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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-01-24 Transcription Page I Council Present: Alter,Bergus,Dunn,Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas Staff Present: From,Jones,Kilburg, Goers, Fruehling,Platz, Havel, Sovers, Carter, Lyon,Lehmann,Russett Others Present: Zeimet,LeFevre 1. Call to Order Teague: All right. [NOISE] I'm going to call this meeting to order for the City of Iowa City, January 24, 2023. Roll call,please. [Roll Call] I want to welcome everyone into your city hall and everyone that is online as well. 2. Proclamations 2.a. Emma Goldman Clinic's 50'Anniversary Year Teague: We're going to start with item Number 2,proclamations to a as the Emma Goldman's Clinic 50th year anniversary, and this will be read by Councilor Laura Bergus. Bergus: (reads proclamation)And here to accept this proclamation is Francine Thompson, Executive Director of the Emma Goldman Clinic. [APPLAUSE] Thompson: Good evening. Thank you. Mayor Teague, Council members. I want to take this opportunity to thank you on behalf of the Emma Goldman Clinic board and staff for this proclamation and acknowledgment of the clinic's 50th anniversary. And it starts out this month is pretty bittersweet with the reversal of Roe,but we still plan to celebrate because it is really an accomplishment that we have been here in this community and continuously operating for the last 50 years. And so we appreciate your support. We thank you that you've always been supportive in this community of the clinic. We plan to be here for another 50 years. And if you're interested at all in celebrating with us,we're going to kick off the 50th event this Friday from 6-9, at Hotel Vetro. You're able to get information about the event on our website or if you call the clinic and ask to speak to Megan McCrae. And so I just want to say that reproductive health care, and including abortion are human rights,they're fundamental human rights, and we are so appreciative that the council and the community of Iowa City has continued to be supportive of the Emma Goldman Clinic, and we thank you. Teague: Thank you. [APPLAUSE] Always think of the WWED,What Would Emma Do? [LAUGHTER] 2.b. Human Trafficking Prevention and Awareness Month Teageu: All right. Item Number 2.b is human trafficking prevention and awareness month. This will be read by Mayor Pro Tem,Megan Alter. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 2 Alter: (reads proclamation)And accepting this proclamation is Teresa Davidson,the founder of Chains Interrupted. [APPLAUSE] Davidson: Thank you so much. Thank you,Mayor and City Council members. I'm Teresa Davidson. I'm the Anti-Human Trafficking Coordinator at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, and the co-founder and CEO of Chains Interrupted,which is a non-profit that fights against human trafficking in Eastern Iowa and beyond. The proclamation, talked about St. Luke's and Mercy Medical Center and Chains Interrupted. But we also partner heavily with the Johnson County Coalition,the University of Iowa and Mercy Hospital in Iowa City. The proclamation also talked about how community citizens can make a difference. And I would just encourage you that traffickers will be targeting the vulnerable. They're going to be targeting the vulnerable in your circle. So what I would ex-what I would suggest is that you look within your own circle, look at the children in your life, at the vulnerable people that maybe don't have friend groups, or are bullied, or have low self-esteem, or are marginalized in some way. And reach out to them fust. Reach out to them because the traffickers are going to be reaching out to them. And that is how we can make a difference as a community within our own sphere of influence. Now, I do apologize because we have a group of people here that accepted this proclamation and we do have to jet because we're going to the [LAUGHTER] Coralville city council meeting as well. But so please excuse our rudeness and thank you so much for this. Teague: Thank you. [APPLAUSE] And because it does take a village, I'm going to ask all of those that is a part of this partnership to stand so we can recognize each of you. [NOISE] [APPLAUSE] Thank you so much. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 3 8. Community Comment Teague: We're on to Item 8,which is our Community Comment. This is an opportunity for individuals to speak on an item that is not on our agenda. If you would like to speak, please come forward to the podium. If you're online,please raise your hand.We'll give everyone up to three minutes to speak. Please come forth. Welcome. Please sign in. Gaynor: Already did. Teague: Alright. Please state your name and the city you're from. Gaynor: Firstly, I want to say thank you,Mayor and City Council. I'm Mark Gaynor. I'm an Iowa City homeowner,business owner, father of three and grandfather of four and counting. I'm speaking this evening because my family, our neighbors, and friends, are concerned about gun violence in our city. On Saturday,January 14th,my two adult daughters and my 11-year-old granddaughter,went shopping on the Pedestrian mall. It was supposed to be a fun carefree outing. Instead, it turned into a terrifying experience I'll never forget. Moments after they had walked into a store,they heard multiple gunshots outside on the mall. Seeking safety,they locked themselves in a bathroom stall and huddled together, fearing for their lives. Fortunately,thanks to eyewitnesses,vast calls to 911 and the timely response of our police force.No one was injured or killed and police arrested the suspect and recovered a gun. But the reality is that except for lucky timing,the outcome could have been much worse. Except for lucky timing, Iowa City could have joined the growing list of American communities devastated by gun violence. That seems bound to happen someday. Especially with more guns than people in America,reduce funding for mental health treatment. And Iowa is increasingly lacks gun laws. It's a perfect storm that's brewing. We can see it coming. In the Ped Mall area alone,there have been several shootings in recent years. In Des Moines yesterday two students were killed at a charter school. And that's not to mention the dozens of mass shootings we've seen already across the nation in the fust three weeks this year. The question is,what can we, as a community do to avoid such tragedies beyond what we were doing already?How can we proactively support law enforcements ongoing and noble efforts to minimize gun violence. I know this is a complex issue,but if any community is equipped to tackle it, it's Iowa City. During the height of the pandemic,Mayor Teague,you and the city council took bold action to protect public health by issuing a mask mandate. Today, Iowa City has another opportunity to lead by example,by highlighting its commitment to gun safety in a very public way. And by pulling together perhaps a community coalition to find new ways to protect our resonance or businesses and the thousands of people who visit here every year. Teague: Thank you. Gaynor: Thank you for your time. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 4 Teague: Thank you so much. Anyone else like to address a topic that is not on our agenda? Welcome. Zeimet: Hi, Council. Keaton Zeimet with USG from Iowa City. We just have three announcements here. Spring semester began last week and then on MLK, Martin Luther King Junior day. And throughout last week,the university and students alike engaged in Day of Service and recognition of the human rights work of Martin Luther King. And then,um,we have had a change of venue for the town hall due to issues with microphones,the venue will now be held in the Old Capitol Building and the Senate chambers. Everything else is the same and the mean will begin at 07:00. And we're looking forward to working with you and the formal agenda should be sent out sometime this week. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Teague: Anyone else like to address a topic that is not on our agenda? Seeing no one in-person or online, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Pages 9. Planning& Zoning Items 9.a. Comprehensive Plan Amendment—Southwest District Teague: We're going to move on to item Number 9,which is planning and zoning matters 9a comprehensive plan amen- amendment Southwest district,resolution to amend the South to West district plan, a part of Iowa City's comprehensive plan to update background information and to facilitate development. That follows form-based principles in the Rohret South subarea and I'm gonna open the public hearing and welcome Kirk Lehmann. Lehmann: Thank you. Kirk Lehmann associate planner with development services are here to talk about the Southwest district plan update that we are proposing tonight. So I just wanted to start by talking about background and the comprehensive plan and how it fits into the city generally. So comprehensive plan is the policy document that directs our future growth, development, and change within Iowa City. It does so by creating a broad vision for the kind of community that Iowa City wants to be. And then provide some specific recommendations for how we can reach that. It is a living document that changes over time. So you have amendments such as this,where we look at potential changes based on changes in circumstances based on changes in policy, and we update it accordingly.Now,this is a policy document, so it's not regulation. The regulation is done through the zoning code,through the subdivision,but this is what guides that regulation. So it's an important part of our regulatory framework though it is not regulatory itself. So our most recent comprehensive plan was,uh, adopted in 2013,which is called IC2030. Within it, it divides the city into 10 individual planning districts. So tonight we're looking at the Southwest district,plan,which was originally adopted in 2002, so it's more than 20 years old at this point. But that Southwest planning district is located South of Melrose Avenue,North of Highway 1,West of the Iowa River over to the growth area. Specifically,we're looking West of 218 and South of Rohret Road within that area. Because that's a largely undeveloped area and we're expecting sewer to come under this year. So with that, it would allow some urban development and we're proposing that we reevaluate the-the future for this area prior to that development occurring.Now this has been a relatively lengthy planning process where we started this in winter of 2020, started with,uh, looking at the background information that's 20 years old. Did some public- initial public outreach effort which included a survey with 168 respondents, as well as some focus group meetings,with approximately 40 respondents. You have those summaries within-within your agenda packet tonight,but we did pause from April of 2021 to January of 2022, as the Carson Farms annexation came before council and was indefinitely deferred and then pulled. So staff was waiting for more direction on what to expect within this area. But after we were able to get some more direction,we came back developed a framework with Opticos who helped us with the South planning district and then staff took that framework and- and develop the-the plan and brought it before the public on September 1st at a public open house where we had 117 participants. And in the meanwhile,we also did have additional meetings throughout this process with around 19 individuals. After that public open house,we took the feedback we received,updated This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 6 our planning document and published it on October 19th. After that,we took it to planning and zoning commission, for additional feedback. And now we are before you today to consider adoption. So throughout this process,we did try to engage as many folks as possible. We've maintained a contact stakeholder, email address list with 230 email addresses. So we've been able to get a hold of quite a few people and you also do have quite a few,uh, items of correspondence in your packet as well. But throughout that process,you know,you- after you have enough meetings,you start hearing some recurring themes. So some of the main themes that we heard throughout this public input process,was first,this area, it looks like it's suitable for new neighborhoods as Iowa City continues to grow and develop. Those should have a mix of housing types but be consistent with existing development.Now, another big, item that people were very interested in were public services and- and destinations. So there's strong des- desire for parks and trails within this area. Incorporating new schools, especially as Weber Elementary is at max capacity. So we had many conversations with the Iowa City Community School District. And then ensuring strong emergency services and that there are some neighborhood destinations or commercial uses that are close to residents since otherwise you have to cross 218 to get there. Another topic that came up consistently was tied to transportation, especially connectivity within this area in with-between this area and the rest of Iowa City. So because this is West of 218,there's only three roads that reach into this area. That includes Melrose to the North, Rohret Avenue,which is the primary route that most neighborhoods get to this area, and then,Highway 1 to the South. However,there's not really any good North-South connections between any of these. So that's -that's a really important point that came up throughout this,where there's a need to improve that connectivity within this area. But as part of that, there's also traffic concerns, so Rohret Road being the primary access point, lots of concern that if there's not sloth our extension or extension to the South that that would lead to lots of traffic on Rohret road and then also with Kitty Lee Road,which is an existing coldest sack. Our future land use map does show that as a through street as part of that connectivity. So you also have several items about that. At the moment,the city is in the process of identifying what improvements might be part of improving that road, if- if that were to become a through streets. And then finally,there are concerns about involuntary annexation since much of this area is not yet within the city, so it would need to be annexed. The city's policy is - is not to annex involuntarily,um,but-but that is a major concern for folks living within the county,which led us to develop a planning framework based around many of these concepts. So looking at things like compact and orderly development with a mix of housing types. Looking at form-based land use categories that can create an appropriate transition. Looking at neighborhood centers that serve basic needs in addition to strong public services within this area. And an interconnected and aligned street network that provides,uh, safe transportation and mobility of transportation options. And then finally, looking at neighborhood amenities, especially parks, and then preserving sensitive features and managing stormwater at a regional level. So these -this planning framework was used to help develop a concept for the area. That being said,we did retain the planning principles from the original 2002 plan. So those are carried through.Now, in terms of the changes that we're proposing tonight,there's two general tracks of changes that we're doing. First is to update the background information that-that's nearly two This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 7 decades old. So that includes things like referencing the comprehensive plan that was adopted in 2013, including a description of this planning process,revising texts and maps to reflect recent changes in policies such as the 2021 fringe area and then also mentioning infrastructure improvements that have occurred over time. So things like the overhaul of the transit system that were recently completed,new roads that were constructed, redevelopment of riverfront crossings,those things. But again,we did retain those core planning principles.Now the other and more substantial changes that we saw for the Southwest plan are tied to the Rohret South subarea. Again,that's the area South Rohret Road West of 218,North of Highway 1 over to the fringe area. It's one of four subareas within the Southwest district plan,but we only looked at- at this particular concept. So we did retain many original aspects to the plan, including those planning principles, like I said. But some of the -the primary changes that we made were to ensure that the future land use map covers the full,uh, subarea for this plan. Whereas the previous one had a different growth boundary. We add in new neighborhood centers throughout to ensure that there's neighborhood destinations within walking distance looking at utilizing form- based land use categories similar to those that we use in the South district. And then incorporating those new items into the future land use map and thoroughfare maps as well. So all of this together, one of the goals is to help facilitate the use of our form-based zones that we adopted for the South district within this growth area of Iowa City. But it is a relatively large area, so it's 1,800 acres within the full growth area. But I just wanted to look at this prior to, development actually occurring as sewer extends under 218. So I did just want to pop up the 2002 concepts since it's helpful to see where we got to based on where we came from. What you see before you is the 2002 concepts. You'll notice that it is a smaller portion of the area,but we do retain many similar aspects to this plan. So it's still largely residential area. There's a large stormwater lake and park in the Northeast corner that's being proposed and there is still neighborhood centers that are in this area in the Northeast corner. But the differences are tied to the way that we distribute these uses, the way that we use future land use categories. And again,we extend it to the full area so there's additional neighborhood centers as well. Lehmann:Now,before we get to the future land use map, I did just want to touch briefly on form-based land use as a concept as well since it- it can be confusing and if you're not familiar with it, it's helpful to go over. So land use is the principle by which we allocate where we would want to see different uses of land at different locations. With conventional land use categories, it is strictly based off of use. So you say this area should have homes,this area should have shops,this area should have industry and that's that. It's a relatively simple concept. But with form-based land use,we look beyond those individual uses and look to the full public reahn that makes a great place. So we're looking at things,uh, like the street network,which is why there's a thoroughfare plan as part of this,we're looking at things like frontage types,we're looking at things like w- allowing a larger mix of uses within these areas. So we're not so much focused on a commercial area,but we might be focused on a main street where there's a lot more,uh, other concepts that come into what comprises a main street versus -versus a commercial area. Again,we use the same form-based land use designations that are used in the South district that was updated in 2021. And in terms of the way that these districts are This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 8 organized, it's based on a natural to urban transect where the lower numbers,are the more natural areas and higher numbers are the more urban areas. So Tl for example is completely natural area. T6 is the urban core,that's the highest transect that there is at downtown Iowa City. In this case,we're on the edge of the city, so we're looking at T3, suburban transects, and T4, general urban transects. Lehmann: So this is the proposed future land use map included in your packet. Again, I'll go through in a minute how we organize,what we organize,but I did just want to again reorient you so you can see railroad to the north,uh,Highway 218 on the east. You can see Highway 1 on the south, and then the growth area to the west. Again,we're looking at the Transects 3 and Transects 4, and you'll see some of those similar features from the original concept, including that stormwater lake and park in the northeast. You'll also see a commercial area in the northeast that's similar to what's there. Uh, one thing that is a little different, is that an existing commercial area to the-to the east and south,uh,by Highway 1, does retain its original land use categories. So that is commercial and office commercial,but the rest does use those form-based categories. One other thing I wanted to note,that this is a future land use map. So as part of a policy document,what you see is not necessarily what you get. The way that dev- development occurs is that this prevents-presents a vision of what might occur in this area in the future based on the goals that are identified in the plan. However,the way that it actually looks would be determined by zoning and subdivisions and development as it comes before you. So it's those individual property owners making those decisions and then it's a matter of being consistent with the comprehensive plan. So that doesn't mean it's a master plan, it won't match this exactly,but it would be consistent with it. So there-you could expect that this would change, especially as you learn more about things like sensitive features,you learn more things about topography and accounting for some of those other characteristics on individual sites as they come before you. So fust, I wanted to talk about the organization of the Transect 3 or the suburban transect. You'll notice at the top,those are-we have two general kind of subdistricts. We have a neighborhood edge and then a neighborhood general. Where neighborhood edge is located largely around the periphery or places where we have existing single-family homes and would allow things like,uh, single- family duplex, cottage courts, somewhat similar to what's allowed in RS zones currently. But the bulk of the area is T3 neighborhood general. So that allows those uses in addition to some small-scale multifamily and- and some smaller town home development as well. So the T3 neighborhood edge is kind of that rose color on the- on the edge of the district, and the T3 neighborhood general is the lavender color that kind of makes up the bulk of the district. In addition,we have our neighborhood centers where you start to see T4 or general urban transects. Those are primarily located in neighborhood centers scattered throughout the sub area. You'll also see some along single loaded streets where there's development on one side of the street and open space on the other side of the street,with the idea being,you need to compensate,uh,to make those streets actually viable to be built. Um, in terms of the sub-districts within T4, you have neighborhoods small,which is used as a transition from T3. So you're still looking at how scale buildings,two-and-a- half storeys,but you do have more multifamily uses. As you get more towards the bulk of the neighborhood centers,you're talking about neighborhood medium areas. This is This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 9 where you start to get in three-and-a-half storeys, some larger multi-family buildings, maybe up to 16 units. Uh, and then you have the center or the core of these neighborhoods centers. So that allows some denser multi-family, it allows some non- residential uses. And there are two types of those. There's the T4 Main Street,which strongly encourages non-residential uses. And then you also have an open sub-districts which would allow non-residential uses more widely,but they don't necessarily,uh, encourage them as strongly. So it's possible there,but it would be,uh,the policy direction to put it in places with Main Street. So you can see those laid out here where the yellow circles,uh,would be the areas where non-residential uses are allowed. Those red circles would be where they are strongly encouraged. And I show those circles primarily to illustrate walking distances. So the-the solid circle is approximately a five-minute walk. That dashed circle is approximately a 10 minute walk. So you can see that most of these residential areas are within walking distance of some sort of neighborhood center that would allow non-residential uses. Uh, and the goal is to have destinations within reach of those residents. And in addition to things that might serve your basic needs,we also include,uh,parks throughout. So in the northeast you'll see a cluster where there's a regional park shown with a rec center and a potential future elementary school site. And then more central to the district,you'll see another cluster where there's another future school site that could accommodate and elementary school and possibly a junior high, in addition to a fire station,which we know is a need for this area, a- and another public park. Um,that being said,there are also private open spaces shown throughout. Some of those are floodplains,um, some of those are shown at the center of neighborhood areas to-to illustrate a desire for gathering spaces within some of these neighborhoods centers. Those would not be publicly owned,but it- it would be something that probably we would like to see within some of these areas. And then we also have the thoroughfare map,which is a component of future land use map that shows street topologies that might fit,uh,with the adjacent land use categories that are shown. So you'll see that neighborhood streets are the bulk of the street network,but we do show some more primary streets,uh,through the area that provide connectivity. Uh,we show multiple routes through the area with an idea being that you can disperse traffic and with less traffic,you improve safety, and you can improve,uh,throughput and,uh, improve the livability of these areas. Uh, in some cases,we reoriented from existing right-of-way such as mayor. But the goal is to really create a- a really intuitive way of getting around this sub area so it's easy to navigate and safe. Uh,you'll also notice again that it uses a pretty strict block network in the way that it's laid out right now. Again,this is a future land use map. So we showed it that way because we want to really emphasize the fact that connectivity is important to this sub area. And we want to make sure that there are multiple routes to get to your destinations. Uh,now,with regards to traffic concerns,uh, I also wanted to emphasize we showed multiple North-South connections because that's really important between Rohret Rd and the highway. But even areas outside of this, such as Slothower Road to the north of providing a connection up to Melrose. That's another important component o- of development within this area. And again,Kitty Lee Road is also labeled on this map. So you can see aware of what is currently a cul-de-sac is being shown as a through street on this. Whether or not that occurs would depend on- on adjacent developments, on additional connections,those sorts of things. Uh, I also did This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 10 want to point out Future Highway 965 on the west side of this sub area,uh,which is- would be a major arterial similar to Highway 1. That would go all the way up to Coralville. It's a long-term transportation plan that's-that's within our long-range plan. But it's unfunded, so it is truly a long-term project,but I did want to highlight that for you. And then also the fact that there are alleys that are shown along some of these major streets where we don't want direct street access. So places like Highway 1,Future 965, and then also Rohret Road. And then one more thing I wanted to highlight is that,we do show a connection o- of streets, or pedestrian passages throughout this area. Those are essentially trails that would be private. But we really want to illustrate a desire to connect parks, schools, and neighborhood centers using a pedestrian network that would really encourage,uh, alternative transportation than just,uh,vehicular travel. Lehmann: In terms of the way that you might see this area- area develop, it's largely based on typography and infrastructure. So with the sewer serviceable after sewer under 218,that would allow most of the east and north east portion of this site to develop. Uh,beyond that, it would require additional infrastructure investments. So to the west or to the northwest that would develop as sewers brought under 218 brought over and then you need to lift station. To the south you need a lift station to the south. To the southwest, it's within our long-term service area,but we don't have a specific plan. So that would be, sorta,the last area to develop within this. And in terms of evaluating comp plan amendments,uh,we use two general criteria, one,which is that circumstances have changed or additional information has come to light,uh, such that it's in the public interest. And then two,that it's compatible with other policies or provisions of the comprehensive plan and district plans. And in terms of circumstances changing,the existing plan is 20 years old. So there's been lots of changes over time, including more than 12,000 new residents since 2000. We expect another 19,000 residents by 2040. Uh, and as part of that,most of the land East of 218 within the Southwest planning area has already developed at this point and portions of it that are even redeveloping,including Riverfront Crossings. As part of that, we've also made substantial infrastructure improvements in this area. And,uh,putting sewer under 218 is another major infrastructure improvement. But at the same time, annexations have decreased within Iowa City. So we need to be looking at some of these growth areas where we would-to- that we would expect to help accommodate some of this future population growth. And then in terms of regulation and policy, since 2000 we've had some substantial changes, including an updated zoning and subdivision code. We've adopted, er, green-uh, excuse me. We've adopted form-based zoning districts for Greenfield sites in 2021. We've updated the comprehensive plan in 2013 and the fringe area in 2021. And then we've also increasingly focused on climate action adaptation and social justice and racial equity. So just to give you an idea of some developments that have occurred since that time. In 2000,we had approximately 62,000 folks in Iowa City and now we're closer to 75,000. Areas in yellow are residential developments that have occurred and areas in red are commercial developments. So there's been some substantial development within this area and we're looking at this to accommodate future growth. And I also wanted to highlight, in terms of changing circumstances our increased focus on climate action and social justice and racial equity. Specifically by looking at conventional planning versus form- This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 11 based planning. So within conventional planning,you're often looking at single-use districts. We often see low density districts which,uh, together increase greenhouse gas emissions. Because as you're driving from a residence to commercial area,you-you increase your-your miles that you're driving. Uh, and it reinforces that auto-auto- oriented pattern of development and more cars on the road means more congestion. Uh, with a form-based planning approach,we're really looking at creating compact neighborhoods that are somewhat self-sustained. A place where you can have different housing types that accommodate you at different points in your life cycle,uh,that can be easily traversed by foot,bike, and bus in addition to cars. And in terms of so- social justice and racial equity,we looked primarily at housing diversity and housing affordability to accommodate a range of- of folks living within a neighborhood. Um,with conventional planning,uh, it has historically been used to support racial and class segregation, especially as you get to exclusionary practices such as single-family only zones, large minimum lot sizes,uh,which had worked with other policies that were historically used,uh,to-to segregate folks. Uh, and even in Iowa City,we add racially restrictive covenants until they were made illegal,uh, 81 percent of residential land in Iowa City is zoned single-family, of which,uh, over half is zoned low density. So we're not immune to-to some of these original,uh, conventional planning issues either. But with form-based planning,we make an effort to try to increase housing choice,which will hopefully also,uh, increase and makes a price points within a neighborhood. And it's not a silver bullet,but it might mitigate one barrier to providing more affordable housing options and increasing equity within Iowa City. And then in terms of compatibility with the comprehensive plan, a lot of the land uses that we consider are pretty similar to what currently exists,with the exception of we remove large lot rural residential as a building type, as we expect areas to annex into the city voluntarily,uh, and- and redevelop voluntarily. Uh,but the difference is we organize it using those form-based principles. So a- a greater mix of housing types throughout,rather than segregating town homes from single-family duplex, from other uses, as you see in the 2002, a future land use map. Again,there's some other changes as well,but-but that's one of the large ones as it relates to land use. Uh,but it also does align well with other goals