The drainage fee schedule has been an ongoing issue for urban agriculture in the city of Detroit. Here is the link to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department page containing the information crucial to understanding and navigating those fees.
The Detroit Land Bank, which owns the majority of vacant land in the city, has a Community Partnership Program that allows would-be growers to partner with nonprofits to launch projects that enrich their surrounding areas. More information can be found on the DLBA website here: http://www.buildingdetroit.org/community-partnership-overview/
Michigan Community Resources (MCR) works with growers who are navigating the legalities of managing vacant space. This page collects a wide variety of resources for finding financing, tracking down a lot's owner, and staying on the right side of trespassing laws in one spot: http://mi-community.org/tools-and-resources/vacant-property-community-use/
Detroit Future City does extensive work around creating a plan for Detroit's vast resources of open space. They also offer mini grants for working with vacant lots. This page includes videos of the orientation sessions for that program as well as links to other DFC open space resources: http://detroitfuturecity.com/tools/a-field-guide/
In addition to their work helping growers through every stage of the process, Keep Growing Detroit has developed a series of treatment guides to vacant lots with distinct definitions and examples: http://detroitagriculture.net/wp-content/uploads/Treatment-Guides_All_web.pdf
Photo by Dakota Roos: https://unsplash.com/@dakotaroosphotography