Condo, Park Projects OK'd on South Manistique Lake
By Paul Gingras

A14-unit condominium on South Manistique Lake was approved by the Portage Township Board of Trustees at its Tuesday, May 15, meeting in Curtis. The project, called Cedar Ridge Properties, required a special-use permit. Formerly a single-family residence, it is now considered multi-use property. The project has drawn opposition from neighbors who testified at a public hearing on the subject Thursday, April 26.

The site plan details 14 vinylsided buildings to be built along 260 feet of lakefront property. If state permits are granted, each unit will include three bedrooms and two bathrooms, and the buildings will be suitable for year-around living. The plan includes a recreation building with an indoor swimming pool, an outdoor swimming pool, and a storage building. The project is similar to neighboring Pine Bluff Resort. Both are owned by John Bertsma of Grand Rapids.

Approximately 90 percent of the trees on the project's seven-acre parcel have been removed, said Richard Oliver, township zoning administrator. The deforestation troubles neighbors who have lived adjacent to the parcel for decades and expected it to remain wooded and zoned for single family residence, he told The St. Ignace News.

Mr. Bertsma has a permit to remove the trees and prepare the grounds.

Abuilding permit could be issued in June, if well and septic permits are received from the state health department and environmental clearance is approved by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

At the April public hearing, Pam Duman said the area looks "awful with all of the trees removed." She and her husband, Michael, own property on H-33 near Cedar Ridge.

Richard and Louise Ravetta live adjacent to Cedar Ridge. Mrs. Ravetta said it looks like a "nuclear wasteland." Prior to the removal of the trees, their property was shielded by the forest.

The Ravettas said they are being forced into a lifestyle change they never envisioned. Mrs. Ravetta noted a lack of privacy resulting from tree removal, adding that she has lost the opportunity to observe wildlife from her home, which was built by her father.

"I think that a person's peace and tranquility should not be invaded this way," she said.

At the hearing, Mr. Bertsma's engineer, Fred Gaunt, said the area would be landscaped to improve aesthetics. Mr. Bertsma has agreed to work with neighbors to create a wooded buffer zone to restore the privacy the Ravettas have lost.

The Dumans, who said they chose to retire in the area owing to its quiet, natural environment, objected to the development, citing heavily developed lakefronts, such as the border of Higgins Lake in Roscommon County. Mrs. Duman called the Cedar Ridge project a way to get around zoning restrictions and "put a subdivision on a lake."

Mr. Gaunt said downstate projects are often on parcels with even less waterfront, leading to more congestion.

Condominiums require a special-use permit and a site plan, but they are allowed under the zoning ordinance.

Portage Township trustees also granted a special use permit for the Erickson Center in Curtis Park. This project was discussed at the April public hearing. Unlike Cedar Ridge, it received no public opposition.

Planned by the Curtis Community Arts Council, the Center will include a large room for events such as anniversary parties, as well as meeting rooms, kitchens, and an outdoor skating rink.