Ann Arbor hiring outside consultant to facilitate downtown zoning review

A review of Ann Arbor's downtown zoning is getting ready to shift into high gear with an Oct. 1 deadline for completing the review looming.

City Council Member Sabra Briere, who also serves on the Planning Commission and pushed for the review in response to the controversial 14-story development at 413 E. Huron St., said the Planning Commission's executive committee is interviewing potential consultants Tuesday afternoon.

Briere said a consultant is being brought in to help facilitate the zoning review because city staff and planning commissioners "are too close to the process for them to effectively lead a public meeting, and so they'll be bringing in someone outside to provide that outside view."

The executive committee includes Planning Commissioners Kirk Westphal, Wendy Woods and Bonnie Bona.

They're interviewing Carlisle/Wortman Associates and ENP & Associates. The contract is worth $24,000 and the city hopes to have a consultant hired quickly so work can begin next week.

Briere said she's expecting at least two larger public meetings as part of the review process, including one in August, and one in September.

"There will also be a number of smaller meetings with property owners in and near the downtown to talk about the impact of D1 zoning," she said.

Briere said there also could be an online survey, either through the A2 Open City Hall website or SurveyMonkey.com.

"Because the timeline is that all this work must be done by the end of September, it's going to be going very quickly," she said.

She said there's expected to be a series of smaller meetings with concerned stakeholders throughout July, then a larger community meeting in August.

"And then the consultant working with the Planning Commission's ordinance review committee will look at those issues … and move quickly in August to draft some means to address those issues — then they'll have another public meeting," she said.

The 413 E. Huron St. apartment building, controversial because it will tower above a historic neighborhood to the north, met the city's zoning requirements and so the City Council had no choice but to approve it, argued the majority of council members who OK'd the project in May.

Fearing other areas of the downtown could be vulnerable to out-of-character development, the City Council directed the Planning Commission to undertake a thorough review of the D1 zoning.

D1 is the core downtown zoning district that allows buildings up to 180 feet tall — or in special cases like the 400 block of East Huron, up to 150 feet tall.

Some have argued D2 step-down zoning with a 60-foot cap would be a better fit for areas like the 400 block of East Huron and other parts of downtown — especially edges that abut residential neighborhoods and historic districts where there's more potential for conflict.

The Planning Commission has until Oct. 1 to complete the review and report back to council with its recommendations.

The council is asking the Planning Commission to address whether D1 zoning is appropriate for the north side of Huron Street between North Division and North State (the area of the 413 E. Huron project) and the south side of East William Street between South Main and South Fourth Avenue.

The council also is asking the commission to consider whether the D1 residential floor area ratio (FAR) premiums effectively encourage a diverse downtown population.

The council also is asking the Planning Commission to consider rezoning a parcel on the south side of Ann Street — adjacent to the north side of city hall — that is zoned D1.

Ryan J. Stanton covers government and politics for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at ryanstanton@annarbor.com or 734-623-2529. You also can follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's email newsletters.