Well over 3,000 stories were published in the Leelanau Enterprise in 2007, some small in nature and others that provided readers with news of significant events and developments that impacted the county. The following list provides the top 10 stories of 2007, as voted on by the editorial staff:

1
BAYVIEW’S WOES DEEPEN. Problems at the troubled BayView development in the Village of Suttons Bay appeared to spin out of control in 2007 with nine lawsuits that are still active filed in Circuit Court against the developer following a judgment early in the year in favor of a BayView condo owner who was to receive a full refund for her $729,000 condo unit because of defects in its construction. The development owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes, and several of the condominium units are scheduled to be foreclosed upon in the spring. Meanwhile, the developer filed suit against this newspaper, claiming defamation in its coverage.

2
NORTHPORT SEWER
PROJECT ADVANCES.
Work finally began on the long-planned Northport/Leelanau Township sewer project despite legal challenges on several fronts. The state Department of Environmental Quality issued the groundwater discharge permit for the $13 million project in late March. Circuit Court Judge Thomas G. Power in June denied a request from opponents for a temporary restraining order halting the sale of bonds to finance the project construction. While village officials say work is progressing on schedule, a lawsuit filed by a group of residents under the name "Leelanau Forum" remains active in Circuit Court.

3
LELAND
REDEVELOPMENT PLAN.
Retired Leland dentist James Varley and PDM Lumber owner Gene Kelly submitted the winning bid of $2.4 million to purchase the county courthouse property in Leland. Under terms of the purchase agreement, Varley-Kelly Properties, Inc., has until April 2008 to complete the deal. Kelly and Varley in 2007 presented a conceptual drawing for a proposed 22-25-unit site condominium to be built on the courthouse property. The county Road Commission agreed to abandon Cedar Street between Chandler Street and Grand Avenue in Leland, contingent on Varley-Kelly completing the purchase of the county property.

4
LAKESHORE
HOLDOUT EVICTED.
The first physical eviction of a resident of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore opened up a history of sore feelings still harbored by those who sold their property to the National Park Service under duress. Carolyn Bumgardner was driving to a funeral on Nov. 8 when she was pulled over by U.S. Marshals and told to return to her trailer in Glen Haven to retrieve her belongings. She had steadfastly refused to leave her home despite being served eviction papers, leading a personal protest that drew support from past and present inholders. Bumgardner is now living with relatives.

5
COUNTY SEAT
RELOCATION NEARS.
All through 2007, contractors were hard at work building the new Leelanau County Government Center in Suttons Bay Township; and they’d nearly completed the $10.6 million facility by year’s end. Meanwhile, county officials and employees spent a considerable amount of time in 2007 paring down decades-worth of paperwork at the old courthouse in Leland in anticipation of a move of the county seat around the end of February 2008.

6
THE SUGAR LOAF SAGA.
The owner of Sugar Loaf Resort, Kate Wickstrom, spent yet another year apparently doing little to open or even preserve the defunct ski mecca that has been closed for skiing since March 2000. Also in 2007, the Health Department officially declared the resort to be “unfit for human habitation” because of a lack of sewer service. But a potential buyer of the resort came forward late in 2007, and is still negotiating for its purchase. Is there hope? Stay tuned.

7
2 SCHOOLS TO CLOSE, ANOTHER SAVED.
Interlochen Center for the Arts announced in March that it would be closing the Pathfinder School in Greilickville at the end of the 2006-07 school year, but parents rallied to save the school that has served as a center for education since the 1970s. Meanwhile, Leelanau Peninsula High School, the alternative school located in Lake Leelanau, closed at the end of the school year in June. And the Traverse City Area Public Schools announced they would be closing Norris Elementary school — its only school in Leelanau and the largest grade school in the county — at the end of the 2007-08 school year.

8
GREILICKVILLE
WATERFRONT PLANS.
The future for the West Grand Traverse Bay shoreline in Greilickville is looking up. During the past year in Greilickville a developer has announced plans for a new pier designed for yachts with accompanying tunnel leading to commercial and residential buildings, new owners have renovated the Harleysville Great Lakes Insurance building, Elmwood Township has been awarded grants to expand its marina and renovate its harbor park, and a plan to bring three nonprofit groups to one redeveloped site has come to fruition. Also, good and bad news emerged from the Grand Traverse Overall site. Although for the first time the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has confirmed that pollutants are reaching the bay, a massive remediation program is on the horizon.

9
COUNTY CUTS
MILLAGE RATE.
The county Board of Commissioners approved levying only 0.6-mill of an extra-voted one-mill property tax for 2008 that was approved by a narrow margin of county voters in November 2006 for the county’s 2007 budget. The tax levy was needed, according to county officials, to avoid laying off 30 county employees and shutting down the county’s 9-1-1 emergency dispatch center due to an anticipated shortfall in county coffers.

10
OPEN MEETINGS
ACT VIOLATIONS.
The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners admitted to one Open Meetings Act violation, and is a defendant in a lawsuit filed by the Leelanau Enterprise for multiple violations. In its suit, the Enterprise is seeking to have the closed meetings declared illegal and their minutes released. Also, the newspaper wants commissioners to attend a class explaining when meetings can —and cannot — be held away from their constituents. The suit will be heard by 13th Circuit Court Judge Philip E. Rodgers Jr.