Because these are changes to the zoning code, which is expressed in city ordinances, the council’s action needs a second and final vote at a future meeting, in order to be enacted.

Aerial view of 425 S. Main – outlined in green – between William and Packard. An alley separates the site from a residential neighborhood along South Fourth Avenue.

The council’s initial approval came only after two votes on each of the parts of the zoning, as councilmembers had first decided to refer the height limit issue back to the planning commission, but ultimately decided to amend the height limit to 60 feet. A summary of the deliberations is provided in The Chronicle’s live updates from the meeting.

By way of background, 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]

Considered separately by the council were votes that would: (1) change the zoning of the parcel from D1 (downtown core base district) to D2 (downtown interface base district); and (2) change the character overlay district, of which the parcel is a part, to increase the D2 height limit from 60 feet to 100 feet.

It’s the second of those changes that the council amended – so that the D2 height for this parcel would be the same 60-foot limit as other D2 areas in the downtown. The proposed changes to the character overlay district also include upper story setbacks from any residential property. [.pdf of staff memo on overlay district] Those upper story setbacks will likely need some further revision – by the time a second and final vote is taken – in order to be consistent with the 60=foot limit.

The planning commission recommended both the changes at its May 6, 2014 meeting. The planning commission’s vote on the basic zoning change was unanimous – 9-0. But the vote on the 100-foot height limit was only 6-3, with dissent coming from Sabra Briere, Ken Clein and Jeremy Peters. Briere also serves on city council, representing Ward 1. Both recommendations had been brought forward by the commission’s ordinance revisions committee (ORC). Members are Bonnie Bona, Diane Giannola, Kirk Westphal and Wendy Woods.

The planning commission’s recommendations came in response to a city council directive given at its Jan. 21, 2014 meeting, which had been based on previous work the planning commission had done. The commission had studied and developed a broader set of eight 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.

Those initial Dec. 3, 2013 recommendations from the planning commission had come in response to a previous direction from the city council, given at the council’s April 1, 2013 meeting. The council’s action in early 2013 came in response to the controversial 413 E. Huron development.

The items on the council’s June 16, 2014 agenda were just the first of what are expected to be several other changes recommended by the planning commission. That set of initial recommendations from the planning commission to the city council – which the council then accepted and for which the council asked the planning commission to draft ordinance language – included a proposal to rezone 425 S. Main to D2. However, those original recommendations had also called for a maximum height of 60 feet for D2 zoning in the Main Street character overlay district – lower than the 100 feet put forward at the commission’s May 6 meeting.

The current D1 zoning for 425 S. Main allows for a maximum height of 180 feet. The previous zoning, prior to 2009, set no limits on height. At this time, no new development has been proposed for this site.

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

Wendy Rampson, head of the city's planning staff, and Eric Mahler, newly elected chair of the Ann Arbor planning commission, at the commission's July 8, 2010 meeting. (Photos by the writer.)

That business included approval of revised area, height and placement (AHP) standards that have been under review for more than two years. The revisions have pulled back from some of the original proposals – for example, there’s no longer an uncapped building height in certain districts. It’s the first significant overhaul of these standards in roughly 50 years, with the goal of reflecting prevailing community values. The recommendations will now be forwarded to city council for final approval.

The planning commission also voted to postpone action on a project at the Kroger on South Maple. The grocery is adding a drive-thru pharmacy, and needs city approval to reconfigure its parking lot to accommodate the drive-thru lane. A few unresolved issues led commissioners to push back consideration until their July 20 meeting.

And the commission elected a new slate of officers, with local attorney Eric Mahler replacing architect Bonnie Bona as chair.

Area, Height & Placement

The fact that no one spoke during the meeting’s public hearing on changes to the city’s area, height and placement standards might be attributable to the July 4th holiday week, or it could be related to the multiple public forums held on the topic over the past year, most recently on June 16, 2010. [For a primer on AHP, see Chronicle coverage: "Zoning 101: Area, Height, Placement." Additional information is on a page of the city's website dedicated to the AHP revision process.]

