More Letters to City Hall

John Beranek: I moved into the North Central neighborhood 17 years ago, as a young, single professional, renting half of a house. Nine years later I bought a house on North Fourth Avenue. A few years later I met Karen, who also lived in the neighborhood. Karen and I have now turned that 100+ year old home into Michigan’s first (and the nation’s fifth) LEED Platinum certified house remodel. We both chose to stay and invest in North Central because of its unique position as a true pedestrian scale neighborhood with a sense of community that also provides great access to the Downtown Area. But we also chose it because it is not downtown Ann Arbor.
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Karen Park (to City Councilmember Sabra Briere): Soon after I moved here from the D.C. area in 2002 to work as a physician at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, I discovered the Farmer's Market and Kerrytown. I originally lived in what is/was called a "Doctor's ghetto" subdivision over by King Elementary. I did not have any sense of neighborhood there, everyone pretty much kept to themselves, driving their cars into their garages and going into their homes. When I was looking to move I knew I wanted to live in the district you represent.
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Gene and Nancy Eavy: We were surprised and greatly disappointed to see the plans that Three Oaks and Avalon shared with North Central residents at the community center earlier this year. . . . they completely disregarded the zoning restrictions within the area and suggestions from the residents to stay within scope and build homes that complement the existing housing in the neighborhood. Three Oaks stated that they needed to expand the size of the building in order to meet the return on investment for the property, as they were limited in their development options. Furthermore, Three Oaks openly shared that with Avalon’s backing and acceptance in the community as a capable property manager, they could finally recoup their investment.
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Kathleen Baxter: At first glance this proposal meets an important community goal - more supportive and low cost housing. Our community supports this goal, and so do I. BUT, this project has a scope entirely out of scale to our neighborhood (52,000 square feet, isolated in design, one major entry, 5 stories + stair and elevator towers, 37 1-bedroom apartments, to be built upon 4-5 lots). This project would overwhelm our neighborhood of 1 and 2-story single and multi-family homes and rooming houses. The proposed building would be a visual signal and planning precedent that tilts this block irrevocably toward institutional buildings, taking what is now a neighborhood and making it esthetically and economically part of downtown.
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Share your own comments with the City Planning Commission and Staff by mail (PO Box 8647, 100 N Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48107-8647), or by email to planner Matt Kowalski. We'd appreciate a copy by mail (608 N. Main St., Ann Arbor, 48104), or by email to John Hilton.