Detroit Councilman Fred Durhal on the evolution of his district, plans for 2024
Livability for residents and improved public safety will be important focuses for the council in 2024.
Detroit City Councilmember Fred Durhal speaks during a news conference announcing DDOT driver bonuses on Monday, June 20, 2022 in Detroit.
He also referenced the former American Motors Corporation headquarters on the city’s northwest side, which sat abandoned for more than a decade and was demolished in 2023 to make way for a new $66 million development expected to create more than 400 permanent jobs in the district.
On the housing front, he said, “we’ve got over, now, two or three affordable housing projects coming to District 7 that will push for over 200 units of affordable housing for residents.”
Listen: Detroit Councilmember Fred Durhal III speaks with WDET’s Laura Herberg about new developments, agenda items for 2024
Livability for residents and improved public safety will be important focuses for the council in 2024, Durhal said. Though Detroit finished 2023 with 252 homicides, — the fewest recorded since 1966 — Durhal says there is still much more work to be done.
“One homicide is one too many,” said Durhal, who serves as co-chair of Detroit’s gun violence task force. “When we talk about these numbers, I think sometimes as leaders we forget that there are actual lives, there are actual families that are attached to these numbers. So it’s promising to see it come down. But 200+ is still just too many.”
Durhal cited the city’s $10 million ShotStoppers initiative as one significant resource for stemming violent crime.
Another focus going into this year will be reexamining animal control ordinances in the city, inspired by the death of a 4-year-old boy who was mauled by an escaped pit bull in October 2023, Durhal said.
“Here in the city of Detroit, there are many residents that call our office all the time saying that there are stray dogs that are in the neighborhood, or there are issues relative to those pets,” he said. “And so you’re going to see an increased push from us, particularly my office, on revisiting our animal control ordinances and responsible pet ownership ordinances here in the city.”
Use the media player above for the full interview with Councilmember Durhal.
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