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You have up to three minutes to address the planning commission. Go ahead. My name is Kathy Boris. I live at 1726 Charlton in the fifth ward. Let's quickly review our recent city planning history. Several years ago, a l a loosening of ADU restrictions was proposed to help relieve the housing crunch in Ann Arbor. Public push back against this proposed change centered on the lack of notification of what was effectively a sweeping residential resoning which allowed two homes to be built on lots where formerly only one home was allowed. Ultimately few new ADUs were built probably due to the high cost of construction. Then a few years later, transit corridors were proposed called TC1s. This was upzoning along some of the city's main bus routes. This plan included high-rise buildings with various height limits. The plan is in place now, and the Brierwood redevelopment is part of it.
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They're doing a great job. All right. Thank you, Mr. Callahan. Mr. Prio, [Music] thank you. Uh, I agree with my fellow board members. Uh, this is a very unfortunate situation. I'm a newer board member, but I'm here because I want to help the community and give back and do what I can to make it better. We're going to need to fight. When RAFT comes in, for example, we got to fix the storm water problems there now and the traffic. So, I will be focusing hard on that to make sure whatever comes in, we're going to do our best to make it better. The redevelopment plan on Higgins, the overlay zone on 71, those are concerns. We got to make sure if we're going to do those things, we got to do them right. So, it beautifies our community, even if we're stuck with this obligation.
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Public resistance to the plan as a whole centered around the fact that it does not require developers to contribute to affordable housing, green space, or infrastructure beyond the usual minimal city requirements. One or two city council members introduced an amendment to require more from developers, but the amendment was voted down by the rest of city council. Meanwhile, the university continued to increase enrollment and some landlords and developers discovered the high profits of short-term rentals. Both of these trends added to the shortage of housing in Ann Arbor of of um long-term housing in Ann Arbor. Presently, the draft for a new comprehensive plan is before us. Its most salient feature is that it eliminates single and duplex residential districts called R1 and R2 and replaces them with a new low-rise residential zone. The resistance from the public again centers around the city's failure to inform and include the public.
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So, thank you all for coming out. I will do my best as will my fellow board members to make this unfortunate situation as best as we can moving forward. Thank you, Mr. P. Mr. Luben. Thank you. So, I think the word is this sucks. Um, and I'll probably see some t-shirts around town that have that. Uh, where's the gentleman over there who um talks about the bikes on Schoolhouse Road? I live at the bottom of schoolhouse road. I have two young girls in school here who just learned to ride their bikes. I ride with them every single night. I walk them to school and hug Miss Terry every morning on the corner. I do go to Wrath when I was better shape. I can get up the hill. But I've seen that area too. I'm also a business owner here. I'm a litigator. Just opened up a law office on 71.
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The draft itself suffers from general fuzziness and some glaring omissions. For instance, it should describe as accurately as possible the effects that the dense land use recommended could have on our infrastructure and how much it would cost to make sure that infrastructure could efficiently serve all residents. Also, for a city comprised mostly of climate change believers, there should be some information regarding how the densification proposed might affect the likelihood of flooding in our town. Most significantly, the draft proposes replacing the current natural features plan rather than incorporating it into the comprehensive plan. See page four of the draft. This particularly illconceived effort to streamline and simplify the comprehensive plan should be resisted at all costs because excuse me, the natural futures plan is the only document that we have that serves to protect our trees, wetlands. We're at time. I'm so sorry. Groundwater. I'm sorry.
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Um this I've only been on the planning board a little bit. This is a hand we're dealt and it stinks and you have to choose your own destiny or gets chosen for you. But as um was just mentioned, we'll do everything to make sure when it does come to site plans and everything else that everything is taken care of, everything's done the right way, the town is protected, and you know, I would want it to be as it is the day I moved in, but you got to face reality. And reality is right now we're being stuck with the law shoved down our throats. And if we don't take action and we look forward, not backwards, something worse is going to come. So I echo everyone's feelings and I wish my kids could grow up in Braille the way it was when we moved here 8 years ago, but it's going to be a little different, but hopefully it'll be better than uh better than it is if we don't choose.
