Youth For Christ Nearing Approval In Leland?

The ongoing debate about a youth Christian ministry in Leland could be resolved at this evening's Leland Township Planning Commission meeting, with an attorney's opinion potentially tipping the scales.

Apollos Properties LLC is seeking a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) to use the north building at 110 North Lake Street for a “Leelanau County youth club center.” Apollos plans to lease the property to Leland Lighthouse, a local branch of the multi-national Youth for Christ (YFC) movement, as a new headquarters and gathering space. Opponents have argued the proposed use runs afoul of downtown Leland’s commercial zoning rules. But a memo prepared for the township by legal counsel sides against those arguments – and raises First Amendment concerns – potentially tipping the scales in favor of Apollos Properties.

The property (pictured) is zoned “village commercial” (C-1), which only allows certain business types by right – including retail, personal services, professional offices, and restaurants. (The YFC space was most recently occupied by Grand Traverse Distillery.) Applicants say Leland Lighthouse amounts to a “club” use, which is allowed in the C-1 district with a SLUP. Critics insist the YFC branch is closer to a church, a use not permitted, even by special permit.

In a memo prepared for the Leland Township Planning Commission ahead of tonight’s meeting, Brad Wierda, a lawyer at Traverse City’s Smith & Johnson Attorneys, sided with Apollos Properties and the Leland Lighthouse on the most-debated aspects of the application.

Wierda’s memo notes multiple instances in the Leland Township zoning ordinance where a single word choice affects interpretation of rules relevant to the YFC debate. The first occurs in the definition of a club as “an organization of persons for special purposes or for the promulgation of sports, arts, science, literature, politics, agriculture or similar activities…” The key word in that sentence, Wierda reasoned, is “or” – which, per zoning ordinance, “indicates the connected items, conditions, provisions or events may apply singly or in any combination.”

“You should determine whether YFC is either: (1) [a]n organization of persons for special purposes or (2) [a]n organization of persons for the promulgation of sports, arts, science, literature, politics, agriculture or similar activities,” Wierda advised the planning commission. While YFC doesn’t expressly meet the second criteria, the attorney reasoned that it “meets the first criteria since it is an organization of persons for the purpose of helping high school age students to: ‘make good choices, build a solid foundation for life, and make a positive impact on their schools and communities,’” as well as to “engage students as followers of Jesus Christ.”

“The phrase ‘special purposes’ is not a defined term in the Zoning Ordinance but it would seem likely that a common or standard utilization of that phrase could include the purpose articulated by YFC,” Wierda concluded.

The Leland Township zoning ordinance also requires that clubs are “not operated for profit” and are “open only to members and not the general public” – conditions YFC easily meets, in Wierda’s eyes.

Elsewhere, the zoning ordinance specifies unique requirements for “churches and religious institutions,” which some members of the public have argued should apply to the Leland Lighthouse. Wierda disagrees, with his interpretation again coming down to a conjunction.

“Section 16.11 [of the zoning code] should only be applied if the proposed use is both a ‘Church’ and a ‘Religious Institution,’” Wierda reasoned, arguing that, while YFC is a religious use, it is not technically a church. For reference, the zoning ordinance defines “church” as “a building wherein persons regularly assemble for religious worship and which is maintained and controlled by a religious body organized to sustain public worship.”

“The uses proposed by the Applicant and YFC do not appear to meet the definition of church, as ‘religious worship’ is not even mentioned and there is no evidence suggesting that YFC is ‘organized to sustain public worship,’” Wierda wrote.

The other major argument levied against the application is that YFC would take away precious retail space. Again, Wierda’s opinion is that zoning can’t back up that stance.

“Mixed use is contemplated in the C-1 district,” Wierda noted. “Uses in the C-1 district are not limited to retail and commercial businesses. That better use for the property might be retail or commercial is not a basis for denial of the application...The contention that a faith-based youth club is not compatible with these uses is speculative and without foundation.”

Without unassailable grounds in the zoning ordinance to deny the Apollos application, Wierda worries Leland Township would face “constitutional and federal law implications” were it to withhold the SLUP.

“Regulation of the Applicant’s proposed use of the property affects First Amendment rights to speech, assembly, and the free exercise of religion,” he wrote. “Accordingly, review of such a decision may trigger strict scrutiny which would require the Township to persuade the Court that its actions: (1) serve a compelling government interest, and (2) are narrowly tailored to achieve the compelling government interest by the least restrictive means available. This is a very demanding standard which is very challenging to meet.”

Wierda said the township would need to prove the Leland Lighthouse posed “some substantial threat to public safety, peace, or order” in order to argue a “compelling government interest” for denying the application.

Tonight’s meeting is scheduled for 5pm at the Northport Performing Arts Center Auditorium. The agenda calls for findings of fact on the Apollos application, further discussion with the applicant, and a possible motion to approve or deny the SLUP. The planning commission will also need to appoint a new chairperson, given that former chair Ross Satterwhite resigned his post last month. Last week, the Leland Township board appointed Brian Fenlon to join the planning commission in Satterwhite’s stead.