Revisions to these standards have been in the works since 2007, when the planning commission and staff started looking at doing a comprehensive update – for the first time in more than 50 years. The rationale for making revisions is summarized in a planning staff report that accompanied the proposed changes:

More recently, best practices in urban planning and environmental design recommend a more sustainable approach to land use practices including: a) more compact use of land and infrastructure, b) the preservation of natural systems, c) accommodating new growth along transit corridors in existing urban areas which have existing infrastructure, d) locating buildings closer to the right-of-way to promote non-motorized access, and e) mixed land uses. The challenge that decision makers in Ann Arbor now face is that current ordinances related to area, height and placement do not encourage these land use practices.

After working with an advisory committee, in the summer of 2008 the planning commission passed a recommendation for initial revisions.

Planning staff presented the recommendations to a city council work session in September 2008, and got direction from council to get additional public input about the changes. Eight public workshops were held, and at its Dec. 7, 2009 meeting, the council passed a resolution kicking the issue back to the planning commission for further consideration. Since then, planning staff and the commission’s ordinance revisions committee have been working on further revisions. Those revisions were presented to the full commission at their July 8 meeting.

AHP: Proposed Changes to Draft

Based on public input, as well as staff and committee review, there are a raft of proposed changes to the AHP amendments that were originally drafted. [.pdf of summarized list of substantive AHP changes and .pdf of complete revisions] Here’s a general overview of some of the current proposed changes:

• Area: “Area” is a measure of density, specifically using a floor-area ratio (FAR). FAR is the ratio of the square footage of a building divided by the size of the lot. A one-story structure built lot-line-to-lot-line with no setbacks corresponds to an FAR of 100%. A similar structure built two-stories tall would result in an FAR of 200%. Originally, three retail zoning districts had a proposed FAR of 200%, an increase compared to the current maximum of 40-50%. Some of those increases were scaled back under the revised draft. Now, the proposed FARs are: 1) 100% in the C1 retail district; 2) 150% in the C1B retail district; and 3) 200% in the C3 retail district.
• Height: Building heights in four zoning districts – office, retail, research, and research & light industrial – had originally been proposed as uncapped, but now have height limits of 55 feet and four stories. The maximum height for hotel districts – originally proposed for 120 feet – now have height limits of 50 feet, or up to 80 if there is parking below at least 35% of the building. The maximum height in the C2B (business service) zoning district has been reduced from 60 feet to 55 feet.
• Placement/Setbacks: “Placement” regulations govern where a building can be constructed within a particular lot, and are expressed in terms of “setbacks.” For example, a 25-foot minimum front setback would mean that a building needs to have a 25-foot buffer between it and the front lot line. There are several setback changes proposed. In the original proposal, setbacks in two retail zoning districts – C1 and C1B – had no minimum setback, compared to the existing 25-foot minimum. Now, the minimum setback is proposed at 10 feet.

Jeff Kahan of the city’s planning staff is the point person for the AHP initiative, and gave the staff report to commissioners.

No one spoke during a public hearing on the AHP changes. Earlier in the meeting, Rampson had said that the official notice of the meeting had included an incorrect start time – 7 p.m. – which might result in people coming late. Though planning commission meetings typically start at 7 p.m., Thursday’s meeting began at 6 p.m. to accommodate the change of venue. However, no one arrived to address the commission – there were no speakers during the final opportunity for general public commentary, either.

AHP: Commissioner Discussion

During their discussion of the AHP changes, commissioners primarily asked clarificational questions and gave some feedback, but did not suggest substantive revisions.

Evan Pratt asked a question about instances when a “skinny” piece of land doesn’t abut a residential property, but comes close. He asked whether they could modify the language to indicate a distance, rather than specify only parcels that abut residential.

Pratt was referring to the following changes, as outlined in a memo from the planning staff:

• Increase side and rear setbacks where non-residential abuts residentially zoned land from 20’ to 30’ wherever 20’ was required

• Require additional 1 foot side and rear setback for each 1 foot of building height above 30’ (e.g. a new 55’ building abutting residential would need to be set back 55’ from the residential property line)

• Restore the 100’ setback requirement for RE (Research) for side and rear setbacks

• Proposed adding modifications to Chapter 62 (Landscaping & Screening) in the following manner: a) add multiple family uses to those uses requiring a conflicting land use buffer when abutting residential property; b) increase the number of required trees in the conflicting land use buffer from 1 tree per 20 lineal feet to 1 tree per 15 lineal feet. This change is being coordinated with Public Services (Systems Planning) which is currently pursuing amendments to Chapter 62.

