ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Ann Arbor City Council has started the process of bringing taller, denser buildings to neighborhoods next to the University of Michigan campus, voting 9-0 Monday, Oct. 19, to send the question to the Planning Commission.
The resolution asks planners to recommend zoning changes for blocks south and east of downtown and Central Campus. The study area runs from Main Street east to Oxford Road and from North University Avenue south to Dewey Avenue.
An earlier draft would have given the commission 180 days to finish. Council dropped that deadline and instead asked for recommendations after residents weigh in on boundaries, building heights and other conditions. The resolution points toward high-rises in hub areas, with height stepping down closer to houses: low-rise buildings inside a 300-foot buffer around homes, mid-rise past that line and high-rise beyond 600 feet.
The effort grows out of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan that council adopted 11-0 on March 16. That plan, meant to guide growth through about 2050, did not change any zoning on its own, so any new rules must still pass through Planning Commission review and a council vote.
Council members said one area-wide map change would be fairer and faster than case-by-case rezonings. Four such rezonings in the same area over the past five years produced more than 1,000 housing units.
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