Stories indexed with the term ‘Ann Arbor City Council’

Ann Arbor city council meeting (March 19, 2012): With only eight out of 11 city councilmembers in attendance, the council found some of its business a challenge to complete.

The council postponed for a second time (without deliberation) a resolution that would direct Ann Arbor’s city attorney to delay enforcement activities against medical marijuana dispensaries, except in limited circumstances. The only reason offered for postponing was to allow the absent councilmembers to participate in that vote. The same resolution had been postponed previously, at the council’s March 5 meeting. On that occasion, other deliberations had pushed the council’s meeting past midnight, and councilmembers had wanted to deal with the issue while they were fully awake.

And the council found itself unable to muster a six-vote majority for any intermediate action on a proposed change to the landscape and screening ordinance – and thus wound up simply defeating it. The changes would have restricted additional landscaping requirements just to those site plans requiring planning commission or city council approval, and would have exempted R4C (multi-family residential) districts from certain buffering requirements. Attempts to amend, postpone and table the resolution all failed on 5-3 votes, one vote short of the majority needed.

Several agenda items highlighted the Ann Arbor police department in some fashion. The council authorized the purchase of four new police vehicles, along with a street sweeper. And a new contract with the command officers union was one of two labor contracts ratified by the council at its meeting – the other was with the firefighters union. Deputy chief John Seto, who’ll be interim police chief when Barnett Jones retires at the end of the month, briefed the council on police activity on St. Patrick’s Day as well as during a severe storm the week before. Seto also was criticized during public commentary for a traffic stop he’s alleged to have made as a patrol officer in the mid-1990s.

The police department was also a key actor in the city council’s action to recommend to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission that the liquor license not be renewed for Dream Nite Club, located on Fourth Avenue in downtown Ann Arbor. At an administrative hearing earlier in the day on that issue, much of the evidence presented by the city was based on police reports or police officer testimony.

In other business, the council approved an upgrade to control room equipment for Community Television Network. The city also added a total of around 160 acres to its greenbelt program, while selling a tiny wedge of property on Summit Street that had a murky history. Also related to land and its use, the city gave final approval to a rezoning request for the Les Voyageurs Society property located near Argo Dam.

The council passed a resolution expressing opposition to pending state legislation, which has already won approval from the Michigan house of representatives, that would allow grass clippings to be dumped in landfills under certain conditions.

The topic of Fuller Road Station emerged during public commentary as well as during remarks at the council table.

And councilmember Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) alerted his council colleagues that he’d be pressing two issues in the near future: (1) getting a written, public legal opinion from the city attorney regarding the city’s Percent for Art program; and (2) getting a calculation by the city treasurer of the tax capture to which the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority is entitled. [Full Story]

At its March 19, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council passed resolutions with recommendations concerning the renewal of annual liquor licenses for two downtown bars – Rush Street and Dream Nite Club.

For Rush Street the recommendation was for the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to renew the license, because the bar had finally paid nearly $10,000 in back taxes.

But for Dream Nite Club, the recommendation approved by the city council was to object to the renewal of that bar’s license. The recommendation was consistent with the finding of hearing officer Tony Derezinski, a city councilmember representing Ward 2 who presided over a hearing earlier in the day on March 19. The hearing was scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., and … [Full Story]

At its March 19, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city delayed for a second time a resolution that would direct the city attorney, Stephen Postema, to “delay all enforcement activities against medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation facilities except for claims that they violate Section 5:50.1(3) of the City Code [zoning regulations], until the Council amends or rejects amendments to the zoning and licensing ordinances for medical marijuana.”

The part of the city code called out for continued enforcement in the resolution, Section 5:50.1(3), specifies the zones in the city where medical marijuana businesses may be located. From the code: “Medical marijuana dispensaries shall only be located in a district classified pursuant to this chapter as D, C, or M, or in … [Full Story]

At its March 19, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council approved new contracts with its firefighters as well as with its police command officers.

