City reports progress on solar site acquisitions, outlines condemnations and relocation steps amid resident complaints

Detroit City Council heard a legal update Tuesday on the city’s neighborhood solar program and the related property acquisitions, with Corporation Counsel Conrad Mallett saying the administration has completed acquisition of Phase 1 parcels and filed multiple condemnation complaints while also moving energy-efficiency upgrades for nearby homes into construction.

The update outlined why the city has filed condemnation cases, how many parcels are involved, and the status of relocation agreements — information that council members said they will receive in writing after the meeting. Council members and staff also responded to public commenters who said title records and foreclosure steps left homeowners without the legal protections they expected.

Mallett, corporation counsel for the city of Detroit, said: “Phase 1 legal update, we’ve acquired all 965 Phase 1 parcels, including 245 privately owned parcels. It is true that we have filed 104 condemnation complaints.” He added that the city is litigating “just compensation disputes in 23 condemnation cases, including 41 parcels, 20 of which are owned by a single landowner.”

The city described Phase 2 as well: Mallett said 430 parcels are included in Phase 2 (104 privately owned); 27 Phase 2 parcels have structures and 403 of the Phase 2 parcels are vacant lots, the majority owned by governmental entities, principally the Detroit Land Bank Authority.

Why it matters: Council members pressed administration representatives for details about whether people displaced by acquisitions relocated inside Detroit, how many vacant lots were already publicly owned before the project, and the pace and timing of construction. Those details affect neighborhood stability, how community benefits are delivered and residents’ trust in the process.

Discussion and community benefits: Councilmembers and city staff described community benefits layered around the solar sites. Patricia Steiner, a project staff member, told the council the city is more than halfway through energy-efficiency assessments in Phase 1: “There are 159 homes in Phase 1 that surround the solar areas and…we have done 81 assessments…11 homeowners have signed off on scopes of work. Six are underway right now having that work done. Three have been completed.” Steiner described the upgrades as “full electrical upgrades…new furnaces, new AC, new roofs, insulation, doors, windows” and said DTE and other energy dollars are being “braided and blended” to expand what residents receive.

Mallett addressed a specific title dispute raised during public comment about 19212 Danbury. He said the property was foreclosed by Wayne County, with a final, non-appealable foreclosure judgment dated March 31, 2024, and a notice recorded Aug. 19, 2024. Mallett said a quitclaim deed the former owners produced later “had no legal effect because of the county’s tax foreclosure” and that the city acquired the property from the Wayne County Treasurer by quitclaim deed recorded Oct. 29, 2024. “Because the city acquired the property directly from the county, there was no condemnation action to acquire the property in fee simple,” he said. Mallett repeated the administration’s position that the city followed the foreclosure and acquisition process used by the Wayne County Treasurer and that the city “owns the property” in question.

Resident feedback at public comment ranged from gratitude to frustration. Dennis Hadley, who said his energy-efficiency work was complete, told the council the contractors “did a wonderful job” and described new heating and water systems now installed in his home. But other residents — including Danielle Mertes and Hailey Henley — urged the council to investigate quitclaim receipts, nonappearing case numbers and whether displaced residents were offered relocation in Detroit. Mertes said her registered quitclaim receipt had unexplained fields and she called the sequence of events a “cover up.” The council and counsel declined to make new factual findings during public comment and asked administration staff to provide written records.

Partners and timeline: Mallett said the city has executed contracts and expects construction to begin “into this summer.” He said the program will work with the same neighborhood partners identified earlier, naming DTE and LifeStar as program partners for Phase 1 and Phase 2. A neighborhood solar partner who called into public comment, the Energy Alliance Group, said the program was resident-driven and congratulated Detroit for moving solar “directly” into neighborhoods.

What the council asked for: Council President Pro Tem asked the administration to email the full update and project documents to members so they could share details with residents. Mallett agreed to provide a written breakdown of where relocated households have gone and precise counts of in-city vs. out-of-city relocations. Councilmembers also asked for percentages showing how much vacant land in the project footprint was city-owned before the program began; the administration said the “vast majority” of vacant lots in Phase 1 and Phase 2 were owned by the Detroit Land Bank Authority but agreed to provide precise percentages.

Formal versus informal steps: The administration described many formal legal filings — condemnation complaints, quitclaim deeds and ongoing litigation — but council action at Tuesday’s session was limited to receiving the administration’s report and requesting follow-up materials. No council vote to alter existing contracts or developer assignments was recorded during the update.

Next steps: The administration will provide the council with the requested written materials, including a breakdown of where relocated households moved to, the documentation underlying the Danbury parcel determination, and the Phase 1/Phase 2 parcel ownership percentages. Councilmembers signaled they will review those documents and return with follow-up questions.

Ending note: The city framed the solar project as combining clean-energy development with direct neighborhood investments and energy-efficiency upgrades; residents at the meeting described both the tangible benefits already installed in some homes and outstanding concerns about title, foreclosure records and relocation offers. The council requested and the administration agreed to provide detailed written records to support further review.