The well-attended Neighborhood Safety Meeting of April 23 was focused on the initiative to designate the five Grandmont Rosedale neighborhoods as a Special Assessment District (SAD). Karen Johnson Moore, GRDC’s Community Security Program Manager, provided the history of the effort and what the next steps would be required. Special Assessment Districts are an innovative tool for improving neighborhood services. A special tax assessment would be added to the tax bill of each property within the designated district to pay for snow removal of streets and sidewalks, and private security.
REPRESENTATIVES FROM CITY IN ATTENDANCE
District #2 Manager Kim Tandy and Policy Analyst DeAndree Watson from Councilman James Tate’s office explained the role of city government in the process of establishing a SAD. If the owners of at least 51% of the properties within the proposed SAD sign a petition in support of establishing a SAD, the signed petitions would be submitted to city council for approval. Once the signatures are approved, city council will schedule a public hearing to provide an opportunity for property owners to voice acceptance or opposition. Voiced opposition at the public hearing is necessary if any property owner wishes to appeal the SAD.
Questions from audience members followed. Many of these questions centered on how property ownership is determined. Tom Goddeeris, GRDC’s Executive Director, clarified that whoever is on the tax roll as the owner of a property will be asked to sign the petition. Bank-owned properties will require a signature. GRDC is currently working on a solution to finding these owners and securing these signatures as efficiently as possible. Detroit Land Bank properties in Grandmont Rosedale do not make up a large portion of the neighborhoods, but GRDC is working on a solution to working with those properties as well. Several attendees also asked about the boundaries of the SAD. The boundaries are yet to be finalized, but it is assumed that they will include all five of the Grandmont Rosedale neighborhoods.
RESIDENT SURVEY SHOWS SUPPORT FOR SAD
Residents then completed a survey asking both general questions about whether they supported the SAD, and which of four specific options for snow removal and security they would prefer. The option that will appear on the petition presented to property owners to sign will be based on consensus among Grandmont Rosedale residents. The costs of the four options ranged from $180 – $250 per year per property owner. The more properties included in the SAD, the lower the cost for everyone. Results of the survey were immediate and the majority favored establishing a SAD in Grandmont Rosedale. The next steps in the process involve gathering as much resident feedback as possible, developing a petition that reflects property owner preferences, and finally, spreading the word about the SAD and getting others involved in the petition drive. If you missed the April 23 Neighborhood Safety Meeting and would like to voice your opinion, thoughts and/or concerns about a SAD in Grandmont Rosedale, visit http://www.grandmontrosedale.com/ and look under “What is a Special Assessment District?” You can ask read more about the SAD, ask questions and are encouraged to take the SAD Community Survey. You can also access the community survey here. Stay connected to GRDC and the progress of the SAD via the GRDC Facebook page, the My Grandmont Rosedale Facebook page, the weekly GRDC eblast (send an email to info@grandmontrosedale.com and ask to be added to the list), or visit mygrandmontrosedale.org.