Plan Development

Many of the points below are taken directly from the Preliminary Plan for the new high school as it appeared on the Board's web site as of 8/27/04, and included in the Packet for the 8/11/04 Board meeting. Link to the PDF of the Packet directly here. Click on the points to jump to more information.

Cart before the horse
Frog pond
Parking lot design

Cart Before the Horse

The Preliminary Plan includes the statement:

** Note: The New HS site work will be broken down into multiple bid packages: 1) Survey and Geotech Services; 2) Clearing /Demolition; 3) Site balance, storm water, sewer; to allow site work to begin while building design process progresses.

Part of the presentation on 9/21/04 to the residents of the area included a statement about the placement of the building allowing for a multiple story building set into the natural grade of the land. That statement assumes that the Board and its planners know where the building itself will sit on the site.

If the building design is based on its siting and the entire site plan is still in development, how can we know, at this stage, where the building will be exactly, which is a necessary precondition to "allow site work to begin"?

Frog Pond

In the Mitchell and Mouat Architects' memo of 8/3/04 (included as page 15 in the Board meeting packet), we see:

The frog pond can be moved to the edge of the woods.

Is this representative of the extent of environmental planning that is part of this process?
As of the 9/22/04 Board meeting, there is still no plan for where or how the pond can be relocated.

Parking Lot Design

In the same architects' memo of 8/3/04, we also see:

Parking quantity:
Options A – D all showed enough space for 800 parking spaces. The designers recommended decreasing the number of parking spaces to 600 - 700, to preserve land for other use, increase bus usage and car pooling. However, the committee concluded that we should design for 800 cars. The use of turf block and a two-story pre-cast parking area were discussed (neither is in the current budget model).

	Fighting Mismanagement in the Ann Arbor Public Schools District "If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don't have to worry about answers" — Thomas Pynchon

Main Archives Page (New High School) Environment Land Use Traffic School size Demographics Safety Archaeology Alternative sites In the News About CRS Write a letter ! Contact Us Home Page	Plan Development Many of the points below are taken directly from the Preliminary Plan for the new high school as it appeared on the Board's web site as of 8/27/04, and included in the Packet for the 8/11/04 Board meeting. Link to the PDF of the Packet directly here. Click on the points to jump to more information. Cart before the horse Frog pond Parking lot design Cart Before the Horse The Preliminary Plan includes the statement: Note: The New HS site work will be broken down into multiple bid packages: 1) Survey and Geotech Services; 2) Clearing /Demolition; 3) Site balance, storm water, sewer; to allow site work to begin while building design process progresses. Part of the presentation on 9/21/04 to the residents of the area included a statement about the placement of the building allowing for a multiple story building set into the natural grade of the land. That statement assumes that the Board and its planners know where the building itself will sit on the site. If the building design is based on its siting and the entire site plan is still in development, how can we know, at this stage, where the building will be exactly, which is a necessary precondition to "allow site work to begin"? Frog Pond** In the Mitchell and Mouat Architects' memo of 8/3/04 (included as page 15 in the Board meeting packet), we see: The frog pond can be moved to the edge of the woods. Is this representative of the extent of environmental planning that is part of this process? As of the 9/22/04 Board meeting, there is still no plan for where or how the pond can be relocated. Parking Lot Design In the same architects' memo of 8/3/04, we also see: Parking quantity: Options A – D all showed enough space for 800 parking spaces. The designers recommended decreasing the number of parking spaces to 600 - 700, to preserve land for other use, increase bus usage and car pooling. However, the committee concluded that we should design for 800 cars. The use of turf block and a two-story pre-cast parking area were discussed (neither is in the current budget model).