Ann Arbor City Council Preview: December 4, 2023

 Gentle readers, it's #a2Council night in Ann Arbor. Here's the agenda. 

The evening kicks off with a modest, 7-item consent agenda. Of note, CA-5 is accepting a $182,360 to make the Bryant Community Center carbon neutral. 

There are 5 public hearings on the docket this evening. PH-1/B-1 is the second reading of a change to the Lockwood PUD. Again, this is an illustration of why PUDs are such a brittle tool. It would be much better to drastically overhaul the zoning code to allow more good projects to go forward without having to be PUDs. 

PH-2/B-2 is the second reading of a fix to the downtown premiums for the D1 and D2 zones. A few years ago council reworked the downtown zone premiums. The end result is that no new affordable units being built. This ordinance change will fix this issue so that new D1 projects with affordable units will work. 

PH-3/B-3 is the second reading of changes to the setback rules for TC-1. This is coming to council with a denial recommended by the Planning Commission. 

PH-4/B-4 and PH-5/DB-5 are the rezoning and site plan for the Briarwood Parking lot. The parking lot is being rezoned from Parking to C2B (Business Service District). The current plan is to raze the current Sears store ad build a grocery store and sporting goods store. The parking lot will be redeveloped as three residential buildings with 352 total units. You love to see it. 

There is one ordinance first reading tonight. C-1 is the first reading of the ordinance to ban most gas leaf blowers. Again, you love to see it. 

On to the resolutions. DC-1 is to approve the 2024 Council Committee Appointments. DC-2 is a resolution to launch engagement initiatives to support all electric leaf maintenance. DS-1and DS-2 are resolutions to publish the changes to the downtown and transit corridor zones. 

That's it, gentle reader. What items are you most excited for? Hopefully we will see you there. The CTN stream starts at 7 pm. Make sure you follow the action on the #a2Council hashtag or on a2mi.social. 

Ann Arbor City Council Preview: November 20, 2023

 

Gentle readers, it's #a2Council night in Ann Arbor. Here's the agenda. 

The evening kicks off with a modest, 14-item consent agenda. Of note, CA-1, $350k for miscellaneous concrete repairs. Also, CA-8, participation in the PFAS lawsuit against 3m and DuPont. CA-10 looks cool too. It's for technical support for the Bryant District Geothermal Project. 

There is one public hearing on the docket this evening. PH-1/B-1 is for a township island annexation. The city will be gaining just over 5 acres of parkland at 2282 and 2290 Traver Rd. Nice. 

There are two ordinance first readings on the agenda. C-1 is a township island annexation. Just over 5 acres at 2520 and 2540 Pontiac Trail are becoming R4A. C-2 is the first reading of an ordnance that would phase out most internal combustion leaf blowers. 

On to the resolutions: DC-1 is a resolution to approve the 2024 Council Calendar. 

And that's it! What items are you most looking forward to seeing? Hopefully we will see you there. The CTN stream starts at 7 pm. Make sure you follow the action on the #a2Council hashtag or on a2mi.social. 

Ann Arbor City Council Preview: November 6, 2023

 

It's #a2Council night in Ann Arbor gentle readers. Here's the agenda. 

The evening kicks off with a respectable, 20-item consent agenda. Of note, CA-17, accepting the donation of a park at 1420 Maple. There's also CA-18, a contract for installing public restrooms in and near Downtown. 

There are no public hearings on the docket tonight. But there are 4 ordinance first readings. C-1 is an amendment to the Lockwood PUD. One problem when you force so many projects to be PUDs, you end up making it very difficult to make minor changes to a project. C-2 is rezoning the some of the Briarwood Parking Lot from Parking (the worst zone) to C2B (business services). This is good. The city should get rid of the Parking zone from the city's zoning code. C-3 is a fix to the city's downtown premiums for the D1 and D2 zone. These premiums have been so onerous that they have stopped all new construction in these zones. Good to see this fix going in. C-4 is changes to setback rules in the transit corridor district. 

On to the resolutions. DC-1 is a resolution to appoint Anya Ganger to the Health and Human Services Advisory Board. DC-2 is to hire a consulting firm to help with the Bryant School geothermal project. DC-3 is a resolution to move precinct 2-20 from First United Methodist to King Elementary. Finally, DC-4, is a resolution to accelerate safety improvements on Ann Arbor's many stroads. You love to see it. 

What items are you most looking forward to seeing? Hopefully we will see you there. The CTN stream starts at 7 pm. Make sure you follow the action on the #a2Council hashtag or on a2mi.social. 

