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Bartha, Stephen From:    Hieftje, John
Sent:     Thursday, February 19, 2009 4:50 PM To:       Hieftje, John
Subject: FW: My vote last night for the new parking structure FYI
Sabra ^^^^^M^^K^^B^KK^^Km
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 5:29 PM To: Sabra Briere
Subject: My vote last night for the new parking structure Dear Neighbors,
Last night I voted to approve a multi-million dollar project in downtown Ann Arbor - authorizing the City to seek a bond that will fund the construction of an underground parking structure where the Library parking lot is currently. The bond will also fund street, pedestrian, parking, lighting and utilities improvements on Fifth Avenue and Division between Packard and Beakes.
This project is not supposed to rely on your tax dollars. It's intended to use existing funds in the DDA's possession plus financing from parking fees - monthly permits as well as metered parking - to pay for the construction. The City and the DDA have always insisted that parking pays for the maintenance and construction of parking structures.
This is a big project, and it will cause a great deal of disruption in the downtown for several years. While construction continues - and it's expected to begin this spring - there will be disruptions to traffic flow on both Division and Fifth Avenue. The Library Lot and the new parking lot where the Old Y was will both be out of use. (That new lot will be used for holding materials and equipment.) You should wonder why the City is going ahead with this project. I can only give you my reasons. Should the City build more parking?
During the day, the average parking structure is nearly full - at what's called 90% capacity. That means that, if you were to want to park downtown at 4th and William or Maynard or 4th and Washington between 10 am and 4:30 pm, the odds are you'd have a hard time finding a spot, Monday through Friday. Those signs that tell you how many spots are available are a help, but sometimes the news is only discouraging. The surface lots - behind Main Street, between Ashley and First, near the Farmer's Market, and, of course, the Library Lot, often have lines waiting and blocking lanes of traffic. We've all seen that happen. Nights and weekends get really busy, too. I don't like walking 4 blocks in the dark to find my car; I'm getting older.
So if you can't find a place to park, what do you do? You postpone coming downtown, if you can. Or you go somewhere else. But if you're a merchant, the last thing you want is to hear that someone has gone away because they can't find parking. Downtown merchants rely on downtown shoppers. During the weekday, many retail businesses and restaurants are open and seeking customers - but without customers, they will be forced to close. All of us who enjoy having a vital and diverse downtown will lose.
Many of us hope for a future when we need less parking. We look forward to more and better mass transit; we anticipate a community that's truly focused on alternative transportation, and yet many of us are reluctant to give up our own choices of transportation for one that might be more earth-friendly
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but more inconvenient. Until we can provide those alternatives and make them convenient enough, this tension will continue. For the future I see, many of us will still choose to have some form of individual transport, whether electric, dual fuel, or some other form. I believe that we will continue to need parking in downtown Ann Arbor - I'd like to see less of it, but I believe the need will continue for another 50 years.
In this economic crisis, should the City be taking on more debt?
This is a really interesting question, and one that caused quite a bit of concern last night. The DDA plans to pay for this structure out of fees generated by downtown parking. If that parking doesn't raise enough money, the debt will be hard to pay.
That's why the project was scaled back somewhat and also why the improvements for Fifth Avenue and Division were added to the bond package - it allows for a more complex funding package. At this time, none of the funding for this project comes from TIF (that's tax increment financing) funds or from any tax moneys. However, the DDA does plan to increase parking fees incrementally to help finance the structure. It is the first time since 2005 that parking fees have increased - and the City Council has asked the DDA not to increase them across the board, but to look at increasing them at the most heavily used lots and parking structures more than at those that are less used. I'm not personally upset that the DDA might have a hard time paying back this money. If the DDA is stretched, perhaps the City will stop expecting it to bail the general fund out, and be a bit more cautious about spending. The City regularly looks to the DDA to help when the City hasn't planned well enough for the future.
What about what goes above the parking structure?
Perhaps I'm just being optimistic or naive. I really believe that the community discussion continues. Some members of the community really do want a conference center (and yes, they've called it a convention center in the past). Some want retail; some want public space, including arts and creative space. When completed, the space will be used for parking - and that's no worse than what we have now, and potentially better. During the years of construction, we can continue to talk about how we want this space used, and how we'd like to see the Fifth and Division corridor really used. I'd like to guarantee that the historic houses that anchor both ends remain as anchors; if that's a community value, I'd like to see that we guarantee that. I'd also like to see what we decide to do with the Old Y site and the bus station, and really talk about transit in downtown, as we've casually discussed a light rail system for Liberty ... but no one has seen anything other than talk.
What I don't want to see is any back-room deals. I hope that you don't want to see those; either. Is this vote different from the vote on the Police / Courts facility?
In my view, these two structures, both of which will change Ann Arbor a bit, are very different. The Police / Court facility, which I opposed, benefits Ann Arbor differently. We will build an addition to a building that is in bad shape - while not effectively repairing the original structure. We will add more space in the addition than in the original structure, but provide space for fewer staff members (the additional space is for large public rooms for juries and courts). We aren't maximizing our ability to collaborate with the County, so you and I, as taxpayers of both the County and the City, are paying for more court space - and I'm not confident that the County will save us any money in this transition. No merchants or residents will be added or will benefit directly from the additional space; indeed, we expect to some negative effect. There will be loss of parking at City Hall; parking will spill over into the residential area of nearby neighborhood. Tios is likely to close.
The underground parking structure, in contrast, will add nearly 530 new parking spaces (altogether 677 spaces will be built); about 100 additional parking spaces on Fifth Avenue and Division will also be created. The new parking will be a mix of hourly parking and permit parking. The permit parking will
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move from other structures, such as Maynard - thus opening up more hourly parking near State Street. Both merchants and shoppers will benefit.
The new A2D2 guidelines that Council is likely to approve will further encourage dense downtown development. I haven't seen the final version - I'll see them tomorrow at Planning Commission - but I'm very aware that increased density will result in taller buildings, and more residents. And all without adequate parking. These 600+ new parking spaces will help - during the next decade, at least. We need to confront the changes we advocate and their implications for the City. And we need to be honest about it. Change comes with a cost.
The last few years the City Council has advocated an increase in downtown density. I really want to see an increase in downtown business diversity. Either way, we have to ensure that people can easily come and go downtown. I hear from a few people who walk and ride their bikes everywhere who expect everyone to be like them. I expect people to be like themselves. I'd like to change the world, but I have a hard enough time changing myself.
I made some commitments when I ran for this office to keep you informed, but it's hard to keep you all updated. This issue isn't one I've had highlighted on my website. However, there will be more issues like this in the future, issues on which people in this Ward and City disagree. That disagreement is healthy. In the last week, I spoke with several neighbors and listened to more, but in the end I reached my own decision. Please feel free to contact me. I return calls and emails.
Sabra Briere
Member of City Council, First Ward 995-3518
www.sabrabriere.org
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Bartha, Stephen
Subject:
To:
Sent:
From:
Schopieray, Christine Monday, April 06, 2009 9:18 AM Bartha, Stephen FW: Additional Info
Attachments: info.pdf; info4u.pdf
Greden response to FOIA
From: Greden, Leigh
Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2009 11:02 AM
To: Schopieray, Christine
Subject: FW: Additional Info
From: Crawford, Tom Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 1:33 PM To: Greden, Leigh; Hohnke, Carsten Subject: Additional Info
FYI - attached info, includes financial summary DDA reviewed with me yesterday, debt schedule for total project including Fifth & Division, and parking rates from comparable cities.
4/6/2009