Redevelopment authority proposed for Detroit/Wayne County

A plan to establish redevelopment authority for Detroit and Wayne County was announced by a Kalamazoo state senator. The organization would make it easier for the city to redevelop vacant land.

Excerpt:

A Kalamazoo state senator has proposed the creation of a Detroit/Wayne County redevelopment authority to help the city and county redevelop tax-reverted properties.

Sen. Tom George, R-Kalamazoo, announced the plan during a press conference in Detroit Thursday.

He said the plan would grant powers beyond those typically given to land banks; permitting investment in public infrastructure such as lighting, curbing, and landscaping; putting affordable housing on a level playing field with commercial redevelopment by enabling the redevelopment authority to waive its tax capture on housing parcels; designation of urban agricultural zones; and empowering the authority to rezone parcels in its possession if necessary to return parcels to productive use.

Read the entire article here.

Listen to a Michigan Radio piece about the same subject here.