Ann Arbor City Council voted unanimously on April 20, 2026 to approve the DDA's Amended Development and TIF Plan 2026–2055, expanding the district north by 19 city blocks (to roughly 80 total blocks, covering the area north of Kingsley up to approximately Depot Street). The new "gainshare" TIF model replaces the prior capped structure: 70% of TIF increment stays with the DDA, 30% returns to other taxing jurisdictions.

Washtenaw County and Washtenaw Community College opted out of the expanded area, declining to have their future tax increment captured in the new territory. The Ann Arbor District Library opted out entirely — not just from the expansion, but from the whole plan. The opt-outs follow the same mechanism the county used under PA 57 of 2018 in prior years, documented in Issues 2 and 3 of this publication.

DDA Executive Director Maureen Thomson's public response to the county's opt-out was measured and clear: "Our main goal with expansion was to give us the ability to invest in that area, and as long as the city council approved that expansion, those opt-outs don't impact our ability to invest." The plan is effective April 30, 2026. A new Downtown Service Team for cleanliness and maintenance is authorized under the plan, responding to consistent feedback from residents and businesses about the downtown environment.

The 2026 plan also authorizes a new phase of infrastructure investment in the northern corridors added by the boundary expansion, where commercial and transit-oriented development has been outpacing public space quality for several years.

Watch: Whether the gainshare model's 30% return provision affects Washtenaw County's opt-out decision in any future amendment. The county's stated rationale — that elected bodies should determine how tax dollars are allocated — is partially addressed by the return provision.

Source: a2dda.org; WEMU, March 26, 2026; Dharma's Council Newsletter, April 19, 2026. See also BO·1·2·8 and BO·1·3·6.