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Resolution Regarding the Draft Comprehensive Land Use Plan
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Whereas, The City Council is grateful to Staff, Planning Commission, and the public for the ongoing work, conversation, and products since October 2023 to develop a new Comprehensive Plan;
Whereas, The City Council seeks to ensure that the eventual Comprehensive Plan recommends a balanced approach to residential, commercial, public, and industrial uses that meets community needs, community aspirations, and is capable of garnering broad community support;
Whereas, The “Residential Category” in Draft 2 of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan includes only areas of the City currently zoned R1 and R2;
Whereas, This Resolution uses the term “neighborhood context” to refer to: 1) the built form of a neighborhood, including building features such as height, mass and scale, setbacks, lot coverage, roof styles, and porches, stoops and entries that face the street; 2) streetscape and visual rhythm, which involves street trees, sidewalks, building spacing; 3) neighborhood walkability, mix of unit types, and features that allow a wide range of people - young adults, seniors, families, individual adults - to live nearby and enhance social and cultural life.
Whereas, The City Council values an incremental, practical, and predictable approach to residential infill that enables small-scale multifamily housing - duplexes and triplexes - in the Residential Category (Draft v. 2), using form-based standards to guide design, but that does not entitle small apartment buildings and larger scale development throughout that category;
Whereas, The future land use map provides direction on how the city will develop over time, but that it does not equate to a one-to-one translation into zoning districts;
Whereas, The additional edits requested by this resolution will necessitate a budget amendment to extend the contract with Interface Studio LLC.
RESOLVED, That the City Council requests that the draft Comprehensive Plan (“Draft Plan”) include:
● Clarification that the Plan and the included Future Land Use Map articulate visions for land use categories that will be later implemented via multiple zoning districts that harmonize housing opportunity with neighborhood context.
● Recommendation of a range of infill options in the Residential Category (Draft v. 2), where duplexes and triplexes are provided widespread opportunity and ease of development, and where larger building typologies are authorized only where they would fit into existing neighborhood contexts.
● Recommendation that zoning implementations of the residential category (Draft v. 2) utilize tools that ensure it is feasible for new housing to be steadily developed, while fitting harmoniously into neighborhood context, which may include a subset of regulations that:
o Limit parcel assemblages (lot combinations) or create maximum lot size requirements.
o Maintain some setback requirements and consider increased setback requirements for larger building typologies.
o Regulate structures by building height.
o Encourage smaller, more flexible homes.
o Specify maximum amounts of lot coverage.
o Specify maximum structure size through floor area and/or floor area ratio that restricts structure size based on lot size.
o Limit the total number of units per building and/or number of bedrooms per unit.
● A recognition that the enrollment growth of the University of Michigan has created housing market pressure. The Plan should acknowledge this market pressure and clearly support more University of Michigan-related housing in Hub and Transition neighborhoods.
● Recommendation to explore an expedited permitting process for duplexes and triplexes in the Residential Category (Draft v. 2) to achieve gradual infill for a diverse range of residents, including workers and families.
● A recommendation that height exceptions currently provided in the Uniform Development Code be removed from the Residential Category (Draft v. 2).
● Data to disclose the change in Ann Arbor’s median home price vs inflation and Ann Arbor’s median rent vs inflation during whatever time frame Staff concludes to be relevant
● Recommendation to review rates of development and housing affordability measures within five years of approval of the Comprehensive Plan and to make modifications to plan as appropriate
● Acknowledge that short term rental uses can reduce permanent resident housing opportunity and provide material limitations on short term rental uses in the Transition category.
● An identification of existing laws, rules, and regulations that will prevent Transition category light industrial uses from constituting a nuisance with respect to adjacent housing (whether such housing is in the Transition or Residential category).
Sponsored by: Mayor Taylor and Councilmembers Disch, Watson, Eyer and Radina
As Amended and Approved by Ann Arbor City Council on July 21, 2025.