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.

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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
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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.