East Grand Rapids city attorney John Huff says a lawsuit by the Gaslight Village Responsible Development group means a developer cannot go forward with a proposed 6 building residential, retail, office and parking project.
“The project itself is on hold.”
The Responsible Development group is suing the city because after they collected over 14 hundred signatures, more than enough to require a citizen vote on the project, the clerk said the petition language is invalid, a ruling Jerry Anderson calls:
“Legal shenanigans. The voice of residents has been suppressed.”
After many public hearings, last month by a 4 to 3 vote the city commission approved the developers concept plan, one of the last steps before final drawings are submitted. But because there was not a 6-vote super majority, project opponents say the approval is illegal.
“The outward appearance is you are silencing your residents to support the profit motives of a developer.”
“From this point forward any public discussion of this matter by the city will be in a courtroom until this matter is resolved.”
