Ad hoc senior panel to be named soon

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham city commissioners voted to move the process for establishing an ad hoc senior services committee to a formal meeting agenda on Monday, April 3, inthe next step of establishing further assistance and services for seniors in the community.

The committee will undertake a survey of Birmingham residents related to senior needs, explained mayor Therese Longe, review work done by previous boards, a look at Oakland County’s offerings for seniors to decide which elements are relevant to the city, and will analyze current demands, trends and demographics.

According to Longe, this committee will help the municipality conduct matters that are potentially beyond the scope of NEXT – the city’s current model of providing senior services – to gather information that the city can offer on its websites and identify where they can work more efficiently with the nonprofit.

City manager Tom Markus, noting that the city’s current NEXT model has been a good financial model for the city, urged that the director of NEXT, Cris Braun, be involved in the committee in some way, given her knowledge and understanding of the demographic.

Similar to the city’s recent development of an ad hoc environmental sustainability board, the senior services committee with be made up of a number of residents with appropriate, applicable experience to be outlined by city staff. Members of the committee will be Birmingham residents.

Commissioners voted 7-0 to bring the development of an ad hoc committee to a formal agenda item at a future meeting.

Final site plan okayed for five-story building

By Grace Lovins Birmingham Planning Board

members approved the final site plan and design review of a proposed fivestory, mixed use building to be located at. 469 and 479 S. Old

Woodward Avenue, on Wednesday, March 22.

The property owner, Doraid Markus, has been working on plans to construct a new building on the lots for about three years, but has run into several issues with parking. Back in 2020, Markus received site plan approval for the original design with two levels of underground parking and retail, restaurant and residential uses. The underground parking ended up a miss, which Markus has attributed to engineers being uncomfortable with the structural integrity being so close to the foundation of Birmingham Place.

Last year, Markus petitioned for an ordinance amendment that would allow D4 zoned properties outside of the former parking assessment district to request a parking waiver from the city commission subject to a special land use permit. The amendment was adopted in December 2022, and in January, Markus returned to the planning board with a new design. Board members asked Markus to revise the plan, considering the building would still be short over 50 parking spaces.

Markus returned on March 22, with a new design featuring similar elements to the plan proposed in 2020. The building will again have two levels of underground parking for a total of 64 spaces. There is additional ground level parking and lifts, as well as one floor of retail with a small restaurant, office space on the second and third floors, and residential uses on the fourth and fifth floors.

According to city planner Brooks Cowan, the proposed plan would only be short 11 parking spaces – the plan provides 87 out of the required 98 spaces. Markus could also request two parking spaces located on the street from the city commission to count towards his requirement. With the change in the design, the building no longer needs to obtain a special land use permit, Cowan noted.

While Markus’ ordinance amendment request was approved, he told the board he did not want to put it to use yet. Cowan and Markus both noted that the first choice is to return to the board of zoning appeals to request a waiver of the 11 spaces, which board members stated they were in favor of. If the BZA does not approve the variance, Markus could also be able to enter a shared parking agreement with Birmingham Place or the 555 Building to make up for the spaces. If both choices were to fall through, he said he would then pursue a waiver from the city commission under a special land use permit provision.

Board members were all in agreement that the lack of 11 spaces was something they were comfortable recommending to the BZA to provide a variance. They each noted their appreciation to the owner, designers and staff for working to minimize the number of spaces so the plan could finally move forward.

“Wonderful project, I’m happy to support it and I appreciate the work to get it here on all parts,” chairperson Scott Clein said. “As far as the variance goes, I think it’s a small number [of parking spaces] and while I’m not on the board of zoning appeals, to me, I don’t see it as being an issue of land use that would cause dogs and cats to live together.”

The board voted unanimously, 7-0, to recommend approval of the final site plan and design review. Jason Emerine voted in place of Daniel Share.

Ecker’s contract with city finalized

By Grace Lovins

The employment contract with Birmingham’s newly selected city manager, Jana Ecker, was finalized and approved by the city commission at their meeting on Monday, March 27, setting Ecker’s term limit for five years from her start date of July 1, 2023.

Ecker will be receiving a $175,000 salary, which city attorney Mary Kucharek noted was settled on in negotiations as she provided salary rates of other city managers in communities with viable downtowns and residents similar to Birmingham. Kucharek said that while Ecker initially demanded a much higher rate, a compromised was fashioned involving salary, severance pay and vacation time.

