A vote on the hotly debated 413 E. Huron St. plan was still being decided as of 2:20 a.m. Tuesday at Monday night’s Ann Arbor City Council meeting.
The plan would allow for the construction of a 14-story high-rise apartment building with an underground parking structure in the D1 zone. The building would provide housing mainly for University students.
Law Prof. Don Duquette told councilmembers the high rise would further the concept of Ann Arbor as a “student ghetto” and would damage the city’s aesthetic appeal.
“Your grandchildren and children will say, ‘Why did you let this large, out-of-character, monster building loft in our beautiful Ann Arbor,’ ” Duquette said.
Shouts of betrayal and condemnation of the plan from citizens filled the air of the council chambers during the public hearing. Ann Arbor resident Eleanor Pollack voiced concerns that many other citizens echoed during the public hearing on the 413 E. Huron St. plan.
“For the record, I support in-town development, I just don’t support this project,” Pollack said. “We shouldn’t be here tonight. The city, long ago, should have taken appropriate steps to support community values.”
Ann Arbor resident Jeff Crockett told council members he’s worried about the removal of historic trees at the 413 E. Huron St. site. He specifically said the developers want to take down a large, historic walnut tree and replace it with two three-inch trees.
Theta Delta Chi house
Monday night’s city council meeting also included a vote on the University’s chapter of Theta Delta Chi fraternity’s plans to add an addition to its existing house. Council had not debated the issue as of 2:20 a.m.
The approval sanctions the fraternity to erect a roughly 2,400-square-foot addition on a 0.4-acre site adjacent to the current house that would provide more common space and expanded restroom and shower areas. It also includes new bike storage, a dumpster area and an outdoor patio. However, the current occupancy of 33 people will not be increased.
The plan was revised from an earlier draft in which the site’s driveway interfered with parking meters on Monroe Street. However, Theta Delta Chi worked out a compromise with the Downtown Development Authority on the placement of the driveway.