After threatening to pull the special use permit (SUP) for Seven Hills on Old Mission Peninsula – a move that would shut down multiple businesses on the property – Peninsula Township trustees agreed this week to instead have the planning commission review the SUP and to revisit at a future meeting if additional enforcement is needed. In other Peninsula Township news, avian flu has been confirmed in a dead bird at Haserot Beach and public input is wanted on an upcoming community survey and non-motorized transportation plan.

Seven Hills
Citing alleged noise, overcapacity, and parking violations at Seven Hills – which includes Mission Proper and Old Mission Distilling on Seven Hills Road – Peninsula Township trustees this week considered invalidating the development’s SUP. A letter from Township Ordinance Enforcement Officer David Sanger said that a Memorial Day weekend concert generated amplified music “beyond the property line at a level greater than normal conversation as perceived by a reasonable person at a distance of over 1,000 feet from the location” – sound levels that constitute a violation, he wrote.

Sanger also wrote that the maximum capacity of Seven Hills is 70 patrons total – both indoors and outdoors – due to the property’s septic system. “It is highly likely that the number of patrons on site during the reported complaint time exceeded 70, given that the parking plan for the SUP provides 55 on-site parking spaces and 60 vehicles were observed parked on the public roadway,” Sanger wrote. “The parking of overflow vehicles on Seven Hills Road by patrons of Mission Proper and OMP Distilling is not allowed under the terms and conditions approved by the township.”

Sanger said it was not the first time violations have occurred, adding that the township “reserves the rights to enforcement action including invalidation of the SUP.” Owners said such a serious step would wipe out the investment for both businesses and result in employees losing their jobs. Jennifer Kuhar of Mission Proper noted her café wasn’t even open during the concert and operates primarily during the day separate from the distillery. “If Mission Proper is forced to closed, I do lose everything,” she said. “My team loses their jobs.”  

Troy Daily – part of the Seven Hills ownership team – said staff documented decibel readings during the concert, have added tree buffers and employed a sound engineer to ensure ongoing compliance with the noise ordinance, and confirmed with the Sheriff’s Office that no noise complaints were filed Memorial Day weekend. “The only law enforcement call over that weekend was about parking, and no violations were actually found,” he said.

While Peninsula Township has stated the owners must prevent overflow parking from occurring on Seven Hills Road or risk violating their SUP, parking along the road is actually legal, confirms Sheriff Mike Shea. So long as people meet state regulations – such as not blocking driveways or interfering with the traffic flow – they can typically park along the roadway (often seen near weddings, graduation parties, garage sales, and other events). Even if Seven Hills called the Sheriff’s Office to report overflow traffic, “if we do not observe any traffic violations, there’s no enforcement we’re going to do,” Shea says.

Tuesday’s meeting reflected long-simmering tensions between Seven Hills owners – who have long felt the township has been unnecessarily onerous toward the business – and trustees frustrated with what they see as repeated SUP violations. Several residents urged a collaborative path forward, speaking in support of Seven Hills as one of the few community gathering spaces and commercial centers in Peninsula Township. While trustees considered a range of actions from SUP invalidation to a temporary moratorium on outdoor amplified sound or events, the board – acknowledging the financial impact of such steps – ultimately agreed to send the SUP to planning commissioners for further review.

Trustees, however, also said they’d be monitoring Seven Hills in the coming weeks and will review at their next meeting whether there’s a need for additional enforcement action. Several trustees said they wanted the business to succeed, but also to follow the rules. “In a way, their wonderful success is the issue here,” said Township Clerk Becky Chown. “They’re so successful that they haven’t figured out how to control the success.” Daily said Seven Hills owners believe there’s a “path forward” and that the team remains committed to “continuing to serve Old Mission.”

Avian Influenza
A township trustee concerned about dead birds accumulating at Haserot Beach and other East Bay locations collected specimens for testing – with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) confirming the presence of avian influenza in a dead ring-billed gull. Trustee Julie Alexander pursued the issue because “one dead bird on our beach is an event, (but) 15 is pretty scary,” she told the board.

According to the state, three samples from Grand Traverse County have tested positive this year for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) – commonly called bird flu – as of June 6, with another six suspected samples pending. Not all animals from a die-off event are tested, the state notes, “as only a few are needed to confirm the cause of death.” The Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) says the virus can infect a wide variety of both domestic and wild birds and occasionally mammals like cattle. Bird flu can be dangerous to humans, but its spread is rare and usually limited to those with significant exposure to sick animals. Particularly for an agricultural area like Old Mission, MDARD has extensive guidance available for protecting livestock and flocks and hotlines for reporting dead animals. “MDARD urges all poultry producers – regardless of size – to make sure they are taking every step possible to protect their birds from HPAI and wild interactions with implementing stringent biosecurity measures,” MDARD Director Tim Boring tells The Ticker.

Public Input
Finally, Peninsula Township resident input is being sought for two projects. The first is a township-wide community survey planned for this year – what the township calls a “vital opportunity for residents to weigh in on the big decisions shaping our community’s future, from land use and agritourism to shoreline management and township governance.” A survey committee working to compile the questions will next meet June 26 at 10am; background info is available here. ​Thanks to grant support from the DALMAC Fund and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund – Nutrition and Healthy Lifestyles Program, the township has also begun a non-motorized transportation planning project to “improve safety and connectivity throughout the township and region for all road users, including farmers, residents, and visitors, whether walking, biking, or driving.” A community workshop is planned for June 24 from 6pm-8pm at 2699 Island View Road.