Vocal residents, fed up with noise and trash from the the Glo Nightclub on Woodward in Ferndale, scored a victory Monday night.
Council members voted unanimously against recommending renewal the club's temporary liquor license when it expires in September, Priya Mann repots at WDIV. The city will file a formal objection to relicensing with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, which usually heeds community objections.
Residents spoke up at the council session, with some saying the club makes the neighborhood unsafe. Police have been called more than 30 times to the club since it opened in November, WDIV reports, and are investigating violence there on St., Patrick's Day.
Mike McConnell of The Daily Tribune gives this status of the latest investigation:
Two men were stabbed and a third assaulted with a bottle at or near the club last Tuesday, police said. Ferndale Police Lt. William Wilson said investigators are getting little cooperation from witnesses and victims in the case.
The lieutenant also tells the Royal Oak newspaper:
“We’ve received complaints that there are always unruly crowds. There have also been complaints about parking issues and litter.”
Todd Flood, the attorney for the club, said the owners should have time to fix problems.
One neighbor, commercial photographer Mark Houston, attended Monday's discussion and comments under Deadline's coverage Monday:
Had the owners of Glo just made an effort at cleaning up after their patrons on Saturday and Sunday morning and do a better job of traffic control and patron control around the bar, these problems never would have been a issue.
I was at the Ferndale council meeting, the owners of Glo hide behind their lawyer and never once spoke to the concerns of the neighbors. Glo's lawyer waxed on about how Glo is a diamond in the rough and with time, they can do better.
I say too little too late.
The situation has echoes of Birmingham concerns that led to the abrupt shutdown of South nightclub in 2012.
-- Alan Stamm
