{"id":6015,"date":"2026-08-14T10:49:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/08\/14\/city-council-approves-live-nightclub-zoning-changes-to-allow-high-rise-defeats-ordinance-to-increase-public-safety-at-frat-concerts\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T10:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T10:49:11","slug":"city-council-approves-live-nightclub-zoning-changes-to-allow-high-rise-defeats-ordinance-to-increase-public-safety-at-frat-concerts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/08\/14\/city-council-approves-live-nightclub-zoning-changes-to-allow-high-rise-defeats-ordinance-to-increase-public-safety-at-frat-concerts\/","title":{"rendered":"City Council approves LIVE nightclub zoning changes to allow high-rise, defeats ordinance to increase public safety at frat concerts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The<a href=\"https:\/\/www.a2gov.org\/city-council\/\"> Ann Arbor City Council<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/a2gov.legistar.com\/View.ashx?M=A&amp;ID=1368508&amp;GUID=9D86B357-3F13-413B-B989-233F54CB40E7\"> met<\/a> in Larcom City Hall Thursday evening to discuss the rezoning of land and an ordinance which would increase restrictions on public events posing risks to public safety \u2014 such as concerts at fraternity houses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The meeting was the first time City Councilmembers had convened since the<a href=\"https:\/\/specials.michigandaily.com\/2026\/city-council-election\/\"> Aug. 4 primary elections<\/a>. Incumbent Councilmembers Cynthia Harrison, D-Ward 1, and Jenn Cornell, D-Ward 5,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/ann-arbor\/ann-arbor-elects-3-new-city-council-members-both-incumbents-defend-seats\/\"> won<\/a> their bids for reelection. Mayor Christopher Taylor<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/ann-arbor\/yousef-rabhi-ousts-taylor-in-ann-arbor-mayoral-primary\/\"> lost<\/a> his reelection bid to Washtenaw County Commissioner Yousef Rabhi, D-District 8, who will take office in November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During public comment, residents Mozhgan Savabieasfahani and Blaine Coleman celebrated the mayoral election results. Savabieasfahani said she is outraged with Taylor\u2019s 12-year administration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m happy to see you leave because you have let down the people of Ann Arbor for many, many years,\u201d Savabieasfahani said. \u201cYou have failed to provide a lot of things for us. You haven\u2019t cleaned the Gelman dioxane contamination, no public housing for the people, no raise in minimum wage \u2014 none of that was accomplished under your leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taylor did not acknowledge the election results during the meeting, but thanked voters for showing up to the polls and city officials for facilitating a free and fair electoral process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Afterward, the council unanimously approved<a href=\"https:\/\/a2gov.legistar.com\/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=8119890&amp;GUID=DE1537C8-578B-4912-AE55-5664552A27A0\"> B-3<\/a>, an ordinance which rezones land at the intersection of North First Street and West Huron Street \u2014 encompassing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.livea2.com\/\">LIVE nightclub<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/thelastword.com\/\">The Last Word<\/a> bar and the Arbor Atrium building. The current property owner<a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/ann-arbor\/city-council-talks-rezoning-live-nightclub-to-build-high-rise-protections-for-churchgoers-against-protestors\/\"> hopes<\/a> to sell the land \u2014 which is already zoned to allow seven stories \u2014 to a developer planning to build a luxury high-rise. The new zoning will allow three extra stories to better fit in with the adjacent<a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstmartin.com\/properties\/allmendinger-building\/\"> Allmendinger Building<\/a>, but does not increase permitted housing density.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Councilmember Erica Briggs, D-Ward 5, acknowledged that residents will miss the businesses, but said voting against zoning changes will not prevent the city from changing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI know we\u2019ve heard some concerns, and we\u2019ve received a protest petition,\u201d Briggs said. \u201cThis is not changing the density that is allowed within that building. It is simply changing the form of the building, allowing it to be a little bit taller in order to accommodate and better serve future residents there so that they\u2019re placed further back from the railroad tracks. \u2026 What\u2019s being offered in exchange is very much in line with our interests in terms of providing greater sustainability, affordability and more community amenities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most of the meeting concerned<a href=\"https:\/\/a2gov.legistar.com\/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=8145227&amp;GUID=F6347D20-4AAB-4B66-BBD5-3883084B0C82\"> C-1<\/a>, an<a href=\"https:\/\/a2gov.legistar.com\/View.ashx?M=F&amp;ID=15750674&amp;GUID=0DF4529E-FE2E-4282-9E1D-A6FF80EF3402\"> ordinance<\/a> which would require event organizers to submit a permit 60 days before planning large commercial events with stages, amplified sound, fencing, generators and over 250 attendees.