EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A group of neighbors filed a lawsuit against the city of East Grand Rapids, alleging the city failed to follow its own laws when council members approved the concept plan for the Gaslight Village development.
The lawsuit centers on two petitions that neighbors claim were improperly handled by the city. A protest petition was presented at the October 6 city commission meeting, and a referendum petition with 1,482 signatures was filed in November calling for the development plans to be put up for public vote.
The city's attorney determined the protest petition did not apply because the concept plan approval was administrative rather than legislative. The referendum petition was deemed inadequate due to technical difficulties with the forms, prompting neighbors to take legal action through Kent County Circuit Court.
Protest Petition Dispute
Jerry Anderson, representing the group "East Grand Rapids Responsible Development," said the city's handling of the protest petition sparked the legal action.
"It is because had the city responded to the protest petition in a timely manner, the referendum petition would have been unnecessary," Anderson said.
Anderson claims the protest petition, which exists under the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act, was designed to require a super-majority vote — five commissioners instead of four — for the development's approval. He said the petition was meant to protect immediate neighbors who would be directly affected by the development.
"They're literally in the shadow of 70 foot tall buildings. They're literally going to share their parking areas with the overflow parking from the development," Anderson said.
City commission approved the concept plan in a 4-3 vote.
Anderson alleges that six weeks after the protest petition was submitted, neighbors still have received no official response from the city explaining why it was not considered applicable.
"We would still like to hear why they're disallowing it. It seems like that should be articulated," Anderson said.
Referendum Petition Challenges
The referendum petition, which aimed to put the development up for a public vote, collected 1,482 signatures — exceeding what neighbors say was the required threshold of 1,179.
David Decker, representing the ballot committee "Gaslight Village Responsible Development," said the city validated 1,270 signatures but found technical issues with the petition forms themselves.
"We received a legal analysis that confirmed there are technical difficulties with the petition form," Decker said, quoting the city clerk's response.
However, Decker argues the petition forms do comply with state law.
Legal Process
The lawsuit includes two counts — one addressing the protest petition and another challenging the referendum petition determination. Both Anderson and Decker said they believe their petitions have solid legal standing.
Both neighbors expressed hope for a quick resolution that would reopen the development process.
"Let's open the process back up again. Find what they think is an acceptable development, as our city code requires. Let's go back to the developer and work as a community towards an agreement that we're all happy with. That could start next week," Anderson said.
Decker says the city has 21 days to respond to the lawsuit.
FOX 17 reached out to East Grand Rapids for comment. We received the following statement from City Manager Shea Charles:
"While we don’t comment on pending litigation, I can share that we followed guidance from our attorney, the City’s charter and state election law to reach our determination."
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