Charter accusation false In your last issue, Jim Tompkins accused me of violating the city charter in comments I made about the city engineer’s handling of 8th Street. Violating the charter in the way Mr. Tompkins accuses me of is a crime, and therefore not an accusation that should be thrown around casually, or falsely. The charter prohibits elected officials from directing city staff (other than the manager) to do something. It also prohibits us from ordering the city manager to hire or fire someone. I did none of these things, and Mr. Tompkins knows that. What I did was detail how the 8th Street project got designed contrary to the master plan. I did this after trying to resolve the matter internally. I’m not proud to have done this, but I believed it was necessary and now we’re hopefully on a path to improving the project. Hopefully this will also prevent a repeat of the situation. I did not give up my 1st Amendment right to speak freely on city issues when I became mayor, and nothing in the charter requires me to do so. Quite the contrary. Finally, Mr. Tompkins repeats a common misconception that the master plan is optional for the city to follow. The state planning statute does say the master plan is a guidance document for the zoning ordinance, which governs private development in the city. But it also says the master plan is the controlling document when it comes to capital projects – including streets – that the city builds. The planning statute requires the location, character, and extent of city capital projects to conform to the master plan. If we can ignore the rules on projects the city builds, what right do we have to make private property owners follow the rules when they build in the city?
Chris Bzdok • TC (Chris Bzdok is mayor of Traverse City.)
Charter accusation false In your last issue, Jim Tompkins accused me of violating the city charter in comments I made about the city engineer’s handling of 8th Street. Violating the charter in the way Mr. Tompkins accuses me of is a crime, and therefore not an accusation that should be thrown around casually, or falsely. The charter prohibits elected officials from directing city staff (other than the manager) to do something. It also prohibits us from ordering the city manager to hire or fire someone. I did none of these things, and Mr. Tompkins knows that. What I did was detail how the 8th Street project got designed contrary to the master plan. I did this after trying to resolve the matter internally. I’m not proud to have done this, but I believed it was necessary and now we’re hopefully on a path to improving the project. Hopefully this will also prevent a repeat of the situation. I did not give up my 1st Amendment right to speak freely on city issues when I became mayor, and nothing in the charter requires me to do so. Quite the contrary. Finally, Mr. Tompkins repeats a common misconception that the master plan is optional for the city to follow. The state planning statute does say the master plan is a guidance document for the zoning ordinance, which governs private development in the city. But it also says the master plan is the controlling document when it comes to capital projects – including streets – that the city builds. The planning statute requires the location, character, and extent of city capital projects to conform to the master plan. If we can ignore the rules on projects the city builds, what right do we have to make private property owners follow the rules when they build in the city?
Chris Bzdok • TC (Chris Bzdok is mayor of Traverse City.)
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