Comments on: Planning Group: No Duplex on Packard http://annarborchronicle.com/2013/08/14/planning-group-no-duplex-on-packard/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=planning-group-no-duplex-on-packard it's like being there Tue, 16 Sep 2014 04:56:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.2 By: Edward Vielmetti http://annarborchronicle.com/2013/08/14/planning-group-no-duplex-on-packard/comment-page-1/#comment-261559 Edward Vielmetti Thu, 15 Aug 2013 00:45:43 +0000 http://annarborchronicle.com/?p=118487#comment-261559 I live in a neighborhood that has duplexes, and I have to say that they are perfectly in character in a mix of housing that includes single-family houses next door. Indeed, I can’t imagine a neighborhood situation where a duplex would be out of character anywhere in Ann Arbor, especially given modern duplex designs that look like single-family homes. It’s not atypical that on my block a neighbor lives in a home that was built as a single family home, was duplexed in the 1940s, and was unduplexed when she bought it.

I’m also not sure that the master planning for the area in question makes any sense. Packard is an extraordinary busy street near Platt, and five lanes of traffic means that any single family home is going to be particularly attractive to a buyer. The part of Packard that I leave near is upzoned along quite a length, allowing for a mix of rental properties, small apartment buildings, offices and retail. It’s a good mix, and makes for a more interesting place to live. I’d think that even if the area in question stayed residential that it would be sensible to allow more density along Packard – not necessarily a 13 story high rise, but other dense residential or small-scale commercial or office property that characterizes the rest of the Packard corridor.

(from my original report on this meeting here: [link])

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