Input On Grand Lake Development Sought

Wednesday, February 21st 2007, 9:16 pm

By: News On 6

There may be more restrictions for future development along one of Oklahoma's most popular lakes. The Grand River Dam Authority is coming up with a shoreline management plan for Grand Lake.

GRDA is holding a series of public meetings to get input on the proposals, which include assigning the lake's 1,300 miles of shoreline into several zones. Commercial growth would be limited in environmentally sensitive areas, and residential growth would be allowed on only 49 percent of shoreline.

Opponents say the plan is too restrictive and could hurt the area economy. Supporters, like Mark Osborn of Miami, say unchecked growth is bad for the area. "If you have a limitless resource you can do that, but if you have a resource that is limited, eventually it reaches a pressure point where you're going to have to start controlling it or everyone's property values will go down."

A public meeting was held in Tulsa on Wednesday. Two more public meetings will be held in Oklahoma City and Vinita next month.

For more information about the GRDA shoreline management plan, you can visit www.grda.com.