A short while ago, I wrote a post titled “The Historic District Commission Has Declared War On Us – Let’s Fix That” that you can find here. Since that time, there’s been a lot of behind-the-scenes work to bring this project to fruition. I would like to extend a HUGE thanks to my husband for his yeoman’s work on the project, the attorneys at Honigman LLP for their assistance, and my secret cheering squad (you know who you are). I’d also like to thank not only the people who will be collecting the signatures we need to put this on the ballot to allow Clarkston residents to decide what kind of Historic District Commission (HDC) we want to have, but also every person who signs a petition. I think this is an opportunity to change things for the better for everyone and an appropriate response to the way many have been treated by an HDC that believes it doesn’t answer to taxpayers, residents, or elected city officials.
Our HDC consists of five City of the Village of Clarkston residents who don’t necessarily have to have any particular experience. They don’t even need to live in the historic district (rules for thee but not for me). Michigan’s Local Historic Districts Act (the state law that authorized the creation of our HDC) hopefully suggests one member should have a degree in architecture and two years of experience, but it’s perfectly fine to not have a member with these qualifications if such a person isn’t available. A majority of the members are supposed to have “a clearly demonstrated interest in or knowledge of historic preservation,” so I guess that means two of the five don’t have to. The most recent appointment demonstrated her qualifications by telling the city council she loves the downtown area, was happy to have purchased a historic home, she did work on her home with approval from the HDC, and she talked with two members of the HDC about serving on the HDC before expressing an interest in the appointment. That’s it. While I genuinely appreciate her volunteer spirit, it’s kind of scary that anyone with such a thin background is one of five votes that could force any historic district resident into an expensive and protracted administrative and potential court battle over purported violations. Or at least that’s the way it is now without the proposed HDC charter amendment.
When we bought our home over twenty years ago, the HDC was quite laid back. They only cared about changes to the historic homes that could be seen from the street, which included window replacements. Over the years, and as many of us can attest, our unchecked HDC has morphed into something that is powerful and abusive, and our city council has been either unwilling or politically unable to rein them in. Anyone who even tries to do so is met with a tidal wave of vitriol and opposition, as was the case when former mayor Steve Percival didn’t renew Cara Catallo’s HDC appointment and appointed the more educationally and experientially qualified Cory Johnston instead. You might remember Ms. Catallo’s tenure as the HDC chair – she was the one who obtained a stop work order preventing private property owners from removing trees from their own property, even though there was no structure on the property (historic or otherwise), costing the owners thousands of dollars before they reached a settlement with the city – that Catallo then refused to sign.
Steve Percival lost his next election to Eric Haven, who was a staunch HDC supporter. Later, Haven would do everything in his power to defeat two city council candidates from winning their election. Why? No doubt it had something to do with the fact that these two candidates were outspoken HDC critics as a result of their own bad experiences with the HDC. One of them also experienced an inappropriate stop work order and lost money fighting over a tasteful fence, and the other was threatened – on his own property – by the HDC chair and other city officials (one of whom was reported to be Haven) because the HDC didn’t like his landscaping and threatened to have it ripped out. Haven clearly didn’t want these two to secure a council position where they might have been in a position to do something about the conduct of the HDC. (One wonders if Haven would be so supportive of the HDC if he actually lived in the historic district and had to deal with this type of treatment.)
The HDC has been known to have members who walk the street looking for violations, issue “stop work” orders without talking to homeowners, and they have simply declared they must be involved in any number of innocuous things you might want to do to your own home. Their brochure demands that you get their permission if you want to replace your roof or garage door, clean the exterior of your home, install storm windows, or even remove large trees, shrubbery, or plantings, for example. In short, your home is not your castle.
The HDC has cost the city a fortune in legal fees fighting over porch railings, fencing, and to keep a documented dangerous building in the historic district from being razed, even though this building has not even been designated as a historic structure by the city; spent our tax dollars paying an architectural consultant so they can argue over whether and to what extent homeowner-requested changes are seemingly “historical” enough; have relentlessly pursued a resident and are trying to financially destroy her over window replacements; and have even considered trying to alter our property deeds (at taxpayer expense) to add a historic district designation, which would have to be removed if the city ever chose to dissolve the historic district (also at taxpayer expense).