The contract with Local 693 of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) is retroactive to July 1, 2010 and runs through June 30, 2014. Ann Arbor’s firefighters have been working without a new contract since the previous agreement expired June 30, 2010. Features of the new contract include the restoration of pay to the 2008 level – the union had previously accepted a wage decrease of 3% in order temporarily to preserve jobs. The restoration to previous wage levels will take place over the course of two years, at 1.5% each year.

The contract reduces the … [Full Story]

At its March 19, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council approved a purchase order for $118,620 with VTP Inc. for an upgrade to the Community Television Network studio and control room equipment. The equipment will give CTN high-definition video capture capabilities to create television productions and internet content.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

At its March 19, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council authorized the purchase of a total of four police cars from three different vendors: two from Gorno Ford for $49,420; one from Signature Ford for $27,067; and one from Shaheen Chevrolet for $26,081.

The acquisition of the vehicles comes in the context of the city’s planned evaluation of pursuit-rated vehicles from all three major manufacturers in the wake of the retirement of the Crown Victoria, a model that was retired by Ford last year.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

At its March 19, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council authorized the purchase of an Elgin street sweeper from Bell Equipment Co. for $175,175. It’s a replacement of a 10-year old sweeper that has required frequent repair over the last two years. The staff memo accompanying the resolution indicates that over the last two years, the old sweeper required maintenance and repairs 82 times with a total cost of more than $104,300.

The old sweeper will be cannibalized for high-value parts to be used by other sweepers in the city’s fleet, all of which are Elgin sweepers. The remaining vehicle shell will be sold as scrap metal.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link] [Full Story]

At its March 19, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council authorized the purchase of development rights for two additional properties under its greenbelt program – the Van Natter Farm in Webster Township (about 25 acres for $126,867) and the Boike Farm in Northfield Township (about 136 acres for $502,307). Both owners agreed to make a donation of 20% of the fair market value of the property as part of the deals.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

At its March 19, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council passed a resolution supporting the continued maintenance and enforcement of a 1990 statewide ban on adding yard waste, like lawn grass clippings, to landfills.

The city council’s action came in opposition to two bills, HB 4265 and HB 4266, passed by the Michigan state house of representatives on March 15 on a 67-40 and 66-41 vote, respectively. Together the bills would allow for yard waste to be added to landfills under certain conditions – when the landfill has a gas collection system and that gas is used in the production of electricity. Ann Arbor’s now-closed landfill uses such a gas collection system, which has produced around 3,000 MWh of … [Full Story]

At its March 19, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council rejected changes in landscaping and land use buffer requirements in the city code. The council had previously postponed the vote from its March 5, 2012 meeting.

The first change would have restricted some requirements that have been added recently just to those plans that require city planning commission or city council approval: (1) providing landscaped islands for every 15 parking spaces; and (2) providing bioretention areas in 50% of the interior landscaping areas. Administrative amendments to existing plans would not trigger the requirements.

The second change would have involved existing requirements to provide buffers between parcels with conflicting land uses. Recent amendments to the code had added requirements that properties in … [Full Story]

At its March 19, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council gave final approval to a rezoning request and a site plan for an addition to the Habe Mills Pine Lodge – owned by the Society of Les Voyageurs. The rezoning was unanimously recommended for approval by the Ann Arbor planning commission at its Jan. 19, 2012 meeting. It also received initial approval from the city council at its Feb. 21, 2012 meeting.

The property owned by the society, at 411 Long Shore Drive near Argo Pond, is zoned public land, even though it’s owned by a private entity. The society is asking that the land be rezoned as a planned unit development (PUD), which would allow the group … [Full Story]

At its March 19, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council passed a resolution declaring March as colorectal cancer awareness month.

The resolution notes that while 51,690 people in the U.S. are expected to die of colorectal cancers in 2012, early detection could save more than half. Currently, the resolution continues, only 39% of colorectal cancer patients have their cancers detected at an early stage. The resolution also notes that if the majority of people in the U.S. age 50 or older were screened regularly for colorectal cancer, the death rate from colorectal cancer could drop by up to 70%.

