According to court filings, the city of Detroit is suing a pastor and his church over the halted construction of a new mega-church near 7 Mile and Woodward Avenue, claiming that waste has developed as a result.
According to the lawsuit, the land at 19150 Woodward Ave. is run-down and a public nuisance. Pastor Marvin Winans is required to clean up the land, which has been under construction for 18 years, in order to comply with any regulations.
A 4,200-seat church with a 35,000 square foot administrative building and a 1,000 square foot parking structure is planned to be built on the land as the new Perfecting Church.
“The Subject Properties remain blighted, unsafe and/or dangerous as a public nuisance and danger to the safety and welfare of the public,” the lawsuit reads.
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The lawsuit, filed last week in Wayne County Circuit Court, was first reported Tuesday by Axios.
According to the municipal lawsuit, Winans is directly responsible for Perfecting Church’s ongoing annoyances.
In a statement from Perfecting Church, Winans said he has been in “constant discussions” with the city and believes the church is “up-to-date in addressing all matters of concern posed by the city.”
“We are shocked and extremely disappointed that the city would take this course of action in the dark of the night, and in our opinion, not acting in good faith. The Perfecting Church’s attorneys are reviewing the lawsuit; we will have further comment at a later date,” Winans said in the statement.
Conrad Mallett, Corporation Counsel, asserted that Winans and the church “certainly have not replied” to the concerns made in a January letter requiring a construction status update.
The city asked for a city-verified structural engineer to inspect the building and received an email from an architectural firm stating they would be in touch regarding a construction timeline and indication of the building status, Mallett added.
“That’s not what we asked for. We need specificity and we need the church to approach this with some kind of exactitude which is why we are now seeking support from the court system,” Mallett said. “We have great respect for Bishop Winans. There’s nothing about this that is personal but the city charter places upon me the responsibility to enforce City of Detroit ordinances. … Twenty years is enough.”
The lawsuit alleges that Perfecting Church has not been issued a building permit since July 2015. The city conducted an inspection of the building’s exterior this month and found dilapidated fencing, overgrown vegetation and burrows indicating rodents or other animals, according to the lawsuit.
The city is urging the judge to transfer the property back to the city if Winans does not resolve the cleanup and allow the city to demolish the building and sell the property, according to the lawsuit.
“It is theoretically possible that if the court finds that the building is in disrepair and agree with us that it is a nuisance, the court could order that the building be demolished,” Mallett said.
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