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Welcome to Dearborn Hills, a neighborhood of unique homes located in Dearborn, Michigan.
The Dearborn Hills Civic Association (DHCA), founded in 1926, is comprised of 1260 households and is one of the oldest neighborhood associations in America. DHCA coordinates a number of neighborhood activities for residents throughout the year, helps maintain the character of our neighborhood through oversight of our deed restrictions, and represents residents at City of Dearborn meetings.
~ Neighborhood News ~ |
DHCA Annual Meeting - CSO Recap
Dearborn Hills Civic Association Annual Meeting -- October 1, 2019
CSO Update
At our recent Annual Meeting, held at the Dearborn Administrative Center, among other topics, we were given an update on the status of the CSO Project in our neighborhood.
Mr. Jim Murray, Director of the Department of Public Works, and Mr. Yunus Patel, the City’s CSO Project Manager filled us in on the status of the current work being done, as well as the plan for the next couple of years.
Regarding the current work being done, we were told that all sections currently being worked on will either be paved in concrete or black-topped before November 15. The intersections where Meridan, Berkley, Mohawk, Emerson etc. meet Marshall, Rockford, Lafayette, etc. will be black-topped for the winter. The Rockford/Emerson/Mohawk intersection will all be black-topped for the winter also. There will not be any sections of road left with just gravel for the winter. Any blacktop laid down is just temporary. Long term, all street surfaces will be concrete.
It is also the City’s goal to have all the currently affected sidewalks & driveways paved with concrete this year as well. They will try to get as much landscaping done as possible, but will follow up next spring on any areas not completed this year.
Going forward, the current plans are for the City to complete the rest of the neighborhood by the end of 2021. Next Spring, in 2020, the City plans to have two separate contractors working on two separate parts of the neighborhood. We have attached a diagram given us by the City that shows these now current plans for next year and the year after that. As you can see from the diagram, there will be a LOT of work going on from one end of the neighborhood to the other.
We know that this year’s CSO work has tested the patience of many of us and our neighbors. We will all need to remain patient and flexible for a bit longer until this work is done. Please feel free to let us know if you have any questions or concerns at board@dearbornhill.org.
Outcome - City of Dearborn Residential Standards
Residents of Dearborn Hills and Dearborn Hills Civic Association Members,
As promised, we wanted to provide you with an additional update regarding the City of Dearborn’s efforts to revise its Residential Standards.
As our previous communications to you explained, the Dearborn Hills Civic Association opposed certain aspects of the original revisions. (Scroll down for our previous communications)
Working with members of the City Legal Department, the City Planning Department and members of City Council, the DHCA proposed new language that would allow neighborhoods with Deed Restrictions the option of working with the City by only receiving notice of a permit being applied for, as well as notice of when a variance request is sent before the Zoning Board of Appeals, but would preclude the City from being involved in interpreting the neighborhood's deed restrictions.
We are pleased to report to you that our proposed language was adopted. Further, the City actually removed language regarding the City interpreting Deed Restrictions altogether. The final document was presented for final reading at the City Council Meeting this past Tuesday, September 24th, and passed.
As a result of the new standards, deed-restricted neighborhoods will be notified by the City Planning Department whenever someone applies for permits to build a new home or extensively modify an existing home in their neighborhood. Further, the neighborhood will also be informed whenever a given permit application is sent to the Zoning Board of Appeals. These two simple types of notification are actually very beneficial to us in our efforts to manage and enforce our Deed Restrictions. Most importantly, the City will not be involved in interpreting Deed Restrictions for ours or any other neighborhood in Dearborn.
Many of you have been instrumental in assisting our efforts to affect this positive outcome. Whether it was sending emails, making phone calls or attending various meetings, all of your collective efforts have contributed greatly.
Once again, we wish to thank you all for your continued participation and support.
