In addition to three state constitutional amendments and several countywide millages that will appear on all Grand Traverse County ballots this fall, a handful of key additional proposals will also appear on certain city and township ballots. From a building project over 60 feet in the City of Traverse City to a petition to allow recreational marijuana businesses in Green Lake Township to a request for more funding flexibility for Peninsula Township police protection – plus local school millages – The Ticker has an overview of these community-specific proposals.

City of Traverse City – Proposal One
What It Is: Traverse City voters will be asked to approve construction of a building over 60 feet in downtown Traverse City. Innovo – the development group behind the Breakwater apartment complex on Garland Street – hopes to build a new mixed-use, 88-unit apartment complex on two vacant Hall Street parcels between The Candle Factory and BATA transfer station (pictured, rendering).

The company received city approval to build the development in 2021, but local group Save Our Downtown filed a lawsuit arguing that the project violated the city’s charter, which requires a public vote on buildings over 60 feet. Some mechanical and architectural features of Innovo’s project are planned to exceed 60 feet, but those features have historically not counted toward building height in the city, which has instead measured height from the grade to the roof deck. However, Judge Thomas Power agreed with Save Our Downtown’s argument that all building features must be under 60 feet or else trigger a public vote.

While Innovo and the City of Traverse City appeal Power’s ruling in the Michigan Court of Appeals, developers in Traverse City must in the meantime keep all building features under 60 feet or else obtain voter approval to exceed that height. Innovo is seeking approval from voters this fall to proceed with the project as designed. Along with a short preamble, city voters will see a simple question on the ballot: “Shall a building with a height above 60 feet be constructed at 145 Hall Street and 125 Hall Street?”

What Else To Know: The ballot proposal and Michigan Court of Appeals case are unfolding on parallel tracks that could end up coming to a resolution at or near the same time. Attorneys for Innovo, the city, and Save Our Downtown presented oral arguments in front of the Michigan Court of Appeals Tuesday in the case. “The judges were well prepared and asked good questions, I said everything I needed to say, and now it’s in their hands,” says City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht on the proceedings. The court typically takes four to eight weeks to issue a ruling after oral arguments, meaning Innovo could have an answer from voters and the courts on the Hall Street project as soon as November.

Green Lake Township – Recreational Marijuana Businesses  
What It Is: Green Lake Township voters will be asked to decide whether to allow recreational marijuana businesses in the township. The ordinance would allow two recreational retailers, three recreational growers, three processors, three secure transporters, and three safety compliance businesses to operate in the township.

What Else To Know: An Interlochen business owner who has long worked to convince Green Lake Township trustees to open the door to recreational marijuana businesses has now successfully led a ballot petition to put that question to voters. Steve Ezell, who runs medical marijuana company Interlochen Alternative Health, pursued the ballot petition after trustees narrowly rejected allowing recreational businesses by a 4-3 vote. He says the board is ignoring the will of voters – the majority of whom voted for legalizing recreational marijuana statewide when it was on the ballot in 2018 – and is missing out on valuable tax revenues that could fund community projects. Ezell estimates the township has missed out on close to $100,000 in taxes since 2018 by blocking recreational marijuana businesses, money he says could go toward things like a new township ambulance or additional police patrol coverage.

“We’ve been here operating since 2013 and have never had an incident or complaint, but we’ve got a couple board members fighting us tooth and nail (on expanding to recreational),” Ezell says. He adds that while his business would look the same from the outside if he switched to recreational sales, it’d make the difference between his business surviving or not long-term as medical sales plummet in Michigan. “I’d be doing the exact same thing at this location, but instead of six customers a day I might have 20. It’s cost me a tremendous amount of money (to put the issue on the ballot). But I think I’ve been an asset to the community…and I just want the people to decide.”

Township Supervisor Marv Radtke is one of the board members who supported allowing recreational businesses in Green Lake Township. He said he voted that way based on how many township voters supported legalizing recreational marijuana in 2018. Despite concerns from Ezell that the township will fight implementing the new ordinance if it’s approved, Radtke firmly denies that’s the case. “The voters have spoken in 2018, and if this does pass in 2022, they have spoken again,” he says. “Then it’s time for us to remove the roadblocks and put some reasonable regulations out there to allow for voter-approved activity.”

Peninsula Township – Police Protection Millage Increase
What It Is: Peninsula Township will seek voter approval to increase its millage for police protection by up to 0.5 mill ($0.50 per $1,000 of taxable value) for four years, from 2022 through 2025. The millage would raise an estimated $449,539.48 in the first year if levied in full.

What Else To Know: Peninsula Township Supervisor Isaiah Wunsch says that the proposal is a millage renewal, but is “shifting from a fixed rate to a variable rate millage.” That means township trustees can set the millage rate each year up to the allowed maximum, potentially adjusting upward or downward based on community policing and funding needs. With Peninsula Township recently adding a second community police officer (CPO), the township had to dip into its general fund to fully cover police costs, Wunsch says. The millage proposal would ensure there’s guaranteed funding for police protection – possibly increasing coverage to equal two-and-a-half CPOs – in a structure similar to the township’s fire protection millage.

“It gives us flexibility and give residents the ability to advocate for more or less coverage,” Wunsch says. “The citizens would have the ability to weigh in on the appropriateness of the current funding level every year. It’ll be an item on the township board meeting agenda, where we set the millage rate for the year.” If the proposal is rejected, Wunsch says the township would lose its ability to fund both CPO positions.

School Millages
While most Grand Traverse County voters will see millage requests from Traverse City Area Public Schools (except in Fife Lake, Mayfield, and Paradise townships) and Northwest Education Services on their ballots, voters in Whitewater Township and part of Acme Township will see an operating millage proposal from Elk Rapids Schools, while voters in Fife Lake and Union townships will see an operating millage proposal from Forest Area Community Schools.

Elk Rapids will seek to continue its levy at a rate not to exceed 18 mills on all property, except principal residences and other property exempted by law. The school district is required to levy that rate to receive state funding for students. The millage would run from 2024 to 2028 and provide funds for operating purposes. Forest Area Community Schools is similarly seeking approval to levy a rate not to exceed 18 mills for a six-year period from 2022 to 2027. Numerous school districts across the region are seeking similar millage approvals to stay ahead of Headlee rollbacks, which are triggered when property values exceed inflation rates and can cut into school district levy rates. If school districts can't or don't levy their full mills, they risk jeopardizing part of their state per-pupil funding.

To see a full sample of your Michigan ballot this election including all races and proposals, click here.