(Editor’s Note: Wes Cowan writes in praise of Township Planner Jenn Cram. Read on for his thoughts. -jb)
After visiting the Old Mission Peninsula for 30 years, my wife and I purchased property and built a home in 2017. In 2019, I sold my business; we pulled up stakes and moved here permanently.
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Now that I’m a regular reader of the Gazette and Nextdoor, I’ve seen the calls from Township Supervisor candidate Kelly Clark to remove Jenn Cram, Peninsula Township’s Director of Planning and Zoning. Based on what I’ve learned over the last four years, this would be a mistake. Let me tell you why.
When I moved here, I had no idea how our government operated, but the debate over the WOMP lawsuit made me determined to find out. I began attending township committee meetings. I listened and occasionally made comments.
When a committee was formed to study whether to change from a General to a Charter form of government, I raised my hand and waded in. It was a great experience; I found my fellow committee members committed, thoughtful and non-judgmental. After realizing the task was beyond our expertise, we made a recommendation to hire an outside firm for help and are awaiting their report. Along the way, I learned a lot about how our Township government works.
When a position opened on the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA), I raised my hand again and volunteered to serve. It was here that I began to understand the vital role that Jenn and her staff play in maintaining the integrity of the place we love.
Jenn’s role in a zoning appeal is simply to present the facts. She does NOT advocate for or against any appeal. It’s the committee members who approve or deny zoning appeals; Jenn Cram has no vote. An appeal must satisfy six criteria, each of which must be separately voted on by the committee.
In a recent meeting, an applicant asked for no less than four variances requiring 26 separate votes! Cumbersome? You bet, but the process ensures that no decision is made without considered judgement. For the record, in my four months as a member of the ZBA, only one appeal has been rejected.
Earlier in the year I attended a meeting between Jenn and her staff and local builders to try to come to an agreement on the thorny issue of new building height. There was a lot of back and forth – but no raised voices, no emotional outbursts and no “my way or the highway” opinion voiced by Jenn Cram. EVER. Just solid, sincere discussion and in the end, agreement. I left the meeting thinking “this is the way government is supposed to work.”
And so, when I read calls to fire our Director of Planning and Zoning, I feel compelled to write. We are fortunate to have a conscientious professional. Jenn Cram doesn’t make the rules; her job is to see they are enforced. From my perspective, she’s being unjustly criticized for doing what she’s supposed to do. To suggest otherwise is simply unwarranted.
Jenn Cram and her staff deserve our support and thanks, not attacks and threats for doing their job.
-Wes Cowan
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Sorry but there are several instances where she makes her own rules. For example, we will soon find out when the latest lawsuit is decided over her refusal to accept sups or amendments thereto during the statutory imposed abeyance of an ordinance while a petition to overturn the ordinance is underway.
There are instances where she puts requirements on sups or lips that are not in the ordinances. People have no choice but to go along if they want their sup to move.
I mean lups