AW 06 Amy Mees

Just wondering if you guys aware of the environmental history/present condition of the proposed Habitat neighborhood at the corner of Grace and Forrester? The site is red flagged by EGLE as no wells/ no drinkable water, due to decades of fruit waste dumping by Graceland Fruit, Inc. Arsenic, Manganese and Iron are all elevated as much as 10X past legal limits. Iron, for example, is at 13,400 ppm with a good number being 200ppm and the upper limit being 2000 ppm. Did you also know that wells have been poisoned in a 2 mile contamination plume around the Graceland Fruit, Inc plant and that parcel is basically ground zero?? Is it safe and healthy for people to live on that soil? Where will they get their water? Are the neighbors in the area happy with the proposed development? Did you seek to gain support and Input from the neighbors in the vicinity before announcing the start date? Does Habitat have a duty to respect township zoning ordinances and charters? Does it generally go smoothly when neighborhoods are forced into an area of hunting land and farms... or are the two inevitably destined to clash and cause headaches for both the "rural" and "neighborhood" dwellers? Does Habitat for Humanity Benzie care about the future ramifications of forcing the residents of Gilmore Township to abandon their Charter which explicitly seeks to maintain the rural character and agricultural heritage of the township through (in part) 5 acre minimum parcels? Should wholesale changes to a township's charter be dictated to residents by Habitat for Humanity Benzie , or should the people of the township decide if it's appropriate to make such material changes?