ANN ARBOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — A controversial land use plan passed by the Ann Arbor City Council just over a month ago is now gaining more traction as the city looks to address a growing housing shortage.
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However, as they look to open up more affordable options for living spaces and businesses, we're also hearing more concerns about infrastructure and preserving the rich history of the city.
Ann Arbor city leaders say they must address growth needs here in this community, and part of that could include a plan that would allow for some homes to be converted into duplexes and triplexes.
Inside The Little Seedling Shop in the heart of Ann Arbor, Owner Molly Ging invited me to see how much her business has grown after bold steps taken by the city to tackle zoning restrictions limiting growth.
“When they changed this corridor from the previous zoning to a TC-1 Zoning corridor, it allowed these spaces to open up to more uses. So, I was able to rent this space for not only storage, but also showroom space where I could run retail," Ging said.
Closer to Downtown Ann Arbor, the issue of affordability is driving a conversation about allowing for more expansion in a city with a mix of students, families and professionals of all ages.
“How big of an issue is housing that’s affordable here?" I asked.
"I think it’s a pretty big issue. I’m a student myself and also struggle to find affordable housing here," student Jeeo Daftary said.
I wanted to learn more about the city's new land use plan, passed by the council in mid-March, that outlines a vision for growth through the year 2050.
Three years in the making, with public input, its goals include addressing a gap for people earning too much money to receive assistance, but not enough to afford high rates for housing.
“Where currently are duplexes and triplexes not allowed, and could soon become allowed?” I asked the mayor.
“Throughout most of our residential areas, duplexes and triplexes are prohibited. Right now, that has real consequences for the type of homes people can buy," Mayor Chris Taylor said.
Along with expanding to allow more duplexes and triplexes, the mayor said, "These are areas where we are going to be able to have additional residential density in ways that we have never seen it before.
“In the downtown, there will be greater height. In the transit corridors, also some additional height we don’t have present. Right now, a bunch of one stories. Two stories. There will be more density there," Taylor added.
City Councilmember Jen Eyer tells me it's about keeping up with demand in a city increasing its population through more students at the University of Michigan and more jobs being filled on campus and beyond.
“70% of our residential land is zoned single-family only. The limited amount of new growth was just not able to keep up with demand," Eyer said. "Business owners are really excited about this. For a lot of reasons. It's going to open up opportunities for small businesses throughout the city. Where I live, in Southwest Ann Arbor in the Lawton neighborhood, it's not much we can walk to.”
Still, not everyone is on board. In fact, there have been a lot of concerns shared. Some I talked with bring up everything from traffic issues they fear would get worse, to the look of Ann Arbor becoming more uniform with new developments.
“I’m just worried about traffic here, especially on the main street. They would have to do a lot of reconfiguration of the stop lights. Things like that. Otherwise, it would be really hard with a big apartment complex going in," Chelsea Baker said.
“What sort of concerns do you have?" I asked.
"Just that they’re going to get rid of all the old homes. The historic homes, and just replace them with the same thing they have everywhere," Roland Richter added.
While leaders say addressing the housing shortage is crucial, this plan simply allows a foundation for further action to happen without mandating that detailed steps be taken immediately.
Everything from keeping trees down to the feel of the city remains a topic of discussion as Ann Arbor's future continues to take shape.
City leaders say they plan to take in a lot more input from the public, as they meet to discuss future zoning rules and regulations.