Kahan said he could talk to Kerry Gray and Jerry Hancock, members of the city staff who are handling revisions to Chapter 62. The overall goal is to provide a buffer to residential areas, he said.

Pratt next asked whether the lower building height for hotels (R5 zoning districts) was in response to public input. He noted that those parcels don’t seem to be imposing on any residential areas. Kahan confirmed that the R5 districts are proximate to freeways: the South State corridor at I-94, Plymouth Road at US-23, and Jackson Road at I-94. The main concern from the public had been uncapping height limits, he said. Responding to a follow-up from Pratt, he clarified that there are no FAR restrictions in those districts – there are no limits to a building’s massing.

Pratt said that Ann Arbor isn’t currently a big hotel town, but looking to the future, that might change.

Bonnie Bona spoke next, noting that other than Kahan, she was the only other person on the commission who’d been around throughout the long AHP process. The longer they’ve worked on it, she said, the more it feels like they’re going backwards – but that’s not the case. The current changes are a step back from a year ago, but are far better than the existing standards.

She made several observations about the revisions – noting, for example, that restrictions to height limitations in R4 (residential) districts do not include the R4C district. That’s because a separate study committee is looking at revisions to R4C and R2A districts.

Overall, “we’ve come a long way with this,” Bona said, adding that she thinks it will reduce number of planned projects that are proposed. [Planned projects are those requiring zoning variances, but not a rezoning as with planned unit developments.]

Diane Giannola raised a question about an additional one-foot setback requirement:

Require additional 1 foot side and rear setback for each 1 foot of building height above 30’ (e.g. a new 55’ building abutting residential would need to be set back 55’ from the residential property line)

Not many parcels – other than Georgetown Mall on Packard – would fit into this category, she noted. She wondered why it was necessary to include it, given that there were so few parcels to which the requirement would apply.

Kahan cited a few other applicable properties: The Colonnade on Eisenhower, the Cranbrook shopping plaza at Ann Arbor-Saline and Eisenhower, the Busch’s plaza on Green Road. These “micro-sized” lots won’t be able to easily build up to 55 feet, he noted, unless they put parking underground, which is expensive. Smaller developers won’t likely take advantage of the extra height option, but larger developers would be able to afford it.

Jean Carlberg added that in looking toward potential future development, there needed to be those safeguards on height and setback.

Planning commissioners Evan Pratt, left, and Kirk Westphal at the July 8, 2010 planning commission meeting.

Kirk Westphal asked about changes in the C2B retail district. FAR isn’t changing, but rear setbacks are going from none to 30 feet when abutting residential, plus an extra foot for every additional foot of height. He wondered whether that would pose an additional hardship for property owners – for example, along Stadium Boulevard. In other districts, there’s been an increase in FAR to promote compact development closer to the street.

Kahan said that overall, the intent is not only to increase workability, but also to ensure consistency among the city’s employment and commercial districts. He noted that a big plus is the large reduction in the required front setback – a minimum of 40 feet is being reduced to 10. They’re hoping that it will increase pedestrian-oriented development, Kahan said, with buildings positioned closer to the street and away from neighborhoods.

Westphal said he’d forgotten about the dramatic decrease in front setbacks.

Eric Mahler said he was a little confused about the phrase “below at least 35% of the building,” in reference to parking. Kahan clarified that at least 35% of the building’s footprint would need to include underground parking, in order to gain height premiums in certain districts. The intent is to encourage putting parking underground, he said.

Wendy Woods noted that there had been a lot of public input and staff input in this process, and that it truly was a community effort. She applauded planning staff for attending the many public meetings on the topic.

Outcome: Changes to the area, height and placement standards were unanimously approved. The city council will consider and vote on the issue at an upcoming meeting before the changes can take effect.

After the vote, Mahler wrapped up by saying, “That long saga comes to an end – good work.”

Kroger Site Plan Postponed

Owners of the Kroger store on South Maple, near the Westgate Shopping Center, want to add a drive-thru pharmacy on the south side of the building, and need city approval to reconfigure the parking lot to add a drive-thru lane.

