A2D2 zoning review: Public chimes in on the need for better ordinances
Norman Tyler, a Division Street resident who supported a moratorium on downtown development, talks over a zoning diagram with City Councilwoman Sally Hart Petersen, D-2nd Ward, Ann Arbor resident Ann Schriber and consultant facilitator Erin Perdu Thursday morning during an A2D2 zoning review coffee session at Zingerman's.
Amy Biolchini | AnnArbor.com
The informal meeting was a part of a massive review underway of Ann Arbor’s downtown zoning -- a directive of the Ann Arbor City Council following the approval of another contested high-rise development in May.
Caught between the tide of negative public opinion on the project and the need for new construction, the D1 and D2 zoning ordinances in place for much of the downtown are being called in to question.
Adopted after the city's Ann Arbor Discovering Downtown (A2D2) process in 2009, the city was supposed to evaluate the success of the new zoning a year later -- which never happened.
This map shows the different zoning designation of downtown properties and highlights the areas where the city is considering redevelopment opportunities for city-owned properties as part of its Connecting William Street Plan (shown in purple).
For the past week, a consultant firm has been conducting focus groups and meetings for coffee to gauge the public’s vision for downtown Ann Arbor and issues they see in zoning ordinances.
About 77 people have attended four focus groups conducted within the past week, and the consultants — ENP & Associates — have separately met with eight other individuals for private interviews, said Erin Perdu, consultant facilitator.
Approximately 15 people attended the coffee session Thursday at Zingerman’s in the upstairs dining room of the deli’s new addition.
Among them was Brad Moore, an Ann Arbor architect now involved with the redevelopment of the mixed-use Town Center Plaza building at 210-216 S. Fourth Ave.
Moore was critical of the city’s zoning ordinances, stating that as written, they force buildings to be constructed right up to the sidewalk line and the builder has to comply.
As an associate architect on The Varsity student high-rise, Moore said the design firm had to petition city council to push back the building’s footprint from the sidewalk to allow for an open first floor space.
In attendance at the Thursday meeting was City Councilwoman Sally Hart Petersen, D-2nd Ward.
Petersen said her vision for downtown Ann Arbor could be best summed up in the block that contains the Google building at 201 S. Division St. and the 411 Lofts at 401 E. Washington St.: Open and active spaces on the ground floor that engage pedestrians complement the office and residential space above them.
However, Petersen stressed the need for revenue-generating buildings downtown so the city can provide the level of services that Ann Arbor residents expect.
Several misconceptions about downtown zoning laws were aired at the coffee session — including the fact the D1 and D2 zoning approval in 2009 created the student housing boom in Ann Arbor.
Several buildings downtown that target student renters — Landmark, 411 Lofts, Zaragon Place and Corner House Lofts — were built before 2009.
Additionally, the boom in student housing occurred nationwide, Moore said. Lenders were only willing to fund what they believed to be recession-proof projects: Student high-rises.
Another misconception regarding the 413 E. Huron project was it would have been impossible to build under the previous zoning requirements the city had downtown, Moore said.
Under city zoning ordinances, buildings can be built above the base standard height if the designs meet at least one of a list of “premiums.”
Zoning laws also stipulate how far back a building can be from a property line, not specifically from another building.
Premiums are still a good principle, Moore said, but they need to be shaped in a better way.
Ann Arbor residents at the meeting Thursday were also interested in pursuing an ordinance to require public input sessions with developers to be moderated by a third party.
“It’s not the developer, it’s the process,” said Norman Tyler, a Division Street resident who's home will be in the shadow of the planned 413 E. Huron high-rise.
Petersen said she believes city council has a genuine desire to “get it right this time” in its review of downtown zoning.
The next public engagement meeting on the A2D2 zoning review will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Monday in the basement conference room of the Washtenaw County Building at 200 N. Main St. in Ann Arbor.
ENP will present a summary of topics discussed at the public engagement sessions to date at the meeting.
