'No concrete crusher' in Detroit's Core City, advocates say

Dozens of community activists, joined by state Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit, stood united Wednesday against plans to bring a concrete crushing facility to Detroit's Core City neighborhood — and called on Mayor Mike Duggan to do the same.

During Wednesday's news conference near the 4.7-acre parcel on Lawton Street where the proposed facility would be located, more than a dozen residents from Core City and nearby neighborhoods signed a petition stating they vehemently oppose the plan and cited air pollution, increased truck traffic and noise among their concerns.

Duggan could not be immediately reached, though spokesman John Roach said the city's Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department will incorporate community feedback and make a professional determination.

"We're here today to say no concrete crusher in Core City. We're here to tell the city of Detroit this small group of wealthy industrial developers and suburban property owners like Murray Wikol ... that we will not be used as a sacrifice zone for their own profit. We're also here to call on the city of Detroit to establish a moratorium on the conditional use of industrial land in residential areas just like ours," said Vanessa Butterworth, 33, who lives a few blocks away.

Developer Murray Wikol, CEO of ProVisions LLC, which lists project information online, is proposing a "very high-impact manufacturing or processing facility" that involves crushing, grading and screening of rock, stone, slag, clay or concrete but residents are concerned about excess noise, dust and chemicals blanketing their homes and nearby agricultural operations.

More:Advocates urge Detroit to turn down proposed concrete crushing facility

Chang is urging city leaders to listen to the community and ensure their decisions are not putting them in harm's way.

"We've got longtime residents who have been here for generations, and who deserve to be able to stay here and live a good quality of life," Chang said. "At the state level, I'm hopeful that we can finally take some action on environmental justice legislation in the new year, where we actually prioritize people's … health and quality of life and our environmental laws.

"We need to do better to make sure that we're thinking about environmental justice."

Chrystal Ridgeway, who was born and raised in Core City, said the area had a lot of homes with streets full of children. Ridgeway said she previously owned a book binding company in the area and understands property owners wanting to make a profit. But not at the expense of residents.

"The city of Detroit has said that zone is for light industrial, which means retail, which means anything that is not going to be harmful to the environment of the citizens and the residents who live in this area," Ridgeway said. "We have restaurant owners, we have business owners, we have urban farmers, we have a school, we have camps. We have lots of people who are bringing things back to this area that I quite honestly grew up with and took for granted. We need to have that back."

Ridgeway also worries it will discourage residents and young professionals from settling into the neighborhood.

More:Michigan's poorer, minority neighborhoods become 'sacrifice zones' for increased pollution

Andy Chae, owner of Fisheye Farms, has been serving more than 40 restaurants in Detroit since 2017.

"People might say that farming is not for the city in Detroit, but we're here in Core City. We're just a few blocks away or a block away from the Catherine Ferguson school, which was the epicenter of urban farming in Detroit over two decades ago. This is an important neighborhood for urban farming," Chae said.

Chae added that he is already being asked about food safety in the area and that his team goes "above and beyond" to show his products are safe. However, he expects customer concerns to heighten if city officials approve a concrete crusher nearby.

"We've had environmental assessments that cost us money to do. We soil sample yearly. So just having something else that we're going to have to contend with to show our customers that our food is safe is really going to make our business unviable in the city," Chae said.

Patricia Wheatley, who has lived northwest of Core City for 43 years, has resided near a crushing facility off of Greenfield Road and Fullerton Avenue, where she often deals with dust.

"It's so much dust and mud," Wheatley said. "They have a sweeper that comes by, but it just blows the (dust). And it's a very highly residential area over there ... and then when it rains or snows, then you got mud."

Wikol's team previously met with the Buildings, Safety Engineering, and Environmental Department to discuss the proposal. But it was met with dozens of advocates, including a few at Wednesday's announcement, who opposed the plans. Wikol could not be immediately reached.

The department is deliberating the proposed project and may not decide for another month whether to grant the developer a permit, according to a statement from Director David Bell.

"The company has requested a change of use permit, seeking city approval to allow this property to change to an active concrete crushing facility. We are in the process of reviewing this request and don't want to discuss the pros and cons until we make a determination in the next 30-45 days. We thoroughly examine all change of use requests for community impact and take into consideration the feedback we receive from residents in the area when making our decision. We can say that this project in particular has received a large amount of negative feedback," Bell said.

Either party can appeal the decision through the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Dana Afana is the Detroit city hall reporter for the Free Press. Contact Dana: dafana@freepress.com or 313-635-3491. Follow her on Twitter: @DanaAfana.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Advocates call on Detroit officials to deny concrete crusher in Core City