Hello neighbors!
Welcome to my Ann Arbor City Council newsletter, where you can connect with primary sources to understand the work of your local government. My goal is to provide clear explanations of all the issues your elected representatives will be discussing at their next meeting and alert you to local policy and decisions that have been assigned to unelected Mayoral appointees.
Tomorrow, City Council considers a lengthy agenda that will revisit issues related to a public power utility (DC-1 and DC-2). Council also consider first reading of an ordinance amendment related to “nonconforming structures” (C-1), final approval for a rezoning (B-1), and two ballot questions for the community to consider in August 2025 (DC-3 and DC-4). For more on that, see my “Additional Thoughts” section below.
A2Council Update Video
After every City Council meeting I send out an “A2Council Update” newsletter, which includes a summary video. Here is my A2Council Update video from the Council meeting of February 18, 2025:
In Case You Missed It…
On my YouTube channel, you can find recordings of public meetings that are open to attend live (online or in-person) but are not made available by the City to view later. Please reach out if you have suggestions about public meetings that should be recorded. Subscribe to my YouTube channel if you would like to be alerted to new content as it gets added.
https://www.youtube.com/@a2elnel
Council Policy Agenda Committee: February 24, 2025
This is a recording I made of a Zoom audio meeting held on Monday, February 24, 2025 by the Ann Arbor Council Policy Agenda Committee. Video was not made available.
https://a2council.com/council-policy-agenda-committee-february-24-2025/
700 N Main St Resident Participation Meeting: February 27, 2024
This is my recording of a resident participation meeting for a proposed development at 700 N Main St in Ann Arbor. The meeting was held on Thursday, February 27, 2025 at 6pm at Ann Arbor Senior Center. The meeting was led by local architect J Bradley Moore and the developer Trowbridge Companies.
https://a2council.com/700-n-main-st-resident-participation-meeting-february-27-2024/
From the original meeting notice, which was also posted on the City’s website
Proposed 42 unit 3 story apartment complex with underground parking.
An amended mailer was sent to local residents with this description
Proposed 64 Unit 5 Story Apartment Building w/ Underground Parking
Ann Arbor City Council Meeting Agenda
Below is my summary of issues on the City Council Agenda this week, with links to more information about each of them. If you have comments about any of these issues, you can email all of Council at CityCouncil@a2gov.org
Ann Arbor City Council Meeting
Monday, March 3, 2025 7:00PM
Ann Arbor City Hall (2nd Floor)
301 E Huron St, Ann Arbor 48104
The full agenda (including a link to the latest published PDF agenda, and instructions for dialing into the meeting) is on the A2Gov Legistar website:
https://a2gov.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1251576&GUID=429E7A55-9D0B-4CBC-BBF8-C58A5141222D
City Council meetings are broadcast live by CTN on Comcast (channel 16) and AT&T (channel 99) and online at a2gov.org/watchCTN
Meetings are also streamed live on the CTN YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/ctnannarbor
How to reserve public comment
People that wish to comment at a City Council meeting must sign up with the City Clerk’s office in advance. Speakers are allotted 3 minutes, with the first 15 speakers allowed to speak in a 45 minute session near the beginning of the meeting. Remaining speakers will speak at the end of the Council meeting. Public comment can be made either in person or remotely via phone/Zoom audio.
To sign up for public comment, please go to or call the City Clerk’s Office at 734-794-6140 on the day of the meeting between 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM. At 4:00 PM, all speakers that have signed up are randomly ordered in “priority groups”. After 4:00 PM, speakers are added to the end of the applicable priority group in the order received. No new speakers will be added to the list after 5:00 PM. For more information, visit the City Clerk’s webpage about electronic meetings, section “City Council Public Commentary Time”
https://www.a2gov.org/departments/city-clerk/Pages/Virtual-Meetings-.aspx
Questions to the Agenda
In preparation for a Council meeting, Council members can ask questions of staff about scheduled agenda items. Questions must be submitted by noon on the Wednesday before a Council Meeting, and answers are returned the next day (Thursday) by 5pm.
AC-3 (25-0467) Agenda Response Memo and eComments – March 3, 2025
This agenda item has a PDF attachment with all questions raised by Council Members, and the answers provided by staff.
For the fourth meeting in a row, no Council Members asked questions to the agenda.
Communications from the Mayor
MC-1 (25-0351) Appointments – Confirmations
This appointment from the Mayor was presented at the previous meeting, and will therefore be voted on at this Council meeting.
- Alice Owings – Board of Review
Consent Agenda
Below is the list of items included on the Consent Agenda. If no one on Council specifically requests that an item be pulled for discussion, the whole of this list will be approved in a single vote.
CA-1 (25-0157) Resolution to Approve the Closing of Monroe and Tappan Streets for the Annual Monroe Street Fair, Saturday, April 5, 2025
CA-2 (25-0185) Resolution to Approve Amendment No. 1 to the Professional Services Agreement with Interface Studio LLC for City Comprehensive Plan Services and to Appropriate Funds ($101,580.00) (8 Votes Required)
CA-3 (24-2055) Resolution to Approve a Contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation for the Pauline Water Main and Resurfacing Project and to Appropriate $2,300,000.00 from the Major Street Fund and $570,000.00 from the Stormwater Fund (8 Votes Required)
CA-4 (25-0021) Resolution to Approve Amendment No. 1 to the General Services Agreement with Taplin Group, LLC to Perform Sewer Televising and Cleaning ($650,000.00 Amendment, $2,050,000.00 Contract Total, RFP #23-14)
CA-5 (25-0171) Resolution to Approve a Construction Contract with Bailey Excavating, Inc. for the 2025 Miscellaneous Utility Projects (RFP 25-01; $4,384,077.17) and to Appropriate $3,473,600.00 in Contributing Funds (8 Votes Required)
CA-6 (25-0194) Resolution to Decertify Four Streets Not Being Used as Active Roadways
CA-7 (25-0020) Resolution to Accept a Bequested Gift of $116,739.62 from the Estate of James Robert Packard and Appropriate $116,739.62 (8 Votes Required)
CA-8 (25-0173) Resolution to Approve Amendment No. 1 to Amend the Professional Services Agreement with Stantec Consulting Michigan Inc., for Water Treatment Professional Engineering Services ($350,000.00 increase, total contract $850,000.00)
CA-9 (25-0316) Resolution to Approve a Three-Year Enterprise License Agreement with Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) for Software, Support, and Maintenance of the City’s Geographic Information System (GIS) Platform ($262,800.00)
CA-10 (25-0135) Resolution to Approve a Grant Agreement between the City of Ann Arbor as Grantor and Avalon Housing as Grantee for $100,000.00 to Improve Energy Efficiency at Stimson Apartments ($100,000.00)
Public Hearings
Anyone wanting to comment on these issues may speak for 3 minutes, without having specifically reserved time. Issues subject to public hearing will also be up for a vote by Council later in the meeting.
PH-1/B-1 (25-0009) An Ordinance to Amend Chapter 55 (Zoning), Rezoning of 0.6 Acres from R1C (Single-Family Dwelling District) to PL (Public Land District), Park at Dexter Road and Seybold Drive Rezoning, 2570, 2576, and 2582 Dexter Road (CPC Recommendation: Approval – 8 Yeas and 0 Nays) (ORD-25-02)
A 0.6 acre parcel at Dexter Road and Seybold Drive will be rezoned from R1C (Single-Family Dwelling) to PL (Public Land) for a park. The park will benefit residents of a 4.8 acre community of affordable housing off North Maple— in 2014, the Ann Arbor Housing Commission property was rezoned for redevelopment, which doubled the number of affordable housing units. In redevelopment, the open space of a basketball court was lost and residents missed it. The land being rezoned this week was intentionally purchased to meet this need.
Ordinances – Second Reading
In order to amend the city code, Council must vote to approve the change, via ordinance, at two Council meetings. The following proposed ordinances were approved at a previous Council meeting, and are also subject to a public hearing as listed above.
B-1 (25-0009) is the same as PH-1 above.
Ordinances – First Reading
In order to amend the city code, Council must vote to approve the change, via ordinance, at two Council meetings. The following proposed ordinances are being introduced for “first reading”. If approved, the ordinance will be voted on at a subsequent Council meeting (“second reading”), where it will also be subject to a public hearing.