within the comprehensive plan,within the original Southwest District plan, and then with other city policies such as the,uh, city council strategic plan, climate action adaptation plan, and the Black Lives Matter and systemic racism resolution. And as it relates to plan goals, I did wanna just highlight the comprehensive plan and existing Southwest District plan goals that are,uh, being implemented through this. Uh, and those Southwest district plan goals are actually from the Rohret South sub area section already. So like I said,we retained those original concepts but it includes things like mix of housing types,pedestrian friendly neighborhoods,neighborhood commercial, and preserving open space, as well as an emphasis on accessible parks. So based on this analysis, staff does believe that those,uh, two approval criteria are met by the proposed analysis. In terms of next steps,uh, if this is adopted, it would still go through substantial zoning process. So areas that are outside of the city would need to be annexed into the city. That goes before planning and zoning and council. And then they would also need to be rezoned,presumably to a form-based zone which would be,uh, compliant with form-based land use districts. Uh, and then you would also have subdivision, a preliminary plat which would go to P&Z and council, and This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 12 then the final plat which would just come before council. And that also includes,uh, as part of our Greenfield form-based zones, a neighborhood plan that would show those uses. After that, it would be the-the staff review process of site plan review and building permit review. Uh, if not adopted,this area can still develop under the current,uh-the current comprehensive plan that's been adopted for the area,uh,but it would just follow different policies than are incorporated in this,uh, comp plan amendment. Based on review of this relevant criteria, staff did recommend that the commission, er, approve the Southwest plan amendment to upgrade the background information,uh, and to- and the section on the Rohret South sub area to facilitate development according to form-based standards. Uh, and at 37-December 7th meeting,the Planning and Zoning Commission did concur with staff opinion and,uh,voted 6-0 to recommend approval. So with that, that is staff s presentation. If you have any questions for me, I'm happy to answer them. Alter: This is a fantastic presentation and thank you for the contextualization and the background. Um, it really helps give a full sense of that area that,um,you know,there's a great number of people who live on the west side,but to see sort of how this would build out is, and with such deliberation is really,really helpful. Um, my questions are,um, is specific regarding the two pieces of correspondence that were included. Um, and it seems like during your presentation one person noted that there really needed to be more access points than simply or right. And- and it seems to me that that was taken into account that through one of the many maps that you were showing about the different ways in which particularly North-South,um,to-to really improve connectivity and egress in and out of the area. So am I correct in that assumption that you addressed that one,um,criticism or- or suggestion that there really needed to be that kind of infrastructure put into place prior to people just going and building homes. Lehmann: Yeah,that's part of the-the plan as we see it. Um,the-the bigger challenges as development comes in, it's gonna- it's not gonna come in all at once. Alter: Right. Lehmann: So- so that's where the challenge comes in in terms of North-South conductivity. Alter: Okay. I think that's it actually. Thank you. Bergus: Kirk, I had a question just how you were,um,hopefully stating that the basic planning principles from 2002 and that the 2002 plan kind of carried forward. And also at the end of your presentation,you were talking about the-how some historic planning principles I think,were problematic in terms of our current,uh, goals. So can you just kinda reconcile those for us in terms of maybe what carried through,um, from the 20-year-old plan versus what might have changed. Lehmann: Sure. So the-the aspects that we primarily retained were related to the actual principles,which,you know, like I said, are things like a mix of housing types. There- there principles that are similar to what form-based zones are meant to accomplish. The- This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 13 the things that were changed,where the way that land use categories were designated, which tends to restrict uses more than you might see in a form-based land-use category. So that's really where we tried to strike the balance. And in a lot of ways, the-the feedback that we received throughout this process was similar to the feedback from 2002. You know,many folks who live out there,have lived out there a long time and participated in both processes. So those voices are still, er, loud and clear and I think a lot of them still align with some of these changes that we're proposing. So that's why we retain those. But we did modify, er, especially the future land use map the concept the way that that's structured. Bergus: Thank you. Teague: I have questions related to the mix housing types.Naturally, I think affordable. You're naturally, I think you think affordable housing will be a part of that. But there is no percentage requirement for affordable housing like in our river foreign cross, and we have 10 percent. And then whenever we do an annexation into the city,there is a requirement there. Can you speak a little bit to maybe how you anticipate affordable housing will naturally occur. Lehmann: Sure. So,uh, it's mostly not through this planning document,but like you stated,uh, annexations we do have a policy that 10 percent of units be affordable,um, according to our policies. So that would apply to any land that's being annexed from the county. In addition,the form-based zones that we would anticipate be applied to this area do have provisions that incentive affordable housing. So it includes things like waiver from various standards. It- it allows some increased density if you provide some affordable housing within the units. So those two items paired together,that's really how we're hoping,uh, could create more affordable housing, especially within a new growth area. But that being said,new construction, it is always difficult to provide affordable housing. So another component is just providing housing types where it's not all single-family homes. But you might have a building that's the size of a single-family home,but instead of having one unit, it has four units. And so smaller square footage means that on the whole it's a more affordable unit. So those things together, er, are how we're hoping to encourage affordable housing within this area. Teague: Thank you. I'll make comments later when we have come at a time. Thank you. Any more questions for Kirk? Alter: I do, actually, I'm sorry. Um, and you can just give a short answer because it could be a rabbit hole. Um,what kind of authority or ownership does the municipality have once this is, let's say it passes or we can look to the South District which already has a form- based code. And I know that they're like, as you said,there's incentives for developers as well as some standards of how we want things to look and- and whatnot,right,to be able to build. And there's currently discussion that the state-level about taking that control away. So what happens in a scenario like that;what happens too these plans?And a short answer is fine. I realized this could become a large philosophical. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 14 Lehmann: In terms of state legislation,well,you know, as planners,we have to plan under the laws that we have. So that is the way that this plan is constructed. Um,you never know what changes would be made or if legislation is even past, so I can't really speak to that any further. I don t know if Geoff has anything to add other than that. Er, I mean,you- you can't legislate. Yeah. You can't make plans based on what you expect,you have to- Alter: A hundred percent. I was wondering, it sort of a doesn't matter. I'll stop. Thank you. Taylor: I apologize. I might have missed this. What kind of timeline or are you thinking then as far as the beginning and the ending of this development? Lehmann: Sure. So development could begin as soon as sewers brought under 218. We've had some folks within the county who are interested in annexing the Carson farms annexation had already come before the city at one point, and we've talked with-with those folks during this process as well. Um, in terms of outside of that initial area that can be serviced by Sewer under 218, it would depend on infrastructure investment, it would depend on development interests. So,you know,this area could develop really quickly and- and there's demand for more growth in this area. And then it would occur sooner or be prioritized sooner, or it could be,you know,maybe this area develops slower than we expect or we have a recession and that affects. So homebuilding,you know,you never quite know. So in terms of the areas outside of that immediate area,that would be a longer time horizon. With the longest time horizon being to the southwest,where-where we don't know exactly where those list stations would need to go. So that's kind of the timeline. Generally our planning time-timeline is anywhere from 20 years to 40 years. Um,but we wanted to ensure that we incorporate the full area, even though it's a really large area. Because we have had issues in the past where we say this areas for future development and plans can sometimes language until the developer is interested in. Then at that time, everyone's surprised as to what happens. So this provides more certainty as the way that development may occur in the future. Er. it's- it's development timeline is most likely longer on the longer end of that,because of those substantial investments that are needed. Thomas: Kirk,have you had-had any discussions about power. You know, it seems to me in the next-next- some of the next challenges we're facing. I mean, I love- I love the evolution from conventional zoning to form-based code. And now we have,you know, looking forward questions about how do we generate power through non-fossil fuel use by way of solar and wind, local food production as an alternative to everything being trucked in from somewhere else. Are those- are those aspects of future development which,you know, if we can localize those two issues in proximity to this development, ideally. Have those discussions been taking place in any way? Lehmann: So those discussions have occurred with regards to the zoning code and the way that we actually regulate specific developments. Um,we do have the ability to have community gardens in a Form Based Code district,which is, er,which is not the case in This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 15 some of our more conventional zoning districts. So that's a positive. But in terms of long- range planning, it is an important part of our regulations,but it hasn't been incorporated directly into this. Thomas: Where's-where's the county farm in relation to this is fairly close, isn't it? Lehmann: Yeah, it's it's north of the neighborhoods that are directly north on Rohret Road. Thomas: Okay. So that in effect, could potentially be land-use,that could be of value to this district. Lehmann: Yeah. And they were a stakeholder that we did engage as part of this to. Though it is outside of the district. Bergus: Kirk, I have a question just about the it's very helpful understanding probably a long time horizon,but wanting to plan as best we can to give some indication of what we would expect or hope for in this area. Um, I was just curious about the, er, maybe intensity isn't the right word,but that neighborhood edge along the highway. And then also the-the Future Highway 965. When I think of the larger transportation,um, areas like that, I would think that it'd be higher intensity rather than lower intensity. Can you just speak to that? Lehmann: Sure. Part of it is tied to existing land uses that are there. So a lot of those we maintained as their existing land uses and that's-that's how we see it in the future. As these planning documents evolve,you know,we're looking at this 20 years from the last time we looked at it, 20 years,maybe that vision will evolve in the future as- as development interests change is transportation structure or transportation networks are developed. Um, so it is a living document. At this time,we're showing that as as neighborhood edge because that's what's there. Bergus: Okay. Thank you. Thomas: I would DOT ever I'm not familiar with use of sound walls. Is that something that is ever considered by Iowa DOT when we see residential up against freeways and construction? Lehmann: I can't speak to that specifically. Typically,we do engage the DOT at the development process stage though,rather than at the-this initial stage. So especially when you're looking at numbers of lanes and things, I assume that's when you would look at those sorts of improvements. And with 218,there is a sound buffer requirement. So we do show a mixture of open space and commercial and that sound buffers for residential users. So that's something that's been incorporated into this future land use map as well. Dunn: Can you speak to future concerns about annexation? I know we were talking about how the city's processes generally,we want a consensual annexation. I know we have a pretty This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 16 decent read on a lot of the folks that are in the area right now. But what is your forward- looking perspective on that? Lehmann:Well, it would be a matter of as someone who's interested in annexed into the city,that would be the time that we would consider annexation. Like I said,we know that there are some property owners that are interested in a annexing. We know that there's some property owners that aren't,but,you know, as circumstances change for families,um, we've had some communications with families where their kids aren't interested in taking over a farm. That's where we see a lot of these things change. But really it's a matter of we-we will evaluate the proposals that come before us and that's really when we make those annexation determinations. Know what there'll be. Teague: Will the annexation,the 10 percent be in addition to really fallen under this new plan, or the 10 percent goes away? Lehmann: Which 10 percent? Teague: Affordable housing, I'm sorry. Lehmann: Yeah that would be part of anywhere within Iowa City that or that's being annexed to Iowa City would be subject to that 10 percent affordable housing requirement. Bergus: Maybe Kirk on the map,you could just show what part is currently in the city limits and what isn't. Lehmann: Yeah. So I'm going to use the Transportation map because this is probably the easiest way to do it. You can see some of the property lines very-very faintly. This line right here is roughly the city limit. You can't see my mouse. Bergus: There it is. Lehmann: There we are. It's roughly this line right here. So that's roughly where the city limits are. So the vast-vast majority of these areas outside of city limits currently. I don't know a better way to describe it than that. Bergus: Yeah. Teague: Any other questions? Thank you. Leahman: Thank you. Teague: Anyone from the public who'd like to address this topic? If you're online,please raise your hand, in person please welcome. Welcome please state your name and the city you're from. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 17 Phol: Hi I'm Judy Phol from Iowa City. Sorry, I have laryngitis. Regarding this new addition everything is related to the sewer going under the Interstate. I'm the president of my neighborhood for over 30 years. We're on Abbey lane. Last spring,well, anyway,twice in May and July,we've had open meetings talking about that to get the sewer line there they're going to have to tear up Abbey lane,move the sewer line from between our sidewalk and house where it's parallel and put it down the center of Abbey.We've worked that out. We've understood what was going on and suddenly in December, after you've made your strategic plans about reducing cement areas,maintenance and things we now are finding that Abby lane is going to be reduced, 8 feet narrower. We have a concern about that. Abby is really a parking area for people going to Kiwanis Park because there's only a few spots on off of tag. There's things that are going on at the park. There's the gardens that people get from the city and that's where they park and go get their tools to it. It's also a place where people bike ride through Kiwanis Park,through Willow Creek and they come through us,rather than having to go up and over the hill at Rohret on Mormon Trek so it really helps to have it stay that wider street. The other thing is when the street was put in initially, since they thought it was going to connect through to sunset before- anyway,before we got the street,Mormon trek widened and out to the highway and annexed and lights and all that that we worked on. So before that, it became a wider street and it stops just for Mormon trek just to Kiwanis Park. So that's why it's wide there with the hills going up Cae Dr and going up Dolen it helps to be able to have that turn available for trucks, garbage trucks and school buses and things, especially when there's icy or whatever. The summit has been there and is in very good shape from when originally it was put in about early 1980, I think. And I know one of the reasons was because worried about maintenance. You have a lot of through traffic on Benton? Yes. That needs maintenance. There's other streets that need maintenance. Our street could last another 30 years without having to be replaced. So thinking of having to narrow it down for replacement doesn't seem like a reasonable cost. We're also going to have the cost of extending drive- all drive ways. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address this topic? Seeing no one.Before I close the public hearing council, I wanted to. Goers: We don't need to look for a consult if that is what you're about to do,Mayor. Teague: I'm sorry. Goers: Were you about to see whether there is an informal consensus? Teague: Yes. Goers: We don't need that for a complaint amendment. Teague: Okay. Alright. I'm gonna close the public hearing. All right. Can I get a motion to approve,please? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 18 Bergus: So moved,Bergus. Thomas: Second, Thomas. Teague: Alright, council discussing. [NOISE] Bergus: I'm grateful to see additional form-based,uh,planning, and glad it's in the comp plan and hope to see more of that. Thomas: Certainly interesting seeing,you know,what the last plan-plan looked like in 2002 and how dramatically the approach to land-use planning has changed,not only in terms of the housing types. I know we talk a lot about the housing types but the incorporation of more thinking with regard to the streets,the public realm,the parks. The idea that, uh,you know,you try to create gathering places or centers within close walking distance throughout the 200 plus 1,800 acres. All of those are relatively new concepts and,um, we've seen them now being implemented both in the South Park in here, and so I am- I'm- I'm pleased to see that we've been able to jump on that particular approach because I think it's certainly, as Kirk indicated,um, addresses many of the issues that we're facing now and more effectively than the way we're used to doing things. Taylor: As Mayor Pro Tem Alter said, it is helpful to see this plan so well laid out so that you can really visualize,uh,what is going to look even though it's going to be,uh, I was shocked when you quoted the 20-30-year plan,but one reason I'd asked about the-the length is,uh, I know that,uh,Weber elementary was at capacity as soon as it was built. So there is- I'm- I'm a proud west sider and it is starting to overflow and there is a big need for it. So I was kind of wondering how we're going to time that and have discussions with the school district about the importance of them funding and other school out there. It- it's just a very important- going to be very important need, especially if- if you have the number of,uh,people living, especially families that are going to live out there because I can see that families would be drawn to this kind of an area, especially if there's a school and you have the parks, and that's a really wonderful thing. I think,uh, for years on the council,there were certain council members that talked about there just isn't infill areas left in Iowa City and John knows who I'm talking about,but, uh,there is the west side. This is primary for development. And I do like that. The focus on the pedestrian network,the mix of the housing types,which I truly do hope,uh,there's some question. I mean,the-people's definition of affordable is different,uh,but it is an absolute necessity and just absolutely cannot-nothing wrong with it,but they cannot be any more of these 300, 354 in a thousand dollar homes. We've seen that, I mean, Camp Cardinal Boulevard is bursting out of it seems, and primarily a lot of those are very expensive homes. So I- I- I'm hoping that that-that will happen. A lot of these are kinda unknowns. It's just that it might happen,but having that plan, as I'd said,written down, uh, I like the additional fife station obviously is going to be wonderful and like I said,the elementary school. So all those kinds of things, I do have that concern because we got the correspondence about the resident on Kitty-Kitty Lee Road,Kitty Hawk-Kitty Lee Road. Uh, it was concerning to me because her description was that previously when it This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 19 was a street, it's very hilly and it was very dangerous. And actually, I think that she mentioned that a child did get injured or killed,uh, on that road,uh, so I think that,uh, if that is the plan to extend that,that would need to be seriously looked at in the future before that happens so that they can level that out or make it so that it would be a safe- a safe place to tra- travel. And also note if it's 20-30 years down the line, future councils down the road,revisit the whole transit,the whole-we just recently did that, but,uh, there's going to be made or need for for folks out in that area to have transit. So,uh,but otherwise, all in all, I- I mean, it looks like a really wonderful plan, except for those things that I hope for that will be looked at. Dunn: I'm- I'm just really over the moon about what we have in front of us here today. We-we have a great example of really smart planning,um,that really I think very closely gets us to,you know,the ideals of our- of our strategic plan. Housing and neighborhoods, mobility,people being able to get places within 5-10 minutes. And even at that point when we think so far in the future,there's probably going to be really quality public transit in- integrated into these,uh,neighborhoods, so I'm- I- I'm- I'm very happy with what we have here in front of us today. Um, still in consideration of the concerns that were expressed to council,um,with regard to annexation,with regard to safety of roads, um, especially with regard to,um,you know,what we can do to assuage those concerns. Um, I think that those are- are things that we need to seriously consider, if at all possible. Um,but broadly speaking, I think this is a fantastic thing that staff has put forward and, uh,yeah, I'm- I'm very proud to be from Iowa City. [LAUGHTER] Taylor: Yes, and I might want to mention since it was brought up, I said, I- I do hope maybe,uh, city staff and engineers can,um, look at that at Abilene,uh,the sewer issue there, and see what can be done about that. Teague: This is exciting because it does speak to so many parts that um, fellow councilors,yes, talked about our strategic plan,where you are,how mobile it is to get to parks and- and such. One thing that I want to highlight about this is it really does allow for city staff, for, um, all of the residents in our community, as well as developers,to know what to expect. And I think that's been one of the biggest challenges that we faced, is everybody don't know what to expect, a lot of ambiguity in what can be there. And this really does. I love when you have the Tis and all this stuff,you know exactly what can go there. And so that's what I really appreciate about a form-based code,uh,model,uh,that we're now switching to. Harmsen: Agree with all of that, and I think one sign of a good plan, such as this is, uh, I look at this and- and I'm glad to be a part of this deci- decision-making process at this time,but I'm a little jealous of the people that might get to live in this design or this vision of a neighborhood knowing that there'll be some changes between now and then, of course, but-but it's sort of like one of those like wow,yeah,that'd be really cool place to-really cool place to be,wished they had done this 50 years ago. [LAUGHTER] No-no-no-no- no. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 20 Thomas: Better late than never. Harmsen:No shade on the- on the council 50 years ago. Just more of a commentary on- on the potential of this vision. Alter: I think everyone has said what I have been intuiting or thinking,but have said it much better than I so I will leave it at that. I think the only thing I would want to, um, emphasize again is that I know that the,um,the vision of the future also needs to co-exist with the present,right?And so I am very- I want to thank the woman who-Miss Phol, who came up to speak about. It sounds very knowledgeably and with a depth of experience living in that neighborhood and so I would just echo what Councilor Taylor was talking about that perhaps we can work through what your concerns are along with engineering to perhaps assuage some concerns and- and be able to work on on some solutioning together. Um, it may not be exactly as is but on the flip side,um, you know, certainly we don't want to bulldoze the present in order for the future but I think that there's a way for both to-to be able to coexist well, and just thank you for- for speaking up. And this plan looks phenomenal to me and thank you for everybody who worked on it. Teague: One thing I will mention, it was great to hear that the 10 percent affordable housing for the annexation is required because this is a whole- I mean, essentially it's a new area and so,um,that is good for me, I always say it. Um, developers,we love you,we need you. And,um,please just know that the heart of Iowa City is we need more affordable housing, and so I ask that people come,um,with that in- in the forefront of their mind and making sure that when they do come,that that affordability is a real- a real thing because sometimes we hear affordable to who because affordability is, Councilor Taylor mentioned,that means a lot of things for a lot of people, so with that being said, if there are no other comments,we will go to roll-call, please. [Roll Call] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 21 9.b. Rezoning-Western Home GPD of Iowa City Teague: Item number 9b,rezoning Western home, GPD of Iowa city ordinance conditionally rezone approximately 31.2 acres of property located east of Camp Cardinal Road and north of gathering place lane from interim development, single-family residential and low density for single-family residential with a planned development overlay to medium density single-family residential or the planned development overlay. Goers: Thank you,Mr. Mayor,because I have,uh, several leadership positions with St. Andrew Presbyterian Church,which is one of the current property owners,uh,we have a purchase agreement with the Western homes folks. Um, so because of that,uh, conflict, I've continued to, or I have recused myself from all discussions at the staff level here within the city and I will continue to do so tonight. Sue Dulek with my office will handle this matter from our office. Teague: Thank you. And we will welcome Sue Dulek. All right. And I'm going to open the public hearing and welcome Danielle Sitzman. Sitzman: Good evening Mayor, Council Daniel Sitzman. As you've introduced this item, it is a rezoning for the area located in the white boundary here. It's one of the few large, undeveloped areas within the city. We would probably call this infill at this point since it's surrounded on all sides by otherwise undeveloped areas or areas that have gone through recent rezoning. So unlike what we've been talking about and the Greenfield areas,this one's a little bit more tricky. It has a lot of, um, impacts for things around it and has to juggle quite a few of,uh, additional concerns including sensitive areas. Um, this shows the area again,the current zoning around it. And as I mentioned, it doesn't contain some sensitive features. So the proposal before you tonight is for a rezoning to an overlay district for Planned Development Overlay District(OPD)because of those sensitive areas and because the applicant is requesting to include a mix of housing and a conventional zoning district. We've long had this OPD process to facilitate that kind of zoning. It's the transition and zoning the-the evolution of zoning between truly conventional zoning and what we're doing in our Greenfield,which is form-based code, zoning is kind of trying to do that mix of use and respond to the environment at the same time through a tool of overlay zoning. So in this case,there would be 35 single-family homes and a mix of duplexes in with those. I'm shown on the northern loop street here, as well as a multifamily development and assisted senior development included as well. So you can see some town homes on the southwest comer of the development and the pink brown color, I guess it's showing up on the screen up there. And the Patti or the single- family homes, some duplexes and more of a blue and brown. To the northwest side of this area is where sensitive areas are present, including a stream corridors, some slopes and woodlands as well as a wetland. So those would be the sensitive areas that I've mentioned. When we look at an overlay zoning district that has some typical review criteria of having to do with the comprehensive plan and compatibility with existing neighborhood as well as for additional criteria. So I'll walk you through those here quickly. The fust additional criteria that we evaluate has to do with density and land use. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 22 In this case,because of the sensitive areas that developer is moving development- development off of those areas as is required and concentrating them in areas that do not contain sensitive areas. While they're doing that,they are still well below the density that the base stone would allow so their clustering development, essentially keeping it away from the sensitive areas,but staying within the maximum density allowed for this land area. As I said, they're proposing a variety of types of housing, including single-family, duplex, and multifamily as well as senior. In the vicinity of this particular use, its other housing, so to the west is a new housing dwelling, single dwelling-proposed-um, residential dwelling proposed redevelopment. To the east is existing single-family, and to the north on the other side of the stream is single-family as well. To the south is a church and a multifamily apartments. So in general,the layout of the site transitions the density within it from higher density to low density to kind of,um,match the surrounding,uh, neighborhood around it. It's certainly appropriate to have dwelling,uh,units next to other kinds of dwelling units we'd like to see a mix of housing. And the elevations that they're proposing,their massive scale is typical, except for one of the waivers that they're requesting to have a slightly larger multifamily building than the base zoning would allow. They are also accommodating off street parking in ways that are encouraged by our codes such,uh, as screening it,putting an underground or putting it behind uses. Um, the open space requirements are not being waived with this development so they'd still need to provide all of the private open space and public open space is part of the development. As I mentioned there are- is a development of a street network proposed here, including a loop street and with some cul-de-sac off of it, it is finishing the connections to the surrounding street network, asbestos as it can. As I mentioned,this is infill so unlike-unlike a Greenfield site,we can't later layout,um, a- a grid street network necessarily,we're working with the sensitive features and we're working with where we can and can't make connections. So as you notice to the east of this site,there's really no opportunity remaining to connect. So we've made connections as best as I can. One of the conditions involved in this application will be a contribution of funds to contribute to the construction of Camp Cardinal Road to ensure that those connections are made where they can. This does show the elevations for the single-family and duplexes as again, I said,very typical heights and forms proposed, as well as the town homes, assisted living and mixed use. Again, another criteria that we evaluate has to do with the burden on streets and utilities. This area can be sewered