After a series of well-attended public meetings to discuss a potential expansion at the Leelanau Pines campground in Centerville Township, the planning commission has denied the site plan application as presented by owners Northgate Leelanau Pines. 

Centerville Twp. planning commissioners voted unanimously at their Monday Oct. 3 regular meeting to deny a site plan that proposed to modernize existing facilities, add new amenities and double the number of campsites. The campground on Lake Leelanau is a special use in Centerville Township’s Commercial Resort Zoning District and any expansion of the use requires approval of the site plan.

With the site plan application denied, planning commission chair Tim Johnson explains that Northgate Resorts now has the option to accept the decision (and not expand the campground); challenge the planning commission’s decision with the township’s Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA); or revise their site plan and reapply with the hope that the new site plan would be approved. 

If challenged and the ZBA upholds the planning commission’s decision to deny, the applicant can ask the Circuit Court to overturn the planning commission’s decision.  

Lake Leelanau Lake Association live-streamed Monday’s meeting on its Facebook page.