Meijer Appears in Acme, but the Fight Rages On

May 29, 2015

Steven Smith has been consumed by an Acme Township development for 14 years. The site where a new Meijer store is emerging from a former farm field has been the subject of lawsuits and bitter political battles, the scene of environmental violations and the source of fervent discussions about growth. With infrastructure for 80 acres of development nearly complete, the project that has deeply divided the township continues to spark heated debate.

"Very honestly, I would like to just move on with my life because this last 14 years has been absolutely terrible – the stress, the money I’ve spent," said Smith, managing member of VGT, developer of the Grand Traverse Town Center.

"˜THERE WAS NO HARM’

Smith said there were times he wanted to abandon the project, but instead, he dug in for a fight. The most recent was regarding sedimentation runoff last September.

During heavy rains, clay-laden soil from the construction site flowed into Acme Creek, causing a brown plume when that water reached Grand Traverse Bay.

VGT agreed to a consent order and paid $40,000 in fines and other costs to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for water quality violations -- without admitting responsibility.

Smith believes VGT has been the recipient of unfair criticism over what happened.

He said the main causes of the runoff were out of his control and points to evidence that clay runs into the area’s creeks during rain storms with or without nearby construction projects.

Also, he noted, Acme Township required VGT to clear 80 acres last summer to ensure that the entire mixed-use development was constructed -- not just a Meijer store.

"You would never do that under normal circumstances," said Ken Petterson, Smith’s attorney. "You would open up a phase at a time, maybe 25 acres for phase one, which was strictly Meijer. But, the permit required us to put all the infrastructure in up front."

The other surprise was extreme rain. "Nobody could even dispute that it was an act of God and there was nothing that could have stopped it," Smith said.

Petterson believes critics of growth have latched onto the runoff issue to score political points.

"You take this act of God and there’s this very small, vocal minority that wants to exploit this issue, to use it as a proxy to stop development or to create negative comments around development," Petterson said.

"Not because there was any actual harm to the waterways, creek or bay – because there was not. There was no harm."

IT’S NOT ABOUT MEIJER, BUT IT’S ABOUT MEIJER

Meijer looms over the entire contentious issue, just as it sits atop the vast construction project along M-72. Meijer is not involved in the current dispute, Smith and Petterson said; the store is just the first of many tenants that will inhabit the 180-acre Grand Traverse Town Center.

Still, the 14-year battle over big-box development versus preservation of rural character lingers. It can be seen in the mistrust some residents have of the development and in the allegations from project supporters that activists trumped up minor environmental violations.

Charlene Abernethy, a retired obstetrician, lifelong Acme Township resident and Concerned Citizens for Acme Township activist, agrees that the Meijer fight colors the debate.

"We’re being a pain," she said. "I’m very justifiably being a pain."

Abernethy believes that, though only a handful of people are active in CCAT these days, many in the community agree with their activism. She said she believes it is up to the citizens to keep an eye on the development.

"It was said more than once that Acme Creek was not going to be affected by this development and, obviously, that’s not true," Abernethy said. "I think there’s a core group of us who are hyper-vigilant for good reasons, but also there’s a huge number of people who saw what happened last fall that are concerned."

The sentiment that one side or the other represents a silent majority is echoed by those on the other side, who say that only a small number of residents are still opposed to the Town Center. They point to the 2012 elections, wherein a slate of township officials was swept out of office in favor of a prodevelopment board of trustees.

A DARK CLOUD IN THE BAY

When the runoff flushed into Grand Traverse Bay last September, it might have seemed like black eye for the township, but it looked much worse than it was, said Township Supervisor Jay Zollinger.

"I think there’s a lot of things that are blown somewhat out of proportion. The pictures can look very bad," he said. "Turbidity is like putting dye in water; the look of the bay is terrible when it happens."

A small amount of clay can darken a large amount of water, Zollinger said.

Zollinger said VGT took responsibility for the runoff and spent more than $1 million in remediation measures to make sure it didn’t happen again.

"I’ve seen developers who say, "˜I’m not doing anything. Mother nature made that happen; that’s not my problem,’" Zollinger said. "A  runoff like this is not good, but an occasional event does not cause permanent damage."

Steve Feringa, a township planning commissioner and member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians’ Natural Resources Department, agreed that the environmental damages have been exaggerated.

What happened in September would be destructive if it happened frequently, he said, but occasional events are just a fact of life.

"I don’t think there is any permanent damage. It’s a natural occurrence," he said. "We’ve been watching this very closely in the tribe. The water quality is very important to us."

