Joint Zoning Commission Moves Forward with Cherry Capital Airport Overlay Amid Scrutiny

A draft zoning overlay that would regulate land uses, building heights and tall trees across an approximately 10-mile Airport Hazard Area around Cherry Capital Airport advanced this month after an initial presentation on Feb. 26 at the Timothy J. Nelson Innovation Center at Northwestern Michigan College. Airport officials say the overlay is intended to bring area zoning into alignment with state and federal rules and reduce legal risk for the airport and surrounding communities.

Airport Engineer and Zoning Administrator Bob Nelesen framed the problem bluntly, saying the AHA is “littered with uses misaligned with federal or state laws.” Nelesen and an official identified only as Zeitz have described the ordinance as a “net positive” that would “create more legal protections and avenues for development” and “remove those risks,” including the risk of lawsuits or involvement from state authorities or the Federal Aviation Administration.

The draft ordinance would impose new limits and review processes within a roughly 10-mile radius of TVC, explicitly targeting land uses, building heights and tall trees inside runway protection zones and other airport hazard areas. Exhibit maps and parcel labels in the NRAA draft identify specific tracts near the airport, including N-GA 1 (4.8 acres), N-GA 2 (3.3 acres), N-GA 3 (5 acres), N-GA 4 (3.7 acres), a SOUTH AIRPORT/JUDSON ST parcel listed at 40 acres and an EXHIBIT 1: SOUTH AIRPORT (WEST) parcel at 6.5 acres. The map legend lists RVZ, RPZ, TVC PROPERTY, AERONAUTICAL USE ONLY, AERONAUTICAL OR NON-AERONAUTICAL USE and SPECIAL USE, and township labels include EAST BAY TWP and GARFIELD TWP.

The Northwest Regional Airport Authority ordinance excerpt accompanying the maps spells out procedural and development requirements. It requires that “Notice of the public hearing shall be given not less than 15 days before the date of the public hearing,” and that notice be published on the NRAA’s website and in a newspaper of general circulation in Grand Traverse County, and mailed to property owners and all persons to whom real property is assessed within 300 feet of the property boundary. The draft cross-references Traverse City Code Chapter 1068.04 for erosion control, Chapter 1068.05 for stormwater, Chapter 1610 for fire protection and Grand Traverse County Construction Code Enforcing Agency Ordinance No. 4. The document image shows certification lines and DocuSign envelope ID 699CA283-C35C-4C37-BB77-BB2D197F9341, with the ordinance stamped as pages 17 of 20 through 20 of 20.

Public reaction at a late-February forum included sharp concerns from residents who warned the overlay could “significantly impede property rights and quality of life in Traverse City,” enable “unchecked airport growth,” and risk “jeopardizing Traverse City’s Tree City USA status.” Locals at the forum also pressed for clearer transparency about how the overlay would be implemented and enforced.

Several key procedural and factual questions remain unresolved in the draft materials: the governing body advancing the overlay is referred to variously as the Joint Zoning Commission and the Joint Zoning Board; the NRAA materials and the airport’s joint zoning entity both appear in the draft, leaving the exact adopting authority unclear; and a statement by Nelesen that “any nonconforming uses approved and built since are technically illegal” omits the date or trigger that would define which post-date approvals he referenced. The draft ordinance will be subject to NRAA public hearing rules and certification procedures in the coming weeks as officials finalize hearing notices and mailed notifications.