Civic News Ticker

At their May 7, 2014 meeting, Washtenaw County commissioners were briefed on possible responses to homelessness and a lack of affordable housing in this community. The briefing was in response to a board directive given to staff on April 2, 2014 to develop a plan for updating the county’s Blueprint to End Homelessness. The Blueprint  was adopted in 2004. The process of updating that plan is to be completed by Oct. 1, 2014.

The May 7 presentation was given by three different staff: Mary Jo Callan, director of the county’s office of community and economic development; Ellen Schulmeister, executive director of the Shelter Association of Washtenaw County, which runs the Delonis Center homeless shelter; and Amanda Carlisle, director of the Washtenaw Housing Alliance. Several WHA board members also attended the May 7 meeting, including former county administrator Bob Guenzel. [.pdf of presentation]

In 2013, 4,542 people were homeless in Washtenaw County – a 25% increase since 2011. On any given night, 510 people experience homelessness in Washtenaw County. Several organizations provide a total of 299 emergency shelter beds, but demand far exceeds available resources.

Callan and Schulmeister reviewed the many barriers to helping people find housing. They also provided several suggestions for addressing these issues:

• Restore funding for affordable housing projects, such as rapid rehousing, affordable housing development, and permanent supportive housing.
• Create and fund a mission-style shelter and/or a permanent warming center.
• Use county assets to advance affordable housing projects.
• Continue to stabilize existing providers, including PORT and local nonprofits.
• Provide funding for short-term motel/hotel stays to engage people in permanent housing programs.

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main St. in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Ellen Rabinowitz has been appointed as health officer for the Washtenaw public health department, after serving in that position on an interim basis since late last year. The appointment, effective May 19, was made by the county board of commissioners on May 7, 2014.

Rabinowitz will receive a salary of $126,098. That salary includes her role as executive director of the Washtenaw Health Plan, a job she’s held for 11 years.

A staff memo notes that the county will see a savings of $30,266 in personnel costs as a result of this appointment. The salary will be covered by the public health department (80%) and the Washtenaw Health Plan (20%). Fleece’s salary was covered in full by the public health department.

The county board appointed Rabinowitz as interim health officer on Nov. 6, 2013. The appointment was spurred by the retirement of former health officer Dick Fleece, effective Dec. 28, 2013.

The position is mandated by the state, and requires a graduate degree and 5 years of full-time public health administration. Responsibilities include overseeing the county’s public health department. [.pdf of Rabinowitz resume]

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main St. in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Washtenaw County commissioners have given initial approval to allocate funding to local nonprofits as part of a coordinated funding approach for human services, in partnership with several other local funders. The action took place at the county board’s May 7, 2014 meeting.

The county is one of the original five partners in the coordinated funding approach. Other partners are city of Ann Arbor, United Way of Washtenaw County, Washtenaw Urban County, and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. It began as a pilot program in 2010.

This year, 105 applications were submitted by 50 local organizations totaling $8,732,389 in requested funding, according to a staff memo. A review committee recommended that 57 programs receive a total of $4,321,494 in available funding. Of that amount, the county is providing $1.015 million. [.pdf of staff memo and list of funding allocations]

Among the organizations that are being funded in this cycle are Corner Health Center, Interfaith Hospitality Network of Washtenaw County, Child Care Network, Catholic Social Services of Washtenaw, Food Gatherers and Legal Services of South Central Michigan. Several nonprofit leaders spoke during public commentary in support of this process, as did Ann Arbor city administrator Steve Powers. He noted that the city council would be voting on its share of the allocation – $1,244,629 – at its May 19 meeting, as part of its budget approval process.

The coordinated funding process has three parts: planning/coordination, program operations, and capacity-building. The approach targets six priority areas, and identifies lead agencies for each area: (1) housing and homelessness – Washtenaw Housing Alliance; (2) aging – Blueprint for Aging; (3) school-aged youth – Washtenaw Alliance for Children and Youth; (4) children birth to six – Success by Six; (5) health – Washtenaw Health Plan; and (6) hunger relief – Food Gatherers.

In 2012, TCC Group – a consulting firm based in Philadelphia – was hired to evaluate the process. As a result of that review, several changes were recommended and later authorized as part of the county board’s overall coordinated funding resolution, passed on Nov. 6, 2013. The changes were described in a staff memo:

The County’s Human Services and Children’s Well-being funding will continue to focus on critical services for early childhood, aging, housing/homelessness, safety net health, school-aged children and youth, and food security/hunger relief. Under this proposal, this funding will not necessarily be allocated to these six priority areas in proportional amounts consistent with historic trends. Allocations to these six priority areas will be based on identified community-level outcomes, the strategies that align with them, and how each are prioritized.

Under this proposal, the application pre-screening process will be broadened to better accommodate smaller non-profit organizations. New types of financial documentation will allow smaller agencies to illustrate their viability in the absence of an independent audit. Capacity-building grants would be available to target smaller agencies that need to improve their governance or financial structure to be eligible for the application process, with the goal of expanding the opportunities for all agencies providing human services in the County in an equitable fashion.

Funding for this cycle will start on July 1, 2014. In addition, the RNR Foundation – a family foundation that funded TCC Group’s evaluation of the coordinated funding approach – will now be an additional funder in this process.

The county board is expected to take a final vote to allocate funding on May 21.

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main St. in Ann Arbor. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

The Fourth & William parking structure in downtown Ann Arbor could undergo substantial renovations as a result of Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority action taken at the board’s May 7, 2014 meeting.

The board voted to establish a project budget of $5 million for renovations, which are prompted by a need to replace an aging elevator and stair tower at the southwest corner of the structure. The amount would be covered by issuing bonds, but approval of that step would come later, and would require approval of the city council – because the bonds used by the DDA have historically been issued by the city.

The Fourth & William structure, at 994 spaces, is one of the largest in Ann Arbor’s parking system – but has elevators that are more than 30 years old. [A recent trip from the ground floor to floor 7 was timed by The Chronicle at 45 seconds. The comparable trip at the newer Washington & Fourth parking structure took about 17 seconds.]

In addition to replacing the elevator and stairway tower, the DDA is considering some work on the south and east sides, using some surfaces that are more reflective and perhaps installing some awnings. The resolution also describes the possibility of expanding the pedestrian lobby area, updating parking equipment, adding electrical capacity and additional electric vehicle charging units, and building out some of the first floor area for active uses. The stairway and elevator towers would be glass-enclosed.

The stair tower and elevator portion of the project was estimated to cost on the order of $3 million. The first, very preliminary drawings were provided to the DDA’s operations committee at its Feb. 26 meeting. That preliminary work was authorized by the DDA board at its Jan. 8, 2014 meeting.

By way of background, at that Jan. 8 meeting, the DDA authorized up to $40,000 for Carl Walker Inc. to develop architectural renderings for renovations to the southwest stair tower and elevators of the Fourth & William parking structure.

The DDA was presented with two options for the renovations, based on either a two-phase or a three-phase approach. In both scenarios, the goal is to keep the parking structure open for business during construction.

The two-phase approach would last about a year – from August 2014 through July 2015. The three-phase approach would take five months longer – through about December 2015.

The resolution passed by the DDA board on May 7 authorizes the DDA’s executive director to oversee issuance of bid documents and to sign a contract with Carl Walker Inc. to prepare construction drawings for the project. Those construction drawings are to be limited initially to the stair tower and elevator replacement project. The selection of a contractor for the work would need separate approval by the DDA board.

This brief was filed from the DDA offices, 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301, where the DDA holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Whether the last 212 non-LED streetlights in downtown Ann Arbor will be converted to LED technology using $101,733 from the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority is a question that will be answered over the next month. The DDA board voted to postpone the authorization at its May 7, 2014 meeting until June.

The board delayed its vote until its June 4 meeting. DDA board member Roger Hewitt opposed the grant, because the savings that will be realized accrues to the city of Ann Arbor, which pays the energy bills for the lights. Hewitt noted that the relationship between the city and the DDA includes a number of fund transfers to the city. Even though the amount is not huge, Hewitt said, the expenditure of several small amounts could eventually impair the DDA’s ability to pay for major infrastructure improvements.

Other board members joined Hewitt in their concerns, questioning what projects might be sacrificed if the DDA paid for the LED conversion. But they opted to postpone the issue, so the board’s operations committee could review the proposal in more detail.

In 2007, the DDA had previously granted $630,000 for conversion of 1,400 other streetlights in the DDA tax capture district.

The 212 streetlights that haven’t yet been converted are owned by DTE, which would be undertaking the work. Currently, the city pays DTE  $72,585 a year for the energy used by the 212 streetlights. After conversion, the annual cost for the 212 lights is expected to drop to $51,895, for an annual savings of $20,690.

After an EO (energy optimization) rebate of  $10,224, the $91,509 cost would be recovered in just under 4.5 years. DDA board member Al McWilliams pointed out that the savings would accrue to the city, not the DDA, and argued the proposal should be evaluated just on the basis of its cost to the DDA.

