Sindi Keesan and her partner Jim Deigert started building this house at 512 Felch St. in Ann Arbor in 1986. Three decades later, it remains a work in progress. "This area was sort of a low-rent district for a long time," said Keesan, who hopes to finally move into the home this year. "It's turned into a gentrified area now."

Ryan J. Stanton | AnnArbor.com

One step at a time, she and Deigert — a trained electrician and son of a civil engineer — have pieced together most of the house themselves over the years, and it's been a learning experience.

The legislation, House Bill 4742, would repeal Public Act 297 of 2011, which enacted the ban. The bill has been referred to the House Government Operations Committee.

This parking lot, located on East Huron Street west of North Division, is zoned D1 and could potentially house a structure up to 180 feet tall.

Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com

• Related: Video: Sabra Briere talks about challenges Ann Arbor faces with downtown zoning

The approval of another 14-story high-rise in downtown Ann Arbor marks the second time in recent years that City Council members have begrudgingly voted in favor of a controversial development they didn't like because they felt legally obligated to do so.

The first was City Place, a controversial student apartment project that involved knocking down a row of century-old homes on Fifth Avenue. Neighbors and city officials didn't like the project, but it was approved anyway, and the City Council found itself in a similar predicament again this week.

The 413 E. Huron apartment building, controversial because it will tower over a historic neighborhood to the north, met the city's zoning requirements and so the council had no choice but to approve it, argued the majority of council members who OK'd the project this week.

He notes Ann Arbor remains a thriving community — atop a listing of Michigan "Hot Spots" on the Pure Michigan website — long after it decriminalized marijuana in the 1970s.

"With the University of Michigan, the U-M hospital, the annual art fair, a popping downtown and plenty of people walking the neighborhoods, an abundance of jobs and a low crime rate, Ann Arbor is the kind of place that lots of cities would like to be," Gabriel writes.

Standing atop the promenade deck outside Ann Arbor's city hall on Tuesday, City Council Member Sabra Briere acknowledged the challenges the city faces with its downtown zoning.

Five incumbents are seeking re-election this year, but only two of them — Marcia Higgins and Stephen Kunselman — will have to defend their seats in the primary.

The Liberty Square townhome complex will soon be demolished.

Tom Perkins | For AnnArbor.com

The end of the abandoned, decaying Liberty Square townhome complex is near.

Ypsilanti Township has received a $654,000 grant for the demolition of Liberty Square and awarded the contract to a demolition firm.

"I do think the name 'John Dingell' would look very good on this bridge," he said with a smile. "I really do … so, mayor, I don't know how you make that happen, but I think it's a good idea."

A preliminary architectural drawing for the revised Hideaway Lane project shows elevations for one of the single-family homes.

Courtesy photo

The development known as Hideaway Lane is proposed for a site just down the road from the Leslie Park Golf Course and across from Black Pond Woods at 2000 Traver Road.