A2Council Meeting Summaries

300 312 E Huron St Resident Participation Meeting: March 8, 2023

This is my Zoom recording of a public engagement meeting on March 8, 2023 held by First Martin Corporation, Meyers+Associates, and Midwestern Consulting. The developer is proposing demolition of an existing parking lot for construction of a new hotel. The proposed six-story building is roughly 79,800 square feet in gross floor area and will include approximately 140 guest rooms. The associated utility and stormwater infrastructure, parking, and landscaping are also proposed. Site access is proposed from S Fifth Avenue.

For more about this project: https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/02/new-hotel-proposed-on-east-huron-in-downtown-ann-arbor.html

On the same day as this public engagement meeting, the developer also presented at the City’s Design Review Board (March 8, 2023)

Video of Resident Participation Meeting

Meeting Announcement Postcard

This is the postcard that was sent to local residents:

300 312 E Huron St Resident Participation Meeting March 8 2023 Postcard
300 312 E Huron St Resident Participation Meeting March 8 2023 Postcard

Ann Arbor City Planning Commission Ordinance Revisions Committee: February 28, 2023

This meeting was held remotely using the Zoom application. A recording of this session was not made available by the City. I uploaded my recording of the Zoom meeting to YouTube.

This was a meeting of the Ann Arbor City Planning Commission Ordinance Revisions Committee held on February 28, 2023. A potential City ordinance amendment was discussed which “seeks to add the specification of ‘Event Space’ to the list of specified uses under the UDC and designate it as a permitted use under the Mixed-Use Zoning District – Office District.” This ordinance amendment was requested by Winston Chester, Commercial Real Estate Analyst at Oxford Companies, who called into public comment at the end of the meeting (timestamp 1h 23m). No votes were held at this meeting.

This is the Legistar link for this meeting: https://a2gov.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1069448&GUID=0E8D236F-9D11-486D-95D9-98E3AC8241ED

Briarwood Mall (Sears) Public Engagement Meeting: February 16, 2023

Owners of the former Sears at Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor met with the public on February 16, 2023 at 6:30PM to share a proposal for rezoning and redevelopment. The Simon Property group plans to demolish the former Sears in order to build a new grocery store, a two-level retail building, an approximately four-level, multi-family residential building and an outlot building.

For additional information:
https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/02/demolition-of-old-sears-proposed-for-new-briarwood-mall-development.html

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/02/learn-more-about-what-may-be-replacing-the-old-sears-store-at-briarwood-mall.html

This is the postcard that was sent to local residents:

Briarwood Mall (Sears) Resident Participation Meeting Feb 16 2023 Postcard Side 1
Briarwood Mall (Sears) Resident Participation Meeting Feb 16 2023 Postcard Side 2

3874 Research Park Drive (Sartorius) Public Engagement Meeting: February 15, 2023

This is my Zoom recording of a public engagement meeting on Feb 15, 2023 at 6:00PM held by Portage Capital Partners and Midwestern Consulting on behalf of Sartorius Bioanalytical Instruments. Developers are proposing a 112,000 square foot building addition at 3874 Research Park Drive, Ann Arbor, Michigan to be used for research/development and warehouse space. Additional parking spaces are also proposed. This will be Phase 2 of a previously approved and developed project.

For more information:
https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/02/growing-ann-arbor-flex-tech-development-planning-112000-square-foot-addition.html

This is the mailer that was sent to nearby residents:

3874 Research Park Drive (Sartorius) Public Engagement Meeting of February 15, 2023 Postcard Side 1
3874 Research Park Drive (Sartorius) Public Engagement Meeting of February 15, 2023 Postcard Side 2

1140 Broadway Street Public Engagement Meeting: January 17, 2023

Developers of 1140 Broadway met with the public on January 17, 2023 at 6:00PM to share proposed amendments to the Conditional Zoning Statement of Conditions. Revisions to the site plan for Phase 2 will result in 120 additional homes, 95 fewer parking spaces, additional residential use on the ground floor, and a different approach to floodplain mitigation for the parcel at 999 Maiden Lane.

