Ann Arbor City Council Preview: August 15, 2022

 

It's #a2Council Night in Ann Arbor. Here's the agenda. 

The meeting kicks off with a moderate, 19-item consent agenda. I'm pretty stoked about CA-14 which is pavement marking and maintenance for several vision zero quick build contracts. You love to see it. 

There are two public hearings on the agenda tonight. PH-1/B-1 is on the second reading of some amendments to the Unified Development Code specifically around Cannabis licenses, trees in the right-of-way, and landscaping. PH-2/B-2 is probably the most exciting part of the night. This is the second reading of the ordinance to repeal parking minimums. This is very exciting as there is a ton of research that shows that parking minimums 1) increase housing costs, and 2) produce more parking than is needed. 

There is one ordinance first reading on the agenda today. C-1 is for a PUD at 340 Depot, which is located across from the Amtrak Station. This will be a 2 story building with commercial on the first floor and 4 residential units on the second floor. My only criticisms are 1) this is too short, build it taller! and 2) it's silly that something as simple as this needs a PUD. We really need to simplify our zoning code. 

Rendering of the proposed PUD at 340 Depot. 

On to the resolutions. DC-1 is to appoint Eric Farrell, a non-registered elector in Ann Arbor, to the Public Market Advisory Commission.  DC-2 is a resolution to authorize the city administrator to write a letter to MDOT in support of a noise abatement program along the M-14 corridor. DC-3 is a resolution to grant easements to DTE at Vets and Virginia Parks. DC-4 is a resolution to recommend a discussion of Right to Renew for renters. DS-1 and DS-2 are resolutions to have summary publications for the zoning changes in B-1 and B-2, respectively. 

 And that's all there is. Looks like it'll be a pretty short meeting. 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.