Myths & Facts About The Amended Leelanau Township Commercial Resort Ordinance
Myth: Timber Shores could still be built under the amended ordinance.
Fact: Possibly, if the owners decide to foot the bill for more engineering and planning fees as well as higher implementation costs. But – and it’s a big but – the added expense comes with no additional environmental payoff.
Myth: The amended ordinance is necessary to protect the bay.
Fact: The bay is fully protected under the current ordinance and under the Timber Shores plan which has already received an EGLE wetlands permit. There is no further environmental protection under the amended ordinance. The fact is that the increased setbacks in the new ordinance are designed precisely to make it more difficult to rebuild Timber Shores.
Myth: Timber Shores never submitted a completed application to the township.
Fact: The Timber Shores application was submitted on March 20, 2020. After many delays the township eventually demanded more information. About a third of the way into the 90-day response period the township declared a moratorium on RV campground applications and began revising the ordinance. Coincidence?
Myth: The township planning commission spent months carefully constructing the new ordinance.
Fact: The township zoning administrator and the planning commission’s consultant both told them at the outset that the current ordinance gave them a great deal of flexibility and discretion over expanding setbacks. Instead of using the current ordinance they spent months to slow-roll the project hoping the developer would just go away.
Myth: The Timber Shores plan has no provision for sewage disposal and will spill millions of gallons of untreated sewage into the bay.
Fact: A wastewater treatment system of the same type used by the Northport – Leelanau Township Utility authority is a cornerstone of the Timber Shores plan. It produces just 1% of the concentration of discharge from a typical septic system. Most of the neighboring residences, both permanent and seasonal, have septic systems leaching far more concentrated discharge right on the shoreline.
Myth: Most of the community supports the ordinance amendment and opposes Timber Shores.
Fact: More than 250 registered voters in the township signed the petition to put the amended ordinance on the ballot. That’s nearly 50% more than required. The opponents are mostly NIMBY neighbors, seasonal residents who can’t vote here, and extreme environmental activists who don’t bother with the facts.
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Myth: The amended ordinance will have no adverse effect on other campgrounds in the commercial resort district.
Fact: The township has tried to reassure the existing campground owners that they are ‘grandfathered in’ and the new ordinance won’t affect them. In fact, there is no such thing as ‘grandfathered’ in the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act. The fact is that the ordinance amendment immediately creates non-conforming uses on these existing campground properties. This is not resolved by the opponents just saying so, as they have in a recent ad. In their rush to please the former supervisor and the few other neighbors, the planning commission apparently did not realize that the existing ordinance has extensive regulations regarding non-conforming uses. Therefore, the existing campground owners can’t change the property in any way without township approval – no remodeling, no additions, no improvements – nothing. The township could even condemn these properties to get rid of nonconforming uses.
Myth: The amended ordinance is necessary to prevent irresponsible development and environmental harm.
Fact: Timber Shores is an exemplary model that fulfills even the most aspirational goals for protecting the bay. There will be a net gain of wetlands on the property. As part of the wetland mitigation plan 15.9 acres of land will be placed in a permanent conservation easement to the State of Michigan. Timber Shores is good for the local economy, good for local jobs and good for the community.