May 17, 2022

Hubbard Farms Neighborhood Association – Minutes

May 17, 2022

 

1. Welcome and Introductions

1. Board: Martha Potere, Monte Martinez, Adriana Zuniga, Mike Smith, Mary Clare Duran, Karina Odom, Matt Fogarty, Zeb Smith, Myett Risker
2. Residents: Caton Arreguin
3. Other: Joel Reyes-Klann (Councilor Santiago-Romero’s office)
4. Melvin Henley is resigning from the board effective today, he’s moving out of neighborhood.

Development Updates in HF

1. Development Tracker
2. Two properties on Vernor not selling fast (3850 and 3959 Vernor).
3. Old gas station – 451 W Grand – Detroit Rose, candle company using it.
4. Riverside Park – should be done by mid-June.
5. Clark Park – play area under construction. Should be wrapping up early fall.
6. Porter/W. Grand – Inkwell and architect working with some residents on design to make sure it’s reflected in the neighborhood.
7. Broderick – doing clean-out through June, then will know next steps.

Committee Updates

1. Green Spaces Committee
2. Had garden bonfire last week, planted potatoes. Met some kids from The Murray.

Conflict of Interest Policy (Monte, Donovan, Matt)

1. Tabled until June.

Board Update – see above about Vinny Henley.

Development (Monte)

1. Impact of development is not great and comes with implications to the community and development comes in big wave. Things change rapidly and community members have no say after the fact.
2. Rents have increased over  the last few years as homes are sold to developers and the community is now over  expensive here.
3. Development is a big part of climate change and the idea that a community must have density perpetuates climate change. Do we really need more people here in SW Detroit? How about more green spaces instead of homes and apartments?
4. Martha and Karina works for City development while Mike works in funding development with invest Detroit.
5. Monte wants to continue to keep things as-is to have the rest of the open land around other communities get investments in actual improvements.
6. Matt – tidal wave is coming whether we do anything or not. We do have some power to shape it a bit that serves the interests Monte wants to see.
7. Matt – is there some way we can find consensus to think through what we want our neighborhood to look like? Is there a lot of common ground for our vision 10 years from now?
8. Joel – City allocated $2M for master plan update. Council wants to see this done.

• Monte wants a development cap with in Hubbard Farm’s and our neighboring borders.
• Rent control implemented.
• AMI is not where it needs to be for high rents and development is affecting cominty members.

Karina – doesn’t want to weigh in yet. First time living on her own. First time as a renter. Would love the opportunity to live here if she left and came back. Karina wants her grandmother’s house back on Clark, which she lost to foreclosure but can’t afford it and wish she could go and ask to buy the house back for her family.

• Oversees home repair lead grant program.
• Upper unit of a duplex, very reasonable rents. Very fearful of rents going up.
• Been in SW since four years old.

Zeb – desire for green space. Doesn’t mean we can’t also have more residents.

• There are lots of spaces underutilized or disrepair.
• Don’t want to deny people a chance to live here.
• Doesn’t want to discourage people fixing places up instead of becoming blighted and removed.
• Grew up in a place where he can’t live now because of development curbs in neighborhoods.
• Doesn’t think we can stop development, nor is that inherently bad. Wants to shape development. There’s just the money grab developers vs the developers who are mostly here doing something over and over.
• Decent amount of homeowners here.

Monte

• It’s unwise to think a Person that lives here now has to live elsewhere and commute here.
• Development is a big part of climate change and as a community we must address it developers are not interested on the impact they cause to the environment.
• We live in a system that requires people, communities to consume more which is partned with economic growth that needs to slow down.
• Hubbard Farm’s has the power to stop development we were able to Stopped SWHS from developing the Broderick due to the lack of maintenance to the other buildings.

Mary Clare

• Rent control and paths to home ownership.
• Mary’s living in her grandmother’s house.
• Thrilled to see The Murray and Suffolk reactivated.
• Very positive about the changes she’s seen so far.
• Still doesn’t like boarded-up and undeveloped property. Less of that now than in the 1990s.
• She likes the changes, they’re positive.
• How well-integrated will the people be in these new developments?

Martha

• How does this neighborhood grow stronger?
• How do we shape the development? It is coming. We can’t stop it.
• Sam’s entire profession is understanding development and how they can benefit from it on their own terms.
• We should have more good conversations about this in the future. But we can’t just have every meeting be repeating this. We don’t want to feel we’re exhausted and not making a difference as a board member. How do we discuss development that keeps us on a path to reaching collective goals?

Zeb – whether we like W. Grand/Porter, it’s not a tall building casting shadows over other people. One outcome could have been seven stories.

Martha – zoning dictates use/design/land/parking etc. Zoning is a very important lever for communities.

Monte – doesn’t see this as an argument. It’s a point of view. In one sense, I understands that development is coming but we should not be the first there are many other locations around Detroit that need development.

• Monte thinks Private developers is bad – if they can just build something new without real engagement, that’s bad and is just here to use the neighborhood for it’s amenities and it’s branding.

Mike – first followed up on other thoughts, then new thoughts.

• Property taxes for existing homeowners are locked in at 2%/inflation whether values skyrocket or not.
• Blighted buildings add more crime than reactivated buildings or vacant lots. Tradeoff to not rehab the inventory.
• Climate change – much of the blame here is giant suburban homes spread out far apart with huge lawns. Also our 100-year-old homes are far worse than new homes built with modern technology.
• Mostly in agreement with Monte except for viewpoint of density/no density.
• If we want people to be able to remain in our neighborhood, several levers – more units (increase supply to match demand), affordable units/rent control (including community land trusts for affordable home ownership), and higher wages. Not enough people are above poverty line, how do we fix that? Can advocate for local hiring from our developers and ask for them to pay living wages. Can advocate to City for higher minimum wage.

Martha – the affordability tools are super-limited here. Especially for affordable home ownership. We should be advocating for higher wages. Good-paying jobs for residents.

Monte – he knows development is coming but believes there are alternatives and we should not accept what the City thinks is best for Hubbard Farm’s or south west Detroit.

• We have Inkwell development at the Broderick doing demolition and as professionals I should not have to bring this up. my concern with there handling of the debris coming from the building. If they want the community to buy into there development Inkwell should have address the community first by making sure the health of the residencewere address by making sure everything was to spec’s.  The building is 100 plus year with lead and asbestos which was send out through the windows with out chutes or water sprayings down the debris.

Adriana – was a great polish community. It’s much more diverse now.

• Hears from neighbors – our neighborhood is getting gentrified.
• She likes it vibrant. She doesn’t like it expensive.
• Opposite view – east side that’s huge swaths of nothing. Homes lost and then blighted/removed.
• Homes are too expensive, she can stay because she’s in a family home.

Motion – have Sam Butler back to help us better understand the tools we can access as a community.

2022 Goal Setting (Martha)

1. Gathered more ideas (Martha has a separate tracking document here).

Resident Issues

1. Community Garden Kickoff and Community Dinner – June 11 @ 7pm.

• Get neighborhood to know it’s a community space.
• Going to be a taste-testing pasta party. Bonfire and smores.

Monte invited Mike Reyes’s kids to meet our board during community garden kickoff.

Get youth more involved. Kid’s board!

Get a neighborhood calendar on the website.

Board Training

1. Get Vinny back to finish this even though he’s not a board member anymore.
2. Matt, Monte, Donavan to present conflict of interest policy during June meeting.