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THE BIRMINGHAM BUZZ
-- "It's the 2016 Plan, stupid."
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Buzz # 21 -- May 30, 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
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We want to hear from you! Please send questions, suggestions and feedback to info@bhambuzz.org
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In this edition:

1) MDOT offers $$ for road, but will city take it?
2) Editorial: Kicking back, considering the issues
3) Letter to the Buzz: City Manager satisfied with handling of soap box derby application
4) Probe finds no wrongdoing in Willits project
5) Shain Park expansion plan resurfaces
6) Editorial: Apology and do-over is warranted for organizers of proposed soap box derby
7) Traffic consultant suggests innovative parking for improvement to N. Old Woodward
8) Soap Box Derby asks to close Old Woodward, meets 'adversarial attitude,' so drops request
9) Letter to Eccentric: Misconception on tree law
10) Editorial: Timber! If a tree law falls with no official support, does it make a sound?
11) To be removed, send a request to info@bhambuzz.org
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1) MDOT offers $$ for road, but will city take it?

May 30, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

By Larry Ruehlen

A dangerous intersection in town will remain that way unless the Birmingham City Commission accepts a pile of free money from the state at an 8 p.m. June 10, meeting.

State officials offered the city as much as $280,000 for the job, but the Birmingham City Commission rejected the cash because it didn't like the state's plan for fixing the problem.

At the time, Bob Lariviere, a traffic engineer with the Michigan Department of Transportation, said the rejection was rare.

"I didn't feel like they (commissioners) liked me much," said Lariviere, in a January interview. "Normally, communities want this type of project to go forward as fast as possible to keep their own people safe."

The intersection in question is the merging of South Old Woodward and Woodward Avenue, south of Maple. It is particularly dangerous because vehicles traveling 25 mph on South Old Woodward must merge with vehicles on Woodward Avenue near Lincoln that are traveling twice that speed. In 1999, there were 18 accidents at the intersection and most of them were caused by one motorist sideswiping another.

Under MDOT's plan, South Old Woodward would no longer merge with Woodward at Lincoln. Instead, southbound traffic on Old Woodward would enter Woodward north of Landon Street.

The plan also diverts traffic from several businesses and into the adjacent neighborhood - something merchants, residents and the commission objected to.

City commissioners said MDOT officials hadn't seriously considered the traffic plan proposed by the Downtown Birmingham 2016 Plan, which called for a European "roundabout" and public sculpture that would create an "unforgettable entrance to Birmingham."

The commission rejected MDOT's offer, with commissioner Seth Chafetz saying he would never approve a plan that diverted traffic into the neighborhood.

Commissioner Dante Lanzetta Jr. asked MDOT for a commitment to put in a traffic circle within five years. MDOT has since had a chance to look more closely at the 2016 Plan and is expected to come back to the commission with a recommendation on June 10. Lariviere could not be reached for comment on whether MDOT planned to offer a roundabout.

But on Monday, Birmingham City Manager Tom Markus said that isn't likely.

"They'll probably come back and say they'll look at a roundabout when the serviceable life of the suggested improvement concludes," said Markus.

If the city rejects MDOT's offer again, the project could fall to the bottom of a long priority list.


2) Editorial: Kicking back, considering the issues

May 30, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

After a relaxing Memorial Day weekend and as we head toward summer, it's a good time to take an overview look at some of the hot issues in Birmingham.

Comcast: After receiving piles of complaints against the cable service provider and a $28,500 fine slapped on it by the Birmingham Area Cable Board (which the company refuses to pay) because of numerous complaints over its often lousy service, the media giant responded by magnanimously awarding disgruntled subscribers with two free movies.

Total value: About $10.

What a resplendent act of conciliation. We can only hope that the devastating losses this will no doubt produce to Comcast's bottom line will ensure that in the future it will be a responsible corporate citizen in tune with its customers.

Ethics: The Birmingham City Commission is toying with an ethics ordinance that would apply to all city employees and members of citizen boards and committees.

