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Proposal: Sell Brown Bridge Quiet Area

Powerhouse at Brown Bridge Dam will come down
Powerhouse at Brown Bridge Dam will come down

For eighty years, a hydro-electric dam sat in Brown Bridge Quiet area. It created a backwater pond on the bottomlands. In 2012, the dam was decommissioned and that drained the pond.

Larry Gerschbacher says that since the dam no longer exists and the pond is gone, it’s not used as much as it should be by Traverse City residents. The newest member of the Brown Bridge Advisory Committee suggests Traverse City sell Brown Bridge Quiet Area. He would like to see it developed into a resort lodge and conference center.

Steve Largent, with the Grand Traverse Conservation District, says committee members will review the position paper next week to determine if it has any merit.

The area is owned by the city, but located primarily in East Bay Township. The plan would also have to meet zoning approval in East Bay Township.

"I don’t think East Bay Township zoning would support anything like that," says Largent.

Committee member Judy Nemitz is an East Bay Township planning and zoning commissioner. She says the committee will look at the idea, but she likes the area the way it is.

"I think Brown Bridge is great as it is personally," she says. "I recreate quite a bit out there. And it’s free right now, so that’s even better."

Any sale would have to be approved by Traverse City voters.