Monday, September 18, 2023

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. 


Monday, September 11, 2023

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 SauvĂ©: 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. 

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

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. 





Monday, August 21, 2023

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. 



Monday, August 7, 2023

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. 


Thursday, August 3, 2023

Letter to the Editor: A Tragedy at Ann Arbor Public Schools, and a Call for Accountability

Editor's Note: from time to time we make the decision to run a letter to the editor anonymously. In this case we are doing so due to the author's genuine fear of retaliation. 

Content Warning: This article contains references to physical abuse of a young child with autism in Ann Arbor Public Schools. Some of the links on this article also contain videos of the assault itself. 

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A recent lawsuit against Ann Arbor Public Schools revealed that, in 2021 Rochanda Jefferson, a bus aide, assaulted a 7 year old boy with autism. This happened on an AAPS bus run by Durham School Services. There were multiple witness report yet the bus aide was allegedly allowed to continue to supervise him and other children for weeks after the incident. The district administration failed in its duty to report any suspicion of child abuse immediately. This crime, and the district's response, are evidence of a failure of leadership at a district level. We as a community must act and make changes to ensure it is never allowed to happen again. AAPS leadership may not have physically struck the child themselves, but they are accountable for their failure to act. 

There must be consequences for those who are in a position to have done more. Those who could have broken the chain of abuse but chose to remain silent, or worse, covered up or downplay the abuse. It is time to call upon Superintendent Jeanice Swift to resign, or if she refuses, be terminated for cause. The School Board, which has a duty to oversee the district's leadership, must act. To do so, they must hear from families and the AAPS community to make it clear we no longer find this leadership acceptable. 

The board can be contacted at boe@aaps.k12.mi.us. The next meeting is on August 23rd at 6pm, 3700 Earhart Road, where the Board will perform an evaluation of Superintendent Swift's performance. Those wishing to provide public comment must sign up in advance at this site

Since the lawsuit was filed on July 26th, more information has continued to come out in various news reports, including this piece on WXYZ news (CW: contains video of assault), This Detroit Free Press story (CW: includes video of assault), and this MLive report. You can also read the court filings here.  

    An Overview of the Timeline of the District Response as alleged:

  • Since 2020 - Rochanda Jefferson is moved around on AAPS buses 3 times over a year and a half, once after threatening a teacher
  • 12/14/2021 - Jefferson, an aide on a special needs bus, assaults a young boy with autism, on a bus with other special needs students. 
  • 12/15/2021 - Multiple witnesses notify the staff and leadership at AAPS of the assault
  • 12/15/2021 - Staff notifies the principal at Carpenter Elementary by written report
  • 12/15/2021 - Report filed with Child Protective Services (CPS) by an unidentified person
  • 12/16/2021 - The child's teacher contacts mom to say she is unhappy that Jefferson remains on the child's bus
  • ~4 weeks later - AAPS administration reviews tape of assault and removes aide from bus, and files report with CPS
  • 1/18/2022 - Child's teacher emails Carpenter Elementary principal that she feels she can no longer keep the assault from the child's mother
  • 1/19/2022 - Carpenter Elementary Principal emails mother to notify her of "incidents" involving her son
  • 3/15/2022 - Police inform mother of assault charges, provide with video, the first time she learns the extent of the violence against her child.
  • 6/28/2023 - Jefferson is convicted of 4th degree Child Abuse in criminal court
  • 7/26/2023 - lawsuit naming AAPS, Durham School Services, and Principal filed

Note, nowhere in this timeline was the AAPS Board of Education notified of the assault. Multiple sources indicate that the Board was not notified until after the lawsuit was filed last month. 

Administrative Response: Smokescreens and Deception

Under the leadership of Superintendent Dr. Jeanice Swift, the Ann Arbor Public Schools administration has developed an organizational culture of self-preservation. As many AAPS parents know, district press releases and emails are carefully crafted to say a lot of words without acknowledging any culpability when something goes wrong. In this particular circumstance, the press release states that AAPS "removed the offending individual from duty on the day the incident was observed on the video and contacted Child Protective Services immediately." Note the language, meant to imply the district acted immediately. In fact, the lawsuit reveals the district waited 5 weeks until it viewed the video of the incident, and forced this child, and the children who witnessed the violence witnesses, to ride the bus 17 more times with the now-convicted abuser. Rather than come clean and allow healing to begin, district leadership has doubled down, saying it followed appropriate procedures.

How can these procedures be appropriate if a child has been assaulted, it is reported immediately to leadership, and this child was forced to continue to ride the bus with his abuser 17 times?

Beyond the mishandling of the incident itself, there is the district's incredibly poor communication with the boy's mother, Jaime Nelson. This looks like it could be a deliberate coverup. After the assault occurred on December 14th, it took the administration until January 19th to communicate with Nelson. Even then, it was a smokescreen of half-truths. The Principal of Carpenter Elementary sent Nelson an email full of passive voice, avoiding blame and providing no hard details. The email said "there have been two incidents shared that have resulted in unsafe conditions" for her son. Nelson asked to see a copy of the video of the incident and was rebuffed, only getting access months later when police became involved.

And finally, district leadership has not given any indication that children affected by this assault, either directly or as witnesses, have been appropriately debriefed or counseled. After assaulting the young boy, Jefferson intimidated everyone else on the bus too, saying "That’s OK he’s going to jail. You’re old enough to go to jail. You don’t have to be no certain age to go to jail, they got children's jail for kids." A lot of children on the spectrum take these threats literally, especially at this early age. As witnesses to this violence, the district owes these families the clarity and resources they need to process what was likely a traumatic event. Has this taken place? The district press releases refer only to the investigation of the event itself, not how it helped children and families cope with the emotional fallout. Given the fact that the event was hidden from the boy's mother for weeks, it appears likely that the other families were also kept in the dark.

AAPS district leadership's mishandling of the aftermath of this assault has compounded the suffering of these vulnerable children and their families. Such a failure of leadership, and a failure of organizational culture, cannot go without consequences for those in whom we place such trust. When AAPS should have provided healing and clarity to the affected families, it sought to deny responsibility, bury the details, and eventually hide behind a smokescreen of carefully-worded press releases.

Either district leadership incorrectly believes it acted appropriately, or they are actively trying to escape blame. Both are unacceptable.

As news broke, it also became apparent that the School Board had been kept in the dark regarding this case. School Board President Rima Mohammad tweeted that the board "recently learned of the bus incident that occurred in December 2021," while trustee Jeff Gaynor asked questions in a Facebook post about why there was such a delay in reporting the incident:

A statement from Board President Rima Mohammad, alluding to being recently informed of the student's assault 


A statement from Trustee Jeff Gaynor, expressing frustration over the statement released by AAPS leadership



It is time to hold district leadership accountable. It's time Superintendent Swift stepped down. Email the board or sign up for public commentary and let your voice be heard.

A Time to Live our Values

This is far from the only recent evidence of incompetence by AAPS leadership. It's not even the first or second time a child with autism has been assaulted by staff at AAPS. Whether it's the recent botched investigation into allegations of a hostile racist environment at Pioneer High, or the many recent examples of children on the autism spectrum being denied required IEP services,  Ann Arbor Schools has a long way to go when it comes to proving it means it, when it says "we live by the deeply held core values of welcome, embrace and celebration of all in our community." It is time we sought new leadership for our schools, and demand an administration that stands for accountability and openness. 

We can move on from this, but not by forgetting it happened. To begin a culture of open and honest communication, and begin healing from these traumatic events, we need a new start.

The AAPS Board of Education can be reached at boe@aaps.k12.mi.us.

The Path to Progress in Ann Arbor: Prioritization and Accountability

Traffic backup on Washtenaw Ave.
If you lived here, you’d be home by now (photo by author)

Editors note: this is a guest article from former planning commissioner and Ward 2 Councilmember Kirk Westphal.

"Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction." - John F. Kennedy

Ann Arbor city government is in uncharted waters. Voters decisively changed the composition of City Council over the past two elections. All members of the conservative faction that briefly held a majority on Council from 2018-2020 were off Council by 2022. This faction notably fired the City Administrator and made decisions that many characterized as housing-averse, car-centric and anti-pedestrian. Ann Arbor voters delivered a decisive rebuke of these conservative policies.

For the first time in years, Council appears to be in genuine, unanimous agreement on certain basic values beyond providing the typical essential city services. These are the issues that have previously divided Council; for example, quickly adding housing supply to address the affordability crisis, eliminating road violence (aka Vision Zero), expanding non-car options for travel, and making systemic changes for a more equitable and sustainable future. Councilmembers frequently express urgency about these issues, even calling some of them a “crisis.”

Barack Obama said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” Ann Arborites have taken this to heart over the past two elections, and you could argue that there’s never been a more, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for” political moment on the local level.

But we’re not seeing the values expressed by Councilmembers and the public translate into action.