The project would include converting 100 watt MV (mercury vapor), 175 watt MV and 100 watt HPS (high pressure sodium) lights to 65 watt LED (light emitting diode). Further, 400 watt MV and 250 watt HPS lights would be converted to 135 watt LED. Finally, 1000 watt MV and 400 watt HPS lights would be converted to 280 watt LED.

This brief was filed from the DDA offices at 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301, where the DDA holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Ann Arbor’s Greyhound bus station will be finding a temporary home at the Fourth & William parking structure in downtown Ann Arbor, when it’s forced to vacate its current facilities on Huron Street between Ashley and Main. That location will become a hotel when First Martin Corp. gets approval for a hotel project it plans to build there.

The two-year relocation will be made possible through a lease to be worked out with the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. The DDA board authorized the signing of a lease at its May 7, 2014 meeting.

The lease would cost Greyhound $1,525 a month, which works out to $36,600 for the two-year period. Buses would not pull into the structure, but would stage on Fourth Avenue. Currently Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority buses are using the west side of Fourth Avenue for staging. But in the next few weeks, when the new Blake Transit Center driveway is poured – which runs between Fourth and Fifth avenues – AAATA buses will no longer need the west side of Fourth Avenue for staging.

The lease by the DDA to Greyhound would include about 400 square feet of office space in the structure, which would be finished out by the DDA for Greyhound. The first year of rent is anticipated to cover the cost of the build out. The lease rate was described at the meeting as at the top of the market – especially considering that the space is located under a speed ramp for exiting the parking structure.

The DDA operates the public parking system on behalf of the city of Ann Arbor using city-owned structures, under a contract with the city of Ann Arbor. The DDA board discussion included reference to the fact that the DDA would ensure that all requirements of the city parking contract would be satisfied in reaching the lease agreement with Greyhound.

The clause in the contract on which the DDA will apparently rely is this one: “The DDA shall have the right to allocate portions of facilities to third party for long term parking usage and mutually agreed upon non-parking-related usage. The DDA shall provide an annual report to the City of any allocation identifying the specific facility and the size, nature and term of the allocation.” A traffic control order will need to be obtained from the city to allow the staging of buses in the public right-of-way.

The historic sign that is a feature of Greyhound’s current location will not be moved to the Fourth Avenue site.

This brief was filed from the DDA offices at 150 S. Fifth Ave., Suite 301, where the DDA holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Ann Arbor planning commissioners have voted to recommend rezoning a large parcel at the southeast corner of Main and William – another step in a review of downtown zoning that began last year. That vote, taken at the commission’s May 6, 2014 meeting, was unanimous.

The recommendation is to rezone the site at 425 S. Main from D1 (downtown core) to D2 (downtown interface), a lower-density zoning. Currently, a two-story 63,150-square-foot office building – where DTE offices are located – stands on the southern part of that site, with a surface parking lot on the north portion. [.pdf of staff memo on 425 S. Main rezoning]

In a separate action, after considerable discussion during the four-hour meeting, commissioners were unable to reach consensus on adding new requirements to the Main Street Character Overlay District, where 425 S. Main is located. The commission voted 6-3 to recommend changes that include setting a maximum height of 100 feet for properties in that district that are zoned D2, and requiring upper story setbacks from any residential property lines. Dissenting were Sabra Briere, Ken Clein and Jeremy Peters. [.pdf of staff memo on overlay district]

These recommendations had been brought forward by the commission’s ordinance revisions committee. Members are Bonnie Bona, Diane Giannola, Kirk Westphal and Wendy Woods.

In response to a council directive, the planning commission had studied and developed a broader set of recommendations for zoning changes in specific parts of the downtown. The overall intent was in large part to buffer near-downtown residential neighborhoods. The commission had unanimously approved those original recommendations at its Dec. 3, 2013 meeting.

That set of recommendations included a proposal to rezone 425 S. Main to D2. However, those original recommendations had called for a maximum height of 60 feet for D2 zoning in the Main Street Character District – lower than the 100 feet put forward on May 6. The site’s current D1 zoning allows for a maximum height of 180 feet. The previous zoning, prior to 2009, set no limits on height.

The city council voted to accept the planning commission’s recommendations on Jan. 21, 2014 – and directed the planning commission to begin implementing changes by proposing specific rezoning or ordinance revisions.

During deliberations on May 6, Briere pointed out that the 60-foot maximum height had been cited specifically in the council directive, and she opposed raising the height. The 425 S. Main property would be the only D2 site in the Main Street Character District, if the city council approves the rezoning recommendation. Because the requirements would apply to just one site, it seemed like spot zoning to her.

Neighbors and others had previously raised concerns that D1 zoning – which allows the highest level of density downtown – would result in a negative impact to that part of town, and had supported downzoning to D2. Several neighborhood advocates attended the May 6 meeting and again supported D2 rezoning, but strongly opposed the 100-foot maximum height.

Andy Klein, one of the property owners of 425 S. Main, also attended the meeting, saying that the site would be unbuildable with D2 zoning and a 60-foot height limit, and that the property’s value would be destroyed. He supported the 100-foot maximum.

Members of the ORC defended the proposal, saying that the combination of D2 zoning with a taller height would allow for more flexible design and less massive structures.

At this time, no new development has been proposed for this site.

The recommendations approved on May 6 will be forwarded to the city council for consideration. In the coming months, the planning commission’s ordinance revisions committee will tackle other aspects of the council’s Jan. 21 directive.

For additional background on this downtown zoning review, see Chronicle coverage: “Feedback on Downtown Zoning Continues”; “Downtown Zoning Review Nears Final Phase”; “Priorities Emerge in Downtown Zoning Review”; “Downtown Zoning Review Moves Forward” and “Downtown Zoning Review to Wrap Up Soon.”

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main St., where the planning commission held its May 6 meeting. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Voters today in Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township cast ballots today to decide whether to grant a 0.7 mill request from the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. The polls are now closed.

It’s possible that we won’t be able to collect results any earlier than the Washtenaw County clerk. But The Chronicle will post any early returns we are able to collect here in this news brief, using the following format:

8:00 p.m. 

With at least partial results from 0 of 36 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ann Arbor, the AAATA transit millage has received 0 votes (0%) in favor, and 0 votes (0%) against.

With at least partial results from 0 of 7 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ypsilanti, the AAATA transit millage has received 0 votes (0%) in favor, and 0 votes (0%) against.

With at least partial results from 0 of 14 polling locations informally reported in Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA transit millage has received 0 votes (0%) in favor, and 0 votes (0%) against.

With at least partial results from 0 of 57 polling locations informally reported across the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA transit millage has received 0 votes (0%) in favor, and 0 votes (0%) against.

If you’d like to monitor directly any early results we’re able to collect, we’re using this: [shared Google Spreadsheet].

Still unofficial but formal results from the Washtenaw County clerk’s office are available on the clerk’s May 6, 2014 election results web page.

8:13 p.m.

With at least partial results from 1 of 36 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ann Arbor, the AAATA transit millage has received 479 votes (75.6%) in favor, and 154 votes (24.4%) against.

With at least partial results from 2 of 7 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ypsilanti, the AAATA transit millage has received 550 votes (83.4%) in favor, and 109 votes (16.6%) against.

8:32 p.m.

With at least partial results from 4 of 36 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ann Arbor, the AAATA transit millage has received 1554 votes (72.4%) in favor, and 592 votes (27.6%) against.

With at least partial results from 3 of 7 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ypsilanti, the AAATA transit millage has received 761 votes (82.7%) in favor, and 159 votes (17.3%) against.

With at least partial results from 7 of 57 polling locations informally reported across the city of Ann Arbor and the city of Ypsilanti, the AAATA transit millage has received 2315 votes (75.5%) in favor, and 751 votes (24.5%) against.

It’s worth noting that we have no Ypsilanti Township precincts reporting in yet, and absent voters in Ann Arbor are not yet logged.

9:00 p.m.

With at least partial results from 10 of 36 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ann Arbor, the AAATA transit millage has received 3397 votes (74.2%) in favor, and 1181 votes (25.8%) against.

With at least partial results from 4 of 7 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ypsilanti, the AAATA transit millage has received 1205 votes (83%) in favor, and 246 votes (17%) against.

With at least partial results from 1 of 14 polling locations informally reported in Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA transit millage has received 35 votes (50.7%) in favor, and 34 votes (49.3%) against.

With at least partial results from 15 of 57 polling locations informally reported across the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA transit millage has received 4637 votes (76%) in favor, and 1461 votes (24%) against.

This includes no absent voter results in Ann Arbor and just one precinct from Ypsilanti Township.

9:23 p.m.

With at least partial results from 20 of 36 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ann Arbor, the AAATA transit millage has received 5469 votes (71.6%) in favor, and 2160 votes (28.4%) against.

With at least partial results from 4 of 7 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ypsilanti, the AAATA transit millage has received 1205 votes (83%) in favor, and 246 votes (17%) against.

With at least partial results from 1 of 14 polling locations informally reported in Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA transit millage has received 35 votes (50.7%) in favor, and 34 votes (49.3%) against.

