by Austin Marsman

After extensive review, the Barry County Planning and Zoning Monday night deemed a proposal by Bay Pointe Inn owner Mike Powers fit for approval.

The decision was reached in a 4-1 vote, Commissioner Robert Vanderboegh cast the dissenting vote. Two commissioners were noted as absent from the meeting.

Mike Powers and his wife, Patti, purchased the old Bay Pointe Restaurant in November 2003 and construction started soon afterward. The new Bay Pointe Inn opened on November 8, 2004.

Bay Pointe recently acquired a parcel of land on private Oarie Drive to allow for overflow parking. Powers submitted what he envisioned as a “Garden of Eden” development, unveiling his proposal in January this year.

The project will have a 9,000-square-foot banquet hall, outdoor wedding venue, five spacious cottages with room for 60-80 guests total, a 400-square foot-storage shed, and 185 parking spaces. The plan also calls for the widening of Oarie Drive, creating buffers for the neighbors, adding streetlights, more sidewalks, and additional landscaping.

Perhaps the biggest hurdle for this project has been zoning laws. The land is zoned rural residential, meaning it would not permit commercial facilities. Barry County Planning and Zoning Monday night granted a special land use permit to Bay Pointe.

Powers had to satisfy a few requirements laid out in April in order to be approved. He did just that, showcasing that he plans to erect a fence along the Bronson property, pour sidewalks, and create a buffer between Oarie Drive and the Farley property. He also submitted the county drain commissioner’s approval of runoff mitigation and verification of the purchase of an adjacent property.

Nestled on the south shore of Gun Lake, Bay Pointe Inn has become a destination for weddings, vacations, and small corporate events. Powers said he  is excited about the potential this development will bring, “Bay Pointe Inn will now have a facility to host large corporate clients and social events that we have been turning away for years,” he told told the Hastings Banner, “These will add considerably to Bay Pointe Inn’s continuous growth trajectory.”

Not everyone in the community is behind the development. For those who neighbor the Bay Pointe properties, the destination has evolved to be what they consider out of control. Over the entire course of the Bay Pointe Woods planning saga, a group of neighbors maintained that noise, traffic and trespassing will increase. Powers repeatedly has addressed those concerns, adopting new policies for events (including Gun Lake Live) and saying that another facility will relieve the congestion.

The Bay Pointe Woods development is expected to have a ground-breaking ceremony in 60 to 90 days and will open for business by May 2019.

(Photos by Austin Marsman)

COVER PHOTO: Bay Pointe owner Mike Powers shows off plans at one of two community meetings earlier this year.