An estimated 50 people attended the annual joint meeting of the Leelanau County Planning Commission with township, village and county representatives last Wednesday, April 16.

County Planning and Community Development Department senior planner Kristin Smith, who helped organize the meeting, noted that the event marked the first time any group had used the “community meeting room” in the lower level of the new Leelanau County Government Center in Suttons Bay Township.

The main topic of the meeting was titled “Brownfield Redevelopment 101.” Those in attendance heard presentations by Flo McCormack of the Michigan Association of Counties and Jeffrey Hawkins of Envirologic Technologies, Inc., on Brownfield Redevelopment Authorities and Land Bank Fast Track Authorities.

Leelanau County established a Brownfield Redevelopment Authority last year and a Land Bank Fast Track Authority this year. Both types of authorities are empowered to bring special tax incentives, low interest loans and state grant funding to bear on the financing of projects involving cleanup and redevelopment of contaminated, blighted or functionally obsolete properties. Members of the authority boards are appointed by the county Board of Commissioners. Under state law, a Land Bank Fast Track Authority board must also include the county treasurer.

Authorities work in partnership with each other as well as the county Planning Commission. One purpose of the joint meeting last week was to ensure that the authorities also work in partnership with township and village governments in Leelanau County, according to Smith.

At the meeting, township and village representatives had the opportunity to take a survey back to their municipalities to identify potential brownfields that may benefit from a brownfield assessment grant available through the county. The county was recently awarded a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that will help pay for assessment of properties that might be contaminated with petroleum products.

The meeting included a social gathering and refreshments, a welcome from the chair of the county Planning Commission, Greg Julian, and an update on the creation of a model zoning ordinance for local communities to use, presented by the head of the county Planning and Community Development department, Trudy Galla.