OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Housing & Revitalization Budget Hearing – March 26, 2026

City Council — Thursday, March 26, 2026
BodyDetroit, Michigan
SessionCity Council
DateThursday, March 26, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:26:25

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good afternoon, everyone.

0:02

We are now back for our PM public hearings, excuse me, budget hearings for today, March 26, 2026.

0:13

Mr.

0:13

Clerk, good afternoon.

0:15

Please call the move here.

0:17

Councilmember Scott Benton.

0:19

Scott Bentonai.

0:20

Councilmember Letitia Johnson.

0:22

Present.

0:22

Councilmember Daniel McCampbell.

0:24

Present.

0:25

Council Member Renegade Miller.

0:28

Member Miller did indicate she's dealing with a uh addressing a family issue at this moment and will not be present for today.

0:34

And our absence is excused.

0:36

Clerk will so note.

0:38

Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero.

0:40

Present.

0:41

Councilmember Mary Waters.

0:42

President.

0:43

Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway.

0:47

Council President Pro Tem Coman Young II.

0:51

Council President James Tate.

0:53

Here.

0:54

Mr.

0:54

President, there is a corn.

0:56

Thank you.

0:56

And if you can note that we've been joined by Member Callaway.

0:59

Clark was a note.

1:00

Thank you.

1:00

And we are now about to jump into the budget hearing for housing and revitalization department.

1:05

Will Julie Snyder, the director and team, come on down.

1:33

Good afternoon.

1:37

Oh, there it is, everything's working.

1:48

And once you all do that, you are now free to begin your presentation.

1:53

Julie Schneider, Director of the City of Detroit's housing and revitalization department.

1:58

David Bowser, Chief of Staff for the Mayor's Office.

2:08

Good afternoon to the honorable Detroit City Council.

2:12

We are pleased to be here today to present the proposed 2026-2027 fiscal year budget for the housing and revitalization department.

2:23

We'll go through proposed changes, look of the department going forward, what we'll focus on, priorities of this administration, and how the 2627 budget will help us to implement that, as well as greater budget details.

2:38

I'm joined by my my colleague Chief of Staff Bowser, who's going to provide some brief remarks from the Sheffield Administration.

2:49

Just to open up, uh Mayor Sheffield has significant um plans and sort of high hopes for the housing and revitalization department moving forward.

3:00

Housing uh has been a number one need that's been expressed over the years and a number one concern being expressed over the years by Detroit residents.

3:10

Uh and so one of the things that you'll see, as you all have already seen the EOP is sort of a separation of the housing development functions of the city from more of the uh the service-related functions of the city.

3:23

And what this is meant to do is to be able is to allow the housing director to have a laser focus on the primary initiatives around housing development that the administration has.

3:34

One being uh in field housing development, making sure that there are more houses being built so that Detroiters can become homeowners.

3:42

Um, another is affordable housing development.

3:44

So for renters, uh ensuring that affordability actually matches incomes and that we are expanding our ability to build affordable housing all throughout the city.

3:55

Um and improving housing stock as well through coordination with BC, but also working with HRD around best practices.

4:02

Um, and so the difference between this year's um HRD uh presentation is going to be mostly seen in sort of the org chart and the primary directives of the housing department moving into fiscal year 27.

4:17

Uh in the past, there would have been information around homelessness, housing services, the helpline, home repair, even.

4:24

Um you will see that information in tomorrow's human homeless and family services presentation.

4:29

Today, it is really going to be centered and laser focused on housing development and how HRD will move forward to operationalize a really robust strategy for this administration and for residents of Detroit.

4:46

Thank you, David.

4:47

So to clarify what our focus will be going forward.

4:52

Uh so we are really going to be focusing on facilitation the development of affordable housing.

5:00

This is something that we've we've done through the department, but this will allow a singular focus within the department coming from myself as well as the entire staff of the department.

5:11

We do that through providing pre-development services.

5:13

We through the public private partnerships team provides services to developers or would be developers from marketing property, property acquisition, navigating the entitlement processes, and closing on that land sale.

5:29

Financing.

