Jackie and John Farah address the Ann Arbor planning commission at its Aug. 19, 2014 meeting. To the right is Andrew Walters of Metro Consulting Associates, who’s working on the Farahs’ project. (Photos by the writer.)

Both projects required approval of a special exception use from the commission, because the zoning doesn’t allow those uses without it.

It was the health spa/fitness center proposal that drew the most scrutiny from commissioners. John and Jackie Farah want to convert part of an existing office building at 3100 W. Liberty into a facility that would provide personalized training and guidance to help people develop healthier lifestyles. Jackie Farah stressed that the focus is on wellness, not on athletic fitness. The center would be in the same complex as John Farah’s dental practice.

Six people spoke during a public hearing on this project, including the Farahs as well as nearby residents. Concerns from neighbors included the disturbances that additional use of this site would have on their properties. Also speaking against the project was Brian Eisner, owner of the nearby Liberty Athletic Club, who expressed concern about increased traffic on West Liberty. The Farahs stressed that their effort would not increase traffic or negatively impact the residential neighbors.

During deliberations, commissioners considered putting limits on the hours of operation or restricting use to appointments only, but ultimately rejected those constraints. However, they did amend the special exception use to limit the amount of square footage that could be used for fitness center activities – to 9,000 square feet. It does not require additional city council approval.

The other special exception use was granted to the Community Music School of Ann Arbor, allowing it to operate at 1289 Jewett Ave., between South Industrial and Packard. The music school will share the building of Clonlara School, a private K-12 educational institution.

Commissioners also recommended the annexation and zoning of 2115 Victoria Circle, a half-acre vacant site west of Newport and north of M-14. If approved by the city council, the property would be annexed from Ann Arbor Township and zoned R1A (single family dwelling).

Farah Fitness Center

The Aug. 19 agenda included a request for a special exception use to create a fitness center at 3100 W. Liberty.

3100 West Liberty.

The proposal by the owners, John and Jackie Farah, is to convert part of an existing office building on the southern end of a 5.37-acre site into a fitness center that would operate similar to a physical therapy/rehabilitation facility, according to a staff report. The special exception use allows for indoor recreation on a site zoned office (O). It would be part of the Farah Professional Center, which was first developed in 1995 and expanded in 2005.

The site – on the north side of West Liberty, between Wagner and South Maple – includes a 13,000-square foot, two-story building and a 10,000-square foot, one-story building with an 89-space parking lot. The two-story building includes John Farah’s dental practice. The one-story building houses a dental consulting firm and a milling center for dentists and dental labs nationwide. The property is located in Ward 5.

The staff report stated that the proposed center “is a facility available to customers by appointment only, offering less than a dozen pieces of equipment such as treadmills, elliptical, bikes and nautilus machines. Yoga, spinning, massage therapy and acupuncture also will be offered. Hours of operation will be consistent with normal office/health practitioner business hours.” [.pdf of staff report]

The office zoning district is intended as a transition between residential areas and other types of uses that would be incompatible with neighborhoods. In addition to offices – including medical and dental – the office-zoned sites can include salons, funeral homes, artist studios, hotels, and private colleges. With a special exception use, the sites can include veterinarian hospitals and kennels, and indoor recreation.

Separately, the owners have submitted an administrative amendment to the previously approved site plan for changes to the office center’s parking lot. The proposal is to increase the number of spaces from 89 to 104 within the limits of the current parking area. The additional spaces are required to support the proposed indoor recreation use. The modified parking lot would have 70 full-sized spaces, 29 compact-sized spaces, and 5 barrier-free spaces. Of those 104 spaces, 12 would be “deferred” – meaning they will be shown on the planning documents, but not installed.

The administrative amendment does not require planning commission or city council approval. Nor is additional council approval required for the special exception use.

Staff recommended approval.

Farah Fitness Center: Public Hearing

Six people spoke during a public hearing on this project, including the Farahs as well as nearby residents. Some of them had also submitted letters to the commission.

Ira Mark.

Ira Mark told commissioners that he’s a resident of the adjacent subdivision, and lives on Trego Circle. “This building is literally in my back yard.” Almost 19 years ago, he addressed the commission with other neighbors who negotiated significantly with John Farah about the first building that was constructed. He said at that time, the neighbors were guaranteed that the development would have certain hours of operation. Over the years, he’s spent thousands of dollars on landscaping and blackout shades. His neighbors have done the same, Mark said. They still hear cars and see lights from the development.

He indicated that it’s good that the parking won’t be expanded. He hoped that any additional lighting would be minimized. He said he took offense at the Farahs’ statement that the hours of operation won’t be detrimental to the neighborhood. Sometimes there are runners in the parking lot at 5 a.m. – he can hear them talk about where they’ll be running. If the new facility is by appointment only, can people make appointments for 10 o’clock at night or 5 in the morning? Even now, sometimes there are lights on in the building after regular business hours, he said.

Mark said that Farah has been willing to talk to neighbors when they’ve had issues over the years, and those issues have been resolved. He gave the example of trash pickup that used to be done in the early morning. But if there’s a lot of traffic in the parking lot at odd hours, it will be disturbing, he said, and it would potentially impact his property value. [.pdf of Mark's letter]

Brian Eisner introduced himself as the owner of the nearby Liberty Athletic Club – it’s located on the opposite side of West Liberty, in Scio Township. His major concern was traffic. There’s already a problem along that section of West Liberty, he said, citing two very serious accidents in recent years. It’s almost impossible to make a left turn onto West Liberty from the south side, during certain times of the day. His business has been there for 40 years, and he’s seen the traffic pattern change.

Brian Eisner, owner of the Liberty Athletic Club.

Eisner said he knows how many people come to a fitness center, because he owns one. The Liberty Athletic Club has yoga classes with 40 people enrolled, “so these are not small numbers,” he said. The Farahs’ whole business model has been disguised, he said, and he’d like to know what the business model really is. He suggested that the planning commission restrict the number of people that could be in the building at any one time. “I’m just very, very leery about the very, very sketchy information that we have, and how that’s going to impact a serious, serious problem,” he said, referring to traffic. He said he represented the concerns of his club’s members as well. [.pdf of Eisner's letter]

Bill Moorhead, another nearby resident, said his concerns were similar to those stated by Mark and Eisner. He thought that the operation needed to be defined. Is it a spa, or athletic club, or rehabilitation facility? [.pdf of Moorhead's letter]

Andrew Walters of Metro Consulting Associates was attending on behalf of the Farahs, who were also at the meeting. The proposal is for a “modern lifestyle health spa,” he said. It would provide a combination of services that deal with maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The use is consistent with some of the other uses that are allowed without a special exception use, he said, such as health practitioner or beauty salons that provide massage. There is, however, an athletic component to their proposal, Walters added, and that’s what triggered the need for a special exception use.

No parking expansion is proposed, Walters noted. New spaces will be added by re-striping the existing parking lot. Nor is there planned expansion of the parking lot lighting, he said. Ultimately, it will just be a change in tenant of the building, and it won’t be a hindrance to the neighborhood. All the uses will be indoors, and the hours of operation will mostly be during general business hours – 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Regarding traffic, the site currently has office and medical/dental office uses, he said. A health fitness club use would be expected to produce the same or less traffic than a medical/dental office, he said. The people who visit would be spread out during the day, not all at the start and end of the business day.

Jackie and John Farah.

The Farahs also addressed the commission. John Farah said he’s lived in Ann Arbor over 50 years. He’s a runner and believes in fitness. The proposal is to really help people lead a healthy lifestyle, he said. Many of his friends who are his age aren’t in as good of shape as he is, Farah said. “I think I have ways of helping people in the community.”

The place will be limited in size and will be very personalized, Farah told commissioners. He said that Ira Mark knows that any time the neighbors had a problem, he would address it. “I hate to say this,” Farah added, talking to Mark, “but you have never seen any runners in that lot. We have never had anybody congregating there in that lot.”

Before this space became empty, the previous tenants employed up to 22 people at one point, Farah reported. “We will not employ any more than three or four people in that area.” It should not affect the traffic in any detrimental way.

Farah noted that he’s been a member of the Liberty Athletic Club for many years, and he appreciates it. He’s taken many yoga classes there, and there have never been 40 people in a class. Usually the size is 12-15 people, except on Sundays when there are up to 25. That club also has only ??23 bikes in the spinning room, he noted.

Farah said he’s contributed to this community in many ways, and he thinks this new project will benefit the community too.

Farah then introduced his wife, Jackie Farah. There are many interpretations of the word “fitness,” she noted. But their focus is on the healthy lifestyle aspect, “and not fitness in a gym where you work out to become a better athlete.” Their spinning room will have eight bicycles. There will be one private yoga room for one or two people, she said, and the other yoga room will fit 12 people. “We’re really trying to zoom in on a very personal fitness plan for people,” she said. They’re proud of trying to help people, including those who’ve finished physical therapy or are fighting debilitating illness and need to continue with yoga or other instruction. The focus is on wellness, not on being a better athlete, she concluded.

Farah Fitness Center: Commission Discussion

Kirk Westphal wondered whether the description of the operation that’s included in the staff report would be tied to the special exception use – that is, would the special exception use only be valid as long as the fitness center reflects what’s described in the report? For example, the report states that the center will have less than a dozen pieces of equipment. What if the center eventually has two dozen pieces?

Alexis DiLeo of the city’s planning staff.

City planner Alexis DiLeo replied that the special exception use would be for an “indoor fitness center.” There are no limitations as to size or hours or maximum membership, she said, and the special exception use would apply to the entire site. However, it could be amended by commissioners to stipulate a limit on square footage, for example, or to put a limit on hours, she said.

Westphal wondered if city code for this zoning district puts any limit on hours of operation. No, DiLeo replied. There are city code limits on construction hours, but for not general business or retail hours.

Westphal also clarified with DiLeo that the special exception use would stay with the parcel, not the owner. “It’s not like a functional family,” she noted – a reference to a controversial request by local Jesuits for a function family special exception use earlier this summer.

Sabra Briere asked about the proposed use for the adjacent property that’s located in Scio Township. DiLeo replied that it’s owned by the Washtenaw County office of the water resources commissioner, and is part of the Sister Lakes drain. It’s open space, she said.

Briere ventured that the land creates a buffer between the residents on Trego Circle and the Farahs’ site. How wide is that buffer? DiLeo said she’d check to be sure, but she thought it was around 100 feet. Andrew Walters of Metro Consulting Associates reported that it’s at least 35 feet wide.

Ira Mark gives some information to Sabra Briere, who serves as the city council’s representative on the planning commission. Mark raised concerns about a proposed fitness center near his property off of West Liberty.

Bonnie Bona pointed out that in addition to the drain property, there’s also a landscape buffer for the parking lot. DiLeo said that it’s a conflicting land use buffer, so it should be a minimum of 15 feet. She added that some additional landscaping is being put in, as part of the redesign of the parking lot, in order to meet the city’s current square-footage requirement for a “vehicular use area.” DiLeo explained how the redesign was being handled. Walters reported that three trees are being added to the landscaping, mostly on the eastern side of the site – nearest to the residential area.

Eleanore Adenekan asked about the hours of operation, confirming with John Farah that it would be from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Farah said they haven’t worked out details about whether there would be weekend activity. It might be necessary to be there a few hours, to accommodate the schedules of certain individuals. He doubted they would do anything on Sundays.

Jeremy Peters asked whether the fitness center would take up the entire building – if not, how much space would be used? Farah replied that the building is two floors. His dental clinic is on the second floor, so the center would be on the first floor, with about 6,400 square feet.

Replying to another query from Peters, Farah said there would be trainers available to work with clients by appointment.

Bona commended the Farahs, saying that they’re proposing a great business, so her comments weren’t a critique of their business plan. “Creativity and keeping people healthy is all a good thing – it’s whether or not it’s appropriate in this location,” she said.

Bona said she’s struggling with the use of an indoor fitness center. What zoning district would allow for a more traditional fitness club, like Liberty Athletic Club? DiLeo replied that the bulk of the city’s zoning ordinance was developed in the 1960s, and terms like “gym” and “yoga” are not included. The ordinance does mention indoor recreation – for court games like raquetball, which were popular at that time.

Planning commissioner Bonnie Bona.

But the ordinance has to be interpreted for modern times, DiLeo said. So the staff has interpreted and applied the ordinance to allow for a gym or fitness use on sites that are zoned as commercial districts, as well as in other zoning districts – office and light manufacturing – that allow for indoor recreation as a special exception use.

Wendy Woods asked what entity is responsible for West Liberty Street? Briere responded that the road is actually in Scio Township. DiLeo noted that the road is under the purview of the Washtenaw County road commission.

No traffic study is required for this project, DiLeo explained. A study is triggered only if the Institute of Traffic Engineers manual indicates that a site’s use will generate more than 50 trips in a peak hour, she said. Based on this project’s square footage and type of use, it fell below that amount.

Bona said the concerns she’s heard relate to hours of operation, traffic, lighting, and the amount of parking. The principal uses that are allowed in an office district – such as beauty salons, institutions of higher education, hotels, health practitioners – vary widely in their hours of operation, she noted. The district allows for a lot more flexibility than what perhaps the neighbors would like, she said.

Bona added that she was struggling to figure out how the Farahs’ proposed use was different from a health practitioner. She wondered why a special exception was needed in the first place, and it didn’t make sense to limit the hours of operation when some of the other allowed uses would have even longer hours.

Planning commissioner Kirk Westphal.

Diane Giannola said she saw things a bit differently. In a commercial area, there are more comings and goings during the day. For an office area – including a medical center – there would be less coming and going, she said, because people would primarily be entering and exiting at the beginning and end of the work day. So a commercial fitness center would have much more traffic than an office, she said.

Giannola’s concern with this item was that the special exception use would be attached to the property. The Farahs’ project appears to be appointment-only, she noted, which would limit the number of people coming into the site. She suggested amending the special exception use so that it would be limited to appointment-only centers. That would limit it for future uses too, so that businesses like Curves wouldn’t be allowed to operate there.

Responding to a query from Briere, John Farah said the dental consulting firm and milling center combined employ about two dozen people, who work during standard business hours. The same is true for employees of his dental office, though in that case there are also patients who arrive and depart throughout the day. Briere noted that in a way, the fitness center would be like adding dental patients, because they’d have scheduled appointments.

Farah thought the flow of people to the fitness center would be much lower than for his dental office. Walters added that the fitness center wouldn’t be adding to peak-hour traffic.

Planning commission chair Wendy Woods.

Briere pointed out that the entire site won’t be used for one purpose, but it will continue to be used for multiple purposes. She agreed with Bona, saying she’s hard-pressed to see why this fitness center requires a special exception use. She suggested it might be time to revisit the city code, since it’s so outdated.

Bona clarified that her intent isn’t to change the rules, but rather to define businesses that exist today that are consistent with those already allowed. “We’re not talking about allowing things that would have characteristics dramatically different from what’s already allowed,” she said.

Westphal wanted to make sure commissioners all understood what would be allowed under this special exception use, which applies to the whole site. The lot hasn’t been developed as much as it could be, he noted, so if the property changed hands, this special exception use could allow for a significantly expanded fitness center, like a Planet Fitness. He didn’t doubt that the Farahs planned a smaller operation, but he wanted to be clear that in the future, something like a large gym would be a possibility.

DiLeo noted that the staff typically recommends some kind of quantity limit on any special exception use. For example, a special exception use for veterinary kennels would typically limit the number of dogs. Most schools come with a maximum number of students. So perhaps in this case, she said, it would make sense to limit the square footage allowed for a fitness center.

Planning commissioner Jeremy Peters.

Westphal said he’d be open to that, as well as to some kind of “generous” limit on hours of operation.

Peters supported a limit on square footage, and also suggested limiting the usage to appointments only. That might address at least some of the traffic concerns, he said.

Bona said she’d like to see this business operate at this location. Regarding the suggestion on limiting use to appointments only, she noted that this zoning district allows institutions of higher education – without a special exception use. Such institutions hold classes, she observed, and those are often held in the evening. “It’s a little odd to put restrictions on a use when some of the allowed primary uses can do more,” Bona said.

However, Bona added that in the interest of allowing this to move forward, the appointment limitation and square footage are reasonable, “especially since it looks like we need to have a more robust discussion about how we define primary use.” She suggested that if revisions to the city code are made, the district shouldn’t be called “office” if there are a lot of non-office uses that are allowed. It misleads the neighbors into making certain assumptions about what could be located there, she said.

Giannola asked whether Farah intended to sell unlimited-use passes for the facility.

Farah responded by saying he was trying to be creative with this project, and to accommodate people in various ways. “I mean, how many restrictions can you put, you know?” Farah asked.

Planning commissioner Eleanore Adenekan.

They’ve thought about whether to offer classes or a lecture to small groups, on topics like nutrition. They’ll probably experiment with different ideas, he said. But in general, it would be geared toward very small numbers of people. That makes it different from places like Liberty Athletic Club, he said.

Regarding limits on hours of operation, Farah said they want to cater to individuals – so occasionally, someone might need to be there until 8 p.m. He didn’t think it made sense to put time limitations. Giannola replied that it’s not a concern with his business, but if he sold the building, someone else could put in a different operation. “I’m not selling the building,” Farah said.

Giannola noted that in 10 or 20 years, that might change. The city can’t take back a special exception use, if all of the requirements are being met, she noted. So that’s why commissioners are being cautious.

Based on the discussion, Westphal said he’d withdraw his suggestion to limit the hours. He also questioned the enforceability of restricting the use to appointments only. However, he’d continue to support a limit on square footage.

Peters proposed amending the special exception use to limit it to 9,000 square feet.

Outcome on amendment: It passed unanimously on a voice vote.

There was no further discussion.

Outcome on amended special exception use: It passed unanimously and does not require additional approval from city council.

Community Music School

The planning commission was asked to grant a special exception use to the Community Music School of Ann Arbor to operate at 1289 Jewett Ave., between South Industrial and Packard. It would allow the private music school to use the Clonlara School building with a maximum of 150 students at any time.

Jill Thacher of the city’s planning staff gave a report on the Community Music School request.

Clonlara School, a private K-12 institution, is located in a district zoned R1B (single family dwelling), which permits private schools if given a special exception use approval. Most of the surrounding properties are single-family homes or duplexes. Clonlara already has a special exception use to operate with a maximum of 150 students. No changes are planned for the exterior of Clonlara’s 16,900-square-foot, single-story building.

The music school will primarily use the facility on weekdays from 3:30-9 p.m., on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on occasional Sunday afternoons. Over the last three years, the music school has enrolled 220-250 students, but on an average day, only about 25-30 students come in for lessons.

Even if there were an overlap in classes between Clonlara and the music school, there could only be a total of 150 students in the building at the same time.

Clonlara School’s 2.46-acre site includes 22 parking spaces in a parking lot off Jewett Avenue, plus three spaces behind a rental house located north of the school building. A one-way drive runs north from Jewett to Rosewood Street.

The city’s traffic engineer reviewed this request and thought that the number of instructors and students on that site at any given time would have a negligible traffic impact. Jill Thacher of the city’s planning staff reported that there’s good public transportation access to that location, with a bus stop near the corner of Jewett and South Industrial, and other nearby stops on Packard. [.pdf of staff report]

Thacher said she’d received two calls from neighbors about this request, both of them inquiring about how loud the music would be. Clonlara windows don’t open, she noted, so that helps to contain sound. “They don’t intend to hold lessons outdoors on the site,” she added.

Community Music School: Public Hearing

Two people spoke during the public hearing, both in support of the special exception use.

Kasia Bielak-Hoops, executive director of the Community Music School (formerly the Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts).

Kasia Bielak-Hoops, executive director of the Community Music School (formerly the Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts), explained why the school would like to move to Clonlara. “We feel that it is an incredible capacity-building opportunity for us,” she said, and also an opportunity to collaborate with a similar organization.

The music school’s activities will not disturb the peace of the neighborhood, she said, and it might even be a resource to the community. She quoted from an email she’d received from a resident who lives on Jewett. The resident described the move as a “win-win” for the neighborhood, enlivening it with kids and families. Maybe some nearby residents would even sign up for classes.

Bielak-Hoops said she’d be happy to answer any questions that commissioners might have.

Martha Rhodes, Clonlara’s campus director, also described the compatibility of the two schools and their focus on lifelong learning. Clonlara has worked hard to become a “green” school, she said, and this change would continue that effort – because it would bring more activity to a large building that sits empty after 3:30 p.m. and on weekends.

The music school also offers the opportunity for deeper programming for Clonlara’s students, Rhodes said, “and an opportunity for both programs to grow together.” She hoped the commission would see it as a really good use of empty space, and would approve the special exception use.

Community Music School: Commission Discussion

Diane Giannola asked why the music school needed a special exception use, since there’s already an active special exception use for a school at that location.

Planning commissioner Diane Giannola.

Jill Thacher replied that music schools are considered to be different “because they make more noise than elementary schools,” though she joked that as someone with experience at elementary schools, she might challenge that assumption.

Jeremy Peters noted that he works in the music industry and has a degree in music, so he joked that his question will probably cause his friends to yell at him. He wondered if the school was planning to hold lessons for amplified instruments.

Kasia Bielak-Hoops replied that they do offer a jazz studies program that includes electric guitar. They also have a guitar teacher who gives lessons in both acoustic and electric guitar. “But the plan is to have it indoors,” she said.

Peters cautioned that the music school should be aware of possible concerns from neighbors over noise. He said it didn’t seem like that would be an issue, but he wanted to raise it since the city had heard from residents about it.

Responding to comments made during the public hearing, Kirk Westphal noted that the planning commission does like to see buildings used longer and parking lots filled more times during the day.

Outcome: Commissioners unanimously granted the special exception use for the Community Music School.

Victoria Circle Annexation

The Aug. 19 agenda included a resolution to recommend the annexation and zoning of 2115 Victoria Circle, a half-acre vacant site west of Newport and north of M-14.

2115 Victoria Circle.

If approved by the city council, the property would be annexed from Ann Arbor Township and zoned R1A (single family dwelling).

The owner, Abayomi Famurewa, wants to build a single-family home there and connect to the city’s public water and sanitary sewer service. The staff report notes that the city’s storm sewer system does not extend to that area at this point. [.pdf of staff report] Staff had recommended approval.

No one spoke during a public hearing on this item.

Victoria Circle Annexation: Commission Discussion

Sabra Briere noted that the city has recently annexed several properties on Victoria Circle. Homeowners in the adjacent neighborhood have concerns that driveways would lead onto Newport Creek or one of the nearby streets. She pointed out that the property under consideration looks like it could have a driveway onto Newport Creek. Briere wondered if the city has any restrictions on that type of thing.

City planner Alexis DiLeo replied that Newport Creek is a public street, and the number of curbcuts permitted for any particular property is based on the property’s frontage onto a road. She noted that the property didn’t actually connect to Newport Creek. She didn’t believe the 2115 Victoria Circle site had enough frontage to warrant two curbcuts on Victoria Circle.

Bonnie Bona observed that the property has public land on one side (the Riverwood Nature Area), as well as sites zoned for single-family dwelling (R1A) and two vacant lots zoned as planned unit developments (PUDs). She asked about the history of the PUDs. DiLeo replied those sites zoned PUD are city-owned parkland, though she could not recall why they were still zoned PUD. She explained that the sites are “virtually undevelopable,” because it would require a voter referendum to sell parkland.

Kirk Westphal asked if the city-owned PUD sites were used as cut-throughs to the nature area, and whether the property owner of 2115 Victoria Circle knew that people might use it for that purpose. DiLeo said she wasn’t sure on either count. Briere ventured that there’s not currently a trailhead at that location into the nature area. DiLeo replied that staff could mention it in the letter that would be sent to the owner after annexation is approved.

Outcome: Commissioners unanimously recommended approval of the annexation and zoning. The item will be forwarded to city council for consideration.

Present: Eleanore Adenekan, Bonnie Bona, Sabra Briere, Diane Giannola, Kirk Westphal, Wendy Woods, Jeremy Peters.

Absent: Ken Clein.

Next meeting: Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2014 at 7 p.m. in council chambers at city hall, 301 E. Huron. [Check Chronicle event listings to confirm date.]

Clonlara School is located in a district zoned R1B (single family dwelling), which permits private schools if given a special exception use approval. That school already has a special exception use to operate with a maximum of 150 students. No changes are planned for the exterior of Clonlara’s 16,900-square-foot, single-story building.

The music school will primarily use the facility on weekdays from 3:30-9 p.m., on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on occasional Sunday afternoons. On average, 25-30 students will come in for lessons each day.

Clonlara School’s 2.46-acre site includes 22 parking spaces in a parking lot off Jewett Avenue, plus three spaces behind a rental house located north of the school building. A one-way drive runs north from Jewett to Rosewood Street.

Two people spoke during the public hearing: Kasia Bielak-Hoops, executive director of the Community Music School (formerly the Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts); and Martha Rhodes, Clonlara’s campus director. They both supported the special exception use.

This brief was filed from the second floor council chambers at city hall, 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow.

3100 West Liberty.

The proposal by the owners, John and Jackie Farah, is to convert an existing office building on the 5.37-acre site into a fitness center that would operate similar to a physical therapy/rehabilitation facility, according to a staff report. The special exception use allows for indoor recreation on a site zoned office (O). It would be part of the Farah Professional Center, which was first developed in 1995 and expanded in 2005. The site – on the north side of West Liberty, between Wagner and South Maple – includes a 13,000-square foot, two-story building and a 10,000-square foot, one-story building with an 89-space parking lot. The property is located in Ward 5.

The staff report states that the proposed center “is a facility available to customers by appointment only, offering less than a dozen pieces of equipment such as treadmills, elliptical, bikes and nautilus machines. Yoga, spinning, massage therapy and acupuncture also will be offered. Hours of operation will be consistent with normal office/health practitioner business hours.” [.pdf of staff report]

Six people spoke during a public hearing on this project, including the Farahs as well as nearby residents. Concerns from neighbors included the disturbances that additional use of this site would have on their properties. Also speaking against the project was Brian Eisner, owner of the nearby Liberty Athletic Club, who expressed concern about increased traffic on West Liberty. The Farahs stressed that their effort would not increase traffic or negatively impact the residential neighbors.

During deliberations, commissioners considered putting limits on the hours of operation or restricting use to appointments only, but ultimately rejected those constraints. However, they did amend the special exception use to limit the amount of square footage that could be used for fitness center activities – to 9,000 square feet.

Separately, the owners have submitted an administrative amendment to the previously approved site plan for changes to the office center’s parking lot. The proposal is to increase the number of spaces from 89 to 104 within the limits of the current parking area. The additional spaces are required to support the proposed indoor recreation use. The modified parking lot would have 70 full-sized spaces, 29 compact-sized spaces, and 5 barrier-free spaces.

The administrative amendment does not require planning commission or city council approval. Nor is additional council approval required for the special exception use.

This brief was filed from the second floor council chambers at city hall, 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow.

The project itself was not on the agenda – but it would construct six new buildings on six parcels, each with associated surface parking and storm water detention. One of the proposed buildings would be a tennis facility. The tennis facility required an amendment to the ORL zoning district, which currently does not allow outdoor recreation uses.

The three associated items approved by the council were: (1) an area plan; (2) rezoning of 16.6 acres comprising six parcels from RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district); and (3) an amendment to the ORL zoning classification to allow the planning commission to grant special exception uses for recreational facilities.

