SG-W:/ Re: Newmarket, again!

[Smileysmlc@aol.com]

The problem of Township and City officials appearing to be on the side of the 
developers is not an uncommon one.  Many officials do so out of a fear that 
"if we don't cooperate with the developer, we might get sued".  Although that 
certainly is a possibility in this litigious society of ours, overtly 
cooperating with a developer will open a community to even greater exposure 
in a lawsuit.

A few months ago I attended, by invitation, a seminar put on by real estate 
developers.  One of the featured presentations was by the developer who 
successfully sued the City of Novi, after his development went bust.  In his 
lawsuit, he claimed that the City had assured him that certain road and 
infrastructure improvements would be made in order to facilitate the 
development.  According to the developer, the City was slow to pave the road 
which led to his subdivision and that delay, he claimed, was a major part of 
the reason why he couldn't build and sell his houses in a timely fashion.

Although the City was clearly not solely to blame for the financial problems 
of the developer (from the info I heard, at least), a court held that the 
City had essentially promised improvements which weren't constructed as 
quickly as the developer anticipated, and that led to the financial downfall 
of the developer.  I don't recall the exact figure, but with interest and 
penalties I believe the City of Novi was ordered to compensate the developer 
to the tune of $67 MILLION!!

This is the largest judgement ever in Michigan to a developer against a 
community.   And it resulted not from a City fighting a developer, but due to 
City officials appearing to cooperate...and then having the timetable of 
improvements not meeting developer expectations.

In my view, local officials should be adversarial towards developers, but 
fair.  They need to develop sound Master Plans and uphold them.  Attempts to 
cooperate--and essentially become "partners"--with a developer, will open up 
a community to potentially devastating damage awards should the development go
 awry.  

Jack Smiley

P.S.  The City of Novi, I've heard, is appealing the decision...but I haven't 
followed the status of this case. 


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