stated:

The maps so made and recorded in compliance with the provisions of this

act shall be deemed a sufficient conveyance to vest the fee of such parcels of land

as may be therein designated for public uses in the city or village within the

incorporate limits of which the land platted is included, or if not included within

the limits of any incorporated city or village, then in the township within the

limits of which it is included in trust to and for the uses and purposes therein

designated, and for no other use or purposes whatever.

This former provision of the then Plat Act is similar to that found currently in section

253(1) and (2) of the Land Division Act, MCL 560.253(1)(2), which states:

(1) When a plat is certified, signed, acknowledged and recorded as

prescribed in this act, every dedication, gift or grant to the public or any person,

society or corporation marked or noted as such on the plat shall be deemed

sufficient conveyance to vest the fee simple of all parcels of land so marked and

noted, and shall be considered a general warranty against the donors, their heirs

and assigns to the donees for their use for the purposes therein expressed and no

other.

(2) The land intended for the streets, alleys, commons, parks or other

public uses as designated on the plat shall be held by the municipality in which

Under the statute by which the plats had been created and case law dealing with

dedication, it has become well established that where land has been given for a public use, the

permissible uses to which that property may be put are governed by the intent of the person who

dedicated that land. In the case of a plat, the intent of the dedicator is determined from the

continued in 1839 PA 91, the Plat Act of 1929, 1929 PA 172, and the Subdivision Control Act of 1967, 1967 PA

672. The intent of any donor is inherently fact-specific and must be determined on a case-bycase

basis according to the available evidence. Where the plat simply states that the roads are for

public use and are shown on the plat to end at a body of water, the courts have consistently

those roads.

In addition to dedications to the public through the recording of a plat, there may also be

"dedications" of land for the exclusive private use of persons designated in the dedication. See

Regardless of whether the land has been dedicated for public use or for private use by the

recording of the plat, private rights arise in the lot owners who purchase their land in reliance on

But it is also the rule in this and other States that the platting and sale of

lots constitute a dedication of streets, etc., delineated on the plat, as between the

grantors and the purchasers from them.

"In this connection it must be kept in view that the platting and sale create

certain rights in the grantees of the original owner, which, as between the grantor

and the grantee, are irrevocable in their nature.

* * *

contained in a deed which refers to a plat, or bounds the property upon a street

through the grantor's lands. These decisions adopt the view that where lands are

platted and sales are made with reference to the plat, the acts of the owner in

use of the streets and ways laid down on the plat or referred to in the conveyance.

But these rights are purely in the nature of private rights founded upon a grant or

covenant, and no public rights attach to such streets or lands until there has been

an express or implied acceptance of the dedication, evidenced either by general

public user, or by the acts of the public authorities. In this view, the making of

the plat and the sale of lands with reference thereto are merely evidence of an

intent to dedicate, which like every other common law dedication, to be made

complete and carried into effect so as to create public rights, must be accepted and

in original.]

Thus, private rights arise in dedicated or reserved areas of the plat upon the sale of lots

within the plat. It is well established that a purchaser of property in a recorded plat receives not

only the interest as described in a deed to the property but also whatever rights are described in

the streets laid down in the plat and that those rights are in the nature of easements. The

corollary to this principle is that owners within a plat have rights in limiting the use of such areas

water, summarized by the Court as follows:

Publicly dedicated streets that terminate at the edge of navigable waters

members of the public who are entitled to access to navigable waters have a right

to use the surface of the water in a reasonable manner for such activities as

boating, fishing, and swimming. An incident of the public's right of navigation is

municipality to build a wharf or dock at the end of a street terminating at the edge

right to erect a dock or boat hoists or the right to sunbathe and lounge at the road

dedicator is to be determined from the language used in the dedication and the

_________________________

public," a nonexclusive public dock could be erected at the road end, but individuals could not

erect boat hoists there or sunbathe or lounge. 199 Mich App at 670, 673.

dock at the shore of a dedicated, platted road was within the scope of the dedicated public use

and that the use of surface waters adjoining the road end for swimming, wading, fishing, and

boating and to temporarily anchor boats were also within the scope of the dedicated public use.

continued these holdings in the subsequent decision on appeal after remand.

Returning to your question regarding whether the Legislature may modify a rule of

property law that has been developed regarding the dedication of platted road ends upon which

whether the Legislature may retrospectively broaden the parameters of what constitutes

permissible "public use" when these words have been used in a plat dedication. This issue was

In 1987, apparently in response to the ongoing shoreline conflict,

defendant township enacted Ordinance 31 which purports to govern public water

and land-related activity at lake road-ends. In short, the ordinance provides for

the erection of no more than one nonexclusive private dock at each road-end

which must be maintained for public use, prohibits overnight mooring, prohibits

permanent mooring posts, permits the erection of boat hoists, prohibits parking on

the roadway, and prohibits the dry storage of boats, boat hoists, docks, et cetera

on the land at the road-end. The ordinance provides that, except as otherwise

prohibited, the general public may use the road-ends for "lounging, picnicking,

swimming, fishing and boating, provided such activities do not create a safety

hazard, cause unreasonable congestion, interfere with the intended use, or

otherwise disturb the peace." [181 Mich App at 388-389.]

