KWS Dewey Hill 1

A boater travels on the Grand River in Grand Haven past Dewey Hill on July 9, 2014. on Monday, Jan. 5, the council approved a resolution on a 3-2 vote to limit access to the city-owned Dewey Hill property as well as converting the 48-foot-tall cross into an anchor.

(KEN STEVENS)

UPDATE: Religious people 'starting to fight back,' attorney says

GRAND HAVEN, MI - A group of anonymous Grand Haven residents calling themselves "Citizens of Grand Haven" has sued the city over its permanent removal of a 48-foot-tall Christian cross from the city-owned Dewey Hill.

The group claims that the cross removal violates the Michigan constitution and the state's Civil Rights Act because it allegedly "constitutes an action regulating speech in a traditional public free speech forum and discriminates on the sole basis of religion."

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday, April 1, and assigned to Ottawa County Circuit Judge Jon Hulsing, seeks an immediate order forcing the city to show cause why it shouldn't be ordered to revoke its decision.

The plaintiffs claim there's a "necessity for immediate action."

"The urgency is the peak time for the waterfront and Dewey Hill is fast approaching," the complaint asserts. "The necessity is to avoid the continued appearance, already publicized, that the community of Grand Haven is hostile to the Cross as religious speech."

The residents filing the lawsuit are not named in the complaint "to maintain their privacy." The lawsuit asks that they be contacted through their attorney, former Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Helen Brinkman of Wyoming.

Brinkman could not immediately be reached for comment late Thursday afternoon, April 2.

City Attorney Scott Smith also could not immediately be reached for comment.

The cross has been a city landmark on Dewey Hill since it was first erected in December 1964.

The lawsuit stems from the Grand Haven City Council's 3-2 vote Jan. 5 to change the display so its feature pole was "configured solely as an anchor display," meaning the cross would no longer be displayed.

The complaint argues that the city council's decision "singling out" the cross and keeping the non-religious anchor was "viewpoint discrimination" and violated the equal protection and free speech clauses of the state constitution.

"The resolution endorses a hostility toward religious speech" and is not "viewpoint neutral," the lawsuit asserts.

The lawsuit seeks a declaration from the court declaring the city council's resolution unconstitutional and seeks a permanent injunction enforcing it. It also asks for attorney fees, costs and "nominal" damages not to exceed $19.

The city council's Jan. 5 vote came after months of wrangling between groups for and against the cross display.

On Sept. 30, 2014, Remove the Cross officials, in association with Americans United for Separation of Church and State, had sent a letter to Grand Haven city leaders invoking the city's "Access to and Use of Public Property."

The letter requested displays be placed on Dewey Hill promoting a variety of positions, including support of LGBT pride and marriage equality, a pro-choice display and a display promoting atheism, among others.

A Nov. 15 letter from the group again called for equal access to Dewey Hill or to "permanently turn the cross into an anchor, and end displays of the nativity scene" at the site.

John S. Hausman covers courts, prisons, the environment and local government for MLive/Muskegon Chronicle. Email him at jhausman@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter.