Page 8- The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 4, 1986 Ann Arbor area enjoys high growth, pr 90 osperity . development is a "foregone con- clusion. There are just too many ways to make money in this town for it to stop." By PHILIP . LEVY It is fairly common these days to stroll down the streets of Ann Arbor and see towering cranes piecing new buildings together. Ann Arbor is ex- periencing its highest rate of growth since the 1960s. Martin Overhiser, director of the Ann Arbor City Planning Depar- tment, said while Ann Arbor remained stable in size throughout the 1970s, in the last three years...we star- ted experiencing an explosion of growth and of new development in the city." One example of the explosion is the drastically increasing number of building requests that now come through Overhiser's office. Any plan to develop a site in Ann Arbor must be reviewed by the planning department to see if it meets zoning regulations. The number of requests has almost doubled in recent years. The boom began around the Briar- wood area in theearly 1980s with the construction of office buildings. Residential development around the city followed and Overhiser said the Planning Department is now starting to see proposals for commercial projects, such as shopping centers. Most of the growth is in the outskirts of the city or in the surrounding areas, because the campus and downtown regions are already developed. Among the biggest projects are proposed conference centers and shopping centers. However, there are projects underway near campus, such as the Tally Hall shopping and parking center on Liberty Street which is nearing completion. Development favored and opposed The advantages to growth are numerous. New developments provide a larger tax base, more jobs, bring money into the community, more stores and services, and com- petition. The advantages are so com- pelling that, when asked about the disadvantages, Rodney Benson, President of Ann Arbor's Chamber of Commerce, replied "I only see advan- tages." There are disadvantages, however, as Overhiser acknowledges. Growth brings traffic congestion, busier grocery stores and parks, and "development in the field next door that you thought was going to be a park," he said. City Councilman Jeff Epton (D- Third Ward) faulted city agencies for not considering the problems that can accompany growth. Epton said development can threaten residential areas through overflow parking and new commuter and shopping traffic. Development can also hurt existing businesses, he said. For example, Ep- ton opposed a conference center proposed on the western edge of downtown because construction would disrupt traffic towards businesses in the area. While Epton feels the city should regulate development to preserve the city's atmosphere, he concedes that Catalysts differ The catalysts for this spurt are the good economy and low interest rates, according to Overhiser. Majort development projects are often finan- ced through loans, and lower interest rates make the projects less costly. Having the University in Ann Arbor has also helped the boom, said Mike Aginian of the Washtenaw Develop- ment Council. For example, he said, "businesses' find it easier to recruit from the area' because of the University's expert staff and its students. The University' also benefits, he said, because the development draws professors who want to take part in private research and business. Other incentives for businesses, Aginian said, include the city's status as a research center, its proximity to the Detroit auto industry, and its reputation as a nice place to live. In addition, the international com- munity that thrives in Ann Arbor is also very attractive to foreign com- panies, Aginian said. He said the large number of foreigners makes other foreigners feel more comfor- table. "Would you want to move someplace where no one spoke your language?" Aginian asked. Business from Japan, France, Australia, and England have recently opened bran- ches in Ann Arbor. I q Daily Photo by ANDI SCHREIBER left on the parker's time The digital face of one of the city's new electronic parking meters reads 39 minutes limit. The new meters are the first of their kind. Students fin d A arking spots rare, tickets aplenty Campus ba By AMY MINDELL LSA senior Melissa Biedrach could have ascaron campus if she wanted one. She doesn't. "It's too much of a pain. Parking (in the city) is atrocious. There just aren't enough spaces," she says. Perhaps the worst parking night- mare for Ann Arbor drivers is down- town. Many Ann Arbor-ites find that because it's so difficult to find parking spaces in the city's main business district, it's easier to take the bus or even take their business elsewhere. "I'd rather go shopping in Briar- Wood," said Eddie Ridha, a recent Pioneer High School graduate. "Or just ride a bike to save myself the trouble of parking." University parking limited For faculty and staff at the Univer- sity, parking around campus is make easier by eight University-owned parking structures