Buzz # 13 -- March 28, 2002

Promoting intelligence and reason in city government. Our mission: To inform and involve all Birmingham citizens.

-- For awesome resources and up-to-date news items, visit our website at http://www.bhambuzz.org.
-- Check out our archives at http://www.bhambuzz.org/archives.htm.
-- Join our lively discussion group at http://www.bhambuzz.org/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi.
-- Subscribe at http://www.bhambuzz.org/subscribe.htm.

In this edition:

1) Editorial: Commission wisely rethinks failed standards for improving neighborhood streets
2) Editorial: Commission should rein in meetings
3) Editorial: Commission points anti-development steamroller straight at its own pet project
4) Ethics code proposal raises concerns
5) Editorial: Commissioners miss the point of a building inspector's job
6) Editorial: City needs to maintain momentum on long overdue improvements to Booth Park
7) To be removed, send a request to info@bhambuzz.org
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1) Editorial: Commission wisely rethinks failed standards for improving neighborhood streets

March 28, 2002

The City Commission took a huge step Monday night toward making more intelligent decisions regarding street improvements when it decided to accept, but temporarily shelve, a petition by a group of Mill Pond area residents for improvements to Hazelwood and Oak streets.

The petition had been circulated for more than a year. A majority of residents of Hazelwood sought improvements to their block-long street. Joining their petition were several homeowners along Oak, between Hazelwood and Lakeside, who similarly favored improvements.

Problem was, the city Engineering Department didn't offer up many options. In fact, they didn't offer up any options at all. In keeping with city "standards," Hazelwood would have been "improved" by making it 26 feet wide with standard-issue white concrete curbs and gutters. Oak Street, which gets many times the traffic of Hazelwood, would have been left at around 21 feet. To top it off, the engineers threw in a sidewalk just a foot away from the fence in front of the cemetery. Little consideration was given to numerous mature "landmark" trees on the streets, whose root structures surely would be threatened by installation of storm sewers. Even less consideration was apparently given to the final resting places of a slew of Birmingham residents.

Without question, Hazelwood, Oak and most other streets in the Mill Pond area (bounded by Maple, N. Old Woodward, Oak and Lakeside) are a mess and need work. It's just that the standards by which so-called "unimproved" streets are improved are flawed in almost every respect.

The city requires homeowners along unimproved streets to pay for any improvements through special assessments. The reasoning? That's how it's always been done.
Once assessed, a property owner may spread the cost over 10 years. While the payment plan is nice, the idea that property owners should pay for the improvements is silly. The city doesn't pay to improve our homes; why should we pay to improve city streets? By that logic, homeowners should be allowed to decide, within reasonable limits, how the streets should be improved, and who should be allowed to use them. Yeah, right.

Since the city requires property owners to pay for the improvements, they require a petition to get the ball rolling. That puts the onus -- not to mention a considerable workload -- on property owners to do something that many of us think our tax bills ought to cover.

Since the city requires petitions, streets with relatively few homeowners have a much better shot at getting improved than densely populated streets. Hazelwood has less than a dozen homeowners. Ditto Willits between Ring Road and Greenwood, which was recently "improved" in a project that turned a nice country road in the middle of town into an ugly suburban drag strip.

Harmon, on the other hand, has petitioned the city twice in the past several years, each time presenting a majority of property owners, but each time rebuffed, the last time because by the time the required signatures were obtained, many were deemed to be "stale."

The whole process results in piecemeal solutions to what are neighborhood- and city-wide problems.

Once recognized, petitioners aren't given a whole lot of choices about street design. Width: 26 feet (unless the right-of-way won't accommodate it). Curbs: concrete.

Baldwin property owners recently withdrew a petition long in the works when the city told them it wouldn't negotiate the 26-foot street width. So even though the city gives lip service to the "character" of our neighborhoods, when it comes to street improvements, character appeared to be low on the agenda.

Until Monday.

That's when the commission (with member Dante Lanzetta noticeably absent and Commissioner Seth Chafetz leading the charge) sensibly discussed at length alternatives to most of these standards, and instructed the city engineers and the Mill Pond Neighborhood Association to study the matter and come back with some alternatives.

The city recently engaged a consulting firm to help with the design of Booth Park. They held two public workshops and produced several important documents that ultimately will help shape the outcome of the project. Total estimated project cost: under $1 million. The city's share: $400,000.

If the city does the right thing and tosses out its time-tested and failed methods for improving neighborhood streets, projects in the Mill Pond, Quarton Lake Estates and other areas could cost that and much, much more. So why not hire a consultant to help study this issue?


2) Editorial: Commission should rein in meetings

March 28, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

The Birmingham City Commission meeting last week ended at about 2:15 a.m. -- some six hours after it began.

This is absurd.

No city commission, town council, school board, parks and recreation commission or any other official body should have meetings that run well past midnight. It is unfair to the board members as well as persons in the audience.

It's been our experience at endless droning, overlong meetings that at around 11 p.m. members of any board begin to get burned out. Past midnight, it's questionable if the board members are prepared to make reasonable decisions. After all, when your main concern is just to go home, how well can you concentrate at the business at hand?
It's a risky business to make critical decisions at 2 a.m. They may come back to bite you in court at a more decent hour.

And it's unfair to those who have business with the commission. No one should be required to wait three or more hours to have the opportunity to speak on an issue, or even to see what the commission does with an issue. Such interminable waits are insulting to the people.

Meetings can be shortened considerably by taking into account a few simple reminders. For example, it's not necessary for each commissioner to speak on every item. And some things don't bear repeating. If one commissioner has made a point, it's not necessary for another commissioner to repeat it. A point made is a point made. It will only be dulled by repetition.

After all, what really matters is how the commissioners vote. And there are even limits to public participation. The commission isn't required to listen to several people in a row say the same thing. The commission has the right to cut off debate when it is no longer productive.

If the commission cannot conclude its business in a reasonable time, it should schedule more meetings.

Then everyone can go home at a reasonable hour.


3) Editorial: Commission points anti-development steamroller straight at its own pet project

March 25, 2002

You've got to get a kick out of our Planning Board and Keystone (er, City) Commission. Last week, they sheepishly realized their anti-development steamroller was headed right in the direction of one of their own pet projects.

It took the better part of five years to plan and enact a new zoning district to encourage mixed-use affordable housing in the Eton Corridor. Once that was done, Crosswinds Communities applied for and received site plan approval for a significant new development of affordable live/work townhouses on a large tract of land adjacent to the rail line. The approval had conditions attached, however. The conditions have not yet been met, and a deadline is looming.

Normally, it wouldn't be a problem if the deadline passed. The developer could just reapply to the Planning Board.

Unfortunately, in their zeal to screw around with building heights, last month the Planning Board and Commission changed the rules. Now, Crosswinds' plans don't conform to current zoning regulations, and the Planning Board wouldn't have the authority to grant an approval.

Commissioner Russell Dixon suggested the Commission reconsider its earlier decision. That idea went over like a lead balloon.

So now, either the Planning Board extends the deadline for meeting its conditions, or Crosswinds faces a decision: Either they can apply for a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals, change their plans to conform with the new rules, pull out altogether or (you guessed it!) sue the city. Wouldn't that be a unique idea? A developer suing the city!

A majority of commissioners seems to support the project, but apparently none of them gave much thought to the effect of their actions when they changed the zoning rules.


4) Ethics code proposal raises concerns

March 24, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

By Larry Ruehlen

Everyone who works for the city of Birmingham must be "loyal to the political objectives" of elected officials under an ethics ordinance being considered for adoption by the Birmingham City Commission.

"That particular item may present constitutional issues," said Birmingham City Manager Tom Markus. "But we expect it to go through changes. It's early on in the process."
He was referring to the "dedicated service" clause in the ethics ordinance, which in essence says that anyone who works for the city in any capacity must support the legislative actions of the elected officials.

In October 2001, the Presidents' Council of Homeowner Associations asked the Birmingham City Commission to adopt a code of ethics for city officials and employees.
Tim Bannister, then president of the organization, said a code was needed to end the "constant rumors circulating across our community regarding decisions and activities made by public officials -- both elected and appointed -- that appear to benefit special-interest groups."

The Presidents' Council wrote its own ethics ordinance using language from other municipalities and asked the commission to review it. City officials have been dealing with that language ever since and two different proposed ordinances have evolved. One is a edited version of the language the residents submitted and the other was a joint effort between Markus, City Attorney Tim Currier and City Commissioner Don Carney, who is also a lawyer.

Markus said the expectation is that such an ordinance would apply to every city employee including those with standing union contracts.

Birmingham City Commissioner Russell Dixon said Monday that he was only comfortable with the first few paragraphs and wanted to scrap the rest.

"It's far too intrusive for me to be comfortable with," he said. Dixon's motion died for lack of support, and the commission eventually agreed to let employees, officials and residents review the language of both documents and choose a favorite for the commission to consider further. Anyone who wants to comment will have 60 days to do so and the language will be listed on the city Web site.

Ethics ordinances are common in other cities and most have provisions that, among other things, require officials and employees to disclose outside business interests and refuse gifts in exchange for favors.

But the proposed language for Birmingham goes much further than that. One clause dictates that "all officials and employees of the city be loyal to the political objectives of the electorate." Markus said that section, as currently written, probably couldn't be strictly enforced.

Another part of the proposed ordinance precludes private conversations regarding official city business.

Shelli Weisberg, a Birmingham resident who works for the American Civil Liberties Union, said much of the language is too Draconian.

"This is painting with a very broad brush," she said. "Appointees to a board would be prohibited from putting a political sign supporting a presidential candidate in their own front yard."


5) Editorial: Commissioners miss the point of a building inspector's job

March 25, 2002

Ask any builder who works in Birmingham, and he'll tell you the city's building inspectors are as strict as they come.

Building Official Mary Ferrario proudly claims her people are the strictest in the state, and that most builders add a "Birmingham factor" to the cost of any job they do here to compensate for the extra cost of compliance.

Contrast these views with those of City Commissioners Gordon Thorsby, Seth Chafetz, Donald Carney and Dante Lanzetta, who have publicly chided the Community Development Department for lax enforcement of city ordinances.

What's up with that?

By almost all informed accounts, the building department takes very seriously its responsibility for enforcing building codes. These are the laws and standards governing structural and mechanical design and engineering. They help protect the occupants of new and refurbished buildings from floods, fires, structural collapse and other calamities. The people who enforce these rules are highly skilled individuals who every day peer into the guts of a building to insure that corners aren't cut, safety isn't compromised and nothing potentially dangerous is buried beneath the sheathing and drywall that ultimately conceal the structural and mechanical components of a building.

It is not their job to enforce parking laws and protect trees, no matter how egregious the violations.

We can think of no greater insult to an honest, highly trained building inspector than to suggest that he or she has compromised his or her integrity, and thus the safety of the buildings and occupants he or she is paid to protect.

Yet, in their misguided quest to micromanage more and more of our city's administration, this is exactly what these commissioners do. They're like bad managers who haven't a clue about what their subordinates are really supposed to be doing.

When Commissioners Thorsby, Chafetz, Carney and Lanzetta and their loyal followers criticize our building officials, they don't complain about the all-important code enforcement that makes Birmingham a safe place to live and work. They don't enter the structures, crawl around basements and attics, and find potentially deadly building violations overlooked by lax enforcers.

No. They drive by building sites with cameras in hand and photograph dubious "violations" that have little or nothing to do with a building inspector's true -- and gravely serious -- day-to-day responsibilities. Their inspections are superficial, their complaints (mostly about how construction vehicles are parked) are petty, and their political grandstanding is transparent. Their lack of perspective and eagerness to foster animosity, while wasting our valuable time and money, should be lamented by all reasonable residents -- especially those who voted for them expecting intelligent governance.

These are relatively simple problems with relatively simple solutions.

If a car or truck is illegally parked, and the cops haven't ticketed it, call them. If our Commissioners feel the cops aren't doing their job (and none has made that claim), then take the cops to task, not the building officials.

We have to wonder how much of this animosity toward the Community Development Department is motivated by personal grudges against department managers, or by singleminded adherence to the -ism against development. Clearly, it isn't motivated by good sense or reason.

If Thorsby, Chafetz, Carney, Lanzetta and their cronies were sincere about fixing what they see wrong, they'd first publicly thank our lucky stars for the building codes and city inspectors who enforce them, and for the relative quality and safety of the commercial and residential buildings in town.

Then they'd do something constructive -- like make sure that legitimate complaints about legitimate violations from legitimately aggrieved residents are addressed by the appropriate people in a timely and appropriate way.


6) Editorial: City needs to maintain momentum on long overdue improvements to Booth Park

March 22, 2002

The Birmingham City Commission took an important step Monday night in approving an application for a Michigan Department of Natural Resources grant to help pay for improvements to Booth Park.

The park, if you can call it that, is at the corner of N. Old Woodward and Harmon. It is a municipal gem that has suffered from severe neglect over most of the past decade. Deeded to the city in 1943 by the Cranbrook Foundation, the park is a study in unachieved potential. It sits near our city's northern gateway. It forms the gateway and is an essential element of the city's Holy Name neighborhood, which teems with families. It borders both the Central Business District and Gallery Row. The Rouge River runs through it, and it is the northern terminus of a chip trail that runs along the river and continues, with several interruptions, all the way to Linden Park on the south side of town. (The trail itself is a study in unachieved potential, but that's another story.)

For all this potential, what do we have? The riverbank is a mess, and virtually unapproachable. There are virtually no shade trees in the park. A yellow plastic play structure, a water fountain, and a couple of park benches are the only "amenities" on the property. Since the park was torn up in 1994, anything you could reasonably call "turf" has been virtually non-existent. Even though the park borders the Central Business District, you can't get there from here. Hundreds of residents and office workers within walking distance would use the park for a picnic area (and there are at least two businesses selling take-out food adjacent to the park) if only a picnic area existed.

The grant application helped goose the Commission, which normally moves on such matters with the speed of a tectonic plate. The application followed approval last year of a Recreation Master Plan (which itself was long overdue) and a bond issue that will provide up to $25 million for land acquisition and improvements to our park system.

