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Politics & Government

Bistro Applicant Receives Planning Board Stamp of Approval

Social Kitchen's plans include tapas-style food and rooftop dining at downtown location.

, the proposed bistro at 223-225 E. Maple Road, got the opportunity to present their final site plans Wednesday.

Social Kitchen is the second bistro applicant for 2012. Per Birmingham's 2007 bistro ordinance, only two bistro licenses are approved each year. Bistros are defined as having seasonal sidewalk seating, a full-service kitchen and no more than 65 seats.

The presentation was part of a , created this summer and fall after .

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The new process involves a prescreening by the City Commission, which then recommends up to two applicants for a full site plan review by the Planning Board, which then passes it back to City Commission for final approval.

The Planning Board .

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Plan would include alleyway, rooftop dining

Social Kitchen's plans call for 64 interior seats, including 10 at the bar, along with 56 outdoor seats that will be located in an alleyway adjacent to the building’s east side. Additionally, the plan calls for 30 seats on the building's roof.

The applicant is Zack Sklar, who currently is the owner and chef at Cutting Edge Cuisine, based out of Bloomfield Hills. Sklar said he was hoping to create a new atmosphere for Birmingham “with out of the box food and presentation.” Proposed menus for Social Kitchen include tapas-style food with creative presentation, much like his catering company serves now, Sklar said.

Many of the planning board members were intrigued by the creativity of the new project, while many said they were excited about the idea of rooftop and alleyway dining, noting the design improves the useability of an otherwise empty space.

“This is more than we could have even asked for,” Janelle Boyce, planning board member, said.

Planning board members admitted the proposal was "pushing the envelope" as a bistro because there are so many seats and Sklar is hoping to use much of the outdoor dining year round. Still, all seven members voted in favor of the project.

The proposal now moves to the Birmingham City Commission for final approval.

Methodist Church prepares to renovate exterior, parking lot

Plans to update the landscaping at the also met with approval Wednesday night.

The church's plans call for adding 600 square feet of landscaping, adding a mansard slate roof on the south side of the building and modifying two existing entrances so that they are barrier-free and improve pedestrian access. The church's renovation plans also involve adding 11 new exterior lights to improve visibilty in the parking lot at night.

A Birmingham resident who lives only a few houses down from the church, said he was in favor of the church renovations but asked that stop signs be put up at the exits of the church. The planning board felt that was a reasonable offer and added that as one of the contingencies for approval.

“This church is a great neighbor and it has done wonderful things,” Bryan Williams, planning board member said. “I hope they keep it up.”

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