Neighbors,
City Council meets on Monday, November 18 at 7pm. Here are some updates before my preview of our agenda.
This weekend, I had the pleasure to join neighbors in celebrating two organizations doing amazing work in our community. The Stewardship Network celebrated their 20-year anniversary at Leslie Science and Nature Center yesterday. Founded and based in Ann Arbor, the Stewardship Network facilitates relationships across organizations and individuals doing environmental stewardship work in our region and beyond.
I also went to the Neutral Zone's Engage Fundraiser Soiree. The Neutral Zone is a local nonprofit serving young people in our community by helping them "embrace their power, ignite their creativity, and launch their future to build equity, justice, and collective liberation." I really enjoyed visiting the different tables where teens were pitching projects ranging from a zine to a podcast to a food pantry to raise money to help them realize their visions.
These are but two of the many local non-profits doing vital work that makes me grateful to live here.
Ann Arbor Residents Pass the Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU)
Proposal A--to establish a sustainable energy utility in Ann Arbor--was approved by voters with 79% voting yes. The City plans to seek financing to start making investments through the SEU once there are 20 megawatts of commitments from people interested in subscribing. To express your interest, please fill out the City's SEU waitlist form.
Ann Arbor's Bicentennial Closing Ceremony, December 14
Closing out a year of activities celebrating Ann Arbor's 200th anniversary, the City will host a reception and art exhibit from 6–8 p.m. on Saturday, December 14, at Skyline High School. Tickets are $10/person with proceeds going to Ann Arbor's Legacy Projects. To learn more and purchase tickets, visit https://tinyurl.com/59f2jzfu.
City Council Meeting, Monday, November 18 at 7pm
Responses to Council Member Questions: all questions and responses were about the Miler reconstruction project, discussed in more detail below.
Agenda Highlights
Miller Ave. Improvements Project (CA-4). This resolution is to approve a construction contract between the City of Ann Arbor and Fonson Company in the amount of $6,358,946.30 for the Miller Avenue Rehabilitation Project. The project includes replacing the water main from Newport Road to Chapin Street, constructing stormwater management devices, street resurfacing, and the installation of a two-way cycle track from North Maple Road to First Street and associated signal updates at the North Maple Road and South Seventh Street intersections. This project will leverage funds from the Federal Aid Buyout Program, the American Rescue Plan Act, and the DDA to accomplish this project's major goals. Miller was identified in the City's transportation plan as a Tier 1 safety focus corridor and part of the proposed All Ages and Abilities Bicycle Network. Staff considered a number of designs for the all ages all abilities bike facility. As noted in the staff memo provided this week, "The design follows the NACTO guidelines for All Ages and Abilities Bikeways. Staff evaluated the possibility of installing same direction protected, raised cycle lanes, and shared use paths but found these options infeasible without a full reconstruction of the entire Miller Ave. corridor. The protected two-way cycle track can be implemented within the current street footprint; the design also continues the existing cycle track on the corridor east of First St." The bikes lanes will be separated with recycled rubber curbing and vertical upright elements. The project will also address long-standing concerns with speeding on this corridor with several traffic calming elements: lane narrowing, raised islands, centerline hardening, and speed tables. This will be the city's first all ages, all abilities bike facility that connects a neighborhood outside of the DDA to the downtown.
Resolution to Approve a Professional Services Agreement with Arbor Consultants, PC for Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) Advisory Services ($200,000) (CA-11). Authorized by voters on November 5, 2024, the proposed Ann Arbor Sustainable Energy Utility (SEU) will be a supplemental, 100% renewable energy powered municipal energy utility focused on deploying clean, resilient, reliable power in our community. Launching the SEU will require significant time and attention - time and attention which is not currently available with existing staffing resources. This contract will help support staff in undertaking a significant portion of the work required to bring the SEU to fruition.
UDC Amendments (Child Care Center and Private School) (C-1). Childcare cost and availability is of serious concern in Ann Arbor, with a report finding that 3 out of 5 families can't find childcare that meets their needs. The same report identifies advocating "for local policy change related to zoning and development" as an achievable area of policy change in the short- and medium-term to promote a friendlier environment for child care providers (see staff report). Approval of this ordinance will amend the Unified Development Code (Chapter 55) to permit Child Care Center and Private School uses in additional zoning districts and alter the specifications for Child Care Center uses. Specifically it will allow Private School uses as special exception uses in the RE (Research) and ORL (Office/Research/Limited Light Industrial) zoning districts; allow Child Care Center uses as permitted uses in all R1 (Single-Family Dwelling), R2A (Two-Family Dwelling), R2B (Two-Family Dwelling and Student Housing), RE (Research), and ORL (Office/Research/Limited Light Industrial) zoning districts; and alter the Use Specific Standards for Child Care Center uses to remove explicit requirements to amend a special exception use permit and to require that a center be licensed by the state.
Ordinance to Amend CH 26 (Solid Waste) Banning Curb Carts in Bike Lanes (C-2). I recently learned that the City's current ordinance regarding curbside trash collection does not include directives with respect to placement in bike lanes, even though other City regulations prohibit their placement there. Because the regulations are not incorporated in the ordinance, Community Standards has not had clear direction and the regulation has not been enforced. This ordinance change seeks to address that and ultimately ensure that bike lanes are free of obstacles that force people on bikes into moving automobile traffic. The proposed amendment modifies the City's ordinance to prohibit curb carts from being placed in bicycle lanes and bicycle paths. It also directs residents to the Solid Waste Regulations regarding the location of curb carts where there are bicycle lanes and bicycle paths, and where dumpsters should be located. (Sponsors: Akmon, Briggs)
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