Garage Restaurant Gets Final Approval to Open in Downtown Northville

In a 3-2 vote, Northville’s City Council gave its approval Monday night for restaurant to open.

Mayor Christopher Johnson, Councilwoman Michele Fecht and councilman Doug Bingham voted in favor of the development agreement. Mayor pro tem Jim Allen and councilwoman Nancy Darga voted against final approval at the special meeting.

Mark Evasic, one of two brothers who own the restaurant, told Northville Patch after the meeting that he was pleased with the city council’s decision.

“I think it’s been a long road, close to a year,” he said. “We know there’s a lot of work ahead of us, especially on the parking issue.”

The City Council also approved by 4-1, with Allen voting against, the purchase of 23 parking credits in the downtown area. The property, which is located on Main Street between Wing and High streets, has been a constant source of contention between neighbors, owners and the council.

Parking credit conundrum

On-site, the Garage already has 15 spaces so the owners must purchase 23 more to meet the 38 required by zoning regulations.

Initially, Bill Evasic addressed the council to ask that they be required to purchase fewer credits. He explained that in working with the planning commission, who signed off the development agreement before it came to City Council, a small pocket park section was added to the plan. The park ate up about five spots, he said.

The council expressed that they would not support fewer credits. In a 4-1 vote, with Allen voting against, the council approved the purchase of 23 parking credits. He added that the formula does not seem equitable for all of the other downtown businesses that have paid into the parking credit system but have far less traffic numbers.

Northville resident Chuck Keys said that adding language to the agreement about signage on nearby residential streets restricting hours or limiting the amount of time a car can park would help.

“You’re taking parking away from us, homeowners,” he said.

Mayor Christopher Johnson said that is an option later in the process but was not necessary for the agreement. City Manager Patrick Sullivan explained that although no formal parking plan is in place, the Downtown Development Authority’s parking subcommittee will likely tackle the issue. The Garage is not in the DDA area but borders it and parking for the Garage would affect the DDA area, he said. The Garage also borders the residential historic district.

Details of the development agreement

Sullivan explained that the initial development agreement had been revised since the last meeting.

Highlights of the agreement include:

• The purchase of 23 parking credits from the city
• A possible opening time of 8 a.m. to accommodate possible breakfast crowds
• Language about the level of audible music for the outdoor seating area. Specifically, the volume of outdoor music may not be audible to nearby residents.

The next step, Mark Evasic said, is to have engineers work on architectural plans and to work with the parking committee.

He said he hopes to have the restaurant's doors open in Spring 2012.