206 N Washington

206 N Washington CBO Guide

The proposed Avalon development at 206 N Washington is considered a Tier 2 Project defined as any project, development, or redevelopment in which the developer is requesting public support in the form of a financial incentive in an amount greater than $250,000.00 or in the form of the sale or lease of city-owned land.

Tier 2 Projects must comply with all of the requirements of tier 1 projects and provide for at least two community benefits contained in section 30-515(b) of this division. Projects may provide for direct funding, to the City of Ypsilanti or other relevant stakeholders, for the purposes of meeting community benefits requirements.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of potential community benefits that could be included in a community benefits agreement: 

(a) Tier 1: 

(1) Providing, either on-site or off-site, additional recreational activities, parks, open space, public service enhancements, or public infrastructure improvements for the City of Ypsilanti and its residents. This includes public transportation services and infrastructure. 

(2) Incorporation of green or sustainable energy elements into the project or the promotion of such investments throughout the city. 

(3) Unbundling of construction work into bid sizes that will allow local small businesses level competition, without restricting the project timelines. Assistance with access to bonding, lending, insurance, access to capital, procurement, and other types of capacity-related assistance where necessary and when available. 

(b) Tier 2: 

(1) Work with Michigan Works, the SBDC, and other similarly situated organizations to help provide training, development, and preparation for potential contractual and hiring opportunities for local small businesses, minority-owned business enterprises, women-owned business enterprises, and other relevant business organizations and chambers. 

(2) Providing or supporting educational and/or mentoring activities that provide or enhance employment opportunities for local residents and youth through the Ypsilanti Community Schools, Washtenaw Community College, or other educational programs. 

(3) Creation or financial support of, either on-site or off-site, mixed or low-income housing units. 

The Ypsilanti City Council has the discretion to approve a community benefits agreement that provides for one or more community benefit not described in section 30-515 of this division in substitution for one or more community benefit that is so described. If exercising its discretion under this section, city council shall determine under which tier in section 30-515 the alternative community benefit would qualify. City council may accept, reject, or amend a proposed community benefits agreement by resolution.

The following procedure is required for the development of community benefits agreements for all projects. 

(a) The department shall coordinate with the developer and interested councilmembers to call and hold a community participation meeting, which shall be chaired by an interested councilmember. The purpose of this meeting shall be to inform the community about the project and to allow the community to discuss potential community benefits. Particularly, the scope of the request for public support, the information discussed in section 30-526 of this division, and the provisions and procedures of this article shall be shared with the community. There shall be time at this meeting for those present to ask questions, discuss and identify among themselves potential community benefits, and recommend resident members for the ad-hoc committee discussed in section 30-527(b) of this division. Applications for appointment shall be made available for resident members of the ad-hoc committee discussed in section 30-527(b) of this division. The developer shall be present at this meeting to present information and answer questions. Notice of this meeting shall be provided as required by this division no less than 30 days in advance. This meeting shall be subject to the Open Meetings Act and its records subject to the Freedom of Information Act. If this meeting is held on a weekday, it shall not begin prior to 6:00 p.m. 

Following the meeting, City Council will establish an Ad Hoc Committee as prescribed in part (b) of this guide on June 20th

(b) Within 15 days of the community participation meeting discussed in section 30-527(a) of this division, city council shall establish an ad-hoc committee consisting of one interested councilmember; and five to eight residents of the City of Ypsilanti. City council shall select the interested councilmember among themselves to serve on the committee. The mayor, subject to the approval of city council, shall appoint the remaining members of the committee with at least three members being selected from those recommended at the community participation meeting identified above. In making such appointments, the mayor and city council should be guided by the relevant community interests with regard to the specific aspects of the project. Such interests could include, but are not limited to, the geographic location of the project as well as relevant demographic and socio-economic factors. Residents who have competing affiliations or interests that may result in the perception or the reality of an increased risk of bias or poor judgment in upholding the committee member responsibility to prioritize the interests of community residents should be restricted from serving on the committee. This may include current or past employment affiliated with the developer. This committee is subject to the Open Meetings Act and its records subject to the Freedom of Information Act. 

(c) Once established, the city manager shall designate a staff liaison to the committee described in section 30-527(b) of this division. Additionally, the city attorney's office should be available to advise and assist the committee. The staff liaison will provide ad hoc committee members with all documentation necessary for compliance with this article, as identified in section 30-526 of this division, within 48 hours of their selection. All other documents requested by the ad hoc committee during the process should be provided within 48 hours of such requests. 

***Once City Council establishes the Ad Hoc Committee a schedule will be published with the dates the Ad Hoc Committee shall meet as prescribed below***

(d) After the committee described in section 30-527(b) of this division is established, it shall meet at least twice within 60 days. The purpose of these meetings is to identify community benefits mutually agreed upon with the developer and make a recommendation to city council. Within these 60 days, the committee shall provide a recommended community benefits agreement for consideration by city council. The developer may produce and deliver a response for consideration by city council within 15 days of the issuance of the recommendation. Upon the request of the committee or the developer, respectively, city council may grant an extension to the deadlines described herein. The city manager, in his or her sole discretion, may direct employees and departments of the city to review and report to the committee concerning specific aspects of a proposed community benefits agreement. Likewise, the city manager may direct employees and departments of the city to review a recommended community benefits agreement issued by the committee and report to city council. Notice for meetings of the committee shall be provided as required by this division no less than seven days in advance.

****This is the step we are currently on****

Project Description 

The City of Ypsilanti will provide the community information regarding a proposed development at 206-210 N. Washington.  The developer, Avalon Housing, has requested a PILOT for a 22-unit affordable housing development. This request triggered Article VII, Section 30-500 of the Ypsilanti City Code which provided for the appointment of a Citizen Committee to negotiate with a Developer who has requested public support from the Community, namely in terms of a PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) of 4% of Annual Shelter Rents. 

If you have any questions, please Contact Economic Development and Equity Planner Katie Jones at kjones@cityofypsilanti.com