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">C-1 would also allow permits for certain public events currently prohibited by zoning. It would not affect events aligned with the property\u2019s intended use, and would therefore not affect fraternity parties, block parties, weddings, funerals, campaign events or religious services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Concerts held at fraternities or sororities, however, are not exempt. Councilmembers specifically referenced a<a href=\"https:\/\/tickets.lineleap.com\/e\/kSdwYExyKmCJDd4x0N7d\"> concert<\/a> held by rapper DaBaby at Phi Gamma Delta during last year\u2019s Welcome Week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fire Chief Mike Kennedy said the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.a2gov.org\/fire-department\/\"> Ann Arbor Fire Department<\/a> has received requests for concerts every year, from 2021 to 2024 \u2014 all were denied due to safety concerns. In 2025, two concerts occurred without the city\u2019s permission, which Kennedy said endangered many attendees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe big issue for us from a life safety perspective is these are ticketed events,\u201d Kennedy said. \u201cThey\u2019re using usually an eight- or ten-foot chain-link fence, so we\u2019re creating significant crowd crush concerns. We\u2019re creating significant egress concerns. Even if unintentional, a stand knocks over, it\u2019s a bang \u2014 people panic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During last year\u2019s concerts, Kennedy said AAFD was able to remove the fencing, but could not address other concerns which did not present an immediate risk to concertgoers\u2019 safety. He also said organizers were willing to organize events illegally knowing they would be fined.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While the new ordinance would not ban these events, it would encourage organizers to follow the law by establishing stronger penalties for safety standard and occupancy limit violations \u2014 a $10,000 fine and up to 90 days in jail.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Multiple councilmembers critiqued the ordinance\u2019s verbiage. Councilmember Travis Radina, D-Ward 3, said the ordinance\u2019s exemption for First Amendment-protected speech creates a loophole.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe have an idea of what we are trying to encompass in this, and rather than saying that, we\u2019re trying to create these broad exemptions,\u201d Radina said. \u201cIf we have an artist who comes to campus and is gonna perform at a house party, and we\u2019re gonna have a thousand people there, and they bill it as a \u2018concert against the government,\u2019 is that a First Amendment-protected activity?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Councilmember Dharma Akmon, D-Ward 4, said events like author Marlon James\u2019 upcoming Sep. 3<a href=\"https:\/\/literatibookstore.com\/event\/2026-09-03\/literati-presents-marlon-james\"> book reading<\/a>, which would otherwise be allowed, might be prevented under C-1 due to the ordinance\u2019s proposed baseline capacity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI see this as potentially covering things that I really don\u2019t think the government wants to meddle in,\u201d Akmon said. \u201cWhen I hear you describe the types of events that we\u2019re concerned about \u2014 thousands of people, but then we have 250 (in the ordinance). It seems like there\u2019s a huge disparity.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-4    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Planning Manager Brett Lenart said, though staff struggled to settle on the wording, the ordinance intends to enhance public safety regardless.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is very, very difficult \u2026 to draft the perfect articulation and identify and predetermine which events are gonna fall into what categories,\u201d Lenart said. \u201cI will be honest with you: There will be some outlier in the future that we have not contemplated or might not fit directly into this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taylor said the ordinance should be passed before Welcome Week \u2014 when large concerts are more likely to occur \u2014 and can be amended later as needed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m prepared \u2014 understanding the swirls and eddies \u2014 to vote yes today and to encourage its passage later, and then perhaps follow on after its passage for request to have it modified so as to be in line with some of the thoughtful commentary today,\u201d Taylor said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ultimately, the Assembly defeated the ordinance, six votes to five.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-5    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The council also unanimously approved<a href=\"https:\/\/a2gov.legistar.com\/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=8143577&amp;GUID=76DBE9B5-A3C6-42A4-8CCB-802F2DF8B645\"> DC-1<\/a>, a resolution to amend the council\u2019s rules to prohibit discussing new agenda items after 11 p.m. in order to keep meetings timely.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Daily News Editor Dominic Apap can be reached at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/ann-arbor\/city-council-approves-live-nightclub-zoning-changes-to-allow-high-rise-defeats-ordinance-to-increase-public-safety-at-frat-concerts\/mailto:dapap@umich.edu\"><em>dapap@umich.edu<\/em><\/a><em>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\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>The Ann Arbor City Council met in Larcom City Hall Thursday evening to discuss the rezoning of land and an ordinance which would increase restrictions on public events posing risks to public safety \u2014 such as concerts at fraternity houses. The meeting was the first time City Councilmembers had convened since the Aug. 4 primary [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6016,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[289,287,5264,288,3304,5263,2904,5262,753,151,1968,1419,1614,253],"class_list":["post-6015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-approves","tag-city","tag-concerts","tag-council","tag-defeats","tag-frat","tag-highrise","tag-increase","tag-live","tag-nightclub","tag-ordinance","tag-public","tag-safety","tag-zoning"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6015","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=6015"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6017,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6015\/revisions\/6017"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}