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Keweenaw County Zoning Board of Appeals delays zoning decision for referendum on Mt. Bohemia
EAGLE RIVER -- A public hearing to interpret the Keweenaw County Zoning Ordinance turned into an executive session of the Keweenaw
County Zoning Board of Appeals Monday on the advice of the county attorney and prosecutor. After meeting behind closed doors, the board continued
their session publicly just long enough to vote to delay any zoning decision until after the referendum on the Mt. Bohemia Ski Resort, a proposed
project of Novi, Mich., developer Crosswinds Communities, Inc.
After a closed discussion with Donna Jaaskalainen, county attorney and
prosecutor, the Zoning Board of Appeals concurred that they should hold a decision as to whether or not a ski hill can be built in a district zoned
as Conservation District-Environmental Protection (CD-EP) until after the referendum on the Mt. Bohemia zoning changes. The Keweenaw County Board
of Commissioners may set a date for that referendum tonight at their 7 p.m. meeting in the County Courthouse in Eagle River.
While
Crosswinds did not publicly make a request to build a ski hill in CD-EP, the comments of Zoning Board of Appeals members indicated that request
must have been made.
"We cannot put a ski hill in a CD-EP district," said James Regis, member of the county Zoning Board of
Appeals and chairman of the Keweenaw County Zoning and Planning Commission. "If the referendum passes you're allowed a ski hill in Resort
Service ... If there's an acceptable use in another service (RS) you can't classify it as a low-intensity recreation area in CD-EP."
Fritz Longpre, member of both the County Zoning Board of Appeals and the Keweenaw County Zoning and Planning Commission, agreed it was necessary to
wait for the referendum.
"It's hard to do this with that referendum hanging over us," Longpre said. "We voted on it for
Resort Service. We can't take the ski hill and put it (into CD-EP) and have half and half."
Regis made a motion that was approved by
the board: "Let's put a hold on our decision until the referendum is over."
James Heikkila, chairman of the County Zoning Board of
Appeals, did not allow public comments from local residents or from Crosswinds' attorney, Frank Elias, of West Bloomfield, Mich., who asked to be
allowed to speak.
"Not at this point in time," Heikkila replied, indicating it was not a public hearing but a meeting of the board.
The zoning appeals board had originally scheduled a public hearing to clarify permitted uses under Conservation District-Environmental
Protection (CD-EP) and the Resort Service (RS) Districts of the County--two types of zoning at issue in the proposed ski hill project and in other
zoning appeals cases. Keweenaw County Zoning Administrator Jane Pelto had requested the hearing for an interpretation of the provisions of the
Keweenaw County Zoning Ordinance.
On April 11, 2000, at the request of Lake Superior Land Co., a subsidiary of Champion
International/International Paper, the Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners approved a zoning change from CD-EP to RS and an amendment to include ski
hills as a permitted use under RS. The changes were on the company's Mt. Bohemia property (near Lac La Belle), on which Crosswinds is planning to
build a ski resort, said to include a lodge, parking lot and 50 rental units as well as chairlifts.
Pelto said Mt. Bohemia is only one of
the issues that have brought to her attention the need to clarify permitted uses under CD-EP and RS zoning. She said a conversation with Heikkila,
resulted in his calling a public hearing on the permitted uses.
"I was talking to Jim Heikkila, and I told him I would like some
clarification of permitted uses in the zoning ordinance," Pelto said.
She added CD-EP and RS zoning permitted uses are the ones that
need clarification "because those are the ones we normally have the most questions on (as far as what is and isn't permitted)." One reason for
the vagueness of the ordinance, she noted, is that examples of permitted uses are given under "such as." While some uses not specifically
mentioned in the ordinance may clearly fit a category, others may be left to individual interpretation.
In a July 6 letter to Heikkila from
Birmingham, Mich., Attorney Martha Black, who represents Mendota Lighthouse owner Gary Kohs, stated her position that CD-EP zoning should not
include ski hills under permitted uses.
Black explains why she believes the Ordinance does not provide for a ski resort under CD-EP:
"First, under the language of the Ordinance itself, the CD-EP district was created 'to account for lands designated as part of an open space
system to preserve total environmental character, particularly in connection with conserving significant natural resource characteristics found
within the county...' (Zoning Ordinance Section 3.4.2)."
Black adds that the amendment to include ski resorts as a permitted use under RS
zoning "has been stayed under state law by the filing of Referendum Petitions" to put that amendment to the vote of the people.
The letter concludes: "To interpret the Ordinance and hold that the more protective CD-EP district allows for Ski Resorts as permitted uses --
while Referendum Petitions and a vote of the people will decide whether such use is allowed in the more permissive RS district -- is to misread the
clear intent of the Ordinance. Such an interpretation not only would defy logic, but is legally unsupportable."
The changes from CD-EP
to RS affect three sections in the Lac La Belle area: 28, 29 and 30. The biggest area of the change is in section 29, originally zoned entirely CD-EP.
Three fourths of section 29--the south half of the north half and the entire south half, totalling 480 acres--were changed to RS by the county
board's vote.
Section 28 (east of section 29), originally zoned CD-EP, now is zoned RS in 160 acres of its southwest corner. Section 30
(west of section 29), was originally all CD-EP; but 40 acres of it have been changed to RS--the southeast quarter of Section 30's southeast quarter.
The amendment to include ski hills in RS permitted uses affects these three sections that have changes to RS and also Section 32, which was
originally and still is zoned RS.
On June 16 the petitions for a referendum were filed requesting that Keweenaw County voters be allowed to
vote on whether or not they want the zoning changes and the amendment to include ski hills under resort service.
(Crosswinds may challenge
the petitions at the County Board of Commissioners meeting tonight, July 11. Watch for the story.)
Crosswinds spokesman Lonie Glieberman (third from right) confers with Crosswinds' attorney
Frank Elias (third from left), during the meeting of the Keweenaw County Zoning Appeals Board
Monday in the Courthouse at Eagle River. Also pictured (from left) are Patrick Coleman, president
of U.P. Engineers and Architects; Walter Elander, principal of Snow Engineering; Walt Arnold,
Lake Superior Land Co. real estate manager; and attorney Steve Tinti of Crystal Falls.
Keweenaw County Attorney and Prosecutor Donna Jaaskalainen (right) speaks with County Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman James Heikkila and Zoning Administrator Jane Pelto Monday
in the Courthouse in Eagle River. Jaaskalainen requested the board go into an executive session meeting.
Keweenaw County Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman James Heikkila is interviewed by Eszter Vajda, anchor reporter for WBKP-TV, Channel 5, after the board's meeting Monday.
Former Lake Superior Land President Robert Gresseschi (second from right) discusses Mt. Bohemia development history and issues with Keweenaw County residents, (from left) Sue
LeBlanc of Betsy, Tom Collins and John Kaleita of Lac LaBelle and Scott Laurie of Mohawk.
- Michele Anderson
July 11, 2000
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