The last straw for me was when the HDC used the city attorney to try to get the city council to pass an ordinance that would give the city manager and the code enforcement officer (who hasn’t been doing her job recently because she is miffed that she can’t issue tickets) the unfettered right to fine people up to $5,000 for doing work without the HDC’s permission, an ordinance change that had not been requested by the city council. This $5,000 fine would be in addition to the HDC’s current ability to go to court (at taxpayer expense) to compel you to rip out anything they don’t approve of and replace it with something that is more in line with their personal preferences and that might be far more expensive than you’d anticipated – so you would be forced to pay twice. They’ve even told our city manager the HDC doesn’t report to the city, and he should not attend any of their meetings because they apparently don’t want to hear anything he has to say. Is it any wonder we’ve heard that real estate agents and contractors whisper about not wanting to deal with homes in the historic district?
Enough already.
As you may know from reading my website, there are three groups of people in Clarkston. The first are those whom I’ve referred to as the “old guard.” Don’t let the “old” in the name fool you, because a lot of them aren’t what most would categorize as chronologically old. Many of these people (or their parents) were involved in establishing the current historic district – or they’re friends with them. Their original and very laudable goal was to prevent the destruction of our lovely downtown if the State of Michigan decided to widen M-15 (our Main Street) which would have destroyed or degraded the beautiful homes immediately adjacent. Some of these people were also involved in the effort to make the Village of Clarkston a city (which is why we’re known as the City of the Village of Clarkston now). Unfortunately, this has left many of the old guard with a belief they are also entitled to direct how everything should be handled in the city. And yes, these are the same people who will viciously fight against my charter proposal.
You might be surprised to know that when we moved here, my husband and I were more closely identified with the old guard, mostly because of our immediate neighborhood and because we didn’t know any better. I learned who I was not supposed to like from casual conversation (former resident Cory Johnston was frequently mentioned as a bad actor, for example). We were ejected from this group after the Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act lawsuits because the old guard believes it is anathema to challenge any city decision. We are now part of a second group, which really doesn’t have a common name. I prefer to think of this second group as the “normies,” the “non-haters,” or the “not blinded by rage and control” group. Many of the people in this second group also voted on Clarkston’s cityhood and in favor of establishing a historic district. Honestly, this group is a lot nicer. I got to know Cory Johnston a few years ago and learned that not only is he a professional engineer with degrees in architecture and construction engineering, making him an ideal choice for former mayor Steve Percival to appoint to the HDC, but he is also a genuinely good person who has done a lot for Clarkston (that you are undoubtedly unaware of). Cory and his wife Robyn are currently using their skills to make the world a better place by doing volunteer historic preservation work in their retirement, one nail and paintbrush at a time.
That leaves a third group, which is probably the largest. These are people who are simply going about their lives and aren’t really plugged in to Clarkston politics. Unfortunately, if they ever do get involved, they’ll be quickly ostracized by the old guard if they ever express a contrary viewpoint or socialize with someone the old guard doesn’t like. I’m honestly not kidding about that. I am aware of a new resident who was warned by an old guard member to be very careful about who s/he made friends or associated with, so I guess you could say that owning a home in Clarkston is a lot like living in the middle of a high school lunchroom with all the drama that entails. I think defaulting into the nicer second group is really the better place to be because you won’t be hated simply for expressing a different opinion or by the company you keep.
You might wonder why attorneys from Honigman were involved in the charter proposal. It’s because we suspect the old guard will try to convince a majority of the city council to use your tax dollars to fight against your opportunity to vote on the proposed HDC charter amendment by asking the city attorney to raise some BS arguments to try to keep the proposal off the ballot (at taxpayer expense). After all, a majority of people might vote for this proposal! From their perspective, it’s better that Clarkston voters don’t have the opportunity to choose something the old guard doesn’t like and keeping it off the ballot would be the way to keep things just as they are. As to those people who think that’s the way to go, know this – if you are successful in keeping this proposal off the ballot for some inane and flyspecked reason, I’ll keep bringing it back until it gets on the ballot. I think this issue is important enough for Clarkston voters to have a say. If a majority of them decide they don’t want this change, fair enough.