That's not an irregular thing to do, and indeed, has some merit. But you don't have to read between the lines to see that there are some questionable provisions in this proposed ordinance. We note the clause that requires city employees to be "loyal to the political objectives" of the elected officials.

Sounds like if you don't agree with the commission members you better keep your mouth shut. Aside from violating the right of free speech, this appears to be a blatant way of stifling not only criticism but also any expression of an alternative view.

If we're going to have an ethics ordinance, let's at least have one that is fair and honest and -­ dare we say it? -- ethical.

Derby: Speaking of the city commission, it might have been a little less adversarial with the planners of the Soap Box Derby, who were asked to go to great lengths to prove merchants wanted the race in our town.

The commission was right in its refusal. The derby would have closed a section of Old South Woodward for a weekend just a week before the Dream Cruise in August. That wouldn't have been fair to the merchants to get stung two weekends in a row. (Remember, not every business rakes in money from the Dream Cruise.) But the commission might have used a little more tact in ushering out the derby planners.

Finally: Whatever shenanigans go on in city hall, it's nice to note that the city still knows how to have a good time. Warm weather activities already have begun and there's plenty more on the horizon.

Let's hope cool heads prevail in city hall and we have sizzling summer.


3) Letter to the Buzz: City Manager satisfied with handling of soap box derby application

May 29, 2002

To: Clinton Baller
From: Tom Markus

As promised, I have completed a review of the process that took place with regard to the DADA application to hold a Soap Box Derby on N. Old Woodward on August 10th and 11th. Attached you will find a copy of the Commission approved policies and procedures for special events, and the agenda materials provided to the City Commission with regard to this application.

-- Approximately the first of April, a DADA events organizer approached Deputy Police Chief Don Studt. Mr. Studt referred them to City Clerk Nancy Weiss and PSD Director John Heiney. The Clerk's Office accepts and administers applications. As a practical matter, Mr. Heiney is often in the best position to provide informal advice and counsel to special events applicants seeking downtown venues.

-- During the month of April, several conversations and meetings took place between the DADA and Mr. Heiney, and also between the DADA and Ms. Weiss. Due to the road closure aspect, Deputy Chief Studt was also in this "loop." The DADA was advised that:

1. Due to the request to close N. Old Woodward for 2 days, there would be opposition to the event by merchants - merchants with legitimate concerns for loss of business.

2. A weekend in early September - rather than the August 10/11 dates just prior to Dream Cruise week - might be easier for merchants whose business would already be adversely impacted by the cruise for much of the following week.

3. Rather than merely notify the merchants as required under item #9 of the policies and procedures, they could help themselves by actively seeking out the affected merchants well in advance of City Commission consideration of the application. (The Clerk's Office also provided mailing labels to the DADA.)

-- DADA Organizers did reach out to the merchants during early May while the event application was reviewed by City departments. They held their own meeting and invited all of the merchants. Deputy Chief Studt also attended to answer any road closure questions. They obviously chose not to change their planned dates.

Given all of the above, I think that the DADA would not say that staff gave them the impression that City Commission approval was a "slam dunk."

As one City Commissioner aptly put it, the Commission spent nearly two hours trying to balance the legitimate concerns of constituents against the desire to accommodate the special events request. In the end, these conflicting interests could not be reconciled. The Commission then did what it does -- it decides. Such Commission decisions are by their very nature not universally popular. The fact that this is the way the public process works does not mean that the DADA and city staff did not do their job. On the contrary, I am satisfied with the job that was done by staff -- with one exception. It has always been the Manager's policy that first time special events requests are placed under new business on the Commission's agenda. Only repeat events, previously approved, are placed under consent. This was missed in our review of the agenda prior to publishing it. The error was obviously corrected at the Commission meeting when it was pulled from consent, which the agenda policy provides for. I also, in hindsight, wished we had advised DADA of the possible future road improvement to N. Old Woodward. This may have altered their pursuit of this venue because of the altered road section, or, at a minimum due to the construction interference of this improvement, in future years.

cc. City Commission, Department heads


4) Probe finds no wrongdoing in Willits project

May 26, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

By Larry Ruehlen

No shocking revelations or any signs of corruption were exposed by a two-month investigation into the approval process for the Willits condominium project.
The results of the probe were presented to the Birmingham Planning Board on Wednesday.

