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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-11-21 Bd Comm minutesItem Number: 5.a. CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT November21, 2023 Board of Adjustment: July 12 Attachments: Board of Adjustment: July 12 MINUTES BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT FORMAL MEETING EMMA HARVAT HALL July 12, 2023 — 5:15 PM MEMBERS PRESENT: IT, l:4Iyi11-10a-T_100401IIf STAFF PRESENT OTHERS PRESENT CALL TO ORDER: FINAL Larry Baker, Nancy Carlson, Bryce Parker (via zoom), Mark Russo, Paula Swygard Madison Conley, Sue Dulek, Anne Russett Doug Fern, Angie Jordan The meeting was called to order at 5:15 PM. ROLL CALL: A brief opening statement was read by Carlson outlining the role and purpose of the Board and the procedures that would be followed in the meeting. SPECIAL EXCEPTION ITEM EXC23-0007: An application submitted by Doug Fern of Faith Academy requesting a special exception to allow the expansion of a General Educational Facility in the Community Commercial (CC-2) zone for the property located at 1030 Cross Park Avenue. Carlson opened the public hearing. Russo noted he consulted with the City Attorney's office that he was retained by the applicant Doug Fern within the last year to design work on his house. That project is completed and there are no further obligations for either party. The City Attorney's office determined that he had no legal conflict, and he stated he can be fair and impartial about and therefore did not see it necessary to recuse himself at this point. Conley began the staff report with an aerial view of the property and the zoning map. The property is zoned CC-2 Community Commercial, and the neighboring properties are multifamily RM-44. Regarding background, Faith Academy is a private elementary school located in the back of a commercial building in Pepperwood Plaza. In 2013 there was a special exception approval for this general educational facility to serve 25 kindergarten and first graders with a condition that required another special exception if enrollment increased over 50 students and/or if an addition of 500 or more square feet was to be requested. Then in 2014 there was another special exception granted which increased enrollment and square footage of the school, and that included a condition that required another special exception if enrollment increased over that current 105 student capacity and/or if there was an addition of 500 or more square feet to the building. In 2019 there was another special exception approved to expand the square footage of the school over 500 square feet and again this included a condition that required another special exception if enrollment increased over 105 students and/or if there was an addition of 500 or more square feet. Therefore, today, Faith Academy is requesting to increase the number of students from 105 to 150 but are not proposing to expand any portion of the Board of Adjustment July 12, 2023 Page 2 of 9 building area. Conley showed pictures of the site plan for this property noting people enter this property off Broadway Street, follow a pavement marking arrow to continue down a one-way drive to the main school entrance for drop off and pick up of students utilizing the existing pedestrian walkway to enter the main entrance of the school. There is a proposed one-way "Do Not Enter" sign to be posted to help clarify traffic flow and there are some vehicular parking spaces as well as two-way traffic access from Cross Park Avenue. Conley noted there will be some proposed directional arrows to help clarify traffic flow for the property. On the west portion of the building is the church entrance and there has been some screening proposed along the east and south portion of the property. Additionally, there is a proposed expanded and relocated bike parking and there are existing pedestrian walkways that allow students and users to access the building as well as a fenced -in play area for the students to utilize during the school day. There is a neighboring commercial retail use to the west, also known as the African Market, so there are proposed pavement markings to help delineate parking spaces. To the south of the building is a paved basketball court and a second entrance to Faith Academy. The role of the Board of Adjustment to approve, approve with conditions, or deny the application based on the facts presented. To approve the special exception the Board must find that it meets all applicable approval criteria which includes specific standards that pertain to the waiver requested as well as the general standards for all special exceptions. First Conley reviewed the specific standards found at 14-4B-4D-9: General Educational Facilities in the CC-2 Zones. The first criteria states that the use will be functionally compatible with surrounding uses and will not inhibit retail and service uses for which the zone is primarily intended. For this the Board may consider such factors as size layout, size and scale of the development and traffic circulation. Staff findings include the school entrance is on the south side, which is located away from the commercial area of the property and the customer parking area. The school uses a one-way rear drive drop off and pickup which is in a location that does not interfere with the traffic in the commercial area. Additionally, the student drop-off and pickup times don't interfere or impact the surrounding uses and deliveries. Staff does recommend a condition to create a clear delineation between the play area and parking lot to relocate existing parking spaces in that play area to the southwest area so access to the neighboring commercial space will be maintained. Number two states that the use must provide a drop off and pickup area in a location that is convenient to or has good pedestrian access to the entrance of the facility. The drop off and pickup area must contain sufficient stacking spaces and/or parking spaces to ensure that traffic does not stack into adjacent streets or other public rights of way. Staff findings here include that a rear one-way drive is used for drop off and pickup and located east of the main entrance with pedestrian access to that main entrance. The drive total is approximately 500 feet and runs north and south along the length of the building which will provide enough stacking for more than 25 cars which will help prevent traffic spillover onto Broadway Street. Additionally, at least 30% of the students utilize Faith Academy owned transportation, which parks in the parking lot on the west side of the building and 1t3 of the students attend the boys and girls after school program which is in the suite north of the school and will contribute to less traffic at pickup. Number three states that the site must be designed to promote safe and convenient pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle circulation to the school according to the standards set forth in subsection 14-2C-6F. Here staff findings review pedestrian walkways, bicycle parking and vehicular circulation and to start with pedestrian walkways Conley noted there are existing walkways that Board of Adjustment July 12, 2023 Page 3 of 9 connect to the main entrance and to other sidewalks. For bicycle parking there is a proposed bike rack on the site plan near the playground area, including the five required bicycle parking spaces required by code. Regarding vehicle circulation, staff recommends a condition that requires approval of a site plan which includes directional arrows for the one-way and two-way drive, delineation of the parking area from the play area, restriping of all parking spaces, and a "Do Not Enter" sign placed at the entrance of the one-way. Next, Conley reviewed the general standards for all special exceptions, found at 14-4B-3A. The first states that specific proposed exception will not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, comfort or general welfare. Staff finds the school has been operating at this location since 2013 with no reported health or safety issues. Additionally, the proposed expansion would allow for an enrollment increase to 150 students and will not impact the current square footage of the school. Staff is recommending a condition that future expansion of the school enrollment and/or footprint will require a special exception similar to the previous special exceptions. The second criteria is that the specific proposed exception will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity and will not substantially diminish or impair property values in the neighborhood. Staff finds once again that Faith Academy has been in operation since 2013 and the school maintains limited hours of operation, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and these times do not conflict with peak commercial times in the area. The Academy does not plan to expand the building with any additions and typically places of worship and schools are seen as amenities in a neighborhood. Number three is the specific proposed exception will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of the surrounding property for uses permitted in the district in which such property is located. Again, staff finds that the school has been in operation for the past 10 years without impeding normal and orderly development and there is viable commercial activity in the front part of the building facing Pepperwood Plaza parking lot. The school has an entrance located on the south side of the building that faces neighboring residences and is separate from the commercial area to the north, and staff recommends a new special exception application is required if the school plans to increase square footage of the building over 500 square feet and/or expand the enrollment over the 150-student limit. The fourth criteria is that adequate utilities, access roads, drainage and/or necessary facilities have been or are being provided. As this is an existing area, utilities, access roads, drainage and/or necessary facilities are already provided and will continue to be provided. Fifth is adequate measures have been or will be taken to provide ingress or egress designed to minimize traffic congestion on public streets. Staff found that the drive is a one-way for pickup and drop off and have proposed a recommended condition to require directional arrow markings as well as a "Do Not Enter" sign to be posted to help minimize traffic congestion and clarify the traffic flow. Again, 30% of the student body does use Faith Academy owned transportation which parks in the west parking lot while the remaining portion of students utilize private vehicles through the east drive. Additionally, many students are siblings and plan to arrive together. Number six is that except for the specific regulations and standards applicable to the exception being considered, the specific proposed exception in all other respects conforms to the Board of Adjustment July 12, 2023 Page 4 of 9 applicable regulations or standards of the zone in which it is to be located. Staff has found that a site plan application will need to include as well as a landscaping plan in order to ensure that S2 screening requirements are met. Other than that, all other CC-2 zone requirements are met. Finally, number seven is the proposed exception will be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan of the City as amended. Staff has found that the Comprehensive Plan calls for neighborhood elementary schools as an integral part of a healthy, sustainable neighborhood. Schools also provide a relationship with the surrounding neighborhoods that facilitate social connections, identity, and the well-being of families whose children attend these schools. The South District Plan sees neighborhood schools, especially elementary schools, as integral to healthy, sustainable neighborhoods. Conley stated staff received one piece of correspondence in support of this application from the Good News Bible Church. Staff recommends approval of the EXC23-0007, a special exception to allow the expansion of the General Educational Facility's student enrollment from 105 to 150 students in the Community Commercial (CC-2) zone located at 1030 Cross Park Ave subject to the following conditions: 1. Submittal of a site plan that demonstrates consistency with the site plan submitted with the special exception case. The site plan shall show: • Directional arrows for the one-way and two-way drive, • Delineation between the play area and the parking area • Restriping of all parking spaces, and • A "Do Not Enter" sign added at the end of the one-way drive. 2. An enrollment of more than 150 students or an addition of more than 500 square feet of floor area will be considered an expansion of the use that requires a new special exception. Baker asked if there are any State regulations that govern the ratio between classroom size and number of students in the classroom and are there any regulations about the size of a recreational area for a school relevant to the number of students in the school. Russett is not sure what the State regulations are related to private schools, the applicant may be able to answer that. Baker noted finding number six says a site plan application must include a landscaping plan to ensure S2 screening is met, where will that screening would be and is it the same screening issue that's mentioned in the applicant's response where they are asking for a waiver of screening requirements. Conley showed the one-way drive and stated according to code it is required to have S2 screening standards in a CC-2 zone and the screening would go all the way up the whole portion of the drive to the entrance along Broadway Street. There is already some screening in the area, but it would need to meet the S2 screening requirements. Russett interjected that the waiver that's being requested by the applicant is not a decision of the Board of Adjustment, it's a waiver that's made by the Building Official. Board of Adjustment July 12, 2023 Page 5 of 9 Russo asked if the only purpose of the two-way drive was to provide access to the parking. Conley replied yes, it currently exists as a two-way, but not only does it provide access to those parking spots, but people exiting the one-way can exit through the two-way as well. Russo noted wouldn't it be safer to just all be one-way only. Conley noted this property has been operating since 2013 and it does sound like everything has been flowing correctly. Perhaps with an addition to the student capacity there might be some congestion, but staff believes with the proposed clarification of signage as well as the directional arrows that will help to mitigate some of the traffic congestion. Russett added the width of the drive meets the minimum standard for a two-way drive. Carlson noted information regarding the special exception is to be sent out to the appropriate people within 250 feet and she didn't see anything in the report noting that had been done and specifically wanted to know if the people in the African Market were informed. Conley stated there was notice sent out to the neighbors within 500 feet of the property and there was also a sign posted on the property. In terms of the African Market, staff found that the expansion of enrollment would not impede the delivery times or operation of the African Market and it has been in existence along with Faith Academy for some time. She added the delivery hours of the African Market is once a day and is not in conflict with the operation of the school, but they haven't received any correspondence from those owners. Carlson asked if a Good Neighbor Meeting was held and Conley replied no. Swygard asked regarding the portion of the paved areas used for both outdoor play and parking there is a staff recommendation of a condition to create a clear delineation between the play area and parking lot and the two parking spaces behind the African Market identified as the commercial space on the site plan be relocated to the southwest side of the building. Does that mean they are relocating two parking spaces that were previously assigned to the school to now be designated for the African Market. Russett explained that the school needs 20 parking spaces and they meet that obligation so they're not relocating the African Market parking, they will still have access to their site with the existing parking that's there. Russo asked about the African Market deliveries. Conley noted the deliveries come in from the south but the access to the market is from the north. Doug Fern (Head of School of Faith Academy) wanted to answer a few of the questions. First, in terms of governing authority to determine the ratio between student enrollment and recreational space as well as student enrollment and classroom size because it's a K-6 school they fall under City ordinances and as an elementary school there's no outside authority that states they need X amount of square footage for recreation purposes. If they were to go younger than K-6 and add in preschool, then the Department of Health and Human Services would dictate how much square footage is needed. Fern added they do not intend to add preschool. Part of the reason they are increasing enrollment is because the Iowa City School District is moving sixth grade into junior high so in the next few years they may plan to expand into junior high and serve more students going that direction, but not serving younger students. Fern next addressed the question about the one-way versus the two-way noting the City has made it pretty clear that the front access to the school needs to stay on the residential side, not Board of Adjustment July 12, 2023 Page 6 of 9 on the commercial side and the school entrance is right there where those parking spaces are. Throughout the day there'll be a number of staff who are part time or deliveries or things like that, that just need to come in and swoop out real quick but that typically does not happen around drop off and pickup times. Additionally, that two-way drive keeps people from having to drive all the way down the alley during the normal working hours of the day. Fern also pointed out there's parking all along that building that is slanted back towards the one-way and staff will use those spaces throughout the day as well. Regarding the screening, he stated they see the school as being a vital part of the neighborhood and a blessing to the community. Last year they raised about $150,000 to put a significant playground there to bless the community with that can be used on the weekend and the evenings. Their concern with the screening was they just don't want to put anything in that would make it feel like that wasn't a welcome space for the neighborhood. Before they bought the building it would have been the South Neighborhood District Association to clean up all the screening that was along Broadway, it was overgrown and uninviting. It has been cleaned up and some new plantings are there now, a lot of work went into beautify the neighborhood from that Association and he would hate to undo that with just haphazard screening that is going to not look nice. He stated they were going to be asking for a waiver of the screening from Cross Park all the way to the entrance on the north side, but staff came back with a recommendation that they just limit the screen waiver which he thinks is feasible noting the concern is that while there's some really nice beds that have been planted there obviously during the winter they don't provide any screening. Baker initially had no problem with the play area being screened but understands the concern about screening off the visibility of the actual mural which is a vast improvement visually in that area. Carlson stated is appears they are planning to screen where the cars are parked and a very small area between the playground and the two-way drive. The playground area will still be visible from the street and is enclosed by a chain link fence with a gate. Fern confirmed that is the staff recommendation and they agree. Fern also stated that Southgate, the owners of the property immediately to the west, have completely redone the whole back area there and turned it into some long-term storage. There is a lot more traffic and now on the backside so maybe the concern with parking in the play area is greatly reduced as there's not as much traffic coming in and out of that back area as there once was. Swygard asked with the expanded number of students, they currently have 10 classrooms, how many classrooms will they expand to with the additional students. Fern explained they don't currently have 10 classrooms; this fall they are planning on serving eight classrooms but this plan will allow them to expand K — 8ch grade in the future if they need to. Swygard asks this because the number of parking spaces is tied to the number of classrooms. Fern agreed and stated currently they've exceeded the number of parking spaces required based on the number of classrooms. He pointed out there's a bunch of unaccounted for parking spaces on the far east side of the building so there is ample parking. Board of Adjustment July 12, 2023 Page 7 of 9 Swygard noted staff mentioned that they have to expand bike parking, how much bike parking do they have. Fern replied currently they have one bike rack, but they're going to put a little concrete pad up by the two-way drive put in the requirement of five. Baker stated they use the rationale of parking and traffic that a lot of the student body is related so the number of anticipated vehicles would be diminished, do they actually have the data about how many are siblings within the school now. Fern stated at this time of year enrollment is a moving target so it's hard to give a definitive number today on what it will be in the fall. Even after school starts they have changes, students add, students leave, it's the nature of the school. Baker noted they are asking for an increase of 50, do they have any idea of how long it will take to reach that number. Fern doesn't think it will take very long. The majority of the students that they serve are immigrant families and increase in enrollment has been through word of mouth, they've hardly done any advertising at all. What they have seen in the last couple of years are extended waiting lists and having to say no to students. Part of the reason is because if a parent wants to enroll their kindergartener and they also have a fourth -grade student, but they don't have room in the fourth -grade class, they've just had to say no to two students. Therefore, their enrollment number has always been around the 90 to 100 mark. If they make this decision to increase to junior high, they anticipate there'll be less families that will have to make a decision to send their five year old to this school and their 11 or 12 year old to this another school, this will be able to keep families together for a longer period of time. Currently for this year their enrollment is already at the 105 mark, without adding seventh or eighth grade, so they anticipate that as they add junior high there'll be more families that will choose to send their students to Faith Academy because they'll be able to serve them longer. Baker noted if they can accommodate the increase in students without increasing space, at what number do they have to increase space and do they have the capacity to expand space within the building that doesn't involve actual building additional space. Fern replied fairly soon after the 150 mark they will need to expand. They do have the option to build out in the space, there's a good chunk of the space right now that's just a shell and they could go in and build. About two years ago they built out some of that shell to accommodate some of the growth and there's still room for more. Angie Jordan (Executive Director of South of 6 Business District; President of South District Neighborhood Association) states she has been a resident in the south district for the past eight years and has worked in that area for the past 15 years. She just wanted to echo everything that's already been said, as a resident especially, supporting this application. Faith Academy has been huge in Iowa City's plan about connecting schools, and it is the example of what every school should be doing. Additionally, there's so many residents that do not attend that school, and families on the weekends and evenings, that use that playground area. She is glad Faith Academy is asking for a waiver for screening that doesn't block the mural or the visibility of the playground. If people can't see the playground, it doesn't feel like they're welcome, no matter how green and lush it looks. Also, the mural and the landscaping that's there was six years of work and over $20,000 of fundraising by the neighborhood to create, so again she hopes it doesn't get blocked off. Carlson closed the public hearing. Board of Adjustment July 12, 2023 Page 8 of 9 Baker moved approval of of the EXC23-0007, a special exception to allow the expansion of the General Educational Facility's student enrollment from 105 to 150 students in the Community Commercial (CC-2) zone located at 1030 Cross Park Ave subject to the following conditions: 1. Submittal of a site plan that demonstrates consistency with the site plan submitted with the special exception case. The site plan shall show: • Directional arrows for the one-way and two-way drive, • Delineation between the play area and the parking area • Restriping of all parking spaces, and • A "Do Not Enter" sign added at the end of the one-way drive. 2. An enrollment of more than 150 students or an addition of more than 500 square feet of floor area will be considered an expansion of the use that requires a new special exception. Swygard seconded the motion. Baker thinks it's a good improvement of the neighborhood and to an existing operation. He would encourage them to seek that waiver on screening and he enthusiastically supports this. Carlson noted it's exciting to see a project like this come before the Board and wishes them luck. Russo stated regarding agenda item EXC23-0007 he does concur with the findings set forth in the staff report of meeting date, July 12, 2023 and concludes that the general and specific criteria are satisfied, so unless amended or opposed by another Board member he recommends that the Board adopt the findings in the staff report for the approval of this exception. Baker seconded the findings. A vote was taken and the motion passed 5-0. Carlson stated the motion declared approved, any person who wishes to appeal this decision to a court of record may do so within 30 days after this decision is filed with the City Clerk's Office. CONSIDER JUNE 14, 2023 MINUTES: Baker moved to approve the minutes of June 14, 2023. Swygard seconded. A vote was taken and the motion carried 5-0. =i*Te\ 7ITILIV KIN[N4iTII4ZIII f�l ADJOURNMENT: Russo moved to adjourn this meeting, Swygard seconded, a vote was taken and all approved. Board of Adjustment July 12, 2023 Page 9 of 9 ! + ' • + ! ATTENDANCE• ' 2023 NAME TERM EXP. 318 4/12 4/19 5/10 6/14 7112 BAKER, LARRY 12131/2027 X X O/E X X X PARKER, BRYGE 12/31/2024 X X O/E X X X SWYGARD, PAULA 12/3112023 X X X X X X CARLSON, NANCY 12/31/2025 X X X X X X RUSSO, MARK 12/31/2026 X X X OIE 0/E X Key: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused -- — = Not a Member Item Number: 5.b. CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT November21, 2023 Community Police Review Board: October 10 [See Recommendations] Attachments: Community Police Review Board: October 10 [See Recommendations] r ihp CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM Date: November 15, 2023 To: Mayor and City Council From: Tammy Neumann, Community Police Review Board Staff Re: Recommendation from Community Police Review Board At their October 10, 2023 meeting the Community Police Review Board made the following recommendation to the City Council: (1) Accept CPRP Final Public Report for Complaint 23-06 Additional action (check one) X No further action needed _ Board or Commission is requesting Council direction Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action ScRECform.doc FINALiAPPROVED COMMUNITY POLICE REVIEW BOARD MINUTES — OCTOBER 10, 2023 CALL TO ORDER Chair Jerri MacConnell called the meeting to order at 5:31 P.M. MEMBERS PRESENT: Ricky Downing, Jessica Hobart, Melissa Jensen, Jam MacConnell, Saul Mekies, Orville Townsend MEMBERS ABSENT: Amanda Remington STAFF PRESENT: Staff Tammy Neumann, Legal Counsel Patrick Ford OTHERS PRESENT: Iowa City Police Lt. Jeff Fink, City Councilor Laura Bergus RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL Accept the Final Public Report for CPRB Complaint 23-06. REPORT FROM NOMINATION COMMITTEE Downing reported the committee recommended MacConnell for Chair and Jensen for Vice -Chair. MOTION TO FIX METHOD OF VOTING Motion by Townsend, seconded by Jensen, to fix the method of voting as a voice vote. Motion carried 6/0, Remington absent. NOMINATIONS FOR OFFICE OF CHAIRPERSON Mekies nominated MacConnell as Chairperson. Hobart nominated Downing as Chairperson. MOTION TO CLOSE NOMINATIONS Motion by Mekies, seconded by Townsend, to close nominations for Chairperson. BALLOT OR VOTE By a voice vote of 4 to 1, Remington absent, Downing was elected as Chairperson (Downing abstained). Downing declined. Ford reminded members if they are not interested in being nominated, they need to let the Board know prior to the vote taking place. seconded by Downing, to reopen nominations for Chairperson. Motion carried 610, Remington absent. Downing nominated Jensen as Chairperson. Mekies nominated MacConnell as Chairperson. Mekies asked both why they think they would be a good Chairperson. MacConnell said she has the time and the interest to do so. Jensen shared she has been the Chair in the past and has a good understanding of what goes into the Board and has a good understanding of the City. Mekies asked what it is Jensen wants to do differently than the current Chair, and what she can add to the Board if elected to the position. Jensen explained she doesn't necessarily want to make any changes to the position, but she thinks everybody on the Board should experience being Chair and it would be good to have a new chair every year. *901.1 October 10, 2023 Page 2 MOTION TO CLOSE NOMINATIONS Motion by Townsend, seconded by Downing to close nominations for Chairperson. Motion carried 610, Remington absent. BALLOT OR VOTE By a voice vote of 5 to 1, Remington absent, Jensen was elected as Chairperson. NOMINATIONS FOR OFFICE OF CHAIRPERSON Jensen nominated Downing as Vice -Chair. Downing nominated Mekies as Vice -Chair. Mekies declined. MOTION TO CLOSE NOMINATIONS: Moved by Townsend, seconded by Downing, to close nominations for Vice -Chair. Motion carried 510, Remington absent. Mekies abstained due to proposed changes to the process to be discussed at the November meeting. He will request changes to the nominating committee process. BALLOT OR VOTE By a voice vote of 5 to 0, Remington absent, Downing was elected as Vice -Chair. Mekies abstained due to pending proposed changes to the process to be discussed at the November meeting. MacConnell turned the meeting over to new Chair Jensen. CONSENT CALENDAR Motion by Townsend, seconded by MacConnell, to adopt the consent calendar as presented. • Minutes of the Meeting on September 12, 2023 • ICPD Memorandum — Quarterly Summary Report IAIRtCPRB, 3rd Qtr. 2023. Motion carried 610, Remington absent. Discussion of Number of Members on Nominating Committee: MacConnell asked the Board to consider increasing the nominating committee from two to three members, especially since the number of members has increased from five to seven. She believes this would provide for more varied input and discussion. Townsend expressed his reluctance to add a third person stating he doesn't think it is necessary. Mekies asked if this discussion is limited to the number of people on the nominating committee or if he could speak about the process at this time. He stated the nominating committee should do research and gain more information on a board member before recommending them as a nomination. He feels it would be more professional if there was more substance behind why a person is selected for a nomination. Downing says he feels like he knows enough about each of the other members to make an informed nomination. Mekies disagreed. Mekies also stated while it is not in the by-laws, it would be appropriate to exclude members of the nominating committee from the nomination pool. Ford reported there is nothing in the CPRB by-laws or the ordinance requiring a nominating committee and asked Bergus and Neumann if they had any knowledge of how other boards and commissions handle their elections. Bergus said she did not know how those were handled. Neumann reported she previously staffed the Parks and Recreation Commission which did not use a nominating committee. She said they would hold their elections in January of each year by opening the floor for nominations during the meeting. If the nominated person accepted, they would then move on with more nominations or a vote. Counselor Ford stated it is up to the members of the Board to do their due October 10, 2023 Page 3 diligence and make themselves feel comfortable about how they want to vote when a nomination is made. He further noted because there is nothing in any of the documents stating what a nominating committee does, if a Board member would like to rely on some information submitted by the nominating committee, then board members need to put some direction in the documents about the responsibilities of a nominating committee. Downing suggested perhaps there not be a nominating committee. Townsend noted the advantage of having a committee is to contact members ahead of the meeting when the elections are done, thereby, creating a more efficient process. Question to Chief Liston re: Arrestee Holding Area/Policy: Mekies asked if it is necessary for an arrestee to be in the same room with the officer while the officer is completing paperwork, explaining the amount of time it takes to do so may provoke further incidents. In Chief Liston's absence, Lieutenant Fink responded. He explained the process stating a person is first arrested then brought to the Iowa City Police Station to be processed. Once complete, an officer escorts the arrestee to the Johnson County Jail. He said it comes down to there not physically being an extra room available to use as a holding area. Fink pointed out there are very few cases where a situation escalates, and most arrestees are very cooperative. Downing asked if it may be possible upon arrest to take the person directly to the Johnson County Jail where the Iowa City Police Officer can complete the paperwork. Fink said it is possible, however, all the recording devices and other items needed for their investigations are located at the Iowa City Police Department. Townsend explained part of the Board's roll is to make suggestions for improvement and if it can't be done systematically, that's okay. OLD BUSINESS Recap of Community Forum: Townsend expressed his desire to hold one, rather than two, Community Forum's per year due to the lack of attendance as the reason. Ford stated the by-laws state "at least one a year," therefore, two is not a requirement. Motion by Mekies, seconded by Downing, to hold one CPRB Community Forum per year. Motion carried 6/0, Remington absent. PUBLIC COMMENT OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA Dean Abel, citizen of Iowa City, said he has concerns regarding facial recognition issues. He is interested in whether the Iowa City Police Department uses facial recognition technology and if so, under what circumstances does it become necessary and is there a written policy detailing its use. He is concerned because of recent news of cameras downtown in public spaces in addition to the cameras business already have in place. He wants to know if there have been any complaints or clarifications about these issues that he is not aware of and he would like to see the Police Department respond to the questions he has raised. He added he assumes the Board and/or Police Department are aware of the many problems that arise with facial recognition, especially for people of color. Ford assured Abel that his questions will be added to New Business on the November agenda. Abel thanked the board and said he will try to be present at that meeting. BOARD INFORMATION As per a request from Mekies earlier in the evening, discussion of the CPRB Nomination Process will be added to the November agenda under New Business. MacConnell noted she has three questions she would like to add to new business on the November agenda. 