As always, please let us know your thoughts via email to: board@dearbornhills.org or drop us a note at PO Box 2535, Dearborn, MI 48126
DHCA Board of Directors
New Proposed City of Dearborn Residential Standards
Date: September 12, 2019
Subject: Further Update on New Proposed City of Dearborn Residential Standards
As some of you are aware, the City of Dearborn has been engaged in revising its Residential Standards. As our previous communication to you explained, the Dearborn Hills Civic Association opposed certain aspects of these revisions. (See letter dated August 19 below) We wanted to provide you with a further update.
At the time of our last communication, the City Council was to present the new, proposed residential standards for final reading at its City Council meeting on August 20th. Based on our objections and numerous communications from many of you, the City decided to table the standards pending further review.
As our Association was apparently the only one to speak up and contest the portions of the new ordinances that deal with deed restricted neighborhoods, the Mayor had his legal team reach out to us directly. Since that time, the DHCA has spoken to and met with members of the City Legal Department, the City Planning Department and members of City Council.
At this point, new language is being drafted that would allow neighborhoods with Deed Restrictions the option of working with the City by receiving notice of a permit being applied for, but would not allow the City to be involved in interpreting the neighborhood's deed restrictions.
We hope to finalize the language for this option with the City soon and will keep you posted on any new developments.
Thank you all for your continued participation and support.
As always, please let us know your thoughts via email board@dearbornhills.org or drop us a note at PO Box 2535, Dearborn, MI 48126
DHCA Board of Directors
Date: August 21, 2019
Subject: Update on City Council Meeting & New Residential Standards
Thanks to all of you raising your voices, the City Council did not vote on the proposed new residential standards at last night's City Council Meeting. Instead, they sent it back for further review.
We will continue to seek the opportunity to have dialogue and provide input to the City on these new standards and will work to ensure that authority of our Deed Restrictions remain solely with you, the residents of the Dearborn Hills neighborhood.
The Board wishes to thank each of you that spoke up, called or wrote to Council, the Mayor etc. and those of you that took the time to attend last night's meeting. Though it was somewhat anti-climatic since our two items did not end up being discussed or voted on, we believe the City and the Mayor made the right decision to take a step back and have further discussions and we welcome the opportunity to be a part of those.
Thanks again to all!
DHCA Board of Directors
Date: August 19, 2019
New Proposed City of Dearborn Residential Standards
As some of you may know, the City of Dearborn has been engaged in revising its Residential Standards. This effort has been on-going for the past 1-2 years; first under the authority of the City Planning Department, the City Planning Commission, and most recently under consideration of the Dearborn City Council.
The DHCA has been attentive to this activity and has attended virtually all of the open meetings regarding it. The DHCA opposes certain portions of these new standards; especially, 1) the removal of all “Compatibility Standards” with regard to new Residential Construction or re-modeling, and 2) the City’s attempt to inject itself into the interpretation and Adjudication of Neighborhood Deed Restrictions.
Despite our (and others) concerns, the City is likely to give Final Approval to these new standards at the City Council Meeting on Tuesday, August 20 at 7:00 PM.
Attached is a letter sent from the DHCA to the Mayor regarding our position on the new standards; particularly as it relates to neighborhoods with Deed Restrictions. (The letter includes an excerpt of the actual ordinance section relating to Deed Restrictions).
The DHCA cannot participate (even if we wanted to) with the City in this new process, because to do so would effectively cede authority over our Deed Restrictions to the City Planner and the Zoning Board of Appeals. This would be a violation of the Rights of all Dearborn Hills Residents.
The motivation of the City in seeking this authority is plain to see in our opinion. The new ordinances remove all “compatibility” review. With that language gone from City Ordinances, the only neighborhoods with any ability to review new construction from a compatibility standpoint are those that have Deed Restrictions covering compatibility (which ours do).
We hope that you will join us in opposition of these new standards.
DHCA Board of Directors
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Dearborn Hills on Facebook
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~ Dearborn Hills Association Membership ~ |
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Join or renew your DHCA membership:
- $25.00 / calendar year -- for ALL members
Payment options:
- Pay by check. Fill out the Membership Form and mail to:
- Dearborn Hills Civic Association
P.O. Box 2535
Dearborn, MI 48123
- Pay by credit card (via PayPal)
You can check your membership status by logging into your account, or contacting the webmaster.
