Two state agenciessay last year's land swap in Detroit's Riverside Park that would give Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel (Matty) Moroun a key strip of land plus the"air rights"it needs to build a replacement bridge was unlawful.
The two agencies —the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Department of Transportation —told the U.S. Coast Guardit shouldn't approve a requiredpermit for a replacement spanalongside the Ambassador because the cityhasn't secured necessary state and federal approvals.
Public hearing set for twin Ambassador Bridge permit
The land swap—announced by Mayor Mike Duggan in April and later approved by the DetroitCity Council —would give the Moroun organization control of a small section of park in exchange for about 5 acres adjacent to the park, plus up to $5 million for improving andexpanding the park.
It was billed as a no-brainer deal that was good for thecity and residents. But the state objections could reopen the controversy and create a new roadblock for the bridge company and its planto twin the Ambassador Bridge.
Meanwhile,planning continues for the joint Canada-Michigan project known as the Gordie Howe International Bridge, the publicly owned span that is vehemently opposed by the Moroun organization. The bridge, expected to open to traffic by late 2020,is torise about 2 miles downstream from the Ambassador Bridge and present major competition.
Officials hope bikes permitted on Gordie Howe Bridge
The state objections to the Riverside Park deal come as the Coast Guard has scheduled a public hearing in southwest Detroit to hear comments on the application for a permit by the Moroun organization.The Coast Guard will host the public hearing on the issue 5-9 p.m. Thursday at Greater Apostolic Faith Temple, 4735 W. Fort St.
The Coast Guard indicated as recently as January that it expected to approve the permit soon after a public comments period.
But state DNR Director William Moritz told the Coast Guard in a Jan. 29 letter that the land swap cannot be considered final until approved by the federal government, which helped pay for the creation of Riverside Parkin the 1990s.
And MDOT’s Bradley Wieferich, director of the department’s Bureau of Development, in a Feb. 1 letter to the Coast Guard also raised objections to the Coast Guard issuing a permit, citing environmental concerns that would require lengthy new environmental assessments that could tie up the process for years.
City of Detroit officials and the Moroun organization said last week they anticipated final approval would be needed beyond the City Council. Bruce Goldman, supervising assistant corporation counsel for the city, agreed that the land swapneedsfederal approvals but he predicted the deal issuch a good one for the city and the park that it should not be a problem.
Alexis Wiley, Duggan's chief of staff, echoed that. "There's no way to argue that we're not improving the park tremendously," she said.
Dan Stamper, president of the Detroit International Bridge Co., said in a statement Saturday: "As long as regulators appreciate bigger, more beautiful parks then there is just no issue with the approval of this application."
Stamper continued, "The Coast Guard hearing is just another step in the approval process, which has included three complete reviews, each concluding with a proposed ‘Finding of No Significant Impact.’ We are investing $5 million in Riverside Park and it will finally be a world-class park.
"The win-win agreement to expand, enlarge and fund development of Riverside Park anticipated the rigorous review and compliance with the bureaucratic requirements. ... If the state and federal agencies actually address the carefully negotiated deal, they will conclude that it is not only consistent with similar ‘swaps’ of parkland, but far exceeds the standards.”
Reopening the dispute over the land swap would represent just the latest chapter in a years-long sage of controversy and legal disputes between the Moroun organizations and governments on both sides of the border. The Moroun's Detroit International Bridge Co. has long claimed that the authorization to build the Ambassador Bridge in the 1920s created its monopoly on border crossings that persists to this day —a claim vigorously denied byCanadian and U.S. officials.
Even if the Coast Guard were to issue a permit clearing the way, the bridge companycould still face substantial delays before construction could begin. Canadian officials still object to a twinning of the Ambassador Bridge and show no signs of relenting. But a U.S. Coast Guard permit would advance the Moroun plans further than ever before.
Gaining the permit
In January, the Coast Guard told a federal court in Washington, D.C., that barring any new difficulties it would likely issue the permit to Moroun’s bridge company in early March. It said it needed to accept public comments first, something the bridge company’s lawyers objected to but that a federal judge permitted.
Coast Guard approval may now be in doubt. That would further set back the Moroun organization’s hopes to build a second span to replace the Ambassador. The Moroun organization has contended for years that it needs to build a more modern spanalongside its Ambassador Bridge, and it has fought in vain to block government efforts to build the planned Gordie Howe International Bridge.
