Support Timber Shores!

If you believe in and support what Timber Shores will bring to the Northport-Omena area then we urge you to log on to the Leelanau Township Planning Commission’s April 8 meeting at 7 p.m. Planning Commissioners will hold a public hearing on an ordinance passed in special session by the township board. The board’s goal is to impose a six-month moratorium on RV parks and campgrounds while they try to re-write the zoning ordinance.

If you respect property rights it’s time to speak up! If you’re a local who’s not willing to let part-timers and recent transplants dictate whether the township’s economy gets a big boost, it’s time to act. If you’re a local business owner who could use more business, it’s time to speak up before the township kills this project! You can comment by letter or email before the meeting or participate in the meeting by phone or zoom. 

We invite you to join us. For a copy of the meeting notice, click here. A copy of the ordinance can be found here. To join the April 8 meeting on Zoom, follow this link.

You can also write either by letter or email. To email the township direct your comments to Supervisor John Sanders, ltsuper@leelanautwp.org, Zoning Administrator Steve Patmore, ltzone@leelanautwp.org, Clerk Monica Diaz, ltclerk@leelanautwp.org and Treasurer Denise Dunn, lttreasurer@leelanautwp.org.

Letters can be sent to the township at P.O. Box 338, Northport, MI 49670.

The township phone number is 231-386-5138 and the fax is 231-386-7909.  When calling you can choose ext. 1 to talk to the clerk, ext. 3 to talk to the supervisor and ext. 4 to talk with the zoning administrator.

The township board claims it’s protecting the public health, safety and welfare yet it cites no specific harm. Baseless rumors “claim” there will be groundwater contamination from a wastewater treatment system that will be specifically designed for the site, require State permits and ongoing monitoring by licensed operators.  This system will be as safe or safer than the NLTUA system and far safer than many residential septic systems in the area.

Their actions ignore the fact that the park must meet all township, state and federal regulations for doing business and will be required to get permits from local, county and state governmental entities. Timber Shores is designed as a Family-oriented RV Camping Resort managed by professionals that seek high ratings for a quality camping and outdoor recreation experience.  Well established and enforced Campground Rules and Industry Experience assures that claims of potential Nuisance Ordinance violations are also unfounded.

The baseless complaints are from immediate neighbors, most of whom are seasonal residents or recent transplant retirees.  They ignore the fact that this property has been zoned commercial-resort for over 30 years. It was the site of an RV park from the 1960s-1980s with only a positive history.  When the owners purchased this property that zoning was already in place.  Now the township board wants to change the rules in the middle of the game and stop the owners from using the property for its intended purpose. 

This is a seasonal resort that will generate high tax and tourist revenues, jobs and services with virtually no burden on local services or infrastructures. 

This is the worst kind of pandering to affluent special interests.  It galvanizes the rift between NIMBYs who want a perfect slice of heaven and locals who want more economic opportunity.

What has just happened here is clear evidence of the risk that a developer takes in trying to bring a large project to life in Leelanau Township.