Canvassers from the Friends of the Huron Mountains (FOHM) group turned over 400 signatures to Clerk Brian Jentoft on Friday
November 13, 2018 | JOSHUA VISSERS | The Mining Gazette
Photo Provided by Burt Mason, L’Anse Township clerk Brian Jentoft (left) receives petition signatures Friday from Burt Mason, Bob Kissel, Catherine Andrews and other petition canvassers calling for a voter referendum on the proposed Summit Lake Wind Project.
L’ANSE TOWNSHIP — Canvassers from the Friends of the Huron Mountains (FOHM) group turned over 400 signatures to Clerk Brian Jentoft on Friday.
UPDATE: Final Clerk Certified signatures on petition are 410, more than required to meet the 15% to put a referendum on the ballot.
The petition calls for holding a referendum on recent changes to the township zoning ordinance previously approved by the board.
The changes would allow for wind turbines to be built in the Forest Resource District-zoned areas of L’Anse Township as part of the Summit Lake Wind Project proposed by Renewable Energy Systems (RES) on Weyerhaeuser property in the eastern area of the township.
FOHM opposes the construction of turbines and the change in the ordinance.
In a Nov. 9 statement, FOHM chairman Burt Mason said the canvassers were warmly received by the township residents, many of whom were well-informed on the issue.
The Township Board approved the zoning ordinance at its Oct. 11 meeting.
Notice of the zoning change was published as required by law in the local weekly newspaper. The next week FOHM, through Bob Kissel, submitted its intention to petition for a referendum the following Friday.
The 400 signatures are anticipated to be enough to require a referendum, which will likely take place in May of 2019, according to Jentoft.
Jentoft still has to certify the signatures on the petition, a process which he says he still needs to learn. He said he will be looking to the Michigan Bureau of Elections for guidance.
Each signature must be from a voter registered in L’Anse Township who resides outside the village.
Because L’Anse village has its own zoning ordinance, village residents will not be eligible to vote in the referendum on township zoning.
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