About TVC
Planning and Zoning
How we regulate development on airport property, and how the new Cherry Capital Airport Joint Zoning Board is extending height and land-use rules into the towns around it.
Zoning on airport property
The Northwest Regional Airport Authority is responsible for zoning on its own property under Michigan's Act 95. The Buildings and Grounds Committee oversees all aeronautical development, and the Zoning Board oversees all non-aeronautical development. The first step in any development proposal is the airport's land use permit application.
Bob Nelesen, PE
Airport Engineer and Zoning Administrator
Local control
The Joint Zoning Board
Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties established the Cherry Capital Airport Joint Zoning Board in January 2025, to give the two counties more local control over the height and land-use restrictions that already apply around the airport. Michigan's Airport Zoning Act, dating to 1950, set zoning requirements around every airport in the state, and a 2001 update required cities and townships to fold those height and land-use rules into their master plans. Because federal and state law allow no local variance, the Joint Zoning Board and its ordinance are meant to let the two counties grant variances locally, within safety limits.
The Michigan Aeronautics Commission defined the Airport Hazard Area the new board manages as a 10-mile radius around the airport. Under state law, the Joint Zoning Board established the Cherry Capital Airport Joint Zoning Commission, which wrote the original draft ordinance. That draft is now moving through the public introduction and hearing process state law requires.
Documents and public meetings
The draft ordinance
- Draft ordinance
- Draft exhibit
- Frequently asked questions
- State of Michigan Airport Zoning Act, Cherry Capital Airport approach plan
Ended February 26, 2026
Overview of the draft ordinance
An informational presentation on the draft ordinance was held as a public meeting.
Ended June 24, 2026
Joint Zoning Commission public hearing
The Joint Zoning Commission held its public hearing on the draft ordinance.