Environmental commission advances biodiversity resolution urging natural-features protections in comprehensive plan

Ann Arbor — The Environmental Commission on March 24 reviewed a draft resolution from its biodiversity work group asking that the city’s comprehensive plan include explicit protections for natural features such as wetlands, floodplains, heritage trees and native forest fragments.

The resolution, introduced by a biodiversity work-group member identified in the meeting as Rita (Environmental Commission member), asks the city to “protect, conserve, restore, enhance, and manage natural features” and to use existing natural-features protections in the city’s Unified Development Code as a baseline for future measures. It also calls for cross-department integration and for development of methods to assess and track gains or losses in biodiversity over time.

Why it matters: Commissioners and residents said the decision will affect how growth and housing density are balanced with green infrastructure that provides flood control,…