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October 10, 2005
Residents concerned about water parkByRecord-Eagle staff writer Glacier Bay Resort meetings Three upcoming meetings will focus on plans for Glacier Bay Resort, a hotel and water park complex proposed for 230 acres near M-72 and Carter Road in Elmwood Township. Developers will explain the project at 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at Norris Elementary School. The Elmwood Township planning commission will hold a public hearing on the Glacier Bay plans at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at Norris Elementary. McDonald and her husband live on High Point Drive in Elmwood Township, near the 230-acre site proposed for the Glacier Bay Resort, a new hotel and water park complex. "It's too much," she said about plans for the property near M-72 and Carter Road. "There's already too much going in, and that's going to add a lot of traffic to this area. That's why we moved to the west side, to get away from the traffic." The Glacier Bay project includes more than 400 condominium/hotel units, two restaurants and various recreational amenities including a golf course, horse stables and recreation trails. The initial phase also includes a 200,000-square-foot outdoor water park and an 80,000-square-foot indoor water park. Future phases include more housing and two more water parks. McDonald worries about more vehicle traffic on M-72 and at the already busy M-72/M-22 intersection. Morgan Farms, a large retail-commercial-residential complex, also is going up along M-72 east of the proposed water park. "These are exactly the items the planning commission is going to have to look into," agreed Erik Saxon, a member of Elmwood Citizens for Sensible Growth. "They need to be asking the right questions and getting answers from the appropriate places. If everyone does their job, the right thing will be done." Co-developer Pete Helland Jr., whose family owns and operates the Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort at Wisconsin Dells, said Glacier Bay was designed with the township's master plan in mind. Inclusion of an independent sewer and water system means those utilities won't need to be extended to the site, and won't spur additional development along M-72, he said. Helland said the resort would generate new traffic, but it would be intermittent and not concentrated at peak hours. Rise Rasch, manager of the Michigan Department of Transportation Service Center in Traverse City, said MDOT employees are working with township officials and the developers to analyze the traffic study submitted with the developers' application. She said no specific road improvements have yet been identified, but if additional lanes or other changes are necessary, they'll likely be rolled into future MDOT projects. Jim Lively, planner with the Michigan Land Use Institute, worried about the threat of additional strip development along M-72 . He said the township's master plan seeks to preserve that area as a scenic corridor, but projects like Glacier Bay could spur other commercial development. "People who come there are going to be looking for other commercial services nearby," he said. "That's not a good place for it." Lively said the process of transferring development rights - allowing developers to preserve open space outside of the project site - could work well in this case. Developers scheduled meetings for Wednesday and Thursday to inform neighbors and township residents about the project. Both meetings will be at 7 p.m. in the Norris Elementary School cafeteria. The township planning commission will hold a public hearing on the Glacier Bay proposal at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 at Norris Elementary.
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Record-Eagle/Greg Undeen
