Sign this petition to demand that Ann Arbor stop using an unfair special assessment process on city driven new sidewalk constructions!!

Ann Arbor City has a Sidewalk Gap Elimination Initiative to close just over 150 miles of sidewalk gaps throughout Ann Arbor. Starting in December 2019, Ann Arbor City Council initiated new sidewalk construction projects at Jackson Road, Nixon Road/Traver Road, and Barton Drive. To fund the project, the City of Ann Arbor has decided to apply an onerous financial burden on the related property owners via special assessments ranging from $3,700 to $52,000.

This is a petition to the City Council and Mayor Christopher Taylor to use a millage rather than special assessments when new sidewalk construction projects meet the following situations:

• It is part of the Ann Arbor City Sidewalk Gap Elimination Initiative as outlined in the map here.
• The sidewalks were not requested by the properties owners where the construction is occurring.
• The new sidewalk construction "especially benefits" another party other than the property owner for the property where the improvement is occurring.

City Council and Mayor Christopher Taylor must remove the special assessments currently planned for the property owners of Barton Drive, Nixon Road/Traver Road, Jackson Road sidewalk gap elimination projects.

 

WHY YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS?

The Sidewalk Gap Elimination initiative has only completed 9.3 miles out of the 154.1 miles of sidewalk gaps. That means many properties will be faced with special assessments in the coming years as the city continues closing the sidewalk gaps. Your property could be the next one to get a special assessment.

In the case of the Jackson Road, Nixon Road/Traver Road, Barton Drive projects, 17 property owners are being asked to pay $197,768 in construction costs. The special assessment on the 17 property owners is the equivalent to increasing property taxes between 10% and 73%. By law, annual property tax increases 5%, because large property tax increases are considered onerous and unacceptable. It's clear that these special assessments present a particularly excessive burden and borders on punitive.

 

INJUSTICE TO LOW INCOME, ELDERLY AND IMMIGRANTS

Throughout the process for Jackson Road, Nixon Road/Traver Road, Barton Drive, the process followed by the city has lacked transparency and fairness. The City Council chose to vote on these issues in May, a period when the state was under stay at home orders due to COVID-19.

With many of property owners being low income, elderly and immigrants the circumstances presented a particular challenge for the property owners. In one case the elderly property owners were unable to travel back to the US from Canada. Another case, the elderly  woman did not have a computer that would allow her to attend the virtual City Council meetings.

Despite this, property owners sent in written objections to the project and the special assessment. Even the city's own surveys showed that property owners were not eager to have the sidewalk construction if there was a special assessment. Despite the documented uproar, City Council move forward to approve the project on May 4 (while citing no objection because a single property owner, who is not part of the construction and would not have a special assessment, supported the project)

As Ann Arborites, we cannot allow the rights of low income, elderly and immigrant minorities to be trampled upon!!
 

WHY IS SPECIAL ASSESSMENT IS NOT APPROPRIATE

Under Ann Arbor City Ordinance Code Chapter 13 Section 1:281, "The Council shall have power to determine that the whole or any part of the cost of any improvement shall be defrayed by special assessments upon the property especially benefitted." Ann Arbor City, however, has been using special assessment even when the property has not "especially benefitted." If Ann Arbor City is allowed to do this without meeting the "especially benefitted" standard, they would be able to apply a special assessment on a property owner anytime they are short on funds for construction in the Right-of-Use of any private property.

In the case of Jackson Road, Nixon Road/Traver Road, and Barton Drive the property owners will take on more liabilities once the construction is completed and in some cases may cause the property owners to lose their home. Many of the property owners are low income, immigrants and elderly retirees who have struggled to object to the City's actions. These special assessments punitively impacts the property owners.

The primary cause for the Sidewalk Gap Elimination projects is to make the city safer for the general public. It is not appropriate to ask a few residential property owners to take on the burden of public interest construction for the city. A more appropriate vehicle for this is the millage that is voted on by taxpayers.

 

UNFAIRNESS OF THE ANN ARBOR CITY NEW SIDEWALK CONSTRUCTION PROGRAMS

In a 9-2 vote on Nov. 18, the City Council approved a budget that would cover 50% of the construction costs for "resident-driven sidewalk gap filling" projects. It is not equitable that the city forces property owners to pay 100% of new sidewalk construction forced on the property owners while covering 50% of the cost for new sidewalk construction that a resident personally requested (and likely to especially benefit the requesting property owner).