'Not just a park, it is a sanctuary'
City Commission punts on Veits Woods trail plan after residents raise red flags
To step into Dow/Veit’s Woods near Central Michigan University is to step into an oasis. Although bounded on its western edge by residential development, this pristine mix of indigenous grasslands, old-growth forests and native wetlands is largely undisturbed and feels, in places, prehistoric.
The hiking path varies from a game trail just wide enough for a single adult and, perhaps, an adventurous dog, to a quiet forest thoroughfare with enough room for two people to comfortably stroll, side-by-side.
On a recent damp Thursday morning, the forest’s towering trees provided shelter, keeping hikers dry even as rain dripped from the higher-boughs in the canopy. Despite the omnipresent rumble of distant traffic, the overwhelming sounds were of bird song, the gurgling of the nearby Chippewa River and the occasional snap of a twig.
Yet, this peaceful wildlife refuge spurred contention Tuesday night, during a public hearing conducted by the Mount Pleasant City Commission. The board was slated to vote on its 2026-2031 Capital Improvement Plan May 27, but opted to hold off for two more weeks and some editing, after a cadre of area residents raised red flags about a proposal buried about halfway through the 94-page proposal.
“Veit’s Woods is a nature preserve,” Ari Berk, a Central Michigan University professor whose home backs to the area, told the board. “It’s designated as a nature preserve by CMU and it’s posted as such with all the signage. For some odd reason, the previous administration forgot that obligation by facilitating the conversations about a connection through Veit’s Woods.
“We’re under no obligation to continue that conversation.”
At issue was a multi-year proposal to build out the Mid-Michigan/GKB Pathway by about 2.33 total miles. The vision would connect the existing GKB Riverwalk Trail north Nelson Park to Mission Creek Park, and south from Chipp-a-Waters Park to an existing regional trail at Broomfield Street.
It was the southern 1.33 miles – and specifically a proposal to for the trail to cut through Veit’s Woods – that rankled residents. They took issue with the impact widening the existing pathways would have on the natural landscape; worried about what adding asphalt could do to the area’s micro-climate; and noted that a preserve that expressly prohibits alcohol, motorized vehicles, bicycles, camp fires and litter would likely become subject to all of these.
“Veit’s Woods is not just a park, it is a sanctuary,” resident Chantel Barger said. “It’s a place where you can still hear the wind move through the trees, where footprints sink gently into the trails, where peace is not a luxury, it’s part of the landscape.
“To pave Veit’s Woods is to break that promise. Pavement may seem like progress, but here it is a disruption.”
Neighbor Al Montoye, whose Forest Lane home backs to the woods, pointed out that there are plenty of quiet, residential streets already in place that could connect the southern edge of the GKB Trail to Broomfield. Streets like Preston, he said, are wide, striped for bike lanes and don’t cross the preserve.
“What does Veit’s look like when the bulldozers and the pavers are done with it?” he asked. “It will never look like it does now, and it’ll never go back.”
City Finance Director Lauren Pavlowski said the capital improvement plan slated for a vote Tuesday was more focused on projects for 2026. The commission must approve the improvement plan by June 9, she said, so the city can get to work on its budget for that fiscal year.
The financial plan included $2.1 million dedicated to the northern extension of the trail, Parks and Public Spaces Director Philip Biscorner told the board.
“The 2026 project is the one that’s going to go from Nelson to Mission Creek,” he said. “The one that is later (the southern route) is the one that we’re still working on alternatives.”
In the end, the board opted to hold off on giving its blessing to the Capital Improvement Plan. Rather, they kicked it back to City Manager Aaron Desentz and staff to remove Veit’s Woods entirely. Commissioners will consider the revised plan at their next meeting, June 9.
Vice Mayor Maureen Eke told her colleagues that, as a visitor to Veit’s Woods, she did not support the idea of constructing pathways through the space. She made the official motion that the reserve be removed in its entirety from the capital improvement plan, so there could be no gray area in future consideration.
“If we don’t … decisively edit out references to Veit’s Woods, there’s no saying what happens next year or the year after,” she said. “Memory is a problem, so I do think it makes sense. If we’re going to have a conversation about Veit’s Woods in the future, I want that to be a separate document.
“We are not talking about Veit’s Woods. Not now, not tomorrow, or later. We will consider alternative plans.”
