Detroit City Council Regular Session September 29, 2026: Voting Access, Contracts, and Zoning

The Detroit City Council held its regular session on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, beginning in the morning and continuing into the afternoon. The posted agenda and minutes were not included in the source material; this summary is drawn from the transcript. After an invocation by State Representative Stephanie A. Young, the council heard 20 in-person speakers and more than 30 online callers before taking up contracts, grants, zoning changes, appointments, and a walk-on CVI contract.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Voting accessibility: Members of Detroit Advocates for the Blind and other residents testified that VAT machines were defective or unusable in the August 2026 primary. Deborah McCray said machines were frozen and poll workers untrained; Richard Clay, president of Detroit Advocates for the Blind, called the failures a violation of federal civil rights; and Sabrina Rice described trying three machines over about two hours without being able to vote independently. Daryl Rice, a retired DPD officer, said poll workers were incompetent, while John Scott, a retired assistant corporation counsel, asked why AutoMark machines had been replaced with VAT machines he could not hear or use.
• Housing: Mary Perry, 80, testified that her downtown apartment building had a persistent leak, mold, and a pan placed to catch water, and that water had spilled onto her mattress. Other speakers and online callers described landlord retaliation, broken inspections, and eviction threats; one caller said a building inspector failed to appear and tenants were being evicted despite mold, bed bugs, and water damage.
• Police commission appointment: Elena Harada and Josh Bann opposed appointing Harvey Santana to the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, arguing the charter requires civilian oversight and that a former law-enforcement official/politician is not a citizen-oversight candidate. The appointment was later postponed one week.
• Food access: Several residents supported the proposed mini market at Finkel and Wyoming, including Betty Verner of the Soda Ellsworth Block Association and L. Michelle Johnson of the Finkel Corridor; they described the area as a food desert/food apartheid and said the former grocery site had become a dispensary. Some callers supported the mini market but not a gas station.
• Development: District 2 residents Nicole Small and William Davis criticized the Renaissance Center redevelopment process, saying meetings lacked agendas and public support; Small said GM's $250 million investment could cost Detroit taxpayers more than $500 million in tax incentives. Christopher Van Ness said he supported a plan for the mostly vacant RenCen but was embarrassed by what he described as hostile treatment of dissent at the community meeting.
• Other testimony: Additional speakers supported the Fort Shelby Hotel redevelopment (Ken Hayward, Visit Detroit), emergency blue-light call stations (Chloe Lawson), CVI funding (Stephen Grady, Detroit 300 2.0), and a reparations update; other speakers raised concerns about AI, demolition spending, bus shelters and benches, trash cans at bus stops, tax billing errors, and alleged election administration failures.

Council Responses to Public Comment

• Council President Tate said he was reaching out to the clerk's office and Department of Elections and, as an election commissioner, took the voting-access testimony seriously.
• Councilmember Johnson said she would request training on using and setting up VAT machines and issue a memo comparing VAT with AutoMark and asking whether the machines are city-owned.
• Pro Tem Young requested an audit of machine costs, standards, and possible federal grants, and called for a presentation on accessibility technology.
• Councilmember Santiago Romero said an 18-month temporary AI zoning moratorium was being drafted; members also pledged emergency inspections for Mary Perry's building and tenant-union support for residents at Grand Boulevard.

Committee Reports and Voting Actions

• Routine approvals: The council approved numerous resolutions by general consent or with noted objections, including CDBG reprogramming (17.4), an NEZ certificate (17.5), a DDA downtown streetscape budget amendment (17.6), internal-operations and personnel items (18.7-18.15), property sales (19.4-19.7 except 19.6), bridge grant applications (20.22-20.25), mayor's office/contracting items (21.1-21.13), and testimonial resolutions (32.1-32.4). Many items had waivers attached.
• Car wash contracts (17.1 and 17.2): Members criticized OCP for again bringing a citywide car wash contract without an east-side vendor. OCP said five car washes are on the west side and zero on the east side, with 3-4 east-side locations under discussion but no contracts. The motion passed initially 5-4, but the council then voted to reconsider and sent 17.1 back to committee while keeping 17.2 approved.
• Zoning ordinances: 19.1 (5130 14th Street and 2150 Putnam Street, R2 to PD Planned Development) passed 9-0. 19.2 (15321 Wyoming Street, B2 to B4) passed 8-1, with Councilmember Santiago Romero voting no.
• Police commission appointment (18.16): Harvey Santana's appointment was postponed one week.
• Emergency demolitions (20.1-20.14): Councilmember Santiago Romero said the council was being asked to pay for emergency demolitions after the fact; Pro Tem Young raised questions about general-obligation bond financing and interest-rate risk. The 14 items were approved over Councilmember McCampbell's objection. 20.15 (new airport hangar) was postponed one week; 20.16 was approved; 20.17 (municipal parking headquarters) was postponed after Councilmember Callaway raised ownership concerns; 20.18-20.21 were postponed for ownership and information issues.
• Renaissance/community engagement: Councilmember Waters said the previous night's meeting was District 5's first Renaissance project meeting, drew over 80 people, and was meant for impact-zone residents; she said she is not married to the project and would decide after gathering facts.
• Surveillance and tax-filing contracts: 21.15 was postponed one week after Councilmember McCampbell said the report lacked information on cameras and use; 21.20 was postponed one week so the administration could identify another funding source for the earned-income tax filing assistance contract. 21.24 was also postponed one week due to a scrivener's error/administration request.
• Smart reentry grant (21.21): Councilmembers Santiago Romero and McCampbell objected to NOFO language requiring immigration enforcement. Administration officials said the city would not conduct immigration enforcement and would provide legal guardrails; the application was nonetheless approved over their objections.
• Prince Hall greenway donation (21.27): GSD Deputy Director Gerrell Harris explained that a small portion (less than 0.04 acres) of the Dennis Archer Greenway had been built by mistake on Prince Hall apartments property; the owner was donating it at no cost. Councilmember Callaway asked for written legal protections, and the Law Department agreed to demonstrate those safeguards.
• CVI/Force Detroit walk-on: Council approved a contract continuation for Force Detroit. Director Michael Peterson said the University of Michigan evaluation was released, and new CVI metrics and scopes are targeted for the next fiscal cycle beginning July 1, 2027.
• Rocket Community Fund grant (25.2): Council approved an application for a $65,000 grant to support staffing for the annual Detroit Home Repair Census; no city match is required. The application was due September 30, 2026.
• Millage support (21.29): Council approved a resolution supporting the 'Yes to Our Story' millage for the Charles H. Wright Museum, Detroit Historical Museum, and Dossin Great Lakes Museum. Councilmember Miller said it would cost about $15/year for a $150,000 home and $30/year for a $300,000 home and would provide free admission and student/senior tours.

Key Outcomes

• Journal of the September 15, 2026 session approved.
• Public comment closed after 20 in-person and more than 30 online speakers.
• 17.1 sent back to committee; 17.2 approved.
• 18.16 (Harvey Santana appointment) postponed one week.
• 19.1 passed 9-0; 19.2 passed 8-1.
• 20.1-20.14 approved; 20.15, 20.17, and 20.18-20.21 postponed; 20.16 approved; 20.22 approved with a waiver.
• 21.15, 21.20, and 21.24 postponed one week.
• 21.21 approved for submission over objections; 21.29 millage support resolution approved.
• 21.30 and 21.31 roll call resolutions passed 7-2, with Councilmembers Benson and Santiago Romero voting no.
• Force Detroit CVI contract and Rocket Community Fund grant application approved.
• Member reports were suspended.