Ann Arbor City Council discusses updates

Ann Arbor City Council met at Larcom City Hall Tuesday evening for a work session to discuss updates from the Downtown Development Authority and changes to their development plan. The DDA began the process of creating a new development plan and Tax Increment Financing mechanism last year and expects to complete the plan by this summer. The Downtown Public Library will host a public engagement session Oct. 23, where community members can learn more about the new plan and share their thoughts. 

Maura Thomson, the DDA’s executive director and communications manager, explained that the DDA is responsible for improvement projects within a specific area encompassing downtown Ann Arbor.

“The DDA footprint is 67 blocks of downtown,” Thomson said. “The DDA is focused on infrastructure, public improvements, capital, capital projects and maintenance.”

Thomson presented updates to the city’s parking system plan, which included findings from a curb study conducted in the summer of 2024. The study aimed to understand curbside parking activity downtown by mapping curb space and taking inventory of usage. It found that in the South University Avenue area, nearly 20% of curb sessions were parking violations. However, findings also suggested most curb visits are short, with 60% lasting fewer than 15 minutes. These short visits mean that violations are difficult to enforce. 

The DDA report suggests these violations occur because of the high demand for short-term parking downtown. Thomson said the DDA needs new enforcement strategies and technology to prosecute violations, but converting certain existing spaces to short-term parking could also help prevent violations.

“For short-term spaces, we could convert spaces to paid 15-minute or paid 30-minute spaces, and that’s where we’re working with enforcement to talk through some strategies,” Thomson said.

The next portion of the meeting focused on the DDA’s “Elevate” project, which was approved in June. The initiative aims to fund downtown public artwork and interactive installations that emphasize Ann Arbor history, community interaction and storytelling. 

In addition to an annual budget of $175,000, the DDA will be allocating 1% of all funding from capital projects for Elevate installations. Thomas said the DDA hopes the first set of Elevate projects will become incorporated throughout downtown neighborhoods to elevate visitors’ experiences. 

“We have a scavenger hunt that is throughout downtown, a sun shade at the farmers market plaza, a wayfinding project that connects the Ann Ashley structure to Kerrytown in the farmers market, a couple of installations in Liberty Plaza and a yet-to-be-determined installation in the South University neighborhood,” Thomson said. 

As a part of the initiative, local street artist David Zinn is creating a scavenger hunt of 10 installations with the objective of engaging families and young people. The wayfinding project is expected to be a series of murals connecting the Ann and Ashley parking structure to the farmers market in Kerrytown.

Councilmember Erica Briggs, D-Ward 5, said she was optimistic about the engagement the projects could create for families and young people. 

“I’m glad we’re giving some additional attention to South University, where I can imagine the businesses there are looking for that,” Briggs said. “It sounds like the desire is to interact and engage families as well as university students, and bridging that gap so that it really caters to both audiences.” 

Councilmember Ayesha Ghazi-Edwin, D-Ward 3, suggested that the Elevate project could be an opportunity to acknowledge the history of housing discrimination in Ann Arbor. 

“I know that part of the city’s comprehensive planning is doing some sort of education on the history of housing discrimination,” Ghazi-Edwin said. “I was wondering if there might be any overlap.” 

The final portion of the meeting was dedicated to updates in creating the DDA’s new development plan and TIF system, which was created in 2003. Thomas said most development authorities update their plans every six to 10 years, according to her team’s research. 

“We want this plan to reflect updated city goals and ongoing efforts,” Thomson said. “It’ll give us the opportunity to address new opportunities and needs from pandemic recovery and beyond.”

The TIF system is the main mechanism through which the DDA receives its funding for its infrastructure projects. It is sourced from increases in property taxes related to capital improvements in the DDA’s boundaries. 

Thomson said the DDA is working to consider the possible expansion of the DDA’s boundaries and services, which could be impacted by the potential state-owned trunkline transfer and geothermal project as part of the new plan. 

“We want to make sure we do note that in our development plan because 17% of those (trunkline) project areas are within our footprint,” Thomson said.

Thomson emphasized that these changes will not be able to take place without adjusting the current TIF plan and its 3.5% cap, a limitation on how much revenue can be diverted into TIF. 

“All of this — this service and maintenance discussion — is predicated on an adjustment being made to our TIF cap,” Thomson said. “We can’t add or expand our role in this way, without an adjustment to that cap.” 

She said the new plan and TIF system will allow the DDA to best serve the communities that utilize Ann Arbor’s downtown neighborhoods. 

“A successful, thriving downtown benefits beyond our 67 blocks of downtown,” Thomson said. “It benefits our entire community, and it really does benefit the region.”Daily Staff Reporter Amanda Venclovaite Pirani can be reached at amandavp@umich.edu.

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