Recommendations of approval for these items came at the planning commission’s June 3, 2014 meeting. Initial approval was given by the city council for the rezoning items at its July 7, 2014 meeting. So a vote for approval at the council’s Aug. 7 meeting was the final vote needed for enactment.

The six lots are undeveloped and total 16.6 acres. Four of the lots, on the southern end of the site, are owned by Qubit Corp. LLC; BMS Holdings LLC owns the northern two sites.

The proposed area plan – which is less detailed than a site plan – includes an indoor-outdoor tennis facility on one of the lots. It also includes five two-story buildings that could accommodate office, research, and limited industrial uses on the remaining lots, each with their own parking lot and access point to Research Park Drive.

Prior to construction, the project must go through the city’s site plan approval process, which might require a traffic impact study.

Aerial view showing Research Park Drive parcels.

Area plan for four sites in a proposed development on Research Park Drive. The image is oriented with east at the top.

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 election-week meeting is held on Thursday instead of Monday.

The sign on the door to the Ann Arbor city council chamber includes Braille.

The agenda is relatively light, with many of the items dealing with land-development and zoning matters – each of which have an associated public hearing. The consent agenda is packed with renewals of contracts for various software packages and computer maintenance.

In the category of land development and use, the council will consider a site plan that proposes to tear down the existing Delta Chi fraternity house at 1705 Hill Street and build a much larger structure in its place. Another site plan on the agenda is The Mark condominiums. That’s a proposal from developer Alex de Parry to demolish an existing car wash at 318 W. Liberty and build an 11,910-square-foot structure with seven residential condominiums – five two-bedroom and two three-bedroom units.

Also on the agenda is the initial approval of rezoning – from O (office district) and RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district) – that will be necessary for an expansion of the Gift of Life Michigan facility in Research Park. The proposal calls for building a three-story, 40,786-square-foot addition to connect two existing buildings at 3161 and 3169 Research Park Drive, which are owned and occupied by the nonprofit.

Also on Research Park Drive, a trio of items on the agenda relate to a future project that would construct six new buildings on six parcels, each with associated surface parking and storm water detention. One of the proposed buildings would be a tennis facility. The tennis facility would require an amendment to the ORL district, which currently does not allow outdoor recreation uses. The three associated items are: (1) an area plan; (2) rezoning of 16.6 acres from RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district); and (3) an amendment to the ORL zoning classification to allow the planning commission to grant special exception uses for recreational facilities.

The council will also consider a $200,000 contract with Reiser & Frushour P.L.L.C. to provide legal representation for indigent defendants. The city is required to provide such representation for those indigent defendants who might face incarceration if convicted.

A second large contract on the agenda is one with Carrier & Gable Inc. for the purchase of $480,000 worth of traffic signals. A third large contract is a three-year $727,545 agreement with Du All Cleaning Inc. for janitorial service at city hall, the Wheeler Service Center, the water treatment plant, senior center and other city-owned facilities.

Also to be considered by the council at its Aug. 7 meeting are a raft of items on the consent agenda covering various pieces of software used by the city in its regular operations. None of the contracts exceed $100,000, which means they can be voted on “all in one go” as part of the consent agenda.

Returning to the agenda on Aug. 7 is the Pontiac Trail sidewalk special assessment roll. That item had been postponed at the council’s July 21 meeting to allow additional time for residents to protest the assessment.

This article includes a more detailed preview of many of these agenda items. More details on other agenda items are available on the city’s online Legistar system. The meeting proceedings can be followed Thursday evening live on Channel 16, streamed online by Community Television Network starting at 7 p.m.

The Chronicle will be filing live updates from city council chambers during the meeting, published in this article below the preview material. Click here to skip the preview section and go directly to the live updates. The meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

Site Plan: Delta Chi

On the council’s Aug. 7 agenda is a plan to tear down the existing Delta Chi fraternity house at 1705 Hill Street and build a much larger structure in its place. The planning commission voted to recommend approval of the site plan at its July 1, 2014 meeting.

The Delta Chi fraternity house at 1705 Hill St.

The fraternity plans to demolish the existing 4,990-square-foot house at 1705 Hill St. – at the northwest corner of Hill and Oxford – and replace it with a 12,760-square-foot structure on three levels, including a basement. The current occupancy of 23 residents would increase to 34 people, including a resident manager.

The house is now on the northwest corner of the site, and a curbcut for the driveway is located at the intersection of Hill and Oxford. The proposal calls for building the new house closer to the southeast corner of the lot, with a parking lot on the west side and a new curbcut onto Hill – away from the intersection. [.pdf of staff report]

The minimum parking requirement is for seven spaces, but the plan calls for 16 spaces on the parking lot. There will be a shed with spaces for 20 bikes, and another four bike spaces in the back yard.

The project is expected to cost $2.2 million.

The fraternity declined to make a recommended voluntary parks contribution of $3,100 to the city. A statement from the fraternity gives their rationale for that decision: “While we can see the merit of such a donation for a large, new development that may bring additional residents to the city, we feel that this is not fitting in our situation. The Delta Chi Building Association has owned this property continuously since 1947, and during that time has consistently paid our property taxes and special millage assessments designated for Parks and Recreation. During our 67 years of ownership, we believe that we have contributed much more than the contribution suggested to support the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation system.”

In two separate votes at its July 1 meeting, the planning commission unanimously recommended approval of a site plan and granted a special exception use for the project. A special exception use is required because the property is zoned R2B (two-family dwelling district and student dwelling district). Fraternities are only allowed in R2B districts if granted special exception use by the planning commission. No additional city council approval is required for that.

The site plan does require city council approval, which is why it appears on the Aug. 7 agenda.

Aerial view of 1705 Hill.

1705 Hill site plan.

Site Plan: The Mark

On the council’s agenda is the site plan for The Mark condominiums just west of the railroad tracks on West Liberty Street.

The proposal from developer Alex de Parry is to demolish an existing car wash at 318 W. Liberty and build an 11,910-square-foot structure with seven residential condominiums – five two-bedroom and two three-bedroom units. Each condo would have its own two-car tandem garage for a total of 14 parking spaces, although no parking is required. The plan received a unanimous recommendation of approval from planning commissioners at their July 1, 2014 meeting.

Rendering of Mark Condominium proposal, as viewed from West Liberty next to the former Moveable Feast building.

The lot, on the north side of Liberty, is east of the historic Peter Brehme house at 326 W. Liberty and located in the Old West Side historic district. The historic district commission issued a certificate of appropriateness for the project on March 13, 2014. It’s located in Ward 5 and is zoned D2 (downtown interface).

The project would require two footing drain disconnects or the equivalent mitigation, according to a planning staff report. [.pdf of staff report]

In May, De Parry was told that the existing six-inch water main in West Liberty Street would need to be upsized to a 12-inch water main. The city staff told him that the six-inch main wouldn’t have the capacity to handle the additional development, in particular the building’s fire-suppression system. That was the reason for postponement at the planning commission’s May 20, 2014 meeting.

At that time, De Parry told commissioners that the development team had just been informed about the issue, and they were analyzing the budget impact and alternatives that they might pursue.

The current agreement, recommended by commissioners on July 1, is for De Parry to pay for installation of an eight-inch water main, rather than the 12-inch water main.

Rezoning: Gift of Life

The council will give initial consideration to the rezoning of property necessary for an expansion of the Gift of Life Michigan facility on Research Park Drive. The rezoning would change 6.55 acres from O (office district) and RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited Industrial district).

Aerial view of Gift of Life Michigan site.

The proposal calls for building a three-story, 40,786-square-foot addition to connect two existing buildings at 3161 and 3169 Research Park Drive, which are owned and occupied by the nonprofit. According to a staff report, the additional space will accommodate offices, a special events auditorium and “organ procurement suites.” The nonprofit’s website states that the Gift of Life is Michigan’s only federally designated organ and tissue recovery program. Cost of the expansion project will be $10.5 million

The city planning commission recommended approval of the rezoning at its July 1, 2014 meeting. Only the initial consideration of the rezoning is on the Aug. 7 city council agenda. Rezoning requires two council votes taken at separate meetings.

The changes would rezone the properties from office (O) and research (RE) to office/research/limited industrial (ORL). The parcel at 3161 Research Park Drive is currently zoned O. The parcel at 3169 Research Park is zoned RE. The plan is to combine those lots before the city issues building permits.

The project would reduce the four existing curb cuts to Research Park Drive to three, connecting one of the loop driveways to an existing driveway at the east end of the site. A parking lot at the back of the site will be expanded by 38 parking spaces. Two alternate vehicle fueling stations are proposed in parking spaces near the main entry, with the driveway at the center of the site providing access for ambulances. A new shipping and receiving facility will be located on the northeast corner of the site.

Rezoning, Area Plan, Special Exception: Research Park

A trio of items on the agenda relate to a future project at Research Park Drive that would construct six new buildings on six parcels, each with associated surface parking and storm water detention. One of the proposed buildings would be a tennis facility. The tennis facility would require an amendment to the ORL district, which currently does not allow outdoor recreation uses. The three associated items are: (1) an area plan; (2) rezoning of 16.6 acres comprising six parcels from RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district); and (3) an amendment to the ORL zoning classification to allow the planning commission to grant special exception uses for recreational facilities.

Recommendations of approval for these items came at the planning commission’s June 3, 2014 meeting. Initial approval was given by the city council for the rezoning items at its July 7, 2014 meeting. So a vote for approval at the council’s Aug. 7 meeting would be the final vote needed for enactment.

The six lots are undeveloped and total 16.6 acres. Four of the lots, on the southern end of the site, are owned by Qubit Corp. LLC; BMS Holdings LLC owns the northern two sites.

The proposed area plan – which is less detailed than a site plan – includes an indoor-outdoor tennis facility on one of the lots. It also includes five two-story buildings that could accommodate office, research, and limited industrial uses on the remaining lots, each with their own parking lot and access point to Research Park Drive.

Prior to construction, the project must go through the city’s site plan approval process, which might require a traffic impact study.

Aerial view showing Research Park Drive parcels.

Area plan for four sites in a proposed development on Research Park Drive. The image is oriented with east at the top.

Contracts

On the council’s agenda are three large contracts – one for indigent legal services, one for janitorial services and one for traffic signals.

Contracts: Legal Services

The council will consider a $200,000 contract with Reiser & Frushour P.L.L.C. to provide legal representation as court-appointed counsel to indigent defendants in the 15th District Court.

The court is required by law to appoint attorneys to represent indigent defendants when potential punishment if convicted includes the possibility of incarceration. According to the staff memo accompanying the item, Reiser & Frushour was selected from a pool of three firms that responded to a request for proposals (RFP). Besides Reiser & Frushour, the two other firms submitting proposals were: Washington, Friese & Graney; and Huron Valley Law Association. A selection committee consisting of the three 15th District Court judges reviewed the proposals and ranked the respondents. The contract covers the term of Sept. 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015.

Contracts: Traffic Signals

A second large contract on the agenda is one with Carrier & Gable Inc. for the purchase of $480,000 worth of traffic signals.

The list of signals covered in the contract includes:

• Varsity and Ellsworth pedestrian signal upgrade ($25,000)
• King George and Eisenhower pedestrian signal upgrades ($35,000)
• Maintenance operations, including wear-out and accident damage, and support of other city projects ($300,000)
• Addition of flashing yellow arrows for left turn movement at the following locations ($55,000): Fuller & Glenn; Barton & Plymouth; Plymouth & Broadway; Eisenhower & Stone School; Cedar Bend & Fuller; Fuller & Glazier Way; Fuller & Fuller Ct.; Fuller & Huron High
• Division and Catherine ($65,000)

The council is being asked to approve the contract with Carrier & Gable as a sole-source contract, because they are the only area distributor in Michigan and Indiana for the Eagle Signal Company. All of the city’s signalized intersections use equipment manufactured by Eagle. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, the advantages of sole-source supply for these materials include: reduced inventory requirements, as well as the need to train technicians in the repair of only one type of product.

Contracts: Janitorial Services

A third large contract on the agenda is a three-year $727,545 contract with Du All Cleaning Inc. for janitorial service at city hall, the Wheeler Service Center, the water treatment plant, senior center and other city-owned facilities.

The item had originally been scheduled to appear on the council’s July 21 meeting agenda. Responding to an emailed query from The Chronicle, city administrator Steve Powers explained that the item was delayed until the Aug. 7 meeting “to allow more time to evaluate the services of Du All during their probationary period.”

The locations and the cleaning schedule to be covered by the contract include:

• 911 Dispatch Center [Cleaned 7 days per week]
• Municipal Center [Cleaned 5 days per week]
• Wheeler Service Center [Cleaned 5 days per week]
• Water Treatment Plant [Cleaned 5 days per week]
• Veterans Memorial Park [Cleaned 5 days per week]
• Senior Center [Cleaned 4 days per week]
• Farmers Market [Cleaned 1-3 days per week depending on the season]

Sidewalk Special Assessment: Pontiac Trail

Appearing on the Aug. 7 agenda is the final vote on the special assessment for sidewalk construction on Pontiac Trail. It was postponed from the council’s July 21, 2014 meeting to allow additional time for one of the property owners to protest. The total cost that would be assessed to adjoining property owners is $72,218.

According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, sidewalk construction would be done as part of the reconstruction of Pontiac Trail beginning just north of Skydale Drive to just south of the bridge over M-14. The project will also be adding on-street bike lanes and constructing a new sidewalk along the east side of Pontiac Trail to fill in existing sidewalk gaps and to provide pedestrian access to Olson Park and Dhu Varren Road. That’s part of the city’s Complete Streets program.

In addition to the sidewalk, approximately 1,960 feet of curb and gutter is being added north of Skydale along Pontiac Trail to protect existing wetland areas. [.pdf of Pontiac Trail sidewalk special assessment area]

Consent Agenda

The consent agenda is a collection of items grouped together on the agenda that are considered routine and may include contracts up to $100,000. The council votes on those items as a group, unless a councilmember asks that an item be pulled out of the consent agenda for separate consideration.

The Aug. 7 consent agenda is dominated with computer software items:

• Purchase order to Michigan Supreme Court State Court Administrative Office for Judicial Information System (JIS) in FY 2015 ($45,000). This covers the annual software licensing and hosting costs for the JIS case management software. JIS is provided by the State of Michigan Supreme Court State Court Administrative Office for the 15th District Court use in its day-to-day operations.
• Purchase order with Oakland County for CLEMIS (Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System) Information Services for FY 2015 ($87,000). This gives the Ann Arbor police department access to shared information across multiple jurisdictions related to: computer aided dispatch (CAD), CAD Mobile, report management systems, fingerprinting and mug shots.
• Purchase order for annual maintenance and support of TRAKiT system and e-Markup annual license with CRW Systems Inc. for FY 2015 ($36,500). This system is used to track site plans and permits involved in land development – from initial concept through post occupancy compliance
• Purchase order with Azteca Systems for CityWorks enterprise license and annual maintenance and support agreement for FY 2015 ($60,000). This is a GIS-based asset management system used for maintenance activities. Service requests and work orders are based upon a customer request or an asset’s preventative maintenance schedule, and its location – which means that work can be managed by geographic location in addition to task type. If workers are already being sent to some area, they can do work that is due that is nearby as well.
• Purchase order to New World Systems for financial system annual software support and maintenance agreement for FY 2015 (not to exceed $70,000). The software provides monthly reporting and workflow routing for approvals of accounts payable invoices, accounts receivable, purchases, etc. The software allows city staff across departments to track the budget from the beginning of the budget planning process through the approval of the new budget.
• Purchase order with SEHI Computers for FY 2015 PC replacement program ($55,765). The staff memo accompanying this item notes that SEHI was selected as the lowest responsible bidder for pricing, technology, use of green technologies, power management technologies and ability to meet required bid specifications. But there’s not an indication of how many PCs are to be replaced under the program.
• Purchase order to BS&A Software for annual software maintenance and support agreement for FY 2015 ($26,000). This system is used for tax and assessment as well as the online hosting of tax and assessing data.

4:38 p.m. Staff responses to councilmember questions about items on the agenda are now available: [.pdf of Aug. 7, 2014 staff responses to agenda items]

4:40 p.m. Nine of 10 speakers signed up to speak during public commentary reserved time will address the topic of a boycott against Israel: Kamal Aggour, Mahamoud Habeel, Mohammad Aggour, Ayah Nimer, Mustafa Aggour, Aleddin Arukaff, Mozghan Savabieasfahani, Blaine Coleman and Jennifer Lewis. Thomas Partridge is signed up to talk about electing Mark Schauer as governor and improved access to public transportation. Two alternates are also signed up: Ossama Elayan, to talk about boycotting Israel; and Alan Haber to talk about World Peace Day.

6:25 p.m. Two stacks of yellow paper have been stacked at the public speaking podium – copies of tonight’s agenda. The sound of vacuuming is audible from elsewhere on the second floor of city hall. That kind of janitorial work is actually the subject of one of the items on tonight’s agenda – a 35-month contract with Du All Cleaning. [For additional background, see Contracts: Janitorial Services above.]

6:26 p.m. Thomas Partridge is first to arrive in the council chambers. He’ll be addressing the city council tonight on the topics of electing Mark Schauer as governor of Michigan and the need to increase public transportation services.

6:30 p.m. Partridge is listening to NPR on the radio. “After the break we’ll have the latest update from events in Gaza.” That will be the topic for nine of 10 speakers who have signed up for public commentary reserved time.

6:48 p.m. About a dozen people with white T-shirts with “Boycott Israel” printed on them are now here. Another dozen people have now joined them.

6:52 p.m. The back of the T-shirts read: “The people united, will never be defeated.”

6:54 p.m. The contingent of anti-Israel activists now numbers about 35 people or more.

6:59 p.m. Contingent of anti-Israel activists is now upwards of 50 people. They’re all moving to the center section of seating for maximum impact for the CTN cameras when members of their group address the council.

7:02 p.m. Only seven councilmembers are here so far. Missing are Margie Teall, Mike Anglin, Sabra Briere and Chuck Warpehoski.

7:02 p.m. AAPD has an officer standing in the rear off to the side.

7:04 p.m. Jane Lumm is congratulating Christopher Taylor on his primary election victory. Briere, Teall and Warpehoski have now arrived.

7:05 p.m. Anti-Israel contingent continues to add to their number.

7:06 p.m. AAPD actually has two officers here. One of them retrieves a agenda.

7:06 p.m. Call to order, moment of silence, pledge of allegiance.

7:07 p.m. Roll call of council. Anglin is not here.

7:07 p.m. Approval of agenda.

7:08 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve tonight’s meeting agenda.

7:08 p.m. Communications from the city administrator. Steve Powers has no communications tonight.

7:08 p.m. Introductions. A proclamation is being given to Ann Arbor Teens for Kids to honor their volunteer contributions in the Ann Arbor parks – specifically for their efforts related to the skatepark grand opening and Huron River Day.

7:11 p.m. A representative of the group is introducing the roughly dozen students, most of them Pioneer High School students.

7:11 p.m. Public commentary. This portion of the meeting offers 10 three-minute slots that can be reserved in advance. Preference is given to speakers who want to address the council on an agenda item. [Public commentary general time, with no sign-up required in advance, is offered at the end of the meeting.]

Nine of 10 speakers signed up to speak during public commentary reserved time will address the topic of a boycott against Israel: Kamal Aggour, Mahamoud Habeel, Mohammad Aggour, Ayah Nimer, Mustafa Aggour, Aleddin Arukaff, Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, Blaine Coleman and Jennifer Lewis. Thomas Partridge is signed up to talk about electing Mark Schauer as Governor and improved access to public transportation. Two alternates are also signed up: Ossama Elayan, to talk about boycotting Israel; and Alan Haber to talk about World Peace Day.

At the July 7 and July 21 meetings of the council, speakers have addressed the council renewing their request – made at council meetings dating back more than a decade – that the council enact a policy boycotting city purchase of products from Israel. Speakers have asked that the council establish a public hearing on the topic. Most recently, mayor John Hieftje and Ward 4 councilmember Jack Eaton, in separate emails, have conveyed to anti-Israel activists that they would not support such a boycott or a move to establish a public hearing on the topic. [.pdf of Aug. 3, 2014 email from Hieftje to Mozhgan Savabieasfahani] [.pdf of July 30, 2014 email from Eaton to Mozhgan Savabieasfahani]

7:12 p.m. Hieftje stresses that only one person can speak at a time. He’s ticking through the set of rules – and says that signs need to be held toward the sides of the chambers so as not to block anyone’s view.

7:15 p.m. Thomas Partridge says he’s here to re-affirm the need to elect Democrat Mark Schauer as governor and Gary Peters as U.S. senator. They will bring about a more progressive environment. He calls for more public transportation, saying that the current system is too limited in scope. He calls for door-to-door service to all principle residential and government buildings. He calls for an expansion of the AAATA to a true countywide transportation system.

7:20 p.m. Kamal Aggour takes the podium to applause, with Blaine Coleman and Mozghan Savabieasfahani standing behind him. Aggour says that people don’t know what is going on the Middle East. He describes how one person he spoke to thought that the pyramids were in Israel. He’s showing the council a map of the area in 1948. He’s reviewing the Balfour Declaration of 1917. He describes how people’s houses have been taken from them. His remarks end with applause. Chants of “Boycott Israel” erupt. Hieftje gavels them down. He says that the next time that happens it will be taken off the speaker’s time. He says the council will move in a progressive fashion to conduct the meeting.

7:23 p.m. Mahamoud Habeel is reciting grim statistics about the deaths and injuries over the last several weeks in the violence in Gaza. One of them was his nephew. There were 20,000 buildings destroyed, he says, including his own family’s house. He’s paying taxes that are being used to destroy his own property and people, he says. Ten schools have been bombed, he says. A representative from the UN stood in front of the ruins of one of the schools and broke into tears, he says. He asks the council to divest from Israel. More chants of “Boycott Israel.”

7:26 p.m. Mohammad Aggour tells the council that the death toll in Gaza has doubled to 1,900 since the last time he addressed the council. He tells the mayor that he is not supporting the cause. He says that it’s time for Ann Arbor to become a leader. If someone were kidnapped here in Ann Arbor, people would go crazy, but there are thousands of people are dying and nobody is doing anything. He asks for a boycott of Israel – that’s something that is easy to do. He tells the council that they have the ability to call a public hearing, but they won’t do it. “We elected you guys to help us.” More chants of “Boycott Israel.”

7:29 p.m. Ayah Nimer is standing before the council as a voice for Palestinians. Americans have played a role in helping Israel, she says. The way to help our brothers and sisters in Gaza, she says, is to boycott Israel. There’s an app that will tell you which products to avoid, she says. She asks the council to imagine a resident of Gaza, who can’t get drinkable water. She describes how she keeps in touch with a 16-year-old girl in Gaza using Twitter. The girl is one of the thousands of people who have been silenced by Israel, she says, and that’s why she is speaking for her. Gaza is like an open-air prison, she says. More chants.

7:33 p.m. Mustafa Aggour says that hundreds and thousands of kids are being killed – with guns and tanks that we are paying for. Innocent women and children are being killed every day, he says, and we are supporting that. Israel has no right to take the Palestinian’s homeland and the U.S. has no right to support that. Americans stood up for Jews in Germany, he says, and they should stand up against this new Holocaust. They would come to attend council meetings in the future to call for a boycott. He says the council has the power to stop this, but they won’t. All they’re asking is for a boycott of Israel, he says. “Boycott Israel, that’s it,” he concludes. More chanting. Hieftje admonishes that only one person can speak at a time. The speaker invites the audience to recite in turn, which they attempt to do. Then the timer’s beep ends his speaking turn.

7:35 p.m. Aleddin Arukaff says he’s come to address the council not as a Muslim but as a human being. He’s just a kid, he says, who doesn’t want to see another kid die as a result of bullets and guns that they had helped pay for. More chants. He asks the council to imagine that someone comes to their house and just takes it. “I beg you guys, boycott Israel.” More chants.

7:39 p.m. Mozghan Savabieasfahani thanks the audience for coming. She’s turned away from the council to address the audience. She now turns back to the council. She asks Hieftje: “Is the life of an Arab child worth anything to you?” She tells the council that genocide is being funded by the U.S. She wants that to end. The way to do that is to schedule a public hearing on the boycott of Israel. “Who wants a public hearing?” “We do!” they reply. Thomas Partridge interjects a complaint that they are too loud. Savabieasfahani continues. Another woman interjects. Hieftje advises that only one person can talk at a time. Members of the audience point out that only one person is talking. The woman finishes her thought. More calls for a public hearing and applause finish out Savabieasfahani’s turn.

7:43 p.m. Blaine Coleman leads the audience in a chant of “Boycott Israel.” Coleman says that a resolution from the city council would have stopped Israel in its tracks. Hieftje reacts with a smile. The audience reacts negatively. Coleman shouts: “You racist dog!” The woman from the audience who spoke before tries again. This time Hieftje enforces the rule against ceding your time to another speaker. This provokes the audience to stand and chant. The council retreats to the work room.

7:46 p.m. AAPD officer advises the audience that they need to calm down. The council will come back, but when they do, the crowd needs to stay calm. If there’s another outburst like that, the council will go back to the work room and the officers will clear the room.

7:49 p.m. The AAPD officers have approached Coleman. They’re clearing the room. It’s not clear what specifically led to the decision to clear the room.

7:50 p.m. They’re now leaving. Lots of chanting, “Boycott Israel” as they leave. Chants have become quite loud.

7:51 p.m. Statements made include: “We are coming back with a thousand people.” “Cowards!”

7:53 p.m. Most of the activists are outside of the chambers, but still on the second floor. Chants of “Boycott Israel” are still audible from the hall. “People are angry. Their relatives are dead.”

7:54 p.m. It’s now quieted down. Councilmembers are returning to the table.

7:54 p.m. Hieftje has called the council to order again.

7:57 p.m. Jennifer Lewis is addressing the council about an experience she had at the zoning board of appeals (ZBA). She asks that the composition of the ZBA reflect the source of most of the appeals. She says that the people who spoke tonight don’t necessarily reflect the views of all the residents of Ann Arbor. She notes that the word “Hamas” had not been spoken tonight. When her family visited Israel, they had to sit in bomb shelters.

7:57 p.m. Communications from council. This is the first of two slots on the agenda for council communications. It’s a time when councilmembers can report out from boards, commissions and task forces on which they serve. They can also alert their colleagues to proposals they might be bringing forward in the near future.

8:03 p.m. Eaton relays regrets from Anglin.

8:03 p.m. Lumm notes that the campaigns had concluded on Tuesday [the day of the primary elections]. She says that the campaigns were positive and classy.

Briere is questioning whether one of the speaker’s statements was true – that the U.S. had supported Jews during the Holocaust. She says that the U.S. had not opened its doors. That doesn’t mean that any violence is justified – she wants only to correct the error of historical fact.

8:03 p.m. Kailasapathy says: “Every child’s life matters.” When human rights are violated, it affects all of us. In Sri Lanka on July 25, 1983, her house was burned along with those of others. She describes her experience in the civil war there: “I am the poster child of a civil war …They were killing all my friends,” she says. She’d seen people dying like those in the pictures that protesters were holding. Her voice is shaking, but she’s continuing to speak. She tells those remaining in the audience: “We do care, okay. Just because we go into that room [the council work room] doesn’t mean we’re running way.”

