Tonight, December 17 @ 7 PM 

Planning Commission Meeting - Site Plan/Special Use and Lot Split 

LifeTime Athletic Executive Club Building - new construction - a 24/7 hours of operation facility/ private/possible public other uses

For DETAILS go to the township website Minutes on Demand at: http://bloomfieldtwpmi.minutesondemand.com/

choose:  Planning Commission/PC Packets/2012/Dec. 17 - wait for 59 page  PDF

Page 15-16 of the 59 page packet lists a review of what the Planning Commission is being asked to consider tonight.  The other pages are documents, etc., related to the project to date which I highly recommend reading.

Now to my OPINION from a previous PATCH article (others also commented on the same article):

Marcia Robovitsky

6:22 pm on Wednesday, December 5, 2012

My issue is not directly with Lifetime Fitness nor Jonna Properties. They are simply taking advantage of a Township that will bend over backwards to accommodate every and any Commercial project proposed whether it fits within the zoning, or setback, and other regulations. This particular project, heard by the Supervisor, Treasurer,Clerk at 2 pm today with no microphone or slide presentation, but a cozy chat around a couple of 6-8 ft. tables. It is going to the Planning Commission on 12/17 with a recommendation to pass it. A trustee sits on the PC board. The PC is APPOINTED by those same three people that just reviewed it...among others. Then the project needs to go to the ZBA (with a trustee sitting on the board) with a list Soooo long for VARIANCES. This project does not fit on this property. Our traffic guy already approved the parking. Right...that is IF they get the variances needed. The height cannot exceed 32 ft per ordinance...try almost 60 ft. high. NO problem ZBA? Will you find a "practical difficulty"? Of course...the building needs to be this high. OK. Then the full seven member Board of Trustees makes the final decision. Five of the seven trustees already sat on a board to approve at this point. Only four Yes votes needed to approve.
Dan Devine is excited about the Long Lake/Telegraph "downtown" feeling with the upscale everything, the new high school, the municipal "campus".... the center of the township kingdom taking shape..by royal decree.

BOTTOM LINE:  The Township officials are elected and appointed to represent the Township constituents and to follow the ordinances/rules/etc.   However, in my opinion, it appears to be easier to construct a 76,000 + SF  3 story building that is 30+/- feet higher than the building height maximum allowed in the township and to get multiple variances granted on that project  than a resident asking for any kind of project on their own property.  If the residents of Bloomfield Township don't care what the elected officials and the employees they hire present to the citizen committees for recommendation as to commercial development, then they will have to accept what is eventually approved.  On some projects that is extended hours of operations for restaurants with a liquor license as late as 2 AM  adjacent to residential (proposed MEX restaurant)  or a 24/7 hour operation for an exercise facility.  Are those VARIANCES that township residents want? 

In the future, IF you find the hours of operation or the traffic and parking issues a problem at the SW quadrant of Long Lake and Telegraph ... south to the Township complex and west to the new Bloomfield Hills High School ...  just remember you could have made a difference if you had participated in the discussion of the proposals and informed the citizen planning committee at this meeting tonight - of your opinion.