NORTHVILLE — A Wayne County judge ruled the city must reopen downtown streets to vehicle traffic within seven days, siding with residents and business owners who say the closures affected safety, access and property rights.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed in 2023 by Let’s Open Northville, a nonprofit group whose members opposed the city’s decision to enhance its social district by keeping vehicle traffic off portions of Main and Center streets from late spring through early fall.
“This Court fails to see a legitimate public purpose for the six-month reoccurring closures,” said 3rd Circuit Court Judge Charlene Elder in her July 9 ruling. “It is clear that only a few businesses have benefited from the closures. …”
Although Let’s Open Northville members supported the initial closures in 2020 as a temporary pandemic measure, the court document said, they argued that making the closures recurring was never part of the original understanding.
“We were confident in the strength of our case throughout and looked forward to presenting it all at trial,” said Northville attorney Joseph Corriveau, who opposed the street closure and served as co-counsel for the Let’s Open Northville group. “We were vigorous advocates of our case and are gratified that Judge Elder agreed.”
Northville Mayor Brian Turnbull, a staunch supporter of the closures, did not immediately return a call seeking comment, but a statement to the City of Northville Facebook page said the city was carefully reviewing the decision and considering next steps.
“Although we are disappointed with the ruling, we will fully comply with the Court’s order,” the statement said. “We are communicating with our downtown businesses that utilize the streets during the spring and summer to provide guidance. We are also reviewing our summer calendar of special community events to determine what, if any action, needs to be taken based on the decision.”
The issue has divided the community for the past several years, illustrated by dozens of comments on the post both strongly in favor and strongly opposed to the decision.
Court testimony
The city formalized the seasonal closures in 2023, installing retractable bollards to block traffic from the downtown streets.
According to the ruling, numerous witnesses testified at the June bench trial on behalf of Let’s Open Northville, describing serious traffic disruptions, safety issues, and business losses.
Mary Elwart-Keys, who founded the group, lives just outside the closure zone and said traffic on her residential street rose to unsafe levels, damaged property and endangered pedestrians. In a news release calling the lawsuit a “David and Goliath type of battle,” Elwart-Keys said she felt “heard” following the decision.
Business owner Prudence Kauffman, who runs Dear Prudence and Blackbird on Center Street, said customer traffic dropped dramatically after the closures, with sales dropping from $6,000 to $1,500 per day. Kauffman said she originally chose the location because of its high visibility to passing traffic.
Physical therapist Dennis Engerer, said clients had a hard time getting to his office and noted Northville was a “ghost town during the day,” with the absence of vehicle traffic.
Former police officer Kevin Hebert said traffic by his home near the closed streets has increased more than sevenfold, resulting in accidents and close calls, including one that nearly killed his dog.
But several downtown restaurant owners testified that the closures were beneficial, allowing them to add outdoor seating and increase revenue.
Michelle Lussier, who lives downtown and owns Lucy and the Wolf and Table 5, said she invested in outdoor infrastructure and now relies on the closure to accommodate customers.
Other business owners, including Paul Gabriel of Browndog and Phil Zakaria of Center Street Grill, said they believe sales would decline if the closures ended.
City officials testified that emergency responders have access through the bollards and that the closure helps support the city’s social district.
City Council member John Carter pointed to survey results showing a slim majority support keeping the streets closed, although the judge later noted that the survey did not address permanent closures and that not all affected property owners participated.
Judge’s ruling
In her ruling, Elder said the city violated the terms of its original 1840 plat, which designated Main and Center streets for public travel and said the city had not followed the proper legal process to alter or revise that plat under the Michigan Land Division Act.
She also said the closures infringed on long-standing property rights tied to the streets’ public dedication, and that the disruption was harmful to surrounding property and business owners: Testimony showed visibility, traffic flow and parking availability were affected, while diverted traffic created safety issues in surrounding neighborhoods.
While some businesses benefited from the closures, the ruling noted the benefits were not based on a reasonable expectation when the businesses were founded and that investments in outdoor seating had already been recouped.
Ultimately, Elder found the city’s justification for the closures insufficient, noting the original emergency — the pandemic — is no longer in effect.
“They have failed to provide this Court with any reasonable, rational, or non-arbitrary reason for the continued closures post the COVID-19 pandemic,” she wrote. “Therefore, it is the ruling of this Court that the streets shall remain open, as they have for the past 180 plus years, pursuant to the plat dedication, to close only for festivals, parades, and special events as they always have.”
The city has not yet indicated whether it will appeal.
Contact reporter Laura Colvin: lcolvin@hometownlife.com
This article originally appeared on Hometownlife.com: Judge: Northville street closures illegal, Main and Center must reopen
Reporting by Laura Colvin, Hometownlife.com / Hometownlife.com
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