The resolution was sponsored by Marcia Higgins (Ward 4), Margie Teall (Ward 4) and Sandi Smith (Ward 1).

This brief was filed from the city council’s … [Full Story]

At a work session held by the Ann Arbor city council on March 12, 2012, fire chief Chuck Hubbard presented the city council with a plan to reconfigure the geographic strategy for protecting the city against fires. It would rely on three stations instead of five, which would include re-activating one existing station and closing three.

The reactivated station would be Station 2 (south), located near Packard and Stadium. Also remaining active would be Station 1 (center), located at Fifth and Huron in downtown Ann Arbor, as well as Station 5 (north), located on Beal off of Plymouth Road in the northern part of the city.

Closed would be Station 6 (located in the southern part of the city, in the Briarwood Mall area), Station 3 (on Jackson, in the western part of the city) and Station 4 (in the eastern part of the city, south of Washtenaw Avenue on Huron Parkway).

Hubbard contends that the proposal will significantly improve response times for most of the geographic area of the city. Hubbard’s guiding metric for response time is the geographic area that is reachable by at least four firefighters in less than four minutes – a “four-in-four” standard. Four firefighters is the minimum number that must be on scene in order to enter a burning building – to conform with an OSHA “two-in/two-out” regulation.

The existing configuration would provide shorter arrival times for a first-arriving vehicle, but would not provide  a complement of four firefighters on that vehicle. Shifting to a focus of four-in-four – from the current configuration that optimizes fastest first-arrival – reflects a prioritization of fire protection over emergency medical response.

The council was shown a video at the work session that presented results of an April 2010 study done by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that investigated the effect of crew size on task performance. Firefighting responses were studied in controlled conditions by sending four crews at a time to the scene of a structure built for that purpose. The study varied the size of the crews among two-person, three-person, four-person and five-person crews – for a total of 8, 12, 16 and 20 firefighters on scene. The study showed that a responding force composed of four-person crews (16 firefighters on scene) was clearly superior to one composed of three-person crews (12 firefighters on scene) – 25% faster overall.

But with one exception, the new Ann Arbor proposal would not increase the crew size for a given vehicle from the current level (three) to four firefighters. The exception would be for the ladder truck at Station 5, which would have a crew complement of four. At a briefing for the press held earlier in the day, Hubbard described part of the advantage of his proposal as allowing for two trucks to arrive together, departing from the same station, to coordinate their activity at the fire scene. In terms of the study presented in the video, this is called “stagger.”

The NIST study showed an improvement in performance by crews arriving spaced more closely together (close stagger) compared to crews that arrived with longer intervals (far stagger). However, the improvement in firefighting performance due to close stagger was not nearly as large as the improvements based on crew size.

During the council’s discussion, it emerged that the restructuring was not motivated by cost-savings, and that no decrease from the current number of firefighters – 82 – is expected. The station model does not require formal city council approval, but councilmembers will be considering approval of a recently negotiated contract with the firefighters union at their March 19 meeting. The contract includes operational changes that would allow for more effective deployment of Hubbard’s plan. It provides for firefighters to work more hours, in part by reducing the frequency of a mandatory “code day” when firefighters are not scheduled.

After the jump, we take a look at: (1) some additional maps The Chronicle has created; (2) how the maps fit into the overall response-time picture; and (3) councilmember reaction to Hubbard’s proposal. [Full Story]

At a March 12, 2012 work session, the Ann Arbor city council received a presentation on the city’s park maintenance and capital improvements millage, a six-year tax that expires this year. The recommendation presented to the council is to ask voters this November to renew the 1.1 mill tax for another six years. The rationale for renewing, instead of increasing or decreasing it, was based on the assessment that the funding is sufficient, but also that it is well used to maintain infrastructure in the parks.

Although last year one councilmember had expressed interest in possibly funding all parks expenses from the millage, the council as a whole did not subsequently express much interest in that scenario, which would have required roughly … [Full Story]

At a work session held March 12, 2012, the Ann Arbor city council heard a proposal from fire chief Chuck Hubbard that would essentially redistribute existing staffing and resource levels across three fire stations instead of five. Hubbard contends that the proposal will significantly improve response times for most of the geographic area of the city.

