The following letter dated May 27, 2021 was sent by the City to residents immediately adjacent to the areas indicated on the map. The City is looking to accept the “connector” sidewalks at these locations, and is seeking feedback from adjacent property owners.
I have copied the text of the notice below, as well as images of the letter and map. As noted below, this issue is expected to go before City Council on Aug 16, 2021,
Dear Property Owner,
You are receiving this letter because your property is located adjacent to a strip of land which contains a sidewalk that does not lie along the street frontage of public roads. Often referred to as “connector walks”, these sidewalks most commonly run between two properties on strips of land belonging to neither abutting owner. Such sidewalks typically serve as connectors between a public street and other public destinations including schools, parks, or other public streets.
Although these walkways were shown on plat drawings as dedications to the City for public use, the approval or acceptance of a plat by the City by itself is not sufficient to accept a dedication to the public that was noted on the plat drawing. The City is now proposing to formally accept the dedication of such connector walks for the four locations indicated on the plats and as shown on the attached map.
Acceptance by the City of these sidewalks will enable the City to utilize the Street, Bridge, and Sidewalk Millage approved by voters in 2020 to make future repairs as needed to these connector walks. The acceptance would specifically exempt adjacent owners from responsibility for repair and snow and ice removal on such connector sidewalks.
A Resolution for the City to accept these sidewalks is expected go before City Council at their August 16, 2021 meeting. As a property owner adjacent to one of the attached locations, the City is seeking any feedback that you may have on this proposed action. If you have any questions or would like to provide your feedback, please feel free to call or email Deborah Gosselin, Systems Planning Engineer at (734) 794‐ 6430 Ext. 43704 or by email at dgosselin@a2gov.org. Please submit your questions and/or comments no later than June 25, 2021 so that they may be included in the communications to City Council.
Sincerely,
City of Ann Arbor Engineering
Nicholas Hutchinson, P.E.
City Engineer
