With a prayer book in
hand, Rabbi Kagan
consults with fellow
Lubavitch member
Joel Margolis outside
township trustee
chambers. An
ordinance that would
prohibit their planned
college campus was
on the evening's
agenda.
velopers. Among them are Herman
Frankel, Bernard Lieberman, Sam
Blumenstein, Bernard Glieberman, Etkin
Properties, the Irvine Group, Hartman
and Tyner, Holtzman/Silverman, Barry
Stulberg, Ron Licht, Herb Lawson and
Burton-Katzman.
Twenty years ago, during Doherty's
regime, issues at town hall were typical of
a growing community. Township leaders
were concerned with water, sewer, traffic
and orderly development. These are the
same issues confronting West Bloomfield
leaders today.
Jewish institutions weren't in the
plans; the Jewish community appeared to
be moving to Oak Park, Southfield and
Livonia.
It was a small, rural township. For
years, West Bloomfield couldn't even get
the U.S. government to put a post office
within the township limits.
The few Jewish people who resided in
the township moved there because land
was relatively cheaper than in other
suburbs. It was a community of summer
cottages and many lakes. West Bloom-
field was considered the boondocks, far
from the city.
Dave and Rene Lieberman, for example,
moved from Detroit to West Bloomfield 31
years ago because Dave, then a young at-
torney and newly married, wanted to buy
an acre of land. He couldn't afford an acre
in Southfield.
The Liebermans were thrilled when
their synagogue, Adat Shalom, opted to
relocate to nearby Farmington Hills in
1972.
After Adat Shalom came the Jewish
Community Center, at Maple and Drake
roads, which opened in 1975. Irwin Shaw,
executive director of the JCC from 1951 to
1976, says community leaders chose the
West Bloomfield site because they didn't
want to make another mistake.
"In the history of the JCC, we always
built after the Jewish community peaked
in any given neighborhood," Shaw says.
"It happened over and over again."
Shaw remembers West Bloomfield as a
The chart below shows
how individual trustees
voted on issues
pertaining to the
Jewish community.
large piece of farmland. He didn't know if
the community would follow. But JCC
leaders used some foresight and the price
of the land was right — about $8,000 an
acre. Within four years, that land
escalated to nearly $50,000 an acre.
West Bloomfield today is a high-priced
real estate mecca still experiencing grow-
ing pains. A change in makeup on the
township board leaves OUST advocates
controlling the majority of seats on a
seven-member council. In two years, the
board has passed building moratoriums
and restrictive environmental or-
dinances. Downzoning has become
synonymous with protecting the residen-
tial aura.
Slow growth advocates say they are
creating a gem out of a mess. Yet the
price of the gem may be costly. The
board's mission has provoked some
mammoth lawsuits on behalf of de-
velopers, who fear they may no longer be
permitted to build in the township.
Among them was a lawsuit filed by in-
HOW THE TRUSTEES VOTED
■
NOVEMBER 2
Should colleges be placed in
a multi-family zone?
FEBRUARY 20
■
in Y Y Y Y
Should colleges be placed
an industrial office park zone?
NOVEMBER 20
■
DECEMBER 21
■
Should B'nai Moshe have a
special use permit?
Should B'nai Moshe have a
special use permit?
JANUARY 29
■
Should the court fight
continue?
A NN Y Y
-
A NNN Y
N
-
NN
-
Y
NNNYYY
Y Y Y Y Y NN
■
.
/
Y = Yes
N = No
A = Abstain
- = Absent
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
27