Local Governments Back Alternative to Petoskey Bypass

The Michigan Department of Transportation has run into the most significant
impediment yet in its 15-year campaign to build a $70 million highway bypass around the northern Michigan resort city of Petoskey. Rather than back the state’s plan, two local governments in Emmet County recently put their official seal of approval on a less damaging alternative that promises to solve congestion more quickly and at less cost.

Resort Township passed a resolution last October stating its preference for “Smart Roads: Petoskey,” an alternative to the bypass that the Michigan Land Use Institute developed with local citizen support. The city of Harbor Springs led the way last September with its official support for the citizen-backed alternative.

“Smart Roads: Petoskey” would relieve congestion by modernizing an existing highway, developing an express route to link local roads, and creating a truck route to direct commercial traffic around downtown Petoskey and Bay View. It would cost roughly one-tenth as much as MDOT’s proposal and take just a few years to build, compared to a decade for the bypass. Generous financial support from Petoskey area residents allowed the Institute to hire New Alternatives, Inc., a Chicago-based transportation planning firm, to help develop this plan for easing congestion without carving up large tracts of historic farmland.

Both local governments urged MDOT to fully evaluate “Smart Roads: Petoskey” before proceeding with its proposal to build the three- and four-lane highway bypass. But the transportation department refuses to consider the cheaper and less damaging alternative. The agency continues to criticize “Smart Roads: Petoskey” as the product of outsiders even though local officials and dozens of Institute members in Emmet County helped craft the plan.

The Institute is challenging MDOT’s unwillingness to consider citizen-supported alternatives. Federal law requires transportation officials to choose from competing plans not simply push a single idea. The recent endorsements of “Smart Roads: Petoskey” by local governments will make MDOT’s road toward its Petoskey bypass a little bumpier.

Read about “Smart Roads: Petoskey” at the Institute’s Web site www.mlui.org under Key Issues — Transportation. Or contact Kelly Thayer at the Institute for a copy: 231-882-4723 ext. 13, kelly@mlui.org.

Shoreline Protection Ordinance
Now Available for Local Use

Local governments along Michigan’s Great Lakes have a new tool for protecting the world’s largest expanse of freshwater coastline. The Michigan Land Use Institute has developed a model shoreline protection ordinance and delivered it to several townships in northwest lower Michigan. It is available for other coastal communities to use.

New home construction is transforming Michigan’s coastline at an alarming pace. Many damaging projects have gone forward because state agencies have been lax about enforcing state and federal laws. That’s a big reason local governments are considering their own coastal protection ordinances. In the past decade in Leelanau County, for example, the state Department of Environmental Quality approved more than 90 percent of applications for development in protected critical dunes and high risk erosion areas.

One result of Michigan’s rush to the beach is loss of habitat for sensitive species, such as the endangered piping plover shore bird and the pitchers thistle. Another is damage to the shoreline’s aesthetic and economic value. Coastal communities can use the new model ordinance to protect their natural sand and shore resources. With it they can require local review of shoreline development proposals and ensure enforcement of state and federal laws.

The model shoreline protection ordinance is available at the Institute’s Web site www.mlui.org under Key Issues — Great Lakes Shoreline Protection. For more information, contact Jim Lively at the Institute: 231-882-4723 ext. 19, jim@mlui.org.

We the People: Holding Government Accountable

Just last December, the New York Times recognized the value of the Internet to activist groups like the Michigan Land Use Institute, which use it to alert the media and mobilize citizens. Now the Institute’s Web site is an even greater tool. We’ve built a new interactive “We the People” section devoted not only to documenting the Engler administration’s dismal record of enforcing environmental laws, but also to helping our members and citizens take action.

Along with regular news reports, “We the People” features one forum that encourages readers to share their stories of environmental nonenforcement. Another area provides an activist toolkit with sample letters and other resources for helping local people get organized. “We the People” also offers an email alert network for those who want to keep in closer touch with fast-breaking events.

Check out “We the People” at www.mlui.org/wethepeople. Contact Keith Schneider at the Institute with comments or questions: 231-882-4723 ext. 11, keith@mlui.org.

.