Ann Arbor City Council Meeting Summaries

Accessible from A2COUNCIL.com and A2ELNEL.com/A2COUNCIL

For each City Council meeting, I have provided links to the City's Legistar website, CTN's YouTube video, and links to my newsletters and voting charts that I publish on A2ELNEL.com. I have listed agenda items of interest from each meeting, along with Legistar links, articles I've written (highlighted purple), and articles published on MLive. Look for highlighted text to find votes on development, affordable housing, and the City's Sustainability and Innovations department.

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This page is displaying information from a single Council meeting - click here to return to all meetings.

December 21, 2020

This was the eighteenth regular Council meeting since Governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency and stay-at-home order due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This meeting was held online, via the ZOOM application.

• APPROVED: Resolution asking Staff and Planning commission to consider amendments to an ordinance passed 9/4/20, regulating the location of short-term-rentals in the City. Amendments will be drafted to preserve businesses already located in residentially zoned districts. (Legistar)

  • Additional Thoughts (Dec 19, 2020) - Amending the Short Term Rental Ordinance

  • Housing, Profits, and Hypocrisy

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2020/12/new-ann-arbor-council-looks-for-way-to-keep-airbnb-houses-in-neighborhoods.html

• APPROVED: Water rate increases: 7% (starting January 1, 2021) and increase again by 6.5% (starting July 1, 2021). These changes are projected to increase revenues to the Water Supply System by $1.47 million (more than FY2020). (Legistar)

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2020/12/ann-arbor-council-oks-two-rounds-of-water-rate-increases-in-8-3-vote.html

• APPROVED: Solar panel installation in Multi-family, Mixed Use, Non-residential and Special Purpose districts (up to 10,000 square feet) will be permitted under certain conditions without a Site Plan Review. (This amendment is prompted by a specific development proposal to expand a parking cover and create a larger surface for solar collection.) District height maximums will have (up to) a 12-foot exception for the purpose of mounting rooftop solar. (Legistar)

• APPROVED: $72,000 to support Shelter Association of Washtenaw County (Winter Emergency Shelter & Warming Center). (Legistar)

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2020/12/ann-arbor-allocates-extra-funds-to-help-vulnerable-residents-with-emergency-needs.html

• APPROVED: $12,000 allocation of Special Assistance Fund to Barrier Busters. (Legistar)

• APPROVED: $50,000 of direct assistance to Ann Arbor Residents through Barrier Busters. (Legistar)