During the public hearing required by the grant application, several commissioners and citizens voiced concerns that the improvement process might have been rushed. Considering that neighborhood residents have been agitating for several years for improvements to the park, that valuable (and surprisingly unanimous) community input was received during development of the master plan and during a couple of workshops focusing specifically on Booth Park, that the plans were carefully considered by the Parks Board and the city's design consultant, Wade-Trim, and that the concept plan and development budget submitted with the grant application are merely concept plans, and can and must be significantly refined, the process could be considered "rushed" only by someone better suited to affecting geologic, rather than municipal change.

There's still a lot of work to be done, and the city needs to keep the ball rolling -- whether or not the grant is received. The total budget for the project is just over $700,000, with the city promising to put up $400,000 of that. Even if the grant request is denied, the city can easily afford the whole amount with proceeds from the bond issue. But let's hope the grant request is approved, since it requires that the project be completed within two years, and without that pressure, we could all be old and gray before anything happens to the park.

Whatever the outcome of the grant application, the concept plan needs refinement, with continued citizen input, and the city needs to follow up on community requests to involve Cranbrook in the project.

Furthermore, work should proceed on several elements not included in the grant application. The river trail to Linden Park is one such element. Another important element suggested in the design workshops was a pair of bridges over the river linking the park to N. Old Woodward and the Willits Street parking lot adjacent to the First Baptist Church and Jacobsons. These bridges not only would provide important linkages to the city, but would also provide important river linkages, which don't exist in the concept plan as submitted to the state. Wade-Trim wisely suggested leaving the bridges out of the grant application, because they would involve complicated soil and engineering analyses, additional grant money might be available to help pay for them, and planning for them may dovetail with planning for a N. Old Woodward boulevard median, and future use of the Willits St. parking lot. Regardless of whether these elements were included in the grant application, the city should move forward on them.

7) To be removed, send a request to info@bhambuzz.org.


Number 12: March 21, 2002

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THE BIRMINGHAM BUZZ
-- "It's the 2016 Plan, stupid."
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Buzz # 12 -- March 21, 2002

Promoting intelligence and reason in city government. Our mission: To inform and involve all Birmingham citizens.

-- For awesome resources, visit our website at http://www.bhambuzz.org.

-- Check out our archives at http://www.bhambuzz.org/archives.htm.

-- Join our lively discussion group at http://www.bhambuzz.org/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi.

-- Subscribe at http://www.bhambuzz.org/subscribe.htm


In this edition:

1) Thorsby speaks out in letter to Eccentric: Neighborhoods should be our focus
2) Booth Park concept, grant application OK'd
3) City gets warning on Willits' delays
4) City is tough on builders, Ferrario tells Commission
5) Editorial: Dispute over building violations saps city officials of scarce time, money, energy
6) Editorial: Sniping can be deadly
7) Letter to Eccentric: Why so critical of builders?
8) Letter to Eccentric: Questions for Ferrario
9) City seeks comment on proposed ethics codes
10) Roundtable set on traffic concerns
11) Cranbrook president to discuss preservation
12) Quarton Lake project newsletter is released
13) Attend Buzz Forum on downtown development
14) To be removed, send a request to info@bhambuzz.org
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1) Thorsby speaks out in letter to Eccentric: Neighborhoods should be our focus

The Birmingham Buzz has invited all City Commissioners to contribute to its columns. We think our leaders should speak out on the issues we face. None has yet taken us up on our offer, but Commissioner Gordon Thorsby wrote the following letter to the Birmingham Eccentric, which was published on Thursday.

March 21, 2002

Having been a city commissioner for a very short time, I am writing a note to express my appreciation to those who gave their tireless support during the fall election.

To those who did not, I hope you will help me work to accomplish goals that we face in the future. I wish to take a moment to clarify some issues that may assist in the focus on Birmingham's priorities.

In discussions with many residents and business people, the primary issue about Fall 2001 was the present and future of the neighborhoods in Birmingham. While there may have been disagreement as to solutions, the concerns were the same. Recent communications both positive and negative confirm this point. Citizens want a pleasant place where the children grow into adulthood.

Citizens want a place where young adults can begin a new life and we want a place where we can live in peace as we reach sunset years. Efforts to encourage these pleasant aspects of Birmingham must never be compromised. Being neighborly and using common courtesy is fundamental to fulfilling this goal. The mutual respect we all have for pubic and private property must never be challenged and I will continue to fight for these basic rights for residents.

Birmingham has many goals and we will actively pursue implementation of all of them. Activities on almost all major projects continue at a steady pace. On most items, there is great agreement whereas on others there is loud disagreement. Instead of arguing where we disagree, let us move forward on where we do agree.

This is what defines Birmingham as a community. Change is taking place in Birmingham. Change is exciting for some, disruptive for others but change is inevitable. The debate is how we manage that change.

Working to build greater trust.

Gordon Thorsby
Commissioner
City of Birmingham


2) Booth Park concept, grant application OK'd

March 19, 2002

The Birmingham City Commission approved a concept drawing and grant application for the improvement of Booth Park Monday night.

The Commission approved a scaled-back concept for the park, which holds off on the design and construction of two bridges that would span the Rouge River and connect the park to N. Old Woodward and the Willits St. parking lot.

Total estimated cost of the project is $712,459. The city will seek a $312, 459 grant from the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources, and fund approximately $400,000 from proceeds of the recently approved parks bond issue.

City Consultant Dave Anthony, of Wade-Trim, said the bridges would add around $500,000 to the cost of the project and require engineering and soil analyses. City Manager Tom Markus said consideration of the bridges ought to proceed hand-in-hand with consideration of the N. Old Woodward median project, and plans for improvement of the parking facilities on Willits.

More detailed planning of the park will continue. Holy Name area resident Jared Rundell urged the city to invite members of the Cranbrook Educational Community to participate in design of the park. The parkland was donated to the city in 1943 by the Cranbrook Foundation.

Take a look at the concept drawing approved by the Commission at http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/Booth_refined_concept.pdf.

Check out the budget for the park improvements at http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/Booth_Park_budget.pdf.


3) City gets warning on Willits' delays

March 21, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

By Larry Ruehlen

Further delays in the approval process for the Willits condominium project will result in "immediate and aggressive legal action" against the city, said Robert Peterson, an attorney representing the developers.

The letter carrying the warning was sent to Birmingham City Attorney Tim Currier Monday in response to speculation that the Birmingham Planning Board was considering rescinding approval of a controversial screening wall on top of the building. The board approved the screening wall last month but that approval was threatened when it was revealed that internal heights of some floors in the Willits were altered without the board's knowledge.

Last week, City Manager Tom Markus called for an independent review of design changes, and Victor Saroki, the Willits architect, was asked to explain them at an April 24 planning board meeting. Charles Harris, another Willits attorney, wouldn't comment on whether the developers would cooperate with the city's plans. But Currier said Monday that the city would proceed with or without the cooperation of Willits representatives.

"Future action depends on what facts come out of the review," said Currier. "If something major is found, there could be further action. We'll just have to wait and see how to respond."

Paul Robertson, a partner in the Willits development, wasn't happy with the whole approval process.

"I'm appalled at the behavior of the city commission and the planning board," he said. "They are absolutely on a serious witch hunt that makes it look, through insinuation, that we have done something wrong and I resent it."

Robertson said he hasn't done a thing unethical during his career, and he regrets that his associates, including Saroki, are being maligned by city officials and in the press.

Saroki attended a Tuesday meeting with Birmingham building official Mary Ferrario so cooperation has not ceased entirely, said Currier.

But Peterson's eight-page letter warned city officials to be careful about asking for explanations for administrative approvals that have already been granted:

"It appears to our client and to the architect, Victor Saroki, that, for whatever reasons, the city and in particular the planning board is holding the building to a much different standard of review than other projects. The only other parcel -- and it is noteworthy -- is the obstructionist approach that the city adopted in refusing to grant initial approvals for the Palladium project. This approach is altogether inappropriate. We simply will not tolerate any delay or impairment in any respect as to the legitimate progression of events necessary to complete construction of the building in a timely manner and to commence its occupancy on schedule."

Developers Willits Residential L.L.C. is a partnership between Robertson Brothers and Related Retail Corp. In 1999, Jim Weiner, president of Related Retail, sued Birmingham and eventually reached a settlement to build the Uptown Palladium Theatre, which is adjacent to the Willits.

The approval process for the Willits has been a subject of controversy for months. Saroki said more than two dozen changes were approved by city staff. Members of the planning board said they weren't aware of the changes until after the building was largely constructed. Currier conducted an extensive investigation and concluded a former city employee granted most of the approvals before leaving town for another job. He also said the employee didn't notify the planning board of many of the changes.

The most controversial design change was the 9-foot-8-inch screening wall. Saroki said city staff approved the screening wall but he agreed to lower it to 4-foot-6-inches high anyway. Currier said he could find no paper trail that proved the wall had ever been approved by city staff.

When members of the planning board talked about rescinding the approval, Peterson issued the threatening letter.

"Whether originating in efforts to embarrass city staff, or intended to provide a basis for modifying future city procedures, these negative comments are not based on legitimate public health and safety issues and have a serious potential for damaging our client's ongoing marketing and sales efforts," said Peterson. "The city will be held fully accountable for any negative impacts in the building and any damages sustained by our client as a result of such actions."


4) City is tough on builders, Ferrario tells Commission

March 21, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

By Larry Ruehlen

Inspectors can't be everywhere at once but they are getting builders to comply with Birmingham city codes, said city building official Mary Ferrario Monday.

"If there is damage to the right-of-way... it would have to be repaired, filled, seeded and sodded," said Ferrario. "I think any builder in town would tell you how strict we are on this."

Ferrario was talking to a crowd of builders and residents at Monday's Birmingham City Commission meeting during a presentation on construction site violations. The report was intended to respond to City Commissioner Gordon Thorsby, who drove around town last month and produced a file of some 40 possible code violations, many of which were related to tree damage.

Thorsby's list of complaints led to increased code enforcement by building inspectors and police, who made a combined 1,811 inspections during a two-week period in February that cost taxpayers an estimated $6,000 in overtime. The results of those inspections was the basis of Ferrario's report.

Several city officials said they were doing their best to enforce codes that are already on the books but a tree ordinance would help them prevent injuries to trees during the construction process. As it stands now, builders can nail signs into a tree or even chop it down if it is on private property.

When trees are damaged on city property, builders are held responsible for repairs or replacement. That holds true for damaged grass, concrete, sidewalks or curbs as well, said Ferrario. "They have to make the repairs or they won't get a certificate of occupancy," she said.

Her presentation lasted more than an hour as she addressed Thorsby's complaints one-by-one. Thorsby had a previous engagement and didn't attend the meeting, but Ferrario said some of his complaints did merit warnings to builders. She also said there is no way her staff of three-part time inspectors can visit all construction sites on a daily basis.

The best approach is for residents who see something particularly offensive to alert city officials as soon as possible because violations such as unsecured fencing can change quickly, she said. And her department issues several stop orders and writes at least one misdemeanor ticket for violations per month. When pressed why she doesn't write more tickets, Ferrario said that wouldn't be effective.

"We are more into gaining compliance than writing tickets," she said.

She also said that city residents often park on the grass without complaints from neighbors. When the city builds a road, people don't complain about damage to the right-of-way, she said.

"Not all damage is done by contractors," she said. "And respect is a two-way street."

That comment got applause from builders but members of the commission weren't clapping when Ferrario said she kept a file inches thick with complaints filed by resident Tom Elliott, who had earlier in the day been appointed to the parks and recreation board by the city commission.

City Commissioner Dante Lanzetta said he didn't like the idea of Ferrario keeping a "dossier" on a private citizen and his city commission colleagues Seth Chafetz and Don Carney agreed with his concerns.

"I'm curious who else you have a file on," said Carney.

Elliott said he had a right to complain and question the performance of his government.

Lanzetta then gave a mini-presentation of his own.

He said just six of Thorsby's complaints were handled quickly.

"You just have to wait until the house is finished and the certificate of occupancy heals everything," he said. "It heals all wounds and everything will be fine, the answer (for residents) is grin and bear it, tough it out... if you have gripes about construction issues you have six chances out of 40 that something will be done."

Ferrario wanted to disagree but Lanzetta said he wasn't prepared to hear it. Birmingham Mayor Dianne McKeon said, in the interest of time, Ferrario couldn't respond.

City Commissioner Rackeline Hoff ended the discussion by trying to get commission and city staff to settle their differences but the effort fell short with Lanzetta laying the blame for the adversarial relationship at the feet of the administration.

The commission took no further action on the report.


5) Editorial: Dispute over building violations saps city officials of scarce time, money, energy

March 19, 2002

The dogs and ponies turned out in full force Monday night as Birmingham Building Official Mary Ferrario presented her long-awaited -- and l-o-n-g and
tedious -- response to Commissioner Gordon Thorsby's l-o-n-g list of alleged building violations.

You can draw several conclusions from this whole episode, but one of the most important is surely that Ferrario and the City Commission could use some serious lessons in time management.

No matter what your level of tolerance for the disruptions caused by builders in our town, you have to shake your head in wonderment when you consider the amount of time and money that's been devoted to this issue over the past few weeks -- with virtually no official action by the Commission.

First you have Thorsby spending at least four days taking pictures of dubious building violations, and then compiling and presenting a PowerPoint presentation to the Commission.

Next you have the Community Development Department and the Police Department scrambling (often on overtime) to respond to Thorsby's concerns, with little additional enforcement, since few laws are actually being broken.

Then you have Ferrario, backed up by Chief of Police Richard Patterson, Assistant Director of Public Service Bob Fox and a large cast of city staffers, many on overtime, making a ridiculously long and repetitive presentation (more than an hour Monday night) to explain the enforcement efforts.

And finally, you have City Commissioner Seth Chafetz (backed by fellow Ferrario-haters Dante Lanzetta and Donald Carney) confronting Ferrario with silly questions about her tolerance for construction vehicles blocking sidewalks (over which Ferrario has no authority) and her compilation of "dossiers" on citizens who have taken it upon themselves to act as vigilantes in the fight against the rude, crude tradesmen who terrorize our neighborhoods.

Pathetic, yes, but not without entertainment value.

Take the case of Tom Elliott. We congratulate him on his appointment to the Parks and Recreation Board Monday night, a position for which he appears to be well qualified. Now officially a city official, we hope Elliott devotes as much attention to his new responsibilities as he has devoted over the past couple of years to making complaints about builders in town.

