Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.

Zoning changes meant to encourage construction of more housing could take a major step forward this week. 

The Detroit Planning Commission is holding a public hearing Thursday and is expected to vote after on whether to recommend its approval to the City Council. If recommended, the council would have until Nov. 25 to authorize the changes before concluding the year’s legislative session.

Amendments to the zoning code under consideration would expand residential zoning districts to allow for multi-unit buildings, promote infill housing on vacant lots by changing dimensional requirements, allow accessory units also known as carriage houses in more places and reduce parking requirements.

Deputy Chief Operating Officer Andie Taverna said in September that the changes would offer more opportunities for development, thereby increasing housing supply and reducing pressure that is causing prices to go up. 

Taverna said the changes largely focus on the R2 zoning district for one- or two-family dwellings, which makes up 25% of all lots in Detroit. That makes R2 one of the most common zoning designations across the city, but half of those parcels are vacant. 

“It’s universally acknowledged across any city department that works on development that the city’s current zoning rules stand as a barrier to redeveloping vacant parcels and structures in R2,” Taverna said during a Sept. 18 Planning Commission meeting. “The developers we see who want to work in these areas are small, looking at smaller infill projects. When the behemoths in the city are looking for their next real estate investment, they’re building on Woodward; they’re not building in the R2 districts.” 

Strong Towns Detroit, a nonprofit focused on building prosperous neighborhoods, argues zoning reform is needed to eliminate “arbitrary rules that hold the city back.” Residents have largely been supportive of the changes, too, Taverna said. 

The Detroit Department of Transportation is also supportive. Executive Director Robert Cramer said the zoning updates will support transit improvements, as higher density provides more viability for transit services and local businesses. 

“Allowing for increased density — both of housing and of amenities like retail — along key transit corridors would make it more viable to operate bus rapid transit by increasing the number of passengers within easy walking distance of transit,” Cramer said in a Sept. 15 memo to the Planning Commission. 

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What page are we on?

Today’s notebook covers the Sept. 30 formal session. 

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

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Council wants youth facilities in Pistons plans for Uniroyal site

The City Council is formally asking Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores to include indoor youth facilities in its proposal for a riverfront multi-sports complex on the former Uniroyal site.

Gores and Pistons Vice Chairman Arn Tellem reportedly pitched the development plan as part of its bid to bring a WNBA franchise back to Detroit. Gores will also own the team, which will play at Little Caesars Arena starting in 2029. 

City Council Member Scott Benson drafted the resolution, which argues that returning the WNBA to Detroit “hinges upon transforming” the site into a practice facility, team headquarters and publicly accessible youth facilities. It “strongly advocates” for including indoor tennis courts, a track and field facility, plus sailing and crewing infrastructure.

“The resolution doesn’t back the plan, it’s advocating for new sports offerings for the proposed site,” Benson said Wednesday. 

Council Member Latisha Johnson was the lone vote against the resolution on Tuesday. She formerly told BridgeDetroit she couldn’t support a project she knows little about. Johnson said the council hasn’t been formally briefed by Gores. The project would be in her district. 

“Who would support something they know nothing about?” Johnson said. “I just don’t want to get into the practice of putting the cart before the horse.” 

During Tuesday’s session, Johnson reiterated her concerns, saying she wouldn’t support the resolution “only because I would like more details on how it gets rolled out.” 

Benson said he didn’t have further details yet but has had conversations with the organization and said the goal is to “think deeper, look for more” and “do the best we can at that space.” 

Benson said Wednesday that the resolution was purposefully written to not support the Pistons proposal. Instead, Benson said it was meant to “get out in front of any proposed development” and let the Pistons know what the council wants to see.

Benson said the Pistons will need to submit a development proposal to the council and mayor’s office for approval. He said the Pistons’ interest presents an opportunity to activate an “underleveraged” section of the riverfront. 

Last year, the City Council terminated a prior development plan to build new housing, retail, cafes and a hotel on the site. It had stalled since being announced in 2005.

Campaign finance disclosures show Tellem is a major political donor. 

Tellem donated $8,300 to Sheffield’s mayoral campaign and $8,000 to Durhal’s mayoral campaign. His wife, Nancy, also gave Sheffield $8,300. Tellem and family members gave Duggan $32,300 since 2017. 

Tellem gave the maximum $8,325 donation both to Duggan’s independent gubernatorial campaign and Democratic candidate Jocelyn Benson. 

He’s also given thousands of dollars to U.S. Senate hopeful Haley Stevens, 8th District U.S. Rep. ​​Kristen McDonald Rivet and state Sen. Jeremy Moss as he seeks election to the 11th Congressional District. 

