Title
The Board of Water Commissioners for the City of Detroit, Water and Sewerage Department authorizes the Director to terminate and release DWSD easements, and also authorizes the Director to take such other action as may be necessary to accomplish the intent of this vote.
Body
Agenda of October 18, 2023
Item No. 2023-223
Project Length: Indefinite
Amount: N/A
TO: The Honorable
Board of Water Commissioners
City of Detroit, Michigan
FROM: Jacob S. Bahri, Associate General Counsel
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department
RE: Termination and Release of Easement
MOTION
Upon recommendation of the General Counsel of the Board of Water Commissioners for the City of Detroit (“the BOWC”), the BOWC authorizes the Director to terminate and release DWSD’s Utility Easement over vacated Mark Twain Street (north of Foley) and Strathmoor Street, to allow for future development of the site, and also authorizes the Director to take such other action as may be necessary to accomplish the intent of this vote.
BACKGROUND
NorthPoint Development, LLC has worked closely with the City of Detroit over the past several years and is in the final stages of a plan to redevelop a legacy industrial site, which was once the headquarters of the American Motors Corporation. The City has already vacated nearly all of the streets and alleys within the nearly 51 acre AMC Site. NorthPoint Development, LLC now seeks to terminate DWSD’s easement to allow for future development of the site. Attached to this resolution is the proposed termination and release documents, with exhibits detailing the easement at issue.
JUSTIFICATION
DWSD maintains numerous easements throughout the City of Detroit, and the State of Michigan to access and maintain its infrastructure. Easement’s provide DWSD with the ability to restrict development over its assets. DWSD easement termination requests are reviewed and approved by DWSD permitting engineers to ensure the integrity of any nearby underlying DWSD assets and to ensure any customers feeding into these assets will continue to be provided with water and sewerage services. Here, DWSD’s engineers determined that this easement can be terminated without affecting any neighboring properties.