Questions or comments should be directed to Ronald Mucha at rmucha@morningsideusa.com or during business hours at 312-280-7770 ext. 118

For more information:
https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2022/12/7-story-apartment-building-proposed-off-ann-arbors-broadway-street.html

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/01/developer-defends-decision-to-not-include-solar-for-proposed-ann-arbor-building.html

This is the postcard sent to nearby residents

1140 Broadway Meeting Jan 17 2023 Postcard Side 1
1140 Broadway Meeting Jan 17 2023 Postcard Side 2

5 Corners Public Engagement Meeting: January 12, 2023

On January 12, 2023 at 6:30PM the developer of “5 Corners” hosted a public meeting to discuss a project planned for Packard, South State, and Arch Streets in Ann Arbor (currently the site of Jack’s Hardware). This is a recording of that meeting. The property owner is proposing to modify the existing C1A/R zoning to PUD to construct a 6 to 14-story apartment building (with attendant parking) containing approximately 360 dwellings in a mixture of 1,2,3 & 4 bedroom units.

I posted more about this meeting here: https://a2elnel.com/post/5-corners-pud-zoning-public-meeting-jacks-hardware-jan-12-2023

For more information:
https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2022/12/jacks-hardware-among-buildings-facing-demolition-for-new-ann-arbor-high-rise.html

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2023/02/14-story-ann-arbor-high-rise-proposal-awaits-city-approval.html

This is the postcard that was sent to nearby residents:

5 Corners Meeting Postcard Jan 12 2023 Side 1
5 Corners Meeting Postcard Jan 12 2023 Side 2

Ann Arbor Council Of The Commons Special Meeting: December 21, 2022

This meeting was held remotely using the Zoom application. A recording of this working session was not made available by the City. I uploaded my recording of the Zoom meeting to YouTube.

This is a recording I made of a Zoom meeting held on Wednesday, December 21, 2022 at 3:00PM by the Ann Arbor Council Of The Commons. This was a special meeting to discuss the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation Open Space (PROS) Plan

This is the Legistar link for this meeting:
https://a2gov.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1066926&GUID=E10FE3AC-011F-4545-A69E-D0014B493E4A

This is the link to the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation page for the PROS plan:
https://www.a2gov.org/departments/Parks-Recreation/administrative/Pages/Park-Planning.aspx

The City Planning Commission approved the PROS Plan on January 4, 2023: https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-planning-commission-january-4-2023/

City Council approved the PROS Plan on January 9, 2023: https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-january-9-2023/

Ann Arbor City Planning Commission Working Session: December 13, 2022

This meeting was held remotely using the Zoom application. A recording of this working session was not made available by the City. I uploaded my recording of the Zoom meeting to YouTube, as well as a video summary.

This was a working session of the Ann Arbor City Planning Commission held on December 13, 2022. The purpose of the session was to discuss potential changes to the Transit Corridor Zoning district (TC-1) recently applied to West Stadium and Maple.

On December 5, 2022, Ann Arbor City Council passed a resolution directing the City Planning Commission to evaluate and recommend amendments to the TC-1 Zoning District or Unified Development Code (UDC) that incorporate limited automobile uses (excluding drive throughs and gas stations) and address the constraints of existing narrow rights of way.

Legistar link for this working session: http://a2gov.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=954632&GUID=24686321-C6EC-45CE-ABC1-C1F70D698C28

A2Council link for the City Council meeting of December 5, 2022: https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-city-council-december-5-2022

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2022/12/proposed-changes-to-ann-arbors-new-high-density-zoning-spark-more-debate.html

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/2022/12/ann-arbor-begins-task-of-reexamining-citys-new-high-density-zoning.html

A recording of this working session was not made available by the City. I uploaded my recording of the Zoom meeting to YouTube, as well as a video summary. Both videos are available below:

A2Council Update Video Summary

Video of Entire Meeting

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My name is Elizabeth Nelson, and I believe that your local government should be accessible and transparent. Since 2018 , I have sent out a newsletter before every Council meeting with my summary of agenda items coming before City Council, plus news and events of interest to Ann Arbor residents.

After each Council meeting, I create and post voting charts so that you can easily see how Council voted, and update this website with meeting summaries that include links to the City’s Legistar website, CTN’s YouTube video, and articles published on MLive.