With at least partial results from 25 of 57 polling locations informally reported across the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA transit millage has received 6709 votes (73.3%) in favor, and 2440 votes (26.7%) against.

This does not include any absent voters in Ann Arbor and only one precinct in Ypsilanti Township.

9:48 p.m.

With at least partial results – including some absentee ballots – from 27 of 36 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ann Arbor, the AAATA transit millage has received 6957 votes (71.6%) in favor, and 2758 votes (28.4%) against.

With at least partial results from 4 of 7 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ypsilanti, the AAATA transit millage has received 1205 votes (83%) in favor, and 246 votes (17%) against.

With at least partial results from 1 of 14 polling locations informally reported in Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA transit millage has received 35 votes (50.7%) in favor, and 34 votes (49.3%) against.

With at least partial results from 32 of 57 polling locations informally reported across the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA transit millage has received 8197 votes (72.9%) in favor, and 3038 votes (27.1%) against.

Note that we have early results from only one precinct in Ypsilanti Township.

10:11 p.m.

With at least partial results – including some absentee ballots – from 33 of 36 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ann Arbor, the AAATA transit millage has received 8689 votes (71.6%) in favor, and 3446 votes (28.4%) against.

With at least partial results from 4 of 7 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ypsilanti, the AAATA transit millage has received 1205 votes (83%) in favor, and 246 votes (17%) against.

With at least partial results from 9 of 14 polling locations informally reported in Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA transit millage has received 760 votes (70.5%) in favor, and 317 votes (29.5%) against.

With at least partial results from 46 of 57 polling locations informally reported across the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA transit millage has received 10654 votes (72.6%) in favor, and 4009 votes (27.4%) against.

10:17 p.m.

With at least partial results – including some absentee ballots – from 35 of 36 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ann Arbor, the AAATA transit millage has received 9516 votes (71.9%) in favor, and 3715 votes (28.1%) against.

With at least partial results from 4 of 7 polling locations informally reported in the city of Ypsilanti, the AAATA transit millage has received 1205 votes (83%) in favor, and 246 votes (17%) against.

With at least partial results from 14 of 14 polling locations informally reported in Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA transit millage has received 1294 votes (66.2%) in favor, and 658 votes (33.8%) against.

With at least partial results from 53 of 57 polling locations informally reported across the city of Ann Arbor, the city of Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township, the AAATA transit millage has received 12015 votes (72.2%) in favor, and 4619 votes (27.8%) against.

This was the final update for early results. One absent voter count board for Ann Arbor remains to be counted. We’ll compile graphs, maps and charts when the final unofficial numbers come in from the Washtenaw County clerk.

It appears the transit millage has achieved a clear majority.

Three properties that provide public housing are recommended to be rezoned, following action at the May 6, 2014 meeting of the Ann Arbor planning commission. The sites are part of the Ann Arbor Housing Commission’s major initiative to upgrade the city’s public housing units by seeking private investors through low-income housing tax credits.

Rezoning is recommended for the following public housing sites, two of which are currently zoned as public land:

• Baker Commons: Rezone public land to D2 (downtown interface). The 0.94-acre lot is located at 106 Packard Street, at the intersection with South Main, in Ward 5. It includes a 64-unit apartment building.
• Green/Baxter Court Apartments: Rezone public land to R4A (multi-family dwelling district). The 2-acre site is located at 1701-1747 Green Road and contains 23 apartments in four buildings and a community center. It’s in Ward 2.
• Maple Meadows: Currently zoned R1C (single-family dwelling district), the recommendation is to rezone it as R4B (multi-family dwelling district). The site is 3.4 acres at 800-890 South Maple Road and contains 29 apartments in five buildings and a community center. It’s located in Ward 5.

AAHC director Jennifer Hall explained that PL zoning doesn’t allow housing to be built on it. As AAHC seeks private funding to rehab its properties, it needs to ensure if a building burns down, for example, it could be rebuilt. In general that’s why the rezoning is being requested. It’s also being requested to align the zoning with the current uses of the property. She stressed that the highest priority properties to be rezoned are Baker Commons, Green/Baxter and Maple Meadows, because investors have already been found to renovate those sites.

For these three sites, commissioners also voted to waive the area plan requirements for the AAHC rezoning petitions, because no new construction is proposed and surveys of the improvements have been provided.

In addition, the following two AAHC sites were also on the May 6 agenda to be rezoned, but were postponed by planning commissioners, in part because of concerns raised by the public.

• Mallett’s Creek Court: Requested rezoning of the east portion of this 2.3-acre parcel at 2670-2680 S. Main from public land to R2A (two-family dwelling district). There are three duplexes on the east side, which is in Ward 4. The west part of the site, which is vacant and in a floodway, would remain public land. The city is currently looking into the possibility of splitting the parcel and making the west section a part of Cranbrook Park.
• 805-807 W. Washington: Requested rezoning from public land to R2A (two-family dwelling district). It’s a 0.18 acre-parcel in Ward 5 that contains one duplex, with a garage that’s used for AAHC facilities storage.

During public commentary, the Mallett’s Creek Court and West Washington properties received the most attention. About a dozen neighbors of the Mallett’s Creek Court property spoke about concerns that the vacant part of the parcel would be sold or developed. Hall assured them that there’s no intent to sell, and in fact federal regulations that govern pubic housing prevent such a sale. She said AAHC hadn’t been aware that the vacant land was part of the parcel until they started the rezoning process.

Neighbors of the West Washington property are concerned about the amount of impervious surface on that site, and chronic flooding problems in that area.

AAHC and city staff will continue to evaluate these properties, which will likely return to the planning commission for consideration at a later date.

For additional background on the AAHC process of renovating its properties, see Chronicle coverage: “Public Housing Conversion Takes Next Step.”

The planning commission’s rezoning recommendations will be forwarded to city council for consideration.

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main St., where the planning commission held its May 6 meeting. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Ann Arbor planning commissioners have recommended the annexation of an 0.22-acre lot at 375 Glenwood Street – currently in Scio Township – and to zone the site as R1C (single-family dwelling district), which matches the zoning of surrounding sites. The action came at the commission’s May 6, 2014 meeting.

The parcel is on the west side of Glenwood, south of Dexter Road. The owners, Kelly Anderson and Victoria Pebbles, also own the adjacent lot. They want to build on the 375 Glenwood site, which is currently vacant. The annexation would allow the site to connect with city water and utility services.

According to a staff memo, the 2014 water improvement charges are $5,345.10 and the 2014 sanitary improvement charges are $8,667.10.

The recommendation will be forwarded to the city council for consideration.

This brief was filed from the boardroom of the county administration building at 220 N. Main St., where the planning commission held its May 6 meeting. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Final supplemental briefs have now been submitted in the lawsuit filed by Bob Dascola against the city of Ann Arbor – in his effort to be placed on the ballot as a candidate in the Ward 3 city council Democratic primary. He would join Julie Grand and Samuel McMullen in that election, which will be held on Aug. 5, 2014. [.pdf Dascola v. City of A2: Plaintiff's Supplemental Brief] [.pdf Dascola v. City of A2: Defendant's Supplemental Brief]

Ann Arbor’s city charter includes two durational requirements for city councilmembers – that they be registered voters in the city for a year before election, and that they be residents of the ward they seek to represent for a year before election.

Dascola contends that he meets the residency requirement. He allows that he does not meet the voter registration requirement. But Dascola’s core legal claim is that the two charter provisions were struck down as unconstitutional, null and void in federal court cases dating from the 1970s. The city contends that it can enforce the two city charter requirements based on case law that evolved subsequent to the 1970s cases.

The court ordered an expedited schedule so that the issue might be resolved before early June, when ballots must be printed. Briefs, responses, and replies had already been filed on motions for summary judgment and dismissal.

The additional briefs, both filed on the afternoon of May 6, are supposed to focus just on the question of whether a law that has once been found to be unconstitutional must be officially re-enacted before it can be enforced. From the order on additional briefing:

The briefs shall focus solely on answering the following question: If a law is found “unconstitutional and void” by a federal district court, must that law be officially re-enacted before it is enforced? The briefs shall not focus on issues regarding collateral estoppel, res judicata or the “revival doctrine,” as the Court finds these issues have been addressed. The briefs must contain accurate and binding legal support, and are limited to seven (7) pages. [.pdf of April 30, 2014 court order on additional briefs]

The brief from Dascola’s attorney, Tom Wieder, answers the court’s question in the affirmative, arguing that the only way a Michigan city charter provision can be enforced – after it has been found unconstitutional, null and void in federal court – is for the charter provision to be re-enacted by the procedures outlined in Michigan law for revising a city charter: “[Charter provisions found to be unconstitutional, null and void], essentially, cease to exist and had no legal existence since the day they were enacted. Given this view, there is then no law to be enforced, because it is gone, or never was. Re-enactment is the only way the voided provisions could return as enforceable law.”