8:05 p.m. Warpehoski gives an update on the chicken ordinance. He’s also giving an update on greenway planning. His third update is on the Michigan Dept. of Transportation proposed widening of US-23. On Aug. 14 there will be a public meeting to discuss that proposal at the Northfield Township Hall, he says.

8:07 p.m. Warpehoski now questions the assertion of one of the speakers that the council had the power to stop the violence in Gaza. He is talking about the legal ability of local units of government to enact boycotts of foreign governments, citing a court decision. “The premise that we are somehow the locus of control is wrong,” he says.

8:09 p.m. Petersen reports that before the meeting she’d spoken with Ayah Nimer, who’d address the council. Petersen had completed a “Hands are not for hitting” program and had known her for several years. Petersen said that Nimer’s comments were balanced and had approached the council in peaceful manner; she could be a leader for others, she says.

8:09 p.m. Nominations. On tonight’s agenda are three nominations to city boards and commissions: Bob Guenzel as a reappointment to the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority; Stephen Raiman to the energy commission to replace Dina Kurz; and Nora Lee Wright to a vacancy on the housing and human services advisory board.

8:10 p.m. Hieftje says that he wants the activists to reflect on the image they are creating, of a raucous crowd shutting down a city council meeting. Some of the statements that Coleman had made were absurd, Hieftje says. There are limits to what the council and cannot do.

8:11 p.m. PH-1 Confirm Pontiac Trail sidewalk assessment roll. [For additional background, see Sidewalk Special Assessment: Pontiac Trail above.] No one speaks on this hearing.

8:12 p.m. PH-2 Rezoning of 16.6 Acres from RE (Research Dwelling District) to ORL (Office/Research/Limited Industrial Dwelling District). [For additional background, see Rezoning, Area Plan, Special Exception: Research Park above.] Thomas Partridge asks that this parcel be required to have accessible transportation.

8:12 p.m. PH-3 Approve the area plan for Research Park Lots 26-31. [For additional background, see Rezoning, Area Plan, Special Exception: Research Park above.] No one speaks on this public hearing.

8:13 p.m. PH-4 Amend zoning ordinance to allow outdoor places of recreation in the Office/Research/Limited Industrial (ORL) zoning district as a special exception use. [For additional background, see Rezoning, Area Plan, Special Exception: Research Park above.] No one speaks on this public hearing.

8:14 p.m. PH-5 The Mark Condominiums site plan. [For additional background, see Site Plan: The Mark above.] Thomas Partridge calls for a requirement of all site plans to have accessible transportation.

8:15 p.m. A representative from Perimeter Engineering is addressing the council. She’s reviewing flow capacity testing for the water main and she believes that the water main is already adequate to meet the needs of the project.

8:18 p.m. PH-6 Delta Chi site plan. [For additional background, see Site Plan: Delta Chi above.] Allen Lutes is representing the owner of the property, and providing background on their intent.

8:20 p.m. Thomas Partridge calls for a requirement that public transportation be made available at this site.

8:22 p.m. PH-7 Issuance of Bonds by the EDC for Glacier Hills Inc. The attorney for the Economic Development Corp. is addressing the council. He stresses that there are no new bricks-and-mortar projects associated with this bond issuance. It’s a refinancing of bonds issued in 1989, 2000 and 2010. There’s no risk to tax money, he says.

8:22 p.m. Approval of minutes.

8:22 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the minutes of its previous meeting.

8:22 p.m. Consent agenda. This is a group of items that are deemed to be routine and are voted on “all in one go.” Contracts for less than $100,000 can be placed on the consent agenda. Tonight’s consent agenda contains 11 items. [Some background on consent agenda items is included above.]

8:23 p.m. Councilmembers can opt to select out any items for separate consideration. No one does.

8:23 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved the consent agenda.

8:23 p.m. B-1 Rezoning of 16.6 Acres from RE (Research Dwelling District) to ORL (Office/Research/Limited Industrial Dwelling District). Also on Research Park Drive, a trio of items on the agenda relate to a future project that would construct six new buildings on six parcels, each with associated surface parking and storm water detention. One of the proposed buildings would be a tennis facility. The tennis facility would require an amendment to the ORL district, which currently does not allow outdoor recreation uses. The three associated items are: (1) an area plan; (2) rezoning of 16.6 acres from RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district); and (3) an amendment to the ORL zoning classification to allow the planning commission to grant special exception uses for recreational facilities. [For additional background, see Rezoning, Area Plan, Special Exception: Research Park above.]

8:23 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted without discussion to give final approval to the rezoning of the 16.6 acres in Research Park.

8:23 p.m. B-2 Amend zoning ordinance to allow outdoor places of recreation in the Office/Research/Limited Industrial (ORL) zoning district as a special exception use. This item is related to the previous one. [For additional background, see Rezoning, Area Plan, Special Exception: Research Park above.]

8:23 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted without discussion to give final approval of the amendment to the zoning code to allow outdoor recreation as a special exception use in the ORL district.

8:24 p.m. C-1 Gift of Life rezoning. This is the initial approval of rezoning – from O (office district) and RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district) – that will be necessary for an expansion of the Gift of Life Michigan facility in Research Park. The proposal calls for building a three-story, 40,786-square-foot addition to connect two existing buildings at 3161 and 3169 Research Park Drive, which are owned and occupied by the nonprofit.[For additional background, see Rezoning: Gift of Life above.]

8:24 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted without discussion to give initial approval of the rezoning for the Gift of Life property.

8:24 p.m. DC-1 Issuance of Bonds by the EDC for Glacier Hills Inc. This resolution approves issuance of bonds by the Economic Development Corporation for refinancing of existing bonds. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, this does not encumber the city in any way – because Glacier Hills will be solely and exclusively responsible for the repayment of the EDC bonds.

8:25 p.m. Lumm is reading aloud a description of the issuance. She recites how the council had previously voted to set the public hearing that was held tonight. Refinancing will save substantially on the bond repayment, she says. She reiterates that there is no risk to the city involved here.

8:26 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the issuance of bonds by the EDC for Glacier Hills Inc.

8:26 p.m. DC-2 Great Lakes Climate Assessment grant application. This resolution would support the city of Ann Arbor’s application for a 2014 GLISA Great Lakes Climate Assessment grant, sponsored by the University of Michigan Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessment Center (GLISA). According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, city staff are proposing a project to develop a set of training tools for city engineers that will: (1) highlight adaptive projects and designs that are known to be effective in the Great Lakes Region (e.g., white roofs, green streets); and (2) identify key research questions for infrastructure assets where adaptive measures are not well developed (e.g., heat island effects of asphalt vs. concrete for street reconstruction).

8:27 p.m. Briere says that this “is one of those relatively easy things.” It’s a grant competition that the University of Michigan has entered, and they need a civic sponsor. That’s the role the city will play.

8:27 p.m. Outcome: The council has approved the resolution of support for the grant application.

8:27 p.m. DB-1 Approve the area plan for Research Park Lots 26-31. This is related to two items above. [For additional background, see Rezoning, Area Plan, Special Exception: Research Park above.]

8:27 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted without discussion to approve the area plan for the lots on Research Park Drive.

8:27 p.m. DB-2 Site plan: The Mark. This is a proposal from developer Alex de Parry to demolish an existing car wash at 318 W. Liberty and build an 11,910-square-foot structure with seven residential condominiums – five two-bedroom and two three-bedroom units. [For additional background, see Site Plan: The Mark above.]

8:32 p.m. Kunselman says that what caught his attention was the information about the water main that was mentioned during the public hearing. Planning manager Wendy Rampson approaches the podium. The proposal requires more water service than the current use as a car wash, she explains. Kunselman says there is a different project at Ashley and Huron that is having some of the utilities work paid for through a rebate of TIF. Alex de Parry responds to Kunselman’s question about whether he has pursued that option with the DDA. De Parry indicates that there have been some discussions but it sounds like they didn’t result in interest in applying.

The conversation is now about the flow testing – measured at 3,400 gallons per minute. The contention is that 3,000 is the minimum requirement. Eaton asks the representative from Perimeter what she would like the council to do. She says that they’d prefer not to have to build the water main.

8:35 p.m. She estimates the cost of building the new water main at $250,000, which is significant for a small project. She says she’d like to be able to construct the building before constructing the water main. Eaton asks Rampson if that’s possible. Rampson says that typically the water main needs to be completed before construction of the building. Petersen asks about the age of the water main. Rampson says that size is the issue, not age. She ventures that if the development agreement was not acceptable to the developer, the issue could be postponed. Public services administrator Craig Hupy is asked to the podium by Hieftje to confirm that city staff believes the pipe needs to be bigger.

8:37 p.m. Briere is reviewing the history of the planning commission’s treatment of this application. Rampson says that if there is additional information about water, that could be incorporated – but she didn’t want to try to alter the development agreement tonight. Kunselman says that if de Parry wants to go forward, he’ll vote for it.

8:37 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the site plan for The Mark condominiums.

8:37 p.m. DB-3 Site plan: Delta Chi. This site plan proposes to tear down the existing Delta Chi fraternity house at 1705 Hill Street and build a much larger structure in its place. [For additional background, see Site Plan: Delta Chi above.]

8:40 p.m. Lumm is reviewing the public participation meeting. Briere is asking about placement of dumpsters.

8:40 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the Delta Chi site plan.

8:40 p.m. DS-1 Pontiac Trail sidewalk special assessment roll. That item had been postponed at the council’s July 21 meeting to allow additional time for residents to protest the assessment. [For additional background, see Sidewalk Special Assessment: Pontiac Trail above.]

8:40 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted without discussion to confirm the assessment roll for the Pontiac Trail sidewalk construction.

8:40 p.m. DS-2 Contract with Du All Cleaning, Inc. for janitorial services ($727,545). This is a roughly three-year (35 months) $727,545 contract with Du All Cleaning Inc. for janitorial service at city hall, the Wheeler Service Center, the water treatment plant, senior center and other city-owned facilities.[For additional background, see Contracts: Janitorial Services above.]

8:41 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the janitorial contract with Du All Cleaning Inc.

8:41 p.m. DS-3 Contract with Carrier & Gable for traffic signal materials ($480,000). The contract includes pedestrian signals and left-turn arrows for several locations. [For additional background, see Contracts: Traffic Signals above.]

8:43 p.m. Briere asks for public services area administrator Craig Hupy. She says that when the council established the pedestrian safety task force, the council wanted work on pedestrian safety to continue. She asks about the blinking left-turn area. She wonders if that creates a more hostile environment for pedestrians. How busy are these particular crosswalks, she asks.

8:44 p.m. Hupy asks Briere which intersections she’s talking about. She gives Fuller and Maiden Lane as an example. It’s a busy pedestrian intersection and a lot of cars go through there. This is the first he’s heard about a concern about left turn arrows with respect to pedestrians, he says. He will ask staff to look into it, he says.

8:45 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the contract with Carrier and Gable for the traffic signal materials.

8:45 p.m. DS-4 Contract with Reiser & Frushour P.L.L.C. to provide legal representation for indigent defendants. ($200,000) Reiser & Frushour was awarded the contract over two other respondents to the city’s RFP. The 15th District Court is required to provide representation for indigent persons if their punishment could include incarceration upon conviction. [For additional background, see Contracts: Legal Services above.]

8:46 p.m. Taylor reports that the contracting party is a client of his, so he asks for authorization to sit out the vote. The council votes to allow that.

8:46 p.m. Outcome: The council has voted to approve the contract with Reiser & Frushour P.L.L.C.

8:46 p.m. Communications from council.

8:50 p.m. Warpehoski says that “with all the fun at the beginning the meeting” he’d forgotten to mention some discussion about increased transparency and oversight of reporting for Ann Arbor SPARK – a discussion that’s been happening with the Washtenaw County board. When the council takes up the SPARK contract off the table to consider it, he would be adding two points: (1) a reporting requirement for metrics, and (2) a direction to work with the county board’s Act 88 committee. Petersen reports that she’s working with the LDFA (local development finance authority) on a similar effort. Warpehoski reminds everyone that those are separate efforts – general fund compared to LDFA. Still he appears in agreement with Petersen that there should be coordination between the city and other contracting agencies on this type of issue. Updated: After the meeting, the city clerk forwarded the media the text of the amendment at Warpehoski’s request: [.pdf of Warpehoski's amendment to the SPARK resolution]

8:51 p.m. Kailasapathy is confirming with Petersen the distinction between the general fund support that the city provides to SPARK compared to the LDFA, which is based on tax capture. Petersen says that job-creation reporting is to some extent self-reported. She wants to keep it clear, streamlined and simple.

8:52 p.m. Eaton says that the state treasurer’s department did an audit of MEDC job creation numbers. He suggests that the methodology used by the city could be similar to that used by the state treasurer.

8:54 p.m. Lumm says that the current contract with SPARK doesn’t require reporting. Councilmembers are now having a conversation on the topic of required reporting from SPARK.

8:56 p.m. Clerk’s report of communications, petitions and referrals.

Outcome: The council has accepted the clerk’s report.

8:56 p.m. Public comment.

8:58 p.m. Laurie Barnett is addressing the council as the Jewish Federation of Ann Arbor. She’s reading aloud a letter to the council. It expresses support for the council’s position that a public hearing on a boycott of Israel should not be held.

8:59 p.m. She responds to Petersen’s remarks earlier in the meeting by saying that even personal boycotts are not justified.

9:03 p.m. Another woman is addressing the council supporting their position on Israel. She says it’s a slippery slope to anti-Semitic and hate speech.

9:03 p.m. David Shtulman, executive director of the Jewish Federation, is thanking Hieftje for 14 years of service. He admires the council for what they have to sit through and what they will have to sit through in the coming weeks. He says that he does not hold the council responsible for deaths of children in Gaza. In a poll in Gaza, 72% don’t want hostilities, he says. Those who were here tonight saying, “Boycott Israel” would save more lives if they shouted, “Boycott Hamas,” he says.

9:05 p.m. Thomas Partridge calls on the council to maintain order at meetings. He was concerned for his personal safety tonight, he says. He was almost hit in the face with a placard, and had been told he should leave if he didn’t want his hearing harmed. He warns that things could evolve toward violence. He calls on the council to prioritize protection of the most vulnerable residents. He calls for advancement of the cause of public transportation.

9:08 p.m. Alan Haber had been an alternate during reserved time. He says that he’s been in France, “the land without a pothole.” He doesn’t know how they do it, but says the engineers for the city should go and see how they do it. He complains that he was on the phone at three minutes after 8 a.m. and there were already people signed up ahead of him. He proposes that a World Peace Day celebration be held on Sept. 21 on top of the Library Lane underground parking structure.

9:10 p.m. Closed session under the Michigan Open Meetings Act. The council has voted to go into closed session to discuss pending litigation.

9:20 p.m. Before going into closed session, Hieftje told The Chronicle that it was his decision to clear the room earlier, and it was not triggered by anything specific, but rather a general sense that the council was not going to be able to conduct its business.

9:28 p.m. Before going into closed session, assistant city attorney Abigail Elias said she hoped the closed session would be very brief. It appears that hope might not be realized.

9:37 p.m. The council has emerged from the council work room.

9:37 p.m. Adjournment. We are now adjourned. That’s all from the hard benches.

A sign on the door to the Ann Arbor city council chambers gives instructions for post-meeting clean-up.

The Chronicle survives in part through regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of public bodies like the Ann Arbor city council. If you’re already supporting The Chronicle please encourage your friends, neighbors and coworkers to do the same. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle.

Screenshot of Legistar – the city of Ann Arbor’s online agenda management system. Image links to the Aug. 7, 2014 meeting agenda.

The agenda is relatively light, with many of the items dealing with land-use and zoning matters – each of which have an associated public hearing. The consent agenda is packed with renewals of contracts for various software packages and computer maintenance.

In the category of land development and use, the council will consider a site plan that proposes to tear down the existing Delta Chi fraternity house at 1705 Hill Street and build a much larger structure in its place. Another site plan on the agenda is The Mark condominiums. That’s a proposal from developer Alex de Parry to demolish an existing car wash at 318 W. Liberty and build an 11,910-square-foot structure with seven residential condominiums – five two-bedroom and two three-bedroom units.

Also on the agenda is the initial approval of rezoning – from O (office district) and RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district) – that will be necessary for an expansion of the Gift of Life Michigan facility in Research Park. The proposal calls for building a three-story, 40,786-square-foot addition to connect two existing buildings at 3161 and 3169 Research Park Drive, which are owned and occupied by the nonprofit.

Also on Research Park Drive, a trio of items on the agenda relate to a future project that would construct six new buildings on six parcels, each with associated surface parking and storm water detention. One of the proposed buildings would be a tennis facility. The tennis facility would require an amendment to the ORL district, which currently does not allow outdoor recreation uses. The three associated items are: (1) an area plan; (2) rezoning of 16.6 acres from RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district); and (3) an amendment to the ORL zoning classification to allow the planning commission to grant special exception uses for recreational facilities.

The council will also consider a $200,000 contract with Reiser & Frushour P.L.L.C. to provide legal representation for indigent defendants. The city is required to provide such representation for those indigent defendants who might face incarceration if convicted.

A second large contract on the agenda is one with Carrier & Gable Inc. for the purchase of $480,000 worth of traffic signals. A third large contract is a three-year $727,545 agreement with Du All Cleaning Inc. for janitorial service at city hall, the Wheeler Service Center, the water treatment plant, senior center and other city-owned facilities.

Also to be considered by the council at its Aug. 7 meeting are a raft of items on the consent agenda covering various pieces of software used by the city in its regular operations. None of the contracts exceed $100,000, which means they can be voted on “all in one go” as part of the consent agenda.

Returning to the agenda on Aug. 7 is the Pontiac Trail sidewalk special assessment roll. That item had been postponed at the council’s July 21 meeting to allow additional time for residents to protest the assessment.

This article includes a more detailed preview of many of these agenda items. More details on other agenda items are available on the city’s online Legistar system. The meeting proceedings can be followed Monday evening live on Channel 16, streamed online by Community Television Network starting at 7 p.m.

Site Plan: Delta Chi

On the council’s Aug. 7 agenda is a plan to tear down the existing Delta Chi fraternity house at 1705 Hill Street and build a much larger structure in its place. The planning commission voted to recommend approval of the site plan at its July 1, 2014 meeting.

The Delta Chi fraternity house at 1705 Hill St.

The fraternity plans to demolish the existing 4,990-square-foot house at 1705 Hill St. – at the northwest corner of Hill and Oxford – and replace it with a 12,760-square-foot structure on three levels, including a basement. The current occupancy of 23 residents would increase to 34 people, including a resident manager.

The house is now on the northwest corner of the site, and a curbcut for the driveway is located at the intersection of Hill and Oxford. The proposal calls for building the new house closer to the southeast corner of the lot, with a parking lot on the west side and a new curbcut onto Hill – away from the intersection. [.pdf of staff report]

The minimum parking requirement is for seven spaces, but the plan calls for 16 spaces on the parking lot. There will be a shed with spaces for 20 bikes, and another four bike spaces in the back yard.

The project is expected to cost $2.2 million.

The fraternity declined to make a recommended voluntary parks contribution of $3,100 to the city. A statement from the fraternity gives their rationale for that decision: “While we can see the merit of such a donation for a large, new development that may bring additional residents to the city, we feel that this is not fitting in our situation. The Delta Chi Building Association has owned this property continuously since 1947, and during that time has consistently paid our property taxes and special millage assessments designated for Parks and Recreation. During our 67 years of ownership, we believe that we have contributed much more than the contribution suggested to support the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation system.”

In two separate votes at its July 1 meeting, the planning commission unanimously recommended approval of a site plan and granted a special exception use for the project. A special exception use is required because the property is zoned R2B (two-family dwelling district and student dwelling district). Fraternities are only allowed in R2B districts if granted special exception use by the planning commission. No additional city council approval is required for that.

The site plan does require city council approval, which is why it appears on the Aug. 7 agenda.

Aerial view of 1705 Hill.

1705 Hill site plan.

Site Plan: The Mark

On the council’s agenda is the site plan for The Mark condominiums just west of the railroad tracks on West Liberty Street.

The proposal from developer Alex de Parry is to demolish an existing car wash at 318 W. Liberty and build an 11,910-square-foot structure with seven residential condominiums – five two-bedroom and two three-bedroom units. Each condo would have its own two-car tandem garage for a total of 14 parking spaces, although no parking is required. The plan received a unanimous recommendation of approval from planning commissioners at their July 1, 2014 meeting.

Rendering of Mark Condominium proposal, as viewed from West Liberty next to the former Moveable Feast building.

The lot, on the north side of Liberty, is east of the historic Peter Brehme house at 326 W. Liberty and located in the Old West Side historic district. The historic district commission issued a certificate of appropriateness for the project on March 13, 2014. It’s located in Ward 5 and is zoned D2 (downtown interface).

The project would require two footing drain disconnects or the equivalent mitigation, according to a planning staff report. [.pdf of staff report]

In May, De Parry was told that the existing six-inch water main in West Liberty Street would need to be upsized to a 12-inch water main. The city staff told him that the six-inch main wouldn’t have the capacity to handle the additional development, in particular the building’s fire-suppression system. That was the reason for postponement at the planning commission’s May 20, 2014 meeting.

At that time, De Parry told commissioners that the development team had just been informed about the issue, and they were analyzing the budget impact and alternatives that they might pursue.

The current agreement, recommended by commissioners on July 1, is for De Parry to pay for installation of an eight-inch water main, rather than the 12-inch water main.

Rezoning: Gift of Life

The council will give initial consideration to the rezoning of property necessary for an expansion of the Gift of Life Michigan facility on Research Park Drive. The rezoning would change 6.55 acres from O (office district) and RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited Industrial district).

Aerial view of Gift of Life Michigan site.

The proposal calls for building a three-story, 40,786-square-foot addition to connect two existing buildings at 3161 and 3169 Research Park Drive, which are owned and occupied by the nonprofit. According to a staff report, the additional space will accommodate offices, a special events auditorium and “organ procurement suites.” The nonprofit’s website states that the Gift of Life is Michigan’s only federally designated organ and tissue recovery program. Cost of the expansion project will be $10.5 million

The city planning commission recommended approval of the rezoning at its July 1, 2014 meeting. Only the initial consideration of the rezoning is on the Aug. 7 city council agenda. Rezoning requires two council votes taken at separate meetings.

The changes would rezone the properties from office (O) and research (RE) to office/research/limited industrial (ORL). The parcel at 3161 Research Park Drive is currently zoned O. The parcel at 3169 Research Park is zoned RE. The plan is to combine those lots before the city issues building permits.

The project would reduce the four existing curb cuts to Research Park Drive to three, connecting one of the loop driveways to an existing driveway at the east end of the site. A parking lot at the back of the site will be expanded by 38 parking spaces. Two alternate vehicle fueling stations are proposed in parking spaces near the main entry, with the driveway at the center of the site providing access for ambulances. A new shipping and receiving facility will be located on the northeast corner of the site.

Rezoning, Area Plan, Special Exception: Research Park

A trio of items on the agenda relate to a future project at Research Park Drive that would construct six new buildings on six parcels, each with associated surface parking and storm water detention. One of the proposed buildings would be a tennis facility. The tennis facility would require an amendment to the ORL district, which currently does not allow outdoor recreation uses. The three associated items are: (1) an area plan; (2) rezoning of 16.6 acres comprising six parcels from RE (research district) to ORL (office/research/limited industrial district); and (3) an amendment to the ORL zoning classification to allow the planning commission to grant special exception uses for recreational facilities.

Recommendations of approval for these items came at the planning commission’s June 3, 2014 meeting. Initial approval was given by the city council for the rezoning items at its July 7, 2014 meeting. So a vote for approval at the council’s Aug. 7 meeting would be the final vote needed for enactment.

The six lots are undeveloped and total 16.6 acres. Four of the lots, on the southern end of the site, are owned by Qubit Corp. LLC; BMS Holdings LLC owns the northern two sites.

The proposed area plan – which is less detailed than a site plan – includes an indoor-outdoor tennis facility on one of the lots. It also includes five two-story buildings that could accommodate office, research, and limited industrial uses on the remaining lots, each with their own parking lot and access point to Research Park Drive.

Prior to construction, the project must go through the city’s site plan approval process, which might require a traffic impact study.

Aerial view showing Research Park Drive parcels.

Area plan for four sites in a proposed development on Research Park Drive. The image is oriented with east at the top.

Contracts

On the council’s agenda are three large contracts – one for indigent legal services, one for janitorial services and one for traffic signals.

Contracts: Legal Services

The council will consider a $200,000 contract with Reiser & Frushour P.L.L.C. to provide legal representation as court-appointed counsel to indigent defendants in the 15th District Court.

The court is required by law to appoint attorneys to represent indigent defendants when potential punishment if convicted includes the possibility of incarceration. According to the staff memo accompanying the item, Reiser & Frushour was selected from a pool of three firms that responded to a request for proposals (RFP). Besides Reiser & Frushour, the two other firms submitting proposals were: Washington, Friese & Graney; and Huron Valley Law Association. A selection committee consisting of the three 15th District Court judges reviewed the proposals and ranked the respondents. The contract covers the term of Sept. 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015.

Contracts: Traffic Signals

A second large contract on the agenda is one with Carrier & Gable Inc. for the purchase of $480,000 worth of traffic signals.

The list of signals covered in the contract includes:

• Varsity and Ellsworth pedestrian signal upgrade ($25,000)
• King George and Eisenhower pedestrian signal upgrades ($35,000)
• Maintenance operations, including wear-out and accident damage, and support of other city projects ($300,000)
• Addition of flashing yellow arrows for left turn movement at the following locations ($55,000): Fuller & Glenn; Barton & Plymouth; Plymouth & Broadway; Eisenhower & Stone School; Cedar Bend & Fuller; Fuller & Glazier Way; Fuller & Fuller Ct.; Fuller & Huron High
• Division and Catherine ($65,000)

The council is being asked to approve the contract with Carrier & Gable as a sole-source contract, because they are the only area distributor in Michigan and Indiana for the Eagle Signal Company. All of the city’s signalized intersections use equipment manufactured by Eagle. According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, the advantages of sole-source supply for these materials include: reduced inventory requirements, as well as the need to train technicians in the repair of only one type of product.

Contracts: Janitorial Services

A third large contract on the agenda is a three-year $727,545 contract with Du All Cleaning Inc. for janitorial service at city hall, the Wheeler Service Center, the water treatment plant, senior center and other city-owned facilities.

The item had originally been scheduled to appear on the council’s July 21 meeting agenda. Responding to an emailed query from The Chronicle, city administrator Steve Powers explained that the item was delayed until the Aug. 7 meeting “to allow more time to evaluate the services of Du All during their probationary period.”

The locations and the cleaning schedule to be covered by the contract include:

• 911 Dispatch Center [Cleaned 7 days per week]
• Municipal Center [Cleaned 5 days per week]
• Wheeler Service Center [Cleaned 5 days per week]
• Water Treatment Plant [Cleaned 5 days per week]
• Veterans Memorial Park [Cleaned 5 days per week]
• Senior Center [Cleaned 4 days per week]
• Farmers Market [Cleaned 1-3 days per week depending on the season]

Sidewalk Special Assessment: Pontiac Trail

Appearing on the Aug. 7 agenda is the final vote on the special assessment for sidewalk construction on Pontiac Trail. It was postponed from the council’s July 21, 2014 meeting to allow additional time for one of the property owners to protest. The total cost that would be assessed to adjoining property owners is $72,218.