Feringa, a lifelong angler, said he’s seen rivers and creeks turn cloudy after rain his entire life. He said the Band is planning to restore the creek as close as possible to its natural condition so that it will be better after the development than it was before.

THE FUTURE OF ACME CREEK

What happened in September is only half the dispute. The other half involves what might happen when the development’s infrastructure is complete. Will the stormwater management system under construction adequately protect Acme Creek and Grand Traverse Bay? Current design plans for stormwater management at the site are unavailable.

Smith and Petterson said that’s the nature of construction. Plans have to change in real time as a site is developed.

T.J. Andrews, attorney for Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay, said that, if the plans have changed from what was approved before construction, the plans should go back to the township for public comment and approval.

"We are relying on the township staff, consultants and legal counsel to determine if there has been a significant change," Andrews said. "At this point, we have requested, but not seen, updated plans from the township."

Andrews said the Watershed Center wants assurance that whatever stormwater control is implemented will be effective.

Andrews also said this case demonstrates the need for better soil erosion and sedimentation control at the local level because, while the DEQ may get involved in major cases, it does not get involved each time there is erosion from smaller construction projects.

"I think the other major aspect to that development, from an environmental per spective, has to do with making sure the plumes that happened in the fall at this site aren’t replicated again – whether at this site or elsewhere in the watershed," Andrews said.

A HOLE IN THE GROUND OR A MANUFACTURED WETLAND

The debate over the permanent stormwater plans centers on whether what is being constructed is a manufactured wetland, as was required in the permit, or some lesser mechanism.

VGT hired Horizon Construction to stabilize the land last October and ensure a runoff event didn’t happen again. So far it hasn’t, but the site also hasn’t seen severe rain since.

Horizon’s involvement evolved to include overseeing design and construction of the permanent stormwater retention system, said Allen Rielly, director of environmental risk management services at Horizon.

Rielly said that what’s being done to control stormwater at the site is not a lesser version of what was proposed in the conceptual plans in the SUP.

"We work all over the state of Michigan and the money and engineering that’s been done at this site exceeds anything in my experiences," he said. "This is a lot more elaborate and extensive a stormwater management system than you would see being installed at just about any retail site."

Rielly said the concept CCAT activists point to as the constructed wetland in the SUP was not designed specifically for the site and it was drawn up before engineering work had been completed.

Through engineering, designers discovered that, in order to comply with the township’s complicated stormwater control ordinance passed in 2007, the stormwater retention system would have to change substantially from the conceptual plan.

"That conceptual design was not a buildable design for this site; it hadn’t gone through any of the civil engineering work," Rielly said.

RESIGNATION AND DOUBT

The failure to release plans for the stormwater control system or to hold the township meeting CCAT has requested feeds a sense of wariness.

"The township government has been un responsive," said Greg Reisig, chairman of the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council. "We won’t know the results of Horizon’s work until we get a major rainfall."

Sometime in 2012, plans for stormwater control were changed and Abernathy said she has been unable to find out whether – or how – the township approved a change.

"Nobody knows how that happened," she said. "I’ve talked to numerous members of the previous board and they’re shocked because these constructed wetlands were a very, very big deal."

Chris Grobbel, an environmental consultant critical of the Acme development, resigned his position as a consultant to Acme Township over the design of the stormwater system.

"What was proposed was woefully inadequate and that was the final nail in the coffin for me," he said. "I couldn’t go any further with the project."

Rielly notes that Grobbel is not an engineer and not a stormwater management designer.

Township Trustee Gordie LaPointe said he is confident that the current designs meet what’s required in the SUP because the township’s engineers, consultants and attorneys have all signed off.

"I have no reason to believe that what’s being done is not the most appropriate," LaPointe said.

WHAT GOES INTO THE BAY

LaPointe said outcry over the Town Center development is misplaced and out of proportion. That day in September when Acme Creek was turbid with clay runoff, Lapointe said he drove up to Yuba Creek, several miles north. That creek was just as brown and there is no Meijer project, or any other project, near Yuba creek, LaPointe said.

LaPointe is frustrated there is no concern about runoff into Grand Traverse Bay from US-31 in Acme Township, where the highway hugs the bay for more than a mile. Six drains dump directly into the bay in that stretch, he said.

"Nobody seems to care about that," he noted.

Zollinger agreed. He believes a truck crash could do much more damage to the bay in one moment than the Town Center development ever will.

"It’s not any more of a threat than anywhere else along the bay," Zollinger said.