DETROIT, MI

— Whether deemed corporate cronyism or simply good utilization of Detroit's blighted and vacant lands,

' effort to start a lumber farm in the city has caused pause among some.

How those concerns affect the land deal may soon become public.

Thursday that the deal is near and that City Council may be asked to review the matter upon their return from summer recess.

At the helm of the cutting-edge business proposition is Southfield businessman John Hantz, whose company's state goal is "transforming blight to beauty as vacant, abandoned properties are converted to fields for new agricultural production."

"Picture oaks, maples, and other high value trees planted in straight, evenly spaced rows," the Hantz Farms website says. "Grass between rows of trees will be mowed regularly, and flowering trees will be planted between streets and sidewalks to create a breathtaking place of beauty each spring and fall season.

"We can build a new, green economy in Detroit, and lead the world by example."

Putting the city-owned lots back on the property tax payroll is likely to provide some economic boost for City Hall, but at issue for some is whether this is the best use of the city's land.

Detroit Evolution 2012 posted a letter from the City Planning Commission to City council citing concerns about being left out of the information loop regarding the rumored deal to sell nearly 1,900 parcel, 175 acres, for about $600,000.

"What little we do know stems from conversations and meetings going back to the summer of 2011 and telephone conversations just over the last two days," the June 22 letter from City Planning Commission Director Marcell R. Todd Junior reads.

The letter proceeds to say that the draft agreement presented by Hanz Farms was "untenable as it presented several disadvantages to the city."

The Planning Commission indicates that the city does not have the regulations in place to ensure the lumber farm is advantageous to the residents.

The farm could fall under commercial state farming laws. which could create "many conflicts with regulation, use and enjoyment of the abutting and adjacent land," the letter says. "It appears the administration is now seeking to sell the land as a surplus, without the benefit of a development agreement."

The parcels in question are contained "throughout a district bounded by Van Dyke on the west, St. Jean on the east, Mack on the north and Jefferson Avenue on the south," The Free Press reports.



Hantz Farms was granted the sale of and began planting trees on three acres previously owned by the city last year.