Detroit City Council Public Health and Safety Committee Dangerous Buildings Hearing - June 22, 2026
Detroit City Council Public Health and Safety Standing Committee – Dangerous Buildings Hearing – June 22, 2026
The Detroit City Council Public Health and Safety Standing Committee, chaired by Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero, convened on June 22, 2026, for legally required administrative appeal hearings on approximately 20 properties deemed dangerous. The committee heard testimony from property owners, considered recommendations from the Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED), and debated a temporary pause on demolitions amid concerns over contaminated soil cleanup costs. Several properties were ordered demolished, one was withdrawn, and two were sent back to BSEED for further action.
Public Comments & Testimony
- George (property owner of 2952 Cass Avenue): Stated he had already begun the asbestos inspection process, secured three demolition bids, and planned to demolish the property himself within a week. He expressed willingness to communicate with BSEED via email.
- T Smith (property owner of 5012 Helen): Confirmed the property had been withdrawn from the dangerous buildings list. He had no questions and was asked to register the vacant property.
- Justin Gross (property owner of 321 South Campbell Street): Said he had been working with Inspector Jennings, received a 30-day repair notice, and had contractors ready. He requested an extension if 30 days was insufficient; the committee recommended he document progress with photos and send them to BSEED.
Discussion Items
- Property Reviews and Recommendations: BSEED Assistant Chief Diliporte and Mr. Patel presented each property's condition. For properties without owner testimony, the committee concurred with demolition orders en masse under Block 8 and Block 9. Notable individual actions:
- 2952 Cass Avenue – Owner sought demolition; committee concurred and provided BSEED email for permit updates.
- 5012 Helen – Withdrawn; committee concurred.
- 321 South Campbell Street – Owner sought to keep property; committee voted to send back to BSEED to allow owner to address violations.
- 5015 Grandy – Councilmember Denzel Anton McCampbell moved to send this property back to BSEED for cost analysis, citing its potential for reuse. Motion passed without objection.
- Concerns About Demolition Costs and Contaminated Soil: Councilmember Mary Waters questioned the timing of demolitions, arguing that the city faces millions in unfunded costs to clean up contaminated dirt (“dirty dirt”). She proposed a moratorium on demolitions until a financial plan is presented. Councilmember Santiago-Romero agreed, noting a prior request for a broader moratorium on demolitions to improve public communication. Councilmember McCampbell echoed concerns, asking BSEED to clarify their review process. BSEED's Mr. Patel responded that the current list already reflects a reduced volume (20 properties versus the previous 200) and that the department is following city code. He added that they had adjusted their review process to align with council priorities.
- Resolution to Reassess Demolition Priorities: Councilmember Waters made a motion for the Law Department (LPD) to draft a resolution helping city council prioritize dangerous building demolitions given limited resources and the emerging soil contamination issue. The motion passed without objection. LPD representative noted this would create a new “calculus of risk and fiscal responsibility.”
- Committee Member Inquiries: Councilmember Santiago-Romero asked about communication history for specific properties (e.g., 123 Archdale and 8450 Brace). BSEED reported that 123 Archdale had been under communication since October 30, 2025, and 8450 Brace since August 23, 2024, with repeated follow-ups.
Key Outcomes
- Demolitions Ordered (concurrence with BSEED recommendations): 20516 Andover, 19626 Annot, 12123 Archdale, 8450 Brace, 3932 Canton, 2952 Cass (owner-driven), 15497 Faircrest, 5026 Grandy, 13337 Hampshire, 9140 Hazel, 19260 Hull, 8790 West Lafayette, 6032 Rons, 8304 Van, and 13004 Wilfred. Motions to concur passed without objection.
- Withdrawn Property: 5012 Helen (withdrawn from dangerous list) – concurred without objection.
- Properties Sent Back to BSEED: 321 South Campbell Street (to allow owner to make repairs) and 5015 Grandy (for cost analysis). Both motions passed without objection.
- Resolution Ordered: The Law Department is to draft a resolution within an unspecified timeframe to guide the city council in prioritizing demolitions amid the contaminated soil crisis. The committee chair also committed to contacting the BSEED director to discuss a potential temporary pause on non-urgent demolitions.
- Next Steps: Committee chair noted the resolution would be brought to a formal session for full council consideration. Property owners were reminded to stay in communication with BSEED via email (bseddemo@detroitmi.gov).
Meeting Transcript
To call back to order our public health and safety standing committee for the purposes of our dangerous buildings hearings. May the clerk please call the roll. 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 into the hearings for today. As I mentioned, we will turn it over to the administration first to share with the public what they can expect from these hearings. And it looks like Mr. Washington is on now and can be promoted if we see him on. If we can please make him into a panelists, has he been promoted to a panelist? All right. Thank you. Mr. Washington, good afternoon. Good afternoon. Apologies for the delay. 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. Provide proof of ownership or interest in the property, pay all required inspection fees, secure all openings on your building from trespass and the elements and remove all exterior debris, abandoned vehicles, overgrowth, et cetera. Pay or make arrangements regarding anti-delinquent city taxes, obtain the necessary permits to bring your building into compliance with all applicable codes and submit a clear deferral application. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mr. Washington. I'll turn it over now to LPD. Thank you, Madam Chair. In addition to the important information just provided by the administration's representative about the nature and incidence of these hearings, people should be away their legally required administrative appeal hearings from previous hearings held by at B seed for all the buildings that are on the dangerous building list today. And this is a legal requirement to have such a hearing, and this is the council committee's opportunity to either concur in the demolition or deny it. Thank you. Inspector. Thank you, Madam Chad. My name is Diliporte. I'm the assistant chief at the property maintenance B seed. Thank you both for joining us. We will now begin the process of our hearings. As I mentioned, folks, we have around 20 properties on the list. If you are online and you are here for a hearing, please raise your hand now. I try to respect your time and get you in and out as swiftly as possible. We're gonna begin to call out names for our hearings, and I'm gonna ask everyone to please pay attention. In order to do this uh efficiently, we will call out one name of the person that we're gonna be speaking with, and then we will call out somebody that's going to be next on deck. Um if you are on deck, please be prepared to share um once we've completed the hearing uh before you so that we're able to to move through this swiftly. Umce we've gone through a few of these hearings, you'll see the cadence of it. The questions are really the same. Um, and what we're here to do is to help you if you'd like if you would like to to help it keep your property or support you in demolishing the property um if that's what you wish to do with with it. Uh, we are going to begin with the folks that we have online. We don't see anybody here in person for hearings.
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