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Old Glory returns to Hudson’s 

Bedrock plans to display a massive American flag on the side of its downtown Hudson’s Detroit building, hearkening back to historic displays on the former J.L. Hudson’s department store that once stood at the site. 

A flag spanning six stories will be hung on the office tower facing Woodward Avenue from Nov. 6 to Nov. 30, as part of Bedrock’s winter streetscape programs. A special use permit shows the flag will have its debut during the ribbon cutting of Nick Gilbert Way, a public plaza linking Woodward to Library Square named after Dan Gilbert’s late son. 

It will be the third large Old Glory draped at the site. The former department store first unfurled a massive flag measuring 20,700 square feet in 1923, according to the Detroit Historical Society, and was deemed the world’s largest flag. 

It was affixed to the facade until 1949 and was also displayed in the U.S. Capitol Building in 1929 and at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. 

A second flag was introduced soon after. It was even larger — 24,440 square feet, 1,600 pounds and seven stories tall. It took a team of eight women on sewing machines for more than 700 hours to complete the flag. 

It was officially retired after the American bicentennial in 1976 and donated to the Smithsonian Institution and now rests in Washington, D.C. 

The petition was referred to the Neighborhood and Community Services Standing Committee. 

The City Council is back after taking a summer break during the month of August. While they were gone, routine contracts were automatically authorized under recess procedures. Here are two notable spending actions that were ratified on Tuesday.

A new master plan is being developed for the city’s largest park: A $198,974 contract with livingLAB was approved to develop a plan for Rouge Park. 

The park is celebrating its centennial anniversary this year. The master plan will serve as a guide for the redesign and revitalization of Rouge Park and will collect oral histories from park stakeholders, community members, local historians and conservationists.

The plan must focus on protecting and enhancing natural areas while meeting the recreational needs of park visitors. It should also consider recommendations in a 2022 master plan completed by citizen advocates with the Friends of Rouge Park.

The city has been restoring a 60-acre prairie, the Ma’iingan Wildwood Trail and Joe Prance Nature Trail, and plans to expand a service yard to accommodate more staff for the Skills for Life program. 

Rouge Park was established in 1925 and is Michigan’s largest urban park at 1,181 acres. It features 400 acres of forest with hiking and biking trails, paved walking paths, a recreation center, pools and a golf course.

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Detroit gets new ombudsman

Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education Member Sherry Gay-Dagnogo is resigning her post to become the city of Detroit’s next ombudsman.

The Detroiter was selected for the post during the City Council’s formal session on Tuesday by a 6-3 vote. Council Members Scott Benson, Angela Whitfield-Calloway and Gabriela Santiago-Romero cast their votes for other contenders – Gail Barnard and Tiffany Tilley, respectively – after the field was winnowed to three finalists from a ballot with 10.

Gay-Daynogo, 58, had a strong showing of support during public comment from figures including DPSCD Superintendent Nikolai Vitti, Board of Police Commissioners Darryl Woods and Linda Bernard and the Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, among others.

“This is my roots, this is my mecca, this is my coming home to serve the residents of Detroit,” Gay-Dagnogo told BridgeDetroit after the vote as she tearfully embraced her supporters.

She told BridgeDetroit that she planned  to formally submit her resignation on Tuesday. Her formal appointment date as ombudsman has not yet been set. 

The ombudsman performs an often overlooked but influential role in city government. The ombudsman is responsible for investigating citizen complaints, working as a liaison between residents and the government. The salary is listed at $195,000. Ombudsman Bruce Simpson’s appointment expires Oct. 5. Gay-Dagnogo’s 10-year appointment will run through the fall of 2035.

According to DPSCD’s policy manual, the board must take steps to replace Gay-Dagnogo. 

The DPSCD board must seek and interview qualified candidates and ultimately make an appointment by a majority vote. 

The district went through the process and chose a new board member in July.

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DPD now tracking curfew violations 

The Detroit Police Department issued five citations for violations of the city’s youth curfew in June, before the City Council hiked penalties for parents who let their children roam unattended at night. 

BridgeDetroit submitted a Freedom of Information Act request for citations issued in the summer of 2024 and June 2025, the age of minors who were cited and whether the citations were issued to parents or minors to gain more context on how the ordinance is enforced. The city said it did not start tracking those metrics until June 2025.

Data from the Detroit Police Department Crime Intel Unit show five citations were issued, all on June 14, to three parents and two youth ages 15 and 17. 

The City Council voted on July 29 to increase fines for parents but also decriminalized the curfew violation. At the time, Police Chief Todd Bettison said 86 tickets were issued to parents and 234 curfew violation notices were issued since July 4.

Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero was the lone no vote, arguing that no data was provided to show that raising fines will improve parental responsibility.

Christine Ferretti contributed to this week’s Notebook

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Oct. 1 to incorporate additional information about the Pistons Uniroyal site.