Detroit City Council PED Committee Meeting – September 11, 2025
Detroit City Council PED Committee Meeting – September 11, 2025
The Planning and Economic Development (PED) Committee of the Detroit City Council met on September 11, 2025, at 17:54 UTC. The meeting focused on a detailed investigation into the Garden Bug rezoning case, public comments on the Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA) and other issues, and routine business. No public hearings were held, allowing extended discussion.
Consent Calendar
- Approved minutes of previous meeting.
- Received and filed several items, including reports from legislative policy and council president offices.
Public Comments & Testimony
- India Hawkins (representing Waverly property adjacent to Garden Bug) expressed frustration over unresolved safety issues and lack of accountability from the city regarding the business's operation on West Davidson. She emphasized that the flower shop was a beautiful vision but poorly planned, and that the city failed to enforce proper channels.
- Ernestine Hawkins (property owner) detailed three years of complaints about parking violations, trespassing, and lack of enforcement from multiple city departments, including BC Inspectors, District 7 office, and police. She stated that action only came after contacting the Ombudsman office.
- Travis Ennis (on behalf of Waverly property) reiterated safety concerns and called for a resolution.
- Tina Castleberry (owner of Garden Bug) argued that the business is only open four months a year, that the property was vacant for 50 years, and that she has accommodated parking. She stated that no one from the city has reached out to her despite commitments made in the previous meeting.
- Miko Williams (lifelong Detroit resident) spoke against the Land Bank, calling for town halls in all seven districts before any new MOU vote.
- Betty A. Barner (president of Soda Else World Black Association) thanked the council for help with flooding and requested donations for her organization's park expansion.
- Other callers addressed land bank reform, senior property tax concerns, election integrity, and the need for community input on the DLBA MOU.
Discussion Items
- Garden Bug Rezoning (Item 5.2): The committee reviewed the Ombudsman's report on the property at 4213 & 4225 West Davidson. The Ombudsman, Bruce Simpson, detailed that the business had been operating since 2022 without proper zoning (R3 residential), despite a purchase agreement from the DLBA that required rezoning. He noted that the city's enforcement was lacking, and that Motor City Match and Detroit Means Business awarded grants without verifying zoning. The Ombudsman concluded that the situation stemmed from a lack of consistency and enforcement. Council members questioned the timeline and failures, with Member Durhal expressing concern about the three-year gap before enforcement. The committee heard from CPC staff, who noted that the first rezoning application was incomplete in 2021. Director Todd added that the commission's recommendation would expire on November 25, 2025, if no action taken. The applicant, Tina Castleberry, stated she was unaware of the process and apologized for delays, but asked to remain on site. She suggested the city purchase adjacent land for parking. Council members indicated a need for finality and directed Castleberry to contact planning department. The item was brought back one week.
- Land Bank MOU (Items 5.6, 6.12, 6.16, 6.17): Multiple items related to the proposed amendments to the DLBA MOU were discussed. Member Waters requested an extension for further discussion. The committee agreed to bring these items back on October 2, 2025.
- Community Land Trust Ordinance (Item 6.11): Member Johnson introduced the draft ordinance. It was referred to the Law Department for review and scheduled to return in three weeks.
- Other Items: Several items were processed, including referrals for rental property inspections, term limits for DLBA board members, and questions on tax abatements and senior housing. The committee also discussed the secondary streets process, with Member Johnson advocating for recognizing lesser-known residents.
Key Outcomes
- Item 5.1 (Tax preparation services): Brought back in one week.
- Item 5.2 (Garden Bug rezoning): Brought back in one week; council expects a vote at that time.
- Item 5.5 (Tax abatements in District 1): Brought back in one week.
- Items 5.6, 6.12, 6.16, 6.17 (Land Bank MOU): Brought back on October 2, 2025.
- Item 6.11 (Community Land Trust ordinance): Referred to Law Department, return in three weeks.
- Item 6.15 (Audit of DLBA): Sent to formal session with recommendation to approve.
- Item 6.14 (Rental property inspections): Referred to HRD and BSEED, return October 2.
- Item 6.18 (DLBA partnership sales): Referred to HRD and DLBA, return October 2.
- Item 6.19 (Expiring tax abatements): Referred to LPD, return October 2.
- Item 6.20 (Senior buildings with HUD contracts): Referred to LPD and BSEED, return October 2.
- Item 6.21 (Bagley Community NEZ boundaries): Referred to LPD, return in one week.
- Item 6.6 (DLBA oversight resolution): Removed from agenda as previously handled.
Meeting Transcript
Member Durh, Member Vice Chair did indicate he is on his way. Okay. Councilmember Letitia Johnson. Present. Thank you so much, ma'am. Appreciate it. Good morning, Member Johnson. Is there a motion to approve the minutes? Motion. See no objections that action shall be taken. When I want to let everyone know that we are we have no public hearings today, which allows for a little bit more time for discussion as well as a public comment. So we're gonna go right into public comment. If there's anyone from the public who would like to speak, please raise your hand now. I see a couple of hands in the committee of the holes at one, two, three, four, five. Five hands in the committee of the whole. If you want to speak online, also raise your hand going once, going twice, going three times. Collection public comments have now concluded. Ms. Jackson, good morning. How many folks do we have online? Good morning, Mr. Chair. We have 13 callers online. 13 callers online. All right, we're gonna give everyone two minutes. I guess we have no public hearings today, so give us a little bit more time. And we will start with the individuals who are in the committee of the whole today. So all of you raised your hand, three mics uh in front of us. Please take one of those seats when you complete your comments. Please leave that seat and allow the next person to take it. When you do pull uh up to your seat, you see the mic, uh, it is red. You're gonna hit that button at the bottom of the microphone until that red turns green, and then you're ready to go. Got to give everyone the same amount of time so everyone gets two minutes. So once the two minutes is over, gotta now move to the next individual. Okay. So we'll start uh this way and move on over to uh my left. Good morning. Floor is yours. And the clock is is there if you want to take a look and see how much time you have left. Um good morning. My name is India Hawkins, and I'm speaking on behalf of the Waverly property that's adjacent to the garden book off of West Davidson. Um the question that has been lingered for the past four years is the same one that Mr. Tate asked on the September 9th meeting. How did we get here? And yet no one has been able to answer. No one has been held accountable, no one has been honest or had a respectful conversation with the person that has been impacted the most with this situation, who is Ms. Hawkins, who is my mother. Um let me be clear. Getting the guarding bug shut down was never on the agenda. In fact, I agree with what was said on the September 4th meeting.
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