Ann Arbor City Council Preview: October 16, 2023

 

Gentle readers, tonight is another spooktacular edition of #a2Council. Here's the agenda. 

The evening kicks off with a ghoulish, 13-item consent agenda. There's just one road closure, CA-1, for the Turkey Trot. CA-7 is traffic calming for Grandview from Jackson to Dexter. You love to see it. 

There are two public hearings on the agenda tonight. PH-1/DB-1 is for a township island annexation at  3701 - 3713 Riverside Drive. PH-2/DS-1 is accepting a grant to help with opioid harm reduction. 

There is one ordinance first reading tonight. C-1 is for a township island annexation for 2282 and 2290 Traver Rd. The city is getting 5.23 acres of vacant public land. 

On to the resolutions. DB-2 is a resolution to approve early voting sites for 2024. DB-3 is a resolution to permanently relocate several election precincts: Precinct 4-32 from the Mary Street Polling Place to the University of Michigan Coliseum, Precincts 4-33 and 3-24 from the U-M Coliseum and Tappan Middle School to the Ann Arbor Senior Center beginning with the 2024 Presidential Primary Election. DC-1 and DC-2 are commission appointments. 

DC-3 is a resolution to measure the impact of the recently adopted home energy rating disclosure. DC-4 is a resolution to encourage connections across US 23 and to make sure there are comfortable walking and biking facilities. Nice. DC-5 is a resolution to appoint Patrick Maguire interim Police Chief. DC-6 is a resolution for he evaluation of the integration of Home Energy Score assessments in residential inspection processes. 

DC-7 is a resolution to ask MDOT not to block off access to the western portion of Barton Nature Area. This has been a whole big thing. You can find out more on this reddit thread. And finally DC-8 is a resolution to inform next steps for selling the Kline Lot, the parking lot on Ashley and William. 

What items are you most looking forward to seeing? Hopefully we will see you there. The CTN stream starts at 7 pm. Make sure you follow the action on the #a2Council hashtag or on a2mi.social. 

Ann Arbor City Council Preview: October 2, 2023

 

Spooky season is upon us, gentle readers. Here's the agenda. 

The evening kicks off with a respectable, 19-item, consent agenda. We've got one street closure. CA-1 is for the 2023 Spook-a-Thon on October 28. CA-7 is a special assessment for a sidewalk gap along Stone School. CA-15 could also be interesting, its purchasing a easement to fill the South Main sidewalk gap. 

There are no public hearings nor ordinance first readings on the agenda this evening. There's just one resolution on the agenda tonight. DC-1 is a resolution to encourage DTE to Develop a Process for Burying Power Lines. 

All in all it looks like a pretty light agenda. What items are you most looking forward to seeing? Hopefully we will see you there. The CTN stream starts at 7 pm. Make sure you follow the action on the #a2Council hashtag or on a2mi.social. 

Ann Arbor City Council Preview: September 18, 2023

 Gentle reader, it's #a2Council Night in Ann Arbor. Here's the agenda. 

The evening kicks off with a modest, 11-item consent agenda. CA-1 is street closures for the Ann Arbor Marathon. CA-4 and CA-5 are for traffic calming on Baldwin and Manchester, respectively. 

There are two public hearings on the docket tonight. PH-1/B-1 is the second reading of an ordinance rezoning two houses at 2670 & 2690 Ann Arbor-Saline Road from R1C (single family zoning) to O (office). PH-2/B-2 is the second reading of an ordinance to make changes to the Transportation Commission ordinance. 

Moving down the agenda, we get to the resolutions. DC-1 is a resolution to approve revised bylaws for the Transportation Commission. DC-2 is a resolution to revise the remainder of the 2023 Council Calendar. DC-3 is a resolution to amend the sale of the the Y Lot, 350 S. Fifth. 

All in all it looks like a pretty light agenda. What items are you most looking forward to seeing? Hopefully we will see you there. The CTN stream starts at 7 pm. Make sure you follow the action on the #a2Council hashtag or on a2mi.social. 

House Party starts Tomorrow

 

Do Good Work, an Ann Arbor-based 501(c)3, is hosting House Party this week. House Party is a series of events focused around the state of housing in our community. Last week, I reached out to Lisa Sauvé, the founder of Do Good Work, who graciously answered some of my questions about House Party:

Damn Arbor: What inspired you to put on House Party?

Lisa Sauvé: I kept having conversations around housing and different perspectives and opinions on solutions and thought we should open it up to a broader audience. Sometimes the policy wonks and design nerds get too wrapped up without taking a step back to invite others into the conversation and spend some time listening. Last September I was at the Avalon Housing Fundraiser and was inspired by all the stories being shared and thought "we need more of this". Immediately texted a friend and the ideas started being put together. Below is a snap of that text exchange. 

DA:  What outcome are you hoping for?

LS: I hope the information sharing can help dispell some myths around housing and development like how and why we only see market-rate "luxury" apartments from the private development industry (hint: the opportunity cost, risk, financing, and requirements all layer into the final cost). Online doesn't allow for long-form discourse and I know I'm part of that vocal group. When we meet face-to-face there is more humanity and understanding of the tradeoffs we're all trying to balance to meet our community goals. 

This is also a great time at the beginning of the city's comprehensive planning process to start to engage from a grassroots of community events without the consultants and municipal leaders leading the agenda. For several of the event,s we have talked directly to the city and Interface (the comprehensive planning consultant) about what outcomes and information would be useful for them to recieve if we were able to collect it. It will be great to share these experiences as part of the longer planned collective conversation. So while we have the support, these events do have some autonomy. 

DA: What are you most excited about with House Party?

LS: I'm actually an introvert, so organizing a whole lot of public events feels kinda out of character. The one that resonates with me personally is House Stories. It allows anyone to schedule an individual time to record their housing story in a phone booth at the AADL downtown branch. The AADL is also going to archive these recordings in their collection as a recorded history and snapshot in time of our lived experiences locally which is exciting to know they'll be able to be a shared resource into the future. A couple of the most powerful experiences I've had around housing this past year have been at that Avalon fundraiser, and a city council meeting (8/7/23) where several renters organized and shared their stories and struggles with landlords, cost, and quality housing.

There's also a few student run events including an engagement session on Wednesday evening, with a second opportunity Saturday afternoon to participate at the Liberty Annex as well as some spaces for Park(ing) Day. Student housing is a major discussion point, partially for the new construction downtown but also our ability (or lack-thereof) to retain talent and grow a multi-generational community. It's great to see how involved they have become to join the issue and break down that barrier between town and gown. 

DA: One last question: What would you recommend for someone who is curious about House Party, but maybe feeling a little shy?

LS: Like I said, I'm an introvert, so I get it. At almost every event there is food and stickers which usually gives something to focus on if being social or engaging isn't something you can jump right into. A great friend, advocate, and expert in community engagement - Jess Letaw - shared a working agreement to help situate the room into a respectful and open one. I hope that this will create spaces for the shy and opinionated to come together and find mutual respect and understanding to allow everyone to grow and take something away from joining. The agreement is below if you'd like to share;

• As a group, we are committed to practicing the following:
• We expect and give respect, always assuming good intentions.
• We allow our opinions and beliefs to be challenged.
• We recognize learning can be uncomfortable but should not be unsafe.
• We are mindful of our own experiences and feelings.
• We take the time and space we need, both inside and outside the shared spaces.
• We process harms as they arise, when and how we are able, with care and without tone policing. 

Sounds like it'll be a series of incredible events.  House Party kicks off tomorrow morning with Coffee + Conversations with City Staff from 8:30 am - 10:00 am at Cahoots. Events run through Sunday the 17th and are all accessible by public transit. Don't forget to pick up the daily issue of Housezene from Vault of Midnight. 

Ann Arbor City Council Preview: September 5, 2023

 

A rendering of the proposed South Town project. There are three public hearings on the project tonight. 

Gentle reader, it's #a2Council night in Ann Arbor. Here's the agenda. 

The evening starts off with a modest, 11-item consent agenda. Just one street closing. C-1 is for Little Amal - The Walk on Saturday, September 23. 

On to the public hearings. PH-1/B-1 is to allow specific car related uses in TC-1. PH-2/B-2 is for the second reading of an ordinance to require home energy rating disclosure. PH-3/B-3 is on the second reading of an ordinance to allow Cannabis micro-businesses. 

Then we come to the South Town hearings. This project is great. It involves rezoning the a block of old houses on South State to the campus business district zone. This will allow them to replace the 15 dwellings with a mixed use mid-rise building with 215 homes. It'll also be super energy efficient. This is a great development for this super walkable area. Here's the area where the project is happening: 

South Town area context

PH-4/B-4 is the rezoning to C1A/R. PH-5/DB-1 is the site plan approval. PH-6/DB-2 is on vacating an alley, which is necessary for the project. 

Finally we get to the 7th public hearing of the evening. PH-7/DB-3 which is on vacating a portion of East Mosley Street. 

