The Trails -- Update

January 25th, 2016.

I'd like to thank the property owners who have contacted me regarding the Trails. If this is your first time here, and you don't know what this is about, please scroll down and read my letter of March 1st, 2015 first. Then come back here and continue.

A great many of you thanked me for the years our family allowed, or at least never objected to the use of the Trails land for hiking and riding. Nearly everyone I spoke with, including those who said they never used the Trails, said the Association would be crazy to not buy the land, when it could be had for a one-time payment of a hundred bucks per property owner. One of you even told me you'd like to start a Save the Trails! campaign, to raise awareness. I encouraged you, and I was encouraged by all of you and your kind words. Thank you; all of you.

Alas, June 1st has come and gone, and no campaign has come forward. Neither has anyone from the Association contacted me with plans for the Trails. I'm not surprised. I really wasn't expecting it. You may consider my offer withdrawn.

In offering the Trails to the Association, I've accomplished two important things:

• All the property owners, and even the general public who finds this website, now know the land we're referring to as the Trails does NOT belong to the Association, but is private property owned by my family.
• Having been given the opportunity to acquire the Trails, neither the Association or any of the individual Association members have a right to moan, complain, or grumble. We all make our own fate in this world. You were given a golden opportunity, and no one lifted a finger (this means YOU), so complaining that Al Wood's son is a jerk (I've heard worse) for closing the trails will only make the whiners look stupid.

My son Caleb and I stayed in the Forest for nearly eight weeks this past summer. We surveyed the boundaries of the land, and posted No Trespass signs all the way around it, and even down the boudaries between the four individual parcels. Before we had even come back home, some of the signs had been torn down. But that's okay. Everyone knows now where the boundaries are. You know you're not supposed to be on the land. In case you haven't seen it,

A few of you have contacted me asking for permission to use the land. I appreciate you asking, but for now the answer is no. Most of you are understanding and respectful, and I trust you'll obey the law. I'm also sure some of you won't be stopped so easily. I have no doubt you've discussed whether or not I can/will enforce the fines I've put on the signs. All I can say is, "time will tell", and if you think the risk is worth it... well, either way, you'll make your own fate. There are already a few cameras up, and I'll be putting up more this year. I only have to get a clear shot of one license plate, or unique enough bike or four-wheeler to pay for the cameras; the rest is gravy.

As many of you know, I sold more than two-thirds of my remaining lots in 2015. This gives me some financial breathing room to decide what my best use might be for the 'Trails' land. I've already had quite a few inquiries about buying it. I have also mentioned it to many people outside the Forest, who have contacted me about buying lots.

Anyway, I just want to say thanks again, to all of you who have been so nice and understanding. Lord willing, I'll see you all this summer.

--Greg

P.S. Some of you are concerned you won't have any trails left to ride on, now that my land is closed to the public. The Association actually owns 120 acres of land in Rose Lake Forest. You can see a map of where this land is, and read a discussion of how to go about using it for trail riding, by visiting this link:

Dear Rose Lake Forest Property Owners,

My name is Greg Wood, and I have an important message for you that concerns everyone who owns land in Rose Lake Forest.

Rose Lake Forest (RLF) was originally created by two guys named Al Wood, and Charlie Rambeau. Al was my dad. Both Al and Charlie are gone now, and I am what passes for "the Developer".

I'm writing you today to talk about the trails behind RLF. If you use those trails at all, or if your children or grandchildren use them, please take a moment to read this.

The Trails

If you're not sure what land I'm talking about, here's an aerial photograph, courtesy of Google:

In this view, imagine you're over the top of the South Rose Lake Forest plat, looking south. You can see the roads Canyon, S. Plateau Circle, and Plateau Valley, clearly marked. The trails behind there, that lead out to, and around the pond, are what I want to talk with you about.

The Land

Look below and you'll see another view. This view is looking straight down from above, with North pointing toward the top. You can see part of the South Rose Lake Forest plat. The two cul de sacs are Plateau Valley and Canyon.

Below South Park are two tracts of land, coming to just under thirty (30) acres. The property boundaries for the two tracts of land containing the trails is outlined in red. Parcel A is 14.4 acres, and Parcel B is 15 acres.

This land joins South Park, and has been owned by my family since before Rose Lake Forest existed. As you can see, the land within the red outline contains nearly all of the trails you and I have been using since we were kids. Like many of you, I spent a lot of time at RLF while growing up. I've hiked all over that land, as well as used it for trail riding and snowmobiling. I'll bet you have too.