C-1 (25-0201) An Ordinance to Amend Sections 5.32.2 of Chapter 55 (Unified Development Code) of Title V of the Code of the City of Ann Arbor (Nonconforming Structure) CPC Recommendation: Approval (8 Yes, 0 No)
An amendment to the Uniform Development Code (UDC) will relax the process for making alterations to “nonconforming structures.” A nonconforming structure does not meet zoning district standards because it was built prior to the existence of those standards; alterations are subject to review. When plans to alter a nonconforming structure include an increase in habitable floor area, number of dwelling units or expansion of exterior dimensions, it must be approved by the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA). The UDC amendment will eliminate the need for ZBA review/approval for changes to residential properties in cases where alterations do not extend closer to lot lines, does not create new nonconformities, and complies with all other height, setback, dimensional, and building code requirements.
Motions and Resolutions
The following agenda items are motions and resolutions, which are approved or rejected in a single meeting. Agenda items marked “DC” are proposed by Council members, items marked “DB” are proposed by City boards and commissions, items marked “DS” are proposed by City staff.
DC-1 (24-2102) Resolution to Approve a Professional Services Agreement with NewGen Strategies and Solutions, LLC, to Complete an Electric Grid Asset Valuation and Municipalization Study ($1,728,000.00)
A $1,728,000 Electric Grid Asset Valuation and Municipalization Study for public municipal power will estimate the value of DTE’s physical assets (poles and wires). This was most recently postponed at the last Council meeting on February 18, 2025. Prior to that, it was postponed at the January 4, 2025 Council meeting when advocates for public power (A2P2) raised concerns that the study was inadequate. In January, A2P2 argued that the study failed to measure stranded costs (the utility’s reduced return on power generation, if any) and ‘going concern’ (goodwill and the value of DTE’s franchise, if any). They further argued that it did not allocate enough funding to legal work. Since then, Mayor Taylor presented to A2P2 and a narrow majority of members voted in favor of both this feasibility study and moving forward with a ballot question.
DC-2 (25-0319) Resolution to Authorize City Staff to Perform the Preliminary Work Necessary to Put the Question of the Acquisition of DTE Electric Company’s Assets to a Vote of the People and Prepare for Litigation Should the Voters Authorize Such Acquisition
By resolution, Council would direct City staff to prepare for the possible acquisition of DTE assets. The City administrator is directed to find a funding source – including a possible millage – to cover legal expenses. The City attorney is directed to use staff and hire outside consultants to recommend methodology for valuation of DTE assets, prepare ballot language for acquisition, and prepare for more ballot proposals and potential litigation. The resolution includes this resolved clause:
RESOLVED, That any ballot measure to authorize the initiation of the acquisition of DTE Assets shall be tie-barred to securing Adequate Funding.
In other words: any community vote on a ballot question re: acquisition of DTE assets will be ineffectual without separate approval of funding (presumably a millage). The term “Adequate funding” is pegged at not less than $3 million a year, with an earlier resolved clause referring to it as “significant expense.”
DC-3 (25-0480) Resolution to Order Election and to Determine Ballot Question for Charter Amendment to Authorize the Sale of 319 South Fifth Avenue to the Ann Arbor District Library (7 Votes Required)
A ballot question will be put to voters on August 5, 2025 in order to add language to the City charter. The charter language will permit the City to sell 319 South Fifth Avenue to the Ann Arbor District Library under existing terms in the charter: the sale of City property requires approval by a vote of eight (8) members of City Council. The proposed charter amendment broadly permits the sale of “any” of the City’s interest at 319 South Fifth Avenue without further detail.
The proposed ballot summary includes description and explanation not included in the charter language: that the sale would happen “for the purpose of building a mixed-use development that includes additional library services, housing, retail, and programmable open public space.” It also includes the statement: “This proposal does not authorize new taxes.”
The proposed ballot language explains that adoption of the charter amendment (“Proposal A”) is conditioned on repeal of a previous charter amendment, “Proposal B” (see DC-4)
For more about this, see my “Additional Thoughts” section below.
DC-4 (25-0482) Resolution to Order Election and to Determine Ballot Question for Charter Amendment to Repeal Section 1.4 of the City Charter (7 Votes Required)
A ballot question will be put to voters on August 5, 2025 in order to repeal a City Charter amendment approved in 2018. That City Charter required that City-owned land bounded by Fifth Avenue, William, Division and Liberty Streets would remain under City ownership for the purpose of developing an urban park and civic commons.