Most councilmembers seemed generally receptive to Hubbard’s proposal, but were cautious and in a few cases skeptical. The proposal does not require city council approval. At a press briefing earlier in the day, Hubbard indicated that the new station model could be implemented in July 2012.

The proposal relies on maintaining the current total staffing level of 82 firefighters. That represents a departure from the two-year … [Full Story]

Ann Arbor city council meeting (March 5, 2012): The council’s meeting did not conclude until almost 1 a.m., prompting resident Thomas Partridge to remark during public commentary at the conclusion of the meeting, “It’s almost time to plan for breakfast!”

The issue driving the lengthy meeting was an agreement between four different entities, including the city of Ann Arbor, that would set up a framework for a transition of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority to a new funding and governance structure. The intent of transitioning to a new authority would be to provide increased transportation service both within the city of Ann Arbor as well as throughout Washtenaw County.

The Ann Arbor city council approved the agreement on Monday night on a 7-4 vote, after postponing it three times previously. That sets the stage for the city of Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County and the AATA to approve it as well. Even after approval by those three entities, several steps would remain before a new transit authority, incorporated under Michigan’s Act 196, could take over transportation services from the AATA.

The council considered several amendments to the agreement, but approved only two relatively minor, clarificational items. [.pdf of agreement as amended]

Toward the end of the meeting, the nomination of University of Michigan planner Sue Gott to the AATA board was given spirited discussion by two councilmembers, but was ultimately confirmed on a unanimous vote.

Falling victim to the lengthy deliberations on the transit agreement was a resolution that would direct the city attorney to delay enforcement of medical marijuana laws for local dispensaries, except for zoning violations. A vote on that resolution was postponed without deliberation, due to the late hour. That resolution comes in the context of a recommendation from the city council’s medical marijuana licensing board, currently pending with the council, to award the first 10 medical marijuana licenses under local legislation enacted last year.

Related to a different kind of licensing, the council approved a resolution that recommends non-renewal of liquor licenses for two establishments in Ann Arbor – Dream Nite Club and Rush Street. A hearing on the two licenses will be held on March 19, with the city council’s final recommendation to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission to be made that same day.

The council also passed several resolutions related to land and its use. The council approved the acquisition of another 58.85 acres under its greenbelt program, as well as the purchase of property on West Kingsley so that a long-vacant house there can finally be demolished. A rain garden is to be constructed on that parcel, because it’s situated in the Allen Creek floodway. In a related item, a new Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood map was also given final approval by the council on Monday night.

The council gave initial approval to a revision of parking regulations in open space at the front of land parcels, but postponed any action on a proposed revision that would eliminate a requirement on landscape buffers in areas zoned R4C (multi-family residential).

Receiving approval from the council were a total of nearly $1.7 million in renovations to several of the city parks. The funding includes improvements to ballfields at Veterans Memorial Park, Southeast Area Park and West Park, as well as upgrades to roads and paths at Buhr Park and Cobblestone Farm.

The council also approved the issuance of $120 million in revenue bonds for the reconstruction of the city’s sewage treatment facilities, long planned and in the works. [Full Story]

On Feb. 10, 2012, the University of Michigan and the city of Ann Arbor announced that UM would not be partnering to build a 1,000-space parking structure as part of the proposed Fuller Road Station project. [Chronicle timeline of Fuller Road Station]

In that context, it’s still expected that the city of Ann Arbor will continue to pursue the possibility of a transportation facility at the Fuller Park location – a proposal that would include moving the existing Amtrak station from its current spot on Depot Street, just north of (and below) the Broadway bridges.

An appropriate site for the Amtrak station has been studied before – 30 years ago. At the request of Sabra Briere, a city councilmember who … [Full Story]

At its March 5, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council postponed a resolution that would direct the city attorney, Stephen Postema, to “delay all enforcement activities against medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation facilities except for claims that they violate Section 5:50.1(3) of the City Code [zoning regulations], until the Council amends or rejects amendments to the zoning and licensing ordinances for medical marijuana.”

