Buffalo Ridge Developer Files Lawsuit Against Garfield Township

The developer behind Buffalo Ridge Center - home to Carmike's Cherry Blossom 14 theater and a planned Lucky's Market grocery store - has filed a lawsuit against Garfield Township in 13th Circuit Court.

TC Center Partners alleges the township and Township Planner Rob Larrea have unjustly withheld permits from the company to begin construction on Lucky's Market. Buffalo Ridge Center is part of a planned unit development (PUD), the terms of which call for the construction of a public bike path through the property. TC Center Partners and Garfield Township have negotiated for several months over the timing and circumstances under which the path must be constructed. The township's planning department has refused to grant either a final occupancy permit for Cherry Blossom 14 or any demolition or construction permits for Lucky's until the issue is resolved. 

TC Center Partners Principal Joe Sarafa says the township's planning department has placed additional requirements on the bike path outside of the original agreement, and says the township is "essentially holding hostage the Lucky's Market construction permit and a final occupancy permit for the IMAX theatre unless we agree to comply." He says that "after several failed attempts over many months at negotiating a settlement with the planning department, TCCP is left with no other recourse but legal action to try and save the Lucky's project and the 140 jobs and substantial tax revenue it would bring to the township."

According to Scott Howard, attorney for the township, TC Center Partners was supposed to construct the bike path by August 5, 2015 as part of the PUD agreement. He says the township sent a violation notice in May of this year, and that the township's zoning ordinance prohibits staff from issuing any other permits to the property until the issue is resolved or a deal is negotiated to address the violation. "There was a series of negotiations back and forth between the developers and the township, but they weren't able to come to an agreement," he says.

Garfield Township Supervisor Chuck Korn says the township "has no reason to hold up permits, other than our ordinance states if someone is in violation on a PUD, we can't issue any more permits." Korn says the township is "vexcited about Lucky's" and believes the store is a "good fit for the community and for that location," but that "we want to make sure the trail is going to be built in a timely manner."

"A PUD allows developers to do things beyond the normal scope of zoning in exchange for trade-offs," says Korn. "It's a contract where they said would (build the path) and do it within a year. We would love to issue the permits and get this process going, but we can't do it without violating our own laws."

For his part, Sarafa says TCCP is "committed to seeing the bike path built," and that the company is working with the state's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to obtain a wetlands permit for the project. He says the township's planning department is attempting to impose a timeframe that would require the path to be built prior to receiving the DEQ permit. "We firmly believe we are in full compliance (with the PUD)," he says.

The first hearing in the case is scheduled for Friday, September 16. Korn says the final occupancy permit for Carmike is essentially "symbolic" - the theater has already been open for nine months - and that proceedings shouldn't affect that building's operations. But Lucky's will remain on hold, with demolition and construction unable to move forward, until the conflict between TCCP and the township is resolved.

"We're still hoping to have that agreement as quickly as possible," Korn says. "But they have to give us some kind of assurance they'll (build the path), and in a reasonable timeframe."