This week in the notebook:
- Dust busting regulations
- Council asks Whitmer to boost bus funding
- U-M sending teachers to Detroit
- Hotels must post human trafficking hotline
Welcome back. I’m still Malachi Barrett.
Industrial businesses are now responsible for preventing dust from spreading off their property or face fines.
The City Council voted 7-1 to pass a fugitive dust ordinance that had been cooking since 2022. It requires facilities like scrap yards and concrete plants to control airborne particles linked to respiratory issues and other health problems.
Council Member Gabriela Santiago-Romero said it’s a first step that comes “late in the game.” Detroit’s air quality ranks among the worst nationally thanks to the city’s industrial legacy and climate change.
“The cost of business cannot be upheld above the cost of our lives,” she said. “Residents are spending hundreds of dollars on air purifiers and thousands of dollars on medical bills.”
Detroit has high rates of asthma, and one study found air quality issues cause 1,500 annual hospitalizations and 660 premature deaths. Roughly a dozen residents asked the City Council to put public health ahead of business interests during Tuesday’s meeting.
“How many jobs do you think those lives of your neighbors are worth?” said Erin Stanley, director of climate equity at Eastside Community Network. “How many hospitalizations are worth catering to industry?”
Andrew Bashi, an attorney with the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, said Detroiters in majority Black and brown neighborhoods directly adjacent to industrial sites are subjected to daily hazards.
“We don’t need to wait for the reparations task force to provide a modicum of immediate relief and long term protection to those who have endured decades of environmental racism,” Bashi said.
City inspectors can issue violations if they observe any visible dust moving beyond the premises of industrial businesses. Companies have two weeks to resolve a violation.
The ordinance requires facilities to create a fugitive dust plan outlining how it will control emissions. The plans must be approved by BSEED before any new operations or construction starts.
BSEED needs two full-time staff members and $200,000 in additional funding to enforce the ordinance. Santiago-Romero said funds are available.
Residents said they expect more action to monitor air quality and regulate truck traffic and other sources.
One Detroit-area concrete supplier expressed support for the ordinance but some provisions are too strict. Jeff Krupcale, president of Superior Materials, said the city should take another look at how much dust is allowed and provide more time to correct violations.
“This would require businesses to shut down for dust events that don’t truly cause a health impact,” Krupcale said.
Council Member Coleman Young II was the lone no vote. He cited concerns about enforcement and “unintended consequences” despite assurances from city officials.
Young argued fugitive dust is nearly invisible, making enforcement difficult. BSEED Environmental Affairs General Manager Crystal Rogers said inspectors are trained and certified to visually identify dust in the air.
“I would disagree – it is visible to the human eye,” Rogers said.
Young said he worried that residents could be fined for mundane activities like mowing their lawn. Legislative Policy Division officials said this is not possible – the ordinance does not apply to individuals or activities at private residences.
Young suggested delaying the vote for a second time but missed his opportunity to make a motion.
Santiago-Romero represents Southwest Detroit communities that breathe polluted air daily. She said residents couldn’t afford to wait while the council played politics.
“Sometimes people make things complicated on purpose and because governments should take its time and take things into consideration, oftentimes that slows things down,” Santiago-Romero said. “We’ve done our due diligence. To further delay to make things complicated is unnecessary and unacceptable.”
Santiago-Romero said politics can also play a role in how companies are held accountable.
She cited a BridgeDetroit report that found the city granted a permit to a Moroun-family company that started building a concrete facility before gaining proper clearances.
“We made sure that we came up with something that could be enforceable, can make a change,” Santiago-Romero said. “We’ll continue to see what it’s needed to make it stronger in the future.”
What page are we on?
Today’s notebook covers the May 21 formal session. Council Member Scott Benson was absent.
Dig into the agenda, read Detroit Documenter notes or watch the recording for more details.
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Whitmer’s budget falls short on bus funding
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed 2025 budget represents the lowest investment in public transportation in decades.
The City Council unanimously passed a symbolic resolution asking Whitmer and state lawmakers to increase funding to maintain service.
