A2COUNCIL.com

Ann Arbor City Council Meeting Summaries

Accessible from A2COUNCIL.com and A2ELNEL.com/A2COUNCIL

For each City Council meeting, I provide 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 list 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.

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

June 7, 2021

This was the twenty ninth 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. Michigan Open Meetings Act changes effective April 1, 2021 require all Council Members to state their location.

• At 11:45pm CM Griswold left the meeting due to illness

• $1.5 million of the Affordable Housing Millage funds approved in Nov 2020 were designated.

  • APPROVED: $1,100,000 of the Affordable Housing Millage funds are designated for Avalon Housing or an affiliated entity to support The Grove at Veridian, 2270 Platt Road. (Legistar)

  • APPROVED: $424,364 of the Affordable Housing Millage funds are designated for Avalon Housing or an affiliated entity to support Hickory Way II, 1130 S. Maple Road. (Legistar)

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/ann-arbor-oks-15m-for-new-avalon-housing-apartment-developments.html

  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/how-a-small-property-tax-increase-can-boost-affordable-housing-inventories/2021/02/24/0c1c2554-6d8b-11eb-ba56-d7e2c8defa31_story.html

• APPROVED: $633,765 will be allocated in FY22 to non-profit entities that provide human services (recipients of Coordinated Funding) (Legistar)

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/ann-arbor-area-leaders-want-to-make-racial-equity-a-focus-with-human-services-funding.html

• APPROVED: $420,825 to be spent planting trees on City right-of-ways. (Legistar)

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/ann-arbor-to-plant-1300-new-trees-after-brood-x-cicada-emergence.html

• APPROVED: An antique fire engine owned by the Ann Arbor Fire Department will be sold to the Michigan Firehouse Museum for $1. (Legistar)

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/1927-ann-arbor-fire-engine-headed-to-ypsilanti-museum.html

• APPROVED: Church Street will be closed (24/7) between S. University and Willard, to facilitate restaurant and retail use through August 30, 2021. (Legistar)

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/ann-arbor-approves-street-closure-near-bars-and-restaurants-in-south-university-area.html

• APPROVED: $25,000 will be spent on the recruitment process to replace head city attorney, Stephen Postema, who is retiring. (Legistar)

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/ann-arbor-launching-search-for-new-city-attorney-for-first-time-in-nearly-2-decades.html

• APPROVED: Amendments to the City’s Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) ordinance will permit the construction of additional dwelling units on any residential lot in the City, without requirements for owner occupancy.  Lot size requirements (minimum 5,000 sq. Ft.) would be removed.  Requirements that the property owner reside in either the primary home or ADU would also be removed.  The required rear and side setback for ADUs would be three feet. (Legistar)

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/ann-arbor-opens-door-to-more-accessory-apartments-in-neighborhoods.html

• APPROVED: Rezoning and site plan for “Valhalla” development. A cluster of fifteen parcels (a total of 9.8 acres) at South Main is rezoned to R4E (Multiple-Family Dwelling District) with Conditions.  The site plan includes 454 Dwelling units (studio, one- and two-bedroom) in four stacked apartment buildings and five townhouse buildings, as well as two additional buildings. (Legistar) (Legistar)

  • Ward 4 Development: Valhalla

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/neighbor-promises-lawsuit-against-ann-arbor-for-approving-100m-housing-complex.html

• APPROVED: A Comprehensive Transportation Plan with strategies meant to support Vision Zero, A2Zero climate goals, safety and accessibility (both regionally and across the city).   The plan includes targets for lower speed limits, specific road treatments, sidewalk infrastructure, zoning for mixed use in residential areas, and enhanced transit options. (Legistar)

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/ann-arbor-adopts-new-comprehensive-plan-to-make-city-streets-safer.html

• APPROVED: In anticipation of an expected $24 million in federal money through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the City Administrator will recommend and prioritize use of these funds and report to Council by October 1, 2021. (Legistar)

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/ann-arbor-officials-working-out-spending-plan-for-24m-federal-stimulus.html

• POSTPONED: Amendments to our early leasing ordinance will change a standard from 70 days to 240 days. A landlord would not be permitted to enter a leased premises for the purpose of showing it to prospective tenants or enter into a contract for a subsequent lease sooner than 240 days into a current lease. This was postponed to the second meeting in July to craft more meaningful protections for tenants. (Legistar)

  • Additional Thoughts (June 5, 2021) - Early Leasing Ordinance

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/proposed-law-giving-ann-arbor-renters-more-protections-back-on-council-agenda.html

• APPROVED: Resolution asking that Council Member Hayner resign as soon as possible. (Legistar)

  • Illiberal Democracy

  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2021/06/ann-arbor-council-officially-asks-jeff-hayner-to-resign-over-offensive-language.html