After Traverse City commissioners voted unanimously Monday night to authorize City Attorney Lauren Trible-Laucht to respond to a lawsuit filed against the city over Proposal 3, Trible-Laucht submitted the city's response - officially called an answer to complaint - Tuesday in Thirteenth Circuit Court.

Developer Tom McIntyre is suing the city over the recently passed charter amendment, saying Prop 3 unfairly changed zoning rules for city property owners and subjects developments to a “discriminatory process” in which voters approve or disapprove projects without defined criteria. After discussing the lawsuit in closed session Monday, commissioners publicly voted to authorize Trible-Laucht to handle the case and move forward with filing a response.

Commissioners also agreed not to block attempts by an outside party, such as Save Our Downtown, to intervene in (or join) the lawsuit. Save Our Downtown organizers have indicated they will likely seek to intervene to ensure Prop 3 is "well-defended as possible," citing concerns over Trible-Laucht's ability to objectively defend the charter amendment. Trible-Laucht has stated publicly she believes Prop 3 is illegal.

The majority of Trible-Laucht's answer to complaint declines to admit or deny arguments made by McIntyre and his attorneys regarding the legality of Prop 3 and its alleged direct negative impact on McIntyre's proposed development at 326 East State Street. In response to most arguments outlined in the lawsuit, the city filed the answer: "The allegations in this paragraph are neither admitted nor denied for lack of knowledge, leaving Plaintiff to its proofs." In other sections - in which McIntyre's attorneys cite local ordinances or state law to bolster their claims - the city responds: "The allegations in this paragraph are neither admitted nor denied for the reason the statutes speak for themselves." The response leaves McIntyre's legal team to provide evidence and argue the substance of their claims in front of Judge Thomas Power, who is assigned to the case.

As the next step in the lawsuit, pretrial statements are due to the court by February 14. A hearing date has not yet been scheduled in the case.