During her presentation, Ferrario held up a thick file of complaints made by Elliott over the past 18-20 months, and explained the efforts required to respond to them. Ferrario wouldn't say how many complaints it contained, but Elliott later said it held "more than 50; less than 100," many about building projects nowhere near Elliott's home.

Carney asked to examine the file and questioned Ferrario closely on her filing habits.

Somebody (was it Lanzetta?) used the word "dossier" to describe the file.

Later, Elliott stood before the Commission and read from the Michigan Constitution and the Bill of Rights in defending his right to make the complaints.

Then Chafetz, in a righteous speech near the end of the marathon, six-hour session (it ended around 2 a.m.), apologized and suggested an apology might be forthcoming from Ferrario.

It wasn't.

Once again to her credit, Commissioner Rackeline Hoff wisely and reasonably suggested the combatants "work together."

"What can we do to move forward?" she asked.

The apparent answer, after all the time, money and emotional energy spent: Nothing. The Commission took no action, and the city was back where it was before all this started -- where it probably should have been left all along by a Commission with much more important matters to contemplate:

If you've got a gripe, call the cops or the building department, and somebody will get on the case.


6) Editorial: Sniping can be deadly

March 17, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

By Greg Kowalski

I like to tell young reporters to draw on their experiences when they try to write about an issue, particularly a complicated one.

In reality, there are few new issues, just variations on a theme that has played out somewhere else. This is especially evident with the situation in Birmingham regarding the pros and cons of continuing development.

Much of what is happening in Birmingham in terms of development was brought into focus Wednesday at the "Real Estate: Retail, Residential & Realty" real estate forecast luncheon sponsored by the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and the Eccentric newspapers at the Townsend Hotel.

Speakers were Fred Marx of Marx Layne & Co. marketing and public relations firm; Bob Taylor, real estate agent with the Weir, Manuel, Snyder & Ranke real estate firm; and Patty McCollough, community development director for the city.

None of them got into the controversy that is besetting this city, which has become somewhat divided between those who would severely restrict further development and those who would encourage it.

But the information presented was impressive. Marx covered retail trends, Taylor outlined the city's amazing housing market, and McCollough defined just what has been built, what is being build and what is planned.

The bottom line number quoted by McCollough was some 920,000 square feet of new development, not counting houses. This is spread across a variety of projects, ranging form the Palladium to the expansion of Kroger on Maple.

This is the kind of development that most towns would drool over. Most towns. But the fact is that some towns aren't interested in growth. They want to remain small or residential or even rural.

This is where drawing on other experiences can be a valuable tool in interpreting situations. While every town is unique in some ways, all share some common circumstances. Take West Bloomfield. It's about 90 pecrcent developed now and some residents have put up bitter resistance to further growth. It actually is in a situation of having to begin redevelopment even berfore it has completed its development phase. On the other hand, Walled Lake is embracing development just as fast as it can. Bloomfield Township has its own perspective -- it encourages development and even redevelopment, but with a focus almost entirely on residences. That's why Telegraph north of 14 Mile to beyond Hickory Grove looks as much like a country road as Telegraph can look like.

Southfield actively seeks major new growth and takes pride in the fact that it has a genuine skyline in the form of the Town Center along the Lodge Freeway.

In each of these instances, there has been strong opposition to either the development or lack of it. (People in Southfield complained that the high-rises would block the sun. Really.)

The bottom line, however, is that from Walled Lake to Bloomfield Township and beyond, the pro- and anti-development forces co-existed relatively peacefully. They didn't agree with each other, but at least they got along.

I'm not sure that is holding true in Birmingham.

This battle of the buidings has taken on increasingly personal overtones including innuendoes directed at some people in city hall.

I don't deal in innuendoes. And I don't appreciate those who do. This kind of sniping can do enormous damage to a city, far more than people may even realize. I have seen cities devastated by personal and personnel problems.

Just remember that 50 years ago Highland Park was cited in a national survey as one of the most beautiful communities in America.

Greg Kowalski is editor of the Birmingham-Bloomfield Eccentric. He may be reached at (248) 901-2570 or by email at gkowalski@oe.homecomm.net
{{PERIOD}}

7) Letter to Eccentric: Why so critical of builders?

March 21, 2002

For nine years I have lived on Henrietta Street between Frank and Brown streets, adjacent to the central business district. During that time nine new houses have been built on my block. One, directly across the street, has been under construction for two years.

Despite the best efforts of the contractors, sometimes a tradesman will leave a construction gate open at the end of the day. When that happens I cross the street and close the gate. Sometimes I find that some trash from a construction site has blown on to my lawn or on a neighbor's lawn. If so, I pick it up and put it in my trash bin. I find this much easier and more satisfying than calling a commissioner.

Isn't that the way it used to be? What has happened? Who has "stirred the pot" that has caused many residents to be so critical of builders? We should remember that every one of the 7,000 houses in Birmingham (including our own) was under construction at some time in the past and must have caused some inconvenience. What I don't remember in my 40 years here is the negative behavior we have today.

Gordon Riggs
Birmingham


8) Letter to Eccentric: Questions for Ferrario

March 21, 2002

It seems incredible to me that builders in this town have such little respect for the residents, but have so much support by the city management and building department.

Questions we hope (building official Mary) Ferrario answers in the extensive Powerpoint presentation include:

(1) Why is it when you call the Birmingham Police Department on a Sunday afternoon to complain about construction workers working on Sunday in violation of the city ordinance, a building inspector gets to the scene prior to the policeman and "advises" the policeman that he should do nothing about this, including that "we always just give them a warning" and "we never ticket them"?

(2) Why is it that the same building inspectors have no problem threatening residents if a resident (such as myself) attempts to perform any kind of "construction related work" on a Sunday or after 7 p.m.? Are residents supposed to ignore their threats?

(3) Why is it that someone like Pat Beshouri and other builders can write letters to the editor of this newspaper upset that someone "might" get ticketed for violation of a city ordinance? Shouldn't builders always get ticketed for violating city ordinances?

(4) Are building inspectors instructed to call the building site to tell the builder that they are coming in response to complaints?

(5) Why are certain larger sized building sites (Dakota, Willits, and others) given preferential treatment every step of the way "to get the building built"?

(6) Why did it take $6,000 in overtime to visit 290 projects with the staff of people they have in the building department? Isn't it their job to do this anyway? How many of the projects did they normally visit during working hours?

(7) Did the building inspectors make contact with any of the builders prior to visiting any of the 290 sites? Were they instructed to make contact with the builders?

(8) Are construction sites with chicken wire fences and gates left open overnight covered under zoning ordinances that the Building Department will enforce? Is saving a child's life worth a builder spending a few more dollars of his million-dollar profit on higher quality fencing?

Editorials in this newspaper focusing on the less egregious violations do not take this issue anywhere other than masking the more significant violations that are occurring.

Jeff and Susan Sadowski
Birmingham


9) City seeks comment on proposed ethics codes

March 19, 2002

The City Commission was presented with two codes of ethics Monday night, and is seeking comment and criticism from city officials, employees and residents.

Read the edited version of a code proposed by the President Council of Homeowner Associations at http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/Ethics_PC.pdf.

Read a code compiled by Commissioner Don Carney, City Attorney Tim Currier and City Manager Tom Markus at http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/Ethics_CA.pdf.

Send an email to city officials with your comments on the proposed codes very simply from our home page at http://www.bhambuzz.org.


10) Roundtable set on traffic concerns

The Birmingham Neighborhood Roundtable Committee, made up of residents and city officials, will meet to discuss traffic concerns on April 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Department of Public Services, 851 S. Eton. The public is welcome. Mark your calendar!

11) Cranbrook president to discuss preservation

Cranbrook President Frederick (Rick) Nahm will discuss historic preservation in a community forum April 23 sponsored by the Mill Pond Neighborhood Association. The talk will be at 7 p.m. in the Rotary Room of the Baldwin Public Library. Mark your calendar!

Before joining Cranbrook last year, Nahm was Senior Vice President of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. He has extensive experience in education and fund-raising.

12) Quarton Lake project newsletter is released

The City of Birmingham has released an update on the Quarton Lake dredging project. View it at http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/Quarton_News_0302.pdf. The newsletter will also be posted in our Resources section.

13) Attend Buzz Forum on downtown development

Mark your calendar now for the second Birmingham Buzz Community Forum at 7 p.m. April 18 at the Community House. Our topic: Downtown development.

The forum will feature a presentation on urban planning, a panel discussion about the evolution of downtown zoning laws, and a question-and-answer session.

If you are, like us, confused about the recent debate regarding allowable building heights, if you wonder what the "overlay" and "underlay" ordinances are all about, what the 2016 Plan says, and whether or not these changes will hamper development or encourage it, this forum is for you.

14) To be removed, send a request to info@bhambuzz.org.


Number 11: March 18, 2002

-------------------------------------------------------------
THE BIRMINGHAM BUZZ
-- "It's the 2016 Plan, stupid."
-------------------------------------------------------------

Buzz # 11 -- March 18, 2002

Promoting intelligence and reason in city government. Our mission: To inform and involve all Birmingham citizens.

-- For awesome resources, visit our website at http://www.bhambuzz.org.

-- Check out our archives at http://www.bhambuzz.org/archives.htm.

-- Join our lively discussion group at http://www.bhambuzz.org/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi.

-- Subscribe at http://www.bhambuzz.org/subscribe.htm


In this edition:

1) Attend Buzz Forum on downtown development
2) Latest Booth Park plans are posted
3) First draft of 2016 Plan is posted
4) Willits project under review
5) Delayed building presentation back on agenda
6) Cities get downtown to business as work proceeds on projects
7) Mega-mansions' upside: They help reduce suburban sprawl
8) Letter to Eccentric: Thorsby commended
9) Editorial: Commission should deliberate openly on upcoming key appointments
10) City Freedom of Information form posted
11) To be removed


1) Attend Buzz Forum on downtown development

Mark your calendar now for the second Birmingham Buzz Community Forum at 7 p.m. April 18 at the Community House. Our topic: Downtown development.

The forum will feature a presentation on urban planning, a panel discussion about the evolution of downtown zoning laws, and a question-and-answer session.

If you are, like us, confused about the recent debate regarding allowable building heights, if you wonder what the "overlay" and "underlay" ordinances are all about, what the 2016 Plan says, and whether or not these changes will hamper development or encourage it, this forum is for you.


2) Latest Booth Park plans are posted

March 18, 2002

The Birmingham Buzz has posted the latest concept drawings for Booth Park. The drawings will be considered during a public hearing March 18. One of two concept drawings will be submitted along with a grant application to the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources.

The first drawing, whose estimated cost is $1.254 million, was the result of two public workshops. The second concept drawing resulted after "several [Parks & Recreation] board members felt uncomfortable with the total project cost," according to Bob Fox, assistant director of public services. The second drawings elimate two bridges to N. Old Woodward and Willits, among other items, and bring the cost into line with expenditures projected in the Recreation Master Plan.

Click here to see the $1,254,000 plan: http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/Booth_initial_concept.pdf

Click here to see the $712,459 plan: http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/Booth_refined_concept.pdf


3) First draft of 2016 Plan is posted

March 17, 2002

The Birmingham Buzz has posted the first draft of the 2016 Plan, along with accompanying illustrations. The large, Adobe Acrobat .pdf documents can be downloaded by clicking on the links below. Users with slower connections should consider downloading the files to their computers before viewing. (Right-click the links below, and choose the appropriate menu item to download.)

Much of the controversy and confusion surrounding the 2016 Plan arises because different versions of the plan were submitted to the city. The first draft, called the Downtown Birmingham Action Plan, was submitted in May 1996. The final draft of the plan, much different from the first draft, was submitted in November 1996 after much comment and criticism of the original.

Further confusion arises because the final draft of the plan contained a suggested so-called downtown "overlay zoning ordinance," but the suggested ordinance was never adopted. lnstead, an amended and significantly different version of the suggested ordinance was ultimately adopted.

Watch the Buzz in coming days for further postings of the adopted overlay ordinance, as well as a copy of the city's 200+ page response to the first draft of the plan.

Click here to read the first draft of the plan: http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/2016_First_Plan.pdf

Click here to see the accompanying illustrations: http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/2016_First_Illustrations.pdf


4) Willits project under review

March 17, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

An outside consultant may be brought in to end swirling speculation that Birmingham city staff was too gracious in granting approvals for the Willits condominium project.

"The goal of the review would be to identify changes and find out what precipitated them," said Tom Markus, Birmingham city manager.

Markus called for the hiring of an independent consulting firm, and the Birmingham Planning Board unanimously agreed with the recommendation Wednesday. The consultant would compare the set of blueprints that the planning board approved with a second set filed during the building permit process to identify discrepancies, Markus said.

Last month, Willits architect Victor Saroki was asked to explain a host of design changes, the most apparent of which was a 9-foot-8-inch screening wall atop the building.

Saroki said city staff approved the screening wall but he agreed to lower it to 4-foot-6-inches high anyway. After more than an hour of discussion about a dozen other design changes, Saroki was asked to come back April 27 to explain them to the planning board.

It wasn't clear whether all the changes were approved by city staff, but it was clear that the planning board was unaware of them until the building was under construction. At one point Saroki said a balcony that had been eliminated on the fifth floor "must have been approved or we wouldn't have done it." Other design changes included adding granite tiles below storefront glass and an additional balcony on the south side of the fifth floor.

City attorney Tim Currier attended the Feb. 27 meeting to reveal the findings of an extensive investigation into the approval process for the Willits. Currier said most of the approvals were granted by a former building official. He also said, however, that he couldn't find a paper trial for the screening wall approval. That led to further scrutiny of the Willits blueprints.

One planning board member then raised the issue of the eliminated balcony. In the weeks that followed, the height of various floors within the building was questioned as well.

Gary Kulak, chairman of the planning board, agreed that an outside review is needed.

"There appears to be differences in the plans," said Kulak. "The central question is: Is what's being built the same as what was approved?"

Kulak has asked why the administrative approvals weren't brought back for board review. He said the final site plan approval is the document of record and major changes, such as the screening wall, should have come back to the board for reconsideration. Currier said the city couldn't force the developer to make major alterations to the building even if substantive design changes were discovered because Saroki was working with blueprints approved during the building permit process.

