Bordine Nursery Suing City Over Denial

By Greenhouse Grower staff|March 20, 2009

Michigan-based Bordine Nursery set up shop temporarily at an intersection in Royal Oak, Mich., to sell items in 2008. But the city denied Bordine’s renewal for the same spot in 2009, and the grower-retailer is now suing the city.

Corey Bordine, owner of Bordine Nursery, asked the commission to act on the issue during the March 16 regular meeting. Bordine says last year the operation came up with the idea of a Bordine Express, and it was so successful he was planning additional sites this year.

“The reason we selected Royal Oak is because we get hundreds of e-mails every year from citizens of Royal Oak that say, ‘Please bring your products closer to us,’” Bordine told C&G News.

Bordine wanted to use the space in Royal Oak, a defunct industrial site, to hold a 60-day sale during the spring. After the sale was approved in 2008, representatives from nearby English Gardens sued to stop it, but a Circuit Court ruling upheld an earlier decision.

The proposal before the ZBA was to waive the requirement for parking and to allow a temporary merchant on a parcel zoned for industrial. Bordine’s issue is with the city commission, which it says cannot overturn the current ruling – only a circuit court can, city attorney Dave Gillam says.