Summary
The document is a single piece of correspondence submitted to the Leelanau Township Board on April 9, 2025, from resident Dave Brigham. It presents housing permit statistics and questions the need for additional housing development in the township. No board decisions or votes are recorded in this document.
Public Comments
Dave Brigham submitted a written letter to the Township Board and planners. He reported that Leelanau County Building Safety Department records show 41 housing permits issued in the Village of Northport and 228 in Leelanau Township between 2010 and April 2025, totaling 269 permits over 14.3 years, which he says exceeds the state average growth rate considerably. Brigham stated that, to his knowledge, no developer has ever approached the Township about creating a subdivision, and questioned who the buyers for such housing would be, suggesting it would only make sense if a major employer (he used the hypothetical example of "a Ford plant") created local demand. He argued that Leelanau Township is an exceptional place with adequate public service funding and an attractive streetscape, and suggested that the word "need" is often misused when discussing housing, proposing that "want" may be more appropriate. No response from the Board is documented in this correspondence.
Affordable Housing Initiatives
Brigham's letter directly questions the rationale behind proposed housing growth, implying that any additional housing would primarily serve people commuting to Traverse City for work, rather than reflecting a genuine local need. He did not propose any specific Board action, and the document does not indicate any Board decision, vote, or initiative resulting from these comments.
Action Items
No specific tasks, deadlines, or follow-ups are assigned in this document. Given that the correspondence raises questions about housing growth and development pressure, this remains a topic for the Board's attention, though no formal action item is recorded.