Smoke & Mirrors: Misinformation, Disinformation and Fabrication Against Timber Shores
You know opponents are frantic with worry when they come up with desperate arguments that are nothing more than feeble misdirection that tries to distract voters from the main issue.
That’s exactly what Timber Shores opponents are doing. They’ve apparently decided in their desperation that if one thing doesn’t work they’ll make up something new.
Before we get into those details, an important reminder – due to the way the issue is worded on the ballot, you need to Vote NO to support Timber Shores!
Here are just a few examples of the opponents’ attempts at misdirection and fabrication.
They’re making up a new argument for the first time that Timber Shores could still be built even if the amended zoning ordinance passes. The only traction they’re getting is among the members of their own choir, which is small.
This is a last gasp try at getting you to buy into something that, to trusting minds, may seem logical on the surface. In reality it’s intended to divert your attention from the main issues.
Let’s take a deeper look at the facts.
Could Timber Shores be restored if the amended ordinance passes? 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 environmental payoff. The opponents’ main selling point is that the amended ordinance provides better protection for the environment. That’s a great big made-up propaganda pitch. Their ordinance did nothing of the sort. In fact, it would make the plan less friendly when compared to the environmental commitments Timber Shores has already made with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). The State regulations should control here, not some adjacent property owners who marginalize themselves with their strident rhetoric.
The bay is already protected under the current ordinance and under the Timber Shores plan. There is no further environmental payoff under the amended ordinance. The fact is that the increased setbacks in the new ordinance are designed precisely to make it more difficult to restore Timber Shores.
That’s all part of a scheme to slow-roll the township’s review of the proposal. Their plan was to delay, defer and postpone the project in the hope that the developer would get fed up and just go away. That’s not going to happen.
Why would the township do that? Because the township supervisor at the time, John Sanders, and his wife – who is still a township trustee – live next door to the Timber Shores property. They were bound and determined to do everything possible – including spending more than $30,000 of taxpayer money – to shut down the project. Spending taxpayer dollars to pursue personal goals is just plain wrong. Some believe that should probably be reimbursed to the township.
Sanders resigned after the amended ordinance was rammed and jammed through the planning commission, which he stacked with his cronies who would do his bidding, and the township board. What does that tell you about his commitment to ‘public service’? It means he was a one-issue zealot who cared about little else. And when he got his way, he was done.
When Sanders arrived in the neighborhood, the Timber Shores property already had commercial resort zoning in place. The motivation for changing it was obviously purely in the interests of Sanders and his vociferous neighbors.
If you need more evidence that the current ordinance and the Timber Shores proposal are designed to protect the environment and the bay, here’s a compelling fact. EGLE has already issued a wetlands permit for Timber Shores, which is required under the current ordinance. That means Timber Shores has already met EGLE’s demanding standards for protecting wetlands and the shoreline.
Here are some important links to specific information detailing the facts.
· An article debunking the opponents’ environmental claims. The fact is that there will be a net gain of wetlands on the property along with a 15.9 acre permanent conservation easement to the State of Michigan.
· The updated Environmental Review, a 29-page document authored in part by nationally recognized wetlands expert Charles Wolverton, details every element of the proposed development including the EGLE permit that was approved on September 1, 2022. The full report is available by clicking on this link.
· The Final Wetland Mitigation and Monitoring Plan which is required by the current ordinance contains exhaustive details about this requirement of the EGLE permit. This plan specifies everything from wetland restoration design all the way down to the species and numbers of wetland vegetation, shrubs and trees to be planted in the wetland restoration areas approved by EGLE. This plan is available for public viewing by clicking here.
The opponents’ argument here is nothing but a trick to deflect attention away from the primary issues around the amended ordinance.
· The township changed the rules in the middle of the game. The property has been zoned commercial resort for decades. The changes will hurt the other commercial resort properties along M22 if they ever want to upgrade or repair buildings.
· After Timber Shores applied, the former township supervisor used a moratorium to stop development. After Timber Shores filed a complaint in Leelanau County Court, the township realized there was a major legal issue with the moratorium and entered into an agreement with Timber Shores so that the complaint would be dismissed.
o Instead of reviewing the current ordinance to determine if there were deficiencies, the planning commission revised the new ordinance to put more barriers in the way so no developer would want to build or would face tough restrictions that may make it difficult to build a park and campground. Timber Shores provided plenty of expert responses and corrections to those amendments only to have the planning commission treat them with disdain.
· Locals can’t use the park and campground. Under the new ordinance you can only use the recreational amenities of the park if you’re a registered overnight camper.
o This means no day passes for locals who want to take their kids or grandkids to have fun with all the planned recreational opportunities.
o This discriminates against local residents. Was that the opponents’ plan?
· The new ordinance more than triples waterfront setbacks from 40 feet to 125 feet. Why? In fact, the opponents’ houses are within 50 feet of the waterfront, and 125 feet was a made up number, not based on any factual evidence.
Side setbacks for campgrounds are 10 times more than in the original ordinance and far exceed the State regulations for campgrounds. Why?
Who does this affect? Click here for details.
These setbacks add nothing to the environmental protections already required by EGLE.
· The new ordinance adds wetland setbacks. EGLE says there is no need for setbacks from wetlands. But the township is now the only one in Northern Michigan that has such excessive requirements, all because they wanted to make Timber Shores more expensive and possibly deliver a fatal blow. Why?
o This puts the township in violation of state court rulings and EGLE regulations.
o The new ordinance also says you can’t grade within 10 feet of wetlands.
o EGLE regulations require a township to map out wetlands prior to creating their own local rules. The township hasn’t done that. What cost will the township bear to follow this ‘new’ regulatory requirement?
o This accomplishes nothing to protect the environment beyond EGLE’s exacting requirements.
· State law requires townships to have competent, material and substantial evidence that ordinance changes are necessary.
o The township has absolutely no evidence that the ordinance needed to be changed. In fact, the expert facts we presented were ignored and dismissed.
· The township planning commission and the Grand Traverse Watershed Center refused to discuss even a single comment or suggestion from the dozens submitted by the developer. Their mind was made up and they got away with it – so far.
· The estimated investment to restore Timber Shores is $15 million.
o This ordinance puts this at risk and will prevent the growth of the tax base and support for local businesses. Why?
o Property and municipal taxes are estimated at $168,000 a year when the development is completed.
o Most of this tax money goes to the township, the school and the county.
· Timber Shores plans about 20 jobs for full-time and part-time workers. The projected grand total of payroll and related expenses is more than $500,000 a year.
o This ordinance puts this at risk. Why?
· Operating expenditures are expected to exceed $1.5 million a year. Campground guests will also generate significant revenues for local merchants and services.
o This ordinance puts this at risk.
· If the new ordinance is rejected with a NO vote and the township allows continued control of the environment by EGLE and other county, state and federal agencies, and if it allows Timber Shores to be built, many tourists who currently go back to Traverse City for lodging will stay in the Northport area.
o That would boost the share of tourist spending that can be captured by businesses here.
So the big question is ‘Why’? When a biased planning commission and township board, under control of a few people with special interests, does this much damage to the future prospects for the community, the answer is obvious.