Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Torch Lake Township resident Joe Gervais speaks about the relocation of Isle Royale Seaplanes during public comment at Wednesday’s Torch Lake Township meeting. He and other residents criticized the lack of advance notice for the new facility. Board members said they had not learned of the seaplane project until recently, as the township has no zoning ordinance, and had no say over the building.

HUBBELL — The relocation of a seaplane business to Hubbell drew criticism from residents at Wednesday’s Torch Lake Township meeting, who said they were caught off-guard by the news.

Isle Royale Seaplanes recently announced its new location on the Hubbell waterfront, which will begin flights to Isle Royale National Park in May. Its lease had expired at the site it had been using in Ripley.

The company had made previous attempts to relocate, one in Houghton near Coles Creek, then Portage Township near Portage Point. In both cases, they ran into opposition from residents concerned about noise and other issues.

Unlike those municipalities, Torch Lake Township does not have a zoning ordinance, Supervisor Brian Cadwell told attendees. That meant there were no public hearings required about the relocation, he said. It also means the board, even if it wanted, would not be able to halt construction.

“When somebody wants to build within the township, there’s no zoning,” he said in an interview before the meeting. “We don’t have to give prior approval of it. As long as you’re complying with county building codes, you’re fine, which is the case.”

The project acquired building permits from the county, while the park permit is in the process of being approved by the state, Cadwell said.

Torch Lake Township’s attorney had advised them no action can be taken before the business starts operating in May, Cadwell said. After that, if residents believe the operation constitutes a nuisance, they can sue in circuit court.

“Can’t a township put an ordinance in place?” one resident asked.

“A zoning ordinance would be very expensive, and it wouldn’t affect this right now,” as it would be grandfathered in, Cadwell said.

Residents said they had many of the same concerns regarding noise, as well as whether the proximity to remediated Superfund sites.

“As a resident who lives down there, pays taxes, was completely blindsided by this whole thing … I’m not saying whether or not I’m for or against it right now,” she said. “I just don’t know. I don’t have enough information. I feel that that should have been something provided to the residents, at least those who are living directly right there in that area.”

Cadwell and other board members said they did not learn a seaplane business was coming to the township until February. Back in November, the site’s contractor and owner, Bill Siler, had called him and said he was building a campground, Cadwell said. (That statement does apply to the area of the employee cabins, which must receive a park permit at the state level.)

Once Cadwell found out in February, “I expressed my dissatisfaction with him not telling us about it ahead of time,” he said.

A message was left with Siler seeking comment Thursday.

Cadwell said he had spoken with Isle Royale director of operations Jon Rector on Wednesday, who told him he had not asked Siler to omit mention of the seaplanes.

“He was under the impression that we were informed of it … he had left everything up to the landlord,” he said.

Cadwell said he thought the site could be a good fit for the business, but objected to the lack of notice.

“I think that’s not asking too much of anybody who’s planning to put a business in an area, that the folks on the governmental level know what’s happening there,” he said in an interview. “I’m not happy there at all.”

Other residents were skeptical of the board’s knowledge timeline, saying they’d seen testing on Torch Lake last year. Rick Anderson, a pilot, said he had heard discussion of a potential move to Hubbell around the airport. Isle Royale Seaplanes had bought property there for operations before delays that would have meant being unable to operate this year, Rector said in an earlier interview.

Anderson suggested the board try to get a commitment from Isle Royale to choose a route that would minimize disruption to residential areas in Hubbell and Lake Linden, where the plane would be lowest.

“They’re still flying out of here, they’re making revenue, but they may have to fly two more miles, so they’re not over the town,” he said after the meeting.