City Council has until about Thanksgiving to respond to a lawsuit filed by CBC Joint Venture regarding restaurant plans for the Sutherland House on S. Main Street.
Citing undue influence by and favoritism towards the Catallo family in Clarkston, the suit seeks to order the city to rezone the Sutherland building at 59 S. Main Street from multiple residential to commercial for development into a restaurant, and at least $25,000 for damages, costs, and fees.
Larry Barnett, one of the building developers, declined comment pending response from the city.
“The suit speaks for itself,” Barnett said, Monday.
City Council voted 6-1 on Aug. 10 to deny conditional rezoning of the property.
At the time, Councilman Mike Sabol said he voted against rezoning to maintain a “buffer” between businesses and residences at the southwest end of downtown.
City Council approved a restaurant plan for 3 E. Church Street and 28 S. Main Street submitted by Curt Catallo, owner of the Clarkston Union and Woodshop restaurants, in July.
“I’m not here to throw stones at Mr. Catallo, but there’s a double standard here,” Barnett said at the August meeting. “I think it should be the same for everybody.”
Council member Sharron Catallo, Curt’s mother, responded, saying she was on the council in 1986 when Sutherland Building owners requested a zoning change from commercial to multiple residential.
“To some of us, it didn’t seem like the best idea at that time,” Sharron said. “The reason we decided it could possibly be a great move, is we realized homes to the south would be protected, and the Sutherland house would be protected.”
Cara Catallo, Curt’s sister and chair of the Clarkston Historic District Commission, also spoke at the meeting.
She said comparing the Sutherland restaurant proposal to Curt’s Union Joints restaurant plan was”apples to oranges.”
“This is a unique zoning ? the zoning exists to protect the neighborhood,” Cara said. “It’s not to make the most money for the people who own the property.”
Sharron also spoke at the Aug. 3 Clarkston Planning Commission meeting as it was considering the Sutherland proposal, as a member of the public.
“At this moment, it’s back where it should have been (residential),” she said,
Barnett said he didn’t think they were treated fairly at that meeting as well.
“We filed before both of those (the Union Joint proposal for 3 E. Church and 28 S. Main),” Barnett said at the meeting. “We followed the requests of the city planner as per contract zoning ? we think it’s appropriate for rezoning.”
The building owners filed for rezoning from multiple residential to commercial last February. It was recommended for approval by the Planning Commission in March, but City Council sent it back for conditional rezoning, to ensure it could only be used as a restaurant. An amended plan was submitted in June.
City Council voted, Oct. 12, to approve a farm-to-table restaurant at 15 S. Main Street, formerly Clarkston State Bank.
Mayor Joe Luginski did not respond to a request for comment.