Overview
- Mayor Abdullah Hammoud met with hundreds of residents Tuesday night to outline a roughly $100 million, multi-year sewer separation plan and to pledge efforts to limit removal of mature trees.
- Neighbors worry the project could remove more than 60 oak trees along Elmdale Street and Edison Park that they say are 100–200 years old and central to neighborhood character.
- The city says the work is still in early planning and that exact tree and right-of-way impacts are not yet known, with a design expected by the end of 2028 and more concrete plans within 18 months.
- Supporters point to recurring flooding in parts of Dearborn and to state and federal rules that drive sewer separations to stop sewage and stormwater discharges into the River Rouge.
- Residents warn that losing the canopy would reduce shade, stormwater absorption and local cooling for decades and are pressing the city for alternative alignments, root-protection strategies and strong mitigation before construction begins.