1) What is the criteria to determine if a complainant is being untruthful. 2) What degree of consideration should be given to those reports which are determined to be partially untruthful. 3) If a psychiatric condition appears to have influenced a report, what weight does the Board give the CPRB October 10, 2023 Page 4 untruthful aspects of the complaint. Mekies asked if there has been any follow-up to a complaint where the Board determines it to be untruthful? Hobart would like to discuss the CPRB meeting flow, i.e., when is it appropriate to make a motion, etc., so meetings are more structured. Townsend expressed his concern that there may be too many items added to new business for discussion at the November meeting. Mekies said if that becomes a concern, some items can be tabled to the December meeting if possible. STAFF INFORMATION None. TENTATIVE MEETING SCHEDULE and FUTURE AGENDAS sub'ect to chap e • December 12, 2023, 5:30 PM, Helling Conference Room • January 9, 2024, 5:30 PM, Helling Conference Room • February 13, 2024, 5:30 PM, Helling Conference Room • March 12, 2024, 5:30 PM, Helling Conference Room Hobart shared she has been selected to serve on a Federal Grand Jury for the next 12 to 18 months. These assignments include Tuesdays. After looking at her schedule for the next 12 months, it was determined there are five potential conflicts. She said remote access may not be possible as she would likely be driving from Davenport to Iowa City at the time of the meetings. It was decided she will address those conflicts month by month as they occur. EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion by Townsend, seconded by MacConnell to adjourn into Executive Session based on Section 21.5(1)(a) of the Code of Iowa to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that government body's possession or continued receipt of federal funds, and 22.7(11) personal information in confidential personnel records of public bodies including but not limited to cities, boards of supervisors and school districts, and 22-7(5) police officer investigative reports, except where disclosure is authorized elsewhere in the Code; and 22.7(18) Communications not required by law, rule or procedure that are made to a government body or to any of its employees by identified persons outside of government, to the extent that the government body receiving those communications from such persons outside of government could reasonably believe that those persons would be discouraged from making them to that government body if they were available for general public examination. Motion carried 6t0. Remington absent. Open session adjourned at 6:03 P.M. REGULAR SESSION Returned to open session at 7:12 P.M. Motion by Mekies, seconded by Townsend, to accept CPRB Complaint 23-06 Public Report as amended and forward to City Council. Motion carried 610. Remington absent. Motion by Mekies, seconded by Townsend, to set the level of review for CPRB Complaint 23-09 at 8-8- 7(B)(1)(a) on the record with no additional investigation. CPRB October 10, 2023 Page 5 Motions carried 6t0, Remington absent. ADJOURNMENT Motion for adjournment by MacConnell, seconded by Townsend. Motion carried 610, Remington absent. Meeting adjourned at 7:13 P.M. COMMUNITY POLICE REVIEW BOARD ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2022-2023 M Ing Date TERM 11/15R2 12/13a2 OIIIW23 OVIV23 03/14/23 0411113 W20/23 05109123 W13123 7JIV23 818P23 91IV23 1013f23 1W10123 NAME EXPIRES Forum Forum Ricky 6/30126 x X OtE X % X X O/E x A % X x X Downing Jessie, 6/30126 -. — — — — — — — — — — X x % Hobart Melissa 6/30/25 X X X DIE X X X X X X X X DIE X Jensen Jerri 6/30/17 X X X x X X X X X x 01E X X X Madonndl Saul Mekles 6130125 X x X X X X X X X X O/E X % X Amanda 613W24 x O!E DIE X X X X X X X X X X O/E Rem ngsoo Orville 6,30/24 x X DIE X x x x % X X X X % % Townsend Stuart 6/30/24 X X X x X X X O/E O — — — — — Vander Vegte KEY: X = Present O = Absent DIE = Absent(Excused NM = No meeting -- = Not a Member COMMUNITY POLICE REVIEW BOARD A Board of the City of Iowa City 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240-1826 (319) 356-5041 DATE October 10, 2023 To: City Council Complainant City Manager Chief of Police Officer(s) involved in complaint From: Community Police Review Board Re: Investigation of CPRB Complaint #23-06 This is the Report of the Community Police Review Board's (the "Board") review of the investigation of Complaint CPRB #2306 (the "Complaint"). BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITY: Under the City Code of the City of Iowa City, the Board's responsibilities are as follows: 1. The Board forwards all complaints to the Police Chief, who completes an investigation. (Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(A).) 2. When the Board receives the Police Chiefs report, the Board must select one or more of the following levels of review, in accordance with Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(1): a. On the record with no additional investigation. b. Interview /meet with complainant. c. Interview /meet with named officer(s) and other officers. d. Request additional investigation by the police chief, or request police assistance in the board's own investigation. e. Perform its own investigation with the authority to subpoena witnesses. t Hire independent investigators. 3. In reviewing the Police Chiefs report, the Board must apply a "reasonable basis" standard of review. This means that the Board must give deference to the Police Chiefs report, because of the Police Chief's professional expertise. (Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(2)).F[ LED City 01crk. 'Olga City: Iowa 4. According to Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(2), the Board can recommend that the Police Chief reverse or modify the Chief's findings only if: a. The findings are not supported by substantial evidence; or b. The findings are unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious; or c. The findings are contrary to a police department policy or practice, or any federal, state, or local law. 5. When the Board has completed its review of the Police Chiefs report, the Board issues a public report to the city council. The public report must include: (1) detailed findings of fact; and (2) a clearly articulated conclusion explaining why and the extent to which the complaint is either "sustained" or "not sustained ". (Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(3)).) 6. Even if the Board finds that the complaint is sustained, the Board has no authority to discipline the officer involved. The Complaint was initiated by the Complainant on April 18, 2023. As required by Section 8-8-5(B) of the City Code, the Complaint was referred to the Chief of Police for investigation. The Chief's Report was fled with the City Clerk on July 13, 2023. As per Section 8-8-6(D) of the City Code, the Complainant was given the opportunity to respond to the Chief's report. The Board voted on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, to apply the following Level of Review to the Chiefs Report: On the record with no additional investigation, pursuant to Iowa City Code Section 8-8-7(B)(1)(a), The Board met to consider the Report on August 8, 2023 and October 10, 2023, Prior to the August 8, 2023 meeting, the Board had the opportunity to review the complaint, the Police Chief's report, and to watch and listen to body worn camera and/or in -car camera footage showing the interaction between the officers and the complainant. FINDINGS OF FACT: This is related to a previous allegation during the same event (Complaint 23-02). Police stopped a vehicle which had made a right hand turn from the center lane. When the officer approached the stopped vehicle, the driver refused to roll down his window. Unsure of the driver's intention, a "stop" belt was placed in front of the vehicle's front tire. Complainant was asked several times to lower the window. Complainant finally lowered the window a few inches. Police officer calmly and repeatedly asked the complainant for an I.D. Complainant refused and shouted "no" numerous times. After a few minutes the officer opened the vehicle's driver side door. He reached in to remove the keys. As he did so, the driver took hold of the officer's arm to prevent that action. When the officer ordered the driver to come out of the vehicle, the driver became physically and verbally confrontational with the officer. During the entire episode police officers were subjected to verbal abuse and physical abuse. The officer took him to the ground using appropriate action. As the driver was being pulled from the vehicle, the passenger in the front seat grabbed the officer's arm and the passenger in the back seat also tried to physically prevent the officer from doing so. The front seat passenger received an injured ankle when he tried to prevent his removal. When the officers were able to calm everyone down, they explained the reason for the stop. The three men were placed in separate cars. The person with the injured ankle was examined by paramedics and then transported to Univer .t �} Hospital. The officer asked for a Breathalyzer test and the driver complied. The officer then 6SI D i )- t Oita' Clerk iCW4 City, Im consent to administer a blood and urine test. The driver refused. The officer read the driver what the Iowa State Code stated. He read this information to the driver several different times during the interview. The driver complained of being unable to see due to the spray that had been used. The officer offered to take the driver to the eyewash area. The driver refused saying the officer was not helping. COMPLAINANT'S ALLEGATION #1 — Use of Force. Chief's conclusion: Not sustained Board's conclusion: Not sustained Basis for the Board's conclusion: After viewing available videos, the complainant's allegation is unsubstantiated. The officers' were professional and courteous throughout their interactions. Officers were accommodating by offering eye wash and opportunity to an attorney. COMPLAINANT'S ALLEGATION #2 — Unprofessional Conduct. Chief's conclusion: Not sustained Board's conclusion: Not sustained Basis for the Board's conclusion: After viewing available video footage, the complainant's allegation is unsubstantiated. The officers' were professional and courteous throughout their interactions. Officers were accommodating by offering eye wash and opportunity to an attorney. COMMENTS: None FILED Gila CIE na FJty Iowa Item Number: 5.c. CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT November21, 2023 Historic Preservation Commission: October 12 Attachments: Historic Preservation Commission: October 12 MINUTES APPROVED HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 12, 2023 —5:30 PM— FORMAL MEETING E M M A J. HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Andrew Lewis, Deanna Thomann, Noah Stork, Jordan Sellergren, Frank Wagner, Christina Welu-Reynolds, Carl Brown MEMBERS ABSENT: Nicole Villanueva, Margaret Beck STAFF PRESENT: Jessica Bristow OTHERS PRESENT: Thomas Agran, Ginalie Swaim, Bob Miklo, Sharon DeGraw, Anne Marie Taylor CALL TO ORDER: Sellergren called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING NOT ON THE AGENDA None. CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS: HPC23-0061: 1047 Woodlawn Avenue — Woodlawn Historic District (new rear deck and repairs to earlier addition): Bristow began the staff report noting this is a Queen Anne house with some detailing that could be described potentially as Carpenter Gothic or could be a little bit reminiscent of Italianate. The house has been added on multiple times including a 1984 addition on the back which has a really low gable roof. The project before them today is the deck and while normally a deck can be reviewed by staff this one cannot follow the guidelines for a staff review. Bristow showed some images of the house, the main block of the historic building noting there was a second floor added at some point in time, maybe around 1915. The one-story addition again was added in 1984 and that gable roof addition projects out with the screen porch beyond the side of the house and then where the deck is as well. Bristow explained the issue is that decks must be behind the house and set in from the sidewall of the building about eight inches and so for that reason an exception to the guidelines will be required for approval. The current deck is deteriorated and there's been some damage to that corner of the house because there was no ledger board flashing causing some rotten damage and that was the impetus for this project. Bristow showed the plan for the new deck, it will align with the side of the screen porch and extend towards the sunroom and will have a railing along the side and at the stair. Otherwise, there will be benches around one side with a current drop -in hot tub kept in the deck. Bristow stated the guidelines are fairly simple for this project, locating the deck on the back, setting it in eight inches, designing it so the size and scale don't distract, attaching in a manner to not damage the historic building, in this case they are attaching it to the modern addition. Regarding the section on balustrades and handrails, the square spindles would be at least an inch and a half in width and there'd be a top and bottom rail. Bristow stated because they want their deck to align with their screen porch staff recommends approval through the use of an exception to the guidelines for the uncommon situation created by the existing rear addition to the house. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 12, 2023 Page 2 of 10 MOTION: Wagner moves to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 1047 Woodlawn Avenue, as presented in the application through the use of an exception for the uncommon situation by the existing rear addition to the house. Welu-Reynolds second. Sellergren asked because this is a modern structure that's behind the old home, in a situation like this they're able to make repairs to that modern structure because it happened before the Historic Commission was in place. Bristow confirmed yes, the addition has lap siding, it has trim, it has shingles, and modern windows and they are not looking at repairing those, but it has the same general basic things that they would have on a historic house and therefore would continue to keep them as they are. She did talk with the homeowners about how they might be able to revise the addition to make it fit in better with the historic portion of the house if they ever wanted to, so that's always the possibility if they decide to remodel the addition. Otherwise, it can stay like this forever, it is clearly a postmodern addition architecture. A vote was taken and the motion carried on a vote of 7-0 (Villanueva and Beck absent). REPORT ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF: Certificate of No Material Effect -Chair and Staff review HPC23-0043: 518 South Lucas Street — Governor -Lucas Street Conservation District (concrete site stair rreolacement): HPC23-0047: 314 South Governor Street — Governor -Lucas Conservation District (concrete site stair replacement): Bristow quickly reviewed these two applications, both homes are owned by the same owner and just need the concrete stairs replaced. Minor Review -Staff review HPC23-0037: 738 Rundell Street - Longfellow Historic District (deteriorated window and door replacement): Bristow explained the homeowners converted the garage to living space and ended up determining that the rear door and the side window were both damaged beyond repair so they will be replaced. HPC23-0041: 521 South Governor Street — Governor -Lucas Street Conservation District (vinyl„siding removal and historic siding and trim,re2air): Bristow noted this house has had a couple projects and one of them was that they removed the vinyl siding and uncovered some interesting details such as they could tell that there were brackets holding up a different kind of entry canopy and that the current one is smaller than the one that was there before. They could see that there were shutters on the building, this was probably a colonial revival house that was remodeled early in the 1900s. HPC23-0044: 707 Rundell Street— Longfellow Historic District (overhead door replacement): HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 12, 2023 Page 3 of 10 Homeowners are replacing the overhead door. HPC23-0046: 1328 Muscatine Avenue -- Longfellow Historic District (roof shingle replacement Bristow believes they'll end up doing a several other projects on this home, but this one is the replacement of the roof shingles. HPC23-0060: 737 Grant Street — Longfellow Historic District (front step replacem2aL Homeowners are replacing their front steps. Intermediate Review -Chair and Staff review HPC23-0052: 1025 Woodlawn Avenue — Woodlawn Historic District new barn foundation): Bristow stated this has been a very long time coming and they are finally getting a new foundation on the barn at 1025 Woodlawn Avenue, this barn has needed a new foundation for at least a decade. It currently has a stone foundation and the new foundation will just be smooth poured concrete. She explained this barn did have a wood floor suspended in it that was broken and so it'll have a new floor as well. They will be actually moving the barn over, Goodwin House Movers will be doing that, and they will remove the lean-to. Because the lean-to shows up on all of the Sanborn fire insurance maps they think it is a very old lean-to so they're actually just going to remove it and reinstall it. There's a possibility they might move it to the other end of the barn instead of this one. HPC23-0055: 521 South Governor Street — Governor -Lucas Street Conservation District (shutter installation): Bristow stated they are installing new shutters that will be functioning shutters CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FOR SEPTEMBER 14.2023 MOTION Wagner moves to approve the minutes of the Historic Preservation Commission's September 14, 2023, meeting, as amended. Thomann seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0 (Villanueva and Beck absent). COMMISSION DISCUSSION 302 (316) East Bloomington Street. Slezak Hall aka Palaai's buildin Bristow stated this building has actually has all of the numbers between 302 to 316, 302 being the front portion. This was originally a hall where people met on the upper floor with stores below. The three- story apartment building was added and the back area at one point in time there was a carriage house and a stable. She showed a detailed image of the property, pointing out the brackets and dentals. She is unsure if the current windows are the original with trim or if they were reduced. There likely would have been a storefront with two entrances since it was divided in half down the middle. From Linn Street they can see the west elevation of the building and a possible decorative element over a storefront or perhaps some kind of loading door. Bristow noted the Holub apartments would have been upstairs. From the 1888 Sanborn map it shows grocers on each side and the stage on the second floor in the main hall. There was a dining room parlor and a carriage hoist on the first floor, laundry on the HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 12, 2023 Page 4 of 10 second, sleeping on the third and the feed area. Bristow stated they believe everything was in place no later than 1888. The Iowa Site Inventory form, which is basically what historians and consultants use to fill out information to document it for the State, shows this building had been studied multiple times. At one point in time someone determined that the building would be eligible for the National Register and it would be as it has good integrity and would definitely be eligible under the National Register criterion A which relates to events that have happened over time. Bristow could not recall which of Iowa City's criteria that relates to but because it would be eligible for the National Register it would also be eligible for local landmark listing. Bristow stated this item was brought up because Sellergren, as the Chair, requested that it be on the agenda for discussing it for a potential local landmark designation. If that process were to proceed it could potentially proceed with the Commission determining that they want to locally landmark it so that the application for rezoning would come to the Commission for review. The process is first they would discuss the building and its history and a public hearing for everyone to speak, then it would move on to the Planning and Zoning Commission and finally it would move to City Council. If the owner were to object to the landmark rezoning a supermajority of City Council would have to vote to approve it for it to become a local landmark. Bristow also wanted to note in 2015 a subcommittee of the Commission did meet to look at historic properties in the community that are not currently either locally landmarks, nor in a district of any type, to see which ones should be landmarks and this building was on that list. Sellergren opened the public hearing Thomas Agran stated he was a former commissioner and wanted to talk about this because like a lot of people in Iowa City that saw that this building went up for sale it had him reflecting about this property and reflecting also on his time on the Commission and experiences he had on the Commission. He wanted to share some of his experiences as they prepare to look in more depth to this property. The main example he wanted to bring up is the landmarking that they attempted for 410 Clinton Street, which is brick building across from Dey House. Basically, that was a similar situation, the property owner didn't want landmark status but it advanced through because it obviously deserved to be a landmark. Then in the midst of all that the property owner sold to the Clark family and when it went to the supermajority at Council, led by Susan Mims, it did not get the super majority. Agran read an excerpt from the Press-Citizien article at the time. "Since that vote the City has been in talks to the property owner asking what could persuade them to voluntarily pursue local landmark designation. Brian Clark says the goal is to pursue more units. He said the owners of two adjacent properties, 400 North Clinton Street and 112 East Davenport Street have signaled a willingness to sell providing the City rezones adjacent properties to allow higher density. Clark said he would be willing to designate 412 North Clinton as a local historic landmark in exchange." Hagar stated his summary of that is developers do not need handouts and the last one is apartments downtown in the Clark family. So what happens when a property like this comes up for sale is that a developer with deep pockets, who's not afraid to play hardball with the City, will buy the property and then what happens is that there's this emotional hostage taking the property where they twist the City's arm because people are worried and don't want to step tread on individual property rights. It's the owner, they own the building. What happens is they take the property hostage, and they try to get handouts, they tried to get approvals for things that would never otherwise ordinarily be approved. There are other scenarios where this also happened. Across from the Co-op what happened was undesignated buildings got torn down and they encroach upon a historic property. Agran stated as the Commissions think about this, also think about how this could be parceled up in some kind of deal as the remaining property that didn't sell across from the Co-op ended up being so encroached upon by these inappropriate buildings for the scale of the neighborhood and they ended up later tearing that building down. Another example is the Elks building where they're going to tear it down and then leave a big hole in the ground right across from City Hall. Or Ted Pacha, who on Christmas Eve, bulldozed the antebellum railroad cottages over on HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 12, 2023 Page 5 of 10 South Dubuque Street. Those are the outcomes that are possible here. People don't come back to Iowa City because they love the three over one new builds that go up everywhere with the empty retail on the bottom and that's what will go on here if it's not landmarked. Like the empty gravel lot on Van Buren Street that Michael Rivera manages, there's all kinds of bad outcomes here. Agran think that there are different strategies for what they can do, some are more extreme and some are less extreme. Maybe there's a development moratorium, whether it's a demolition permit moratorium in this area, maybe instead of do dealing with an individual landmark status they could expand the district to include Bloomington Street, or they could do what's actually the easiest thing, which is to landmark the property. He is hopeful they will do that, but of course will need a supermajority and are going to get pushback from the property owner. Agran noted the Scarda family, or whoever owns this building, chose to own this building but don't own the parking lot across the street, they don't own the HeadStart preschool next door, both places that would be great to be redeveloped. He encourages them to landmark this property, but they will have to have that supermajority so he encourages them to find out if they have the votes with City Council to make sure that this thing is going to sail through otherwise the same thing that happened on 410 North Clinton is going to happen here. Lastly, developers own the buildings, they own the deeds to all these properties, but they just own the deeds and they don't own the history of the community. There is a structure created to allow them to protect that history and that is landmark status and it exists so that no matter who owns the building, and what their inclinations are over time, because property owners come and go, the building can stay relevant to the community. Agran also noted that he was on the Commission when they went through that whole study to find other properties that they to also should landmark, but the urgency now is because this building came for sale. However, 75% of the 19th century building stock in Iowa City is not protected, all of downtown is not protected, and they only find the urgency when things like this happen. Again, he really hopes that they landmark it, prioritize it and get the votes. Ginalie Swaim noted she has done laundry in that laundromat before she had washing machine, she went to have pizza there when the dorms didn't serve meals on Sunday nights, and she thinks she visited somebody who lives in in the apartments. This commercial building dates far back to the relations with the Czech neighborhood. The customers do the grocery stores, and hall upstairs and the stable and so she could get emotionally connected to this building but on greater self-examination that's what history is about, that people wrap their own lives into a building and come up with some meaning which the building then can preserve for the people or the community if it's protected. Obviously, this building has great integrity, it has an incredible community history, and it is always anchored that corner. It's a keystone between the Downtown and the Northside. Swaim would echo was Agran has said and when she was on this Commission many of those issues came up and things happen very fast. She sincerely hopes everything can turn out the way they would like it to and landmark the property. Bob Miklo (900 North Johnson Street) wanted to point out that this hall clearly meets the criteria for the National Register as well as the local landmark. Its association with the Czech immigrant community demonstrates broad patterns of local history as well as national history. It tells the story of the community being built by immigrants and its architecture is a good representation of a commercial storefront. He also noted it's unique in that it contained an ethnic social hall and a historic hotel, then later apartments and livery were horses were cared for and tended to. There are very few surviving buildings in Iowa City with this much history or character. Miklo also pointed to the Comprehensive Plan, including the Central District Plan, which was unanimously adopted by City Council as a blueprint for the community's future, calls for the protections of buildings like this and of the Northside commercial district. Therefore, the City has already gone on record that this is an important building in the life of the community and should follow up with zoning protections to enforce that policy. Again, there are a few properties in Iowa City with this rich history and this well preserved. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 12, 2023 Page 6 of 10 Sharon DeGraw is with the Friends of Historic Preservation and lives in the Northside. She agrees with all the history of the building and that it needs to be preserved for that reason. It's an example of being a certain type of architecture that they want to value and preserve. However, she also sees the tie into the way that perhaps the business community and decision makers think is that this building is an economic boost to the commercial area and the residential houses. So if it goes and things like it go, what they replace it with has much less economic value in terms of the way the Downtown District wants to think about what they need to do to create a vibrant downtown Iowa City. DeGraw would hope that they engage the Downtown District in the discussion of how to land market locally also. Thomann stated the value of this building and the stories it tells, the fact that it was important to farmers back in the day and they would come and stay in these hotels and they put their horse and carriage or whatever else in the stable. She lives just a few blocks away from this building and if she is going to see her farming relatives in town, it's at Pagliai's, she runs into them all the time. People are drawn to not only Pagliai's but also this building, it's very comfortable for them. She doesn't see her relatives in downtown proper, but people will come into this building and eat and enjoy themselves. It's important in that way, it's not just important to the City but to the surrounding areas too. Thomann is really concerned about this part of town, the houses around here are being run down and it may be happening intentionally. She has also heard a little bit of gossip and it sounds like a developer has bought two houses within this block and she is sure they're eyeing this building now too. They've got these two houses they bought, it would be easy buy this building, clear out this whole block, build tall and City Council might just go for this because they are on a mission now as they want density and housing. Is it possible to do the landmark status vote tonight. Bristow replied no. Thomann stated that it is her concern because things will move so quickly, there will be a buyer and it may be the person who bought the two houses or the company that did and it'll start rolling without them being even able to say anything and that concerns her. Welu-Reynolds asked Bristow to review again the recent history. Bristow stated it has been owned by the same family for like 150 years or something like that. Welu-Reynolds asked if they have local family members who might buy the building. Bristow is unsure. Bristow stated they should set aside any consideration of ownership and consider this a community building that needs to be landmarked as soon as possible. Welu-Reynolds is not worried about who owns it it's just that because it is up for sale right now that weighs on their timeline for could happen tomorrow. If something gets out to potential buyers that the historical commission may label this as a landmark that may have an effect on who purchases the property. Bristow noted it's currently listed at $5 million, which is $3 million more than its assessed value, it's assessed at $1.8 million so that leaves few buyer options. Anne Marie Taylor is on the Johnson County Historic Preservation Commission and lives in a house that Iowa City very creatively saved. It's an old house on Burlington Street and was part of the UniverCity program that renovated houses and now it's a single-family home. She is really concerned about what's going to happen, the ad says it is not on historic preservation protection so they can basically do what they want. That land at $5 million, one could only make money off of it if they knock everything down around it. She would like to see whatever can be done to protect the community and to protect Iowa City's history like this. Taylor acknowledged them talking about the City wanting more and more housing but would go in there would not be the housing Iowa City is looking for, it would be high dollar with some stores, probably a Subway and things like that, at the bottom. The housing going into the core of Iowa City right now is not affordable, it is very expensive and doesn't benefit the people there, it kicks the people who are renting out further and further. Taylor just wanted to let them know that those of them with the County also discussed this and would appreciate anything this Commission can do. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 12, 2023 Page 7 of 10 Sellergren wanted to make a point with regard to housing density, which is that there's a new development going up on Scott Boulevard and North Dubuque, it's a four -acre lot with a total of 15 townhomes going in, there could be 100 or 200 so she doesn't think housing density is necessarily the top incentive. People shouldn't be swayed by that argument. Lewis asked what the timeline for the process is to make it a landmark. Bristow explained the owner will be contacted and staff will meet with the owner after this meeting tonight, before an application will be submitted for rezoning and be processed, it would come before this Commission, so there's a possibility it'll be on the November agenda. Stork asked if they do make this landmark status designation does that lock it into looking like this forever and any little thing that the future owner wants to do comes before this Commission an exception. They should be considering that as well, yes there's so much human history here in this building and it's wonderful, maybe not about the laundry building, that could be knocked down right now. Sellergren stated if they don't landmark it there's probably a 90% chance that it comes down Welu-Reynolds noted the question is does this building deserve landmark status. Sellergren stated yes but the other question is it an emergency and that answer is yes, it is. Stork agrees it is an urgent issue. Bristow noted if it were to be landmarked they would have to follow the guidelines like everyone else and retain historic materials on the building, modern materials that maybe don't fit the building could be changed, they could make an addition or something if approved by the Commission, just like any other property, there wouldn't be a desire to keep something that would be considered non -historic just because it happens to be there right now. It would follow the guidelines like any other property, the building definitely has the integrity to be landmarked, as well as be listed in the National Register. It is also a part of the social history and for those reasons it would definitely be eligible and that's the easy part of the landmark process. Stork asked about The Mill because this feels like The Mill situation a little bit. Bristow agreed but stated there's more architectural integrity and with The Mill it did not have integrity for what it was historically, they can't landmark the business, only land and buildings, that's what rezoning and guidelines do. Stork noted they could also start to consider newer time periods as now historical. Bristow confirmed yes, basically it just needs to be 50 years old to be eligible. Lewis asked if they start doing this process does that slow down the selling process. Bristow doesn't know, it is a process but honestly it's probably more of a political process than anything else. There is a point when City Council sets a public hearing where there's a moratorium on demolition, so specifically if there were an application to demolish the building they would have to post that application for seven days and then they could take the building down. Sellergren noted then this is truly an emergency situation. Bristow reiterated they'll start with a public hearing and that has to be published seven days before the public hearing. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 12, 2023 Page 8 of 10 Thomann stated if they do get to the point where they're able to recommend this for being a landmark status property, she encourages those that feel passionately about this to go to the other meetings after this, P&Z, City Council, and tell them the historic value in this. Sellergren noted there's a lot of public interest in this topic and was surprised there weren't more people here but really did appreciate the those who did come. Sellergren asked if the Commissioners were wanting to move forward with this process and all agreed to move forward. She noted there also is probably openness to special meeting, if that's possible. Stork asked about this district or surrounding districts and if this building is close enough to be included. Bristow stated this area is not included in any of the districts because the districts nearby are residential districts and this is a commercial area. When creating a district they basically stick to a type, each district has a story and is a cohesive unit. Bob Miklo noted when he was on staff a number of years ago they considered a national registered district for the Northside, including the commercial area, and it was found to be eligible for the National Register but there was considerable property owner objection. As a result the commercial area was removed from the proposed historic district. Thomas Agran stated there are five undeveloped parking lots and multiple single -story buildings in the Northside Business District so they don't have to make space on this lot for development. They don't have to make space on this lot for density. Currently if the zoning for this building is CB-2, whatever the price to but, given the University metrics that they're predicting for student housing, all the other housing coming online, this is urgent, and should be treated as urgent. He noted Sellergren or somebody else should talk to the City manager and ask what is possible there and how City staff envisions that property being and the demolition of it being leveraged. The current zoning and opportunities for zoning changes that might be leveraged against the property might be a step to take while they wait for the due process of the landmark status. Bristow stated this property has been in this configuration since 1888, staff would not recommend building another building in the middle of that empty parking lot, that would not be something that would follow guidelines. Bob Miklo noted in terms of urgency he would encourage them to pursue this as quickly as possible but because there is a lease for the pizza place it's not going to be torn down tomorrow so they do have some time. He cautions against doing a special meeting and to follow the normal procedure to the extent possible so that it doesn't look like they're rushing or cutting corners and are following the procedure and legitimately designating the building as a landmark. Thomann noted a lot of the homes in this area are RNS-12 and also don't have protection so if someone wants to do development in this area of the Northside, it's going to happen. Sellergren also noted there's a City Council primary and Council will be changing over in January, so they should not just talk to the City Council members but also the candidates. Anne Marle Taylor wanted to share one other piece of experience, before living in Iowa City she was in the legislative and government relations for the American Institute of Architects and worked with the national organizations doing things to try and protect properties. One of the things that they did was spend a lot of time working on in some of the state legislatures was being sure that an area didn't become the building, because everything around it has been knocked down or removed. Another HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION OCTOBER 12, 2023 Page 9 of 10 example is when she was working in Seattle, particularly old historic buildings that was about to get protection on Monday, were knocked down over the weekend. So someone who is willing to pay $5 million is only going to do that if they can make the money with tall buildings with all sorts of things. The sooner they can protect this building the better. It's not just because it's a pizza place it's because the history of this building and its place in the area is remarkable and needs to be protected, there's not another place like this in Iowa City. Sellergren stated the next step is to talk with the landowner, they might decide they do want the landmark status, they've had it in the family for all these years and have taken such care of it. Historic Preservation Awards: Bristow gave an update on the Historic Preservation Awards and thanked everybody for their help. She did note however, even with the assistance it took so much of her time that she could not review projects for a month. Therefore, they may have to rethink how they do this in the future. Thomann asked if there is a student assistant that could help. Bristow replied they do have an intern however the assistance that the intern provides totally depends on the individual intern and their abilities. ADJOURNMENT: Wagner moved to adjourn the meeting. Thomann seconded. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0 (Villanueva and Beck absent). The meeting was adjourned at 6:40 pm. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2022-2023 NAME TERM EXP. 10/13 11/10 1/12 2/9 3/22 4/13 5/11 6/8 7/13 8/10 9/14 10/12 BECK, 6/30/24 O/E X X X X X X O/E X X X O/E MARGARET BOYD, KEVIN 6/30/23 X X X X X 0/E X X — BROWN, 6/30/23 X X O/E O/E X X O/E X X O/E X X CARL LARSON, 6/30/24 O KEVIN SELLERGREN, 6/30/22 X X X X O/E X X O/E X X X X JORDAN STORK, NOAH 6/30/24 X X X X X O/E X X X X X X THOMANN, 6/30/23 X X X X X X X X X X X X DEANNA VILLANUEVA, 6/30/25 O/E X X X X X X X X X X O/E NICOLE WAGNER, 6/30/23 X O/E X X X X X X O/E X X X FRANK WELU- 6/30/25 O/E X X X X X O/E X O/E X X X REYNOLDS, CHRISTINA LEWIS, _ _ _ _ _ _ X X X X ANDREW KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E= Absent/Excused --- = Not a member Item Number: 5.d. CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT November21, 2023 Parks & Recreation Commission: September 13 [See Recommendation] Attachments: Parks & Recreation Commission: September 13 [See Recommendation] CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM Date: 11 /08/2023 To: Mayor and City Council From: Staff Member of Parks and Recreation Commission Re: Recommendation from Parks and Recreation Commission At their September 13, 2023, meeting the Parks and Recreation Commission made the following recommendation to the City Council: To move forward with the 2024-2028 Parks & Recreation CIP as presented. Additional action check on X No further action needed Board or Commission is requesting Council direction Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action IOWA CITY PARKS & RECREATION COMMISSION APPROVED MINUTES OF SEPTEMBER 13, 2023 ROBERT A. LEE RECREATION CENTER — MEETING ROOM B Members Present: Rachel McPherson, Alex Stanton, Aaron Broege, Connie Moore, Missie Forbes, Alex Hachtman, Melissa Serenda, Brian Morelli Members Absent: None Staff Present: Juli Seydell Johnson, Tyler Baird, Gabe Gotera Others Present: Carin Crain, Mitzi Read, Sue Protheroe, Jerry Protheroe, Beth Pfohl, Mark Cannon, Anne Jensen CALL TO ORDER: Chairman Hachtman called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (to become effective only after separate Council action): Moved by Serenda, seconded by Morell,_to recommend moving forward with the 2024- 2028 Parks & Recreation CIP as presented. Motion Passed 8-0. OTHER FORMAL ACTION: Moved by Broege, seconded by Moore, to approve the August 04, 2023, minutes. Motion passed 7-0 (Serenda Absent). PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: Commissioner Serenda arrives at 5:02 p.m. Sue Protheroe comments on behalf of City Park Pool: Back to the Future, a group which is a large bunch of community members who are passionate about City Park and have organized to ensure that a future pool at least matches the current pool in terms of capabilities and the communities it serves. Protheroe passes out copies of the City Park Pool: Back to the Future — vision statement. Protheroe explains that previously a member of the group had spoken to the Commission regarding the vision statement. Protheroe details that the group focuses on how the pool can be used and the groups it serves, which the current design checks each box. Protheroe clarifies that the group is not promoting a specific design for City Park Pool at the current time. Protheroe says that the Back to the Future steering committee had met earlier in the week to discuss the public input process after listening to the Williams and Associates talk during the PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION September 13, 2023 Page 2 of 12 Sept 5 City Council meeting, understanding that the list of potential focus groups is not set in stone, but that Juli had said there could be 14 focus groups, which means that the list of potential focus groups has only I 1 groups. The steering committee had identified two groups that they feel should also be represented. Firstly, the primary groups that use the pool like club swimmers & water polo, and secondly, the group that is not on the list of potential focus groups, senior citizens, a large group of pool users in the communities that should be sought out for input. Beth Pfohl comments on the behalf of the City Park Pool: Back to the Future steering committee. Pfohl says that during the Sept 5 City Council, a consultant said that replacing City Park pool allows for the opportunity for conversation between user groups. Pfohl believes in the power of various pool user groups speaking to one another and coming to understand what others need, especially regarding the pool. Pfohl says that if conversation is allowed, we have the opportunity for building community consensus, however the current public input plan as detailed in the consultant condition report does not allow for discussion between user groups, unless the open houses are structured in a way to provide this opportunity. Pfohl suggest that the open houses be structured in a way that provides an opportunity for real dialogue between community members, saying that it is important that all types of users hear each other's concerns and needs. Pfohl envisions an event where people are assigned to facilitate the breakout groups, each addressing the same set of guiding questions, before reporting back to the large group. Because the focus groups are composed of similar minded users, the public gathering will be the only opportunity for community members to hear and discuss and understand each other. Carin Crain talks about the Robert A. Lee Pool while Marc Cannon passes out a handout to the commission. Crain explains that she has been gathering pool counts for 10 months, the reason being is because the Parks and Recreation department has said that pool usage is insufficient and have not defined sufficiency, to support increased hours of operation. Crain says that the department has talked a lot about the numbers of users, highlighting a page in her handout which shows a collage of all the pool users throughout the day. Crain says that her collage is important because it shows that 23 people who were at the pool on that day were not included in the full counts distributed. Crain says that commissioners are asked to make recommendations based on data and that if their data is not good, then their recommendations are not sound. Crain suggests that the commission do is insist on accurate date. Crain refers to further pages in her handout that show where in staff counts that errors lie, how she knows that the errors are there, and shows that the errors are always less. Crain says that there is a consistent under count that has been going on for 10 months. Going forward Crain asks that the Commissioners insist on accurate data, and that respectfully, they correct the inaccuracies shown in the submissions to this body. Crain says that as citizen who uses the pool, everyone counts, and that she wants to be counted. Dir. Seydell Johnson makes the clarification for both the public and Commission, that when the Commissioners had last looked at pool data for their decision about Fall RAL Pool hours, the Commission has access to both the public and staff counts, side -by -side and made their decision using all the numbers provided. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION September 13, 2023 Page 3 of 12 2023-2028 PARKS AND RECREATION CAPITOL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT — Dir. Juli Sevdell Johnson Dir. Seydell Johnson presents the attached PowerPoint over the 2024-2028 Parks & Recreation Capital Improvement Plan. Vice -Chair Moore asks what a pump track is, regarding the Terrill Mill Skate Park project. Parks Supt. explains that a pump track in this instance is paved and includes pumps, and curves, and banks that work together as a circuit that can be used by bikes, scooters, skateboards, and even an athletic style wheelchair. Commissioner Forbes asks if the Terrill Mill Skate Park is the skate park near City Park. Dir. Seydell Johnson confirms this, saying that it is near the boathouse on Dubuque Street. Forbes asks how much traffic is at the park to justify the price tag needed to update. Seydell Johnson responds that while the exact number is not known, staff do know that the park is highly used and believe that once the public input process begins, users of the park will be contacting staff with strong input. Vice -Chair Moore asks about the origins behind the name of Carson Lake, regarding the Carson Lake Park Project. Dir. Seydell Johnson replies that she is unsure on the origin of the name of the area but that it may be related to the current landowners. Moore asks if Carson Lake is the final name for the park. Seydell Johnson replies that Carson Lake is likely not the final name of the park, unless the name is part of the legal agreement for the land acquisition. Commissioner Serenda asks if there are plans to extend the Highway 6 Trail from Heinz to Scott Boulevard, making a good circuit as opposed to walking through the industrial area. Dir. Seydell Johnson responds that in the long-term, yes. Seydell Johnsons explains that this was in the Bicycle Master Plan, but it would not be seen in this 5-year budget plan. Commissioner Morelli asks how much of the Federal Highway funds are devoted to trails versus roads, or if the trail budget comes out of the Parks and Recreation budget. Morelli asks that if trail headways are so expensive, can the department set aside a percentage of the budget for several years to take on the bigger projects. Dir. Seydell Johnsons says that this option is something that the Commission can recommend the City Council to consider. Morelli asks if it is possible to receive more information on the funds received for trails. Seydell Johnson says that in the past, an MPO representative has spoken on the subject to the Commission and that this could certainly be done again in the future. Commissioner McPherson asks about the "Public v Private" land for the Carson Lake Park Project. McPherson asks that if the land has a current owner, then is the land private. Dir. Seydell Johnson explains that the land is currently farmland and as it develops it will either be donated to the City through Neighborhood Open Space or purchased by the city as a part of the water retention area. Seydell Johnson says that as it is being discussed today, the land is private, but in the long-term it will become public. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION September 13, 2023 Page 4 of 12 Commissioner Serenda asks what the fate of projects on the Unfunded list are. Dir. Seydell Johnson responds that the purpose of the list is so that City Council and Finance staff know that there are still projects that the department would like to pursue. Commissioner Broege says that the RAL pool and Mercer pool projects are happening after the City Park Pool project is completed and asks if there is accounting for the potential funding needed on the 2026-2027 CIP. Seydell Johnson says that the potential funds have been discussed but not yet added to a project because the parameters of the project have not been decided. Commissioner Forbes asks regarding a sports complex, if there are any private partners for a complex, so as to not put all the expenses on the City. Dir. Seydell Johnsons says that there was some talk about this a few years prior, and that Think Iowa City commissioned a feasibility study but that that was about as far as it went. Seydell Johnson believes that it could come up again but that it is not currently being actively pursued. Commissioner Broege asks if there are any plans on what would be included for the sports complex. Seydell Johnsons says that there are plans. Commissioner Morelli says that most of the work in Court Hill Park looks to be done but points out that the old park shelter was removed leaving a field in the middle of the park and that a year later, he would love to see the space updated and replanted. Morelli says that there are several old trees in Court Hill Park with a tree coming down every few weeks whenever there is another big wind. Morelli asks what the process is for the general upkeep of the trees. Parks & Forestry Supt. Baird responds that staff have a shelter on hand to install, it just requires the time and funds to get the shelter pad in place. Baird says that staff have spoken to the Streets department to see if they can help with keeping the costs lower but that assistance would likely go towards the basketball court. Baird says that he can have staff look at the seeding in the park, explaining that the recent drought has made it a challenge to get things growing. Baird confirms that the trees in the park are old and while the limbs can fall semi frequently, there has been nothing concerning seen when looking at them, making it hard to know what will fall before it does. Morelli says that there has been a big limb hanging in a tree in the park since the 2020 derecho. Tyler responds that staff did not see the limb as a large hazard at the time of the storm, but that staff can investigate it again. Commissioner Serenda asks if it would be appropriate to report tree hazards like Commissioner Morelli described that through the ICGov.org express form. Dir. Seydell Johnson says that would work fine, or staff can be emailed directly. Moved by Serenda, seconded by Morelli, to recommend movine forward with the 2024- 2028 Parks & Recreation CEP as presented. Motion Passed 8-0. _.. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION September 13, 2023 Page 5 of 12 REPORT ON ITEMS FROM CITY STAFF Director of Parks & Recreation —Juli Seydell Johnson Cemetery: Dir. Seydell Johnson announces that there are 30 trees to be planted in Oakland Cemetery in partnership with the Heritage Tree Foundation. Seydell Johnson adds that the trees will likely be planted in Spring 2024. Recreation: Seydell Johnson announces that the Recreation Division has 9 different themed Halloween events in October. Seydell Johnson explains that one of the newer series is Sensory Saturdays at Robert A. Lee Rec Center, aimed at provided play spaces and opportunities to use the pool, the gymnasium, and the craft room for people that would like to have less sensory exposure for their kids and for themselves. Ped Mall Playground. Seydell Johnson refers to concerns from the prior Commission meeting about the cleaning of the Ped Mall Playground. Seydell Johnson announces that Parks staff have tried around 6 different methods to clean and have been in contact with the playground company several times. While not a perfect solution, Parks staff found that vinegar worked the best to clean the statues but ends stripping the paint. Seydell Johnson concludes saying that staff will continue to be in contact with the playground company but assures that the playground is clean. Parlrr and Recreation Commission: Seydell Johnsons says that the City Council will be looking at filling the vacant seat on the commission at the Sept 19 City Council meeting. Seydell Johnson explains that there are 14 applications for the seat and that it is does not have to be specifically male or female for balance. City Park Pool Project: Seydell Johnson gives an update on the City Park Pool project, explain that there is no agenda item as nothing has happened since the September 5 City Council meeting. Seydell Johnson says that the City Council had a few questions after the City Park Pool condition report from the consultants and overwhelmingly chose to go forward with replacement of the pool. Seydell Johnsons says that staff will be meeting with the consultants next week to set out a plan for the next phase of public input, hoping to have the large public input open house type meeting happening at the end of October in conjunction with the Halloween Carnival at RAL Rec Center. Seydell Johnson adds that there will be a session earlier in the day for people to have an opportunity for input without the worry of parking in the crowd of the Halloween Carnival. Seydell Johnsons says that after the input sessions, the project will move into the focus group phase, having up to 14 focus groups, all of which have not been defined yet. Seydell Johnson explains that the focus groups will be chosen through an online form that interested individuals can apply through. Each individual will be asked a number of questions on if they would like to be included on certain focus groups. Seydell Johnsons says that staff plan to have a focus group which includes people with disabilities. The online form will ask interested applicants if they have a disability and if they would like to be included in such a focus group. Seydell Johnson adds that individuals are not required to answer yes or no to these questions, but they would need PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION September 13, 2023 Page 6 of 12 to answer yes if they would like to be considered for that that particular focus group. Seydell Johnsons says that there will be a prompt for if the individual has a swim pass or what their primary activity in the pool is, to make focus groups dedicated to lap swimmers, aqua- fitness/water-walkers, or other such groups. Seydell Johnson clarifies that the people who choose the makeup of the focus groups will not see any names attached to the people on the list. They focus groups would be made based on the answers to questions which people self-selected and then randomly selected from those specific criteria. Seydell Johnson says that this way of making the focus groups is influenced by the City's goals for equity and diversity, making a quiet space for folks like non -users and historically underserved groups to have a place to meet with consultants and talk about their needs openly without influence from other groups. This input gathered will be published afterwards. Seydell Johnsons say that the after the focus group work is done, the consultants will create 3 concepts for the pool with the only known factors being, to remain with the original fence line, no additional parking, and trees will be preserved. These designs will be based on the input from focus groups and public input surveys, and once completed will be shown to the City Council for a decision. Seydell Johnson clarifies that this process is not yet set in stone as staff still must meet with the consultants to finalize the plan. Commissioner Morelli asks if there are set in stone parameters for the focus groups yet referring to past discussions among the commission on different groups to include. Seydell Johnsons says that staff have suggested a list of 10 groups to the consultants that they believe would be appropriate for the community, but that the actual groups would be decided after meeting with the consultants. Seydell Johnson adds that the Parks and Recreation Commission is one of 14 focus groups and will be the only publicly open focus group. Seydell Johnsons says that 2 groups will be left undecided until the makeup of the focus group applicants is looked over. Commissioner McPherson comments appreciation at the inclusion of a staff focus group, saying that it is important for the process. Vice -Chair Moore appreciates that the focus groups will have privacy as some times when some folks have trouble finding confidence when talking a in a big group or might have a legitimate concern that is very close to them. Dir. Seydell Johnson explains that the information on the process is not fully known yet, as the decision to replace the pool was only made the week prior. The process had a framework but is actually being written now. Seydell Johnson adds that the largest hurdle will be getting the word out to take part in the focus groups and asks the Commission to spread the word. Commissioner Stanton says that the Consultants are getting input from the focus groups but asks if they are being privy to general emailslcalls that the coming in regarding the pool. Dir. Seydell Johnson responds that this will likely be the case between now and the actual focus groups, adding that the consultants have seen all the information that was gathered during the rec masterplan, including all the emails that had come into the Council and Commission. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION September 13, 2023 Page 7 of 12 Commissioner Broege asks if there will be any feedback/consulting with the public after the three proposed designs are created. Dir. Seydell Johnson says that there is one more public open house meeting that will after the designs are shown, as well as a meeting for the Commission and the Council each. Commissioner Forbes asks if there was a different name established for what would be senior citizens in the focus groups. Dir. Seydell Johnson says that Older Adults may be the title for the age group but adds that date -of -birth will be on the online form to ensure a good mix of all ages in the focus groups. Commissioner McPherson adds on that in the terns of diversity and equity, she believes that senior citizens are overlooked and a marginalized group and should be at least considered for a potential focus group. Parks & Forestry Superintendent —Tvler Baird Tree Planting Projects: Supt. Tyler Baird announces that the division has received a $5000 Community Forestry Grant which will go towards a planting of a variety of trees with Kiwanis group and their affiliates groups in Hunter's Run Park at 10 a.m. on Sept. 23, 2023. Baird expects 47 trees to be planted in the park. Baird talks about the CIP Tree Planting saying that it is about to kickoff for planting. Baird details that trees will be planted near the south-east side of town, in neighbors surrounding Whispering Meadows Wetland Park. Baird explains that the area is lacking a tree canopy coverage. Baird notes that the infill planting project, part of the operation budget is combining some funds to see a large stretch of trees on Friendship Street, near Court Hill Park, as well as more all around the city based on the regular requests through the year. Baird says that there is a smaller tree planting project in Benton Hill Park. The project will see 10 trees planted, as requested by the neighborhood. Baird explains that Dir. Seydell Johnson and himself met with the neighborhood during Spring 2023, looking at spots could use more vegetation and are expected to be planted later this fall. Projects: Baird announces the playground for Happy Hollow Park has arrived and that staff are waiting for the park's contract order to be completed before the playground can be installed by in-house staff. Baird is hoping for the playground to be installed later this Fall, after the contractors complete their work. Commissioner Broege asks which park is having the tree planting next week. Supt. Baird answers that the tree planting will be at Hunter's Run Park. .f *IRS REPORT: None PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION September 13, 2023 Page 8 of 12 COMMISSION TIME/SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Commissioner Forbes asks to review the pool counts and to have a refresher on why it started in the first place. Dir. Seydell Johnson asks Forbes for clarification on if she is asking for an agenda item or just a question. Forbes says that she is asking as a question. Seydell Johnson explains that the process started about a year prior when the Recreation Masterplan had come out with some counts in it. Seydell Johnson says that there are residents counting every day to report their numbers and adds that the Commission had used their numbers as part of their decision -making process for the hours in a previous meeting. Seydell Johnson says that the staff & resident numbers do not match for a number of reasons. Some of the reasons being, city staff in the water are not counted, swim lessons are counted separately. Seydell Johnson says that staff do not dispute the resident numbers but are saying that they are counting differently than staff is, which is why when a recommendation is made regarding the numbers, the Commission is provided with both sets of numbers before a decision is made between the two. Forbes asks if there are a lot of staff being devoted to the process. Seydell Johnson answers yes, saying that she does not know the exact total amount of hours put towards it, but that there is a number of Recreation and Admin staff involved, all putting hours towards the process each month. Forbes wonders if there is a more efficient use of department staff s time, saying that the staff have done a really good job showing everything that they are involved in and asks if it's an option to table the process for a bit. Seydell Johnson responds that the City Council directed that we keep the numbers between now and the end of the City Park Pool project. Commissioner Stanton thanks Dir. Seydell Johnson, the City Council, and the consultants for the presentation at the Sept 5 Council meeting. Stanton says that presentation was very interesting and helped hm to understand the project a lot more in the context of City Park Pool. Commissioner Morelli says that there are lots of Parks and Rec events happening and asks if it is possible to include as part of the packet, what events are relevant to the Commission for the next month. Dir. Seydell Johnson replies that there is a list of events in the staff report and says that Rec staff could mark the events that could be good for the Commission to attend. Supt. Baird