Excerpts from the article:
The challenge will be unifying a corridor historically known as being racially, politically and geographically divided, she said.
Salisbury, executive director of the association, said the group is working to create a master plan to improve Eight Mile. The plan involves hiring a corridor code-enforcement officer and then generating a plan to be adopted by communities along the road.
“Unfortunately, it’s still in people’s minds that they use Eight Mile as this dividing line,” she said. “I’d like to see a time when Eight Mile is the bridge that brings the region together.”
Participating communities are Detroit, Harper Woods, Eastpointe, Warren, Hazel Park, Ferndale, Royal Oak Township, Oak Park, Southfield, Redford Township, Farmington, Farmington Hills and Livonia.
Once blight and violations are dealt with, development and design guidelines could be incorporated into each municipality’s existing ordinances, Salisbury said.
The city of Detroit, meanwhile, is considering designating Eight Mile and other areas of the city, including the riverfront and downtown, as areas that could have stricter and more specific guidelines than existing zoning allows, said Gregory Moots, city planner with the Detroit Planning Commission.
The districts don’t necessarily have to have a similar look, but there has to be some thread that ties them together, such as design standards, street elements, land uses or setbacks, he said.
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