Leland Township Planning Commission Denies Youth For Christ Permit

By Craig Manning | April 16, 2026

After months of consideration and deliberation, the Leland Township Planning Commission voted last night to deny a special use permit application from Apollos Properties, the LLC seeking to utilize a downtown Leland building as a youth Christian clubhouse.

The decision followed a legal review from local attorney Tom Grier, who prepared two opposing findings-of-fact reports for the planning commission. Grier’s approach gave commissioners theoretically defensible legal pathways to approve or deny a Special Land Use Permit (SLUP) that would have allowed Apollos to use part of its property at 110 North Lake Street as a youth club center for Leland LightHouse, a local branch of the multi-national Youth for Christ movement.

At their monthly meeting last night, planning commissioners voted 4-1 to deny the application. The vote is an official determination from the township that the proposed use did not meet Leland's zoning requirements.

Apollos LLC now has the right to appeal the decision to the Leland Township Zoning Board of Appeals.

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