At the Oct. 12, 2015 Board of Trustees meeting, the Bloomfield Township Board voted 6-1 to send Township representative Supervisor Savoie to the Joint Development Council (JDC) meeting this Wed., Oct. 21, at 9 AM to be held at the Pontiac City Hall, 47450 Woodward Ave. to cast a YES vote to approve the proposed mesh fencing with graphics. Six of seven Bloomfield Township board members agreed with Savoie and determined that mesh screening with colorful graphics was NOT a sign. Treasurer Dan Devine, the former Township representative on that JDC committee, informed the board that our Township Attorney, Bill Hampton, had previously written an opinion on the very same subject. Two times the previous developers apparently dropped the request for this kind of mesh fencing presumably because of the attorney opinion. Supervisor Savoie said at the meeting: "The question is whether this is signage. I've read the attorney's opinion, and I don't agree with it."
The Township posts PACKETS for the Board of Trustees meeting. There is a LOT OF INFORMATION concerning DETAILS about this mesh fencing/graphics. READ the PDF pages concerning this mesh fencing/graphics issue at:
http://bloomfieldtwpmi.minutesondemand.com/
choose: Board of Trustees
from drop down menu choose: Board Packets
then choose 2015/ Oct. 12 wait for PDF to download
then choose AGENDA #3 pages 12-31 of the PDF are about the issue/ Graphics/ mesh fencing
The Township also audio/video's the Board meetings. Go to this link: https://vimeo.com/142249385
to view the Bloomfield Township board meeting/ word for word.
At this Wednesday's Joint Development Council meeting, discussion will concern the area under the 425 Agreement. The site was known as "Bloomfield Park". REDICO now owns the approximate 80 acre property and is in preliminary site development for what they are calling the Village at Bloomfield. The 425 Agreement should be the framework for proceeding with all work.
At the August 19, 2015 meeting, the following was presented.
The last paragraph of those meeting minutes say:
There was another JDC meeting held at the Bloomfield Township offices on September 23, 2015 to discuss the same issue, however, Ms. Waterman did not attend this meeting. The minutes for that meeting are not posted at this time. I stated (during public comment) at this meeting that I was in favor of the mesh fencing with graphics. There was NO picture shared with the audience of the design. I did not realize that it was multicolored and that detailed in design. I also did not know about the prior attorney opinion with previous developers. I have since changed my opinion and feel that the graphics do make this mesh fencing a "sign".
Graphics on the fences/ or mesh on the Telegraph Road front is the main discussion for this upcoming Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015 meeting.
I wonder..... Is there a document governing the Bloomfield Township 425 Agreement? If so, where can one read the details? What is permitted and what is not? How many times will each issue or design proposal come before the Council? THIS IS THE THIRD JDC MEETING WHERE THIS FENCING IS A TOPIC OF DISCUSSION. I believe the taxpayers pay money to the participants to attend each meeting. This could be costly. I certainly hope that THIS time a project can be completed on that site, but I also believe that adhering to the 425 Agreement in all cases will hopefully eliminate potential problems and/or lawsuits.
Therefore, when the Township attorney writes an opinion... IS IT in Supervisor Savoie's or the Trustees authority to ignore that opinion? This may be a minor issue in many minds... but it suggests that some Trustees and Savoie are willing to do what they want.. not necessarily what is correct or recommended by counsel.
The JDC meeting is a public meeting.
Wed., Oct. 21, at 9 AM to be held at the Pontiac City Hall, 47450 Woodward Ave.
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