The proposal includes widening the driveway along the south side of the building, and removing 14 of the 22 existing parking spaces there. Even after eliminating those spaces, the site will have 42 spaces more than the maximum allowed by code. [The grocery store site pre-dates changes to zoning that imposed a maximum number of parking spaces.] The existing walkway and landscaped areas will be reconfigured, with a pedestrian walkway flowing through an island that’s encircled by the pharmacy drive-thru lane. Bicycle parking will be moved to the front of the store.

Staff is proposing modifications to the driveway width and configuration, narrowing a proposed east-west lane from 35 feet to 26 feet.

The planning staff presentation was made by Alexis DiLeo, and the staff recommendation was for postponement.

Kroger Site Plan: Public Hearing

Two representatives of the Kroger project spoke during the public hearing.

Jeffery Scott, an architect based in Farmington, is working on the Kroger addition and spoke to the planning commission about the project at their July 8 meeting.

Jeffery Scott introduced himself as the architect on the project. He explained that trucks going back to the store’s loading dock often jump the curb on the southwest corner, and the reconfiguration would give those semis a wider turning radius. He said he was confident that they could tweak the project to the city’s satisfaction, with the caution that they didn’t want to make the overall configuration “too curvy.” He asked that the planning commission approve the project, contingent on “fine tuning” some of the details with city staff.

Stephan Hennard of Kroger’s Michigan operations, based in Novi, introduced himself and indicated he was there to answer questions, if commissioners had any.

Kroger Site Plan: Commissioner Discussion

Bonnie Bona began by asking for additional clarification from Scott about the driveway width. Scott said the site plan proposes to widen the driveway to allow trucks more room to maneuver. Bona indicated that the city staff would work with Kroger on that.

She then asked whether Kroger considered moving the parking spaces further west, noting that there’s 32 additional feet beyond the end of the parking area. She also wondered whether they could eliminate one or two of the parking spots along that stretch. DiLeo said they hadn’t considered that, but it might be possible, given the excess amount of parking on the overall site. She said the staff wouldn’t mind if all the spaces were removed from the south side and replaced with landscaping – a suggestion that Bona endorsed.

Wendy Woods agreed with Bona that reducing some of the parking to the west of the drive-thru would be good. She was concerned that customers parking in those spots would have to walk across the drive-thru lane in order to get to the store’s entrance. She was also concerned about pushing carts along that path in inclement weather. Scott noted that the volume for drive-thru customers isn’t high – typically four cars per hour, on a good day.

Woods asked whether the pharmacy would be open 24/7. Hennard indicated that the pharmacy would close at 9 p.m. on Monday-Saturday, and at 6 p.m. on Sunday. Responding to other queries, he said that there is lighting on that side of the building, and that there would be yield signs and pavement markings to guide both traffic and pedestrians.

A site plan detail of the proposed pharmacy drive-thru at the Kroger on South Maple Road. (Links to larger image)

Erica Briggs wondered whether it would be possible to remove the parking spaces along the store’s southwest side, saying it’s potentially confusing for customers to have parking there. She also asked whether the sidewalk next to the parking was envisioned as a staff break area.

Hennard said that Kroger could mark those spots as employee-only parking. The area next to the parking has picnic tables and is the only outside break area for staff, he said.

Earlier in the discussion, Tony Derezinski had noted that they needed to decide between two options: 1) approve the site plan, contingent on working out any unresolved issues, and 2) postpone the vote. He pointed out that Scott would like to know generally whether the commission approves of the project, and it seemed that they did, he said. Derezinski then asked DiLeo whether this could be brought up at the commission’s next meeting – was there sufficient time to wrap things up by then?

DiLeo noted that the next regular meeting was on July 20, and if they canceled their Aug. 3 meeting [which they did, later in the meeting], then the next meeting after that was Aug. 17. Two weeks would be tight, she said, and there are no guarantees that they could finish, but they’d make every effort.

DiLeo said there were five outstanding issues to address, including 1) coming to agreement about modifying the driveway width; 2) updating the “existing conditions” sheet to reflect the current site, specifically showing the wireless communications tower, accessory buildings and enclosure; 3) revising a comparison chart to include all variances that had been previously granted for the site; and 4) showing documentation that Kroger will get a temporary grading easement from the adjacent property owner.

Outcome: Commissioners voted unanimously to postpone the project until their July 20, 2010 meeting.