Member Profile Security: You can update your own member profile information, and choose what information is available for other DHCA members to view. All members can apply for an account on our website and all active profiles will be displayed in the website Neighbor Directory (this is the way the website works). In order to maintain the security of your information, the Neighbor Directory is viewable only by DHCA members residing in Dearborn Hills.
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~ Forgot Your Password? ~ |
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Select Login on the top left, then Forgot Password; follow the instructions.
If you have a website account, you will be sent an email with your login information via an automated process.
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~ Member Website Features ~ |
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The member options for this website are listed at the left; these features are accessible by DHCA members only. The DHCA Board hopes that neighbors will enjoy using these features to post information and connect with neighbors.
Classified: advertise goods and services
Find a Sitter: children, plants, pets, etc.
Message Board: a few topics have been started as suggestions; all topics are welcome.
All submitted content will be reviewed by a site administrator prior to posting.
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~ Upcoming Neighborhood Events ~ |
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~ City of Dearborn ~ |
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Important information:
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~ More Neighborhood News ~ |
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Dearborn is #3 in the Top Places to Trick or Treat in the United States!
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~ Neighborhood Photos ~ |
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Submit your Dearborn Hills photos!
The start of newly paved streets west of Telegraph.
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~ Neighborhood Sponsors ~ |
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~ Join our Community ~ |
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All residents of Dearborn Hills are encouraged to create an account on this website so you will receive email communications concerning neighborhood events and other topics. Click the registration link at the left.
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~ Update on Criminal Activity in our Neighborhood ~ |
Thank You to all Concerned and Involved Residents - you again have made a Big, Positive Difference!
As some of you are already aware, since this past fall, our neighborhood has experienced a noticeable increase in cars being broken into and items from them being stolen. In some cases, wheels from vehicles, and in some cases, entire vehicles, have been stolen.
After hearing from many affected residents (who spoke up) about these on-going issues, your Board reached out directly to Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad to discuss this situation and see what could be done.
We are happy to report that Chief Haddad was very receptive and responsive to our concerns. Working with his staff, he implemented an aggressive initiative in November and December in our neighborhood that involved around the clock deployment of plainclothes and uniform patrols; additional traffic units being deployed on overtime; and door to door delivery in some areas of Crime Prevention materials to promote greater awareness of the City's "Lock it or Lose it - If you See Something, Say Something!" campaign.
As a result of this significantly increased activity, as well as several other contributing factors, Chief Haddad reports that Dearborn Police were able to arrest several individuals who were responsible for many of the crimes in our neighborhood.
Chief Haddad is happy to report:
- that there were NO reported larcenies from autos in the month of December in our area
- that criminal activity in December in our area was 31.3% less than the same period last year.
- The City of Dearborn will post an overall 14% reduction in crime in 2017.
Please join us in thanking Chief Haddad and our Dearborn Police Department for their on-going efforts.
All this is Good News, but we need to continue to be vigilant.
Five Simple Steps
1. Lock your Car, your Home and your Garage
over 75% of larcenies from cars occur when the cars are un-locked
2. Keep valuables out of your car (or at least out of sight)
3. Park Cars in your driveway when possible.
4. Keep outdoor lights on (porches, driveways, garages, etc.)
5. If you See Something, Say Something.
If you notice something or someone that seems out of place or unfamiliar, call the Police at 313-943-3030 to report it. Do not assume its nothing. Do not Assume that someone else will call. We urge everyone to report ANY suspicious activity.
The DHCA Board wants to thank everyone of you that spoke up, that raised a flag and made all of us aware of this situation. Without that kind of involvement, progress - on any front - will always be much slower.
So let’s keep up the good work! Let’s all Lock it! Let’s all Speak up!
…and make our Dearborn Hills neighborhood better for everyone!
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None listed at this time.
Important Dearborn Phone Numbers
Suspicious Activity...... 943-3030
(anonymous)
Speeding..................... 943-2201/2019
Provide direction of travel and car color/type/make
Neighborhood Services 943-2161
Residential Services 943-2150
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