Housing Trends

Ypsilanti is home to many of the area’s more vulnerable residents, but regional housing trends and some city policies seem to be aimed at bringing hip “young professionals” and family homeowners into Ypsilanti. Where do you see the balance between maintaining a home for our current residents and attracting these more fiscally desirable residents?

Relationship b/t Ypsi & Ypsi Township

The city’s relationship to Ypsilanti Township often seems to be rocky, or simply nonexistent. How would you forge a more mutually beneficial relationship between the two?

Downzoning

The West Cross neighborhood was recently downzoned (rezoned for lower density) to encourage single-family residences to replace multi-unit rentals. Do you see any downsides to this, in terms of reducing the number of customers for area businesses, reducing the city’s population as a whole, or otherwise?

Regional Trends & Policies

Local governments are strongly affected by regional trends and policies, and the mayor often serves as a spokesperson and advocate for the city to outside entities. What policies do you expect to champion at the county, state, and national levels?

Essential Services

With the city continually facing budget pressures, all candidates have pledged to “preserve essential city services”. What do you consider to be “essential”, and how do you see that prioritization being made?