"I said from the beginning that this was a witch hunt," said Paul Robertson, of Robertson Bros., the developers of the Willits. "And I don't like what they tried to do - especially the innuendo - everything we did was above board, and Birmingham could have saved a lot of money by listening to us in the first place."

Robertson was reacting to the findings of a study conducted by the Illinois-based architectural firm of Raths, Raths & Johnson that concluded the building was built to state and city standards despite some 20 design changes that weren't approved by the Birmingham Planning Board. Earlier this year, City Attorney Tim Currier conducted a legal inquiry as well, and the city spent a combined $30,000 to clear the cloud of controversy surrounding the Willits.

When Currier presented his findings in March he said:

"Did anyone get paid off? 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."

On Wednesday, Robert Kudder, the engineering expert hired by the city, said design changes to the building were appropriate.

"I'm not here to claim that there weren't changes because there have been," said Kudder. "But the changes that were made were well within the scope of the construction and not only were they minor and routine, but they were a necessary part of the process."

Kudder was hired to compare the set of blue prints the planning board approved with the construction blueprints that were approved by the city's community development department. Members of the planning board questioned the performance of city planning and building officials because the board is supposed to be given a list of administrative approvals and that didn't happen in this case.

Kudder basically said that the Willits design team should be commended for its expertise because buildings of similar size can have as many as 600 design changes.

Victor Saroki, the project architect, said all along that numerous design decisions are made after final site plans are approved by the board. Before the investigation was ordered by Birmingham City Manager Tom Markus, Saroki said that such changes are common and necessary. He now questions whether members of the planning board understand that basic premise.

"We were always confident what we were doing was appropriate for a building of this magnitude," he said. "You would think the board would understand the process, but from the questions they keep asking, you would think perhaps they don't."

Much of the controversy revolved around administrative approvals granted by a former Birmingham city planner who left town to take another job. Currier's investigation centered on the approval of a 9-foot-8-inch screening wall atop the building. Currier found that the approval of the wall should have come before the board, but didn't. He said the city couldn't find a paper trial for the approval, and Saroki eventually agreed to lower the wall.

Planning board members found other discrepancies in the two sets of blue prints but Currier and Kudder determined they were legal and architecturally sound. Members of the board repeatedly asked if certain design changes were ordinance violations but Kudder and Currier said they couldn't find violations.

Planning board member Chuck Tholen refused comment and other board members could not be reached.


5) Shain Park expansion plan resurfaces

May 26, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

By Michelle Jarboe and Larry Ruehlen

The last plan to expand Birmingham's Shain Park cost taxpayers $260,000 and produced nothing. Now city officials are considering looking at a new plan.

"We are not headed in a specific direction," said Birmingham City Manager Tom Markus. "We want to revisit everything that has been done up to this point and decide where to go next."

Birmingham City Commissioners will begin with a stroll in the park at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday then return to city hall to discuss just what can be done to expand the park. Visions of grandeur and a $20 million price tag killed the first design in 2000.

Starting in 1997, the city spent three years studying the issue but eventually severed all ties with the design team and gave up efforts to implement the plan. Robert Gibbs, a local urban planner, has offered a new park pl
n that the commission is expected to consider as well.

In the Downtown Birmingham 2016 Plan for the city, it was recommended that Shain Park be extended into parking lot No. 7, across from The Community House, by removing the existing surface parking. When the interim report for the Civic Center Improvement Project was published in September, 1998, this issue was debated, and the 2016 Plan was favored but no action was taken.

The interim report proposed changes to Shain Park, beginning with an expansion of the park across the street and into neighboring lot No. 7. Other landscaping plans included:

* Incorporation of a new aesthetic through integration of both land and water gardens.

* Creation of a main entry or various entries, most likely at the four corners of the park.