5:30

A large portion of our organizational function is providing financing for development and then making sure that our investments are managed over time, seeing that the properties are occupied by the low-income households that housing is targeted for, and that the property is performing over time so that our investment is secure and we're going to be able to continue to offer affordable housing.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Housing█████████████████████████████████████████████52%
Procedural███████8%
Homelessness███████8%
Public Comment██████7%
Affordable Housing█████6%
Federal Funding███3%
Home Repair Services███3%
Historic Preservation██2%
Technology and Innovation██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Detroit City Council Housing & Revitalization Budget Hearing – March 26, 2026

The Detroit City Council convened a budget hearing on March 26, 2026, for the Housing and Revitalization Department (HRD). The department presented its proposed $42.5 million budget for fiscal year 2026–2027, focusing on housing development, affordable housing preservation, and infill housing. The hearing included detailed presentations, council member questions, motions, and public comments.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Maurice Weeks urged the council to leverage tools for mission-driven developers (e.g., limited equity cooperatives) and to pursue conversion of vacant office space into affordable housing, citing a third of the cost and 60% reduced environmental impacts.
  • Aaron Hall (VP, Detroit Market, CHN Housing Partners) thanked members Whitfield Callaway and Letitia Johnson for their leadership, reporting 40,000 unique services and 22,000 households served by the Detroit Housing Network since 2022, but noted many members struggle to keep doors open.
  • Betty A. Varner (President, Soda Elsewhere Black Association) requested budget allocations for land use hearing fees ($1,500), continuation of walk-in shower programs for seniors, and corridor beautification funds.
  • Several callers raised concerns about vacancy at Brewster Holmes (Detroit Housing Commission), homelessness data accuracy, non-compliance in income verification, and need for infrastructure upgrades in Joy Road and other neighborhoods.
  • Marguerite Maddox Scarlet emphasized the importance of upgrading housing, accommodations, and living situations for people with disabilities, noting her own disability had worsened.

Discussion Items

  • HRD Restructuring & Focus: Director Julie Schneider explained the department's shift toward a laser focus on housing development – affordable housing, infill development, homeowner opportunities, and preservation. The new org chart includes three divisions: Development & Investment, Strategy & Innovation, and Operations & Finance.
  • Budget Breakdown: Proposed FY26-27 HRD budget is $42.5 million ($6.1M HOME, $8.4M CDBG, $27M GF), with $5.1M for program activities, $4M for Affordable Housing Trust Fund (increase reflecting mayor's 100% land sale revenue commitment), $4.2M CDBG for affordable housing development, $500K for public facility rehab, $250K for scattered site asset preservation, and one-time grants (e.g., $28M CDBG-DR, $361K HOME-ARP, $1.6M pro-housing for small buildings).
  • Past Highlights & Goals: Since 2015, 12,000+ units preserved, 3,000+ created. In 2025: 564 new affordable units completed, 1,400+ preserved, launched Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program, received first PRO Housing grant. Goals for FY27: preserve 2,000 units (up 600), restart Section 108 loan program, 600 units to start construction, 2,000 units currently under construction to be completed within 18 months.
  • Infill Housing Strategy: Plans include pre-permitted designs RFP (8 designs), small buildings RFP (2-8 units), development of an infill strategy modeled after the multifamily strategy, with coordination across city agencies, DTE, philanthropy, and contractors.
  • Palmer Park Apartment Crisis: Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway highlighted 54 historic apartment buildings (built 1920s-1960s) in Palmer Park, many vacant/in receivership. Director Schneider reported identification of 12-18 priority properties, ongoing assessment, planned use of historic tax credits, low-income housing tax credits, PILOT, and coordination with PDD, Historic District Commission, and DPW. Council passed a motion to include this in the closing resolution.
  • River Towers (7800 E. Jefferson): Councilmember Mary Waters raised concerns about potential displacement of 300+ seniors after sale of the property. Rebecca Lebeau (Chief Dev't & Investment Officer) clarified the city has a recorded $3.5 million loan and affordable housing restriction; any transfer requires city approval. Council requested continued monitoring.
  • Senior & Disability Accessibility: Rico Razo (Chief of Home Repair) reported the Detroit Home Accessibility Repair Program (ARPA-funded $6.6M) served 200 of 232 planned households, with contingency funds to reach ~260; walk-in showers added to critical home repair scope; a $5M federal earmark requested for bathroom accessibility. Councilmember McCampbell moved to urge inclusion of accessible units in infill housing.
  • Real Token/Brightmore: Council President James Tate discussed thousands of Real Token-owned properties at risk of bankruptcy. HRD described multi-pronged approach: outreach with UCHC, legal services, escrow support, relocation for unsafe properties. Brightmore scattered-site tenant-to-homeowner program has converted 73 (ARPA) + 40 (Sonera pilot), with 8 more closings scheduled.
  • Artificial Intelligence for Homeless Prevention: Councilmember Young proposed an AI-based Housing Stability Intelligence System (modeled on Los Angeles County), predicting at-risk households 6-12 months early. Chief of Staff David Bowser acknowledged ongoing talks with Harvard's Government Performance Lab and California Policy Lab; Council passed a motion to include in closing resolution.
  • 3D Printing & Innovation: Councilmember Young asked about innovation zones for new construction technologies (3D printing, modular, green housing). Director Schneider reported progress in cost-effective 3D printing and marketable designs, and plans to work with DEGC to attract such businesses to Detroit.
  • Community Land Trusts & Workforce Development: Councilmember Johnson noted slowed conversation on CLTs; Director Schneider affirmed CLTs are part of infill strategy. Councilmember McCampbell moved to include workforce development and skill trades training in all housing initiatives.
  • Faith-Based Development Initiative: Chief Bowser announced a mayoral initiative providing technical and funding assistance to faith-based partners for land development.

