In a 5-4 vote, the Detroit City Council on Tuesday approved a controversial land sale of more than 140 acres of land to an entrepreneur by a 5-4 vote.
As I reported here on Monday, the locally based Hantz Group says it wants to clear urban blight and plant 15,000 trees to make the area more livable and to encourage revitalization. Still, it is acquiring the land for around $520,000, to the dismay of many residents who are concerned about Detroit?s future.
Measured by acreage, it is the largest land sale in the city?s history. Some declare that it may herald a reinvention of Detroit from motor city to urban oasis for local agriculture, but many others are skeptical.
Dozens of residents turned out at the City Council session to argue against the sale, contending that neighborhoods are far better served by many small urban agriculture operations that contribute to the food supply than large-scale corporate purchases like the Hantz Farm deal, which remains vaguely defined.
Reverberating accusations in the social media sphere suggest that the end goal of developers is to displace people of minimal means in the hope of a bonanza further down the line.
But city officials who support the sale argue that the purchase will bring in much-needed property tax revenue. They also point out that plenty of vacant land is left in Detroit that can be used for smaller farm or other operations.
John Hantz, a resident who is the president and chief executive of the Hantz Group, said in a statement that he was ?greatly pleased? by the council?s decision because it would allow him to ?contribute to creating more livable Detroit neighborhoods.?
Critics worry that the tree-planting plan is a placeholder that will allow Mr. Hantz to do whatever he wants when the three-year contract on the parcels is up, including developing the land to his own benefit.
?It?s the largest land grab in North America,? said Charity Hicks of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. ?And he got it for a song.?
april fools day 2012 ja rule amityville horror acm passover recipes 2012 kids choice awards kansas ohio state
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.