Archive for March, 2011

A request to annex three parcels totaling about one acre on the east side of Stone School Road at Birch Hollow Drive was approved by the Ann Arbor planning commission at its March 15, 2011 meeting. The vacant land is located in Pittsfield Township, on the west end of the Mill Creek Townhouses, which was annexed into the city in 1976. The commission also approved zoning the land as R3 (townhouse dwelling use). City planning staff indicated that the request was made because the owner was tired of receiving tax bills from multiple jurisdictions.

This brief was filed from the boardroom in the Washtenaw County administration building, where the planning commission is meeting due to renovations in the city hall building. A more detailed report will follow. [Full Story]

At their March 15, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor planning commission unanimously approved a site plan and a special exception use for a property at 630 Oxford, between South University and Hill. The University of Michigan chapter of Phi Kappa Psi plans to convert a rental duplex – which now allows for up to eight occupants – into a fraternity house for up to 24 occupants. The plan calls for a rear parking lot with eight spaces, plus an enclosed area for bikes. The commission had postponed the item at its Jan. 20, 2011 meeting, in order for the fraternity to make revisions to the plan as requested by city planning staff. The site plan will be forwarded to the city council for final approval.

This brief was filed from the boardroom in the Washtenaw County administration building, where the planning commission is meeting due to renovations in the city hall building. A more detailed report will follow. [Full Story]

At its March 15, 2011 meeting, the Ann Arbor park advisory commission passed two resolutions of support for the city to apply for grants from the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources Trust Fund. The grants – for $300,000 each – would help fund the Ann Arbor skatepark and upgrades to the Gallup canoe livery and park. The vote for the Gallup application was unanimous. Commissioner Sam Offen voted against the resolution of support for the skatepark grant.

The issue of the city’s grant applications previously emerged during the March 9 meeting of the Ann Arbor greenbelt advisory commission. At that meeting, Tom Freeman of the county’s parks & recreation department told greenbelt commissioners that the county would be applying for a DNR trust fund grant to help buy a parcel in Ann Arbor Township now owned by a subsidiary of Domino’s Farms. The parcel would become part of the county’s natural areas preservation program.

Greenbelt commissioners discussed voting on a letter of support for the county’s application, but were dissuaded by Ann Arbor councilmember Carsten Hohnke, who felt it would dilute the city’s own chances for grant funds from the state – for the skate park and the canoe livery. Ultimately, greenbelt commissioners voted to recommend that the city council consider sending a letter of support for the county’s application.

This brief was filed from the boardroom in the Washtenaw County administration building, where the park advisory commission is meeting due to renovations in the city hall building. A more detailed report will follow: [link] [Full Story]

At the Ann Arbor city council’s March 7, 2011 meeting, a visitor from the east – Ypsilanti mayor Paul Schreiber – spoke during a public hearing, calling Washtenaw Avenue a “lifeline” between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti. The road cuts through four jurisdictions: Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township and Pittsfield Township. The four local governmental units have been collaborating over the last two years to find ways to improve how the Washtenaw corridor functions – in terms of traffic flow, and future business/residential development.

That’s what the public hearing was about. The Ann Arbor city council is considering whether to work with the other three communities to establish a corridor improvement authority (CIA) along Washtenaw Avenue. Schreiber was at Ann Arbor’s meeting to encourage the council to consider forming a CIA, thus joining with his city and the two other municipalities along Washtenaw. The council took no action on March 7 – by state statute, they cannot take the step to establish a CIA until 60 days after the public hearing.

A corridor improvement authority is a tax-increment finance district, similar to a downtown development authority – but specifically designed for commercial corridors instead of downtown areas. [.pdf map of proposed Washtenaw Avenue CIA district ] At the March 7 public hearing on establishing a Washtenaw Avenue CIA, Schreiber was one of only two people to speak.