says that historically, tree plantings have not been included on the staff report, but that if desired could be included. Commissioner Morelli says that he has noticed at the dog park a QR code to register your dog online, as well as the option to pay for dog park admission through the city parking app. Dir. Seydell Johnson says that the move to paying through the app came about because the cash box at the dog park was getting broken into often. Commissioner Morelli details having gone through City Park to count the facilities. Morelli had noticed that the park bathrooms are locked a lot of the time and was unsure if there are certain hours of operation. Dir. Seydell Johnson says that is a new electric lock system which is supposed to open them in the opening and close them at night, which has been great as a staff member used to have to drive around every morning and night to open and the close the restrooms. An issue has risen where in certain parks, members of the public have figured out how to lock them mid -day, or they lock them accidently when leaving. Seydell Johnson explains that unless someone calls the department to say that the restroom has been locked mid -day, staff PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION September 13, 2023 Page 9 of 12 don't know to go out and unlock it. Supt. Baird adds that staff are in the process of fixing that problem piece, but that can cost several thousand dollars for each door to change the system to work differently. Baird says that the department is one of the first ones anywhere to use this kind of system for outdoor restrooms in a recreation setting, explaining that it's good to be the first but that it can come with growing pains. Baird details another problem found, where especially during the recent summer, excessive heat can overheat and blank the system, requiring staff to go in and reset it. Baird adds that staff are problem solving the issue, but that it can be difficult when the restroom structures are not heated/cooled. Seydell Johnson says that if a restroom is vandalized, it's not uncommon for staff to keep the restroom locked for a day until it can be repaired/cleaned. Commissioner Morelli leaves the meeting at 6:05 p.m. Commissioner Serenda refers to a prior Commission meeting when City Councilor, Megan Alter gave a presentation on the City's Strategic Plan 2023-2028. Serenda recalls seeing the Iowa River mentioned on a slide and investigated it, seeing that there was a bullet point under the economy strategies about strengthening the Iowa Rivers role as a signature Community amenity and tourism generator and is curious if that would involve Parks and Recreation and how it would contribute to the strategic point. Dir. Seydel I Johnson says that immediately following the Strategic Plan being enacted by the Council, it was used as a guiding force for the large grant applicant, done alongside Coralville and the County. Unfortunately, the grant was not awarded, but it did look at several additions to the river area including multiple boat ramps, the skate park & roller area, and Riverside Festival stage which are still being funded with the 2 boat ramps being included in the CIP. Because these are part of the strategic plan, funding will be looked for in other grant applications. Commissioner McPherson says that there are lots of wonderful events for Parks and Rec and wondering if there can be signage promoting the events in the facilities, for folks who don't use their computers, phones, or emails. McPherson says that consistent branding can help associate the events with the department, recalling Prairie Lights' Writer's Workshop Readings which have the layout and picture of the presenter to be instantly recognized as signage for a reading. McPherson says that adding a bulletin board to the lobby can help bring awareness to the events for both adults and youth. Dir. Seydell Johnson says that Michelle W iegand of Recreation staff works on that exactly and recommends McPherson to look over the bulletin board in the lobby at the end of the hall. Seydell Johnson says staff would love to hear that feedback on material moving forward. Commissioner McPherson says that she had spoken with an African American person who was a swimmer, asking if he had been using the RAL Rec Center Pool. This person had said he won't use it on general principle because they demand an ID Card and back in the day this was not a requirement. He felt that it felt it was un-community like to have to present an ID card to get into the Parks and Rec just as a public library does not require an ID to enter the library but only to check out material. He said that as a child during swim -meets he would see homeless people taking showers and now as an adult sees that as a good thing. McPherson says that as a public place, anyone should be able to at least enter, but questions if this is due to security. Dir. Seydell Johnson explains the while a person would have to register to receive a Facility Pass used for PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION September 13, 2023 Page 10 of 12 entrance, there is not fee attached with obtaining a Facility Pass. Seydell Johnson says that is part of the overall security and safety of the facility, knowing who is in the building, and if there is a safety need, staff can know how many people are present in the building. Seydell Johnson adds that when there are patron issues, from minor -to -major, it is very useful to have the names and pictures of patrons. Seydell Johnson explains that this process was in place as long as she has been working for the department, so she is not exactly sure of what originally prompted/started the process. McPherson says that this person said he was demanded to present two forms of ID and asks if this is not the case anymore. Admin Coordinator Gotera says that he had been working for Recreation customer service since at least early 2019 so while the process may have been different at some point earlier, he can give input for recent years. Gotera says that he can only think of staff asking for an ID to ensure that information like someone's name is entered accurately, but by no means is an ID required to be registered. McPherson asks if a home address is required for registry. Gotera explains that a home address is required to complete the registration process to get a Facility Pass, but proof of an address (i.e., Driver's License, Utility Bill, Official Mail) is not required whatsoever. Gotera adds that patrons who are unhoused are allowed to use the shelter house as a stand-in address and that many unhoused individuals use the facility everyday whether to take a shower, use the gymnasium/fitness room, or just sit in the lobby. Commissioner Broege says that he participates in a soccer club in the community, which commonly use the University of Iowa soccer fields through reservation but that to his understanding, the Kicker's field is generally for private use for the Kicker's group. Broege understands that there is field maintenance so it might not be ideal for having lots of people tearing up the field but is curious if there is any kind of park or land that could be allotted towards a public space that be used for soccer that is not controlled by the University of Iowa or controlled mainly by Iowa City Kickers. Dir. Seydell Johnson clarifies that the Kicker's field is not controlled by Iowa City Kickers but that it is used a lot by the partner group. Seydell Johnson says that the Kicker's field is available for private rental but that is it just not available very often between Iowa City Kickers and other rentals. Seydell Johnson adds that there are large groups that play in Wetherby Park, while not an official field, has soccer poles up. Seydell Johnson says that there are many who play in the open field at Happy Hollow Park for pickup games, it is can not be officially reserved. Supt. Baird adds that there are permeant goals with no nets up at Fair Meadows Park that can be used informally for pickup games. Vice -Chair Moore asks about the Riverside Crossing Park Stage and asks if it's a space that bands can use. Dir. Seydell Johnson confirms that that was the plan, and that there was a kickoff event when the park opened, included a large concert. Unfortunately, the concert got rained out and was soon followed COVID-19, causing the marketing for the venue space to not be as successful as desired. Seydell Johnsons confirms that there have been some initial talks with the Summer of the Arts for using the space as a concert venue in years to come. Seydell Johnson adds the factor that with the trees in the park still young, there is little shade. Vice -Chair Moore says in regard to the City Park Pool Focus Groups, that there has been many voices heard from those who use the pool but wants to ensure that voices are heard from those that don't use the pool due to barriers, such as caretakers of those with disabilities and it's not accessible, or parents of small children who are too busy to get out to the pool or the focus PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION September 13, 2023 Page 11 of 12 groups. Dir. Seydell Johnson says that staff are looking to have a focus group for caretakers and to provide child-care for the focus groups, to remove as many barriers as possible for giving input. Chair Hachtman asks when further details be known regarding the City Park Pool project. Dir. Seydell Johnson responds that still will be meeting with the consultants next week to have future dates nailed down. Hachtman asks if it is possible for the commission to be told when that information is decided. Seydell Johnson says that can be arranged. Chairman Hachtman calls the meeting to adjourn at 6:19 p.m. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION September 13, 2023 Page 12 of 12 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD NAME en M N N N N N N N N N N N TERM N " O� o 7 . 00 00 N O 7 . N , O, o - enEXPIRES O Aaron 12/31/24 * * * * * * X NM X X X Broe e Missie 12/31/25 X X NM X O/E LQ X X NM O/E X X Forbes Alex 12/31/24 X X NM X X LQ X X NM X X X Hachtman Rachel 12/31/26 * * X X LQ X X NM X X X McPherson Doloris 12/31/26 * * * X X LQ X X NM * * X Mixon Connie 12/31/25 X X NM X X LQ X X NM O/E X X Moore Brian 12/31/25 X X NM X X LQ X X NM X X X Morelli Melissa 12/31/23 X X NM X X LQ X X NM X X X Serenda Alex 12/31/23 * * * * * * * * * X X Stanton KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting LQ = No meeting due to lack of quorum * = Not a member during this meeting Item Number: 5.e. CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT November21, 2023 Planning & Zoning Commission: August 16 [See Recommendation] Attachments: Planning & Zoning Commission: August 16 [See Recommendation] r �`„® CITY OF IOWA CITY MEMORANDUM Date: November 7, 2023 To: Mayor and City Council From: Anne Russett, Senior Planner Re: Recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Commission At its August 16, 2023 meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission have the following recommendations to the City Council: By a vote of 7-0 the Commission recommends approval of REZ23-0006, an application to designate 715 North Dodge Street as an Iowa City Historic Landmark. Additional action (check one) No further action needed Board or Commission is requesting Council direction _X_ Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action MINUTES FINAL PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AUGUST 16, 2023-6:OOPM— FORMAL MEETING E M M A J. HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Craig, Maggie Elliott, Mike Hensch, Maria Padron, Scott Quellhorst, Billie Townsend, Chad Wade MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Sue Dulek, Anne Russett OTHERS PRESENT: Cecile Kuenzli, Ginalie Swaim, Kevin Boyd, Susan Shullaw, Karen Kubby, Regina Bailey Jim Throgmorton, Sharon DeGraw, Linda McGuire, Jared Knote RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: By a vote of 7-0 the Commission recommends approval of REZ23-0006, an application to designate 715 North Dodge Street as an Iowa City Historic Landmark. By a vote of 6-1 (Padron dissenting) the Commission recommends deferral of REZ23-0005 until the second meeting in October. CALL TO ORDER: Hensch called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM and introduced new Commission member Quellhorst. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: Cecile Kuenzli (705 S. Summit St.) has served two terms as the first president of the Longfellow Neighborhood Association and recently completed two terms on the Historic Preservation Commission. In reference to the proposed zoning amendment changes, she has a question. In the last 20 years, the City has supported neighborhood stabilization programs such as the UniverCity program and create a design review process for new infill properties. Kuenzli is wondering why the plan that P&Z voted on August 2 was approved after one reading without consultation or communication or input from neighborhood associations or the Historic Preservation Commission, because those amendments affect particularly the older neighborhoods and everyone in these older neighborhoods completely, but yet there was no information about it. Kuenzli stated also the proposed zoning amendments speak very little to historic districts and what the impact on them might be from these zoning changes. To quote Marla Svensson, who was hired by Iowa City several times to survey neighborhoods to see if they qualified to become designated historic districts, "historic preservation begins with zoning. You don't have anything without that". So again, Kuenzli's question is why the Historic Preservation Commission wasn't asked for input or consultation and why were none of the neighborhood associations informed either. Hensch thanked Kuenzli for her comments and noted the Commission could only take comments and not answer questions at this time and directed her to contact staff. Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 2 of 18 {Padron joined the meeting} REZONING ITEMS: CASE NO. REZ23-0006: Location: 715 N. Dodge Street An application for a rezoning from Medium Density Single -Family Residential with a Historic District Overlay (OHD/RS-8) to OHD/RS-8 to designate the property as an Iowa City Historic Landmark. Russett began the staff report showing a map of the location of the property. This property is already within a Historic District and is a contributing property to the Brown Street Historic District. It is zoned RS-8 with a Historic District Overlay. This property is being proposed as a Local Historic Landmark because it was the original location of the Emma Goldman Clinic. Russett showed some pictures of the property from the 1970s when the property was operating as the Emma Goldman Clinic. She explained that even though the property is already protected because it's within a local Historic District, the purpose of this landmark designation is to share the story of feminist healthcare and the history of the Emma Goldman Clinic as they are going to be celebrating a 50th anniversary this year. The home is a craftsman style catalog home and again is a contributing property in the Brown Street Historic District. Russett reiterated this designation relates to the mid-70s feminist healthcare movement in the United States as it was the fourth feminist healthcare clinic in the nation, the first three were located in California. The current zoning designation is RS-8 with a Historic District Overlay and the proposed zoning is RS-8 with a Historic District Overlay so the zoning is not changing. The Commission's role in this review is to demonstrate that a landmark designation is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Russett explained there are goals and objectives within the Central District Plan and within the Historic Preservation Plan that speak to the importance of protecting historic buildings, identifying historic resources significant to the community's past, and identifying and pursuing landmark designations for those properties. Staff did receive two pieces of late correspondence related to this request, both in support of the landmark designation. Russett shared those with the Commission members. Staff recommends approval of REZ23-0006, an application to designate 715 North Dodge Street as an Iowa City Historic Landmark. Russett noted last week at the Historic Preservation Commission meeting they unanimously recommended approval of this landmark designation so after the Planning and Zoning Commission makes its recommendation tonight it will move forward to City Council. Quellhorst asked what the practical difference between a Historic District Overlay and designation as a Historic Landmark is and does that impose additional obligations on the owner of the property or what's the practical impact of that classification. Russett explained because this is a contributing property in the Brown Street Historic District there is no difference in how the building is regulated in terms of exterior modifications, those are the same with the landmark designation and they would be required as they are today to go through historic review for exterior modifications and they would be subject to the same guidelines that the property is Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 3 of 18 today, the landmark designation is largely symbolic Hensch opened the public hearing Ginalie Swaim (Iowa City) started this is a big thing to her, it is symbolic but more than that it is really historically significant as a local example, and a midwestern example, of an enormous movement in American social culture and healthcare. In the early 1970s there was a whole crop of nonprofits that sprung up in Iowa City dealing with teenagers, with medical care and many other things, it was a very rich and fertile and vital time. Emma Goldman was one of the major movers in that and one thing that often alerts preservation to people is when a building is really the crux of local history and helps tell a local story and how it fits into a national context. Here is a very local story and many may have had experiences here and know about the excellent care and the pioneering spirit of this entity, but it fits into this national movement of a whole new way of delivering healthcare, and particularly women's healthcare. Swaim is excited about it receiving a landmark designation, which, besides a symbolic sense of it, it shows a special honor and recognition and significance of an individual building that really says something about the community and about the national history. Kevin Boyd (Iowa City) is the former chair of the Historic Preservation Commission but is no longer on the Commission. At his last meeting in June, he talked about the importance of telling a more full history of Iowa City and making sure that they preserve and share parts of Iowa City's history that reflect the values and the community as it is today. One of the historic preservation work plan goals is identifying opportunities to highlight Iowa City's history as a leader on social justice, racial equity and human rights and preserve the stories and structures that helped to define that history. This nomination fits that objective as well as the others that have been highlighted. This is a project that got started before he left the Commission, it's an opportunity to add a unique story. The story of these founders, radical college age feminist badasses, who 50 years ago this month were preparing to open the Emma Goldman Clinic to shift the power dynamic in healthcare. As Boyd researched the history of the Emma Goldman Clinic for this project, he was really in awe of these founders and what they were able to accomplish together and how radical it really was, and yet how relevant that this fight for women's healthcare remains today. These founders' story, along with the property at 715 North Dodge, which is now a residential home again, is so much a part of the history and deserves to be among the properties listed on the list of Iowa City local landmarks. Boyd urges the Commission to support this landmark nomination. He also wants to thank the property owners, Jennifer and Benton for their open mindedness and supportive sharing their property's history. Susan Shuliaw (Iowa City) is representing the Northside Neighborhood Association Steering Committee and they heartily endorse this recommendation and want to thank both the Historic Preservation Commission, this Commission and all those involved in the nomination. They are extremely proud that this landmark is located on the Northside and are very pleased that the property owners also joined in endorsing this recommendation. Shullaw stated it's indeed a major piece of history and they hope that people can remember it for many decades to come. Karen Kubby (Iowa City) lives in the Mark Twain neighborhood and shares a lot of history with the Emma Goldman Clinic. She started volunteering there in 1983 when there were threats of fire bombings. That was a time when the anti -choice community was not interested in hurting people but destroying property and disrupting the provision of services in that way, so as a younger woman she would stay up all night at the clinic and move around a lot so they could see that Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 4 of 18 there were people inside. The Clinic is really at this point a very important landmark nationally because now it is the oldest feminist clinic in the country. Some of those California clinics are no longer providing services. There is that nexus between the local importance of this form of healthcare and the specifics of the organization that is not only a healthcare provider, but a public educator, and needs to do a lot of political education as well. Kubby was very privileged to be the director there for 10 years and stated there's going to be a reunion in September with many community events available (panel discussions and movies at Film Scene). The property owners are supporting this and it clearly meets the criteria that the City has outlined for such a designation so she hope this Commission will unanimously and heartfeltly support this nomination. Regina Bailey (Iowa City) lives in the Goosetown neighborhood and as Boyd and Kubby mentioned the Clinic is getting ready to celebrate its 50th anniversary which will happen over Labor Day weekend. Kubby mentioned some public events and one of them will be a movie at Film Scene, a documentary, at 3:30 on Sunday afternoon. It's called From One Place to Another and it was made at the 20th anniversary and talks about an organization that starts out as a collective. Bailey noted they are all probably very familiar with boards of directors of that kind of organizational structure but think about people getting together, meeting and consensus -based decision making to start a clinic. They started this shortly after Roe v Wade in 1973 and in September they opened up the Clinic. With that collective spirit of meetings and getting together in nine months they launched the fourth feminist clinic in the country so it's real notable history. Staff mentioned that it's symbolic, but as Swaim says it's more than symbolic, it tells an important story about feminist healthcare and about women doing something because women's history weren't the stories that they heard growing up. Iowa City can join together and tell this story by designating this landmark. Jim Throamorton (Iowa City) has lived in the Northside Neighborhood for 28 years and lives about a block and a half away from this building. He never had any idea that the Emma Goldman Clinic started in that particular building just down the alley from where he lives. It was a real treat to learn about it and discover that these young women got together back then to create this Clinic and to do what they did. Throgmorton also discovered that three Molotov cocktails were thrown at the building at one time, so it shows the power of stories. He stated it's a real joy to be here and support this, he wanted to praise Kevin Boyd for proposing the idea and to praise the owners, Jennifer and Benton, for enthusiastically supporting the idea. He wants to praise the Historic Preservation Commission, and the planning staff for proposing it. Hensch closed the public hearing. Elliott moved to recommend approval of REZ23-0006, an application to designate 715 North Dodge Street as an Iowa City Historic Landmark. Craig seconded the motion. Elliott echoed what everybody who came to the podium said and she appreciates them coming up and sharing the history and the support. Craig noted she came to Iowa City in 1970 and her high school counselor cried because she was coming to this den of iniquity. She wanted her to go to a Christian girls school in Missouri that Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 5 of 18 had 300 people, all women. Anyway, she loves Iowa City for many, many reasons and the Emma Goldman Clinic is one of them. Townsend strongly support this but noted on the documentation regarding the landmark designations it says that the staff does not find that there is enough information to consider the property meeting criterion F at this time, F is regarding information important to history, why would that not be. Russett explained that's a criteria that the Historic Preservation Commission evaluates and determined that F didn't apply because typically F applies to things that are archaeologically or prehistoric significant. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. CASE NO. REZ23-0005: Consideration of an amendment to Title 14, Zoning to reduce the maximum allowable height in the Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (RNS-12) zone from 35-feet to 27-feet. Russett stated this is a proposed amendment to the zoning code that started originally with a meeting with representatives of the Northside Neighborhood. Staff met with them several weeks ago when they reached out regarding a change that they would like to see in the RNS-12 zone to reduce the maximum allowable height in that zone. Staff had recommended that they petition City Council with that proposed change, which they did, and at the June 6 work session City Council directed staff to prioritize the review of the proposed change. Staffs understanding of this change was it to be a reduction of the maximum allowable height from 35-feet to 27-feet in the RNS-12 zone. Some background on the RNS-12 zone, it was created in 1992 when there was a project that was proposed to add more than one residential structure to a single lot in the RM-12 zone. Owners of nearby properties petition City Council due to concerns that allowing more than one structure per lot in the RM-12 zone would be out of character with the existing neighborhood. In 1993, the City Council adopted the RNS-12 zone to preserve the single-family character of the neighborhood and prevent new multifamily residential development. In addition to the creation of that new zoning district, there were also several map amendments that started in 1993. Russett shared a map showing all the properties that were zoned from a multifamily zoning designation, whether it was RM-12 or RNC-20 to the RNS-12 zoning designation. The last map amendment was to a portion of South Governor where there was a proposal to change the zoning from RNS- 12 to RS-8, which was approved by City Council. In terms of the current regulations, all the City's single-family and multifamily residential zones have a maximum height limit of 35 feet. The form -based zones do regulate height differently, but single-family and multifamily residential zones have a maximum height of 35 feet. The RNS-12 Zone allows single family detached units with duplexes allowed midblock duplexes and duplexes on corner lots. It also allows daycares, religious institutions and educational facilities. It does not allow new multifamily uses and the maximum height is 35 feet. Russett showed a map of the properties that are zoned RNS-12 and pointed out the Northside Neighborhood Association boundary. Russett also talked about the Historic and Conservation District overlay zones noting properties within those overlay zones require additional review. Properties are subject to the guidelines Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 6 of 18 adopted in the Iowa City Historic Preservation Handbook and the maximum allowable height within these overlay zones is 35 feet just as it is in the base zoning district of RNS-12. However, the handbook does include specific guidelines related to height and mass. Specifically, it states that new structures must be one and a half or two stories in height in the Northside Neighborhood. New construction and demolitions must be reviewed and approved by the Historic Preservation Commission and with new construction, it's reviewed based on the surrounding neighborhood context, and the mass and scale of adjacent buildings. Demolition in historic districts is only considered where the building is structurally unsound or irretrievable, so very uncommon. The overlay zones provide a large degree of protection from future construction, demolition and development changes. Russett shared a table showing the breakdown of the properties that are zoned RNS-12 and whether or not they're located within a historic district or a conservation district overlay. Citywide 75% of the RNS zoned properties are located within either an historic or conservation district overlay and within the Northside Neighborhood 85% of the properties are within historic or conservation district overlay. Staff note that importance because there are additional rules and processes which add a large degree of protection for those properties. Staff also reviewed demolition permits in the RNS-12 zones since 1992 and there have been 17 demolitions within RNS-12 zone, an average of one demolition every two years over the past 31 years. The data suggests that redevelopment pressure in RNS-12 zones has decreased over time and that may in part be due to the fact that 75% of the properties are either in a historic or conservation district which would restrict demolitions. Staff also looked at conversions because it seems to be a concern of the residents of the Northside Neighborhood. Since 1992 there have been 82 conversions from single-family to duplex or duplex to single-family City wide, 38% are single- family to duplex and 62% are duplex to single-family. This data shows that more of the conversion is from duplex to single-family than the other way around. For property zoned RNS- 12 there were 10 conversions from single-family to duplex or duplex to single-family. 