Quick Hits: City to Buy Bistro Furniture for Shain Park

Though Mayor Gordon Rinschler was absent at Monday night's Birmingham City Commission meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Mark Nickita and the rest of the commissioners had a busy evening. Notably, commissioners passed a resolution approving the purchase of 10 sets of bistro tables and chairs for .

Only have time for the quick hits? Here's a rundown of what happened during last night's meeting:

Commission action Monday night

• The purchase of the bistro tables and chairs, supported primarily by Nickita, Commissioners George Dilgard and Scott Moore and Shain Park designer Ron Rea. Commissioners were given the choice between heavier furniture from Landscape Forms (which provides the benches and garbage cans currently in the park) and the bistro tables and chairs found in Parisian parks and Campus Martius downtown. Nickita stressed the importance of the movable nature of the bistro furniture, noting that by purchasing only 10 sets, the city could experiment to see whether the furniture works for Birmingham.
• A resolution formally supporting the Complete Streets project. The Michigan-wide project aims to make city streets pedestrian- and bike-friendly. Monday night's resolution directs city staff to develop policies and procedures in order to best implement Complete Streets during upcoming years. The Birmingham Planning Board has been hearing reports and discussing the Complete Streets project for several months and will continue hearing reports on the subject at its Wednesday meeting.

Tabled for later meetings

• Amendments to the city's site plan review ordinance, specifically a request for applicants to submit floor plans when turning in site plans to the planning board. Planning director Jana Ecker requested the issue be delayed until standards can be established, per the request of the city attorney.
• Amendments to the city's zoning ordinances, specifically amending zoning requirements for commercial areas abutting neighborhoods. This includes redefining O1 and O2 districts, while adding O3 and O4 districts. The planning board has been working on refining zoning for commercial areas for several years, but commissioners were concerned Monday night with the lack of definitions of several business categories. Commissioners said they want to bring the issue back during the next joint meeting of the city commission and planning board on Oct. 17.

Stay tuned to Birmingham Patch for further information on the zoning ordinances and the decision to purchase tables and chairs for Shain Park.