Parking Lot Snafu Corrected in the Detroit Zoning Code

"The Detroit City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday to update the city's parking lot regulations following a Free Press investigation of lots owned by the Ilitch family near Little Caesars Arena," reports Joe Guillen.

"The ordinance amends the zoning code to remove any ambiguity that would allow the city's buildings department to issue permits for parking lots without interior landscaping," according to Guillen.

Guillen reported in January that favorable approvals made by the Detroit Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department since 2016 had the potential to produce a $1 million windfall for the Illitch organization. The organization was allowed "to build or renovate 18 parking lots throughout the Cass Corridor without including any landscaping inside the lots, which is required under the city’s zoning code." The Illitch family owns the Little Caesars Arena as well as the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers.

The change to the zoning code updates an illustration that shows how landscaping should look in a parking lot.