that are off-limits to students. The University does provide metered lots for the general public and about 400 storage spaces for students who drive only on holidays or weekends. But University officials acknowledge that there aren't enough parking spots for students to go around, but the main reason why the University doesn't supply parking for everyone is simple - there's not enough room. "I wish we had available space for every student who wants a car, but there just isn't enough room," said Robert Wagner, the University's ranager of parking operations. "There just isn't enough green grass," he said. City Councilmember Doris Preston (D-Fifth Ward) said dealing with the lack of parking in the city takes a high priority for councilmembers. She I wish we had available space for every student who wants a car, but there just isn't enough room.' -Robert Wagner, University parking operations manager suggested more parking and educating drivers about available parking. "For the most part you can find space," Preston said. "The (parking) structure on Church Street always has lots of empty spaces." Preston did not take her own ad- vice, however, and was ticketed for parking illegally once this summer. "I couldn't find a space," she ex- plained. Police like ticketing Duncan Currie, a University graduate and Ann Arbor resident, parked illegally in front of Angell Hall after he couldn't find a space. Currie said he is sure the city police want to ticket. "It's like a contest between students and the city," he said. "They'll watch you do something illegal, just so they can ticket and make some money." Many drivers criticise the ticketing system and city coun- cilmembers have recommended changes, some of which were im- plemented this summer. For exam- ple, Preston said, police officers will not concentrate on expired meters - pouncing as soon as the red flag goes up - but rather on cars parked over the time limit. Some parkers surpass the two hour limit by "feeding the meters" all day. Other new policies include: New electroniciparking meters, the first in the nation. An increase in parking rates from 25 cents to 30 cents per hour hour as of last July 1. Pru Rosenthal, an Ann Ar- bor resident, pointed out that parking in the city is cheap compared to other cities. Parking violation tickets paid within two hours will be $1 fine instead of $3. By PHILIP ~ LEVY "Dad, can I have $10?" just doesn't; work as well from 400 miles away. If you get lucky and Dad says yes, you're going to have to deal with a bank. And students and banks don't always get along. Students often approach banks ignorant of how they work and with unreal expectations of service. Banks, on the other hand, may regard student accounts as unprofitable. And then there are the lines. For many students, the first en- counter with a campus bank takes place in the first few days of a semester. Local bankers describe this period as "fall rush". During this time, a First of America bank official said, "It's jam-packed." The situation "requires a lot of patience", accor- ding to Bill Colburn, acting ,assistant. manager at First of America at South University and East University. "You get people unfamiliar with banks. They don't know what they tnks frustre need to do," Colburn said. Colburn described students who come in hoping to instantly cash a check from New Jersey. "You cannot do that," he said. Students also "have a tendency not to balance their ac- counts," he said. Despite the problems, Colburn said "we want the student accounts." He added that there's a lot of competition in Ann Arbor for the students' banking business. First of America brings in extra staff for fall rush and tries to employ tellers who speak foreign languages. They also try to be sym- pathetic, said Colburn. In order to avoid the trauma of fall rush, Colburn suggested that students open an account by mail or come early or late. Students critique banks When Patrick Voetberg, an LSA junior, first opened an account at Fir- st of America, he came to town early to avoid the rush. Voetberg chose Fir- st of AMerica over banks such as. Comerica and Michigan National because of its convenient locations and its money machines. Voetberg said, however, "I don't like this bank." Voetberg feels that campus banks don't trust customers as much bs banks in his hometown of Troy, Michigan. For example, he cited dif- ficulty in cashing checks. Voetberg, who has a savings account, is also un- satisfied with First of America's limit on withdrawals. "If you want to go to a bar, you have to plan a week in ad- vance," he said. LSA junior Susan Fleming also chose her bank for its convenient location. She chose Comerica which is located on the corner of North Univer- sity and Thayer streets near the Diag. Fleming was apathetic when choosingher bank, saying "banks are banks." But she criticised Comerica's minimum $200 balance, a relatively high figure for a student's income. students Homeless residents struggle for respect (Continued from Page 3) bors of the proposed facility. Earlier