Ann Arbor's Comprehensive Plan Is Still Taking Shape—Here’s What You Need to Know

Neighbors,

If you’ve seen flyers or emails going around about the Comprehensive Plan, you may be wondering what’s actually being proposed, what’s not, and where we are in the process. I’m writing to help clarify, and to share the values that are driving this work.

What Is the Comprehensive Plan?

A Comprehensive Land Use Plan is a policy document, required by state law, that shapes how the City will be developed in the coming decades. Created with the community by the Planning Commission, it’s ultimately adopted by City Council and serves as a policy guide for land use, zoning, transportation, infrastructure, and public investment over the coming decades. Ann Arbor is long overdue for a new Comprehensive Plan as the last major update was in 2009.

Ann Arbor’s updated Comprehensive Plan will help determine:

• Future land use across the city

• Desired policy changes

• Priorities for public spending and capital projects

Importantly, the Comprehensive Plan is not law and will not, on its own, change zoning. It’s more akin to a strategic plan—a critical and necessary framework that will guide future updates to zoning regulations, including details like height limits, setbacks, minimum lot sizes, and permitted uses.

Because our current Comprehensive Land Use Plan and zoning code are outdated and misaligned with today’s needs, values, and challenges, I’m committed to ensuring that zoning changes move forward expeditiously once the plan is adopted. That said, it’s important for the public to know: zoning changes are a separate process. They must be drafted, publicly reviewed, and approved through formal hearings by both the Planning Commission and City Council before they can become law.

Why Do We Need This Plan?

• Ann Arbor isn’t keeping up with housing demand. Housing production has not matched demand, making affordability worse. We need to build more housing of all types to support residents at different income levels and life stages.

• Most of the city is already built out. Under our current zoning regulations, less than 13% of land could be developed—and most of that is already in use. That means we must use land more efficiently if we want to make room for more residents.

• Affordability, sustainability, and equity are all tied to access. Being able to easily reach key destinations—like grocery stores, parks, and schools—improves quality of life. However, people of color in Ann Arbor are more likely to live in neighborhoods with fewer nearby amenities.

• The city’s tax base depends on housing. Over 42% of land in Ann Arbor is tax-exempt. Housing plays a major role in generating revenue that funds public services—meaning we need to ensure we have enough homes to sustain a high quality of life for all.

The Values Driving This Plan

Fundamentally, we want to ensure that Ann Arbor is a place where people of all backgrounds and income levels can live, work, and thrive. The vision for the Comprehensive Plan rests on four guiding values:

• Affordable: Everyone should have the opportunity to call Ann Arbor home and thrive, including residents and businesses alike. Increasing housing supply helps alleviate cost pressures and supports our affordable housing fund.

• Equitable: All neighborhoods should have access to opportunities, amenities, and safe transportation. Undoing past land-use policies that excluded people based on race or income is an essential part of this work.

• Sustainable: More housing, especially near jobs and amenities, reduces our carbon footprint by cutting car dependence and supporting climate-friendly transportation options.

• Dynamic: Ann Arbor is a continuously evolving city that must adapt to meet the needs of all people and communities.

City Council's Direction for the Comprehensive Plan

In April 2023, City Council provided specific guidance for the comprehensive planning process:

• Align with the A2Zero carbon neutrality plan as it relates to land use

• Recommend more housing and density in single-family and other zoning districts

• Promote simpler, more flexible zoning categories to support reuse and adaptability

• Emphasize community values over rigid land-use limitations

• Include policies that address and repair past exclusionary practices based on race, income, and other inequities

My Own Values and Experience Inform My Perspective on This Plan

I grew up in a renting household, which gave me a lasting appreciation for the importance of having a variety of housing options—homes that work for people at different life stages, needs, and incomes. My family rented townhomes and single-family houses, and during my senior year of high school, we lived in half of a duplex in Suttons Bay, Michigan.

I came to Ann Arbor in 2003 with student loans, service industry experience, and—like many—no generational wealth to fall back on. While I waited to get into graduate school, I supported myself by working a variety of service jobs. Before my husband and I bought the detached single family home we live in now, we rented an apartment in an old subdivided house near Burns Park, a two-story townhouse apartment that was part of an 8-plex in the Old West Side, and a duplex in Dicken—a block from where we live today.

In those multi-family homes, we built our life in Ann Arbor. We had a Project Grow garden plot, planted trees to replace those lost to the emerald ash borer, and got to know neighbors—retired U-M staff, graduate students, and local service workers. That kind of housing—accessible, mixed, and modest in scale—allowed us, and many others, to live and stay in Ann Arbor. I’ve seen firsthand that allowing different housing types doesn’t diminish a neighborhood’s quality or stability. In fact, it’s part of what makes neighborhoods vibrant, diverse, welcoming, and accessible.

