Resident alleges Planning Commission Open Meetings Act violation; city says door-security error delayed entry

Resident Anthony Briand told the City Council during public comment that when he arrived for the Planning Commission meeting on June 24, 2026 the doors were locked and he could not enter; he requested that the Planning Commission hold a redo of the meeting and asked that a copy of his public comment be included in the official minutes.

At the mayor's request, City Administrator Huff later explained the sequence to the council: city staff had recently replaced the security system at City Hall and employees had not been fully instructed on how to keep the doors unlocked for public meetings. "They thought that the doors were unlocked, but they were not, they were locked," Huff said, and staff said that once they saw the issue they opened the doors and the Planning Commission chair altered the agenda so Mr. Briand could make his public comment. The council record notes Mr. Briand later left the meeting after making his comment.

Briand characterized the locked doors as a potential violation of the Michigan Open Meetings Act and asked for a redo; the City Administrator presented the staff account that the access problem stemmed from a security-system replacement and that the commission allowed the comment during the meeting. The minutes do not record the Planning Commission chair by name or show a formal request for a meeting redo; Mr. Briand's request that the Planning Commission hold a redo is recorded in the public-comment section.