this summer, city police said that crime rates are dispropor- tionally high among the homeless population. The crimes comitted, usually larceny or theft, are, "related to the situatioin of being homeless," according to Kathy Zick, director of the Ann Arbor Shelter for the Homeless. Though Zick and other officials at- tribute fears about the homeless to what they see as society's lack of un- derstanding for the plight of the homeless, neighborhood opposition to the shelters persists today. Shelter proponents say this op- position explains why the City Council took more than two years to address what many consider the root cause of the homeless crisis - a severe lack of low-cost housing. The causes Earlier this summer, the council set aside $200,000 for affordable housing, but the money is not earmarked for a particular sight and may not be until at least next summer. The council became aware of the problem back in April of 1985 when a report by its Af- fordable Housing Task Force iden- tified, "a severe need for more housing affordable to low and moderate-income people in Ann Ar- bor." The report blamed "drastic cut- backs in federal support for housing development," and urged city gover- nments to take the initiative in fighting the housing crisis. The city seems to have deepened the crisis by tearing down several low-income housing structures, in- cluding the Downtown Club, an inex- pensive hotel with 68 rooms. The hotel was converted into office space by a group of investors headed by former Ann Arbor Mayor Louis Belcher. The national housing crunch has also worsened, as many cities have been tearing down old hotels and "flophouses" in an attempt to restore the quality of their neighborhoods. According to a report in Newsweek magazine, "median rent increased twice as fast as income in the 1970s and low -income construction came to. a virtual standstill." Destroying this minimal standard of living forced many low-income residents onto the streets, where they were joined by thousands of former mental health patients. Mental patients released Since the mid-1950s, mental hospitals have been releasing patients who do not pose a "clear threat" to themselves or others. ° Democrats initially supported this policy for its civil rights merits and Republicans for is cost-cutting benefits. But promised follow-up treatment for those patients has not materialized, according to national experts, resulting in thousands of legally sane but actually delusional people wandering the streets. Locally, the release of patients from Ypsilanti state mental hospital has increased the homeless population. The Reagan Administration has also expanded the numbers of homeless by tightening the review process for welfare and food stamp benefits. Jackie Edens, a spokeswomen for the Chicago Depar- tment of Human Services, told the Associated Press that today, "the term 'new poor' is not a figment of someone's imagination." Shelter abuse Nonetheless, the administration's contention that the poor abuse shelters and other social services may have some merity, based on inter views at the Huron St. shelter. ° One man, who would not give his name, said he lived in the shelter for eight months - with an outside jti and money for a cheap apartment | because he was too lazy to look for private housing. "I wanted to live in the fast lane," he said. "You name it, I spent money on it; money on movies, records; taking ladies out to dinner." Eventually, he said, he decided "it was time to get going and find a place to live. Today, he has a job and hi own apartment, and often returns the shelter to "hang out with th 'fellas." WLL(OMf bACK to Afkt',4o(, to//fo(M aid iZ 24 State P/aza/ You'll recognize the Plaza, but maybe not all of the exciting new merchandise from these shops: Large selection of plants, bouquets, and cut flowers. 2745 Plymouth Road! 769-2250 2135 W. Stadium Blvd. 769-9100c 115 W. Michigan 485-0225 C . _ Ashbury & York Fine English Toiletries E TK Co-ops offer an alternative * I . ,,a I I I FA ILI 6 Doodles The alternative card shop Rainbow Natural Natural cosmetics & skin care Benetton Fine Italian knit wear Made in A merica Proud/ crafted in the U.S. Surroundings For .your contemporar lifest tle ~~FLOWERS INC.Jj Open Monday- Saturday 9-6 w opw (Continued from Page 4) on maintenance and home- im- provements such as a new slate floor- installed recently in one of the rooms. Minniex's, a big purple house on State Street, was known for a while as the drug house because of its unusual S * * ' Ia color. Co-ops on North Campus have manj foreign residents who study at the Engineering College. University co-ops In addition to the ICC co-ops, there are six University-owned co-ops it which members share the day-to-day maintenance of the house but have n4 autonomy in setting rent rates or making modifications in the physical structure of their houses. Five of the University-owneJ houses are in the Oxford Housing 4 A D UNHAM - WELLS 407 N. FIFTH AT FARMERS' MARKET Plaza Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.