ANN ARBOR, MI - Two Ann Arbor City Council members have filed a lawsuit against the city, Mayor Christopher Taylor and the city clerk alleging the execution of a contract to sell development rights for construction of a 17-story high-rise is illegal.

Council members Anne Bannister and Sumi Kailasapathy filed the lawsuit Monday, June 18, in Washtenaw County Trial Court, regarding the "air rights" above the parking structure adjacent to the District Library building on Fifth Avenue where there are plans for the high-rise.

"The decision to challenge this contract was made because City Council cannot delegate some responsibilities conferred by the city charter," Bannister said in a statement. "The duty to approve contracts is council's alone. The city charter plainly provides that all contracts for the sale of City property must be approved by an 8-vote majority of Council.

"When the City Council voted to sell this property in 2017, there was no contract for council to approve. When the contract was signed in May 2018, it was done without seeking Council approval of the written agreement," she added. "We believe this violates the city charter by ignoring the checks and balances built into our Charter."

The complaint requests that the court enter a judgment declaring the contract document signed May 31, 2018, be voided. The plaintiffs also have requested the court enter a preliminary injunction forbidding the city from executing a deed to the property until a final determination by the court.

Taylor said Wednesday, June 20, he would defer to the city attorney for an official response to the allegations laid out in the lawsuit, but responded generally that he disagreed with the spirit of the complaint.

"As a general matter, I don't think this turn of events is good for Ann Arbor," Taylor said. "I believe that when council members have policy disagreements, the proper thing to do is work them out at the council table, not to sue each other."

Eric Lipson, the attorney for Bannister and Kailasapathy, said the council members are asking the court to intervene to invalidate the contract and enjoin the city from selling off the "last piece of city-owned land downtown without first presenting it to council for a vote."

"We believe that council exceeded its authority in attempting to improperly delegate and thereby abdicate, its authority to approve contracts to staff," Lipson said. "The plain language of the city charter forbids this attempt to sidestep the Charter. Last year's council also cannot bind the current council. Members Bannister and Kailasapathy have courageously chosen to challenge this attempted abuse of power that would disenfranchise their constituents and their authority as council members."

The City Council voted 8-3 to sell the development rights to the city-owned Library Lot property on Fifth Avenue property to Chicago-based developer Core Spaces for $10 million in April 2017, ending a decade-long debate and paving the way for the 17-story high-rise.

More than a year after the council voted to sell the property, the city and developer finalized the purchase agreement, which was signed by Taylor and City Clerk Jacqueline Beaudry, the lawsuit states. The document was not presented to the city council, however, the lawsuit states.

The finalization of the purchase agreement came just days after the city clerk's office determined a grassroots citizens group known as the Ann Arbor Committee for the Community Commons had turned in enough petition signatures to put a proposal on the November ballot seeking to block the sale and keep the lot in public hands.

On June 18, the Ann Arbor City Council approved ballot language for a citizen-initiated proposal for a downtown central park and civic center commons.

The Ann Arbor Committee for the Community Commons recently submitted more than 5,000 valid petition signatures to the city clerk's office to force the question onto the Nov. 6 ballot after the City Council previously refused to put it to a vote of the people.

The committee for the commons is hoping to stop the sale and the 17-story development. Whether a yes vote on the proposal in November would have that legal effect is still in question.

Kailasapathy noted that the city charter requires contracts must be brought to council for a vote.

"The detailed agreement between the parties did not exist at the time Council authorized the sale on April 17, 2017," Kailasapathy said. "That vote authorized staff to prepare a purchase agreement. The final Library Lot contract was never brought to council for a vote. Council never had the opportunity to review the contract and vote on this important matter. By denying our rights as council members, the city has also denied the rights of the constituents to be represented on council."

The Library Lot is the public parking lot atop the city's Library Lane underground garage off Fifth Avenue, just south of Liberty Street, sharing the same block as Liberty Plaza and the downtown library. Many community members had wanted to see the lot stay in public control and transformed into a town square of sorts.

As tentatively planned, the building, known as the Collective on 5th, would include retail space on the ground floor, along with a hotel lobby, residential lobby and common area, office space on the second floor, 131 hotel rooms on floors three through six, 360 apartments on floors seven through 17, and a 12,000-square-foot plaza.

Core Spaces, the developer behind the project, is asking community members to attend a meeting from 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday, June 20 at the downtown library to give feedback on the project before plans are finalized and submitted to the city for review and approval.