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Council committee reviews Community Benefits Ordinance report; Stellantis and Herman Kiefer projects flagged off track
Summary
City staff presented the Community Benefits Ordinance biannual report covering monitored projects. The committee was briefed on process for complaints and enforcement, and staff described off‑track items including a consent agreement and remedial work at Stellantis and incomplete rehabs and reconveyance actions at the Herman Kiefer project.
The Detroit City Council Committee of the Whole reviewed the biannual Community Benefits Ordinance (CBO) status report covering monitored development commitments and flagged several off‑track items that staff said are under active review or enforcement.
City monitoring staff reported that the program is tracking 518 total commitments across city‑monitored projects; 382 commitments were listed as on track, four were marked off track, and two new projects (the Future of Health and HotelNet Water Square) are expected to enter monitoring soon, adding roughly 106 more commitments to the roster.
Staff outlined the process for residents and neighborhood advisory councils (NACs) to submit complaints, how the city’s enforcement committee investigates, and the escalation path that can lead to a City Council hearing. The steps include a Smartsheet complaint intake, interdepartmental inquiry and response, NAC referral to the enforcement committee (EC), EC investigation and findings within 21 days, and, if unresolved, a petition to the clerk to request a council hearing.
Two monitored developments were discussed in depth:
- Stellantis (District 4): City staff said the only off‑track item for the Stellantis commitment related to air‑quality compliance during the reporting period. Staff explained that air and water regulation and enforcement are overseen by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE); Stellantis entered a state consent order and has been working under that agreement. City staff and counsel said Stellantis installed required remediation equipment (a reverse thermal oxidizer, as required by the state), paid assessed penalties and remains subject to the state consent order. Because the matter is regulated by EGLE and the developer is working under a consent order, staff said the item will likely be marked on track in a future report once EGLE’s requirements are satisfied.
- Herman Kiefer Development (HKD): staff listed multiple off‑track provisions tied to the project’s commitments, including failure to complete the required number of rehabilitations of Detroit Land Bank Authority (DLBA) properties (staff reported 15 rehabs completed against higher contractual obligations), a lack of a staffed onsite resource center for local recruitment and training, inconsistent or late stakeholder meetings, and unsatisfactory contracting outreach to Detroit‑based and minority contractors. Because of missed deadlines under agreements tied to the land‑sale and land‑bank contracts, the Detroit Land Bank Authority has exercised reconveyance remedies on 44 properties (the land bank recorded reconveyance deeds where deadlines were not met). City attorneys and development staff told the committee that the city is enforcing its remedies under the development and land‑sale agreements and that notices of default have been issued; staff said additional enforcement steps are ongoing and some court or administrative processes remain active.
Council members asked what city staff and the enforcement committee do to move off‑track items back into compliance. City law and economic development staff explained that remedies vary by project and depend on the underlying agreements: for Hermit Kiefer the land‑sale and development agreements give the city tools—reconveyance, notices of default and other contractual enforcement measures—that the land bank and the city are using; for matters regulated by the state (air quality) the state agency (EGLE) holds primary enforcement authority and the city follows EGLE’s process.
Committee action: council members moved to receive and file the CBO biannual report. The motion passed by voice consent; the committee recorded the report as received and staff were asked to continue monitoring off‑track items and provide follow‑up as needed.
What residents should know: the CBO monitoring process accepts complaints and can escalate to formal enforcement. Neighborhood groups can request an EC investigation and petition the clerk for a council hearing if they believe enforcement committee findings are insufficient. In the Herman Kiefer case the land bank has already used reconveyance remedies on a subset of properties that missed deadlines; staff said additional enforcement activity is underway under existing development agreements.
Staff said they will continue weekly interdepartmental monitoring meetings, follow up on documentation and keep NACs and council offices informed of remediation timelines and progress.
