OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Detroit Dangerous Buildings Hearing – March 2, 2026

City Council — Monday, March 2, 2026
BodyDetroit, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, March 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:19:44

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

I would like to call to order our public health and safety standing committee for the purposes of our dangerous buildings hearings for today.

0:11

Monday, March 2nd, 2026.

0:15

May the clerk please call the rule.

0:17

Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero.

0:20

Present.

0:20

Councilmember Denzel Anton McCampbell.

0:23

Present.

0:23

Councilmember Mary Waters.

0:25

Present.

0:25

Madam Chair, you have a quorum present.

0:27

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

0:28

Given a quorum, we'll go right into the hearings for today.

0:32

I will turn it over to the administration first to share with the public what it is that they can expect today before we turn it over to the legislative policy division.

0:41

Uh to the administration.

0:47

For owners of property here today, if city council orders your building to be demolished, you have the opportunity to go to the building safety, environmental, and engineering department located in room 418 and request a deferral of the demolition order.

1:02

This means that you must do the following.

1:05

One, provide proof of ownership or interest in the property.

1:09

Two, pay all required inspection fees.

1:12

Three, secure all openings on your building from trespass and the elements and remove all exterior debris, abandoned vehicles, and overgrowth.

1:22

Four, pay or make arrangements regarding any delinquent city taxes.

1:26

Five, obtain the necessary permits to bring your building into compliance with all applicable codes.

1:32

And six, submit a completed deferral application.

1:36

Thank you.

1:37

Thank you.

1:38

To BC.

1:39

Oh, excuse me, to LPD.

1:41

Thank you, madam chair.

1:42

In addition to the important information that the administration's representatives just provided about the nature and incidents of these hearings, people should be aware these are administrative appeal hearings from previous informal hearings held by members of the Department of BC who are here.

1:57

And uh in order to uh they're legally required in order to proceed with demolitions for the buildings that are on the dangerous buildings list for today.

2:04

Um, in order to conduct this hearing and provide due process for everybody.

2:09

Representatives of the department are here with the photos and the records uh so that the committee can be fully informed of the premises.

2:16

Thank you.

2:16

Thank you.

2:17

I'll now have BC to introduce themselves.

2:20

Mr.

2:21

Patel.

2:22

Thank you, madam chair.

2:24

My name is Dili Portel.

2:25

I'm the assistant team at the building and safety department.

2:34

Thank you both.

2:36

All right, and for folks that might be tuned in, um, these are hearings for folks for properties that are being deemed dangerous.

2:46

We have around 50 or so on the agenda for today.

2:52

What we do is we try to keep the hearings to about five minutes.

2:56

Usually we have 20 people plus um that either tune in in person or virtually, and we try to make this as efficient as possible.

3:04

We want to respect your time in your day.

3:06

So what we'll do is we are gonna ask everyone if you are online and you are here for a hearing, please raise your hands now.

3:14

I don't see anyone here in person for a hearing, so I'm going to assume everyone that's for it's attending for a hearing is online.

3:22

We will call on you two at a time.

3:27

We and this is again for efficiency.

3:29

You'll you'll understand the process as as we get into it.

3:32

Uh, but we'll call um on a first name who will be speaking, who we have a hearing, and then we'll have someone on deck.

3:40

And again, given the amount of hearings that we usually have, I do ask for everyone's attention so that we're able to call on you, move on to the next case, and give you back your day uh rather swiftly, and we would help we we're here to help you however we can.

3:53

Uh so with that, without further ado, Miss Evangelista, how many hands do we have raised and who do we have first?

4:01

Good afternoon.

4:02

We have eight hands raised.

4:04

First, we have Sam Jasner.

4:09

All right, Sam, we're gonna hear from you followed by followed by Elador Hawkins.

4:14

Followed by Elodor, but Sam, you're next.

4:16

Can you hear us?

4:17

Yes, I can hear you.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Blight█████████████████████████████████████████████45%
Code Enforcement██████████████████████22%
Procedural█████████████████████21%
Housing████████8%
Procurement██2%
Public Engagement█1%
Zoning and Land Use█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Detroit Dangerous Buildings Hearing – March 2, 2026

The Detroit City Council's Public Health and Safety Standing Committee convened on Monday, March 2, 2026, to conduct dangerous buildings hearings. The meeting was chaired by Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero, with Councilmembers Denzel Anton McCampbell and Mary Waters present. Approximately 50 properties were on the agenda for potential demolition orders. The administration (Building Safety, Environmental, and Engineering Department, or BC) explained the deferral process, allowing owners to avoid demolition by correcting violations, paying fees, and securing permits.

