Green Blog: Vast Land Deal Divides Detroit

John Hantz says he has a dream: to purchase 140 acres of derelict land in the heart of Detroit and turn it into the world?s ?largest urban farm.?

A Web site set up by Mr. Hantz, a wealthy entrepreneur, to advance his proposal says the farm would return the city ?to its agrarian roots.? The repurposed lots ? cleared of blight and planted with roughly 15,000 hardwood trees ? would establish an economic zone, raise property values and return vast tracts of abandoned land to the city tax rolls, according to Mike Score, the president of the venture, Hantz Farms. Ideally, the enterprise has signaled, it would eventually become a major source of local food.

In a city where entire blocks of foreclosed homes and crumbling buildings have been bulldozed, the proposal has drawn some support, notably from the mayor, Dave Bing, and some city council members. But the proposed sale has drawn objections from some residents and city officials who say it would amount to a land grab.

?This is not the way to grow a vibrant city,? said Kwame Kenyatta, a City Council member. ?Just because we have vacant land doesn?t mean we should turn Detroit into a farm.?

The council is set to vote on the proposal on Tuesday.

In a marathon session just before Thanksgiving, the council drew up a formal development agreement whereby the city would sell the land to Hantz Farms at slightly over 8 cents per square foot. In return, Hantz would demolish many derelict buildings, plant 15,000 hardwood trees over three years and then maintain the land at an estimated investment of $5 million.

Saunteel Jenkins, a City Council member who favors the proposal, argues that the city needs to think in new ways. ?Farming will be one of the many things that be part of Detroit?s reinvention,? said Ms. Jenkins, chairwoman of the council?s Planning and Economic Development Committee. ?The auto industry used to be our bread and butter, but now we have to diversify.?

The plan, which has been in the works since 2009 in various forms, has stirred broad concern that cash-strapped Detroit may be throwing urban planning out the window in its desperation to unload vast tracts of abandoned land that have become city property. Opponents say the city should be pursuing a long-term vision based on careful study instead.

?The concept of large-scale commercial farming has not been vetted or test-driven in an urban area,? said Lottie Spady of the East Michigan Environmental Action Council, an advocacy group. No one has analyzed the long-term environmental impacts of such a venture or determined how an agricultural operation will be regulated, she said.

Yet the concept of small-scale urban farms has gained traction in Detroit, with dozens sprouting across the city to fill a void of economic activity. Last June, Michigan State University pledged $1.5 million over the next three years to help Detroit farmers and hundreds of local organizations that now see urban agriculture as a way to feed a city that has been called a ?food desert? with few supermarkets and green grocers.

This urban farming is largely unregulated. The City Council plans take up an agriculture ordinance in January that would permit the sale of produce from city farms and place no limit on the size their operations. If approved, the measure would still state authorization as well.

The measure would allow Hantz Farms to harvest its trees, but even if it is not passed, Hantz would agree to move forward as a noncommercial initiative, Mr. Score said, because its priority is not to make money but to remove blight. ?As a lifelong resident of the city, John Hantz would like to contribute to a better Detroit,? he said.

Critics worry that Mr. Hantz may have other long-term ideas for the land. ?We know he?s not buying that land to mow the grass,? said Charity Hicks of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network.

Ms. Hicks and other critics say they fear that the trees might be a ?placeholder,? and that when the three-year contract with the city expires, Mr. Hantz could develop the land, which abuts Detroit?s Gold Coast, a riverfront area where high-end condos and commercial real estate.

In the last few years, Detroit has witnessed ?profound land speculation,? Ms. Hicks said, with opening bids starting at $500 per house in foreclosure sales.

Detroit has lost 25 percent of its population over the last decade. With roughly 40 of the city?s 139 square miles vacant, according to The Detroit Free Press, some argue that the city should take whatever help it can get.

But Mr. Kenyatta of the City Council said this is no reason to ?throw out all the rules.?

?It?s like boxing,? he said. ?If a guy is down and he?s on his knees, there are still rules to let him get up. He still gets a 10-count. Detroit may be down, but we still have to function as a civil society.?

Source: http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/10/vast-land-deal-divides-detroit/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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