New Officers Elected, Election Day Meeting Canceled

The commission elected a slate of new officers at their July 8 meeting, which had been moved from Tuesday to Thursday because of the July 5 holiday. Slips of paper were distributed for anonymous voting, but when it became clear that none of the seats were contested, they bagged the written ballots and held elections by a show of hands.

Eric Mahler is the new chair, taking over from Bonnie Bona. Vice chair is Kirk Westphal, and Diane Giannola was elected secretary. Bona walked over to Mahler, handed him the wooden gavel, shook his hand – and once again, a smooth democratic transition was secured.

Diane Giannola, the planning commission's newly elected secretary, proposed canceling their Aug. 3 meeting to accommodate the primary election.

Later in the meeting, another organizational issue emerged. Giannola proposed canceling the commission’s Aug. 3 meeting, since it falls on the date of the primary elections. Giannola said that in general, she didn’t think that any city business should be done on that day, in order to give people the chance to vote.

Wendy Rampson of the city’s planning staff indicated that things were pretty quiet – the Kroger site plan was the only item coming up that she was aware of. Giannola asked whether they could make it a standard practice not to schedule meetings on primary election days – it would be consistent with the practice of not holding meetings on the date of the November general election. Bona said that one good thing about having it as a standing practice is that they could set their official meeting calendar with that in mind, rather than setting the date and then canceling it.

Tony Derezinski said it would be possible to consider, given that they were currently revising their bylaws. But he noted that the next batch of commissioners might have a different view, and perhaps they’d want the flexibility to make that call themselves.

Mahler suggested running the question by the city attorney’s office. A vote to cancel the Aug. 3, 2010 meeting passed unanimously.

Present: Bonnie Bona, Erica Briggs, Jean Carlberg, Tony Derezinski, Diane Giannola, Eric Mahler, Evan Pratt, Kirk Westphal, Wendy Woods.

Mike Bergren, assistant field services manager for the city of Ann Arbor, assures city council that there'll be enough salt on hand, even if it snows again.

City council meeting (March 17, 2009) The “tomfoolery” that the headline indicates is nothing more than a play on words: Tom Wall expressed appreciation on behalf of All Star Hot Dogs; separately, Shoshana Hurand made a presentation about the upcoming FestiFools parade. City council’s Monday meeting also featured a brief performance on harmonica by Peter “Madcat” Ruth and a puppet-head of vast proportions resembling Mayor John Hiefte [photo after the break].

But woven into the mix was less lighthearted fare: People’s Food Co-op Board elections, protection for migratory birds, appointments to a zoning advisory committee, potholes, the vehicle fleet and road salt. Council authorized an expenditure that Mike Bergren, assistant field operations manager with the city of Ann Arbor, said was estimated to get us at least through the rest of the winter – saying it was possible that there’d be ice storms in April.

Road Salt

City council had before it a resolution to approve a $46,560 purchase from Morton International Inc. for road salt. Mike Bergren, assistant field services manager for the city of Ann Arbor, was called to the podium to explain the purchase. [Bergren's name will be familiar to Chronicle readers as the city staffer who called a street sweeper in for clean-up of a concrete spill.] Councilmember Sabra Briere said that she hoped the purchase didn’t mean any more cold weather was expected. Bergren allowed that there could be ice storms through April and it was still March, so the purchase was meant to get the city through the rest of the winter season. If it wasn’t used, it’d be on hand for next year, he said.

Councilmember Leigh Greden said he always had to ask a question about salt, because there’s always reports of other communities running out or paying extra-high prices. From Bergren, Greden elicited the fact that the purchase was being made under the state’s bid participation and they’d gotten a price of $38 per ton. [Editorial aside: Here's an easy real-life math story problem for readers with school-age kids: How many tons of salt did the city purchase?] Bergren said that they were topping off their bid allotment.

Mayor Hieftje noted that last year was the snowiest on record and wanted to know how this most recent winter was stacking up. Bergren said that this winter was ahead of last year’s mark by 23 inches.

This led Hieftje to inquire about potholes: “When can we anticipate potholes getting fixed?” In discussion with Bergren, it emerged that the obstacle to systematic fixing of potholes was that there’s still a lot of groundwater present right now, and that with overnight freezing, the repairs don’t last very long. [cf.  pothole section below]

Outcome: Council passed unanimously the resolution to purchase road salt.

