The county Road Commission reviewed a final draft of development plans by the National Park Service for the Glen Haven national historic district.

Lee Jameson, a ranger with the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, presented the plans for Glen Haven at Tuesday’s Road Commission meeting. Jameson said the Park Service had a subcontractor develop a conceptual drawing of what Glen Haven may look like in the near future, and said one of the bigger changes the public will likely notice involves parking, especially around the Cannery building.

Currently, people may park on Glen Haven Road where it meets with Sleeping Bear Drive, and within the county road right-of-way that extends to the beach. Under the draft, the Park Service would create a parking area on an existing paved loop that would increase parking to 47 spots, compared to the existing 30. But, as commission engineer James C. Johnson pointed out, it would remove parking along the county road right-of-way.

“People use the parking at the Cannery mainly to go to the beach at Glen Haven,” Jameson said.

The Road Commission directed Johnson and manager/superintendent Herb Cradduck to review the plans and submit their comments to the Park Service by June 6.

The proposed development plans include reinstating a “movable” boardwalk that would run from the D.H. Day House south behind the Sleeping Bear Inn, and farther south parallel to Glen Haven Road. There would also be a cement sidewalk on the shoulder of the road to provide more pedestrian access to the national historic site.

Jameson said the boardwalk is an historic feature the Park Service would like to bring back. The Day family had one built for access during Glen Haven’s hey-day in the early 1900s. “The boardwalk has to be moveable given the shifting nature of sand,” he said.

Commission member Glen M. Noonan said he was disappointed the proposed plans didn’t include anything about the dock at Glen Haven. “You mention how this (Glen Haven) is important historically, yet there was no mention of the dock. Without the dock to load and unload supplies and take people out to South Manitou, there is no Glen Haven,” he said.

Jameson said the plan deals just with the development aspects of the national historic district. He said in the interpretive plan the dock is mentioned, as are other important historic aspects of Glen Haven like the narrow-gauge railroad that used to run into Glen Haven from the sand dunes and Glen Lake.

In other business, the commission:

• Heard a report from Cradduck about his tour around the county with Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) officials. He said due to budget constraints statewide, the state roads and highways in Leelanau County will only receive one mowing this year and trees will only be removed for emergencies. Cradduck said MDOT spent more money than anticipated in snow removal for the southern part of the state and has fewer funds available.

Paving of County Road 651 from M-22 north to the improve beach parking area was completed Tuesday. Cradduck said the 669 road end paving should be completed this week as well.