At the December 14 meeting of the South Lyon City Council, Attorneys Paul Burns and Bradford Maynes explained their role in Brighton's transformation into a Downtown dining destination.
`Brighton officials began by forming a team called “Blight Busters” to identify what the city needed to do to inspire new and existing land owners to work together. The group identified problem properties and ranked them from worst to the least bad.
“We created a list to work our way through town, from biggest to smallest problems,” Burns said. Their tools were ordinances, statutes, building codes, and tickets.
Paul E. Burns & Associates represented Brighton in a 2014 Supreme Court ruling that said two Brighton homes, owned by Marilyn and Leon Bonner, should be demolished. The Bonners also own multiple South Lyon properties, including the Art Craft building on Lafayette. The empty storefront in the heart of downtown has been unoccupied for more than 20 years.'
Unmentioned in Diane Andreassi's Hometown Life report is downtown South Lyon's more serious eyesore, a car repair business and its parking lot located in the middle of downtown. Relocating would cost the business a small fortune.
Much more detail is in the source for the quoted text, Diane Andreassi's report in Hometown Life, South Lyon eyes Brighton as possible downtown model, 12-15-2015. The photograph is mine. Paul Burns & Associates are Northfield Township's legal advisors.