Suttons Bay Township approved Peninsula Housing’s 980 Herman Road property development to create a zoning district neighborhood during a regular meeting May 13.
“I was really supportive of the township board’s actions tonight. I think they did good work for the community,” developer Larry Mawby said.
A public hearing is scheduled for June 2 at the Suttons Bay Township Planning Commission, where Mawby will submit a site plan for Peninsula Housing, consisting of 12 duplexes and six singlefamily dwellings.
“We are hoping that we’ll get approval for that, so that we can go ahead with all of the budgets. We’re in the process of trying to apply for a major grant that would help with part of the construction,” Mawby said. “We’ve got a lot of the detail work going on in terms of working with contractors and getting pricing. If everything works wonderfully, we hope to break ground next spring on 10 homes. We would like to do another 10 the next year and another 10 the year after that and build it out as expeditiously as we can.”
With the passage, Mawby and Peninsula Housing are hard at work pursuing funding deadlines, including grant deadlines. The goal is to have the first 10 homes of a 38-home development break ground in spring 2027, according to Mawby.
Township trustee Eric Carlson proposed the motion and Doug Periard seconded.
“This is long overdue,” Carlson said.
After last month’s public hearing, the project moved on from the planning commission to the county and back to the township for approval.
Peninsula Housing is a community land trust that’s designed to own and hold land.
The 980 Herman Road property occupies 8.2 acres and would be the first property in a new residential neighborhood district that has been in development for nearly two decades, according to the Suttons Bay Township master plan.
Suttons Bay Township’s desire is to keep development from sprawling outside of the reach of Suttons Bay Village. The district, which would include Peninsula Housing for the moment, raises concerns that developers are gobbling up land to build vacation homes or short-term rentals.
This property has been envisioned for Mawby since at least 2021.