The council did not reach the item on its agenda until around 12:30 a.m. and decided to postpone it, due to the late hour, without further deliberation.

The resolution reflects an ongoing tension between the city’s medical marijuana licensing board and the city attorney’s office.

That tension between the board and the city attorney’s office is reflected in a … [Full Story]

At its March 5, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council approved two major contracts for renovations of city parks.

The first, for $893,030 with RMD Holdings, covers the renovation of softball and baseball diamonds at Veterans Memorial Park, Southeast Area Park, and West Park. The second, with Fonson Inc. for $786,536, will cover renovation of roads and parking lots, build paths and improve stormwater management at Buhr Park and Cobblestone Farm. Both contracts also include an additional 10% contingency.

The projects were discussed by the city’s park advisory commission and recommended for approval – the Buhr/Cobblestone project on Feb. 28, 2012, and the ballfield renovations on Jan. 24, 2012.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second … [Full Story]

At its March 5, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council authorized the use of $82,576 from its greenbelt millage to acquire development rights to the Newton Farm property – 58.85 acres in Ann Arbor Township. The city’s contribution will be paired with an equal amount from Ann Arbor Township and matched with a federal farm and ranchland protection program grant of $158,676 for a deal worth a total of $323,828.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

At its March 5, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council passed a resolution with a recommendation that liquor licenses for two businesses – Dream Nite Club and Rush Street – not be renewed this year. The vote was based on the recommendation of the council’s liquor license review committee. For Dream Nite Club, the non-renewal recommendation is based on maintenance of a nuisance and patron conduct. For Rush Street, the issue relates to non-payment of $8,040.42 in taxes.

The council’s resolution and subsequent notification of the two business meets the requirement of Chapter 109, Section 9:79 of the city code – that a business be notified of the council’s intent to object to the renewal of its liquor license by … [Full Story]

At its March 5, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council approved the purchase – for $185,000 – of two parcels on the northern edge of downtown Ann Arbor, at 215 and 219 W. Kingsley. The purchase will clear the way to the demolition of a long-vacant house, considered by many to be an eyesore. The money for the purchase was awarded as a pre-disaster mitigation grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which the city council accepted through a resolution passed at its Nov. 15, 2010 meeting.

The delay in the purchase of the property was due in part to the owner’s initial reluctance to sell the property to the city at the appraised price.

After the city acquires … [Full Story]

After more than three and a half hours of deliberation ending after midnight at its March 5, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council gave approval to a four-party transit agreement – with the city of Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. The agreement would provide a framework and chronological sequence for the transition of the AATA to a new governance and funding structure. The Ann Arbor approval leaves several steps that would still need to be completed, before such a transition would be possible.

The goal of the transition is to provide expanded service in Washtenaw County – both within the city of Ann Arbor, and outside the AATA’s current service area. [.pdf of four-party as initially considered on March 5]

The council considered several amendments to the four-party accord on Monday night, but did not approve all of them. Four of the amendments, all of which failed, were proposed by Jane Lumm (Ward 2) or Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3). Their amendments would have: (1) added a seat for city of Ann Arbor on the board of the new transit authority (giving the city 8 out of 16 seats); (2) added a requirement that the minimum transportation services to the city of Ann Arbor be commensurate with the Ann Arbor millage; (3) required that the parties agree to reconsider the four-party agreement if pending state legislation were to be passed, which would establish a regional transit authority (RTA) for the counties of Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland; and (4) required at least 50% of the jurisdictions in Washtenaw County to participate in the new transit authority as an additional contingency to closing the deal.

None of those four amendments got more than five votes from the 11-member body. [.pdf of document showing all proposed amendments]

The council also considered an amendment put forward by Sabra Briere (Ward 1) stipulating that by signing the agreement the city council was not thereby automatically pledging its full faith and credit to any project undertaken by the new transit authority. That amendment received unanimous support.

