Welcome back! Christine Ferretti here, filling in for Malachi for this week’s City Council Notebook.

A heavy industry ban in Core City 

The City Council approved zoning changes spearheaded by a Core City advocacy group fed up with dust and disturbances from an industrial lot near their homes.

The group pitched its plan in the spring to prevent future industrial activity in close proximity to residents.  

The rezoning proposal was in response to ongoing issues and dust from 4445 Lawton, an industrial site owned by Can-Am International Trade Crossing, LLC, that has repeatedly violated city blight codes.

The rezoning impacts 35 parcels along I-96, W. Warren, Buchanan, and Grand River, shifting the zoning designation from M4 (Intensive Industrial District) to SD2 (Special Development District), which encourages a mix of pedestrian and transit-oriented uses compatible with a neighborhood center. 

Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero congratulated the Core City group in its downzoning effort, which, she noted, was “strictly community-led.”

“You came together, came to the city, came to the administration. This was really hard work from the community,” said Santiago-Romero, adding “it’s possible to organize and to see these changes happen.” 

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What page are we on?

Today’s edition covers the Sept. 10 formal session.

Dig into the agenda, read Detroit Documenter notes or watch the recording for more details.

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Progress with ‘Plan Detroit’

The newest master planning process is well underway for Detroit, with over 4,000 residents engaged so far, according to Detroit’s Planning and Development Department (PDD). 

PDD Director Antoine Bryant and key project staffers told council members that there have been 20 stakeholder interviews, 33 pop-ups to engage with the community and two meetings for a 40-person Master Plan Advisory Group assembled to weigh in.

Bryant said that the overall plan will factor in a review of some 35 prior internal plans within the city and will be developed with “intergenerational dialogue” across the city with representation from each of Detroit’s City Council districts.

“We want to make sure that we hit every single section of our Detroit public,” Bryant said.Julie Connochie, a representative for the project, said the process will seek out alignment among the city’s internal master planning documents, lifting up common values and topics to guide the latest iteration of Detroit’s master plan.

A key focus of the process, she said, is a deeper dive into land use analysis, chiefly for vacant land. The city has collected about 1,800 responses from a survey, and needs like walkable neighborhoods and commercial centers rose to the top, along with transit and housing. 

The planning department had more than 200 applications for its Master Plan Advisory Group and ultimately selected about 40 people to take part, Bryant said. 

Some council members questioned how the advisory group was advertised and how the selection took place. Others wanted clarity on the survey questions and what people and places in the city those responses are coming from. 

The advisory group, which comes together in closed meetings, is providing internal feedback on what the planning department has coined the City Voices Tour, pop up events across the city to engage residents, as well as where to go to reach diverse residents and to review the technical work of consultants and establish a plan outline.

Although the Master Plan Advisory Group meetings are closed because they are working to create a “safe, collaborative environment,” notes from the meetings are reported out, said PDD Deputy Director Dara O’Byrne.

“Nothing in there is secret but we want everybody to feel comfortable,” O’Byrne said. 

Council Member Mary Waters said she didn’t know how folks had applied to be on the advisory group and felt uninformed about the process overall.  

“I would have sent it out to folks if I had known. If you guys had said to me ‘can you reach out to some of your constituency to see if they want to participate?’ That’s the kind of engagement I’d like to see,” said Waters, who inquired whether council staff members can attend the meetings.

Bryant told Waters that council office representatives are welcome.

Angela Whitfield-Calloway asked planning officials where survey responses came from, what questions residents were asked and how they were contacted.

“(Was it) electronic, visiting someone’s neighborhood, door-to-door, did we call them?,” she said.

The department said it is pulling together a report tracking responses by ZIP code, noting that the survey was primarily distributed online. Additionally, updates and information are regularly shared on social media, via newsletter and website and with flyers that go to council offices and the Department of Neighborhoods. 

The council did not appoint representatives to the non-voting advisory group, but members were allowed to recommend residents for consideration.

Marcell Todd, director of the City Planning Commission, said the structure is similar to what has been done with zoning revisions. An advisory group for that process was approached the same way when it was put in place in 2019, he said. 

The engagement process is being supported in part with funding from the Hudson Webber Foundation, including the online survey, City Voices Tour and stakeholder interviews, including representatives from city departments as well as youth and community development organizations and other groups. 

A $998,000 contract with SmithGroup, the lead consultant for the project, was approved earlier this year for the planning process that kicked off in February and ends next October. There will be additional focus group meetings in the fall and winter. The planning process is expected to conclude in late 2025.

