Final approval has been given for the rezoning of land that’s been donated to the city by developer Bill Martin, founder of First Martin Corp. The 2.2-acre parcel at 3301 Traverwood Drive is being added to the adjacent Stapp Nature Area, near the Leslie Park golf course.
Land donated by Bill Martin to the city of Ann Arbor indicated in red … [Full Story]
Editor’s note: This “Live Updates” coverage of the Ann Arbor city council’s May 5, 2014 meeting includes all the material from an earlier preview article published last week. The intent is to facilitate easier navigation from the live updates section to background material already in this file.
The Ann Arbor city council’s voting agenda for its May 5, 2014 meeting is relatively light, but features some significant public hearings and a potentially controversial contract related to footing drain disconnections.
The sign on the door to the Ann Arbor city council chamber, installed in the summer of 2013, includes Braille.
One public hearing will be held on the FY 2015 budget. The 2015 fiscal year starts on July 1, 2014. City administrator Steve Powers presented his proposed budget to the council at its previous meeting, on April 21. The council will take up possible amendments and vote on the adoption of the budget at its following meeting, on May 19.
Separate budget-related public hearings on May 5 will be held on fee increases in the community services area and the public services area. Notable is the proposed increase in the fees for stalls at the farmers market. The annual fee for one stall will increase from $300 to $450.
A significant voting item on the agenda is a roughly $750,000 contract with CDM Smith Inc. for continued work in connection with the city’s footing drain disconnection (FDD) program. In 2012, the city’s program to disconnect footing drains from the sanitary sewer system was suspended by the council in some areas of the city. It has continued in other geographic areas and as part of the city’s developer offset mitigation program, which requires owners of new developments to complete a certain number of FDDs. The purpose is to offset the additional flow in the sanitary system caused by new construction.
The CDM contract could draw scrutiny, because the city is currently undertaking a sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation (SSWWE) study. It’s supposed to yield a recommendation about whether to continue with the FDD program, and if so, in what form. In addition, the city’s ordinance, which requires property owners to undertake FDDs, was challenged in a lawsuit filed earlier this year. That case is pending as the city has removed the case from state to federal court and the plaintiffs are seeking to remand it back to state court. A hearing is scheduled for May 28 on the question of remand.
Also on the agenda are two contracts for general construction inspection work, each for $100,000, with Stantec Inc. and Perimeter Inc.
Three parks will be getting upgrades to play equipment if the council approves a contract with Game Time c/o Sinclair Recreation for $132,000. Arbor Oaks Park and Scheffler Park will have their play structures replaced, and North Main Park will be getting a tire swing and chess table.
Mowing and snow clearance in city parks in the future be handled with two mower/snow-broom combination units, if the council approves the purchase from Spartan Distributors for $101,000.
Three land-use items that were recommended for action by the city planning commission appear on the council’s May 5 agenda.
First, the council will consider giving initial approval to a change in the city’s zoning ordinance related to drive-thrus. In addition to providing a definition, the ordinance revision would require drive-thrus to obtain special exception use permits, which would be allowed only in the O (office), C2B (business service) and C3 (fringe commercial) zoning districts. Drive-thrus would not be allowed in the C1, D1, D2, and other commercial districts. Currently, drive-thrus are allowed in C3 districts without a special exception use. They are allowed as special exception uses in the C2B district.
Second, the council will consider giving initial approval to a rezoning request and area plan for 515 Oxford, to convert a house for use as an annex to the Delta Gamma sorority. The main sorority house is located nearby at 626 Oxford. The request, supported by the city’s planning staff, is to rezone the parcel from R4A (multi-family dwelling) to R2B (two-family dwelling and student housing). The building is notable because it was originally designed in 1940 by architect George Brigham, who used it as his home and architectural studio.
And third, the council will consider final approval for the rezoning of land that’s been donated to the city by developer Bill Martin, founder of First Martin Corp. The 2.2-acre parcel at 3301 Traverwood Drive is being added to the adjacent Stapp Nature Area, near the Leslie Park golf course.
Sidewalks are again on the agenda in the form of a public hearing on the proposed Newport Road special assessment, which is supposed to help fund a stretch of sidewalk north of Wines Elementary School. And the council will consider the acceptance of an easement for a sidewalk at 2300 Traverwood Drive.
The council will also consider a routine item this time of year – transferring delinquent water utility, board-up, clean-up, vacant property inspection, housing inspection fees, and fire inspection invoices to the city tax roll for July 2014. The council will also be asked to approve the denial of claims against the city by the board of insurance administration.
Management of the deer population will receive some attention in the form a resolution on the May 5 agenda that directs the city administrator to partner with other organizations to develop strategies for deer management. The administrator will be asked to report back to the city council by July 31, 2014 on the status of the partnership, including budget and timelines. The resolution, put forward by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), states that the desired outcome is a community-endorsed deer management plan.
