The planning commissioners of EAST BAY TOWNSHIP Tonight (Tuesday) will be considered to approve the first of two location plan reviews with which the Ministry of Natural Resources in Michigan planned 8.5 million US dollars in Keith J . Charter's traverse City State Park. The DNR has emphasized the temporal sensitivity of consent because the park is already closed to submit planned tree ringing planned in the coming weeks. Planning officers will also discuss possible changes to the municipality's water/wastewater regulation and to support the scholarships for two large local projects.
Improvements of the state park
The Michigan DNR hopes to get a green light from East Bay Township tonight to get trees in Keith J. Charter's traverse City State Park in front of 8.5 million US dollars in improvements that are planned for this and next year start. As already reported, the project-financed by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollar is financed by the pedestrian bridge over US-31 and the creation of a new parking entrance with a traffic signal and pedestrian zone that tear off the lodge and build new park and improvement in the park's pump capacity, international traffic and customer service areas.
The park is now closed until April 1 to record the tree lice, with a second closure from July 7 to the end of 2026 planned for construction. However, the DNR appears late in front of the municipality officials, since it was initially not clear whether the state had to obtain the local permission to improve the state. According to Claire Karner, director of planning and zoning township, the legal advisor of the municipality confirmed that the DNR must obtain the approval of the location plan to advance. Due to the late timing, the DNR first requests permission to start the tree lice as soon as possible, and will submit a second location plan for the remaining project in the future, including evaluation, supply company and landscape design.
In a memo, Debbie Jensen, Administrator DNR Park Management Plan, said that it was “critical” to complete tree mining this winter in order to reduce the risk of Eichenwilt. “Use the frozen soil that reduces the soil disorder” and to complete the work during work, and the campsite is still closed. The DNR is also in a close schedule for the construction project as a whole, since it has to spend all ARPA funds before the end of the federal government at the end of 2026, said Jensen. According to a memo, the DNR, which, according to a Memo removes more than 300 trees, is determined that they “prioritize the savings of tire trees during the construction and carry out a comprehensive landscape and construction connection program to reduce losses”.
Karner found that the second phase of future reviews of the community staff in discussions with the DNR did “about opportunities to improve pedestrian and bicycle connectivity in the district of East Bay Beach”. This could include improved connectivity within the State Park itself as well as connections to the Reffitt Nature Preserve and from TRAT Trail to US 31.
Water/sewage regulation
The planning commissioners Tonight will discuss the supply regulations of the municipality of 109, which regulates the expansion of public water and the sewer. According to Karner, the municipality's employees plan to update the regulation in order to “fix some office errors and to make the regulation more user -friendly” and offer the opportunity to consider the regulation as a whole and to check whether other updates are required.
For example, the township has a “urban growth border” that runs south of the Hammond Road and east of Five Mile Road, which concentrates the development inside the community, including corridors such as three miles, four miles and Hammond. Country within the growth boundary is supposed to connect to public supply companies, while country outside the country should remain on a private fountain and septic. The goal is to “avoid future residential growth that represents a low density and absorbs valuable agricultural and forested land,” said Karner.
In the rules of the municipality, according to which developers within the urban growth boundary are required for the expansion of water and wastewater pipes, it creates “financial challenges” for development within half a mile of the project, says Karner. The updating of the pension regulations offers the possibility of leading “preliminary discussions” whether the municipality should invest in the expansion of its water and sewage infrastructure in order to “support future development in areas with high priority,” says Karner.
Applications
Finally, the planning officer will consider the approval of two scholarships for two grants for the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) in 2025 this evening. The first is a collaborative application with the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy for the financing in order to carry out the acquisition of the conservatory, the property between four and five miles known as the “comb”. The plot of plot a steep, forested comb with extensive view, which extends to Zucklaib in the district of Leelanau-residents of important moisture areas and extends two subwater catchment areas of the water sheath of the Grand Traverse Bay, including Mitchell Creek and the coast of East Bay. A small part that is not ecologically sensitive is examined for housing in the community.
Another application would obtain funding for the continued expansion of the Three Mile Trail in East Bay Township in cooperation with TART Trails and other partners. In December for the first phase of the expansion project, the state granted an MNRTF financing of $ 400,000, which “start at the current end point of the Three Mile Trail in the South Airport Road and south to a planned starting point/parking space opposite the WoodCreek – Subdivision is passed on, “according to a staff memo. Working on this segment is expected this year that the majority of the construction work is planned for 2026. “The project team expects the construction of the next segment of the Three Mile Trail – for which we are currently looking for funds (in the 2025 scholarship cycle) – in 2027,” says the memo.