Jim Pyke

#a2council I voted YES on A&B today because: duh.

But you know what?

Just prior to my arrival a NO campaigner was caught walking around INSIDE the Westgate polling place w/ a yard sign!

These jerks are so upset by the idea of having a parking lot replaced that they're literally breaking the law.

Wouldn't it be great, #a2council, if the "journalists" reporting on A&B would actually *confront* Haber with this contradiction while interviewing him, rather than simply & uncritically quoting him stating his current (plainly anti-democratic) position over & over?

Somehow I am reminded of...

I get it that seeing old bldgs torn down, their lots combined to build bigger, denser bldgs discomforts some ppl. But that discomfort is a *feeling* based on being comfortable w/ the deeply problematic dominance of exclusionary single family zoning.
We shouldn't base housing policy on such feelings.

Yeah I'm thinking that a 15-20 story building in the center of downtown with a green roof that's open to the public during daylight hours would be an extremely cool addition to Ann Arbor.

Looks great!
@jeanniel.bsky.social & I just last week visited the main branch of the Amsterdam public library.
Similarly impressive / inspirational, as well as maybe a bit "warmer" feeling than the impression provided by the Helsinki Central Library's website 🙂

text in image: What will the new library look like? There’s a lot of design work between here and the answer to that question. Design work won’t begin until we know what sites we’re working with, and development partners have been selected. Then the AADL Board of Trustees will publicly interview interested architecture firms and select a team to design the project. Just like our prior branch projects, there will be extensive public engagement throughout the design process where interested patrons can give feedback on the design as it is developed. This summer, the Library will be inviting the community to submit their ideas and inspiration for a new library to help visualize the possibilities.

#a2council

Now that early voting has begun, let's get hype for the possibilities in the new library building once A&B pass.

What do folks want to see?

Haber literally penned the 2018 COTC charter amendment.

One might think revealing his holocaust denialism would be sufficient to discredit his voice entirely & retroactively taint anything he's ever touched, but some folks in Ann Arbor place their NIMBYism, shall we say, "uber alles."

#a2council

a man wearing a hat and a white shirt with the words it 's just a mess on it ALT: a man wearing a hat and a white shirt with the words it 's just a mess on it

After they lose on A&B it will be important for us to clearly define the "brand" of their leaders by their clearly established pattern of grievance.

They have no vision, only grievance & money.

You can't collaborate or compromise w/ grievance, & grievance isn't a functional model for governance.

a man in a blue shirt is standing next to a wall and saying `` no , no i do not . '' ALT: a man in a blue shirt is standing next to a wall and saying `` no , no i do not . ''

But all these folks have is grievance – mostly, it seems, regarding tall buildings.

I'll never forget John Godfrey casually exposing the real purpose of C&D last year when I told him I didn't want to sign his petition & he asked me didn't I want to stop more tall buildings from being built?

Vote YES on Ann Arbor Proposals A and B on or before Tuesday, August 5th!

The saddest part remains that if they'd let go of their grievances & their bizarre hope to claim the "victory" of preventing one tall building from being built downtown, they might catch a glimpse of the real path we have here to getting a lovely, active, well-programmed public plaza on this site.

a man with red hair is saying just so we 're clear you guys know you 're nuts right ALT: a man with red hair is saying just so we 're clear you guys know you 're nuts right

They see themselves as the stewards of the one true A².
Woe unto anyone who threatens that imagined stewardship, for such a threat will trigger a hugely symbolic "David & Goliath" battle for these weirdos in which they – in all their wealth & privilege – somehow cast themselves as the little guys.

If my face looked as punchable as his, there would be very few places where I would feel safe, TBH.

I suspect, #a2council, that some of the COTC folks were at some level imagining that this diagram would eventually REPLACE the structure for the "governance relationships" of A²'s entire city gov't.

See also: the similarly deranged Props C&D from last year pushed by many of these same folks.

The image accompanying that link looks like a bunch of people standing around pointing their fingers at each other as if each of them is saying, "No, YOU did it!"

Sounds about right coming from the LGC, #a2council.
Vote YES on A&B 🙂

Anyone who's trying to restrict new housing & new housing types for any reason that isn't safety related (eg let's not put housing next to pollution sources) is just choosing to be the wrong side of history right now.

I write this having been in 6 countries in 4 weeks, & all 6 have housing crises.

Agreed!
Induction hotplates in particular are very awesome.
They boil water incredibly fast, & are far safer than other hotplates.

WTAF
Did ChatGPT design this?

I feel like no human being who has ever physically moved through their environment could possibly come up with such an absurdly terrible design.

YouTube video by Planetizen What is a Form-Based Code?

The saddest thing is the missed opportunity to promote simplicity.
Instead of continuing to adhere to what so far still look a lot like traditional zoning ideas we could have broadly embraced form based code & set up the rules encouraging variety & eccentricity.
Keep pushing #a2council to do better.

A not so fun game.
Sorry to disappoint you.

Let's play a game…

This week #a2council voted to allow some missing middle housing in the majority of the city's residential land.

Name the ones they approved in the attached image.

Hint: I've highlighted what they specified among the available types, but it still won't be easy to find them.

Dem voters want our Dem electeds to turn our supposedly shared values into policies that will help people who actually need help, while bravely sidelining those who are already brim full with privilege.

Why is any of that still hard – especially now in 2025 – for anyone on #a2council to understand?

I get that it's very hard work to run (& fund) a campaign – & even harder work running a winning campaign – but NFMNA2 is really running on fully charged batteries now, & a lot of really smart people are really upset about #a2council once again feinting left, but then running right.

Those on #a2council who created & passed new limitations on housing last night should all feel bad for doing something so bad.

I recommend each of them plan to feel wholly unsurprised when they not only lose support but also gain more strongly progressive primary opponents in next year's election.

Why can't everyone be more like you, Jenn?
💖💖

She's super helpful!