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THE BIRMINGHAM BUZZ
-- "It's the 2016 Plan, stupid."
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Buzz # 16 -- April 19, 2002

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

VISIT OUR WEBSITE at http://www.bhambuzz.org for:
-- Up-to-date news items
-- Resources such as the 2016 Plan and the proposed Tree Preservation Ordinance
-- A calendar of important city events
-- A lively and intelligent discussion group

We want to hear from you! Please send questions, suggestions and feedback to info@bhambuzz.org
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In this edition:
1) City must overcome fear of bad development to unlock potential for good, Buzz forum is told
2) Editorial: Protect trees, yes; but proposed law intrudes too far on private property rights
3) Kroger site stop-work order lifted -- a little
4) Forum to gauge city's retail business climate
5) Letter to Commission: Do more on sewers
6) Letter to Commission: 'I am appalled'
7) Commission denies tree-removal permit
8) Proposed Tree Preservation Ordinance posted
9) To be removed, send a request to info@bhambuzz.org


1) City must overcome fear of bad development to unlock potential for good, Buzz forum is told

April 19, 2002

Downtown Birmingham can become one of the most desirable urban environments in the nation if city leaders simply follow the 2016 Plan and stop succumbing to a fear of change, participants in the Birmingham Buzz Community Forum on downtown development were told Thursday night.

Recent changes to the primary law that guides development according to the 2016 Plan -- the so-called "overlay" ordinance -- lacked any reasonable basis in planning and design theory, and were made simply to stop development, a panel of experts in downtown development agreed.

Fears of change for the worse in Birmingham are inhibiting change for the better, former City Commissioner Chuck Moss told a group of about 50 participants.
The consensus among participants: Fears of bad development must be offset by education of Birmingham residents about the potential of good development, and city officials who fail to manage development responsibly should be replaced in the next election.

Birmingham is home to many esteemed architects, planners, designers and developers who are good citizens and want the best for their hometown, Buzz Editor Clinton Baller told the group. The city should be taking advantage of this resource, not shunning it, Baller said.

Participants in the forum included:

* Presenter Mark Nickita, widely traveled architect and planner, and former chairman of the Birmingham Planning Board.
* Panelist JC Cataldo, builder and former Planning Board member who sat on the Downtown Planning Advisory Committee (DPAC), which led the 2016 planning process.
* Panelist Victor Saroki, Birmingham architect and designer of the Birmingham Theatre, the Townsend Hotel addition, the Willits condominium, the Hyman & Lippett offices and other downtown buildings.
* Panelist Ted Fuller, downtown property owner and developer.
* Panelist Bruce Thal, Planning Board member and downtown property owner.
* Panelist Karen Daskas, downtown merchant and property owner.
* Panelist Lanie Hardy Cosgrove, real estate agent.

The overlay ordinance was designed during the 2016 planning process to encourage mixed use of downtown buildings, with retail, office and residential components. The residential component was important because planners perceived an over-abundance of office space in downtown Birmingham, Nickita told the forum.

But recent changes to the overlay ordinance have made it impossible to develop marketable buildings downtown, Fuller and Saroki agreed. Ironically, the lack of a workable overlay ordinance has forced developers to work under the less desirable "underlay" ordinance, or the ordinance that existed before the 2016 Plan.

The new rules primarily deal with building height, which translates to ceiling height. Modern retailers demand tall ceilings, and the new rules don't allow them, the panelists said. Retail vacancies in older downtown buildings such as those on the north side of Maple between Old Woodward and Woodward may remain for years, Fuller said, while more desirable spaces just across the street are quickly filled when available.

These older buildings, many of which are only one or two stories, should be replaced with mixed-use buildings of three and four stories, panelists agreed. Fuller, who is currently renovating the former Alvin's buiding on Pierce Street, told the group he decided to make that building only three stories, even though he could have gone higher, because the three-story height is most appropriate to the existing buildings on the street. He defended himself against suggestions that he and other developers do not repect history and existing buildings downtown, or that they try to maximize the profitability of every development. "I'm a good corporate citizen," he said.

Nickita's presentation focused on some of the most desirable streets in the world, with photos and descriptions of streets in Alexandria, Va.; Toronto; Paris and Lille, France; Copenhagen and London, among other cities.

Streets and the buildings that line them create exterior spaces, or "rooms," he said. One of the most important aspects of good street design is the ratio between the width of the street (measured from building face to building face) and the height of the buildings. Quoting Andres Duany, the author of Birmingham's 2016 Plan, he said the most desirable ratio is 1:1. "If you build these kinds of spaces, people will want to be in them," he said.

