DDA plans for the Kerrytown-Community area (more info about these plans)
The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority (A2DDA) is a government body created by the City of Ann Arbor in 1983. The DDA has a Board of 12 members appointed by the Mayor and City Council for three year terms and a small staff. The DDA's primary function in Ann Arbor is managing the downtown parking system, which is contracted to Republic Parking, and funding downtown streetscape improvement projects.
DDA funding
The DDA's prime source of funding is Tax Increment Financing, or TIF. Within the DDA's boundaries, any increase in tax revenues resulting from new development is captured by the DDA, rather than going to the taxing body it would normally go to, such as the City, County, or State. (School taxes are not captured.) The Ann Arbor DDA's TIF is somewhat different than most TIFs; while TIF generally is a capture of tax increases from all sources, the Ann Arbor setup only involves TIF capture of taxes from new development. New tax income resulting from appreciation in building value or renovation does not get captured by the DDA. The TIF income is used for a variety of projects, such as streetscaping, infrastructure upgrades, grants to projects such as the Michigan Theater renovation, and other projects around downtown.
Ann Arbor's DDA also manages the downtown parking system; the DDA leases all of downtown's public parking facilities (structures, lots, and meters) from the City of Ann Arbor, and contracts day-to-day operations to Republic Parking. The DDA is generally credited with turning around a neglected and crumbling parking structure system, having rebuilt or heavily renovated several of the structures in the past decade, and has made the parking system financially roughly self-supporting.
In 2001, the DDA partnered with getDowntown and AATA to create the go!pass - an unlimited use annual bus pass available to employees of downtown businesses; the business pays $5 per year per employee to use the go!pass, and the DDA pays the balance of the cost for the pass.
DDA Board Members (2009)
- Gary Boren
- Russ Collins
- Rene Greff
- Leah Gunn
- Jennifer S. Hall
- Roger Hewitt
- John Hieftje
- Joan Lowenstein
- John Mouat
- Keith Orr
- Sandi Smith
- John Splitt
DDA Staff (2009)
- Susan Pollay, Executive Director
- Joe Morehouse, Deputy Director
- Joan Lyke, Management Assistant
- Lindsay-Jean Hard, Special Projects Manager
DDA Meetings
Committee meetings
The Ann Arbor DDA does quite a bit of its work in committee meetings. Those meetings are open to the public, but do not include scheduled time for public commentary.
For residents and interested parties planning to schedule time to be heard in a committee meeting, one possibility is to contact the chairs of the particular committees in advance of a meeting.
A schedule of committee meetings may be found on the Who We Are Page of their website.
DDA Board Meetings
Starting with the meeting of April 1, 2009, DDA Board meetings will be recorded with video cameras installed in the meeting venue. Full board meetings have four 4-minute speaking slots at the start for which one can sign up in advance, and an unlimited number of slots at the ends of meetings.
History of board membership
For a history of Ann Arbor DDA board membership, see Ann Arbor DDA: Board Membership
In the news
- The Ann Arbor Chronicle regularly covers DDA meetings and activity.
- "Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority pulls the plug on computerized parking spot program" [1]
