Media
Zoning Changes for Downtown Ann Arbor with City Planner Wendy Rampson
Downtown Ann Arbor is about to experience change: the City Council is poised to adopt the first major zoning changes to downtown Ann Arbor since 1966. Ms. Rampson will review the history of downtown planning and zoning in Ann Arbor and provide an overview of the draft zoning and parking amendments recently recommended by the Planning Commission. These zoning changes seek to implement the community vision for downtown developed in 2006 with the assistance of Calthorpe and Associates. Better known as the Ann Arbor Discovering Downtown (A2D2) initiative, this implementation effort has been guided by citizen advisory committees and the City Planning Commission since early 2007.
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Being Homeless In Washtenaw County: A Panel Discussion with the Washtenaw Housing Alliance
The Washtenaw Housing Alliance (WHA) is a unique coalition of ten non- profit organizations that serve those experiencing homelessness or those at risk of homelessness. Come and learn from various service and housing providers across the community about the current state of homelessness in Washtenaw County, the innovative partnerships that have been created to address the need, and the next steps needed to reach their shared vision: to end homelessness in our community. Disturbing facts on homelessness in Washtenaw County: 2, 756 people will experience homelessness within a year in the county; 26% of these are families; 41 people in the county in any given week become homeless. The WHA and its member agencies have created a collaboration that harnesses the commitment, energy and resources of a major hospital system, the cities of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County, three major institutions of higher education, the private sector and the community at large to end homelessness in Washtenaw County.
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Finding Local Food and Bringing It Home for Dinner: Supporting Our Farms
This panel discussion features exemplary local farmers and food experts who will discuss what they've learned about growing food, what they see for the future of food and why Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms are so important to the community. They will also highlight the creative ways in which local people in our community are buying, cooking and enjoying food that is produced close to home.Panelists include Richard Andres and Deb Lentz (Tantre Farm); Kris Hirth (Old Pine Farm); Mary Wessel Walker (Community Farm Kitchen) and Victoria Bennett (a parent who found new ways to shop for food because of her son's severe allergies). Cosponsored by Slow Foods Huron Valley
Media
The Design Police: Regulating the City without Stifling Creativity
This last in a series of public lectures concerning the future of downtown Ann Arbor, will center on urban planning and feature a lecture by Brenda Scheer. A panel discussion will follow, with local architect Damian Farrell, planner Megan Gibb and developer Bernie Glieberman. Moderated by UM Architecture Dean Douglas S. Kelbaugh, the panel will discuss types, as well as pros and cons, of design guidelines and codes. The series is cosponsored by the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Strategy Steering Committee.Both suburban sprawl, with its arterial strips and endless cul-de-sac subdivisions, and urban blight, with its hollowed out urban centers, have degraded the physical environment of our communities. Many communities have tried to resist and reverse this trend with design guidelines and codes. Come join this community discussion. For visioning project updates, visit www.a2gov.org/downtown.
Media
Town Hall Meeting on the Allen Creek Greenway: Panel of Experts with Audience Discussion
Should the city-owned parcel at the corner of First and William Streets be used for a park for added downtown greenspace or a parking lot to assist downtown visitors and commuters? A controversial proposal - the establishment of a public greenspace park, the Allen Creek Greenway, in the downtown area of Ann Arbor - will be discussed by a panel of experts at this town hall meeting. Panel experts include Fred Beal, the chair of the Ann Arbor Downtown Development Association; Janis Bobrin, the Washtenaw County Drain Commissioner; Joe O'Neal, a Greenway advocate from O'Neal Construction; Barbara Murphy from the Old West Side Neighborhood Association Board; and Ed Shaffran, the chair of the Main Street Area Association. The panel will be moderated by Susan Smith, President of the Ann Arbor League of Women Voters, co-sponsors of this program. The event includes time for community questions.Join the discussion as these representatives of several key community associations consider the future of downtown Ann Arbor and examine the pros and cons of this issue.