Markus said he'll likely hire the consultant if it costs less than $5,000. If it costs more than that, the hiring will go to the Birmingham City Commission for approval.

Findings of the consultant may be discussed at the April 27 meeting. A time for the meeting hasn't been set yet.

"It would be nice to have it done by then," said Markus, "But you have to let the process work to get good factual information."


5) Delayed building presentation back on agenda

March 17, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

Mark Pilukas is anxiously awaiting a Monday presentation that will outline transgressions of builders in Birmingham.

"The sky is not falling," said Pilukas. "The city commission created the sky falling. We had armed police driving around with code enforcement officers and it was terrible. I want to see what they found out."

Pilukas is a resident of Birmingham and also a builder. His construction site at Lincoln and Floyd was on a list of complaints turned in by Birmingham City Commissioner Gordon Thorsby. That list of complaints led to increased enforcement, which included 1,800 inspections by police during a two-week period in February.

"It was overkill and I admit that," said Birmingham Police Chief Richard Patterson. "But we had to determine how big of a problem we had. My conclusion is that it wasn't a big problem. Petty violations are what we found."

Birmingham building official Mary Ferrario is scheduled to give a Powerpoint presentation at Monday's 8 p.m. Birmingham City Commission meeting. When she tried to do the same last month, she was halted by Thorsby, who said the commission should have received a copy before hand. Thorsby will not be able to attend Monday's meeting but the presentation is on the agenda.

Pilukas was one of many interested residents and builders who attended the first meeting. He was turned in for cutting down city trees and damaging a city right-of-way but makes no apologies for either. Pilukas said he was permitted to chop down the trees, and damage to property is common during construction.

"If you drive a cement truck over a sidewalk it's going to crack," Pilukas said. "We are required to restore the property to the original condition and we will. It's been the law for 60 years."

The additional inspections cost taxpayers in excess of $6,000 in overtime paid to police officers and the commission is expected to decide if Patterson should start the police inspections again.

"I'm here to respond to the needs of the commission," said Patterson. "If they want to step up enforcement again, we'll do it. Even if that means extra personnel and extra costs."


6) Cities get downtown to business as work proceeds on projects

March 11, 2002

From Crain's Detroit Business

By Andrew Dietderich

The economy doesn't appear to be slowing the evolution of several downtowns in metro Detroit that are looking to draw more businesses, residents and shoppers.

Several projects in places such as Wixom, Northville, Royal Oak and Ferndale have started or soon will start to move off paper and onto Main Street.

For example:

* A $25 million, five-story, mixed-use building is planned for downtown Northville's Cady Street, sandwiched between the city's Main Street and Northville Downs horse-racing track.

* Wixom plans to issue a request for proposals this summer for a 390-acre, mixed-use downtown district that could be worth up to $125 million. The project, planned for the intersection of Pontiac Trail and Wixom Road, would be similar to Novi's Main Street development: built from scratch.

* In Royal Oak, a two-story Barnes & Noble bookstore is being built on the site of a former city parking lot on Main Street. The same developer, Chicago-based Morningside Group, also is redeveloping three blocks on Main south of Fourth Street. Plans call for 125,000 square feet of retail, 75,000 square feet of office space and 84 loft condominium residences for young professionals.

* Other Royal Oak projects are in the planning stages: the Royal Grand condo development by Chrysos Development and Management Co. on Washington Avenue east of Fourth and a six-story office building and a seven-story hotel at Main Street and I-696 by Schostak Bros. & Co.

Royal Oak neighbor Ferndale, along with Holly and Lake Orion, are taking part in the Main Street Program, a three-year project to improve each city's design, economic structure, promotion and organization.

"People are rediscovering downtowns," said Gerard Dettloff, Royal Oak's downtown manager. "They just feel more comfortable being closer to home these days."

Mark Guidobono, president and CEO of Cambridge Homes in Northville Township, said that's exactly why he spent $25 million on his most recent development in downtown Northville.

Guidobono project contains 30 condos ranging from $300,000 to $1 million, 24,000 square feet of office space and 15,000 square feet of commercial space.

If approved, engineering and planning would be finished this year, and construction would begin next year, Guidobono said.

Offices and retailers like the building because of the high number of people migrating to areas surrounding Oakland County, he said.

But even with the successes, room for improvement remains, said Christina Sheppard-Decius, director of the Ferndale Downtown Development District. That's why Ferndale is taking part in the Main Street Program, she said.

The program is run by Oakland County's Planning and Economic Development Department in collaboration with the Washington-based National Main Street Center, part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Consultants from the Main Street Program interviewed officials and the public from November through January as part of an initial assessment, Sheppard-Decius said. The next step, during March through May, will be to determine the course of action, she said.

"We really want to see what else we can do with the design of our buildings," she said. "We struggle because of our varying architectural designs."

In Macomb County, Romeo faces a different struggle altogether: what kinds of businesses to allow downtown. Village officials plan to take up the issue this spring, said village Clerk Marian McLaughlin.

At issue is the village's Commercial Central Business District zoning ordinance, which prohibits anything but retail on the first floor of every building without special approval.
The zoning has started a feud between landlords, who contend that the limits on whom they can rent to keep more businesses out, and village officials, who want the zoning to help the downtown keep its small-town charm, McLaughlin said.

She said the issue died in November after the seven-member village board denied a recommendation from the Planning Commission to change the zoning ordinance to allow office space.

But one board member has requested that the board consider changing the zoning ordinance, McLaughlin said.

She expects the issue to be back on the agenda sometime this spring.

"The ordinance should be changed to allow offices," said Bill Parker, a real estate broker and owner of Sherman Parker Realty.

"Certainly most people are aware that retail is an extremely difficult market in the first place. And frankly, in downtown Romeo, there is not that much of a demand."

Parker said the ordinance affects about 30 buildings downtown, where lease rates average between $10 and $12 a square foot.

The ordinance has been in place since July 2000 but raised the ire of downtown merchants and others when the Planning Commission denied approval to an Edward Jones & Co. branch seeking to move into a former drugstore. McLaughlin said changing the ordinance had been scheduled to be addressed at a special Feb. 4 Planning Commission meeting, but the meeting was canceled.

Andrew Dietderich: (313) 446-0315.


7) Mega-mansions' upside: They help reduce suburban sprawl
'Tear-downs' in aging neighborhoods create smart growth, experts say

March 13, 2002

From USA Today

HINSDALE, Ill. -- In this tony Chicago suburb, 100 aging homes a year fall to the wrecking ball. One by one, mansions spring up in their place, squeezing onto small lots and towering over neighbors' modest Tudors and ranches.

This ''tear-down'' mania has been sweeping large metropolitan areas for years, rejuvenating old suburbs close to central cities. Preservationists and many longtime residents have decried the trend, complaining about the destruction of old homes and neighborhood character and deriding tear-downs as bash-and-builds, scrape-offs, starter castles, monster homes and McMansions.

But now, a politically incorrect view is spreading among some housing experts and urban planners: Tear-downs are good because they discourage sprawl.

The debate is intensifying in communities from the New Jersey shore to lakefronts around Minnesota's Twin Cities, tree-lined streets in Denver and California's Silicon Valley. Some experts argue that tear-downs fulfill the principles of ''smart growth'' because they:

* Don't eat up farmland and open space. Tear-downs allow people to build modern homes in areas that already have roads, schools, police and fire services.

* Lessen traffic congestion. Tear-downs keep people who want big homes closer to cities where they work, often along mass transit lines.

* Revitalize older suburbs. Wealthy homeowners often leave neighborhoods when housing becomes obsolete. Tear-downs bring wealth back in.

* Encourage walking to stores and schools. Older suburbs often have small downtowns, corner stores, neighborhood parks and schools.

''These are all reasons to love the monster home,'' says Karen Danielsen, a housing policy economist with the National Association of Home Builders, which supports residential construction in suburbs and cities alike. She touts the trend in the May issue of Planning magazine in an article she wrote with her husband, Robert Lang.

''Either way, these folks are building big homes,'' says Lang, director of the Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech in Alexandria, Va. ''You can have them do it where it does some good, or they can go on building them as they have been for years way out there where the corn grows.''

Lynette and Tom Lovelace expect to move into their 4,500-square-foot custom home in Hinsdale this fall after leaving a subdivision about 10 miles farther out.

''I'm fascinated with the idea that I can actually walk to buy a gallon of milk,'' she says.

Now, ''I have to get in a car to get anywhere.''

Old money vs. new

The anti-sprawl benefits of tear-downs are compelling, but they're not an easy sell.

Like other development issues -- from growth boundaries around metropolitan areas to stricter zoning and construction moratoriums -- tear-downs pit old neighbors against new, preservationists against builders. Tear-downs also intensify the clash of classes, the rich against the middle class, old money vs. new. Local governments are caught in the middle, balancing property rights, concerns of longtime residents and the need to boost their tax base.

Preservationists want to stop sprawl, but they hate tear-downs.

''I don't see any redeeming value in the tear-down phenomenon,'' says Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

''These tear-downs almost inevitably lead to the destruction of community. These (old) homes can be restored, can be renovated, can be added on to.''

But many well-heeled homebuyers eager to move closer to cities want no part of old houses.

''I can't live with things that are going to have to be redone,'' says Lynn Corsiglia of Hinsdale. ''I'm not into wiring, redoing roofs and refinishing original floors. I see the houses that are being torn down as houses that should be torn down.''

Moe and housing advocates say that tear-downs inflate the value of neighborhood real estate so much that middle-class families no longer can buy homes in the communities where they grew up. The tear-down ''Rule of Three'': The new house will be three times as big and cost three times as much as the old house.

Don Chen, president of Smart Growth America, a coalition that wants to control sprawl, recognizes some benefits of tear-downs. ''They breathe new life into old neighborhoods,'' he says. But he says tear-downs don't help communities encourage the development of affordable housing.

The growing popularity of tear-downs ''creates some problems,'' acknowledges James Hughes, head of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. But sharply higher property values and neighborhood friction are preferable to ''problems of decline and housing abandonment,'' he says. ''Some of the housing stock really is obsolete in terms of what the elite and even the middle class wants today. They may have some charm because they were built in the '20s, but they really don't meet the tests of today's market.''

Americans love big homes. The typical post-World War II tract house was barely as big as today's master-bedroom suites: his-and-hers walk-in closets, sitting rooms and giant bathrooms. According to the National Association of Home Builders, only 7% of new houses in 1984 were larger than 3,000 square feet. By 2000, the number had jumped to 18%.

The demand for big homes has pushed people farther from cities and into the countryside where there is space to build big. But that push has clogged highways and stretched commutes. In a dramatic shift in values, many people no longer want to be isolated from stores and schools. They want to live in a place with Norman Rockwell sensibilities and 21st century amenities -- a Starbucks, barber shop, grocery store and flower shop all within walking distance.

In the Chicago area, almost all the communities with flourishing tear-down business are closer-in suburbs along train lines: Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn and Elmhurst. In the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, homes are being torn down along the shores of Lake Owosso in Roseville, just over the city line. Another hotbed: Arlington, Va., across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. In Florida, it's happening in ritzy Winter Park, outside Orlando.

Close-in suburbs are prime territory for tear-downs because of their location and because many of their residents are getting old. When they die or move away, the homes they leave behind are snapped up by developers.

''There are almost no vacant lots in Hinsdale,'' says builder Tim Thompson, who demolishes old houses and builds some of the town's most exclusive custom homes. Driving down Bruner Street in the less pricey southwest part of town, he points at a stretch of houses and says: ''All these will come down.''

Land in Hinsdale is in such demand that people are paying $1.4 million for an old 3,000-square-foot house. After tearing it down, they're building a 5,000-square-foot house for $3.5 million.

''I like living in an old town in a new home,'' Corsiglia says. ''The newer the better.'' After tearing down an old home, Corsiglia and her husband, John, enjoy a 5,000-square-foot house with five bedrooms, three full baths, two half-baths, a study and the obligatory big kitchen. John Corsiglia, an information technology consultant, can get to downtown Chicago in 25 minutes by car, 20 by train.

''We got way more house for our money,'' says Barbara Schwartz, a Hinsdale mother of five. ''The community is worth all the land we gave up.''

Town reaps benefits

In Hinsdale, founded in 1877, more than 1,100 houses -- one-fourth of the total -- have been built on previously developed lots since 1986. The town's finances have vastly improved as higher real-estate values have led to higher property taxes.

Hinsdale (population 17,349) is one of the smallest of 46 U.S municipalities awarded the top AAA credit rating by Standard & Poor's last fall. That distinction by the financial analyst and rating service allows Hinsdale to borrow money at lower interest rates. S&P cited an increase in Hinsdale's assessed property values of almost 6% a year in the 1990s and attributed the rise partly ''to active tear-down of older housing to make way for larger homes.''

Despite the windfall, Hinsdale officials are careful not to endorse tear-downs.

There are reasons why the issue is so delicate. For decades, zoning laws in older suburbs allowed for construction of good-size homes on small lots. There were few problems with neighbors because most people wanted big yards. Now, many people are building as big as zoning allows because they want more house than garden.

Many communities have enacted ''mansionization'' ordinances to limit the height and size of new homes. In nearby Glen Ellyn, where 60 homes were torn down last year, new houses can occupy no more than 20% of the lot.

In Hinsdale and other Chicago suburbs, tear-downs sometimes antagonize neighboring homeowners. At a recent public hearing in Oak Park, 30 residents complained about one house going up on their street. ''They said the house makes the house next door look like a dog house,'' says Jean Follett, a member of Hinsdale's Historic Preservation Commission. ''It's out of scale with what's next door, what's across the street, what's behind it.''

'Creating a new ghetto'

Hinsdale has always been expensive. But not Elmhurst to the north. One of Chicago's old railroad suburbs, the town historically has been largely working class. The homes are modest and set far back from the street -- the dream tear-down lot.

Home prices have soared about 60% since 1993. Builders are paying about $325,000 for a tear-down, then selling a new home on the same lot for more than twice that.

''The economics are unbelievably compelling'' -- except for middle-class buyers who want to move to Elmhurst, Follett says. ''We're creating a new ghetto. We're pushing affordable housing into the outer fringes of suburbia.''

But Virginia Tech's Lang says that building expensive homes next to post-war bungalows creates mixed-income neighborhoods and distributes wealth across a metropolitan area rather than concentrating it in newer suburbs, he says.

