Dearborn Heights, MI Historic Preservation: Historic-Cultural Monuments (2026)

City Code § 18-26 establishes the historical commission to collect and preserve historical objects, material, buildings and sites relating to the city's history and to assist the state historical commission under Michigan's Act No. 271 of 1913 (MCL 399.1 et seq.). Section 18-27 sets the commission at five members, appointed by the mayor with council concurrence under § 18-28 for three-year terms beginning each July 1 under § 18-29; members must be city residents per § 18-30 and serve without compensation under § 18-31. Its substantive powers appear at § 18-35: the commission may, subject to council approval, acquire and hold historic sites, buildings, landmarks or properties by purchase, lease, gift, devise or bequest, and with the mayor's approval may use such property to display its collection.

The commission may also locate and erect plaques or markers at historic sites, buildings or properties in the city, but only with the consent of the property's owner and subject to the mayor's approval, and any disposal of commission-held real property or a building requires council approval. The commission reports annually to the council through the mayor under § 18-35(6) and may accept monetary or property donations for its historical purposes under § 18-35(8), with gifts of money held in a special account managed by the city treasurer.