This meeting was held in person at City Hall.
Commissioners Abrons and Weatherbee were absent
TABLED: Revision of a previously approved site plan for 900 Briarwood Circle. Petitioners request a reduction in one large two-level building (100,000 sq. ft.) to two buildings: a one-level 60,000 sq. ft. building with an adjacent 15,880 sq. ft. small retail building. The petitioner requested postponement to work on additional revisions to the plan. (Legistar)
- The original site plan was approved by the Planning Commission in October 2023, to replace an existing Sears store with a two-level grocery (57,649 sq. ft.) and a two-level sporting goods store (100,000 sq. ft.) with an adjacent playing field. The previously approved site plan also includes 354 multi-family residential units in four-story buildings, a parking garage, and redesigned parking with added landscaping. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-planning-commission-october-3-2023/
- The Planning Commission approved a revised site plan on July 1, 2025. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-planning-commission-july-1-2025/
APPROVED: Amendments to the UDC will add the category of Child Care Centers to permitted uses in residential zoning districts (R1, R2A, R2B) and office/research/limited light industrial zoning districts (ORL). In those districts. Childcare Centers are currently Special Exception Uses that require specific approval from the City’s Planning Commission. Childcare Centers would also be allowed in Research (RE) zoning districts. Amendments would also allow the category of Private Schools as a special exception use in the RE and ORL zoning districts. (Legistar)
- As noted in the minutes, “Chair Lee recused himself from the meeting noting his company’s involvement in the project.” According to LinkedIn, Wonwoo Lee is the Chief Real Estate Officer for Oxford Companies. At the July 18, 2023 meeting, Wonwoo Lee was elected Chair of the Planning Commission.
- These amendments were specifically requested by Oxford Companies in a letter dated July 17, 2024. (link)
- The Planning Commission’s Ordinance Revisions Committee discussed the proposal on August 27, 2024. (Legistar) Minutes from the meeting were not made available, but according to this week’s staff memo (link) “Commissioners were supportive of permitting Primary Child Care Center use in the RE and ORL zoning districts and allowing Private School uses as SEUs in the RE and ORL zoning districts.”
- Additionally, the staff memo notes: “Changing the Child Care Center use from a SEU to a Primary use in the R1 (all), R2A, R2B zoning districts was not presented by staff at this [Ordinance Revisions Committee] meeting, however it proposed here to align the Child Care Center use as Primary use across all zoning districts in which it is allowed, rather than maintaining a mixture of Primary and SEU categories depending on the zoning district.”
- City Council adopted these amendments at second reading on December 16, 2024. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-december-16-2024/
APPROVED: Amendments to the UDC will add restrictions on fences with sharp edges (barbs, spikes, electrification) in residential neighborhoods. Changes will allow fences with 100% opacity in side yards (previous standard: 80% opacity) and decrease allowable height for fences in the front setback to 12 feet. (Legistar)
- City Council adopted these amendments at second reading on January 6, 2025. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-january-6-2025/
APPROVED: Amendments to the UDC will change policy around how application and permit fees are reimbursed when developers provide affordable housing. Currently, all fees are reimbursable. Amendments would allow the proportional reimbursement of fees relative to the percentage of affordable housing units provided. (Legistar)
- As noted in the minutes, “Chair Lee recused himself from the meeting noting his company’s involvement in the project.” According to Linkedin, Wonwoo Lee is the Chief Real Estate Officer for Oxford Companies. At the July 18, 2023 meeting, Wonwoo Lee was elected Chair of the Planning Commission.
- According to the staff memo (link) “Currently, 50% of application fees are reimbursed when affordable housing is provided – regardless of the percentage of affordable housing dwelling units included in the development. The proposed formula is: Total Fees x (Percentage of Floor Area Dedicated to Affordable Housing Dwelling Units / 2) The amendment will have no effect to entirely affordable housing developments but will pro-rate reimbursements for mixed-use developments or developments that provide some affordable housing dwelling units among market rate units.”
- City Council adopted these amendments at second reading on January 6, 2025. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-january-6-2025/
APPROVED: Ordinance amendments will revise the definition of Public Utility and add a definition for “private or franchise utility.” (Legistar)
- According to the staff memo (link) “The proposed amendment seeks to correctly match public utilities and private or franchise utilities with their ownership entities and consistently use these terms across the City’s codes, ordinance and standards.”
- City Council adopted these amendments at second reading on January 6, 2025. https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-january-6-2025/
Legistar and Video Links
Legistar: https://a2gov.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1147063&GUID=3784D842-83A2-446F-A2FD-F490CED0E7A4
YouTube: https://youtu.be/DNNtpDT8y-c
CTN Video: https://ctnvideo.a2gov.org/CablecastPublicSite/show/9981
Meeting Length: 1h 39m