Ann Arbor City Council met in Larcom City Hall Monday evening to discuss progress on negotiations for the city to participate in the new Arbor South project, specifically regarding the construction of parking structures in the southern area of Ann Arbor. City Councilmembers also approved the realignment of city operations with Vision Zero, a goal to eliminate all traffic casualties in 2025, and approved further progress on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, which would reform guidelines around construction of new homes from single family to low-density residential.
Maura Thomson, executive director of the Downtown Development Authority, provided the council with a brief overview of the new development plan the authority will propose at the next City Council meeting. The plan features updates to Tax Increment Financing capture, which finances long-term infrastructure projects in Ann Arbor, and an expansion of the DDA’s jurisdiction.
With the new TIF capture, Thomson said DDA would receive 70% of tax revenue allocated for infrastructure development and 30% of revenue allocated for taxing units. Thomson clarified that even if expansion of the DDA’s boundaries occurred, more citizens would not necessarily be taxed.
“Should our TIF cap be adjusted, it would allow us to expand the work that we do,” Thomson said. “Specifically, it would allow us to establish a downtown service team. We could fund more projects. We could fund larger scale projects and basically maintain areas within our boundary to a higher degree.”
During public speaking time, participants communicated their perspectives on Resolution DC-3, which aligns city operations with Vision Zero, and Resolution DC-5, which provided further opportunity for the council to discuss public feedback and councilmembers’ opinions about the implications of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
If put into effect, the Comprehensive Land Use plan could end single-family zoning in Ann Arbor and update zoning laws to accommodate low-rise residential buildings, increasing the concentration of homes and businesses in certain areas. The city is currently in the drafting stages of the plan. Speaking on Resolution DC-5, Ann Arbor resident Mary Henderson said she was opposed to the elimination of single-family zoning and did not believe the plan would be helpful in achieving the city’s A2Zero sustainability goals or creating more affordable housing.
“Lower housing costs are not the intent of the Comprehensive Plan,” Henderson said. “Ann Arbor planning staff has acknowledged this, that the proposal will not create affordable housing or lower housing costs, and that’s borne out by what has happened in other cities that have up-zoned. So this will not create housing opportunities for lower- and middle-income families.”
Ann Arbor resident Brian Chambers spoke in favor of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and said the first step toward affordable housing is supplying more housing units in the first place.
“But here’s the reality: when we limit new housing, prices go up across the board, including for existing homes,” Chambers said. “The only way to stabilize prices and open up more options is to allow more housing types in more places.”
City Council then discussed the Arbor South project, which, if approved, would be the city’s largest brownfield investment project. Oxford Companies, the developer in charge of the project, requested that the city financially support the construction of parking structures as part of the development project.
Councilmember Dharma Akmon, D-Ward 4, expressed concern that the creation of new parking structures would inhibit the progress the city has already made towards A2Zero’s goals.
“Build all the garages you want on your own,” Akmon said. “I’m fine with that up to a limit. But to me, this is taking tax generation that we would be having built on top of what we have now, ideally to expand TheRide, improve walkability and make biking safer.”
Councilmember Chris Watson, D-Ward 2, said although there may be risks associated with the project, he feels it is necessary to continue negotiations in order to expand affordable housing.
“This project, in every public part … is susceptible to risk,” Watson said. “Even so, at this time, I feel it is appropriate to authorize the administrator to continue negotiations. I feel that when faced with the opportunity to create 200 affordable housing units and 1,000 total units of housing in a high priority TC-1 area in a project that has been analyzed by external consultants, the city should continue to pursue it until we have all the details necessary for a final decision.”
City Council also approved Resolution D-3. However, Councilmember Travis Radina, D-Ward 3, said achieving the Vision Zero goal will require greater support and investment from the state government.
“I think that one of the other things that I think we’re going to continue to struggle with around this particular goal is that we need support from the region and from the state in order to truly accomplish this,” Radina said. “It’s not something we’re going to be able to accomplish as a city alone. We don’t have effective regional transit. We don’t have enough investment from the state in alternatives that would allow for people to give up their vehicles.”
Councilmember Jen Eyer, D-Ward 4, spoke about further opportunities for the public to engage with city staff about their perspectives on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
“Thousands of residents have participated so far, and what we’ve heard so far, shows support for allowing up to fourplexes in single-family neighborhoods as part of a broader strategy to open up more housing,” Eyer said. “But the engagement is far from over. Once the draft plan is finalized … there will be many more chances to weigh in before anything is adopted.”
Mayor Christopher Taylor said the intention behind the Comprehensive Land Use Plan is to make Ann Arbor more accessible, but recognized the need for a balance between old and new Ann Arbor infrastructure.
“Our goal, during the entirety of our process, is to find a balance honoring the place that we love today, which is evolving into a city that works for everyone,” Taylor said. “As we know at this table and as many in the public, I hope, are learning, the Comprehensive Use Plan is extremely different from zoning. It is a policy statement of general principles and goals and guides the zoning rules and regulations. … The Comprehensive Use Plan does not engage the specific context of each neighborhood. Zoning does.”
Daily Staff Reporter Claudia Minetti can be reached at cminetti@umich.edu.
