The Michigan Court of Appeals Thursday overturned part of a Thirteenth Circuit Court ruling regarding how building height is measured in Traverse City. 

The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed a ruling by Judge Thomas Power that determined all parts of a building must be under 60 feet or else go to a public vote under the city charter in Traverse City. The judges said Power "erred" in siding with an argument from group Save Our Downtown that the charter amendment overruled the city's zoning ordinance, which measures height from the grade to the roof deck and excludes certain mechanical and architectural features (like elevator shafts and clock towers). Save Our Downtown argued - and Power agreed - that the passing of Proposal 3 in 2016 changed the way building height was measured in the city, requiring all features to be under 60 feet. The Michigan Court of Appeals rejected that ruling, saying it is "undisputed that the amendment does not expressly address how to measure the height of a building" and that if Save Our Downtown wants to change the city's zoning ordinance regarding how building height is measured, it must follow the proper legal process in Michigan for amending zoning rules.

However, the judges also found that Save Our Downtown had proper standing to file a lawsuit - doing so on the grounds of protecting voter rights - and that Power did not err in granting the group a summary disposition in the case. That's because even under the city's system for measuring building height, Innovo - the developer behind a proposed building on Hall Street that was at the center of the lawsuit - had insulating material on top of the roof deck that exceeded 60 feet. "There was no dispute that the insulating material lay in excess of 60 feet above the average grade," the judges wrote. Because Innovo was unable to prove otherwise, there was no factual dispute that the building exceeded 60 feet and Power was within his rights to grant summary disposition, the judges found.

In its conclusion, the Michigan Court of Appeals said it affirmed Power's granting of summary disposition to Save Our Downtown "on the ground that no genuine issue of material face existed regarding whether the height of the proposed building exceeded the height limitation of the charter amendment. We reverse, however, the trial court’s grant of declaratory and injunctive relief, including its interpretation of the charter amendment as providing for a different method of building measurement than that provided by the zoning ordinance." With the judges affirming Power's ruling in part and reversing it in part, no costs will be awarded to the City of Traverse City and Innovo - who had appealed the ruling - or to Save Our Downtown, which had defended it.