Garfield Township Officials Talk Food Trucks, Data Centers, Trails, Development & More in Wide-Ranging Meeting

Garfield Township trustees and planning commissioners met Wednesday for an annual joint meeting – a wide-ranging discussion that included food trucks and data centers, a new trail and trailhead at the Grand Traverse Commons Natural Area, and a planned new Cherryland Electric Cooperative headquarters.

The over two-hour meeting was designed to get planning commissioners and trustees on the same page on issues that will likely affect the township in the coming year. That has “historically been pretty constructive,” said Township Supervisor Joe McManus. Officials discussed the latest with the township’s master plan – including efforts to roll out more mixed-used zoning districts – as well as coordinating with the City of Traverse City to plan for the future of the Boardman Lake Loop trail area, including the South Airport Road corridor. The Ticker has highlights from three other key topic areas covered.

Land Uses
The topic that generated the most public input Wednesday was data centers. More than a half dozen residents spoke on the issue, most with concerns about data centers or exhortations to the township to tightly regulate them. Data centers are allowed by right in Garfield Township’s industrial districts. However, planning commissioners have discussed changing that to a special use permit (SUP) process to allow more township oversight.

Trustees agreed with that approach and discussed the possibility of issuing a moratorium on data centers until the zoning ordinance could be updated. Township Planning Director John Sych noted that Garfield has “not been approached by anybody” and there are no pending projects, so such a move may not be necessary. However, he said he’d provide a recommendation to township officials.

Planning Commissioner Cara Eule said resource usage for data centers is “oversized for what would be typical for other uses,” so she hoped to see “guardrails,” “transparency in the process,” and “consideration of environmental and community impacts” when reviewing such facilities. 

Officials also discussed lifting a ban on food trucks in Garfield Township. Several said they believed food trucks offer a placemaking benefit and are a nice add-on for events or outdoor spaces. It was noted that Garfield Township could consider two approaches: allowing food trucks as an accessory use to established businesses like outside a brewery, and having a temporary licensing process for food trucks to set up at events or parks. Planning commissioners will continue working on potential zoning updates.

Trails
Officials had a prolonged discussion about Red Drive at Grand Traverse Commons in conjunction with a new township trail and trailhead planned to break ground soon at the Grand Traverse Commons Natural Area. The new universally accessible trail loop will be built on the northern portion of the Commons Natural Area and will be accessible from the North Long Lake Road trailhead and tie into an existing trail that connects to parking on Red Drive.

Township Manager Chris Barsheff said Red Drive – a private township road that crosses Rec Authority land and faces ongoing maintenance issues due to its proximity to wetlands – could soon see increased pressure. In addition to the trail expansion, Northwest Education Services is evaluating a potential expansion of its site that could “create a lot of traffic,” Barsheff said. That’s in addition to existing heavy usage from Greenspire, the Barns, the Botanic Gardens, and the Village.

Noting that townships aren’t usually in the road maintenance business, officials said their primary focus with Red Drive is providing reliable access to the trail system. They discussed the possibility of turning Red Drive into a non-motorized corridor, but did not reach consensus Wednesday. A proposed connector drive called Purple Drive has also been discussed that could connect Red Drive over to Silver Drive and the Buffalo Ridge Trail.

Sych said the township would convene stakeholders to evaluate scenarios, including parking options for the new trailhead. The township owns parking spaces west of Northwest Ed that are often assumed to belong to that organization. “The side of the road where the trailhead will be improved has quite a bit of parking where we do not feel it is necessary to deter the school from using parking spaces that they are currently using,” Barsheff tells The Ticker. However, vehicle traffic and trail access demands could change the parking situation in the future, he notes.

Trails also came up as staff presented options to add new sections of sidewalk and/or trail throughout the township. Areas along South Airport Road – like from Logan’s Landing heading east – and parts of Garfield and Barlow were among high-density zones that could most benefit from connections, staff said. Trail projects will be considered as the township updates its capital improvement plan each year. 

Development
Officials discussed the Grand Traverse Mall and the Oleson Foundation property at US-31/Rennie School Road Wednesday. Staff shared updates on the mall, including the slow buildout of the former Macy’s space with new tenants and likely outlot growth in the future. 

Staff also gave an update on the Oleson Foundation property, nearly 171 acres recently rezoned to allow a mix of industrial, commercial, and multi-family residential uses to move forward at the site.

The first major development likely to come online is a proposed new home for Cherryland Electric Cooperative. Sych said the township has received a site plan application from the utility, which will go before the planning commission in March. The Oleson Foundation previously said approximately 40 acres of the site would be used by Cherryland Electric.

Pictured: Food trucks are allowed in many townships in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties, but are currently banned in Garfield Township.