In Detroit, homes often abut heavy industry

Why do people live near land that’s zoned for heavy industry? In part, it’s because of the way Detroit grew.

e city is more than three centuries old; it was founded in 1701. Of course, Detroit wasn’t much of a city then. But as it was built up over the years, homes were constructed near people’s jobs and residential areas popped up near manufacturing centers. e pattern repeated as the city grew.

Long before there were thoughts of what should be built where, industry followed the railroad lines and the river, said Rory Bolger, a city planner/zoning specialist with the Detroit planning commission in the legislative policy division. It was the way to transport goods that were produced in the city across the country.

e city’s zoning map largely follows that pattern, with industrially zoned areas paralleling train tracks, he said, and neighborhoods growing where the jobs were. Now, he said, that’s not the way anyone would design a city.

“We’re due for a major reexamination,” Bolger said. “It’s very likely legislation is going to be coming forward to put more meaningful limits and constraints on uses where we can identify meaningful off-site impact.”

Detroit is in the process of creating a new master plan, the rst for the city since 2009.

It wasn’t until 1940 that Detroit had zoning laws at all — well after the city had been built up, Bolger said. A rst attempt at zoning was adopted in the 1920s, but it was overturned by a vote of the people, he said.

In some cases, residents and industry have coexisted. Breyana Emanuel, who lives on Stahelin Avenue, backs up to what is now a manufacturing site for milk powder supplier VernDale Products. She said there’s been minimal noise and not many trucks in the three years she’s been there.

Sitting on her back stoop one afternoon, Emanuel said she hadn’t been aware that the low wall separating her from the milk powder plant was almost the only barrier between her and an asphalt-mixing facility. It was rejected by the city of Detroit in late 2021 after a ood of opposition, but Emanuel said the smell of asphalt — and increased truck tra c — would have made her consider moving, if the project had been approved.

“Why would they put it over here, where residents are?” she asked. “It’s OK if it were in more secluded areas. But not behind my house.”

Asphalt Specialists, which pro- posed the asphalt plant at the Southeld Service Drive site of the former Farmer Jack headquarters, did not respond to requests for comment.

Marsha Bruhn, past president of the North Rosedale Civic Association and the former director of the city planning commission, said a nearby neighborhood association had signed o on the plan. Even though the asphalt facility wasn’t consistent with the future land use plan for the area, she thought that nod could have gone a long way toward its ultimate approval. e company had obfuscated the extent of the work that was planned for the site, she said, which included asphalt mixing.

“So often, people say one thing, but when you actually see the plans, it’s different,” she said.

Currently, Detroit is 16% industrial land, said Kimani Je rey, a city planner. He said questions about where industry should go continue to be asked in the city.

Some areas zoned for heavy industrial use that are near noncomplementary uses have been shifted toward light industry or commercial development to better separate what Bolger called “more obnoxious uses” from where people would interact with them. Je rey said if a proposed project will be a negative in uence on the community, the department tries to keep it from even going to a public hearing. e update to the city’s master plan will help solidify areas where industry should and should not go, but it won’t be an easy process, said Detroit City Council Member Latisha Johnson.

“It’s probably an uphill battle,” she said. “How do we have this industrial land and make it so it doesn’t negatively impact our residents?”

Bu ers between properties can be bigger, areas can be down-zoned to less intense uses and best practices from other areas can be baked into the master plan. Council is having these conversations because it’s important for industry to be a good neighbor when it does impact how people live, she said.

“It’s our responsibility to make sure the laws are favorable for residents in the community,” Johnson said. “I think now is the time to push the envelope.”

Contact: arielle.kass@crain.com; (313) 446-6774; @ArielleKassCDB