Thanks to everyone who spoke at the Planning Commission public hearing on Tuesday. We were able to cover many of the key issues, and I'm hopeful the commissioners gained a better understanding of the project's history and just how comprehensively it violates the city's zoning and planning.
A special word of thanks to Michael Brinkman for finding the metaphor that caught the ear of the Ann Arbor News: Near North really would be "a whale in a swimming pool."
As usual, the pro-NeNo position boiled down to "anything for Avalon." While that's a good policy for us as individuals when it comes to contributing time and money, it's a terrible basis for a Planning decision of this magnitude.
3 Oaks recruited Avalon as a partner only after their own City Hall-sized condo project, the Terraces on Main, was laughed out of City Hall. They figured out that telling the City "We want to build affordable housing" would get them more sympathy than saying "We spent too much."
They figured correctly, as we saw at the public hearing. But violating planning and zoning is never a one-time thing. The precedent created by Near North would effectively move the boundary of Downtown. And if Downtown doesn't stop at Kingsley, where does it stop?
Near North will be back on the Planning Commission agenda for discussion and action on Tuesday, May 5. We're sorry to lose the momentum gained during the public hearing, but are hopeful that time is on our side. Because the longer you look at NeNo, the worse it looks.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment