Midwestern Consulting

Another example of a “development friendly-ier” Ann Arbor:

Ann Arbor Administrative Amendments (A4) to approved site plans permit increased building square footage of up to 10 percent of the approved floor area, or 10,000 square feet (sf), whichever is less.  An A4 is approved by staff, does not require a full site plan, Planning Commission, citizens participation, or City Council meetings. 

Larger additions or conversions of excess parking to building square footage can be done incrementally by breaking up proposed floor area increases into phases getting each phase approved separately.  Each phase is subject to the 10 percent/10,000 sf limit.    The additions are not cumulative and can be done in multiple stages that together exceed the 10 percent/10,000 sf maximum.

For example, an existing 100,000 sf retail center with 400 parking spaces now requires 323 to 377 spaces.  Parking could be reduced by up to 77 spaces, building square footage could be increased, or a combination of the two could be done to take advantage of the lower requirements. The maximum increase in building area is 23,870 sf (subject to maximum lot coverage and floor area ratio limits).  This could be done in three Administrative Amendments.

Earl Ophoff, LSA, is a registered landscape architect and senior project manager with Midwestern Consulting, Ann Arbor, Michigan.  Call Earl at 734.995.0200.