On to the resolutions: DS-1 is a resolution authorizing publication of the aforementioned changes to TC-1. DC-1 is a resolution to appoint folks Neal Elyakin, Janet Haynes, and Rodrick Green to the Independent Community Police Oversight Commission. DC-2 is a resolution to adopt an improved Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program. This is great! DC-3 is a resolution to improve data transparency and performance management. DC-4 is on a resolution to initiate a statue to honor Kathy Kozachenko. DC-5 is a resolution directing the administrator to advocate for the state legislature to end the use of 14(c) Certificates and Subminimum Wage in the State of Michigan. DC-6 is a resolution to approve the purchase of a property on Miller past Maple for a new election center. 

And that's all there is. What items are you most looking forward to seeing? Hopefully we will see you there. The CTN stream starts at 7 pm. Make sure you follow the action on the #a2Council hashtag or on a2mi.social. 

Ann Arbor City Council Preview: August 21, 2023

The Y Lot. CA-9 is the sale of the Y Lot to the Ann Arbor Housing Development Corporation.

Gentle reader, it's #a2Council Night in Ann Arbor. Here's the agenda. 

The evening kicks off with a modest, 13-item consent agenda. Interestingly, street closures are back at the top of the consent agenda, after two meetings at the end. Wild times. CA-1 through CA-4 are all street closures. CA-1 is Festifall. CA-2 is for the Eli Lilly Mobile Research Unit. CA-3 is for the UM Show Your Love A2 Party. CA-4 is for the Neutral Zone's 25th Anniversary. 

Perhaps more interestingly, CA-9 is the sale of the Y Lot (350 S 5th) to the Ann Arbor Housing Development Corporation. This will be used to build a large building that includes a substantial portion of subsidized housing. You love to see it. Some people have questioned why the city is not just giving the property away to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. The reason for that has to do with the bonds that the city took for the property sale. In order to protect the tax-exempt status of these bonds, the city has to sell the property at fair market value. You can read more in the administrator's report to council. 

There are three public hearings on the docket this evening. PH-1/B-1 is for a batch of routine township island annexations. PH-2/B-2 is the second reading of the ordinance adding the Home Energy Rating Disclosure requirement to the city's building code. PH-3/DB-1 is on the Brownfield plan for 303 N Fifth, and 312, & 314 Detroit Street. 
 
There are two ordinance first readings on the agenda this evening. C-1 is on rezoning 2670 & 2690 Ann Arbor-Saline Road from R1C to Office. C-2 is to make some tweaks to the city's recreational Cannabis law. Specifically it adds some new rules for Cannabis microbusinesses among other things. 

On to the resolutions. DC-1 is to appoint Vanesa Jackson to the Human Rights Commission as a non-resident elector. DC-2 is to approve the FY24 contract with SPARK. DC-3 is a resolution to urge the legislature to end the sale of flavored tobacco in the state. DC-4 is a resolution to approve disbursements from the community events fund. 

And that's all there is. What items are you most looking forward to seeing? Hopefully we will see you there. The CTN stream starts at 7 pm. Make sure you follow the action on the #a2Council hashtag or on a2mi.social. 

Ann Arbor City Council Preview: August 7, 2023

 

Gentle reader, it's #a2Council night in Ann Arbor. Here's the agenda. 

The evening kicks off with a deep 21-item, consent agenda. This meeting continues the new tradition of placing street closures at the end of the agenda. To wit, CA-21, a street closure for the Go Blue Mix, Sept. 2. 

There is one public hearing on the docket this evening. PH-1/B-1 is on changes to Transportation Commission. Specifically, it's a resolution that changes the rule that only seat on the commission be reserved for someone who owns a transportation business. This seat has been extremely difficult to fill and has been vacant since Jim of HEH chose not to be reappointed. 

There are three ordinance first readings on the agenda tonight. C-1 is the first reading for the South Town rezoning. This is a really cool project encompassing the entire block bounded by State, Henry, White, and Stimson. It will replace several old houses with a super environmentally friendly midrise. 

C-2 is the first reading of an ordinance that makes some minor changes to TC-1 Zoning. C-3 is the first reading of an ordinance to add a chapter on home energy rating disclosure (HERD). 

Closing out the agenda, we have the resolutions. DC-1 is a resolution to appoint Julius Buzzard to the Greenbelt Advisory Commission. DC-2 is a resolution to approve Kerrytown Concert Houses request for a liquor license. DC-3 is a resolution to study Ann Arbor's response during severe weather emergencies. DB-1 is new bylaws for transportation commission. 

And that's all there is. What items are you most looking forward to seeing? Hopefully we will see you there. The CTN stream starts at 7 pm. Make sure you follow the action on the #a2Council hashtag or on a2mi.social.