Appointments to the city’s environmental commission (EC) are on the May 5 agenda, having been postponed at the council’s April 21 meeting. All three that appeared on the April 21 agenda were reappointments for currently serving members of the EC: Kirk Westphal, David Stead, and Susan Hutton. However, the intention at the May 5 meeting is to substitute the original resolution with one that does not include Stead. In addition, a separate item has been added, after initial publication of the agenda, to nominate and appoint Katherine Hollins to the EC.
Street closings on the agenda include: East Washington for the Ann Arbor Book Festival on June 21; East Liberty for Sonic Lunch on Aug. 21; and several neighborhood streets for the 2014 Glacier Area Homeowners Association Annual Memorial Day Parade on May 26.
An item added to the agenda on May 2 is a resolution that would remove any reference to felony convictions on city job applications.
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.
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. [Full Story]
The Ann Arbor city council’s voting agenda for its May 5, 2014 meeting is relatively light, but features some significant public hearings and a potentially controversial contract related to footing drain disconnections.
Screenshot of Legistar – the city of Ann Arbor’s online agenda management system. Image links to the May 5, 2014 meeting agenda.
One public hearing will be held on the FY 2015 budget. The 2015 fiscal year starts on July 1, 2014. City administrator Steve Powers presented his proposed budget to the council at its previous meeting, on April 21. The council will take up possible amendments and vote on the adoption of the budget at its following meeting, on May 19.
A separate budget-related public hearing on May 5 will be held on fee increases in the community services area. Notable is the proposed increase in the fees for stalls at the farmers market. The annual fee for one stall will increase from $300 to $450.
A significant voting item on the agenda is a roughly $750,000 contract with CDM Smith Inc. for continued work in connection with the city’s footing drain disconnection (FDD) program. In 2012, the city’s program to disconnect footing drains from the sanitary sewer system was suspended by the council in some areas of the city. It has continued in other geographic areas and as part of the city’s developer offset mitigation program, which requires owners of new developments to complete a certain number of FDDs. The purpose is to offset the additional flow in the sanitary system caused by new construction.
The CDM contract could draw scrutiny, because the city is currently undertaking a sanitary sewer wet weather evaluation (SSWWE) study. It’s supposed to yield a recommendation about whether to continue with the FDD program, and if so, in what form. In addition, the city’s ordinance, which requires property owners to undertake FDDs, was challenged in a lawsuit filed earlier this year. That case is pending as the city has removed the case from state to federal court and the plaintiffs are seeking to remand it back to state court. A hearing is scheduled for May 28 on the question of remand.
Also on the agenda are two contracts for general construction inspection work, each for $100,000, with Stantec Inc. and Perimeter Inc.
Three parks will be getting upgrades to play equipment if the council approves a contract with Game Time c/o Sinclair Recreation for $132,000. Arbor Oaks Park and Scheffler Park will have their play structures replaced, and North Main Park will be getting a tire swing and chess table.
Mowing and snow clearance in city parks in the future be handled with two mower/snow-broom combination units, if the council approves the purchase from Spartan Distributors for $101,000.
Three land-use items that were recommended for action by the city planning commission appear on the council’s May 5 agenda.
First, the council will consider giving initial approval to a change in the city’s zoning ordinance related to drive-thrus. In addition to providing a definition, the ordinance revision would require drive-thrus to obtain special exception use permits, which would be allowed only in the O (office), C2B (business service) and C3 (fringe commercial) zoning districts. Drive-thrus would not be allowed in the C1, D1, D2, and other commercial districts. Currently, drive-thrus are allowed in C3 districts without a special exception use. They are allowed as special exception uses in the C2B district.
Second, the council will consider giving initial approval to a rezoning request and area plan for 515 Oxford, to convert a house for use as an annex to the Delta Gamma sorority. The main sorority house is located nearby at 626 Oxford. The request, supported by the city’s planning staff, is to rezone the parcel from R4A (multi-family dwelling) to R2B (two-family dwelling and student housing).
And third, the council will consider final approval for the rezoning of land that’s been donated to the city by developer Bill Martin, founder of First Martin Corp. The 2.2-acre parcel at 3301 Traverwood Drive is being added to the adjacent Stapp Nature Area, near the Leslie Park golf course.
Sidewalks are again on the agenda in the form of a public hearing on the proposed Newport Road special assessment, which is supposed to help fund a stretch of sidewalk north of Wines Elementary School. And the council will consider the acceptance of an easement for a sidewalk at 2300 Traverwood Drive.
The council will also consider a routine item this time of year – transferring delinquent water utility, board-up, clean-up, vacant property inspection, housing inspection fees, and fire inspection invoices to the city tax roll for July 2014. The council will also be asked to approve the denial of claims against the city by the board of insurance administration.
Management of the deer population will receive some attention in the form a resolution on the May 5 agenda that directs the city administrator to partner with other organizations to develop strategies for deer management. The administrator will be asked to report back to the city council by July 31, 2014 on the status of the partnership, including budget and timelines. The resolution, put forward by Jane Lumm (Ward 2), states that the desired outcome is a community-endorsed deer management plan.
Appointments to the city’s environmental commission (EC) are on the May 5 agenda, having been postponed at the council’s April 21 meeting. All three that appeared on the April 21 agenda were re-appointments for currently serving members of the EC: Kirk Westphal, David Stead, and Susan Hutton. However, the intention at the May 5 meeting is to substitute the original resolution with one that does not include Stead.
Street closings on the agenda include: East Washington for the Ann Arbor Book Festival on June 21; East Liberty for Sonic Lunch on Aug. 21; and several neighborhood streets for the 2014 Glacier Area Homeowners Association Annual Memorial Day Parade on May 26.
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. [Full Story]
Ann Arbor planning commission meeting (Feb. 20, 2014): Wrapping up a process that began last year, planning commissioners voted to revise their bylaws related to two issues: how city councilmembers interact with the commission; and public hearings.
From left: Ann Arbor planning commissioners Eleanore Adenekan, Diane Giannola and Bonnie Bona. (Photos by the writer.)
Commissioners had debated the proposed revisions at a Feb. 4, 2014 working session. Some of the same issues were raised during the Feb. 20 discussion, which was relatively brief.
One revision clarifies the limitations on a city councilmember’s interaction with the commission. The revised section states: “A member of the City Council shall not be heard before the Commission during the Councilmember’s term in office.” The intent is to prevent undue influence on the commission, and to avoid the possibility of legal action against the city.
Other revisions affect speaking turns at public hearings. The intent is to clarify how many turns the same person can speak at a public hearing, and how public hearings are continued if an item is postponed.
In other action, commissioners recommended rezoning a parcel on the city’s north side to public land (PL). The 2.2-acre site at 3301 Traverwood Drive, donated to the city by developer Bill Martin, is being added to the adjacent Stapp Nature Area, near the Leslie Park golf course. It was originally zoned R4D (multi-family dwelling) and had been part of a larger site that’s being developed with an apartment complex.
During communications, Kirk Westphal reported on a project that the environmental commission is working on: a neighborhood mini-grant program. Volunteers would coordinate a competitive grant program for community groups, who could apply to fund projects that address one of the city’s goals in its sustainability framework. That’s in the planning stages, he said.
Westphal also distributed a copy of a resolution recently passed by the city’s energy commission. It supports a recommendation to hire a full-time employee to focus on projects that help achieve goals in the city’s climate action plan. Westphal indicated that the planning commission’s executive committee would be discussing it. The energy commission would like a supporting resolution from the planning commission.
Commissioners also heard from two Skyline High School students, who spoke during public commentary as part of a class assignment. They talked about the importance of the Huron River and of the Huron River Watershed Council‘s River Up project. The planning commission’s work plan includes looking at how to implement recommendations from city’s North Main Huron River corridor task force. [Full Story]
Land that’s been donated to the city by developer Bill Martin is in the process of being rezoned as public land, following action at the Feb. 20, 2014 meeting of the Ann Arbor planning commission. The 2.2-acre parcel is being added to the adjacent Stapp Nature Area, near the Leslie Park golf course.
Land donated by Bill Martin to the city of Ann Arbor indicated in red outline, south of Stapp Nature Area.
Based on advice … [Full Story]
A First Martin Corp. project, which would construct a complex of 16 two-story buildings on the west side of Traverwood Drive, north of Plymouth Road, has received initial approval for a required rezoning. The development is called Traverwood Apartments. A donation of 2.2 acres, just north of the project site, by Bill Martin to the city, has also been accepted.
Action came at the city council’s Dec. 2, 2013 meeting. The donated acreage is next to the Stapp Nature Area and the Leslie Park golf course.
The proposed Traverwood Apartments – a complex of 16 two-story buildings on the west side of Traverwood Drive, north of Plymouth Road – took another step forward in the city’s approval process following action at the Nov. 6, 2013 meeting of the Ann Arbor planning commission. Commissioners recommended approval of the site plan, development agreement, rezoning and wetland use permit.
Aerial view of proposed Traverwood Apartments at 2225 Traverwood Drive, north of Plymouth Road.
The project is being developed by Ann Arbor-based First Martin Corp. Action had been postponed at the commission’s Sept. 17, 2013 meeting due to outstanding issues related … [Full Story]
