Today in the notebook

Protest buffer sets up free speech battle
RenCen rezoning sets stage for new uses
Carhartt funds composting program
Towing rate changes postponed

Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.

A proposal to prevent protesters from getting close to health care clinics is raising complicated questions about when the right to free speech infringes on the right to medical services.

Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero introduced a buffer zone ordinance requiring protesters to stay eight feet away from people entering a health care clinic and 15 feet away from any entrance to a healthcare facility.

It also requires people handing out leaflets or “engaging in oral protest, education or counseling” to obtain permission before engaging another person. Violating the ordinance is punishable by a misdemeanor.

Santiago-Romero said she’s heard concerns about anti-abortion activists visiting Detroit to harass health care workers and women seeking an abortion. She said police don’t have the ability to prevent protesters from getting into someone’s personal space.

“I am a proud protester, activist, organizer and I believe in the power of protest,” she said in a Tuesday phone call.

“When it comes to someone using the right to receive a medical service and there are protesters blocking them from receiving that service, that’s different. We are creating the opportunity for people to come into these facilities safely.”

Right to Life Michigan Legislative Director Genevieve Marnon said the ordinance is an unconstitutional violation of free speech rights.

“Clearly this is designed to stop sidewalk counselors from handing women information about alternatives to abortion,” Marnon said. “I’ve never seen a protester outside a dentist’s office. The whole idea of the First Amendment is to protect speech that people may not want to hear.”

Similar laws preventing activists from approaching people outside clinics survived legal challenges in Colorado, New York and New Jersey.

Santiago-Romero said the Detroit ordinance was based on language successfully used in other communities.

“This is not banning any kind of protesting from happening at the site, it’s providing a place where protesters can walk in safely. I feel good and confident about this language.”

One ongoing legal battle will have major implications for Detroit’s proposal.

The conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court is hearing an Illinois lawsuit that aims to overturn a key 2000 ruling affirming buffer zones.

The court previously concluded that similar restrictions on demonstrations struck a proper balance between a person’s right to protest and a person’s right to medical treatment. However, the court ruled in 2014 that banning protest from public spaces is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court itself employed buffer zones to keep pro-abortion demonstrators from getting too close to court facilities when abortion rights were overturned in 2022.

Right to Life Michigan, the state’s most prominent anti-abortion lobbying organization, joined the Illinois lawsuit in August. Legal counsel William Wagner said Detroit’s proposed restrictions would punish “sidewalk counselors” who advocate alternatives to abortion while standing on public sidewalks.

“In a radical reaction to the overruling of Roe v. Wade, the city government improperly seeks to make engaging in First Amendment activity illegal, unconstitutionally banning some of the most protected kinds of expression in some of the most protected places for such expression,” Wagner said in a statement.

What page are we on?

Today’s edition covers the Sept. 24 formal session.

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

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Fast track affordable housing: We can now read a draft ordinance that creates new tax breaks for low-rent housing. Stay tuned for more analysis.

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*(Image provided by Friedman Real Estate)*

Renaissance Center rezoned for new uses

One of the Renaissance Center’s office towers was rezoned to allow for a variety of new uses.

The largely-vacant Tower 600 was rezoned to a B5 Major Business District, with Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway as the lone no vote. The change expands uses allowed in the tower in an effort to make the building more marketable for new tenants.

The previous zoning district required approval from the City Council before modifying uses. A building permit issued in 1987 and updated multiple times allowed for offices, retail and restaurants.

B5 Districts allow for uses like multi-family housing, hospitals and other medical clinics, various types of retailers, dance halls, hotels, offices, private clubs and indoor recreation.

Only 10% of Tower 600 is occupied after Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan vacated the building in February.

The 336,000-square-foot building includes 21 floors and 270 onsite parking spots. Past uses include offices, retailers and restaurants.

Friedman Real Estate acquired the 500 and 600 towers at the end of last year, then secured a 15-year deal with Blue Cross Blue Shield to move into the Tower 500.

The agreement laid the groundwork for marketing Tower 600 to new businesses. Friedman doesn’t yet have plans for the building, according to Planning Commission documents.

Five other towers are owned by General Motors Co., which is in conversations with billionaire Dan Gilbert about the Renaissance Center’s future. GM is moving its global headquarters out of the building and into Gilbert’s Hudson’s Detroit development a few blocks north.

The B5 District was designed for regulating land uses in downtown and New Center. Most of downtown is zoned B5, though this is the first Renaissance Center tower designated as B5.

Some uses are specifically prohibited in the B5 District, including marijuana businesses, firearms dealers and funeral homes.

Towing fees set for increase

The council delayed approval of recommendations to hike towing fees for the first time in a decade. Santiago-Romero said her colleagues had more questions to answer before approving the increase.

Representatives of the Tow Rate Commission proposed increases to towing and storage rates that were last changed in 2013.

Fees are poised to jump by more than double in most cases. Recommendations also call for hefty fee increases when a second tow truck is required.

Rate changes would only affect police-authorized tows – situations when police dispatch a tow company to remove stolen and abandoned cars and clean up crash scenes.

