A local developer is suing a Grand Rapids suburb over the denial of its long-planned townhomes project, arguing the city had no legal right to block the plan and should reverse its decision.

East Grand Rapids-based Jade Pig Ventures LLC, which is led by developer Scott Wierda, filed a lawsuit last month against the city of Walker for denying its preliminary area site plan for the River Ridge Townhouses project in February.

Jade Pig had eyed 49 acres it owns at 330, 350 and 740 Greenridge Drive NW in Walker for townhomes since 2021. The latest version of the plan — refined several times in response to city feedback — called for 162 multifamily rental townhomes.

The developer filed the lawsuit March 8 in Kent County 17th Circuit Court. Walker has a petition pending to move it to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan because the complaint invokes state and federal, rather than county, statutes.

Keep up with all things West Michigan business. Sign up for our free newsletters today.

Jade Pig Ventures is arguing that the city “engaged in a scheme to unlawfully obstruct” development of the property in violation of state law, the city’s ordinance and the developer’s constitutional rights.

The complaint contends that the city’s actions have caused “significant financial damages” and amount to illegal takings of Jade Pig’s property by the city.

The developer is asking the court to reverse the city’s decision by ordering it to approve the latest site plan. It also is seeking unspecified financial damages and relief, and to cover attorney’s fees and costs.

Jade Pig is represented in the case by attorneys at Honigman LLP, who declined to comment.

A preliminary site layout rendering of the proposed River Ridge Townhouses in Walker. Credit: Progressive Companies

In the court filing, Jade Pig said the city’s actions “have caused (Jade Pig) to suffer irreparable harm, effectively depriving (it) of the right to engage in the development of its property and threatening the economic prospects” of the developer.

Walker’s attorneys at Plunkett Cooney PC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Walker Mayor Gary Carey declined an interview, referring to the city’s policy not to comment on pending litigation.

Project history

After Jade Pig Ventures formally submitted plans for 186 units of townhomes on the site to the city in 2022, the Walker Planning Commission tabled a vote on the plan four times between June 2022 and January 2024 over an ever-evolving list of concerns brought by neighbors, city staff and planning commissioners.

These included density, traffic, the site’s topography, stormwater drainage, effects on well water, endangered species and whether the plan complied with Walker’s master plan, which is currently under review.

In September 2023, the city enacted a six-month “emergency moratorium” on high-density residential development projects while it continued master plan revisions. The developer alleges the pause was not based on any real emergency but was specifically designed to block the River Ridge Townhomes project before the next scheduled vote in October.

At each step of the process, the development team maintained that Wierda owns the land and has a legal right to develop the property, as the site was rezoned to the requisite residential planned unit development (RPUD-2) in the late 1980s.

The developer also consistently has argued that the project complied with the zoning ordinance across all categories of concern, and that it also complied with the master plan, although master plan compliance is only required for rezoning requests, not for preliminary area site plan approval.

Ultimately, the board rejected the plan in a 5-4 decision in February.

The developer said in the court filing that it refined the plans seven times in response to the city’s concerns, but “the city repeatedly moved the goal posts by requiring new information and reports.”

Jade Pig also said the city’s decision contradicts its own precedent, as larger and “significantly higher density” projects like the redevelopment of the former English Hills Golf Course and Lincoln Country Club into hundreds of units of housing were not held to the same standards.

In addition to a reversal of the city’s decision and damages, Jade Pig is asking that the court declare the developer’s rights to due process and equal protection under the Michigan and U.S. constitutions were violated.

More from Crain’s Grand Rapids Business:

West Michigan boat dealer accuses manufacturer of inventory fraud scheme

This chef-developer duo wants to bring big-city dining to Southwest Michigan

Historic downtown Grand Rapids bank acquired by Muskegon developer