The question of opening up downtown streets in the City of Northville will not be on the Nov. 5 ballot.
At a recent meeting of the Northville City Council, Anne Gabbert, a lawyer attending on behalf of Anthony Chubb, said both Wayne County and Oakland County clerks approved the ballot language to have an advisory question regarding the contentious street closure question placed on the November ballot. Currently, sections of both Main and Center streets have been closed to downtown traffic by the council.
Gabbert explained that the state director of elections, however, advised that his office was not in agreement with the placement of an advisory, non-binding question on the ballot, Subsequently, clerks from both Wayne and Oakland counties have removed the street closure question from the proposed ballot proof.
State officials based the decision on their determination that, by law, the community must have an option for advisory ballot questions as part of the city charter. The Northville City Charter does not include this provision and is therefore prohibited from the advisory ballot question, she said.
To move forward with the advisory ballot question for the November ballot would require emergency litigation in both County Circuit Courts, she said, which would entail court costs which could be extensive. Members of the council discussed the issue and agreed not to proceed with litigation of the matter.