But five days earlier, on March 2, around 20 people attended a presentation by city of Ann Arbor planners at Cobblestone Farm. And they were joined late in the meeting by Stephen Rapundalo, who represents Ward 2 on the Ann Arbor city council. Washtenaw Avenue is a boundary between Ward 2 on the north and Ward 3 on the south. Some of those 20 residents aired their criticisms as well as support of the CIA proposal. In addition to some concerns about the administration of the authority, attendees expressed disagreement with each other about the kinds of solutions the corridor needs.

Some agreed with the conclusions of a joint technical committee that’s been working on the issue: The corridor would benefit from added transit infrastructure and greater accessibility to non-motorized transportation, as well as increased residential density. Others saw that stretch of Washtenaw Avenue as needing mainly additional lanes in the roadway to improve traffic flow.

On the administrative side, city planner Jeff Kahan explained that the possibility of establishing a CIA along Washtenaw Avenue would be greatly helped by a revision to the relatively new state statute that allows such CIAs to be created – a revision that would explicitly articulate that the four jurisdictions could form a single authority. As the statute is currently written, four separate authorities would need to be formed, and then operated under some kind of inter-governmental agreement.

So where did this idea come from that four separate units of government might collaborate on creating a corridor improvement authority for Washtenaw Avenue? It pre-dates by at least two years Gov. Rick Snyder’s recent call for greater collaboration among government entities. But Snyder was at least indirectly involved in providing some impetus behind the effort. [Full Story]

The Bleacher Report riffs on the University of Michigan’s decision to raise football season ticket prices by 12%: “With the new Glick Field House, the new scoreboards, the new basketball practice facility, the Crisler Arena renovation, the new field turf, the new luxury seating, RR’s contract buyout and the nicer bathrooms at the Big House, you knew the Michigan football program would come for your money sooner rather than later.” [Source]

According to the city clerk’s office, as of the morning of March 15, 2011, four of five incumbent Ann Arbor city councilmembers have taken out petitions to seek re-election as representatives of their wards: Sabra Briere (Ward 1); Stephen Rapundalo (Ward 2); Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3); and Mike Anglin (Ward 5).

Marcia Higgins (Ward 4) has not yet taken out petitions. Kunselman has already returned his petitions with the minimum 100 signatures.

In addition to the mayor, the city council has 10 members, two from each of the city’s five wards. Councilmembers and the mayor serve two-year terms. One of the two council seats in each ward is open for election each year. Mayor John Hieftje was re-elected in November 2010, so no mayoral election will take place this year.

The deadline for filing as a partisan city council candidate for the Aug. 2, 2011 primary election is May 10, 2011 at 4 p.m. Independent candidates have until Aug. 15, 2011 at 5 p.m. [Full Story]

After lying dormant since the site’s stewards made the collective decision to shut down ArborUpdate in February 2010, former contributor Josh Steichman has temporarily revived the once-popular local news and discussion blog. Steichman cautions “Don’t interpret this as a return for ArborUpdate,” but has posted a new item and opened a comment thread to call attention to planned protests of emergency manager legislation in Michigan, which would provide local emergency financial managers with certain powers, including the ability to nullify collective bargaining agreements. In concert with proposed cuts of state money to local units of government, which would increase the likelihood that emergency financial managers would be appointed, the move is seen by some as an attempt by Gov. … [Full Story]

After it was reported on March 14, 2011 by the Michigan Daily that Gov. Rick Snyder had been selected as the commencement speaker for the spring University of Michigan graduation, UM student Richard Durance created an online petition asking that the university reconsider its decision to invite Snyder and to adopt a general policy of not inviting elected officials as speakers. By the end of the day on March 14, the petition had achieved more than 2,700 signatures. Had the proposed policy been in place last year, it would have precluded the selection of last year’s speaker, President Barack Obama. [Source]

Ann Arbor greenbelt advisory commission meeting (March 9, 2011): Changes to Washtenaw County’s natural areas preservation program (NAPP) now allow the county to buy development rights for farmland – a land preservation strategy also pursued by Ann Arbor’s greenbelt program.

