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It was standing room only at the Keweenaw County Courthouse in
Eagle River Tuesday for the County Commissioners' decision to accept the Mt. Bohemia petitions and to add the referendum on
zoning changes for a ski hill to the November 7 election ballot.
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EAGLE RIVER - The Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners upheld the validity of the petitions for a referendum on the zoning changes for
Mt. Bohemia after a challenge by Crosswinds Communities Tuesday. Board members approved adding the referendum to the Nov. 7, 2000, general election
ballot.
The petitions asked for a referendum to accept or reject the board's April decision to
change parts of the Mt. Bohemia area from Conservation District--Environmental
Protection (CD-EP) to Resort Service (RS) and to include ski hills as a permitted use under RS.
In a July 10 letter to County Board Chairman Lyle Peterson, Crosswinds' attorney,
Frank Elias, in the name of Black Bear Entertainment Adventure and Recreation
Company, said the petitions for a referendum regarding the county's zoning ordinance
"are deficient on their face and under Michigan law." He repeated this challenge as he
addressed the board in the packed Courthouse in Eagle River.
Elias's letter added, "Although the Petitions state that a description of the parcels which
are subject to rezoning under the amendment to the zoning ordinance is 'attached' as
Exhibit 'A,' the proponents of the Petition failed to attach the exhibit. Accordingly, an
individual signing the Petition would not be on notice of precisely what property is in controversy."
Elias did not state the name of any Michigan law saying the property description needed
to be attached to the petitions. He noted a legal description of the areas to be rezoned
was attached to the Notice of Intent to file petitions but missing from the petition.
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Keweenaw County Commissioners (from left) Jeff Turnquist, Frank
Stubenrauch and Gordon Roberts listen as Crosswinds' attorney Frank Elias addresses the board with his challenge to the
validity of the Mt. Bohemia referendum petitions.
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In his letter to Peterson, Elias said the failure to include the legal description or a map of the areas to be rezoned "created confusion
among the signers." He attached two signed letters with identical wording that stated the signer was not shown a map or property description
and was not sure which parcels were being rezoned. The letters were not notarized. The typed dates on both letters
were written over by hand, one reading July 9, 2000, and the other not legible.
Elias cited the Michigan law on filing a petition for submission of a zoning ordinance to
electors: "If a petition is filed within 30 days after publication of the ordinance, the county
clerk determines that the petition is adequate and the ordinance or part of the ordinance
is approved by a majority of the registered electors residing in that portion of the county
outside the limits of cities and villages voting on the zoning ordinance or part of the
zoning ordinance at a regular election or special election called for that purpose."
The word "adequate" in this section of the law was a basis of disagreement between
Elias and County Attorney and Prosecutor Donna Jaaskelainen, who advised the board
that, since County Clerk Marilyn Winquist, who received the petitions, had found them
adequate as to form and signatures, the board's responsibility was to fulfill the second
part of the law by setting a date for the referendum to be added to an election ballot.
Peterson read Winquist's July 11 letter to the board, which reads as follows:
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County Attorney and Prosecutor Donna Jaaskelainen (left)
explains to the Board of Commissioners the validity of the Mt. Bohemia petitions and requests they set a date for the
referendum on zoning changes for a ski hill. Commissioners pictured are (second from left) Lyle Peterson, chairman;
Annette Gagnon and Jeff Turnquist.
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"On May 24, 2000, I received a Notice of Intent to File a Petition, requesting the Board submit Keweenaw County Ordinance #KC-001-R00 to the
electors at the next regular or special election.
On June 16, 2000, I received the petitions. After checking the signatures as to being
registered voters of Keweenaw County, I approve the petitions as to form and the required number of
signatures (151 were required; I approved 263)."
Winquist later said, "I did what I felt was my job ... When I checked the signatures I had
a lot of decisions to make. I pondered for some time before coming to a conclusion about certain signatures."
Winquist said she checked state zoning and election laws while evaluating the form and signatures of the petitions.
"I couldn't find anything that told me anything about wording," she said.
In a July 11 letter to Winquist, Traverse City attorney Martha Black said the
requirements for petitions are covered in the County Zoning Act, which sets forth
applicable sections of the Michigan Election Law. She included copies of these sections with the letter.
Black noted, "As you will see, the Petitions have more than met the requirements for
form set forth in the state law governing local referendum petitions. Nowhere does the
applicable law require that exhibits be included with Referendum Petitions."
Black called Elias's challenge "a legal question as to whether the signers understood the
Intent of the Petitions." The petition circulators, she said, were given a page of
instructions, stapled to the petitions, which explained that by signing, each person was
requesting that an amendment to rezone Mt. Bohemia so as to allow for construction of
a ski resort be put before the voters in the next scheduled election. She said these
instructions were meant to help people understand what they were signing, assuming
"Exhibit A" - the legal description - might not be clear to some people.
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County commissioners Lyle Peterson, chairman, and Annette
Gagnon (right) listen as Keweenaw County Clerk Marilyn Winquist tells the board she found the Mt. Bohemia petitions adequate
as to the form and the signatures.
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"The right to referendum," Black added, "is a constitutional right afforded the people of Keweenaw County."
She cited a case in Michigan law supporting the idea that a referendum should be worded so as to facilitate, not hamper, people's exercise of their
voting rights.
"Nowhere in the County Zoning Ordinance, State County Zoning Act, or Michigan Election law does it give a county
clerk, or a County Board of Commissioners for that matter, the power to invalidate
referendum petitions on the grounds raised by Mr. Elias," Black said.
After an executive session with Jaaskelainen, the board voted three to two to place the
referendum on the November 7 ballot. Peterson, Annette Gagnon and Gordon Roberts
voted in favor, while Jeff Turnquist and Frank Stubenrauch voted against the motion.
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Paul Mihelich of Eagle River addressed the county board in
support of Crosswinds' position challenging the Mt. Bohemia petitions.
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Reactions of local residents were generally supportive of the board's action, although some, such as Paul Mihelich of Eagle River, favored
Crosswinds' position.
"I think you ought to listen to some independent (legal) counsel," Mihelich said.
Defending Jaaskelainen's position, Guy Snyder of Lac La Belle said, "We've got a competent attorney here, and we don't need anybody else."
Said Sandy Britton of Lac La Belle, "I think the board did us proud."
Peterson affirmed his position, saying,
"I want the people to vote."
He added, however, that he would still like to see Crosswinds build their
cabins on top of the hill, away from the snowmobile trail and the lower face of the hill. The original CD-EP zoning, because
of the pending referendum, prohibits building cabins on top of the hill at this time.
Keweenaw County property owner John Griffith said, "The petition is not about the
property. It's about the zoning board action. The zoning board action was referenced in the petition. (Elias's) point is moot."
Just before catching his plane Wednesday morning, Elias said Crosswinds' future plans are to consider all options, "including litigation."
- Michele Anderson
July 12, 2000
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