A public debate that recently ignited after Peninsula Township issued a letter of opposition to Seven Hills obtaining a state license to serve beer appears headed toward a resolution – but has touched on recurring frustrations over the township’s zoning ordinance and enforcement.

Seven Hills – which includes Old Mission Distilling and is located on Seven Hills Road just north of Devil’s Dive Road – already serves cocktails and wine. In November, the owners applied to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) for a microbrewer license and beer/wine tasting permit, which would allow Seven Hills to sell beer. According to partner Jay Milliken, Seven Hills guests often ask about beer or a lower-alcohol-content option.

“Beer is obviously a great daytime beverage option compared to higher proof wine or spirits,” he wrote in a letter to township officials. “By offering a beer option, we aim to contribute to creating a safer environment for all residents and visitors of the Old Mission Peninsula.”

But in a November 21 letter to the MLCC, Township Planner Jenn Cram asked the state to deny the Seven Hills application. She wrote that the company’s special use permit (SUP) allows it to “operate a restaurant/tavern with a small distiller’s license only” and has “very specific (standards) due to on-site septic system capacity issues, limited parking, and the adjacency to residential uses.” According to Cram, Seven Hills must first seek township approval to amend its SUP before it can serve beer. Since the business did not seek that amendment, she asked the MLCC to deny its application.

Cram’s opposition letter – which Milliken says was sent without any notification to Seven Hills – prompted the business to post a lengthy public letter to township residents last week asking for their support. “What gives the township the right to control what a tavern/bar/tasting room serves on their menu?” the letter states. “Especially one that is already approved, licensed, and operating on commercially zoned property.” Milliken says the Seven Hills SUP covers several allowed uses on the property, including the tasting room/bar/tavern – which should suffice to cover beer and other alcohol sales, he believes. Other Peninsula Township establishments have been able to obtain MLCC licenses without having to amend their SUPs, according to Milliken. “We are being asked to do things that others have not had to do,” he says.

Peninsula Township issued its own extensive public rebuttal to the Seven Hills letter. In it, township officials said the licenses sought by Seven Hills don’t just allow for beer sales but beer production – up to 60,000 barrels a year. “Seven Hills has posted on social media that they do not plan to produce a significant amount of beer, but they have not initiated a conversation with Peninsula Township to define the scope of their proposed microbrewery,” they wrote. “While beer service itself poses no philosophical or logistical issues, licenses run with the property, and it is important to ensure that on-site brewing is limited in such a way as to limit health, safety, and welfare impacts. A verbal indication of proposed scale is not sufficient to manage these concerns.” Township officials said the Seven Hills SUP – which was amended in May to address capacity and outdoor uses – was also amended to include language stating that: “Any changes to the use of the property [or] MLCC licensing[,] including the small distillery liquor license and associated tasting room[,] shall require the approval of an amendment” to the SUP.

According to Millken, no uses or MLCC licensing are changing – simply being added onto to include beer. He adds that Seven Hills has no intention of becoming a microbrewery, just selling beer – similar as it does with liquor and wine, which are produced off-site through local partners. While Seven Hills could produce up to 60,000 gallons of liquor a year through its small distiller license, or 50,000 gallons of wine through its small wine maker license, the property is not set up or intended for production, Milliken says. Seven Hills may produce 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 barrels annually for small-batch experiments and to maintain its license eligibility, but otherwise “the beer we serve will be coming from our five-gallon fermentation carboy and from a local, licensed brewery,” according to Milliken. “No bottling, no retail, just tastings of beer in our already licensed tasting room.”

Production is also already addressed in the SUP, Milliken says, which limits on-site manufacturing but allows limited blending, bottling, and labeling of products brought in from an off-site facility. “The limitations of production are obvious and regulated by our site plan, land use permit, designated square footage of various uses, and our septic and drainage capacity,” he wrote in a follow-up response to Peninsula Township.

The public back-and-forth touched off a wave of community response. More than 50 residents wrote letters to the township supporting Seven Hills and its request to serve beer, with township trustees to discuss the issue Tuesday at their 7pm meeting. Several letters cited larger concerns with Peninsula Township’s zoning ordinance and a perceived antagonism toward business owners, referencing as a primary example the township’s ongoing litigation with the Wineries of Old Mission Peninsula.

Both Peninsula Township and Seven Hills representatives agree that a zoning ordinance update could help clarify MLCC licensing issues in the future. Milliken says township officials indicated in May they would address licensing in the ordinance within three months, but that has not yet occurred. In the meantime, Milliken says that in the “best interest of our community and our business,” Seven Hills will begin the process to apply for an SUP amendment today (Monday). Both sides have shared a desire to work more amicably together, while still expressing wariness about intentions.

“The Peninsula Township board and staff want to work with all our residents, but residents have to be willing to work with the township as well,” township officials wrote. For his part, Milliken says Peninsula Township completing an ordinance rewrite and applying it consistently will go a long way toward resolving disputes with Seven Hills and other groups. “We insist on a fair and equal application of rules and processes within Peninsula Township for all residents,” he says.