Priority issues will be identified at the meeting as well, and public input will be encouraged.
Additional focus groups on each of those priority issues will be announced for dates in late August, Perdu said. A final report from ENP will be given to city council in October.
The final community coffee event will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. Aug. 8 at Zingerman's Community Table at 422 Detroit St., with a consultant representative.
The public can also weigh in on the zoning review by taking online survey's on the A2 Open City Hall website.
Amy Biolchini covers Washtenaw County, health and environmental issues for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at (734) 623-2552, amybiolchini@annarbor.com or on Twitter.
Comments
jns131
Fri, Aug 2, 2013 : 3:11 p.m.
Showdown at the OK corral. Not going to be fun.
LXIX
Fri, Aug 2, 2013 : 2:21 p.m.
At some point in the near future Thnkers (UM) and Progressives (City) will be shocked to discover that overpopulation is abhorred by the overpopulated. It is detrimental to their existance. Even more so to their offspring's. Shame on city leaders for not anticipating future human requirements. And for such a vested school of high intellectuals The University of Michigan should be a problem solver not the problem itself. GM had a big ego once, too.. Adding people means greater poverty for the 99%. Ultimately for all 100% as the panic room to run to is not self-sufficient for very long. Fewer people means more resource wealth and accomodation per person. More space, more products, and yes, even more expense due to their inescapable energy entropy. And yet people also have higher personal value to afford their expense. Economist confuse inflation with a wealthier public - not the underlying "cost" of natural entropy. Much to the horror of investors who add nothing to wealth, the world becomes a non-profit without need for their lobby. Fewer residents also means greater leverage over wrongheaded politicians - "Petersen stressed the need for revenue-generating buildings downtown so the city can provide the level of services that Ann Arbor residents expect". Riiiight. Sounds like DDA-think. Tell us. How did Ann Arbor residents ever enjoy all of those services before - now gone - without all those new massive developments ? Freeze all new development and population growth (like Boulder Co did) and what happens? Why? If the City cannot balance its books in a "sustainable" flat environment then it never will be able to. It'll have to keep on growing and growing until it implodes like Detroit as the residents flee. Just another one of those "musical chair" cities without a future ZPG plan. Ann Arbor's model city Boulder has a "plan". No longer worthy as a model city?
poetreviewer
Fri, Aug 2, 2013 : 2:20 p.m.
What is also so troublesome with these latest high rises is that they don't require adequate parking spots per unit. If you look at other cites with urban density, the buildings all provide underground parking with 2 spots per larger units. Parking should be a mandatory requirement. There are already too many downtown rentals with no parking (which equates to student housing). The whole city is a mess. Demand indoor parking from developers or our streets will be worse messes than they already are. As for the rentals, the developers may be marketing toward the wrong demographics. Retired professionals are a large group who want to live in downtown A2 and few desirable spaces exists. They have cars, even though they want to walk everywhere in general, and the units are too small, poorly construction and designed. A2 needs to get on the ball. Let's elect smarter officials! Let's demand more of our architects and designers! The city is ugly. Let's fix it up and clean it up. And what about those trees needing trimming???
Brad
Fri, Aug 2, 2013 : 12:03 p.m.
When voting in Tuesday's city council primary please remember one of the driving forces behind A2D2 - Marcia Higgins. Some quotes/news excerpts from when A2D2 was approved by council in 2009: "Council Member Marcia Higgins, the city's foremost leader of the Ann Arbor Discovering Downtown initiative" "Higgins, D-4th Ward, said it was time to act on the A2D2 zoning changes as they stand and trying to change them at this point only undermined the long process of community involvement and steering committee decisions that led to them. She said any revisions that need to be made later could go through the normal channels of planning and come back to the City Council for approval." "I've been working on this for a good number of years," Higgins said. "We are starting to tweak things we have already debated to death at this council floor." Why in such a hurry to get something wrong? And so now here we are with a huge high-rise on the horizon (depending on where you live it may be literally on the horizon) and talk of how we'll get it right this time. I say let's not involve someone who spearheaded getting it so wrong last time. Jack Eaton for the 4th Ward and Ann Arbor - Aug 6.