Tom Freeman, deputy director for the county’s parks & recreation department, gave commissioners an update on this new aspect of NAPP, which is funded by a 10-year millage that voters renewed in November 2010. He discussed with commissioners areas of overlap between the two programs, and the potential for future partnerships as NAPP’s farmland protection efforts ramp up.

Prompted by a question from GAC chair Jennifer S. Hall, Freeman also updated commissioners about the county’s plans to apply for a grant from the Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources Trust Fund. The grant would help the county buy a parcel in Ann Arbor Township now owned by a subsidiary of Domino’s Farms. The land, which has water and sewer hookups that make it prime for development, is near three other parcels of already preserved property: the county’s Goodrich Preserve; the University of Michigan’s Horner-McLaughlin Woods; and the city-owned Marshall Nature Area. Freeman explained some complicating factors in the acquisition, including two widely divergent appraisals – for $1.9 million and $3.25 million – and the fact that the land is at the center of ongoing litigation between the township and the landowner.

When Hall floated the idea that the greenbelt commission could send a letter of support for the county’s application, Carsten Hohnke cautioned against it. Hohnke, who serves on both GAC and city council, said the city also plans to apply to the trust fund for two projects. [He didn't identify the projects during the meeting. In a follow-up email to The Chronicle, Colin Smith, the city's parks & recreation manager, reported that the applications would be for a skatepark and upgrades to the Gallup canoe livery and park.]

Hohnke felt the county’s application could dilute the city’s chances for success, though it was pointed out to him that the county and city would be applying to two separate pools of funding – the county plans to ask for a grant available for land acquisitions, while the city’s projects are in the category of project development grants. Ultimately, commissioners voted to recommend that the city council consider sending a letter of support for the county’s application. Councilmembers would need to act at their next regular meeting on March 21 – the deadline to apply is April 1.

Also at GAC’s March 9 meeting, commissioner Tom Bloomer – who owns Bur Oaks Farm in Webster Township – reported on a plan to eliminate state tax credits for farmers. It’s part of a broader budget proposal by Gov. Rick Snyder to cut many of the tax incentives currently offered by the state – the most high profile of which is for the film industry. Eliminating the credits for farming could make it unprofitable to farm in this area, Bloomer said. [Full Story]

At the conclusion of a March 14, 2011 work session of the Ann Arbor city council, councilmember Marcia Higgins (Ward 4), who chaired the session in mayor John Hieftje’s absence, announced a special meeting of the city council for March 16 at 6 p.m. The meeting will be held in the Community Television Network studios at 2805 S. Industrial to consider a contract with the U.S. government concerning transportation funding for the East Stadium bridges replacement project.

This brief was filed from the boardroom in the Washtenaw County administration building, where the city council is meeting due to renovations in the city hall building. [Full Story]

Bloomberg News reports that Charles Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is donating $20 million to help renovate the University of Michigan Law School’s housing complex, the Lawyers Club. From the report: “Munger, who studied math at Michigan as an undergraduate, has lectured at the university and acted as its investment adviser, according to the statement. The 87-year-old billionaire also donated $3 million in 2007 for lighting in public areas of the Law Quadrangle, where the housing will be renovated.” [Source] [.pdf file of UM press release]

The Wall Street Journal reports on how Ann Arbor-based Borders Group is retooling its business, and includes the first interview given by president Mike Edwards since the bookstore chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February. From the report: “Mr. Edwards said the No. 1 question he hears concerns Borders competing successfully online. The retailer transferred its online business to Amazon back in 2001 and didn’t relaunch its own website until 2008. Mr. Edwards said the Borders website is attracting traffic but that too many people leave the site without buying anything.” [Source]

When we first heard about the layoffs at AnnArbor.com last Thursday – starting with cryptic comments on Facebook, quickly spreading through the Ann Arbor News diaspora and then the broader community – I had a sickening sense of déjà vu. It was two years ago this month that the out-of-state owners of our town’s daily newspaper announced their plans to close the business, tearing apart the lives of its workers, fraying some of the Ann Arbor community’s fabric, and drawing national attention for the decision’s fearlessness or folly, depending on your view.