Individual Property Hearings

Eight property owners or representatives appeared virtually. Key cases included:

  • 18625 Revere – Sam Jasner (representing Detroit Rental) requested to keep the property, stating correction orders were met. BC cited open elements, collapsing rear porch, debris, and an abandoned vehicle. The committee sent the property back to BC for follow-up, requiring progress photos.
  • 14912 Rockdale – Elodor Hawkins reported interior work after a 2025 fire. BC noted fire damage, tarped roof, and exterior issues. Sent back to BC with a month to secure and repair.
  • 17240 Hoover – Sabat stated the property was secured; BC confirmed pending vacant registration. The property was withdrawn from the demolition list.
  • 3014 Pennsylvania – Gloria (nonprofit) explained the building was partially deconstructed and would be fully demolished by mid-April. The committee agreed to allow self-demolition, with permits required.
  • 1955 Pelky – Trisha and Steven Couch (for owner Patricia Couch) requested time to secure and sell. BC insisted on securing within 1–2 weeks. Sent back to BC with a short timeline.
  • 12000 Visger – Kevin Williams had secured the property; BC noted a soft area needing closure. The property was withdrawn after the owner agreed to repair and register.
  • 2016 Yakima – Dana Hutz wanted to keep the property and planned resecuring. BC cited open elements and missing windows. Sent back to BC with instructions to register as vacant.
  • 5311 Cebalt – Mohammed White (Castinometry) had boarded openings and sent photos. BC reported an open rear door and overgrowth. Sent back to BC for inspection.

Batch Consideration of Remaining Properties

After individual hearings, the committee proceeded in blocks. Councilmember Waters flagged properties requested by Council President and Councilmember Miller for further review. The following properties were sent back to BC: 1961 Glendale, 16840 Fenton, 9100 Quincy, 17366 Woodmine, 1300 LaSalle, 444 East Grand Boulevard, and 456 East Grand Boulevard.

Properties withdrawn from the demolition list (owners had resolved violations) included: 16549 Beaverland, 2030 Beltmore, 5685 Fost, 17614 Huntington, 19417, 7246 Prairie, 5030 Cebalt, 15740 Southfield, 1207 Springwells, 20015 Westphilia, and others.

The majority of remaining properties were ordered demolished, including but not limited to: 1845 20th Street, 5114 Belfort, 3751 Clements, 5042 Daily, 4526 Lily Bridge, 13136 Maiden, 20052 Pelkey, 1975 Waltham, 19396 Westphilia, and others.

Key Outcomes

  • The committee granted deferrals (sent back to BC) for approximately 12 properties, with specific conditions and deadlines.
  • Approximately 10 properties were withdrawn due to compliance.
  • The majority of the roughly 50 agenda items were ordered demolished.
  • All decisions were made by motion and unanimous consent (no objections recorded).
  • Owners were repeatedly reminded to send progress photos to BC at the email displayed on screen and to register vacant properties.

Meeting Transcript

I would like to call to order our public health and safety standing committee for the purposes of our dangerous buildings hearings for today. Monday, March 2nd, 2026. May the clerk please call the rule. Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero. Present. Councilmember Denzel Anton McCampbell. Present. Councilmember Mary Waters. Present. Madam Chair, you have a quorum present. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Given a quorum, we'll go right into the hearings for today. I will turn it over to the administration first to share with the public what it is that they can expect today before we turn it over to the legislative policy division. Uh to the administration. For owners of property here today, if city council orders your building to be demolished, you have the opportunity to go to the building safety, environmental, and engineering department located in room 418 and request a deferral of the demolition order. This means that you must do the following. One, provide proof of ownership or interest in the property. Two, pay all required inspection fees. Three, secure all openings on your building from trespass and the elements and remove all exterior debris, abandoned vehicles, and overgrowth. Four, pay or make arrangements regarding any delinquent city taxes. Five, obtain the necessary permits to bring your building into compliance with all applicable codes. And six, submit a completed deferral application. Thank you. Thank you. To BC. Oh, excuse me, to LPD. Thank you, madam chair. In addition to the important information that the administration's representatives just provided about the nature and incidents of these hearings, people should be aware these are administrative appeal hearings from previous informal hearings held by members of the Department of BC who are here. And uh in order to uh they're legally required in order to proceed with demolitions for the buildings that are on the dangerous buildings list for today. Um, in order to conduct this hearing and provide due process for everybody. Representatives of the department are here with the photos and the records uh so that the committee can be fully informed of the premises. Thank you. Thank you. I'll now have BC to introduce themselves. Mr. Patel. Thank you, madam chair. My name is Dili Portel. I'm the assistant team at the building and safety department. Thank you both. All right, and for folks that might be tuned in, um, these are hearings for folks for properties that are being deemed dangerous. We have around 50 or so on the agenda for today. What we do is we try to keep the hearings to about five minutes. Usually we have 20 people plus um that either tune in in person or virtually, and we try to make this as efficient as possible. We want to respect your time in your day. So what we'll do is we are gonna ask everyone if you are online and you are here for a hearing, please raise your hands now. I don't see anyone here in person for a hearing, so I'm going to assume everyone that's for it's attending for a hearing is online. We will call on you two at a time. We and this is again for efficiency. You'll you'll understand the process as as we get into it.

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