Petoskey City Council approves easement for DTE pipeline despite public objections

The Petoskey City Council on July 20 approved a resolution granting DTE a permanent 50-foot utility easement and temporary additional workspace on city-owned property along Krause Road, voting 4-1 after more than an hour of presentation, questions and public comment.

Council members who voted in favor said the agreement includes clarified language on damages, restoration and assignment, and that staff and counsel had negotiated redline changes requested at earlier meetings. City attorney Laura (the cityattorney) told council that the revised language provides an objective trigger for when temporary workspace would expire: once the pipeline is operational, not merely when construction activity pauses.

The measure drew sustained public opposition during the meetingparticularly from nearby landowners. Mark Colbeta, who said he is one of roughly 85 to 100 property owners affected along the route, criticized the compensation and general contract clarity, saying the city's settlement amount "felt insulting" and urging council to consult eminent-domain specialists. Brenda Colvida, speaking as an elder of the Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa community and a Bear Creek Township resident, asked council to vote no and warned the proposed clearing would "devastate the ecological and spiritual balance" of her land and nearby conservancy.

DTE representatives Tyler Remington, senior land representative, and Chris Hackbarth, regional manager, described the project timeline and construction approach. Remington said the scale of the pipeline (roughly 14 miles) made a construction-complete end date problematic and argued the temporary workspace should remain until the new pipeline is in operation so DTE can complete testing and any follow-up repairs. Hackbarth said DTE expects main construction activity and restoration work to continue into 2027, subject to weather and site-specific conditions.

Council asked for and won a change requiring stump grinding in the temporary workspace area as part of restoration; council also discussed and confirmed that tree-damage payments and restoration would be handled under the agreementwith DTE agreeing to pay damages and to restore disturbed areas "to original condition as reasonably practicable." After that amendment, a council member moved to approve the revised easement agreement; the motion passed with Ayes from Nachtrob, Wilmot, DeMoor and Murphy and a No from Walker.

The approval clears the city-level easement authorization, but DTE still must proceed with the broader permitting, testing and construction steps described by the company and must comply with state and federal environmental and pipeline regulations. Council did not set an additional follow-up vote at the meeting; staff said they will continue to coordinate with DTE and counsel on implementation and monitoring.

"The offer made to me was insulting," one affected landowner told the council, while DTE representatives responded that restoration language and damages provisions were intended to address those concerns and that the company expects to complete testing and restoration as described.