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- AFFORDABLE HOUSING
As part of the NWS mission (and the Ann Arbor Alliance), we are developing our own ideas for the future of Ann Arbor to make it a city welcoming to students, to young professionals, and to the working class -- to anyone who wants to participate in the Ann Arbor community. To this end, Murph has started a discussion on ways to help make residency and real estate in Ann Arbor more affordable. Please read the network of discussions he has begun.
Current Issues:
- DDA THREE SITE PLAN
SUMMARY
The city asked the DDA to come up with specific recommendations for three city-owned properties in the downtown area, parcels at First and William, First and Washington, and the Kline Lot on S. Ashley. The DDA made its recommendations in March, opening the recommendations up for public comment.
Recommendations (in summary):
- Consolidate parking from 2 surface lots and a dilapidated parking structure into one new structure.
- Improve the Allen Creek drain and clean up contaminated soil.
- Sell two lots to developers for mixed use developments including affordable housing.
- Include a park on the structure site as a public amenity.
The Friends of the Ann Arbor Greenway
and a few related groups instead advocated using all 3 sites for parks
and a greenway along the Ann Arbor Railroad line. Councilmember
Chris Easthope (D-5th Ward), along with Councilmember Robert Johnson
(D-1st Ward) proposed a resolution that would have ended all public
consideration of the DDA plan and made the sites parks. City
Council rejected that recommendation and now the public process is
underway.
STATUS
June
13th will be an important public hearing on the Three Site Plan and the
greenway idea. Starting at 7pm in the City Council chambers (City
Hall), several speakers will talk for the first hour about the pros and
cons of the differing visions. From 8-11pm, public comment will
be taken and if more people want to talk the hearing will be picked up
again the next night.
WHAT TO DO
Go
to the June 13 public hearing and comment in favor of the DDA Three
Site Plan. Get your friends to do so. Mention the New West
Side. Oppose the greenway plan.
1. There are already
PLENTY of parks in Ann Arbor, including the Arboretum and along the
Huron River. Not every square mile of the city needs a major park
(and particularly not the downtown). See the City of Ann Arbor's Parks page for information on the city's parks.
2.
Ann Arbor NEEDS more affordable housing and more housing, period.
While the county anticipates a population increase of 27% between 2000
and 2020, Ann Arbor is only slated to increase by 1900 people because
opportunities for development are so limited (zoning and a general
anti-development atmosphere). Additionally, most land and
buildings are too expensive for an affordable development on their
sites. Finally, while some may enjoy seeing large, empty parks
within downtown, the greenway plan does nothing for affordability.
3.
Surface lots are a terrible use of space in an expensive and
land-strapped city like Ann Arbor. Mixed use development is a
sensible way to increase density and contribute to downtown
vitality. While we must continue to pursue non-motorized
transportation, we must also make parking rational and accessible in
order to support businesses already in Ann Arbor.
4. There are
prohibitive obstacles to the greenway plan: a functioning railroad is
no place for children, pets, and adults to be walking. A greenway
beside the railroad (on the RR's right of way) would be so narrow that
it would not offer any of the psychological or physical benefits the
pro-greenway crowd is pushing, and in some places there may not even be
room at all. [Walk along the railroad yourself at a safe time to
observe and confirm this. Please keep in mind that this is a
potentially dangerous, operating line and beware of trains.]
Email City Council if you are unable to attend the public hearing and offer your comments in that way.
Online discussions for background: Arbor Update 1, AU 2, AU 3, AU 4, AU 5, AU 6; Ann Arbor is Overrated discussions.
- SLUMLORD BILL
The most pressing issue at the state level is House Bill #4437,
the Slumlord Bill, introduced by Christopher Ward (R-Brighton),
majority leader of the house.
SUMMARY
This
bill will loosen inspection requirements for apartments and rental
units. Where currently apartments are required to be inspected
every two years in Ann Arbor, this bill will make a statewide
requirement that inspections happen at most every three years, and only
be required every five years (with no option for better local
standards), unless a complaint is made. Those who live in
apartments and rent houses recognize the need for better controls and
municipal oversight of our housing units. This bill, if it
becomes law, will apply to cities of 100,000 residents or more, and
villages of 10,000 or more. It includes a provision to include
area 2.5 miles outside the city limits -- all of a metropolitan area,
generally.
This bill is supported by a wide range of property management lobbying groups. The Michigan Municipal League and the Michigan Townships Association have come out against this bill.
STATUS
House Bill
4473 was sent from committee to the full House on 5-26-05, where it is
now awaiting a second reading and may soon be voted upon. Rep.
Ward's office has developed a "work group" to try to get a consensus
among the competing factions, but can very quickly put this up for a
third reading and a vote, particularly since he is the majority leader.
Read the text of the bill here and a non-partisan summary and analysis of the bill here.
WHAT TO DO
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR
Ann Arbor's state representative is Chris Kolb. His email is chriskolb@house.mi.gov. His office # is (517) 373-2577.
Kolb's office acknowledged that, because of his appropriations
commitments, he does not yet have a position on this bill. The
Democratic caucus is not taking a position on this bill. It is up
to you to lobby Rep. Kolb or your hometown representative now
before positions are staked out.
Ann Arbor's state senator is Liz Brater. Her email is SenLBrater@senate.michigan.gov. Her office # is (517) 373-2406.
Click the links to find other representatives or senators.
Please contact your representative (most important) or senator and tell
them that you dislike this bill and oppose it because:
1.
College students who rent often have problems with infestation,
structural problems, heating/cooling and ventilation problems, and
other housing code violations under current, more stringent law. This change will only make things worse.
2. It loosens protections for the poor and is clearly anti-city in nature.
3. It clearly favors property owners who lease to a disempowered clientele and have no vested interest in the quality of their property. Slumlords will find the greatest benefit from this bill at the expense of uninformed tenants.
4. Regulation of housing should be a local issue, not one where the state mandates to cities what is best for their citizens.
5. This bill will gut city housing departments so thoroughly (hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue in some cases) that cities will be unable even to handle complaint-initiated inspections or those for regular violators.
Pass this information on to your friends and neighbors and let us know you are working in our shared interests.
Contact us:
New West Side Association
106 W. Madison
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
(734) 717-6384
director[at]newwestside.org
Please
note that this Web page employs material from the public domain.
Any similarity between this Web page and others is for the purposes of
political commentary.