I wrote about their decision at the time from a personal perspective. Even though I had left the News the previous year to co-found The Chronicle, it was still a place that employed many friends and colleagues I respected. Watching that organization get dismantled was emotional, for many reasons.

Although we began to hear about the layoffs on Thursday last week, we decided not to write immediately about that news. In part, we reasoned that it should be AnnArbor.com’s story to tell first, and I held out hope that executives at AnnArbor.com would be straightforward in letting the community know about their decision, and the rationale behind it.

I also hoped they would wrap into their coverage the news that three other key staff members – news director Amalie Nash, higher education reporter David Jesse and point person for reader interaction Stefanie Murray – had all been hired by the Detroit Free Press. All three left at the end of February. All had previously worked for many years at The Ann Arbor News, and had been initial hires at AnnArbor.com.

Considered separately, either the set of layoffs or the three departures would have had a significant impact on the organization. But with both events taking place within two weeks, it counts as the most dramatic personnel change since AnnArbor.com’s launch. [Full Story]

Ann Arbor public art commission special meeting (March 11, 2011): A building at Allmendinger Park and a retaining wall along Huron Parkway have been selected as mural sites for a pilot program funded by the city’s Percent for Art program.

A special meeting on Friday was called specifically to vote on the site recommendations, which were made by a task force chaired by AAPAC member Jeff Meyers. He reported that the locations were chosen because they are highly visible, in different parts of the city, and in different types of environments – a residential neighborhood and a major thoroughfare.

Though some concerns were voiced during the meeting, ultimately the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the sites and the budget of $10,000 per mural. The task force will move ahead with the projects, including holding a neighborhood meeting for residents near Allmendinger Park, and selecting artists for the murals.

If this pilot program is successful, the goal is to create at least two additional murals each year. [Full Story]

[Full Story]

University of Michigan urban planning students have produced a short film advocating for center-running light rail for Detroit’s Woodward Avenue. An alternative to center-running transit is to run tracks along the side of the street, next to the curb. The video points to a number of advantages to center-running rail, including reduced travel times, safer pedestrian crossings, and a safer bicycling environment.

The film, which takes the form of a rap music video, makes extensive use of stop-action animation with LEGO figures. No seriously, LEGO figures: [Source]

Michigan Radio reports on this week’s layoffs of 14 staffers at AnnArbor.com, most of them from its newsroom. The report quotes Tony Collings, a University of Michigan communications professor and former journalist, who says many people were looking at AnnArbor.com to see if it would be some kind of model for the future: “Apparently it isn’t, or at least it doesn’t seem to be succeeding in a business way, and I don’t know whether it is succeeding journalistically either.” [Source]

The Detroit Free Press reports that Ann Arbor-based Borders Group plans to announced up to 75 additional store closings next week, as part of its restructuring under Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Borders president Mike Edwards made the announcement Friday afternoon in a conference call to vendors and reporters. The bookstore chain previously announced 200 store closings, including the Arborland store in Ann Arbor.  [Source]

On Tuesday, a capacity crowd packed a local Ann Arbor venue to watch a five-person team do its work. Part of the color commentary included talk of game-changing players, and speculation about who had the best center of all the conferences. Everyone knew that whichever team prevailed on Tuesday would not win the whole tournament – it would just advance to the next round.

Here’s a highlight reel of how events unfolded on Tuesday. Play opened with a disputed call, and one of the fans nearly got tossed out of the venue. There was a guy with a red sweater, reminiscent of those favored by Bob Knight when he coached the Indiana University squad, even though he was not the guy in danger of getting tossed. He was actually prepared to do the tossing.

Early on, the coach told the team about the “four corners” – which some older sports fans might recognize as a stalling style of basketball made popular by legendary University of North Carolina coach Dean Smith. And the team managed to hold the ball for one final shot, which it made. The cheerleaders cheered. The victors were valiant … hail, hail, etcetera.

The venue? It was the fourth floor meeting room of city hall. And the five-person team was the committee charged with evaluating proposals for use of the city-owned Library Lot. That’s the parcel atop the Fifth Avenue parking structure currently under construction.

