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GROSSE POINTE FARMS — Should Grosse Pointe Farms officials give Village Market permission to redirect traffic on McKinley Road near Mack Avenue to make way for reconfigured parking and a restaurant on the store’s second floor?
Those are the questions the Grosse Pointe Farms City Council is mulling after a presentation June 10 during a council work session by representatives of the longtime grocery store at 18330 Mack Ave.
McKinley, which runs along the side of Village Market’s parking lot, currently spills into Mack at an angle. The Village Market proposal would block off traffic at the end of McKinley and extend the existing parking lot into that space, while also creating a new extension of McKinley that would be perpendicular to Mack and would enable McKinley motorists to continue entering and exiting onto Mack.
“It’s going to create a safe parking zone,” said Patrick Howe, an attorney representing Village Market.
Village Market officials said the current intersection of McKinley and Mack creates a safety hazard.
City Councilwoman Beth Konrad Wilberding agreed.
“I think this is really necessary,” Konrad Wilberding said. “I really do believe there is a safety (issue).”
It would also create some additional parking, albeit not a lot.
Store owner Jacob Garmo said they have 26 parking spaces now and the reconfigured parking would give them 32 spaces.
“It does add some additional parking, but only marginally,” City Manager Shane Reeside said. “It’s really a land swap.”
Reeside said the city would acquire part of Village Market’s existing parking area in the deal. The city would engage a contractor to do the work and reserve underground utility rights.
“The actual costs of that construction would be borne by Village Market,” Reeside said.
He said the city would bill Village Market in installments, with interest.
As part of the new parking area, Village Market representatives said they would add brick columns, flowers and other plantings. Garmo said they intend on “beautifying this area with bushes and shrubbage.”
Garmo said they’d also like to turn the second floor into a “New American-style restaurant” with seating for up to 84 guests. He said they would be open from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. to not interfere with neighboring businesses.
“We plan to elevate the dining experience in Grosse Pointe Farms,” Garmo said.
Garmo said they had already hired the James Beard Award-winning chef Jimmy Schmidt, who founded Detroit’s famed Rattlesnake Club restaurant. He said Schmidt would like to bring better nutrition to local schools and possibly start a culinary program.
“The restaurant is really a component of the modern grocery store,” Howe said. “It’s very popular. I think it would be a great amenity for the community.”
Reeside said the second floor is used by employees as a lounge area. He said Village Market would need a parking variance for restaurant use because it would necessitate additional parking; that variance might include restricting hours of restaurant operation so that Village Market could use shared parking with other nearby businesses, some of which are only open during standard weekday business hours.
City Councilman John Gillooly said Village Market “is a great store,” but he took the owners to task for already planning events in the second floor space, before they’d gotten approval from the council to do anything there.
“I firmly believe we all (must) abide by the ordinances,” Gillooly said.
He said when Village Market officials appeared before the council a few years ago, they insisted the second floor was only planned to be used for storage. Gillooly said he’s seen recent improvements to the second floor — where owners reportedly spent a substantial amount of money to prepare it for restaurant use.
“It’s gorgeous … (but) we haven’t approved anything,” Gillooly said.
He said the city was upset when they learned Village Market planned recently to hold an event in that space, which he said ran “completely contrary to our ordinance.”
“That doesn’t pass muster with me,” Gillooly said. “I think the residents behind me (in the audience) deserve better, deserve notice.”
Garmo said Village Market had fire safety, agricultural and health department approvals for the upstairs and downstairs areas, but Gillooly responded that they don’t have all the necessary certifications.
“You’re not even close,” Gillooly said.
He said they need the city’s approval first before they can begin.
A second issue Gillooly said he had with Village Market was their failure to comply with other city rules, including ingress and egress, and maintaining the public right of way.
“Every day, you’re blocking ingress and egress,” said Gillooly, who said that shopping carts and planters are routinely in the easement. He said this runs counter not only to the city’s ordinance, but also to Wayne County regulations.
“Cities get sued” if sidewalks are blocked or the size for pedestrians is inadequate, said Gillooly, who by day is an attorney who has represented many municipalities and governmental entities.
Garmo said “this is the first time” Village Market officials were made aware of these issues, but Gillooly said it wasn’t, and Mayor Louis Theros echoed that.
“I really don’t think that it was intentional. … I think there was some confusion,” Howe responded.
Residents who live near the store expressed their own worries.
“Right now we have 15 to 20 trucks per week that are coming through McKinley,” said Ken Michaux, who lives in the 400 block of McKinley.
He said that includes a large commercial trash truck, which comes for pickups about three times per week — sometimes showing up at 6 a.m. on Saturdays. Michaux said a restaurant would likely mean “more traffic” on his street.
“That concerns me as well,” Michaux said.
Another resident of the 400 block of McKinley, Maureen Finnegan, also cited traffic and safety concerns.
“I love Village Market,” Finnegan said. “But we have a lot of young children on McKinley. … The traffic is outrageous.”
While Finnegan said she loved the idea of landscaping in the parking lot, she suggested making traffic one-way after the alley behind the store. She also felt Village Market would need additional trash collections with a restaurant.
“We do get critters on McKinley,” Finnegan said. “Everyone has seen them.”
City officials hope to meet with neighbors and adjacent businesses to get additional feedback on the Village Market proposals. At press time, it wasn’t known yet when the City Council might take up this issue again, but officials said it’s likely to happen before the end of the year. It wasn’t known at press time whether the restaurant and parking lot matters would be voted on simultaneously or at separate meetings.
Theros encouraged residents and business owners to email comments about the proposal to City Clerk Derrick Kozicki, at dkozicki@grossepointefarms.org.
“The input is always helpful to us,” Theros said. “We look forward to more of the input.”
City Attorney William Burgess said this project would have to go through multiple phases, including conceptual planning and government approval on the part of the city and county. The store, which has expanded over the years, dates to 1938.
