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 Cornell was absent
A2Council Update Video
Ann Arbor City Council Meeting Summary
Two resolutions related to the Ann Arbor Housing Commission project at 350 S. Fifth were approved.
APPROVED: A grant agreement will allocate $4 million to the project, directly from the Affordable Housing Fund. Additional funding will come from other government sources (federal low income tax credits, state-subsidized mortgages), $500,000 from the Downtown Development Authority, and an estimated $35 million in bonds backed by Affordable Housing Millage revenue. (Legistar)
APPROVED: A resolution approving Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) will allow the project at 350 S. Fifth to pay only $1 per year for each affordable unit for 45 years. (Legistar)
- The development will have 330 units (1 to 2 bedrooms) of affordable housing, priced at no more than 80% Area Median Income (AMI). A 20-story building will have housing at a range of incomes averaging 60% AMI. At least 110 units will be affordable to households earning 30% AMI and include direct support from the Housing Commission.
- The Ann Arbor Housing Commission held a resident participation meeting about this project in June 2025: https://a2council.com/350-s-fifth-ave-resident-participation-meeting-june-5-2025/
- https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2025/12/why-do-affordable-ann-arbor-apartments-cost-over-200m-to-build-project-explained.html
APPROVED: A construction contract for $15,167,121 and an engineering contract for $1,201,360 will support a High-Level Trunkline Capacity Improvements Project at West Washington Street and North First Street to Miller Avenue. The installation of a 36 inch relief sanitary sewer will accommodate a Central Campus Student Housing Complex. The UM is contributing $17,765,000 toward the project and City’s sewage disposal fund is contributing $2,710,000. (Legistar) (Legistar)
APPROVED: By resolution, Council communicates a plan to amend the terms of Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and sets a public hearing for February 2, 2026. Proposed changes would expand the boundaries of the DDA district to include an area to the north of Kingsley up to Depot Street. The District would also reach south to capture a single parcel, just north of Forest Court. (Legistar)
- The DDA district is funded by tax incremental finance (TIF), which ‘captures’ property tax growth within the district, i.e. the difference between existing value of a property and a newly constructed property. The DDA captures new property tax revenue that would otherwise go to the city of Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority (AAATA), Washtenaw Community College (WCC), and the Ann Arbor District Library.
- This week’s amendments would allow the DDA to ‘capture’ TIF across a larger area of the City and also amend how that TIF is calculated.
- The state of Michigan created the mechanism of TIF financing to support downtown districts when suburban-style shopping was pulling business away from city centers and hollowing out downtowns. The TIF/DDA model promoted redevelopment and dedicated funds toward reinvestment in downtowns that were struggling. The state law enabling such districts allows a timeline of 30 years. Ann Arbor’s DDA was established in 1982 and renewed in 2003.