Consideration of changes to the 2016 Plan should be given the same amount of careful and professional deliberation and public input as was given to the plan in the first place, many participants agreed.

Recent changes to allowable building height were made with little careful or professional consideration, and little public input. The City Commission has systematically replaced professional architects, builders and planners with amateurs whose main agenda appears to halt development by any means available, some participants contended.

Birmingham resident Karen Linnell said the forum had enlightened her about good development, and developers such as Fuller. She suggested the forum be presented to neighborhood and other groups, and videotaped and televised.

Numerous city officials, including Mayor Dianne McKeon, Planning Board Chairman Gary Kulak, City Manager Tom Markus, Community Development Director Patricia McCollough and others declined invitations to participate in the forum.

Baller said Nickita's presentation and the panel discussion is available to interested neighborhood and community groups. For more information, send an email to info@bhambuzz.org, or call (248)354-1111 ext. 101.


2) Editorial: Protect trees, yes; but proposed law intrudes too far on private property rights

April 18, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

All of Oakland County can look at Birmingham and shudder.

This city Planning Board, for reasons that may have more to do with strangling development than preserving the community's character, has approved a new tree ordinance that is not much less than outrageous. In essence it steps right into the homeowners' front and back yards to dictate where and when and why trees can be removed and even trimmed.

It has language so broad that, in strict interpretation, it could prevent homeowners from placing gravel or patio blocks on their property, if they are deemed to inhibit the free flow of water and nutrients to the tree roots.

This blatant intrusion onto private property has slipped through the city Planning Board with barely a dissenting voice, although there surely will be howls when and if the City Commission passes the ordinance and tries to enforce some of its more draconian provisions -- such as pruning a tree without a homeowner's consent and billing the homeowner for the "service."

Many communities around Oakland County, and indeed, the nation, are adopting tree ordinances and related wetland and woodland laws. The intent in most cases is commendable. Developing communities are seeing trees as a valuable natural resource that can greatly enhance property values. The towns are working to preserve their character and appearance.

In the past it was fairly common for developers to come onto a site and uproot every tree that stood in the way of a proposed building. Subdivisions of the 1950s and 1960s frequently presented surreal landscapes of gleaming white identical houses surrounded by four-foot-tall saplings.

Gradually we have come to learn that paving over woodlands is not a good idea, and mature trees ideally complement a neighborhood, giving it a comfortable, natural feel. That's one reason why cluster developments, which have common grounds and natural stands of trees, are becoming popular even though they are not as profitable as traditional developments, which use every inch of allowable space.

Many communities, such as Troy, already have tree ordinances -- reasonable ones that enhance the community. But other towns are wrestling with developing ordinances. They would do well not to follow Birmingham's model. Instead, they should incorporate realistic measures to protect the existing trees and ensure that the nature of the community will be preserved.

That isn't a difficult thing to do. Many of the communities which have successfully implemented tree or woodland laws make them available on the Internet along with key points that make for a successful ordinance.

Even communities with ordinances would do well to review what other towns have done. Communities change as time passes, and what is applicable now may not be in 10 or 20 years or so. The key is to be progressive, reasonable and adaptable.

Eventually, if Birmingham adopts the restrictive ordinance, it is going to bite the city if it is foolish enough to enforce it strictly. If it does, it can expect some interesting lawsuits.

Other communities should follow what Birmingham is doing -- but at a distance and only to see what pitfalls they need to avoid.


3) Kroger site stop-work order lifted -- a little

April 18, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

By Larry Ruehlen

Jack Leone is still in limbo waiting for a stop-work order to be lifted at the Kroger's construction site at 685 E. Maple.

"We've been told there are items that can be administratively approved but we've also been told we'll have to go before the planning board," said Leone. "It's all very complicated."

Leone is one of several tenants at the Kroger site and intended to open a gourmet take-out restaurant -- Cucina Leone -- last July. The project was already months behind schedule when building officials stopped all work in March for failure to follow approved blueprints.

At the time, Leone said he was "running out of time" and feared his restaurant would fail before it ever opened. But a compromise with the city and the Birmingham Planning Board will allow work on the inside of the building to start anew.

Birmingham City Manager Tom Markus said Tuesday that construction on the inside of the building will be allowed to continue with the provision that the developers come before the planning board for a special 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 15, meeting to explain changes to the site plan.

