City Gives Preliminary Approval to New Downtown Restaurant

The Northville City Council gave preliminary approval to a PUD, or planned unit development, Monday night for the proposed downtown restaurant The Garage.

At the meeting, the owners, brothers Bill and Mark Evasic, talked about the process of working with residents and the Planning Commission in developing their restaurant plans, saying they took all the feedback and made several changes to their initial plans. Some of the changes made based on the feedback include plans to reduce noise, a garbage-room addition to keep smells from reaching High Street homes and lighting.

A PUD would allow the developers to continue with their plans, namely with regard to the purchase of parking credits.

Currently there are 15 available parking space to accommodate the 244 guests whom The Garage could serve at capacity. It would be a 5,626-square-foot American grill restaurant with a banquet room and outdoor seating area, Bill Evasic told the City Council. He said the plans are in sync with the portion of the downtown strategic plan involving outdoor cafes. He also said there are not many banquet locations in the city, prompting people to take their business to other cities.

A PUD, according to a report by city planning consultant Don Wortman, is “a rezoning and a site plan, reviewed concurrently, which requires preliminary and final approval by both the Planning Commission and City Council.”

Bill Evasic told the City Council that the brothers are residents of Northville, have children who are in or have graduated from Northville schools and that they feel invested in the community.

“The intent of the restaurant is to have a vibrant atmosphere and fit into the style of the city,” he said.

After the unanimous approval Monday night, the plan now goes to the Historic District Commission and the Planning Commission before a final plan is brought back before the City Council.

Wortman’s report further states that, “The applicant has elected to pursue a PUD because of the historic character of this 1950s-era former gas station, and because the proposed restaurant cannot accommodate all required parking on-site.”

Several residents of nearby High Street—while thanking the Evasic brothers for keeping them involved in the development process over the course of several meetings over several months—asked the City Council to reconsider the scale of the project and parking plans.

“The project is too big for this neighborhood,” said High Street resident David Cole.

He said the project seemed to oppose the downtown master plan. He went on to cite portions of the master plan, which address creating a buffer between residential areas and businesses as well as a goal to protect from commercial infringement on neighborhoods.

“My concern is there’s going to be cars parked on High Street belonging to restaurant customers and we’re going to have to listen to them as we put our children to bed,” resident Giles Bryer said.

He also said he was not comfortable with the idea of an alcohol-selling restaurant so close to “residences housing minors.”

Neighbor Joe Boelter asked the City Council to consider a resident-only parking ordinance for High Street.

Mayor Chris Johnson acknowledged the parking problem and said that during the course of further development that it would need to be addressed.

Correction: Two of the High Street resident names, David Cole and Joe Boelter, were misspelled in a previous version of this story.