Coastal Shoreland Management for Chikaming Township, MI

Michigan’s shorelines are a dynamic and constantly shifting environment. The consistent and remorseless long term erosion of the shoreline is complicated by the year-to-year and even day-to-day movement of the shoreline from storms, water levels, and wind action. While these conditions make coastal conditions hard to plan for, they also create enjoyable and popular spaces for recreation and tourism, encouraging people to live close to the water. Chikaming Township has attempted to resolve the conflict between the potential threat to property posed by shoreline erosion and the threat to shoreline conditions posed by the installation of hard shoreline by placing restrictions on the type and duration of shoreline armoring types allowed. As the township updates it’s master plan, this report presents several technical analyzes conducted to assist the township enhance its shoreline preservation efforts. These analyses include a geospatial analysis of Chikaming Township’s development patterns over the past 40 years, along with a pair of scenario planning analyses focusing on storm related flooding and long term shoreline erosion risks, before concluding with a policy analysis that describes best shoreline management practices and presents several potential management possibilities for Chikaming Township to consider.

These analyses provide some key findings.

• First, building density increases closer to the Lake Michigan shoreline, approaching a full build out in a manner akin to that of the coastal communities to the north and south of the township.
• Second, a majority of the properties at risk of inundation-related flooding are located inland, along the township’s creeks and wetlands.
• Third, most of the shoreline erosion risks are borne by shorefront properties.
• Fourth, through our analysis of shoreline erosion risks on a dynamic Great Lake shoreline, we have conceptualized and present here a new way of thinking about and marking high hazard erosion areas, which we identify and map for planning purposes as the most landward reach of the shoreline (MLRS).

Finally, our policy analysis mostly substantiates the policy recommendations in the draft master plan as corresponding to best shoreline management practices, and we further identify several management options the township might consider for future adoption, including the creation of a sensitive area overlay district across the whole of Chikaming Township, the creation of a beach overlay district that incorporates a building setback premised on the MLRS framework, and an amendment to the floodplain overlay district in accordance with the high inland-flooding risks likely to be experienced given climate change, as determined through our scenario-based planning technical
analysis.