Clark Township Planning Commission gave Andrew McMillan permission to build an oversized boat shelter on his Marquette Island lot Tuesday, June 10. Illustrating why some property owners seek larger boathouses in the Les Cheneaux Islands, Mr. McMillan said the 1,030-foot, open-sided structure is necessary to provide shelter for two antique Chris Craft boats that should not be exposed to the elements. One is an all-original, 26-foot, 1930 Chris Craft runabout.

The project includes placing the shelter inside a large, existing boat slip on the property, removing an 85-foot section of dock alongside the slip, leaving a 25-foot section, and rebuilding a crib dock, angled to protect the slip.

Mr. McMillan said historic accounts of the property describe a 100-foot-long boathouse at the site before it was destroyed by a fire, so the structure he wants to build "is much less square footage than the original."

The boathouse will be 30.6 feet by 32 feet in size and 14 feet tall from the dock. The zoning ordinance allows only 1,000 square feet for properties with 201 to 500 feet of water frontage. Mr. McMillan believes his property has about 350 to 400 feet of frontage, but measurement turned in with the project differed from that, noted Zoning and Building Administrator Frank Sims, prompting commissioners to ask for a verified figure.

The planning commission also asked that the boat shelter be fitted with decorative elements and be more appealing and required Mr. McMillan to turn in elevation drawings for a site plan review. Three commissioners will review the plans, which are a stipulation for issuing the building permit.

Contractor Mike McMaken said he and Mr. McMillan had already discussed design enhancements for the boathouse, which he said will have shingles and a gabled roof and will match the house in color.

Commissioner John Grenier's motion to approve the boathouse included the rationale that the structure is not intruding into the waterway because it will be behind a breakwall, that it is close to the shore, and that there will be no habitation in the structure.

Commissioners Mike Miller and Steve Honnila will represent the planning commission at the Saturday, June 28, annual meeting at 10 a.m., where they will explain the master plan and zoning ordinance revision process.