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(Editor’s Note: Peninsula Township Supervisor Maura Sanders reports in with updates about the zoning ordinance rewrite, building heights, ag signage 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 8, 2025
Thank you, Mother Nature, for bringing the sunshine!
We had a lot of moving parts at the Township this week, and it was exciting!
The Planning Commission (PC) met on Tuesday evening (view the meeting video here). They discussed fast tracking the zoning ordinance amendment for increasing building heights in the commercial zone to the same standard as residential building heights.
The PC also took the signage zoning recommendations from the Agricultural Advisory Committee (AAC), and a sub-committee will bring back final recommendations to the PC.
The PC also debriefed on the shoreline zoning following the Public Education Session held on April 24 (view the meeting video here or at the bottom of this story). The PC and Town Board will plan another education session in the next few months to address:
- The ordinary high water mark (OHWM)
- Floodplain vs. floodway
- The difference between a floodplain regulated by EGLE and a Base Flood Elevation (BFE) along coastal Peninsula Township.
Updates From Down the Hall:
Assessing: Reminder that the Assessor’s Office is in the field performing the 20 percent Michigan State Tax Commission property site inspections. These inspections are entirely exterior, and either Assessor Sally Murray or Field Appraisor David Yack will be taking photos and updating the property sketches. This will continue through mid-October. For more information from the state, click here.
Zoning: Our zoning administrator, Sara Kopriva, will be taking in-person appointments starting this coming week on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Please call (231) 223-7318 or email [email protected] to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins are also welcome during these hours as time permits around appointments.
Planning: Our planning consultant McKenna began working with the Township in 2017 on our zoning ordinance rewrite. It has not made it across the finish line yet for many reasons. The zoning ordinance rewrite was the number one priority coming out of the Township’s strategic planning session this past January. We have received a continuation of work proposal from McKenna, within the ’25/’26 budgeted amount, which the board will vote on Tuesday evening.
Looking Ahead to Next Week:
The Town Board will be meeting on Tuesday, May 13, at 7 p.m. in the Township Hall.
View the full agenda and meeting packet here.
Have a great weekend, Everyone! Happy Gardening, Happy Blessing of the Blossoms, and Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms out there!
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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SUPPORT YOUR INDEPENDENT LOCAL NEWSPAPER: I started Old Mission Gazette in 2015 because I felt a calling to provide the Old Mission Peninsula community with local news. After decades of writing for newspapers and magazines like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal, I really just wanted to write about my own community where I grew up on a cherry farm and raised my own family. So I started my own newspaper.
Because Old Mission Gazette is a "Reader Supported Newspaper" -- meaning it exists because of your financial support -- I hope you'll consider tossing a few bucks our way if I mention your event, your business, your organization or your news item, or if you simply love reading about what's happening on the OMP. In a time when local news is becoming a thing of the past, supporting an independent community newspaper is more important now than ever. Thank you so much for your support! -Jane Boursaw, Editor/Publisher, Old Mission Gazette
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