Hayes Township Resolution Compliance with Clare County Master Plan, Part 1

The Hayes Township Planning Commission, at a Special Meeting on 17 May 2010 adopted a resolution with regard to the Special Use requested on the Gamble-Longenecker property by Doug Longenecker.  This is the first in a series of posts that endeavor to analyze point by point how the resolution adopted by the Planning Commission and currently in appeal to the Hayes Township Zoning Board of Appeals complies or does not comply with the Clare County Master Plan 2004 (The most recent Master Plan), The Hayes Township Master Plan 2002-2021 (The most recent Master Plan) and the Hayes Township Zoning Ordinance, Effective Date October 24, 2001 (Most recent Zoning Ordinance found on the Hayes Township's website).

Inasmuch as the Master Plans are guidelines to be used in crafting the Ordinance, and do not carry the weight of the law that the Ordinance does, I will address these first, as they are the foundation upon which the Ordinance is based.

The questions posed are to present some food for thought.

Hayes Township Resolution Compliance With Clare County Master Plan 2004 (Most Recent County Master Plan)

The page numbers refer to the Clare County Master Plan unless otherwise specified.

1. Page 49: There are 28 miles of free public snowmobile trail in Clare County.

Does this not meet the needs of the residents of Hayes Township for recreational snowmobiling?  Are these 28 miles of trail inadequate?

2. Page 49: The Designated Leota ORV Trail is 55 miles long and can be accessed from Clare County. 13 Miles of the Leota Trail are in Clare County. The Leota Trail is free to ride.

Does this not meet the need of the residents of Hayes Township for recreational ORV riding?  Are free trails not more desirable to the residents of Clare County than a business facility that will charge membership fees and a daily fee to ride?

3. Page 39 of the most current Clare County Master Plan: The median income level in the county is $28,845, and 12.1% live below the poverty level in the County.

4. Page 5 of the most recent Hayes Township Master Plan states that, “Generally, the income levels for Hayes Township are low when compared to the surrounding communities and the County,” and, “In terms of the percentage of persons below the poverty level , Hayes Township and all of the surrounding communities have percentages above 20%. Figures on page 18 put the number at 27%.

5. According to a posting on June 2, 2010 on the Moto Mania Facebook page, there will be an annual $25.00 membership fee plus a free of $20/day to ride.

Do Clare County and Hayes Township really need a commercial facility where snowmobilers and ORV riders must pay a membership fee and then pay additional fees to ride on a daily basis when there are free trails available?

As a member of TrailPass, Mr. Longenecker will be required to sell a certain number of TrailPass Memberships, either as an associate or an exclusive member. He receives TrailPass memberships on consignment for $40 apiece, and must sell them for $50 apiece. Will this be above and beyond the admission of $25 he will be charging for Moto Mania memberships?

Can the local residents afford to utilize this recreational facility? After the initial outlay of $25.00, a family of 4 can expect to spend $80.00/day of riding. How often can residents of Hayes Township afford to avail themselves of a day of riding at Michigan Moto Mania?

To be continued...