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.

Since 2004, the number of vehicle-deer crashes in Washtenaw County has shown a slight downward trend. (Data from michigantrafficcrashfacts.org, chart by The Chronicle)

Since 2004, the number of vehicle-deer crashes in Ann Arbor has shown a slight upward trend. (Data from michigantrafficcrashfacts.org, chart by The Chronicle)

Deer-Vehicle Accidents in Washtenaw County by Year by Location (Data from michigantrafficcrashfacts.org, plotted and animated by The Chronicle at geocommons.com) Blue dots indicate the location of a deer-vehicle accident.

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

The council’s resolution and subsequent notification of the two business meets the requirement of Chapter 109, Section 9:79 of the city code – that a business be notified of the council’s intent to object to the renewal of its liquor license by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, and that a hearing be convened to afford a business an opportunity to plead its case. [.pdf of Chapter 109 Section 9:79]

Hearings for the two businesses were set for March 19, which is the soonest they could be held – 10 days after notification. The hearing officer will be Tony Derezinski, who chairs the city council’s liquor license review committee. Later that same day, on March 19, the city council will need to make a final recommendation to the MLCC. The MLCC’s deadline is March 31.

The council’s resolution was based on the recommendation of its liquor license review committee, which met on Feb. 23, 2012 to conclude its annual review of licenses in the city. [.jpg file of map showing liquor license locations in Washtenaw County] [link to dynamic map showing liquor license locations in Washtenaw County] Note: Maps include all liquor licensees, not just those with on-premise consumption.

This brief was filed from the city council’s chambers on the second floor of city hall, located at 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow: [link]