The Ann Arbor City Council met at Larcom City Hall Monday evening to vote on an ordinance requiring all residential rental units to install carbon monoxide detectors. The council also passed a resolution concerning the future of energy production and distribution in the city and state, as well as another resolution to support pollinator habitats in Ann Arbor.
The council voted on the adoption of a new ordinance that would require all owners of residential rental units in Ann Arbor to install and adequately maintain carbon monoxide detectors. Renters would also have an obligation to report any issues to the city if the detectors become inoperative. If landlords fail to provide adequate carbon monoxide monitoring in their properties as laid out in the ordinance, they could receive a civil infraction and up to $500 in fines.
The ordinance was recommended by the Ann Arbor Renters Commission at its Feb 16 meeting.
Mayor Christopher Taylor expressed his support for the measure, emphasizing that the majority of Ann Arbor residents are renters and it is important to ensure their homes are safe to live in.
“It is an important public health change,” Taylor said. “We want to make sure that the majority of our residents who do indeed rent are as safe as we can help make them. This is going to be an important step in that direction.”
The council unanimously passed the ordinance.
The council went on to approve a resolution holding DTE Energy, Ann Arbor’s utility service provider, accountable for the massive power outages the city has experienced in the past couple of months. The resolution comes after the council’s discussions in March during which several residents and council members asked for increased oversight of DTE.
Councilmember Ayesha Ghazi Edwin, D-Ward 3, said the current resolution was drafted with input from the city’s Energy Commission.
“I believe that (the energy commission) provided really valuable input that helped to strengthen this resolution,” Ghazi Edwin said. “One of them was not allowing DTE to use ratepayer money for lobbying.”
Councilmember Dharma Akmon, D-Ward 4, said she was excited by a provision in the resolution that calls for the Michigan Public Service Commission to eliminate the 1% state cap which dictates the maximum amount of energy DTE is required to purchase from individuals and redistribute through its electric grid. Essentially, because of state law, DTE can choose to only purchase up to 1% of the electricity they provide for the state from residents who have rooftop solar panels. Akmon said she believed the cap limits the state’s ability to make a fast switch to solar energy.
“Why is this important?” Akmon said. “DTE Energy is predicting that they’re going to reach this 1% milestone this July. And that means that they’re going to be able to cut the rate that they pay for home solar that goes back into the grid to customers who have installed the solar panels. It makes it harder for people to pay off their home solar system. It hurts businesses that are doing solar.”
The council unanimously passed the resolution.
The council also unanimously voted to pass a resolution which asks homeowners to reduce the frequency of lawn-mowing and to increase the diversity of native planting — all to protect pollinators. In 2022, Ann Arbor introduced “No Mow May,” which encourages homeowners to not mow their lawns during May.
Both the resolution and “No Mow May” recognize the importance of pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, in agriculture and food production, especially in the early spring. Akmon said the city welcomed No Mow May and has since discussed measures to encourage pollinators protection measures year-round.
“We did learn from (No Mow May), like we don’t need to literally stop mowing our lawns for a whole month,” Akmon said. “But also there is a lot of residents’ interest. The Environmental Commission is looking at this, along with the culture of turf grass, concentrating on what we can do year-round and practices that will minimize impact for pollinators.”
Daily Staff Reporter Chen Lyu can be reached at lyuch@umich.edu.