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Happenings in the Keweenaw Peninsula July 30, 2002 Text and photos © 2002 Michele Anderson. Eagle Harbor photo © 2002 Pat Ryan.

Public encouraged to discuss Keweenaw County's future Aug. 7

MOHAWK -- Keweenaw County residents and interested persons are encouraged to attend a public informational meeting regarding the Keweenaw Blueprint for Tomorrow Land Use Plan currently under development. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 7, at the Mohawk School.

After a year of gathering background information through research, township surveys and local meetings, the Joint Township Land Use Committee in cooperation with the Keweenaw County Zoning and Planning Commission will present a vision, goals, policies and a draft future land use map -- all developed through efforts of the township land use planning committees and the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region (WUPPDR) to guide decision-making in Keweenaw County. 

Eagle Harbor Township Supervisor Doug Sherk comments on his township's draft land use map at a recent township meeting. Each township land use planning committee in Keweenaw County has contributed a map showing a general layout of what their vision for future land use is, according to Lori Hauswirth, WUPPDR associate planner (standing in photo), who has been working with the townships on a county land use plan for the past year. Also pictured here are, from left, Thomas Ellis, Jr., trustee; Ann Johnson, treasurer; and Jeane Olson, clerk. (July 2002 photo by Pat Ryan of Eagle Harbor.)

Lori Hauswirth, WUPPDR associate planner, said community support is extremely important, since it will help guide the Committee in the formulation of implementation strategies for the Keweenaw County Land Use Plan.

"We'd like to build public consensus on the work that's been done to date," Hauswirth said. "It will give us direction for the next step, which is evaluating implementation tools -- taking a look at how to get to the future from where we are now, which may be looking at revising the zoning ordinance or further land acquisition."

Hauswirth added she will be presenting the draft land use map to the Keweenaw County Zoning and Planning Commission at their next meeting on Tuesday, July 30. (The meeting is scheduled as usual for 7 p.m. in the Courthouse in Eagle River.) She will also announce the August 7 public meeting and discuss the possible timeline for completion of the land use plan, which must ultimately be approved by the Keweenaw County Board of Commissioners.

Hauswirth addressed the Zoning/Planning commissioners at both their May and June meetings. At the May meeting she presented them with the draft of the Keweenaw Blueprint for Tomorrow Land Use Plan, and at their June meeting she reported on the progress of the township committees' work on the land use maps.

Lori Hauswirth, right, presents a draft of  the Keweenaw Blueprint for Tomorrow Land Use Plan to the County Zoning and Planning Commission at their May meeting in the Courthouse in Eagle River. Board members pictured are, from left, Bob Crampton; Jane Pelto, zoning administrator; and James "Reggie" Regis, chairman.

Hauswirth visited township board meetings recently to receive input from the boards on the work their planning committees have done on the maps. She said the township boards made some updates to the maps.

"They liked what was being done, for the most part," Hauswirth said.

Eagle Harbor Township Supervisor Doug Sherk said the August 7 public meeting is a chance for the public to come and see the work that has been done on land use planning for Keweenaw County.

"It is a chance for the public to see that public input has been considered in the planning and to leave further comments and recommendations for the planners," Sherk noted. "I hope that the public will be pleased and proud of all the work that has been done by the townships working together for an overall  land use plan for the future of Keweenaw County that also meets each township's needs and desires."

Grant Township to hold public meeting Thursday, Aug. 1, in Copper Harbor

The Grant Township Land Use Planning Committee will hold a public meeting for Grant Township residents and interested persons at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1, in the Copper Harbor Community Building. At this meeting, the committee will review for the public the survey results, go over the proposed land use maps, review the progress on the Keweenaw County Land Use Plan  and receive public input.

Anita Campbell, co-chair of the Grant Township committee, said she hopes for a large turnout for both the township and the county public meetings.

"It's important for the public to share in the visioning for Keweenaw County," Campbell noted. "The public has participated in township surveys and public meetings this past year, and the August 7th meeting would be a good time to get another glimpse of how the township land use committees have consolidated the survey information and public input into a county-wide draft land use map and Plan."

Janet Shea, Eagle Harbor Township resident and Copper Harbor (Grant Township) business owner, has been involved with the land use planning committees for both of these townships.

"This is the culmination of thousands of hours of work by the committee volunteers," Shea said, "and we hope that the citizens will come to the meetings and offer their input."

Shea has also posted a number of documents concerning land use planning in Keweenaw County on her Web site, Keweenaw Land. (See Editor's Note below.)*

Draft Plan envisions environmentally and economically sustainable County

The Keweenaw Blueprint for Tomorrow draft document includes a vision statement, goals, policies for implementing the goals, a draft of the land use plan narrative and a list of land use classifications as depicted on the Preferred Future Land Use Map, which is still being developed.

This draft document presently states the vision for Keweenaw County as follows:

"Keweenaw County will be a County that is environmentally and economically sustainable through the responsible management of land and resources for the benefit of present and future generations; a place where residents and visitors have continued access to the many scenic, recreational and historical assets of our communities; and a County that respects the choices of its Townships in defining their own character, priorities and development patterns."

The vision is followed by seven goals, each of which includes several policies defining actions that can be taken to implement the goals. The goals concern future growth and development, public open space, ecosystem protection, heritage preservation, tourism, sustainable forests and Keweenaw decision making.

This draft document also includes 12 major land use classifications and two Overlay Districts as depicted on the Preferred Future Land Use Map, which will be presented at the public meeting. In many cases, these future land use categories differ from what current zoning allows; thus, changes in zoning may be necessary to be consistent with the preferred future land use.

These 12 categories are: Agricultural (AG), Conservation-Environmental Protection (C-EP), Timber Resource (TR), Rural Residential District (Country Estate) (RU), Residential Districts (Single Family, R-1, and Two and Multi-Family, R-2), Resort Residential District (RR), Resort Service District (RS), Business District (B-1), Light Manufacturing District (M-1), General Manufacturing District (M-2), Extraction District (ED), Planned Development District (PDD), Overlay Districts (Historical Overlay, HO, and Shoreline Overlay, SO).

In the Allouez Township Community Building in Allouez, several members of Keweenaw County township land use planning committees joined interested persons from Houghton County at a workshop on land use planning and zoning led by Rod Cortright (standing), Michigan State University Extension director for Charlevoix County, in May 2002. Cortright, an expert on land use, has given three workshops in the area since the Keweenaw committees launched their land use planning effort early in 2001. His first two workshops, on conservation design, were held in March 2001 at the Keweenaw National Historical Park in Calumet. He also spoke at a Land Use Forum in Mohawk in September 2000.

Hauswirth said the Aug. 7 public meeting is open to the general public.

"It's for anybody and everybody -- anybody that wants to come and share their comments and input," she explained. "It's for all the residents and anybody interested in the future of Keweenaw County."

The Keweenaw County land use planning process has been coordinated by the Western Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Region (WUPPDR) with funding through the People and Land (PAL) Program. For more information, please contact Lori Hauswirth at WUPPDR, 482-7205.

*Editor's Note: Visit Janet Shea's Web site www.keweenawland.com  for detailed documents on land use planning from the individual township committees as well as related Keweenaw County documents. Visit George Hite's Eagle Harbor Web for information on Eagle Harbor planning issues. (Note George's new Web address.) See the Keweenaw Liberty Library for the Keweenaw County Zoning Ordinance, the current Zoning Map and other documents.

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