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Residents press council over approach onto Harmon Street; Grobels agrees to changes but residents say issue unresolved
Summary
Residents objected at the meeting to a site plan permitting an approach onto Harmon Street for a Grobels development; city and applicant say they agreed to alter the access to prevent exit from Harmon, but residents say the approval and driveway will still reduce property values and remain unresolved.
A group of Harmon Street residents told the St. Clair Shores City Council on Oct. 6 they remain opposed to a newly approved site plan that includes a vehicle approach across Harmon for a Grobels development, saying the driveway will hurt property values and increase traffic on their residential street.
Resident Sandy (last name not provided at the podium) told the council she and neighbors had believed a rezoning approved years earlier included a condition that "there would be no approach way onto Harmon Street." The resident said the change represents a reversal that will "devalue the property value of our home" and that the matter is not resolved.
Councilmembers and staff said they had met with Grobels representatives after residents raised concerns. Council members described a compromise in which the developer agreed to modify the driveway configuration and install a mechanical arm to block exiting onto Harmon so vehicles must enter and exit at Little Mack or the Stevens approach. City officials said the revised plan narrows an earlier curve and adds controls intended to prevent queuing and turning movements onto the residential block.
"They have agreed, being Grobels, to put an arm in there ... you will not be able to exit from there," a councilmember said during the meeting. Other council members praised Grobel’s willingness to alter the design, with one calling it "excellent corporate citizenship." Council members also said the revised plan limits deliveries and employee access to Little Mack.
Residents said those changes do not fully address the underlying issue: that a site plan approval that once specified no Harmon approach has been altered. "This is gonna severely affect the value of our property," one resident said. The resident requested a clear explanation of how the city moved from a rezoning condition prohibiting an approach to approving one in the current site plan.
City staff said they would continue working with Grobels and residents to ensure the configuration minimizes neighborhood impact and pointed to the mechanical arm and entrance-angle changes as steps already taken.
No council vote was taken on the matter during the meeting; the item was presented as an update under "updates and follows from prior council meetings," and the council recorded the public concern and planned continued staff engagement.
The council also discussed broader traffic and public-safety follow-ups across the city during the updates item, including pavement warranty work, lighting complaints at a gas station and traffic mitigation measures such as illuminated curve signage and school-crossing pavement markings.
The Harmon residents requested further meetings and clearer documentation of the change in approvals; council staff said they would schedule follow-up conversations with the city attorney and city manager and maintain contact with the residents.