You can also expect a whisper campaign and probably a letter or two as your opportunity to vote on this charter amendment gets closer, perhaps even including some current and former old guard city council or HDC members and their friends. They’ll probably create a cool (and deliberately deceptive) name to hide behind like “Citizens Seeking to Prevent the Destruction of Historic Clarkston.” 😂 They will lie about what my motives are, of course, but that’s what the old guard does. These are the same people who will tell you that voting for candidates they don’t like will result in dissolution of the city, something that’s virtually a legal impossibility.
In short, the old guard preys on the uninformed. So, don’t be one of those people. Decide for yourself.
Want to know who is behind this charter amendment? No need to search for campaign finance forms; I’ll tell you. It’s just my husband and me in a very low-budget operation, and we’re doing it because we have some skills that we use to effect what we think are positive changes in the city, such as forcing the city to be operationally and fiscally transparent and to stop wasting tax dollars. The biggest expense so far for the HDC charter proposal is the Honigman legal fee. Anyone who circulates or signs a petition to get the charter amendment on the ballot is simply acting to give you the opportunity to have input on how you want the HDC to operate in the city, something you haven’t had a chance to express an opinion on before. If a majority of City of the Village of Clarkston voters want to keep things the way they are now, then that will be the end of it.
I’ve been warned to expect that it will get very nasty with attacks focused on me personally rather than on the HDC issue because that’s easier than trying to defend the things the HDC has done to people. So, I guess this means it will be like the way I was treated during my FOIA lawsuit when the city tried to bankrupt me, I was trashed at city council meetings, and a self-important old guard member sent a letter to everyone in Clarkston telling people how awful I was for filing a lawsuit rather than letting the city walk all over me – twice!
I want to give you a flavor for who these people are and the lengths they will go to when they hate a person or an idea because I expect they will do the same thing in connection with this proposal.
The first of the two letters I mentioned that were sent to Clarkston residents was apparently intended to be published on a website called “Clarkston Matters.” The identity of the website creator was hidden. However, a political action committee (PAC) by the same name used the Clarkston Matters website address as the PAC’s website address in an Oakland County election filing, and the city manager’s now son-in-law was listed as the PAC’s treasurer. The first letter attacking me was taken down before publishing, presumably because the people behind Clarkston Matters thought the attack letter would get more attention if it landed in the mailbox of everyone in the city (except me).
Clarkston Matters’ first “official” website posting was boosted on social media by a former mayor’s wife/former president of the Clarkston Community Historical Society (CCHS). (FYI, the city manager is CCHS’s current president and treasurer, and his wife is CCHS’s museum director and only paid employee.) Clarkston Matters also published a 2,000-word trash post attacking Cory Johnston, a favorite old guard target, and that website post was boosted on social media by a current HDC member/CCHS board member.
A lot of the old guard coalesced to form a quite successful attack campaign against the 2022 marijuana charter amendment. A current HDC member was listed as the treasurer of the anti-marijuana charter amendment group, and the contributors listed on the campaign finance forms contained lots of names that I associate with the old guard. Full disclosure – on multiple occasions I wrote about my opposition to the marijuana charter amendment, not because I’m opposed to having a dispensary in Clarkston but because it was an awful, overreaching charter amendment that would have hurt the residents of the city by allowing marijuana dispensaries in residential neighborhoods, for example.
So, bring it. I know who you are, and I have no problem publicly calling you out by name if you choose to attack me personally rather than engaging in a civil discussion about why the HDC charter amendment isn’t necessary to curb HDC abuse. I am long past giving an eff what the haters think of me for speaking up. I care about this particular issue because I think putting control back in the hands of our elected city council, rather than in five unelected and questionably qualified HDC appointees, while still preserving our historic district is a good thing – even if many in the old guard disagree.
Honestly, you don’t need the old guard to tell you what I’m thinking. I’ve told you before and I’ll tell you again. My mindset has not changed from the time I announced this project, and this is the gospel truth:
I am absolutely not anti-historic district. I like the historic district. I don’t want it to go away. I love old homes, historic preservation, and local history. Clarkston was not the only historic area we looked at before we bought our current home. One of my college U.S. history professors had a love for U.S. architecture and devoted an extensive amount of class time to the subject (and honestly, that part of the class is the only thing that’s stuck with me). I owned a historic home before I married, and that same professor gave me the background on why it was built and the type of person it was built for. That home was also in a historic district with its own HDC, but since my repairs were limited to painting and minor clapboard replacement, I honestly never even knew they existed. None of my neighbors complained about HDC overreach, threats, fines, or lawsuits over porch railings. I recently looked up my old HDC’s website and was not at all surprised to see their approach was friendly and inviting, assuring residents that they are an advisory board that is there to help homeowners preserve their homes, have a goal of making their process as painless as possible, and they promised not to impose hardship or unrealistic standards on them in doing that. Isn’t that refreshing? Frankly, there is more variety in the historic architecture in my old town than in Clarkston, and it’s all been well-preserved with an HDC that uses a velvet touch. You see, there really is a reasonable ground to be found that lies between crushing people just because you can, fining them thousands of dollars, and dragging them into court versus not engaging in any preservation activities at all (which could endanger the historic district designation). The proposed HDC charter amendment is reasonable ground.