Another amendment proposed by Briere was also approved – on a 9-2 vote – which gives the city of Ann Arbor the right to withdraw from the agreement if a funding source is not approved by a majority of Ann Arbor voters. But the amendment does not require the withdrawal unless Ann Arbor voters have not approved a funding source by Dec. 31, 2014.

The vote on the four-party agreement as a whole was 7-4, with dissent from Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), Jane Lumm (Ward 2), Marcia Higgins (Ward 4), and Mike Anglin (Ward 5).

The new transit governance structure would be provided under Act 196 of 1986 instead of the state statute under which the AATA is currently incorporated – Act 55 of 1963. Called for in the four-party agreement is a 15-member board, to which Ann Arbor would appoint seven members. The AATA currently has a seven-member board.

The other eight slots on the board would be filled as follows: city of Ypsilanti (1); Pittsfield Township (1); an east district that includes Ypsilanti Township (2); a middle south district (1); a middle north district (1); a north east district (1); and a west district (1). [.jpg of map showing districts]

Act 55 was originally conceived to provide public transportation for cities, whereas the subsequent Act 196 was enacted to allow a broader range of political subdivisions to create public transportation systems, including counties. [See "Act 55 versus Act 1986" for more detail.]

Several steps remain before the AATA’s operations could transition to a new governance structure, including: (1) the approval of the four-party agreement by the city council of Ypsilanti and the Washtenaw County board of commissioners; (2) the ratification of articles of incorporation by the city councils of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti; and (3) voter approval of a funding mechanism for the new transit authority. [Full Story]

At its March 5, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council authorized issuance of $120 million in bonds to finance renovations and improvements to the city’s wastewater treatment plant. The bonds are to be sold directly to the Michigan Finance Authority as part of the State of Michigan’s Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund Program.

The first series of bonds – for $37 million – is scheduled to be issued on April 10, 2012 to finance the first phase of the project. The remaining series will be issued in the first half of 2013.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow.

At its March 5, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council postponed a vote on changes in landscaping and land use buffer requirements in the city code. The postponement is until the council’s March 19 meeting.

The first change would restrict some requirements that have been added recently just to those plans that require city planning commission or city council approval: (1) providing landscaped islands for every 15 parking spaces; and (2) providing bioretention areas in 50% of the interior landscaping areas. Administrative amendments to existing plans would not trigger the requirements.

The second change involves requirements to provide buffers between parcels with conflicting land uses. Recent amendments added requirements that properties in R3 (townhouse dwelling) and R4 (multiple-family dwelling) districts include … [Full Story]

At its March 5, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council gave initial approval to changes to its off-street parking code.

The first change reduces the exceptions allowed for front open space parking for sites that have more than one front lot line. Currently, a site with three frontages can have a parking area for two of the frontages – between the building face and the public right of way. The code revision would limit parking areas to a single frontage.

The second change would require that any new driveways serving drive-up windows in the front open space of a site be no wider than 12 feet and provide a raised sidewalk with bollards where the sidewalk crosses a drive-up lane. The … [Full Story]

At its March 5, 2012 meeting, the Ann Arbor city council gave final approval to an ordinance change that will adopt a new Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for the city.

By way of background on those maps, the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) makes flood insurance available for properties in participating communities – Ann Arbor is a participant. If a building has a federally-backed mortgage and it’s located within the “1% annual change floodplain” (previously called the “100-year floodplain) then flood insurance is required.

Ann Arbor’s most recent FIRM dates from Jan. 2, 1992. In 2004, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began a map revision process for Washtenaw County. Various drains in the city were re-analyzed, using updated data, and … [Full Story]

At a meeting on Feb. 23, 2012, the Ann Arbor city council’s liquor license review committee continued deliberations on the annual review of roughly 120 liquor licenses in the city. The three-member committee consists of city councilmembers Tony Derezinski, Mike Anglin and Jane Lumm.

At their meeting, also attended by several city staff, the trio set in motion a process by which the licenses of Dream Nite Club (314 S. Fourth Ave.) and Rush Street (312 S. Main St.) might not be renewed by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC).

