Ward 2 candidates debate land‑use plan, housing finance and controversial $373 million TIF

At an online League of Women Voters forum ahead of the Aug. 4 primary, Ward 2 candidates Sandy Aldrich and Tisha Montigu clashed on how Ann Arbor should implement its new comprehensive land use plan and finance permanently affordable housing.

The candidates agreed on a need for more housing but differed on how to deliver it. The moderator noted the comprehensive land use plan passed unanimously in March 2026 and asked which parts they would prioritize or change.

Tisha Montigu said she supports "increasing housing opportunities and creating a greater variety of housing types" and favors walkable, mixed‑use neighborhoods, while warning that some plan changes may not adequately address neighborhood infrastructure and resident engagement. "Growth is important, but it should be balanced with affordability, infrastructure, capacity, and preserving the character and quality of life that residents value," Montigu said.

Sandy Aldrich said the plan offers tools to address affordability but stressed the work now moves to ordinance drafting and implementation: "What's going to be critical now that it's passed is how it's communicated and implemented...there's still really a long road ahead of us to write the ordinances and put the guidelines in place to make it happen," Aldrich said, urging robust public input and clearer outreach so residents understand how zoning changes would affect neighborhoods.

Both candidates described a mixed approach to financing affordable housing. Aldrich said a "multi‑pronged approach" is necessary — public housing, vouchers, private developers and public–private partnerships — because housing "needs real money" from varied sources. Montigu also backed mixed-income solutions and said she would pursue partnerships with the University of Michigan, the Ann Arbor Housing Commission and community providers; she added that "public land should be for public use."

The forum highlighted a recent, contentious example: the Ann Arbor South development, which the moderator said was approved with the largest tax‑increment financing (TIF) commitment in local history, potentially forgoing up to $373 million in future property tax revenue over 30 years to reimburse developers. Montigu said projects of that scale must be evaluated for infrastructure, transportation access and community benefits before offering similar commitments. Aldrich described the deal as controversial and questioned whether grants or other funding mixes could have delivered the same outcome without so large a TIF subsidy.

The candidates differed mostly in emphasis — Aldrich pressed for clearer communication and implementation steps to translate the land‑use plan into ordinances; Montigu emphasized protecting existing residents and using public land and partnerships to secure long‑term affordability.

The forum offered voters contrast on how aggressively the city should use developer subsidies and how much public land and oversight should play in securing permanently affordable housing. The candidates face voters in the Aug. 4 primary; no council votes were taken at the forum.