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- The Future of A2 is Knocking! 🚪 Let's Open the Door (Join us on 11/16!)
The Future of A2 is Knocking! 🚪 Let's Open the Door (Join us on 11/16!)
Our feature in Concentrate Media; An urgent advocacy alert about threats to federal housing funds; You're invited to our November membership meeting; Lunches with love, and more!
Neighbors For More Neighbors
November 06, 2025
đź“° More Neighbors A2 Mission Highlighted in Concentrate Media Article
 SaraEllen Strongman |  Greg Matthews and Kit McCullough |
Photos Credit: Doug Coombe, Concentrate Media
We're thrilled to be featured in a recent Concentrate Media article that highlights the vision of Neighbors for More Neighbors and how our mission can advance Ann Arbor's city planning. The piece covers the City Council's decision to open a 63-day public comment period for the draft Comprehensive Land Use Plan (Comp Plan). The proposed plan embraces our core goal of by promoting "ethical zoning,” such as allowing "missing middle" housing optionsa denser, more affordable, and walkable Ann Arbor and small-scale commercial uses in our current single-family zones. The Comp Plan is a critical opportunity to shape our city's future. Read the full article to see how our efforts are making an impact, and prepare to share your feedback with the City now that the comment period has opened!
“I think sometimes people think about what we’re discussing as only more housing, but importantly … it’s more types of housing too,” Strongman explains. “People want and need different types of housing at different times in their life, whether it is retired seniors thinking of downsizing, or young professionals who are seeking to move out of roommates and in with a partner. Those people should also have different options and there should be more availability for those options.”
🎍 November Membership Meeting: 11/16 at 1pm
Join us for our monthly membership meeting at Bamboo (200 S 1st St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104). If it's your first meeting, join us at 1pm for a new member orientation. If you're a returning member, the main meeting will start promptly at 1:30pm. Plan on being there 5 minutes early so we start on time. Our guest speaker this month is Scott Ellis from Avalon Housing.
Here's the full schedule:
1pm - New Member Orientation
1:30pm - Organization Business and Committee Reports
2pm - Guest Speaker - Scott, Avalon Housing
2:30pm - Socialize
3pm - End of meeting
There’s no need to register if you’re joining in-person. If you'd like to join remotely, please register to receive a Zoom link.
Are you the kind of person who needs advanced notice? We are planning to hold these social & educational meetings on the third Sunday of each month. December’s will be a bit earlier due to the holidays: Sunday, December 14th, same time, same place. Mark your calendars and stay tuned to the newsletter for updates.
🏢 Advocacy Alert from Avalon Housing
New requirements from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are threatening to severely restrict resources for permanent supportive housing nationwide. This has a direct and urgent impact on our community: over 800 people in Washtenaw County could lose their stable housing, and local programs face a potential cut of $7 million in funding.
🍂 Land Use and Sustainability
This month’s newsletter from the Office of Sustainability and Innovation explains how land use is closely connected to our city’s environmental sustainability initiatives. It addresses many issues that residents have raised during public engagement for the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. Topics includes the relationship between carbon emissions and population density, natural features, urban tree canopy, the circular economy, infrastructure and services. A few key quotes:
"Density is the antidote to sprawl that has historically and indiscriminately depleted farmland and natural features on a regional scale. With almost 80,000 commuters coming to Ann Arbor daily, the Comp Plan calls for providing more housing options for those who want to live closer to work."
"One of the largest concerns the public has shared is potential tree canopy loss if denser development is prioritized. Notably, mapping the city’s natural features shows that most of them are within public control. In addition to maintaining existing regulations for private development, the Comp Plan supports other city efforts to increase tree canopy."
"The Comp Plan supports the transition to clean energy."
This isn’t as terrible as I thought.
🫱🫲 Meet Joe Giant, Ann Arbor's New Economic Development Director
Ann Arbor's new economic development director, Joe Giant, recently sat down with The Michigan Daily to discuss key city issues. Giant, who joined the city in March, focused on his priorities: housing affordability, the city’s development goals, and the economic partnership with the University of Michigan.
“It’s not “Joe Giant’s plan for Ann Arbor,” it’s the residents’ and community’s plan for their community. The city is commendable in a lot of ways, but one of them is definitely that the people that live here really, really care about it, and they care actively about it. Right now the city is undergoing an amendment to our Comprehensive Plan, where we’re looking at areas that we want to grow. And so what I would do is look at the policies that are in that plan and say, “How do we take those just from a sentence that’s pretty open-ended to actual activity on the ground?” It’s making that connection between what our policies and goals are to how that affects the built environment, how that affects the economy.”
🍴 Over 70 Meals Prepped at Lunches with Love Event
We asked for volunteers and donations in our last newsletter, and you stepped up! Neighbors for More Neighbors volunteers organized a Lunches with Love event, ultimately delivering 72 meals to Food Gatherers. Thank you to everyone who helped bring a little love and nourishment to our neighbors!
Check future newsletters for additional opportunities to volunteer and donate to our local service agencies. If you would like to propose a volunteer opportunity, please share it with us: [email protected].
Go Neighbors!
In solidarity with all of our neighbors,
—The Neighbors For More Neighbors A2 Team
🖥️ moreneighborsa2.org | Sign the Petition | | Donate (designate More Neighbors A2) | Order a T-Shirt | Facts
Questions? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected]
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