A2Council Meeting Summaries

Month: October 2022

Ann Arbor City Planning Commission: October 18, 2022

This meeting was held in person at City Hall.

Commissioner Lee was absent.

APPROVED: Recommendation that City Council approve amendments to the UDC that eliminate current exceptions and revise standards for alternative stormwater detention. Amendments reorganize standards and requirements for stormwater management.

APPROVED: A draft 2023-2028 Parks and Recreation and Open Space (PROS) Plan. The PROS Plan includes an inventory of parkland and amenities, explanation of the budget and land acquisition process, and long-term goals of the park system in order to guide the future of services and programs. This plan replaces the 2016-2020 PROS plan.

APPROVED: Planning Commission Work plan for FY23.

  • Included in the plan is the RFP for revision of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, with consideration of the following:
    • Equity
    • Single family zoning
    • Eliminating “neighborhood character” and defining “community desires”
    • Exclusionary zoning
    • R1 zoning lot size and setbacks
    • Affordability measures
    • Climate resiliency
  • Related to adoption of the Comprehensive Land Use revision:
    • Mixed Use neighborhoods
    • Residential District infill
    • Unzoning
    • Parking Maximums
    • R4C
  • Also in the work plan:
    • TC1 zoning for Washtenaw Avenue and Plymouth Road
    • Electrification/Net zero buildings
    • Reconsideration of housing premiums and solar energy readiness.

Legistar and Video Links

Legistar: https://a2gov.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=954621&GUID=10C1C14D-F74B-4404-AD20-0D6C594F917D

YouTube: not available

CTN Video: https://ctnvideo.a2gov.org/CablecastPublicSite/show/7570

Meeting Length: 2h 12m

Ann Arbor City Council: October 17, 2022

This Ann Arbor City Council meeting was held in person at City Hall. Members of the public can participate in public hearings and public comment either in person or via phone.

CM Ramlawi was absent

Ann Arbor City Council Meeting Summary

APPROVED: A resolution calling on corporations to align their publicly stated values with their corporate political spending. This is in response to the hypocrisy of corporate entities that profess support for democracy and racial justice while funding legislators who work against those values. The City Administrator is directed to report on the feasibility of including an evaluation of a potential vendor’s political activities in the City’s procurement policies. By friendly amendment, this resolution asked that the report be provided to Council on or before the second meeting in January 2023. (Legistar)

  • DEFEATED: Referral to the Human Rights Commission
  • DEFEATED: Amendment to remove and refer evaluation of procurement policies to the Human Rights Commission

APPROVED: A $8,964,668 agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield for pharmacy benefit management services. (Legistar)

APPROVED: City purchase of vacant property at 302 Mulholland Drive for $128,300. The property is in the Murray-Washington drain and will be used for stormwater improvement in the floodway. (Legistar)

APPROVED: A Provider Participation Agreement will allow Ann Arbor to participate in a Low Income Household Water Assistance Program through September 2023. This federal program offers up to $650 for income-eligible households that have fallen behind on water and sewer bills or are facing shutoffs. (Legistar)

A2ELNEL Voting Chart

Ann Arbor City Council Voting Chart for October 17, 2022 Part 1
Ann Arbor City Council Voting Chart for October 17, 2022 Part 2
Ann Arbor City Council Voting Chart for October 17, 2022 Part 3

Ann Arbor City Council: October 3, 2022

This Ann Arbor City Council meeting was held in person at City Hall. Members of the public can participate in public hearings and public comment either in person or via phone.

Ann Arbor City Council Meeting Summary

APPROVED: An ordinance grants tenants a Right to Renew a lease, subject to specific exceptions (“just cause” for eviction). Landlords would adhere to a timeline for communicating terms of renewal (or explanation of non-renewal) consistent with the Early Leasing Ordinance: tenants will receive a good faith offer to renew (or notice of non-renewal with explanation) no later than 180 days before the end of the current lease period. A tenant will have thirty days (up to 150 days before the end of the current lease) to accept/reject terms of renewal. A landlord’s failure to comply will result in payment of relocation assistance to the tenant equal to two months rent, based on the current lease. (Legistar)

APPROVED (first reading): One hundred ninety parcels along West Stadium Boulevard/Maple Road and additional parcels along Pauline Boulevard and Dexter Avenue will be rezoned TC-1. This zoning district (Transit Corridor district) will permit unlimited density, create height minimums except in close proximity to pre-existing residential areas, establish maximum (rather than minimum) parking requirements, require mixed use, eliminate any open space requirements, and eliminate side and rear setback requirements except where adjacent to pre-existing residential areas. (Legistar)

APPROVED: An affordable housing agreement for The Standard (South Main Street and East William Street) includes two affordable housing units (one bedroom each) to be administered by the County’s Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED) and offered at a rent level affordable to households earning up to 80% of AMI which will be available for 99 years. The site plan for The Standard includes 218 dwelling units and 421 bedrooms. (Legistar)

  • The site plan for The Standard was approved by Council on March 2, 2020. (Legistar)

APPROVED: The local state of emergency is terminated, effective immediately to be consistent with the lifting of state of emergency at the state and county level. City vaccination and electronic meeting policies would continue. (Legistar)

APPROVED: The City Administrator will prohibit right turns on red on streets under City control, in the downtown and near-downtown area as bordered by Kingsley St., State St., Hoover Ave., and First St. and coordinate with the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority to provide an exemption from these turn restrictions for AAATA buses at intersections that serve multiple or frequent bus routes. (Legistar)

APPROVED: City Council urges the DDA (Downtown Development Authority) to pursue installation of improved safety barriers at City parking decks, where people have been known to fall or jump intentionally or unintentionally. (Legistar)

DEFEATED: A charter amendment would be placed on the ballot 11/7/23 for voter approval, establishing non-partisan nomination and elections to the city offices for Mayor and members of Council. This removes party affiliation from the ballot and also ensures a contested election in November if more than one candidate files to run for the offices of Mayor or City Council. If there are two or fewer candidates, there is no primary election in August and the candidates appear on the ballot in November, without party affiliation. If more than two candidates petition to run for Mayor or City Council, all candidates would appear on a primary ballot in August, without party affiliation. The two primary candidates receiving the highest number of votes in August would then appear on the November ballot, again without party affiliation. (Legistar)

A2ELNEL Voting Chart

Ann Arbor City Council Voting Chart for October 3, 2022 Part 1
Ann Arbor City Council Voting Chart for October 3, 2022 Part 2

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My name is Elizabeth Nelson, and I believe that your local government should be accessible and transparent. Since 2018 , I have sent out a newsletter before every Council meeting with my summary of agenda items coming before City Council, plus news and events of interest to Ann Arbor residents.

After each Council meeting, I create and post voting charts so that you can easily see how Council voted, and update this website with meeting summaries that include links to the City’s Legistar website, CTN’s YouTube video, and articles published on MLive.