Leland Township Announces Rescheduled Public Hearing For Youth For Christ Permit

A public hearing cancelled earlier this month due to crowd size has been rescheduled for early next year.

As the Leelanau Ticker reported on December 3, controversy exploded this fall around the Leland LightHouse, a youth Christian ministry that operates as a branch of the multi-national Youth for Christ movement. Micah and Kya Cramer, the husband-and-wife duo that leads the ministry, are seeking a special land use permit (SLUP) to open a clubhouse and headquarters at 110 North Lake Street, in a space formerly occupied by Grand Traverse Distillery. The pair claim the location would offer better visibility and safety for their ministry gatherings, which have often been held at the Cramers’ private residence. At the same time, community members have taken issue with the Cramers over their tactics for recruiting local teens to their organization – often without parental knowledge or consent – and have also pushed back against the SLUP on zoning grounds.

Under Leland Township zoning, the North Lake Street space is a C-1 (“village commercial”) property, intended primarily for uses like retail, personal services, professional offices, and restaurants. Clubs are allowed in the C-1 district, but only by SLUP, which the planning commission would have to approve – hence the December 3 public hearing. Some locals argue that Leland LightHouse is a church, not a club, and therefore can’t be allowed in the C-1 zone, even by special permit.

The public hearing was initially slated to take place at the Leland Township Library, but the meeting saw such a large turnout that the planning commission had to postpone to a later date. A notice issued by the township this week includes the details of that rescheduled hearing: 5pm on Wednesday, January 7 at the Northport Performing Arts Center Auditorium, located at 104 South Wing Street, Northport, MI 49670. More details can be found here.