CITY OF ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN

Transcription

1 CITY OF ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 100 Nrth Fifth Avenue, P.O. Bx 8647, Ann Arbr, Michigan Administratin (734) Cmmunity Develpment Services (734) Parks & Recreatin Services (734) Planning & Develpment Services - Building (734) Cmmunity Services Area Planning & Develpment Services - Planning (734) Meeting Summary Date: Nvember 9, 2009 Time: 6:00 pm t 8:00 pm Lcatin: Cbblestne Farm, 2781 Packard St, Ann Arbr, MI Re: R2A/R4C Zning District Study Attendees (see attached sign-in sheets): Advisry Cmmittee Tny Derezinski, Jean Carlberg, Chuck Carver, Ilene Tyler, David Merchant, Wendy Carman, Carl Luckenbach, Ellen Ramb, Michele Derr, Julie Weatherbee, Nancy Leff, Ethel Ptts, Anya Dale General Public Lisa Jevens, Ray Detter, Bb Snyder, Ellen Ramsburgh, Andrea Van Huweling, Betsy Price, Aarn Miller City f Ann Arbr Matt Kwalski, Cnnie Pulcipher, Chelsea Burket (intern) Cmments and questins frm the Advisry Cmmittee: Nn-cnfrming lts The City is limited in what they can apprve with nn-cnfrming lts. The intent f zning rdinance is t limit nn-cnfrmities. They can t add units but can add bedrms. Need a better understanding f prs & cns f nn-cnfrming lts. What is the difference between nn-cnfrming lts vs. nn-cnfrming structures? There is an assumptin in the terminlgy that makes it seem as if what currently exists, in terms f regulating nn-cnfrming lts, is bad. But maybe there aren t t many If this summary des nt agree with yur recrds r understanding f this meeting please advise the City f Ann Arbr in writing within seven days f issuance; therwise, we will assume this dcument is

2 hps fr peple t g thrugh. The reasn that the rdinance has the hps is t prtect existing neighbrhds and t allw nly necessary changes. Peple wh have a financial interest in nt having t g thrugh hps spend a lt f time talking t the city and their interests are ver-represented. Zning Cde Prvisins What are the prvisins f the R4C/R2A zning and where are they n the grund? PUDs are an attempt t wrk arund zning that isn t wrking/ in line with tday s standards. Existing r prpsed PUDs shuld becme a precedent fr future changes t zning. Why can t we just rezne the R4C/R2A t be like it was befre the zning was changed in the 60s. What is the apprpriate size f lt/huse fr these districts? Averaging f frnt set-backs is apprpriate. Mst ld established neighbrhds cunt n certain setbacks. Particularly nerus in R4C because buildings will take ver the entire back-yard and reduce neighbr s privacy. Right nw n residential FAR, s yu can fill up entire setback with building. Parking can be lcated in rear setback. Culd we explre FAR as a means t address setback issues? Instead f averaging frnt-setback, culd we establish a range? Depends n neighbrhd. Range frm a lt f variance t cnsistency. What is the definitin f a duplex? It seems lse. There are instances f a dwelling with anther dwelling built behind it with a breezeway cnnecting them - in an R4C these duplexes culd have 12 students. Buildings that are being apprved d nt meet what Ethel is reading in the zning rdinance s far as the definitin f a duplex. Land use plan is in cnflict with zning. Areas recmmended fr dwn-zning... If this summary des nt agree with yur recrds r understanding f this meeting please advise the City f Ann Arbr in writing within seven days f issuance; therwise, we will assume this dcument is

3 Next phase is master plan update s these plans will be updated. Existing zning language is being clarified will verlap with master planning. Wuld be helpful t examine Land Use Plan and cmpare it t the current zning and land use. Lcatin f the zning apparently in the 60s znes were placed with the assumptin that apartments wuld surrund dwntwn, but single-families were already existing in that area. Nw the single families are being cnverted. Have we mislcated where R4C/R2A shuld be? Residential/ffice zneing, grup husing need mre inf abut the reference t these uses in the plan. Enfrcement Enfrcement f ccupancy, parking, and height requirements culd address sme f the issues that peple have with the 6-bedrm units. Enfrcement is a huge part f this. Yu can t maintain a minimal standard f living in terms f trash, leaves picked up, nise, parking, etc. Hmes rented t students are ver-ccupied, and this is nt enfrced. Parking We need creative ways f addressing parking nt mre parking, but different. If we culd limit the number f cars, wuld a lt f the prblems g away? Has the resident-nly parking situatin in Upper Burns Park been successful? They have t have a permit and nly a certain number f permits are allwed per huse. It helps in the day time t keep cmmuters ut, but nt in the evening. In sme neighbrhd there isn t enugh parking simply because f the nature f the streets. Sme peple may nt rent there because f lack f parking. If this summary des nt agree with yur recrds r understanding f this meeting please advise the City f Ann Arbr in writing within seven days f issuance; therwise, we will assume this dcument is

4 There are a lt f illegal parking lts that are nt meeting standards set in cde. They are legally parking lts because there s mre than 5 cars, but they re nt being enfrced as parking lts. Planning Cmmissin apprved sme large apartment cmplexes where they assumed that if parking isn t prvided then students wn t bring cars. We need creative slutins fr where students can stre their cars and we need t be prviding mre transit, zip car, etc. Prviding mre parking will nt slve the parking prblems. Perhaps yu shuldn t be allwed t leave yur car n the street between 2-6 a.m., like in East Lansing. Newer develpments are required by cde t prvide bicycle parking. Maybe it shuld be per bedrm versus unit. Hw d we incrprate infrmatin frm transprtatin plan? It will have t be cnsidered. Transprtatin peple are part f stakehlder grup. One f the majr reasns why we have this cnflict is because we went thrugh a lng perid f high ecnmic grwth and every student culd affrd t live in the city and have a car. Students lve living in huses ff campus. Sme f the issues being raised can t be helped because there are intangibles (the way children are raised, students can bring cars). Maybe we need a better jb f prviding mre services cnvenience stres, transit t discurage students frm bringing their cars. Students have higher expectatins nw. Are numbers and density the issue r is it the cars, back yard parking lts, etc.? Occupancy & General student/family cnflict Legally the definitin f a family allws 6 unrelated peple t live tgether. But R2A nly allws 4, s maybe R4C culd be reduced t 4. If this summary des nt agree with yur recrds r understanding f this meeting please advise the City f Ann Arbr in writing within seven days f issuance; therwise, we will assume this dcument is