Brad
Fri, Aug 2, 2013 : 11:51 a.m.
Did any of the residents' visions include a bunch of high-rises downtown? Didn't think so.
RUKiddingMe
Fri, Aug 2, 2013 : 1:32 a.m.
Man, SOOO much time went into coming up with that A2D2 zoning, and it seems like it completely fell apart so quickly. Are the wrong people working on this stuff? BTW, hope everyone's ready for the (A)AATA millage request. From the CEO Michael Ford: "Obviously we're going to be looking for a millage at some point in the near future...I think we're probably looking at May, to be realistic. We're gearing up for some potential there." From http://annarborchronicle.com/2013/07/30/ann-arbor-transit-board-weighs-funding/
snapshot
Fri, Aug 2, 2013 : 4:23 a.m.
I agree. Always will be millages on the horizon and where has the planning commission and powers involved been for the past decade in devising a proper "infill" of the city? Development resulting in property tax revenue should be a priority.
DJBudSonic
Fri, Aug 2, 2013 : 2:13 a.m.
Off topic, but necessary that it is pointed out. OF COURSE it is going to be in May, that's when they stick us with all the unpopular millage votes. Think AAPS Tech Bond.
Veracity
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 10:49 p.m.
The most flexible zoning ordinance that maintains City Council control of what will be constructed is to have a basic zoning ordinance restricting height of new construction to 30 feet and by requiring developers to apply for a variance to build taller structures and to defend their designs. As we have it now developers will uniformly build to maximum size (180 feet for D1 zoning) in order to maximize their fees which are usually one or two percent of the total project financing.
Pizzicato
Fri, Aug 2, 2013 : 11:26 a.m.
That sounds like a pretty terrible idea. One of the basic concept of a law and regulation - and the reason people follow them - is that they remain known in advance and consistently applied. A regulation isn't problematic so long as everybody knows what it is, in advance, and can act accordingly. Creating a situation where every request becomes a "one off" creates a terrible environment within which economic actors can operate. Furthermore, can you imagine what the Ann Arbor City Council will become once each and every proposal falls not under the guidelines of a regulation, but under the whims of individual members? It would only be a matter of time before big money gets in on getting members elected, who will then begin to act like African bureaucrats seeking out graft for the approval of every little detail. We do not need protection from private operators right now. They weren't the problem. We need protection from our City Council who created the environment within which these projects were created. Giving more power to the City Council seems anathema to that goal.
KMHall
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 7:20 p.m.
With an eye on the surrounding green areas, we should want increased density and I think it can be done gracefully. Perhaps the recent UM housing structures are not the style that should be promoted in the future. UM is very late in the game with respect to student housing and we look forward to the restoration of some of the neighborhoods near campus. We need the university, the U needs students and the students need housing. I love AA, by the way, and have loved it for 65 years through all it's variations.
Veracity
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 10:45 p.m.
Why do you think student highrises have been the only construction downtown the past several years?
Eric.Optio
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 7:17 p.m.
"Petersen said she believes city council has a genuine desire to "get it right this time" in its review of downtown zoning." Thanks to the Council members who have attended these meetings. I hope Sally Petersen's sentiments are true of all Council members.
Ignatz
Thu, Aug 1, 2013 : 7:13 p.m.
It's a delicate balance with a sudden tipping point. So many people want to move into a town like Ann Arbor; a small city with many big city amenities. However, when living space is built to accommodate the numbers wanting to move here, it quickly becomes a place people don't like. That's not even taking into consideration those who are already here, many of whom don't like the growth at all.
A2anon
Fri, Aug 2, 2013 : 12:21 a.m.
Correction: living space is built to accomodate large numbers of undergrads.