{"id":2179,"date":"2025-07-31T14:49:04","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T14:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/07\/31\/a-guide-to-august-2025-ann-arbor-ballot-proposals\/"},"modified":"2025-07-31T14:49:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T14:49:11","slug":"a-guide-to-august-2025-ann-arbor-ballot-proposals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/07\/31\/a-guide-to-august-2025-ann-arbor-ballot-proposals\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to August 2025 Ann Arbor ballot proposals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>In the upcoming August 2025 election cycle, Ann Arbor voters will consider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.a2gov.org\/city-clerk\/elections\/\">local ballot proposals<\/a> concerning plans for a new library and the repeal of a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wemu.org\/wemu-news\/2018-11-07\/november-election-2018-ann-arbors-proposal-a-passes-what-happens-next\">2018 charter amendment<\/a> that reserved space for an urban park. The Michigan Daily spoke with elected officials and local advocates to understand the potential impacts of both proposals.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Proposal A: Transfer of property to AADL<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Proposal A would allow the<a href=\"https:\/\/aadl.org\/\"> Ann Arbor District Library<\/a> to buy the properties of 326 S. Division St. and 319 S. Fifth Ave. \u2014 which sit adjacent to the AADL\u2019s downtown branch and currently house the<a href=\"https:\/\/pcia2.com\/library-lane\/\"> Library Lane Parking Structure<\/a> \u2014 for $1 from the city. If passed, the AADL would build a new library that would include retail spaces, multi-use areas and mixed-income housing.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with The Daily, Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor said the transfer of property wouldn\u2019t affect residents\u2019 taxes.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe library is proposing to build two large buildings; one large building on each parcel, perhaps connected,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThe first several floors of those buildings will be (the) library. The floors above the library will either be rented to or condoed out to private persons, new tenants. Those properties will pay taxes. That will be new development. You will not pay new taxes. There will be new housing provided above the library, and those new properties will pay taxes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Taylor said the passage of the proposals is important for the city\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/fred.stlouisfed.org\/series\/ATNHPIUS11460Q\">housing<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/ann-arbor\/what-does-the-data-say-about-rising-rental-rates-in-ann-arbor\/\">needs<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHousing costs in Ann Arbor over the past 10 years have increased to four and a half times the rate of inflation,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cRents have increased to two and a half times the rate of inflation. This is because demand has outstripped supply. The passage of proposals A and B and the library\u2019s provision of hundreds of units of new mixed-income housing will not solve everybody\u2019s problems immediately, but will play a role in rebalancing supply and demand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an email to The Daily, AADL Vice President Aidan Sova wrote the new library will ideally open in six to seven years if both proposals pass.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe estimated, and hopeful, timeline includes two years for design development and three years for construction,\u201d Sova wrote. \u201cDuring construction, a temporary Downtown Library will operate in a location yet to be determined. It\u2019s important to emphasize that economic conditions may influence the timing of this major endeavor. Our aspiration is to cut the ribbon on Ann Arbor\u2019s incredible new Downtown Library in approximately six to seven years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><strong>Proposal B: Repeal the \u201cCenter of the City\u201d amendment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Proposal B would repeal a 2018 amendment that required the Library Lane Parking Structure site to be developed into an urban central park and civic center commons called the \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.clickondetroit.com\/all-about-ann-arbor\/2018\/10\/29\/breaking-down-prop-a-most-divisive-proposal-on-ann-arbors-november-ballot\/\">Center of the City<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Taylor expressed his skepticism about the feasibility of the 2018 amendment, criticizing its lack of funding and physical limitations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t have the millions of dollars necessary to build a park at this location \u2014 even if a park were physically possible, which is questionable,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThe parcel is a parking garage. It\u2019s a concrete box upon which no trees, no great trees, no grand trees will grow \u2026 The results of the 2018 amendment has been a continued dead spot within our downtown (and) is simply impractical. The concept of a grand and beautiful central park at this location is a fantasy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In an interview with The Daily, Rita Mitchell, president of the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.a2librarygreen.org\/\"> Library Green Conservancy<\/a>, said developing a green space on the parking structure could be done responsibly.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cPart of that consultant design process that I\u2019ve described has to do with including someone with engineering background to assess how to build safely on that surface and how not to damage it,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to just go in with pickaxes and plant grass. The plan is to have something that\u2019s safe, that\u2019s appropriate for a downtown that has green, where we can place it well and have hard surfaces for places where we need to have the hard surfaces because of the structure itself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Taylor said he believes many voters misunderstood the implications of the 2018 proposal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we talk to people about the 2018 charter amendments, most of what we hear is that we hear mostly regret,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cPeople tell us constantly that they didn\u2019t know exactly what they were voting for \u2014 that they, upon reflection, feel tricked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/center-city-task-force-focuses-reviewing-community-feedback\/\"> 2019 interview<\/a>, Alan Haber, a member of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.a2gov.org\/media\/c3blrqvr\/center-of-the-city-task-force-final-report-2020.pdf\">Center of the City Task Force<\/a>, said public awareness was low during the original campaign.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did not get a sense that Ann Arbor people know what\u2019s happening,\u201d Haber said. \u201cThis returns to my sense that we should be sending out some sort of invitation or report to the whole community. And basically, we\u2019re dealing not with a base that has thought about this at all.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-4    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>Mitchell said she disliked Taylor\u2019s<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/news\/ann-arbor\/2018\/07\/disputed_changes_to_ann_arbor.html?gift=8baa292b-0241-47ff-872e-853700a328eb\"> addition<\/a> of what she called biased language to the 2018 ballot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe proposed some language that was over 200 words in length,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cIt was very long, and it had some bias to it, some significant bias. And when you present a petition to the people, it\u2019s supposed to be unbiased, so they get a chance to weigh the right, yes or the no \u2026 That additional language that was proposed to be added on to the basic language of the petition of the ballot question in 2018 was determined to be illegal, and so it was set aside ultimately, and that went to the state court of appeals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Taylor described the practical implications of both proposals currently on the ballot and their interdependence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProposals A and B are linked with each other,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThey both must pass in order for the new library development on both parcels to go forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>Daily Staff Reporter Kayla Lugo can be reached at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/ann-arbor\/a-guide-to-august-2025-ann-arbor-ballot-proposals\/mailto:klugo@umich.edu\">klugo@umich.edu<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-5    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the upcoming August 2025 election cycle, Ann Arbor voters will consider local ballot proposals concerning plans for a new library and the repeal of a 2018 charter amendment that reserved space for an urban park. The Michigan Daily spoke with elected officials and local advocates to understand the potential impacts of both proposals.\u00a0 Proposal [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2180,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[242,243,2415,2416,463,2417],"class_list":["post-2179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-ann","tag-arbor","tag-august","tag-ballot","tag-guide","tag-proposals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2179"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2181,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179\/revisions\/2181"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}