"If the planning board asks them to reverse work they have done on the inside, that's what they will have to do," said Markus. "They will have to assume that risk."
Leone's troubles began with a Feb. 10 building inspection that revealed discrepancies between the blueprints that were approved by the Birmingham Planning Board and what was actually being built.

A city review turned up differences including six fewer parking spaces, a 4-foot reduction in the height of the building and different locations for doors and walls. Such changes aren't necessarily against city codes, but they do have to be approved by city staff or the planning board. However, the board customarily meets once a month to review site plans and there is at minimum a three-month waiting list to get on an agenda.

To make matters worse, Markus put a stop to all city staff approvals when a high-profile case -- The Willits condominium project -- was granted several administrative approvals that were criticized by planning board members and city commissioners.

Gary Kulak, chairman of the planning board, said the stoppage of administrative approvals was troubling so he scheduled the special meeting. The developer is Southfield-based First Commercial Realty & Development. Peter Gikas, an official with First Commercial, said previously that the situation was the result of "administrative issues" that the company would work to resolve.

Leone said he has already sunk $75,000 into the restaurant and will have to get assurances from First Commercial before committing to continue.
Markus said staff approvals won't resume until the review of the Willits case is over -- a process that is expected to conclude in May.


4) Forum to gauge city's retail business climate

April 18, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

By Larry Ruehlen

Merchants who want to know if the city is making it easier to do business in Birmingham are invited to attend a 7 p.m., Monday, April 22, forum at the Baldwin Public Library's Rotary Room. The library is located at 300 W. Merrill.

In January, the Birmingham City Commission held an open forum for merchants to raise concerns about the pitfalls of conducting business in the city. Some 50 merchants attended the first meeting and many issues were raised including parking, marketing, tenant recruitment, the city's sign ordinance and the approval process for outdoor dining permits.

City officials have been asked to give presentations on those issues, and merchants from the city's Principal Shopping District are looking forward to seeing what was done to address their concerns.

"One thing the last meeting did was improve the dialogue between the commission and the businesses," said John Heiney, PSD director. "The merchants really feel this is a step forward, that the city is giving them a chance to be heard."

One topic of discussion will be the possibility of having more promotional events that involve free parking in an attempt to lure more shoppers downtown. Some merchants were concerned that signs in the city's parking garages weren't marked and motorists had a hard time navigating in and out of them.

Other merchants said the permit process for getting a new sign was too expensive and time-consuming, and often ended up proving more costly than the sign itself. Officials from the city's Community Development Department are scheduled to give an overview of the signage issue as well as the streamlined process for adding outdoor dining to downtown eateries.

Heiney will talk about the difficulties of attracting the right mix of retailers to Birmingham and his department's effort to conduct a comprehensive marketing study to identify the needs of Birmingham's core shoppers.


5) Letter to Commission: Do more on sewers

March 18, 2002

Dear Mayor McKeon:

As you may be aware, at the request of the Presidents Council, I participated in drafting the proposed agenda for the Sewer Roundtable forum. Based on this involvement, my participation in the February 21st forum, and my concern about sewer infrastructure issues, I thought it appropriate to provide my feedback to the City Commission and the Presidents Council in order to begin the process of addressing the issues discussed.

I would first like to commend the city staff for preparing an informative presentation. The presentation and ensuing discussion provided a better understanding of what a difficult job it is to balance and manage the competing public service objectives. It was apparent that city staff is working hard to maintain our city's aging infrastructure.

However, I believe that city Public Services needs to go further to provide best-in-class community services to Birmingham residnets. Knowing that staff is on the job to take care of these difficult issues as they occur is comforting, but not enough. The community as a whole needs to understand the long-term infrastructure issues affecting it and the improvements required for dealing with them. This means not only having a comprehensive plan to manage the issues, but also providing information to residents on a regular basis. Residents should not be left in the dark when the status of an issue changes or a new one arises (as occurred on the Acacia Park Relief/Beverly Hills issue in 1999).

Expanding on these points, below is a list of issues raised at the roundtable together with my thoughts as to how they can be addressed:

1. A citywide survey is needed to request information on backyard, basement and street flooding; sewer lateral collapses, and any street or sidewalk paving issues. Areas of major concern could then be updated on the "measles map" and highlighted. This information, if updated on a regular (potentially bi-annual) basis, could then be used to track long-term system performance and develop city infrastructure plans.

2. As discussed at the roundtable, it would be beneficial to conduct a sewer capacity study to determine the current capacity of Birmingham sewers, project future requirements and develop long-range plans to meet these requirements.