Part of Ecker’s benefits include a nine-month severance pay if she is terminated; $15,000 to cover relocation expenses if she decides to move to Birmingham; and 30 days of vacation per year. She will also receive a defined benefit plan as opposed to a defined contribution plan, carrying over the plan she’s had throughout her time as a city employee.

Kucharek explained that the fiveyear term limit is modeled from past managers and intended for stability given turnover in the past. Ecker will also be subject to annual evaluations and will also have one shortly after her start date so expectations are clear from the beginning, said Kucharek.

Referencing the profile that was published to begin the application process, commissioner Andrew Haig brought up that Ecker’s negotiated salary is 10 percent more than what was advertised in the job posting. The profile just provided a range, said city manager Tom Markus, but that doesn’t mean the pay is going to end up there.

Commissioner Brad Host questioned the negotiated salary, saying that he feels the pay is too high given Ecker has no previous city manager experience. He said that the

You Are Invited

habatat fifty one

Experience Over Four Hundred artWorks on Display

Grand Opening June 9th @ 8:00 p.m. - Habatat Galleries Complex - Royal Oak

To

Reserve Tickets cities Kucharek referenced as a comparison for other city manager salaries have populations much greater than Birmingham and potentially have city managers with much more experience than Ecker is bringing.

“In the art of negotiation, one party starts at one place, another party starts at another place, and you try to find a compromise in the middle, and if you’re not compromising in the middle on that particular area, you’re compromising somewhere else. For instance, severance, Jana wanted actually to be paid a great deal more and in getting that number down, we compromised on adding some vacation days,” Kucharek said.

“I did the best I could for the city without insulting the candidate to the point where she said, ‘Forget this. I’m not going to take the job.’ All of you were unanimous in wanting to appoint her as city manager so there is a delicate dance to be had between getting the best numbers for the city yet promoting longevity and mutual respect and commitment between the city and the city manager,” she continued.

Host offered he was pleased Ecker was going to be the city manager but was not convinced that she should be getting the negotiated salary. Other commissioners disagreed, saying the contract was fair and negotiated in good faith.

Commissioners voted 6-1 to approve Ecker’s contract with the city, with Host voted against the motion.

Zoning ordinance changes introduced

By Dana Casadei

The planning, building, and ordinance department did a similar analysis to what they had done in years' prior, when the ordinance was last amended in 2019, to allow items like gas fires, kitchenettes, and grills on a patio immediately adjacent to the home or the front of the home, depending on the location.

The second proposed ordinance amendment would remove groundmounted mechanical or electrical equipment from the accessory structures provisions, and add it to site standards to allow units in compliance to be permitted by right and not need ZBA approval.

Much like the fountain and pergola ordinance proposal, this would drastically improve wait time for residents to get started, according to Voelker. Those hoping to go ahead with this type of project would only need a building permit.

Voelker also proposed adding wall mounted mechanical equipment to the site standards ordinance for residential and nonresidential districts. Currently, there are no requirements for such equipment.

Multiple members of the board discussed that these changes would free up a lot of time for multiple departments and the township’s residents, all agreeing this was an excellent idea.

A rough estimate was given that the ZBA sees requests like these three to four times a month for approval.

“It’s just a more efficient use of everyone’s time,” said trustee Neal Barnett, who also complimented the department on its in-depth research.

Whether you’re looking for a construction mortgage or a vacant lot loan, you can count on us for competitive products and experienced, trusted support. Choose from fixed- or adjustable-rate construction loans. Plus, get financing that includes your construction and permanent loans all in one closing — with one set of fees. Call

Bloomfield Township

Director

of Planning, Building and Ordinance Patti Voelker recommended consideration of two ordinance amendments to permit pergolas, fountains and certain electrical equipment as they relate to zoning ordinances to the board of trustees on Monday, March 27.

Voelker introduced proposed amendments that would affect the zoning ordinance for pergolas and fountains under the township’s general exceptions, as well as ground or wall mechanical and electrical equipment under site standards.

The first ordinance amendment change related to pergolas and fountains, where if certain criteria is met by homeowners, those hoping to build would no longer need to go in front of the township's zoning board of appeals for approval.

So far, these provisions have been discussed with the township’s planning commission, with a public hearing held on February 20, during which time it was recommended unanimously for the township board to consider final approval of the ordinance language they were presented.

The zoning board of appeals also had the opportunity to review this draft ordinance and strongly supported the provisions as they were presented.

After a brief discussion about a small language change to the amendments, the board of trustees voted unanimously to accept the introduction of the ordinance and place it on the April 24 agenda for final approval.