On Monday, September 14, two U.P. governments hold public hearings on getting rid of their zoning ordinances. At 6 PM in Mohawk, Keweenaw County will explain why it may shut down county zoning to keep a sheriff’s deputy. At 7 PM in Chatham, the Rock River Township Planning Commission takes comment on a petition to repeal the township’s entire zoning ordinance in the name of “absolute private property rights.” Neither meeting decides anything that night.
Keweenaw: a deputy or a zoning office
Keweenaw County’s zoning office in Eagle River covers Grant, Sherman, Houghton and Allouez townships and the Village of Ahmeek. Eagle Harbor Township left county zoning in 2006 and runs its own. The county’s problem is arithmetic. A sheriff’s deputy has been paid with federal ARPA money that runs out in 2027. Treasurer Eric Hermanson put it plainly to the Mining Gazette: “All else being equal in 2027, we cannot afford to keep that deputy. We simply can’t.”
The county already asked voters. In November 2024 a half-mill, four-year zoning millage, cut from a full mill before it reached the ballot, failed 674 to 849. Board Chair Don Piche told TV6 the county wrote to every township supervisor twice about taking zoning back and heard from one.
The Sept. 14 notice says the board “will not make a decision as this is a public hearing only.” If the county does drop zoning, each of the four townships would need its own planning commission, zoning administrator and board of appeals, or go without.
Rock River: a petition, a parking lot and a lawsuit
Rock River Township, home of the Eben Ice Caves, is a different story. On August 18 the township board voted 4 to 1 to send a repeal petition to the planning commission for the hearing state law requires. Trustees Jim Rondeau, Heather Marsh, Jenny LeJeune and Victor Aho voted yes. Supervisor Gerry Melchori voted no. The petition, circulated by Aho, Ron LeJeune and Alisa Charlebois, carried at least 24 signatures.
Behind it is a long-running dispute over a 250-car parking lot and store built for ice cave visitors on the edge of the Rock River Canyon Wilderness. Wilderness Canyon LLC is suing the township over zoning. Former trustee Rowan Bunce told the Mining Journal the company is “partially owned by Jim Rondeau, our current township trustee, and Jon Rondeau, the current chair of the planning commission,” and that the fight has cost about $11,000 in attorney fees over two years. Those are Bunce’s figures. The same meeting also takes up repealing the township’s short-term rental ordinance.
What repeal does not do
The petition’s premise is that without zoning, nobody tells you what to do with your land. That is not how Michigan works. The state construction code still covers every building, enforced in Alger County by the county building department. EGLE still permits wetland fill. The health department still permits septic and wells. The road commission still permits driveways.
And one thing gets easier for someone else. Under Public Act 233 of 2023, a local government without a compatible renewable energy ordinance loses its say over large solar, wind and battery projects. The Michigan Public Service Commission sites them instead. A township with no zoning at all has no such ordinance.
How a repeal actually happens
A repeal is an amendment under the Zoning Enabling Act, so it follows the same steps as adoption. The planning commission hears it on 15 days’ notice, the county planning commission gets 30 days to comment, the board votes and publishes, and it takes effect seven days later. That week is the window: any registered voter can file a notice of intent, and signatures equal to 15 percent of the township’s last governor’s-race vote put the repeal on a ballot.
No U.P. township has done this recently. Banks Township in Antrim County started a repeal in September 2025 and voted it down 3 to 2 in March 2026.
If you want to be heard
Keweenaw County: Monday, Sept. 14, 6 PM, Horizons School, Mohawk. County offices are at 5095 Fourth Street, Eagle River, 906-523-8571. Rock River Township: Monday, Sept. 14, 7 PM, township hall, E3667 M-94, Chatham. Written comment goes to P.O. Box 195, Chatham 49816, or call 906-439-5360 to confirm.
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How this story was reported
Editorial methodAggregation
Last verifiedSep. 13, 2026
Corrections statusNo material correction note is recorded on this article.
AI assistanceResearched and drafted with AI tools. Reviewed and approved by editor Keegan O’Brien.
Verification note: This article goes stale in one day, so the review date is Sept. 15. The deputy funding story checks out: the Mining Gazette carries Treasurer Eric Hermanson saying the county cannot afford to keep the ARPA-funded deputy in 2027, and WLUC carries Chair Don Piche on the unanswered letters to township supervisors and on the Sept. 14 hearing at which no decision will be made. The Rock River side checks out on the petition, the Wilderness Canyon LLC dispute and the roughly 11,000 dollars in attorney fees. Two numbers in the article are not solid. The 4-1 board vote naming Rondeau, Marsh, LeJeune and Aho could not be confirmed; repeat fetches of the Mining Journal piece returned inconsistent vote language, one version reading 2-1. And the petition signature count is contested, with the Mining Journal at 24 and Bridge Michigan at roughly 100. The article follows the Mining Journal. Both should be nailed down when the hearings are covered. The Banks Township precedent is confirmed as a 3-2 vote against repeal in March 2026, but the September 2025 start month is not.
Primary sources
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Keweenaw considers ordinance repeal — The Mining Gazette
Published Aug. 24, 2026. Accessed Sep. 13, 2026.
Carries the exact quote used in the article.
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County chair shares more details on Keweenaw County zoning situation — Upper Michigan Source, WLUC-TV6
Published Aug. 21, 2026. Accessed Sep. 13, 2026.
The quote found reads that letters went out twice and never got a response, which is close to but not identical with the article phrasing that the county heard from one. Worth tightening.
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Public hearing date set to determine Keweenaw County zoning future — Upper Michigan Source, WLUC-TV6
Published Aug. 20, 2026. Accessed Sep. 13, 2026.
Confirmed.
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Rock River Township to potentially repeal zoning ordinance — The Mining Journal
Published Sep. 3, 2026. Accessed Sep. 13, 2026.
Vote breakdown is the weak point. Two fetches of this page returned different vote language, so the 4-1 split and the named yes votes are not confirmed. Signature count also conflicts with Bridge Michigan at roughly 100.
Additional reporting
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Banks Township board rejects zoning repeal in 3-2 vote after packed public meeting — UpNorth Live, WPBN and WTOM
Published Mar. 10, 2026. Accessed Sep. 13, 2026.
The 3-2 vote is confirmed. The article says the process started in September 2025; this source only says last year, so the month is not confirmed.
Photo and media credits
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Keweenaw County Courthouse, Eagle River, Michigan, 2021 series (featured image) — Paul R. Burley, via Wikimedia Commons
Featured image record. Accessed Sep. 13, 2026. CC BY-SA 4.0.
Author and licence confirmed via the Commons API: Paul R. Burley, CC BY-SA 4.0. Burley uploaded a numbered 2021 series of this courthouse, so the exact frame in this series is not pinned; the credit and licence are identical across the series.