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We're at Thank you so much for your comment. I'm sorry. Ashley Duke, you have up to three minutes to address the planning commission. Go ahead. Hi. Um, I just wanted to say, um, my name is Ashley and I am hopefully a soontobe homeowner of 235 South Wagner Road. Um, I came across the Ann Arbor Community Land Trust nonprofit organization on Zillow. Um, this nonprofit allows the opportunity for county employees to live much closer to where we work. Currently, the high cost of living in Ann Arbor makes it challenging for any middle class individuals or families to find housing. Opportunities like the A2 CLT would open the door for teachers, nurses, first responders, and etc. to fully participate in the community um they help support. I think affordable housing is a critical resource that can dramatically help people offering stability, security, and opportunities um for individuals and their family.
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Thank you. Um I want to thank everybody who's here for coming out um and for coming to the meetings um really in in force. It is um encouraging to see how many people care about Bel as much as those of us who spend time volunteering for the the town up here care about it. We we care about this town so much. Um I've for those of you who don't know me, I've been um volunteering for this planning board since 2018 and I became the chair in 2020 during co um we had our meetings on Zoom. Um and um and it feels a little bit like that again tonight. It's because we are streaming this on YouTube. I want to thank you guys, everybody here for um your civility as well. This is a difficult situation. Um, everyone here has been um, expressing their opposition or their feelings and their questions with great respect for the process and for those of us who are volunteering and I really uh, have to tell you I appreciate that because it is difficult to sit up here when we are faced with such difficult circumstances.
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It's extremely hard to afford buying a new home as a first-time home buyer um with my salary as a government employee. Um I think the Ann Arbor Community Land Trust um organization can benefit the city in many ways like workforce stability and reduced turnover rate, reduced commute times in which benefits the environment, economic development and educational and community engagement. Um I'm excited to get established and love to be a part of this commu uh amazing community. However, right now that we are getting timelines that it is going to take 18 to 24 months for these approvals um to begin building. So, we're kindly asking for an expedited process for these approvals. Not only will this expedited process help the ones who are currently ready to start building their homes, but the sooner we are able to get started, the sooner we can give this same opportunity to others.
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Um, I first learned that there was um no affordable housing uh set aside that meets the town's or that meets the state's regulations in I think 2022 at the end of 2022. So, you can imagine how surprised I was when I learned that um we promptly while I was chair did try to take action in 2023. And I appreciate that Miss Loftton raised that during her comments because this board did take prompt action um and uh for reasons that are um primarily uh uh concerning litigation. Um I I don't want to talk more about that because I do really value um making sure that our town is in the best position that we can be in going forward in a very adversarial process. It is not just um you all who feel like this is adversarial. Those of us who are sitting here helping make the best decisions for this town that we care about, the best decisions for Bel, we feel like it's adversarial too because we have these lawsuits that we are helping to defend our town against and we are ensuring that the direction of the town is being maintained um in the best way that we can as everyone has mentioned under difficult circumstances.
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Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Caller with a phone number ending with 194, you can unmute and address the planning commission for up to 3 minutes. Hello. Go ahead. Hello, this is Rita. Hi, this is Rita Mitchell calling from 621 Fifth Street. Um I wanted to just touch base on an issue of section 4.1 of the draft plan uh in goal 4 which encourages walkable connected neighborhoods with access to basic needs and amenities which includes parks. And my concern is that there's a reference to underutilized parks um that could be potentially transformed into housing is what it reads like in this document. My concern is that if you already own the public land that is available for parks that is a park, why would you transform it into something else if that area needs a park? So, I'm I'm very concerned about losing some of the public benefit that we already have and I think we need to have specific guidelines if we're going to make those kinds of changes.
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And I do truly believe that the plan that we've put forward this evening um makes the best out of those difficult circumstances. Um I I don't want anyone to think that you haven't been heard. Um, we've, as you've heard tonight, we made very swift changes to this plan since we first presented it at the first information meeting because smart active members like of the public like you came out and gave great ideas. I think that the amount of change in this plan though is limited because we really do have very limited number of um I'll say options available because we do have very little land that's in Belle Burough's control. And so, um, I really want to commend Kendra Ley and Jeff Serenian for the great advice and guidance that they've provided to us and David Clark and Al Hilla, um, all of this time for providing us with the legal counsel and the engineering expertise that we really need to help guide our town forward.
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And I don't see any kind of guidelines identified for making a transition of the type that's that's implied in section 4.1. But I'd like you to consider that as you move forward. And um this would be one of the things to consider in a pause. Carefully look at the parkland. And what does that mean when someone says a park is either underutilized or of poor quality? both of which can be changed, especially if there's more dense housing nearby. Don't discount what we already have. Thank you. Thank you, [Music] Luis Vasquez.