Key Outcomes

  • Council approved multiple motions to include items in the closing resolution and executive session, including:
    • Palmer Park apartment rehabilitation (closing resolution)
    • Fellowship Chapel gap funding ($2 million, executive session)
    • Mapping vacant/underutilized city properties and developing a reactivation plan (executive session)
    • Continued support for community land trusts (executive session)
    • Identifying city-owned properties for emergency/transitional shelters (closing resolution)
    • Workforce development fund (executive session)
    • Inclusion of accessibility and workforce development in infill housing (closing resolution)
    • Community ownership requirements and city enforcement kill switch for tokenized real estate (closing resolution)
    • Land use fees (executive session)
    • Senior accessibility program (executive session)
    • Detroit Housing Network funding (executive session)
    • Repurposing Coffee and Bethune middle schools (closing resolution)
    • DPW container placement priorities and in-house service expansion (closing resolution)
    • Truck traffic study for district 7 (executive session)
  • Continued implementation of AI homeless prevention system (to be explored further)
  • Council urged HRD to collaborate with council offices and other departments on reactivating apartment corridors (Greenfield to Puritan) and to provide language and budget numbers for executive session by the following day.

Additional Items

  • Consent Calendar: None noted.
  • Next Steps: Executive session begins next Tuesday (March 31), with Mayor Sheffield's State of the City that evening. Council will vote on the budget on April 7.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everyone. We are now back for our PM public hearings, excuse me, budget hearings for today, March 26, 2026. Mr. Clerk, good afternoon. Please call the move here. Councilmember Scott Benton. Scott Bentonai. Councilmember Letitia Johnson. Present. Councilmember Daniel McCampbell. Present. Council Member Renegade Miller. Member Miller did indicate she's dealing with a uh addressing a family issue at this moment and will not be present for today. And our absence is excused. Clerk will so note. Councilmember Gabriela Santiago Romero. Present. Councilmember Mary Waters. President. Councilmember Angela Whitfield Callaway. Council President Pro Tem Coman Young II. Council President James Tate. Here. Mr. President, there is a corn. Thank you. And if you can note that we've been joined by Member Callaway. Clark was a note. Thank you. And we are now about to jump into the budget hearing for housing and revitalization department. Will Julie Snyder, the director and team, come on down. Good afternoon. Oh, there it is, everything's working. And once you all do that, you are now free to begin your presentation. Julie Schneider, Director of the City of Detroit's housing and revitalization department. David Bowser, Chief of Staff for the Mayor's Office. Good afternoon to the honorable Detroit City Council. We are pleased to be here today to present the proposed 2026-2027 fiscal year budget for the housing and revitalization department. We'll go through proposed changes, look of the department going forward, what we'll focus on, priorities of this administration, and how the 2627 budget will help us to implement that, as well as greater budget details. I'm joined by my my colleague Chief of Staff Bowser, who's going to provide some brief remarks from the Sheffield Administration. Just to open up, uh Mayor Sheffield has significant um plans and sort of high hopes for the housing and revitalization department moving forward. Housing uh has been a number one need that's been expressed over the years and a number one concern being expressed over the years by Detroit residents. Uh and so one of the things that you'll see, as you all have already seen the EOP is sort of a separation of the housing development functions of the city from more of the uh the service-related functions of the city. And what this is meant to do is to be able is to allow the housing director to have a laser focus on the primary initiatives around housing development that the administration has. One being uh in field housing development, making sure that there are more houses being built so that Detroiters can become homeowners. Um, another is affordable housing development. So for renters, uh ensuring that affordability actually matches incomes and that we are expanding our ability to build affordable housing all throughout the city. Um and improving housing stock as well through coordination with BC, but also working with HRD around best practices. Um, and so the difference between this year's um HRD uh presentation is going to be mostly seen in sort of the org chart and the primary directives of the housing department moving into fiscal year 27. Uh in the past, there would have been information around homelessness, housing services, the helpline, home repair, even.

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