Stories indexed with the term ‘City Place’

Ann Arbor City Council Caucus (Dec. 14, 2008) At its Sunday caucus, city council discussed two items on its agenda for Monday night:

• Historic District Study Committee – a resolution to appoint a study committee to determine the suitability of establishing a historic district called Germantown, which would include roughly the area bounded on the north by William Street, on the west by Fourth Avenue, on the south by Madison Street and on the east by Division Street.
• Graffiti Ordinance – a resolution to amend the city’s code to set forth punishments for graffiti, both for applying it and for allowing it to remain in place.

Discussion of the historic district study committee was driven by attendance at caucus of interested parties to the decision. Those parties included several residents of the neighborhood as well as a developer who has a project located inside the district of the proposed study. That project (City Place) is currently being considered by council.

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City Council’s meeting Monday evening yielded few surprises, with council giving final approval to the City Apartments PUD and its site plan, and moving the City Place PUD along to a second reading (with some reluctance). And after hearing a progress report on the police-courts project, council approved an amendment to the architect’s agreement in the amount of $411,003. Also, with no discussion of what the fund agreement is, council passed a memorandum of intent and fund agreement for development of a skatepark at Veterans Memorial Park. [Full Story]

Six councilmembers braved the frozen slurry coating the streets and still falling from the sky on Sunday to hear a preview of two planning-related agenda items from interested parties: City Apartments site plan, and City Place PUD rezoning petition. They also heard commentary from the public on a third agenda item: the $411,003 amendment to the contract with the architect for the new police-courts facility. In addition, they received a request for recognition of an upcoming vigil for human rights. Among themselves, councilmembers also discussed the protocol for proclamations, and the need to give due attention to the funding of an animal control officer as budget discussions begin in the new year. [Full Story]

At the Sept. 4 planning commission meeting, the resolution to recommend City Place project – proposed along South Fifth Avenue as a PUD by Alex de Parry – failed with only two votes for it.

Under-reported generally, and specifically about that meeting, is the volume of knitted material that is produced during Ann Arbor public meetings by folks in the audience. And knitting is a great metaphor for framing some of the general issues laid out at the planning commission meeting with respect to the specific project. [Full Story]

Four councilmembers (Sabra Briere, Stephen Rapundalo, Mike Anglin, Marcia Higgins) heard from interested parties on four different topics: the sidewalk repair program, the 133 Hill St. site plan, the merger between Avalon Housing and Washtenaw Affordable Housing Commission, and City Place. [Full Story]

The City Place project, proposed along South Fifth Avenue just south of William Street, was brought tonight for a third time before the Ann Arbor Planning Commission by developer Alex de Parry. Although commissioners Joan Lowenstein and Craig Borum found enough about the revised proposal to give it their support, even they did so with no great enthusiasm – Lowenstein citing her sadness that the seven houses would be demolished, and Borum lamenting the “faux historical” architecture of the proposed project as harmful to the city.

With only two votes of support, the project was rejected. In the city staff summary of the project’s history, it was noted that City Place was first brought to the commission in January … [Full Story]