This isn’t necessarily a matter of budget priorities. Budgets matter a lot, and councilmembers have been willing to put financial resources behind their values as a sign of their urgency. But the act of allocating money doesn’t move us forward as a community. To make our money work, Council needs to publicly articulate their priorities, create realistic and measurable goals, monitor progress, take economic development seriously, and make sure we can attract and retain the best staff possible.

How should we fix this?

1. Set Council priorities

Monday, July 17, 2023

Ann Arbor City Council Preview: July 17, 2023


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

The evening kicks off with at modest, 13-item consent agenda. In a huge surprise to dedicated council watchers, the street closing items are at the end of the consent agenda. What is even happening? Anyway, there are 4 street closures coming up for a vote. CA-10 is for the 2023 football season, CA-11 is for student move-in, CA-12 is for the NTI Block Party, and CA-13 is for the UA Block Party. Also, we've got CA-9, the sale of the Y-Lot, 350 S 5th, to the Ann Arbor Housing Development Corporation. 

There are two public hearings on the agenda this evening. PH-1/B-1 is the second reading of an ordinance to rezone phase 3 of the Lowertown project. This is technically a rezoning from C1A/R to C1A/R, but what's really happening is that some of the conditions of the zoning are changing. PH-2/DB-1 is an amendment to the project at the old DTE Gasworks at 1140 Broadway. 

There are two ordinance first readings on the docket tonight. C-1 is for an ordnance to authorize a the process of annexing a batch of township islands. C-2 is on an ordinance to amend the rules around the Transportation Commission. 

Rounding out the agenda, there are two resolutions. DC-1 is  a resolution to appoint Derek Mehraban to the Independent Community Police Oversight Commission. DC-2 is a resolution to recognize Garrett’s Space as a Civic Nonprofit Organization. 

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. 

Thursday, July 6, 2023

Ann Arbor City Council Preview: July 6, 2023

 


Gentle reader, tonight is a special Thursday edition of #a2Council. Here's the agenda

The evening kicks off with at deep, 20-item consent agenda. We've got one street closure: CA-1 the Make your Mark event on July 18. 

There are two public hearings on the agenda this evening. PH-1/B-1 is for the second reading of the driving equity ordinance. PH-2/B-2 is for the second reading of the ordinance to allow people to put free items on the curb. Both of these are good. 

There are no resolutions on docket this evening. 

And that's all there is. Looks like the meeting could be pretty short. 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. 

Tuesday, June 20, 2023

Ann Arbor City Council Preview: June 20, 2023

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

The evening kicks off with a thick, 30-item consent agenda. CA-1 and CA-2 are street closures for Firefighter Spray Park and A2 Artoberfest. 

There are 5 public hearings on the docket this evening. PH-1/B-1 is the second reading of an ordinance to allow the city to donate abandoned bikes on city property to local non-profits. PH-2/B-2 is the second reading of the ordinance removing the requirement that landlords give tenants information on their rights as tenants and how to vote. PH-3/B-3 is the second reading of the Humane Pet Adoption ordinance.

PH-4/B-4 and PH-5/DB-1 are both on the proposed PUD for 721 S Forest. This is a great project. It replaces a mid-rise with an energy efficient high-rise. Unfortunately, there is already some opposition to this good project. So if you feel so inclined, please call into council tonight and let them know you support this project, gentle readers. 

There are three ordinance first readings tonight. C-1 is the first reading of an ordinance that modifies the conditional zoning Beekman on Broadway project at 1140 Broadway. C-2 is the first reading of a new  ordinance that is aimed at stopping the Ann Arbor Police Department from conducting pretextual traffic stops. C-3 is the first reading of an ordinance that would allow people to legally put free items on their curb. 

On to the resolutions. DC-1 is a resolution to appoint Benjamin Calderon to the Historic District Commission. DC-2 is a resolution directing the City Administrator to engage with the Federal Government on the re-development of Federal Plaza on the 200 block of East Liberty. DC-3 is a resolution to ensure transparency, non-discrimination and equal opportunity in municipal contracting. DC-4 is a resolution to correct the city's budget by adding appropriating $2.6 M from the Major Streets fund. DC-5 is a resolution to authorize an easement on south blvd. DC-6 is a resolution to issue a request for proposals for an unarmed response program DC-7 is a resolution authorizing settlement of Harris b City of Ann Arbor. DC-8 is a resolution allowing people to put free items out on their curb.  

And that's all there is. Looks like the meeting could be pretty short. 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.