According to the staff memo accompanying the resolution, sidewalk construction would be done as part of the reconstruction of Pontiac Trail beginning just north of Skydale Drive to just south of the bridge over M-14. The project will also be adding on-street bike lanes and constructing a new sidewalk along the east side of Pontiac Trail to fill in existing sidewalk gaps and to provide pedestrian access to Olson Park and Dhu Varren Road. That’s part of the city’s Complete Streets program.

In addition to the sidewalk, approximately 1,960 feet of curb and gutter is being added north of Skydale along Pontiac Trail to protect existing wetland areas. [.pdf of Pontiac Trail sidewalk special assessment area]

Consent Agenda

The consent agenda is a collection of items grouped together on the agenda that are considered routine and may include contracts up to $100,000. The council votes on those items as a group, unless a councilmember asks that an item be pulled out of the consent agenda for separate consideration.

The Aug. 7 consent agenda is dominated with computer software items:

• Purchase order to Michigan Supreme Court State Court Administrative Office for Judicial Information System (JIS) in FY 2015 ($45,000). This covers the annual software licensing and hosting costs for the JIS case management software. JIS is provided by the State of Michigan Supreme Court State Court Administrative Office for the 15th District Court use in its day-to-day operations.
• Purchase order with Oakland County for CLEMIS (Courts and Law Enforcement Management Information System) Information Services for FY 2015 ($87,000). This gives the Ann Arbor police department access to shared information across multiple jurisdictions related to: computer aided dispatch (CAD), CAD Mobile, report management systems, fingerprinting and mug shots.
• Purchase order for annual maintenance and support of TRAKiT system and e-Markup annual license with CRW Systems Inc. for FY 2015 ($36,500). This system is used to track site plans and permits involved in land development – from initial concept through post occupancy compliance
• Purchase order with Azteca Systems for CityWorks enterprise license and annual maintenance and support agreement for FY 2015 ($60,000). This is a GIS-based asset management system used for maintenance activities. Service requests and work orders are based upon a customer request or an asset’s preventative maintenance schedule, and its location – which means that work can be managed by geographic location in addition to task type. If workers are already being sent to some area, they can do work that is due that is nearby as well.
• Purchase order to New World Systems for financial system annual software support and maintenance agreement for FY 2015 (not to exceed $70,000). The software provides monthly reporting and workflow routing for approvals of accounts payable invoices, accounts receivable, purchases, etc. The software allows city staff across departments to track the budget from the beginning of the budget planning process through the approval of the new budget.
• Purchase order with SEHI Computers for FY 2015 PC replacement program ($55,765). The staff memo accompanying this item notes that SEHI was selected as the lowest responsible bidder for pricing, technology, use of green technologies, power management technologies and ability to meet required bid specifications. But there’s not an indication of how many PCs are to be replaced under the program.
• Purchase order to BS&A Software for annual software maintenance and support agreement for FY 2015 ($26,000). This system is used for tax and assessment as well as the online hosting of tax and assessing data.

The Chronicle could not survive without regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of public bodies like the Ann Arbor city council. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle. And if you’re already supporting The Chronicle, please encourage your friends, neighbors and colleagues to help support The Chronicle, too!

Residents who live near the proposed Glendale Condos development turned out to oppose the project, which was postponed by planning commissioners. (Photos by the writer.)

Nearly two dozen residents spoke during a public hearing to oppose the project at 312 Glendale, citing concerns about increased flooding and other stormwater problems, dangers of a proposed retention/detention pond, increased traffic, and a loss of landmark tress and green space.

The project had been previously postponed a year ago, at the planning commission’s July 16, 2013 meeting. That meeting had drawn about an hour of commentary from residents who opposed it then as well.

The current proposal has been scaled back – but still drew considerably opposition. The plan now calls for six duplexes, each with two two-bedroom condos. (The original proposal had been for eight duplexes.) Based on the size of the parcel and the site’s zoning, up to 39 units would be allowed by right.

It was a retention/detention pond that drew most concern from commissioners. Wendy Woods said the potential danger it posed would prevent her from supporting the project. Ken Clein questioned the contention of the architect, Scott Bowers, that the pond had been mandated by the office of the Washtenaw County water resources commissioner. Clein and other commissioners asked planning staff to get more information from the water resources commissioner about whether there are other options to handle all of the site’s water detention – such as additional underground systems.

The water resources commissioner is Evan Pratt, who formerly served on the Ann Arbor planning commission.

Also prompting some concerns – but ultimately gaining a recommendation of approval from commissioners – was a proposal for new condominiums on West Liberty Street, called The Mark. The proposal from developer Alex de Parry is to demolish an existing car wash at 318 W. Liberty and build an 11,910-square-foot structure with seven residential condominiums – five two-bedroom and two three-bedroom units. Each condo would have its own two-car tandem garage for a total of 14 parking spaces, although no parking is required.

The lot, on the north side of Liberty, is east of the historic Peter Brehme house at 326 W. Liberty and located in the Old West Side historic district. Concerns raised during a public hearing focused on the fact that a small portion of the site’s corner lies within the floodplain, as well as a general objection to high-end development in the downtown core. One woman also criticized the aesthetics and height of the project. The project’s architect, Brad Moore, responded to concerns about the floodplain by saying that none of the building is within the floodplain. The garages are out of the floodplain, and the living space is located above the garages, he noted.

Two other projects were recommended for approval during the 4.5-hour meeting. Delta Chi plans to tear down its existing fraternity house at the corner of Hill and Oxford and build a much larger structure in its place. The current occupancy of 23 residents would increase to 34 people, including a resident manager. A fraternity representative fielded questions about the decision not to make a voluntary parks contribution. Some commissioners expressed skepticism at the contention that fraternity members didn’t use city parks, and asked that the contribution be reconsidered.

Finally, a $10.5 million expansion of the Gift of Life Michigan facility on Research Park Drive is moving forward to city council, after planning commissioners recommended approval of a site plan and rezoning. The nonprofit wants to build a three-story, 40,786-square-foot addition to connect two existing buildings at 3161 and 3169 Research Park Drive. The additional space will accommodate offices, a special events auditorium and “organ procurement suites.” The nonprofit’s website states that the Gift of Life is Michigan’s only federally designated organ and tissue recovery program.

Glendale Condos

The July 1 agenda included a residential project at 312 Glendale, south of Jackson Avenue, which had been previously postponed a year ago at the planning commission’s July 16, 2013 meeting. That meeting had drawn about an hour of commentary from residents who raised concerns about the project, including increased flooding, the lack of pedestrian access, increased traffic and the loss of landmark trees. The site, owned by Jeffrey Starman, includes a former orchard.

Vacant houses at 312 Glendale. Nearby neighbors use the driveway as a cut-through to the west segment of Charlton Avenue. (Photos by The Chronicle.)

The project has been scaled back since then – but still drew considerably opposition. The plan now calls for removing two vacant single-family houses and building six duplexes, each with two two-bedroom condos. (The original proposal had been for eight duplexes.) Based on the size of the parcel and the site’s zoning – R4B (multi-family residential) – up to 39 units would be allowed by right.

Each unit would include two garage parking spaces, with 12 additional surface spaces on the site. That’s double the number of spaces required by zoning.

Sixteen of the 23 landmark trees would be removed, and 103 new trees would be planted. The developer has also agreed to make a voluntary $7,440 contribution to the city’s parks system. There are two areas on the north with steep slopes, which are considered natural features.

A public sidewalk would be built along Glendale. There would also be pedestrian connection between two buildings on the site, connecting the drive and the new public sidewalk on Glendale. Another sidewalk connection would be built between the end of the east/west portion of the drive and the Hillside Terrace property to the west.

There would be a new curbcut onto Glendale Drive, slightly north of the existing curbcut, which would be removed. A traffic study wasn’t done because the projected increase in traffic during peak hours wasn’t large enough to trigger that requirement.

Regarding stormwater management, the development agreement requires that the developer pay for disconnecting three footing drains from residences in the nearby neighborhood – or “an equivalent amount of sanitary flow removal.” On the site itself, the proposal called for stormwater facilities to be located on either side of the entrance driveway – an underground basin on the north, and a surface retention/detention pond on the south. The intent is for any stormwater runoff to be captured within the site, and not to affect the surrounding neighborhood.

Jill Thacher of the city’s planning staff gave all the staff reports at the July 1 meeting.

Planning staff recommended approval of this project. [.pdf of staff report]

By way of additional background, a year ago, both Ward 5 city council representatives attended the planning commission meeting when this project was brought forward. One of them – Chuck Warpehoski – was among the speakers at that public hearing. He was cut off at that meeting by commissioner Diane Giannola, who cited the commission’s bylaws: “A member of the City Council shall not be heard before the Commission as a petitioner, representative of a petitioner or as a party interested in a petition during the Council member’s term of office.” Warpehoski, who’d been unaware of that rule, stepped away from the podium.

The situation prompted additional discussion of that section of the bylaws, which were ultimately revised in an attempt to clarify the ability of councilmembers to address the commission, among other things. The planning commission approved a bylaws revision at its Feb. 20, 2014 meeting. The changes also require city council approval. However, the city attorney’s office held back the revisions and they have not yet been forwarded to the council.

At a July 8 working session, planning commissioners were provided with a new draft that had been developed by assistant city attorney Kevin McDonald. His changes focused on how to handle public hearings in general. [.pdf of McDonald's draft] It’s likely that the commission will reconsider these bylaws revisions later this summer.

Glendale Condos: Public Hearing

The public hearing drew 22 speakers – the project’s architect, and 21 residents who were opposed to the development. Issues that were raised were similar to those expressed a year ago, and included concerns about increased flooding and other stormwater problems, dangers of the proposed retention/detention pond, increased traffic, and a loss of landmark tress and green space.

No trespassing signs are posted in the former orchard.

In addition to commentary during the public hearing, the planning commission received several letters about the project, which were included in the online meeting packet.

Here’s a summary from the July 1 public hearing.

Vince Caruso introduced himself as the coordinating member for the Allen’s Creek Watershed Group. The neighbors have a lot of concerns, because the development would be on a de facto park, he said. He wondered if there’s a calculation comparing the amount of impervious surface in this new plan compared to the old one. There are major flooding issues on Glendale, he said.

Caruso said the developer, speaking at a public forum on the project, had to be directly challenged after making the statement that no stormwater would leave the site. The developer also hadn’t notified all residents of Hillside Terrace about the forum, Caruso said. His daughter worked there, and told him there’s a very active residents’ group.

The drive out of the site will result in cars shining lights directly into houses across the street, devaluing their property, Caruso continued.

Regarding stormwater management, he said the design hadn’t changed “but the labels have been swapped.” The retention/detention pond, which is 7 feet deep, is a hazard to the community and an eyesore. It’s an extreme solution and indicative of the fact that this is way too much development for the site, he said. These kinds of basins are notoriously under-managed, he added. In recent years, there was a drowning in a similar basin near Target, he said. In years to come, when the fence around the basin is in disrepair, he said, “children and pets will have access to a clear and present danger to the community.”

Caruso also said the models for flooding in the Allen’s Creek watershed aren’t very accurate, since they don’t reflect the stormwater problems in the Glendale area. When Hillside Terrace was build, residents in the Glendale neighborhood sued and eventually settled with the city for flooding damages. “I think that’s a fairly clear indication that there’s stormwater issues to be addressed,” he said.

Libby Hunter read aloud a letter from Charles Dunlop, who lives on Glendale Circle. [.pdf of Dunlop's letter] He opposed the project, having concerns about traffic and water run-off.

Diane Robins of Old Orchard Court told commissioners that several of her neighbors were also at the meeting. They lived just north of the proposed project. They had concerns about stormwater runoff, flooding and sewage overflow, which she said are already severe in the neighborhood. The development is likely to adversely affect downstream property owners, she said. They’re concerned that the development will damage the environment and neighborhood “beyond its already fragile state.”

Vince Caruso and Diane Robins.

To document these issues, the neighbors created a flood, stormwater and sewage survey, modeled after the city’s water survey. Results from the first survey were presented to the planning commission a year ago, she noted – on July 16, 2013. More recently, they did another survey and doubled the number of responses. About 135 surveys were distributed, with 70 responses – a response rate of over 50%. The vast majority of respondents had problems with water, she noted. Copies of this information were sent to commissioners. [.pdf of Robins' correspondence]

There’s extensive flooding in the neighborhood, Robins reported, and she hoped commissioners would take these concerns into consideration. She requested that the stormwater modeling and evaluation be completed by the city prior to further consideration of this development.

Ethel Potts also expressed concerns about stormwater issues, and described how the current trees, shrubs and lawn help contain the water on that site. The development would make most of the site impermeable, she said. Potts questioned whether the retention/detention pond was safe, even with a fence. She described other aspects of the project that she characterized as badly planned, and told commissioners they could not approve the development.

Kira Slovacek, another resident of Old Orchard Court, was also concerned about the threat to the health and safety of residents. The pond would be a breeding ground for mosquitoes, she said, and increases the risk of West Nile virus. Such ponds are also frequently described as an “attractive nuisance,” she noted, and given this one’s proximity to a public sidewalk, “the risks of exploration are even greater.” Drowning is the most serious risk, she said, especially in a neighborhood heavily populated with children. Fencing isn’t an effective solution, she added. As the mother of two small children, with another one on the way, Slovacek said she’s very concerned, and she wanted to know what additional safety measures will be taken.

Slovacek’s husband, Ian Hubert, spoke next. He referenced a handout that he’d given to commissioners. He’d also sent an email to commissioners prior to the meeting. [.pdf of Hubert's email] He said the proposed buildings are much larger than existing single-family homes, and don’t fit will with the neighborhood. Hubert also expressed concern about the proposed locations for snow storage, noting that melting snow would run down the hill or clog the retention/detention pond with debris.

Tom O’Connell told commissioners he’s lived on Orchard Street for 47 years. He expressed concerns about flooding in the neighborhood. He said he lived there when neighbors sued the city over the Hillside Terrace development. He wondered why the city would allow a retention pond in a residential neighborhood. The city should fix the existing flooding problem before starting a new problem with this development, he said.

Kathy Boris, a Charlton resident, asked about the detention apparatus and the retention/detention pond. The fact that this development requires so much stormwater management indicates to her that it’s too large for the site. There’s too much impervious surface in the site plan. She asked if the land would be graded so that stormwater would flow into the catch basins. She also wondered if the development agreement would stipulate what maintenance would be required for the stormwater system. She listed several types of maintenance that the EPA recommended for such systems. Is there a legal mechanism to ensure that this maintenance occurs? Who’ll be held accountable if the system fails?

Josh Greenberg opposed the Glendale development.

Another Charlton residents, Kris Kaul, said she also has a rental property at the corner of Abbott and Glendale – directly across from the proposed development. The neighborhood feels very quiet and enclosed, and not a place that would support this development. Her main concerns were traffic and stormwater. Right now, it’s very difficult trying to turn left onto Jackson from Glendale, she said. Adding possibly 24 more cars will only increase the problem. It’ll make the quality of life there much worse. She was also concerned about the retention/detention pond. “It’s just a matter of time before a pet drowns in that retention pond,” she said.

Josh Greenberg lives on Glendale, and said he moved to the neighborhood because it’s very quaint with beautiful trees that have been there for decades or even a century. This project will change the neighborhood and he didn’t know if the development was worth it.

Sandra Berman of Glendale Circle thought that one of Ann Arbor’s goals is to create green spaces. There’s a beautiful orchard there now. She walks past there and sees children playing in the orchard, neighbors talking to each other – but now a condo development is proposed, despite the concerns. “My question is why would we do it?” she asked. Maybe there are financial reasons, but “that’s really not what our town is about,” she said.

Priscilla Parker, another Charlton resident, said she carefully reviewed the city’s master plan land use element section, and it’s clear that this development doesn’t meet two of the goals. Goal A is “to ensure that development projects are designed and constructed in a way that preserves or enhances the integrity of natural systems.” But this project will destroy natural systems, she said. Goal D is “to support the continued viability, health and safety of City residential neighborhoods.” Parker noted that there are serious issues regarding the retention/detention pond. She said everyone pays taxes for green space inside the city, and 312 Glendale is the perfect place to do that. She asked anyone who opposed the project to stand up – almost everyone in council chambers did.

Kira Slovacek.

Several other residents spoke against the project, including Melissa Whitney, Mary Cronin, and Andrea Pertosa. They raised similar objections and concerns about the retention/detention pond, flooding, traffic, impervious surface, and the elimination of green space. Gretchen Hahn read a letter from Rita Mitchell, who advocated that the city use funds from the open space and parkland preservation millage to buy the land for a park and green infrastructure. Susan Cybulski agreed with other speakers, and expressed concern that residents of Hillside Terrace – many who are elderly and infirm – couldn’t attend this meeting so that their voices can be heard.

Steve Thorpe thought developers should foot the bill for sending out notices. He also noted that when he was chair of the planning commission several years ago, he allowed people to applaud – it was a discretionary matter, “and the city didn’t come to a grinding halt.” Thorpe then spent the remainder of his speaking turn applauding, and was joined by others in the room. [Thorpe was responding to a request by the current chair, Kirk Westphal, not to applaud speakers during the public hearing.]

Ed Vielmetti said he wasn’t directly affected by this project, except to the extent “that we’re all citizens of Ann Arbor and we’re all affected by everything that goes on.” He talked about sump pumps in residences throughout Ann Arbor, and problems related to them. Because of the city’s footing drain disconnect program, the risk of sump pump failure is put on the residents to mitigate. “There’s no Internet of sump pumps in this town, and maybe there should be.” The city might be able to do something to help citizens manage stormwater issues in some way, especially in cases where it’s being made worse by new development, he said.

Lynn Borset spoke on behalf of the Virginia Park neighborhood. She referred to a communication she’d sent to commissioners last year, titled “Speaking for the Trees.” The information is still relevant, she said. [.pdf of Borset's 2013 email] Borset noted that the city forester also has noted concerns about the impact of construction on this site. She also wondered why there wasn’t a vehicle connection between Hillside Terrace and the proposed development.

Lynn Borset raised several objections to the project.

Other concerns related to density, open space and the retention/detention pond. She had raised some of these issues in a recent email. [.pdf of Borset's 2014 email] The development is over-capacity for this site, she said.

Gus Teschke pointed out that the development will include dumpsters, even though there are no other places with dumpsters in the neighborhood. It doesn’t align with community standards, he said. He questioned whether the site would meet the county requirements for containing stormwater. Teschke also noted that the local chapter of the Sierra Club is opposing the project. [.pdf of Sierra Club letter]

The final speaker was Scott Bowers, the project’s architect. They haven’t taken the neighbors’ comments lightly, he said. There have been several iterations of this plan. The project has been scaled back, he noted, and they’d designed the stormwater management system based on direction from the county water resources commissioner. “This is what they told us we needed to do,” he said. He explained how the retention/detention pond worked, saying it was the best spot to be located. Maintenance would be the responsibility of the condo association. There is additional parking on the site, compared to the previous plan, in response to neighborhood concerns about parking on the streets, he said. Two buildings had been eliminated to protect the natural feature of the steep slope and vegetation on the north side.

Bowers said they’ve gone to great lengths to preserve the existing trees as well as they can, and they’re grading the site so that stormwater will drain into catch basins. He noted that the buildings are duplexes, and that there are duplexes in the neighborhood already. The initial plan had called for four-plex units, he said.

Glendale Condos: Commission Discussion

Commissioners discussed this project for about 90 minutes and covered a range of issues, including stormwater management, traffic, open space, and design. Kirk Westphal, the commission’s chair, said that commissioners aren’t unsympathetic to issues connected with this project, but their charge is to look at developments with regard to the city’s code and master plan. So while the site is pastoral and hasn’t been developed, it’s private property, he noted. “It’s not really in our purview to decide whether this should be a park or not, or whether the private property owner should develop it or not.”

This report organizes the commission’s discussion thematically.

Glendale Condos: Commission Discussion – Stormwater, Flooding

Diane Giannola asked how long water would remain in the retention/detention pond. Jill Thacher of the city’s planning staff replied that it would depend on the size of the storm. Giannola wondered whether there would constantly be standing water – because that would determine whether mosquitoes would breed there.

Kirk Westphal.

Paras Parekh asked how common it is for ponds to be used in developments like this. Wendy Rampson, the city’s planning manager, explained that most recently within the downtown, most of the stormwater detention for developments has been below ground. But when land is available on a site, most of the post-1970s development – both residential and non-residential – has incorporated detention ponds. Sometimes the ponds have water, like those around Briarwood mall. A lot of times the ponds are dry, and simply appear as depressions within a development, she explained.

Parekh noted that the Glendale Condos site uses both underground detention as well as the pond. Was there a reason why it couldn’t all be handled below grade? Rampson replied that she thought it was because this site’s design is constrained by the steep slope.

Ken Clein asked if the soils are suitable for infiltration. Thacher said that was part of the county water resources commissioner’s review, and they determined that the soils were suitable. Clein wondered if there’d be any discussion about using more below-ground infiltration in the stormwater system, rather than a retention/detention pond. Rampson noted that the county water resources commissioner has jurisdiction over these issues. That’s why the planning staff isn’t able to answer questions in the same level of detail as they can on other issues, she explained. The county has jurisdiction because the stormwater system will be shared among several units within the site.

Wendy Woods asked for an explanation of the difference between retention and detention. Rampson explained that for detention, a pond is designed to hold water in a large storm. Water flows into the pond, then gradually goes into an underground pipe system. The idea is to hold it on the site as long as possible, so that all the water doesn’t feed into the city’s stormwater system at the same time.

A retention pond, in contrast, keeps water for a longer period while it infiltrates and evaporates. Examples are at Briarwood mall or large residential complexes, like Traver Lakes or Geddes Lakes. In some cases, detention ponds are attached to retention ponds, Rampson noted.

Aerial view of 312 Glendale.

Jeremy Peters asked if there was any oversight for maintenance. Thacher replied that the development agreement includes requirements for construction and management of the stormwater management. The responsibility will be assigned to the condo owners, with annual inspections to be conducted by a professional engineer. Written copies of those inspections must be provided to the city’s public services staff.

Kirk Westphal asked who would neighbors call if there are problems with the system? Thacher said they could call public services staff at city hall. He asked if there is any redress for the community, if something goes wrong. Thacher said that if the pond fails, the development agreement states that the city can force the owners to repair it, or put liens on the property for work that the city does.

Westphal then asked who should be contacted if someone has concerns about existing requirements for stormwater management – such as the open retention/detention pond. Rampson replied that the Washtenaw County office of the water resources commissioner sets the rules that the city uses. Possible revisions to those rules will be discussed by the county board later this year. [The position of water resources commissioner is an elected countywide post with a four-year term. The current water resources commissioner is Evan Pratt, who served on the Ann Arbor planning commission before his 2012 election.]

Responding to another query from Westphal, Thacher explained that this project’s stormwater standards are slightly stricter, because of the neighborhood issues. That’s why there can’t be any net increase of water leaving the site, which required a beefed-up stormwater system. “They’ve taken the neighborhood concerns very seriously, and made the developers put in extra precautionary measures because of that,” she said.

Rampson noted that much of that neighborhood was developed prior to the existing stormwater management requirements. So on most residential sites, the water runs off impervious surfaces and flows downstream. More modern development must meet requirements to manage the stormwater on-site, so that the new impervious surface doesn’t increase the runoff.

Architect Scott Bowers.

Sabra Briere asked whether the runoff from Hillside Terrace that flows onto the Glendale Condos site will be retained or detained. Architect Scott Bowers stated that the stormwater management system captures everything that come onto the site. The pond is open because it allows the water to evaporate or be sucked up by vegetation or percolate into the ground. That handles the water faster than simply an underground percolation system, he said. The system also has a mechanism that releases water into the city’s stormwater system at the “pre-development rate,” he said.

Responding to a follow-up question from Briere, Bowers said that all the runoff from roofs, sidewalks and other impervious surface enters the site’s retention/detention system through a stormwater piping system. Those are either catch basins in the roadway, or swales that lead to the retention/detention pond. All the downspouts are connected into this system directly or through swales.

Woods wanted to know the dimensions of the retention/detention pond. Bowers replied that it’s about 78 feet by 78 feet, and about 7 feet deep at its lowest point. Woods asked whether those dimensions were required by the county water resources staff. Bowers said the development team figured out the volume and provided that information to the water resources staff, and the development team’s engineers calculated the size of the pond that would be needed to deal with that volume.

Woods said she couldn’t get past the concerns about safety related to this pond. She pointed to a goal in the city’s master plan “to support the continued viability, health and safety of City residential neighborhoods.” A pond with those dimensions is a safety concern, she said – how would that be mitigated?

Bowers replied that there will be a six-foot security fence around the entire pond, with a locked gate. “Again, this was directed by Washtenaw water resources. This was a mandate for us to do this,” he said.

Woods imagined that children would be attracted to the water and fence, and climbing over it. She didn’t think she could overcome the concern, and didn’t think she’d support this project. “For me, it really is a hurdle.”

Giannola asked if it would be an actual pond, or whether it will be a grassy area in general that holds water only after a storm. Bowers indicated that the retention part of the pond will likely hold some water most of the time, until it percolates or evaporates. “It will constantly go up and down, depending on the weather,” Bowers said.

Ken Clein.

Clein questioned whether the water resources commissioner actually mandated the design. In his experience, that office typically tells a developer what the design must accomplish, but they don’t mandate a particular design.

Bowers replied that for this project, a year ago the planning commission sent the development team back to talk with the county water resources staff. Originally, all of the detention was underground, he said. But after talking with Evan Pratt and his staff, this design emerged – to hold the water while it either percolates or evaporates. The developer, Bowers said, was told to hold all water on the site – aside from the volume of water that leached off the site pre-development. It’s a very expensive system, he added. “This wasn’t something that we really chose to do, but this is where we were directed.”

Clein said that in his experience, open systems are typically less expensive than underground systems. Bowers replied that this site is doing both, because the project is being held to higher standards. “We’re off the charts on what we’re doing – this isn’t normal,” Bowers said. They even eliminated two dwelling units to be able to do this, he added.

Clein said he wasn’t comfortable moving forward with the petition, without getting further clarification from the water resources commissioner.

Susan Bowers, who’s also working on this project, said that Pratt and other county and city officials had held a closed meeting that the project’s civil engineers were not allowed to attend. That group decided that the project needed additional stormwater management, she said.

Clein pointed out that the city hall property also retained all of the water that fell on the site, but it’s all handled underground. [Clein is a principal with Quinn Evans Architects, which designed the city hall renovation.] He said he could imagine that the county water resources staff indicated that a pond would be the cheapest and easiest way to handle the additional stormwater capacity.

Wendy Woods.

The open pond approach is done elsewhere, Clein acknowledged, but considering that it’s a development that needs to fit into the neighborhood, it’s different from a pond in a commercial area like South State or South Industrial. “It is inconsistent with the fabric of the neighborhood to have a detention pond there,” Clein said – no matter how nice the fence looks. So he wanted to get more information about whether it was mandated by the water resources commissioner or just a suggestion.

Bonnie Bona clarified with Bowers that a security fence is required because of the pond’s depth and slope. She assumed that if there was more space on the site, the pond would be shallower and wouldn’t need a fence.

