District Center' Growth Is Urged For City

Ann Arbor's growth in the coming two decades should develop around major sub cities in a district center form, according to the long awaited General Development Master Plan prepared by the city Planning Department stafï. Copies of the report will be available to the public next week. The district center form is based on the "new town" concept which although designed for new cities such as Columbia, Md., is applicable to Ann ArIbor's scale and growth potential, the plan said. The nucleus is represented by the central area and is the major concentration of retail, business, government and entertainI ment activities. The central area is supplemented by a series of district centers which serve the particular needs of Itheir respective communities These centers supplement and compete with the central area but are of a lower level of intensity and specialization. The community, according to the plan, is further divided into several sub-areas or neghborhood clusters. Each cluster iocuses on a neighborhood shopping area which includes educational and recreational facilities. Rather than permit out,ward random growth, this form directs growth in specific comImunities. I The arrangement of function lally related uses at specific Ie ations reduces the effect of ie common urban problem of owntown traffic congestión. This arrangement is quite daptabfe to the terrain and the xisting land use, social organzation and administrative ;ructure of Ann Arbor, accordng to the report. A wide range of desirable olicies is implicit in an urban :orm concept, the plan said. At his stage in the planning procss each policy is 1 i s t e d to nitiate discussion, not action, aid Planning Director Raymond Martin. They include: annex land rea consistent with natural, )hysical, and functional boundaries, not only serviceable and; restrict all land in flood plains from further inappropriite development; desígnate city )oundaries in advance of velopment and in relation to natural features; encourage an administrative re-organization of local governments to help achieve these objectives; atxact a wide range of popula;ion and income groups. In the economie phase, the suggested policies include: promote the development of a more diversified economy; rely on a combination of property taxes, user charges and income tax to provide neded revenues: asses all land at its current use; bas the provisión of appropriate mu nicipal services and facilities o a benefit cost basis ; provide ta incentives to encourage the de velopment of district centers. Other policies are: extend mu icipal services to control direcion, type and timing of urban 'rowth; consider open space to e a public utility; give priory in the extensión of Utilities to stablish district centers. In the physical development- and use phase, suggested poliies include: promote concenrations of high density housing round and in each district cen;er; lócate appropriate public nd quasi-public buildings in the istrict centers; do not distinuish between single family de;ached low and moderate cost housing. In the circulation phase poliies include: elimínate all ontreet parking on major thoroughfares; discourage the use of the automobile in the central area; discourage vehicular circulation within each district cen;er; subsidize mass transit to ;he same degree as the automorile; provide for the use of bicycles for work and recreation trips. In the environmental quality area, policies include: protect unique and significant historical or natural features. Distribution of the proposed plan marks the beginning of the task of making this into the Ann Arbor community's plan and not the Planning Department's, the Planning Commission's or the City Council's plan, Martin said. This is a preliminary workir document and is subject to add tions, deletions and revisión Martin said. All discussions anc revisions must be done with th , - , - cnowledge and support of the ntire community. "All of us ogether s h o u 1 d be learning bout the implications of 'A auide For Change' for the fuure of Ann Arbor," he said. In the rapid pace of change haracteristic of Ann Arbor this eport is calculated to promote iscussion, establish an initial olicy framework to guide )lanned change and provide a vehicle for encouraging the widst possible degree of citizen participation in the planning and decisión making process, according to Martin. If this report can achieve these objectives, it will have more than accomplished its purpose, Martin said. The plan is a relatively long range, comprehensiva analysi of current and future problem and potentials with policy ree ommendations. The plan does not emphasiz specific needs, detailed sit planning, zoning or identif particular sites to acquire fo community facilities such a schools or parks. These items though important, are bette treated in detailed studies base on the concepts and p o 1 i c framework established in thi plan, Martin said. The planning area is not lim ited to the existing politica boundaries of Ann Arbor. Th planning period is to 1980, bu many concepts may apply b yond 1980, Martin said. In terms of population, th plan predicts Ann Arbor's popu lation will increase at a rate o = bout 5,000 persons per year I uring the next 10 to 15 years. I The primary objective of this I lan is to develop a series of I joals, policies and practices I hich can be used to (1) I ide professional knowledge for olitical decisions concerning I ocial, economie and physical I evelopment of the I y; (2) prompt effective coopertion and coordination for all spects of community ment; (3) identify major problems, opportunities and potentials; (4) stimulate informed, constructive citizen participation, and (5) inject long-range considerations into the determination of short-range actions. Ann Arbor has been the object of numerous major planning efforts and a host of individual studies prepared over the years by the city staff, consultants and a number of University groups. The plans, which are listed in an appendix, began with a plan in 1905 which was stimulated by the Chicago World's Fair City Beautiful Movement. A commission was appointed to prepare a comprehensive plan to surround the city with a boulevard, preserve some of the natural woodlots and develop the adjacent territory for building purposes. Ann Arbor's most recent effort to prepare a general development plan began in 1962 when the Planning Commission, with the assistance of seveal consultants, completed a series of individual planning reports and studies. ■i m- - - B