Neighbors,
City Council meets on Monday, July 15 at 7pm. Here are some updates before my preview of our agenda.
Home Energy Rebate Program is Now Live!
Ann Arbor is pleased to provide a series of rebates to help advance sustainability and our A2ZERO goals. This $1.9 million community investment program is expected to offer over 1,300 sustainability-related rebates to residents across the city. At least 50% of the rebates will be for income qualified households. Thanks to funding from the Community Climate Action Millage, we plan to offer these rebates annually for many years. This includes rebates for home energy efficiency, electrification, solar battery storage, ebikes, and more. Learn more and apply!
Solar and Energy Efficiency Upgrades Available to More Homeowners in Ann Arbor
Thanks to the newly passed Michigan State House Bill 5028, all residents living in homeowners' associations are now allowed to install solar panels and other energy efficiency measures on their homes. With this change, everyone living in a homeowners' association will be able to join the almost 1,000 homes in Ann Arbor that have installed solar and are experiencing the benefits of lower electric bills, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and energy independence. Learn more from the Office of Sustainability and Innovation.
City Council Meeting, Monday, July 15 at 7pm
Responses to Council Member Questions. Topics include:
LED Streetlight replacement and dark sky guidelines
Contract to manage and implement a Safe Streets for all Grant
Southtown Rezoning request
New State Street Business Improvement Zone
Agenda Highlights
LED Streetlight Conversion (CA-5). As part of its A2Zero climate action goals around energy efficiency, the City seeks to convert DTE-owned and operated streetlights from high pressure sodium lights to LED. The projected cost to the City is $1.24M. Without a clear funding source for the upfront capital costs, in 2023 staff applied to and received a Carbon Reduction Program grant administered by the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) to pay for $980k of the cost. DTE's standard LED light is both cooler and brighter than what is recommended for human health, wildlife, and climate goals. City staff were able to negotiate a work order with DTE for warmer color lights (2700K) than their standard as well as shielding at the time of installation to direct light downward. Both of these are consistent with Dark Sky principles. However, because this is considered a special order, DTE requires the City to stock and manage replacement lights in perpetuity. Staff has said that maintaining multiple lights--e.g. some 58W (completely appropriate on some of our arterials for pedestrian safety) and others 29W (more appropriate for local streets)--presents an operational challenge, both at installation time and on an ongoing basis. If the City does not pursue its own special LED conversion project, DTE will replace HPS lights with cold color LED lights (4000k) that range from 58W to 206W. I have fielded numerous complaints from residents when DTE has installed replacement 65W 4000k LED lights on local streets. As far as I know, DTE's response to complaints is to revert back to the (energy-inefficient, colder color temperature HPS light). Staff has recommended that we accept the SEMCOG grant funds to replace all of DTE's high pressure sodium lights to 2700K, 58W LEDs. The brightness of 58W LEDs on local streets has raised significant concern among dark sky advocates and residents. This consent agenda item will be pulled for staff introduction and discussion Monday night.
Safe Streets For All Grant Coordination (CA-7). The City was awarded a $3.8 million dollar grant as part of the Safe Streets for All competitive grant program. These efforts are part of the implementation actives of the City's 2021 Moving Together Towards Vision Zero Comprehensive Transportation Plan goal of eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries on city streets by the year 2025. The volume of projects actively managed by the Transportation staff exceed their capacity. The proposed professional service agreement is intended to supplement and support the existing Transportation staff by providing engineering and support services necessary to fully plan, design, and execute all the Quick Build and Speed Management elements of the grant.
Southtown Rezoning Amendment to Conditional Zoning Statement of Conditions (PH-1). Approval of this ordinance will amend the zoning designation of the block bounded by South State Street on the west, Henry Street on the north, White Street on the east, and Stimson Street on the south, by changing the one of the adopted and incorporated conditions. Council approved the development in 2023 as C1A/R with the following conditions: a maximum height limit; a maximum vehicle parking space limit; a use limitation; and a limitation on natural gas connections. This change would leave all the same except it would change from a limitation on natural gas connections to a requirement to operate a "carbon-efficient continuous electricity microgrid." Originally the Southtown project intended to use DTE Electricity as the sole utility provider for the building, using DTE Gas service to only power its on-site emergency back-up internal combustion generators to maintain electricity when the DTE Electricity grid was down. The Southtown project now seeks to operate an on-site fuel cell to generate its own electricity. Fuel sources for the fuel cell include renewable natural DTE Gas (RNG). I raised some concerns with this fuel source and the City's ability to measure whether the developer meets the following standard in the zoning amendment: "the Property will demonstrate continuous microgrid at 60-75% less carbon intensity (CI) than electricity incumbent DTE." You can learn more about this in the staff memo. Staff have also amended the development agreement (also on Monday's agenda) to require the developer to "power and operate the fuel cells with Renewable Natural Gas (“RNG”) produced specifically from biodigestion sourced from human or food waste, if commercially available, or if not commercially available, DEVELOPER shall power and operate the fuel cells with RNG commercially available through DTE." (NOTE: this is a public hearing item, which means residents can give public comment without signing up in advance)
Resolution to Approve the State Street Business Improvement Zone (PH-4). Property owners in the proposed State Street Business Improvement Zone ("BIZ") area seek to establish the State Street BIZ to "promote a thriving commercial district through projects and services that foster a welcoming, cohesive, and visually appealing business corridor." The proposed zone area is located around the intersection of South State Street and East Eisenhower Parkway. BIZ are an economic tool for property owners to collaboratively fund projects and services through an assessment collected by the City of Ann Arbor Assessor and remitted to the BIZ for uses consistent with an approved Zone Plan. To establish the BIZ, property owners within the proposed zone area must submit to the City Clerk a petition with an attached Zone Plan and parcel listing, signed by more than thirty percent of owners weighted by allocation of assessments in accordance with the proposed Zone Plan. They have done that. If City Council approves, the clerk will set an election of property owners in the zone area and the State Street BIZ will be established if more than sixty percent of property owners vote to adopt the zone plan and establish the BIZ. (NOTE: this is a public hearing item, which means residents can give public comment without signing up in advance)
Please reach out if you have questions, concerns, or thoughts on any of the agenda items. Email: DAkmon@A2gov.org | Phone/text: 734-492-5866
You can also communicate your thoughts via:
Email City Council: CityCouncil@a2gov.org
Comment at the meeting (remote or in person): Call the City Clerk's office at 734-794-6140 beginning at 8 a.m. on the day of the meeting to reserve a public speaking time. NOTE: you do not need to reserve time to speak during a "public hearing (PH)" item.
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