and watered and the street network has been evaluated to ensure that there are connections,to ensure that for the density proposed,the traffic can be accommodated. One of the kind of unique proposals here is some angled on street parking that's addressed in a condition to make sure that while we're allowing that innovative kind of on street angle parking,that there's adequate provision for snow to be removed by the private property owners. Also we look at whether the OPD rezoning but- will result in any more of an impact than a conventional district would. Um, in general, that tends not to be the case. Um,this development,while asking for a few waivers, they're very limited,they're not asking for increased setbacks and all of their houses, for example,just a few here and there to accommodate the sensitive features. So really there are no impacts expected beyond what a conventional development would propose. Again,we think this is in the public interest. The waiver is that they've proposed we've evaluated they seem to be the minimum necessary in order to accommodate a cluster This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 23 development and- in an- in an infill situation. Again,those exact waivers are included and documented as part of this OPD. So to the general criteria that we evaluate compliance to the comprehensive plan,there is no district plan in this area, so we refer to the comprehensive plan. Again,the density proposed here as well within the vision of the comprehensive plan. And we're obviously getting a mix of housing types which is encouraged in a comprehen- comprehensive plan,um, objectives. Also extending street networks where we can ensuring the pedestrian network for sidewalks and things like that are also accommodated. And of course,preserving sensitive features. So in regards to sensitive features,they're pictured here in these two slides,the primar-they have every kind of sensitive feature in this particular area that they might come across that we regulate. And they are fulfilling all of their regulatory requirements for that. They're staying off steep slopes,they're predicting the number of acres of woodland that they're required to protect. The only impact that really have is to wetlands and the fact that they are going to reduce the buffer around the wetland,which is allowed by code. Um, It depends on a wetland specialist doing a study which they have done and submitted to staff,which we concur with. So because of that slight reduction to the wetland buffer, that is part of their over-their overlay district. They had to provide a sensitive areas a plan as well, so that is documented as well. As far as next steps go,um,this land is,uh, has been zoned an interim development for awhile. It's being proposed for a rezoning tonight shown in the blue. If it were to be approved,they would still need to go through the planning process, of course, and the design review and site plans and building permits. So based on a review of the relevant criteria and the specific criteria that I walked you through, staff did recommend approval of the proposed rezoning with two conditions. The conditions regard the contribution of funds for the construction of the road. And in the event that the on street angle parking is included in the design,that there's an agreement,uh, of obligating the owner to maintain those spaces. At their meeting on December 21st,by vote of 6-0,the Planning and Zoning Commission concurred with staffs opinion, opinion, and also recommended approval with these two conditions. They did conduct a good neighbor meeting in August and staff has received the signed conditional zoning agreement to me. That concludes my staff report and I'm happy to answer questions. Alter: Hey Danielle, I have one question regarding you're talking about the I think it was the multi-family homes that had the- essentially they were,the height and the size you said they were essentially okay. But forgive my bad paraphrasing. Um,but you did say that there were slightly outside of what was allowed. Can you it- got into more details? Sitzman: Sure. So they do itemize the waivers that they are requesting from the base zoning. And if my memory serves, is a 10 foot additional height to the building. Um, I'm not sure if that's just simply to accommodate a taller ceiling height on each floor but we would consider that a fairly small height request. Okay. Thank you. Thomas: Danielle, I noticed on the cul-de-sac,the street is 22 feet wide. Is that correct? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 24 Sitzman: That could be the case and I do not recall. This might be a good question for the applicant and if those are proposed to be private. Thomas: It's that all public roads on the drawings? Sitzman: Yeah. Um, if that's the case,then obviously that impacts on street parking. But generally we do favor narrower streets where possible. Thomas: I mean,what I was sensing was with the 22 feet, there would be no parking on the street parking on the cul-de-sac and parking permitted on the gathering place lane. Sitzman: Sure. So what we're looking at it just to make sure we're clear is the rezoning exhibit, it's not a, it's not a plot. So the exact widths of streets would still be reviewed with planning. So I'm not sure if the intent was to show a 22 feet and that was what they would additionally incurred wanted to do at their planning process,but we would reevaluate that for subdivision standards at that point. Thomas: Okay. Teague: Any other questions? Thank you. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? Welcome. Hansen: Good evening. Teague: Good evening. Hansen: Um,Mr. Mayor and Council. I'm Chris Hansen, CEO, Western Home Communities in Cedar Falls. Um, it's great to be before you with this project. We're excited about it. Um, a little history about who we are. Western Home was started in 1911, so we're hundred and- soon to be 112 years old. I look like I might have been there the whole time,but I have not. This is the- our last 27 years. But we are excited to be down here. Um,we're a continuing care retirement community, Steve Rowe is over here with Oak Knoll. I would consider Steve a- a good friend and- and complimentary and even though friendly competition potentially,but,um,we've worked pretty closely together in the past. Um, we serve today approximately about 1,400 residents,mostly up in Cedar Falls and our main campus up there. But we also go down to Madrid,um, and Grundy Center and some other communities to help them and manage, etc. Um,we do everything from in-home care all the way through skilled nursing care, assisted living,um,nursing and- and independent living- and independent congregate buildings. The thing that excites us, er, Western Home communities,we really want to develop community, and this-this parcel allows us to create a community,um, inside of the greater community of Iowa City. We work pretty closely with University of Iowa and the School of Nursing, and Csomay Center on dementia specific programming. We've won some-won some international awards,uh,with our design in our dementia cottages. Um, so we're excited about this This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 25 opportunity and looking- looking forward to see what we can do in the community. Certainly, if there are any questions for me, I'd be happy to answer them. Teague: And council is allowed to ask questions to the applicant-the developer, and sorry, I should have invited you all up before I open public meeting. Hansen: Thank you. Teague: There are none. Thank you. Anyone else from the public like to address this topic? Is there no one in person or online. Just want to make sure that the council- I want to ask the councilors if they are inclined to support P&Z,which they approve this six to zero,just, um, all right. I'm going to close the public hearing. [NOISE] Can I give- can I get a motion to give fust consideration? Dunn: So moved. Alter: Second,Alter. Teague: Moved by Dunn, seconded by Alter. Council discussion. Thomas: Well- Well Danielle, all I think is correct in saying that,you know that this planned overlay development process is a real wildcard. In my experience, it really can go all over the place, er, so it's very unpredictable,uh, in terms of what one not might expect as an outcome. And I'm- I'm really pleased with this plan. I think it's,uh,works, is very-the site plan was done with,you know,high sensitivity to the natural areas. It was done with, I think a high sensitivity toward trying to create a sense of neighborhood,um, in its form. Ah, I'm pleased that you employed an architect on the design of the buildings. I think some of those single-family designs are fabulous. I love the duplex design,particularly. Uh, and it's,you know, it is a blend of housing types,uh,but they do seem to be of a family. And this is sometimes what happens on the planned development overlay is they'll be a kind of radical jumps in scale. And- and I see this as being,you know, complimentary to one another. I'm- I'm personally okay with a narrower street. I- I didn't want to suggest that I was opposed to it. In fact- I mean, I sense that it was done because you're building on these knobs and you really want to limit the extent of the the roadway so that it's possible to do that well, and- and so far as they are public,um,will be public roads. The less concrete and asphalt,the better as far as I'm concerned. And,um,they're short enough where if it is something where the parking is not allowed, I think parking on the gathering place lane seems perfectly adequate. So,you know, congratulations. I think it's a really interesting project. I do find it also interesting if you look just to the east of the development,the size of the lots on Walnut Ridge,you know,we talk about the evolution of planning over the years and those are acre lots. I mean, it could fit four or five of these single-family homes that looks like,um, on one of those lots. So it's- it's a very interesting contrast. Um,but again, I think this-this is a nice expression of where we're at now. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 26 Bergus: I also appreciate seeing the,um, level of detail that isn't necessary at this stage that you are willing to give us at this stage. Um, it does make it easier,uh, to understand what the finished product will look like. I know there's lot plenty of caveats in the fine print of, er, of those items that look more like, ah,plans but certainly having,um, as John indicated, a local architect,um,working on those is- is very helpful to see. So thank you for that. Taylor: As, er, Councilor Thomas mentioned the attractiveness of these buildings, and I also appreciate that, er,having seen over the years so many cookie cutter kinds of buildings, you know, glass and steel and concreted. It's going to be very attractive and it's kind of unfortunate that it's actually going to be kind of tucked behind. Uh,unless you're really going there to the church or in that area, if you want to see it. Too much from- from Camp Cardinal Boulevard,but-but it's going to be very impressive. And I also,uh, commend you for,uh, developing senior housing,uh,having recently had to go through a process of trying to find an extended care facility for a friend. It's difficult. It's very hard to-to find someplace that-that suitable or recommended by folks. So,uh,unfortunately, she won't be able to- she's already someplace so she won't be able to fit into this one. But I look forward to the development of that, and, er, seeing folks live there. Dunn: I'm not going to repeat too much of what-what's already been said. I- I- I echo all the same sentiments. I think really what I want to emphasize is my appreciation for again,the detail especially, er,you know, as- as much of the preservation of sensitive environments, the natural environment as possible. Um, something that I experienced in my late grandmother,uh,you know,passed away and we moved her to a prior week. She-we moved her to an assisted living facility. Um, it was just that the amount of joy,um,that people at that point in their life can get from. Even just being able to look out into a green space and have a bird feeder there. So the-the fact that you guys are- are really taking this much care to preserve the wetlands and protect those areas so that they can be,you know, a good thing for the environment as well as your residence, I think it's truly commendable. Harmsen: I agree. Teague: All right. I'm going to support this rezoning. One question I have is related to the conditions that the P&Z gave. Um, do we know if the applicant was supportive in agreement? Sitzman: They were made. They have signed that CZA already and turned it in. Teague: Okay. All right. Thank you. Um,now, I think all the comments have already been said, so yeah. All right. Are we ready for a vote? Harmsen: I think so. Teague: Roll call,please. [Roll Call] Motion passes 7 - 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 27 This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 28 9.c Rezoning—W. Benton St and Orchard St Teague: Item 9.c is Rezoning in West Benton Street and Orchard Street. Ordinance conditionally,Rezibubg in approximately 3.52 acres of land located north of west Benton Street and West of Orchard Street from low density, single-family residential with a planned development overlay and Riverfront Crossing Orchard to Riverfront Crossing Orchard. I'm going to open the public hearing and welcome once again. Sitzman: Good evening once again. Danielle Sitzman,neighborhood and development services. So this is the,uh,rezoning,uh, I just mentioned,highlighted again in a white outline here shown,uh,just north of Benton Street off of Orchard Street to the west of South Riverside Drive. Um, the subject property is currently developed with the mix of single- family duplex and four plex units. The proposal is with the intention of allowing for redevelopment of- of this area, shown here as the current zoning. The blue is actually Riverfront Crossings Orchard District„ where it's already been rezoned. So the subject property includes,uh,the southern portion which was already subject to a rezoning already appropriately zoned. Um, at that time, it did,um,have some conditions with it because the area to the-to north is now being combined with it and kind of produces a different overall effect. Um,those conditions need to be redundant, so the entire area is being requested for a rezoning. Just a little background to walk you through the history of the Orchard District, and Riverfront Crossings form based codes. Uh,we'll start with the development of the form-based code. Well, sorry, development of the master plan. So in 2013,there was a downtown and Riverfront Master Plan adopted. Um,that area is shown here in gray in 2016,that was amended to add,uh,what's shown in peach here of the Orchard District,. So on it's southernmost side, southwest side, some additional land was added to that district. Er, the purpose of that was really because at the time there were some development interests,um, in that area which is obviously come to fruition,um, and encouraging form based coding for that area. So it was adjacent to the Form Based Code area that was already studied. And,um,the um, intention was to include that in the master plan. And then,uh, sorry,2017,to adopt a form-based code actually specifically. So that's the implementation. The zoning code is other rules that implement the form- based code. So while there was the plan, I went back a step here again,uh,the plan showed essentially what the development I concepts were at the time. Um, so you see here directly from that master plan,the kind of box outline of potential development. Um, this photo on the bottom of the screen is what was included with the rezoning then that followed in 2019, showing,um,two buildings, essentially on that northern part of the site. That reflects what's shown kind of in this pop-out of the Form Based Code regulating plan. So this plan is the plan that's enter zoning-zoning code and has some really rigid or regulating aspects to it. Including on the screen,which looks like a blue line to me,the pedestrian street that bisects that northern most property. So that's a requirement in our inner zoning code. It basically breaks up that southern part of the site into two buildings and that's what,um,was proposed at the time. And then leaves the northern portion on bisected by a pedestrian street and allows for the street network to remain in place. Um, as I said in 20- 2019,the southern part of the site was rezoned,uh, to Riverfront Crossings Orchard District,. So that's actually got a zoning district. As I This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 29 said, it had several conditions on it,primarily,uh, ensuring the