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(Editor’s Note: Peninsula Township Supervisor Maura Sanders reports in with updates about a new zoning administrator, the survey sub-committee, paving at the recycling station and more. Big thanks to Maura for these weekly updates that keep us tuned into what’s happening at the Township offices. Read on for this week’s note. -jb)
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May 2, 2025
Happy May!
Business as usual this week.
The Parks Committee met this week and approved a $7500 proposal from Beckett & Raeder for professional planning, landscape architectural, and engineering services related to flush toilets at Bowers Harbor Park. Beckett & Raeder will be looking at all cost options for flush toilets at the park, ranging from “green” options to traditional/full utility options.
The Devil’s Dive Compactor Station has been paved! The Bowers Harbor Park parking lot has been cleaned, cleared, and parking spaces have been set!! This entire project by Team Elmer’s has been nothing less than 5 stars from start to finish — thank you, Team Elmer’s! Bonus: The entrance to Archie Park along M-37/Center Road has been filled and graded.
The Community Survey Ad-Hoc Sub-Committee will be kicking off their initial meeting in the next couple of weeks. I just provided them with the full 2019 Survey Executive Summary and Demographic Analysis. This ad-hoc committee will meet at the Township Hall, and the meeting will be streamed on the Township’s YouTube channel (and kept for 30 days). I encourage all those who are interested to attend.
Here are a few charts from the 2019 survey. Read more about the survey here. -jb
Updates from Down the Hall
Assessing: The Assessor’s Office will kick off their annual 20 percent Michigan State Tax Commission property site inspections. These inspections are entirely exterior, and either Township Assessor Sally Murray or Field Appraiser David Yack will be taking photos and updating the property sketches. This will continue through mid-October.
Planning/Zoning/Assessing: Big news from a combined effort! Beckett & Raeder has been working behind the scenes with our planner to digitize the Township zoning map. This will be an interactive map, linked via our website. This map will be updated annually as new parcel information becomes available. All parcels will have the ability to show: Zoning District, Links to Dimensional Charts, and Links to Uses in that district. I will share the link when this is completed.
Zoning: We are excited to get the zoning office moving towards a digital application and tracking system that will work in conjunction with the county permitting system at the Grand Traverse County Construction Code Department. This will allow for all projects to be tracked by all parties for permitting process clarity.
The Township would like to welcome back Sara Kopriva, AICP, from Beckett & Raeder, as our new contract zoning administrator! We are lucky to have her, and she is looking forward to hit the ground running in two weeks with a seamless handoff.
It goes without saying that our zoning intake administrator, Dave Sanger, kept the ship afloat these last 4.5 months in the zoning office, and the Township is beyond grateful! Dave will continue in his capacity as our Code Enforcement Officer.
REMINDER: We are still looking to hire an additional part-time code enforcement officer. Learn more and view the job description here.
Mission Point Lighthouse: Open for the season!! The Lighthouse is open daily, except for Tuesdays, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. *All proceeds from admissions and merchandise sales benefit the Mission Point Lighthouse and its preservation, restoration and interpretation. Peninsula Township residents may visit the museum, the second floor, and climb the stairs to see the views — free of charge!
Looking Ahead to Next Week
The Planning Commission will be meeting on Tuesday, May 6, 7 p.m. at the Township Hall. View the meeting packet here. The agenda includes three business items of community interest:
- Introduction of Agricultural Advisory Committee Signage Zoning Recommendations
- Introduction of Hotel, Motel, Tourist Courts Height Zoning Recommendation
- Shoreline Zoning Debrief and Next Steps (View the Shoreline Education Session video at the bottom of this story. -jb)
The Peter Dougherty Society (PDS) Board will be cleaning the Dougherty Mission House Museum on Saturday, May 10, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. If you have a couple of hours, stop by and help to get things spruced up and ready for our first tour in the second week of May. Contact Christopher Rieser, [email protected], to let PDS know you are going to help out!
On the Horizon
Household Hazardous Waste. Grand Traverse County Recycle Smart has announced upcoming drop-off dates for household hazardous waste. To make an appointment, head over to their website. Here are the upcoming dates:
- Thursday, May 15, 1 – 6 p.m.
- Thursday, June 26, noon – 6 p.m.
- Thursday, August 14, noon – 6 p.m.
- Saturday, September 13, 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Have a great weekend, Everyone, and try to stay warm!
Maura Sanders, Peninsula Township Supervisor
Phone: (231) 223-7323
Email: [email protected]
Office Hours: Mondays 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesdays – Thursdays 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Friday – Sunday and Holidays. If TCAPS is closed due to weather, Peninsula Township offices are closed at least until 10 a.m. Please check the website homepage for any updates.
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As stated last week, the Township Survey Committee is stacked with a super majority of PTP members. This will lead to questions and topics that only PTP wants to promote. There will be little to no input requested for ways to help our farmers sustain their properties in Ag use. And any questions that may seem fair will be asked in such a leading way as to get the response PTP desires. This survey results will be flawed and worthless for obtaining unbiased information.
The 2019 survey stated “the existing ordinance limits residents to (1) dock & (2) boat hoists per 50 feet of shoreline.” This was WRONG as the current ordinance states “a maximum of (1) dock per parcel plus (1) boat hoist is permitted per (50) feet of shore line. The survey then asked how important strict enforcement of this difficult-to-enforce regulation is to respondents. Concerns are:
1. The 2019 survey asked residents about enforcement only. It did not ask about support to change to the overall ordinance. Is the township deriving majority support via the survey to completely overhaul the ordinance?
2. Was the 2019 survey question necessary as should not all ordinances be reinforced irregardless of how many are not in compliance?
3. Were people responding to enforcement of a (1) dock & (2) boat hoists situation? The proposed ordinance by the shoreline committee states “A maximum of (1) dock is allowed per parcel. This dock may have (1) boat hoist per 50 feet of shoreline associated with the parcel. Any pre-existing lot of record is allowed at least one dock and one boat hoist”.
Based on the above, perhaps the township should throw out the results from the 2019 survey question & instead ask factual questions about how much support it has for various proposed changes to the shoreline ordinance.
Team,
I encourage you both to attend the ad-hoc meetings. Even though you didn’t sign up to be on the committee, the open forum will certainly benefit from your input. We are all excited to see what the overall temperature of the township will be with this 2025 survey.
Maura. Thanks for the invite. I believe my concerns wrt shoreline regulations & the survey are quite clear & need no further explanation. Assume any mode of input would be welcomed irregardless if it came from attending a meeting, responding via Gazette or Nextdoor, letter or other way.
No I did not apply for this committee as we all know what the outcome would have been.