Hotel, Marina Proposed at Mackinac Island
By Karen Gould

Looking toward the east, with Main Street on the left and Haldimand Bay to the right, the future 47- room Bayfront Hotel received Planning Commission approval in November.

A proposed 47-room, three-story hotel with a 16-slip marina is planned for Mackinac Island. City planners approved the hotel project in November, but have tabled approval of the marina until developer Ira Green submits more detailed plans.

The facility will be built across the street from Mission Church on commercial property. City zoning allows the property to be used both for a marina and a hotel. In fact, in 2002, the city said it wanted all marina development to be in Haldimand Bay, and banned such facilities outside the breakwalls. And years ago, the city intentionally spot zoned the lot for commercial use, at the request of thenowner Ty Horn, now deceased, while the rest of the neighborhood was zoned residential. A convenience store and three apartments on the lot will be torn down for Mr. Green’s development.

Mr. Green, who developed the Lakeview Hotel condominium project and owns the Mapleview dormitory and Mackinac Island Bike Shop, said he will name the new hotel Bayfront.

The former Ty and Ling’s store in the Mission district will be demolished to make room for the Bayfront Hotel.

A decision on the zoning application for the marina stalled in December when commissioners said they needed to see if construction plans meet the city’s marina ordinance requirements. Commissioners reviewed the marina plans, discussed the project, and tabled any decision, saying they needed to see a side profile of the dock to insure that below deck construction does not impede the circulation of water. Mr. Green, who attended the December meeting, said he would get them the plans. He has hired Ryba Marine Construction from Cheboygan to build the dock.

Commissioners also requested dock height information, referring to the ordinance which states that decking must not be more than four feet above the ordinary high water mark. The ordinance also requires that no part of the dock should be higher than 10 feet above the ordinary high water mark and commissioners want to make sure that information is reflected on the site plans.

The marina will include a pump-out station for boaters, and commissioners requested the facility be included in the drawings.

The marina would offer electricity for docked boats and a sanitary pumping facility, although fuel and boat repair service would not be available, said Mr. Green.

Commissioners Bob Brown and Franc Doud were absent from the meeting and Commissioner Margaret Horn, who sold the property to Mr. Green, abstained from voting.

Included with the proposed marina site plan were drawings for the basement area of the hotel. Discussion turned to the hotel plans when commissioners notice the previously approved plans called for a recreation area in the basement of the hotel. Plans presented with the marina showed restrooms, a storage area, and a bar area. Mr. Green assured commissioners he had no plans to acquire a liquor license. The area, he said, will be for boaters, who will bring their own beverages.

An area designated for a use that has not been submitted to the commission has to be documented, said city attorney Tom Evashevski to Mr. Green.

“Part of the site plan approval is zoning approval and we need to know what’s going to occur in there to say if it’s OK or not,” said Mr. Evashevski.

Also likely to change on the site plan is the location of the dock to the shoreline, explained zoning administrator Dennis Dombroski and Mr. Evashevski. The site plan presented to commissioners indicated the dock was parallel to the shoreline, although the riparian rights to the waterway are calculated based on a theoretical line. For this area of the Island, the line is in the center of the harbor and runs from Windermere Point to the east breakwall. Property owners get a portion of that line with respect to the amount of shoreline they own.

“The dock right now shows it is off the shore and perfectly straight,” said Mr. Dombroski. “It actually may angle off the shore in order to maintain the 15 foot setback requirement.”

Mr. Green said the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will be given a copy of the plans and they will determine the actual location and length of the dock.

In November, the Planning Commission approved the hotel project in a four-to-two vote, with one commissioner abstaining and two commissioners absent.

Voting on the zoning application for the hotel had been tabled from the commission’s October meeting following architectural review by city architect, Rick Neumann of Petoskey.

Commissioner Trish Martin, who voted against the application, questioned the appearance of the proposed structure.

The building was designed within the time frame and style of

other buildings that are on Island, explained architect Barry Polzin, who attended the meeting.

Mr. Green did not attend the November meeting.

“To me it looks like a cruise ship set on Mackinac Island,” said Pat McTigue, who owns neighboring property.

Commissioner Kay Hoppenrath also voted against the application, citing too many unanswered questions about zoning of uplands and bottomlands.

“I’m just not comfortable,” she said.

Margaret Horn abstained and Mary Dufina and Franc Doud were absent from the meeting.

The site is spot zoned commercial and questions were raised as to whether zoning for uplands extends to the bottomlands, but Mr. Evashevski said marinas and other docks are permitted there.

Commission chair Bob Brown voted for the application, as did commissioners Lee Finkel, Jim Petit, and Bruce LaPine.

Residential Equivalent Units (REUs) were addressed at the October meeting when Mr. Brown advised commissioners that they were not a consideration for the Planning Commission.

An REU is a measure of water and sewage treatment capacity. Mackinac Island has a limited 15 REUs available per year for building projects.

“I don’t believe his project will require all available REUs in any one year,” Bruce Zimmerman later told The St. Ignace News.

When Mr. Green applies for a building permit, the rooms will be counted and calculations will be made on the REU load the project represents, explained Mr. Zimmerman.

REU requirements again were discussed when commissioners considered the marina site plan in December. Mr. Green told the board that the marina slips were being included in Mr. Zimmerman’s calculations.

The Island’s building moratorium that was imposed more than two years ago as sewer capabilities neared their limit.

A week after planning commissioners discussed the new marina project, Mayor Margaret Doud established a new committee to examine the Island’s policies surrounding the allocation of REUs.

The Planning Commission next meets Tuesday, January 9, at 2 p.m. on the second floor of Community Hall.