Sugar Loaf Vision

Sugar Loaf Resort closed almost ten years ago, but thanks to the efforts of Cleveland and Centerville Townships and the Leelanau County Planning Department, Sugar Loaf has a vision for the future.  A series of three visioning sessions, supported through the EPA’s Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities (TAB) program and funded through efforts of the Leelanau County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority (LCBRA), and its Environmental Consultants, were held last month.

The 250 participants received an overview of the area and constraints to development. Sabine Martin, from TAB, facilitated the 8-person groups, which outlined their land use and design visions for the area. Each group presented their visions and priorities, and had chance to rank all priorities and visions. The top priorities from the sessions included topics such as: a year round recreational center, increased job opportunity, development of the airstrip for revenue, and local commerce. The priorities form all of the sessions are listed on the Cleveland Township government site.  In addition to the sessions, the public was able to submit comment online.

What’s next? A report will be prepared, with input from the three session and public comments, by the TAB (Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities) program of Kansas State University. The authors will be Lisa Szymecko and Dr. Sabine Martin, with renderings done by Professor Pat Crawford of Michigan State University. The report will be released in August and will form the basis for the Townships’ Sub-Planning process.