Rochester Hills City Council voted Monday to approve a conditional-use permit for The Highland Room, a cafe planned for Unit 1 of the Gerald Building on East Auburn Road, while a separate committee recommendation to award a city quota Class C liquor license to the applicant was denied.

Planning staff told council the tenant space totals about 1,260 square feet with seating for roughly 33 and that the proposed operation would function as a cafe during daytime hours and add alcohol service in the afternoons/evenings. Staff and the applicant said parking is provided under Brooklyn’s district standards; there will be no outdoor seating as part of the current plan.

Councilmembers debated whether to delay action while the liquor-license outcome was unresolved or to approve the conditional use independently. Several members emphasized the two-step process: conditional-use approval addresses land-use compatibility while any liquor-license transfer or quota license remains subject to a separate liquor-committee recommendation and council review.

Councilwoman Neubauer moved, and Councilman Blair seconded, a motion to approve the conditional use with an explicit condition that alcohol sales "will commence at 4PM through 10PM daily." President Diehl read the motion into the record and the council approved it unanimously.

On the related quota-license request, the Liquor License Technical Review Committee—using a scoring matrix and noting the city’s limited 4 quota licenses determined by census thresholds—unanimously recommended denial. Council voted to forward a resolution of denial to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission for the city's quota license, effectively blocking the applicant from receiving a free municipal quota license; staff noted the applicant retains the option to transfer an existing Class C license from elsewhere, subject to liquor-committee review and another council vote.

The council’s package grants the applicant the flexibility to open as a liquor‑free café immediately and pursue licensure options later within a one-year conditional-use period if they wish.