In support of this position, Wieder cites cases spanning 208 years. Wieder’s argument also relies on the idea that there has been no overruling or reversal of the two decisions from the early 1970s that found both of Ann Arbor’s durational requirements for city council candidates to be unconstitutional.

The city’s supplemental brief relies crucially on the idea that the finding of the city’s charter provisions as unconstitutional, null and void by the federal courts in the early 1970s did not amount to a repeal of those provisions – because courts do not have the power to repeal laws enacted through a prescribed legislative process: “The Michigan Home Rules [sic] City Act provides that the method for amending (or repealing) provisions of a municipal Charter is through a vote of the residents.” Instead of removing the charter provisions from the books, the city argues, such a finding made them unenforceable at that time. A law that is found unconstitutional “becomes unenforceable, but it is not erased,” the city argues.

The city’s argument cites a case from 1972 in New Jersey (YMCA of Princeton v. Kugler) where a federal court found that a declaratory judgment of a state statute’s unconstitutionality was only binding between the plaintiffs in a specific case (seven physicians) and the state of New Jersey. In that ruling, the state was allowed to enforce the statute against other physicians.

Here’s the complete set of briefs in the Dascola case:

• 03.28.14 [.pdf Dascola v. City of A2: Complaint]
• 03.29.14 [.pdf Dascola v. City of A2: Motion for Summary Judgment]
• 04.14.14 [.pdf Dascola v. City of A2: Motion to Dismiss]
  
• 04.14.14 [.pdf Dascola v. City of A2: Response to Motion for SJ]
• 04.18.14 [.pdf Dascola v. City of A2: Reply in Support of Motion for SJ]
• 04.18.14 [.pdf Dascola v. City of A2: Response to Motion to Dismiss]
• 04.23.14 [.pdf Dascola v. City of A2: Reply to Response to Motion to Dismiss]
• 05.06.14 [.pdf Dascola v. City of A2: Plaintiff's Supplemental Brief]
• 05.06.14 [.pdf Dascola v. City of A2: Defendant's Supplemental Brief]

Susan Hutton and Kirk Westphal have been reappointed to serve on the city’s environmental commission as a result of Ann Arbor city council action on May 5, 2014. In addition, Katherine Hollins has been nominated to the EC, with her confirmation vote to come at the council’s next meeting. Hollins is a staffer with the Great Lakes Commission.

The reappointments of Hutton and Westphal were both included in a single resolution voted early in the meeting. On that resolution, Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), Jack Eaton (Ward 4), Mike Anglin (Ward 5) and Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1) dissented, without deliberation. Later, towards the end of the meeting, Kailasapathy explained that her dissent on the EC appointments was based on opposition to Westphal, not Hutton. Jane Lumm (Ward 2), as a member of the prevailing side, then moved to reconsider the resolution so that the question could be divided.

When separated out, Hutton’s appointment was confirmed unanimously. The vote on Westphal’s appointment was again 7-4, with the same four dissenters – but not without 20 minutes of debate.

Westphal was put forward as the planning commission’s representative to the environmental commission. He currently serves as chair of the planning commission, which voted at its Jan. 23, 2014 meeting to recommend Westphal’s reappointment. Westphal did not participate in the vote on that recommendation.

Westphal, a Democrat, is contesting the Ward 2 seat to which Sally Petersen is not seeking re-election – because she is running for mayor. Nancy Kaplan, who’s currently a member of the Ann Arbor District Library board, is running for that same Ward 2 seat. Petersen and Kaplan are also Democrats.

The controversy on the appointment stemmed from a decision by mayor John Hieftje last year not to nominate Jeff Hayner to the public art commission – because Hayner was running for Ward 1 city council against Sabra Briere. Those who dissented on Westphal’s appointment argued in part that the same principle should be applied to Westphal. Those who voted for Westphal noted that it was the planning commission’s choice of Westphal to represent them. Hieftje also noted that his policy that led him not to appoint Hayner was not based on concern for political advantage, but rather about the ability of someone to serve on a city board or commission if they were successful in their council race.

The appointing resolution on the council’s April 21 agenda – which was postponed until May 5 – originally included David Stead as a reappointment along with Hutton and Westphal. Postponement after initial appearance on the agenda is not unusual for appointments to the EC, because it allows the appointment to mimic the two-step nominate-confirm process for mayoral appointments.

Stead’s name was not included in a substitute resolution put forward at the May 5 meeting. Sabra Briere (Ward 1) indicated in an email on May 2 that she’d be offering the substitute resolution, saying, “David Stead has decided that his life is busy enough he cannot do justice to serving on the commission.”

Stead’s four previous terms on the commission would likely have been a point of friction for some councilmembers.

Stead was among the first members to be appointed, on Sept. 18, 2000 – after the council established the commission in a resolution approved on April 3, 2000. And he has served continuously since that initial appointment. Stead also served on the city council representing Ward 5 from April 1993 through November 1994.

There are no term limits for Ann Arbor city boards and commissions, except those highlighted in the city charter as having a six-year maximum. The park advisory commission is an example of a city commission with such term limits. But several councilmembers have expressed concerns about the length of service by some members of some boards and commissions preventing a broader range of participation in local governance. Most recently, the issue arose in connection with the reappointment of Wayne Appleyard to the energy commission on Oct. 23, 2013. Also a factor in the 8-3 confirmation vote for Appleyard was his non-city residency.

During deliberations on May 5, Margie Teall (Ward 4) pointed out that earlier in the meeting, the issue of vacancies on the EC had been raised. “Beggars can’t be choosers,” she said. Teall was referring to a comment by Briere, who had noted the EC vacancies and had encouraged people with a background in environmental sciences, chemistry, biology and the like to apply.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

The Ann Arbor city council has directed city administrator Steve Powers to partner with other organizations to develop strategies for deer management. Powers is supposed to report back to the city council by July 31, 2014 on the status of the partnership, including budget and timelines. The resolution, put forward by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), states that the desired outcome is a community-endorsed deer management plan.

The Ann Arbor city council took the action at its May 5, 2014 meeting.

Other organizations named in the resolution as potential partners include the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, the University of Michigan, the Humane Society of Huron Valley, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division. A recent meeting of the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission included a discussion of deer herd management.

Washtenaw County commissioner Andy LaBarre, who represents District 7 in Ann Arbor, had sent an email to the city council expressing his support for the resolution, and an indication that he will be putting forward a similar resolution for the county board of commissioners to consider. [.pdf of LaBarre's email]

During deliberations on May 5, several councilmembers expressed support for the resolution, thanked Lumm for doing the heavy lifting on this effort, and told personal stories about their experiences with deer. A report on the council’s discussion is included in The Chronicle’s live updates from the May 5 meeting.

One metric for deer as a nuisance is traffic accidents they cause. While the number of traffic crashes involving deer has shown a slight downward trend in Washtenaw County, the number of vehicle-deer crashes in the city of Ann Arbor has shown a slight upward trend.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

A $748,106 contract extension with CDM Smith Inc. for continued work as part of Ann Arbor’s footing drain disconnection (FDD) program has been postponed by the city council until June 2, 2014. City council action to postpone the contract extension came at its May 5, 2014 meeting.

In 2012, the city’s program to disconnect footing drains from the sanitary sewer system was suspended by the council in some areas of the city. Specifically, it was suspended in the Glen Leven and Morehead (Lansdowne neighborhood) areas. The program was allowed to continue in other geographic areas and as part of the city’s developer offset mitigation (DOM) program. The DOM requires owners of new developments to complete a certain number of FDDs to offset the additional flow in the sanitary system caused by new construction.

The CDM contract drew scrutiny because the city is currently undertaking a sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation (SSWWE) study. It’s supposed to yield a recommendation about whether to continue with the FDD program, and if so, in what form. In addition, the city’s ordinance, which requires property owners to undertake FDDs, was challenged in a lawsuit filed earlier this year. That case is pending as the city has removed the case from state to federal court and the plaintiffs are seeking to remand it back to state court. A hearing is scheduled for May 28 on the question of remand. Questions have been raised about the quality of work performed by CDM.

City administrator Steve Powers offered to set up meetings between staff and councilmembers in advance of the council’s May 5 meeting to discuss the resolution. The resolution is perceived by some as an indicator that the sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation (SSWWE) would have a forgone conclusion that the FDD should continue. However, at more than one meeting of the advisory committee that’s working on the study, staff and consultants have indicated that if the FDD were to continue at all, it would almost certainly not continue in its current form.

And the staff memo accompanying the resolution on the contract addressed possible questions by stressing that until the SSWWE is completed and a determination is made on the city’s approach to wet weather sanitary sewer flows, the services of CDM will be required in order to continue the existing FDD and DOM programs. It’s expected that this contract would cover services that are needed through January 2015.

This item on the May 5 agenda would have approved the fourth contract extension of an original contract with CDM dating back to 2006. This amendment to the CDM contract includes: citizen support ($36,928); FDD citizens advisory committee meetings ($24,180); information management for sump pump monitors ($93,707); developer offset mitigation program support; ($95,213); and multi-family FDD implementation ($498,005). When the item appears on the June 2 agenda it’s possible that some of those items might not be included.

The previous three iterations of the CDM contract totaled  about $3.6 million. The money for these contracts is drawn from the city’s sewer fund.

The proposed contract extension drew criticism during public commentary on May 5 from Frank Burdick, a Ward 4 resident who urged the council to reject it. Council deliberations on this item are included as part of The Chronicle’s live updates from the meeting.

Since the FDD program’s start in 2001, about 1,834 footing drains have been disconnected through the city program and 848 footing drains have been disconnected through the developer offset mitigation program.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

As a result of Ann Arbor city council action taken on May 5, 2014, city job applicants who have past felony conviction will not be barred from employment by the city of Ann Arbor – unless the exclusion is “job-related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity.”

The resolution directs city staff to revise the city’s employment application to eliminate a requirement that applicants disclose past criminal records – except for police and fire department applicants. Criminal background checks will not be conducted until after an applicant is determined to be otherwise qualified for the position and has received a conditional offer of employment.

And when a criminal background check is conducted, the following factors will need to be considered, according to the resolution passed by the council on May 5:

1. The nature and gravity of the offense or conduct for which the individual was convicted;
2. The time that has passed since the offense or conduct and/or completion of the sentence;
3. The nature of the job sought;
4. The facts or circumstances surrounding the offense or conduct;
5. The number of offenses for which the individual was convicted;
6. Age at the time of conviction, or release from prison;
7. Evidence that the individual performed the same type of work post-conviction, with another employer, with no known incidents of criminal conduct;
8. The length and consistency of employment history before and after the offense or conduct;
9. Rehabilitation efforts;
10. Employment or character references and any other information regarding fitness for the particular position; and
11. Whether the individual is bonded under a federal, state or local bonding program.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

Initial approval of amendments to Ann Arbor’s zoning ordinance related to drive-thrus has been given by the city council. The amendments would add a definition of a “drive-thru facility” to Chapter 55 of the city code. Currently, the term used throughout the code is “drive-in,” which is not explicitly defined in the code.

The proposed revisions define a drive-thru in this way: “Any building or structure, or portion thereof, that is constructed or operated for the purpose of providing goods or services to customers who remain in their vehicle during the course of the transaction.” The revisions also clarify that a drive-thru is an accessory use, not the principle use of the building. A project in which a drive-thru would be the principle use would not be allowed. Basic layout requirements would also be added to the ordinance.

City council action came at its May 5, 2014 meeting.

In addition, the changes would require drive-thrus to obtain special exception use permits, which would be allowed only in the O (office), C2B (business service) and C3 (fringe commercial) zoning districts. Drive-thrus would not be allowed in the C1, D1, D2, and other commercial districts.

Currently, drive-thrus are allowed in C3 districts without a special exception use. They are allowed as special exception uses in the C2B district.

When considering whether to grant a special exception use – which does not require additional city council approval – the planning commission considers these issues:

1. Is the location, size and character of the proposed use compatible with the principal uses of the district and adjacent districts? Is it consistent with the Master Plan? Is it consistent with the surrounding area? Will it have any detrimental effects to the use or value of surrounding area, or the natural environment?

2. Is the location, size, character, layout, access and traffic generated by the use hazardous or inconvenient or conflicting with the normal traffic of the neighborhood? Is off-street parking safe for pedestrians? Do the necessary vehicular turning movements block normal traffic flow? Are any additional public services or facilities needed by the use, and will they be detrimental to the community?

3. Is the maximum density and minimum required open space at least equal to the standards normally required by the Zoning Ordinance for the district?

The planning commission recommended the changes at its April 1, 2014 meeting.

The proposed amendments were first reviewed by the commission’s ordinance revisions committee in 2007, but never moved forward to the full commission for consideration. The ORC most recently reviewed these changes in March of 2014. [.pdf of staff memo and proposed amendments]

This item would require a second vote by the council at a future meeting for final approval.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

A rezoning request for 515 Oxford, to convert a house for use as an annex to the Delta Gamma sorority, has received initial approval from the Ann Arbor city council. The main sorority house is located nearby at 626 Oxford.

The request, recommended by the planning commission at its Jan. 23, 2014 meeting, is to rezone the parcel from R4A (multi-family dwelling) to R2B (two-family dwelling and student housing). Most of the surrounding parcels are zoned R2B, although the site immediately to the north is also zoned R4A. Also nearby is public land (PL) where the University of Michigan’s Oxford Houses complex is located.

The city council’s action came at its May 5, 2014 meeting.

The two-story house at 515 Oxford includes two one-story wings. It is currently a rental property with three units – a studio apartment, one-bedroom apartment, and four-bedroom apartment – and a maximum occupancy of 8 people. One of the units is in a former garage.

The proposal for a renovation would accommodate a maximum of 20 residents, including a required resident manager.

The building is notable because it was originally designed in 1940 by architect George Brigham, who used it as his home and architectural studio. He designed over 40 houses in Ann Arbor, including many in Arbor Hills and Barton Hills between 1936 and 1958.

To be given final approval, this item will require a second and final vote at a future meeting of the council. According to city planning staff, the timeline for this project is coordinated so that a site plan will be on the same council agenda as the second reading of the rezoning request. The site plan was approved by planning commissioners on April 15, 2014.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

Three Ann Arbor parks will be receiving upgrades to play equipment, and all of them will have better equipment for mowing and snow removal as a result of city council action on May 5, 2014.

The council approved a contract with Game Time c/o Sinclair Recreation for $132,000 to improve facilities at three parks. Arbor Oaks Park and Scheffler Park will have their play structures replaced, and North Main Park will be getting a tire swing and chess table.

In addition, the council approved the purchase of two 2014 Toro model 7210 commercial six-foot-wide mower/snow broom combination units at $50,426 each for a total of $100,853.

The units have a mower deck that can be used in the summer months and can be converted in the winter into a tank-tread type unit with an enclosed cab that accepts a rotating snow broom, a snow blower, or a plow blade.

The two Toros will replace two walk-behind mowers and three riding mowers.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

Final approval has been given for the rezoning of land that’s been donated to the city by developer Bill Martin, founder of First Martin Corp. The 2.2-acre parcel at 3301 Traverwood Drive is being added to the adjacent Stapp Nature Area, near the Leslie Park golf course.

Ann Arbor city council action came at its May 5, 2014 meeting.

City staff recommended that the donated parcel be rezoned from R4D (multi-family dwelling) to PL (public land). The land reaches from Traverwood Drive to the Leslie Park golf course, south of Huron Parkway. Adding the land expands a corridor of natural areas and parkland. Stapp Nature Area, a 8.11-acre property with a mature native forest and small vernal pool, is adjacent to Tuebingen Park and has a connection to Leslie Woods.

The site is on the northern edge of a larger property that’s being developed by First Martin Corp. as Traverwood Apartments. That project received its final necessary approvals from the city council on Jan. 6, 2014.

First Martin has committed to creating a pedestrian access from the apartment complex to the nature area, which will be formalized with an access easement.

The city has a policy of rezoning city-owned land to PL (public land). This parcel will be differentiated as parkland by its inclusion in the city’s parks and recreation open space (PROS) plan, because it will become part of the Stapp Nature Area, which is already in the PROS plan.

This item was given initial approval at the council’s April 7, 2014 meeting.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

Federal judge Lawrence Zatkoff has ordered that additional briefs be submitted in the lawsuit Bob Dascola has filed against the city of Ann Arbor. That means that Ann Arbor’s Ward 3 Democratic primary ballot won’t be set any sooner than May 6, when the additional briefs are due.

Dascola filed suit in order to be placed as a candidate on the ballot for Ann Arbor’s Ward 3 city council primary. He would join Democrats Julie Grand and Samuel McMullen in that race. Ann Arbor’s city charter includes two durational requirements for city councilmembers – that they be registered voters in the city for a year before election, and that they be residents of the ward they seek to represent for a year before election.

Dascola contends that he meets the residency requirement. He allows that he does not meet the voter registration requirement. But Dascola’s core legal claim is that the two charter provisions were struck down as unconstitutional, null and void in federal court cases dating from the 1970s. The city contends that it can enforce the two city charter requirements based on case law that evolved subsequent to the 1970s cases.

The court has ordered an expedited schedule so that the issue might be resolved before early June, when ballots must be printed. Briefs, responses, and replies have already been filed on motions for summary judgment and dismissal.

The additional briefs are supposed to focus just on the question of whether a law that has once been found to be unconstitutional must be officially re-enacted before it can be enforced. From the order on additional briefing:

The briefs shall focus solely on answering the following question: If a law is found “unconstitutional and void” by a federal district court, must that law be officially re-enacted before it is enforced? The briefs shall not focus on issues regarding collateral estoppel, res judicata or the “revival doctrine,” as the Court finds these issues have been addressed. The briefs must contain accurate and binding legal support, and are limited to seven (7) pages. [.pdf of April 30, 2014 court order on additional briefs]

Both parties have until Tuesday, May 6 at 5 p.m. to submit their briefs.

