|
| |
|
| |
|
|
|
March 15, 2006Bingham: Trail is finally officialTownship OKs zoning after a decade-long feudTRAVERSE CITY -Bingham Township finally approved zoning for the Leelanau Trail, ending a 10-year battle over control of the old railroad grade.The unanimous vote by the township board Monday to approve a "recreational zone overlay" through several miles of the township for the trail was largely symbolic, formally recognizing the unpaved trail the public has used for several years. "It's put a long-standing feud to rest," township supervisor Bob Foster said. The township sued the Leelanau Trails Association in 1996 over the trail, which runs about 15 miles from Greilickville to Suttons Bay. Seven miles are in Bingham Township, which initially refused to approve the trail on zoning grounds. A local judge ruled several years ago that local zoning ordinances needn't apply to the trail system. The township appealed all the way to the Michigan Supreme Court - while people regularly used the trail. "The usage is only going to change as more people move into the township and find it and use it," Foster said. "People who want to use it have been using it." Now, after Monday's vote, they can use it legally. "It looks like people realize that the trail is here and it's a good thing. We've come a long way," said Missy Luyk of TART, the organization that oversees the network of trails in the area. As part of the deal with the township, trail officials have agreed to plant "screening" vegetation along areas where the trail runs near homes, Foster said. "The Bingham Township zoning board has control over what they do on the trail," the supervisor said. "The trail people must go in and do some screening. They have some fairly serious responsibilities they must do in the next 90 days."
|
|
