Homestead Township

Due to cardboard trailers being removed at the school, the recycling bins have been filling up fast!

Here is the current schedule for emptying bins for anyone interested.

Public notice is hereby given that the Homestead Township Board of Review will hold Public Appeal Hearings on Monday, March 13 from 2:00pm until 5:00pm and 6:00pm until 9:00pm, and again on March 15 from 9:00am until 12:00 pm and 1:00pm until 4:00pm to hear at the Homestead Township Hall located at 11508 Honor Highway, Honor.  The purpose of the Public Appeal Hearings is for reviewing the 2023 assessment roll and hearing requests, protests or applications for corrections of assessed or tentative taxable values.  The Board of Review will hear appeals by appointments, and taxpayers should call Gunnar Brow, Assessor at 231-227-1095 to make an appointment.  Taxpayers may also appear in person on a first come first base basis and present their appeals application to the Board of Review on either date listed.

A link to the application that was submitted on January 6^th for your review.  That application can be viewed on the MPSC’s website here. 

 The publication of these applications has now initiated the required public comment period, open through February 27.  This period offers a critical opportunity to further illustrate the broad community support that exists for this project to the MPSC.  At the bottom of the web page outlining our application for this project is a link to provide public comment electronically to the MPSC - Low Carbon EIED Grant Proposals (state.mi.us).  The MPSC asked applicants to focus on four main themes when submitting proposals, the cost impacts/benefits that the project will provide customers, the positive impact that this proposal will have on the environment, the impact that this project will have on the local economy and opportunities for economic development, and that the application can demonstrate strong community and customer support.  Supportive public comments that align with these core themes will help solidify our application and give us a leg up when compared to other proposed projects.  Any outreach you can assist us with for public comment would be greatly appreciated.

The Township has listed our old brush truck for sale. You can view listing on Rangerbid.com 

https://bid.rangerbid.com/lots/5135023

Homestead Township is looking for a member for the Planning Commission. Please mail a letter of interest to PO Box 315 Honor, MI 49640. Or email us at supervisor@homesteadtwp.com.

Please take notice that the Homestead Township Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on Zoning Ordinance Text Amendment No. 001, initiated by the Homestead Township Board, to amend the Homestead Township Zoning Ordinance which will remove language that indicates a Joint Planning Commission exists with Inland Township.  Said hearing will take place on Monday, December 19, 2022, at 6:00 p.m., at the Homestead Township Hall located at 11508 Honor Highway, Honor, MI. To inspect the complete text, contact the Homestead Township Clerk at (231) 325-6772.

Homestead Township Clerk

Karen Mallon

Benzie County has seen a rash of breaking and enterings (B&E's) into vehicles, garages and sheds.

Homestead Township is working on a new CIP Plan. Please take our survey and consider attending our public forum on Saturday December 3rd at 10am. 

Survey link and QR code

https://forms.gle/XT7xtrGzD7vgDCxj6

Homestead Township Planning for the Future

Public Open House – Wednesday October 26^th 

HONOR, Mich. – The results of the Homestead Township Master Plan survey are in!  The public is invited to learn the results.  The Township is in the process of updating its land use Master Plan, and community input will help to set the Township’s future course.   

Homestead Township Master Plan Open House will be held at Homestead Township Hall from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM on Wednesday October 26, 2022.  There will be presentation boards, places for comments, and people available for questions.  Homestead Township Hall is located 11508 Honor Highway, Honor, MI  49640. 

Community master plans provide guidance to the Township’s Planning Commission and Board of Trustees regarding land use and capital infrastructure decisions.  This plan will lay the framework and set a course for the Township’s future development. 

The Master Plan is comprehensive and will provide action strategies for new development while providing recommendations that support the community’s sense of place and its relationship to the Village of Honor. 

The Master Plan for Land Use will serve as a framework for the ongoing development of the Township through a series of objectives, strategies, and action policies.  The master plan’s long-range view of the community guides development for the next 10 to 20 years while providing flexibility to respond to changing conditions, innovations, and new information.

To ensure the plan reflects the Township, the consultants drafting the plan desire to gain insight into what residents, seasonal residents, property owners, and business owners would like to be developed in the Township.  What are some of the issues that impact their enjoyment of the community? 

What land use decisions could be made that will improve the Township?  Should the plan encourage growth and new development or should it encourage preservation of the more rural and less intensive lifestyle?  Options for increasing housing choice will be presented for the public to respond to.  This input will help set the plan’s development and land use priorities. 

The process will present a final draft of the proposed Master Plan update to the Planning Commission in winter 2023.  With a positive recommendation from the Planning Commission, the Township Board of Trustees may then authorize the plan to be distributed for its mandated 63-day comment period.  After the required review period and a formal public hearing, the plan could be adopted by the Planning Commission in the spring 2023. 

Got interesting suggestions on how the increase recreation, improve jobs, or expand housing choices in the Township, representatives would like to hear about these ideas or other land use concerns at the upcoming Open House.  Doors open from 5:30 PM to 7:30 with a presentation at 6 PM. 

Anyone with great ideas on how to make Homestead Township a better place to live, the Master Plan Steering Committee would like to hear from them!  Their ideas could help to shape the future of the Township. 

Wade Trim, a multidisciplinary consulting firm with local offices in Traverse City and Gaylord, is leading this effort.  Providing engineering since 1926, Wade Trim has been providing urban planning services to municipal and private sector clients since 1974.  

Any questions or additional information, please contact Ms. Tia Kurina-Cooley, the Township Supervisor and Master Plan Steering Committee member, at (231) 325-6772 

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Homestead Township Planning Commission

The Homestead Township Planning Commission is a public commission of Homestead Township, which is responsible for the development of the Township’s land use Master Plan and application of the Township’s Zoning Ordinance.  The commission meets monthly.  The Master Plan Steering Committee is comprised of members of Township Board, Planning Commission, Village, Benzie schools, and business community.  The Steering Committee is an hoc committee that is guiding the Master Plan’s development and is advisory to the Planning Commission. 

Listening session for the Platte River Park at The Gathering Place on August 25th @ 6:30pm 

August 16th planning meeting cancelled - no business

November Board Meeting changed to Tuesday November 1st

August 2, 2022 State Primary Election - 7:00am - 8:00pm

Results

Homestead Township is a rural area in the northeast part of Benzie County in the lower peninsula of Michigan. It has the quaint Village of Honor within it, which is home to the National Coho Salmon Festival nestled on US-31. It also has the beautiful Platte River not only running through Honor but most of the township.

Homestead Township was established in 1864 and was a logging area at that time. Today it offers ample hunting and fishing to the sportsman, along with canoeing and kayaking for paddlers. It has a section of the Betsie Valley Trail running through the southeast end of the township. For those that enjoy the winter sports, there is snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing

Homestead Township is 12 miles from the harbor town of Frankfort and Lake Michigan to the west. The city of Traverse City is 25 miles to the east for those who would like a bit of city. The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is 20 miles to the northwest.

The township is home to the Platte River Fish Hatchery and the Cherry Bowl Drive-In, one of the last outdoor theaters left in the country. For those who would like to primitive camp, the township offers two state parks, Veterans Memorial on US-31 and Goose Road State Park on Goose Road. Both parks are on the Platte River.

We hope you will come and check out all we have to offer.