Who says local civic affairs isn’t at least as interesting as NCAA basketball? Well, actually, most readers would say that, I’m guessing.

But here’s something I think we can all agree on: Fans at basketball games get to cheer or boo as loud as they like … within certain parameters. The parallel principle for public meetings, like the one on Tuesday, is that members of the public should be allowed to address the group during its meeting.

The city of Ann Arbor’s stated written policy on this is actually quite clear: Even entities that are not public bodies under the Open Meetings Act should, to the best of their abilities, conform with the spirit of the OMA – which includes a provision for public participation at meetings. [Full Story]

In a report on a future Ann Arbor city council work session about the future use of the Library Lot, scheduled for Monday, March 14 at 7 p.m. we gave the incorrect location for the meeting. It will be held at the Washtenaw County Board room at 220 N. Main St. We note the mistake here and have corrected the original article.

Writing on the Center for Michigan website, Phil Power argues that the controversial budget proposals of Republican Gov. Rick Snyder are necessary. Power, a Democrat, writes: “Personally, I admire what the governor is trying to do. Sure, his ideas may need some tinkering. But overall, they represent an enormous step forward for a state in deep trouble. More and more, I believe the conventional model of a democracy driven entirely by parochial special interests is the worst way for us to deal with our state’s present crisis. Democracy may well be the worst possible system, except for all the others, in large part because when the chips are down, officeholders can rise to the occasion and do the right thing.” … [Full Story]

On Tuesday, March 8, 2011, a committee appointed by the Ann Arbor city council and charged with reviewing proposals for future use of the Library Lot – the top of the Fifth Avenue underground parking structure – met for the first time since November. The expected result of Tuesday’s meeting had been that the committee would move a proposed hotel/conference center project forward to the city council.

And that’s what the committee voted to do – specifically, to recommend to the city council that a letter of intent (LOI) be signed with Valiant, the developer, which could eventually lead to a development agreement. The city council will receive a presentation on the letter of intent at a work session on Monday, March 14 at 7 p.m. at the Washtenaw County Board room at 220 N. Main St.

In the draft of the LOI unveiled at Tuesday’s committee meeting, the city and Valiant would try to strike a development agreement no later than four months after the signing of the LOI, with construction to start 15 months after the signing of the development agreement.

Attending the committee meeting on Tuesday was David Di Rita of The Roxbury Group, which has served as a consultant to the committee. In November, Di Rita had delivered a report to the committee recommending Valiant’s proposal over a similar project proposed by another developer – Acquest.

The majority of Tuesday’s meeting time was taken up with Di Rita delivering introductory remarks – a self-described “soliloquy” – and walking the committee through the main points of the draft LOI, or responding to committee member questions.

In his introductory remarks, Di Rita distinguished between the idea of analyzing the financial viability of a specific proposal – which he stressed that The Roxbury Group had not done – and the overall economic validity of a concept.

Key points in the draft LOI are the idea that Valiant would pay for the acquisition of development rights on the property, but could use part of that payment for the design and financing of the conference center. The city of Ann Arbor would own the conference center, and would not be held liable for its maintenance and operation costs, unless Valiant were to cease holding the management agreement. The city’s ownership could, according to the draft LOI, possibly implicate payments by Valiant to the city in lieu of taxes. The draft LOI also calls for reserving no fewer than 350 daytime parking spaces in the underground parking garage, currently under construction, for the hotel/conference center.

In addition to committee members, more than 20 people attended the meeting, filling the fourth floor conference room of city hall. Attendees in the audience included Ward 1 councilmember Sabra Briere; Ann Arbor District Library director Josie Parker; and AADL board member Nancy Kaplan. Several people who attended have expressed objections to the hotel/conference center project, based on either the substance of the proposal itself or the decision-making process.

Related to complaints about the decision process, the meeting began with an adamant request from local attorney Tom Wieder to be allowed to address the committee, which was denied by the committee’s chair, Stephen Rapundalo. [Full Story]