[DetroitMan]

High-density rezoning for over 100 acres advances to Ann Arbor council

The city’s Planning Commission voted 7-0 Wednesday night, Nov. 1, to recommend council approval of a city-initiated proposal to apply TC1 zoning to three areas along the corridor, while making some tweaks to include several more properties. “Overall, I look forward to welcoming hopefully more residents with new development here, may they be renters or owners because both are part of our community,” Commissioner Lisa Sauve said before the vote. A mixed-use zoning designation, TC1 allows buildings up to 300 feet tall in some cases and is intended to encourage high-density, downtown-style development along transit corridors with a mix of uses, including housing and commercial businesses. If the city’s vision comes to fruition, it could mean more mid-rise and high-rise developments replacing strip malls and parking lots.

But in over two years now since the city created the zoning category in July 2021, Ann Arbor has yet to see any TC1 developments happen.

In hopes of making it easier for developers, the city has proactively rezoned hundreds of acres of property along various corridors to TC1, starting with over 200 acres by Briarwood Mall in April 2022, followed by over 200 acres on the city’s west side in November 2022. While there’s talk of one possible affordable housing development now along West Stadium Boulevard, still nothing has been built or officially proposed yet.

“We have seen that rezoning might slow the pace of new development,” City Planner Alexis DiLeo told commissioners before Wednesday’s vote. “There has been no new or infill development in any existing TC1 district to date.”

https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor...r-council.html