Northern Michigan town's vote to end zoning would help trustee build a mine

BANKS TOWNSHIP — The Banks Township Board of Trustees has taken the first step toward repealing all zoning laws in the township, which would clear the way for one of the township’s trustees to build a lucrative gravel mine on his property.

Richard Friske, Julie Chellis, and Marv Rubingh, in their first year as board members, voted in September to begin the process of making one of the most significant changes to township policy since the Antrim County community’s zoning laws were enacted in 1978.

Spurring the action is township Trustee Marv Rubingh, who has since 2017 sought permission from the township to dig a 183-acre gravel mine adjacent to an existing 30-acre gravel mine. His most recent effort in 2023 was blocked by the township’s Planning Commission, so Rubingh in 2024 ran for and wona seat on the township board, bestingan independent candidate.

In his very first action during his very first meeting as a board member in December 2024, Rubingh made a motion to repeal part of a zoning ordinance that “imposed a moratorium on sand and gravel and aggregate extraction within the township.”



https://bridgemi.com/michigan-government/northern-michigan-towns-vote-to-end-zoning-would-help-trustee-build-a-mine/