Potholes

During communications from council, Greden apologized about the pothole situation that a speaker during public comment time had raised. He stressed that residents could provide essential assistance with the effort of identifying locations of potholes by calling 99-HOLES. He said he’d tested it out and it works. Asked after the meeting for clarification, Greden said that by “works” he meant that he’d called, left a recorded description of a pothole in the area of Stadium Boulevard and Packard, and that it’d subsequently been patched. His attention had been drawn to the pothole when he drove over it.

The public commentary to which Greden had alluded addressed potholes plus other infrastructure issues.

Barbara Bergman [Note that this is not the same Barbara Bergman who serves on the county's board of commissioners.]: The Michigan economy is the  worst in country, Bergman said, and the roads are the also the worst. She reported driving down Stadium Boulevard near St. Francis when she hit a pothole filled with water. She said she managed to continue to Trader Joe’s, whereupon she noticed she’d lost her hubcap and bent the wheel. When she went back to retrieve her hubcap, she couldn’t find it among seven other hubcaps.

Her second point was to invite council to  imagine what it’s going to be like on the Stadium bridge over State Street on a football Saturday. [The bridge's traffic has been reduced from two lanes each direction to one-lane each direction due to concerns about a beam.] We need to fix both sides of the bridge so that there’s two lanes, she said, and  the University of Michigan should help pay for it. Bergman’s third point was that the city of Ann Arbor was contemplating laying off police officers. She contrasted those possible layoffs with the fact that there’s money to pay for  a “waterfall in front of city hall” and and $77,000  for a “foreign sculptor” to design it.  [The design cost for the stormwater art to be created by Herbert Dreiseitl is $77,000, with the project itself expected to cost around $700,000.] After ticking through the names of around a half dozen art schools in Michigan, Bergman concluded that there could be Michigan artists who are qualified to undertake such a project.

Vehicle Fleet

There were multiple resolutions authorizing the purchase of vehicles for the city’s fleet. Councilmember Margie Teall asked on behalf of a constituent whether bids from local dealerships were solicited. [Dealerships from which the vehicles are to be purchased are in Macomb County, Oakland County, and Lansing]. Answer:  The State of Michigan puts out bids and the city of Ann Arbor makes purchases off the state bids – locally, Varsity Ford participates in the bidding process.

Councilmember Sandi Smith elicited a clarification from Sue McCormick, director of public services for the city,  about the maintenance records for the vehicles. All maintenance, McCormick said, is now being done by fleet services. Many parts of the ciy’s organization had previously had “mini-fleets,” she said. But the individual departments didn’t depreciate their vehicles, or reserve for their replacement cost. Now, all new purchases are added to the general fleet, she said, which did appropriate depreciation and reserving, and would incrementally result in all city vehicles being a part of the general fleet. But to do it all in one go would be cost-prohibitive, she said.

City administrator Roger Fraser asked McCormick to talk about efforts that had been made to minimize the numbers of vehicles in the fleet. She responded by describing a fleet alternatives analysis that had been undertaken by 25 different staff members on three different work teams: (i) a technical innovation team, (ii) a team that examined type/size appropriateness for the application, and (iii) a team that examined operational policy and uses.

Outcome: The vehicle purchases were approved unanimously.

Migratory Birds

In the introductions section to the meeting, council heard a presentation from the The Washtenaw Audubon Society on the challenges faced by migratory birds at night. Part of that presentation showed how a major path of north-south migration runs over the Ann Arbor region. Navigation at night for such birds is based on cues from the stars and the moon, which leads birds to be confused when they’re confronted with lighted taller buildings. Collisions with glass windows is the factor accounting for the highest mortality rate among migratory birds, around twice that of the second leading cause of death, which is feral cats.

As part of the effort to reduce the hazard from lighted tall buildings, the Safe Passage Great Lakes Days calls for communities to reduce lighting as much as possible March 15 to May 31 and August 15 to October 31  between the hours of 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.

In the brief council deliberations on the subject, Carsten Hohnke pointed out  that Ann Arbor had over 50 structures taller than four stories, and that the Safe Passage Great Lakes Days program was thus important to the community.

Hohnke responded to a request from The Chronicle for any compiled information that might have underpinned his remark at the council meeting by providing a tall building inventory. The inventory was mentioned at planning commission’s last meeting, and is not merely a listing of buildings. It gives the height in stories, feet, zoning, floor area ratio (FAR), and tower diagonal for each structure – concepts important for the A2D2 zoning process. [A meeting dedicated exclusively to public commentary on the subject is scheduled for March 23.]

Outcome: Council unanimously passed a resolution supporting Safe Passage Great Lakes Days.

Zoning: Area, Height, Placement

The topic of zoning also arose in the form of the appointment of the AHP (area height and placement) Advisory Committee. Outside of the downtown area, zoning for non-residential properties is also receiving a second look. The committee will begin the process of working with staff to educate the entire community on density, height, and setback in areas outside the downtown. Community services director Jayne Miller sketched out a basic timeline that had the committee working in April, neighborhood meetings in May, community-wide meetings in June, and by the end of the summer a recommendation would be brought back.

AHP Committee

• City Council Representative (1): Marcia Higgins
• Planning Commission Representative (1): Wendy Woods
• Technical Advisory Committee member (1): Kyle Mazurek
• Representatives from each Ward of the City (1 representative per ward)
  1st Ward Representative: Michael Hammer
  2nd Ward Representative: Jan Newman
  3rd Ward Representative: Eric Meaves
  4th Ward Representative: Diane Giannola
  5th Ward Representative: Marc Rueter
• Commercial Association Representatives (3)
  Bill Bob Martel
  Bill Milliken
  Tommy York

Public Commentary

Henry Herskovitz: Herskovitz noted that the day marked the sixth anniversary of the death in Rafah of Rachel Corrie, an American citizen, who on March 16, 2003 was crushed by bulldozer (manufactured in the U.S.) driven by a soldier-driver with the Israeli military. Herskovitz described her death as a “murder.” He said that although the case had been  ruled by the Israeli military as an “accident,” the incident had provoked criticism by human rights groups. Herskovitz said that Israel had “celebrated” the anniversary by shooting an American peace activist three days ago: Tristan Anderson, who like Rachel was working with the International Solidarity Movement in Ni’lin, which is in Palestine.  Anderson had been hit in the forehead by a high-velocity teargas canister, said Herskovitz, and is now in critical condition.

Herskovitz said that councilmembers might wonder, “What can I as a city councilperson do about this?” The first part of his  answer was to look to the city’s human rights commission, and to ask the commission to reinstate their 2003 resolution, which called for an end to U.S. aid to Israel.

The second part of his answer was for councilmembers to support the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Campaign by becoming members of the People’s Food Co-op, and then voting for him in his candidacy for a seat on the co-op’s board. He said that his campaign for the seat was based on the complete boycott of goods imported from Israel.

Tom Wall: Wall announced that he was there to thank the mayor and councilmembers. [A change to vending regulations had been reconsidered to accommodate Wall's All Star Hot Dog stand, at Pauline and South Main streets, which brings together people with disabilities to work on a hot dog stand that operates on UM football Saturdays to raise funds for families in need.]

Wall had with him from the start of the evening Robby, who works at the hot dog stand. After Wall had begun his remarks, Luke and Andrew arrived, joining Wall at the podium. When Wall spotted them, he stopped mid-sentence and exclaimed: “You guys came!!” Wall explained that Andrew inspects the hot dogs and that Luke is the DJ at the stand.  Wall was there to distribute All Star Hot Dog T-shirts. He teased councilmember Mike Anglin, saying, “You might need a small, I don’t know.” When the 3-minute timer beeped, Wall attempted to negotiate with Mayor Hieftje an impromptu speaking slot for Luke. The outcome of that negotiation was that Luke did not get a slot measured in minutes but in words – two of them: Hot. Dog.

Myra shoots the mayor: Photographer Myra Klarman was on hand to take pictures of the presentation of her pictures to Mayor Hieftje ... by a giant puppet sculpted to look like Hieftje (see below).

Elizabeth Elling: Elling said she’d been living in Ann Arbor since 1964, but had never spoken at city council, but wished she had. She was there, she said, to speak on behalf of the Allen Creek Greenway Conservancy. She encouraged councilmembers to learn about and embrace the plans of the conservancy.

She said that even though some councilmembers knew about the conservancy, it’s somewhat of a secret. She cited the benefits of the greenway: a walking, biking, baby-strolling path that provides the opportunity for fewer cars; more space in the floodway and floodplain, which is the best way to accomodate flow of water; and it makes Ann Arbor greener and more liveable.

