FeedsRecall effort faces first obstacle Tuesday
On Tuesday, a recall campaign launched against five Westland city officials will face its first hurdle as delegates await recall language approval.
On July 29, members of a group known as Save Our Neighborhood (SON) turned in the language for the recall to be vetted for clarity by the Wayne County Election Commission. The campaign seeks to recall Westland Mayor Bill Wild, Westland City Council President James Godbout, Westland City Council member Michael Kehrer, Westland City Council member Bill Johnson, and Westland City Council member Dewey Reeves.
Donna DeWitt, a spokesperson for the group, said that some residents had been concerned for quite a while that individuals who voiced their concerns to the council have received little to no response from some area officials.
The final straw that prompted the recall, she said, was a June 16 decision in which the council majority voted to approve Planned Unit Development (PUD) designation and preliminary site plan approval for a proposed $35 million senior development on Joy Road just west of Wayne Road. The mixed-use development was described to the council at that time as one that would include 54 detached condominiums, 20 duplex condominiums, and a three-story independent living and “contract living” facility to be located on land previously zoned R-1, or for single-family residential homes.
Several homeowners in the area raised concerns during the meeting about aspects of the proposal including the density of the project, the impact the additional traffic on the two-lane Joy Road and the children who walk to school on the road in the absence of a sidewalk.
“They just don’t listen to the people,” said DeWitt. “They ‘listen’, but they don’t hear. They had their responses, but it wasn’t to our questions. Not once did anyone address the safety issue. They’re talking about our kids here—that’s probably where it hit the limit with us.”
Fellow SON member Rosemarie Rembisz compared the proposed development with installing a small hotel in the neighborhood and voiced her own concerns that the members of the council didn’t take the residents into consideration before voting.
“We feel that (the recall) is the only recourse we have,” she said. “It doesn’t seem like they’re listening to us. At some point, somebody needs to step up and say something. We’re doing it to let them know we’re not going to be taken advantage of. We’re just hoping we’ll get the message through that elected officials need to listen (to the people).”
Godbout stressed that although the council does give heavy credence to the views of the residents, the council must occasionally make decisions that will anger some residents for the overall good of the community.
“I don’t think we can have—or afford—government by intimidation,” said Godbout. “I base my decisions on what I feel is in the best interests of the community.”
Beyond that, he said that the recall is “premature” since plans for the site are still in flux and constantly changing.
“We haven’t even had the meeting yet on the revised plans for the project,” he said.
Wild said that at the end of the day, he still believes that the project—which is projected to bring an estimated $250,000 in additional revenue to the city—would be a good addition to the city.
“I stand by the comments that I’ve made,” said Wild.
According to Westland City Clerk Eileen DeHart, the group would need to collect 6,818 signatures on the recall petitions—the equivalent of 25 percent of the voters who voted in the last gubernatorial race—within the 180-day time period for the matter to make it onto the ballot. Currently, DeWitt said that they hope to have their task completed in time to have the matter before voters in February.
Council President Pro-tem Cheryl Graunstadt, Councilman Charles Pickering and Councilman Bob Stottlemyer who voted in opposition to the changes are not named in the recall.
