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Berkley City Council postpones decision on Vinsetta Garage parking battle

Posted at 5:42 AM, Jan 07, 2020
and last updated 2020-01-07 07:56:24-05

CITY OF BERKLEY, Mich. (WXYZ) — Berkley City Council overnight postponed their decision on the Vinsetta Garage parking battle.

The popular restaurant Vinsetta Garage on Woodward sued the city of Berkley to rezone a couple lots for parking after years of battling. A deal seemed to be reached, but community members are pushing back.

It’s been going on since 2014.

If you’ve ever been to Vinsetta Garage in Berkley, you know parking is a major issue. You valet or park on the street in the neighborhoods, which homeowners don’t love.

The proposed parking lots would be behind and to the side of the restaurant on Eaton and Oxford. Right now, there are homes on that property, which the owners of the Vinsetta Garage restaurant specifically purchased to tear down and build parking lots.

But the city refused to rezone the area for parking, so the restaurant owners filed a lawsuit against the city.

The two parties reached a tentative agreement, and the public had an opportunity to comment at a city council meeting Monday night. The meeting went into Tuesday morning past midnight.

Ultimately, the city council delayed making a decision based on continued concerns over the deal and the push back from the community.

"They have not garnered a whole lot of trust through out the process .... amicable and mutually beneficially and that’s hopefully what this agreement will be when it’s all said and done," said Berkley Mayor Daniel Terback.

Berkley City Council plans to a special meeting this month.

City Vinsetta Garage Press Release by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd