A Detroit Montessori school is asking a Wayne County judge to immediately halt construction of a Chick-fil-A restaurant next door, arguing developers violated zoning laws and endangered children by building just feet from its playground.
The Giving Tree Montessori, which serves 116 children from infancy through kindergarten, filed an emergency motion last week, accusing Verus Development Group (VDG) and Chick-fil-A of ignoring Detroit’s zoning ordinance and the conditions of a Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) order by expanding their project onto land designated as school use.
The school contends that the 3,000-square-foot, drive-thru-only restaurant, which would operate feet from its playground, violates a city ordinance prohibiting fast food restaurants within 500 feet of a school.
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