The proposed ballot language explains that repeal (“Proposal B”) is conditioned on the adoption of the “Proposal A” (see DC-3).
For more about this, see my “Additional Thoughts” section below.
Additional Thoughts…
I also published this on my website:
https://a2elnel.com/post/low-turnout-elections-no-questions-the-library-lot-proposals/
Low Turnout Elections & No Questions: The Library Lot Proposals
Two agenda items on the March 3, 2025 City Council agenda address a parcel of City-owned land at 319 S. Fifth, sometimes called the “Library Lot.”
DC-3 (25-0480) Resolution to Order Election and to Determine Ballot Question for Charter Amendment to Authorize the Sale of 319 South Fifth Avenue to the Ann Arbor District Library (7 Votes Required)
DC-4 (25-0482) Resolution to Order Election and to Determine Ballot Question for Charter Amendment to Repeal Section 1.4 of the City Charter (7 Votes Required)
The resolution in DC-3 will put a question on the ballot directing the parcel’s sale to the Ann Arbor District Library (AADL), subject to the approval of eight (8) members of City Council. The resolution in DC-4 will put another question on the ballot, in order to repeal a City charter amendment approved in 2018. The 2018 charter amendment directed that the property remain under City ownership for the development of an urban park and civic commons. As described, the proposals must both be adopted in order to take effect. City Council would put both of these questions on a ballot during a low turnout, odd-year election in August 2025.
This week, the City issued a press release announcing the plan to transfer 319 S. Fifth to the AADL for $1, in order to build a new Downtown library inclusive of both the Library Lane Parcel and the library’s current site at 343 S. 5th Ave.
https://www.a2gov.org/news/posts/city-aadl-share-vision-for-the-surface-of-the-library-lane-parking-structure/
The press release explains the idea:
Moving the city- and AADL-shared vision for the Library Lane Parcel site forward will require several steps, including Ann Arbor voters voting to amend the Charter provision in an upcoming election, as well as the AADL Board and the Ann Arbor City Council supporting an agreement that would be drafted to contain the following elements:
A laundry list of eleven bullet points follows, promising outdoor public open space, a mixture of housing types (affordable and market rate), artist spaces, multiple event spaces, and small business development space, “community engagement,” and tax revenue from the housing. The AADL would eventually purchase the parking garage from the City. The press release front-loads all of this complexity with reassurances reminiscent of George H.W. Bush: no new taxes.
Also from that press release:
City staff recognize that some framework details could be modified once input is received from the AADL and City of Ann Arbor governing bodies. City Council is expected to consider an initial resolution at its March 3 meeting. The AADL will consider a resolution at its April 1 meeting.
So far, such a resolution is not on the Council agenda and there is no news about an agreement between the City and the AADL.
Proposal A
This is the proposed ballot language that voters will see as “Proposal A” in August 2025:
Shall Section 14.3 of the City Charter be amended to authorize the City to sell its interests in 319 South Fifth Avenue, commonly known as the Library Lane Parking Structure, only to the Ann Arbor District Library for the purpose of building a mixed-use development that includes additional library services, housing, retail, and programmable open public space? This proposal does not authorize new taxes.
This is the actual language that would be added to the City charter if Proposal A passes:
The City is authorized to sell any of its interest in 319 South Fifth Avenue only to the Ann Arbor District Library by resolution concurred in by at least eight members of the Council.
The description/question is twice as long as the amendment itself. The language of the amendment in Proposal A does not dictate how the property will be used or developed: there is no requirement for “mixed use” or “additional library services” or anything else, it only directs that the property be sold to the AADL. This week’s press release promises all of the amenities listed in the ballot language plus reassures the public that no new taxes are required. Also promised: “community engagement” and “public input” and a Request for Proposals. Would this happen before or after the community votes to approve the sale?
The parcel at 319 S. Fifth is currently zoned Public Land (PL), as is the Downtown Branch of the AADL Downtown branch next door at 343 S. Fifth.