Richard Derrick: Derrick announced that he was going to describe a few things that made him “grumpy.” He said it was basically vandals that leave the downtown area very late, and walk up Detroit street north and cross the bridge where they live. He said they’d  knocked over the green posts that AT&T puts out.

He said they’d smashed one of the glass historic markers. He described how they’d torn off a downspout of the farmers market. He also described problems with graffiti, but said that he appreciated the efforts the council had made with respect to graffiti. [City council recently passed an anti-graffiti ordinance.]

Tom Partridge: For public commentary reserved time, Partridge introduced himself as a Washtenaw County Democrat and a former candidate for city council in Ward 1. He said he was there to speak on the need to overcome what could be viewed as historically-based, socioeconomic-based discrimination in transportation in Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County and southeast Michigan. Partridge said that there was still no non-discriminatory transportation in Ann Arbor. He said that the AATA was led by civil rights attorney David Nacht, who was appointed by Hieftje, who had ties to Mary Sue Coleman through his teaching position with UM. He called on council to pass a resolution to stop the bus fare increases that are scheduled to be implemented.

Partridge also spoke during two public hearings on the rezoning of land parcels, criticizing the millions of dollars spent over the last 20 years that, he said, could have been better spent on affordable housing, transportation, education, health care.

At the end of the meeting during public commentary general time, Partridge returned to the topic of the fare increases that are being proposed by the AATA, saying that he opposed them. [AATA's board will consider a resolution at its March 18 board meeting on the fares.] [events calendar]

Miscellaneous

Liberty Bell Award Nomination: Laura Russello was honored for her nomination as the Washtenaw County Bar Association honors one local non-lawyer with the Liberty Bell award, for outstanding service in one or more of the following areas:

1. Promoting a better understanding of our Constitution and Bill of Rights;
2. Encouraging greater respect for law and the courts;
3. Stimulating a deeper sense of individual responsibility so that citizens recognize their duties as well as their rights;
4. Contributing to the effective functioning of our institutions of government; and
5. Fostering a better understanding and appreciation of the rule of law.

Russello had appeared at the previous council meeting in her role as executive director of Michigan Peaceworks, asking council to support the Iraqi Water Project with its endorsement.

Mayor Hieftje receives a collection of FestiFools photographs.

Kiwanis Club 50th Anniversary: Council passed a resolution in recognition of the golden anniversary of the club, which meets Tuesdays at noon at Weber’s Inn.

FestiFools: Shoshana Hurand introduced a video about the concept of FestiFools (a town-gown collaboration), which will enjoy its third annual edition on April 5 this year.

Hurand stressed that it only lasted an hour (4-5 p.m.  on Main Street between Washington and William) so people needed to be there during that time.

One of the Foolish People appeared in council chambers wearing a gigantic puppet head resembling Mayor Hieftje and then presented the mayor with a collection of FestiFools photographs by photographer Myra Klarman.

Klarman was on hand to photograph the mayor receiving her collection of photographs.

Peter "Madcat" Ruth gave council meeting attendees a musical sampling on the occasion of a proclamation in honor of his 60th birthday.

Birthday of Peter “Madcat” Ruth: Council passed a resolution honoring the 60th birthday of Ruth, who is an internationally-acclaimed harmonica player. Ruth has lived in Ann Arbor for  38 years.

In his brief remarks, he said that he’d been encouraged by others to move to bigger cities like New York, but he liked Ann Arbor and it’d been a good place to raise his daughter. He then produced a harmonica and blew forth a few bars, which was met with appreciative applause all around.

Later, during public commentary, Peter Stark, who described himself as an organic farmer, musician, and consultant, described fond memories of playing music with Ruth.

Present: Sabra Briere, Sandi Smith, Stephen Rapundalo, Leigh Greden, Christopher Taylor, Margie Teall, Carsten Hohnke, Mike Anglin, John Hieftje

Absent: Tony Derezinski, Marcia Higgins

Next Council Meeting: Monday, April 6, 2009 at 7 p.m. in council chambers, 2nd floor of the Guy C. Larcom, Jr. Municipal Building, 100 N. Fifth Ave.  Note: On Monday, March 23, at 7 p.m. in council chambers, there will be  a public comment session held on the single topic of the A2D2 downtown rezoning. [confirm date]