Traverse City commissioners expressed support Monday for having a court review Proposition 3 - the recently passed city charter amendment requiring a public vote on buildings over 60 feet high - in order to determine if the policy is legal.

While commissioners didn't officially vote on pursuing legal action regarding the charter amendment, a majority of board members indicated they would support doing so when the motion comes back for review at an upcoming meeting. In an attorney-client privileged memo commissioners agreed to make public, City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht outlined several options open to the city regarding Proposition 3, including seeking a declaratory judgment. In that situation, the city would ask a court to review the charter amendment to determine whether or not it is legal.

Commissioner Richard Lewis advocated for the move, saying both proponents and opponents of Proposition 3 knew the amendment would face legal challenges if approved by voters. He cited the proposal's potential conflict with the Michigan Zoning Enabling Act. "I think that's a question that we're going to somehow or another have to resolve, because it's going to be an open question out there for a long time to come," Lewis said. Pursuing a declaratory judgment didn't disrespect the wishes of voters, Lewis said - a concern expressed by Traverse City Mayor Jim Carruthers - but instead was a clarifying step that would help residents on both sides of the issue "put the question (of the amendment's legality) to rest."

Pointing to a number of unanswered questions city staff had about how to implement the amendment and community debate over its legality, Trible-Laucht advised she didn't "see anything lost in respectfully asking a court to give us a determination on something a lot of people disagree about, so that people can start to move forward from it." Commissioners will vote on pursuing a declaratory judgment at an upcoming commission meeting.

Commissioners Monday also ageed to an appointment process to fill a vacancy on the board following Commissioner Ross Richardson's resignation. Interested candidates will have until December 2 to apply for the opening with the city; commissioners will then set up interviews with candidates and chose an appointee to fill the remainder of Richardson's term through November 2017.

The board also made several appointments Monday as part of its annual organizational meeting, including selecting Commissioner Gary Howe to be Mayor Pro Tem, appointing Howe and Commissioner Brian Haas to the city planning commission, and appointing Lewis to the Grand Traverse County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority.