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County says ski resort on hold until after referendum
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This photo of the parking lot
under construction at Mt. Bohemia shows what appear to be parts of ski lift apparatus.
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State permits needed for construction, safety of chair lifts
EAGLE RIVER - Recent letters from the Keweenaw County Zoning Administrator and
the county Building Inspector to Crosswinds Communities- attorney say the state has
jurisdiction over the installation, construction and operation permits for chair lifts the
company plans to install at the Mt. Bohemia proposed ski hill site near Lac La Belle.
However, if the lifts are interpreted as part of the ski resort, their construction is on hold
- by a decision of the County Zoning Board of Appeals - until after the November referendum on zoning changes.
Meanwhile what appear to be parts of chair lift apparatus are visible in the parking lot
now being constructed south of the Lac La Belle Road.
The first letter to Crosswindsí attorney Frank Ellias, dated July 27, 2000, said, "In the
opinion of the Keweenaw County Zoning Administrator and Building Code Official, no
Keweenaw County building permits are required for the chair lift apparatuses and
Keweenaw County will not be requiring a building permit (issued by the county) for construction or operation of these systems."
The letter was signed by William Kovaleski, Jr., Keweenaw County Building Code
official, and Jane Pelto, Keweenaw County zoning administrator.
"Under the Ski Area Safety Act (PA 199 of 1962), (the state) issues all the permits
for construction and operation (including safety) of chair lifts," Kovaleski said Monday.
"Chairlifts are not covered under the state building codes, and thatís what I enforce."
Kovaleski said he would deny any permit application for buildings, within any zoning,
which do not meet the zoning requirements. This does not include chair lifts since they are not under his jurisdiction, he added.
In the letter, Kovaleski and Pelto note these permits will be issued through the State of
Michigan Consumer and Industry Services (CIS), Bureau of Commercial Services. A
copy of the CIS Ski Area Safety permit will have to be filed with the Building Code
Official prior to beginning work, and certificates of final inspection (filed) when it is completed.
Lori Donlan, communications specialist for the CIS media office, said CIS issues permits
for both construction and safety of ski lifts.
"The Ski Lift Construction Permit does not override the local zoning requirements,"
Donlan said. "Weíre more concerned about the safety issue from our end."
The final safety permit is not given until the ski lift is constructed and passes a state
inspection, she added.
"If we find out the ski lift is constructed properly (during a state inspection), then we give
the (safety) permit," Donlan explained. "You cannot operate a ski lift facility in Michigan unless you have a permit from us."
While the countyís first letter does not mention the relationship of ski lift construction to
the November 7 referendum on zoning changes, a July 28 letter from Pelto to Ellias reminds him that the Zoning Board of Appeals, on July 10, 2000, tabled the issue of
defining permitted uses within Conservation-Environmental Protection (CD-EP) and
Resort Service (RS) zoning until after the referendum. The referendum will allow local
residents to decide whether to accept or reject: 1) changing areas currently zoned
CD-EP in the area of the proposed ski hill project to RS and 2) approving an amendment to permit ski resorts under RS zoning.
In the second letter, Pelto says, "The County does not require a building permit for the
conveyancing system, but it is yet to be determined whether a ski resort and its related
structures will be considered low-intensity recreation within the CD-EP zone. The
Zoning Board of Appeals will eventually determine this. Whether ski resorts and their
related structures will be a Permitted Use within RS will be determined by the referendum results in November."
James Heikkila, zoning appeals board chairman, said he interpreted "eventually" to mean
after the referendum.
While neither Jane Pelto, who is on vacation, nor County Attorney and Prosecutor
Donna Jaaskelainen was available to interpret the language of this paragraph, "related structures" would appear to include the ski lifts.
At least that was the interpretation of Traverse City Attorney Martha Black, who has
been involved in the Mt. Bohemia issue because of the petition and referendum. Black
indicated Crosswinds risks violating the Zoning Ordinance if the company attempts to build ski lifts before the referendum.
"At present, if you start to build a ski lift apparatus - regardless of whether the building
permit is required by the county or the state - youíre violating the Zoning Ordinance,"
Black said. "Currently a ski resort is not permitted in CD-EP unless or until the Zoning
Board of Appeals says it is. A ski resort is not permitted in RS unless the voters say it is (in the referendum)."
"If somewhere in the midst of all this Crosswinds erects ski lifts," she said, "the county is
putting its head in the sand from the reality of the fact that theyíre going to go ahead and
build a whole ski resort in violation of the current Zoning Ordinance and before the people have an opportunity to vote."
Mendota Lighthouse owner Gary Kohs, who was instrumental in helping Keweenaw
County voters with the petition for a referendum, agreed Crosswinds would be violating
the law if they built any ski resort structures before the referendum.
"Thereís no doubt in my mind whatsoever that they can expect an injunction once they
attempt to erect anything pertaining to a ski hill - whether it be a light pole or a ski lift
tower - in the CD-EP district, because itís illegal," Kohs said.
Crosswinds spokesman Lonie Glieberman was quoted in The Daily Mining Gazette
Monday as saying, "`The lift is the big thing (weíre waiting on now), but everything else is going forward.î
However, Glieberman did not make it clear whether Crosswinds considered the lifts on
hold until the referendum and would not comment on the letters from Pelto and Kovaleski.
Mark Pontti, public affairs manager for International Paper, which is leasing the Mt.
Bohemia property to Crosswinds, said, ""We realize there are many viewpoints
surrounding the Mt.Bohemia ski hill development, and we are confident
the citizens will have the right to be heard in November when a referendum will be
offered to challenge the current zoning approved by the Keweenaw County Board.¬ In
the meantime, Crosswinds Communities, Inc., has actual management responsibility as the project developer."
However, Crosswinds was not willing to give Keweenaw Today a reaction to the letters.
Said Glieberman, "At this point our (Crosswindsí) position is not to answer questions
from Keweenaw Today."
- Michele Anderson
August 1, 2000
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