505 S. Lafayette
“… Baseball bats and brass knuckles”
— Royal Oak Planning Commissioner Clyde Esbri
Royal Oak Planning Commission violates the city’s well-established and beloved positioning as a welcoming and inclusive city — and maligns citizens concerned with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements being totally ignored.
On Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, Royal Oak Planning Commissioner and Mayor Mike Fournier’s political appointee Clyde Esbri likened informed and concerned Royal Oak citizens to people wielding “baseball bats and brass knuckles” … an authoritarian effort to suppress the right to a “spirited debate” as protected by the U.S. Constitution.
This was especially ironic given the fact that Esbri himself was sued for assault and battery in 2021. (Source: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/10/14/man-injured-during-meeting-royal-oak-elks-club-sues-mayor-city/8449941002/)
In a unanimous 5-0 vote, the Royal Oak Planning Commission approved the site plan for a 10-story residential apartment building at 505 S. Lafayette for which 100% of the zoned parking requirement, or 81 spaces (including a four spot minimum ADA requirement), was waived by the Zoning Board of Appeals — this happened despite the fact that the Planning Commission had been advised during public comment to send the project back to the ZBA for reconsideration (per statute MCL 125.3604 which states that the ZBA can reverse its own ruling).
For more details about MCL 125.3604, read Royal Oak Review reporter Taylor Christensen’s informative Dec. 17, 2024, article entitled “Royal Oak Planning Commission approves mid-rise apartment building” at this link:
https://www.candgnews.com/news/royal-oak-planning-commission-approvesmidrise-apartment-building-7280
This vote regarding 505 S. Lafayette is a watershed decision. Rather than denying approval of the site plan and sending it back to the ZBA with their own recommendations and those of the Senior Advisory Committee and the City Commission, the Planning Commission political appointees set the precedent for future residential multi-family projects with no parking included, including zero handicapped parking. Instead seniors and the disabled are now required to somehow make their way down the block and across a snow covered street to park in an often full parking deck with frequently inoperable elevators.
After returning from an eight-minute break that may have violated the Open Meetings Act, Esbri asked city attorney Joshua Marcum the following in what obviously appeared to be a pre-arranged exchange:
‘Would it be appropriate for this body to kick the can down the road so “we” [the “handful of speakers who gave the ZBA a pretty good beating,” per Esbri] could show up at the next ZBA meeting with our baseball bats and brass knuckles and compel them to reconsider?’
Marcum deflected from the fact that the ZBA can reverse its own decision by suggesting that denying approval would be “circumventing” the ZBA … an uninformed “lie of omission.”
In support of Esbri’s inappropriate description of concerned residents, Planning/City Commissioner Shar Douglas could be heard laughing … doubling down on his egregious misuse of trust, position and authority. See the attached video clip of the exchange or view it here: https://youtu.be/kTOLBoKWPYI.
(Source Dec. 10, 2024, Royal Oak Planning Commission meeting: at 2:45:14 of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yujMQqCpLQc)
Further underscoring the disconnect, the mayor’s “Political Donation Dream Team” member and the project attorney Dennis Cowan stated:
“This is a building that will meet ADA requirements. It also has two elevators. Many multi-family buildings in Royal Oak don’t have any elevators so we’re very pleased to have that in this building” (at 2:49:00 of the above video clip).
While it can usually be safely assumed that a 10-story building would have elevators, Cowan dubiously cited this as a selling point.
One wonders if this is a clarion call announcing the city’s unspoken plan to dramatically alter the character and direction of Royal Oak as a caring, inclusive and accommodating city for ALL of its citizens … not just the politically well-connected and wealthy friends of the administration.
Sources:
For more information on Mayor Mike Fournier’s “Political Campaign Donation Dream Team”, visit: https://www.protectroyaloak.com/pay-to-play-royal-oak-is-for-sale
Source: Dec. 10, 2024, Royal Oak Planning Commission meeting at 2:45:14 of