5 Need clarificatin f ccupancy what is the definitin? Shuld we take anther lk at why we have allwed 4 unrelated individuals in sme districts and 6 in thers? Why shuld R4C allw mre peple than R2A? That culd slve a lt f the prblems. There was a Michigan Curt ruling that affected the way ccupancy culd be restricted and required certain grups t be allwed t live tgether. This ruling was nt dependent n the zning f multi-family r 2 family r even single family, but required challenged laws t be written t permit certain grups that wanted t live tgether as functinal families. The regulatins as they stand nw with 6 unrelated persns being allwed in R4C and 4 allwed in R2 and R1 were part f the changes that were passed t accmmdate that curt ruling. What is the ccupancy rate f places such as University Twers? What is the vacancy rate in the R4C/R2A znes? And why are they vacant? The residency thing is a big deal it isn t that it s 6 peple, it s that it s 6 students. I knw we can t discriminate based n age, but undergrads are hard t live arund. Cnversely, Avaln husing is easy t live next t. Multi-family husing Where we are nw, any srt f duplex is lked n a terrr because it culd be 6 bedrms/ nt designed fr multiple families but rather students. Is there a way f fashining zning t separate true multi-family frm student husing? Wuld it be a prblem if the density was families rather than students? Students and families have different behavir patterns. Design Many peple pint t an aging husing stck and n rm t mdernize r grw and the need fr prperty managers t be able t cnvert existing prperties int smething that If this summary des nt agree with yur recrds r understanding f this meeting please advise the City f Ann Arbr in writing within seven days f issuance; therwise, we will assume this dcument is

6 can easily be rented t students. But why d we need t allw fr them t be mdernized? Why can t they be mdernized frm the inside? Why d we need t mdernize huses t meet the demands f students? Apartment cmplexes are being built s that they can t switch between accmmdating a family and a grup f students. Can t discriminate against wh lives where but maybe designing a unit nly usable by a certain ppulatin (i.e. a 6-bedrm apartment) may be discriminatry. Shuld R2B be included in the study? Shuld design guidelines be established utside f central district. PUDs are taking away frm character f the neighbrhd. Nt all R4C/R2A zned huses are suitable fr 6 bedrms. Because f new university husing, a lt f the huses in R4C/R2A wuld return t single family if they weren t cnverted inside. Why shuldn t sme lts be cmbined t accmmdate ther types f high quality develpment. Design is an issue. Cst Ecnmics drives where peple live the reasn students live thrughut the city is because it s cst effective fr peple t buy the huses and rent them ut. Families are nt able t rent in many places because csts are t high. Realistically, the university is nt ging t build mre drms. Design is a huge issue, but s is the fact that it s the cheapest ptin t build the 6 bedrm. Can the market really bear that r is it just cheaper? New buildings may be cheaper t build, but are mre expensive t rent than ld huses. The cst f ther services that make the 6 bedrms the cheapest (e.g. sewer discnnects) need t be made relative t number f bedrms. General Student Husing Patterns If this summary des nt agree with yur recrds r understanding f this meeting please advise the City f Ann Arbr in writing within seven days f issuance; therwise, we will assume this dcument is

7 What sme twns have dne is t create an area fr student husing t keep them as clse t the university as pssible and build taller apt buildings. Peple wh want t live clse t dwntwn/near students may be pushed away. Everyne uses central campus. Smething wuld have t be displaced. Cncentratin creates the prblems that peple are upset abut. Many grad students enjy living in residential neighbrhds and that creates a lively mix. N student districts the ppulatins shuld be mre mixed. There s a richness t life arund central campus because the campus and cmmunity are integrated. Nrth Campus is like Siberia because it s islated. A lt f students dn t want t live in a high-rise with all students. Why d students live ut past Packard? It s price. But thse apartment buildings ut there als have smaller number f bedrms and mre f a living area a space that students wuld prefer. Als, amenities (grcery stres, Target) are ut there. In the past zning was made t cater t the whims f the university and the fact that they weren t building drms, but what part des the university play in this nw? All f the new university husing that is being built may crrect the issues identified in pints 12 and 13. Miscellaneus The terminlgy shuld be changed imprvements as used here refers t additins and additinal space many peple d nt see these as imprvements. If yu decrease density in ne area yu are pushing that grup int anther area. Be aware f trade-ffs and cnsequences f changing patterns. R4 nt being used as it was predicted t be used as a huse. We need t cnsider hw we respnd t requests fr demlitin. Dem is nly regulated within histric district, but shuld be expanded. Shuld R4C/R2A znes utside f the central area als be addressed in a different way? If this summary des nt agree with yur recrds r understanding f this meeting please advise the City f Ann Arbr in writing within seven days f issuance; therwise, we will assume this dcument is

8 D we knw what ther university twns are ding? Smene referenced a study in Nrth Burns Park area. Bulder is als implementing sme things we can lk int. If this summary des nt agree with yur recrds r understanding f this meeting please advise the City f Ann Arbr in writing within seven days f issuance; therwise, we will assume this dcument is