In exclusive, long-established communities such as Hinsdale, however, change is not easily accepted, especially when fueled by new wealth. Many of the town's new residents are young bond traders.

For longtime residents, seeing old friends' homes destroyed is painful. ''I can't stand it,'' says Barbara Clarke, 75, who lives in a home built in 1951. Next door, a 1920s Cape Cod was torn down and a bigger house went up, blocking Clarke's view of the sunset. Across the street, another house is set for demolition. ''I've seen beautiful homes being torn down and replaced with humongous homes that are not in keeping with the neighborhood,'' Clarke says. ''A lot of them are just plain ugly. ''

But Thompson, the builder responsible for many of the monster homes in Hinsdale, says: ''I've thought of my own houses coming down some day. I don't have a problem with that. Anything can be improved upon.''


8) Letter to Eccentric: Thorsby commended

March 14, 2002

A recent editorial in the Eccentric, as well as Letters to the Editor from builders, have been critical of Birmingham Commissioner Gordon Thorsby's call for increased enforcement of building codes.

I commend Mr. Thorsby for his stand. I live next door to a "Big foot" new home construction site. I have contacted the Community Development Department, as well as the Birmingham Police Department, on numerous occasions about obvious code violations, such as sump water being pumped into my yard and construction starting before 7 a.m. and Sunday construction.

The Community Development Department has been very unresponsive to my concerns. The lack of code enforcement or citations in these matters goes a long ways to explain why they continue to occur to this day.

Code enforcement is NOT doing its job. If it were, construction workers would not be parked in front of my house at 6:30 in the morning, construction debris would not be littering my yard and I would not have to regularly clean mud from the site from my garage and cars. The Eccentric, as well as the builders, apparently feel that these types of complaints are "insignificant and petty," as a recent letter to the editor put it.

The Birmingham Building Guide states: "Builders are encouraged to police themselves, thus reducing the need for added laws and enforcement." My experience has repeatedly demonstrated the need for those "added laws and enforcement". And, as the Community Development Department has failed to adequately enforce the city building ordinances, Mr. Thorsby's actions are welcomed.

Keep at it Mr. Thorsby.

Donald C. Barkel, Birmingham


9) Editorial: Commission should deliberate openly on upcoming key appointments

The Birmingham City Commission will soon be making appointments to five of its advisory boards: Planning, Parks & Recreation, Historic District & Design Review (HDDRC), Traffic & Safety and Cablecasting.

Many of these appointements, particularly to the Planning Board, provide an opportunity for the Commission and the community at large to discuss the direction the city is taking with regard to development and other matters.

Unfortunately, many recent appointments have been made with little or no discussion. Even when the Commission split recently 5-2 between Jean Holland and Mark Nickita for the Planning Board, the interviews were cursory, and public discussion among Commission members was non-existent.

The citizens of Birmingham deserve better, and our Commissioners are capable of delivering it to us -- if they want.

Planning Board members are making key decisions and recommendations about the city's future. The Commission has declared the Planning Board the primary venue for public hearings regarding changes to our zoning ordinances. Parks & Recreation Board members will be deeply involved in key decisions about how the city will spend up to $25 million in bond money approved by voters last November.

The citizens of Birmingham deserve qualified, experienced people on these boards. They deserve a Commission that will conduct full, fair interviews of all candidates, and openly deliberate on nominations, appointments and the direction in which these decisions take us.

If you're interested in serving on any of these boards, applications for Parks & Rec and Traffic & Safety are due at the City Clerk's office by noon March 13th. Appointments will be made March 18. Applications for the Planning Board, HDDRC, and Cablecasting Board are due by noon March 20th, and appointments will be made March 25. Call the Clerk's office at (248) 644-1800 ext. 282 for an application or answers to your questions.


10) City Freedom of Information form posted

March 8, 2002

The Buzz has posted a copy of the Birmingham Freedom of Information request form. Access it on our home page, or click the link below. Use it to request public information from the City in accordance with the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, which you can read at http://www.ag.state.mi.us/foia_and_open_meetings/foia.htm.

Our form contains fields that you can type into. Just fill it out, print it, sign it, and deliver it to the Clerk's office. Our Clerk gratiously accepts requests via fax (the number is printed on the form), and her office either fulfills them itself, or passes them on to the appropriate department for fulfillment.

Access the form at http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/foi.pdf.


11) To be removed, send a request to info@bhambuzz.org.


Number 10: March 7, 2002

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THE BIRMINGHAM BUZZ
-- "It's the 2016 Plan, stupid."
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Buzz # 10 -- March 7, 2002

Welcome to the 10th edition of the Birmingham Buzz. If you missed our first nine editions, check out our archives at http://www.bhambuzz.org/archives.htm.

Promoting intelligence and reason in city government. Our mission: To inform and involve all Birmingham citizens. Visit us at http://www.bhambuzz.org.

In this edition:

1) Buzz development forum is rescheduled
2) Barnum/Beaumont feasibility study is posted
3) Editorial: What is our Commission's plan?
4) Editorial from Eccentric: Show reason in building oversight
5) Letter to Eccentric: Thorsby needs redirection
6) Midtown dispute settled, cafe gets new lease
7) Our talk isn't just cheap, it's intelligent
8) Developers blend suburbs, downtown:
9) Buzz irons out kinks in new forum
10) City Attorney defends Willits process
11) To be removed


1) Buzz development forum is rescheduled

March 7, 2002

The second Birmingham Buzz Community Forum, and the first in a series on development in Birmingham, has been rescheduled for April 18. Mark your calendar, and watch the Buzz for the exact time and place.

In an editorial republished below, the Birmingham Eccentric joined the call for more reasoned and intelligent debate over development in town. "If there is any question regarding how the residents view development then call for a community forum to thrash out the issue in public," the editorial said.

The Buzz hopes to inform and involve all interested parties in the debate. The next forum will include a presentation on downtown building heights, a panel discussion, and will offer the opportunity for questions and comments from the audience. We hope to see you there!


2) Barnum/Beaumont feasibility study is posted

March 7, 2002

The Buzz has posted a study completed late last year on the feasibility of acquiring the former Barnum School property, which is currently owned by Beaumont Hospital. Click on the link on our home page, or go to http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/Barnum_Feasibility.pdf. The 3.6mb file is in Adobe Acrobat .pdf format.

A Beaumont spokesperson said Thursday that most Beaumont operations at the facility would be moved to a new location in Royal Oak by the end of 2002, and that the hospital has made no decisions regarding the sale or future use of the site.

The special land use permit granted to the hospital by the city gives Birmingham a right of first refusal to purchase the property, should it become available. The city is moving forward with due diligence on the property, said City Manager Tom Markus.


3) Editorial: What is our Commission's plan?

By Jason Lewiston

In 1998 a house built in 1926 was sold in Birmingham, on Wallace Street. The home had been partially remodeled in 1989. As a builder and the owner of a historic home myself, I can attest that fully remodeling a 1920s home to present day standards is far more costly than building new.

In 2000, the 1926 home was demolished to make way for a new home. The seller in 1998 could have placed a deed restriction on the 1926 home forbidding its destruction by future owners; he could have asked for a historic designation; in fact, he even could have insisted that any new home cover only 20% or 25% of the lot.

Any of these restrictions would have lowered the property value, however, and no one can blame a man for wanting to do the best for his family. Nor should we as neighbors be upset that a new home will be built. The new home will add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the local economy, provide thousands in school taxes, provide funds to replace our aging infrastructure, and is a testimony to the desire of many to renew our neighborhoods rather than abandon Birmingham and start again elsewhere.

How profound that the seller of the 1926 home was Birmingham City Commissioner Gordon Thorsby, who is now a leading advocate of restrictions of all kinds to stop the renewal of our downtown and neighborhoods.

Surely Commissioner Thorsby and the other Commissioners will strenuously argue with the label of "obstructionist" to development. They claim to support "proper" redevelopment, yet no one has ever heard the definition of "proper" from them. They claim that the developers have entirely misunderstood the meaning of the 2016 Plan, yet they do not want to invite the authors of the plan to discuss it, even as they eviscerate it with new restrictions. They claimed that the Palladium and other downtown developments would harm our city, but have yet to demonstrate how. Worst of all, they seem intent on appeasing the crowd that is most susceptible to the fear, anger, prejudice and jealousy that change inevitably brings.

By preventing the redevelopment of our neighborhoods and our downtown in accordance with market demands and the 2016 Plan, the current Commission essentially designates 1950 as the year Birmingham reached its planning and architectural pinnacle. This being the case, we could have saved the $400,000 we spent on the 2016 Plan and merely taken pictures of the Crowley's building and some post World War II homes, and stated that this is what Birmingham should resemble forever. In deferring to 1950, the current Commission likes to scold modern builders and developers as being over-aggressive in their actions, yet if you added up all of the new homes built in the 1980s and 1990s, the sum would be less than the 717 homes built in the year 1950. Present-day builders could learn a lot about clearing trees and "occupying green space" from the past generation.

Of course, as Commissioner Thorsby recently pointed out, even the handful of houses now under construction can create debris. Birmingham currently requires fencing around building sites, which helps a great deal. More importantly, the presentation made recently by Commissioner Thorsby regarding the supposed lawlessness of builders is part of a petty campaign to have our building official, Mary Ferrario, fired. Mrs. Ferrario's crime is that she actually issues building permits to builders who are in compliance with current zoning ordinances. The Commission would like a building official whom they can control and who will reject all building applications regardless of compliance. This would lead to lawsuits, right?

Unfortunately, the Commission does not seem to care about lawsuits. Last year, the Commission refused to grant a demolition permit to the owner of 543 Vinewood on the pretense that the home was somehow connected to Elijah Willits. That "fact" was never proven, the owner of the lot sued the city, and a mediation panel has recommended an award of $500,000 to the homeowner. That's in addition to the demolition permit. And it is also our tax money, yours and mine.

If Mrs. Ferrario has taken a bribe, issued permits in significant noncompliance with current law, or otherwise exercised malfeasance, then present the evidence in an open meeting, and have the City Manager remove her that night. Otherwise, if she is to be part of whisper campaign to remove her so that someone under the Commission's control can be appointed, we are simply going to be the recipient of yet another costly lawsuit, in this case for wrongful termination. Maybe the City can foolishly waste yet more of our tax money on a case it deserves to lose.

Even worse, we will soon have a "tree ordinance" which is yet another method to remove our property rights without simply saying so. Commissioner Chafetz was quoted in the Birmingham Eccentric as saying, "If you can't build a house and keep the trees on your neighbor's yard alive, then maybe you shouldn't be building that house." Commssioner Chafetz is a very intelligent and friendly person, but because he is not a lawyer, nor a developer, nor does he have any experience whatsoever with real estate, he does not realize that under centuries-old common law it is already unlawful for a builder to damage a neighbor's trees. The Commission should find a better excuse for a tree ordinance. Further, if tree preservation trumps all property rights, we should no longer honor our city's founders, or the owners of the 1950s houses. Likely if you added up the number of trees cleared by people whose names are on streets in Birmingham, it would be 100 times more than the number of trees cleared by builders in the last three decades.

As part of this all-out battle against redevelopment, none of the changes to the 2016 Plan or to the zoning code are being conducted with the advice of real estate professionals. And a member of any city board who is not of a like mind with the Commissioners is being replaced. What is the harm of asking professionals for their advice before making these major changes? When was the last time a developer burst into an ice rink to tell Mr. Chafetz how to teach figure skating?

Further, if there is a mandate from the last two elections to simply throw away the 2016 Plan, why was that intention not stated in the campaigns? Why did the districts closest to town vote 60-40 for the moderates in the last election? Do the people on 40-foot-wide lots realize the implications of 30% total coverage? Do the people on sloping lots yet realize the implications of the grade-plane ordinance, which would preclude Allen House from being built? If we are not implementing the 2016 Plan, what is the plan for the future? If we are not going to allow any redevelopment, what will that mean for our tax base and the competitiveness of our schools?

For the sake of our city, we need to answer these questions.

Jason Lewiston is a resident of Birmingham, and a builder.


4) Editorial: Show reason in building oversight

From the Birmingham Eccentric

A little reason, please, in the ongoing battle of the buildings in Birmingham.

The current city commission has made it quite clear it is opposed to further development in the city and does not want to see any more large buildings downtown or Bigfoot houses in the neighborhoods. That's understandable, given the strong feelings many residents have about preserving the small-town quality that Birmingham still has. But the opposition is assuming some ludicrous proportions.

Specifically, Commissioner Gordon Thorsby is challenging building projects to the point of absurdity. Thorsby and his supporters have taken to personally inspecting some of the 290 building projects going on in the city and noting alleged building code violations.

These are being forwarded to the city's building department at a furious rate for follow-up inspection. Thorsby has identified so many suspected violations that the city has had to send police officers to check on the sites. This already has cost the city $6,000 in overtime for the police inspections.

Some of the alleged violations have amounted to no more than mud tracked on sidewalks and complaints about some of the lettering on construction site signs.
While Birmingham does not have a reputation as a high-crime area, it is also true that our police officers have better things to do than follow muddy footprints on the sidewalks. Police Chief Richard Patterson said that his officers have found "very few" violations.

Even Mayor Dianne McKeon said, "I understand there are residents with concerns, but that isn't how I want my tax dollars spent."
Indeed.

To make matters worse, the commissioners gave the public a collective slap in the face by delaying a presentation of a report on the building code violations by the building department at the city commission meeting last week. Some of the residents in the audience had waited nearly three hours for the presentation, which was abruptly canceled after Thorsby said he wanted a printed preview of the Powerpoint presentation before it was made public.

Thorsby said that if any of the sites had been misidentified, it could have opened the door to a lawsuit. Aside from the fact that that is a tenuous argument at best, the commissioners showed bush league style in not moving the item to the front of the agenda before canceling it so they wouldn't waste so much time for so many people. A more in-tune commission would have picked up on the potential for upsetting the people and avoided the collective insult.

But in reality, the issue goes far deeper than a few wasted hours. Some commissioners have virtually laid siege to the building department. They are upset over downtown development projects and the number of small houses being torn down to make room for larger ones. They want the department to demonstrate a new attitude that it will rigidly control growth.