Years ago, my dad and Charlie thought they might build a golf course there. Or a horse riding stable, or a motocross track. Something. Then Charlie died unexpectedly, and a lot of Dad's plans for Rose Lake Forest died with him.

Over the years everyone in the Forest has used that land, and most people think of it as a part of the Forest. Meanwhile, my family has paid the taxes on it for more than forty years, and we've never complained when everyone played on it. After all, it's been a big part of having fun at Rose Lake for lots of folks, for a long time, and it's made us happy to be able to make it available.

Now we've decided to sell this land. Before I offer it to the general public, I want to give the people of Rose Lake Forest the chance to own it. That way, everyone can keep playing on it forever.

I'm writing you to open discussion. To see if we want to work together to preserve this land for the RLF property owners, and your posterity. I have some ideas I want to share with you, and then... we'll just see? Maybe someone has a better idea, and at the end of this page I'm including a link to a forum where we can all discuss it.

My plans, in the order I'll follow them, go something like this:

• Offer the land to the Association, by approaching the Board of Directors.
• Contact the individual property owners (that's what I'm doing now).
• Offer the land to individual property owners, first come first serve.
• Advertise to the General Public.

When I offered the Trails to the Association, they never even asked me the price before they refused. Personally, if I were a Board Member, I would have felt the obligation to find out the price, and then take it to the Property Owners for a vote. After all, this concerns everyone who owns land in Rose Lake Forest, and that means it concerns you! They answered quickly, so I'm sure they never asked you if YOU want it. You may even have thought the Association already owned it? Now that you know, you have a choice. If enough property owners (this means you) contact the Board and tell them "I want the Trails!", then they will have to follow your wishes.

So the first step now is to determine if you think these Trails should belong to the Association, so you'll always have the use of them. Then we can talk about...

Price and Terms

Just a few short weeks ago, in the middle of the winter and with snow on the ground, I sold 22-1/2 acres in Section 6 for $2,036 per acre. The land was only one mile, as the crow flies, from the Trails. The only access to it is by more than a half-mile of private easement, and the nearest electric lines are more than a quarter mile away. It sold within ten days of me posting an ad for sale. The people who bought this land found it on my website at nwmichiganland.com. Using the tools on my website, they were able to find the land, determine where the corners were, and send me a deposit all the way down to where I live in Tennessee, without me ever having met them.

I think it's safe to say that once Spring gets here, if I put this land on my website, I can sell it for a bare minimum of $2,000 per acre (This is my Base Price). If the Association doesn't buy it, and if an individual RLF Property Owner doesn't buy it, I plan to offer it for sale at $2,250 per acre.

I've been thinking about how to make it as easy as possible for the Association. I've come up with two ideas. The first one is a Straight Sale, at a discount. The second is a Trade which I think will also benefit Rose Lake Forest in another way.

Terms for a Straight Sale

I hereby offer to sell this land to the Association for $1,800 per acre.

At this rate, Parcel A will be $25,920, and Parcel B will be $27,000. The combined price of both is $52,920; a savings of $5,880 under my Base Price.

I will accept cash.
• The Association can buy one or both parcels for CASH, if each property owner makes a single one-time payment of about $118.00 (about $58 for just Parcel A).

I will carry a land contract.
• My usual land contract terms are 10% down and monthly payments at 11% interest over ten years. No penalty for early payoff, and 90-days same as cash.
• If the Association needs different terms, such as making only one large payment per year, or adjusting for a different number of years, I will be flexible.

• The Association can accept this offer by sending me a $500 deposit, and then following up with either the balance of purchase price, or a land contract, within 30 days.
• This offer expires June 1st, 2015, or immediately after a vote of the Property Owners turning the offer down, whichever comes first.

Trade for Release of Restrictions on 3 Lots at the Entrance

I hereby make this alternate offer to sell this land to the Association:

This offer also applies to either Parcel A, or Parcel B, or both.

• I would like to see Lots 1, 2, and 3 of North Rose Lake Forest plat (these are at the Entrance to the Forest) be exempted from the "Commercial Use" restrictions in the Covenants.
• Exempting those three lots from the Covenants will require agreement from a majority of two-thirds of the owners of all the lots within the Forest.
• If those three lots are released from the restrictions, I will sell the Trails to the Association for $1,500 per acre. At this rate, Parcel A will be $21,600, and Parcel B will be $22,500. The combined price of both is $44,100 (about $93 per property owner). This is a savings of $8,820 under my Straight Sale offer, and a savings of $14,700 under my Base Price.
• All other terms would be the same as I outlined above under Straight Sale.