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We are just volunteers, but I promise you, we volunteer with our whole hearts because we live here, too. And we want this town to be just as great as you all want this town to be. So um with that I want to just um encourage you all through this process to continue coming to our meetings to make sure that your voices are heard. We do listen to you. We want the input. Um I will talk to any of you any time really that you want. Um and um and I hope that you stay um um as active and um civil as you have been tonight. I want to thank you all. Sure. Go ahead, Mrs. Bristol. Uh, I just want to let you know that our applications are on the website. Was commented that they are not, but they are. Once we get the approval from our board engineer that an application is ready to be heard, it is all put on the website and if you go on the website and look under planning board, you will see the current applications.
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You have up to three minutes to address the planning commission. Uh, great. Thank you, Luis Vasquez, 909 Barton Drive in Upper Lower Town. Um, in regards to uh section five, I believe it it is what you are covering tonight. Um, I'm in favor of allowing uh high-rise buildings in the transition district when they're not immediately next to single family neighborhoods. Um, also in favor of allowing the same types of commercial opportunities throughout the transition district. Uh, and I I don't think there's a need for creating subd districts. Uh, this can create market distortions and complexities and delays in implementing the zoning later. Uh and also um to not please don't uh downzone multifamily neighborhoods by allowing them to be lumped into low-rise. Uh any new restrictions um in single family areas make this uh especially important. Uh and you know considering that um you know uh planning commission and uh city council have uh tried to make uh three stories the the limit.
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The maps, the application, and the engineering report are all shown on that. But I just wanted you to know that in case you were not aware that you do have that right to look at all of that. So with that then um are there is there any additional things um missile that you'd like to add? Yeah, we just there were a couple of changes um that were mentioned and I just want to read into the record the changes to the um housing element and fair share plan that I'm going to recommend that we that you make before you vote. Um page [Applause] 12 under the Mumford Homes project. The bottom bullet point or it says the site is developable. Uh it indicates there are no wetlands or category one streams. I'd like to amend that to say that there um are wetlands in the southwest corner.
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Um I live in a three-story house in uh the north side. Um, and uh gosh, um, if I wanted to split my lot today and build a fourstory, uh, unit um, in on the, uh, split off lot. I couldn't do that because of the current uh, zoning. I'm right next to a bus stop, an AAATA bus stop. this would make sense for um my wife and I to uh downsize uh into uh a new structure um and uh provide opportunities for others to live in my neighborhood. Um but I can't do that because of uh the zoning. And finally, I just wanted to point out some of the loaded emotional terminology I've heard used tonight, uh, such as blockbusting, um, uh, cutting down the tree canopy, uh, destroying our neighborhoods. Uh, you know, that's really a bunch of baloney. Um, so I, uh, I disregard it entirely.
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uh they are not being disturbed and the applica excuse me the developer will need to get a buffer averaging permit from New Jersey DP to disturb the wetlands buffer. Uh everything else remains the same. The next change would be on page 13 which is under the municipal building project. Uh, as was indicated by the gentleman that came up here, uh, instead of Union Avenue on the second line, it should say Union Lane. So, I'll be making that change. And then there is um, one other change at the bottom of page 20. This is under the fourth round unmet need. Um, the last sentence currently reads, "If however a court determines that the adjusted number is unmet need, the burrow is complying through the proposed Route, sorry, Route 71 overlay district." And the language that I would like to change it to is in any event, the burrow is addressing its unmet need through the Route 71 overlay district.
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Okay. Thank you for your time tonight. Um, I know you've got a lot of discussion before you. So, uh, thank you once again for all of your efforts. Thank you. No hands are raised at this time, Chair Lee. Okay, give it just a second. Okay, with that, we will close. Oh, a second. That's good. You gave it a second. Yeah, that that's why we give it a second. Caller with phone number ending with 710.
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Um, the other thing that I wanted to bring to the board's attention is that in the appendix, all of the or ordinances are draft and I will put a watermark on there that that says they were all draft. So, that will change in the appendix. And I believe that's it. All right. Mr. Cernian, do you have any other suggestions or um for amendment before I ask for a motion to approve? I don't. Just in spirit what Miss Ley just said. Uh should the board uh adopt this, there's a draft resolution the for the for the burrow to endorse. I I would that is just a draft. I would make that more enhanced to it doesn't change anything. They're just drafts. But it the whole the bottom line is we have to endorse and I would just add more language to the draft resolution. Okay. David, do you have anything before we go forward?
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