Planners Seek Balance Of Building, Protecting Land
Residents Gather To Learn More About Conservancy Options
By Karen Gould

Finding the right balance between land development and land conservation is something each community and property owner faces, and working to meet that balance and the impact those decisions have were topics community leaders and residents explored with Tom Bailey, executive director of the Little Traverse Conservancy.

During a special joint meeting Wednesday, August 23, between the Mackinac Island City Council and the Planning Commission, with about 30 residents and business owners in attendance, questions were raised concerning personal and community tax issues, future status of donated property, and historical preservation of buildings.

"Every island has its own personality and its own magic," said Mr. Bailey. "Every land owner and every community has their own idea of what the balance between development and conservation should be."

Property owners have the right to protect the natural value of their land, to leave portions of land undeveloped, and to strike a balance between development and land preservation, he said. Natural science talks about carrying capacity, which refers to what a piece of land can support, whether people or animals, he said. Issues about carrying capacity include density development, infrastructure capabilities, and the tax base.

"There are issues of carrying capacity, obviously, on an island like this," he said. "Through your master plan process and through your planning, zoning, and so on, you deal with these issues all the time."

Planning Commissioner Mary Dufina, who also is on the Master Plan Committee, asked what conservancy tools are available.

Mr. Bailey said there are three types of conservancy programs, including land owned by the conservancy, which is then dedicated as a nature preserve, a conservation easement, which means the conservancy has restricted covenants with the owner which can be enforced in perpetuity, and the conservancy assists communities and universities with projects to help get land for a park.

Master Plan Committee member Trish Martin asked if property donated to the conservancy is ever sold.

Mr. Bailey said some property is donated to be dedicated as a nature preserve. Also, people have given property for the conservancy to sell so it can then buy other land that can be used as a preserve.

Mrs. Dufina asked what the tax consequences there are for putting property into a conservation easement.

Mr. Bailey said that land can be appraised with and without conservation restrictions to find the difference.

Councilman Mike Hart, who is chairman of the master plan committee, asked how a conservation easement affects the tax base of the community.

Mr. Bailey said that while an easement may limit the development of homes, which would increase the tax base, the development of those home may be offset by the demand and expense of providing local services, including sewer, water, fire protection, and maintenance of roads.

"Single-family residential property tends to require anywhere from $1.35 to $1.50 in public local government services for every dollar it contributes to tax revenue," said Mr. Bailey.

Susan Lenfestey, who is a member of the Mackinac Conservancy, a Mackinac Island affiliate of Little Traverse Conservancy, wondered if there is a community where the tax base declined because of conservation easements.

Property owned by organizations like Little Traverse Conservancy is exempt from taxation, said Mr. Bailey.

"Usually the impact isn't as bad a people think, because there is a corresponding reduction in demand on services," he said.

Lorna Straus, a member of the Master Plan Committee, asked about agreements after owners had died.

"If we don't keep our word and people can't trust us, then we are out of business," replied Mr. Bailey.

Mr. Bailey said the conservancy also offers historic building preservation resources.

Now a nonprofit organization, the Little Traverse Conservancy began in 1972 as a contentious, environmental advocacy organization using legal means to battle against growth and development, he said.

"Litigation is a lousy way to protect the environment," Mr. Bailey now believes.

He said the group disbanded and formed the Little Traverse Conservancy, which works with willing donors, buyers, and sellers to protect land through ownership. The newly formed Mackinac Conservancy has affiliated itself with the Little Traverse Conservancy, which offers leadership to the group and Island land owners who want to use their property rights for conservation purposes.

While communities can establish parks and protect land, so can individual property owners, said Mr. Bailey, who offered his own experience. He placed a conservation easement to restrict development on his land along a scenic highway.

"Neither I nor the successor owners of that property can do anything to substantially alter the forest within 200 feet of that scenic roadway," he explained. "This is a choice that I made as a property owner, just as I could have exercised my rights to cut the trees."

He said the conservancy has worked with approximately 160 property owners to establish conservation easements and they have worked with 150 property owners who have donated property to the conservancy.

That property is marked with preserve signs, is open to the public, and is used to take students out of the classroom and teach them about the outdoors.

He said the Little Traverse Conservancy also has worked with the Mackinac Island State Park Commission on a conservation easement between Brown's Brook and Stonebrook. The park sought a scenery buffer and condominium owners who wanted a buffer from public land.

Projects the conservancy would work on include private property owners who are interested in maintaining a scenic green strip of land on their property, free of development.

"It's kind of a win-win," he said. "The property owner has their private green belt and the public has an area that's visually accessible to them that retains its natural character and provides a scenic view."

Little Traverse Conservancy is the largest membership supported nonprofit organization in northern Michigan, he said. The organization has more than 4,000 members, who provide more than $670,000 in operating capital and supports a staff of 12 people. The organization also has an endowment of about $5 million.