Santiago-Romero thanked PDD for providing summaries of the process and said she feels that officials are listening to guidance suggested. 

“This makes me feel better about the process because the process matters,” she said.  

Council Member Latisha Johnson said she wants to ensure seniors are being engaged. Bryant said efforts are already being made to connect with seniors at events and community centers. Senior focus groups will be part of future efforts, he said, and work is being done to engage young people, with Gen Z roundtables and other events. 

“We want to make sure our seniors are involved and we’re cognizant that they have to be engaged,” Bryant said. 

Johnson also stressed the need for intentional efforts to connect with residents in District 4 who are not in the city’s Strategic Neighborhood Fund areas. 

“SNF folks are always vocal about what they’d like to see and still will be (for District 4), but I would love to see that and be happy to have conversations in different events that happen in areas where you can pop-up,” she said. 

Bryant agreed, noting that just over 40% of the city has not had a SNF process. 

The plan will cover land use, transportation, infrastructure, housing and economic vitality. It will have an emphasis on equity, resiliency and sustainability, according to planning officials. 

The last comprehensive update of the city’s master plan was in 2009. 

The Michigan Planning Enabling Act recommends that cities review their master plans every five years and consider a comprehensive update every 10 years. Until now, Detroit has only made minor periodic amendments. 

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Fort Street ‘road diet’ 

The Detroit City Council wants the Michigan Department of Transportation to study whether a “road diet” is feasible for Fort Street between Schaefer and West Outer Drive.

Santiago-Romero said it’s “desperately needed” and directed the council’s Legislative Policy Division to draft a resolution urging MDOT to initiate a study of the six-lane road that Southwest Detroit residents say is a constant source of traffic accidents, including collisions with bus shelters, speeding and drivers who run red lights. 

The City Council wants MDOT to determine the effectiveness of a potential road diet and to work with the city to design a solution that meets the needs of Detroit’s Boynton community. Ahead of any road alterations, a comprehensive traffic study must be conducted. 

The neighborhood along this stretch of Fort Street is home to many seniors and families with children as well as Kemeny Recreation Center, Mark Twain School for Scholars, local businesses and a Detroit fire house. 

A “road diet,” refers to the conversion of a three-or four-lane street to a two-lane street by removing lanes to better accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists. 

“Both in Michigan and across the United States, road diets have become an increasingly popular method of reducing vehicle collisions and pedestrian fatalities, and studies have shown that narrowing streets can result in a significant reduction in these incidents by reducing vehicle speeds and opportunities for collisions,” proposed language from Santiago-Romero notes. 

In addition, “road diets can also improve the quality of life for residents by reducing the size of a large street that can act as a barrier between neighborhoods and by altering the street to include more pedestrian improvements and opportunities for bicycle lanes,” the draft notes. 

The resolution will be sent to MDOT officials, Mayor Mike Duggan and Ron Brundidge, the city’s director of the Detroit Department of Public Works.

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Honors for a Black female golf coach

Kendall Graves, co-founder of New Age Golf, was honored by City Council President Mary Sheffield with a Spirit of Detroit Award for her work to inspire the next generation of golfers.

Sheffield noted that Graves has dedicated her career to creating opportunities for middle- and high-school athletes seeking recruitment and scholarships from elite colleges. In 2025, she will open New Age Golf, a brick and mortar in Detroit to advance young golfers and provide supportive mental health, fitness and conditioning. 

Kendall also holds a Class A PGA membership, a high honor she shares with only 12 other Black women in the country. 

“From a student to a PGA professional to an entrepreneur, Kendall Graves is using her platform to inspire the next generation of golfers,” Sheffield read from Graves’ bio during the meeting. 

Graves grew up in Detroit with limited opportunities in the sport, but defied the odds to rank fourth in the state and earned a spot on the All State Michigan golf team in 2015, during her senior year at Regina High School. The early success ignited a lifelong commitment to breaking barriers in a sport traditionally dominated by men and often lacking diversity, according to Graves’ bio. 

Kendall attended the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, where she majored in business technology and became a standout in the PGA professional golf management program. 

Graves thanked the council for the honor, saying  “I just want to make a safe space for other people that look like me.”

“So, I hope I can be a beacon of change for that,” she said.

Sheffield said being the 12th Black woman in the country to hold the Class A role is not an easy feat.

“Thank you for representing Black excellence and going after your dreams and conquering them,” Sheffield told Graves.