City of Detroit tackles blight removal, blight remediation a priority in executing Mayor Duggan’s Blight to Beauty strategy

City of Detroit tackles blight removal, blight remediation a priority in executing Mayor Duggan’s Blight to Beauty strategy

• Cross-departmental effort to reduce blight on 14 priority corridors.
• Property owners to be held accountable for blight on their buildings and surrounding their property per city ordinances.  
• Multi-year strategy to transform Detroit and impact issues related to blight including improving quality of life, public health and safety, and reinforcing positive visual cues.

The City of Detroit blight remediation team is responsible for executing Mayor Duggan’s Blight to Beauty strategy. Using enforcement, remediation, and maintenance strategies, the Blight to Beauty initiative promotes property maintenance standards and improves the appearance of properties throughout the city. The city is empowered by law to clean up blighted property when a blight ticket has been issued and the violations have not been corrected by the property owner. The cost of remediation is then added to the blight ticket fines and fees. Remediation invoices can range from several hundred dollars up to tens of thousands. The blight remediation team is simultaneously addressing city-owned properties while holding private owners accountable for dilapidated structures that have added to negative impacts across Detroit for decades. The City is remediating, on average, twenty-six properties a week. Blight to Beauty is grounded in a belief that residents deserve a healthy environment.

14 Commercial Corridors made a priority

The City of Detroit Blight Czar, Katrina Crawley, Esq., is tasked with ensuring that blight remediation is transformative in making Detroit the beautiful city that residents deserve.

“We are working around the clock to make sure there is visible change for Detroiters,” said Katrina Crawley, Assistant Director, Blight Remediation, City of Detroit General Services Department. “By doing this work we increase awareness about the actions the City is taking to reduce blight for the health, safety and dignity of Detroiters.” 

Priority commercial corridors:

Blight Remediation Process

The city’s property maintenance enforcement cycle starts with inspections. Inspection results and findings lead to a correction order which gives the owner time to remediate their property; if the property owner does not clean-up, a blight ticket is issued, and the city may correct the violations. At the subsequent blight ticket hearing, if the city has completed a clean-up and if the owner is found responsible, the clean-up costs become a part of the decision judgment which is issued against the property owner. At any point before the hearing date property owners can remediate their own property and submit proof to prevent further action from the city.

Property owners are urged to communicate with the inspector whose name and phone number are listed on the bright yellow correction order sticker placed on the property. Inspectors can work with property owners who have taken steps toward compliance but are struggling to meet their compliance deadline. 

Blight Remediation Progress

In the last four months, the blight remediation teams have completed remediations on 427 properties on 14 corridors around the city.