Ann Arbor Planks Not Platitudes

“Historic investments to expand publicly owned, permanently affordable housing options for all because housing is a human right.”

• City nowDirect the affordable-housing millage into a dedicated capital fund and bond against its revenue to build at scale, rather than funding projects one at a time.
• City nowCapitalize a community land trust that holds land permanently and sells only the buildings on it, using resale formulas to keep homes affordable across successive owners.
• City nowDevelop city-owned parcels — surface lots, underused land — as affordable or mixed-income housing through long-term ground leases, keeping the land in public hands.
• City nowExpand zoning capacity near transit: missing-middle housing, accessory dwelling units, and reduced parking minimums to grow overall supply.
• City nowFund tenant protections — right-to-counsel in eviction cases, emergency rental assistance, and a stronger rental inspection and licensing regime.
• Long roadNegotiate payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreements to cut operating costs for affordable and supportive housing — doable, but project-by-project and slow to accumulate.
• Needs LansingRent stabilization and mandatory inclusionary zoning are both preempted by Michigan law. The city can only lobby the state to lift those bans, not enact them locally.

“Invest in our city services, take bold steps to fix our infrastructure, and expand public solutions… City government should exist to lower costs and make life easier for residents.”

• City nowCommission and publish an infrastructure condition audit — roads, water mains, sidewalks, stormwater — with a prioritized, funded backlog and completion dates.
• City nowEstablish a dedicated infrastructure sinking fund or bonding program tied to a published repair schedule, not year-to-year patching.
• City nowAccelerate lead service-line replacement with a public tracker and a firm target date.
• City nowInvest in stormwater and flood mitigation — green infrastructure and retention — in flood-prone neighborhoods.
• City nowExpand in-house municipal staffing where privatized contracts have raised costs or lowered service quality.
• Long roadImprove transit through increased AAATA funding and fare-free or reduced-fare programs — requires coordination with the transit authority and a sustained funding source.
• Long roadBuild out the sidewalk, bike, and pedestrian network under a Vision Zero commitment with annual mileage targets — capital-intensive and multi-year.

“Oppose the sale of all public land and parks… oppose the privatization of city services and hold utilities like DTE accountable by supporting a municipally owned power solution.”

• City nowAdopt a council policy — or pursue a charter provision — requiring a supermajority vote and full public process before any sale of parkland or public land.
• City nowSet a heightened-review standard for privatizing existing city services, requiring a cost-benefit and service-quality analysis before any contract.
• City nowAdvance the Sustainable Energy Utility to coordinate municipal renewable generation, storage, and efficiency programs.
• Long roadComplete and act on a municipal-electric feasibility study, including a valuation of DTE’s local assets and a phased path to public ownership or a community-choice model.
• Long roadStrengthen franchise-agreement terms with DTE — reliability standards, undergrounding, outage penalties — at the next renewal window.
• Needs LansingAcquiring DTE’s distribution system faces Michigan Public Service Commission jurisdiction and likely condemnation litigation; the biggest hurdles sit above the city’s authority.

“Passing the strongest and most effective ICE-free zone policy in the state… bold action to protect our residents from harm, not half-measures.”

• City nowCodify and fund the ICE-free zone policy: limit local resources and data-sharing with federal immigration enforcement to the extent the law allows, with staff training and compliance auditing.
• City nowFund a legal-defense and rapid-response fund for residents facing immigration enforcement.
• City nowAdopt data-privacy and surveillance-oversight rules limiting how city-collected data — license-plate readers, camera feeds — can be shared with federal agencies.
• City nowEstablish know-your-rights outreach in partnership with community organizations.
• Long roadCoordinate with other Michigan municipalities to preserve federal grant funding threatened by policy conditions — depends on how federal conditions and any litigation resolve.