Planning Commission OKs Shopping Center Near Royal Oak High School

After using phrases such as “our hands are tied," planning commissioners voted to approve a shopping center next to Royal Oak High School.

The approved plan calls for the demolition of the former Board of Education building, used most recently by Re/Max Partners, at the southeast corner of Crooks and Normandy. A new one-story strip mall with eight units will be built in its place.

The request had been on hold since March, when commissioners asked A.F. Jonna Development & Management Co. to talk to the School District of the City of Royal Oak because of the development's proximity to more than 1,500 high school students.

Developer Jordan Jonna indicated he met with Royal Oak Superintendent Shawn Lewis-Lakin to show him the plan.

"We took all the comments into consideration," Jonna said. "We've addressed a lot of them." 

Planning Director Tim Thwing reported the developer reduced the size of the building from 14,000-square-feet to roughly 12,270-square-feet total, while increasing the number of parking spaces on site by 10 spaces for a total of 99 spaces. The developer also added a 6-foot decorative fence around the east rear property and the south side of the building.

"The property is zoned for this proposed use. All the uses the planning commission is considering tonight are permitted uses under the ordinance," Thwing said. "The planning commission really has limited discretion in terms of their review of the site plan. There was no public notice because there's none required. They can impose conditions on the site plan to address or mitigate issues, but they are pretty limited in the sense of a denial vote in rejecting this proposal given the current zoning of the property."

Superintendent Shawn Lewis-Lakin attended the meeting and spoke briefly. He characterized his conversation with the developer as one that "lowered his concerns, not garnered his support."

"It was more of what would be less objectionable to us," he said.

The property has not been owned by the school district for almost 30 years, according to Lewis-Lakin. While stating he understands private landowners have rights for development, he questioned the project's density and parking. He also said he has grave concerns regarding potential tenants, particularly smoke shops. 

Several residents against the plan argued the proposed shopping center would increase traffic and litter and would ruin the character of the neighborhood.

"I am not thrilled about the development but I think our hands are tied on this," said Mayor Jim Ellison, who is also a member of the Planning Commission. "State law says that if it meets all our criteria then we have to approve it. The best we can do is mitigate as best we can and try to get the best project we can within the parameters of what we're allowed to do."