The department should reflect the will of the administration, which in turn should reflect the will of the residents. But that won't be accomplished by nitpicking piles of bricks. And indeed, if the city is looking for a lawsuit, then it need just harass a few builders who have deep pockets and a willingness to drag the city into court.
The bottom line is that everyone should just take a step back from this whole issue. Send the police back on regular patrol and let the building department do its job. And if there is any question regarding how the residents view development then call for a community forum to thrash out the issue in public.

But this policy of operating by intimidation and obstruction must stop.


5) Letter to Eccentric: Thorsby needs redirection

This letter is in response to the article in the Thursday, Feb. 14, Eccentric entitled "Code Enforcement srutinized-Birmingham commissioner calls for crackdown on builders," as well as the city commission meeting on Feb. 24.

I have been a Birmingham resident for the last 15 years, lease office space in the downtown area and own a small development company which builds exclusively in Birmingham.

In an effort to better understand the nature of Mr. Thorsby's complaint, I filed a Freedom of Information request with the Community Development Department and reviewed the file containing his e-mail's, photos and documentation outlining the alleged code violations. I found no documentation supporting his claim that "residents have been calling him" to complain. Instead it appears that Mr. Thorsby unilaterally decided to conduct his own drive by inspection of building sites.

As a result of his inspection, Mr. Thorsby prepared a package containing at least 40 examples of alleged violations, however, he failed to include the addresses. My immediate thought was that if he was legitimately concerned about the inconvenience to our community, why is it that he failed to contact the police department or e-mail the appropriate city official with the relevant addresses?

One can only conclude that Mr. Thorsby's goal here is less about protecting our community and more about further alienating the city against builders, notwithstanding his claim in the article that he "hates the polarization between the neighbors and the builders." Moreover, the vast majority of the alleged violations involved damage to city property, which is subject to inspection and repair prior to the issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Other alleged violations were simply insignificant and petty, such as the "signs nailed into the tree" and the "size of a construction sign."

If Mr. Thorsby has his way and we are going to begin ticketing builders for these violations, do we need to consider ticketing parents who inadvertently leave their children's toys on the sidewalk, or the DPW when they toss empty trash receptacles into the street, or homeowners when they fail to shovel their snow or clean up after their pets? What about city vehicles that are parked illegally while engaged in city services, or city equipment stored in the right of way in preparation for future projects? Is Mr. Thorsby going to conduct a visual inspection of these violations as well for the benefit of our community? It could be argued that these parties similarly have "no incentive to obey the law."

The vast majority of builders are professionals who understand the importance of obeying the rules and believe that it simply makes good business sense to get along with their neighbors. Let code enforcement do its job. I understand that the head of the department is a retired chief of detectives for a major city. Surely his staff is up to the task. If there is a legitimate complaint, the builder should be put on notice, provided with an opportunity to correct the violation and, if he/she fails to do so on a timely basis, a ticket issued.

It is not the city commission's job to micro-manage the various city departments. The city employs a professional staff with years of experience to perform this function and it is inappropriate to think that with his limited experience as a city commissioner, Mr. Thorsby knows better. He needs to refocus his energy on the challenges now facing the city, like parking, empty store fronts, etc. I understand that after conducting a 2-week inspection of building sites as a result of Mr. Thorsby's complaints (at a cost of over $6,000), the police department found only two violations.

Finally, why was Mr. Thorsby so vehemently opposed to providing the building official with and opportunity to respond to his allegations at the Feb. 25 city commission meeting? He alleged that the Community Development Department isn't doing its job. It's only right that the department be afforded an opportunity to respond.

Patrick M. Beshouri,
Birmingham


6) Midtown dispute settled, cafe gets new lease

March 6, 2002

From the Detroit Free Press

A longtime Birmingham eatery and bar has settled a lawsuit that will allow it to keep its lease for at least 11 years.

The Midtown Cafe, a staple in downtown Birmingham for 27 years, reached an agreement on Friday with Fuller Central Park Properties, which owns the building at 139 S. Old Woodward Ave., said Mayer Morganroth, attorney for Midtown owner Bruce Cameron.

The suit was brought in Oakland County Circuit Court after building owner Edward Fuller refused to renew Midtown's $5,400-a-month lease, which expired in 2000.
Cameron said Fuller violated his civil rights when Fuller said he didn't like the type of employees at Midtown Cafe, and wanted to replace the restaurant with condominiums.
At the time, the majority of the 45-member staff was black.

Fuller, in court papers, denied that race played a role in his decision not to renew the lease.

The case was settled before it was to go to trial Friday.

"The parties have resolved any differences they had and have reached an amicable resolution," said Douglas Hyman, Fuller's attorney. Hyman refused to comment further on the case. Fuller could not be reached.

In the settlement, Cameron has a 5-year lease at $33.50 per square foot, with the option to renew for two 3-year periods.

Morganroth, who was not sure of the exact rent total, said the settlement is at market rate and the rest of the lease terms remain the same.

"It has been a great location for me," said Cameron, who plans to remodel the Midtown Cafe.

Cameron said he is ready to move past the suit and work amicably with Fuller.

"Obviously, there's been strain but I've buried the hatchet," he said.

*** The Birmingham Eccentric's report ***

A lawsuit with racial overtones ended with little fanfare Friday as Midtown Café and Fuller Central Park Properties settled a lease dispute before going to trial.

"We're happy that we're staying in Birmingham because that's where we wanted to be all along," said Bruce Cameron, owner of Midtown. "We have a new 11-year lease, so we aren't going anywhere."

The upscale restaurant has been housed in the historic Briggs building at 111 S. Old Woodward since 1976, but Cameron filed a lawsuit claiming his landlord, Edward Fuller, refused to give Midtown a lease because he didn't like the racial composition of the workers at the restaurant.

In an earlier article in the Eccentric, Fuller declined to respond to the charge, and he could not be reached for comment for this story.

More than two years ago, Fuller announced plans to add office space and condominiums to the Briggs building. Fuller planned to live in one of the condos, and Cameron alleged Fuller wouldn't give him a new lease because he didn't want to live near the Midtown's "type" of employees. About 35 percent of Midtown employees are minorities.
Last month, Cameron's attorney, Jeffrey Morganroth, said three people heard Fuller make the statement and all of them interpreted it to mean Fuller didn't want to live near minority individuals. In accordance with state law, the lawsuit asked for damages exceeding $25,000, but Morganroth said he planned to ask a jury for more than $1 million because Fuller had made the matter racial.

Morganroth refused to discuss details of the settlement and said he didn't want to "rock the boat" because all parties were happy with the outcome of the case.

A zoning dispute with city building officials led Fuller to scuttle his plans to add to the Briggs building. Cameron said he will now proceed with a planned $300,000 remodeling of the eatery. Midtown won't close down during the project, said Cameron, as work will be done during off hours.


7) Our talk isn't just cheap, it's intelligent

Join our Discussion Forum -- visit http://www.bhambuzz.org/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi -- and get involved in Birmingham's most intelligent discussion of the issues we all face. Some samples from the past few weeks:

" 'Intra-ocular Trauma' ... I love it! Great description of decision-making in our little part of the world. I really think the lack of courage is a result of so many in our community being conditioned by their auto company employers. Auto companies rarely, if ever, make any kind of decision without studying an issue from every angle, formulating focus groups, doing statistical verification, focus group sample surveys, etc. They are deathly afraid to make an error which could cost someone a bonus or a promotion. The same kind of thinking permeates our Commission and boards, where no one is willing to trust their own instincts or even trust what they may have seen in other, more progressive communities. The result here is often the same as with the auto companies: products that are behind the curve of public demand, too little, too late. A perfect example is the Shain Park expansion, which was proposed by the [2016] Plan as a simple green space with head-in parking surrounding it, supposedly undertaken in the first five years of the Plan. Instead, what we got was an $18 million, over-designed 'Wintergarden,' raised on a platform with parking underneath for the Community House. It was studied to death by every board, committee, commission and special-interest group in town, and every attempt was made to satisfy everyone's petty needs. And the result is... NOTHING! We have got to start trusting our own eyes...our instincts...and our own judgment! Despite the blizzard of facts and figures some would throw at us in an attempt to sow panic about the impact of the Plan on parking, simply opening our eyes and believing what we see would tell us the truth!"
-- Interested Party, 02/24/2002

"I find Birmingham a bit less than welcoming to families looking to spend time in the downtown area. Last Friday evening, my family arrived in Birmingham at 4:30 for a 5:00 movie at the Palladium only to find it was sold out. The next show was at 7:00. After a bite to eat at a Coney Island, we were hard pressed to find anything to do. All stores were closed, as was the library. We ended up killing 90 minutes in the lobby of the Palladium. I would certainly be hard pressed to repeat the experience again. What can be done to invite families to spend time in the downtown area?"
-- Anonymous, 01/23/2002

"… it is unfair to blame all AIAs for poor Birmingham residential architecture. Like any profession, there are both skilled practitioners and hacks.
"The blame must be placed squarely on the shoulders of the house buying public. After all, if there weren't a demand for these turret-clad, Disneyesque caricatures of past architectural styles, they wouldn't be around.

"These minimum cost/maximum profit designs come largely from builders invoking a grotesque troweling on of "curb appeal" to a lowest cost per sq. ft. structure in an attempt make up for its complete lack of design integrity. Just go around to the backside and look -- that's right, clad in aluminum siding. The builder only seeks minimum required architect input to sign off on the already completed plans. These cookie-cutter designs are then placed in the menu book for people to point and choose from with names like "The Grand Victorian" and "The Kingwood Estate."

"Skilled architects strive to understand the needs, desires and lifestyle of the future inhabitants. They create a design to enhance the lives of and make an appropriate statement about them, and the surrounding environment. I might add that this can just as easily be done with "lower cost" housing.
"Unfortunately, as long as people seek the brainless, fast food menu of architecture, and buy into the hollow status of the "McMansion," there seem to be plenty of hacks willing to build them.
-- jcr, 02/28/2002

"Victor [Saroki] seems to be one of the few property owners who understands the impact of appropriate building accent lighting. Mr. [Andres] Duany spent some time during the charrette and in speeches discussing this, and as part of the public realm improvements he suggested in the plan was the idea of retrofitting our tired but classic streetscape light fixtures with outlets and fittings at the top allowing buildings to be lighted easily. The property owners would only have to pay the cost of the fixture, which would be installed by city personnel. Just another simple and elegant idea that was lost in the recent political morass."
-- Interested Party, 03/03/2002

"As someone involved in the Booth and Quarton Lake projects, I can tell you that they are both moving along well. Each meeting I have attended has been quite productive. People from all parts of the city agree with -- and are excited by -- each other's ideas. That's right; commissioners, planning board members, city staff, business owners and residents all working together towards a common goal.

"Wade-Trim, HRC, and city staff members (mainly Dennis Dembiec and Bob Fox) have brought a great deal of knowledge and insight to each meeting. The original poster should come to one or two and see firsthand. They are listed in the Buzz calendar.

"I am confident that because of this cooperative spirit these parks will be a great source of pride for Birmingham.

"I am hopeful that this spirit can spread to all areas of the city."
-- jcr, 03/01/2002

"The Lilith shop provides an excellent example of creative retail ideas in action. Why can't the city implement a plan to require all building owners to coordinate an effort to improve the rear facades of their buildings. Coordinated and screened refuse areas and new paint alone would be a great improvement.

"I'll be interested to see what the Willits does to their 'alley' side by the Wabeek and Ethan Allen. It must be difficult to market million-dollar units that face some rather unsightly and unkempt rear elevations.

"From an architect's perspective, the nature of these secondary pedestrian passages holds much promise. I'd love to see enhanced entrances for some of the second floor residential and offices off of the alley. Venice, California and San Diego, California come to mind as two cities where high property values and a bohemian attitude have combined to create some very cool alleys.

"Perhaps the creation of additional critical retail mass on the north end of town will drive this alley enhancement as people find more reason to walk past shops on Willits."
-- Scott R. Bonney, Architect, 03/03/2002

"So we have two groups in Birmingham: The 2016 Plan supporters (AKA SMART and Planned Growth) and the STOP Developer [NO Growth] gang led by our current city Commission. Sounds like fun and games, just opinions and no one really gets hurt, right? Think again.

"Whether you believe in the 2016 Plan as it should be (before the newly elected Commission and Planning Board mindlessly slashed it in the last 3 months) or like the new GUTTED version, all of these irresponsible moves by the Commission lead the city down a path to REAL problems. These bogus appointments, ordinance changes and things like Gordon Thorsby's WILD GOOSE CHASE on violations will add to disaster. What will be next?

"We will start to loose $$$$. Property values dropping, tax revenue down and higher costs. How much? Could be a lot.

"Examples:
* $350,000 -- The 2016 Plan price -- plus all of the time put in by our paid staff and endless time from volunteers add thousands to the consultant
price. In the last two months, the Planning Board and Commission has effectively THROWN THIS PLAN OUT. The author of the plan has found these
moves to be outrageous.

* $200,000 -- The Shain Park Plan -- paid to consultants who spent an extensive amount of time with the additional cost of the paid city staff to put together numerous studies and alternatives to the Plan to redo Shain Park. And then they shelved it. Lanzetta, Dixon, Dianne and Seth assisted in this mess. Noone has brought it back to discuss since it was shelved over two years ago.

* $6,000 -- Commissioners Gordon's [Thorsby] wild goose chase cost for police overtime. This chase led to the conclusion that our construction projects around the city are really not filled with violations as he and the NO GROWTH GANG had envisioned.
"And these are minor examples. There is MUCH, MUCH more!!

"IS ANYONE AWARE THAT THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM HAS 13 LAWSUITS AGAINST US AT THE MOMENT? That could be a whole lot of $$$$!

"Many of these lawsuits are a direct result of our current commission being mindless and hardheaded about promoting the agenda of a few and are NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF THE CITY or THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE RESIDENTS.

"IRRESPONSIBLE? Absolutely.

"Our downtown will continue to suffer, our retail will remain on the edge and places like Royal Oak will continue to grow and beat us at our original game - the 2016 Plan concept of proper development.

