10 ways Michigan’s shift in power could advance Ann Arbor’s agenda

ANN ARBOR, MI — With Democrats controlling both the Michigan Legislature and governor’s office for the first time in four decades come January, Ann Arbor officials are eyeing it as a big opportunity to make progress on city goals.

Ann Arbor’s legislative priorities for many years have been thwarted by Republicans in Lansing, but city leaders have new hope progressive policies will get a green light.

Planning to lobby for changes in state law to advance city goals around human rights, gun control, climate change and more, City Council adopted a new 37-page legislative policy agenda this past week.

“It was time to go back to the full wish list,” said Council Member Jen Eyer, D-4th Ward, chair of council’s policy agenda committee, who hopes to see Democratic lawmakers take immediate, bold action on a number of issues.

Council Member Jen Eyer, D-4th Ward, speaks at the Ann Arbor City Council meeting on Nov. 10, 2022.Ryan Stanton | The Ann Arbor News

Here are 10 areas where Ann Arbor officials are hoping Michigan lawmakers help advance city goals.

1. Moving to renewable energy

Ann Arbor’s A2Zero carbon-neutrality plan to power the community with 100% renewable energy by 2030 may hinge on convincing Michigan lawmakers to allow a type of program known as community choice aggregation.

Through such programs, local governments can buy renewable energy from alternative suppliers on behalf of residents and other energy customers.

“Rapidly and efficiently aggregating community-wide electricity demand and procuring clean energy to meet that demand on the open market would be a powerful tool in aiding the city (and other communities in the state) in achieving our community-wide clean-energy goals at competitive rates for consumers,” the city’s policy agenda states.

2. More sustainability measures

The policy agenda includes other sustainability-related proposals, including lifting caps on solar energy, legalizing community solar, mandating energy efficiency in the state’s construction code and codifying the MI Healthy Climate Plan.

“There are numerous instances where state law creates unnecessary impediments to the deployment and success of solar power systems on homes and commercial properties,” it states. “Specifically, state law limits the size of solar systems, arbitrarily caps the number of solar arrays that can be allowed by a utility, and creates too many opportunities for utilities to challenge interconnection agreements and prevent reasonable installations of solar systems.”

3. Polluter-pay laws

Ann Arbor officials have long been calling for a reinstatement of stronger polluter-pay laws in Michigan to deal with environmental threats like the Gelman dioxane plume spreading through the city’s groundwater and PFAS chemicals in the Huron River where the city draws most of its drinking water.

“We need more tools at our disposal to compel cleanup of harmful pollution and to prevent it in the first place,” the policy agenda states, also calling for further empowering the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

4. Banning single-use plastics

For years, local officials have wanted to see changes in state law to allow municipalities to implement local bans on single-use plastic items such as containers and bags. But the state took away local control to impose fees or bans after Washtenaw County adopted a law imposing a 10-cent bag fee in 2016.

“We recommend that the state’s preemption of disposable bag bans be repealed immediately,” the policy agenda states. “Further lawmakers should consider passing a statewide law that bans or hinders the use of disposable bags at retail stores, grocers and restaurants.”

The city cites statistics indicating less than 1% of plastic bags are recycled in Michigan, while the Great Lakes intake about 10,000 tons of plastic annually.

“In California, similar legislation reduced the number of plastic bags distributed in the state by 71%,” it states. “The impact on our environment by banning or taxing disposable bags would be immediate and substantial.”

5. Speed limits and gun control

The city generally opposes policies that preempt local control, including when it comes to carrying firearms into public facilities, the policy agenda states, indicating the city is interested in any bill that would authorize local regulation of firearms.

The city also wants more local control to set lower speed limits, noting Ann Arbor has a strong interest in slowing cars to improve safety on streets.

The city also is calling for a change in state law to encourage pedestrian safety along state trunklines, and the city wants greater ability to influence Michigan Department of Transportation decisions along state-controlled roads in Ann Arbor.

“Speed limits matter, and lower speed limits save lives,” the policy agenda states. “Pedestrian infrastructure also matters, and Ann Arbor has been advocating for lower speed limits and more investments in pedestrian-safe roadways for many years. Huron Street, a state trunkline, is the most dangerous roadway in downtown Ann Arbor for pedestrians and bicyclists. Our past attempts to improve the corridor have not been successful.”

6. Rent control and housing

The city wants the state to repeal Michigan’s longstanding ban on rent control.

“Most of Ann Arbor’s housing units are rentals, and with the spiraling increases in the cost of housing nationally and in our own city, it is important that we do everything in our power to make sure that rental properties remain affordable for families from a broad range of incomes,” the policy agenda states.

The city also wants the state to ban landlords from discriminating against renters based on source of income — for instance, if renters want to pay a portion of their rent with housing vouchers.

Ann Arbor already has such an ordinance, as does Ypsilanti, but many surrounding communities do not, which is one reason why housing voucher recipients end up clustered in certain areas, city officials argue.

“We hear from our social service providers regularly about the challenges they face trying to place families in rental housing in the region, and we believe that people who require subsidy to be safely housed should be able to live in the community of their choice,” the policy agenda states.

The city also wants the state to require communities to have a housing affordability component in their master plans and change the state’s zoning act to incentivize municipalities to allow duplexes, triplexes or quadplexes in all residential areas.

7. Election reforms

The city wants to see several election reforms to make it easier for people to vote.

“There are still seemingly random and nonsensical barriers that make it harder for voters to register and vote leading up to and on Election Day,” the policy agenda states, adding the city needs more tools to better handle long lines of University of Michigan student voters on Election Day, for example.

The city recommends allowing people to register to vote at their regular polling places on Election Day, allowing city clerk satellite offices to serve as early voting centers and providing more funding for elections.

The policy agenda doesn’t specifically spell it out, but city officials also want to see state law changed to allow ranked-choice voting.

8. LGBTQ rights

The city wants Michigan lawmakers to codify LGBTQ rights in the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.

“While the Michigan Supreme Court expanded the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include LGBTQ individuals in 2022, it is critically important to codify these rights under state law so a future court cannot reverse the decision,” the policy agenda states.

9. Repealing “right-to-work”

The city wants lawmakers to repeal Michigan’s so-called right-to-work law, which was passed by Republicans during a lame-duck session a decade ago.

Over the last 10 years, union membership in Michigan has fallen from 16.3% to 13.3% and Michigan’s median income has slipped to be 10% lower than the national median income, the policy agenda states, arguing right-to-work laws drive down wages and make it harder for working people.

The city also wants to see repeal of the so-called “Death Star” law enacted under former Gov. Rick Snyder, saying it has preempted local governments from adopting local minimum wage ordinances, among other labor measures.

10. Infrastructure projects

Lastly, the city’s policy agenda includes a list of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of infrastructure projects for which Ann Arbor hopes to net funding.

That includes a new Amtrak station, the proposed Treeline urban trail, replacing a large portion of the city’s water treatment plant, net-zero fire stations, a solar park at the city’s closed landfill site, and Vision Zero projects to reconfigure city streets and improve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Other items on the city’s wish list include more money for street resurfacing and creating a city-owned sustainable energy utility to make more investments in local renewable energy.

MORE FROM THE ANN ARBOR NEWS:

Ann Arbor gas ban proposal draws mixed reactions from builders, climate activists

Ann Arbor identifies MDOT as obstacle to creating new path under bridge

Ann Arbor seeks volunteers to help neighbors clear snow from sidewalks

Ann Arbor police officers more accountable for misconduct under new contract

AAPS stresses need to intensify interventions for students impacted most by COVID pandemic

If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation.