Earlier coverage
Antrim County's Banks Township votes to end zoning as a trustee tries to build a mine. Read the story.
In northern Antrim County, about 100 people showed up to a planning commission meeting in Banks Township, where officials are considering eliminating the township’s zoning rules entirely.
Trustee Marv Rubingh is hoping to dig a 183-acre gravel mine on his property. He says his concern over the zoning rules is about more than that, and that others want the zoning laws repealed as well.
Of the people who spoke, 15 favored repealing the zoning rules and 32 spoke against it. The planning commission also received 24 letters, only one of which favored repeal.
Almost everyone who spoke saw current zoning laws as too restrictive. The difference of opinion came in how to proceed — eliminate the rules altogether, or update the existing rules?
And many people favored a public vote on the issue.
Ultimately, the Banks Township planning board recommended keeping the zoning rules in place. The matter now heads back to the trustees.
County officials would also get a say in any changes.
Interview transcript
Reporter Austin Rowlader told IPR's Ed Ronco about Tuesday night's hearing during a conversation on Morning Edition on Wednesday, Nov. 19. The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.
Ed Ronco, IPR News: Let's begin by having you remind us of the details. What's happened in this story so far?
Austin Rowlader, reporter: Marv Rubingh has been trying since 2017 to build a gravel mine. After being blocked multiple times, he ran for township board in 2024 and was elected, and in his first meeting, his first motion that he made was to remove the part of the zoning ordinance that was keeping him from building his gravel mine. That failed, so his second motion at the same meeting was to repeal all zoning laws in the township. And that's what's up for discussion right now. He says his concern over zoning isn't related to the mine, but other people in Banks Township want the zoning laws repealed as well.
So last night's hearing was a chance for the public to to weigh in. You were there listening as well. What did you hear?
Well, there were over 100 people there, and it was a very civil discussion, another example of citizens participating in their local government. Of the people that spoke, 15 spoke in favor of repealing zoning; 32 spoke against repealing zoning. It also should be noted that there were 24 letters submitted to the board, and only one of them was in favor of the repeal.
Almost everyone that spoke on either side of the issue saw the current zoning laws as too restrictive. The differences really were just in how to proceed from there. Some people saw the best way forward was to get rid of zoning altogether. Others wanted to see the current zoning laws updated and made less restrictive. Also, a lot of people spoke on their desire for the whole community to hold a vote on whether or not they want zoning.
But what I found interesting was, of the 47 people that spoke, only 13 mentioned the gravel mine. And a gravel mine of this size would drastically change the landscape in Banks Township, but because residents are so focused on zoning laws as a whole, the mine has been out of the spotlight.
Harbor Springs had a similar issue on the ballot last fall. That was in 2024. They voted to repeal. How is that similar or different to what's happening now in Banks Township?
There's an interesting distinction here. So in Harbor Springs, they made a new zoning map. The board passed it and the citizens didn't want it, so they held the petition and there was a referendum vote, but that was just for the zoning map. In Banks Township, they're going to be voting to repeal all of the zoning laws in the whole township, the map and everything else.
Okay, so working through municipal process sometimes is like doing a puzzle. Let’s break down what's happened and what's going to happen in Banks Township. The trustees have approved the repeal once. They’ve now held a public hearing. But it is not over. What is next in this process?
So last night wasn't a public hearing in front of the board; that was actually a public hearing in front of the planning commission. The planning commission voted last night to recommend that the board keep the zoning laws as they are. It’s not binding — the (township trustees) will have to make the final decision. They're going to hold a second vote. It's probably going to be in December, possibly January.
If they decide to rescind the zoning laws, then citizens have an opportunity to gather signatures and send the issue to the ballot box. And if that happens, it'll be interesting to see how much the public debate centers around the gravel mine as opposed to repealing zoning laws as a whole.
Austin, I mean this as a compliment: You are a local government nerd.
Yeah, thank you. Finally, that's what I've been trying to be for so long.
