Letter to the Editor: Business Owner Shares His Interpretation of Zoning Code

I'm the owner of Blackstar, Inc. My business is 100% in the Grosse Pointes and has been for about 20 years.  I was hoping to . Their justification for the denial is that the code prevents manufacturing in that particular district. At the meeting of the Zoning Board I asked the City Attorney, Donald Berschback, to read the code out loud and he said it didn't really matter since it's up to the Zoning Board to interpret the code.

The way I read the code (Sec. 50-370, part 7) I would be allowed up to "five mechanics or workers" as long as we manufactured products that were "incidental to such retail business for local or neighborhood service." Blackstar would only have two mechanics and they would be in the building part time, making cabinetry, moldings and fireplace mantels. Most of their time will be spent in the building with non-manufacturing duties or in customer's homes installing the cabinets, moldings and mantels. Apparently I didn't understand the code correctly.

You can read the code for yourself at the following link:

http://library.municode.com/HTML/14175/level4/PTIICOOR_CH50ZO_ARTIIIDIRE_DIV
7CCOBUDI.html#PTIICOOR_CH50ZO_ARTIIIDIRE_DIV7CCOBUDI_S50-370PEUS

Tom Robinson
Blackstar, Inc.