Why You Should Exempt those Lots

Dad and Charlie had a lot of good ideas when they built the Forest, but they couldn't think of everything.

According to the Association's last Fact Sheet RLF has 81 fulltime residents. Add to that the number of us who are there on weekends, holidays, and throughout the Summer, and it easily jumps up into the hundreds.

I think there are enough people in Rose Lake Forest, all by itself, to support a general store / gas station at the Entrance. As it stands, no one can build a store because all the lots, right out to 18 Mile Road, are restricted against Commercial Use by the RLF Covenants.

A Store

Do you drive up from down-State, but always have to shop before you leave, and cart up a whole trunkload of food and drinks for the weekend? How many of you who live in the Forest fulltime would rather drive to the entrance at 18 Mile Road, instead of all the way into Leroy or Tustin?

A store at the Entrance would mean the kids could ride their bikes to get an ice cream cone. A short walk with the grandkids, and you can all have popcicles. Gasoline for the trail bikes, or propane for the grill is only a heartbeat away.

My family owns those lots. If they were exempted from the Commercial Restriction, I could sell them for more money, to someone who does want to build a store. The money I hope to gain there, makes up for the money I'll lose through selling the Trails to the Association at this deep discount.

Let me be clear-- I am not planning to build or run a store. It's just that I've always thought it would be a good idea to have a store there. Think about it. Would you like to see a store at the Entrance? A place to get gasoline, propane, food, beer, pop, ice. I'm asking, because I want to know what you really think. It seems to me that accepting both these proposals together is a win, both for the RLF Property Owners, and for my family.

Ultimately you will decide. I had those lots listed for sale on my website at nwmichiganland.com, but I've temporarily taken the listings down, until I hear from you about this Store idea.

Separate Issues

What if the Property Owners decide not to buy the Trails, but you'd still like a Store at the Entrance? You can consider the Store as a separate issue from the Trails, and push that forward anyway, regardless of what you do with the Trails. I've even set up separate places in the Forum to discuss both issues. Here are the links:

Forum: 30 Acres of Trails

Forum: Allow a Store at the Entrance

If you think, as I do, that having a Store at the Entrance to Rose Lake Forest would be a benefit to everyone in the Forest, raise everyone's property values, and make lots easier to sell, then please visit our Forum and say so! Also please call your Board Members and tell them what you think.

The Alternative

The alternative to the Store idea is to do nothing, and things will go on just as they always have. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

The Trails are a different issue. Something is going to change there, because I'm going to sell that land one way or the other.

If the Association doesn't buy the acreage, I'll first offer it to you, the individual Property Owners. For a limited time after my offer to the Association expires, any RLF Property Owner may buy these tracts for $2,000 per acre. Whoever puts a deposit in my hand first, wins. I'll post a notice about this in the online Forum, if it comes to that. After that, I'll offer the land to the general public.

Let's look at that map again, but with a few more lines on it, and you'll see what I have in mind:

Notice the yellow lines, which indicate access by easement. One begins on county road, at South Plateau Circle, and runs around the back of South Park behind Lots 61 through 67, until it enters Parcel B, where it continues through Parcels B and A to Parcel C (not marked, but it lies to the east/right of A). I will grant this easement to guarantee each parcel has direct access to county road.

I own lots 66, 78, and 104. Now notice the yellow line which connects Lot 66 with Parcel B, the one which connects Lot 78 with Parcel A, and the one which connects Lot 104 with Parcel C. I can't grant those easements, because those lines go through South Park.

However, if I sell Lot 66 together with Parcel B then the buyer will have the legal right to use South Park to get to his land. Likewise with Lot 78 and Parcel A, and Lot 104 and Parcel C. This way, even though hunting is not allowed within the Forest, the owners of these Lots will be able to hunt nearly out their back doors. The new owners may elect to fence in the property and install locked gates at the entrances.

In Conclusion

I know I've given you a lot to think about. Thank you for taking the time to read through this proposal and give it some thought.

This website will help you keep in touch with me, and the other RLF Property Owners. I'd like to be able to contact you directly if the need arises, to be sure you have all the news. If you have an email address, will you please send it to me? Or if you don't use email, please call me and give me your phone number. Here is my contact information:

Greg Wood
developer@rlfpoa.org
931-452-4511

Please contact your Association leadership and express your views, for or against. I will give the Association time to organize a vote and I hope you'll participate, whatever your viewpoint.

Here are those forum links again. You may use the forum to express your views to all the Property Owners.

Forum: 30 Acres of Trails

Forum: Allow a Store at the Entrance

-- Gregory Wood,
  Trustee, PRTC Trust