Towing rates are charged based on three weight classes of vehicles. Most personal vehicles fall under the light duty classification, with a recommended rate increase from $125 to $225.

The medium duty weight class would increase from $175 to $425.

Heavy duty vehicles, a classification that largely applies to boats, trailers and campers, would increase from $300 to $700.

A $100 fee to tow motorcycles, ATVs, jet skis, lawn equipment and other miscellaneous vehicles would increase to $200.

Recommendations call for doubling daily storage fees across the board. A $75 administrative fee would remain unchanged.

The Detroit Police Department waives costs for owners of stolen vehicles if their insurance doesn’t cover towing and storage fees. The costs are covered by the city instead.

DPD also waives storage fees if the vehicle is involved in a homicide, sexual assault, robbery or carjacking.

Residents need to apply for the waiver, and a BridgeDetroit investigation found some theft victims were still being charged.

The last review of towing fees was in 2012. Former Auditor General Mark Lockridge said there was “no real appetite” to review tow rates during the city’s bankruptcy, despite a City Charter requirement to review fees every two years.

Representatives of towing contractors said expenses have considerably increased in the last decade.

Peggy Goodwin, a representative of the Detroit Towing Association, asked the council to consider the difficult, dangerous and time consuming nature of their work.

Detroit resident Dante Smith said the fee increases are “ridiculous.” Smith said residents are already paying too much to recover their vehicles.

“If you vote on this today you’re never going to hear the end of it,” Smith told the council.

Neighborhood deals with bridge company

The council approved a community benefits agreement and other measures allowing the Detroit International Bridge Company (DIBC) to expand its operations while protecting the Hubbard Richard neighborhood.

Hubbard Richard Resident Association President Sam Butler said the agreement is a “big step” forward for the neighborhood’s historically “acrimonious” relationship with the DICB.

“We’re neighbors, we’re going to be neighbors for a very long time,” Butler said. “We’re not going anywhere and the Ambassador Bridge isn’t going anywhere.”

DIBC representative Kevin Kalczynski said the two-year negotiation process ended in a “win-win” agreement. Santiago-Romero said navigating the negotiation was “one of the hardest things I’ve had to do” while serving on the council, but was ultimately satisfied with the result.

Under the agreement, DIBC agreed to the following:

No more property acquisitions in the neighborhood
Donate 11 properties it owns to the Hubbard Richard Residents Association, along with $20,000 per property to assist in redevelopment
Contribute one additional property to the city, for addition to the Roberto Clemente Recreation Center
Demolish the former Greyhound bus terminal, split the property into two parcels for donation to the city and residents association
Build a new street for improved access to and from the neighborhood and a berm that buffers residents from industrial uses

The Hubbard Richard Residents Association committed to allow expansion of the Ambassador Bridge plaza within agreed-upon areas, vacate certain streets and alleys, and agree with lighting and sidewalk changes to facilitate the expansion.

Sunken boats pulled from Detroit River

Three abandoned boats were fished out of the Detroit River this summer.

Divers found fluid leaking from one sunken vessel, along with two other submerged boats in Fox Creek and a channel near A.B. Ford Park. The boats were removed and disposed of on Aug. 13.

One of the boats was collected from the Goat Yard off St. Jean St., an eclectic storage yard and haven for sailboat racers. Goat Yard Marine Owner Alex Hume said the boat’s owner “dumped it off on us” and let the insurance run out.

The boat was moved to a city marina before it sank, he said, but the state Department of Natural Resources didn’t find any leaking fluid.

Goat Yard bid on the contract to remove the vessels, but the contract went to Damark Marine Towing for $38,000. The contract was paid for with police department funding.

Detroit is responsible for keeping the river free of hazardous waste and other pollutants under a 2013 consent judgment that restored local control of the water department.

Carhartt bankrolls compost program

Carhartt, Inc. donated $100,000 to start a citywide composting program alongside Detroit’s Office of Sustainability.

The Detroit Compost Connect pilot project, set to launch in 2025, will establish a “decentralized composting network.” Residents will receive collection bins and can drop off food waste at a monitored site. The program will also encourage backyard composting.

The funding will help the city engage urban farmers and residents, pay for hauling services and home composting packages for residents, drop off site maintenance, and data collection and evaluation services.

Election ambassadors

vote sign — Credit: Malachi Barrett, BridgeDetroit

A nonpartisan organization granted Detroit $350,00 to help cover costs associated with running 2024 elections.

The Institute for Responsive Government grant supports election administration costs, including voting hardware, software technical support, postage for mailing election materials, building rentals and staffing,

The council also approved a $45,000 contract with Detroit Public Schools Community District to provide “election ambassadors.”

Council Member Scott Benson said the ambassador program is a creative way to get youth involved in elections.

Michigan law allows minors age 16-17 to pre-register to vote, allowing them to become automatically registered once they turn 18.

Teens are automatically pre-registered once they obtain a driver’s license or state ID from the Secretary of State.

Weigh in on Detroit’s budget priorities

Virtual budget meetings are being held to inform residents about departmental spending and submit feedback on the city’s priorities.

Here’s a list of upcoming meetings:

Does a protest buffer limit free speech?