Michigan judge grants temporary restraining order to stop demolition of Roosevelt Elementary
(CBS DETROIT) - An Oakland County Circuit Court judge has granted a temporary restraining order to halt the demolition of a historic school in Keego Harbor.
On Friday, Judge Phyllis McMillen ruled that the West Bloomfield School District is prohibited from demolishing Roosevelt Elementary and must maintain the school's current condition.
Community members, along with Michigan nonprofit Heart of the Lakes Community Inc., filed a motion against the district, alleging that board members violated the Open Meetings Act by awarding bids for demolition and asbestos abatement during Monday's meeting, conducting "secret deliberations," and failing to discuss the bids.
The motion was amended Thursday to further allege that the district sped up the process of demolishing the 103-year-old school. The motion included an affidavit from a community member, who alleged that the district began demolition on Thursday, a little over two weeks before the officials were allegedly supposed to start the process.
"This is extremely urgent. Not only is property irreplaceable under longstanding Michigan law, thus making demolition of property one of the few areas where injunctive relief during the pendency of a case is frequently warranted, but while this case has been pending (under extensive media scrutiny), Defendants have initiated demolition in a mad-dash to demolish the property before this Court can rule, despite explicitly advising community members and the media that demolition will not start until April 8, 2024," read the motion.
In her ruling on Friday, McMillen sided with the community members, writing, "There is a real and imminent danger of irreparable injury in the absence of a restraining order."
The district will have the opportunity to argue against the order in court on March 27.
Roosevelt Elementary closed in 2022, and since then, the district has been pushing to have it demolished.
Days before the board voted to demolish the school, the district received a $1.7 million cash offer from JSN Architecture in Berkeley to purchase the building and property.