Trinitas Ventures is taking legal
action against Ann Arbor after
City Council denied a proposal for
a student housing complex north
of campus. The Indiana-based
developer filed a claim of appeal,
arguing the project complies with
relevant zoning regulations and
calling for a reversal of the city’s
decision on the development.
In September, City Council
rejected the proposal — in which
Trinitas planned to construct the
complex at 2601 Pontiac Trl., more
than two miles away from both
North and Central Campus — in
a unanimous vote. Then, in
November, it voted unanimously
in favor of a $150,000 contract
to retain outside legal counsel to
fight the developer’s claim against
the city.
City Councilmember Zachary
Ackerman, D-Ward 3, said despite
the fact legal precedents in the
state tend to favor developers,
he was pleased the council was
taking action to block the Trinitas
plan.
“Precedent is set by our court
system and generally not by
legislative branches, and the
precedent that’s been set in
the state of Michigan protects
developers who believe they have
the right to build a certain way on
a property,” Ackerman said.
Between alumni, parents and
general Michigan fans, people
flock to Ann Arbor on Saturdays
during the fall. The Ann Arbor
Airbnb host community has
seen this firsthand and earned
$1.55 million in supplemental
income from 8,900 guests during
University of Michigan home
football game weekends this
season, according to Airbnb. This
included
the
$117,000
in
projected
income
from
the
Indiana game on Saturday.
The $1.55 million in Airbnb
income is up from $1.2 million
during the 2017 football season.
Janice Cutting, an Airbnb host of
several local properties, said she
has no trouble finding guests for
football weekends.
“If you have a football game,
clearly the demand is much
higher and you can raise your
price,” Cutting said. “But when
it’s a little bit slower, you need to
lower your prices.”
Cutting
is
a
Superhost,
meaning she has a 4.8 rating or
higher, a 90-percent response
rate and zero cancellations.
After staying in above-average
Airbnb properties, Cutting said
she wanted to provide her guests
with an excellent experience.
Cutting provides coffee, creamer
and soap products for her guests,
and
she
hires
professional
cleaners between each guest.
“About 80 percent of the time
they’re booked,” Cutting said.
“When I first started out, my
prices were a little bit lower and
I used to get them booked up in
the 90 to 95 percent of the time.
But when I’m pricing it lower
I have found that you don’t get
quite as nice a clientele, so they
didn’t treat the properties quite
as well.”
Jack Savas, also a local Airbnb
Superhost, decided to use his
home for Airbnb because he
travels often and his daughter
attends college overseas. After
four years as a host, Savas said he
has learned communication and
honesty is essential to finding
guests who will respect the
property.
“Surprisingly,
I’ve
had
excellent guests,” Savas said.
“In many cases, they leave
the house cleaner than when
they arrive. But I think the
key to maintaining a residence
that’s clean and immaculate is
transparency with the guests
and pricing your house at the
right amount of money.”
Savas currently maintains two
Airbnb properties and is planning
on listing a third. Especially for
hosts who maintain multiple
properties, Savas said Airbnb
can present a great opportunity
for earning extra income.
“A peak month I did $14,600
but on average on average I earn
between $5,000 and $7,000,”
Students and faculty gathered
Friday night for a Native American
Heritage Month event, a historical
discussion of the Burt Lake
Burnout led by historian Richard
Wiles and the Burt Lake Tribal
Council. The event first centered
around the history of the Burt Lake
Band of Ottawa and Chippewa
Indians, and later discussed the
band’s ongoing struggle to achieve
federal tribal recognition.
On Oct. 15, 1900, the government
forced the relocation of the Burt
Lake Band of Chippewa and
Ottawa Native Americans, burning
their village and giving the land to
a local developer who claimed to
have purchased the property. The
University later gained ownership
of some of this property in 1909,
and the U-M Biological Station
currently sits on this land.
Last December, native students
and faculty submitted a request
to the University to investigate
the land ownership belonging to
the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa
and Chippewa Native American
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, November 19, 2018
ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM
City council
seeks legal
counsel after
appeal claim
Workshop talks combatting white
supremacy, power of organizing
ANNIE KLUS/Daily
LSA senior Hoai An Pham speaks at the breakout session held by the Michigan Student Power Network during the Organizing Against White Supremacy conference
in Mason Hall Friday.
CITY
Developer company took action after
A2 denied housing complex proposal
LEAH GRAHAM
Daily Staff Reporter
Michigan Student Power Network centered the workshop on importance of collective action
In response to the growing
visibility
of
white
nationalist
movements across the country
and
subsequent
debates
about
free speech, the social justice
nonprofit Michigan Student Power
Network hosted a workshop Friday
afternoon about the power of
community organizing and action.
The workshop was one of many
events hosted during the conference
“Building
Power:
Organizing
Effectively
Against
White
Supremacy,” which discussed topics
like nonviolence and the Black
Action movement.
Inspiration for the conference,
which described itself as “Black-
led,” stemmed from controversial
events last year that received
pushback
from
students
and
campus
organizations.
In
November 2017, white supremacist
Richard
Spencer’s
request
to speak at the University of
Michigan incited protests from
the Black Student Union and the
University’s chapter of the NAACP.
Spencer cancelled his request to
speak in January and canceled all
national college tours after violence
broke out at his stop at Michigan
State University.
MSPN member Hoai An Pham,
LIAT WEINSTEIN &
ZAYNA SYED
Daily Staff Reporters
Burt Lake
event talks
Biostation
recognition
CAMPUS LIFE
University research station
situated on stolen acres of
Native American land
KATHERINA SOURINE
Daily News Reporter
WESTERN MICHIGAN
SEPT 7 – 8
720
Guests
$76,000
SMU
SEPT 14 – 15
960
Guests
$134,000
NEBRASKA
SEPT 21 – 22
1600
Guests
MARYLAND
OCT 5 – 6
1300
Guests
$293,000
$218,000
Ann Arbor Airbnb Host Income
During Home Football Game Weekends
WISCONSIN
SEPT 7 – 8
$343,000
PENN STATE
$371,000
INDIANA
SEPT 21 – 22
940
Guests
$117,000
SEPT 14 – 15
1720
Guests
1700
Guests
CASEY TIN/Daily
Ann Arbor Airbnb hosts take in $1.5
million during football Saturdays
The host community housed over 8,900 guests throughout the season
JULIA FORD
Daily Staff Reporter
One to go
Michigan set itself up for one
final showdown with Ohio
State — for all the marbles
— by defeating Indiana on
Saturday, 31-20.
» Page 1B
See NATIONALIST, Page 2A
The
University
of
Michigan’s 66th Annual Economic
Outlook
Conference
discussed
research on the national and state
economic future, especially as a
recession rapidly approaches. The
program’s 10 presentations, held
between Thursday and Friday,
spanned talks from “Election
Implications for Small Business
Spending and Hiring” to “NAFTA,
Tariffs, and the U.S. Automotive
Industry.”
The conference was organized
by the Research Seminar in
Quantitative
Economics,
a
modeling and forecasting unit in
the Economics Department that
provides quarterly forecasts for
the U.S. and Michigan economies.
The conference is the longest
running one of its kind in the
U.S. , and is attended by upper
level government and business
economists, economic analysts,
and academics.
RSQE Director Gabriel Ehrlich
spoke about Michigan’s economic
outlook at the conference on Friday.
Economics
conference
emphasizes
education
BUSINESS
University hosts Economic
Outlook panels, featuring
research and forecasts
SONIA LEE
Daily News Reporter
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVIII, No. 34
©2018 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 B
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