DETROIT – The Historic District Commission approved a heating system project near the Mies Condominium complex in Lafayette Park on the city’s east side.
Many residents said they don’t want their historic community disrupted by the project, while others said they need it.
Detroit Thermal secured a victory and hopes to be done before winter, but residents said the fight is far from over.
Leading up to the passage, residents accused Detroit Thermal and the city of Detroit of not truly offering a seat at the table. The utility company denied those claims, citing it appreciated the many public and private comments it received from residents during this process.
Neighbors are worried about where the vent would be placed — right next to the playground.
“As the property owners, the impact of the project is exclusively detrimental to our property and to the national historic landmark,” said one resident in Wednesday night’s meeting.
“Detroit Thermal was really given three chances to correct all the survey mistakes; frankly, the number of errors in their tree survey is downright embarrassing,” said another resident. “There are at least 21 errors where the size of the tree is underestimated, the species misidentified or both.”
At the heart of this battle is how to best protect the green space. While the commission approved the plan, Detroit Thermal is on the hook for protecting the trees. It needs to have a tree monitoring plan for a few years.