uses and activities permitted by the ordinance exceeded those contemplated by the dedication of

the streets for public use. The Court agreed that certain uses and activities were beyond the

scope of the dedication and ruled that the provisions of the ordinance allowing such activities

"must be stricken":

In this case, we believe that the construction of boat hoists, seasonal boat

storage and the use of road-ends for lounging and picnicking exceed the scope

and intent of the dedication of property for use as streets. Those activities are not

necessary to either the use and maintenance of the streets, or to provide public

Mich 89; 273 NW2d 3 (1978)]:

Lounging and picnicking on this wide boulevard, activities

which need not involve use of the water, are not riparian or littoral

rights. We agree with the Court of Appeals that "[t]hose activities

are in no way directly related to a true riparian use of the waters of

Higgins Lake; even assuming that the defendants choose to lounge

and picnic on the boulevard because of the lake's proximity. In

scenic presence." . . .

The question whether the public has the right to enter and

leave the water from the boulevard, like the question whether they

may lounge and picnic on the boulevard, depends, rather, on the

scope of the dedication. [404 Mich 97.]

Plaintiffs also claim that the public beach and party activities on the roadends

created a nuisance and plaintiffs seek abatement of those activities. We need

not review the trial court's ruling on plaintiffs' nuisance claim in light of our

emphasis added.]

In reaching its decision, the Court of Appeals noted the court decisions holding that road

ends at lakes are presumed to be intended as a means of access to a lake, and that municipalities

App at 390. But the Court went on to note that a municipality has no right to appropriate road

held that the City of Birmingham was precluded from building a road through a park which, if

built, would "make impossible, or at least impracticable, the use of parcels No 1 and No 2 for

park purposes." The Court relied on the legal encyclopedia Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS) to

summarize the law concerning government's ability to alter a dedication:

Likewise, in 26 CJS, Dedication, § 65, pp 154, 155, it is said:

Mich 348; 446 NW2d 91 (1989), and cases cited therein.

is a common-law or a statutory dedication; and this rule is not affected by the fact

that the changed use may be advantageous to the public. This can only be done

under the right of eminent domain. On the other hand, the municipality cannot

impose a more limited and restricted use than the dedication warrants." [341

Mich at 430-431; emphasis added.]

Similarly, statutory changes to property rights created by established rules of property

law may not be applied retroactively if that would result in an adverse impact on those rights. In

Appeals held that a statute precluding a claim of adverse possession against the State did not

apply to the plaintiff where application of the statute would result in abrogating or impairing the

plaintiff's vested right. The Court of Appeals found that, because plaintiff's right had vested

before the effective date of the statute, the plaintiff could successfully assert his claim of adverse

possession against the State.

common law precedent, and any alteration of the property interests identified in those decisions

must, therefore, be considered in that context. The rights and expectations of property owners

are legitimately grounded in long-standing recognition of those rights and expectations. See,

Michigan law prohibits marina-like operations, such as permanent boat mooring or hoists, and

sunbathing and lounging, at road ends dedicated "for public use" unless such activities are

authorized by the dedication. Thus, a statutory change allowing these activities at road ends in

the plat, particularly those whose properties are situated next to these road ends.

Const 1963, art 3, § 7 provides that the "common law and the statute laws now in

force . . . shall remain in force until they expire by their own limitations, or are changed,

However, the Legislature is subject to constitutional limitations. Both the United States and

Michigan Constitutions prohibit the taking of private property without just compensation and due

process of law. US Const, Am V; Const 1963, art 10, § 2.

The Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides, in pertinent part: "nor

shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." This prohibition is

Michigan Constitution provides:

Private property shall not be taken for public use without just

compensation therefore being first made or secured in a manner prescribed by

law. If private property consisting of an individual’s principal residence is taken

for public use, the amount of compensation made and determined for that taking

shall be not less than 125% of that property’s fair market value, in addition to any

other reimbursement allowed by law. Compensation shall be determined in

proceedings in a court of record. [Const 1963, art 10, § 2.]

Of course, whether any of these constitutional limitations would be implicated by a

particular legislative action seeking to alter the meaning of "public use" is fact-dependent and

cannot be answered in the abstract. Generally, however, when property dedicated for a particular

action to enjoin the inconsistent use or secure compensation for the interference with valuable

It is my opinion, therefore, that, while the Legislature has the authority to modify the law,

any legislative modification of the judicially established rules of property law that have shaped

the rights and expectations of property owners regarding the meaning of "public use" in the

context of platted roads ending at the shore of a lake has the potential to impact existing property

rights and would be subject to the constitutional protections against the taking of property

without due process and just compensation.

MIKE COX

Attorney General