Clein said it wouldn’t be fair to reject the project because of something that the developer was mandated to do. On the other hand, if there was a misunderstanding and there are alternative ways to design it, then the planning commission should know that, he said.

Responding to a query from Westphal, Wendy Rampson said the commission could ask the water resources commissioner for documentation about the county’s decision-making process. Rampson wondered whether it would be more direct to ask the water resources staff if an underground system would be acceptable. Clein said that would be a good follow-up question.

Rampson clarified for Westphal that the city’s stormwater requirements, in Chapter 63 of the city code, state that projects must meet the standards of the Washtenaw County water resources commissioner. If a project meets code, essentially the city is obligated to approve it, she said.

Woods responded, saying that even if a project is meeting code, if there are concerns about health and safety, then the planning commission – as an advisory group – needs to make its own determination about that. It would ultimately be up to the city council to decide, she said.

From left: Diane Giannola and Bonnie Bona.

Jeremy Peters asked if it would be theoretically possible to design a stormwater system that’s entirely underground and still meet the county’s requirements. Yes, Scott Bowers replied – though it takes more land mass, because it would need to hold more water. The water only percolates underground – it doesn’t evaporate, so it stays in the detention system longer than an above-ground pond.

Briere asked if it’s possible to put the detention system underneath the site’s internal streets. Yes, Bowers said. For large commercial projects, such systems are sometimes located under parking lots and drives.

Responding to a query from Giannola, Bowers said the system needs to be in that front corner because of the grade changes and slopes on the site – it can’t be placed in one of the higher elevations.

Giannola said she wasn’t afraid of these retention ponds. They’re ugly, she added, but she didn’t think they were dangerous. Most of the ponds she’s seen in her neighborhood, tied to commercial developments, aren’t full of water.

Bona asked what kind of contaminants would fill the retention/detention pond – and ultimately end up in the sediment. Bowers replied that sediment would include debris, sand, dirt, and petroleum from cars. Bona replied that if people didn’t want contaminant to collect, they should probably not fertilize their lawns and not drive cars. But people do drive cars, she added, so the good news is that the contaminants are being collected and not sent to the Huron River. She asked how often the sediment would get cleaned out. Bowers replied that in this case, the system will be checked annually, and cleaned out as needed.

Glendale Condos: Commission Discussion – Streets, Parking Pedestrian Issues

Sabra Briere clarified with staff that the streets inside the development would be private, not public. The developer is responsible for snow removal. Eleanore Adenekan asked where snow would be stored. Jill Thacher replied that one location is at the top of a hill, with another spot near the pond.

Eleanore Adenekan.

Briere noted that snow storage on the northeast side of the site is by a slope down to the public sidewalk. She wondered how the complex would deal with melted water, “because that new sidewalk should not get icy.” Scott Bowers acknowledged that it’s an issue, and said they could look at other areas of the site to designate for snow storage. Or they could eliminate some surface parking and put the snow in those spots, he said. They’d like to put it by the retention/detention pond, because it would then melt into the pond.

Responding to a query from Ken Clein, Thacher reported that the site plan was reviewed by the fire marshal, and the site is required to include a turnaround area for emergency vehicles. Permeable pavers will be used for that area, she noted.

Clein observed that the city requires 18 parking spaces for this size development, but the site plan includes 36 parking spaces. He wondered if the additional spaces are in response to community feedback. Thacher said she believed that was the case, because of concerns raised about overflow parking on Glendale. Clein noted that additional parking means more impervious surfaces, which in turn leads to more stormwater issues. “These things are tied together,” he said.

Briere noted that a year ago when this project was being considered by the planning commission, one of the issues was the location of the new drive into the site. Commissioners had talked about aligning the drive with Charlton, so that headlights from cars exiting the complex wouldn’t shine into houses across the way. She wondered why that alignment didn’t happen.

Architect Scott Bowers replied that there were issues with grading, and how to configure buildings on the site. That southeast corner has been difficult, he said. That’s where the detention system and retention pond will be located.

Adenekan asked whether there could be a traffic light at the intersection of Glendale and Jackson. Jerry Spears, one of the project’s developers, said they’d be willing to consider that.

Paras Parekh wondered how many parking spots were in the original plan. There were eight surface spaces in that plan, replied Susan Bowers, one of the project’s architects.

Susan Bowers, Jill Thacher

Parekh asked how many parking spaces per dwelling were in the original plan, noting that there are now three per unit – a total of 36 spaces. Scott Bowers replied that there were 24 spaces originally – eight surface spaces, and two for each of the eight dwelling units. Parekh asked if they’d consider reducing the number of surface spots to eight again, to decrease the amount of impervious surface – and potentially decreasing the cost of the stormwater management. Bowers replied they’d like to have some spaces for guest parking.

Bona also supported reducing the surface spaces. She noted that realistically, there are two spaces available in each driveway – though those aren’t counted in the total, for site plan purposes. Bowers explained that only three of the buildings have driveways with sufficient depth to allow two parked cars.

Clein asked about the retaining wall along the sidewalk. At its highest point, the wall is five feet tall, Scott Bowers said. It will be a masonry wall.

Glendale Condos: Commission Discussion – Trash, Recycling

Responding to a query from Briere, Thacher explained that dumpsters will be located at each end of the private drive “stubs.” There will be bins for recycling and solid waste. She wasn’t sure how composting would be handled.

Bona asked how the site would accommodate recyclables. Susan Bowers, an architect with the project, replied that recycling bins are located next to the dumpsters. The city’s solid waste staff told the developers that they needed 300-gallon containers.

Glendale Condos: Commission Discussion – Trees

Clein asked about the root zone of one of the landmark trees, and whether it would be impacted by the development – a point raised during the public hearing. Thacher replied that the city forester, Kerry Gray, had extensive discussions about that tree and others, and had ultimately signed off on the plan. The goal was to keep as many of the landmark trees as possible.

Bona asked what kinds of trees will be added. Susan Bowers listed several varieties, including Allegany serviceberry, balsam fir, American hornbeam, Dawyck beech, Princeton Sentry ginkgo and others. Bowers noted that the trees are being planted according to the city’s requirements.

Glendale Condos: Commission Discussion – Density, Open Space

Bona noted that only 12 units are proposed, but the zoning allows for up to 39 units for a parcel that size. She reviewed the density allowed for adjacent zoning districts. The Glendale Condo site and Hillside Terrace have the same zoning. She pointed out that the project is proposing about half of the allowable density.

Developer Jerry Spears.

Responding to a query from Bona, Thacher explained that in calculating the percentage of open space on a site, the elements that aren’t considered open space are all the structures, drives, and parking spaces. Sidewalks count as open space, as does the retention/detention pond.

Peters asked if the property has ever been a public park. No, Thacher said. It was annexed into the city in 1987, but not zoned until 1994. It was zoned R4B as part of a proposed expansion of Hillside Terrace. That project wasn’t constructed and the site plan for it expired in 1999. It’s been in private hands, she said.

Bona noted that the original condo proposal presented a year ago called for eight buildings, and now there are six. The zoning allows for a building height of 35 feet, but the proposed buildings are only 17.5 feet tall. She asked whether they’d considered making a couple of two-story buildings and eliminating another building, so that there would be more open area to work with for stormwater management.

Scott Bowers said they looked at that option, but it wasn’t favorable to the developers.

Bona said she didn’t have a problem with more density than what is proposed. The current proposal is less dense than the surrounding neighborhood, she noted. She pointed out that if there are fewer buildings, there will be less impervious surface.

“Land is scarce and precious in this community, and to put a few big units on a large lot of land is contrary to the way I think about Ann Arbor,” Bona said.

Bona told Bowers that she’d love it if the units were much smaller, “but we haven’t enacted that ordinance revision yet – I’ll work on it.”

Bona said she’d like Bowers or the developer to consider making some of the units taller, and possibly eliminating a building. She said she appreciated the financial and marketing balance that’s at play. But she hoped the developer would “at least take a shot at that.”

Sabra Briere (left) talked with Diane Robins (standing) and other residents during a break in the July 1 planning commission meeting.

Scott Bowers replied that the project’s first design was for four buildings, each with four smaller, two-story townhomes. Neighbors didn’t like it at all, he said. Bona noted that to be fair to the neighbors, the site feels like a park – they wouldn’t have liked it even if just two houses were being added, she said. “All I’m asking is just to open your mind and reconsider.”

Giannola said she liked how the buildings look. The ranch houses with garages are a style that Ann Arbor doesn’t have much of. But townhouses would also be great, she said. To her, the project actually fits into the neighborhood.

Later in the meeting, Jerry Spears – one of the project’s developers – responded to some of the issues that had been raised. He noted that this has been a two-year effort so far. The density has been decreased, and now it’s a very low-density project, he said. The engineers on the project have said that they’ve never developed such an extensive stormwater system for such a small development. Spears said he’s built many projects in Ann Arbor, and takes a lot of pride in them.

“These are not monstrous individual spaces,” he said, referring to the size of the units. “I don’t know how I could make them any smaller. I tried to make it taller – they [the neighbors] said it was too tall. I tried to make it denser – they said it was too dense.” The project has come full circle, he said, and he recommended that the planning commission vote on it that night. He said the project meets every county requirement, “so that’s my position.”

Glendale Condos: Commission Discussion – Postponement

Kirk Westphal, the commission’s chair, said he understood the developer’s request to take a vote on the project that night, but it was still up to the commission as to whether they want to do that. Because the retention/detention system is unusual for a neighborhood like this, Westphal was in favor of getting more information about what other options are available. Westphal said he understood the concerns that have been raised – because he has small children, too.

Wendy Rampson.

Wendy Woods said she wanted to make sure her decision is based on the correct information. She moved to postpone the item, so that planning staff can get more information from the water resources commissioner.

Sabra Briere wanted to make certain that the planning commission gets a clear understanding of the options that the developer can choose from. The proposed stormwater management system works, but several commissioners aren’t happy with this solution, she noted. “We find a 7-foot-deep pond not a positive, in a residential neighborhood,” she said. “So if other things would work, it would be good to know that too.”

Ken Clein supported the motion to postpone. He had little doubt that the proposed system meets code. But he wasn’t sure it was the most appropriate solution for this location. He had no problem with the density and general layout of the site. The big issue for him is the retention/detention pond and security fence, and whether that’s appropriate for this neighborhood. He wanted to clarify whether the water resources commissioner had mandated this design, or whether an underground system would be an option.

Bonnie Bona said she typically didn’t support postponement unless the developer was willing to reconsider aspects of the plan. But in this case, if the planning commission voted that night, she thought they’d just be passing the buck to city council. While there might be a technical adherence to the code, Bona thought that Woods’ comments about the public’s health and safety is relevant. So she’d prefer to postpone and get the developer to take one more look at this proposal.

Bona also said she sympathized with the developers for responding to neighborhood concerns “almost to their own detriment.” All of the vacant sites that are close to downtown are difficult sites to develop, she said, so there’s no easy solution.

Paras Parekh also supported postponement. In addition to the stormwater issues, he’d like the developers to consider reducing the number of surface parking spots.

Westphal said that occasionally, a mismatch emerges between a project and the city’s code or master plan. In this case, it’s further complicated because the regulations in play – regarding stormwater management – are set by a body that supersedes the city’s jurisdiction. He supported postponement, but it gave him pause that they aren’t following the recommendations of the county water resources commissioner, who had signed off on the stormwater aspects of this project. “Hopefully we’re OK with the consequences of that,” he said.

Paras Parekh, Sabra Briere.

Jeremy Peters said he didn’t think the planning commission was not following the recommendation of the water resources commissioner. Rather, they’re just interested in seeing what all the options are for this project – especially since the depth of the proposed pond is a widely held concern. It’s definitely within the planning commission’s purview, he said, and appropriate to ask about other possible solutions.

Eleanore Adenekan asked if the postponement would be for a certain date. Wendy Rampson, the city’s planning manager, said the planning staff would try to get the requested information as quickly as they could.

Diane Giannola stressed that the commission should be very clear about the information that they want, and that it should relate to this specific site. There are tradeoffs, she said. If people want low density, it might have to include a pond in the front. The question is whether this is the only stormwater detention system that works, she said.

Outcome: Commissioners unanimously voted to postpone the project.

Glendale Condos: Coda

At a July 8 working session, planning manager Wendy Rampson indicated that when the project is brought back to the planning commission it will incorporate a revised stormwater management system.

The Mark Condos

After being postponed by Ann Arbor planning commissioners in May, a site plan for new condominiums on West Liberty Street was back on the July 1 agenda.

The proposal from developer Alex de Parry is to demolish an existing car wash at 318 W. Liberty and build a three-story, 11,910-square-foot structure with seven residential condominiums – five two-bedroom and two three-bedroom units. Each condo would have its own two-car tandem garage for a total of 14 parking spaces, although no parking is required.

Rendering of Mark Condominium proposal, as viewed from West Liberty next to the former Moveable Feast building.

The 0.25-acre lot, on the north side of Liberty, is east of the historic Peter Brehme house at 326 W. Liberty – where the Moveable Feast restaurant was located several years ago. On the other side is a city-owned parcel that’s now used as a surface parking lot, connected to 415 W. Washington.

The site is located in the Old West Side historic district. The historic district commission issued a certificate of appropriateness for the project on March 13, 2014. It’s located in Ward 5 and is zoned D2 (downtown interface).

The project would require two footing drain disconnects on other properties or the equivalent mitigation, according to a planning staff report. [.pdf of staff report]

In May, De Parry was told that the existing six-inch water main in West Liberty Street would need to be upsized to a 12-inch water main. The city staff told him that the six-inch main wouldn’t have the capacity to handle the additional development, in particular the building’s fire-suppression system. That was the reason for postponement at the planning commission’s May 20, 2014 meeting.

At that time, De Parry told commissioners that the development team had just been informed about the issue, and they were analyzing the budget impact and alternatives that they might pursue.

The current agreement is for De Parry to pay for installation of an eight-inch water main, rather than the 12-inch water main.

The Mark Condos: Public Hearing

During the public hearing on July 1, four people spoke – three of them with concerns about the project.

Vince Caruso.

Vince Caruso introduced himself as the coordinating member for the Allen’s Creek Watershed Group. He noticed that the packet of material for this project doesn’t mention the floodplain, but the parcel is actually in the floodplain in the back corner, he said. Caruso urged caution with this development. There are several new developments in and around the Allen’s Creek watershed. He noted that the first plan for the homeless shelter on West Huron had to be scrapped because it was shown to be in the floodway, which would have been illegal, he said. It cost about $1 million to modify the plan. Even then, he added, they violated many city regulations that they initial said they’d meet. The shelter is built right up to the edge of the floodway, and is still in the floodplain, he said.

The city has received a letter of map revision (LOMR) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) regarding an area very close to The Mark project, Caruso reported, for an area that includes the YMCA site, 415 W. Washington and the homeless shelter. The revision raised the floodplain 33%, he said. The affordable housing project on North Main was also scrapped because of floodplain miscalculations, he contended. The Allen’s Creek Watershed Group is hoping to do a study that would provide better information about flood hazard issues. He described several initiatives that the group is involved with, saying “we can make big changes, but we need to make sure we don’t put people in harm’s way.” People have drowned in Ohio in recent years trying to get their cars out of buildings that were in the floodplain or very close to it, he said. People might not realize they’re moving into a structure that’s so close to the floodplain, he noted. The issue needs more study, he concluded.

Lynn Borset told commissioners that she hadn’t realized this project was on the agenda and she wasn’t planning to speak. But aesthetically, she thought it was a shame that this apartment building will be taller than adjacent historic building, and “will not have anything to recommend it, in terms of the exterior design.”

Brad Moore, the project’s architect, noted that the civil engineer for this development was available to answer questions. The floodplain is below the level of the garages, and all of the living space is above the garages. The entrances to the living space are on the west side of the building, a level above the garages. Even if there were some adjustments to the existing floodplain boundary, there wouldn’t be a problem, Moore indicated. The developer’s team has worked closely with Jerry Hancock, the city’s stormwater and floodplain program coordinator, he said. There wouldn’t be water on the site even with a 100-year storm event, he added, so that issue had been addressed adequately.

Architect Brad Moore showing plans for The Mark condominiums on West Liberty.

In terms of aesthetics, Moore described the design as a long negotiation process with the city’s historic district commission, which has jurisdiction over design issues and placement of the building. He noted that the HDC had given approval to the project, and at those meetings, Moore said the president and vice president of Old West Side association had spoken in favor of the project. He hoped that planning commissioners would also vote in favor of it.

Steve Thorpe supported what Caruso had said. If any portion of the site is within the floodplain, the city has a legal obligation to address it, he said. He’d noticed that the staff report had included excerpts of goals from the city’s downtown plan. But he thought two of the goals that were cited weren’t compatible with this development. One of the goals was to “encourage a diversity of new downtown housing opportunities,” but Thorpe expressed skepticism that The Mark’s units would be affordable for median income families or individuals. “When is this gonna stop?” he asked. More high-end residences downtown are being built, and it seems like that’s changing the city’s character, at least in the downtown core, he said. He thought one of the objectives of the downtown plan is to emphasize diversity.

Thorpe also pointed to this goal cited in the staff report, excerpted from the downtown plan: “Protect the livability of residentially zoned neighborhoods adjacent to downtown.” He’s been a resident of one of these neighborhoods for 30 years, and there are traffic and parking issues that are directly related to downtown development, he said. Also, property taxes are going up because property values are going up – and downtown development might be contributing to that, he contended.

Thorpe said he walked by the site recently, and the developer’s sign had some graffiti on it that said something like “More yuppified housing for Ann Arbor.” To him, that said a lot. “I just think at some point we’ve got to put the brakes on this and try to rectify the imbalance that’s taking place,” he concluded.

The Mark Condos: Commission Discussion

Commissioners discussed a range of issues, including the floodplain and stormwater management, traffic, design, and aspects related to the Old West Side historic district. This report organizes the discussion thematically.

The Mark Condos: Commission Discussion – Floodplain, Stormwater

Ken Clein began the discussion by asking about the floodplain issues that had been raised during the public hearing. City planner Jill Thacher described the floodplain as located in a small area in the rear corner, in the northeast portion of the site. She noted that no development is proposed in that corner.

Alex de Parry.

Clein clarified with Thacher that even if a portion of the site is in the floodplain, there’s no prohibition to building on the site. You just can’t build residential or inhabitable space within a certain distance of the floodplain. That’s the reason this development’s building won’t be in that part of the site, Thacher said.

At Clein’s request, architect Brad Moore showed the commission drawings of the buildings in relation to the floodplain. There’s no habitable space on the lower level, Moore noted – just garages, bike parking and trash bins.

When Clein observed that he only saw stairs on the architect’s drawings for two units, Moore explained that the other units will have private elevators – operated by hydraulic lifts. Only the north and south units will access the garage via stairs.

Bonnie Bona said it was important to explain to the public the differences between floodway and floodplain. A floodway is where water “moves like a river” during a flood, she said. A floodplain is the area where water backs up. Even if the floodplain cut through the middle of the site, she noted, you could still build residential units there – they would just need to be elevated above the floodplain.

Bona asked Moore to explain how the floodplain line was determined. Kathy Keineth of Perimeter Engineering came to the podium – she’s the project’s civil engineer, and described how the analysis was conducted using computer models.

Jeremy Peters.

Bona then asked what the project will do to mitigate the risk of flooding – not just for this site, but for the rest of the city. Moore replied that currently, the site has no stormwater management and water just sheets off the pavement. For the condo project, there will be a detention system so that all stormwater falling on the site will be contained there and allowed to infiltrate.

Sabra Briere asked staff about the footing drain disconnects, saying that there’s been a lot of discussion about that program. “Are we helping developers find alternatives to the developer offset mitigation program?” she asked.

Thacher replied that the program continues to operate. Briere indicated that she knew it was still operating, but also that it’s under review.

Planning manager Wendy Rampson noted that the residential footing drain disconnect program is under review, and “there’s been a lot of discussion on the developer side of the equation.” Staff have been meeting almost weekly for the past few weeks, she said. In the development agreements, the staff is trying to leave the language flexible and to refer to sanitary sewer mitigation, Rampson explained, adding that “it may or may not be footing drains.” The staff is also trying to identify some multi-family buildings that could be disconnected, rather than performing work on individual homes.

The Mark Condos: Commission Discussion – Landscaping

Bona noted that aside from the public land that abuts the site, the other adjacent parcels were zoned D2 – so there was no requirement for landscaping buffers. She asked about the plans for landscaping, adding “I hope it’s not lawn.” Kathy Keineth of Perimeter Engineering reported that two street trees will be planted in front, with some landscaping closer to the building. A series of terraced walls will be located in front, and an existing retaining wall on the west side will be removed.

The Mark Condos: Commission Discussion – Historic District Commission

Bonnie Bona confirmed with the developer’s team that they didn’t go through the city’s design review process. Architect Brad Moore said that if a project requires approval from the historic district commission, it’s not required to go to the design review board. He noted that compliance with the design review board is voluntary, but a developer must comply with the HDC recommendations – or the HDC won’t issue a certificate of appropriateness.

Jeremy Peters asked about the guidelines for new buildings within an historic district. He said aesthetics weren’t in the planning commission’s purview, but he knew there are guidelines for historic districts. Jill Thacher replied that the Secretary of the Interior’s standards are the guiding principles for the HDC. Summarizing, she said, the HDC is looking for new construction that’s compatible with the district – in terms of height, massing and materials – that doesn’t overwhelm or detract from the district’s historic structures.

Bonnie Bona.

In this case, Thacher said, the height of the building was one issue, but the biggest issue for the HDC was the front setback. The zoning requirement is for a 15-foot setback, but the HDC pushed for a larger setback of about 30 feet. The point was to set back the building so that the new construction didn’t completely obscure the historic house to the west, she said. One of the HDC’s charges is to preserve viewsheds, she noted.

In terms of design, new buildings are supposed to look “of their time,” Thacher explained, and should not try to mimic something that was built a long time ago.

Ken Clein said the design had done an admirable job in finding a nice moderation between modern and historic. Pushing it back off the street helps make the new building feel more in context with the neighborhood, he said.

Clein clarified with Moore that mechanicals will likely be small rooftop units, but Moore noted that the mechanical design hasn’t been completed. Clein also asked about the exterior building materials. Moore explained that there will be traditional glazed windows, some ironwork, brick and some smooth panels that are similar to a hardiepanel. The accents around the windows and copings would match the ironwork, he said. Responding to a query from Clein, Moore said the brick will be four-inch and one-inch veneers, depending on where it’s located. He stressed that there will be no visual difference between the different types of brick.

Bona said it would have been nice if Moore had considered using some other lightweight material, rather than a thin brick veneer. She said perhaps the HDC could be more critical of that in the future. Moore replied that the design originally didn’t include that brick, but the HDC requested that they add it. Bona quipped: “I guess ‘of our time’ means playing tricks.”

The Mark Condos: Commission Discussion – Diversity of Housing

Bona addressed the comments made by Steve Thorpe during the public hearing, about the master plan’s goals for increasing housing diversity. That’s something that the planning commission is continuously challenged with, she said – trying to put something affordable on high-valued property is difficult. The city’s zoning code currently includes a premium that developers can earn, getting more floor area if they provide affordable housing in their development. But that premium isn’t being used, Bona noted.

So the commission is working on how to create incentives for getting more affordable housing throughout the city, she said, including downtown. “The current premium mechanism we have in place just is not working.” She noted that the commission would completely agree about the need for more diversity, but it can’t always happen on site – especially on smaller sites, like the one for The Mark condos.

Regarding Thorpe’s comments that development is raising property values and creating hardships for people paying higher property taxes, Bona pointed out that recently the planning commission heard from residents who were concerned about an action that they thought might lower property values. She hoped that values wouldn’t move in either direction very quickly.

The Mark Condos: Commission Discussion – Traffic

Bona also disputed Thorpe’s claim that more density causes more traffic problems. “Denser housing tends to produce less traffic – most of the studies are saying that,” she said. The traffic issues downtown are more likely related to the attractiveness of Ann Arbor for people who live outside the city, she said. Personally, she thought that downtown development was helping improve the traffic situation.

Wendy Woods wanted to know what will happen to traffic on West Liberty when the new water main is installed. Kathy Keineth of Perimeter Engineering said they haven’t yet designed the water main. That will happen after the city approves the site plan, she said. The tentative plan is to install the water main about 3 to 5 feet behind the curb, then just abandon the old water main that’s located under West Liberty. However, that plan hasn’t been cleared with city staff yet, Keineth said. The goal is to minimize work on West Liberty, so the intent is to keep at least one lane open. Brad Moore clarified that the work would only take a few days at most.

Outcome: The project was unanimously recommended for approval. It will be forwarded to the city council for consideration.

Delta Chi Fraternity

Planning commissioners considered a proposal to tear down the existing Delta Chi fraternity house on Hill Street and build a much larger structure in its place.

The Delta Chi fraternity house at 1705 Hill St. was built in 1915, designed by the architect Samuel Stanton.

The fraternity plans to demolish the existing 4,990-square-foot house at 1705 Hill St. – at the northwest corner of Hill and Oxford. It was built in 1915 for a University of Michigan professor and designed by the architect Samuel Stanton. Delta Chi has owned it since 1947.

The house would be replaced with a 12,760-square-foot structure on three levels, including a basement. The current occupancy of 23 residents would increase to 34 people, including a resident manager.

The house is now on the northwest corner of the site, and a curbcut for the driveway is located at the intersection of Hill and Oxford. The proposal calls for building the new house closer to the southeast corner of the lot, with a parking lot on the west side and a new curbcut onto Hill – away from the intersection. [.pdf of staff report]

The minimum parking requirement is for seven spaces, but the plan calls for 16 spaces on the parking lot. There will be a shed with spaces for 20 bikes, and another four bike spaces in the back yard. Stormwater would be detained beneath the parking area.

The site is zoned R2B (two-family dwelling and student housing). All of the neighboring parcels are also zoned R2B, and contain fraternity houses or duplex residential homes.

The project is estimated to cost $2.2 million.

None of the large trees on the site will be removed. The fraternity declined to make a recommended voluntary parks contribution of $3,100 to the city.

Aerial view of Delta Chi site.

A statement from the fraternity gives their rationale for that decision: “While we can see the merit of such a donation for a large, new development that may bring additional residents to the city, we feel that this is not fitting in our situation. The Delta Chi Building Association has owned this property continuously since 1947, and during that time has consistently paid our property taxes and special millage assessments designated for Parks and Recreation. During our 67 years of ownership, we believe that we have contributed much more than the contribution suggested to support the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation system.”

The planning commission was asked to recommend approval of a site plan and, in a separate resolution, to grant a special exception use for the project. A special exception use is required because the property is zoned R2B (two-family dwelling district and student dwelling district). Fraternities are allowed in R2B districts only if granted special exception use by the planning commission. No additional city council approval is required for that.

The site plan does require city council approval.

Delta Chi Fraternity: Commission Discussion

Wendy Woods asked about the decision to reject the voluntary contribution to parks and recreation. She encouraged the fraternity to rethink that position. She asked that a representative of the fraternity talk about that decision.

John Levinson, treasurer of the Delta Chi alumni board.

