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Committee reviews biannual CBO report; Herman Kiefer project placed on compliance plan
Summary
City staff presented the Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity Department’s biannual Community Benefits Ordinance monitoring report, noting 14 projects bound by CBOs, about 620 commitments tracked, and one project (Herman Kiefer) off track and placed on a compliance plan; council members pressed for stronger NAC engagement and proposed a work group to update the CBO process.
The Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee received a biannual report on the Community Benefits Ordinance (CBO) on Thursday, during which city compliance staff described monitoring practices, flagged an off‑track development and outlined enforcement options under the ordinance.
Jaye Mathis, director of the Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity Department, said CREO’s incentives and compliance team monitors CBO commitments through biannual reporting forms, site visits and coordination with planning, law and other departments. "We currently have 14 projects that are bound by the Community Benefits Ordinances," Mathis said, and staff has identified about 620 total commitments across those projects, with 490 completed or on track and 120 not yet started.
Nikkita Easley, CREO’s compliance director, said one project — the Hermann Kiefer development — is off track on four commitments related to land‑bank parcels, using Detroit‑based contractors, establishing a neighborhood resource center and creating a skilled‑trades program. Easley said CREO has placed the project on a compliance plan and is pursuing documentation and meetings with the developer.
Law Department representatives told the committee that litigation involving some of the Kiefer properties is between the land bank and the developer and said the developer currently retains possession of some parcels; law staff said negotiations and proposals are ongoing while CREO enforces CBO commitments through the ordinance’s enforcement committee process.
Council members pressed staff on how enforcement works in practice: CREO can investigate, place a developer on a compliance plan and recommend enforcement‑committee action, which can lead to a council hearing if unresolved. CREO and law representatives said fines and workforce‑contribution mechanisms exist, but ultimate contract termination or major legal remedies involve the relevant contracting and legal processes.
Vice Chair Santiago Romero urged improved engagement and orientation for Neighborhood Advisory Councils (NACs) and supported convening a work group to review and strengthen the CBO process; several members said they want clearer public reporting on milestones, a standardized closeout process for completed commitments and faster responsiveness to NAC complaints.
The committee received and filed the CREO report as an item on the agenda; staff said updated status reports will be published after developers submit biannual updates and that CREO will follow up with members on specific questions, including the Herman Kiefer compliance plan and the status of the MID and District Detroit projects.
