Urgent Information Regarding Your Property in the Midtown/Cross Street Area of Ypsilanti
Dear Neighbor:
This is a follow up to the notice of Public Hearing you should have received from the City last week.
Your property rights and/or those of your neighbors are being threatened.
The City of Ypsilanti is considering a plan to “downzone” the area where your property is, making more than half the neighborhood “non-conforming.”
As the new ordinance stands, non-conforming properties will not be allowed to rebuild “as-is” after destruction caused by fire, storms or other acts outside the control of the owner.
This is unacceptable! Property owners should have the right to rebuild their homes “as-is” without question and without having to beg for permission from the City.
Please come to the Public Hearing which is part of the City Council meeting on FEBRUARY 7th, 2006 at 7:30pm at City Hall to voice your opinion on the matter. Our Council needs to hear from you. Please also consider writing a letter or sending an email to your council representative or calling him/her personally.
This will be your last opportunity to defend your property rights, as City Council will be voting on whether or not to make this new ordinance law on FEBRUARY 7th, 2006 at 7:30pm at City Hall! Please come to this meeting!
For more information regarding this downzoning ordinance, you are also welcome to contact me at 734-786-1584 or 734-674-8909 or email me at Rachel@ypsi.com.
Sincerely,
Rachel Cuschieri-Murray
114 N. Normal St.
Cell: (734) 674-8909
When : Tuesday, February 7th, 2006
Where: Council Chambers, City Hall
1 South Huron
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
This is a follow up to the notice of Public Hearing you should have received from the City last week.
Your property rights and/or those of your neighbors are being threatened.
The City of Ypsilanti is considering a plan to “downzone” the area where your property is, making more than half the neighborhood “non-conforming.”
As the new ordinance stands, non-conforming properties will not be allowed to rebuild “as-is” after destruction caused by fire, storms or other acts outside the control of the owner.
This is unacceptable! Property owners should have the right to rebuild their homes “as-is” without question and without having to beg for permission from the City.
Please come to the Public Hearing which is part of the City Council meeting on FEBRUARY 7th, 2006 at 7:30pm at City Hall to voice your opinion on the matter. Our Council needs to hear from you. Please also consider writing a letter or sending an email to your council representative or calling him/her personally.
This will be your last opportunity to defend your property rights, as City Council will be voting on whether or not to make this new ordinance law on FEBRUARY 7th, 2006 at 7:30pm at City Hall! Please come to this meeting!
For more information regarding this downzoning ordinance, you are also welcome to contact me at 734-786-1584 or 734-674-8909 or email me at Rachel@ypsi.com.
Sincerely,
Rachel Cuschieri-Murray
114 N. Normal St.
Cell: (734) 674-8909
When : Tuesday, February 7th, 2006
Where: Council Chambers, City Hall
1 South Huron
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
2 Comments:
In the interest of transparency, I think it would be fair to mention that you’re not only a concerned citizen but also the manager of Flo-Mar apartments. I can’t help but assume that your role at Flo-Mar colors your opinion since all the citizen homeowners of Ypsilanti that I’ve spoken with (as opposed to out-of-town landlords) support and would benefit from the rezoning.
You’ve done great things with your property, and Flo-Mar and Barnes and Barnes generally keep their properties in better condition than most. But that doesn’t change the fact that high-density, high-turnover rentals cannot sustain a city.
The city is not just City Hall; the city is its citizens. And, as citizens we do have the right to tell our neighbors what they can and can’t do on their property to the extent that it impacts our own. We live in a democracy, not a libertarian or anarchist state. An owner can’t put a trash dump in the middle of a neighborhood and claim that “It’s my property, I have the right to do what I want.” Our society enacts laws to protect the rights of others.
The city needs residents, but only if they are accompanied by tax dollars. If twenty people live in an apartment house, the city gets the same amount in property tax as if two lived there. Two people living in a home puts far less strain on city services (police/fire/etc.) than does twenty in the same house. Many apartment owners with four or more units pay less in tax than their single-family neighbors. You, for example, as owner of a single-family home, pay roughly the same city tax per year that Flo-Mar pays on the four-unit 607 Washtenaw. High-density apartments are costing the city more and paying the city less.
Packing our historic homes and neighborhoods with here-today gone-tomorrow renters is exactly what the city doesn’t need. It needs families, like your own, to invest in our neighborhoods and provide stability.
The city needs both renters and homeowners. I have many friends that are long-time Ypsi renters. But, currently, we are WAY out of balance with, what is it … seventy percent renters? We need people to LIVE here, not just sleep here. I am strongly in favor of any ordinance/zoning that helps our neighborhoods achieve the balance they need for the city to survive.
Of course I'm sure that Caleb would admit that citizen Homeowners in Ypsilanti have "colored opinions" also.
I'm also a little puzzled at the notion that rental properties don't bring in tax dollars? First, these "absentee" landlords can't claim homestead for their taxes, so the city collects HIGHER taxes on these properties to begin with. Additionally, if the property is rented, then taxes are paid at a commercial rate for the property, which is much higher than the residential rate. So for two properties that are essentially equivelant, one that is being used as a commercial property brings much more tax revenue for the city than the other. You can argue that in the long run they will be worth more as residential properties, but can the city afford the loss of tax revenue in the mean time? Lets hope so, and lets hope that we don't suffer wipeout in the affected areas, since we've begun to dismiss potential commercial buyers.
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