Should a new wellness resort planned for Elmwood Township be allowed to proceed, or should the interests of nearby homeowners take precedent? That’s the question the Elmwood Township Planning Commission will weigh later this month regarding Wellevity, the hotel-spa hybrid planned for the top of Timberlee Hill.

The Leelanau Ticker did a deep dive on the Wellevity project in early January, exploring development plans and pushback from neighboring residents. At the time, the Elmwood Township Planning Commission had already held a December 20 public hearing on the matter and even had a January 18 meeting on the books to discuss (and potentially approve) a special use permit (SUP) for the project. But a growing wave of controversy around developers’ plans to use a series of private neighborhood roads as access routes for the resort has forced planning commissioners to push back their decision...and could spell trouble for the entire development.

As proposed, Wellevity would bring a hotel, residences, spa services, a restaurant and bar, and other amenities to 100 vacant acres of land at the top of the Timberlee property. The project is described in township application materials as “a full-service wellness resort that will address the core components of health, wellness, and thriving to create an environment of self-care and healing.” Between a lodge, a spa building, and standalone cottages and cabins, Wellevity would bring 58 guest rooms to the top of Timberlee, as well as open-to-the-public trails and outdoor spaces, event space for weddings, conferences, and family reunions, and more.

Since it was proposed, Wellevity has ignited concern from some nearby homeowners who fear that traffic, noise, and environmental impacts from resort operations and construction could damage their roads, infringe upon the residential character of their neighborhoods, and impair their overall quality of life.

Those arguments and others were raised at the December 20 public hearing, but backlash has continued to build since. Numerous nearby neighborhood associations have retained or plan on retaining legal counsel to defend their interests, and the Elmwood Township Planning Commission ultimately voted on January 18 to delay their decision on the SUP and to hold a second public hearing later this month.

Central to the escalation is a letter sent to planning commissioners by John Lynch, an attorney with the Traverse City-based Lynch Law. In that January 18 letter, Lynch wrote that his office “represents the interests of East Timberwoods Drive Association, an association of private landowners who maintain the private road commonly referred to as East Timberwoods Drive in Elmwood Township.” As designed, Wellevity would require visitors to enter the property by traversing a pair of private roads: Timberwoods Drive and Cottonwood Drive. Lynch represents the homeowners with properties located along the former. (A group of homeowners on other adjoining private roads, including Timberlee Drive, Mt. Josh Drive, and Slope Drive also informed the Leelanau Ticker of their intention to retain legal counsel to oppose the Wellevity development.)

Lynch’s letter called for Elmwood Township planning commissioners to deny the Wellevity SUP application based on two primary grounds. First, Lynch claims that the four parcels Wellevity is seeking to develop are subject to a deed restriction which limits “the use of the property for residential purposes only.” Second, Lynch suggests that approval of the project would breach township zoning rules, which state that any SUP “will not adversely impact existing or future neighboring uses.” Because Wellevity would lead to an “increase in non-residential traffic” on Timberwoods Drive, Lynch argues the project would have numerous adverse impacts on his clients – specifically relating to “vehicular and pedestrian safety” and wear and tear of the association-maintained roadway.

At the January 18 meeting, Elmwood Township Legal Counsel Bryan Graham cited Lynch’s letter – as well as conversations with the township’s fire chief – as grounds for delaying a decision and reopening the public hearing “for limited purpose.” That “limited purpose” relates to two key aspects the planning commission voted to give a second look: the question of “whether the private roads leading to the proposed special land use will be adequate to safely accommodate the traffic that will be generated by the proposed special land use”; and the question of “whether the roadways within the proposed special land use will comply with all applicable road slope requirements.”

Members of the public now have until February 3 to submit arguments, evidence, or other information regarding these two aspects to Elmwood Township Zoning Administrator Sarah Clarren. Wellevity will then have an opportunity to review public submissions and prepare their own statements and information, to be submitted to Clarren no later than February 10. Any information submitted beyond those deadlines – or not pertaining to the two elements specifically identified by the planning commission – will not be considered.

The planning commission will reconvene on Tuesday, February 28 at 7pm at the Elmwood Charter Township Hall to review submissions, hear public comment, and continue discussions around the Wellevity application.

Marc S. McKellar, a local attorney with Traverse City’s Kuhn Rogers – and Wellevity’s local legal counsel – tells the Leelanau Ticker that he and his client are “doing our due diligence” on the deed restriction cited in Lynch’s letter and will “have a response to the township outlining our position” on the validity and enforceability of the document.

As for the question of whether Wellevity would have adverse impacts on neighboring property holders, McKellar says his client is dedicated to becoming a good neighbor and an active player in preserving the condition, safety, and overall quality of the private roadways.

“I think the key that everyone needs to remember is, to the extent the project goes forward and is approved, the developer wants the road to look nice and come into the property in a way that functions and serves their needs,” McKellar says. “It’s counterintuitive to invest this kind of money into a project and not have an interest in maintaining the only access. But the concern [of the neighborhood association] is heard, and we will address it on the merits [at the February 28 meeting].”

Jeff Dorsch, who leads the East Timberwoods Drive Association, argues that adverse impacts would exist for neighboring property owners regardless of Wellevity’s best intentions, and that the SUP should therefore be blocked by township zoning.

“They said it’s going to be two years to build this, which means two years of construction trucks going up and down this road,” Dorsch says. “The weight of those vehicles will just destroy this road. And even if Wellevity offered to rebuild the entire road, then we have to deal with that construction. Plus, we’d still have the safety issues of having more traffic on that road. It’s very narrow, it’s all hairpin turns. There’s no sidewalk, no shoulder. It’s treacherous in the winter. Sending a commercial amount of traffic up that road? That’s insanity.”