The chair of Leland Township’s planning commission is suing the township supervisor, claiming he’s standing in the way of her serving out her full term – a charge he denies.

Meanwhile, after some last-minute scrambling, the township’s zoning board of appeals will (possibly) be whole again and (possibly) ready to continue its work on the highly contentious Youth for Christ proposal. 

Planning commission lawsuit

Township Supervisor Clint Mitchell tells The Ticker planning commission chair Lee Cory personally served him with a lawsuit at Monday’s township board meeting. Read the full lawsuit here.

The suit alleges, among other things, that Mitchell “refused to take appropriate action” following Cory’s stated desire to serve out her full term. Cory was appointed in December 2023 and expects to serve through December of this year, in accordance with a three-year term spelled out in Michigan law.

When it was recently pointed out that meeting minutes from December 2023 showed that Cory’s term expired in August of this year – a matter brought up by what Cory’s suit describes as a “disgruntled” fellow planning commission member who was acting as a “spokesperson” for Mitchell – Cory emailed Mitchell saying that she expects to serve through December.

Mitchell responded that township records show her term expires in August and that he would “take her request under advisement,” and did not respond to a second email on the matter.

Cory’s suit alleges it isn’t up to Mitchell; that she is entitled under state law to serve three years, and that Mitchell’s lack of response has “given every indication that he plans to adhere to” her term expiring in August.

Mitchell says the suit is “completely without merit” and that when the issue was brought to his attention, he reached out to the township’s attorney (Brad Wierda of Traverse City-based Smith & Johnson) for guidance on how best to proceed.

Mitchell says he has no issues whatsoever with Cory serving through December, it’s just a matter of how best to proceed.

“We have the agenda and the minutes from December of 2023 that says she (is appointed through August only) so if we need to fix that, we'll figure out how we need to fix it, and we're waiting for a lawyer to tell us. We will do whatever the law says we should do,” he says. “And I don't see a sense of urgency because we're not appointing anyone to replace her in the meantime, so she'll continue to serve.”

Asked why he couldn’t have just told Cory he was seeking legal guidance, Mitchell says it seemed clear she was about to take legal action and he didn't want to say much at all. 

“You didn’t have to read between the lines too much to see there’s a litigation threat with it,” he says. “When somebody sends me an email and I sense a threat of litigation, my response is brief.”

Wierda subsequently declined to provide a legal opinion Cory’s status since he was mentioned (but not named) in the lawsuit, so Mitchell will now seek guidance from lawyers for the township’s insurance company, he says.

The suit was listed as active on Thursday, and Cory’s attorney, Larry Ackerman, did not return a call for comment.

Zoning Board of Appeals

Zoning board of appeals (ZBA) activity often flies under the radar, more or less, but that has not been the case recently with the highly controversial proposal by a group tied to an international Christian movement.

Apollos Properties is seeking a special land use permit (SLUP) that would allow it to lease property in downtown Leland to the Leland LightHouse, a local affiliate of the multinational Youth for Christ movement. The matter has sparked massive debate since late last year, when the permit request first came before the township’s planning commission.

Leland Township’s ZBA usally has five members, with three being a quorum (enough to vote on an issue). Member Brooks Bunbury resigned for scheduling reasons, leaving only four members. And because member Brian Fenlon already voted on the Youth for Christ matter at the planning commission level, he became ineligible to vote on the matter again at the ZBA (he is the planning commission rep to the ZBA), leaving only three members eligible to vote on this matter. 

Then, once ZBA member Lauren Cypher resigned last week to take on the interim Leelanau County administrator role, that left the ZBA short of a quorum as it relates to Youth for Christ. And that placed a key July 30 ZBA meeting about Youth for Christ in jeopardy.

Mitchell says two new potential members – Lisa Pesenka and Mary Lingaur – and two new potential alternates – Tony Borden and Lynn Dunn – were identified in a matter of days. They were set to be appointed at a Wednesday special township board meeting, though an overflow of public attendees forced it to be rescheduled to Monday at 10 a.m. at the Leland Library.

If they all get appointed to the ZBA on Monday, the board will be full at five members and two alternates. But whether any of them will be pressured to recuse themselves on the Youth for Christ matter remains to be seen, Mitchell says.

“The issue we have is that everybody in Leland has had an opinion on this, whether they’ve emailed it, thought it, said it, put on social media,” he says. “(ZBA members) will have to report potential conflicts, and the attorney will determine whether it rises to the level of potential recusal.”