Council votes to approve new housing project on Packard Street
The Ann Arbor City Council unanimously approved a development agreement for 35 single-family condos on Packard Street. The project is called The Enclave of Ann Arbor. The development will be built at 2857 Packard Street between Eisenhower Parkway and Platt Road.
Residents oppose the plan
Ann Arbor resident James D’Amour protested with the Sierra Club’s Huron Valley Group against the original plan in 2017. He said the council should provide more opportunities for public input about developing the parcel.
When I was an officer for the local Sierra Club, we had weighed in against the original iteration of this project, which called for the removal of many natural features and landmark trees, D’Amour said. I think in this instance, a public hearing should be held so the neighborhood can have a voice and at least provide input and provide you an informed choice.
Ann Arbor resident Karen Wight told the council she believes the project allows wealthy developers to shape the community while disregarding voters. She said some of the trees in the area predate the city itself.
Any real estate speculator wealthy enough to grab a piece of Ann Arbor gets to decide the future of our community, Wight said. Meanwhile, citizens are being systematically sidelined. We are encouraged to share our thoughts online via forms you do not respond to, and you never address direct questions in public. I am disappointed in your lack of leadership. I am disappointed by your lack of faith in democracy.
Council member questions tree protection
Ann Arbor resident Anne Bannister, who served on the council during discussion of the Peters Building Company proposal, expressed concern that the city’s trees may further suffer because the Comprehensive Plan does not provide enough protection for them.
I would like to offer a digital tree funeral to Ann Arbor for losing what one planning commissioner once called the Sistine Chapel of oak trees at 2857 Packard, Bannister said. Our Comprehensive Land Use Plan and this proposal tonight is at war with Ann Arbor’s tree canopy. The Comprehensive Land Use Plan ignores trees and does not include protections for natural features.
Staff says some trees are not salvageable
City planning manager Brett Lenart said some of the trees the developer would tear down lack structural integrity or have diseases. He said landmark trees will be maintained longer than required by law.
City staff has assessed that the health of those trees is no longer healthy. They are not salvageable, Lenart said. This plan will follow very traditional natural features protection as far as our ordinance requirements. That is some combination of retaining landmark trees and woodlands and mitigation of any lost. Additionally, the petitioner has agreed to extend the protection of any landmark trees that are retained to a five-year period, which is an increase from the minimum three years specified in our ordinance.
Council also approves removal of Neighborhood Watch signs
Another resolution, CA-10, further supported the proposal to remove Neighborhood Crime Watch signs approved last meeting. CA-10 allocates $18,000 for the removal of the signs.
The council unanimously approved CA-9 and CA-10.
This story is from The Michigan Daily.