GRANOT LOMA IN Powell Township. (Mining Journal file photo)

BIG BAY — Plans to build a rocket launch site at Granot Loma are currently in limbo.

The Powell Township Board passed a resolution this week stating that Big Bay resident Phil Bakken’s zoning ordinance proposal was “unnecessary.”

According to the resolution from Powell Township Board, a rocket launch site or spaceport facility is already prohibited within the township under the terms of the current zoning ordinance and would be “inconsistent with current and future land uses and planning goals as defined in the master plan of the township.”

Powell Township Clerk Mitch Walker told The Mining Journal that “if and when” the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association presents a request to change the existing zoning ordinances, then the board would address it through normal procedure.

MAMA’s plans for a potential rocket launch site were first announced in 2020, as part of the Michigan Launch Initiative. The proposed site at Granot Loma, a privately owned parcel along Lake Superior, if built would be part of a spaceport that would include a horizontal-launch site at downstate Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport, with operations for both sites supported by a command-and-control center in Chippewa County.

Citizens for a Safe & Clean Lake Superior Director of Outreach Jane Fitkin said in an email to The Mining Journal that CSCLS are “ecstatic” about the outcome.

“The Powell Township government really seems to understand the threat a spaceport would pose to their people and the greater Lake Superior watershed, and made clear to anyone coming in to rezone Granot Loma that a spaceport isn’t welcome here,” Fitkin said. “I’m proud to be a part of the group who helped make this happen, and look forward to continuing the important work of defending Lake Superior and her watershed. Not all of these battles are winnable, but we’re thankful to the community here for strengthening our ability to prevent this bad project and initiate good law to protect what we all know and love.”

To read the full resolution, go to powelltownship.org/meeting-dates-times.