Lisa Sullivan tries to persuade city council to go against Master Plan

At Monday’s meeting of the Belleville City Council, Lisa Sullivan of Van Buren Township got up during a public comments part of the meeting to tell the council why its Master Plan was wrong.
Sullivan, who was turned down by the planning commission, explained that she wanted to build a one-story business at 533 Main Street, but the planners are sticking with the Master Plan that says it must be a two-story building.
At first, she said she had purchased the property and later said she intends to purchase the property, which was the office of the late Chesley Odom and before that a Detroit Edison office.
She said, even though she was turned down by the planning commission, she thought she’d tell the council what she wants to do, since it is a unique, lakeside property. She presented a bulky plan to each member of the council and later said they could keep them since they were a gift of “Mr. Davenport.”
Sullivan was told to go to the Building Official first, get a site plan, and then go to the Board of Zoning Appeals to try to overturn the planning commission decision.
Councilman Tom Fielder said, “We spent a lot of time developing the Master Plan and downtown ordinance … You can’t overturn that in one day … but there are unique circumstances here … I applaud you for moving forward.”
In other business at Monday’s meeting, the council:
• Unanimously approved a contract with GELC (Government Employees Labor Council) representing the DPS and clerical employees. The union has already ratified the contract. The council’s vote was taken after a closed-door session;
• Approved a budget amendment to purchase the workstation and server computer system. The total cost was allocated as follows: General Fund, $5,740; Water & Sewer $3,075; and Building Fund, $800;
• Approved the Fire Department’s request to close part of Second Street from 5 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 30, during trick or treat on Main Street, so they could hand out candy to kids and display a fire truck. They also will be giving out cider, coffee and doughnuts at city hall as they have in the past;
• Took no action on the proposed Jingle Bell – 5K Fun Run/Walk on Dec. 5 because no one from the Van Buren Public Schools Education Foundation was present to make the request. It was moved to the next meeting agenda;
• Approved accounts payable of $169,473.19 and the following departmental purchases in excess of $500: to Macomb Community College, $610 for a police training class; and to Michigan CAT $1,488.11 for emergency repairs and $661 for equipment repairs to fix two windows broken on the backhoe when it hit something; and
• Learned the winners of the scarecrow contest will be announced at the Nov. 16 council meeting.