Explore the draft Future Land Use Map
Find your area and see how the Plan could reshape your neighborhood—and the city as a whole. The proposed map adds new districts that open the door to higher-density development across Ann Arbor. Yet key details about building height, bulk, and location, were removed from earlier drafts of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan and are missing—information residents need to understand before new zoning rules are written.
Explore the new Zoning Categories
Residential Category
Single-family and duplex zoned neighborhoods would be combined into a new “Residential” category, allowing:
Three-story apartments or condos on any lot.
Ground-floor commercial uses on residential streets.
Lot splits or lot combinations without public notice.
Reduced lot sizes and reduced setbacks from neighboring homes.
The latest draft of the Plan does not specify height limits. Typical three-story triplexes are 35–45 feet tall.
Developers would be able to combine lots to build market-rate buildings with less green space and fewer trees. New construction will be “by-right”, meaning no approvals or notices to neighbors. Areas with modest-priced homes will face immediate pressure from developers and speculators.
950 Church St, 3-story multiplex apartment
Transition Category
A new “Transition” category (most R3 and R4 areas):
The Planning Commission discussed buildings up 5 stories within 50 feet of Residential zones and up to 80 feet and more farther away – these numbers have been removed from the latest draft.
Commercial uses, including hotels and Airbnb-type short-term rentals, and industrial.
Lots may be split or combined without public notice to allow greater density.
The Crescent, approved for Ann Arbor-Saline Road next to Whole Foods, 5 stories/58 feet tall, 332 feet wide, with reduced setbacks–similar structures could be built next to any Residential Category area
Hub Category
Merges transit (TC-1) and downtown (D1/D2) areas to allow downtown heights outside the city center for residential, office, commercial, and industrial uses. The Planning Commission has discussed building heights of 300+ feet, depending on distance from Residential Category, but the latest draft of the Plan leaves out numbers.
The Verve student high-rise, opened Fall 2025
721 S Forest, 12 stories/166 feet