Planning commission backs rezoning at 700 North Main to permit denser, smaller rental units

The Ann Arbor Planning Commission recommended that the mayor and city council rezone 700 North Main Street from R4C to R4E, accompanied by a Near North area plan and voluntary conditions including a 75-foot maximum height.

Brad Moore, the project architect, told the commission the petitioner replaced a previously approved luxury townhome plan with a “missing middle” approach: smaller rental units (a mix of studios and one‑bedrooms, the petitioner said) that the developer argues improve workforce housing options. The presentation described a building concept with residential stories over partially subterranean parking and a voluntary 75-foot height cap in the conditional zoning statement.

Staff noted the site lies within the floodplain-management overlay and explained how recent berm and Allen Creek work have shifted mapped floodplain lines; staff recommended approval with conditions, emphasizing the area plan demonstrates the proposed district will be compatible with adopted policies. The staff memo compared R4C and R4E standards and explained R4E permits significantly higher density (staff cited maximum dwelling units per acre differences).

Neighbors and the North Central Neighborhood Association raised concerns about a 75-foot height condition setting a precedent and potential impacts to tree canopy and neighborhood character. "The proposed construction height of 75 feet for this project is an anomaly," the neighborhood association president said, urging case‑by‑case consideration of modest height increases.

Commissioners questioned technical aspects of the floodplain mapping and the practical limits imposed by building-code thresholds and construction costs. The petitioner and staff said economics and the building code make building to the voluntary maximum unlikely; the design as presented measures roughly 53–70 feet depending on grade, and the developer said the project as designed is about 64 units with a parking ratio under 1.0 per unit.

After technical discussion and questions about parking, floodplain, and the comprehensive-plan consistency, the commission voted to recommend the rezoning with conditions; the motion passed unanimously and will advance to the city council for final action and the required public hearings and readings.