The review of the special land use permit to operate a Youth for Christ (YFC) program club center in the Leland commercial zoning district was ultimately postponed last week and will continue next month after further findings are gathered to make a final, informed decision.
The Leland Township Planning Commission voted 4-1 at its rescheduled meeting on Feb. 18 to engage outside counsel, specifically someone other than the current township counsel, to provide another analysis of the permit application. The motion also included postponing the findings of fact process and the decision of the application to have sufficient time to review the additional analysis. Leland Township board representative and planning commission member Steve Scales was the one opposing vote.
The special use permit application, submitted by Apollos Properties, LLC., is to use a portion of the north side of the building, located at 110 N. Lake Street. The north building, one of two commercial buildings on the property, falls in the C-1 village commercial zoning district, a zone established for small scale businesses and retail establishments.
Newly-elected Planning Commission chairperson Lee Cory presided over the meeting. She was appointed to fill the role of the previous chair, Ross Satterwhite, who resigned last month.
When first addressing the Apollos Properties special land use application, Cory explained that the planning commission currently does not have sufficient legal analysis of “the requirements of the ordinance, the applicable law, or the application of the ordinance in the law to the facts at hand,” which would allow them to make findings of fact that is required by the ordinance. Cory said after reading correspondence, the township legal memo and findings of fact, that she reached the postponement decision independently based on her legal experience from working in state and federal courts.
“In my opinion, there are so many holes that are still in the brief that was provided by our counsel as well as the draft findings that were given to us from which we were supposed to make a decision. So again, in good conscience and in good faith, I cannot make a decision based on either of these two documents that were provided to use by counsel in order to allow us to make our decision,” Cory said at the meeting.
Following Cory’s initial announcement to postpone the application decision, township trustee Scales made a point to highlight his view of how the planning commission has followed the process thus far. He noted things like how they had the opportunity to hold a public hearing last month, as well as had the chance to review zoning ordinances, the findings of fact document submitted by the township’s legal counsel, and correspondence from citizens for and against the application. Throughout the discussion, he continued to urge that the applicant deserves specificity moving forward to help bring the review of the permit application to “a timely vote.”
“I feel to not make a vote is we’re waiting to get an opinion that maybe satisfies some of the people on the planning commission that they don’t have yet,” Scales said.
The definition of what a club is was one of the most pressing issues that commissioners discussed when reviewing the legal brief provided by Smith & Johnson Attorneys, the law firm associated with the township’s attorney, Brad Wierda, marked Feb. 3.
While Cory acknowledged that findings of fact were indeed provided by legal counsel, they were “seriously flawed,” adding that their job as a planning commission is to make a decision based on those findings. She also said there were provisions of the ordinance that were completely ignored in the findings, adding that in the document provided, it is simply assumed that YFC is a club, however, it does not define the type of club and it is not distinguished between the type of club that would fall within the C-1 or C-2 zoning district.
“There are too many important issues here for both the applicant and for Leland Township… If that second brief comes out and reaches the same conclusion, that’s fine,” Cory said. “I just want to be sure that we have done our due diligence and that our counsel has done our unbiased due diligence in drafting these findings… They have not provided any evidence to suggest that this is the type of club that complies with C-1. If they do, that’s great, but that is not here, nor has our counsel pointed that out. That bothers me.”
Planning Commission vice chair Sam Simpson agreed with Cory’s assessment to postpone the decision and explained how he did not think it was inappropriate if the sentiment is that there needs to be a more complete analysis of the findings.
“If this extends another month, I think that that would be wise for us as a board to be able to feel confident as we move forward through findings of fact to feel that we have a full analysis that everyone’s satisfied with,” Simpson said. “I do not feel comfortable — and it sounds like Lee does not feel comfortable — with the legal advice we were given, so we are going to go through the exact same process.”
Skip Telgard, planning commission secretary, said that he had some issues with the timeline they had to review the legal brief and findings from counsel, adding that they did not receive the township attorney’s memorandum until Feb. 4, about two weeks before the Feb. 18 meeting.
“That may sound like quite a bit of time, but with the mountain of stuff that we have to work with and go through, I thought it was inadequate,” Telgard said. “So I would agree with Lee’s position.”
Public input
More than a dozen people at the meeting also spoke during the first and second public comment sessions regarding the findings of fact and legal memo provided to the planning commission. Leland resident Bob Schlueter was the first to speak during public comment, emphasizing that YFC is a church rather than a club.
“Clubs don’t have baptisms on the shores of Lake Michigan, clubs don’t recruit young people for the sole purpose of introducing them to their religious deities, be proud of who and what you are and what you profess to believe in and represent, you should shout it from the highest mountain top” Schlueter said. “It is very disheartening and confusing for many of us to hear your words, see your pictures in the local paper, but then see you run away from everything you want us to believe about you just so this permit request you pursue has a chance to pass.”
Michelle White, a Leland resident for the last 50 years and cofounder of the nonprofit 5Loaves2Fish, said during public comment that she was deeply saddened to see the divisiveness created by the application. She said the community at Leland Community United Methodist Church has been fully committed to creating and keeping a safe space for all, adding that both parents and kids that come to the church on both sides of the YFC issue are safe there regardless of what their personal opinions may be.
“I encourage the applicants to join our meal and experience community that is inclusive and loving to all,” White said, extending an invitation to YFC staff to attend one of their community meals.
Erica Humphrey, a Northport resident in favor of YFC that previously spoke during public comment, said she was shocked that they were arguing at this length over what a club is, and encouraged the commission to experience attending a church service to understand the difference between a religious club and religious church. “I think that if any one of you attended a church service and then additionally attended a bible study or youth group, it might be pretty obvious that the two are different institutions… Maybe what we don’t need is another distillery, dispensary, or wine tasting room, maybe what we need is a lighthouse,” Humphrey said.
A letter dated on Feb. 6 to Apollos properties owners’ Jim and Elizabeth VanSteenhouse was signed by over 60 Leland residents and further addressed their concerns with the YFC application, initiating direct dialogue with the owners to consider withdrawing the application for a special use permit as a gesture of good faith.
The letter also offers to put VanSteenhouse in touch with a “deeply qualified buyer who is available to purchase the Harbor Square parcels” at fair market value. In addition, the letter stated that if VanSteenhouse preferred to retain the Harbor Square parcels as an investment, that they would welcome the opportunity to connect them with a handful of retailers that have “sincere interest in leasing Leland retail space ahead of the summer 2026 season.”
“A withdrawal would allow Leland Township’s public servants to shift their focus back to many of the longstanding improvements that residents have been working towards for years — namely Hancock Field, the dock replacement project on River Street, and more — instead of deferring old business because each meeting runs so long and so late… Perhaps most importantly, a withdrawal would give Leland children the exhale they have been craving since mid-September — an awareness that their adults are, indeed, starting to figure this out and wish to model reconciliation and collaboration before it is too late,” part of the letter from Leland residents read.
The planning commission will meet again to review additional analysis on the YFC application on Wednesday, March 11, with the location to be determined.
