City To Take Count of All Island Motor Vehicles
By Jessica Delaney

The ban on automobiles and restriction of motor vehicles on Mackinac Island has been one of the characteristic differences between this island and the mainland. Street Committee members have noticed, however, that the number of motorized vehicles currently being used on the Island may be more than they had thought.

The City has few categories in which to lump the vehicles for permits, and it is discovering that some that don’t fit the categories are being used without permits.

Annual and job-based motor vehicle permits are issued here. There is no current problem with permits issued for vehicles intended for a specific purpose, but the situation is a little murkier when it comes to annual permits.

City Attorney Tom Evashevski says there are three basic categories for annual motor vehicle permits: contracted commercial maintenance tractors, golf carts, and lawn and garden tractors. Looking at the vehicles on the Island, however, committee members recognize that many do not actually fit into any of them.

“It’s a very difficult situation,” said Mayor Margaret Doud at a committee meeting August 10. “We should look at precisely what we do have here.”

Although an inventory of all vehicles on the Island will be time-consuming, committee members agree it is necessary. Because the restriction on motorized vehicles is such an integral part of Mackinac Island culture, all agreed this issue must be taken seriously.

“This is such an important matter on Mackinac Island, it’s the identity of the Island, the ban on motorized vehicles, that I consider it to be an important matter,” said Mr. Evashevski. “It’s not a big problem right now, but if we turn a blind eye to it, it will become a big problem.”

During their most recent meeting Wednesday, August 10, committee members had inventories of motor vehicles at Grand Hotel and Mission Point to look at and compare. Between the two businesses, there are 21 vehicles.

Defining permissible categories for them all could be difficult.

“We need objective standards; we don’t have them,” said Mr. Evashevski. “The first thing is, just because vehicles are here now doesn’t mean they’ll be permitted again. The alternative is very concerning. If we make the assumption that what is here now must be permitted, we have problem. We might be able to come up with categories to approve everything here, but we can’t make that assumption.”

Discussion also centered around snow removal vehicles. The vehicles are necessary in the winter, and committee members want to encourage the use of them, however, there is no category for them. City engineer Dennis Dombroski suggested permitting them only in the season that they are being used. City Alderman Mike Hart, however, pointed out that this may not be possible for some owners.

“We need to allow for discreet storage,” he suggested. “If someone has a snow removal piece of equipment that is not practical to move on and off the Island, that needs to be provided for as well.”

Mr. Dombroski also said the city has no good program for enforcing permits. Though temporary motor vehicle permits are required to be with the vehicle when it is in use, there is no provision for annual permits to be displayed.

“Anything that gets annual permits should need a sticker,” said Mr. Dombroski. “Anything that’s supposed to be here needs a sticker. If it doesn’t, it falls in the category of temporary, and that way the police department has something to go by. We put stickers on snowmobiles and bikes, why not these?”

Committee members also agreed that there needs to be a way to enforce the permits. A problem arose regarding golf carts at Mission Point. The city granted the resort permits to shuttle handicapped people, but recognized that this could pose a problem.

“That really opens up the door if you allow people to use golf carts for something other than golf,” said Mr. Evashevski. “That’s just motorized transportation.”

Committee members agreed that in the months ahead, they will lay out new categories and revise existing categories. Mayor Doud asked that all committee members consider what should be criteria for granting a motor vehicle permit, and also to bring lists of vehicles currently on the island.

The next meeting of the street committee will be Thursday, September 1.

“I’m convinced we can deal with this, and we have to deal with it,” said Mr. Evashevski. “We have to think about how we want to draw distinctions for when a vehicle is necessary – not reasonable, but necessary. It’s going to take some thought.”