Ann Arbor City Planning Commission hosts meeting to discusse land use plan  

Ann Arbor’s City Planning Commission met at Larcom City Hall Tuesday evening to discuss the city’s new Comprehensive Plan. The plan is a state-required policy document shaping the future development of the city and addressing the city’s current housing crisis. 

A significant portion of the plan involves replacing the existing zoning in Ann Arbor that restricts what types of buildings can be built in certain areas. The plan received various reactions from the public in regards to its potential to end single-family zoning, replacing it with a low-rise residential zoning category, which would allow for the construction of housing up to the size of townhouses, as well as small-scale commercial uses. 

The meeting began with community concerns. Taubman freshman Levi Barense spoke at the meeting, expressing support for the plan. Barense mentioned various University of Michigan employees who struggle to afford housing in Ann Arbor and said the city should focus its efforts on lowering housing prices. 

“These employees range from highly regarded world-class professors to hard-working custodial staff to underpaid (Graduate Student Instructors) to amazing food staff and hard-working health care heroes,” Barnes said. “Many of these employees have been priced out of Ann Arbor by the ridiculous prices that occur in the campus center and around Ann Arbor.” 

Ann Arbor resident Kim Winnick expressed his distrust of the plan due to the influence of money in city governance, referencing The Michigan Daily’s recent article regarding Heidi Poscher, 4M sustainable technology advisor, and alleged outside financial influences on City Council. 

“The involvement of outside money and interests has also raised serious ethical concerns,” Winick said. “An example of this is the recent exposé appearing in The Michigan Daily on Heidi Posher (about) her felony convictions, her campaign contributions and her interactions with our elected city officials.”

Ann Arbor resident Rob Russell also disapproved of the city’s potential plan, saying rising rental costs coincide with the increase in enrollment at the University. Russell said the University should provide more of its own student housing, rather than relying on the city to meet the rising housing demand it creates.

“I hold that allowing for more student rentals will not help lower costs in any way,” Russell said. “In fact, human greed tells me it will be the opposite. Moreover, time and again, the University has demonstrated it is an entity unto itself. It demands much from the city with questionable returns. Let the University count for its own students, or pare back its (enrollment) numbers.”

SaraEllen Strongman, assistant professor of Afroamerican and African studies, supported the plan, saying she believes the current state of Ann Arbor housing is unaffordable for current University faculty, especially in the city’s more expensive neighborhoods, like Northern Burns Park and Lower Burns Park. 

“I find it odd that some of the loudest critics of zoning reform proposals are residents of two of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city — North Burns Park and Lower Burns Park,” Strongman said. “I don’t know any junior faculty at the (University) who could afford to live or have been able to buy houses in Lower Burns Park or North Burns Park.”

The commission next proceeded to business items on the agenda. One business item was a review of the commission, which reviewed an ordinance to amend sections 5.28.2, 5.28.3, 5.29.4, 5.29.6, 5.29.7 and 5.29.11 in chapter 55 of the Unified Development Code of Title V of the Code of the City of Ann Arbor. The ordinance would amend the requirements and procedure around posted public hearings and mailing notices no less than 15 days prior to public hearings. 

The body voted the ordinance to be recommended to the Ann Arbor City Council, given the planning commission only has the power to offer recommendations to the council. The ordinance recommendation passed with only one vote against the recommendation. 

Councilmember Lisa Disch, D-Ward 1, expressed support for the ordinance, saying it is a great opportunity for the public to stay informed about the planning commission. 

“I think that the posted notice at a site is an effective way for people who will really want to know about it, to learn about it, without having to track (the) Planning Commission more closely than they necessarily want to,” Disch said.  

Near the end of the meeting, the commission also considered the Comprehensive Plan Review Discussion, the Comprehensive Plan Low-Density Residential Memo, planning commission retreat logistics and the upcoming August meeting.

Daily Staff Reporter Sarah Palushi can be reached at sarpal@umich.edu. 

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