Council approves conditional rezoning for Redico site after heated public hearing over OPLA and community transparency

Southfield City Council on April 20 approved a conditional rezoning and a special‑use permit for a 4.87‑acre portion of 27777 Franklin Road, allowing Continuum Services to operate a landscape contractor yard accessory to office space in the American Center complex.

The votes came after more than two hours of public comment and legal argument. The petitioner, Chris Haboyan, vice president at Redico, described the project as a limited, screened outdoor storage area and office consolidation that would bring about 100 employees to the site and a long‑term lease. Haboyan told the council the use would include screening, limits on operations, and no retail sales.

Opponents, including neighborhood residents, condo and business representatives, and land‑use counsel, urged the council to withhold approval. Attorney Ron Reynolds and multiple speakers argued the proposed contractor yard was inconsistent with the Centropolis Smart Zone and the city’s master plan and warned of ‘‘spot zoning.’’ Residents described visual and dust concerns for nearby offices and senior housing and requested that Redico host a public town hall to answer questions about the lease and a separate tenant arrangement that several speakers identified as OPLA, the lawyers for U.S. immigration enforcement.

The planning staff and the city attorney recommended consideration of the conditional rezoning, noting that the applicant had eliminated many industrial uses by condition, proposed view‑mitigation plantings, and received a favorable, unanimous recommendation from the planning commission. The city’s planning staff cited goals in the Centropolis action plan encouraging flexible infill and repurposing of underutilized parking and surface lots.

Councilman Mandelbaum moved approval; after council discussion the motion passed on a roll‑call vote recorded in the transcript as 5 in favor and 2 opposed. The roll call in the meeting record shows the following: Councilwoman Banks — No; a second recorded ‘Councilwoman Glenn’ — No; Councilman Bridewell — Yes; Councilwoman Haines — Yes; Council President Pro Tem Hogue — Yes; Councilman Mandelbaum — Yes; Council President Hicks — Yes. (Transcript contains variant spellings for some names in the roll call.)

The special land‑use permit enabling the contractor/landscape yard was then considered in a separate public hearing and likewise approved after council debate and roll‑call voting procedures. Council and staff repeatedly urged continued communication between Redico and neighborhood groups; council members said they had submitted a list of questions to Redico and sought additional engagement even as they voted.

The council’s approval includes the conditions offered by the petitioner — screening, limits on outdoor storage heights relative to screening, restricted hours of operation, and an explicit requirement that the yard be accessory to the office tenancy — and also leaves the zoning authority able to revert the conditional rezoning if conditions are breached.

The meeting record shows active, sometimes emotional public participation: neighborhood groups pressed for transparency about the tenant and lease terms, described fear among immigrant residents, and asked for written assurances and a public town hall. Redico and multiple corporate tenants submitted letters of support or withdrew prior objections after site meetings, which the petitioner cited in defense of the plan.

Next procedural steps: the approvals are final actions by the council as recorded; any implementation or enforcement of the plan will proceed through the city’s building, zoning, and permitting processes. The city also recorded that it will continue to communicate with both the neighborhood groups and Redico to pursue public questions that were raised during the meeting.