Title
Public Hearing on Proposed Washtenaw Avenue Corridor Improvement Authority
Memorandum
On December 20, 2010, City Council passed a Resolution of Intent to evaluate the feasibility of creating a Corridor Improvement Authority for Washtenaw Avenue (see Resolution R10-0499, attached). City Council also scheduled a public hearing for March 7, 2011 to gain feedback on this proposal. The intent of this memo is to provide background information and summarize the status of the planning effort involved with the proposed Washtenaw Avenue Corridor Improvement Authority (CIA).
Background - In 2008, the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners launched the Ann Arbor Regional Success Strategy initiative to develop “economic and quality of life assets in the region needed to succeed in the new economy.” One of the recommendations to come out of initiative is to transform Washtenaw Avenue into a “talent center” that can promote economic growth in the region. To accomplish this, the Strategy calls for redevelopment that will turn the Washtenaw Avenue corridor into a walkable, mixed-use transit corridor that provides an array of housing types and connects to employment and educational centers.
In 2009, a Washtenaw Avenue Joint Technical Team was formed, lead by Mandy Grewal, Pittsfield Township, and Dick Carlisle, President of Carlisle-Wortman Associates, Inc. With support from Anya Dale from the Washtenaw County Department of Planning and Environment (now called the Economic Development and Energy Development), the team initiated a planning effort to begin rethinking what is possible for Washtenaw Avenue between Stadium Boulevard in Ann Arbor and Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. The goal was to work with the four communities (City of Ann Arbor, Pittsfield Township, Ypsilanti Township and the City of Ypsilanti) representing this predominately commercial stretch of the corridor to find ways to improve land uses, transportation systems and aesthetic impacts.
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