EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — East Grand Rapids city commissioners approved the concept plan for the Gaslight Village development in a 4-3 vote Monday night after months of debate and growing public pressure.
The Oct. 6 meeting at the community center drew an overflow crowd around 6 p.m., with some neighbors sitting on the floor and others relegated to a separate room.
The meeting took an unexpected turn when City Manager Shea Charles announced that, "the city did receive a protest petition at 4:38 today."
The neighbor-organized petition cited concerns about, "the proposed projects density, lack of adequate parking, lack of adequate setbacks, likelihood of creating traffic problems, and inclusion of buildings that are too tall to be consistent with the character of the surrounding areas."
The petition aimed to raise the required vote threshold from a simple majority to a two-thirds vote. However, the city attorney ruled that the petition is, "not subject to the protest petition statute under Michigan law."
During public comment, neighbors expressed divided opinions on the development.
"85% of the people in your community that have commented to you have said, don't approve this the way it is, it's gotta be fixed," one neighbor said.
Others supported the project.
"Somebody wants to put $100 million into your community, I feel like some of this should just be thank you," another neighbor commented.
Even after the vote, questions about the petition persisted.
In an exchange between commissioners, Abbie Groff-Blaszak said, "So madame mayor, I know that you ignored me previously," to which Mayor Katie Favale responded, "I'm not ignoring you, we had a vote, and we are trying to move on with the agenda."
Charles explained Tuesday that, "now that gaslight investors has concept plan approval, they are in a position to start developing final PUD plans."
He emphasized that, "the approval last night is the beginning of the process, not final steps," noting it's a multi-month process.
Charles said the commission's decision was administrative, meaning it was not subject to a protest petition. The city attorney and staff are still reviewing the matter and will provide an update to the city commission at a future meeting.
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