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 Briggs was absent
A2Council Update Video
Ann Arbor City Council Meeting Summary
APPROVED: Amendments to the City’s nondiscrimination ordinance will add a requirement that employers in any business – e.g. manufacturing, retail, store, department store, laundry, hotel, restaurant, fast food and drive thru establishments, hairdressers, barbers, and estheticians – make seating available to employees where sitting would not interfere with the duties of employment. This must be provided regardless of any employee disability. The employer must demonstrate seating would actually interfere with the duties of employment. (Legistar)
- This addition to the City’s nondiscrimination ordinance is related to terms from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As an accommodation for people living with disabilities, the ADA would grant employees the right to sit. Asserting such a right under the ADA, an employee would request the accommodation with evidence of disability. The proposed changes would reverse that negotiation: an employer would have to demonstrate standing as a job requirement, rather than the employee demonstrating a personal need to sit.
- Last year, the Guardian wrote about the “right to sit” and inequities between jobs where sitting is permitted and where it is not: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/28/sitting-at-work-employees-rest-worker-rights
- The amendments proposed this week are consistent with reform happening elsewhere. E.g. The state of New York is in the process of approving similar legislation: “Sitting is Tiring” (SIT) Act in New York State: https://www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/1608352
- https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2024/09/ann-arbor-standing-up-for-the-right-to-sit-down-at-work.html
- https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2024/10/right-to-sit-law-to-protect-ann-arbor-workers-advances-in-11-0-vote.html
- https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2024/10/right-to-sit-is-now-the-law-in-ann-arbor-heres-what-you-need-to-know.html
- https://www.mlive.com/politics/2024/10/right-to-sit-could-become-the-law-across-michigan-following-ann-arbors-lead.html
APPROVED: By ordinance, the City officially adopts a new City flag. (Legistar)
- City Council approved the flag design by resolution on September 3, 2024: https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-september-3-2024/
- https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2024/09/a-great-city-deserves-a-great-flag-ann-arbors-new-city-flag-unveiled.html
APPROVED: The Unified Development Code (UDC) will be amended to improve “clarity and efficiency.” (Legistar)
- Amendments approved with this update will:
- Exclude elevator/stairwell enclosures from the calculation of FAR relative to permissible height.
- Remove site plan review when interior construction increases the number of dwelling units
- Remove County stormwater review except for sites in their geographic jurisdiction
- Change formula for calculating “finished grade”
- These amendments were approved unanimously by the Planning Commission in July 2024. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-planning-commission-july-16-2024/
APPROVED: An ordinance amendment will clarify language and authorize the City Office of Sustainability and Innovations to issue citations in enforcement of Energy and Water Benchmarking standards. (Legistar)
- Originally approved in 2021 (Legistar), the benchmarking ordinance requires private property owners to annually report data on water and energy use for properties exceeding 20,000 gross square feet.
APPROVED: A parcel of 0.51 acres at 444 Huntington Place, recently annexed into the City, will be zoned R1B (Single-family district). The parcel’s current use is consistent with the adjacent zoning, land uses and comprehensive plan. (Legistar)
- Planning approved the annexation and rezoning of this parcel on April 16, 2024: https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-planning-commission-april-16-2024/
APPROVED: A parcel of 0.05 acres at 110 Algebe Way, recently annexed into the City, will be zoned R1B (Single-family district). The parcel’s current use is consistent with the adjacent zoning, land uses and comprehensive plan. (Legistar)
- Planning approved the annexation and rezoning of this parcel on April 16, 2024: https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-planning-commission-april-16-2024/
- According to the Planning staff report (link) this parcel became orphaned when US-23 was built. The property owner intends to combine this parcel with an adjacent 36 acre site for a proposed “South Pond Village” development.
- In May 2022, the City Clerk recorded the filing of a Non-Disclosure Agreement between the developer of South Pond Village and the City of Ann Arbor. There are no details available about this nondisclosure agreement, except that it applied to a Floodplain Study of the South Pond Village Project. (Legistar)
APPROVED (First Reading): Fire Prevention standards in Chapter 111 of the City Code will be amended to remove the requirement that buildings have an unobstructed width of access for aerial fire trucks. (Legistar)
- Amendments would delete this standard, derived from the International Fire Code:
D105.2 Width
Aerial fire apparatus access roads shall have a minimum unobstructed width of 26 feet (7925 mm), exclusive of shoulders, in the immediate vicinity of the building or portion thereof.
https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IFC2021P2/appendix-d-fire-apparatus-access-roads
- In the Legistar Memorandum, City staff recommend removing the standard in deference to “policy direction” around protected bike lanes and new, taller development: “the International Fire Code is currently in conflict with policy direction regarding protected bike lanes. This conflict predominantly arises with new development where the vertical distance between the grade plane and the highest roof surface exceeds 30 feet.”
- This part of the City Code was most recently amended in 2017, when Council approved the adoption of then-current International Fire Code standards and clarified penalties for infractions.
- https://a2gov.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3063737&GUID=94C88A5B-3594-45A5-BC9D-459883682F96&FullText=1
- The 2017 amendments refer to how an individual property owner/lessee/agent may request modification of these provisions:
9:105
The Chief of the Fire Department and/or the Fire Marshal shall have the power to modify any of the provisions of this Code upon application, in writing, by the owner or lessee, or his duly authorized agent, when there are practical difficulties in the way of carrying out the strict letter of the Code, provided that the spirit of the Code be observed, public safety secured, and substantial justice done. The particulars of such modification when granted or allowed and the decision of the Chief of the Fire Department and/or the Fire Marshal thereon shall be entered upon the records of the department and a signed copy shall be furnished to the applicant.”
https://library.municode.com/mi/ann_arbor/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIXPORE_CH111FIPR_9_105MO
- Applicants who are denied a modification may appeal the decision to the Building Board of Appeals:
9:108
Whenever the Chief or the Fire Marshal shall disapprove an application or refuse to grant a permit applied for, or when it is claimed that the provisions of this Code do not apply or that the true intent and meaning of this Code have been misconstrued or wrongly interpreted, the applicant may appeal from the Chief’s or Fire Marshal’s decision to the Building Board of Appeals within 30 days from the date of the decision appealed.
https://library.municode.com/mi/ann_arbor/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TITIXPORE_CH111FIPR_9_108AP
- This week’s staff summary of proposed amendments explains: “We are continually finding there is not enough road width, especially within the Downtown Development Authority (DDA), to allow for these 26 feet along with protected bike lanes.”
- Staff does not offer data on how many new developments have submitted written requests for modification of the standard or how many existing developments no longer meet the standard since the installation of protected bike lanes.
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