- The City ordinance defining the terms of the DDA includes this explanation of purpose: “The purpose of this chapter is to create a public body corporate to act in the best interests of the City to halt property value deterioration, increase property tax valuation where possible in the business district of the City, eliminate the causes of that deterioration, and to promote economic growth”
- In 2013 – in response to rapid growth in the downtown district – City Council approved a ‘cap’ on the DDA’s TIF capture, limiting its growth to 3.5% per year: “Beginning with the 2016 tax year the maximum captured taxable value shall be $224,000,000.00. Each tax year thereafter, the maximum captured taxable value shall be increased by 3.5% per annum.” (Legistar)
- On September 2, 2025, DDA Executive director Maura Thompson presented a recommendation to City Council that would increase DDA TIF capture under a “gainshare model.” This model would allow the DDA to keep 70% of tax revenue growth from new development and other taxing units (e.g. the City, County, AAATA, WCC, AADL) would retain 30%. (Legistar)
- In Ann Arbor, the DDA also manages public parking within the district and sets parking rates. Until recently, City Council played a role in approving those parking rates. This fall (9/15/25), Council unanimously approved changes that remove the requirement for an annual DDA/Council meeting and allow the City Administrator to approve the DDA’s parking rates without the participation of Council. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-september-15-2025/
- You can find comprehensive background on the Ann Arbor DDA from the archives of the Ann Arbor Chronicle, written by Dave Askins. This article includes explanation of issues debated in 2011, including both the TIF capture and approval of Council approval of parking rates: https://annarborchronicle.com/2011/05/05/dda-delays-parking-vote-amid-tif-questions/index.html
- https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2025/12/boundary-expansion-for-downtown-development-authority-gets-ann-arbors-initial-ok.html
APPROVED: By resolution, City Council directs the City Administrator to complete the task of removing of over 600 signs for “Neighborhood Watch” programs that are no longer supported by the Ann Arbor Police Department. The City Administrator has already directed the removal of these signs. By resolution, Council directs the City Administrator to provide a progress report by April 15, 2026, including any “budgetary needs” to complete the task of removal by July 15, 2026. (Legistar)
- The resolution is offered to “affirm [Council’s] commitment to community-centered, evidence-based public safety practices.” It explains that neighborhood watch signs “convey messages associated with surveillance and exclusion” and that neighborhood watch programs “reinforce racialized suspicion, encourage biased reporting, and contribute to surveillance cultures that disproportionately target people of color.”
- Ann Arbor Neighborhood Watch programs began in 1980. The program was launched in response to three stabbings in the space of six months. In 1981, police staff described a program that “operates primarily in large housing complexes on the outer fringes of Ann Arbor.” They told the Michigan Daily: “It’s more or less socializing and really getting to know your neighbors… if a strange car is seen in the area, the residents can obtain the license place number and call us on a special communication hookup.” https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/midaily/mdp.39015071754670/549
- In Ann Arbor, support for Neighborhood Watch came from the police department’s Crime Prevention Unit. In 1981, City Council added funding for this unit in response to pressure from activists concerned about sexual assaults against women. https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/midaily/mdp.39015071754662/10
- In articles from the early to mid 1980s, neighborhood watch in Ann Arbor is framed as a process of community connection and raising awareness.
- In 1990, neighborhood watch was led and supported by residents in Hikone, a low-income housing community in southeast Ann Arbor. https://aadl.org/node/345555
- The Ann Arbor Police Department supports removing the over 600 signs that still remain in Ann Arbor. According to the resolution, the programs are “no longer linked to any operational function of the department.”
- It’s unclear when neighborhood watch programs came to an end in Ann Arbor. As recently as 2016, then Council Member Graydon Krapohl referenced his community service as a “Neighborhood Watch coordinator.” https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/midaily/midaily.2016.07.21.001/3
- Also in 2016: a UM lecturer experienced an attack described as ethnic intimidation. Her partner reportedly emailed a neighborhood watch association about it. https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/midaily/midaily.2016.11.22.001/1
- A website for “National Neighborhood Watch” still lists dozens of associations across the City of Ann Arbor. https://nnw.org/find-a-watch-program?type=1&field_county_value=&field_address_locality=Ann%20Arbor&field_address_postal_code=&field_address_administrative_area=
- https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2025/12/heres-why-neighborhood-crime-watch-signs-in-ann-arbor-are-going-away.html
APPROVED (First Reading): Nineteen pages of amendments to the solid waste ordinance remove and change definitions but also appear to add new process regarding exemptions to compost service and remove entire sections regulating the storage of containers and collection at commercial locations. (Legistar)
- In answer to a general question about this item, staff explained: “The main purposes of the ordinance revision are to update current definitions in coordination with the Solid Waste Regulations, update sections where necessary to reflect current practices, and reformatting to align more closely with the Regulations. There are no significant new features to service or compliance evaluation.”
- The Solid Waste Regulations can be found at this link: https://www.a2gov.org/media/eddkw3ob/2025-05-29-solid-waste-regulations-clean.pdf
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