* Extension of the play area, which would then be either moved or contained.

* Potential relocation of the climbing tree.

* A new landscape and base for the Marshall Fredericks "Freedom of the Human Spirit" sculpture.

* Addition of utilities, including public restroom facilities compatible with the aesthetics of Birmingham and visually-conscious areas to host temporary portable restrooms, to allow for special events and crowds.

* Building of an aesthetic and multi-purpose performance stage.

* Creation of transitions or buffers between the park and surrounding neighborhood areas.

Most controversial was the possibility of extending the park into lot No. 7. The loss of convenient parking raised the ire of Birmingham residents and patrons of The Community House.

The shelved interim report favored removing parking lot No. 7, but Markus said he is prepared to offer a new solution to the parking problem Wednesday.

"My answer would be to put it (the parking lot) under ground," said Markus.


6) Editorial: Apology and do-over is warranted for organizers of proposed soap box derby

May 23, 2002

One doesn't often hear apologies from city government, but there's a big one due to the City Commission, event organizers, downtown merchants and, most of all, the people of Birmingham over the denial of a permit last Monday for a proposed soap box derby on N. Old Woodward Ave.

The Detroit Auto Dealers Association is sponsoring the derby, on which they've been working for the past four months. They recently approached the Principal Shopping District and the City Clerk for guidelines on how to get a special event permit that would allow them near-exclusive use of N. Old Woodward for two days during the summer.

Apparently, there was a breakdown in communication. The event organizers wanted to know how to obtain the permit, and city officials apparently told them how to apply for one.

Anyone familiar with Birmingham city government knows there's a big difference between making an application for something and actually getting it -- especially when the interests of residents and merchants are involved.

Those interests collided with the derby Monday night before the City Commission, which was blindsided by a request that should have been thoroughly researched and negotiated by city staff, but instead was presented as a routine request for a rubber stamp.

Derby organizers thought they were in for a slam dunk -- until one merchant and one resident complained. That was enough to spark a nearly two-hour debate on the merits of the event, its timing and its effects on businesses and residents.

The City Commission, so often criticized for micro-managing city government, didn't seem to have a choice in this case, since no one had managed the application before it reached the commission's agenda.

With such a rough game plan, it came down to whether or not commissioners would trust city staff and organizers to pick up the ball and make a reasonable attempt to satisfy all interests.

In the end, Commissioners Seth Chafetz, Dante Lanzetta and Gordon Thorsby were willing to go out on a limb. Mayor Dianne McKeon, Don Carney, Russell Dixon and Rackeline Hoff were not.

Unfortunately, organizers told the Birmingham Eccentric the next day that they'd go elsewhere, in part because of the "adversarial attitude" they encountered.
We hope it's not too late, and that a do-over is possible.

City Manager Tom Markus should extend an apology to the organizers. Then they should get together, consider all the issues and present an acceptable plan to the commission -- something that should have been done in the first place.


7) Traffic consultant suggests innovative parking for improvement to N. Old Woodward

May 23, 2002

A nationally recognized traffic consultant who is helping Birmingham implement the 2016 Plan has suggested an innovative parking arrangement for improvements to N. Old Woodward between Oakland and Oak.

The 2016 Plan calls for a landscaped median on the street, and the city recently submitted a preliminary design to the consultant, Walter Kulash, who had participated in formulating the 2016 Plan.

Kulash endorsed the city's design, and suggested it test an alternative parking arrangement. "In just the last year or so, there has been significant interest in, and applications of, diagonal back-in parking as an alternative to the diagonal pull-in parking shown in the conceptual layout," Kulash wrote. "The City of Seattle has converted large numbers (possibly all) of its many diagonal parking spaces to the back-in mode of operation."