I am not anti-HDC. I believe the HDC is an integral part of the historic district. It’s really sad to see how much they’ve drifted from where they were twenty or so years ago when we bought our home in the historic district to where they are today. I would like to see them as educators and helpers, not penalty pushers. Positively educating people about our community would no doubt make them to want to participate in what should be a shared goal; that is, to preserve the rich local history that lives on within our historic homes and in our small corner of the world. In short, I am anti-bully, not anti-HDC. I think they can do better, and the proposed HDC charter amendment will establish guardrails within which our HDC can do more positive things.
I believe the HDC has gone way too far afield, we need to force a course correction, and our charter provides us with the tools to do that. We are a small town. The HDC is not separate from the city; it is a part of the fabric that makes up our city. Everything the HDC does is taxpayer-funded, so we should have a say in how they accomplish their mission. Everyone should be welcome at meetings. As City of the Village of Clarkston residents, HDC members are also our neighbors. It is not OK for our HDC neighbors to use their power to hurt our other neighbors. It is not OK for our HDC neighbors to rain down financial destruction on our other neighbors. No one should ever have to live in fear of what our HDC neighbors might try to do to them – just because they believe they can. We should not continue to tolerate the intolerable. Our HDC neighbors should be cooperative, welcoming, educational, and advisory. To the extent they are not, we need to do something about it.
Nothing in the HDC Charter Proposal would eliminate the historic district or the HDC. You can see that for yourself by reading it. Anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to manipulate you by telling you things that are untrue.
Want to learn more?
I’ve added a place on this website for you to learn what it’s all about. If you look at the top right of this webpage, you’ll see four blue boxes that look like this photo:
Clicking on the “HDC Charter Proposal” box at the top right of this page will provide you with a link to read the text of the charter proposal. Clicking on the “HDC Charter Proposal – Explained” box will provide you with a link to read a detailed explanation about why we included some of the things we did. Clicking on the “HDC Charter Proposal – Brief Summary” box at the top right of the page will provide you with a link to read a short summary of the charter proposal. Finally, clicking on the “HDC Charter Proposal – Bullet Points” will provide you with a link to a set of bullet points that briefly summarize the charter proposal. As time goes on, I may add more boxes if necessary and helpful.
This has been quite the journey so far. I hope that you will join us. We want to make the City of the Village of Clarkston a more welcoming place. We don’t want people to shy away from purchasing a home in the historic district or have difficulty finding a contractor willing to deal with a permitting process that runs through the HDC. We want to ensure everyone in the historic district is treated with respect and with recognition that our homes are our most valuable asset. I think the proposed HDC charter amendment will do just that.
If you are a registered voter in the City of the Village of Clarkston and you’d like to sign a petition to get this proposal on the ballot so that Clarkston voters can decide this issue for themselves, please let us know. I’ve set up an email address to make it easy – ClarkstonCharterProposal@gmail.com (capitalization is not necessary). All email sent to this address goes directly to me, not the city. Someone will come to you and gratefully accept your signature on our petition.
I hope you’ll join us in getting this proposal on the ballot. I also hope we can count on your “yes” vote when City of the Village of Clarkston voters have the opportunity to make a choice on this charter proposal, whether they live within the historic district or not.
Thanks for listening.
(If you’re tired of HDC abuse and favoritism, then please consider voting yes on the proposed HDC charter amendment on November 5! And because I’ve just said that and even though I haven’t spent any money, I’m going to add the following text though I’m not sure I have to:
Paid for by Susan Bisio, P.O. Box 1303, Clarkston, MI 48347 with regulated funds.)