In November 2024, the director of the AADL held a public meeting to explain a plan to rezone the Downtown branch (343 S. Fifth) from PL to D1 High Rise. The stated purpose was to facilitate a larger, mixed use development that would potentially include some of the amenities described in this week’s City press release. You can find a recording of that meeting here:
https://a2council.com/ann-arbor-downtown-library-rezoning-request-public-meeting-november-19-2024/
At that November meeting, the AADL director was directly asked about making use of the adjacent parcel at 319 S. Fifth Avenue. He denied any interest and claimed to be “focused on this property that we’re in control of.” (timestamp 21:45)
Two months later, the community learned that this was not true — on January 6, 2025, the City Administrator reported that the AADL had “a vision for their current downtown library property located at 343 S. Fifth Avenue, which extends to possibly including the Library Lane Parking Lot.”
https://a2gov.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=13655610&GUID=4D0D425B-3612-4677-8D25-BB50019FFD44
Proposal B
This week, City Council will consider another City charter amendment, to effectively repeal this language, approved in November 2018:
The City-owned public land bounded by Fifth Avenue, and William, Division and Liberty Streets shall be retained in public ownership, in perpetuity, and developed as an urban central park and civic center commons known as the “Center of the City.”
This is the proposed ballot language that voters will see as “Proposal B” in August 2025:
Shall Section 1.4 of the City Charter, currently titled Center of the City, be repealed? Adoption of this amendment is conditioned on adoption of City Proposal A at this election.
As proposed this week, the repeal would occur in a low turnout August election and effectively undo the results of a high turnout November election. City Council is setting a new precedent: in at least the last twenty years, no Ann Arbor City proposal has been put on a low turnout August ballot in an odd year. Proposals A and B may end up being the only issues on the August 2025 ballot. In years past, elected leaders on City Council placed a value on engaging more voters rather than fewer.
Given the timing, approval of Proposal B would allow the charter amendment from 2018 to be repealed by fewer people than approved it originally. It could be repealed by a smaller number of people than the number of people who signed petitions to put it on the ballot in the first place. This is the strategy chosen by our elected representatives.
Proposal B is described as necessary in order to achieve all of what is promised in Proposal A. Voters may find this compelling enough to support Proposal B, based on ballot description for Proposal A that does not reflect the actual City charter amendment.
WHY THIS MATTERS
In 2018, the sale of 319 S. Fifth to a developer (CORE Spaces) was promoted as offering immediate revenue of $10 million. When that deal was scuppered, the Mayor and his allies spent six years bemoaning the ‘loss’ and refusing to accept the results of an election. For six years, the Mayor insisted that this property asset was too valuable to be wasted on what the community actually voted for and that City Hall was robbed of $10 million. This week, the Mayor excitedly announced plans to sell the same property for $1.
On January 21, 2025, City Council unanimously approved a resolution directing the City Administrator to engage with the AADL about library development on 319 S. Fifth.
https://a2gov.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=7094294&GUID=96F00783-F678-4A38-B0B0-033BB4661E1F&FullText=1
That resolution included:
RESOLVED, That the City Administrator shall inform City Council of any recommendations resulting from the discussions with the AADL.
In the last six weeks, there has been no public consideration or presentation of recommendations. The day before DC-3 and DC-4 will be voted on, no details have been shared as city communications or reports. In the public record, there is no evidence of Council members engaging with this issue at all beyond that January resolution. That is odd, given the Mayor’s confident statements about a “shared vision” between the City and the AADL. The Open Meetings Act would prevent more than five Council Members from collaborating on this “shared vision” of a complex public/private partnership and promises for public input on a not-yet-defined development.
It remains to be seen just how much of a plan actually comes to light in the next five months ahead of a community vote. Will voters be asked to commit to an elaborate public/private partnership based on the vague promise of a new library with the reassurance that it “does not authorize new taxes”? Alternatively: will City administration unveil a fully formed plan because our elected leaders had no interest in engaging with it publicly (the alternative would be violation of the Open Meetings Act behind the scenes)?
The proposed ballot questions include details that aren’t yet supported by any document or written agreement (e.g. promises for “mixed use” and “additional library services”). At the same time, the proposed ballot questions leave out details that would be relevant to anyone who heard six years of talking points (e.g. selling a $10 million property for $1). An enormous list of theoretical benefits – with no meaningful detail or explanation as to how they would be achieved – is referred to as “shared vision.”
Details matter. This week, for the fourth meeting in a row, our elected leaders asked NO questions of the agenda.
Thank you for taking the time to be informed about our local government!
Elizabeth Nelson