"Start watching this mess get worse -- the Commission has to change -- then maybe we can see some competence on the in City Hall."
-- BTA, 03/01/2002

"Those involved in public service in Birmingham know Jean Holland as a person who has concern, commitment and common sense. Anyone who suggests she would be anybody's puppet is dead wrong."
-- Dottie, 02/26/2002

"Just received a quote to have a sign placed on my rather anonymous business. 30% of the total cost was for permits, filing fees, time needed to go to the city for 4 different sets of meetings. What do my $25,000 in taxes pay for? I'd love to reveal my identity, but I need to make a living in this city. I fear the reprisal of those now in power. The city leadership has the ability to drive any dissenter out of business, on a whim, if it so chooses. I don't need to have them focus their vengence on me, much like others have had done to them."
-- Business Owner, 03/05/2002

"Regarding Jacobson's, the reports of their death in Birmingham may be premature. Several retail groups have gone through bankruptcy without affecting the operations of their many stores -- Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Franks. I have observed that even when the retail location closes, the space is usually occupied by a similar organization, often with better service and selection. As I recall when HH&S liquidated it was replaced in short order by Banks, which continues in Birmingham today. Secondly, Jacobson's has announced that it will not be closing any stores in Michigan. As I understand it, Jakes owns the building and land, which it occupies. This means that its overhead costs should be substantially lower than any of its leased stores. Suggesting: that the Birmingham stores would be the least likely to close.
"Regardless, it seems to me that the city should take some action to encourage Jakes to stay. I would suggest that we propose quasi property tax abatement for say 3 years. Since the bulk of the economic benefit from Jakes remaining in Birmingham would fall to the CBD property owners and business people, I am sure they would agree to have their PSD assessments increased to pay Jake's taxes. I believe this could be accomplished by simple commission/PSD action. In the best of all possible worlds, perhaps the non-CBD property owners should assume say 15% of the quasi abatement. However, to put in place the necessary legal framework and elections would in my opinion take so long the Jakes crisis would be over. It should also be remembered that the residential component, unlike the CBD merchants, is already supporting Jakes to a considerable extent with its retail dollars."
-- DRENALDO, 03/01/2002


8) Developers blend suburbs, downtown:
Upscale houses woo residents to urban areas

March 4, 2002

From the Detroit News

NORTHVILLE -- When Anne Smith lived in subdivisions in Canton Township and other bedroom communities, it was not unusual for her to drive 45 minutes to reach cultural events and shopping.

She decided to move to downtown Northville, where movies, coffee shops and restaurants are in walking distance. She built a $350,000 house in the city's downtown.
"When I lived in a subdivision, I'd go into my house and never go out again," said Smith, 55. "Here I can hang out in our downtown, see all my neighbors, visit the shops and eat lunch."

The city of Northville and other communities -- including Ann Arbor, Plymouth, Birmingham, Brighton and Royal Oak -- see residents like Smith as the answer to keeping their small, suburban downtowns thriving. And they're betting that residents are willing to pay big money to be where the action is.
Across Metro Detroit, developers are taking the conveniences of active suburban downtowns and combining them with multimillion-dollar condos and other upscale housing. In Northville and the other five communities alone, more than 300 units of expensive condos and lofts are being built or scheduled for construction. Residential developers are investing about $100 million in the projects.

The condos in the downtowns start at $250,000 and can top $1 million for other housing options, such as penthouses.

Developers are targeting retirees and baby boomers whose kids have moved out of their homes. Urban planners predict baby boomers will continue to move into downtown dwellings until at least 2020, attracted by the proximity of entertainment and cultural events and maintenance-free housing.

"We're at the very beginning of this new trend," said Robert Gibbs of the Gibbs Planning Group in Birmingham. "Empty nesters are moving out of their suburban homes."
In large cities such as Chicago, Atlanta and Houston, residents are moving into urban downtowns at a rapid rate. But in Metro Detroit, residents are doing the opposite and turning to suburban downtowns, instead of Detroit, to live. Urban planners say suburban communities offer walkable neighborhoods and services such as grocery stores and restaurants to meet their needs.

Critics of the trend say developers are pricing out thousands of potential buyers and fostering class separation. And, urban planners say, they are taking a big risk since there is no guarantee the expensive units will sell.

Municipal officials note that the projects bring in additional funds to their coffers. In Birmingham, the Willits building, slated to open in May with residential and retail space, will bring about $1.5 million in taxes to the city, local schools and Oakland County.

The city of Birmingham alone will capture about $540,000 of that amount, according to the city assessor's office. And that's not to mention how much the new residents will spend by shopping and eating at downtown businesses and using city services.

"Once residents are downtown they tend to spend their dollars there. They spend money on goods and services, get their cleaning done, they get their copies made and they eat in downtown," said Laurie Marrs, executive director of the Northville Chamber of Commerce.

New homeowners at the proposed Royal Grand in Royal Oak will pay as much as $950,000 to live in the 12-story structure when it's completed late next year.
By putting such high price tags on homes, developers are appealing to affluent buyers who are usually white, urban planners said. They say communities can better promote ethnic diversity by having housing options in a variety of price ranges.

"(Expensive housing) is not economic diversity," said Kurt Metzger, research director for Wayne State's Center for Urban Studies. "When it comes down to it, this type of economic segregation shows that the haves can live here, while the have nots have fewer options."

Royal Oak developer Jack Hanna, whose company is building the Royal Grand, said demand for such a dwelling is going up, and building them is not cheap. The cost of constructing the Royal Grand, with parking built in and retail space on the ground floor, comes to $20 million, he said.

"It's sort of like building a house on a lakefront lot," said Hanna, of Chrysos Development. "Although the residences are expensive, they will bring a lot more value to the community. It helps strengthen the neighborhood and strengthens the value of houses. It has a long-term stability factor."

*** Downtown homes ***
A sampling of expensive housing planned for suburban downtowns across Metro Detroit:

* The $3.5-million New Victorian in downtown Northville will include condominiums and office space when completed in the spring. The condos range from $345,900 to $429,900.

* Developers are trying to open the site of the demolished Mayflower Hotel in Plymouth by early fall. The upper floors would feature 11 condos, which will start at $600,000.

* The Willits building in Birmingham will have residential units, retail shops and restaurants when completed in May. Prices range from $660,000 for a basic flat to $2.7 million for a 3,500-square-foot penthouse.

* Ann Arbor's $50-million Ashley Mews includes penthouses, brownstones and lofts, plus commercial and retail space. Prices start at $350,000 and go up to $1 million for penthouses.


9) Buzz irons out kinks in new forum

March 4, 2002

Please bear with us as we iron out kinks in our new discussion forum. Among the issues:

* Registrants have not been receiving confirmation emails, and emails sent through the board were not being delivered. We are manually confirming all registrations. Registrants should be able to log in within 24 hours of registration, whether or not they've received confirmation emails. The board should be functioning properly within 24 hours.

* Effective immediately, guests to the forum may post new topics. We inadvertantly prevented this until now.
We urge all posters to register. You may do so anonymously, of course, but we suggest you use your real name whenever possible. Birmingham is sorely in need of leaders, and if the smartest people reveal themselves along with their ideas, they, along with their ideas, might just rise to the top.
In any case, registration has its benefits:

* You can create and vote in our informal polls.

* You can track topics, having all replies sent to you via email.

* You can send messages to other registrants, even if those registrants choose to keep their email addresses private.
Some tips on using the forum:

* You can change how topics appear by sorting according to three criteria at the bottom of a page of topics.

* You can easily find topics with unread postings by looking for open-envelope icons to the left of a topic. Once you are confident you have read all topics and posts, you can click Mark This Forum As Read at the bottom of any forum listing.


10) City Attorney defends Willits process

March 3, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

An error was made but corruption didn't play a role in the approval process of the Willits condominium project, said Tim Currier, Birmingham city attorney.

"Did anyone get paid off?" Currier asked. "I have no evidence of that. If someone has evidence to that effect they can bring it to my office, and I'd be glad to look at it."
Currier recently concluded an extensive investigation into the approval of a 9-foot-8-inch screening wall atop the building. Members of the Birmingham Planning Board questioned the height of the wall and said many last-minute changes to the building were approved by city staff without the board's knowledge.

Members of the Birmingham City Commission recently questioned the performance of city building officials and the phrase "in the pockets of developers" has been bandied about for years.

On Wednesday, Currier appeared before the planning board to explain how the wall was approved.

"Keith Edwards said he thought, pursuant to city ordinances, that he had the authority to grant administrative approval with respect to the roof-top screening and that he probably did grant the approval but had no specific recollection (of doing so)," said Currier.

Edwards is a former Birmingham city planner who resigned in October to become a planner for Grand Blanc Township. He was in charge of the Willits project during the approval process and Currier said Edwards neglected to inform the planning board of the changes.

In an Oct. 31, 2001, letter to Willits architect Victor Saroki, Edwards approved a dozen changes to the plan including adding granite tiles below storefront glass and an installing an additional balcony on the south side of the fifth floor. In the letter, Edwards said he approved the changes because they were minor. The letter did not address the screening wall.

Currier mentioned Edwards' letter Wednesday but he also said he couldn't find written documentation that the city had approved the screening wall.

"We couldn't find a paper trail at all," he said.

When contacted, Edwards said he had no comment on Currier's statement.

Saroki attended the meeting and said he did get verbal approval from city staff but had no written proof of that.

Gary Kulak, chairman of the planning board, asked why the changes weren't brought back for a review by the board. He also questioned whether city staff had the authority to approve changes because the standards for granting them were never formally adopted by the planning board.

Currier explained that the board voted to "pursue" the standards for administrative approvals in 1994. The Birmingham City Commission passed an ordinance allowing administrative approvals later that year.

While the wording of the planning board motion wasn't exacting it did, in effect, set the standard for administrative approvals that the city has followed for the past eight years, Currier said.

After much discussion, the planning board voted unanimously to allow the screening wall to stay up as long as it was reduced to 4-foot-6-inches high. Saroki agreed to reduce the size of the wall.

But the screening wall wasn't the only matter the board wanted to discuss.

Planning board member Chuck Tholen compared the plans the board had approved with blue prints that were approved during the building permit process and pointed out a discrepancy -- a balcony that had been eliminated on the fifth floor.

"It must have been approved or we wouldn't have done it," said Saroki.

That answer wasn't good enough for board members. They asked Saroki and Currier to investigate further and present their findings at an April 27 meeting. The time for that meeting hasn't been set.

Saroki said designing the Willits was a complex process and changes to the plans are inevitable.

"Nothing we did was a substantive change," he said. "The building is fully within the building permit that was approved by the city."

Chopping the wall down to size is expected to cost $25,000, said Jim Jehle, director of development for Robertson Bros., the company building the Willits. As for the cadre of lawyers that attended the meeting on behalf of Robertson Bros., Jehle said they were there as a precaution.

"We have no plans to file a lawsuit against the city," he said.

11) To be removed, send a request to info@bhambuzz.org.


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The Birmingham Buzz # 9
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March 2, 2002

Welcome to the ninth edition of the Birmingham Buzz. If you missed our first eight editions, check out our archives at http://www.bhambuzz.org/archives.htm.

Our mission: To inform and involve all Birmingham citizens.

Visit us at http://www.bhambuzz.org.

In this edition:

1) Birmingham rebounds: Movie houses, events attract new shops downtown
2) Quarton Lake dredging update
3) City seeks Celebration parade chairperson
4) Building Guide posted
5) City report on Booth Park Workshop # 2
6) Your City Employees at Work Dept.
7) Letter to Eccentric: Commission needs to deal with more important issues
8) The Buzz is a 'hit'; visits top 100/day
9) Editorial: Vinewood case could be costly
10) Editorial: Racky shows intellect, independence
11) Jean Holland appointed to Planning Board
12) Commission shuts down report on crackdown
13) Letter to Buzz: Million-dollar condos don't sell
14) 2d Buzz forum is scheduled
15) To be removed

1) Birmingham rebounds: Movie houses, events attract new shops downtown

From the Detroit News

March 1, 2002

When the expanded Somerset Collection opened in Troy in 1996, it led to considerable vacancies in this city's downtown district as well-heeled shoppers favored the new mall's upscale selections and services.

But downtown Birmingham has slowly reversed its fortunes due in part to the opening of two movie houses, which have helped draw merchants and restaurants back into the city, as well as new civic events, advertising campaigns and marketing programs.

"We just started tracking the occupancy level, but our most recent study shows just over 95 percent," said John Heiney, executive director of the Downtown Birmingham Principle Shopping District, the promotion arm for more than 700 businesses.

While retail sales nationally grew 3.4 percent last year, that was down considerably from a 7.6-percent hike in 2000, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. In turn, retail sales were downdown by 3.4 percent last November and 0.3 percent last December.

Nevertheless, merchants have shown confidence of late in downtown Birmingham by opening new stores or expanding current operations.

Upcoming entries include Tower Records, Ronin Sushi Bar, The Corner, a new eatery at the Townsend Hotel, the Kettle and Crepe restaurant, and a handful of new stores, including Bruce White Gallery, Ambienti di vita, an Italian furniture outlet, and Ecco Shoes.

For 36 years, The Claymore Shop, an upscale men's clothing store, has operated in various locations in downtown Birmingham, and despite a lull in sales following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the store just reported its best-ever holiday season.

"Since we moved to our current location (on Adams Road) two years ago, our business has been steadily growing," said Al Skiba, vice-president of The Claymore Shop. "We have seen more promotions of late, and I think that's helped."

Skiba said the store plans to expand its space shortly to offer clothing for boys as well as custom suits for women.

Heiney and his staff have, in recent months, produced a quarterly magazine spotlighting downtown merchants. The color publication is mailed free to 36,000 households. The group also produced a downtown map, recruitment package for prospective businesses and helped coordinate the Woodward Dream Cruise, art fairs and fashion shows.

Jim Weiner, president of Related Retail Corp. in Birmingham, which is developing two downtown projects -- a $40-million entertainment center called the Palladium, and The Willits, a six-story residential and retail structure offering 58 condominiums priced from $500,000 to $3 million -- said the city has been on a roll.

"Things were pretty slow here after the Somerset Collection opened, but we've seen that entertainment can bring merchants and restaurants into a downtown district," Weiner said. "When the Birmingham Theatre was converted into eight movie screens (in 1996), consumers slowly started using downtown more often."

Many restaurant owners said dinner traffic increased before and after evening shows at the Uptown Birmingham 8, which is operated by David and Carole Ilitch Trepeck. When the couple opened Uptown Palladium 12 two blocks away last November, the combined 20 screens proved to be a hit.