The committee had begun the work at its previous meeting, on Feb. 7. City staff from various departments – building inspection, police, city attorney’s office and treasurer’s office – identified around a dozen establishments with problems ranging from delinquent taxes to building permit issues. Those businesses were sent letters notifying them of the problems. The majority of those businesses took steps before the Feb. 23 meeting to rectify their situation.

Left unresolved were licenses for two businesses. So the committee voted to recommend to the city council that licenses for those businesses not be renewed – Dream Nite Club (for maintaining a nuisance) and Rush Street (for delinquent taxes) – with a hearing on the matter to be set for March 19. That recommendation will appear on the city council’s March 5 agenda.

After the council authorizes notification of the licensee, and is followed by the hearing, the recommendation of the hearing officer will be forwarded to the council for its meeting that same day, on March 19. The hearing officer, previously appointed by the council, is chair of the liquor license review committee, councilmember Tony Derezinski.

The council will then need to confirm Derezinski’s recommendation at its March 19 meeting. The timeline is determined by the MLCC’s March 31 deadline for the city council to submit an objection to the renewal of a liquor license. The Ann Arbor city council’s last regular meeting before then is March 19.

Also discussed at the committee meeting was the Elks Lodge on Sunset Road, which holds a club liquor license. The regular entertainment that takes place at the lodge is a violation of the residential zoning of the parcel, according to city planning staff. The city has sent a letter to the Elks Lodge in an effort to bring the Elks into compliance with zoning regulations. Added on March 5, 2012 after initial publication of this article: [.pdf of letter from city of Ann Arbor to the Elks Lodge] [Full Story]

Appearing on the Ann Arbor city council’s March 5, 2012 meeting agenda is a resolution that would direct the city attorney, Stephen Postema, to “delay all enforcement activities against medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivation facilities except for claims that they violate Section 5:50.1(3) of the City Code, until the Council amends or rejects amendments to the zoning and licensing ordinances for medical marijuana.”

The resolution reflects an ongoing tension between the city’s medical marijuana licensing board and the city attorney’s office. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor city council meeting (Feb. 21, 2012): Land use was one common theme that trickled through the city council’s relatively short meeting.

The council denied a rezoning request from the owners of Biercamp Artisan Sausage and Jerky, located on South State Street near the Produce Station, that would have allowed them to use the property for a retail operation larger than what currently exists. But the council did give initial approval to a rezoning request from the Society of Les Voyageurs that will allow the group to make an addition to their house, which is located near the Argo Dam.

At the other end of the spectrum from development, the council also took action that will allow the city to move quickly to demolish buildings that are derelict, posing a safety risk to the community. The council authorized the allocation of $250,000 from the general fund to pay upfront costs for the demolition of such structures. The city expects to be able to replenish the money out of a lawsuit settlement it won previously against the owner of the former Michigan Inn. The city will also eventually be able to recover its costs from property owners whose buildings require demolition.

Also related to possible future construction on land throughout the city, as well as the insurance for existing buildings, was the council’s initial approval of new federal flood maps. The most recent maps date from 1992. The new maps being considered for approval by the city were created out of a process begun by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Throughout the city, 452 structures are no longer analyzed as lying within a floodplain, while 88 buildings are newly analyzed as in a floodplain, according to the new maps.

Floods are one of the natural disasters that the city’s new emergency management director, Rick Norman, will be responsible for preparing the city to handle. The council formally authorized Norman’s appointment at their meeting.

In resolutions that required expenditures of funds, the council authorized additional outside accounting and legal expenses, as well as the painting and repair of equipment at the city’s water treatment plant.

In other business, the council passed a resolution in support of a clean air campaign, and authorized the closing of city streets for eight different upcoming events.

Two significant appointments were discussed at the meeting. The first was a mayoral nomination on which the council will be asked to take action at its next meeting – appointing Sue Gott, planner for the University of Michigan, to the board of the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. The other was an appointment that has already been made by Gov. Rick Snyder – Joe Burke as judge to the 15th District Court. Burke was on hand to be introduced to the council. [Full Story]