The Ann Arbor public art commission has recommended approval of “Arbor Winds” artwork for East Stadium bridges, designed by Massachusetts artist Catherine Widgery. The action came at AAPAC’s April 23, 2014 meeting. The recommendation will be forwarded to the city council for consideration. [.pdf of proposal]

In early August of 2013, Catherine Widgery of Cambridge, Mass. was recommended as the artist for this project. She was picked by a selection panel from four finalists who had submitted proposals for the project, which has a $400,000 total budget. [.pdf of Widgery's original proposal]

The selection panel provided feedback to Widgery and asked that she revise her proposal before it was presented to AAPAC and then later to the city council for approval. Members of the panel were Wiltrud Simbuerger, Bob Miller, Nancy Leff, David Huntoon and Joss Kiely. [.pdf of panel feedback]

Over the past few weeks, AAPAC chair Bob Miller and vice chair John Kotarski have been presenting her revised proposed to several local public entities, including the city’s park advisory commission, planning commission and the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority. A public forum to get additional feedback also was held on April 21 at the downtown library. [More details on the presentation by Kotarski and Miller are included in The Chronicle’s report of the Ann Arbor planning commission’s April 1, 2014 meeting.]

Widgery’s new design for the bridge features elevated, stand-alone louvered glass columns that are etched with images of trees. The same type of louvered glass panels are also used under the bridge along South State, affixed to the wall of the underpass. The panels will be lit from below, so that the etchings stand out at night. The glass is tempered and laminated for strength.

The artwork is meant to evoke the strength and fragility of this community. From the artist’s statement:

As one drives around Ann Arbor, the gracious stands of trees stand out as a clear expression of the town’s identity so trees have symbolized this arbor town from the beginning.

On a deeper level, the trees as portrayed in the artwork Arbor Winds are a metaphor for our own paradoxical fragility and strength in the context of our life cycles. We speak of having “deep roots” or of “branching out” or of how someone is “blooming”. After a long winter, the return to life of spring is expressed above all through the return of leaves to trees. We all feel the sense of being reborn in the spring with the blossoms and leaves and, in the autumn, the somewhat wistful sadness as the leaves reach their glory of color and then fall.

Arbor Winds evokes not just trees but wind and light as expressions of the energy that surrounds us. In each panel we see the ghostly afterimage as if the wind has blown the tree; we see both moments in time simultaneously. These images etched in glass are like those etched in our memories. We walk through a forest and it is our mental “snapshots” of the branches against the sky or the texture of the thick trunk, or the dense layers of the many trunks silhouetted against the forest underbrush that remain in our memories. Indeed each of these etched images is more the memory of moments rather than a physical reality: a subtle expression of our own ephemeral existence and the light traces we leave behind.

The recommendation will be placed on the council’s agenda for its first meeting in June. If approved, the art would likely be installed sometime in 2015.

This brief was filed from the basement of city hall, 301 E. Huron, where AAPAC holds its meetings. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

Competition in only one district for the Washtenaw County board of commissioners will play out in the Aug. 5, 2014 primary. Four Democratic candidates have filed for that seat. The deadline to file for the primary election was 4 p.m. on April 22.

In the remaining eight county districts, incumbents are unopposed in the primary but in most cases face competition in the Nov. 6 general election. Only the board’s two Republican incumbents – Dan Smith and Alicia Ping – are unopposed in the primary and will not face a Democratic opponent in November.

In District 5, incumbent Democrat Rolland Sizemore Jr. decided not to run for re-election. Four Democrats and one Republican have filed for that seat, which represents southeast Washtenaw, including Augusta Township and much of Ypsilanti Township. The Democrats are Wilma Gold-Jones, who serves on the board of the nonprofit Mentor2Youth; Ruth Ann Jamnick, former state representative and former Ypsilanti Township supervisor; Victor Dobrin, a retired engineer; and Keith Jason, coordinator of student services for Eastern Michigan University’s College of Technology. Jason also is a current Ypsilanti Township park commissioner and board member of the Ypsilanti Community Utilities Authority (YCUA). Republican Timothy King has also filed for that seat, but will be unopposed in the primary.

In the remaining eight districts, there are no primary challenges. Here’s a breakdown of the races and a link to the map of districts:

• District 1: Incumbent Democrat Kent Martinez-Kratz of Chelsea is unopposed in the primary, but will be challenged by Republican Larry Murphy of Scio Township in November. The district covers five townships in the west and northwest portions of the county, as well as Chelsea and Dexter.
• District 2: Incumbent Republican Dan Smith of Whitmore Lake is unopposed in the primary. No Democrat has filed for this seat, so unless an independent challenger emerges, Smith will also be unopposed in November. District 2 covers north and northeast portions of Washtenaw County, including five townships, Barton Hills and a small part of northern Ann Arbor.
• District 3: Incumbent Republican Alicia Ping of Saline is unopposed in the primary. She’ll also be unopposed in November, unless challenged by an independent candidate. This is the largest district in terms of geographic size, covering seven townships in southwest and southern Washtenaw County, as well as the cities of Saline and Milan and the village of Manchester.
• District 4: Incumbent Democrat Felicia Brabec does not face a challenger in the primary, but will be on the ballot with Republican Stanley Watson in November. The district primarily covers Pittsfield Township.
• District 6: Incumbent Democrat Ronnie Peterson does not face any Democratic opponents in the primary. Republican David Raaflaub will be on the ballot in November. If Peterson is re-elected in November, he would be the longest-serving current commissioner. The district includes Ypsilanti and parts of Ypsilanti Township and Superior Township.
• District 7: Democrat Andy LaBarre is running for re-election in this district, covering the east, northeast and southeast sides of Ann Arbor. He is unopposed in the primary, but will face Republican Joe Miriani in November.
• District 8: Incumbent Democrat Yousef Rabhi, who currently serves as county board chair, faces no primary challenger. The only Republican to file for this district is Jeffrey Gallatin, who ran for county sheriff in 2012. The district represents central and south-central Ann Arbor.
• District 9: Republican John Floyd will challenge incumbent Democrat Conan Smith in November. Neither candidate faces opposition in the primary. This district covers the west, northwest and southwest sides of Ann Arbor.

For the office of county commissioner, candidates could file either 50 signatures from their district or pay a $100 filing fee to appear on the ballot. Of all the current candidates, only three filed signatures: Wilma Gold-Jones and Victor Dobrin in District 5, and incumbent Yousef Rabhi in District 8. All other candidates paid the filing fee.

The county board has nine seats. All commissioners serve two-year terms, and all seats are up for election in 2014. Commissioners elected in November will begin their new terms on Jan. 1, 2015.

The deadline to withdraw from these races is 4 p.m. on Friday, April 25. More information about the candidates in these and other local elections is on the Washtenaw County elections website.

Sidewalk gaps on Scio Church Road and Newport Road in Ann Arbor took  a couple of steps closer to being filled as the result of city council action taken at its April 21, 2014 meeting.

Both projects were on the agenda to be handled as special assessments of property owners whose land would benefit from the sidewalks. Action on the special assessment portion of the funding for construction of the Scio Church sidewalk was delayed until the council’s second meeting in May – on May 19. Action on the Newport Road sidewalk special assessment moved forward.

For the sidewalk segment on Newport Road, the council approved a resolution directing the city assessor to prepare a special assessment roll of properties to be assessed. The council took action to set a public hearing on the Newport Road special assessment – for May 5, 2014 at the council’s regular meeting on that date.

The total amount to be special assessed for the Newport Road project is $49,746. But residents of the Newport Creek Site Condominium – who would not ordinarily be assessed, as their property isn’t adjacent to the sidewalk – have volunteered to contribute $10,228 to the project to help offset their neighbors’ assessments. Details of that arrangement are being finalized.

For the Scio Church Road sidewalk project, the total cost is expected to be $365,100. Of that, about $164,000 will be paid from a Federal Surface Transportation grant. The remaining $201,100 will be paid out of the general fund and by the special assessment of just $1,626. It was the size of the total amount of special assessment that led to the postponement. Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3) argued that the amount to be assessed was not worth the staff time to follow all the bureaucratic procedures involved in the implementation of a special assessment. He also called for 80% of any sidewalk project to be funded through non-special assessed funds.

While other councilmembers were fairly quickly willing to postpone the question until May 19, most did not appear to be inclined to support the idea of waiving the special assessment. Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1) cautioned that if the city made the filling of sidewalk gaps contingent on providing support from the general fund, that could stall the city’s program of filling those gaps.

Also its April 21 meeting, the council approved $177,100 of city funds for the construction of the Scio Church sidewalk and for an additional sidewalk on Barton Drive. The Barton Drive sidewalk will also be special assessed – with the associated resolutions to be presented to the council for approval at a future meeting.

Approval of the design contract for the Barton Drive and Scio Church stretches of new sidewalk was approved by the city council at its March 3, 2014 meeting.

