Planning and Economic Development Committee Meeting - January 8, 2026
Planning and Economic Development Committee Meeting - January 8, 2026
The Planning and Economic Development Committee convened on January 8, 2026, with Chair Share presiding over new members Pro Tem Tim Young and Councilmember Santiago Romero. The meeting was dominated by general public comment regarding transit equity, economic disparity, homelessness, and election integrity, followed by a single agenda item deferred for review and a motion to draft a memo on immigrant protections.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes were moved to be accepted without objection.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mr. Cunningham: Expressed support for free public transit, citing successful international pilots and pandemic-era waivers. He stated that free bus fares reduce tension between passengers and drivers and shared his organization's (Not Enemy Detroit) efforts to distribute winter essentials and bus tickets.
- William M. Davis: Advocated for the creation of regular reports on economic activity across all seven districts. He expressed support for restoring citizen district councils to drive neighborhood development, similar to projects from the Coleman A. Young era, and urged the council to focus on retiree improvements.
- Hera IMAD (I'm Ed): Strongly opposed the current focus on downtown redevelopment and Dan Gilbert, asserting that it "sucks wealth up out of Detroit." He expressed support for engaging international investors from the Sahel region to diversify economic growth and demanded to know how the city will repay a claimed $600 million debt to the community.
- Betty A. Verner: (President, SoDale Ellsworth Black Association) Provided informational testimony regarding the "MI Choice Waiver" program, which allows seniors with incomes up to $2,900 monthly to access Medicaid and home care, noting this expands eligibility beyond standard limits.
- Caller "Owner Papa": Expressed strong opposition to the city's ethical conduct, citing data showing increased poverty levels. He criticized the Assessor's Office for illegal over/under-assessments and stated that the ethics problem was compounded by the prior council's approval of the Assessor's actions. He advocated for a disparity study to track fund allocation.
- Caller ending in 039: Expressed aggressive opposition to current committee leadership, specifically naming former Chair J. Tate Jr., accusing the committee of cheating during elections and mishandling city finances. The speaker made profane attacks against the current leadership and expressed support for "Nini".
- Cindy Dara: Expressed concern that new commercial property taxes are being inappropriately applied to cooperative housing, causing maintenance bills to exceed monthly co-op fees. She argued that this policy discourages co-op housing and urged the council to review the laws to prevent this application.
Discussion Items
- Grand River Corridor Business Activity: Council President Tate requested a two-week deferment to review the December 2025 status update on business activity in the corridor before the report could be filed by the committee.
- Immigrant Protections:
- Councilmember Santiago Romero: Proposed a motion for a memo to explore legal avenues (ordinance or executive order) to ban or limit ICE operations on city property, specifically in schools and places of worship. He expressed concern over recent hostile actions against American citizens and the need to protect the immigrant community.
- Pro Tem Tim Young: Expressed full support for universal protection plans and suggested collaborating with the Mayor and other cities (NYC, Chicago, LA) to find best practices. He argued that protection is necessary for all residents regardless of status.
- Councilmember Santiago Romero (Secondary Statement): Clarified his position, stating he has a "significant problem with" the hostility towards the Latino community. He expressed strong support for specifically protecting the Latino immigrant community, citing historical contributions to the nation and the moral obligation to honor them.
- District Six Outreach: Councilmember Santiago Romero invited residents to resume office hours and budget training meetings.
Key Outcomes
- Deferral: A unanimous action was taken to bring the Grand River Corridor business activity report back in two weeks.
- Directive: A motion was granted to have the Law Department draft a memo investigating options to restrict ICE operations on city property, including schools and places of worship.
- Collaboration: The committee requested that all district offices communicate priorities to the Planning and Economic Development team to align future initiatives with the Mayor.
- Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned without further objection.
Meeting Transcript
Madam Share, you have a quorum present. Thank you. Having a quorum present, we are now in session. Good morning, colleagues. And first want to welcome the two of you, Pro Tim Young and Councilmember Santiago Romero, for um joining me on the Planning and Economic Development Committee. I had the privilege of being on this committee last term and now excited to chair the committee and welcome the two of you. We will have an exciting term and certainly looking forward to the amazing work that we do together, not only on this committee, but as a body. So happy new year to all of you and colleagues. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Is there a motion on the minutes? Motion. Hearing no objections, that action shall be taken. We are going to move into public comment. If there's anyone who'd like to make a general public comment, please raise your hand. Whether in person or joining us virtually, please raise your hand. We have a very short agenda today. This will probably be the only time we have this short event agenda in the planning and economic development committee. Um we have one hand raised here in the committee of the whole. Good morning, Ms. Jackson. How many hands do we currently have raised virtually? Good morning, madam chair. We currently have four hands raised for virtual public comment. Four hands. All right, we are going to cut off our general public comment at 10 05. So if you are joining us virtually, you have three minutes to raise your hand. We're going to get started with Mr. Cunningham, who's here in the committee of the whole. Mr. Cunningham, if you'd like to take one of the seats, and if you will set the clock for two minutes, we'll get started when Mr. Cunningham is ready to go to the 1930s. You can remember it. It is my Cash App and phone number 313 444 9114. I go around the city, east, web, north, south, give out hand warmers, gloves, hats, bus tickets. I'm having a hard time getting blankets, and I need more gloves. Uh and funds for bus tickets. So keep me in prayers as I pray for you. You pray for me. On Facebook, you can look up Not Enemy Detroit, put in not enemy Detroit and click people, and you'll see that page and other information and what I do daily to God be all the glory. Um pray uh for me as I pray for you. I'm talking to you. Pray for me as I pray for you. I love this city. And particularly today, uh, I'm not saying whom for security purposes, but at 1 p.m., it'll be uh a possible uh well, they're running for an office with the state, and they'll be doing a bus ride along from Rosa Parks Transit Center. The fervent effectual prayers of the righteous availeth much. These are the bus tickets that I referred to. They're blue. These tickets, I give them out. Um, it really should be.
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