OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. – What was billed as a neighborhood introductory meeting about a proposed high-end event center felt to some residents more like a done deal.
Ellen Reid said she first learned about Bloomfield Hollows from a postcard.
Brett Northcutt said his family’s postcard arrived only a few weeks ago, after they had already read about the project in the media.
“We could have between 700 and 1,000 people showing up every single day,” Northcutt said.
He is especially concerned about the proposal to serve alcohol nearly around the clock.
“An open bar, 8 a.m. to 1 a.m., 365 days a year — about 100 feet from where our kids are playing,” Northcutt said.
The project is the vision of chef and restaurateur Zach Sklar, head of the Peas & Carrots Hospitality Group.
The group is looking to build on about 30 wooded acres east of Franklin Road and north of Square Lake.
“It was a total shock to us. We did not see this coming at all,” said Brett’s wife, Julia Northcutt.
Residents said they were even more alarmed to learn the project appeared to be advancing without their knowledge.
At a Jan. 7 planning commission meeting, officials discussed plans for weddings, high school graduations, and other large events at the site. Supporters at the meeting suggested it would be “a great success.”
The Bloomfield Township Planning Commission is scheduled to meet again on Monday (Feb. 16) at 7 p.m.
If the items before the commission are approved, residents say it would clear a major hurdle and pave the way for final approval of the project.
Attorney Jonathan Martone, who represents some of the residents, said the township is “putting the cart before the horse.”
“They’re looking to basically vote on and approve a specific proposed special use before they actually consider and approve the change in zoning law that’s required to fully consider this,” Martone said.
Martone also argued the township should have provided advance notice to nearby homeowners, some of whom live as close as 80 feet from the property line.
Local 4 reached out to Bloomfield Township’s Planning, Building, and Ordinance Department, as well as Peas & Carrots Hospitality Group, and did not hear back.