City Officials Launch Efforts to Seize Known Drug Houses and Sell Them to Responsible Owners

City leaders stepped up their fight against blight and crime by sending a message to every owner of a house in Detroit that is being used for illegal drug activity: Clean up your act or the city will move to seize your property.
Making the announcement were Mayor Mike Duggan, Council President Brenda Jones and Councilman Andre Spivey, Police Chief James Craig and Land Bank Legal Counsel Kevin Simowski.
The officials said starting this week, DPD will be sharing with the Detroit Land Bank, the addresses of houses where drug raids have occurred. Once the identity of the owner has been verified, the Land Bank will send them a notice via certified mail letting them know if police find drug activity at the house a second time, the Land Bank will file a nuisance lawsuit and seek to have a judge award title of the house to the Land Bank.
Once the city’s land bank takes title to a drug house, Mayor Duggan said it will be added to the inventory of homes being auctioned at BuildingDetroit.org.
“Neighbors have put up with the endless cycle of drug raids at the same houses for too long and watched their communities decline as a result,” Mayor Duggan said. “The only effective way to end this cycle is to get these properties into the hands of new owners who will not allow this to happen anymore.”
The program is based on an identical one Mayor Duggan created and ran while he was Wayne County prosecutor, which he vowed during his campaign to resurrect as Mayor.
Neighbors in the area surrounding the drug house also will be sent a postcard alerting them to which house was raided. The card also asks neighbors for their help in keeping the drug activity shut down by reporting suspected illegal activity the city’s hotline at 313-224-DOPE.
“Communities become safer when the community is engaged and working with our officers,” said Chief James Craig. “As residents see how quickly this program can change their neighborhood for the better, I think our hotline will be ringing off the hook. This is going to be a game changer.”
Another tool to strengthen neighborhoods
The new Drug House seizure program ties in with other initiatives the city has implemented recently to improve neighborhoods.
Since April, the city has been filing suit against the owners of vacant homes across the city. It is the first step in a process to either get the owners to fix them up or to have the city be awarded title to the homes for the purpose of selling it or tearing it down if it can’t be saved. In the Marygrove neighborhood, which was the first to be postered, 101 houses were identified. Within a few weeks, the city had signed agreements with owners of 25 properties to fix up their house within six months. The city also has been awarded title to three dozen more homes, which will be put up for auction or demolished, if necessary.
Council President Brenda Jones said that residents should be able to see that their city government is working much more effectively to address concerns that have plagued them for years.
“The partnership City Council has now with the Mayor and Chief of Police shows what we can do when we all work together,” President Jones said. “For the first time, we have a vision and a strategy to bring about real change in our neighborhoods and we already are seeing the results.”