dedication that right away and long Benton Street that we know this due needed, ensuring that that pedestrian street had the right kind of public access easements over it. And executing an affordable housing agreement,which is actually already required by code,but it was just being highlighted at the time. So at this time, the atlas- as I said the applicants adding some bland to the proposed development,the northern portion,they need to have that rezoned to Riverfront Crossings Orchard and this so this is running application is for all of those areas at once. And to craft the right conditions for this overall development. What's shown here is their proposal,kind of the same white-box outline,massing study of the buildings that they would propose,um, in these areas, and an elevation as well. Um, as I said,there's zoning code is what actually implements anything in the master plan, and so they would be subject to the zoning standards and the Riverfront Crossings Orchard District. Um, a little bit about the Orchard District,um, as it was crafted and written, it does have some components of it that were meant to fulfill the purpose of the coms- comprehensive plan. So because this is a rezoning, I'll talk a little bit about comprehensive plan and compatibility with existing neighborhood and bring that into it a little bit for history. This is a snippet from the master plan downtown or Riverfront Crossings masterplan talking about what the Orchard District,when it was added,what it was intended to accomplish. Um,really that subarea was intended to be a transition between the more larger and more intense uses along South Riverside Drive and the smaller, less intense uses of single-family further to the west. Um, at the time that the study was conducted, it really was identified that the existing conditions in the neighborhood were kind of a mix and not a good transition between those things. And then adding the Orchard District,here would encourage perhaps a little bit more density and really incentivize redevelopment to provide a more orderly transition between those kinds of uses already existing in the neighborhood. Um, of course,the master plan articulated that that transition should occur in scale. Um, articulated desires for non- desirable things like parking to be kept away from street frontages. Um, and then indicated what kinds of forums or in this case,what kinds of buildings would be appropriate. It said things like cottage home,row house,townhouse, live work, townhouses, 2-3 story multifamily buildings with a third fourth step back. So that was what the master plan was saying. And when the Orchard Court District was written in the Form Based Code,those aspirations were codified. So for instance, in this Sony,uh, subdistrict,whereas in other Riverfront Crossings districts,we will be-we will be talking to you about height,base height maximums and bonus height maximums. There are no bonus heights allowed in Orchard court,the code was more strict in that sense that when it said three stories, that was the limit. Um, also it requires by code a step back after the second floor. So that's one of the major differences in the Orchard District, compared to other Riverfront Crossing districts. There are also some minor differences in these setbacks and there's some limitations on uses,whereas we wouldn't early talk about that. In the Riverfront Crossings district in this part of the town, there are limits on say,hours of operation for commercial. So talking a little bit about- sorry the compatibility with existing neighborhood,talking about that three-story max,the step back above the second floor. And then- and there's also a standard that requires an increased separation from residential. So this is the aerial today and the outline of the- of the area under discussion. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 30 So in-between the rezoning and today from 2018, 2019,there was a traffic study,uh,that the city required to be conducted in 2019, 2018,when the northern portion of the site was being considered for redevelopment to understand the impacts of traffic. Um, and at that time,um, it was determined that,um, study to intersection spent in Riverside and Orchard and- and Benton, and it was determined that there would need to be some additional,um, operational improvements made at that intersection if there was to be additional trips generated. Under the development,um, scenario proposed in 2019,um,two driveway system was considered sufficient to handle that traffic. Uh,but looking at that study and the additional developable area being added now to the North,really the recommendation is for signalization. Um, the other recommendations as far as sidewalk improvements and dedication of right-of-way,um, all are carryover from their previous rezoning. But really looking at signalization of Benton and Orchard as being necessary with the full development at this time. And it's signalization would also include turn lanes on Benton Street. Um,those things would be addressed,though more specific three,through the site planning process. That's where we would require actual design of those improvements to be reviewed by your engineering department. So as far as next steps,this kind of goes through that background again that I walked you through as far as when the master plan was developed,when this district was added to that master plan, and when we wrote zoning codes to implement it,um, as well as the 2019 rezoning that has already occur- occurred. And then if this were to be rezoned,uh, since it's in a Riverfront Crossings form-based code, it does go through a design reviewed by staff, as well as site plan and building permits. So based on a review of the relevant approval criteria, staff did recommend approval. But the conditions shown on the slide the applicant held two Good Neighbor meetings, one in September and one in November. They really had to refine their concepts because what they were initially proposing,we knew would not comply with the form-based code. Uh, so they went through that process and did,um,redefine their concept. Um,they made sure that they could do that without needing any changes to the comprehensive plan. So for instance,removing that pedestrian street,uh,was not part of,um,what they presented at this second Good Neighbor meeting they're respecting the concepts expressed in the master plan. They have a CZA for all of these conditions. However, at their meeting on January 4th,the Planning and Zoning Commission did not support them- staffs opinion and actually has recommended denial of this application. So as I mentioned, a lot of these conditions are carryovers,uh,there to ensure sidewalk widths, traffic signalization. Other offsite improvements, a 30 foot wide public access easement over that pedestrian street at dedication it right away to the city and any additional easement is necessary. So with that, I'm happy to answer questions. Teague: I don't hear any questions. Dunn: I- I do. Teague: Oh. Okay. Dunn: Did you say staff is recommending denial of the applicant? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 31 Sitzman:No. Staff doesn't recommend a- approval with conditions. The way that they structure the vote at planning and zoning commission is in the affirmative,but it failed to receive an affirmative vote, so therefore, it's a recommendation of denial. Dunn: Gotcha, gotcha. Teague: All right. Thank you. Anyone from the public like to-the developers want to come forth at this time?All right. Welcome. Belk: Good evening,Mayor and Council. Teague: And good evening. Boelk: I'm Brian Boelk,Axiom consultants,here representing the applicant's design team. Mike Welch is also here with us and then Zach Feldman with Aptitude Development is also here from the applicant. Uh,yeah. We just appreciate the-the report given by Danielle and city staff. As she noted,we've been working,uh, on this,uh,with the design team and architect, everybody involved for at least six months, if not more,um,up till now. And- and as noted,this project has evolved over time based on,uh, staff conversations, discussions, as well as,uh, Good Neighbor meetings. And we appreciate everybody's, um, attendance at those and their interactions. So,uh, starting at one time as one large building and- and four additional parcels that required a complaint amendment, including an Iowa City piece of land, and has dwindled down to three smaller buildings,um, and- and- and eliminating those other four parcels. So the project has changed quite a bit as Danielle has noted. Um, again,had two Good Neighbor meetings,had really good interactions with a lot of people,uh,who live around there or- or trans- transverse around that area and have been for quite awhile and we appreciate that. Um, as noted- staff does recommend this and we do accept all the conditions,um, applicant accepts all the conditions that were put on this, including traffic signalization and- and turn lanes,um, improvements to Orchard Court, Orchard Street to the North area. So that'd be,uh, removing-replacing that street and improving that,uh, as well. Some of the issues that came up during P&Z we feel have all been met in terms of city code and,um, in the rezoning, and that's the issue at hand is the rezoning. So those issues regarding traffic, again,we've,uh,met per city requirements and per the direction from city staff. Uh, parking,we are meeting and would- and would need to meet all parking requirements, uh,based on city code. Same with affordable housing they acknowledged,uh,the 10 percent and we'll certainly be taking care of that. And then as Danielle noted,there is not a- a density requirement per se,but a heighth and- and the three stories which obviously we would,uh,meet and be required to meet as well. Uh,just a couple of additional notes we've met,uh, even though it's later in a site plan process, er,we didn't meet with the fire marshal on a couple of different occasions and- and talked through what this would look like for fire protection. So we've had a couple of really good productive meetings. They're all on board,uh,with what we're looking at and proposing to date.Um, and I guess I'll just let you know too, in terms of parking on-site right now,uh, If you saw that earlier,there's the three building,where the North building contains all the parking within This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 32 that building. So essentially it's a parking structure within that North building with liner units around it,uh, like townhouse look, liner units around it. So, uh, 2-3 levels of parking internally within that North building that would house all the required parking, um, and the number that is required, again,per code. Happy to answer any questions you may have. Dunn: Are you intend- intending to monetize parking for residents? Belk: I don't know if I have an answer to that and I don't know if- if Zach does either on how they handle that. You-yeah. Feldman: My name is Zach Feldman, I work for the developer,Aptitude Development. Uh, thank you for the opportunity to present our project,uh,we look forward to you one day being a part of the community. Uh, for parking we are still, er, discussing the,um,rate- things of that nature,but we do plan to charge for parking,uh, in line with other,uh, projects in the area. Teague: Thank you. Feldman: Thank you so much for your time. Teague: Any other questions by council?All right. Anyone from the public like to address this topic,please come forth. There is a sign in there,please sign your name and city-your city. Teague: Please state your name and the city you're from. Welcome. Swaggard: Paula Swaggard, Iowa City. If you persevered through my email,you already know the reasons I'm opposed to this rezoning. I'm a longtime resident of the Miller Orchard neighborhood and I will be impacted if this proposal is approved. As you know,there are layers upon layers that the city has in place to guide the vision and future development of Iowa City. I have participated in this process for many years. As a result of this proposal, I've recently spent many hours sifting through all these various plans. The strategic plan, 2023-2028, I see 2030 comprehensive plan, Southwest District plan,Downtown and river fro- front Crossings plan,Riverfront Crossings, form-based standard, sub-district standards for Orchard Neighborhood, and the Miller Orchard neighborhood plan of 2009. It all comes down to several key ideas that run through all of these plans. Transition should be complimentary in mass and scale to the adjacent single-family neighborhood, affordable housing,which the applicant will pay fee in lieu of, open space, ensure infill development is compatible and complimentary to the surrounding neighborhood, avoid concentrations of high density multifamily zoning directly adjacent to low density single- family zones,provide a diversity of housing for a variety of people and of all incomes, attract long-term residents to downtown Riverfront Crossings and the university impact zone,preserve the existing housing stock and neighborhoods near downtown and campus, stabilize older neighborhoods, encourage dormitory-style housing for university This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 33 students away from single-family neighborhoods, infill dev-redevelopment in areas where infrastructure is already in place and without compromising neighborhood character. As presented at P&Z,this proposal is a vague concept of 189 units, a student- oriented family housing, it amounts to a huge upzoning. Please stick to the plan. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address this topic? Rue: Yeah. My name is Ken Rue, Iowa City. I live- I would be one of the adjacent affordable housing pla-uh,homes there. And we- it'll impact us a lot. We've lived there 45 years in our house, at 302 West Benton, our daughter lives beside us with their kids and son and his wife ended up buying the house across the street because we do a lot of stuff together. So we call that Ruevill. Uh, and I'm the mayor of Reuvill. But anyway, at any rate,we've- that's been our little piece of heaven,believe it or not, a house on West Benton street is anybody's piece of heaven. That's what we bought,we loved it,we added onto it a little bit and we've got a whole family right there. And it's been quiet, and we have a little creek around back. Uh,that's always been there and to think of massively putting hundreds of students right in that area where it's already too busy,to us is- is just really disappointing to think that can happen. But also the traffic is so bad already.And then if you add 189 more units and they all come out of Orchard Street one block from Riverside Drive, excuse me, it's already congested, especially at certain times of the day. So we just feel like-uh, like it could be ruining our- our little- little tiny utopia there. Um, and all the places along there,we've lived there 45 years. All of their homes, all of their rented places or,uh,homeowners have been as far as I ever know, full all the time. They haven't sat empty,places,uh, along there at least our areas,uh,have never gotten really run down. Most of them have had citing at it. People take pride in it,yesterday a lot of rentals,but so what, I mean,people should be able to afford a rental place too that's actually a home. And, er, it just feels like the wrong thing to do to-to pack even hundreds and hundreds of more students in there where, like Paula said, it wasn't ever a part of the plan all along for the last couple of decades anyway. So,uh, let me see if I missed anything. That's-that's basically it. I'll take it anymore of your time,but hopefully you'll consider all- all of those things too. We may appreciate it. I know that the Zoning Commission did take some of that into account too, so thank you very much. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address this topic? I see no one online. Welcome. Welch: Hello. Mike Welch. Welch Design and Development. Um, I am working with the applicant,but I kind of would also like to address council just as a- as a citizen of the-the region and just to kind of how I see this,um-this process playing out,um, on this project and other projects. I do, ah, sympathize and understand the concerns of the neighbors and we have a redevelopment project like this. That's understandable,um,but I also think it's really important. Um, as we- as we look at- at areas, especially within riverfront crossings,that this rezoning request really kind of meets with a comprehensive plan was envisioning. Um, as Danielle pointed out,the two buildings on the South are already in the riverfront crossings plan and rezone that way. This-this new rezoning stays consistent This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 34 with that original rezoning from the 2019 rezoning, and it really just adds the-the peace and the North,um,those three apartment buildings that exist in the North, and so I think as we- as we look at,um,what's before us tonight is really important to focus on the questions of rezoning,um, and let the questions of site plan and traffic and those things happen at the time when they're supposed to happen,which would be during design review and- and site plan. Um,with that, let's kind of all I have to say. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else would like to address this topic? Seeing no one in person or on- or online. So council,before I close the public hearing, I wanted to just see if we are inclined to vote with P&Z or against P&Z. P&Z recommended denial,which means that we wouldn't vote to approve this. So if I can see- and the other thing for our new councilor. Anytime P&Z- a P&Z item come before us,the Council has the option of if we're going to vote against P&Z, have a meeting with P&Z. So that is why I pause before I close the public hearing. So I wanted to know if people are inclined to vote against P&Z. So you would approve this project? Alter: Can I say that,um,middle ground I would like to have a consult- consult with P&Z because I really would like to know more from those- from- from the body that voted against it just to get a better understanding as I went through all of the packet for this development. Um, I got a very clear sense from the neighborhood, from talking about all of the-the intricacies that-that you brought up. Sorry. [OVERLAPPING]. Teague: The only-the only challenge. [OVERLAPPING] Alter: We don't want to talk about it? Teague:No,we can't. [LAUGHTER] Alter: Sorry. Teague: I'm sorry. Alter: I'm sorry, and Eric is like shhh. Teague: Yeah. We can't talk about it. Alter: All right. Um,yes. I would like to have a consult with P&Z. Teague: So okay. So you're saying that you would vote against P&Z essentially just to have the console,which is fine. Alter: Just have the console. Teague: Alright, great. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 35 Dunn: So my- ah,my feeling is to currently go, ah- one of two things and I think even a middle ground to what you guys were discussing as well. Um, I would be inclined to concur with P&Z, ah, at this point in time. Teague: Okay. If you- if you- if you're inclined to concur with P&Z, so that would be, ah,voting against. [OVERLAPPING] Dunn: Correct. Teague: What's before for us. So that would not have a meeting with P&Z? Dunn: Correct. So what-what the alternative would be-would be if we were to table this, if possible, if that was germane and allowed to do a voluntary invitation to P&Z to have that further discussion and then take this up at a- at a later meeting. Teague: So I guess if you're proposing a deferment. Alter: Yeah. Dunn: Yes. Teague: On this yes,then I can entertain a motion for a deferment. Alter: Ah, that would be perfect. Dunn: So moved. Teague;Moved by Dunn. Alter: Second,Alter. Teague: Seconded by Alter. All right. Discussion. [LAUGHTER] Goers: On the deferral. Teague: On the deferral. Alter: Yes. I am so sorry. [OVERLAPPING] Harmsen: Just how would that work. Exactly. [LAUGHTER] Goer: Well, let me clarify. So of course you can move to defer. You would want to probably defer to a date certain so we,you know, don't lose sight of this and so that staff understands, ah,your course of action and also so planning and zoning would know, ah, I'm inferring from council member Alter's comments, ah,that she would like, ah, a This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 36 consult in which you can do regardless of whether or not you go along with council. If you want to have a consult with P&Z, you can request it. Ah,they for clarity sake,they can accept it and I would expect them to do so,but don't have to,but at least you've made the offer. Then you would have that all laid out. You've got, ah,the deferral to the date certain. If you've got the council at- at that meaning great, and then you would,you know,take action at that point. Ah, obviously,we want to make sure we don't close the public hearing, ah, as well. Did I address the logistics? Teague: Yes. So our next council meeting is, ah,February 7th,just for the next date for council. Taylor: I respect your request, Councilor Dunn,but, ah, I'm prepared to discuss this item and, ah, I- I would be against deferral. Teague: Okay. Dunn: I would say that,you know, I'm- I'm also ready to discuss,but, ah,my-my-my personal stances, concurrence or- or deferral. Teague: Okay. Bergus: When is planning and zoning next regular meeting? Goers: I'll check real quick. Okay. second of February. Fruin: Second Thursday. Goers: Second Thursday. Russett: Second Wednesday. Goers: Second Wednesday. Bergus: So it will be after our next meeting. Fruin: Appears so. Goers: 15th, okay. 15th of February in case you didn't hear. Bergus: Well Mayor, I- I think I would-my inclination is to would be developed for approval which would led us towards the consultation. Teague: Okay. All right. What I do here, although the-you know,the what we've talking about now is the deferral. What I can do here is two people ready to vote in favor with. And then-with P&Z, even though I know we're not talking about that. [LAUGHTER] But you're-you're ready to vote as well? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 37 Thomas: I'm ready to vote. Teague: You're ready to vote. So I think if you're ready to- all right, so this is how we'll do it. If you are ready to vote,the-the-what's on- on the agenda now is the deferment. So if you are ready to vote,which I would assume. For those that wanted to vote,with P&Z, but I also have to- I mean,we don't-P&Z don't always have to come. I mean,that's just the offer that we give them. But I try to see where the majority lie [LAUGHTER] Sure. So I guess it-who is-who is ready to do the deferment? Bergus: For the sake of consultation? Teague: For the sake of consultation with P&Z?Let me see your hands. Alter: That's what. [OVERLAPPING] Harmsen: I think what you're asking is yes, I would like to hear from P&Z before making my actual mind on this issue. Teague: Okay. Harmsen: So from it sounds like that's the way I do it. Teague: Okay. All right. So we're going to, ah, do roll call for deferment. Goers: I'm sorry. And to be clear. The date certain to which you want to do it on which date because the next sorry. The next planning and zoning, ah,meeting is on the 15th.Now, in theory,we don't have to wait for that and maybe we can just,you know, email them and- and call them to meet at your next council meeting, if that's your desire, and they'll either come or they won't. Teague: So it will be February 7th at our work session as well- Okay. we'll invite them to that. I see majority. Bergus: Sure. Teague: Yeah. Okay. Goers: All right. So I'm going to consider it in to that date. February 7th, okay. Teague: Yes. All right. [Roll Call] Motion passes six to one. All right. So we are going to miss this table until that meeting. And we'll have staff go ahead and invite them per Council's requests for a consult at the 7th. Wait. Can I have a motion to accept correspondence? Dunn: So moved. Dunn. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 38 Teague: Moved by Dunn. Bergus: Second Bergus. Teague: Seconded by Bergus. All in favor say aye. [Voice Vote] Aye. Any opposed?Motion passes 7 - 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 39 9.d Vacation and Conveyance of Right-of-Way Teague: Item number 9.d is vacation and conveyance of right-of-way. Resolution vacating approximately 266 square feet. Public right-of-way located at northwest corner of South Riverside Drive and the Iowa interstate railroad and authorizing conveyance to FFI firms, LLC. Kevin C Kain, I don't even know how I would say that. Bergus: Revocable. Teague: Revocable [LAUGHTER] trust and Lindsay R. Kam Revocable Trust. I'm going to open the public hearing and we're going to welcome Danielle Sitzman Sitzman: Thank you Mayor. So this is a portion small area right of way the city acquired and no longer needs. So we're more than willing to vacate it and convey it back to the adjacent owners. It's located north of those railroad crossings and we were hopeful that we could use it to improve pedestrian connectivity or path towards that pedestrian connectivity has changed. We no longer need this area. So it's, as I said, adjacent to the property to the north,which is subject to redevelopment at the moment and they've expressed an interest in acquiring it. We go through a process to ensure that the city no longer needs that. We've verified that we do no longer need this land. There's nothing in this land that we need to maintain access to for any reason. As I mentioned,the area to the north is under consideration for redevelopment. They're going through the site planning process currently. With every vacation we go through and make sure that it's not necessary for public good. In this case,we've determined that it's not. Once it's able to be combined with the development to the North,that area will be doing a final plat. So they would include that land is part of their planning process. Based on the review of relevant criteria, staff did recommend approval. Planning and Zoning Commission concurred with that opinion and voted six to zero to recommend approval tonight. Happy to answer questions. Teague: Hearing none. Thank you. Anyone from the public like to discuss this topic,please come forth and there is a sign-in at the podium or a sticker that works too [LAUGHTER]. Welcome,please state your name and city you're from. Frey: Good evening. My name is Kirsten Frey and I'm with Shuttleworth and Ingersoll on council for the applicant. I don't have a lot to say other than that, I worked with Attorney Goers several years ago when when the city acquired this parcel. And now that the city has evidenced in indication that they no longer need the parcel we've submitted a purchase agreement to the city with the intention to acquire it, I would let the council know that I've communicated with attorney Sara Hektoen. The purchase agreement that was submitted was negotiated between Ms. Hektoen and I and contains provisions that are acceptable to both parties and I'm available to answer any questions that you may have. Teague: All right. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 40 Frey: Thank you. Teague: All right. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? I see no one online. I see no one in-person. And I'm going to close the public hearing. All right. Can I get a motion to approve,please? Bergus: So moved Bergus. Dunn: Second. Dunn. Teague: Council discussion? Taylor: It's kind of unfortunate circumstances to lead-to lead to this. It would've been great to have that pedestrian access tunnel, if I'm remembering correctly,but Councilor Thomas can help me correct this part of the approval for the multi unit complex they're on Riverside Drive was that we would eventually hopefully be able to have pedestrian access there over to Myrtle Avenue and on further. And of course that's not going to happen. And I can understand the railroad and the safety issue and burrowing under their bridge. So this is a necessary thing for that to happen. So I'll prove it. Goers: One clarification for me, Council. Councilor Taylor is exactly right. The original intention was to have a pedestrian tunnel go through the embankment and so forth. And that ultimately was not going to be possible. But we are still planning on having connectivity between the North and the South of the railroad. It'll just be between the abutment and the fust pillar on the roadway and so forth. So it will be tight, but our engineering staff is working very hard to find a way to make that work so that we'll have that connectivity so. Taylor: That would be great. And especially if this develops into also some more multi unit is gonna be necessary. Teague: Okay. Any other discussion?Roll call,please? [Roll Call] Yes. Motion passes 7 - 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 41 10. Sanctioned Boxing Event Exception Teague: Item number 10, sanctioned boxing event exception, ordinance amending Title 8 entitled police regulations, Chapter 5 entitled miscellaneous-miscellaneous offenses. Section 9 entitled amateur fighting and boxing. By adding an exception for boxing matches sanctioned by US Boxing. This is fust consideration. Could I get a motion, please? Alter: So moved,Alter. Taylor: Second. Harmsen & Taylor: [OVERLAPPING] Go ahead. Taylor: Second,Harmsen. Teague: All right. Mo- [LAUGHTER] move by Alter. Seconded by Harmsen. [LAUGHTER] And I'm going to welcome our,uh, staff,Eric Goers, our City Attorney. Goers: Thank you,Mr. Mayor,this item falls to me, although I will admit to not knowing a whole lot about boxing. Um, some history, and some regulatory explanation. The state of Iowa has quite a bit of regulatory,um, authority or has exercised quite a bit of regulatory authority as it relates to professional boxing. But very little when it comes to amateur,uh, boxing matches. Uh,perhaps as a result, in,uh, 2007,uh,the union bar started hosting what they called,uh,Fight Night. And it was,uh, advertised as amateur fights. Uh, and what it ultimately, uh,was as found by the Press Citizen who went to cover at the invitation was that it was largely people just kind of pulled from the from the bar, some of whom were not necessarily sober and many of whom were not well-matched. That is, there would be people who had fight experience that were being lined up against people who did not have flight experience with the expected results. Um,this uh, did not make Council happy. And Council ultimately imposed a regulation uh,through ordinance saying that you could not host an amateur boxing match or fight at an establishment with a liquor license that was in 2007. Fast forward to this year. Well,this year,um, I think it was earlier this year. Um, now there were 23. Uh, I was approached by a Cliff Johnson who you may know is a member of our TRC. And he also is the owner and operator of ICOR boxing and acts as the vice president, if memory serves, of the Golden Gloves Association of Iowa City, I'm sorry of Iowa. Um, and that entity received think Iowa City tourism grant funding to bring the Golden Gloves state championship to Iowa City. Um, and they found a venue. That venue is the graduate hotel. And their ballroom downstairs, unfortunately. Well, I shouldn't say unfortunately,uh,notably,the graduate hotel, it has a liquor license. It thus we,you know,they couldn't have it in that event or in that location barring an exception. Um, so after talking about it at the staff level and recalling,you know,the rationale for why Council in 2007 pass this ordinance and believing that they did not intend it to prohibit Golden Gloves events or other,you know,highly sanctioned, highly regulated, and well-run events,uh, drafted an amendment to allow for events that are sanctioned by USA boxing. Um, I did have conversations with uh,Mr. Johnson to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 42 ensure that that would be enough to separate the kind of thing that used to happen from the kind of thing that we want to happen in Iowa City in and he assured me that it was. That's what's before you today. I'd be happy to answer questions to the best of my ability. Teague: Any questions for Eric at this time? Alter: May I just comment that your powers of summary are unparalleled? [LAUGHTER]. Goers: Thank you. Teague: Anyone from the public like to address this topic? I see no one in person or online. Council discussion. Taylor: Well,without regulations, I could see how a truly amateur uh,boxing match could get out of hand, and- and we certainly don't want that. Uh,but this proposal implies that uh, these matches would be highly regulated and well-run uh,with said regulations in place from a health and safety standpoint. And I have great regard for uh, Cliff and- and what he has done for the youth and young men uh, in- in this community. Um, so from health and safety standpoint, I don- don't see any problem with this. Dunn: I- I'm very much in support of this. I- I actually ran into when I, Commissioner Johnson, students at the city's Martin Luther King Day events at Mercer Park,just by happenstance he-he told me all about the situation before I even realized it. Uh, and know, i- it really was great to hear about his personal story and what he wants out of the event. He wants to be,you know, on the Olympic team,you know,representing uh, our country. Um, and I think that's supporting someone's dreams in that word, guard again,will taking into account the safety uh, aspects of the situation is a- is a great thing to do. Teague: I don't know much about boxing uh, except that do a- a little box,but it's not at this level at all. Um,this is going to be awesome for Iowa City that have this in our community. And- and I would say,thanks to ICOR Boxing and Commissioner Johnson who's on our TRC for even bringing this fourth um, and having this operation to even be considered in our- in our city. I- I would agree that young folks here will benefit from this um, on many levels,but there's also older individuals as well that partake in a boxing activities. And I think this would be great. And hopefully,there'll be more opportunities where some light in this arena uh,will be shown here in Iowa City. Roll-call, please. [Roll Call] Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 43 12. City Council Committee Appointments Teague: Item Number 12, city council committee appointments. 