Helena Township Planning Commission Meeting
July 2, 2026
8751 Helena Road, Alden, Michigan
Meeting Time: 7:00 PM
Meeting Minutes
Notice
This draft was generated by artificial intelligence from the Zoom audio recording of the July 2, 2026 meeting, at the direction of the Helena Township Clerk’s office. It was not taken by hand and was not proofed for accuracy by the Clerk prior to circulation. The recording captured a single in-room audio feed with no speaker labels; roll call, attendance, motions, movers, and seconders are inferred from that transcript and must be verified.
Circulated to the Commission July 3, 2026. Approved as presented by Secretary J. Gurr, dated July 4, 2026, and Chairman D. Hunstad, dated July 8, 2026. Both approvals were received at the Clerk’s office July 9, 2026. Verification and correction of this document is the responsibility of the Planning Commission Secretary. This document is not an official record of the Commission until approved by the Commission at a subsequent meeting.
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. A quorum was present.
Roll Call
Members present: D. Hunstad, J. Gurr, R. Byron, J. Schilling, D. Whipple, and F. VandenBerg. One seat remains vacant pending appointment. Roll was not separately read on the recording; individual attendance should be verified.
Also present: Clerk O. Leffew and deputy/recording support.
Absent: Supervisor Butch Peeples and Zoning Administrator Bob Logee.
Conflict of Interest
None declared.
Oath of Office
The oath of office was deferred because Supervisor Peeples was not present to administer the oath to the incoming member.
Approval of Agenda
Motion to amend the agenda to add “Quiet Hours” under Old Business; supported and approved. Agenda approved as amended.
Approval of Minutes
The June 4, 2026 minutes were approved as corrected, with the following amendments: a reference to the “July” Board of Trustees meeting was corrected to “June”; the effective date of Zoning Ordinance 5.02.02, regarding shoreline, boats & docks, was corrected from June 19, 2026 to June 5, 2026, based on publication May 28, 2026 and effective 8 business days after publication per the affidavit; and clarification was made that the website was not experiencing a “glitch” because the .gov migration is active.
Communications
The Michigan Association of Planning distributed a special replacement edition, “What You Need to Know About Data Centers,” and copies were provided to each member. Notice was also given that the City of Traverse City will hold a meeting July 8, 2026 at 7:00 PM regarding a possible data center in the southwest area near Gordon/Green Lake.
Public Comment
Residents discussed the proposed “quiet hours.” Points raised included that park and public-access hours already end at 11:00 PM, so a consistent 11:00 PM standard may be simplest; a separate quiet time for short-term rentals versus downtown or other areas would be hard to apply fairly; and the Commission was encouraged to consider a broader nuisance ordinance addressing noise and light/dark-sky concerns rather than only a quiet-time provision.
Zoning Administrator Report
Bob Logee was absent and provided a written report. For June, there were 9 land use permits, 5 field checks, 1 attorney contact, 1 Planning Commission meeting, 15 contacts with the public/landowners, and 2 ZBA/Township Board meetings.
Old Business: Definitions
Ongoing cleanup of ordinance definitions continues. R. Byron is working with F. VandenBerg on the review.
Old Business: Data Centers
The data-center definition was approved at the June meeting. Michigan Association of Planning materials were distributed. The recommended approach is to fold data centers into the existing renewable-energy section, approximately §509 / 5.09, wherever applicable, using the same setbacks, decommissioning, and review conditions rather than drafting a wholly new section. Draft language from the May public hearing packet needs updating and is not ready to forward. The Commission intends to send the Board one combined package. Members are to review the highlighted draft and Michigan Association of Planning edition and bring suggestions back.
Old Business: Website / .gov Email
The Township website is active, and the new .gov domain went live on or about July 1. Old and new addresses will run in parallel with auto-forwarding. The prior .gov must be returned to the federal government by mid-August, and the .com will phase out. Consensus was to publish a public notice of the transition but not to publish individual email addresses in the newspaper due to phishing and spam concerns. Contact is through hidden web forms on the site.
Old Business: Complaint / Concern Form
Test submissions were completed successfully. The form logs activity with the recorder and routes to the responsible party. The form is moving forward for deployment on the website.
Old Business: Onboarding
Onboarding was left on the agenda pending appointment of the seventh member. The Commission is currently operating with six members, risking 3–3 ties.
Old Business: Quiet Hours
Quiet hours were discussed during Public Comment. No ordinance action was taken. Direction was to maintain consistency with the 6:00 AM–11:00 PM public-access hours. The Chair will follow up with Supervisor Peeples on whether further complaints warrant action.
New Business: New Member
No appointment has been made yet. The Commission is awaiting Supervisor Peeples’ selection.
New Business: Fire / Emergency-Access Ordinance
This item was previously raised by Supervisor Peeples regarding a home the fire department cannot physically reach. The Chair met with retiring Fire Chief Paul Fabiano, who provided a fire-access ordinance from Bloomfield Township, Michigan as a possible model. Incoming Fire Chief Jesse Lane will be consulted for input before proceeding.
New Business: Blight / Enforcement
The Township’s 1998 nuisance ordinance is reportedly unenforceable. The Township attorney, Bzdok, has drafted a municipal civil-infraction ordinance to be sent to the Planning Commission for review. The civil-infraction enforcement process is already part of the ordinance. The item will be reviewed and reported at the next meeting.
New Business: Staggered Term Schedule
A Planning Commission staggered-term schedule, tracing membership back to J. Swan, and supporting documents were distributed. Going forward, new appointees will be slotted so that term-expiration dates of June 30 remain fixed, and each appointment will be recorded in the minutes by name, date, and term. A document-scanning project is underway by office assistant A. Stewart to make resolutions and ordinances searchable on the website.
Announcements
Marshall will perform at the Village Center on July 14, 2026, from 7:00–9:00 PM.
Next Regular Meeting
The next regular meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 6, 2026 at 7:00 PM.
Adjournment
The Chair adjourned the meeting at 7:43 PM.
Submitted By
Helena Township Planning Commission Secretary, J. Gurr