Ann Arbor planning commission approves FY2026–31 capital improvements plan after weeks of debate over Sunset sidewalk and trail underpasses

The Ann Arbor City Planning Commission voted to approve the fiscal years 2026 through 2031 capital improvements plan on Jan. 7 after an extended discussion over project prioritization, sidewalk projects and unimproved trail connections.

The plan, presented by Kayla Coleman, capital projects asset manager, lays out a six-year schedule for municipal buildings, transportation, utilities and other infrastructure. Coleman told the commission the CIP includes about 510 projects and more than $1 billion in identified needs across the six-year window, with 128 projects new to this cycle and roughly 61 projects placed on hold or removed from the six-year programming. The plan will be used as the basis for the city————————————budget process for FY2026 and FY2027.

Commissioners spent the bulk of their time on one long-running local controversy: the Sunset Road sidewalk gap between Newport and Brooks and related proposals to reconfigure Sunset. Commissioner Michael Adams urged the commission to decouple the sidewalk project from a larger, unfunded reconfiguration effort that staff said had been created after community feedback in 2021; that administrative change, Adams said, pushed a shovel-ready sidewalk project out of the near-term CIP and left schoolchildren without a safe route to Wines and Forsyth schools. Coleman and other staff explained the decision reflected coordination with anticipated underground utility work and pavement resurfacing and that some projects had been moved to the "beyond 2031" column because funding and coordination needs made them unlikely to happen in the six-year window.

Adam Goodman, a resident testifying during the public-comment period, also urged the commission not to remove Border-to-Border Trail underpasses at Fuller and Maiden Lane from the CIP; Goodman said the missing underpasses are "linchpin" connections in a regional nonmotorized network and noted potential private funding partners such as Huron Waterloo Pathways. Commissioner debates repeatedly returned to whether leaving projects in the CIP———————beyond column or placing them on hold was a clearer public signal.

Commissioners considered a motion to postpone action to Feb. 4 to allow staff to re-score, decouple projects and present additional detail. That postponement failed on a voice count. After further discussion the commission directed staff to prepare a memorandum to accompany transmittal of the CIP to city council describing concerns about Sunset and the Fuller underpass/medical center connections and asking that those items be reexamined in the next CIP cycle. With that commitment the commission approved the CIP. Recorded roll call votes in the final motion show multiple commissioners voting yes; two commissioners recorded a no vote. The commission———————approved the CIP and will forward the plan and the requested transmittal memo to city council for consideration during the FY2026 budget process.

Why it matters: The CIP steers where the city will seek capital funding and how it sequences major public works. Commissioners and residents said the Sunset sidewalk and several long-standing projects have been deferred repeatedly; supporters argued including them sooner is a matter of student safety and public trust, while staff emphasized competing infrastructure needs, available funding and project coordination.

Quotes: Kayla Coleman, capital projects asset manager: "When we plan for capital improvements in the city of Ann Arbor, we follow this general flow of our order of operations: identify, prioritize and program considering funding availability and staff capacity." Adam Goodman, resident (public comment): "Removing these projects from the CIP would do the exact opposite of that. I'd ask that you, by whatever means you can, reconsider this decision." Larry Schmidt, chair, Wolfpack Climate Action Team (public comment earlier in the meeting): "DTE does not have any capacity issues either in the generation or distribution of electricity. They are planning for an all electric future." (speaking about building electrification capacity).

Actions taken: The commission approved the fiscal year 2026————————through———————2031 capital improvements plan and directed staff to include a transmittal memorandum for city council highlighting the Sunset sidewalk scheduling concerns and the status of the Border-to-Border trail underpass projects.

What comes next: The CIP will inform FY2026 and FY2027 budget development at city council; items in the beyond-2031 column will be re-reviewed in next year's CIP cycle. Staff said they will rescore the Sunset sidewalk as a standalone project if the commission asks and will prepare the transmittal memo for the commission's review before it is sent to council.

Ending: The commission's approval ends the Planning Commission's statutory step in the city CIP process; council still must adopt the capital budget and appropriate funds for the first year of the plan.