John Levinson introduced himself as treasurer of the Delta Chi alumni building corporation, which owns the house. He’s been a member of the fraternity since 1969, and has been on the alumni board since he graduated from UM in the mid-1970s. It’s their experience and belief that students don’t use any of the city parks and recreation facilities, he said.

Levinson noted that city staff had explained that increased density on the site would result in additional use of the parks, so the fraternity should “pay to play.” But “we just don’t think we’re going to be playing,” he said, and that’s why they declined to make the voluntary contribution.

Woods asked whether that meant the fraternity members don’t ever go to Gallup Park, Argo Park, the new skatepark, or any of the other city parks and recreation facilities. Levinson said that’s their opinion, though he hadn’t surveyed members. He said he keeps in close contact with the house, and most of the activities are with the university’s intramural sports and facilities.

Woods said it would be highly unusual for any residents of the city not to use the city’s parks and recreation facilities at some time. Levinson replied that he knows the fraternity members use the city’s golf courses, but he characterized that as “pay to play” because they pay fees to use the courses.

It’s true that the parks contribution is voluntary, Woods noted, “but when you have a public good, it’s always worth a conversation.”

Levinson explained that the fraternity hasn’t raised all the money it needs for this project. He said after they know whether they have enough money for the project, they’d be willing to reconsider the parks contribution.

Site plan for the new Delta Chi fraternity house at 1705 Hill.

Bonnie Bona pointed out that the golf courses are subsidized by city taxes – the fees that players are charged doesn’t cover the expenses. She noted that she works near Argo Pond, and there are a lot of university students who use the Argo Cascades. She also observed that The Rock is located on a small city park at the corner of Hill and Washtenaw. Levinson acknowledged that fraternity members have used that park. “And who pays to maintain that little park? The city of Ann Arbor,” Bona replied. Levinson stressed that it was indeed a very little park, however.

Levinson told commissioners that he never said the parks weren’t valued, but he didn’t think fraternity members used the parks as much as “regular citizens of Ann Arbor.” He noted that the fraternity also pays taxes, which supports things like the golf courses.

Levinson explained that although the new house will hold more residents, they won’t be increasing the overall population. The fraternity members will just be relocating from university housing or other non-university housing. Bona pointed out that the spots vacated by the fraternity members will be filled by others, so the change will, in fact, be adding more residents to the city.

It’s a good thing to increase density and to have students living near the university, so that they can walk and use public transit, Bona said. It’s also a very nice project, she added.

Levinson said they’re trying to fix problems that exist with the current house. “I go to sleep at night wondering what’s going to happen if that old place burns, to be very honest – because it’s old.” The house contains plaster and lathe, and although there are functional smoke alarms, there’s no sprinkler system, he noted.

Sabra Briere reported that she also lives in a house with original plaster and lathe, which was built in the 1830s. She appreciated the fraternity’s efforts to “retain the charm of the existing house” and to retain some tradition. Levinson said it had been a somewhat selfish motivation, because they knew that contributions from alumni would be tied to the look of the house.

Ken Clein clarified that there would be no retention/detention pond on the site – a reference to the controversial Glendale Condos project that had been postponed earlier in the meeting.

In response to another query from Clein about ADA features, Levinson explained how the first floor is designed to include an accessible residential unit, and that there’s a lift that allows access to the first and second floors.

Outcome: In separate votes, commissioners unanimously approved the special exception use and recommended approval of the site plan. The site plan proposal will be forwarded to the city council for consideration.

Gift of Life Expansion

A $10.5 million expansion of the Gift of Life Michigan facility on Research Park Drive was on the July 1 agenda.

Aerial view of Gift of Life Michigan site.

The proposal calls for building a three-story, 40,786-square-foot addition to connect two existing buildings at 3161 and 3169 Research Park Drive, which are owned and occupied by the nonprofit. According to a staff report, the additional space will accommodate offices, a special events auditorium and “organ procurement suites.” The nonprofit’s website states that the Gift of Life is Michigan’s only federally designated organ and tissue recovery program.

The proposal includes a site plan and a request to rezone the properties from office (O) and research (RE) to office/research/limited industrial (ORL). The parcel at 3161 Research Park Drive is currently zoned O. The parcel at 3169 Research Park is zoned RE. The plan is to combine those lots before the city issues building permits.

The project would reduce the four existing curb cuts to Research Park Drive to three, connecting one of the loop driveways to an existing driveway at the east end of the site. A parking lot at the back of the site will be expanded by 38 parking spaces. Two alternate vehicle fueling stations are proposed in parking spaces near the main entry, with the driveway at the center of the site providing access for ambulances. A new shipping and receiving facility will be located on the northeast corner of the site. [.pdf of staff report]

The only speaker during the public hearing was Curt Penny of Eckert Wordell, a Kalamazoo-based architectural firm. He stated that the project team was on hand to answer any questions.

Gift of Life Expansion: Commission Discussion

This item was considered late in the meeting – after 11 p.m. – and discussion was brief. Wendy Woods praised the Gift of Life’s work. Jeremy Peters said he appreciated a reduction in the number of curbcuts, saying that it helped promote pedestrian usage.

Outcome: Commissioners unanimously recommended approval of the site plan and rezoning. It will be forwarded to city council for consideration.

Communications & Commentary

Every meeting includes several opportunities for communications from planning staff and commissioners. Here are other highlights from July 1.

Communications & Commentary: Public Commentary

In addition to the public hearings held for specific projects, there were two opportunities for general public commentary. Steve Thorpe spoke during the first slot for public commentary, introducing himself as a downtown resident and former chair of the city’s planning commission 14 years ago.

Steve Thorpe.

He wanted to raise the issue of height limits. He thought that D1 and D2 districts are a good idea, although the city made some mistakes on the location of those downtown zoning districts.

When he was chair, Thorpe said, the public and the commission were moving fairly rapidly toward considering height limits. At that time, commissioners felt that the public was receptive to height limits, he said. “Unfortunately, I think city council kind of pulled the rug out from under us” and instead established the downtown residential task force, which he was a member of. Thorpe said he resigned before the task force issued its final report, because he didn’t agree with its projections for the number of downtown residents.

The buildings that are being constructed downtown are changing the density, he noted, and that’s bringing other problems. It’s beginning to alienate people and how they remember Ann Arbor. He said he wasn’t resisting change, but the city needs to manage it better. “Let’s not close the door on downtown height limits,” he said, and perhaps something can be done that’s consistent with the D1 and D2 districts. [The overlay character districts for D1 and D2 include height limits of 180 feet and 60 feet, respectively.]

Communications & Commentary: Affordable Housing

Planning commissioner Jeremy Peters gave an update on work that’s being done to add affordable housing units to the city. He and planning commissioners Wendy Woods and Eleanore Adenekan are working with members of the city’s housing & human services advisory board and staff of the Washtenaw County office of community & economic development. The intent is to look at issues where these three groups have similar interests, and eventually to provide some strong guidance for city and county leaders.

Based on the last needs assessment, about 1,500 more units of affordable housing are needed in this community, he said. The group is trying to identify questions that they need to have answered, as well as information that each of their respective boards and commissions might want. One of those questions is the definition of affordable housing, which he noted could mean a wide range of things.

Another issue is to look at the city’s premiums that are offered to developers, and how to modify those so that the premiums are more effective as a tool to build more affordable housing units.

The group’s next meeting is on July 24 at the county annex, 110 N. Fourth Ave., starting at 6:30 p.m.

Present: Eleanore Adenekan, Bonnie Bona, Sabra Briere, Ken Clein, Diane Giannola, Paras Parekh, Jeremy Peters, Kirk Westphal, Wendy Woods. Also: City planning manager Wendy Rampson.

Next meeting: Tuesday, July 15, 2014 at 7 p.m. in council chambers at city hall, 301 E. Huron. [Check Chronicle event listings to confirm date]

The Chronicle survives in part through regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of publicly-funded entities like the city’s planning commission. If you’re already supporting The Chronicle, please encourage your friends, neighbors and coworkers to do the same. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle.

The Delta Chi fraternity house at 1705 Hill St.

The fraternity plans to demolish the existing 4,990-square-foot house at 1705 Hill St. – at the northwest corner of Hill and Oxford – and replace it with a 12,760-square-foot structure on three levels, including a basement. The current occupancy of 23 residents would increase to 34 people, including a resident manager.

The house is now on the northwest corner of the site, and a curbcut for the driveway is located at the intersection of Hill and Oxford. The proposal calls for building the new house closer to the southeast corner of the lot, with a parking lot on the west side and a new curbcut onto Hill – away from the intersection. [.pdf of staff report]

The minimum parking requirement is for seven spaces, but the plan calls for 16 spaces on the parking lot. There will be a shed with spaces for 20 bikes, and another four bike spaces in the back yard.

The project is expected to cost $2.2 million.

The fraternity declined to make a recommended voluntary parks contribution of $3,100 to the city. A statement from the fraternity gives their rationale for that decision: ”While we can see the merit of such a donation for a large, new development that may bring additional residents to the city, we feel that this is not fitting in our situation. The Delta Chi Building Association has owned this property continuously since 1947, and during that time has consistently paid our property taxes and special millage assessments designated for Parks and Recreation. During our 67 years of ownership, we believe that we have contributed much more than the contribution suggested to support the Ann Arbor Parks and Recreation system.”

No one spoke during the public hearing for this project, but a fraternity representative fielded questions about the decision not to make the voluntary parks contribution. Commissioners Wendy Woods and Bonnie Bona expressed skepticism that fraternity members didn’t use city parks, and asked that the request be reconsidered.

In two separate votes, the planning commission unanimously recommended approval of a site plan and granted a special exception use for the project. A special exception use is required because the property is zoned R2B (two-family dwelling district and student dwelling district). Fraternities are only allowed in R2B districts if granted special exception use by the planning commission. No additional city council approval is required for that.

The site plan does require city council approval.

Aerial view of 1705 Hill.

1705 Hill site plan.

This brief was filed from the second-floor council chambers at city hall, 301 E. Huron. A more detailed report will follow.

From left: Michael Brinkman, Alonzo Young and Dan Reim, a priest who’ll serve as head of household for the Jesuits at 1919 Wayne. Brinkman and Young supported the Jesuits’ petition, and congratulated Reim after the planning commission’s vote on June 17. (Photos by the writer.)

The meeting included a public hearing that lasted about an hour, with the majority of the 23 speakers supporting the request. More than 100 people attended the meeting, many of them wearing stickers that stated “I Proudly Support The Jesuits.” The Jesuits who would be living in the house are affiliated with the St. Mary Student Parish.

Approval requires six votes, but on June 3 the request had garnered support from only five of the seven commissioners who were present. Voting against it on June 3 were Diane Giannola and Kirk Westphal. Two commissioners – Sabra Briere and Paras Parekh – had been absent. Later in that June 3 meeting, commissioners voted to reconsider the item, then postponed it until June 17, when more commissioners would be present.

Giannola again dissented on June 17 to the special exception use, but the remaining seven commissioners at the meeting – including Westphal – supported the request. Jeremy Peters was absent.

Assistant city attorney Kevin McDonald attended the June 17 meeting and fielded questions from commissioners. The motion was amended slightly, with an intent to emphasize the long-term relationship of the Jesuits to each other.

The property is located in Ward 2. Both of the Ward 2 city councilmembers – Jane Lumm and Sally Petersen– attended the June 17 the planning commission meeting, but did not formally address the commission. The planning commission’s decision is final – as the request from the Jesuits does not need city council approval. Westphal – the planning commission’s chair – is running for city council in the Ward 2 Democratic primary. Westphal and Nancy Kaplan are vying to fill the open seat that’s being left by Sally Petersen’s mayoral candidacy. Councilmember Sabra Briere, who serves on the planning commission, is also running for mayor.

After the vote, members of the audience erupted in applause. One woman approached Ben Hawley, pastor and director of campus ministry for St. Mary Student Parish, saying: “Welcome to the neighborhood!”

Commissioners also acted on another item they’d postponed from June 3: A proposal by the Ann Arbor housing commission to expand low-income housing on North Maple Road. The commission recommended rezoning a 4.8-acre site at 701 N. Maple Road from R1C (single-family dwelling district) to R4B (multi-family dwelling district). They also recommended approval of a site plan and development agreement for the project – part of a major renovation effort by the Ann Arbor housing commission. The site is on the west side of North Maple, between Dexter Avenue and Hollywood Drive.

The project calls for demolishing 20 existing single-family homes – the public housing complex known as North Maple Estates – and constructing an eight-building, 42-unit apartment complex with a total of 138 bedrooms. The units range in size from one bedroom to five bedrooms. Five people spoke during a public hearing on the item, including Gwenyth Hayes, the resident representative on the Ann Arbor housing commission. “A lot of times in Ann Arbor we talk about diversity. It’s important that we also include not just cultural diversity, but also socio-economic diversity,” Hayes said. That’s why the city needs more affordable housing, she added.

Another residential housing proposal – a $10 million, 78-unit apartments complex called State Street Village, across from the University of Michigan athletic campus – received criticism from some commissioners, but ultimately was recommended for approval. Commissioners spent about 30 minutes asking question and pressing the developer, McKinley Inc., to go beyond what the city code requires in terms of design, pedestrian amenities, a reduction of impervious surfaces, and stormwater management. “We’re putting our aspirations on you,” Bonnie Bona told them. The vote, which came near midnight, was unanimous – with only six of nine commissioners present.

Also recommended for approval was a proposal for a new drive-thru restaurant on Jackson Avenue near the I-94 interchange, next to Westgate Shopping Center. The plan calls for demolishing the existing one-story service station and auto repair shop and constructing a single building with a drive-thru restaurant and adjacent retail store.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne

The Ann Arbor Jesuit Community, formally known as the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus, had requested a special exception use to allow a “functional family” to live in a house zoned R1C (single-family dwelling). Without the special exception use, only up to four unrelated people could live there. The request was first considered at the planning commission’s June 3, 2014 meeting.

Aerial view of 1919 Wayne St.

The code that allows this special exception use was adopted by Ann Arbor in 1991. Although the city’s ordinance has allowed for a “functional family” designation for more than two decades, this is the first time any group has requested it. The members are affiliated with the St. Mary Student Parish.

Approval requires six votes, but on June 3 the request had garnered support from only five of the seven commissioners who were present. Voting against it were Diane Giannola and Kirk Westphal. Two commissioners – Sabra Briere and Paras Parekh – had been absent. An attempt earlier in that meeting to postpone the vote had failed, with a majority of commissioners wanting to take action that night, apparently assuming it would pass. Later in that June 3 meeting, after the item had been rejected then reconsidered, the commission took another vote to postpone. That vote was 6-1, over dissent from Giannola.

Ben Hawley, pastor and director of campus ministry for the St. Mary Student Parish.

The planning commission has discretion to grant a special exception use, which does not require additional city council approval.

City planner Alexis DiLeo gave the staff report on June 17, reiterating many of the points made in the original report, when the staff had recommended approval of this request. [.pdf of updated staff report]

The code that allows this special exception use was adopted in 1991. Before that time, most communities didn’t provide for an alternative family living arrangement in their zoning codes. In 1984, the Michigan Supreme Court determined that some provision for a living arrangement other than a traditional biological family was needed. That ruling came in the case of Delta Charter Township v. Dinolfo.

Ann Arbor adopted language that is similar to ordinances in many communities in Michigan. A group must meet all requirements in the zoning ordinance as well as in the special exception use conditions in order to be considered a “functional family.”

A “functional family,” for purposes of the city’s zoning code, is defined as follows: “a group of people plus their offspring, having a relationship which is functionally equivalent to a family. The relationship must be of a permanent and distinct character with a demonstrable and recognizable bond characteristic of a cohesive unit.” The staff reports states that a functional family is not a social society, club, fraternity or sorority, association, lodge, organization, group of students or other unrelated persons living together temporarily.

Stickers were passed out at the June 17 planning commission meeting by supporters of the Jesuits.

The permit must apply only to the functional family “type” that obtains the permit – in this case, the Ann Arbor Jesuit Community. It is limited to the number of people specified in the permit, and there must be a contact person identified as head of household. This special exception use would be limited to up to six people, with Rev. Dan Reim acting as head of household.

Although the city’s ordinance has allowed for a “functional family” designation since 1991, this is the first time any group has requested it. The residents would be members of the religious order at St. Mary’s Student Parish, or pursuing degrees at the University of Michigan or other local institutions.

The group’s application describes how the Jesuits live as a “functional family.” The statement reads, in part:

As a functional family, we refer to one another, when speaking of each other collectively, as “brothers.” Our unity is based upon our religious commitment to live together as a religious family. As brothers related to one another by our common vows and commitment to service in the Church, we are, like a family, one another’s primary support system.

…

The basis of our living as a household is not temporary or dependent on the University school year or any such seasonal arrangement or pattern, as a fraternity or sorority would typically be. Jesuits living in structured households under a superior has been an integral part of the religious order for centuries, and the Jesuits who will live at 1919 Wayne will be participating in that centuries old tradition.

In addition to meeting the “functional family” requirement, this special exception use must meet with certain standards, including compatibility with the zoning district and adjacent districts. The use must also not generate an intensity that would be hazardous or inconvenient to the neighborhood, or conflict with normal traffic.

Wayne Street is located on the city’s near east side, between Washtenaw Avenue and Vinewood Boulevard, in Ward 2.

No exterior changes are planned to the structure of the house, which has about 4,000 square feet with seven bedrooms and two bathrooms. The Jesuits indicated that they’d like to reconfigure the interior to use one of the bedrooms as a guest room and to add two bathrooms.

Alexis DiLeo of the city planning staff.

The special exception use would be contingent on providing off-street parking spaces for each vehicle used by the residents. There are two spaces in the garage and two tandem parking spaces in the driveway. They also have received permission to park two vehicles at the lot for the First Church of Christ, Scientist, which is adjacent to the site.

DiLeo pointed out that enforcement of SEU conditions is complaint-driven – the city relies on its citizens to notify staff if there is a violation of any ordinance, she noted.

All SEUs must be activated within after ??three years of approval. So for this SEU, the Jesuits must move into 1919 Wayne by June 17, 2017. There are several things that would cause a SEU to lapse or be revoked, including violations of the conditions or vacating the property for 24 months.

In other types of special exception uses – like a child care center or fraternity – the original entity could move out, but a similar entity would retain the SEU, because it “runs with the land.” For a functional family, however, the SEU is not transferable to a different group, DiLeo explained.

In response to requests from commissioners on June 3, the planning staff had subsequently surveyed some communities in Michigan and out of state. The staff in other cities could not recall if their functional family provisions had ever been used or had said it was used very rarely, DiLeo said.

DiLeo concluded by saying that the staff recommendations from June 3 remain unchanged, and they continued to recommend approval of the request.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Public Hearing

At the public hearing on June 3, 21 people had spoken, the majority were opposed to the request, including representatives from the Oxbridge Neighborhood Association and the North Burns Park Association. Concerns included the possibility of lower property values, the chance of opening the door to student housing or cults, instability of the household because members aren’t related, and “gender housing discrimination.”

Some people on June 3 directed criticism against the power, privilege and abuse of the Catholic church. Other praised the Jesuits, saying their concerns were strictly related to the zoning code, which they didn’t feel permitted this type of living arrangement in the R1C district. They suggested that the Jesuits could live in other districts – like R4C – that would allow for up to six unrelated people to live together without getting a special exception use.

Dan Reim would be head of household for the Jesuits at 1919 Wayne St.

On June 17, another public hearing on this item drew considerably more supporters of the request.

The commission had also received 81 emails/letters in the two intervening weeks, the vast majority of them in support of granting the special exception use. Those communications are attached to the commission’s online agenda.

Planning chair Kirk Westphal began the public hearing on June 17 with some reminders, noting that commissioners “are all mortals up here, and at a certain time, people lose their ability to sit in a meeting.” He asked speakers to queue up, talk into the microphone, and address the commission – not others in the audience. He noted that commissioners would be looking at the city code requirements, consistency with the city master plan, and impact on the neighborhood.

Because it was a new public hearing – not a continuation – speakers who weighed in on June 3 could speak again. But Westphal encouraged them to let new speakers go first. He described the strategy of having others in the audience stand up if they supported the speaker’s opinion, and stressed that although speakers had 3 minutes each, they didn’t need to use the entire time – a comment that drew laughs from the crowd.

The public hearing on June 17 drew 23 speakers, including many who supported the request. Here are some highlights.

Dan Reim is the priest who would serve as head of household for the Jesuits at 1919 Wayne. He thanked commissioners for reconsidering the request, and in general for their service to the city. He responded to three arguments that had been made against the request. First, the definition of “permanent” for a functional family applies to the relationship between the people – not to living at that location, he said. The vows that the Jesuits take, and the common training and path they pursue, makes their relationship to each other permanent and distinct, he noted. They share a common lifestyle and mission – service of faith, and the promotion of justice. Because of this shared vocation, their relationship to each other existed before they lived together, and will continue long after. They are also each other’s patient advocates.

Regarding concerns about transiency, Reim said the Jesuits have made a commitment to the ministry at St. Mary Student Parish in Ann Arbor. In the face of declining numbers of priests, the growth of the ministry here has been determined to be worth sending even more priests, he said. For the sake of stability, it would be counterproductive to interchange priests. So he and the other priests here “are likely to be around for quite some time.” The house on Wayne Street is perfect because it has enough bedrooms to accommodate up to six priests, and a living space that fits their religious lifestyle, which he said is similar to a family.

If the special exception use isn’t granted, either their ministry will be substantially burdened by limiting the number of priests who can live there, or their vowed life together will be burdened by living in separate houses, Reim said. The city’s R4C districts aren’t likely to have houses with both seven bedrooms and a communal living arrangement suitable for them. He hoped that if they’re allowed to live at 1919 Wayne, their living as good, respectful neighbors will serve to heal any divisions that have resulted from this request. “We can be trusted at our word that we will abide by the conditions determined by the planning commissioners, including that regarding parking,” he concluded.

Jonathan Levine supported the Jesuits’ request: “All individuals deserve to be treated on the basis of their own actions, and not subject to guilt by association. The fact that this even needs to be said in Ann Arbor of 2014 is profoundly disturbing.”

Jonathan Levine supported the request. There are good arguments to oppose it, he said, but he wanted to address three “exceptionally bad ones.” First is the claim that because only men would be able to live there, the special exception would constitute Ann Arbor’s endorsement of gender discrimination. Regulatory permission amounts to determination that the use is allowed by the city’s zoning code, he noted – not an endorsement of ideologies or religious practices. In fact, the city has no problem with single-gender housing – in dorms, sororities or fraternities. A Craigslist ad looking for three female roommates “would not raise an eyebrow and certainly no legal problems,” Levine said.

More disturbing is the claim that failures of the Catholic church to root out pedophilia are somehow relevant to this zoning decision, he said. The implication is that because the petitioners are Jesuit priests, they are under an automatic cloud of suspicion for being pedophiles. “I am embarrassed even to have to say these words,” Levine said. “All individuals deserve to be treated on the basis of their own actions, and not subject to guilt by association. The fact that this even needs to be said in Ann Arbor of 2014 is profoundly disturbing.”

Finally, Levine addressed a claim put forward by the attorney for the Oxbridge Neighborhood Association [Scott Munzel] – that the Jesuits’ vow to accept whatever mission the Pope requires precludes them from being a functional family, since family members’ primary commitment is to each other. “With all due respect to the planning commission, the last thing I want my municipal government doing is interpreting the meaning of religious tenets, as if what you believe is somehow relevant to your fitness to reside in a particular zone,” Levine said.

He was particularly surprised by the tone-deafness evidenced by raising the specter of loyalty to the Pope in the course of a political debate. He asked opponents of this request to consider what the zoning determination should be if the applicants were Unitarians, or Buddhists, or Presbyterians. “If the answer is no change, then these claims are an irrelevant smokescreen,” he said. If the answer is that people would feel differently if petitioners were of a different religion, “then you’re suggesting that the city of Ann Arbor engage in religious discrimination. Either way, these arguments deserve to be rejected in the strongest of terms,” Levine said.

The city needs to declare that there’s not just one American dream that can be pursued in this town, he said, even in its R1 zone. The special exception use is the appropriate vehicle to do this, he concluded. Levine received a round of applause from the crowd.

Also supporting the Jesuits was Liz Kamali. She said she’s a member of the Oxbridge Neighborhood Association. The ONA still hasn’t communicated with its full membership about its position against the Jesuits’ request and hiring an attorney, she said. The attorney fees are estimated at $3,450. That’s the equivalent of the $20 annual dues for more than 170 families. To show that the ONA and the attorney it hired, Scott Munzel, weren’t accurately representing the views of the neighborhood, she said she represented 33 ONA members and other residents who support granting the Jesuits’ petition. She asked them to stand – and more than two dozen people in the crowd stood up and applauded. Kamali said they would be happy to welcome the Jesuits to the Oxbridge neighborhood.

Sonia Urbaniak, one of the current owners of 1919 Wayne.

Sonia Urbaniak said she was an ONA member and one of the owners of 1919 Wayne St. She’d been excited that the Jesuits were following the law in making this request, and that they had talked to neighbors to try to address concerns. But she became very upset when she watched the video of the June 3 meeting. When she took her U.S. citizenship test, she was asked: “What is the rule of law?” The answer is that nobody is above the law. “I’m speaking to remind you that this is not about setting precedent or anything like that. This is about applying the code that is already there.”

If opponents’ concerns were reasonable, wouldn’t they have been made in the open? If the issue was communication, wouldn’t it have been reasonable to invite her and her husband – lifelong ONA members – to the meeting about the possible sale, instead of removing them from the email list? she asked. Why hasn’t the ONA president attempted to get feedback from members since the June 3 planning commission meeting?

There might be reasons why some people don’t want the Jesuits to live there, Urbaniak said. She was sure there are similar sentiments about all different groups, both in America and worldwide. She’s from Germany, so it’s harder to think about this issue in that context. “Please, let the laws decide – and not prejudice. Because if prejudice and not laws becomes our advisor, then we’ve lost a lot of the advancements of the last century,” she said.

JoAnn Barrett is a realtor representing the owners of 1919 Wayne. She noted that her children grew up in the Oxbridge neighborhood, and she loved the “historic, intellectual and international tapestry of it.” It’s a quiet, safe place where children walk to school and neighbors know one other. They have a neighborhood July 4th parade and picnic every year.

Places of worship are a very vital thread in the neighborhood’s fabric, she said. Art, architecture, books and music have their roots in centuries of sponsorship by clergies. Churches and temples help celebrate life transitions – birth, adulthood, marriage, death. No matter what you believe or don’t believe, Barrett said, “there is not one of us who will not be touched by the kindness and charity of ministers, priests and rabbis.” They provide meals, clothing, transportation and kind words to the hungry, homeless, the poor and sick. “What better way to enrich a neighborhood than to invite into it the very people who go out into the community to help the weakest and the neediest among us?”

JoAnn Barrett, the realtor who represents the current owners of 1919 Wayne.

This special exception is a gift to the neighborhood, Barrett said. It’s not a change in zoning, and it doesn’t stay with the home if the Jesuits leave. Their presence and the additional two bathrooms they want to add will only improve home values, she said. Evidence of that is seen at their well-kept home on Ferdon, or in talking to their current neighbors. They are more permanent than most homeowners, having lived on Ferdon for 10 years – five years longer than the average Ann Arbor homeowner. They drive safely, they don’t play loud music or have a mean dog, she said. “They have no intentions of painting the house purple.”

