Ann Arbor City Planning Commission: March 18, 2025

Mar 18, 2025 | Planning

UDC Updates

This meeting was held in person at City Hall.

Commissioner Lee was absent
Commissioner Wyche was absent

APPROVED: Annexation and rezoning for 1155 Arlington Boulevard. The 0.9 acre parcel is currently in Ann Arbor Township and would be annexed and zoned R1A (Single-Family Dwelling). (Legistar)

  • According to the staff report (link) “The parcel currently uses a well and septic system. The Washtenaw County Health Department declined to authorize transfer (sale) of the property because municipal water and sanitary sewer is available. Annexation is required to access the municipal utilities. The property is the only parcel in the wide vicinity remaining in Ann Arbor Township.”
  • An amendment to change the proposed zoning from R1A to R1B failed in a 2-5 vote.
  • City Council approved the annexation on May 19, 2025, and adopted the R1A zoning at second reading on November 17, 2025. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-november-17-2025/

APPROVED: Amendments to Section 5.28.4 (Citizen Participation Requirements) of the Unified Development Code (UDC) to remove the requirement for public meetings of many development projects, and other modifications (Legistar)

  • Resident participation meetings are currently required for larger development projects. Developers are required to send postcards to all property owners within 1000 feet of the location of proposed building and meet with them to share details about a planned development.
  • These amendments will remove current requirements for resident participation meetings for:
    • Developments of more than 80 units
    • Developments taller than 65 feet
    • Developments larger than 50,000 sq. ft. of floor area
  • The amended ordinance will require neighborhood information meetings only in cases of a request for Planned Unit development (PUD) zoning, other rezoning, or a request for a special exception permit. In other cases, the need for a neighborhood information meeting will be determined at the discretion of the City Planning Manager.
  • When these neighborhood information meetings do occur, developers are relieved of any responsibility to report on who was sent notice of the meeting or who attended the meeting.
  • City Council adopted these amendments at second reading on July 21, 2025. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-july-21-2025/

POSTPONED: Amendments to Sections 5.28 (General Procedures), 5.29.4 (Wetlands Use Permit), 5.29.6 (Site Plan), 5.29.7 (Area Plans), Section 5.29.11 (Planned Unit Development District) of the Unified Development Code (UDC) to remove public hearing requirements from numerous reviews. (Legistar)

  • This item was postponed to the April 1, 2025 Planning Commission meeting: https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-planning-commission-april-1-2025/
  • These amendments will eliminate public hearing requirements for:
    • Area plans
    • Site plans
    • PUD site plans
    • Land divisions
    • Wetland use permits
  • Amendments allow for public hearings only in cases of rezoning and tentative or preliminary plat.
  • Amendments also remove a requirement that area plans, site plans, PUD site plans, and preliminary plans under review be accessible and viewable at City Hall prior to approval at public meetings.
  • City Council adopted this amendment at second reading on June 2, 2025. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-june-2-2025/

APPROVED: Amendment to Section 5.29.9.B (Land Divisions) of the Unified Development Code (UDC) to remove notification requirements from land divisions. A property owner may submit an application to subdivide a parcel of land, subject to state law requirements. (Legistar)

APPROVED: Amendment to Section 5.30 (Amendments to Development Approvals) of the Unified Development Code (UDC) to modify processes for modifications to previously approved projects. (Legistar)

  • The amendment applies to a Planned Unit Development (PUD) district comprised of multiple parcels. In a PUD district of multiple parcels, the owner of one parcel can request a zoning change for their own parcel without getting authorization from the other parcel owners in the district.
  • City Council adopted this amendment at second reading on June 2, 2025. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-june-2-2025/

Legistar and Video Links

Legistar: https://a2gov.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1252592&GUID=02BF96EA-D547-4E8C-9DE7-D7ECFE59C646

YouTube: https://youtu.be/M88GF7dAwPs

CTN Video: https://ctnvideo.a2gov.org/CablecastPublicSite/show/10393

Meeting Length: 4h 2m

Subscribe To My Newsletter

I write an Ann Arbor City Council newsletter with my summary of agenda items coming before Ann Arbor City Council, plus news and events of interest to Ann Arbor residents. I send my newsletter out the weekend before every Council meeting so that you can see what’s on the agenda and have an opportunity to reach out to City Council with any concerns.

The weekend after Council meetings, I send an "A2Council Update" newsletter with my voting charts and highlights of how issues were decided.

Sign Up