By way of additional background, at its July 15, 2013 meeting, the council approved $15,000 for preliminary design of a sidewalk along Barton Drive. And at its Nov. 19, 2012 meeting, the council approved $15,000 for preliminary study of a sidewalk to be constructed along Scio Church, west of Seventh Street. On Nov. 7, 2013, the council approved another $35,000 for Scio Church sidewalk design work. The design contract for the Barton Drive and Scio Church stretches of new sidewalk, drew on the previously authorized funding.

The preliminary planning budget of $15,000 for the Newport Road sidewalk gap was approved over a year ago by the council at its Jan. 23, 2013 meeting.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

A new Ann Arbor law regulating smoking outside of public buildings and also potentially in areas of some city parks has been given final approval by the city council.

Smoking within a specified distance of certain locations is punishable under the new ordinance through a $25 civil fine. Those locations include: (1) bus stops; (2) entrances, windows and ventilation systems of the Blake Transit Center; (3) entrances, windows and ventilation systems any city-owned building; and (4) areas of public parks where signs have been posted as determined by the city administrator. Except for bus stops, the specified distance is 20 feet. For bus stops, the distance is 10 feet.

Community service could be ordered instead of the payment of a fine. The amount of the fine was reduced during deliberations at the April 21, 2014 meeting through an amendment suggested by Stephen Kunselman (Ward 3), who argued that the city charter of Ann Arbor sets a fine for use of marijuana at $25 for the first offense.

A citation could be issued only if someone doesn’t stop smoking immediately when asked to stop by a police officer.

Action giving final approval of the ordinance came at the council’s April 21, 2014 meeting after a public hearing was held, during which six people spoke.

The ordinance also authorizes the city administrator to have signs posted designating certain parks or portions of parks as off limits for outdoor smoking, and to increase the distance from entrances to city buildings where outdoor smoking is prohibited. Enforcement of the ordinance at these additional locations would take place only if signs are posted.

The initial approval of the ordinance had come at the council’s April 7, 2014 meeting after it had been postponed on March 3, 2014, and before that on Feb. 3, 2014. The initial approval came over dissent from Sumi Kailasapathy (Ward 1), Jane Lumm (Ward 2) and Jack Eaton (Ward 4). They cited concern that enforcement of the smoking law could distract from other policing duties and could have a disparate impact on the homeless population.

Chuck Warpehoski (Ward 5), sponsor of the new local law, had appeared before the city’s park advisory commission on Feb. 25, 2014 to brief commissioners on the proposal and solicit feedback.

An existing Washtenaw County ordinance already prohibits smoking near entrances, windows and ventilation systems, according to the staff memo accompanying the resolution – but the county’s ordinance can be enforced only by the county health department. The memo further notes that the Michigan Clean Indoor Air Act does not regulate outdoor smoking.

Ellen Rabinowitz, interim health officer for Washtenaw County, attended the April 7 meeting and spoke to councilmembers about the county’s experience. She supported the city ordinance, as did Cliff Douglas, director of the University of Michigan’s Tobacco Research Network. Douglas addressed the council during public commentary and answered questions later in the meeting on April 7. He also attended the April 21 meeting, again speaking in support of the ordinance.

Final approval of the ordinance came over dissent from Eaton and Lumm.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

Three resolutions supporting the Ann Arbor Housing Commission’s work to renovate its housing stock have been given approval by the Ann Arbor city council: a $600,000 transfer from the city’s affordable housing fund to AAHC; approval of a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) for AAHC properties; and approval of a 50% waiver of fees for capital improvement projects to be undertaken by AAHC.

The three actions were taken at the city council’s April 21, 2014 meeting.

By way of background, at its March 3, 2014 meeting, the council had directed the city administrator to prepare a budget resolution that would allocate $600,000 from the city’s affordable housing trust fund to support the AAHC’s plan to renovate its properties.

That allocation was to be contingent on the closing of the sale of the former Y lot to Dennis Dahlmann, as the net proceeds of that sale were to be deposited into the city’s affordable housing trust fund. The sale of the property closed on April 2, with net proceeds of roughly $1.4 million. So the $600,000 transfer out of the affordable housing trust fund was approved by the council at its April 21 meeting.

Also approved by the council at the same meeting was the reduction of planning and development fees associated with two of the capital renovation efforts being undertaken by the AAHC – at North Maple Estates and Platt Road.

The current AAHC complex at 701-739 North Maple – north of Dexter Avenue, on the west side of North Maple – consists of 19 single-family homes with a total of 85 bedrooms, as well as two three-bedroom duplexes with a total of 12 bedrooms. AAHC executive director Jennifer Hall has described the 21-unit complex as the busiest of AAHC’s properties.

The housing at North Maple was built at the lowest portions of the site, while an asphalt basketball court is at the highest point. The current configuration does not make sense from the perspective of drainage and stormwater management.

The AAHC is proposing to demolish the existing buildings at North Maple site and replace them with a small community building and 42 new units ranging in size from 1 bedroom to 5 bedrooms.

A community center would be centrally located on the west side of the site, and parking will be located adjacent to each of the buildings.

The AAHC property described as Lower Platt is located at 3451-3457 Platt – on the east side of Platt Road, north of Belvidere. Currently, there are four single-family houses at that site, each with five bedrooms.

Three of those houses are in the floodway, and the water table is higher than the basements. When it rains, the properties flood. The plan is to tear down the existing buildings, and rebuild 12 new townhomes further north on the same site, on land that’s currently vacant.

In addition, there’s a strip of vacant city-owned land on the west side of Platt, north of Verle and south of Sharon. The land runs from Platt over to Springbrook. The development plan calls for building four duplexes there – a total of eight units – with two duplexes accessed from Platt, and the other two accessed from Springbrook.

For the North Maple and Lower Platt projects, the city would ordinarily assess fees for site plan approval, zoning approval and street vacation. Those charges break down as follows, for a total of $22,705:

• North Maple: $8,995 for site plan approval; $1,425 for zoning approval; and $2,565 for street vacation.
• Lower Platt: $8,295 for site plan approval; $1,425 for zoning approval.

But under Chapter 55, Section 5:108 of Ann Arbor city code, those fees may be reduced by resolution of the city council by up to 50% of the specified fees – if the reduction is based on a finding that the development would provide affordable housing for lower-income households. That’s what the council agreed to do.

At its April 21 meeting, the city council also authorized a payment in lieu of taxes for AAHC properties at North Maple Estates, North Maple Duplexes, Lower Platt, Broadway, and White/State/Henry apartments. The period for which property taxes are being waived – under Section 15(a) of the State Housing Development Authority Act and Chapter 19, Section 1:651 of Ann Arbor City Code – is 50 years. In lieu of taxes, a $1 service charge must be paid.

The $600,000 authorized by the city council in support of AAHC’s renovation efforts comes after the April 2, 2014 vote by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority board to grant $600,000 over a three-year period to AAHC for renovation of its downtown and near-downtown properties at Baker Commons and Miller Manor.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

Appointments to the city’s environmental commission (EC) will likely a point of friction at the Ann Arbor city council’s May 5, 2014 meeting. Re-appointments for currently serving members of the EC – Kirk Westphal, David Stead, and Susan Hutton – were brought forward at the council’s meeting on April 21.

The action taken by the council at its April 21 meeting was to postpone the vote until May 5. That’s not unusual for appointments to the EC – because nominations are not made by the mayor, as with most boards and commissions. Past practice as been for the appointments to the EC to mimic the typical two-step mayoral appointment process – with nomination at one meeting followed by confirmation at the next meeting. So council has customarily had the EC appointments on its agenda for initial consideration and postponed a vote until the next meeting.

But council sources indicate that there will likely be debate on at least Stead’s appointment. Stead was originally described in the agenda item as having served on the commission since 2007. That was subsequently corrected. City records in Legistar indicate he was among the first members to be appointed, on Sept. 18, 2000 after the council established the commission in a resolution approved on April 3, 2000.

Based on Legistar records, he has served continuously since that initial appointment. Stead also served on the city council representing Ward 5 from April 1993 through November 1994.

There are no term limits for Ann Arbor city boards and commissions, but several councilmembers have expressed concerns about the length of service by some members of some boards and commissions preventing a broader range of participation in local governance. Most recently the issue arose in connection with the re-appointment of Wayne Appleyard to the energy commission on Oct. 23, 2013. Also a factor in the 8-3 confirmation vote for Appleyard was his non-city residency.

Stead is vice president of Resource Recycling Systems. City council minutes show that the council has approved roughly $300,000 in contracts for consulting work by RRS for the city of Ann Arbor between 2007 and 2009.

Westphal is being put forward as the planning commission’s representative to the environmental commission. He currently serves as chair of that commission. The planning commission voted at its Jan. 23, 2014 meeting to recommend Westphal’s reappointment. Westphal did not participate in the vote on that recommendation.

Westphal, a Democrat, is contesting the Ward 2 seat to which Sally Petersen is not seeking re-election – because she is running for mayor. Nancy Kaplan, who’s currently a member of the Ann Arbor District Library board, is running for that same Ward 2 seat.