When Ann Arbor is even considering being less inclusive than the state of Michigan, she concluded, “there is something very, very wrong.” She urged commissioners to follow the law and the recommendations of the city attorney’s office.

Susan Black said she lives within 300 feet of 1919 Wayne, and has lived there 27 years. Letting the Jesuits live there is the right thing to do. Because of actions by ONA, she said she’s resigned as a board member – even though she’d forgotten she had been on the board until she was notified about the vote to spend $3,500 for an attorney. Regarding parking, Black said are nine parking spaces between the front of her house and the nearby park that no one uses. Regarding property values, she reported that she used Zillow to calculate how much the Jesuits’ home on Ferdon has increased in value over the past six years – it’s worth $160,000 more. “So there goes the property value argument,” she said.

Michael O’Donnell introduced himself as a Ward 2 resident and cardiologist – for several years, he was medical director of the interventional cardiology program at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. “A lot of who I am and what I became are a direct result of my Jesuit education,” he said. O’Donnell knows the Jesuits who are asking for a special exception use and could vouch for them unequivocally. If the request isn’t granted, he said, it will adversely affect St. Mary Student Parish. The priests are an asset to that parish, the surrounding parishes, and the community as a whole, he said. He asked other members of the parish or any others who supported the request to stand up – dozens of people did.

Andrea Van Houweling and Eppie Potts spoke against granting the special exception use for the Jesuits at 1919 Wayne.

Eppie Potts spoke to oppose the request. She was very disappointed that at the commission’s last discussion on June 3, they didn’t spend much time applying the city code to this case. They shouldn’t rely on the staff report, because it was “full of errors,” she said. It had included or omitted some words that changed the meaning of the city’s ordinance, she said. Potts read from a section from the code that states a functional family does not include any society or association. She defined those words, and concluded that the Jesuits fit that definition. Their loyalty is to the Jesuit community, she noted, and they could be reassigned at any time. “This is not a relationship of a permanent character.” Approving this request would be a violation of city code, she concluded.

Local architect Theresa Angelini, a member of St. Mary Student Parish, told commissioners she’s very familiar with the zoning code. It was intended to protect that area from sororities, fraternities and student housing. The Jesuits would be a good fit, she said. “I’m just embarrassed that Ann Arbor is a bit closed-minded in terms of the allowance of this,” Angelini said. She also noted that very few houses in Ann Arbor have seven bedrooms.

Paul Morel, co-president of the Oxbridge Neighborhood Association, said ONA held a meeting on May 13 to discuss the functional family request. They sent out 205 emails – of those, 111 were opened, he said, and 33 people attended the meeting. It was the largest attendance in years, he noted. Two things were on the agenda: the functional family petition, and deer in the neighborhood.

At that meeting, there was unanimous consensus to prepare a paper outlining the issues with the request. Subsequently, a couple of people – possibly more – changed their mind and decided to support the Jesuits request, he noted. Morel said ONA’s position represents a significant number of residents, but not all. There’s nearly universal agreement that the issue isn’t about whether the Jesuits would be good neighbors, Morel said. Most people believe they are good and honest, with an excellent reputation as neighbors on Ferdon. The issue is whether the use of a functional family in this case is appropriate, he said. ONA’s concern is that approval would set a precedent for future petitions.

Paul Morel, co-president of the Oxbridge Neighborhood Association.

Morel stressed that the Jesuits don’t qualify as a functional family, repeating some of the same arguments that previous speakers had made. Even if they qualified as a functional family, their request would still fail to meet the city’s standards for a special exception use, he said – because it’s not consistent with the city’s master plan. This is a single-family residential neighborhood, he said, that doesn’t contain group homes, cooperatives, or student housing with more than four occupants.

Gwen Nystuen also opposed the request, and said she’s spent a lot of time thinking about this issue. She noted that the Jesuits’ application includes a list of other places throughout the country where groups who are affiliated because of their religion are allowed to live together. She’s become convinced that the planning commission should consider this special exception use for a church use in the R1C district, rather than as a functional family. This would solve many of the concerns that people have raised, she said. The request is really for a parsonage, Nystuen said – it will be owned by a church and occupied by clergy.

Lisa Jevens told commissioners that when she walked into city hall that night, four different people asked if she supported the Jesuits and wanted to wear a sticker. “My answer to that is I do support the Jesuits, but I do not support them trying to bend our zoning laws so that they can buy this home,” she said. She’s concerned that the commission is getting distracted by “a big PR campaign,” rather than focusing on the laws and zoning. It’s dangerous and biased to decide zoning issues based on the merits of a particular organization or individuals, she said. There are other zoning districts in Ann Arbor where six unrelated people can live without a special exception use – or there are special exceptions for church uses, she noted. Every decision does set a precedent, she added, and this would encourage other groups to find ways around the laws as well.

Andrea Van Houweling said she’d welcome the Jesuits living next door to her, if they weren’t seeking permission as a functional family. She thought the city was opening a can of worms to many other requests. She supports granting them a special exception use as a church use, because she thinks they are a parish house or a parsonage. With that, they’d be welcome almost anywhere in town, she said.

Karen Snyder attended the meeting to provide interpretive services for the hearing impaired. She was hired by the city at the request of a citizen.

Michael Clark lives in a property adjacent to 1919 Wayne. This debate has made it clear that the wording of the ordinance is unclear, he said. Clark said the planning commission should have asked the zoning board of appeals for clarification. Approving this request would set a precedent of any group that says they function as a family, he said. If this request is approved, he plans to appeal to the zoning board of appeals.

The attorney for the Jesuits, Cevin Taylor, read a section of the zoning ordinance that relates to residential occupancy. The Jesuits are simply asking that the city let them accommodate their centuries-old living arrangement, he said. They’ve demonstrated clearly that they meet the definition of functional family, he said. All they’re asking is to be treated like any functional family, and not to be held to a higher standard compared to other families. It’s actually against the law to do that, Taylor said.

Taylor cited the Michigan Supreme Court ruling in Delta Charter Township v. Dinolfo, as well as the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. Taylor also objected to the argument that because the Jesuits have a commitment to their order, that it precludes them from having a commitment to each other. In his family, Taylor said, members have a commitment to their church as well as to each other – it’s not an either/or choice. He asked that commissioners approve the petition.

Susan Friedlander introduced herself as an attorney representing the Clark family. She said the city’s ordinance doesn’t define the terms “society” or “organization.” So courts typically go to the dictionary. She read a definition of society, and said she was concerned about equal protection under the law. The question is how the city applies its ordinances evenly to everyone. But the ordinance isn’t clear, Friedlander said. If the Students for a Democratic Society came in and wanted to live in that neighborhood, would they be allowed? Another concern is how the ordinance should be interpreted regarding permanence.

Michael Brinkman began by quipping: “Good evening, you mere mortals!” – a reference to planning commission’ chair Kirk Westphal’s earlier comments. Brinkman said commissioners don’t have to be gods to understand the sentiment of the vast majority of supporters for the Jesuits. Regarding concerns over semantics of the word “society,” he said “the letter of the law kills. The spirit gives life.”

Several other residents also voiced support of the Jesuits’ request, including Vivian Johnson, Sherry Moravy, Laura Paterson, Peggy Lynch, Masoud Kamali and Aaron Blizzard.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Commission Discussion

The discussion among commissioners lasted over 90 minutes, followed by a vote. This report summarizes and organizes the deliberations thematically.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Commission Discussion – Friendly Amendments

Addressing the assertion during public commentary that the language in the motion did not match the language in the code, Ken Clein suggested amending the motion to reflect the language of the city code, by adding two words: “…relationship is of a permanent and distinct character…” The amendment was accepted as friendly.

Sabra Briere proposed a similar friendly amendment to this part of the motion:

The Ann Arbor Jesuit Community is not a social society, club, fraternity, sorority, association, lodge, organization or group of students or other individuals in a temporary housekeeping unit in which the common living arrangement or basis for the establishment of the housekeeping unit is temporary.

She suggested deleting “social” and “in a temporary housekeeping unit,” noting that those phrases aren’t part of the city’s ordinance. City planner Alexis DiLeo replied that the motion reflects the staff’s findings, and that the commission is free to amend it.

Briere said that one of the concerns she’s heard is that the staff is rewriting the ordinance for this request. She thought that impression comes from the fact that the language in the motion closely echoes the ordinance, but doesn’t use the exact same language. In the future, she hoped that when the motion mimics the ordinance so closely, it uses the same language.

Briere’s suggestion wasn’t acted on at this point. Later in the meeting she again proposed deleting the word “social,” which was then accepted as a friendly amendment.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Commission Discussion – Role of the ZBA

Responding to a query from Bonnie Bona, Alexis DiLeo explained that the city’s zoning board of appeals is a quasi-judicial body that has two primary roles. One is to grant variances to the city’s zoning. They are also charged with interpreting the city’s zoning ordinance.

The ZBA is not an “approving” body, DiLeo said – that is, they don’t approve site plans or other zoning proposals.

The powers of the ZBA are laid out in the city code – Chapter 55, Section IX.

5:98. Powers.

The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have all powers granted by state law to such boards, including the following specific powers:

(1) Administrative review: To hear and decide appeals where it is alleged by the appellant that there is error in any order, requirement, permit, decision, or refusal made by the Building Official or any other administrative official in enforcing any provision of this chapter. Appeals shall be filed within 60 days of the date of the decision in question.

(2) Variances: To authorize variances pursuant to section 5:99.

(3) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power to approve the substitution of 1 nonconforming use for another, as provided in section 5:86.

(4) The Zoning Board of Appeals shall have the power to approve the continuation or replacement of a nonconforming structure as provided in section 5:87.

Planning manager Wendy Rampson clarified that the ZBA has the authority to hear appeals – for example, if the staff turns down a permit. But Bona pointed out that the ZBA is not the interpreting body for the planning commission. The ZBA isn’t an advisory board, she added.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Commission Discussion – Ordinance Revisions

During the public hearing, the issue of revising the ordinance related to functional families was raised. Bonnie Bona asked staff to explain how ordinances are revised, and when those revisions are appropriate.

Planning commissioner Bonnie Bona.

Alexis DiLeo explained that the process at this point would involve tabling or denying the petition in order for an ordinance change to occur. In Ann Arbor, anyone can file a petition for a text amendment to a city ordinance. For example, at the commission’s June 3, 2014 meeting, they approved an ordinance amendment that was brought forward by owners of property on Research Park Drive.

If the ordinance change is approved – first by the planning commission, then by the city council – then the petition that was tabled could be brought back for consideration. If the petition was denied, the petitioner could reapply under the revised ordinance. In the case of the Jesuits’ request, DiLeo wasn’t sure they’d want to wait that long.

Planning manager Wendy Rampson elaborated, saying that an ordinance revision could also be initiated by city council or the planning commission.

Bona asked another question: Once a proposal is already in front of the commission, can the rules under which it’s evaluated change? Yes, Rampson replied. However, going through an ordinance change takes a minimum of three months, and probably more like six months. If someone has brought forward a petition in good faith to apply under the current code, Rampson said, the commission typically hears that petition under the existing code – and then follows up later with an ordinance revision, if they believe that’s necessary.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Commission Discussion – Precedent

Bonnie Bona asked staff to address concerns that were raised about setting a precedent. Alexis DiLeo replied that this particular special exception use sets a very high bar for the next request. She outlined specific characteristics of the Jesuits as a functional family, including lifetime vows, the power to make medical decisions for each other, and the pooling of resources.

Planning manager Wendy Rampson added that every case is unique. DiLeo clarified that other groups would need to be equally as specific in making their case.

Bona noted that people on both sides of this request have asked for examples in other communities. But she said she didn’t recall the planning commission ever using a previous special exception use in order to evaluate a current request.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Commission Discussion – Parsonage?

Referencing a suggestion made during the public hearing, Wendy Woods asked whether anyone had considered making the special exception use as a church use rather than as a functional family. Alexis DiLeo said the original request from the Jesuits was for a functional family, and planning staff did not suggest the alternative of a church use. She noted that the city code doesn’t specifically mention parsonages, and churches are regulated as places of assembly. The Jesuits aren’t planning to use the house as a place of religious assembly, she added.

Planning commissioner Ken Clein.

Woods said her thought was that as a church, the property might become tax-exempt.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Commission Discussion – Other Zoning Districts

Kirk Westphal brought up another issue raised during the public hearing: Why couldn’t the Jesuits live in another zoning district that would allow six unrelated people to live there without a special exception use? He asked whether that was part of the commission’s purview.

Alexis DiLeo replied that the staff reviewed the application based on what was requested – a special exception use for 1919 Wayne.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Commission Discussion – Enforcement, Student Housing

Westphal also asked about enforcement. DiLeo replied that any member of the Ann Arbor Jesuit community would meet the definition of this particular functional family. If non-Jesuits live at 1919 Wayne, that would not be in compliance with the special exception use. Enforcement is typically complaint-driven, and the city’s response usually starts with a phone call or letter, she said. Beyond that, the staff proceeds with action on a case-by-case basis.

Westphal asked what would happen if it becomes a house where only students live. If the students are Jesuits and meeting all of the other conditions of the SEU, DiLeo said, they wouldn’t be violating its terms.

Westphal then asked whether the city ever restricts use based on whether residents are students. No, DiLeo said.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Commission Discussion – Functional Family

Bona asked Dan Reim, the priest who will serve as head of household, to describe what it means to be a Jesuit. “Could I become a Jesuit?” she quipped.

Reim described the Jesuits as a religious order within the Catholic church. The most common type of priests are diocesan priests, who are typically involved in a parish church and live in a rectory. There are also religious orders – like the Franciscan, the Benedictines, the Augustinians, and the Jesuits. All of those orders were created because of a particular need or inspiration or individual, he said. Diocesan priests take vows of chastity and obedience to the bishop. Religious orders take those vows too, Reim explained, but in addition take vows of poverty and hold their material goods in common.

Planning commission chair Kirk Westphal talks to Bonnie Bona before the start of the June 17 meeting.

Reim noted that priesthood is reserved “currently” to males – a comment that drew laughter from the crowd. He said he’d be happy to share his personal views on that issue sometime.

Bona also asked about the vows that Jesuits take, compared to the relationship among the Jesuits themselves as a functional family. Reim replied that the Jesuits’ allegiance is both to their religious order and to each other. His vow of obedience means he doesn’t determine where he lives or works – that’s determined by his religious superior, who doesn’t currently live in Ann Arbor. But the Jesuit Constitutions also define their allegiances to one another within the Jesuit community, although they don’t take vows to each other.

Bona noted that at the June 3, 2014 meeting, Reim had spoken about other aspects of the Jesuits’ commitment to each other, such as their approach to conflict resolution. Reim said the Jesuits are committed in their mission together – it’s not just an individual choice.

Westphal asked Reim to confirm that the Jesuits’ vows preclude them from establishing a biological family in the traditional sense. Reim confirmed that there would be no families, women or children living at the house.

Bona indicated that she’d like to amend the SEU to include language about the Jesuits’ commitment to each other. DiLeo said planning staff did attempt to address that relationship in the SEU motion: “They will assume roles such as head of the household, pool financial resources, assign responsibilities such as cleaning, shopping and yard work, and have adopted other features of a cohesive family unit such as caring for sick members and making medical decisions for each other, as necessary.”

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Commission Discussion – Legal Issues

Assistant city attorney Kevin McDonald attended the meeting and was asked several questions by commissioners. Sabra Briere began by asking about the issue of permanence. Specifically, she referred to this section of Chapter 55 in the city code [emphasis added]:

5:7. Residential occupancy.

…

(4) In this section, functional family means a group of people plus their offspring, having a relationship which is functionally equivalent to a family. The relationship must be of a permanent and distinct character with a demonstrable and recognizable bond characteristic of a cohesive unit. Functional family does not include any society, club, fraternity, sorority, association, lodge, organization or group of students or other individuals where the common living arrangement or basis for the establishment of the housekeeping unit is temporary.

She asked McDonald whether the following rephrasing of the ordinance would provide the same criteria: “A functional family does not include any group of individuals where the common living arrangement or basis for the establishment of the housekeeping unit is temporary.” She said some people were attempting to define the word “society” or “association,” and she was attempting to clarify the intent of the ordinance.

From left: Assistant city attorney Kevin McDonald talks with planning commission chair Kirk Westphal.

McDonald replied by saying that you can’t read just selective parts of the ordinance. The list of exceptions to a functional family starts with “society, club, fraternity…” but can’t be read without including the end of that sentence: “…or group of students or other individuals where the common living arrangement or basis for the establishment of the housekeeping unit is temporary.”

It’s the planning commission’s job to determine whether the Jesuits’ petition meets the definition, he said. McDonald noted that the city attorney’s office did some of the background work for this issue. Other communities in Michigan include this same general language in their ordinances. Just asking the question of whether or not a group is a society or association isn’t enough, he said – you have to read the entire context of the ordinance.

Regarding students, McDonald noted that it would be possible for both he and his wife to be taking classes, as well as their children. So they could theoretically be characterized as students – even though they are also a family.

Briere then said she interpreted the phrase “relationship must be of a permanent and distinct character” as a reference to the permanence of the relationship, not of the housing unit. McDonald thought that was a reasonable interpretation. He also noted that the special exception use in this case would apply to the type of functional family, which he said suggests that the relationship among individuals would be permanent. A traditional family that might move into a house has a relationship that’s permanent, but that doesn’t mean the same people stay at that location forever, he said. The same would be true for a functional family.

Briere asked McDonald to review the meaning of the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. McDonald explained that the act applies to municipal and government land use, and to people who are institutionalized – such as people who are incarcerated. The relevant part for the Jesuits’ petition relates to land use. He read this section of the act:

No government shall impose or implement a land use regulation in a manner that imposes a substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person, including a religious assembly or institution, unless the government demonstrates that imposition of the burden on that person, assembly, or institution—

(A) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and

(B) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.

RLUIPA applies when there’s an individualized assessment of a proposed land use, McDonald said – meaning that the city would be making a specialized decision on the facts of the matter regarding whether the land use can be approved. McDonald said some people would argue that an SEU is an individualized assessment. He said he wasn’t going to give his opinion or advice about whether the city’s action in granting this SEU would be in violation of RLUIPA.

Sabra Briere, who serves on both the planning commission and city council.

Briere then asked McDonald to explain why the Michigan Supreme Court ruling in Delta Charter Township v. Dinolfo applies to the Jesuits’ petition.

McDonald said the city of Ann Arbor has a thick file of material from that period in the 1980s and early 1990s, when the functional family designation was added to the zoning ordinance. It was adopted in 1991. The Dinolfo decision meant that the city could make a determination about the number of people who could occupy a house, and that certain zoning areas could be protected – like single-family residential districts. But the case called into question whether a city could use only a biological family definition, he said. The court found that cities were making too narrow of a definition of “family” – so they needed to have an alternative.

McDonald noted that in some cities, the ordinance language includes “religious order” as a type of functional family.

Wendy Woods asked if McDonald knew whether the city had previously granted a functional family designation for a special exception use. McDonald said he believed this is the first petition of this type in Ann Arbor. What’s more, when the staff contacted other communities in Michigan, they couldn’t find any city that had any significant history regarding the functional family designation.

McDonald also responded to some comments he’d heard during the public hearing. He stressed that the city attorney’s office had come to no conclusion about the Jesuits’ petition – they weren’t making a recommendation, as some speakers had stated.

Westphal asked if the motion being considered by the planning commission would become part of the SEU for 1919 Wayne. McDonald clarified that the motion, with the staff findings included, constitutes approval of the SEU on behalf of the planning commission. “This motion incorporates what that special exception is,” McDonald said. There might be a follow-up letter from staff, he added, “but this is it.”

Responding to an additional query from Westphal, McDonald stated that each request for a special exception use is different, and approval depends on a specific set of facts and circumstances. Regarding the issue of precedent, McDonald said he’d heard some concern about factual precedent – that this would open the door for all kinds of other uses. He noted that every petition is scrutinized – as evidenced by the deliberations at this meeting – by staff and planning commission, to make sure it meets the requirements of the city’s code.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Commission Discussion – Parking

Bonnie Bona confirmed with Alexis DiLeo that the neighborhood has a residential parking program.

Planning commissioner Eleanore Adenekan.

DiLeo explained that residents can purchase parking permit stickers. Unless you have a permit, parking on the streets is limited to two hours. There’s a limited number of permits that each household can purchase. With the sticker, you can park an unlimited amount of hours.

Bona said there might be an issue with the city giving away too many permits per household, but she noted that it’s a different issue than the request from the Jesuits.

Eleanore Adenekan asked about parking for guests who visit the house. How long might guests stay? she asked. Dan Reim, who’ll serve as head of household for the Jesuits, said he tries to follow the “rule of fish” – three days, and they begin to stink. There are no plans to have long-term guests, he said.

Adenekan confirmed that guests would be parking on the street. Reim said that if there’s a problem, they’d deal with it. “I don’t want parking to be the reason why we’re not able to have this house,” he said.

Wendy Woods asked if the Jesuits would be able to get residential parking permits. DiLeo replied that households in that neighborhood could have a total of five residential permits. That option would be available to any household in the Oxbridge neighborhood, including the Jesuits.

Jesuit Request for 1919 Wayne: Commission Discussion – General Deliberations

Kirk Westphal cautioned against rewording the motion in a way that would make it more confusing – and therefore more likely that certain conditions might be violated.

After additional discussion that included a variety of hypotheticals, Wendy Woods said it seemed like the commission was going in circles. She didn’t think they needed to get caught up in laying out details of allegiances between individuals or the broader church community. Woods was also concerned about additional wordsmithing of the motion, saying she didn’t think it needed more information. “I really am concerned that we’re really starting to get down into the weeds.” She said she hadn’t changed her mind since June 3, and still supported it.

Ken Clein agreed with Woods. He thought the commission needed to be careful about holding the Jesuits, as a functional family, to a higher standard than other families. “That starts to sound like discrimination,” he said. Clein wasn’t concerned about setting precedent, noting that each case is different. And in the past 23 years, there haven’t been a large number of these requests anywhere in Michigan. He didn’t see it as being detrimental to the neighborhood.

Planning commissioner Diane Giannola.

Eleanore Adenekan also agreed with Clein and Woods. She thanked the public for their letters and emails, and for attending the meeting. All commissioners have put a lot of time into this issue, and some commissioners – including her – had changed their schedules so that they could attend this meeting, she said. Adenekan cited several issues that had been raised, and expressed concern about holding the Jesuits to a higher standard than other households. She supported their petition. She believes Ann Arbor is a community based on inclusion and acceptance, and that the Jesuits and others in this neighborhood can live together peacefully.

Diane Giannola said the issue isn’t about religion at all. It’s not about whether the Jesuits can buy a house, or whether four Jesuits can live in a house – because that’s allowed by code. The issue is whether this petitioner qualifies as a functional family, she said. Her problem is that an entire religious order is being characterized as the functional family. If six individual Jesuits came forward with this request, then she’d support it as a functional family. But an entire religious order, where people move in and out based on what they’re told to do, isn’t a functional family. “It goes against the entire spirit and purpose of why the functional family was developed,” Giannola said.

Historically, the designation came about because stepfamilies, gay parents with children, halfway houses and other groups weren’t allowed in single-family residential areas, Giannola continued. The court had ruled that religion can be used as a bond for a family. Although that’s the case with the Jesuits’ request, she added, an entire religious order is being called the functional family – not just the six individuals. It’s too broad, and “makes it a boarding house for the church.”

Bonnie Bona disagreed, saying it wasn’t the entire religious order but rather the Ann Arbor Jesuit community. She then proposed an amendment to two sentences in the motion, with the intent of clarifying the relationship among the Jesuits at 1919 Wayne [added words in italics, deleted works in strike-thru]:

They have taken lifelong religious vows to the Jesuit order and intend to reside at this address indefinitely. They will assume The commitment of the Ann Arbor Jesuit community to each other assumes roles such as head of the household, pool financial resources, assign responsibilities such as cleaning, shopping and yard work, and have adopted other features of a cohesive family unit such as caring for sick members and making medical decisions for each other, as necessary.

Outcome on Bona’s amendment: It passed unanimously.

Briere asked to delete “social” from the following sentence in the motion: “The Ann Arbor Jesuit Community is not a social society, club, fraternity, sorority, association, lodge, organization or group of students or other individuals in a temporary housekeeping unit in which the common living arrangement or basis for the establishment of the housekeeping unit is temporary.” She thought it might cause confusion.

Ann Arbor planning commissioners vote on the Jesuits’ request.

It was accepted as a friendly amendment by Clein, who had originally moved this item, and by Adenekan, who had seconded it.

Giannola argued that the word “social” is needed in the phrase “social society,” because “society” is in the petitioners’ name: The Society of Jesus. However, no further action was taken to re-insert the word.

Briere said she respected the concerns that people had voiced – not just from the neighborhood, but from the broader community – about whether the planning commission would approve more functional family designations in the name of increasing density. “I do not find that to be the case,” she said, though she understood the concern.

Westphal said he had been hesitant on June 3 because he’d wanted time to address community concerns – that’s why he had previously favored postponement. He thought staff had been very thorough in making sure the motion reflected the city code’s definition of functional family. The SEU also has to comply with all the city’s special exception use standards, he noted. He was very comfortable with granting the SEU to this applicant, because it met the functional family definition and the SEU standards. He didn’t feel the commission would be setting a precedent.

At this point, Adenekan clarified the amendments that had been approved, saying: “So much talking has been done – I’m getting somewhat confused.”

The final amended SEU motion states:

1. The group of people proposed to reside at 1919 Wayne meet the definition of a functional family, specifically:

a. The members of the Ann Arbor Jesuit Community who propose to reside at 1919 Wayne Street have a relationship that is functionally equivalent to a family in that their relationship is of a permanent and distinct character with a demonstrable and recognizable bond characteristic of a cohesive unit. They have taken lifelong religious vows to the Jesuit order and intend to reside at this address indefinitely. The commitment of the Ann Arbor Jesuit community to each other assumes roles such as head of the household, pool financial resources, assign responsibilities such as cleaning, shopping and yard work, and have adopted other features of a cohesive family unit such as caring for sick members and making medical decisions for each other, as necessary.

b. The Ann Arbor Jesuit Community is not a society, club, fraternity, sorority, association, lodge, organization or group of students or other individuals in a temporary housekeeping unit in which the common living arrangement or basis for the establishment of the housekeeping unit is temporary.

2. A functional family with an approved special exception use is considered a single family residential use, and thus is consistent with the objectives of the City Master Plan, and with the existing and planned character of the neighborhood. The household size is within the normal size range of households found in this zoning district, and will not have a detrimental effect on neighboring property or the natural environment.

3. No changes are proposed for the current site, which conforms to the R1C zoning district. Adequate off-street parking for the household will be provided, and the use of the site will not be hazardous or inconvenient to the neighborhood.

4. The approval will apply only to a functional family made up of no more than 6 individuals of the Ann Arbor Jesuit Community.

5. The Ann Arbor Jesuit Community has identified a contact person who will act as head of household in relating to the city.

Outcome: On a 7-1 vote, commissioners approved the special exception use, as amended, for 1919 Wayne St. Diane Giannola dissented. It does not require additional city council action.

The crowd attending the meeting applauded. One woman approached Ben Hawley, pastor and director of campus ministry for St. Mary Student Parish, saying: “Welcome to the neighborhood!”

