The Leland Township Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) will hold a public hearing on Thursday, July 30 “to receive public comment on an application submitted by Apollos Properties LLC for an appeal of the April 15, 2026 Planning Commission decision to deny a special use permit for Youth for Christ to operate a Christian club at 110 North Lake Street, Leland.” Apollos is seeking to overturn the planning commission’s determination that the proposed use did not meet Leland’s zoning requirements.

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.

Just last month, the battle drew coverage from MLive, in a 3,500-word article titled “A preacher’s push for a Christian clubhouse has sliced through a small Michigan tourist town.” In addition to a recap of what’s happened so far, the MLive piece delves into the background of Thor Hearne, “a politically-connected friend” of Apollos Properties owner Jim VanSteenhouse, who has “brought legal firepower to the small-town zoning dispute.” According to MLive, Hearne “served as campaign legal counsel for Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump,” defending famous election recount cases “like Bush’s 2000 ‘hanging chads’ case and Trump’s lawsuit to overturn Michigan’s 2020 election results.” Hearne has now “stepped in as legal counsel for free” to help the VanSteenhouses with the Leland case.

“They’re playing with live wires and they’re going to get hurt,” Hearne told MLive of Leland Township, suggesting the planning commission’s decision amounts to a violation of constitutional rights, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly, and general property rights.

The public hearing on the Apollos appeal will be held at 6:30pm on July 30 at the Leland Library’s Munnecke Community Room. The notice and other meeting documents, including a staff report from Leland Township attorney Lauren Teichner, can be found here.

In the report, Teichner advises the ZBA to use the July 30 meeting "to hear from the applicant, conduct a public hearing, and discuss with the other ZBA members your opinions regarding the issues presented." Following the meeting she suggests the ZBA confer with her "to draft a proposed decision and findings of fact that are consistent with your discussion," and then schedule a second meeting "to review the proposed decision, revise it as appropriate, and vote on it."

UPDATE: Lauren Cypher, formerly a member of Leland Township's ZBA, reportedly resigned from the board last week due to her new responsibilities as interim Leelanau County administrator. Her departure leaves the ZBA with only three members, which one source tells The Ticker could potentially force a delay in the Youth for Christ appeal process.