In 2013, mayor John Hieftje declined to nominate Jeff Hayner to serve on the public art commission, citing a policy against nominating candidates for city council to serve on city boards and commissions. Hayner ran for Ward 1 council against Sabra Briere that year – a race in which Briere prevailed.

Hutton was first appointed to the environmental commission in 2011 and is concluding her first three-year term.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

Three different site plans were approved by the Ann Arbor city council at its April 21, 2014 meeting: Concordia University’s proposed gym expansion; an expansion of an office building on Collingwood; and the overhaul of a Shell station on South State.

A site plan to expand the existing Concordia University gym was approved by the city council with scant discussion, but with thanks expressed by Jane Lumm (Ward 2) Concordia University CEO Curt Gielow.

The plan also includes reconfiguring nearby parking lots and stormwater management features on the 187-acre site at 4090 Geddes Road, just west of US-23 and north of the Huron River. The city planning commission recommended approval of the site plan at its March 4, 2014 meeting.

Planning commissioners granted a special exception use for the project. That’s required because the private university is located on a site zoned R1B (single-family residential district). The site plan requires city council approval, but the special exception use does not.

The proposal calls for a three-story, 34,391-square-foot addition to the current 22,021-square-foot gym that was built in the early 1960s, located on the west side of Concordia’s main campus. [.pdf of campus map] The addition will include men’s and women’s locker rooms, athletic office space, classrooms and an auxiliary gym.

A second phase of the project entails constructing a single-story, 5,280-square-foot athletic training room. An existing gravel parking area west of the gym will be paved and landscaped, and another lot north of the gym along Geddes will get new landscaping and bioswales. A total of 92 new parking spaces will be created, mostly in the former gravel lot.

A new stormwater management system will be completed to address a 100-year storm event, including a detention pond with an outlet into a bioswale south of the developed area. The site plan is for a planned project, which allows variations in height and placement. The proposed addition would be 39 feet high. The site’s zoning has a height limit of 30 feet. The existing gym is about 33 feet high, measured at the midpoint of the roof.

In other action on land use approvals at its April 21 meeting, the council approved a site plan that expands an office building at 278-280 Collingwood. The proposal received a recommendation of approval from the Ann Arbor planning commission at its March 18, 2014 meeting.

The site plan calls for removing the existing second floor on the east side of the office building and constructing a 2,451-square-foot second floor over the entire building for office use.

A new staircase will be added at the southwest corner of the building. The second floor will overhang the first floor along the front of the building and along part of the north side. An existing curbcut on the north side of the property will be removed. The current 22 parking spaces on the site will be reduced to 17.

Planning commissioners approved modifications to the city’s landscaping requirements for this site. Total construction cost for this project is estimated at $300,000. The office building is located in Ward 4. Collingwood Drive is a street off of West Stadium Boulevard, just south of West Stadium’s convergence with South Maple Road. [.pdf of staff memo]

Finally, the council approved a site plan for the overhaul of a Shell station and a new drive-thru restaurant at 2991 S. State. The site is located at the northeast corner of the East Eisenhower Parkway and South State Street.

The city planning commission recommended approval of the site plan at its March 18, 2014 meeting. The plan calls for demolishing the current one-story convenience store and car wash on this site, which total 2,435 square feet. In its place, the owner – Joseph Kafi of JAK Cubed LLC – would put up a single building with a 1,250-square-foot drive-thru restaurant and 3,000-square-foot convenience store.

The existing gas pump island canopy will remain in place, and two pumps will be relocated to spots under the canopy. According to a staff memo, a single lane drive-thru would be primarily accessed from the existing East Eisenhower Parkway curb cut. Vehicles would move in an east-to-north direction before exiting onto either South State or East Eisenhower.

The drive-thru lane provides stacking for up to nine vehicles and would be screened to the west by the proposed new building. A total of 22 parking spaces are proposed for the site, including eight that are located at the four gas pump islands. The project, located in Ward 4, is estimated to cost $800,000. The business is expected to remain open during construction. The existing convenience store will then be demolished after the new building is finished.

The specific restaurant to be located there is still being negotiated. [.pdf of staff report]

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron.

At its April 21, 2014 meeting, the Ann Arbor District Library board reviewed its proposed fiscal year 2014-15 budget, which is based on a millage rate of 1.55 mills – unchanged from the current rate. [.pdf of draft budget summary]

The $12.568 million budget assumes a 2.4% increase in tax revenues, based on an increase in property values. The library is authorized to levy up to 1.92 mills, but in recent years the board has set the millage rate at lower levels.

The budget reflects a 3% increase in the merit raise pool for full-time employees. Salaries, wages and benefits account for the largest portion of the budget expenditures – a projected $8.048 million in fiscal 2014-15. Other major line items include materials ($1.75 million); utilities ($448,000); programming ($320,000); and repair/maintenance ($312,000).

The library’s fiscal year runs from July 1 through June 30. The board is expected to vote on the budget at its meeting on May 19.

Ken Nieman – the library’s associate director of finance, HR and operations – made the budget presentation. April 21 was his last board meeting at AADL, as he’ll be taking a job as CFO for the public library in Sonomo County, California. Nieman has worked at AADL for 14 years. His last day there will be May 2.

This brief was filed from the fourth-floor boardroom of the downtown library at 343 S. Fifth Ave. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

A renovation of the downtown library’s front entrance took a step forward, following action by the Ann Arbor District Library board at its April 21, 2014 meeting.

The board authorized the library director, Josie Parker, to hire a construction manager for the project. Board members also allocated $18,580 from the fund balance to pay InForm Studio for construction documents. InForm Studio, the architecture firm that previously designed AADL’s Traverwood branch, has been working on this project for several months. An update was given most recently at the board’s March 17, 2014 meeting.

Parker has expressed her intent that the project be kept under $250,000.

Before taking action, the board heard from architect Cory Lavigne of InForm Studio, who presented a revised design for the project. A large translucent sign that had previously been part of the design is now eliminated, after some board members voiced concerns about security issues that it might cause. A bench in front of the building – originally part of the proposed design –  has been removed. Instead, a sign that’s low to the ground is proposed in that location.

The existing teal porcelain metal panels that wrap around the front facade will be replaced with a “concrete skin” panel. The entrance would continue to be oriented to South Fifth Avenue, with new doors into the building. Leading from the front of the building into the vestibule will be two balanced double doors, which will be easier to open than the existing entry, and a single automatic door. A matching set of these doors will lead from the vestibule to the interior of the building.

Lavigne reviewed several other changes, some of which addressed accessibility concerns that were raised in the preliminary design. A heated sidewalk also is proposed along the exterior edge of the steps.

The board spent several minutes discussing a suggestion from Ed Surovell, who wanted more than just one flagpole in front of the building. Trustees reached consensus for the details to be worked out by the architect and the facilities committee, on which Surovell serves. Other members of the facilities committee are Margaret Leary, chair, and Jan Barney Newman.

This brief was filed from the fourth-floor boardroom of the downtown library at 343 S. Fifth Ave. A more detailed report will follow: [link]

The deadline for filing sufficient petition signatures to qualify for the Aug. 5, 2014 ballot in Ann Arbor city council and mayoral primary elections is April 22. So this is the last weekend to collect signatures. Council candidates must collect 100 signatures from voters registered in the ward they seek to represent. Mayoral candidates need 50 signatures from each of the city’s five wards.

The city’s offices closed today at noon for the holiday weekend.

Here’s a quick status report as of noon April 18 on who’s taken out petitions, who’s filed signatures, and whether they’ve been verified by the city clerk’s staff. All candidates who have taken out petitions and are eligible are Democrats.

Mayor

• Sabra Briere: petitions filed
• Sally Petersen: petitions filed
• Christopher Taylor: petitions filed
• Stephen Kunselman: petitions filed and verified

Ward 1

• Don Adams: petitions filed
• Sumi Kailasapathy (incumbent): petitions filed and verified
• Eric Sturgis: took out petitions but has indicated to clerk staff he will not be filing
• Bryan Kelly: took out petitions as a candidate with no party affiliation on April 18, but according the city clerk, he does not meet the one-year durational residency and voter registration requirements in the city charter. He moved from Ward 4 to Ward 1 on Nov. 19, 2013.

Ward 2

• Nancy Kaplan: petitions filed and verified
• Kirk Westphal: petitions not yet filed

Ward 3

• Bob Dascola: petitions filed and verified, but a lawsuit is pending to determine eligibility in light of one-year durational residency and voter registration requirements in the city charter.
• Julie Grand: petitions filed and verified
• Samuel McMullen: petitions filed

Ward 4

• Graydon Krapohl: petitions filed and verified

Ward 5

• Leon Bryson: petitions filed and verified
• Chuck Warpehoski (incumbent): petitions not yet filed

Updated April 21, 2014 5:30 p.m.: Signatures have now been filed for all eligible candidates who intended to file. Clerk’s staff have also verified all signatures except for those of Chuck Warpehoski, which are still in process, and Samuel McMullen, who fell eight signatures short. McMullen has been notified of the shortfall, and he’ll have until tomorrow to hand them in.