North Maple Low-Income Housing

After being postponed at the Ann Arbor planning commission’s June 3, 2014 meeting, a proposal by the Ann Arbor housing commission to expand low-income housing on North Maple Road was back on the June 17 agenda.

Aerial view of North Maple Estates site, outlined in green.

Planning commissioners were asked to recommend rezoning a 4.8-acre site at 701 N. Maple Road from R1C (single-family dwelling district) to R4B (multi-family dwelling district). They were also asked to recommend a site plan and development agreement for the project – part of a major renovation effort by the Ann Arbor housing commission. The site is on the west side of North Maple, between Dexter Avenue and Hollywood Drive. [.pdf of staff report]

The plan calls for demolishing 20 existing single-family homes – the public housing complex known as North Maple Estates – and constructing an eight-building, 42-unit apartment complex with a total of 138 bedrooms. The units range in size from one bedroom to five bedrooms.

The project would include a playground, community building and 73 parking spaces. According to a staff memo, the buildings would be located along a T-shaped driveway that connects to North Maple Road and Dexter Avenue. The drive extends northward toward Vine Court but does not connect with that street. There would be a new connection to Dexter Avenue through the remaining, undeveloped length of Seybold Drive.

The project also requires the city to vacate a portion of the right-of-way for Seybold Drive. The surrounding land is owned by the housing commission, so if the right-of-way vacation is approved, the land would become part of the housing commission property. In a separate item, the planning commission was also asked to recommend approving that request.

On June 3, several nearby residents had raised concerns about the project, including issues with security, impact on adjacent property, and traffic exiting onto Dexter Avenue. In addition, the planning staff had recommended postponement so that the housing commission staff could address some outstanding issues with the project. On June 17, the planning staff recommended approval and noted that housing commission staff and the project’s team had talked with residents after the June 3 meeting to address concerns. Five people spoke during the June 17 public hearing, either asking questions or expressing support.

Planning staff noted three issues that need to be resolved before the project gets approval from city council:

The parcel containing two duplex buildings also owned by the Ann Arbor Housing Commission in the northeast corner of the site must be combined with the subject site, forming a single parcel as a requirement for issuance of any permits.

The legal description and comparison chart data must be confirmed to include the duplex parcel.

The northern-most parking stall, nearest the connection to Vine Court, must be relocated outside of the minimum front setback area.

According to the staff memo, after June 3 the city’s traffic engineer reviewed the proposed new connection from Seybold Drive onto Dexter Avenue, and concluded that sight distances from all approaches are acceptable. He suggested that the pavement markings on Dexter should be refreshed.

The reconstruction of North Maple Estates is part of an ongoing effort by the housing commission to upgrade the city’s housing stock for low-income residents. At the planning commission’s May 6, 2014 meeting, AAHC executive director Jennifer Hall had made a presentation about the initiative, which includes seeking private investors through low-income housing tax credits.

North Maple Low-Income Housing: Public Hearing

Five people spoke during the public hearing for this project.

Susan Push, a resident who lives near the proposed North Maple Estates.

Susan Push told commissioners that she lives on Allison Drive, west of the North Maple complex. Her house is closest to the current basketball court, which is highly used. She didn’t see a new court in the proposed plans, and wanted to say it’s a valuable asset to people who live at North Maple Estates.

Another Allison Drive resident, Joyce Garrett, said it looked like Seybold Drive would be going through Scio Township property, and she wondered if the township would be vacating that section.

John Mouat, the project’s architect, talked about concerns that had previously been raised by nearby residents – density and setbacks on the property’s west side. The site is 4.2 acres. If zoned R4B, then theoretically there could be up to 72 units on the property, he noted. This project proposes 42 units. “So I think we’re trying to find a nice balance point between what’s there now, and at the same time accomplishing getting more units on the site.” Regarding setbacks, Mouat said the existing buildings on the site have setbacks of between 14-22 feet from the property line. In the proposed plans, the building setbacks would vary from 37-57 feet.

Mouat also responded to Push’s comments about the basketball court. He said the site has a significant grade change, so it’s difficult to find an area with a large, flat surface for the court.

Gwenyth Hayes, the resident representative on the Ann Arbor housing commission.

Gwenyth Hayes introduced herself as a recent graduate of the University of Michigan School of Social Work and the resident representative on the Ann Arbor housing commission board. At the June 3 meeting, the main voices that were missing from the discussion were the voices of public housing residents, she said. They’re the ones who’ll be living there, and this renovation is very important so that they’ll have a quality place to live. She has visited public housing in other cities, and knows that Ann Arbor’s public housing is among the best, and the city should keep it that way.

Regarding comments on June 3 that there should be a fence around the complex, Hayes thought that was painting public housing residents with a broad brush. If it weren’t for public housing, she wouldn’t have been able to make it from a homeless teen to a woman with a master’s degree. That transformation was possible because of safe, affordable housing, she said. “A lot of times in Ann Arbor we talk about diversity. It’s important that we also include not just cultural diversity, but also socio-economic diversity,” Hayes said. That’s why the city needs more affordable housing, she added, and the added units on this site are definitely needed.

For people who are concerned about crime, Hayes said that as a resident of public housing, she knows that all residents aren’t criminals. “We don’t like crime either, and we’re more likely to be the victims of the crime than the people in the surrounding neighborhoods.” Public housing residents are just as much a part of the fabric of the neighborhood as anyone else, Hayes concluded, and she wanted to make sure their voices are heard.

After praising Hayes’ commentary, Caleb Poirier told commissioners that he’s a member of the nonprofit MISSION and an organizer with the larger homeless community. He was impressed by the scrutiny given to the Jesuits’ request for a special exception use – it shows that commissioners think about things exceedingly carefully, which he thought was a good trait. He supported Hayes’ comments, saying that people in Ann Arbor need a home – including people who can’t afford one, and people who don’t have one at all. He’s excited that more housing is being created, after about a decade when no affordable housing was built.

John Mouat, architect for the North Maple Estates project.

For people who live near low-income housing, Poirier said they are often scared of people they haven’t met yet, and that’s understandable. That fear usually goes away when you start meeting people and their kids, and discover their personalities. “I encourage those who are scared to take that step,” Poirier concluded.

Jennifer Hall, executive director of the Ann Arbor housing commission, said they’re trying to be a good neighbor to surrounding residents. One way to do that is to maintain the AAHC properties. She mentioned the reduced funding from HUD, and said this new approach is an opportunity to improve the housing as well as the neighborhoods. “The last thing we want to be is the worst house on the block,” Hall said.

Regarding the basketball court, Hall said they’ve talked about it. Right now, it’s located on the highest part of the site, which is the best place to put housing because of water issues. But the lower parts of the site are hilly, so there’s not a good spot for it. They’ve talked about this issue with Peace Neighborhood Center, which provides much of the summer programming for kids at North Maple Estates. That community center is a couple of blocks away. Sometimes the basketball courts at AAHC sites are used by non-residents, and littler kids get pushed away from playing, she said. AAHC decided that having more housing on the site was more critical than a basketball court, but they do provide other recreational opportunities, Hall said.

North Maple Low-Income Housing: Commission Discussion

Bonnie Bona asked about the intersection of Seybold and Dexter, and the traffic engineer’s comments about refreshing the street markings. What’s the plan for doing that? City planner Alexis DiLeo indicated that the city – not the housing commission – has responsibility to do that.

Jennifer Hall, executive director of the Ann Arbor housing commission.

Bona then noted that she’s struggling with the increased density that would be allowed under the new zoning. She knows there are more units, but wondered how many more bedrooms there will be. Jennifer Hall replied that there are currently 10 five-bedroom units and 10 four-bedroom units at that location. One of the five-bedroom units has been converted into a community center. The new site would have a greater diversity of unit sizes, in addition to keeping the same number of four- and five-bedroom units. The number of bedrooms will increase from 90 bedrooms to 138 bedrooms.

Regarding density, Bona said she wasn’t concerned about this proposal, but about potential future uses on that site. After the city rezones this property, the potential for the city to sell this site and build it to the maximum allowable density concerns her. Hall replied that HUD has a permanent restriction that the property must be used for affordable housing. Without HUD’s approval, “the city has zero authority to sell it,” she said. It’s as permanent as the federal government is, she said.

John Mouat added that given the site’s strange shape, topography and needs for stormwater management, it would be quite challenging to build the maximum allowable number of units. Bona noted that it would just entail adding additional floors to the buildings. She said she’s very supportive of adding new units throughout the AAHC, but just had concerns about this site.

Paras Parekh asked about the temporary displacement of current residents, and whether they’ll be given priority for the new units. Hall said AAHC can’t make people homeless – so alternative housing will be found for current residents. Residents will be offered Section 8 vouchers, which can be used to subsidize private sector housing costs. If someone can’t find a place or doesn’t want to use a voucher, there are other AAHC units that they can be moved into, she said. Current residents will get first choice in moving back into the new development, if they want. AAHC is required to cover all moving expenses, application fees and other costs so that residents aren’t burdened when they move.

Regarding a timeline, Hall said AAHC will be applying for financing (low-income housing tax credits) in October of 2014, and should find out by January 2015 whether they’ve been awarded the financing. If that happens, “the other pieces will fall into place,” she said, and construction will begin later that year.

Planning commissioner Paras Parekh.

Kirk Westphal asked where the nearest park is located. Veterans Memorial Park is about a block away, Hall said. She noted that Peace Neighborhood Center brings a bus to the site and takes kids to all kinds of after-school recreational activities.

Responding to a query from Westphal, Hall described the bike parking that will be on site. In talking with planning staff about installing Grade A bike parking (an enclosed, lockable shed), Halls said no one would use it. Residents don’t have high-end bikes, so the enclosures “would likely be used for something else,” she said. Hall added that she’s highly skeptical that residents will even use the bike hoops that are proposed.

Diane Giannola asked about the issue raised during the public hearing: Was the property being vacated for Seybold Drive a part of Scio Township? DiLeo replied that some of the nearby parcels are in Scio Township, but the pieces to be vacated are not, and don’t abut those township parcels. The housing commission owns both sides of the right-of-way that will be vacated, and AAHC will own the property after it’s vacated.

Westphal asked about the fencing on the west side of the site. Hall said the fences aren’t owned by AAHC – they were put up by owners of the adjacent residential properties. Because of the site’s grading and upkeep, it’s not feasible to install a fence on AAHC property, she said. They’ll be putting in a lot of trees and other landscaping along that property line, she said, and regulations state that a fence can’t touch any part of a tree.

She’d like to put in rose bushes or raspberries along that edge, because pricker bushes are an effective way to prevent people from cutting through property. For all their properties, they like to have as much barrier as possible – to prevent people who aren’t AAHC residents from coming in – without having it feel like a prison, she said.

Eleanore Adenekan asked about electrical outages in the neighborhood that are mentioned in the staff report. DiLeo reported that she lives in that neighborhood, and the area does seem to experience more power outages than other parts of the city. She thought it was because they have above-ground power lines and a lot of trees. She didn’t think it had anything to do with the AAHC site in particular.

Outcome: Commissioners unanimously recommended approval of rezoning, site plan, development agreement, and street vacation for the North Maple project. It will be forwarded to the city council for consideration.

State Street Village

A proposed 78-unit apartment project on South State Street was on the June 17 agenda.

Aerial view of State Street Village site.

Commissioners were asked to approve a site plan, development agreement and rezoning for the State Street Village, a $10 million project put forward by Ann Arbor-based McKinley Inc. at 2221-2223 S. State St. The plan calls for constructing two 4-story apartment buildings at the rear of the site, totaling 112,262 square feet, with 38 units each. Another 2,027 square foot building – for a leasing office with two apartments above it – would be built on the front of the parcel, on South State.

The front part of the site is currently a surface parking lot, and is zoned O (office). The rear parcel – 4.5 acres – is vacant, and zoned M1 (limited industrial). Commissioners were asked to recommend rezoning that parcel to O (office). Residential developments are permitted in office-zoned areas. [.pdf of staff report]

The development will include 114 parking spaces in the rear of the site and 13 spaces for the front. Another 22 spaces in the surface parking lot will be shared by the existing office building just south of the site.

In addition, 44 covered bicycle spaces and 8 enclosed bicycle spaces will be provided near the entrances of the apartment buildings and 2 hoops will be placed near the entrance of the rental office building.

Instead of making a $48,360 requested donation to the city for parks, McKinley has proposed two 8×10-foot grilling patios with picnic tables and grills.

According to the staff memo, the footing drains of 18 homes, or flow equivalent to 71.91 gallons per minute, will need to be disconnected from the city’s sanitary sewer system to mitigate flow from this proposed development.

City planner Alexis DiLeo said the staff inquired about whether this proposal could include affordable housing, and the developer is assessing the financial feasibility of that. Staff was recommending approval of the rezoning and site plan.

Only one person spoke during the public hearing: Eric Toumey, representing McKinley Inc. He said was there to answer any questions.

State Street Village: Commission Discussion

Paras Parekh confirmed with Eric Toumey that the primary use for the site would be residential. Parekh wondered if there would be a more appropriate zoning than O (office).

Eric Toumey, a representative for McKinley Inc.

Planning manager Wendy Rampson replied that office zoning provides the most flexible zoning district for mixed-use development. If it were zoned for residential, it would prevent any future office or other types of uses. So the master plan recommends office zoning, she said. It’s an area where the city hoped to encourage mixed use and residential development, where in the past it has been primarily industrial.

Rampson further elaborated that the office designation allows for the greatest flexibility for residential development, because it’s based on floor area rather than dwelling units per acre. It allows for a variety of different housing types.

Bonnie Bona noted that the State Street corridor plan was geared toward making the corridor more vital, more friendly for pedestrians, bicycles and public transit. Right now, it’s an auto-dominated corridor that struggles with traffic back-ups, she said. She said McKinley’s plan looks fairly conventional, with a big parking lot and a few bike hoops. She asked Toumey to describe aspects of the plan that make it consistent with the desire to make that corridor “more progressive and not just an auto-loaded corridor.”

Toumey replied that the traffic study they’d done indicated that the development would have minimal impact in terms of traffic on State Street. In addition, there will be 44 bike parking spaces. They’re also looking at the possibility of indoor bike parking, and Toumey noted that there’s a bus stop nearby on South State.

Bona observed that the stop for the southbound bus is on the opposite side of the street. She wondered where pedestrians would cross. City planner Alexis DiLeo replied that the nearest signal for crossing is south of the site, at Oakbrook Drive. Bona said this apartment project might help push the city and the Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority to make sure there’s adequate ways to cross. “What we don’t want is tenants darting across the street in the middle of busy traffic,” she said.

Regarding the housing costs, Bona wondered if the apartments were intended to be subsidized low-income units or market rate. The design makes the apartments look low-income, she said, because there are no balconies and the buildings are “fairly bland.” If they’re intended to be market rate, a lot more amenities could be added, she said.

Architect David Esau of Cornerstone Design.

Toumey replied that the apartments aren’t low-income, but the cost will depend on the type of financing they secure – low-income housing tax credits, or conventional financing. If they decide to offer affordable housing, it would be directed toward people with 60% of Ann Arbor’s area median income (AMI). For a dual-income household, 60% AMI is still fairly high, he said – about $80,000. People in that range might work at the nearby 777 Building, or Briarwood Mall, or nearby hotels, or the UM athletic department. The development will target mid-income individuals, he said.

Bona asked if they thought about enhancing the buildings. The windows seemed minimal, she said. Toumey said the first-floor windows needed to be slide windows for purposes of ADA requirements, and for design consistency they decided to use that type throughout the building. Regarding exterior materials and amenities, Toumey said he’s visited two competing properties within this submarket, and he thought this McKinley development would be superior to those.

Bona said the buildings have no residential scale or character. “They could be office buildings, except office buildings would probably have more windows,” she noted. There’s an opportunity to do something new and aggressive on South State, to get some residential units in that area. “I don’t want to blow that opportunity on something that’s mediocre at best,” Bona said. If they’re trying to keep the budget down in order to offer low-income housing, she could understand that. But even for people who earn 60% AMI, she thought they could afford “more than what this is looking like.”

Toumey said 60% AMI is about $80,000 for Washtenaw County, so it’s relatively high. He noted that from State Street, the only thing visible will be the rooftops of the buildings at the back of the site, because the grade is so steep. More superior materials will be used on the leasing office, which is visible from South State, so that it will be more attractive, he said. Bona replied that she’s not thinking of it from the perspective of someone driving by, but rather from the perspective of someone living there. State Street has great potential, she added, “and I’d just like to set the bar higher.” However, there’s nothing in the zoning that prevents this project as proposed, she added.

Diane Giannola pointed out that there’s very limited bus service on State Street – there are no weekend or late-night buses that service the corridor. Toumey said they’d consider trying to get better bus transportation there. Giannola encouraged Toumey to ask the AAATA about it.

Parekh asked if they’d considered putting in any office units. Toumey said McKinley owns an office building adjacent to this site. The State Street corridor plan calls for some integrated types of land uses, Toumey said. But it’s not suitable to have commercial space on the ground floor, he added, because “there isn’t the walkability factor on State Street.” They needed to have a leasing office there, Toumey said, noting that it might be considered commercial space.

Planning commissioner Wendy Woods.

Responding to a query from Wendy Woods, Toumey said their intent is not to market the apartments to university students. McKinley has high requirements on the lease applications, he added, and if a student meets that standard and potentially has a co-signer, they wouldn’t be opposed to it. But “from the long-term interior maintenance perspective,” he said, “we’d prefer to have families.” He said lease requirements include criminal background checks and restrictions on the type of dog that is allowed, among other things.

Woods thought that many UM students could meet those standards. She said she works with students, so she gets defensive on their behalf.

Woods also shared Bona’s concerns about the design of the buildings. “I just think your architects could be more artistic than that.”

Sabra Briere brought up the parking lot, saying that it’s a lot of impervious surface. Toumey replied that there are three bioswales on the site, in addition to the detention pond, to handle stormwater. Briere said she was confident that they met the requirements, but wished they could come up with a way to reduce the hard surface. She asked if they’d considered putting parking underneath the buildings. The McKinley representatives indicated that it would be costly to do that. The project’s architect, David Esau, explained that it would require an additional floor of structure to support the buildings above the parking. In addition, the building code limits this type of construction to four stories, so they’d lose a floor of apartments.

Briere thought it was a shame, but said she wasn’t blaming the developer. She knew they were meeting code – she just wished the city had a better way of dealing with these things. Esau said the site would be making a significant improvement compared to the existing stormwater management in the area.

Bona noted that the city code only requires 86 parking spaces for a development this size, yet the complex will have 127 spaces. In the past, the commission has considered having a maximum number of allowable spaces, she said, “because we’re headed in the wrong direction here.” To have cars sitting in a parking space 98% of the time “doesn’t make sense for society – period,” she said. The transit on State Street will only get better, especially because of the UM athletic campus. But as long as developers provide parking spaces, cars will be parked in them, she said.

The city needs to be stressing walking, bicycling and mass transit, Bona said, and every single individual doesn’t need their own car. McKinley should be providing 86 spaces – and 10 of those should be Zipcars, Bona said. State Street won’t become a new, vital corridor “if everyone’s driving in and out of that driveway in a car.”

“We’re putting our aspirations on you,” Bona said.

Kirk Westphal agreed, noting that the proposed development doesn’t reach the maximum allowable density for this parcel. But it meets code and overall is a step in the right direction toward meeting the city’s objectives for State Street, he said.

Outcome: With six of the nine commissioners present, the rezoning, site plan and development agreement were approved. Absent were Ken Clein and Eleanore Adenekan, who had left earlier in the meeting, and Jeremy Peters. The project will be forwarded to city council for consideration.

Jackson Avenue Drive-Thru

A proposal for a new drive-thru restaurant on Jackson Avenue – near the I-94 interchange – was the last item on the June 17 agenda, and was handled by commissioners near midnight.

Aerial view of 2625 Jackson Ave.

The commission was asked to recommend approval of a site plan for 2625 Jackson, on the southeast corner of Jackson and I-94, and just north of the Westgate Shopping Center. The plan calls for demolishing the existing one-story service station and auto repair shop and constructing a single building with a 1,820-square-foot drive-thru restaurant and 3,220-square-foot retail center. The gas pump islands and canopy will be removed. The total project would cost an estimated $400,000. [.pdf of staff memo]

The restaurant’s single lane drive-thru would primarily be accessed from a proposed curbcut on Jackson Ave., with an exit through the Westgate Shopping Center Jackson Ave. entrance. An existing curbcut off Jackson to the east would be closed. The new curbcut has been approved by the Michigan Dept. of Transportation, and would prevent left turns onto Jackson. The drive-thru lane provides stacking for up to four vehicles and would be screened to the north by the proposed building.

In a separate resolution, commissioners were asked to grant a special exception use for this project, which does not require additional city council approval. This is the first drive-thru proposal that’s come through the city’s approval process since the city council approved changes to the Chapter 55 zoning ordinance that regulates drive-thrus. That approval came at the council’s June 2, 2014 meeting.

The site is zoned C3 (fringe commercial district), which previously allowed drive-thrus without getting special permission from the planning commission. Now, such projects must meet the revised zoning standards and a special exception use is required. The new standards require that the drive-thru is not located between a public right-of-way and the main building, and that traffic circulation to enter and exit the facility does not interfere with general circulation on the site or with pedestrian circulation on and off the site.

No one spoke during the public hearing on this item.

Jackson Avenue Drive-Thru: Commission Discussion

Paras Parekh asked about the traffic study, noting that it’s busy in that area. City planner Alexis DiLeo said that staff agreed with the conclusions of the traffic report, which stated that customers would primarily be people who are already driving by the site. The drive-thru isn’t expected to bring new traffic that would cause greater back-ups. And because there would be a connection from the site into the Westgate Shopping Center, circulation is actually expected to improve, she said.

Jim Chaconas represented the owners of Westgate Shopping Center.

Responding to another query from Parekh, Jim Chaconas – representing Westgate Shopping Center – told commissioners that the drive-thru would likely be either a coffee shop or fast-food restaurant. They’re also talking to AT&T about a possible retail store.

Bonnie Bona said it looks like the service entrance for deliveries would be facing the Westgate entrance drive. Chaconas explained that deliveries would likely be made through Westgate Shopping Center – they don’t want delivery trucks going through the site’s driveway. The two tenants will be side-by-side on the site, he said, with both entrances facing the I-94 exit ramp.

The back of the building will face the Westgate driveway, but Chaconas said it would be “pretty” so that it doesn’t look like a back door.

Regarding the special exception use, Kirk Westphal asked staff if the orientation of this building enhances the pedestrian experience along Jackson. Alexis DiLeo said the building would be close to an existing sidewalk on Jackson, and the project would build a connecting sidewalk from there into the Westgate Shopping Center. The project appears to be convenient for both vehicles and pedestrians, she said.

Outcome: Both votes were unanimous for approval, coming shortly after midnight with six of the nine commissioners present. Special exception use approval requires six votes. Eleanore Adenekan and Ken Clein had left earlier in the meeting, and Jeremy Peters was absent.

Communications & Commentary

Every meeting includes several opportunities for communications from planning staff and commissioners. No one spoke during the two opportunities for general public commentary. Here are other highlights from June 17.

Communications & Commentary: City Council Update

Sabra Briere, the city council’s representative on the planning commission, gave an update on planning-related action taken at the council’s June 16, 2014 meeting. She noted that the council had taken an initial vote to rezone 425 S. Main – a parcel between William and Packard – from D1 to D2. It will require a final vote at a later meeting. In a related vote, the council gave initial approval to a change in the Main Street character overlay district, where 425 S. Main is located. One major amendment was made on the floor, she noted. The planning commission’s had recommended a 100-foot height limit for D2 parcels in the Main Street character overlay district, but council amended it to 60 feet.

City planning manager Wendy Rampson.

The city staff has been asked to work on revising this change to the character overlay district to reflect the lower building height. Briere said her understanding is that the council doesn’t intend to take up these items for a final vote until the beginning of September.

Saying she’d watched the council meeting, Diane Giannola said that clearly most of the councilmembers didn’t have an understanding of floor-area ratio (FAR) in relation to building mass. It would be nice, she added, if someone could explain to them exactly what the planning commission had intended with its recommendations, including the 100-foot height limit. “I think they overlooked a very good compromise,” she said.

Briere replied that it’s her intent to bring Legos to the next council meeting. When others at the meeting laughed, Briere noted that although some people might find it humorous, she has found that Legos are an excellent teaching tool.

Giannola pointed out that the council had amended the resolution before councilmembers even considered the 100-foot height limit. So when it comes before council again, the resolution will include the amended height limit of 60 feet – and the public won’t know that the planning commission had recommended an alternative approach, Giannola said.

Briere replied: “That’s what an amendment does.” She added that one councilmember has requested a 3-D rendering of all the options, which staff will provide.

Present: Eleanore Adenekan, Bonnie Bona, Sabra Briere, Ken Clein, Diane Giannola, Paras Parekh, Kirk Westphal, Wendy Woods. Also: City planning manager Wendy Rampson.

Absent: Jeremy Peters.

Next meeting: Tuesday, July 1, 2014 at 7 p.m. in council chambers at city hall, 301 E. Huron. [Check Chronicle event listings to confirm date]

The Chronicle survives in part through regular voluntary subscriptions to support our coverage of publicly-funded entities like the city’s planning commission. If you’re already supporting The Chronicle, please encourage your friends, neighbors and coworkers to do the same. Click this link for details: Subscribe to The Chronicle.

Aerial view of 2625 Jackson Ave.

The commission recommended approval of a site plan for 2625 Jackson, on the southeast corner of Jackson and I-94, and just north of the Westgate Shopping Center. The plan calls for demolishing the existing one-story service station and auto repair shop and constructing a single building with a 1,820-square-foot drive-thru restaurant and 3,220-square-foot retail center. The gas pump islands and canopy will be removed. The total project would cost an estimated $400,000. [.pdf of staff memo]

The restaurant’s single lane drive-thru would primarily be accessed from a proposed curbcut on Jackson Ave., with an exit through the Westgate Shopping Center Jackson Ave. entrance. An existing curbcut off Jackson to the east would be closed. The new curbcut has been approved by the Michigan Dept. of Transportation, and would prevent left turns onto Jackson. The drive-thru lane provides stacking for up to four vehicles and would be screened to the north by the proposed building.

The site plan will be forwarded to city council for consideration.

In a separate vote, commissioners granted a special exception use for this project, which does not require additional city council approval. This is the first drive-thru proposal that’s come through the city’s approval process since the city council approved changes to the Chapter 55 zoning ordinance that regulates drive-thrus. That approval came at the council’s June 2, 2014 meeting.

The site is zoned C3 (fringe commercial district), which previously allowed drive-thrus without getting special permission from the planning commission. Now, such projects must meet the revised zoning standards and a special exception use is required. The new standards require that the drive-thru is not located between a public right-of-way and the main building, and that traffic circulation to enter and exit the facility does not interfere with general circulation on the site or with pedestrian circulation on and off the site.

Jim Chaconas, representing Westgate Shopping Center, told commissioners that the drive-thru would likely be either a coffee shop or fast-food restaurant.

The votes were unanimous, coming shortly after midnight with six of the nine commissioners present. Special exception use approval require six votes.

This brief was filed from the second-floor council chambers at city hall. A more detailed report will follow: [link]