Over the past two months, neighbors living around the area of the proposed apartment site at 828 Greene St. have gathered at Ann Arbor Planning Commission meetings to protest the 36-bedroom building.

Some neighbors said they believed a building of that size would increase traffic in the neighborhood and make it impossible to park in a place with already limited parking availability. Others spoke of how important their homes are to them and how a large influx of students would ruin the tight-knit dynamics of the neighborhood.

On Nov. 30, the commission ruled against the builder’s request to develop the site. Like the neighbors who protested the plan, the main reason the commission rejected the proposal, saying that they believed the building was not well-suited for the area. Many neighbors considered this a victory in the fight to save their way of life.

According to city officials and many members of the community, the need to develop more affordable places to live in Ann Arbor like the apartment site at 828 Greene St. is a prominent and pressing need. But it is difficult to please everyone, when it comes to actually building new housing.

Remodeling a city of elites

Mayor John Hieftje has attributed the lack of affordable housing in Ann Arbor to a variety of things, the two most prominent being the popularity of the city and a shortage of available space in which to build.

“Lots of people want to live here. We have the lowest unemployment in the state, a vibrant university, high tech industries --— it’s a great place for people to be. Every community that’s as successful as Ann Arbor has this problem,” Hieftje said. “We’re also very constrained in that we can’t grow — the city limits are there and there’s not much room to develop in Ann Arbor anymore.”

Because of the popularity of the city and lack of space, some people say they believe Ann Arbor has reached a point where only the wealthy can afford housing.

“If we allow (Ann Arbor) to become a city of just very high housing values, it becomes a city of elites, and we begin to see that other voices, or voices of people who just happen to have a lower income, are left out of the community conversation,” Hieftje said. “So we may become a place — and we already are a place — where people beginning a career as a teacher can’t live here, a person beginning a career in law enforcement can’t live here.”

Instituting affordability

A variety of efforts are being made by different groups to bring more affordable housing to Ann Arbor.

The city has developed several requirements for contractors who want to build housing. For example, contractors requesting to build in Ann Arbor’s downtown must meet an “affordable housing quotient” — meaning that 15 percent of the units in their building must meet affordable housing criteria. In Ann Arbor this means that for housing to be considered affordable, the cost per month cannot exceed $989.

If a builder cannot meet that criteria, he is required to contribute $60,000 per unit to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Money in the fund is used to finance other low-income housing projects throughout the city.

A clash of housing views

While many neighborhood organizations in Ann Arbor acknowledge the need for affordable housing, they often disagree with the city government on what types of housing should be built and where these new structures should be located. Several homeowner associations say the Ann Arbor City Council has not always been adequately responsive to their concerns.

“We beat on the city’s doors for a number of years before they actually listened to us,” said Stephen Rapundalo, president of the Orchard Hills/Maplewood Homeowners Association in Ann Arbor.

Judith Marks, president of the West Liberty Homeowners Association, said she has become so disillusioned with the council that she believes talking to it about her concerns is not worthwhile.

“As far as affordable housing is concerned, I personally don’t think there’s any point in protesting because I think the city council has an agenda, and they’re not going to listen to what we say,” Marks said.

The mayor said he always tries to take the neighborhood’s concerns into consideration.