Politics & Government

Brickner Wants to See Farmington Hills Mixed Use Ordinance Passed

The incumbent mayor is running unopposed for re-election.

Farmington Hills Mayor Barry Brickner says he decided to run for a second term because he's got some unfinished business.

"I'd like to see a mixed use ordinance passed," said Brickner, who is running unopposed. "We have some areas that are starting to get a little tattered." 

The mixed use ordinance, he said, is key to redevelopment in the city's commercial areas, particularly along the Grand River corridor. It would give developers tools "so they don't get hung up in rezoning for months and months." The ordinance would allow for taller buildings that would have commercial uses on the bottom and residential on top.

"That's going to attract more young folks," Brickner said. That would fit with another of his goals: appointing more young people to the city's boards and commissions.

Council members will vote in 2014 on whether to put a renewal of the SMART (Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation) bus millage on the ballot, a measure Brickner supports. Last time around, council members voted 4-3 to support letting voters decide, and he doesn't want to see the vote swing the other way. 

"I don't want us to opt out," Brickner said. "A lot of people use the bus from OCC (Oakland Community College) and BonaVenture to get downtown (Detroit) ... Seventy percent of our electorate have always approved of this. The people have the right to vote, and I don't want to take away the right of the people."

Brickner enjoys being "head cheerleader" for the city and said he has also been vocal with state officials over allocation of revenues and eliminating the personal property tax on business without a plan to replace those revenues. 

Brickner and his wife, Cheryl, have been Farmington Hills residents for 30 years and have two daughters, Kelly and Shawn. 


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