The Ann Arbor City Council voted unanimously to approve a new Comprehensive Land-Use Plan for the city during a public hearing Monday. The plan is set to guide city development through 2050.
Brett Lenart, the city’s planning manager, said the plan seeks to undo previous zoning practices that were harmful. A key part of the plan would allow for duplexes and triplexes a maximum of three floors high in residential areas, where currently only single-family homes are permitted.
Ann Arbor Mayor Christopher Taylor said the plan envisions increased density, with more varied units available, expanded commercial zones, and a city that is more equitable, sustainable, and affordable. He said the goal is to create abundant housing choices so the community is more economically and racially diverse.
“We know that folks love their established neighborhoods the way they are and we are going to make sure that we honor them even as we allow in new neighbors,” he added.
The meeting heard comments from residents both in favor and against the plan. City resident Michele Cooker spoke in opposition, saying she’s “disappointed about the lack of citizen involvement.”
Aaron Puno, a 2023 Pioneer high school graduate and a junior at the University of Michigan, spoke in support. “We must ensure that the underpaid AAPS [Ann Arbor Public Schools] teacher who's forced to live in a shack in Belleville can finally live within line of sight of the school where they teach our children and enrich our community,” he said.
Tom Stulberg, a real estate agent in Ann Arbor, said the plan would make affordability worse, not better, because it would lead to more expensive housing being built. Supporters of easing restrictions on density said more housing of any type will increase supply and help to moderate prices.
Resident Elizabeth Kurtz said she’s spent over a decade fighting housing instability. “I do see this plan as a positive step forward,” she said. “It reflects an understanding that infrastructure and a 21st century city must be designed to serve a broader range of residents and real-world circumstances.” But she said the city should not neglect services for people without access to mainstream housing. Kurtz said those services include hygiene facilities and rest spaces.
Lenart, the planning manager, said the plan will also support walkable neighborhoods, workforce development, and moving unhoused populations to secure housing, though there’s been concern throughout the process that the rezoning will interfere with the historic preservation of the city.
Councilmember Lisa Disch (D-Ward 1) said Ann Arbor has become a “shockingly expensive place to live.” According to RentCafe, the average rent for an apartment in Ann Arbor is $2,021. Disch said in the past 10 years housing prices have increased four times as much as the rate of inflation.
Councilmember Travis Radina (D-Ward 3) said restrictive zoning has limited who can live where. “Over the past 20 years, the University of Michigan has added thousands of students and employees, and the private sector has added tens of thousands of jobs to the region,” he said. “If we want the people who work here to have a chance to live here, we must allow more housing to be built,” Radina concluded.
Following the plan’s approval, Ann Arbor’s planning commission will begin the task of rezoning the city.
“We have 1,200 units of new permanent affordability, permanent housing in the pipeline now,” Mayor Taylor said. “It’s my expectation that 10, 15, 20 years from now, we'll look back upon yesterday’s vote and we'll say that this was the turning point.”
