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Traverse City approves concept for Veterans for Peace monument; waivers clear path for design and fundraising
Summary
The commission granted concept approval for a Veterans for Peace monument and agreed to waive the city policy requiring a two‑year posthumous period and the monument size limit, with final design and location to return to Parks and Recreation and the city commission.
The Traverse City City Commission on Jan. 21 approved in concept a proposed Veterans for Peace monument and cleared two policy waivers that would allow the group to move ahead with fundraising and design work.
City Clerk staff clarified that the item before the commission was concept approval only: no site or final dimensions were being approved that night. The clerk also explained that earlier communications mistakenly described the proposal as a wall and referenced a specific park; the commission was being asked only to waive two elements of the monument policy — the size restriction and the requirement that an individual named on a monument be deceased for at least two years — so the group could proceed to fundraising and design.
Proponent Tim Keenan, representing Veterans for Peace, described the monument as a visible community installation to honor people who have worked for peace and justice. "People that work for peace and justice and have done that their entire lives are also heroes, just a different kind of hero," Keenan said, and asked the commission to allow the project to proceed with local fundraising and final design review.
Commissioners emphasized that concept approval does not assign a final site or dimensions. The motion approved by the commission directed staff to accept the conceptual proposal and the two requested waivers; it requires the project to return to the Parks and Recreation Commission for a formal recommendation and then to the city commission for final approval of location, size and inscriptions. Commissioners and proponents said the project team will include language and procedures about how a name could be removed in the event of later controversies.
Public commenters, including local veterans and community members, spoke in support of the concept and fundraising efforts. The motion passed on a voice vote.
