Dollar General’s latest plans to establish a foothold in Leelanau County led Cleveland Township’s board to temporarily ban all new development activity in certain areas of the township.

The township board in a special meeting Tuesday night unanimously approved a resolution enacting a “temporary moratorium on permits, applications, rezoning requests, site plan reviews, special land use requests and any other applications made with respect to proposed new developments in the Business 1 and Business 2 areas.”

The moratorium is for a six-month period (ending August 4) and could be renewed, Supervisor Tim Stein said.

The move was in reaction to substantial public outcry after the Leelanau Enterprise first reported last week that Dollar General is eying a location near the intersection of Maple City and Century roads in Cleveland Township just north of Maple City. Leelanau County is the only county in Michigan without a Dollar General.

“All of the public comments received since that Enterprise article on January 30, which there have been many…have all been on the negative side of having a Dollar General store, not only in Cleveland Township, but in Leelanau County entirely,” Stein said as he waved a thick stack of printed emails.

“Over the past week, I've been in conversation with the township planning commission chairperson, Dean Manikas, and our township attorney, Tim Figura…and we've agreed that there are a number of concerns that really need to be considered by Cleveland Township,” Stein continued.

Among several concerns, Stein said he’s not sure that a discount chain store is an allowed use in the district where the proposed site sits, and he said it might “infringe on the township’s scenic overlay district as it’s laid out presently.” He also said the store might be in “direct conflict” with the township’s master plan, which is currently being reviewed, and that he’s uncomfortable not discussing the proposal with neighboring Kasson Township.

“We need to collaborate with Kasson Township, as this proposed site, as it's laid out now, abuts their township in a residential district,” Stein said. “It's only fair that we would review this and go over the aspects and cause and effects for our neighboring township, Kasson, which is right on the border.”

Tuesday’s move by the township board means a public hearing that was scheduled for Wednesday evening during the planning commission meeting is “moot” and will not occur, Stein said. He added that the township attorney and planning commission will investigate the township’s concerns with the proposed Dollar General.

Dollar General has unsuccessfully tried to open a location in Leelanau County in the past. Many new store locations are met with substantial public resistance, though the company has still managed to open more than 700 locations in Michigan alone.

Reached for comment by The Ticker prior to Tuesday’s meeting, Dollar General’s media relations offices responded to an interview request with the following statement:   

“At this time, we are currently in due diligence phase for a new Dollar General location in Maple City, MI. This means we are reviewing the opportunity to add a new store in Leelanau County, but we have not committed to doing so just yet. Based on our current timeline, we anticipate having a final decision by summer 2025. Please feel free to check back periodically for updates.

“We believe the addition of each new store provides positive economic benefits including additional access to affordable products for customers; the creation of new jobs for local residents and career development opportunities for our employees; the generation of additional tax revenue for the City; and the ability for local nonprofits, schools and libraries to apply for literacy and education grants through the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.”