We should be deeply concerned about who’s being priced out today—friends, coworkers, city employees, retirees looking to downsize, young adults trying to come back home, and so many others.

How This Plan Will Support Homeownership, Housing Variety, and Neighborhood Scale

One of the key goals emerging from the Comprehensive Plan process is to allow for a broader range of housing types—such as rowhomes, duplexes, triplexes, and townhouses. These “missing middle” forms are difficult to build in much of Ann Arbor under our current zoning regulations.

The direction we’re heading emphasizes flexibility: making it easier to create smaller-scale, multi-unit, owner-occupied housing alongside rental options. This approach aims to tackle the housing affordability crisis from multiple angles. Cities that have re-legalized these housing types have seen that more variety—including modest, attainable homes—can help balance the market. In Ann Arbor, many people who want to buy a home simply can’t find an entry-level option. This plan aims to make those options more available again.

Unfortunately, some of the information being circulated has been cherry-picked or framed in ways that stoke fear. To be clear: the goal is to support housing that fits within the fabric of neighborhoods—not to introduce large-scale apartment buildings into the middle of residential areas.

Where are We in This Process and What Comes Next?

We have had well over a year of citywide engagement on the creation of the comprehensive plan. This includes:

• 35,000+ website views

• 3,000+ survey participants

• Interviews with 49 individuals and 15 agencies

• Two major public engagement rounds with 380+ and 200+ attendees

• 8 events at library branches

• 27 stakeholders in small group sessions

• Pop-up events at the Green Fair, Summer Party, Farmers Market, and other community gatherings

Engagement will continue through the adoption of a new plan. Here is what you can expect next:

March 31: The city’s planning team will receive a draft Comprehensive Land Use Plan from the consultants, Interface Studios, for initial review. 

April – early May: The planning team has allotted about 4 weeks for staff review. The planning team will distribute the draft to the relevant city departments. During this time, they will ask contributing staff to discuss among their teams, schedule meetings with the planners for follow up, and leave their comments/edits in the document. The planning team will review and compile all of the edits and return the draft to the consultants by the middle of May. 

Middle of May: Upon receiving the second round of edits to the draft from Interface Studio, the planning team can distribute the draft to the Planning Commission. 

May – June: Hold engagement sessions at the four library branches to share the draft and collect input from the public. 

June 17: The planning team plans to attend the Planning Commission meeting to discuss the plan’s changes. This is the last regularly scheduled meeting to emphasize changes the Planning Commission wants to make to the draft. 

End of June: The planning team will send the Planning Commission’s comments to the consultants, Interface Studio, for another round of edits. 

July 14: The planning team will send the third version of the draft to the Planning Commission for further review. At this meeting, the Planning Commission will consider a request to forward the Plan to City Council to start the legislatively prescribed review process. 

August 18: The Planning Commission forwards the request to the City Council. The City Council will then consider action to distribute the plan to start the formal review process. This is the process outlined by state statute that opens the draft plan for a 63-day public review period. The draft will have already been shared with the public, but this action fulfills the required review period from the Michigan Planning Enabling Act. 

If approved, the 63-day review period officially begins. A round of notifications will be sent out to alert the community that the plan is open for public review. 

August – October (63-day review period): The planning team will continue to collect community input. 

October 21: The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing. Notices for a public hearing will be sent out. To approve the plan, the Planning Commission would pass a resolution with six affirmative votes. 

November 17: City Council will approve or reject the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. 

You can follow the process and sign up for updates here:📎 a2compplan-a2-mi.hub.arcgis.com/pages/engage

Let’s Keep the Conversation Honest and Forward-Looking

I’ve consistently supported housing policy that makes room for more people, because I believe our neighborhoods should be inclusive, connected, and reflective of the full range of people who make Ann Arbor work. That means allowing modest, multi-unit homes that create more options for families, seniors, and first-time buyers—not just those who can afford today’s single-family, detached home prices.

Housing touches something deeply personal for all of us. These conversations can be complex and emotional. What matters is that we stay rooted in facts, open to each other’s perspectives, and focused on the shared future we want to build.

I’m committed to fostering a thoughtful, values-driven dialogue as we work together toward a more affordable, equitable, and livable Ann Arbor.

Thanks for staying engaged and being part of the conversation.

With appreciation,

Dharma 

p.s. I hope you'll share this with your neighbors!