Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

Downtown Zoning Workshops, May 2 and 4

30. April 2007 • Juliew
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From a press release posted on the City’s web site sometime this week:

To implement the Calthorpe recommendations, the Ann Arbor City Council established the Ann Arbor Discovering Downtown (A2D2) initiative to pursue action on issues such as downtown parking, historic preservation, zoning, urban design and development processes.

One of the high priority A2D2 efforts is an overhaul of downtown zoning codes. Over the last six months, the Downtown Zoning Advisory Committee (DZAC) has been working with the A2D2 Steering Committee and city staff to identify changes to the zoning ordinance that:

  1. Create a dense, mixed use core area that is connected to adjacent neighborhoods
  2. Establish flexible land uses within the mixed use core area, allowing response to market cycles
  3. Build on the pedestrian scale of the downtown urban fabric
  4. Respect adjoining neighborhoods by decreasing new development intensity away from the core
  5. Provide a gradual frame for the transformation of vacant and underutilized properties
  6. Provide incentives for amenities including affordable housing, parks and open space, and ground-floor retail; and
  7. Work to lower the cost of downtown development

The DZAC has developed a preliminary set of zoning changes and is seeking input from the public in two upcoming workshops. Members of the public are encouraged to attend one of two workshops on these potential zoning changes:

  • Wednesday, May 2, 7 p.m., Conor O’Neill’s Celtic Room (318 South Main St.)
  • Friday, May 4 at noon, Downtown Development Authority Conference Room (150 S. Fifth Ave.)

The DZAC will use input from these workshops to develop its recommendations to City Council (scheduled to be presented in June 2007).