A2Council Meeting Summary

Ann Arbor City Council: March 6, 2023

ARPA Funds | Bike Lanes | Brownfield | City Attorney | DTE | Gelman Plume | Recycling | Village of Ann Arbor

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.

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Ann Arbor City Council Meeting Summary

Three items related to the “Village of Ann Arbor” development were approved:

  • APPROVED: Multiple parcels adding up to 67.6 acres at 1680 Dhu Varren Road, 1710 Dhu Varren Road, 2670 Pontiac Trail, 2672 Pontiac Trail, 2678 Pontiac Trail, and 2682 Pontiac Trail are rezoned from Township (TWP) and R1C (Single-Family Dwelling District) to R4A (Multiple-Family Dwelling District) as part of The Village of Ann Arbor development site plan. Planned use is consistent with the adjacent zoning, land uses, and comprehensive land use plan. (Legistar)
  • APPROVED: A site plan will permit the construction of 484 dwelling units consisting of townhomes and stacked flats (apartment units) at 1680 Dhu Varren Road (“Village of Ann Arbor”) (Legistar)
  • APPROVED: The City approves $31,369,715 in public funding for development of the “Village of Ann Arbor”. The development is eligible to receive this funding from the Washtenaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority due to its location in an “environmentally distressed” area that was used as a landfill in the mid-20th century. The developer will be reimbursed for environmental-related activities totaling $26,369,633 and for non-environmental activities totaling $5,000,082. This plan must be approved by the Washtenaw County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners. (Legistar)
  • https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/03/ann-arbor-oks-huge-housing-development-on-citys-north-side.html

The Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners approved the Brownfield Plan for the “Village of Ann Arbor” on May 3, 2023

APPROVED: Street closures scheduled for April 1, 2023 will permit the Monroe Street Fair to take place adjacent to the Hash Bash. This item was postponed from the February 21st meeting. (Legistar)

APPROVED: An agreement with Creative Washtenaw for $500,000 to design and administer an art grant program with allocated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Creative Washtenaw will receive $40,000 to provide this service and will distribute the remaining $460,000 to qualifying artists and art organizations. (Legistar)

APPROVED: The City will purchase an all-electric mini-street sweeper and trailer for $258,445.00 in order to clean two-way partitioned bikeways in the City of Ann Arbor. A reimbursement agreement is anticipated so that the expense will be shared equally between the City and the Downtown Development Authority. (Legistar)

APPROVED: An unspent balance of $305,000 in the New Human Services Partnership FY23 budget will be allocated to Ann Arbor Housing Commission to fund eviction prevention and housing stability support to families experiencing homelessness. This spending is part of a larger annual budget that supports a range of community nonprofits, called the Human Services Partnership The City contributes over $1.2 million to the Human Services Partnership. (Legistar)

APPROVED: A service contract between the City and Recycle Ann Arbor is extended for a three year and four month period. Three thousand carts (monthly tips) will be converted to dumpster service for an estimated fee reduction of $10,000 a month. Service will continue for 32, 64, or 96-gallon curb carts to customers such as multi-family homes of eleven units or greater, commercial establishments, mixed unit buildings, and civic units. The estimated total contract is $4,534,303. (Legistar)

  • Council Member Cornell recused herself from this vote, due to a conflict of interest. Recycle Ann Arbor is a wholly owned non-profit subsidiary of the Ecology Center; Cornell serves on the board for the Ecology Center.

APPROVED: The City will pay $15,000 to Jason Kosnoski to settle a claim of personal injury caused by stepping in a hole on Brooks Street, near Sunset Road. (Legistar)

REFERRED: The City calls on the Michigan Legislature to take action toward addressing power outages, assisting rate payers and funding local resilience. It calls on the Michigan Public Service Commission to hold DTE accountable for improving the electrical systems and providing greater transparency in outage maps. The City Administrator is directed to work with the Council Policy Committee and DTE to facilitate timely installation of infrastructure. City Council asks DTE to attend meetings of the City’s Energy Commission. (Legistar)

APPROVED (First Reading): Parcels at 1815, 1855, and 1875 North Maple and 1921 Calvin Street are rezoned from TWP (Township) and R1B (Single-Family) to PUD (Planned Unit Development). A total of 3.13 acres are rezoned to allow the “North Maple Road Apartments” development of 79 dwelling units in a four-story apartment building with a single-story clubhouse with 65 off-street parking places with EV infrastructure. There will be 12 affordable units (priced permanently at 60% or less of Area Median Income). (Legistar)

APPROVED (First Reading): The Risk Fund ordinance will be repealed and replaced to eliminate the Insurance Board as the body of review for claims filed against the City. The Insurance Board – two Council Members and the City’s treasurer – reviews and awards claims against the City between $500 and $10,000. Meeting minutes for the Insurance Board are approved by City Council and Council specifically approves all claims over $10,000. The new ordinance eliminates the Insurance Board and empowers the City Administrator (or his designee) to decide all awards or denials of claims against the City, up to $75,000. Expenditures under $75,000 will no longer appear on public agendas of City Council but will be available to Council members “upon request.” (Legistar)

APPROVED: After a twenty minute closed session, the Council agenda was opened and amended to add a resolution directing the City Attorney to take legal action to enforce a 2006 settlement agreement with Gelman Sciences. (Legistar)

A2Council Update Video

A2ELNEL Voting Chart

Ann Arbor City Council Voting Chart for March 6, 2023 Part 1
Ann Arbor City Council Voting Chart for March 6, 2023 Part 2
Ann Arbor City Council Voting Chart for March 6, 2023 Part 3