In his written comments to the Coast Guard, the DNR’s Moritz said that Duggan and City Council lacked the legal right to transfer part of Riverside Park to the bridge company without both state and federal approval.
“Because the City purchased and improved Riverside Park with funds obtained through state and federal grant programs, neither of the transactions called for in the agreement, including the conveyance of an air rights easement, can lawfully take place without the approval from both the MDNR and the United States National Park Service,” Moritz told the Coast Guard.
Andhe continued, “Approval is unlikely to be granted in this case, at least in the foreseeable future, because the warehouse parcel offered in exchange for the recreational property is fully occupied by a fenced-off warehouse and parking lot, and is encumbered by an existing lease,” meaning that the parcels being traded were not equivalent.
Absent DNR approval, Moritz wrote, “conveyance of any portion of Riverside Park by the City to any entity, including air rights, would constitute a violation of the September 1, 1998,” agreement for federal grant money to help develop the park.
Moritz added that even if DNR were to approve the swap and request federal approval, “there would need to be an extensive federal review process,” including a new environmental assessment that could take considerable time.
MDOT, meanwhile, also raised objections to the Coast Guard granting a permit. MDOT’s Wieferich raised a number of technical objections relating to environmental studies that would requirea lengthy new environmental assessment of air quality for the bridge company’s project.
Taken together, the DNR and MDOT objections could post a significant problem for quick Coast Guard approval of a permit.
Other feuds
In addition tothe GordieHowe bridge, the state and Moroun also have feuded over the Gateway project, a reconfiguration of the ramps around the Ambassador Bridge so that traffic could bypass local Detroit streets and access nearby interstates directly.
The elder Moroun even went to jail for contempt of court for one night in early 2012 for blocking the state's plans for the Gateway project. The project was finally completed later that same year after the state took control of it from the Morouns.
This latest dispute over a pending Coast Guard permit comes as Matthew Moroun, the son of Matty Moroun, has expressed a desire to limit the rancor and work more closely with Canada’s recently elected Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.
In a recent statement, released first to the Toronto Star newspaper and then more widely, Matthew Moroun said, "ThisWindsor-Detroit border can be a shining example of efficiency and cooperation." And he said he was "inspired by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s desire to take a new look and a fresh approach to fix old problems.This situation is just such a problem.I'm ready to do the same.”
The statement was hailed by many as a possible breakthrough in relations between the Ambassador Bridge owners and communities on both sides of the river. But longtime critics of the Morouns remained skeptical.
Former state Rep. Rashida Tlaib, who represented the southwest Detroit district where the Ambassador Bridge is located, said the Morouns “have consistently acted only in the best of interest of their company that always involves the public giving to them, not vice versa. ...They need to stop with the press statements and start with actions."
And Gregg Ward, operator of a hazardous materials ferry service on the river, said in an e-mail to the Free Press, "I have NO confidence of Morouns wanting détente. It's a shotgun strategy, another wild attempt to slow down the advancement of the (Gordie Howe International Bridge) project."
Among the many causes of distrust, the City of Windsor has battled the Morouns in court for a decade over the way the Ambassador Bridge owners have boarded up more than 120 older houses in Windsor near their bridge approaches.The Morounswant to raze the houses to expand their operation, including a replacement span next to the Ambassador.The legal fight over the district is now before Canada's Supreme Court.
Brian Masse, a member of Canada's Parliament representing Windsor, said that dispute is among many that call for caution on the Morouns' intentions. "I've heard lots before with regard to the Ambassador Bridge and their promises, but we'll be measuring this with real action taking place on the ground," he told the Free Press.
And state Rep. Stephanie Chang, a Democrat who currently represents the southwest Detroit district in Lansing, also took a wait-and-see positionabout Moroun's peace offering.
"A lot of residents are still very concerned about what the ramifications would be in terms of a second span, the extra lanes and all of the diesel trucks and emissions," she said. "I’m just curious to see what happens in thenext few months and next few years, if the same tone of the e-mail is also carried in their actions as well."
Contact John Gallagher: 313-222-5173 or freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @jgallagherfreep.