3. Since there was not enough time at the roundtable to cover the status of the state grant backflow program, this information should be provided to the Commission and residents as soon as possible.

4. Collapsing of sewer laterals in the community is a significant issue that has been attributed to the use of inferior "orangeburg" material by the city at the lateral/main sewer junctions when some of Birmingham's neighborhoods were developed. This issue needs to be recognized and addressed by the city on a more formal basis with city assistance to facilitate repair and mitigate lateral replacement costs whenever feasible. (An example of this might be to allow homeowners to replace their lateral connections at reduced expense using city contractors when streets are torn up for repaving or sewer main work.)

5. In view of [City Engineer] Dennis Dembiec's comments that increasing home footprints reduces rain runoff absorption area and can cause excessive runoff problems on and between neighboring lots, the city needs to take the initiative to develop information resources and policies for use in making property development decisions. For example, if a homeowner wants to expand the footprint size of his or her house, what impact will this have on water runoff into the sewer system. as well as backyard and neighboring property? If the impact is deemed excessive by some set of standards (which would need to be developed so that arbitrary decisions would not place unnecesssary hardship on property owners) could alternatives be found which would allow for the expansion of the house without causing undue impact on other property?

Potential alternative that might be explored could include French drains, lot regrading, landscaping, and use of a gravel (or other permeable material) driveway instead of cement to aid in runoff absorption.

As an added service to the community, information on landscaping and how it fits in with and affects the local environment could be provided to homeowners and contractors through the Community Development office and on the city website.

6. A yearly report could be added to the Birmingham Quarterly in order to update residents on the status and plans of all infrastructure issues including sewers. A report such as this would provide residents with a comprehensive overview of infrastructure issues affecting the city and neighborhoods so that they are kept aware of the issues affecting their property on a regular basis.

7. Information on the Detroit water and sewer rate incrase, how it affects residents and what action is being taken by the city to insure the appropriateness of the rate changes should be provided to residents.

8. In view of clogged drains occurring as a result of improper waste disposal (i.e., diapers) the city should regularly inform residents of materials that are inappropriate to dispose of through the sewers.

In order to advance these issues, I would like to propose that a special or dedicated City Commission meeting be held in order to discuss them and develop a specific set of proposals, which could then be enacted by the Commission in an appropriate timeframe.

Sincerely,

David Bloom
Birmingham


6) Letter to Commission: 'I am appalled'

April 5, 2002

Dear Commissioner McKeon,

I am appalled and embarrassed by the actions of my City Commission and Planning Board. Your city employees are afraid to do anything because the Commission will say that it has to be voted on by the Commission and/or Board. We need a vibrant city and that includes condos and businesses in the downtown. Few are going to want to build in Birmingham. My property values have inclreased since the developments downtown.

I support the current building downtown but do not support big foot houses and recently proposed large developments within the neighborhooks like Roeper's planned addition.

Not only did I vote for you but also I had your sign on my lawn. The current nitpicking of the Commission may force me to support the developers' position.

Sincerely,

Margaret Ryan
Birmingham


7) Commission denies tree-removal permit

April 16, 2002

The Birmingham City Commission Monday night refused to issue a permit for the removal of a city-owned tree in a public right-of-way. It was the first Commission decision about a tree-removal permit since it ordered the Public Services Department earlier this year to obtain its approval for all such permits.

The tree, a healthy 17-inch diameter Sugar Maple, was valued by the city's arborist at $2,250. The property owner, Luc Grapotte, of 1900 Fairview, had agreed to pay that amount for the purchase of trees to be planted elsewherein the city, plus the cost of removal. Arborist Charles Moffat told the Commission the permit would have been granted under normal circumstances.

Grapotte sought the permit to install a driveway through his yard where none now exists. His application coincided with consideration by the city of a new Tree Preservation Ordinance, which would extend city authority to trees on private property.

Commissioners Dante Lanzetta, Gordon Thorsby, Seth Chafetz and Donald Carney voted to deny the permit. Mayor Dianne McKeon and Commissioners Russell Dixon and Rackeline Hoff voted to issue the permit.

Chafetz argued that removal of the tree and installation of the driveway would increase runoff. Grapotte said after the decision he would simply route the driveway around the tree.


8) Proposed Tree Preservation Ordinance posted

April 16, 2002

The Birmingham Buzz has posted the proposed Birmingham Tree Preservation Ordinance. The 19-page ordinance is contained in a 1.33MB Adobe Acrobat file. To download it, click on the following link: http://www.bhambuzz.org/pdfs/Trees.pdf


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