12.a graduate and professional student, government organization, graduate and professional student government organization, 1- 2020 uh, 2022 appointee was Weiner. And so now we have to-there's actually four, if I remember correctly,that we have to discuss. Bergus: Yep, one's kinda redundant. Teague: Right? four. And what-what we might do is I'm going to read all four at one time and then we'll go through and discuss them all. 12.b is Iowa City Area Development Board- Iowa City Area Development Board, ICAD. This will be 2022 through 2023 appointee, From and Weiner are current-were on this. And then 12.c,Joint Emergency Communications Center Policy Board,Joint Emergency Communications Center Policy Board, 2022 through 2023. Appointee is Taylor and Weiner. Uh,12.d,metropolitan planning organization of Johnson County-Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County, city managers, city clerk, city attorney have served as alternates in the past years, 2020- 2022 through 2023. Appointees are Alter,Bergus,Harmsen, Taylor, Thomas, and Weiner. All right, so maybe what I will do is fust state the obvious that 12.d for the Metropolitan MPOJC, you would actually be just assign on that one,Dunn. So we would have Councilor Dunn assigned to that. So we really have three to discuss. So what I might suggest we do is if there is someone that has interests in either the graduate and professional student government, Iowa City Area Development Board, or the joint emergency communications center policy board, check if you just state your interests and then we'll go from there. Harmsen: Actually, can I ask one piece of information?Do we have like the timing on the the Emergency Communications Center Board? I think it says eight o'clock- 8:00 A.M January,March,June, September,November, and December,but doesn't really-unless I missed it doesn't say eight o'clock,what days? Taylor: Usually Fridays. Harmsen: Usually Fridays. Taylor: Fridays, independent is 8:00 A.M. Thanks to Councilor Weiner,when she was on there, they used to meet at 7:30 and she moved that they start at 8:00, so put it as 8:00, so that's a pretty strict time is 8:00. Alter: Always a sensible woman. Harmsen: And that's Fridays. Taylor: On Friday- one Friday uh, every other month. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 44 Harmsen: I wasn't able to make those because of work commitments so- Dunn: I- I would say that I'm,uh, interested in the graduate and professional student government organization, ICAD board,um, obviously the MPO. And then I know that um, Geoff has expressed some interest in doing the joint emergency communications center policy board if I'm remembering correctly. Fruin: Well, I've been on that board before. So,um,prior to Janice and Pauline taking that, I served on that board for a term or two. And happy to do it again. It can be technical at times and there is some benefits in just working closely with police and fire to be able to understand their concerns and bring them to the board. That said, I- I really have no qualms if there's somebody on the council that wants to um,uh,take that seat. Bergus: I'm interested in the JECC board um, and also worried about you adding things to your plate Geoff. I don't know how colleagues feel about that. Fruin: I have no problem with that. Alter: You would be phenomenal. And um, in looking at my plate of board commitments, I've got some room. I do have a lot of interest in ICAD, especially with sort of the way in which my own sense of growth as a councilor as I think it would be- it could be a really good opportunity for economic focus. Teague: Any other interested individuals on any of these appointments? Alter: I do think actually you would be a pheno- I mean,you are absolutely like the person who would be absolutely best suited for the liaison pos- or the work with the- Teague: Graduate and professional student government organization. Alter: I remember it actually,Janice talking about it- about just what an amazing opportunity it was and she had one particular vantage point,but because you are closer to it in age, I mean, I think that there's just myriad connections and insights that you'll be able to to bring forward. Teague: Okay. Any other nominations before we kinda discuss the two that has multiple people? Hearing none. Dunn: Clarification- clarification, do we have two that has multiple people? Teague: We have oh, so yes. So because we only have one opening on Iowa City,the ICAD, as well as JECC,we only have one opening because of Weiner. So as not we wouldn't appoint-we're not appointing two people. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 45 Dunn: Yes. So my understanding was just that like Laura was the only candidate that was interested for JECC. Teague: Oh, so I guess- Taylor: Or were you thinking Geoff? Dunn: Oh- [OVERLAPPING] Teague:No-no-no-no. I thought I heard Dunn in his opening comments state that he was interested in-uh, ICAD,JECC, and um, graduate and professionals. Dunn: May I clarify? Teague: Please. Dunn: Yes-no. So I commented on Geoff potentially doing JECC. I- I'm not particularly interested in JECC this time. Teague: Okay. So we'll remove you from there. Are you interested in ICAD? Dunn: Yes. Teague: You are interested in ICAD. So ICAD is the only one that where we have two individuals that are interested,there'll be Councilor Dunn and Mayor Pro Tem Alter. And so I guess the um, question is um- Bergus: I- I'd support Megan for ICAD just because of their transition right now. You know, they're merging with the business partnership and are gonna be looking for leadership. So I think just the kind of managerial uh, dare I say corporate experience. Um- [LAUGHTER] Alter: The work?Yeah. Bergus: Yeah,that. I think that would be a good fit no-not-nothing against your qualifications. Teague: And I can support Megan as well for that. I think that makes sense. Dunn: Can I- can I take out my nomination? Can I just make it easy? Teague: Absolutely,you can take out your nomination and so- Dunn: Pretty clear. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 46 Teague: All right. Here we go. [LAUGHTER] So this will be a vote to appoint Councilor Dunn for the graduate and professional student government organization,Mayor Pro Tem Alter for the Iowa City Area Development Board, Councilor Bergus for a joint entity communication center policy board, and Councilor Dunn for the metropolitan planning organization of Johnson County. So I'm gonna do a a voice vote. Goers: Right we just need someone to make that motion and second,yeah. Harmsen: So moved. Alter: Second. Teague: Moved by Harmsen, seconded by Alter. All in favor say aye. [BACKGROUND]. Any oppose?Motion passes 7 - 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 47 13. Council Appointments Teague: We are on to item Number 13,which is council appointments. Applicants must reside in Iowa City and be 18 years of age unless specific qualifications are stated. The routine A, Board of Appeals. Board of Appeals one vacancy- one vacancy for a licensed plumber to fill a five-year term,January 1st, 2023 through December 31st, 2027. And council discussion. Bergus: Looks like we have one good applicant and I would recommend we appoint Andrea French. Alter: Yes. Harmsen: Agree. Taylor: I agree. She's a plumber and that's what the seat is for. [LAUGHTER] Alter: And she got the experience. Taylor: There you go. Teague: All right. Can I get a motion to appoint Andrea French? Dunn: So moved. Taylor: Second. Teague: Moved by Dunn, seconded by Taylor. All in favor say aye. [BACKGROUND] Any oppose?Motion passes 7 - 0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 48 15. City Council Information Teague: Item Number 15 is city council information, and this is an opportunity for council members to report on various meetings attended,upcoming meetings, community events, and other items of interest. Dunn: Would-would now be the time if I could bring something up like I did before? Teague: Yeah. So [LAUGHTER] one thing that I uh, did was I actually closed our work session. I adjourned us,but we weren't fully adjourned [LAUGHTER] because we still had items on the agenda, like our information packet. Um, so my assumption is we could actually go back to work session. Bergus: Yeah-yeah. We don't form- formally adjourn. I think we can just- Teague: Yeah. Goers: I can say- I don't work- I mean, if we went through and I'm trying to recall as you can see I can't, one way or another, if we didn't have a formal closing,then I think we'd be stuck. But I- I- did- I'm looking to the city clerk staff to see if they- [LAUGHTER] Fruehling:No I said that we were going- I don't remember if he used the language adjourn. Teague: I did use the language adjourned. Yeah, I- I say we're adjourned until 6:00 P.M. Fruehling: Yeah,you did then. Goers: Well, then we might be stuck.Now, I'm not sure what Councilor Dunn is- is hoping to speak to- [OVERLAPPING] Teague: It's a work session agenda,which we can't discuss. Yeah. Sorry about that. Dunn: It's all good. Teague: Yeah. All right. Any other items [LAUGHTER] by councilors? Bergus: I don't wanna steal your thunder mayor. Teague: Go right ahead. Bergus: But,well,you can speak to it as well the Lunar New Year celebration. Um,the Englert on Sunday was just phenomenal. So I'm grateful to, uh, get the invite from one of our council applicants Na Li,really just tremendous talent and great variety of um,very,very just well put together events so, so happy to see that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 49 Teague: It was intergenerational and multicultural, it was phenomenonal. That was great. And I know that counts for downwards there. I'm not sure if anyone else,but it was really good. Yeah, I really enjoyed it. We also had Dr. King's Day,which was a lot of fun,thanks to all the partners that help with that. Um that was- I- I thought it was a great celebration for com- community members to come together. Um so that was really exciting. Mayor Pro Tem and I actually had the opportunity to-to go away um,to Washington DC. And I- well,there was- so she and I both attended the um,Mayors Innovation Project. And well, I- I won't steal your thunder there. Um,well,that one, I really like that one. Is very personable. That's a smaller group. Um you really- it because the word innovation project,um,you have opportunity to hear what other cities are doing. And they-they really walk you through some of the nuances of some of the challenges that they had in their communities and how they came up with solutions. And so we walked away with a 1,001 ideas. So get ready. We're gonna change Iowa City. Uh,but and then the mayor- so and then I also attended um,the US Conference of Mayors um, and the litany of conferences and um,presentations that were um,presented, a lot of information I have to take a step back and process at all. But I think the overarching- some of the overarching things that I-that I learned and uh,Mayor Pro Tem kinda alluded to it,uh, a lot is there's gonna be some money coming down the- down the pipe to municipalities and I think we, um,we should probably get ourselves ready to at least like receive some of that information to even go after it because there's gonna be overwhelming. Um,but also on a national level,what I saw is community is really looking at uh,the racial inequity,the social justice um,parts and every element. Um,not even the National things,the money that's coming that was um,real. They had a,uh,they focused on that a lot. Um, I think safety was the-the key term that uh,that was used a lot is making sure that the communities are safe with mental health, are safe while walking around. And so there's a lot of things that I walked away with and I- I do hope to at some point, I'll one-on-one maybe share some of those with you all just to get your minds to thinking about uh some of these national things that are happening in other communities which I think we could benefit from. Um and it doesn't have to be a major projects,but it's a little small things that I- I think was very beneficial to learn about. Alter: I won't take up much time,but just to-to echo some of what he said,um,the Mayor's Innovation project in particular dealt a lot with racial equity and social justice. But as it's embedded in every kind of policy decision. And talking about you know,where are you, your city on the spectrum of actions that can be taken in, and some were like, it's a checklist,we have a proclamation and some are really,you know, it- it- there was a whole spectrum and I guess,um,there was a lot that was like,we can do this or we can do more. But what was incredibly heartening was that after there was this long slide that was like,here's a lot of different things that are being done as culled from a survey by the mayors and bringing it together,we're doing so much of this. Can we do more? Absolutely. Can we embed the work that we're doing? Can we think about,you know, racial equity,not just in its own light,but embedded in all the different decisions we do? Absolutely,but we're already on our way,which was incredibly heartening and it's not to pat ourselves on the back because I know it's hard. And that was actually something that was really emphasized,but um, it- it was really cool when they got a bunch of mayors up This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 50 to do three-minute, like here's an accomplishment that we did and look through and I was like,those are great ideas and oh my God,we're doing that and we're doing a version of that. And it, it is something really is a testament to the council prior,to the work that you all are doing,to staff,because it doesn't happen overnight. So anyway, it was just an amazing conference,but it also really reflects well on the work that we're doing here at home. Teague: I will just make a comment. Some of these cities were 130,000,you know,people [LAUGHTER] and they were just starting some of the things that we've been doing. So um,we have a lot of work to still do,but I think we can um,be very proud of the intention-the intentionality of the Council,the staff in this community for doing some of these um,things that is really um,beneficial and healthy for our community. Dunn: Just got a question for you Eric. Uh,have we made it without a petition? Goers: Oh. [LAUGHTER] Alter: Oh yeah. [LAUGHTER] Harmsen: Uh, 14 days? Goers: I thought to say it hasn't been 14 days? Teague: It's tomorrow. Goers: Uh,tomorrow. Well,then I will not answer uh, for- [OVERLAPPING] Dunn: The answer is no. Goers: But the answer is no. [LAUGHTER] [OVERLAPPING] But I don't want to jinx you by- Dunn: I just didn't know when the day is actually starting, if it was that day or the day after. Goers: Yeah,the-the fust day is the next day, if that day 1. Yeah. Teague: Good question. Alter: Yes. Teague: [LAUGHTER] Any other items for the good of the public?Hearing none, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023. Page 51 16. Reports on Items from City Staff Teague: Item number 16 is reports on items from city staff, our city manager's office. Fruin: Just a quick one-minute brag on, on one of our staff members. Tim Hennis is our senior building official. Tim was recently given the lifetime achievement award from the Iowa Association of building officials,which really speaks to not only his great work here in Iowa City over his career,but the impact he's had on the building officials profession across the state,widely regarded by um,his-his peers across the state. So Lifetime Achievement Award,pretty,pretty special and proud to have him on our team. Teague: Great. Our city attorney? Goers: Thank you. I, I'd add the Tim is a really humble guy and it's my understanding from NDS staff that he stood up to receive the award, said thank you and sat down. [LAUGHTER] Nothing else from city attorney sir. Teague: All right. Our city clerk office? Fruehling: I don't have anything. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal meeting of January 24,2023.