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Monday, June 9, 2008
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
HIGH-RISE
From Page 1
including Mayor John Hieftje, pre-
dict it will pass.
"A lot of people think we have
more power than we do," Hieftje
said of the City Council. "When a
building meets the zoning (require-
ments), there's not much we can do
to affect it."
The $150 million complex will
house 1,142 people, and completion
is expected in 2011.
City planner Ethel Potts, the only
member ofthe PlanningCommission
whovoted againstthe project,echoed
the feelings of residents who oppose
the building when she said it was too
large for the South University area.
Hieftje, who said he is opposed to
the project-because of its scale, said
the City Council is considering add-
ing a 15-18 story heigh~t limitation to
Ann Arbor buildings this fall. The'
limitations would not come in time
to prevent 601 Forest's construction.
"I'm very worried about ever-
escalating tall buildings," Hieftje
said. "I think Ann Arbor has a cer-
tain character, and I'd like to pre-
serve that."
Maggie Ladd, president of the
South University Area Association, a
group of area business owners, said
she supports the project because the
development could save the South
University area, which has struggled
financially since the late 90s. Some
South University business owners
agreed.
"It seems to me that for this area
to survive we need more density,
and without it this area is just going
to continue to deteriorate," said
Cynthia Shevel, the owner of Middle
Earth on South University Avenue.
Bob Snyder, president of the South
University Neighborhood Asso-
ciation, said he was concerned the
building would generate too much
traffic for the area. He passed out
traffic congestion fact sheets to City
Council members on Monday and to
Planning Commission members on
Tuesday.
According to a SUNA report,
450-600 students in the South Uni-
versity area own cars. The park-
ing for 601 Forest, which is mostly
underground, has 250 parking spots
- which accounts for less than 25
percent of its occupants.
Residents at Tuesday's meeting
questioned the demand for upscale
student housing, while others
feared that 601 Forest could drain
students from surrounding neigh-
borhoods and cause real estate
prices to plummet.
Rental rates at 601 Forest are esti-
mated at $1,000 per bed per month,
a figure $300 more than the current
average in the area.
Though the planning commis-
sion proposed more dense zoning
for the South University area in
April, demand for its development
has been well underway since 2003,
when a University study found that
local businesses could benefit from
the density and foot traffic that the
building would provide.
"I think this building is exactly
what we need. It follows exactly
the advice we were given from the
neighborhood in 2003," Ladd said
in an interview. "All of the questions
that the members of the community
have raised, we had already raised
with developers."
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The Park Plaza apartment building could be torn down to be replaced by 601 Forest, a 1,142 bed student housing complex.
DEMOCRATS
From Page 1
Styer said that, ultimately, all
the Democratic candidates stand
on similar platforms. When Sen.
Joe Biden and former Sen. John
Edwards were knocked out of the
race, the members of Students for
Biden and Students for Edwards
joined College Democrats because
they hoped to elect anyone other
than Republican candidate Sen.
John McCain, Styer said.
But LSA junior Brady Smith,
chair of the University's chapter
of College Republicans, isn't con-
vinced that supporters of Obama
and Clinton will be able to put
aside their differences.
Although he said he wasn't
sure what the climate was like on
campus, Smith said the drawn-out
primary season has taken a toll on
unity in the Democratic party.
Smith said that despite a rough
primaryfightbetweenMcCainand
former Republican candidate Mitt
Romney, members of Students for
Romney have campaigned door-
to-door for McCain with the Col-
lege Republicans.
"I don't think there is that
congeniality on the Dems' side,"
Smith said. "I think it's much
more bitter."
By having a nominee four
months before the Democratic
party, Smith said Republicans,
including those at the University,
had a strategic advantage over the
Democrats.
"We were the first ones to get
the word out there,"- Smith said.
"We've had a couple months on the
Democrats in terms of getting peo-
ple excited about our candidate."
- Managing News Editor Julie
Rowe contributed to this report.
MORE ONLINE
at michigandaily.com
CHICKENS
From Page 3
that many studies on migratory
waterfowl throughout the United
States have concluded that Mich-
igan's risk for avian flu is low,
especially for chickens in small
numbers.
"If this disease does come to
Michigan, common sense will pro-
tect people and their chickens," he
said in an e-mail interview. "The
chickens at that time should be
DONATION
From Page 2
for the Case Western Reserve Uni-
versity library system until she
retired in 1961.
She gave "modestly and consis-
tently" to the Case Western librar-
ies, Case Western spokeswoman
kept indoors, and they should be
kept isolated from other people
and animals."
Fulton added that children
should not cuddle chickens like
they would a dog or a cat.
Kunselman's pet chicken, Ber-
cilia, has been in "political exile"
because of the law, he said. But he
won't be able to build a coop at his
home in Ann Arbor anytime soon.
"The irony is that being a city
councilmember is a lot of work," he
said. "Maybe we'll bring her home
for a weekend or something."
Amy Raufman said in an e-mail
interview.
Dennis Rogers, her cousin, said
in awritten statementthat Sommer
spent little on herself and invested
wisely.
"She obviously really liked her
days at U-M," Rogers said. "She
thought of U-M as an excellent
place of learning."
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CORRECTIONS
* An Opinion viewpoint in the June 2 issue of The Michigan Daily
(Banning the banned) incorrectly stated the Michigan Senate passed
legislation the previous week banning an abortion procedure. The legis-.
lation was recently passed by the Michigan House of Representatives.
Please report any error in the Daily to: corrections@michigandaily.com