"In the diagonal back-in mode of parking operation, the dimensions and angle of the parking space are identical to pull-in parking... but with the orientation of the angle reversed. Drivers enter a space by backing in, and exit by pulling forward. Advantages of back-in parking over pull-in parking are numerous: visibility (of moving traffic) for the driver leaving the space is vastly better; open vehicle doors direct passengers toward the sidewalk, not toward the street; the cargo loading area of all vehicles is against the curb, not against the moving lane of traffic. The need to stop in a moving lane of traffic and back into a space might be seen as a drawback of back-in parking. However, this maneuver causes no more disruption than a driver backing out from a pull-in space, and is far safer and more comfortable."

"We recommend that the city further pursue the reconfiguration of the diagonal parking from its present design as pull-in parking to the alternate design of back-in diagonal parking. The experience with this parking, although very recent, has already proven it to be highly advantageous. The amount of redesign effort for the conceptual layout is small, and there should be no loss of parking space. At least one Detroit area government (Allen Park) is seriously considering the use of diagonal back-in parking..."

The city will present the redesign and invite Kulash to explain his findings in a public forum at a time and place to be announced.


8) Soap Box Derby asks to close Old Woodward, meets 'adversarial attitude,' so drops request

May 23, 2002

From the Birmingham Eccentric

By Larry Ruehlen

An adversarial attitude left Detroit Metro Soap Box Derby officials looking past Birmingham to find another host city Monday.

"That bit about us not doing our homework didn't bode real well for us coming to Birmingham," said Ken Schewe, spokesman for the Detroit Auto Dealers Association, referring to a comment made by a city commissioner.

"Apparently this isn't the type of activity that Birmingham merchants wanted to participate in and that's fine. We'll find another city."

Schewe and a contingent of DADA and derby officials spent two hours Monday trying to convince the Birmingham City Commission to close down N. Old Woodward the weekend of Aug. 10 to hold a race on the hill in the art gallery section of town.

Soap Box Derby is a decades-old race for children who build their own cars and sit in them as they glide down a hill. A hill is needed because the cars run on gravity, not motors.

To stage the event, the road would have to be closed down from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, said Schewe. But race officials would work to offer promotional opportunities to merchants to make for the possibility of lost revenue.

"Our intention isn't to come in and take over the city or hurt the merchants in any way," said Schewe. "Our goal is to turn the merchants' concerns into a positive."
Last year the event was held near Flint and 50 participants and their families showed up, said Joe Flynn, director of the event Metro-Detroit Soap Box Derby, but bringing the race to Birmingham would double participation and draw a bigger crowd.

"This is an old-fashioned event that is coming back to prominence across the country," said Flynn, "And we believe what is happening on a national level can also happen here."

Race officials said the event would cast Birmingham in a good light because local celebrities would participate in a fun race and a television and radio station had promised to promote it as wholesome family activity.

But not all merchants and residents were pleased with the prospect of shutting down N. Old Woodward for large crowds the weekend before the Woodward Dream Cruise.
"The bottom line is they would be closing down our businesses," said Lori Karbal, owner of a store of the same name at 554 N. Old Woodward. "Nobody wants it, I talked to my (merchant) neighbors and they don't want it... crowds deter people from shopping. People mean well, but events don't help us."

Karbal said her store would lose thousands of dollars if she was forced to close down for the soap box race.

Birmingham resident Bud Bernstein said he wanted no part of the large crowd the event would likely draw.

"The timing couldn't be worse," he said. "It's the weekend before the Dream Cruise... think for once of the residents who live in the area."

Members of the city commission asked what race officials were prepared to do to make up for lost revenue for area businesses. City Commissioner Dante Lanzetta Jr. even raised the possibility that the event could directly compensate merchants like Karbal.

Members of the commission said they wanted to know how many merchants supported the race coming to the city. Race officials said they sent out information to area businesses and had a meeting to address their concerns, but couldn't tell exactly how many favored the proposal.

When only one merchant showed up Monday to support the race, the majority of the commission said race organizers should go back and poll all the merchants on N. Old Woodward and come up with a business plan for the race. City Commissioner Seth Chafetz made a motion to let the race go on but only commissioners Lanzetta and Gordon Thorsby voted in support while Don Carney, Dianne McKeon, Russell Dixon and Rackeline Hoff voted no.

