Special Assessment District Update May 2023
Dear EEV Residents,
We have an update for you regarding the Special Assessment District (SAD) initiative. As you may know, this initiative has been in discussion for EEV since 2016 but this year we began in earnest exploring this option for our neighborhood. Over the past several months we have been gathering feedback and moving this initiative forward. Our EEV Special Assessment coordinator recently shared a status report outlining what we’ve learned about EEV and this process over the past six months.
Here are the key takeaways from the report:
A majority of EEV residents want the Special Assessment District. Based on the mail/online poll conducted in April 2023 with 200+ responses, nearly 70% of residents support the Special Assessment District.
There are residents in EEV who cannot afford $150/year for this. Some have expressed their concerns, while others believe that the neighborhood desperately needs this and that $12.50/month is a small price to pay for 24/7 private security. Both realities exist here in EEV.
EEV has a significant number of absentee owners, which makes the process of passing this initiative with 60%+ owners signatures a very difficult process. 50%+ is the minimum required by ordinance, but the EEV board figured that 60% would be a respectable submission. In order for a petition signature to be valid it must be witnessed by a volunteer in-person. Tracking down landlords and/or LLC agents for an in-person signature is tough, as most are located outside the neighborhood, or in other states or countries.
Based on these factors, the EEV Board is pausing the SAD initiative. While a clear majority of residents support it, the number of absentee owners in EEV adds an extra layer of complexity to the SAD petition signing process that we did not anticipate. We now understand that this is a challenge unique to EEV as compared to other neighborhoods where SADs have passed, and one that we will consider with any future initiatives.
We appreciate all of the honest feedback received over the past 6-months, and we encourage residents to continue to stay involved! EEV Board elections are coming up on Wednesday May 10th. We are optimistic in our hope that more residents will consider assuming an active role either by joining the Board or simply volunteering to assist on one of our many committees throughout the year. Let’s continue to move forward so that East English Village remains a “Community of Choice” - one of the great neighborhoods in Detroit.
Sincerely,
EEV Board Members
