A developer seeking to have Traverse City’s Proposal 3 declared illegal will nonetheless seek approval for his 100-foot building under the process outlined by the city charter amendment while his lawsuit plays out in court. The move could make him the first developer to face a public election on a tall building in the city.

Tom McIntyre hopes to build a 10-story mixed-used development called Peninsula Place at 326 East State Street next to the Park Place Hotel. After Judge Thomas Power dismissed a lawsuit by McIntyre challenging the legality of Proposal 3 – the voter-initiated amendment requiring a public vote on city buildings over 60 feet tall – McIntyre filed an appeal in the case last week. The lawsuit is headed to the Michigan Court of Appeals and could take up to 18 months to resolve.

In the interim, McIntyre has filed a special land use permit (SLUP) application for the project with the city. The developer will appear before Traverse City planning commissioners Wednesday to give an overview of his proposal – the first public step in the permit approval process. Project documents show McIntyre plans to construct 64 residential units on the second through tenth floors of his Peninsula Place building, with commercial space on the ground floor and 69 parking spaces on the lower levels. 

“We propose to make several improvements on the property that will enhance the ‘livability’ and residential benefits in the areas as part of a series of projects that are harmonious with the neighborhood,” McIntyre wrote in his application. “Our goal for this project is to work closely with the city and our neighbors to build a project that will encourage pedestrian activities in a manner that minimizes the impact on infrastructure and is compatible to the surrounding area.”

McIntyre noted Peninsula Place will be “at least 40 feet lower in height than the adjacent Park Place Hotel” and is located in a district zoned for buildings up to 100 feet tall with a SLUP. He said project plans include closing off the two curb cuts to the property on State Street, relocating parking access for the development instead to the rear alley. “This will not only serve as a way of reducing traffic onto State Street, but it will also open up the space for an additional four parking spaces to be installed along State Street in front of the building,” he wrote.

McIntyre tells The Ticker that timing issues prompted him to pursue both his legal challenge to Proposal 3 and a SLUP for Peninsula Place simultaneously. “We’re going down parallel paths, if you will,” he says. “At the time Judge Power dismissed our case, we had already applied for a SLUP with the city. But everybody – us, neighbors, residents, developers – needs clarity on Proposal 3. So (the lawsuit) is almost a separate issue.”

SLUP regulations state that if a developer meets all of the requirements for receiving a permit, city officials must grant the permit – even if the project is controversial or is personally opposed by some commissioners. In both his application to the city and comments to The Ticker, McIntyre expressed concerns that public controversy over his lawsuit and project might cloud what should be an “objective, straightforward” SLUP process.

“We’ve reviewed this with city staff, and based on my perspective and my interpretation, we seem to meet all the requirements for a SLUP,” he says. “The objectivity part is a potential concern. The controversy that surrounds all this needs to be set aside for the purposes of this application. It’s not like we’re all fighting with each other; we just have an issue (regarding Proposal 3’s legality) that needs to be addressed.”

If planning commissioners Wednesday determine that McIntyre’s application contains enough information to evaluate whether it meets SLUP requirements, they can next set a public hearing on the project for October 3. At that meeting, planning commissioners would hear public input on the project and then vote on whether to support the SLUP application. City policy states that following planning commission review, McIntyre would next need to go to the voters for approval of the project. If voters approved the building, it would then go to city commissioners for final sign-off.

McIntyre says he’s still uncertain whether he’ll go all the way through the public election process. “Unless we want to pay for an election out of pocket, our first opportunity for a vote would be in May,” he says. “There are a lot of things that could happen between now and May with Proposal 3. We’re taking it one step at a time.” The developer says he’s committed, however, to pursuing his project despite the public controversy and legal costs surrounding it.

“We believe it’s a worthwhile project for downtown…we just happened to be the next project in line after the Proposal 3 election,” McIntyre says. “We know it’s going to be a time-consuming and challenging process, but at this point we intend to continue to pursue it.”

Pictured: Conceptual rendering of the proposed Peninsula Place next to the Park Place Hotel. The project directly east of Peninsula Place is TC Lofts, another planned new development now under construction. Photo credit: J. Scott Smith Visual Designs, Inc.