One race official said Monday that he was dismayed at the adversarial attitude the race was getting from the city when other suburbs like Troy, Southfield and Rochester would be glad to play host to soap boxers throughout the Midwest.

The commission offered to reconsider the matter next week but race officials had ruled that out by Tuesday.

"We specifically asked if we had to talk to every merchant and the city said we didn't have to," said Schewe. "We were concerned about the boulevard project, but it was the adversarial attitude that meant more to us."

The city is planning a major construction project that will install a pedestrian island in the middle of the road next summer. That fact may have made it difficult to stage the race in the same location next year.


9) Letter to Eccentric: Misconception on tree law

May 16, 2002

I am quite surprised that the Eccentric has not published a summary of the proposed tree ordinance, or made its readers aware that they can download the entire document from the city's Web site (http://www.ci.birmingham.mi.us/index). Most of the published opinions came from people who had not even read the ordinance. Neighbors who have spoken to me have a lot of misconceptions, and a lot of questions, such as:

Why now? Citizens whose own trees were killed by careless construction practices on adjoining land asked what legal protection they had. The answer was: None. The tree ordinance is an effort to protect homeowners' trees from damage by others. Once destroyed, after all, they cannot be replaced for any amount of money, and they are a valuable resource, both in terms of property value and quality of life.

How does this affect the average homeowner? For ordinary tree care and pruning, it doesn't have any effect. Eight exempt species may be removed without permits or replacement, as may trees under 6 inches in trunk diameter or hazardous trees. Replacement is required for most healthy trees 6 inches or greater in diameter. A homeowner may remove two protected trees per year without replacing them - that means taking down two healthy 22-inch maples every year is OK.

What about the permits? Permits are required when removal, major alteration or construction are proposed. You can remove trees in order to build, but must replace them if they are large and healthy. Most people who want to remove a large tree, hire a company to do it. In our densely built area, it is foolhardy to do it yourself. The permit (no fees are likely) would be pulled by the company, and as long as they have a city-approved arborist on staff to determine tree condition, no city bureaucracy need be involved.

Many of the most infuriating provisions are in the existing ordinance! "No electric wires," city-enforced pruning or removal of hazardous trees, and "no parking on lawn extensions" have been law for years.

This is the time to review the whole issue, and produce a tree protection law which seems reasonable to most of Birmingham's residents. Citizens should learn about the proposed ordinance, and write to the city commission about what specific changes they want.

And the Eccentric could help by being objective rather than alarmist.

Jean M. Holland
Birmingham
(Jean Holland is a member of the Birmingham Planning Board)


10) Editorial: Timber! If a tree law falls with no official support, does it make a sound?

From our Discussion Board

Posted by I.O., May 17 2002,22:56

Tree ordinance wilts! Commish Chafetz, facing reelection in '03, runs up white flag in face of near-universal public hatred of proposed law. Signs of blight appeared earlier:

Big Dee Lanzetta, seeking way out of suicidal corner, hands abusive public tirade to his puppet plan board, claiming "I know nothing;" nobody fooled by crude and desperate ploy to distance by backstabbing own troops.

With Dixon, Hoff, McKeon already unmoved by ordinance, only Carney and Thorsby left to kiss the tar baby. Will they follow Prezidentz Council diktat, or join the smart money in hurried rush to bail?

Left holding the bag: betrayed Lanzetta loyalists on plan board and in neighborhoods who were defending party line right up to time leadership bugged out.

Losers: Prez Council, S. Chafetz, D'te Lanz, "Heinrich" Kulak, any homeowner assn officer who supported ordinance, "The Commission" in general, "Neighborhood Movement" in general, B'ham city reputation.

Winners: the Buzz, the ECCENTRIC, Teddy Boy Fuller, anyone who runs against anyone who supported, city staff who brewed up this poison pill, Dixonhoffmckeon.

COMING UP NEXT: "The Ethics Ordinance!" Paulie Reagan versus J. Madison & T. Jefferson. Don't miss it!

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