Whitmer’s budget proposal allocates $221 million in local bus operating funds to local transit agencies across Michigan.
If approved by the Legislature, Detroit’s Department of Transportation would receive roughly $10 million less than the previous year.
Lost funding could threaten future wage increases for bus drivers, mechanics and other personnel that are leaving for higher-paying jobs, according to the resolution.
The resolution states that operating costs for public transit agencies increased 9% last year. The state needs to invest $285 million to keep up with inflation.
“This failure to keep up with inflation would threaten to undo the progress made by the Department over the past year, and potentially force cuts to essential bus service,” the resolution states.
Detroit pays for the bulk of DDOT bus service through its General Fund. The city’s 2025 budget included a $21 million increase.
Teacher residency coming to Marygrove College
Marygrove Conservancy CEO Tom Lewand announced a new partnership with the University of Michigan to bring 29 undergraduate teachers to the westside campus.
Students will live in renovated residence halls and teach Kindergarten through 3rd grade students at the early education center.
The goal is to recruit Detroit students for at least half of participants in U-M’s Learning, Equity, and Problem Solving for the Public Good (LEAP) program. No Detroiters are part of the inaugural cohort.
Council Member Angela Whitfield-Calloway wasn’t pleased about the lack of Detroit students benefiting from the LEAP program.
“I promise you we’re going to help you recruit students,” she said.
The historic Marygrove College campus continues to undergo a major transformation.
A roughly $100 million investment helped open a new early education center and upgrade aging facilities.
It includes more renovations for the Madame Cadillac building and Florent Gillet community room to house the Powerhouse Center for Black Entrepreneurship.
Human trafficking resources
Detroit hotels and other lodging businesses are now required to advertise resources to help victims of human trafficking.
The City Council unanimously passed an ordinance requiring hotels, motels, inns and similar businesses to display a sign with the phone number for the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (1-888-373-7888).
The signs must be posted in high traffic areas with English, Spanish and Arabic versions.
The ordinance was recommended by a human trafficking task force led by Whitfield-Calloway. She said the ordinance makes a strong statement that human trafficking has no place in Detroit.
Detroit Police Department Cmdr. Jevon Johnson said the signs are a useful tool to help people who are trapped into sex work.
Johnson said sex workers are focused on survival or escaping legal trouble when interacting with police, which makes outreach difficult.
Livernois-Six Mile business boost
The council unanimously approved tax breaks to help replace a vacant commercial building with an artisan market, small business space, offices and event venue.
It’s a partnership between a trio of Detroit residents: TRIBE Development President Brandon Hodges, Building Community Value Executive Director Chase Cantrell, and Progressive AE4 Project Manager Damon Dickerson.
The “Shop at 6” development team plans to demolish the existing building at 7326 West McNichols, located a few blocks east of Livernois Avenue in an emerging commercial area. A larger two-story building would be constructed in its place.
The $7 million project also includes courtyard improvements along McNichols Road, new lighting, murals, public seating areas and raised bed landscaping.
Council members approved a brownfield plan allowing developers to receive $521,148 in tax reimbursements over 30 years. The council also approved a Commercial Rehabilitation Act tax abatement allowing for a 10-year tax break.
City planning documents show the project is meant to complement new activity in one of Detroit’s first Strategic Neighborhood Fund areas.
Developers expect to create 8-12 new retail jobs and give emerging entrepreneurs a new place to sell products and services.
They pledged to hold a “robust” community engagement process with residents and nearby businesses and organizations.
Construction is expected to start later this year and finish by the end of 2025. The site was previously used as a church and furniture store.
Land of opportunity
The council approved the sale of city-owned land to Regina Lewis to open a new tutoring center at 12676 Westphalia on Detroit’s east side.
Lewis purchased a commercial building for $8,870 and plans to renovate it, according to city documents.
The retired teacher has a tutoring business across the street on land she purchased from the city in 2021 for $10,940.
The BridgeDetroit team said farewell, but not goodbye, to the incomparable Orlando Bailey in style with a trip to Northland Roller Rink.
You may be surprised at how graceful journalists can be on wheels.