"We were concerned Uptown Birmingham 8 would slow down when the 12 new screens came on line," said David Trepeck, co-owner of Uptown Entertainment Inc. in Birmingham. "But our business there went up 10 percent overall for the eight screens, even as we showed mostly art films."

Click on the following link to see a map and list of future retail development in Birmingham: http://www.bhambuzz.org/images/news_retail_m


2) Quarton Lake dredging update

March 1, 2002

By Jared Rundell
Mill Pond Neighborhood representative
Quarton Lake Improvement Commmittee

Sediment from Quarton Lake, which has been sampled and tested by consultants from Hubbell, Roth & Clark, is safe enough for use in developement of the park, the Quarton Lake Improvement Committee was told at its second meeting Tuesday night.

This was welcome news as it could reduce the amount of truck trips to the landfill, project cost and neighborhood inconvenience. Current water E. coli levels were shown to be unsuitable for swimming, but within safe partial body contact levels. Water bacteria levels and visibility are expected to improve after dredging.

The committee and residents discussed pros and cons of different dredging techniques, sediment de-watering techniques and locations, truck routes from lake to main roads, shoreline stabilization, carp eradication and ways to discourage loitering waterfowl, which contribute to E. coli levels. HRC will incorporate this information into a specific proposal to be evaluated at the next meeting.

It was agreed that when the dredging begins at first frost in late 2002, the contractors be given incentives to work as quickly as possible to reduce the length of inconvenience to surrounding neighborhoods. Measurements show roughly 40,000 cubic yards of deposited sediment to be removed, or about half the amount removed in 1972.

Using input from the first meeting, Wade-Trim created a recreation improvement goal statement that met with unanimous committee and resident approval:

"To provide passive, resource-based recreation to people of all ages that offers a peaceful, serene setting while encouraging interaction with the natural environment. Involve the public in the programming and design of recreational elements to ensure the park becomes a reflection of the community, and residents hold enthusiasm, pride and responsibility for the park."

A suggested park planting list was also presented. Several Birmingham experts will review the list to ensure plants meet desired indigenous suitability.

Specific recreational enhancements will be discussed in depth at the next meeting on March 26, from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at the Department of Public Services, 851 S. Eton St. Interested residents are encouraged to attend.


3) City seeks Celebration parade chairperson

March 1, 2002

The City of Birmingham is seeking a successor to the current chairperson of the Celebration Birmingham parade. "Laura Yauck has done a tremendous job for the last four or five years," says City Clerk Nancy Weiss. "However, she has indicated this will be her last year."

The popular Celebration Birmingham Parade is held every year on the third Sunday in May. The Parade Committee needs a chairperson for the 2003 parade.

The committee meets monthly until close to the parade date, after which it meets more often. The chairperson works with sponsors and parade participants with the help of the other committee members. On the day of the parade, the chairperson coordinates the participants and volunteers. Next year's chairperson would not need to participate in this year's parade, although it would be helpful. Anyone interested should contact Laura Broski at (248) 644-1800, ext. 282, or email lbroski@ci.birmingham.mi.us
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4) Building Guide posted

Click on the following link, or visit the Birmingham Buzz website, to see the city's Building Guide, which includes the Neighborhood Bill of Rights: http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/buildingbook.pdf.


5) City report on Booth Park Workshop # 2

February 28, 2002

Click on the following link to see the city's official report on Booth Park Workshop #2: http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/BoothWorkshop2.pdf.

The three preliminary designs presented by Wade-Trim can be viewed by clicking on the following links:

Design #1: http://www.bhambuzz.org/images/alternative1big.jpg
Design #2: http://www.bhambuzz.org/images/alternative2big.jpg
Design #3: http://www.bhambuzz.org/images/alternative3big.jpg


6) Your City Employees at Work Dept.

Click on the following link: http://www.bhambuzz.org/images/ticket.jpg


7) Letter to Eccentric: Commission needs to deal with more important issues

February 28, 2002

With regard to your lead article in the Sunday, Feb. 17, edition, "Plan seeks tree protection": I must state that city commissioners have again missed the boat. It seems as though the liberal thinking Mr. Chafetz and Mr. Dixon are proving that they are out of touch with those people and causes that interest the majority of thinkers in the city of Birmingham.

Being a lifelong resident of Birmingham and the father of two children in the Birmingham public school system, I am now fed up with people elected by the public who are supposed to represent the welfare of all the citizens of this city, but who are bent on merely picking up pet projects -- the type of projects that will only benefit individuals within their respective influential pockets of constituents, while ignoring issues that will plague us all until each is addressed with forethought by a logically based city commission.

It is time for us clear-thinking persons to again emphasize that elected officials, city staffers, and other city employees are paid by the citizens of Birmingham. That means all of us citizens.

The pathetic loss of one individual's 75-year-old tree does not make new home building or renovating bad. Contractors are hired agents working on behalf of the citizens by whom they are hired. It is our will that employs these people, not some big, bad, anti-environment, right-wing group. This is freedom of choice, and if someone is injured by the act of others, I am willing to guarantee that remedies are already in place to repair these conflicts. As stated by our city manager, he will enforce existing ordinances. Enough said.

The challenges that face our great city involve bigger issues, and tying portions of the planning board down with such bold-faced, liberally targeted tribulations, misuses not only their time, but ours as well.

Let us move along to fixing, not discussing, more relevant subjects. For example, the parking problems as presented by retail tenants in downtown Birmingham. Recommend other ways shoppers and entertainment seekers can help us raise revenue in our city, instead of driving them away by way of parking tickets. This, in itself, will help us retain retailers, while landlords may be more willing to work out leases with tenants who are pleased with the traffic they are seeing in their restaurants, stores and galleries.

Convenience and good service are what keep people returning to a venue. Our city is anti-convenience and anti-shopper. This is a flawed system that will not only fail, but without innovation will mean the end of our downtown-shopping district.

In summary, it is more than overwhelming to hear that new tree protection laws may actually come sooner than solutions to common sense issues that have beleaguered us for years. Elected officials must approach their positions as important enough to think outside of their small, but forceful, single-focused, constituencies.

Jonathan M. Sherer, Birmingham


8) The Buzz is a 'hit'; visits top 100/day

February 27, 2002

The Birmingham Buzz home page racked up more than 100 hits per day on Tuesday and Wednesday, as the popularity of its online discussion forum grew.

The Buzz has installed new software for its discussion forum, significantly adding to its features and usability. New features include the ability to sort messages, subscribe to topics to receive notifications by email, conduct polls and communicate directly with other members. Click on Discuss, or the link at left to visit the forum.

Counting website hits can be inexact if the mechanism used is unsophisticated. The Buzz employs a free and relatively unsophisticated service called ExtremeTracking. Visitors to the website can view tracking information by scrolling down the home page and clicking on the Extreme logo (a space-age globe). In our case, every time a visitor clicks onto the home page, he or she is counted, even if the visitor temporarily left the site and returned. Visitors who go directly to another page on our site are not counted. Visitors can be identified only by their IP addresses. (The Buzz does not employ cookies in its tracking.)

More sophisticated (and costly) tracking services can nail down exact browsing patterns, eliminate duplicate counts, and provide extremely reliable information about how many browsers visit a site, and how they navigate through it.

The City Commission on Monday night declined to authorize additional funds for development of the Principal Shopping District website in part because the PSD could not provide reliable tracking information. Commissioner Dante Lanzetta criticized the science of web tracking. In fact, it can be quite exact if the system is sophisticated enough; it is the interpretation of the tracking data that is open to manipulation and question.

The Buzz currently has roughly 300 subscribers to its free email newsletter. Stay tuned, and watch us grow!


9) Editorial: Vinewood could be costly

February 26, 2002

The City Commission is cruising for an expensive bruising in its case against the owner of 743 Vinewood. That's the property just off N. Old Woodward in the Holy Name area that the Commission has declared a historic district over the objections of the property owner.

Whatever the historic merits of the property (and it appears to have some), and whatever the intentions of the property owner (he planned to demolish the existing home and replace it), it appears possible, even likely, that a court will find in favor of the property owner. The chain of events and their timing suggest that the Commission's actions were motivated more by a desire to thwart development than by a desire to preserve history.

Mediators have already suggested the city pay the property owner $500,000 and be done with it. The Commission, recklessly we think, rejected the suggestion. We wonder what the Commission's legal counsel advised; we'll bet anybody in town $5 they were advised to take the deal. Of course, the Commission isn't going to account for its actions; that would be commenting on a matter under litigation.

The property owner has a good case. He claims the Commission is unlawfully and unfairly depriving him of the use of his property. (He's also challenging the so-called Bigfoot Ordinance that changed the rules about what you can and can't build on a residential lot.) The judge has set a June trial date, and discovery continues, a process that allows the plaintiff to depose a slew of city officials -- elected, appointed or hired -- and ask them virtually anything about anything. (If that alone isn't a reason to settle...)

If several months ago a mediator said the property owner's claim was worth $500,000, what's it going to be worth by the time this thing is finally settled? The city is insured, but not if the court finds the Commission's action to be a "taking," or an assumption of ownership by eminent domain.

If that happens, guess who pays?

The City Commission needs to wise up. Sticking to its dubious philosophical guns in the face of almost certain defeat is just plain dumb. It could end up costing the taxpayers of Birmingham millions, and it could end up costing our morally righteous (but ultimately political) Commissioners their jobs.


10) Editorial: Racky shows intellect, independence

Frankly, we didn't know what to make of Rackeline Hoff when she was elected to the Birmingham City Commission last November. She seemed qualified, and in campaign appearances came off as intelligent and thoughtful. But then again, she was running informally beside Donald Carney and Gordon Thorsby, two leaders of the arch-conservative movement to change the course of development in town.

During her first few appearances on the Commission, Hoff didn't show many signs of independence. She voted quietly right along with Carney, Thorsby and the rest on such important matters as the recent appointments to the Board of Zoning Appeals and Planning Board.

But Monday night she showed some real chutzpah. Breaking ranks on several votes, she distinguished herself by nominating and supporting the highly qualified Mark Nickita to the Planning Board. We wish she would have spoken out in favor of Nickita's appointment. After all, the level of professional expertise on the Planning Board is getting critically low, and appointments like this are an opportunity to debate the direction in which the Commission is taking our city.

The jury is still out on how well, if at all, Hoff can articulate a vision for the city. But early indications are that she has the potential to be an intelligent leader and a powerful voice of reason on a Commission where intelligence, leadership and reason are in woefully short supply.


11) Jean Holland appointed to Planning Board

Jean Holland, a 14-year Birmingham resident, part-time dermatologist, mother of five, member of the city's Parking Advisory Board and a director of the Quarton Lake Neighborhood Association, was appointed Monday night to the Planning Board.

The City Commission voted 5-2 in favor of Holland from a field of five candidates that included two architects. Commissioners Rackeline Hoff and Russell Dixon supported architect and former Planning Board Chairman Mark Nickita, a 13-year resident.

The Commission appeared to be continuing its campaign to reject experienced professionals and opt instead to appoint laypeople to the Planning Board. Holland's appointment was supported by Commissioner Don Carney, a Quarton Lake neighbor who said Holland would bring a "feminine perspective" to the Board.

In brief comments to the Commission, Holland said she wanted the position because of her love for the city and her desire to "protect it."

Nickita, whose presentation included a rundown on his professional qualifications and his experience on the Planning Board, said: "We are in a very pivotal time regarding the future of the city and its long-term viability and health. Being on the Planning Board is a very important job that contributes that potential health. It is not a job to be taken lightly, and it's not a job that anyone can do. Experience is important, especially at this time."

Click on the following link to read the Holland and Nickita applications for the Planning Board: http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/holland_nickita.pdf.


12) Commission shuts down report on crackdown

A lot of Birmingham residents were scratching their heads Monday night after the City Commission shut down a presentation by city Building Official Mary Ferrario on building ordinance enforcement.

Ferrario's presentation, which was on the agenda for the Commission meeting, followed up on a two-week crackdown by city staff and police that occurred after Commissioner Gordon Thorsby complained about alleged violations of the ordinances at the Commission's Jan. 28 meeting. At least half a dozen members of the city's Community Development staff were on hand for the presentation.

Police Chief Richard Patterson told the Birmingham Eccentric last week that the crackdown resulted in few violations, and cost the city more than $6,000 in overtime.

Just several slides into her presentation, Ferrario was cut off by Thorsby, who bristled at the presentation, calling it "inappropriate." He questioned whether it could expose the city to legal "liability" (City Attorney Tim Currier had no comment at the meeting), and complained that the full presentation was not included in the packet of information provided in advance to the Commission.

Thorsby's presentation, which accompanied his complaints and initiated the crackdown, coincidentally was not included in the Commission's Jan. 28 packet.

In a Jan. 15 letter to City Manager Tom Markus, an attorney for Ferrario alleged that Thorsby, along with Commissioners Don Carney and Dante Lanzetta, "demanded that Ms. Ferrario be fired, bought out or dismissed on some pretext."

Thorsby urged that the presentation be delayed until it could be provided in advance to the Commission. The Commission then tabled the presentation until their next meeting on March 18 -- a meeting that Thorsby plans to miss.

The Buzz is seeking comment from Thorsby, and has submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for an electronic copy of Ferrario's aborted presentation.


13) Letter to Buzz: Million-dollar condos don't sell

February 26, 2002

Re: Buzz #8:

Actually, if you build million dollar condos, you don't necessarily get millionaires. Sometimes, you get empty buildings. 400 Hamilton is finished; the Pierce condos were completed three years ago, and both are dark. I won't include the Southfield Road condos. It will be interesting to see how many of the Willits units are in fact occupied when it is done. Talk all you want about what ought to happen, but all that matters is what really happens. Right now, reality is that high end real estate is not selling. And even three years ago, when the economy was booming, million dollar condos in Birmingham's downtown didn't sell.

Jean Holland, Birmingham

Editor's note: Jean Holland was appointed to the Planning Board at the City Commission's Feb. 25 meeting.


14) 2d Buzz forum is scheduled

The second Birmingham Buzz community forum will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 26. Mark your calendar, and watch the Buzz for the location and topic.

The first Buzz forum in January drew more than 30 Birmingham residents for a presentation by Geoff Hockman on the Principal Shopping District.


15) To be removed, send a request to info@bhambuzz.org
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