One lake, many sets of rules
Torch Lake’s shoreline sits in more than a handful of townships — Forest Home and Helena in Antrim County, Clearwater in Kalkaska, among others — and each writes its own rules for docks, rentals and building near the water. Briefs below; full stories as they develop.
The township next door banned dock rentals
Helena’s new waterfront rules, which the township lists as effective June 5, 2026, apply to all property on its lakes, rivers and streams. They bar new boathouses, cap powered watercraft by frontage, and say it plainly: “No dock space or watercraft shall be rented.” Across the Clam River in Forest Home, a 26-slip rental marina operates under a state permit issued Feb. 23, 2026. Same lake, different rules.
Helena Township Ordinance No. 05-14-26 (Zoning Ordinance § 5.02.02 D), text as posted by the township — read the ordinance (PDF); effective date as listed on the township’s ordinance page (helenatownshipmichigan.gov). Forest Home marina: EGLE permit WRP048069 (documents).
A banquet hall at a Clam Lake marina
The Planning Commission recommended that the township board approve a liquor-license request by Dewitt Marine — Odd Fellow Events LLC, at 9291 Clam Lake Rd. — for a banquet facility at the marina on Clam Lake, the small lake that feeds the Clam River. The recommendation now goes to the township board.
FHT Planning Commission minutes, 3/18/2026 — read the minutes (DOCX).
The Meadows, a park in the making
Not everything in the township is a fight over the shoreline. The township’s park plan for a Bellaire Highway property — updated as recently as 2024 — lays out a playground, pickleball courts, a dog park, a pavilion and a community greenhouse, with room shown for a possible future township hall and conservation-district office. The Observer will follow it as it moves (or stalls).
“The Meadows” park plan documents, Forest Home Township — 2022 (PDF), 2024 (PDF).
No pontoon rentals in a residential zone
In Clearwater Township, in Kalkaska County, the Zoning Board of Appeals voted unanimously on July 13 to affirm that a pontoon-boat rental business cannot operate in an R-1 (residential) zone, according to the Torch Lake Protection Alliance. Earlier in the year, the TLPA had asked the township to enforce its ordinance. We will pull the township’s own records.
Torch Lake Protection Alliance, Summer 2026 and Spring 2026 newsletters (tlpa.co) — attributed secondary source.
Shoreline rules get a contractor briefing
Milton Township held an education session for contractors on its new shoreline-protection ordinance, and is pursuing staff for short-term-rental compliance — two signs of the same pressure the whole lake faces: more building, more renting, more rules. As reported by TLPA.
Torch Lake Protection Alliance, Spring 2026 newsletter (tlpa.co) — attributed secondary source.
In the notebook
Two fuller stories are in preparation from public records, to run after the Nov. 4 hearing: the complete record of BaseCamp at Torch Lake — the 18 homes marketed behind the Dockside proposal — and the permit history of the marina across the Clam River. Watch the notebook for status.
How briefs are sourced
Briefs are summaries, not full stories. Each carries a source line naming its record — an adopted ordinance, meeting minutes we pulled directly, or another organization’s reporting, labeled as such. When a brief becomes a full story, the key documents are posted with it, as with the Dockside investigation.