70% of them were from duplexes to single-family and again, Russett stated the RNS-12 zone does not allow conversions to new multifamily. Russett stated even though staff looked at conversions, height limits will have no impact on future conversions within this zone since conversions are dealing with existing structures and not new structures. Staff also did some field work and until they received the recent correspondence yesterday from the neighborhood association, they weren't aware that the Northside Neighborhoods intent was to only apply the 27-foot requirement to new buildings, specifically new single-family and duplex uses. Based on Council's direction staff was concerned with the creation of non -conforming structures and discussed this with the Northside representatives. Due to concerns about creating non -conforming situations staff estimated building height using the best tool that they had available and Russett shared a table showing the results of that work. Based on the estimate, some buildings may become non -conforming, however if the Northside Neighborhood Association wishes to only apply the height standard of 27-foot to new buildings the non- conforming analysis becomes irrelevant and won't apply to existing structures. In terms of consistency with the Comprehensive Plan, the Comprehensive Plan does include a land use designation for single-family residential stabilization, with the description of preserving single-family residential character, and preventing further densification and conversion of single- family residences to multifamily. The land use designation focuses on housing types and density rather than the scale of development. It maintains single-family neighborhoods and restricts the number of units by limiting housing types. Russett reiterated in all single-family residential zones Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 7 of 18 the maximum height limit is 35 feet so there's been some determination that this maximum ensures a complimentary scale within single-family neighborhoods. In terms of staffs conclusions, again 75% of the properties zoned RNS-12 are located within a historic or conservation district, which requires additional review processes to ensure that new structures are not out of scale with the surrounding neighborhood. Based on the demolition data, redevelopment pressure is limited and staff concluded based on non -conforming situations, however that may no longer apply as this is only applying to new structures. Again, the purpose of the RNS-12 zone is to maintain a single-family character which has been interpreted as preserving single-family uses and preventing new multifamily uses. Height limits don't help preserve single-family uses or further the intent of the zone and the current height limits are consistent with other single-family residential zones and therefore consistent with the purpose of the RNS zone to maintain that predominantly single-family character. Staff did receive some additional correspondence yesterday from the Northside Neighborhood Association. They noted in the correspondence that they meant for the change to only apply to new construction and only single-family and duplex dwellings. Staff hasn't had much time to fully analyze this as they just received the correspondence yesterday but do have some initial concerns to highlight. First, if the reduced height limit only applies to new construction, it would address the concerns related to non -conforming situations, so that's a good thing. The concern is that the RNS-12 zone allows other uses besides just single-family and duplex structures, such as daycare uses and religious institutions. If the purpose of height regulations is to promote reasonable building scale and relationship between buildings, all land uses should be considered when establishing a height limit. Also, if the maximum allowable height varies between uses, a governmental purpose for that variation would need to be established. The second concern is complexity and challenges with implementation. If a governmental purpose could be identified for having different regulations for different uses, the code becomes even more complicated and difficult to administer. It not only would have different height requirements for different uses but uses that would typically be subject to non -conforming provisions would no longer be subject to them because existing structures would remain conforming. Lastly, regarding affordability, the Northside Neighborhood document states that reducing the maximum height would reduce the pressure to demolish older and currently very affordable owner -occupied structures. Height regulations don't impact the balance of owner and renter properties. Zoning codes do not regulate whether structures are owned or rented. Russett also noted that in their correspondence the Neighborhood Association has requested that this item be deferred. Staff has received two additional pieces of late correspondence which she shared with the Commissioners via email and handed out this evening, both are in support of the Northside Neighborhood's proposal in their request. Staff does not recommend approval of REZ23-0005, a proposal to change the maximum allowable building height from 35-feet to 27-feet in the Neighborhood Residential Stabilization (RNS-12) zone. Also, staff has not identified a governmental purpose for the proposal for this only to apply to new structures and to only single-family and duplex uses. If the Commission wants to recommend approval, they will need to identify what that governmental purpose is because it is regulating height differently for different uses. Staff would also not recommend approval of a proposed change to the maximum allowable building height for new single-family and duplex structures in the RNS-12 zone to 27-feet. In terms of next steps, after a recommendation from the Planning and Zoning Commission this Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 8 of 18 would go before City Council. Hensch asked if the request for deferral had a particular reason requested other than the obvious to give staff time to come up with a governmental purpose and application of that. Russett replied she believes they wanted staff to change their analysis and to reflect on their request that it is new construction only. Hensch noted the 35-foot limit would only apply to new construction future requests, which won't result in any non -conforming status of existing buildings. Russett confirmed that was correct. Hensch noted in the South District, the form -based code that they previously passed, the height limit for that is 27 feet, correct. Russett explained the limit there is two and a half stories but there's also a feet maximum as well. Hensch stated regarding the historic district and conservation district height limits, the limit is 35- feet but the handbook guidelines they want to have one or two stories for new construction and that seems incongruent. Has there ever been thoughts about making those two things match up better. Russett stated no because a guideline clearly carries no force of law, it's just a recommendation and within the zoning code 35-feet is the maximum. There are other requirements in the zoning code such as maximum density, for example, but each property isn't always going to get to that maximum density, that's why it's maximum, it's just the cap. Hensch noted it seems that the 35-foot limitation mainly was instituted to address grade issues on site. Russett replied that's what the former senior planner noted in his correspondence, the City has had this 35-foot height limit since the 1930s. She noted walk -outs may have not been a popular housing style in the 1930s but that 35-foot maximum has been around for decades. Hensch asked in the RNS-12 zoning areas, how are those heights determined because it doesn't include steeples or spires. Russett explained typically there's an average grade that would be calculated based on elevations five feet from the proposed structure. They calculate an average grade and then measure from that all the way up to the midpoint of the roof, and in most roof types that would be the midpoint between the eaves and the peak. Quellhorst noted one of the Association's concerns is that the Historic Preservation handbook is just guidelines and are not binding, so he is curious to know what the process is for deviating from those guidelines and how often that happens. Russett stated while they are guidelines, the language in the guidelines is pretty strong, they use words like shall and must, and the guidelines are also adopted by reference within the zoning code. The guidelines include exceptions that can be considered for certain proposals within historic districts so it could be possible that the Historic Preservation Commission maybe would allow something more than two and a half stories based on the building type proposed. However, based on how the guidelines are implemented, and the Historic Preservation Program, the guidelines carry a lot of weight and are used heavily in the evaluation of the proposals for new construction, demolition or even just exterior modifications to buildings. The decision to deviate from the guidelines is determined by the Historic Preservation Commission. Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 9 of 18 Quellhorst asked if Russett is aware of any incidents where the Commission approved a substantial deviation from the guidelines. Russett explained there's exceptions within the guidelines that the Historic Preservation Commission can consider so they are limited to the exceptions outlined in the in the guidelines. Quellhorst noted one of the Association's main concerns is the potential to build incongruent really tall homes and in the analysis of structures that are 27-feet currently, is there any sense of how many of those are single-family homes. Russett is not sure but noted that could be determined. He asked how many existing single-family homes are in the conservation overlay that exceed 27-feet. Again, Russett is not sure but could find out. Elliott noted one of the issues is the different heights for different uses, could there just be a rule that says 27-feet is the maximum height in RNS-12 and not specify the use, and what would be the implications of doing that. Russett said yes, they could implement that rule, and that was staffs original concern, because they thought the original request was for a 27-foot requirement, and the concern would be the creation of non -conforming situations. Elliott asked if the height requirement was just for new buildings, what would be the concern. Russett stated then the concern is related to the complexity of how they regulate height and it only applying to new structures and only applying at certain points in time, if the ordinance is adopted that new structures are now 27-feet then previous ones would be conforming. It gets trickier to implement. Padron noted some RNS-12 could be churches so someone could build a church but if they say no more than 27-feet for everybody then the church would not be able to be taller than 27-feet. Russett confirmed that was correct. Hensch opened the public hearing. Susan Shull aw spoke again as a member of the steering committee of the Northside Neighborhood Association. She thanked everyone for taking some time in reading their initial proposal but just wanted to refresh their memories of some of the main points. The initial proposal had made clear that this was for new residential structures, this is really about new infill in RNS-12 districts, and specifically the Northside, which they really support as long as that infill feels appropriate, and particularly today when this is a hot topic for all when it can create affordable housing. However, they also want to preserve and strengthen the character of these neighborhoods and to quote the Plans "infill development that is compatible and complimentary to surrounding neighborhood and creates a healthy balance of rental and owner -occupied housing in all neighborhoods". Shullaw showed images of the beautiful structures in the Northside and addressed their first objection to the 35-foot height. It was their understanding that this height limit was initially designed for structures on slopes and for walkout basements, but there are a few, if any, sloping lots in the Northside. This and the other RNS-12 districts are in older and flatter areas of town, so it's a moot point and raises the question of why 35-feet is allowed in these neighborhoods. They believe that this negatively impacts affordable housing because it gives an incentive to developers to convert existing single-family structures and demolish them and replace them with larger structures with larger occupants. They've seen this happening before and have some examples in the Northside of smaller, older houses being Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 10 of 18 replaced with large single-family unable to sell and they become rentals. They are concerned about that development pressure. Shullaw acknowledged even though it's true what staff found in their research about the number of demolitions that have happened in recent years, she stated they all know that past performance is not always a predictor of what happens in the future. So that's a concern for them. Shullaw, also reiterated some points they've made about driving up property values and making these neighborhoods less affordable. They believe that the 35-foot height thwarts the purpose of the zoning, which is to stabilize existing residential neighborhoods and to promote a reasonable building scale and relationship between buildings and provide options. She showed an illustration of a very tall building placed next to a very short building in the Northside. She noted an example of a structure that doesn't really allow for light and air between buildings. They have done some research on the Northside and its clear buildings in the Northside are overwhelmingly one and a half, two, and two and a half stories, they couldn't find any three story buildings on the Northside, and few of the buildings approach that 35-foot limit. Therefore, 35-foot buildings would be an aberration in this part of town and out of character of the neighborhood. It may also make the neighborhood less attractive at a time when the City is hoping to bring more people in and to patronize schools like Horace Mann. Shullaw stated they also believe that this 35-foot height limit in new construction of residential violates many of what the City is saying in its Comprehensive Plan and Strategic Plan about wanting to preserve central neighborhoods and the character of those neighborhoods. Jim Throgmorton stated he wanted to focus attention on the staffs report and their response to it because they have several concerns. The report makes a few key mistakes and misjudgments which leads to inappropriate conclusions. First, the Northside Neighborhood Association did not petition the City Council to consider reducing the maximum building heights in the RNS-12 zone from 35-feet to 27-feet. Those numbers are all correct, but that's not exactly what they petitioned. Their requests focused exclusively on reducing the maximum allowable height for single-family and duplex residential structures in that zone. Had the staff invited them to consult before writing their report this distinction could have been clarified and any errors corrected. Second influenced by this error, the staff reports that 117 or more properties currently exceed the proposed 27-foot height limit. They correctly observed there are 500 properties in the RNS-12 districts, 313 of which are within the Northside, but instead of using the total numbers when determining how many properties currently exceed the proposed height limit, staff should have used the number of single-family and duplex properties when counting. In their petition the Northside Neighborhood Association reported that only 188 of the 313 parcels located in the Northside are occupied by single-family structures, two family conversions or duplexes. Even a three, four and five family conversions are included. None of the 213, that is 188 plus 25, structures are greater than two and a half stories, so in their judgment, the non-conformance issue goes away. Throgmorton acknowledged staff presented some new information tonight, which they would want to take into account and might influence the collective judgment about what to do. He also wanted to note that there's a property inventory viewer available through the City Assessor's office that he has been going through in great detail and it identifies every single-family/owner- occupied property in the Northside Neighborhood and other parts of the City. The odd thing is it identifies them as single-family/owner-occupied when a large proportion of them are not occupied by owners but are occupied by renters, it's really quite puzzling. Third, the staff estimated building heights using 2021 pictometry data from Connect Explorer, which Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 11 of 18 Throgmorton admitted he has no experience with whatsoever, but volunteers from the Northside actually measured the taller buildings. They walked or biked by every property in all the RNS-12 zones, including those outside of the Northside and identified the taller houses and duplexes. After measuring some apartment buildings for comparison's sake, they then went back to the taller buildings with a laser measure and determined the height from the grade to the midpoint of the roof pitch. These volunteers knocked on the door of each house to tell residents the volunteers were doing research on houses in the neighborhood and asked if they could take some measurements. Every resident they asked granted permission. The volunteers then placed the laser device next to the house to obtain accurate measurements. Fourth, the staff emphasizes that 85% of all properties in the Northside are located in historic and conservation overlay zones and the guidelines in the Historic Preservation Handbook state that "new structures must be one and a half or two stories in height". Throgmorton emphasized however, that these guidelines do not have the force of the zoning code which is what matters when it comes to heights. He also noted it is important for the guidelines and zoning law to be consistent with one another to avoid having two different height limits in the same zone. Fifth, the staff reports there have been only 17 residential demolitions in the RNS-12 zones over the past 30 years. He acknowledged that is correct, however 14 of those structures were single-family and 14 out of 151 is 10% of the neighborhood's current stock of single-family properties. Moreover, the relative paucity of demolitions does not necessarily reveal a lack of development pressure. Over the years 25 properties have been converted from single-family to three, four or five family structures. The staff also emphasizes that the Historic Preservation Handbook allows demolitions only when a building is structurally unsound and irretrievable. Years of neglect and disinvestment can make a building unsound and irretrievable and the staff essentially dismisses the concern for the small, inexpensive, single-family structures located in the southeastern part of the Northside Neighborhood, ones that are outside of the historic preservation and conservation districts. Even more important, the past does not necessarily predict the future, relying too heavily on past trends is like looking in the rearview mirror to know where you are headed. Just two weeks ago, this Commission approved staff proposed amendments to the zoning code which are explicitly designed to increase the supply of housing by making it easier and more profitable to build new structures. So, if in the past there's not been a large amount of development pressure, this Commission just voted to increase the pressure and need to take that into account. Throgmorton noted it is especially important to look at the mix of owners of the 363 residential properties located in the Northside Neighborhoods in RNS-12 district, plus the part that extends out on the southeastern part of the Northside. 42% are owned by 66 or more limited liability companies and other incorporated entities. One LLC owns 13% of the 363 residential properties. One family owns at least 17 of the RNS-12 residential properties and a third entity owns another 16. Together these three owners possess 23% of all the residential properties in the Northside areas RNS-12 district and they are likely to have considerable influence over what gets repaired, what gets demolished and what gets built in the RNS-12 districts. The next point, sixth, is the staff indicates it is not aware of any evidence that the proposed height limitation would increase housing affordability, the Northside Association never ever said it would, what they did say is that reducing the maximum permitted height of new single-family and duplex structures would reduce the pressure to demolish older and currently very affordable owner -occupied structures. A new structure will be far less affordable than an existing structure. Seventh, the staff states that the existing 35-foot maximum height is consistent with all single family and multifamily residential Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 12 of 18 zones in Iowa City. This is not true. The form -based code for the South District limits heights to two and a half stories, or 30-feet at the peak of the roof, essentially 27-feet to the midpoint of a sloped roof, which is what they're asking for. Staff states "it has already been determined that 35-feet is a height that ensures a complimentary scale for the RNS-12 district", they disagree. The RNS-12 zone was specifically drafted to preserve the existing single-family character of certain neighborhoods. Section 14-2A-1 E further stipulates that the maximum height standards in the code are intended to "discourage buildings that visually dominate other buildings in the vicinity". The current 35-foot height limit encourages redevelopment without a scale building that can have harmful effects on neighboring properties. It therefore undermines the purpose of the RNS-12 zone. Permitting new infill structures at that height would make it more difficult for RNS- 12 neighborhoods to retain a healthy balance of affordable rental and owner -occupied housing without compromising the character of the neighborhoods. It goes to the heart of the purpose of the RNS-12 district. Given these facts, Throgmorton stated the Northside Neighborhood Association is asking the Commission to approve the request to reduce the maximum permitted height of single-family and duplex structures from 35-feet to 27-feet. However, if the Commission feels uncertain at this very moment, they urge them to defer voting to instruct staff to correct its report and to finish considering this proposal at the next meeting or maybe the one after that. Throgmorton stated the Northside Neighborhood Association would be eager to work with staff to ensure that both parties agree about the fact for that matter. Sharon DeGraw (Iowa City) stated in response to the height change request staff expressed concerned about creating non -conforming situations. DeGraw shared some images to illustrate why they believe non-conformance is not an issue. The device that they used to measure houses was a Bosch laser measure, and it's a high precision device. They can set this on the ground and point it up at something and it sends a laser and measures. There was a question earlier on how height is measured for a building so DeGraw demonstrated how they spotted the apex of the building, the highest point, and whatever that measurement is in length they divide that in half and shows the midpoint that represents the height of a building. She noted when there is a flat top roof, it is even more evident to see how much taller a 35-foot flat top roof structure would be than a typical one and a half to two and a half story structure like is found in the Northside and RNS-12 single-family or duplex structures. She showed some images that if 27-feet seems constricting there are very many tall buildings that are single-family or duplexes that already existing in the Northside. DeGraw reiterated their proposal is just to talk about single-family and duplex for infill. She showed an image of a duplex on the 900 block of Jefferson Street, its relatively new construction, and it's about 27-feet at the midpoint. If the basement level was sunk a little more, the structure would fit better with its neighbors. The picture also demonstrates that under the current 35-foot height limit, this building would be much taller compared to its neighbor. Next, she showed 225 East Fairchild noting this historic house on Fairchild is one of the tallest that they could find in the RNS-12 zone. The main part of the house is 27-feet tall to the midpoint of the gables on the front, the back and sides of the house but there is a pure middle shape roof that goes up a bit higher, so the house would likely exceed the proposed 27-foot height limit. However, this is not an issue regarding nonconformity, as the zoning code allows historic structures to be rebuilt to the previous design, even if they are totally destroyed. She next showed a single-family house on South Lucas that has a large addition that slightly exceeds the proposed 27-foot height limit. Even so, it's not clear that this would be non -conforming because Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 13 of 18 height is measured based on average grade. Regardless, they ask if this would fit into a RNS-12 neighborhood or a neighborhood you'd want to live in. The duplex on Fairchild Street is quite large compared to its neighbors, which itself is a large house. It is 35-feet tall at the peak but less tall at the midpoint. Because of the odd roofline it's difficult to give an exact height for the zoning purposes but it appears that even this large structure complies or comes close to the 27-feet proposed height limit. Next, she showed a house at 911 Washington Street, it's one of the tallest structures that they could find in the RNS-12 zone and because its multifamily it would be exempt from the request that they have. Finally, she showed 112 and 114 North Governor, this is new construction that conforms with the height request of 27-feet and it looks good and is appropriate for Northside and RNS-12 zones. DeGraw stated they respectfully request Council to amend the zoning code by reducing the maximum building height for new single-family and duplex structures in the RNS-12 zones from 35-feet to 27-feet. Linda McGuire (Iowa City) stated she is almost a 50-year resident of the Northside and the Northside Neighborhood Association got started when they successfully prevented a heli-a-pad from being on Mercy Hospital in 1989, and they're hoping they don't have to fight that one again. She wanted to point out that this was a request from the Northside Neighborhood Association, directly to City government, to engage in planning for their neighborhood. They really appreciate the staff having to step up and do it on an expedited schedule. She wants to make two points. First, the objective measure of 27-feet is really good considering that many of the lots in the Northside are 40 feet wide. So what they're asking is that especially in the middle of the block that they don't put up needle structures. The other consideration is what they call single-family. The City cannot put occupancy limits on houses but what are called single-family houses in the Northside are packed with as many renters as possible, which drives up the value of the lot. Therefore, if they're demolished, there is a connection to affordability. McGuire noted it's a complication that is way beyond what they're talking about right now, but the main point is the failsafe that staff has said is that they already have existing processes to regulate heights in neighborhoods is insufficient and painful and expensive. If every time there is a proposal to put something in to fight the height requirement of 35 feet because it doesn't fit in the character of the neighborhood, that's an expensive process for neighbors, for staff and for Commission's. She did a fight like that next door and had to go to the Historic Preservation Commission to keep a demolition from happening at 319 North Van Buren Street. McGuire stated what they're asking is the beginning of a form -based code in the Northside with height requirements and that the Commission would support the Northside Neighborhood Association's proposal for height requirement. If they must defer, please understand that they are approaching the Commission to come up with some approach for planning for the inevitable development in the Northside neighborhood that preserves affordability, walkability, access for elders, families, whatever. Ginalie Swaim stated for several years she was a member of the Historic Preservation Commission which has participated in the City's past planning efforts regarding Downtown and Central Planning Districts. Tonight she is representing as a board member of the local nonprofit Friends of Historic Preservation and they encourage the Commission to support the Northside Neighborhood's proposal to amend the height standards for RNS-12. Historic Preservation is not about preserving every historic building, it is also about preserving the character of Iowa City neighborhoods. Even preservationists acknowledge that not all buildings can be saved, repaired Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 14 of 18 or salvageable, and may be replaced with newer structures. However, when that happens the new buildings should be compatible with their neighbors. New buildings should not be so tall as to lord over the existing streetscape. Swaim noted they have all seen in many places, streets in neighborhoods, where a new building lords over the streetscape and where a taller building sticks out like a sore thumb. Taller buildings interrupt the rhythm and the scale of nearby houses that are a consistent height and they diminish the sense of time and place that appeals to so many people. The height incentive to build taller buildings opens the door to developers willing and able to invest in tear down and build up 37-feet because taller buildings mean more units and bigger rental income or higher purchase prices. In turn such a strategy decreases the number of smaller houses that are affordable to owners. Where then does this leave the residents who call these neighborhoods home, the residents who choose not to or can't afford to tear down and build bigger, who appreciate the consistent scale, who depend on a good supply of older housing stock, and who enjoyed the natural light that could be blocked by taller buildings. As stated, the City established RNS-12 to conserve an area for folks who want to live within walking distance to downtown, the City has other areas, South Gilbert and South Burlington for taller structures. The Northside, whether the parts in a district or those that are not in historical district, is the largest older neighborhood in Iowa City and many consider it the core of older Iowa City. Why not then be proactive about protecting this older neighborhood whether it's in a historic district or not. Additionally, don't properties in neighborhoods in the Northside that are not in a district still deserve the same considerations for quality of life to those that are in districts that are subject guidelines. Perhaps they've heard the expression, the greenest building is the one that's already built. A building 60-70 or more years older is better was built by lumber from old growth forests, it's denser and more durable. Tearing down houses means that this still valuable old growth lumber ends up in the landfill. Hardly a climate action goal. Jared Knot e (1021 E. Market Street) lives in a section that's not in the Northside District and is a relatively new resident and has been here since 2020. What he was most compelled about with this particular proposal was less about the character in terms of the physical character in neighborhoods, sure that's important to some people, but for him it's really about the community and the character of the place. One of the things that's so attractive to him about this particular space is that there are so many different types of people and family settings and communities. Part of the ability to preserve that community and equity is to have these diverse, sometimes littler buildings that allow people to find a place that is affordable. Families and people's situations change, as an example people have divorces or perhaps they get widowed, and finding space within that same community so kids can stay in schools is an important part about having a vibrant, diverse community. That makes Iowa City so special and makes that neighborhood so special. Some of the addendums that were made and submitted do a beautiful job of is providing nuance that perhaps was not in the initial request nor were in staff work, were affordability. He respects that best practice might be that height restrictions aren't great for affordability, there's a reasonableness to that, but there's also reasonableness to allowing for the diverse type of housing stock to being preserved and part of a way of making that preserved, as others have said more eloquently said, is to reduce an incentive to redevelop in a way that is not going to force folks out because they can no longer afford to rent a home that has either multiple rental folks in it, and so forth. Knote acknowledged the Commission is doing the hard work of contemplating this pretty complex item, it seems relatively simple in some ways, but in some Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 15 of 18 ways there's a lot of complexity. He just asks that maybe as they're figuring out think about what would be helpful to preserve some of the diversity of the community and sustainability of the community. Consider perhaps how this height restriction might disincentivize the type of redevelopment that might force folks out who might otherwise want to stay in that community. Kevin Boyd stated he loves local history and is going to talk about history for a second. Tonight they meet in Emma J. Harvat Hall, many know that she was the first woman to become mayor of Iowa City but what they may not know is it took 37 years for a second woman to become mayor again. Thelma Lewis was the first mayor to govern in this chamber, so she sat right where they are and wielded the gavel for the first time. Thelma, more than anyone else in our history, is the reason they have professional city staff, rather than political appointees, she co-chaired the campaign, and Boyd suspects she did most of the work to get the referendum passed to get the council/manager form of government and secured professional staff here in Iowa City. Lewis was ready to retire from her term on Council but the anti-Council/manager forces were running a slate of candidates and at that time her seat would be the critical seat on the Council overriding the referendum. Thelma knew that she was a strong enough candidate to win again, and she did, securing for a second time the professionalization of staff and the council/manager form of government. At the end of her term on Council, Thelma gave a bit of a farewell address to the Pilots' Club in the ballroom at the Hotel Jefferson and she made several accurate predictions about issues that Iowa City would face over the next decades, it's really remarkable to read. She shared a vision for how staff and the City would work with this new kind of professional staff that was growing in size. She believed it was important for citizen groups, neighborhood associations, groups who cared about things in the community would come together with a thoughtful proposal, bring it to the City staff and City Council and partner with the City staff to find a workable solution. That was her vision, the vision of the woman who was responsible for having professional staff here. She, in that ballroom, reminded future decision makers in Iowa City that they, the decision makers, should listen to civic organizations, neighborhood groups, and to encourage City staff to find workable ways to try to accommodate what they're trying to achieve. So tonight, here in Emma J Harvat Hall, where Thelma Lewis once wielded her gavel, Boyd encourages the Commission to channel Thelma Lewis and support the citizen -led groups. If they are concerned that there's some details in here that still need to be worked out, channel Thelma Lewis some more and encourage staff and the neighborhood association to come together to find a reasonable solution and defer until that time could come. Hensch closed the public hearing. Elliott moved to defer this item until the second meeting in October. Townsend seconded the motion. Quellhorst wanted to make a couple of points, maybe some things to consider during the deferral process. First, he'd really like to thank everybody because it's clear that they have thought very hard about this issue, staff put together a very detailed and conscientious report and the neighborhood association also obviously put a great deal of effort into their submissions. It's evident that they care very deeply about historic preservation, which is something that's very important in the Strategic Plan, as well as the Central District Plan. He noted one thing that would be helpful to him is to understand how effectively the historic and conservation overlays Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 16 of 18 currently function. He has some concerns about carving out a unique height limit that is applicable to a unique and limited zone and is inconsistent with height limits in other residential zones. Again, historic preservation and preserving the integrity of Iowa City neighborhoods is also vitally important and is a priority in the Strategic Plan so to that end it'd be helpful to understand both how effectively the current historic preservation scheme is, as well as whether there are any alternatives to this they might consider that would get them all to the same place. The two things that he would have in mind would be strengthening the provisions that underlie the historic conservation overlay zones, or perhaps adding additional properties to those zones, if they feel it's appropriate. Wade appreciates everybody coming in and all the correspondence on this item. His position is he thinks it's demonstrated to this point all the overlays are performing their goal or intent, as demonstrated by new developments. The new developments are fitting within the goals of the existing neighborhoods so introducing a new complication or new special consideration he just wants to make sure that overall it makes sense. Also seeking to look in the rearview mirror, he'd be curious if this lower height restriction was in place generations before, what would the neighborhoods look like as a result of that. The neighborhoods now might not necessarily be the same neighborhoods if generations before implemented that. Padron stated she does not support the deferral and also doesn't support reducing the height. Staff made a very good point and within the staff report do they show the affect and the human scale of the neighborhoods. Mainly, when she reads the last point, that the current height limitation is consistent with other single family residential zones. Craig shares some of the feelings that others have already expressed that they've heard from the Northside Neighborhood, but the RNS-12 zone is actually a pretty small part of the of the Northside, not a small part of a significant part, but certainly not even half of the Northside Neighborhood and they haven't heard from anybody in an RSN-12 zone that lives outside the Northside Neighborhood. It appears from the math that there are historic protections on almost everything in the Northside Neighborhood that is currently zoned RSN-12 so why do they need this. She wants to know why they need this and she is not compelled that it is necessary to do it and still preserve the character of the neighborhood, which she is absolutely in favor of. Hensch stated he will be voting yes on this deferral for two reasons. Number one, since there's a misunderstanding about the application of this request from the Northside Neighborhood Association, he thinks that just needs to be clarified to make sure everybody's on same page. Second, overall, fundamentally, neighborhood integrity and character is a high priority of his and the whole city can't be taken over by rentals and profit motives, there has to be a place for people to live who work in this community and plan to stay here and contribute and be good neighbors over time. A vote was taken and the motion passed 6-1 (Padron dissenting). CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: AUGUST 2, 2023: Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2023 Page 17 of 18 Elliott moved to approve the meeting minutes from August 2, 2023. Craig seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. PLANNING AND ZONING INFORMATION: Russett forwarded an email from the Corridor Community Action Network, they're hosting a community engagement festival on Sunday, August 27 and they invited boards and commissions to be part of that. If the commission is interested in having a table and talking to other volunteers in the community let her know. Hensch noted at the last meeting Craig brought up the AARP and some of the information that they had on AUDs and today he received an email about a slide presentation that talks about the benefits and what AUDs are. It's a really a great reference site for people. I_ 11110111 7kM . Townsend moved to adjourn, seconded by Elliott and the motion passed 7-0. PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2023.2024 9/7 10119 1112 11116 1217 12121 1/4 1/18 2115 311 415 4119 1 6121 7/5 7/19 8/2 8116 CRAIG, SUSAN X X X X O/E X X X X X X X X X X I X X ELLIOTT, MAGGIE X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X HENSCH, MIKE X X X X X X X X X X X X X O/E X X X NOLTE. MARK O/E --- -- -- --- -- -- -- -- -- -- --- -- PADRON, MARIA X X X O/E X X X X X X X X X X O/E X X DUELLHORST, SCOTT __ _ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ._.. __ __.. X SIGN%MARK X X O/E OIE X X X X 0/E O/E X ---- --- ---- ---- ---- -- TOWNSEND, BILLIE X X X X X O/E X O/E X X X X X X X O/E X WADE, CHAD X OtE X X X 0/E X I X X X I X X X I X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused --- = Not a Member Item Number: 5.f. I i CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT November21, 2023 Planning & Zoning Commission: October 4 [See Recommendation] Attachments: Planning & Zoning Commission: October 4 [See Recommendation] -.® CITY OF IOWA CITY ,�,� MEMORANDUM Date: November 16, 2023 To: Mayor and City Council From: Anne Russett, Senior Planner Re: Recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Commission At its October 4, 2023 meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission have the following recommendations to the City Council: By a vote of 4-3 (Craig, Ouellhorst, Padron dissenting) the Commission recommends approval of Title 14 zoning be amended with elimination of the standard that the owner is not required to live on -site and that where accessory apartment is in the zoning code be replaced with the term accessory dwelling unit. Additional action (check one) No further action needed Board or Commission is requesting Council direction _X_ Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action MINUTES FINAL PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OCTOBER 4, 2023-6:OOPM—FORMAL MEETING EMMA J. HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Craig, Maggie Elliott, Mike Hensch, Maria Padron, Scott Quellhorst, Billie Townsend, Chad Wade MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Sarah Hektoen, Kirk Lehmann, Anne Russett OTHERS PRESENT: Jim Throgmorton, William Gorman, Phoebe Martin, Deanna Thomann, Andy Martin, Jared Knote, Sharon DeGraw, Jonathan Melba, Lorraine Bowans, Alex Lewis, Kelcey Patrick Ferree RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: By a vote of 4-3 (Craig, Quellhorst, Padron dissenting) the Commission recommends approval of Title 14 zoning be amended with elimination of the standard that the owner is not required to live on -site and that where accessory apartment is in the zoning code be replaced with the term accessory dwelling unit. CALL TO ORDER: Hensch called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. CASE NO. REZ23-0001: (continued discussion of accessory apartments from 812) Consideration of an amendment to Title 14, Zoning, to improve housing choice, increase housing supply, and encourage affordability. Lehmann began the staff report with some general background reminding the Commissioners this is part of a package of proposed amendments with a goal of increasing flexibility for a range of housing types, modifying design standards, providing additional flexibility to enhance the supply of housing, creating regulatory incentives for affordable housing, and also addressing fair housing. This package came back before the Commission on August 2 and the Commission did recommend approval of those items with the exception of the changes related to accessory apartments. At that time, staff was directed to solicit more public feedback regarding those changes. In terms of the public feedback staff solicited, they held two open houses for an opportunity for the community to learn more about the proposed changes, ask questions and talk with staff about the changes and then also provide feedback in a survey to indicate what concerns there were. The open houses were held on September 13, from 5:00 — 7:00 pm and from September 14 from 5:00 — 7:00 pm at two different locations in different parts of town. 58 folks signed in and there were some others who attended but did not sign it. Staff also received 51 surveys, both Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 2 of 22 through a combination of folks that were in the public meetings and then also online as well. A majority of survey respondents were concerned about allowing accessory apartments on rental properties which is one of the proposed changes. The majority of the survey respondents were not concerned with most of the other changes but the second most proposed change that provoked concern was not requiring a parking space for the accessory apartments. That was at 45% concern versus a 53% who were not concerned. With regards to the proposed amendments, Lehmann reiterated this is part of the section on providing additional flexibility to enhance the supply of housing, specifically as they relate to modifying the standards for accessory apartments. In terms of the proposed changes, there are quite a few of them so he will go into detail on those as a refresher. One of the changes is allowing accessory uses to be in places that are currently not allowed, such as allowing them to be accessory to single-family or duplex uses instead of only having it be allowed with detached single family uses. Second, allowing them in any zone that allows residential uses instead of specified zones. Third is that the owner not be required to live on the site, which they currently are. Lehmann noted again that was the item that was flagged as the most concern for folks. Fourth is no longer requiring an off-street parking space for accessory apartments, currently there is a standard where one space must be provided. Fifth, no longer having an additional restriction on bedrooms and occupants other than what would be required from a rental permit for single family and duplex uses. In this case, that means that no more than 35% of the floor area could be bedrooms, changing the size limitations somewhat such that it'd be the lesser of 1000 square feet or 50% of the floor area of the main building. That's a change from a smaller amount that was previously required. Lehmann also stated that it used to be for a detached accessory apartment it could only be a portion of a detached accessory structure which meant that one couldn't have a standalone accessory apartment but with these changes to the way that sizes would be regulated, it'd be based off the principal use and one could have a standalone accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or could also have an attached accessory dwelling unit that would be added in an addition to a building. Finally, with regards to the design standards there currently is a standard that accessory apartments have to be entered from the side or rear lot line and this change would say that no entrance locations are dictated in the way it's designed. He also mentioned that staff are continuing to recommend the owner occupancy requirement primarily because their understanding of Council's goals with these proposed amendments are tied to increasing housing supply and housing diversity of housing types. In terms of an analysis of what the proposed changes might cause Lehmann explained currently with the existing situation the City hasn't seen much ADU development in the last 30 years, they've only seen about 52 units out of approximately 10,000 eligible properties. He noted part of the reason for that is that the current standards appear to be a barrier to construction of accessory dwelling units so as a result in the 2022 Affordable Housing Action Plan it recommended promoting ADUs and allowing them in more situations. The Plan also recommended looking at the owner occupancy requirement as well and this does come to a special head now as more and more households are single person households where smaller units are something that are required, essentially. In terms of impacts, the parcels that are currently eligible will remain eligible, and an additional 13,000 will be eligible because that would include any properties that currently have a rental permit that are single family since that can change at any time whether it's rental or owner occupied. In addition, it would expand the number of parcels which ADUs would be allowed and up to 1400 new units would be allowed by expanding the zones and uses to which the accessory, an additional 3100 new units could potentially accommodate ADUs by removing the owner occupancy requirement as well. In Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 3 of 22 addition, staff would expect more property owners to take advantage of accessory dwelling units by trying to remove some of those other barriers such as the parking requirement, trying to increase size, trying to allow as a standalone use, and all the different things that they've heard about that act as barriers. In addition, staff does see trying to encourage accessory dwelling units as being especially compatible with the City's sustainability goals since these would be added with existing buildings, for the most part, and would tend to be in more walkable areas of the City. Therefore, staff see it as pairing nicely with some of the standards such as trying to encourage alternative modes of transportation and the free two-year transit trial the City currently has in effect. Lehmann showed a map of the parcels that would potentially be affected, noting the areas that would currently allow an ADU if they are owner occupied and the proposed amendments would continue to allow these if they're owner occupied, but it would also mean that they could have an ADU if they're renter occupied as well. He then showed the new areas that would allow ADUs that currently do not, in some cases these are zones that previously hadn't allowed them and in other cases there are areas where there are more duplexes or other uses that currently don't allow an ADU. Staff did it also look at other comparable communities and information regarding those were provided in the agenda packet. The examples of different communities are both in Iowa and are other college towns. Lehmann noted many communities have recently reevaluated their ADU regulations and have removed things like owner occupancy requirements, off street parking requirements, increasing allowable sizes, and modifying what ADUs can be accessory to. He explained part of the reason for this is that all of America is experiencing the housing crisis that Iowa City is also currently experiencing and accessory dwelling units are a way to really integrate new density while still maintaining the character of the neighborhoods as well. That being said, each community does have unique set of regulations and are all a little different. Some require owner occupancy, some don't. Some require parking, some don't. Some have more strict design requirements; it all really depends on the community. However, that being said Iowa City's proposed changes are in line with other communities that are in similar situations. Staff also looked at best practices when looking at accessory dwelling units. The American Planning Association (APA) produces an equity and zoning policy guide that Iowa City uses and within that policy guide it really recommends allowing a broader range of building forms, lot sizes and a lot widths and residential types, specifically in low density residential neighborhoods. It also recommends allowing ADUs without a public hearing and only using conditions that are needed to mitigate potential impacts on neighboring properties within that community, but all of these are based on national best practices. Staff really reviewed the APA guide and what works and what doesn't work in different communities and how can they further equity through the zoning code. Staff also relied on the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), which produces lots of content about accessory dwelling units, and the proposed changes that staff brought before this Commission were really the product of recommendations made by the Johnson County Livable Communities Housing Action Group. Lehmann noted that's a group that includes lots of folks, is staffed by a person from the County, and the goal is to try and make sure that Johnson County communities are livable for folks as they age within that community. Accessory dwelling units are really seen as a key component of allowing people to age in place. In terms of best practices they recommend things like allowing these uses in all zones that allow single family residential Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 4 of 22 uses, only requiring those conditions needed to mitigate potential impacts, treating them like they're a valid use within this zone rather than some sort of a use that is an undesirable use within the zone. Treating it like other uses is looking at owner occupancy requirements and if that's not regulated in the zoning code then they would recommend not regulating that for accessory dwelling units. They also talk about things like parking requirements which can make accessory dwelling units challenging, and limiting design requirements that can increase the cost of constructing ADUs. In addition, Lehmann stated the push towards encouraging ADUs is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Within the City's vision statement it talks about creating attractive and affordable housing for all people and housing that is the foundation of healthy, safe and diverse neighborhoods throughout Iowa City. Again, those relevant strategies and goals are things like mixing housing types throughout neighborhoods to provide household options for all types of households, whether they be singles, families, retirees, etc., ensuring a balance of housing types, promoting small lot infill development, and especially supporting that infill development in areas where services and infrastructure are already in place. It also does support other policy documents that the City has adopted over the past several years including the Affordable Housing Action Plan, which was first adopted in 2016, and then updated in 2022. That Plan does talk about increasing the allowable number and type of dwelling units in single family zoning districts and specifically calls out ADUs. The Plan also specifically calls out considering ADUs associated with rental housing as something to consider. In addition the 2019 Fair Housing Study talks about exploring ways to increase density and exploring the types of housing that are allowed, especially in those low density, single family zones. In terms of public's correspondence, staff received several pieces of correspondence that have been forwarded to the Commissioners or included in the agenda packet. Lehmann noted the latest piece of correspondence that was submitted very recently has just now been provided to the Commission for consideration as well. In terms of staff recommendation, staff does recommend that Title 14, Zoning, be amended as illustrated in Attachment Four of the staff report. Lehmann noted it's similar to what was proposed before with a few small changes, but nothing substantive. Again, the goal is improving housing choice, increasing housing supply, and encouraging housing affordability. Lehmann added there is one more part of that staff recommendation that he did not include in this presentation, which is they currently call accessory dwelling units, accessory apartments, and that has been a confusing term for many. Staff has gotten lots of calls about what exactly is meant by an accessory apartment so staff would also propose changing the terminology to ADU which is also consistent with the rental code, which calls them ADUs. There could be a separate motion for that, or it could be included in the motion tonight, staff does intend on updating the motion before they bring it to Council, so the ordinance that goes before Council would reflect that language change. In terms of next steps, upon recommendation by the Planning and Zoning Commission, staff would expect it to be scheduled for consideration by Council. The earliest it would go to Council is November 6, that would be the public hearing, and then there would be two additional readings by Council at the second meeting in November and at the first meeting in December, which would be December 12. Therefore, December 12 would be the earliest that something would be considered for adoption by Council. Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 5 of 22 Quellhorst thanked staff for the thorough and thoughtful presentation and especially appreciated the comparison to regulations in comparable communities. It was mentioned that some of those communities have recently eliminated the owner occupancy requirement, so he was just wondering if they know anything about the experience of those communities and whether it was positive or negative, or a kind of mixed bag. Lehmann replied that a lot of these changes are pretty fresh in a lot of communities. When he talks about best practices that have led to or that have been incorporated in a lot of these documents, those are based on communities that made similar changes and found that it increased their development of accessory dwelling units within that community. Within the specifical comparable communities that he provided he is not sure if they have outcome data from that yet. Quellhorst asked if anybody has recently gone the other way and adopted an owner occupancy requirement when they didn't previously have one. Russett clarified Iowa City's current regulations require that the owner live on -site and what staff is proposing is that owner occupancy requirement be removed so the owner would no longer need to live on -site and both units could be rented. Quellhorst wondered if there has been a community that's had an inverse situation where they did not have an owner -occupied requirement and then adopted one. Lehmann is not aware of any, most of them have been similar changes to what Iowa City is recommending. Townsend asked with an ADU and there being two units on the property, if the owner decides to sell, are those sold separately, and if so, how do they decide what goes and what the lot line should be. Lehmann explained there's a standard in the code currently that requires both units on the lot be under common ownership so they can't sell an accessory apartment and not sell the principal use, they have to be under the same ownership. Staff is not proposing to change that standard and it would continue to be in effect. Townsend stated then, the owner doesn't have to live on the property, but whoever buys the new property has to buy both units. Lehmann confirmed that is correct. Hekteon clarified if the lot was split there'd be a subdivision and that would be a different process and in the realm of the subdivision regulations. For planning regulations as long as the units are on the same lot, then it's considered an accessory dwelling unit. Lehmann added if there was a subdivision that would have to follow all regulations within the code including street frontage, so they couldn't have a situation where there was a unit in the front and back but they're not on an alley and they split it down the middle, that's not something that would be allowed under the subdivision code. Presumably, one could have a corner lot where both units meet minimum lot size requirements and everything and that could be split. Padron noted then if there was a subdivision it wouldn't be an ADU anymore it would become a principal use. Lehmann confirmed that is correct. Townsend asked how these units would help large families, these are all smaller units that they're talking about so it's really not going to help the affordable housing problem families have. Lehmann stated for large families the way that accessory dwelling units are often used is where the parents would live in the in-law suite and have the kids live in the main unit, or vice versa, if you have young kids, he stated that's how it would be used to support larger families. Townsenc stated she would not call that affordable housing, she would call that convenience for someone Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 6 of 22 with means enough to build a separate unit for in-laws, and that would not be in that affordable housing realm. Lehmann noted in the sense that an accessory dwelling unit is up to 1000 square feet, which is a relatively small unit that could be built under IRC code standards, it is more affordable than building under multifamily standards and is a more affordable housing product. Townsend stated for a single person or for two people, but not for a family, because it's not big enough for a family of four. Russett noted what Lehmann is trying to say is that with if there is a multi -generational household where there are grandparents, parents, and children, it can provide additional room for those families. Or if someone is taking care of a family member who has a disability, or who has an illness, they could be nearby and be on -site. Then in terms of the affordability concern, there's a couple of ways that they're thinking about affordability with these amendments and with the amendments to accessory dwelling units they're really thinking about it in terms of supply and ways to increase the housing supply in the community. Right now the supply is not keeping up with the demand and it's impacting price. It's also a way to encourage different types of housing. Accessory dwelling units are smaller, they're going to cost less, the price point is going to be lower than the typical detached single-family home. Wade noted one of the proposed changes is actually to remove the occupancy limit, right now only two people can live in an ADU and conceivably under these regulations they could have three people or even a potentially small family live in one. Lehmann confirmed that. Hensch noted in the packet it says that the occupancy is determined by the rental permit, can staff just discuss that briefly. Lehmann explained in single family and duplex uses to which accessory dwelling units could be accessory to under the proposed amendments there's a requirement that no more than 35% of a unit may be bedrooms, which acts as a de facto occupancy limit. There are also additional occupancy limits based on the square footage of the unit. So presumably, a three -bedroom accessory dwelling unit under the proposed standards with that 35% standard accounting for minimum bedroom sizes that are allowed. Wade noted in Fayetteville and Cedar Rapids it looks like they allow two ADUs for a lot, and Iowa City's recommendation just a single, correct. Lehmann confirmed they are recommending a single with a duplex. In some cases, they may see where it's single family and they allow two accessory dwelling units. In the case of States that have preempted local jurisdiction's ability to regulate ADUs there are situations where it's a duplex and two ADUs. There is a variety of different ways that people allow them but staff is recommending one ADU per lot. Wade acknowledged that's how the current administration will control it, with the building permit and with a change of ownership of the property and such but what's the long-term administration look like on having that restriction. Lehmann did agree it can be challenging. In some cases, a family might purchase a house that has an ADU with it and they use the ADU for storage and they don't rent it out. Staff will check in to make sure that it doesn't become occupied at some point, because once it's occupied then it needs a rental permit. There are challenges where houses are sold and then the main house is rented out and there's still an ADU on the property. Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 7 of 22 That can be an administrative challenge and he doesn't know the exact answer about how they deal with it but presumes that it just doesn't count towards the occupancy of that rental permit. Hensch opened the public hearing. Jim Throamorton (co-chair of the Northside Neighborhood Association Steering Committee) comes before the Commission tonight to ask that they amend item 3C-2 in the staffs August 2 memo for properties located within the University Impact Area (UTA). They urge the Commission to continue requiring ADUs to be built only on owner -occupied properties. They further recommend the Commission carve out an exception to permit nonprofit providers of income - restricted housing to build ADUs on properties within the UTA. Two months ago this Commission deferred action on the ADU provisions and Throamorton thanked them for doing that. As Lehmann stated, City staff conducted two open houses pertaining to the ADUs and several Northside Neighborhood neighbors attended and some had stimulating conversations with individual staff members. But the conversations did not enable shared learning on the part of all attendees. Many attendees looked puzzled as they were studying the posters and appeared to be wondering what do the ADU amendments mean for their neighborhood. The first challenge residents face when trying to answer that question is to understand the staff's reports and that is no easy task, partly because the technical language of zoning is unfamiliar to most people. Adding to the difficulty is that the proposed changes vary by zoning category. His own neighborhood contains at least 12 different types of zones, plus three historical overlay districts and one overlay conservation district. The second challenge is to determine how the changes might affect neighborhoods on the ground. This is a daunting task that exceeds the capabilities of normal people trying to live their lives. It calls for collaboration and dialogue between neighborhood leaders and the City planning staff. To help Northsiders understand how the amendments might affect their neighborhood they focused their attention on the medium density residential that is the RS-8 areas that lie outside the historic preservation districts. Zooming in they studied one block in Goosetown, it's the long block that currently contains 31 properties, one of which is vacant. All but one of the main buildings were built in the first half of the last century, they are all one to two stories in height, and the assessed value of this block of 30 single family properties average a modest $216,000. Being in the UTA the entire block is affected by the demand for off -campus student housing. 9 of the 31 properties are owned by incorporated entities, and 14 of the 31 properties are rentals. The amendments pertaining to the ADUs could, when combined with the amendments permitting duplexes and attached single family structures, cause some speculative investors to think of Goosetown and other neighborhoods in the UTA as major opportunities for financial gain. In this scenario, market competition would drive the cost of land up when properties go on sale, investors would outbid potential owner occupants and they would very likely demolish older, lower cost owner -occupied structures and replace them with the largest possible rental duplexes or attached single family structures coupled with rentable ADUs. All of this would make it extremely difficult for anyone to buy starter homes in these neighborhoods. Staff tells him that seven of the lots on this block could potentially be redeveloped with duplexes and that 24 of the lots could potentially have ADUs. If they look more closely at two lots in the southwestern corner of the block, one is currently vacant, whereas the other is occupied by a one and a half story single family structure. Picture an investor building a new structure and ADU on the vacant lot. While that investor or perhaps another one, purchases Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 8 of 22 the existing structure on the adjacent lot and builds a new ADU in the back. Picture all of the structures being rentals and this being replicated throughout Goosetown and other neighborhoods in the UTA. The ADU amendments might increase the supply of housing in this and similar neighborhoods, but the supply of affordable owner -occupied housing would shrink and while diversifying housing choices this amendment could result in the neighborhoods becoming more dominated by investor -owned rental structures. Throgmorton requests they retain the owner -occupied requirements for properties in the UTA and carve out an exception for nonprofits. William Gorman (Chair of the Housing Action Team of the Johnson County Livable Community for Successful Aging Policy Board) stated last November they held a forum on ADUs and invited all 11 cities in Johnson County to attend. They invited the City Councils and the Mayors as well as home builders and realtors. They focused on the benefits of ADUs to help seniors age in place, as well as the need for affordable housing for people of all ages. One month later, in December, they submitted to all 11 cities in Johnson County what he would describe as a white paper, providing recommendations on the elements of a potential ADU zoning code. To be clear, they reached out to Iowa City and the other cities in Johnson County, the cities did not reach out to them. However, they do appreciate the fact that the city of Iowa City staff took their recommendations seriously and at this Commission's direction from the previous meeting, the staff did reach out to the community to solicit additional input, including looking at how other university towns have addressed ADUs. The results show that university towns have utilized a variety of strategies, some university towns do not require owner occupancy, some do. Gorman stated they continue to support the staff recommendations with one caveat. Clearly many residents have expressed genuine concerns regarding the proposed removal of the owner occupancy requirement. Even though they believe removing the owner occupancy requirement is best practice and removing the owner occupancy requirement is likely to more significantly increase the number of ADUs that could be developed he acknowledged it is very difficult to forecast how many developers will field their sufficient profit margin to purchase homes and then add on ADUs in order to rent out both dwellings. Kirk Lehmann's October 4 letter on page seven notes the following "ADUs may support the stability of existing neighborhoods by accommodating extended families or creating an opportunity to generate revenue from the tenants but it may be necessary to limit them to properties where their primary dwelling unit is the owners primary residence to avoid speculative investment, particularly when used as short-term rentals". On top of that, since Iowa law does not allow cities to prohibit short-term rentals in the abundance of caution, Gorman states they now recommend that Iowa City keep the owner occupancy requirement indicating that the lot owner must reside in the primary residence or the ADU and then suggest that the City revisit this issue in two to four years to see if the requirement can be dropped. Give it some time, monitor it and then see if they can remove that requirement later. Lastly, they encourage the City to review its permitting process to look for ways to simplify the application process, decrease fees and eliminate any regulations that may hinder ADU development. Phoebe Martin (Iowa City) stated she is speaking personally and not for all realtors but wanted to thank everyone for bringing this whole thing up, she is very excited about it. She noted she works with a lot of different types of clients and has a few different people that have been keeping an Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 9 of 22 eye on all of this, one of which is a family that has a son that cannot afford to buy their own house on their own lot. They could potentially afford to build an ADU in their backyard, but it does not have an alley, it would need to, it'd be weird to be on the side and make more sense sort of like a little compound. It's also significantly cheaper than then bringing in external care to them renting something else. So even though that seems kind of frivolous, it actually would really help them in terms of affordability. She also has a lot of clients that are looking to rent tiny houses, which is something that Iowa City has not always been a huge fan of. Every tiny house she has sold, and oddly enough she has sold quite a few of them, they go immediately and more of that would be even better, because then they're also reducing the carbon footprint a little bit. Not all people want yards, she is seeing lots of clients that are looking for studio, office and homeschooling space. The idea of owner occupied or not, she thinks it would be just fine to not have that requirement, but has also seen a lot of people, one of which is on Davenport Street, who bought their house thinking that was going to be there forever investment and would love to have an ADU on there so that they could rent out both and that's their retirement fund but they don't want to live there anymore. Deanna Thomann (208 Fairchild Street) lives in the Northside Neighborhood and tonight is just here to read a letter Ann Freerks as she couldn't make it tonight. "Dear Planning and Zoning Commissioners, I'm writing to urge you to vote against the proposal that would allow rental properties to have accessory dwelling units in all residential zones, including the RNS-12 zone. I have lived in a near downtown Iowa City neighborhood for over 30 years. During this time, I have worked to create stable housing for all. I am not a NIMBY, there is a 12-Plex in my backyard, duplexes, triplexes and lots of multifamily houses in my neighborhood, but there are also single- family homes that are key to the balance and fabric of the community. These are some of the most fragile portions of our neighborhoods and this proposal would threaten that balance. I spent over 15 years on the Planning and Zoning Commission here in Iowa City, many of those as chair. I did this to create positive change and a healthy community. I have worked through Comprehensive Plan updates, re -drafts of the zoning code and subdivision regulations, I have been part of the Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force and clearly understand the concerns this will cause the University Impact Zone. Iowa City has committed a great deal of time and money to reduce density in this area through the UniverCity Neighborhood Partnership. When the City adopted the Comprehensive Plan it recognized this concern and created the UniverCity Neighborhood Partnership to help level the playing field. I and other residents of older neighborhoods are concerned the proposed changes will further tip the scale in favor of investment companies and may actually lead to the displacement of affordable housing. The goal should always be finding zoning tools that will promote the creation as well as the preservation of affordable housing. There are endless solutions to every issue and this one does not work for the long-term benefit of Iowa City. It should never be about warehousing people. People need basic amenities, green space and community. This recommendation does not take into account the damage that will be done in the Neighborhood Impact Zone. The near downtown neighborhoods are already very dense and lack parking. I would ask that at the very least you remove the University Impact zone and the RNS-12 zone from this proposal." Thomann noted Freerks signed it as community member and former Planning and Zoning chair. Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 10 of 22 Thomann want to just say a little bit about her situation as well, again she lives in the 200 block of Fairchild and that's just right down the way from Pagliai's Pizza. Its a great neighborhood and her house is in the Northside Historic District. She also serves on the Historic Preservation Commission representing the Northside Neighborhood. She agrees with what Ann Freerks has to say in her letter. Her block is unique in that she is in a historic home and a lot of her neighbors are in the District with her, but across the street they have the RNS-12 houses that could really affect the look and feel of their neighborhood. It is already dense, it's already diverse, her backyard borders a four-plex and on the other side there are multifamily houses that run along Dubuque Street. There are a lot of people there and she feels like they're doing their part as a community in just those few blocks there of creating a diverse and dense living environment. Andy Martin, (member HBA and president of the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition) is a remodeler in town and a member of some organizations but is not speaking for those bodies. Today he is just speaking personally. He stated ADUs are something that's near and dear to him as he has had many people ask him to build ADUs over the years. Typically, the reason is because they have a family member that they'd like to have close, he has never had a rental person ask to build one. What usually happens is that they end up not building the ADU because it's too expensive and the reason is the restrictions. Martin does think if they did change the code a little bit private individuals may be able to do more ADUs, particularly with elderly parents or disabled people, and not having to have that extra space for a detached unit will be a big help because the traditional way that's done is a carriage house with the garage below and the building above. One would have to have a really big lot in order to do a side by side. But the carriage house type doesn't work for a disabled or elderly persons, climbing a full flight of stairs to get to their apartment, that just doesn't fly. Martin thinks if they can loosen these restrictions they will end up seeing that more and in that case it is truly affordable housing because it's a lot less expensive than other options such as the assisted living as those are 1000s of dollars a month. He appreciates the City looking for a way to reduce costs and in a bigger picture they're looking at choices for the future. One of the things he loves about Iowa City is that it is consistently growing every year and the traditional form of growth is out in the cornfields and this is looking at the idea of becoming more dense which he thinks is the way of the future as it is the sustainable way and the smart way to go, there's no reason to go out when they can go up or go more dense. Traditionally more dense is having huge multifamily buildings, because that's the only way it can be done under current code and if they allow a little bit more flexibility here they will see a way to gain density without getting monolithic density. Martin also stated he understands the concerns with students, because he has lived in Iowa City for 30 years, but they have the same choice with students as well, they're either going to grow more dense in the area that they're allowed, or they're going to spread out. Again if they can make the requirements more flexible and make them more inviting to people, he believes they will see an uptick in ADUs but as pointed out they've had 52 in the past 30 years, so they're not likely going to see 52 next month, it's not going to be that kind of rapid growth. Hensch asked what the price range would be to construct a 1000-foot standalone unit for an ADU. Martin stated the last ADU they built was about $180,000 and about 35% to 40% of that cost was the garage. He noted if they could knock that way down, then it's roughly about half the price of a new home. Hensch stated then without a garage it would be a range of $100,000 to Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 11 of 22 $150,000. Martin confirmed and stated that is a half or a third of the price of a new home but is it truly affordable in the definition of affordable housing, where it's going to appeal to people who are making 60% or less of median income, probably not, it's probably not that type of affordable housing but is it useful and more affordable than traditional building, yes. Jared Knote (1021 E. Market Street) asks that they maintain the owner occupancy requirement on ADUs. He lives in a RNS-12 stabilization zone and when he thinks about stabilization, it's not necessarily that there's no historic overlay, it's not about character, it's a recognition that a neighborhood was really in a situation where it's acknowledging that the diversity of the neighborhood, and the equity of the neighborhood, was being flattened out by monoculture, and frankly by a price insensitive monoculture. Frankly, it's students who are price insensitive and it's one type of people taking over that neighborhood, as well as doing a stable, diverse neighborhood. He is caring about how long can he stay in this neighborhood, he's at midlife and would like to stay there but if they open it up it to the extent of free development, which is the auspices of this report and if they just free the market, the market will crowd supply. They may think when they crowd supply, it'll fix everything and prices will fall. Good examples of where that doesn't work is in health care and it also doesn't work in housing. Last week the Federal Reserve, certainly not a socialist body, had an excellent presentation about three hours long that he would recommend everyone watch, it showed what the data said about what actually drives affordable housing and they actually do need requirements and mandates, that's what actually drives affordable housing, it's not the market and crowding in with supply. Knote also stated at one of the City Council meetings where people were speculating and imagining the wonderful things that the market will provide but they don't necessarily have to imagine what the market provides, because they have exact examples. He lives in a neighborhood but looking at maps.google.com. they can check out some of these examples and that framework was really helpful. The feedback from the mayor was really helpful because he gave first principles. What do they care about in Iowa City? It's not character, it's not necessarily historical stuff, its affordability, diversity, and environmental impact. If those are reasonable frameworks and reasonable guidance he used those as he walked around his neighborhood concerns him. For example, to focus on that 900 block of Jefferson, 942 & 944 is a duplex that was put in brand new where there once was an old home and it takes up the almost the entire lot. Did it affect affordability or prices of those rental units, it didn't and now there's three of them in a row. That's a lot of additional housing supply so presumably it should have some impact as the market is crowded but it had no impact on affordability. What did it impact, well the culture is now monoculture, there's no more diversity, it's all students on that that particular area of the block. That may be what they want but he doesn't think that creates a thriving neighborhood where people are investing in the community and in keeping this an alive and generative community. Also, what do they have in terms of environmental impact, are people really not using their cars to get around, well around the corner there are no more trees, no cover, just a heat sink that's really become a concrete jungle and that drives up air conditioning in the summer. Also on his block, at 923 Market Street, a cute little house was torn down in the middle of the block and he doesn't know what is going to go in there but can speculate that it might be another very, very large duplex. He doesn't think that will have an appreciable impact on affordability nor in terms of the environmental impact. Things will get hotter, fewer trees, more parking spaces, people are still using their cars, less diversity, so again, no real measurable impact on affordability. Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 12 of 22 Sharon DeGraw (Northside Neighborhood Member) stated from where she lives she is most concerned about the University Impact Zone. She has a survey of streetscapes with what it looks like parking wise in the Northside Neighborhood, some on South Lucas Street, and it's really in the University Impact Zone the role that parking plays. Therefore, she is concerned about the waiver of the parking aspect of the ADUs. She showed an image that's the 400 block of North Gilbert Street and there are cars on the correct side of the street that they can park on all day from eight o'clock to five o'clock but once it turns five o'clock cars start showing up on the other side of the street and even though they are only supposed to park on one side, there are errant cars parking on the wrong side of the street and they just accept the ticket. She next showed the 500 block of Gilbert Street and noted these streets are not terribly wide and it's hard for a delivery driver parking a truck to go run food or packages to a house with cars just piling up on either side for about five minutes and people start to get testy because they can't back up and they're just stuck until the delivery person finds the right residence and recipient. DeGraw is imagining if they start to add ADUs to some of these lots, and don't have the parking requirement, people are still going to bring their cars and this situation is going to get worse. She next showed an area closer into the downtown, noting plenty of lots where on the alley side with very little green spaces left and are virtual parking lots. They're not supposed to be doing that as much anymore, but one can see how densely packed in the parking is. She doesn't know that these could be converted to have an ADU, but if they did where would the cars go, and students are going to bring their cars. At the ADU open house DeGraw expressed her concern about the parking waiver for ADUs and the response staff said is students will learn to leave their vehicles at home but that's not really going to happen. In addition, thinking about the AARP aspect of the recommendation for ADUs in the University Impact Zone there's really not going to be a lot of seniors looking for an accessory dwelling unit in the back of a downtown rental house. It's illogical that Iowa City will see an increase in seniors living in ADUs in the University Impact Zone, very close to the downtown. DeGraw next showed an image of after she drops her kids off at school she will often go see a friend on South Lucas Street and has been stuck behind maybe the same garbage truck many times. The image shows there's a car on the other side that can't make it through so already the streets are very packed with automobiles and the streets are narrow. If they increase the density at this point, she doesn't think that they're going to convince the students to leave their cars at home and this car did a three-point turn to get out of the way and turn around. She has been in situations where it took five minutes for people to figure out to dive into a driveway, back up or do a three-point turn to get back around. Next she showed the 300 block of North Linn Street where she actually used to live when she first moved to Iowa City as a young professional. She would strategically drive her car down to the end of the block and use that as her jogging exercise. Every morning she would try to get out there to fetch her car and try to find a new parking spot for it. She was from California and didn't have parents where she could leave a car somewhere else and then get it occasionally. She would prepay parking tickets because she knew that was the best rate and just put down $100 every month or so. Jonathan Melba (South Van Buren) wanted to add a different perspective to this conversation, which is the perspective of a student and especially as relates to the parking aspect. Just to echo the sentiments of what was just said, if the ADUs are targeted as an affordable housing mechanism for students, the basic reality with the students is that there's an expectation that they will have a car here and that whatever adverse parking requirements come from that they're Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 13 of 22 going to have their car here one way or another. For that reason, he thinks that the requirement of a parking spot per ADU should stay. Melba noted they can have an increase in density without an increase of set aside parking spots but they're still going to see the same increase in cars, provided this is being targeted towards students. If it's being targeted towards elderly residents or for extended families in a singular unit, in that case he thinks the owner occupancy requirements should probably stay. If it's the case that they're looking for affordable housing for different family situations to incorporate it onto the same house, then there's no reason to remove the owner occupancy requirement and what that does is help to prevent some of these concerns have already been expressed, and also helps to remove any possibility of the sort of speculative real estate investment from happening and keep the homes concentrated in local residents and local companies rather than allowing it to be a source of investment speculation. Melba stated depending on what the intended or imagined goal of loosening some of the restrictions from the ADU would be, it seems as though either the owner occupancy requirement should stay up and/or the parking requirements should stay. Lorraine Bowans (South Governor Street) had lived in her home for over 30 years, it's an old house built in 1884 and she is very passionate about the historic homes, the older neighborhoods and everything. Her house was a duplex when they moved in and they converted it back to a single family and built a garage at the back of the property. They put frost footings so they could build an addition up thinking at the time her parents would come to live with them. She is also on the Board of Johnson County Livable Communities, is a realtor and also works with helping seniors find services. She is becoming very active politically for seniors and living with dignity in aging. She is also an active volunteer and advocate for AARP, she is a firm believer but where she differentiates from AARP in this town is they need to keep it owner - occupied to preserve what little housing stock they have left that's historic, they don't have a lot and ADUs do not have to be an extra building. On South Governor Street, when they lived there, there was probably nine houses that used to be rooming houses or duplexes or triplexes that were converted to single family. They could be converted back. The lots were 190 feet so a small unit could be put in the back and still have a good neighborhood. With the historic and conservation districts they have to stay blended so they're not going to have an ugly thing. Right now real estate is not that great, the interest rates are high, building is expensive so they don't see as much development, taking down old homes, to build a lot of new stuff. That could change in the future but right now that's not the case. She noted trying to find housing for someone who has no money is heartbreaking and this is an opportunity for seniors or young family people that want to live in their neighborhood. For seniors to age in place, they can't live in the two-story house where the only bathroom may be on the second floor, they could but it may not be safe. Bowans noted they could build an addition on to their house, as an example on Governor Street the house caddy corner from them, they could no longer do the stairs so they built an addition of a master suite onto their home and that did not detract from the neighborhood, there is still plenty of room for parking and everything like that. Bowans stated they need to have design standards that really preserve some of the lot and the integrity of older homes. She noted they are in the infant stages now of trying to find out a way where seniors could stay in their neighborhoods and in their homes. Maybe build a smaller unit in the back, where they could either move into and rent the big house to a larger family and have them provide services for them. Or for them to stay in their home, have a small unit, either attached or separate, where they could have a student Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 14 of 22 who has been vetted, has background checks and everything, move in. It's a win win for both, less student debt for the student and services for the senior. Iowa is closing nursing homes like crazy. She has been to several meetings with the head of the Department of Human Services, the director of Medicaid services, and the director of Aging and Disability Services, and there's a lot of things going on, nothing's been set in stone, but they're shutting nursing homes because they have no care workers, they don't pay enough, Medicaid does not reimburse enough. They are going to have a crisis of there's no place for people in Iowa with lower incomes to move to so people are forced to stay in their homes. Bowans looks at this as a whole different perspective, if they could somehow benefit a teacher who's coming here to work fresh out of college, they're going to have student loans to pay back, if there is an affordable unit for that teacher to live in then it's a win win if they can also do some cares for the senior or a family that's coming in. The State is working on ways to finance ADUs for lower income people, the Iowa Finance Authority is working on some things, and the State is also going to try and work on some things to get homes modified for this particular situation. There's a lot of things in the work but people need to think outside the box. Alex Lewis stated for some background context he is currently in the middle of a research project on the way land use can increase affordability so he thought a few statistics might help couch the conversation. The Council of Economic Advisers recognize there's about 7 million market rate affordable units in the country, which means that someone at the defined poverty line could afford the rent at their current salary. Two and a half million of those are being occupied by people that could afford an up-market unit but don't because there's no supply up-market. That means that millions of units that could be affordable today aren't on the market. When they talk about market rate, versus addressing the affordability crisis, that is all the same conversation about supply. When they talk about what's happening in neighborhoods, how to stop the change of neighborhoods and where students moving, apparently students are not very well liked. Well students are going to here, there's a university here, sorry, they're coming, the demand is constant, and it's going to grow. It's only a question of whether it's inelastic student demand. Students are coming here with the money to afford any kind of rent, he worked for a few years and lived in Dallas, when he came to Iowa City his rent money was going to go where he can afford to live but that doesn't necessarily mean that students are immune to market pressure. If there's a more dense area that's more amenable to students, they can bike, they can walk, they're closer to downtown, they can go to bars, that's where they want to be. That brings up the car issue too, which he will address in a second, but to first address where that supply exists so that they don't grow out. Someone else made a great point about growing out into cornfields versus growing up. Students like more dense housing, they like being closer to other people, ADUs are a way of enabling that and making sure the students are going to stay closer to where the university is. Because as you all discuss the impact area, that where the students want to be, if you want to keep people closer to the university, if you want less and less people getting priced out of those areas, it means making sure that more students can live on one lot. If there's 10 students coming to town, either five of them can live on one lot or two of them can live on five lots so it seems like for everyone, students, homeowners, the community, it would be better to have students in more dense areas on less lots. Additionally, it removes the pressure from the historic districts and other issues like that. The car issue is another big one. The cars are the problem. Cars and density are inverse, they're against each other. There's a great saying "you're Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 15 of 22 not in traffic, you are the traffic" so when they're looking at pictures of people stuck in traffic and watching people do three-point turns, you are also the ones sitting behind the garbage truck and blocking the person in the car. Nobody wants to be in that traffic jam. The way to encourage that is by getting more people out of their cars, biking, walking to school, which everyone would all love to do. Cars are expensive, students don't have that much money. There are other policies like protected bike lanes and things like that which are part of this, but increasing density and reducing parking makes it overall more attractive. They've heard about the building cost associated with garages but there's also space constraints, cars are big and if they're requiring a place for a car on every lot, that pushes the units further out and it reduces the density of the area and it means people have to have their cars. There's a great statistic from some reform in Buffalo that showed that for the doubling of housing density, transportation emissions reduced almost 50% and household heating costs reduced by 40%. That means it's also more affordable when those units are closer together, especially in an apartment building or a multi -unit situation, they don't have five exposed sides, they have four exposed sides or three exposed sides, which means less heating, less cooling costs. All of that makes the situation more affordable. As far as the investor concerns and owner occupancy concerns even in the most aggressive markets, New York, San Francisco, LA, only about 8% of units at the high end are being owned by incorporated entities. Most of these units are local people who are just looking for another stream of income, ability to monetize their lot to retire, things of that nature, so it's good to keep those avenues open. They shouldn't be artificially constraining ability to build because that's just going to harm supply. People talked earlier about why they haven't seen changes in the market, but 52 units over 30 years isn't something anyone is going to notice, especially when the university is growing and the town is growing. They need to take serious supply side reforms seriously so that people can respond to that. There is money to be made for people in this community by monetizing their lots, by increasing density, by taking advantage of students with their inelastic demand coming here, and spending so it's good to be able to capture that and get rid of the car requirement. Kelcev Patrick -Ferree (Sandusky Drive) lives in the South District and is here because she supports these proposed changes to the zoning code to increase the availability and diversity of housing in Iowa City. She supports all of the changes that City staff have has proposed, she appreciates the students who are in the room tonight pointing out that they do need housing and it's better for them to have housing closer to the university, they've got walking opportunities. Personally, ideally, she'd love to have a few more grocery stores in that area so they don't have to be driving out to get food. She thinks if some of the homeowners who have come to object to these changes would add ADUs to their homes and rent to students some of them might find that actually like having students around more than they realize. She noted they rented a room in their house to a student a few years ago, for a brief period of time, and a few weeks ago her husband officiated at his wedding. He's a dear friend and he's part of their lives now. But all of that said, as she has listened to all of these concerns that have been raised and read all of the reports and everything, she thinks that one potential solution for the University Impact Zone presents itself. Part of it is what Jim Throgmorton mentioned before which is only allowing ADUs to be built on properties that are owner occupied, except for also allowing ADUs of nonprofits too. But then the second part of that is to divorce that ownership requirement from future ownership of the property. Reading through the packet, her understanding from some of the Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 16 of 22 things that were in there that the staff said is that the owner occupancy requirement presents a big problem for future uses of that dwelling unit, both the main house and the dwelling unit. Patrick -Ferree thinks that if they can separate those two requirements, the building requirement and the renting requirement, that would be a good way forward just within the University Impact Zone. What that could look like is either a general lack of requirement of owner occupancy to get a rental permit for an ADU or it can be a provision that says that once the house plus ADU has been sold to someone else, or otherwise transferred, like a transfer on death deed, the owner occupancy requirement no longer applies to that property. Patrick thinks that would solve a lot of the problems that they're seeing raised here today. However, she wants to be clear, this isn't actually what she's advocating for, she likes the City staff s recommendations, she just wanted to put that out there because it might be helpful if they need to find a compromise position. Jared Knote wanted to make a point of clarification, he doesn't think anyone wants this being a false antagonism, which he doesn't think is generative, nor is it representative, he thinks what anyone is saying here is they want stable communities that are diverse, that are affordable, and that are environmentally responsible and that is what might be unlocked by having ADUs available to owner -occupied buildings, where they could have as opposed to having hollowing out diverse communities, and rebuilding a monoculture. They have existing examples of where that happens, in particular in the stabilization area of RNS-12 as one example. Other areas of the University Impact Zone might also be relevant here. He thinks a false antagonism or an interpretation of antagonism is not representative, many of the opinions are those principles, of affordability, diversity and environmental and having a generative community. Jim Throgmorton clarified that nothing he or anyone else affiliated within Northside Neighborhood Association has said should be understood as being opposed to rental units in the neighborhood. As noted from previous presentations a very large proportion of the housing in the Northside Neighborhood already is rental, apartment buildings, rooming houses, single family structures that have been converted to 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 9 family structures. The problem for many people in the Northside is not that there are renters in the neighborhood, it's that pressure exists and the amendments they're considering would increase the pressure exist to convert pretty much all of the Northside to rental units. The challenge is to make it possible for owner - occupants to actually live in the neighborhood instead of feeling pressured by market forces to move out. It's not hostility toward renters, not hostility towards students. Andy Martin wanted to talk quickly about the parking requirement. He was talking to a guy who lives in Solon and apparently they have regressed in their parking requirements there and they're requiring more parking or something. Martin doesn't know the details but basically they're requiring more parking per unit now and are the only town in the country that is trying to create more rights for cars. He noted if they've got a street, that's where the car belongs, put the car on the street, they don't need to create more parking lots for cars. Martin thinks that's something they should consider that they want to build for people and not for cars. That's the way they've kind of been heading in the last few years and he thinks it's great. When they went to two lanes on Mormon Trek he thought it was crazy but now loves it. So, he would encourage them not to try and build to allow more room for cars in the future. Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 17 of 22 Sharon DeGraw added that she does love where she lives because of the number of students that live all around, it's just the density is quite great and she is not sure how much more they can go. There was a report that Jerry Anthony help compiled along with graduate students, and it has an interesting statistic about tax revenue, but then think of tax revenue translated as density. For the Northside they have 91 cents per square foot of tax revenue created out of the Northside Neighborhood and that's translated as density. For the Weber neighborhood, it's 31 cents per square foot of space. And for Windsor Ridge, it is 24 cents. So if other areas took on a little density, and if the ADU component works well outside the University Impact Zone, with or without parking requirement, with or without landlord or owner -occupied, she sees more possibility there. But just within the University Impact Area they're doing quite well right now. Hensch closed the public hearing. Elliott moved that Title 14 zoning be amended with elimination of the standard that the owner is not required to live on -site and that where accessory apartment is in the zoning code be replaced with the term accessory dwelling unit. Craig asked if the motion will limit the owner occupancy to the University Impact Zone. Elliott replied she is not. Elliott appreciates the extra work that the staff has gone to and the people who came to the forum and the people here tonight. She does believe that loosening the current regulations on ADUs will contribute to the strategic goal of attractive affordable housing for all people. Her concern is with a proposed standard to eliminate the requirement for owner occupancy, the majority of attendees at the forum and tonight had concerns about removing the owner -occupied requirement. Removing the requirement places a greater burden on the University Impact Zone and also likely the Longfellow zone, which is not in the University Impact Zone, but are older neighborhoods where there are more rental units in the area. If one of the goals is to stabilize and preserve the character of older neighborhoods, than allowing for ADUs with the owner on - site helps to preserve the character of those neighborhoods. Hensch stated he is a big fan of ADUs because he believes strongly in intergenerational housing and that's why he supports ADUs. Interestingly, in the last issue of Planning magazine that just came out, there was a discussion, as was referenced in the presentation, AARP and the American Planning Association have collaborated to come up with these standards and they issued a report for that. He found it interesting in this article that the main justification they give for these new standards actually validate what the motion is, and to quote it says "we can point out that by creating an accessory dwelling unit ordinance in your town might allow you to build a unit in the backyard of your mother's house for a caregiver if you need care, or can act as an income generating source for you". So in their own justifications they're saying that the reason you should have these ADUs is because you're occupying that place and this is for caregivers for you or intergenerational housing, or for income generation for you. He found it interesting that they specifically in their recommendations say there shouldn't be requirement about the owner Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 18 of 22 on -site, but their justification says that's exactly what it actually should be. There should be an owner on -site and he agrees 100% with that. Quellhorst stated he would generally be in favor of removing the owner occupancy requirement because doing that encourages investment in ADUs, which does a really nice job of balancing these concerns of bringing down the cost of housing while also avoiding excessive density. When they talk about people creating ADUs on their property, one thing that staff noted is these folks are having trouble getting financing because they go to the bank and the bank says they're not going to give a mortgage because if something were to happen to them they wouldn't necessarily or their successor wouldn't be able to continue to rent out this ADU. He thinks that removing owner occupancy requirements is in the best interest not only of developers, but also in the interest of normal people that would want to build ADUs on their property but might not have the funds to do so. Padron is also in favor of removing the requirement and would support the motion with all of these recommendations. Craig is in favor of removing the requirement too but as a compromise could support a position that left that requirement in the University Impact Zone and removed it elsewhere. Hensch understands that the impetus for a lot of this is to decrease the cost of housing and he honestly don't think this will have anything other than a marginal impact, even if they allowed unrestricted ADU growth. That's not the driver of the housing costs in Iowa City. Criag stated she doesn't think growth of ADUs is going to run rampant in any case, in any neighborhood, in the next two years, but it's hard to predict the future. Hensch noted it's a pretty strong statistic that in the last 30 years there has been 52 units, which is 1.7 ADUs per year. He understands there's more restrictions on that but as Mr. Martin stated at $100,000 to $150,000 for an ADU, a very limited number of people that have affordability for that. His fear is that limited number of people are in the investor class, or people who are not going to live in the neighborhood but will spend the money because they know they can rent that out for the next 40 years so they can afford to build that ADU. He is really concerned about neighborhood integrity. Townsend stated her concern is when she thinks of affordable housing she thinks of housing for families that are going to remain in the communities. She thinks the ADU is a good idea for seniors and for people who want to keep their families together but would like to see that uncoupled from calling it affordable housing because it's a whole different entity than just affordable housing. If they take out that owner occupancy piece it just becomes another moneymaker for whoever, they're going to rent out the big unit and rent out the small unit. What's it going to do to the neighborhood. Townsend stated she lives up from the Mayflower and there's lots of big yards in that area but it's still a community, it's a nice neighborhood. She can see building ADUs that are not on the land with the owner becoming just rentals and there are a lot of rental homes in that neighborhood, but their owners live across the street. So they've bought Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 14 of 22 units on the other side of the street and they're kept up. But she has also seen properties in the Iowa City area where that's not happening, especially around the University where some of those places are just run-down and they tack them up just enough to get students in and then they're falling apart. Therefore she thinks they need to keep the owner -occupied piece in there. Wade stated the reason he seconded the motion with the owner occupancy requirement is really an incremental approach to it. He has the same concerns he raised last time, it does become an opportunity for a private owner on premises to make that property more affordable as their ownership for creating a rental unit to help supplement the cost of the house. As everyone is aware the cost of housing is expensive right now and anything to help that or level the playing field is good. However, he has the same concerns that requirement is not going to get them any closer to walkability from being close to downtown as far as getting more housing on the market. If this doesn't promote or show results in increased utilization or development of ADUs then he would look to revisit that requirement after a year to see if that needs to be lifted. Padron asked staff if she wanted to rent a property for her family with an ADU for her parents, for example, she couldn't do that because she wouldn't be the owner. Lehmann confirmed she could not do that, if she bought the property with the ADU then it would be okay. Quellhorst stated he is supportive of ADUs and looking at the statistics that staff presented, he thought was pretty compelling in terms of just how few of these properties have been constructed. Therefore, to the extent they favor an incremental approach, eliminating the owner occupancy requirement isn't likely to result in dozens or hundreds of ADUs overnight. He thinks that's a process that would happen fairly slowly. He also thinks that ADUs are still subject to other zoning requirements so they're not just packing places onto tiny lots that are not suitable for them. They still have to meet setback requirements and there's still a variety of provisions in the zoning code that ensure that ADUs are consistent with the character of the community. He strongly supports ADUs and thinks that they can eliminate the owner occupancy requirements and wouldn't see drastic change. And in the very unlikely event that they did start seeing diverse impact the community there's nothing stopping them from coming back and revisiting that regulation and making further recommendations to Council. A vote was taken and the motion passed 4-3 (Craig, Quellhorst, Padron dissenting). CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: AUGUST 16, 2023: Craig moved to approve the meeting minutes from August 16, 2023. Quellhorst seconded the motion, a vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. Russett gave an updated on a few development projects. First the rezoning across from the fire station on Dodge and Scott with the proposed coffee shop/mixed-use building and townhomes was recently subdivided and approved by Council and the site plan was also recently approved. Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 20 of 22 Second is out on Melrose and Slothower, the annexation, rezoning and subdivision, they came back for a re -subdivision and are proposing some additional lots and streets and that was pre - approved by Council at the last meeting. Also approved by Council last night was the local landmark rezoning of the original Emma Goldman Clinic. Regarding the rest of the Zoning Code Amendments related to housing, the first reading passed at Council last night and they deferred the second consideration to the next meeting and staff will be preparing some additional information for Council. Lastly, Russett mentioned staff are working on grant application to HUD for pro -housing. Lehmann stated the goal is to address barriers to housing choice and it's a lot of the similar things that they've see in the amendments that they've been proposing. Staff has prepared a grant application that will go before Council at their next meeting, it would request $5.6 million in federal funds, and the staff is proposing that the City would match it with $2.85 million. The activities that they're proposing are a continuation of a lot of things that they've already been able to move forward over the last several years, including trying to expand the scope of the Comprehensive Plan update, specifically looking at the housing element and a regional housing study, but also looking at a land use element that really does reflect the desires of the community. They've also had parking as something to look at as a long-term barrier to affordable housing and they would want to do a parking study and possibly bring proposed changes to the parking standards. Staff is also looking at if the City can directly develop affordable housing rather than using RFPs to develop affordable housing. Lehmann clarified it would be income -restricted affordable housing and include funding for a pilot project that would hopefully be able to produce 24 dwelling units that would be affordable and kickstart a City development arm or housing authority development arm. Staff is also looking at other activities that address more immediate needs such as an emergency assistance fund that would help with rent for folks who might become unhoused otherwise, look at security deposits for folks that can't find housing, and also doing housing counseling as part of the Housing Authority. There is a comment period right now available online at ICgov.org/action plan or from the main page there is a news article that will link to the pro -housing grant application. Lehmann encourages the Commissioners to take a look at it and provide feedback. Staff will review all the comments/feedback and that'll all be provided to Council. Lehmann added there would also be an accessory dwelling unit program and provide funds to produce accessory dwelling units that would help homeowners. Townsend noted she heard on the news this week that they are going to start to charge for the electric charging stations so how will that affect building when they're putting in those units now. Lehmann explained that residential properties are exempted, his understanding is that it applies to commercial and public properties. He also noted the EV standards are something that staff still intends to bring back to this Commission and they will probably recommend that it only be required for residential properties then because of that change there should be grant funds that are available to help with that. Hensch noted because he has less than a year and a half left on this Commission there are two items he'd like them to discuss sometime in the future. One is the borders of the University Impact Area need to be looked at as they just don't seem correct to him and wonders when the last time they were updated, but if it's truly a University Impact Zone they should really make sure that it's accurate. The other thing, and it is a minor thing, but it drives him crazy, is throughout town there's flood detention areas a mostly they're the responsibility of HOAs to maintain but they don't maintain them, they just abandon them. Perhaps this would be an opportunity to maybe to restore those detention areas and if they had a pollinator requirement for prairie restoration, because they don't need maintenance other than burn it or mow at once every five Planning and Zoning Commission October 4, 2023 Page 21 of 22 years. The HOAs do not maintain them and they get overgrown with shrubs. He would like to discuss that sometime. Russett noted they all are members of the American Planning Association and should be getting their emails and the Planning magazine. Lehmann stated they do have to opt in for a paper version. Craig stated a recent email from the APA was interesting to her, it was about zoning for home occupation and how that world has changed so much in the last 10, let alone 20 years, because so many people are working from home, and what kind of work are they doing, it's not always obvious, even to their neighbors, that they could be running a business out of their home, so she is wondering what the zoning regulations for home occupation are. Russett replied they actually don't deal with home occupations, even though it is in the zoning code they have other staff that deal with home occupation permits for home -based business, the planning staff doesn't implement that section of the code. Townsend asked how that differs from people that now work at home, they're part of a company. Russett replied the State actually preempted cities to some extent on how they regulate home - based business. If someone works at home via zoom or whatever all day that is a no impact home -based business per the State Code and cities can't require a permit. The State Code has this thing called No Impact Home- Based Business which is if any business doesn't create traffic or that the neighbors can't visually see the business, cities can't require a permit for it. Craig asked what if someone converted their three -season room into a hair cutting business and there was a hairdryer and washing station and that's what she did that the whole time. Russett stated the current code has prohibited uses and that's not one of them. Additionally, even now with some of these things that the zoning code actually prohibits, like a restaurant, if it can be demonstrated that it's no impact they could potentially operate without a permit. Finally, Russett wanted to mention the local HUD region seven has been following Iowa City's proposed zoning code changes and they're very interested in what the City is doing here and requested to meet with staff so staff will be meeting with HUD next month. Townsend asked staff to suggest to them that they revisit the formula for affordable housing because one of the housing members thinks it's too damn high. ADJOURNMENT: Elliott moved to adjourn, seconded by Townsend and the motion passed 7-0. PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2023-2024 10/19 1112 11116 1217 12/21 114 1/18 2115 3/1 4/5 4119 6121 7/5 7/19 8/2 8116 1014 :RAID, SUSAN X X X OJE X X X X X X X X X X X X X ELLIOTT, MAGGIE X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 1ENSCH, MIKE X X X X X X X X X X X X O/E X X X X 'ADRON, MARIA X X O/E X X X X X X X X X X O/E X X X 2UELLHORST, SCOTT __ __ __ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ __ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ __ _ __ __ __ _ _ _ __ _ X X SIGNS, MARK X O/E O/E X X X X O/E O/E X rOWNSEND, BILLIE X X X X O/E X OJE X X X X X X X OIE X X WADE, CHAD X O/E X X X OJE X X X X X X X X X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused --- = Not a Member Item Number: 5.g. CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT November21, 2023 Planning & Zoning Commission: October 18 [See Recommendation] Attachments: Planning & Zoning Commission: October 18 [See Recommendation] CITY OF IOWA CITY , ,45`1 MEMORANDUM Date: November 16, 2023 To: Mayor and City Council From: Anne Russett, Senior Planner Re: Recommendations from the Planning and Zoning Commission At its October 18, 2023 meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission have the following recommendations to the City Council: By a vote of 4-3 (Townsend, Hench and Elliott dissenting) the Commission recommends maintaining 35-feet as the maximum allowable height in the Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (RNS-12) zones. Additional action (check one) No further action needed Board or Commission is requesting Council direction _X_ Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action MINUTES FINAL PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OCTOBER 18, 2023-6:OOPM—FORMAL MEETING EMMA J. HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Craig, Maggie Elliott, Mike Hensch, Maria Padron, Scott Quellhorst, Billie Townsend, Chad Wade MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Sarah Hektoen, Anne Russett OTHERS PRESENT: Jim Throgmorton, Wally Plahutnik, Susan Shullaw, Nancy Carlson, Sharon DeGraw, Charlie Thomas, Deanna Thomann, Dave Moore, Spencer Blackwell, Jared Knote RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: By a vote of 4-3 (Townsend, Hench and Elliott dissenting) the Commission recommends maintaining 35-feet as the maximum allowable height in the Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (RNS-12) zones. CALL TO ORDER: Hensch called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. ZONING CODE AMENDMENT ITEMS CASE NO. REZ23-0005: (continued discussion from 8116) Consideration of an amendment to Title 14, Zoning, to reduce the maximum allowable height in the Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (RNS-12) zone from 35-feet to 27-feet. Russett began the staff report with background information. At the August 16 meeting the Northside Neighborhood Association requested to reduce the height to 27-feet for new single family and duplex structures. Staff did not support that recommendation and the Commission deferred the item to tonight and requested that staff meet with the Neighborhood Association again, which they did on September 6. Russett noted a couple of the main concerns that the Neighborhood Association representatives mentioned to staff were that the 35-foot height maximum acts as a financial incentive for investors to demolish older, affordable owner -occupied structures and that the 35-foot height maximum encourages redevelopment of out of scale buildings that will harm neighboring properties. The example given by the Neighborhood Association was the single-family home proposed at 319 North Van Buren Street and at the meeting they were requesting the reduction in height to 27-feet for new single family and duplex structures. Staff continues to recommend retaining the current height maximum of 35-feet in the RNS-12 zone. Planning and Zoning Commission October 18, 2023 Page 2 of 14 Russett stated for the purpose of this presentation she was going to try to focus on new information and not the information that was presented on August 16. One item that was briefly discussed at the August 16 meeting was a justification for having varying height limits for varying land uses. She noted if there's an interest in modifying the height only for single-family and duplex structures, justification must be identified why those lower intensity residential uses need a lower height maximum. The main concern that's outlined in the staff report is the applicability of this only to new single-family and duplex structures which would require varying standards for varying uses as existing single-family and duplex uses would be subject to the 35-feet rule and new single-family and duplexes would be 27-feet and all other land uses would be 35-feet. This would also require staff to implement different height requirements for different uses built at different points in time. Russett noted recent correspondence from Jim Throgmorton of the Northside Neighborhood Association agrees with staff on this point and recommends applying the 27-foot height maximum to both existing and new single-family and duplex uses. Russett showed a map of all of the properties that are zoned RNS-12 in the City noting there's approximately 500 properties City-wide that are zoned RNS-12. 75% of those are within historic districts or conservation districts, and staff provided additional detail on the City's historic preservation program in the written staff report. A few highlights of key points about those districts are that they are regulated differently and are subject to historic preservation guidelines, and exterior modifications require regulated permits which require historic review. Although some modifications in the historic and conservation districts to homes can be reviewed by staff, any major changes have to go to the Historic Preservation Commission and that includes demolition and new construction. Russett validated that the City has a very robust Historic Preservation Program and those overlays add a large degree of protection from future construction, demolition and development changes. She reiterated 75% of the RNS-12 properties City-wide are in one of those overlays. Within the Northside Neighborhood specifically, 85% of those properties are in historic or conservation district overlay. Staff updated the demolition analysis that was previously presented to the Commission and since 1992 there have been 17 residential demolitions in the RNS-12 zone. The data suggests that redevelopment is not increasing, although that can change in the future. Staff believes that part of the reason there haven't been a lot of demolitions is because of the historic preservation program and those historic and conservation districts which restrict demolition. Russett also noted that six of the 17 demolitions occurred prior to the land being rezoned to RNS-12 so those properties were demolished and redeveloped when it was a multifamily zoning district. Staff also looked at height for a few of those redevelopment projects, they were able to find height for 11 of the 17 residential demos and two of the 11 were above 27- feet and both of those were multifamily. Nine of the 11 were 27-feet or less, which suggests that the 35-foot height maximum is not an incentive for redevelopment otherwise they would be seeing those buildings constructed at 35-feet or higher than 27-feet. In conclusion, Russett stated the purpose of the RNS-12 zone is to maintain a single-family character, which has been interpreted as preserving single-family uses and restricting multifamily residential. The current height limitation is consistent with other single-family residential zones. Again, there's a need to justify why the City would have a different height limit for lower intensity residential uses, as opposed to other uses within that zone, and staff was concerned with implementation. Again, in recent correspondence from Mr. Throgmorton they're okay with applying this to both existing and new single-family and duplex structures. But again, 75% of the properties are regulated within historic and conservation district overlays, which ensure new structures are not out of scale with the surrounding neighborhood. Lastly, the data staff looked at showing the residential demolitions that have occurred over time do not suggest 35-foot Planning and Zoning Commission October 18, 2023 Page 3 of 14 redevelopment. Staff has received several pieces of correspondence and all of them are in support of reduction to 27-feet. All correspondence was emailed to the Commissioners and are also printed out before them at their seats. Staffs recommendation is to continue to keep the 35-foot height max in the RNS-12 zone. If the Commission wants to move forward with an amendment staff would recommend a couple of things, one that the amendment apply to both new and existing single-family and duplex structures and that a public purpose justification has identified why single-family and duplex uses need a different height limit than other uses. In teRNS of next steps, if the Commission makes a recommendation tonight City Council will likely hold their public hearing on November 21. Hensch opened the public hearing. Jim Throgmorton (814 Ronalds Street) is speaking as co-chair of the Northside Neighborhood Association Steering Committee and stated one month ago this Commission urged City staff to meet with them to revise their earlier report and to provide this Commission with recommendations for tonight's meeting. Three of them on the Northside Steering Committee met with City staff members Tracy Hightshoe and Anne Russett on September 6. They found it to be an enlightening and constructive conversation and he appreciated that very much. During the meeting staff asked them to clarify what the specific concerns were, and how the proposed height reduction addressed them. In its revised report City staff recommends against the proposed change and they offer several reasons. The one reason that stands out is the staff could not identify a governmental purpose for having the maximum allowable height vary based on use. Throgmorton wanted to call attention to and remove one of the obstacles off the table as already referred to this in the September 6 meeting, look for a mutually acceptable compromise. The Northside Neighborhood Association floated the idea of applying the change only to new single-family structures and duplexes and not to existing structures. However, the staff report persuaded them that applying a different standard to new and existing houses would produce unnecessary complications. Consequently, the Northside Neighborhood Association agreed with staff that the height amendment should apply both to existing and new single-family and duplex structures. Doing so is actually consistent with their original petition which they have not changed in writing. Therefore, it's not as if they're actually changing something here and this should eliminate staffs concern about this aspect of the proposed amendment. Throgmorton stated what led them to propose the change in maximum allowable height, put concisely is the current read 35-foot limit encourages redevelopment without of scale buildings that can have harmful effects on neighboring properties. The existing height limit provides a financial incentive for investors to demolish older and currently very affordable owner -occupied structures and makes it less likely that appropriately sized affordable new structures will be built. This financial incentive stems from the fact that the RNS-12 zones are located in the University Impact Area and therefore subject to intense demand for off -campus student housing. Throgmorton noted it was this housing market pressure that led City government to create the RNS-12 district and to give it a unique public purpose. This unique purpose is "to stabilize certain existing neighborhoods by Planning and Zoning Commission October 18, 2023 Page 4 of 14 preserving the predominantly single-family residential character of certain neighborhoods." As former City planner Bob Miklo states in his detailed advice to this Commission, which the Northside Neighborhood Association supports and trusts they have read, 'for those who live in neighborhoods single-family character means all the things that make up quality of life, enough sunlight to allow gardens, trees and other living landscaping, light shining through windows on a wintry day, a fresh summer breeze and not having light and air blocked by a 35-foot tall wall a few feet from one's property". This market pressure also led City government to stipulate as a matter of public policy in the Central District Plan that the City will "work to achieve a healthy balance of rental and owner -occupied housing in the district's older neighborhoods" and continuing to permit new infill structures as tall as 35-feet in RNS-12 districts would make it more difficult to achieve that objective. The potential that out of scale buildings could have harmful effects on neighboring properties is also affected by the unique physical characteristics of the RNS-12 neighborhoods. Single-family and duplex structures comprise the vast majority of properties in those neighborhoods and very few, if any, of those structures currently exceed two and a half stories, which is roughly equivalent to 27-feet. Moreover, the compact lots found in the RNS-12 zones are among the smallest in the City. Consequently, unlike in other residential zones with large lots and setbacks, 35-foot buildings could easily dominate or cause excessive shadows on neighboring structures. The existing 35-foot limit therefore runs counter to the purpose of the RNS-12 zone. Section 14-2A-1 E stipulates that the maximum height standards in the code are intended "to promote a reasonable building scale and relationship between buildings to provide options from height, air and privacy and discourage buildings that visually dominate other buildings in the vicinity." Throgmorton stated furthermore the current 35-foot maximum was originally adopted to allow walk -out basements on sloping lots. There are very few sloping lots in the RNS-12 zones and none in the Northside. Therefore, there is no need to accommodate single-family and duplex structures on sloping lots by permitting 35-foot heights. Throgmorton next addressed the staffs specific concern about varying maximum heights based on land use. The Northside Neighborhood Association believes there is a clear rationale for varying heights. The reason for changing to a 27-foot height limit for single-family and duplex structures in RNS-12 zones is to preserve the existing quality of life in these neighborhoods by ensuring that new 35-foot-tall houses on these small lots do not dominate their neighbors and deny them access to sunlight, breezes and privacy. If the 27-foot height limit is adopted for single-family and duplex structures, the few nonresidential uses allowed in the zone, schools, religious institutions and daycares, could still be up to 35-feet but those uses are already subject to greater setbacks that mitigate against any potential harm. In the end, therefore, there's really only one question the Commission needs to answer. Will changing the maximum permitted height of single-family and duplex structures from 35- to 27-feet increase the likelihood that new infill development will help achieve a healthy balance of affordable rental and owner -occupied housing while preserving the predominantly single-family residential character of RNS-12 neighborhoods. If the answer is yes then they should vote in favor of the proposed amendment. Wally Plahutnik (430 N. Gilbert Street) is here to speak for himself as a former person who sat on this Commission for seven years (2005-2012). During that period they rewrote the entire code and also redid all the comprehensive plans for each neighborhood. As a commissioner they are all aware that the Comprehensive Plan should guide their decisions. That's what they told the people at every meeting they had, and all the different sessions and workshops that they held. Planning and Zoning Commission October 18, 2023 Page S of 14 Staffs analysis to the neighborhood's request regarding the Comprehensive Plan focuses on the land use in that specific map of the residential neighborhood stabilization (RNS-12) district. The letters RNS is residential, neighborhood stabilization and there's only two that exist in the City, the rest are residential neighborhoods or IRS. Staff acknowledges that there are many statements within those comprehensive plans with regard to infill, so a lot of that is already covered, but it all speaks to ensuring that it's compatible and complimentary to the surrounding neighborhood. Staff goes on to say that because the maximum allowable height in most residential zones is 35-feet, it is implied that 35-feet ensures compatibility, that's taken as a given apparently. One thing Plahutnik would like to make note of, and strongly object to, is that every time staff refers to the stabilization's wording, they say that this does not interfere with single- family uses. The stabilization was a district made not to preserve uses, they can use any houses as a single-family use, it's meant to preserve the single-family character of the neighborhoods, character and uses, those words aren't interchangeable. Uses certainly come within the broader heading of character but one can't cram character into the smaller thing of uses. This very narrow reading of the Comprehensive Plan dismisses qualitative measures of compatibility. It ignores that there are very few 35-foot houses anywhere in Iowa City. Typically, it's a walkout basement that adds that third floor, so the street level is less than 35-feet in almost every instance. Introducing a 35-foot-tall house with a flat roof, which isn't denied in this 35-foot limit, in the neighborhood of modest one- and two-story houses is certainly not compatible with the neighborhood's character. An investment company that has purchased several properties with the intent of redeveloping them has just proposed such a structure. To make it worse, the building would have a flat roof, making it appear even taller and casting even more of a shadow over its neighbors. Plahutnik urges the Commission to follow the Comprehensive Plan and really work through this to preserve the character of the neighborhood, not just the single-family use. Susan Shullaw (718 N. Johnson Street) would like to read a portion of the letter that was submitted to the Commission by Anne Freerks on the occasion of this hearing. As they may know Freerks was part of this Commission for a number of years. "I am writing to ask that you vote in favor of the Northside Neighborhood's request to reduce the height limit in RNS-12 zones. I live on the far west edge of the Longfellow neighborhood, which is comprised of RNS-12 and RS-8 zones, bordering areas that are entirely occupied by undergraduate students. When we were a young family just starting out we were attracted to the charming houses of South Governor Street. We liked the proximity to Longfellow Elementary, and it was also a very attractive and affordable option. In 1993, we took the plunge and bought 100-year-old house there. We were welcomed by a number of elderly couples who had raised their families on South Governor and they were happy that our house had not become a student rental like so many others in the neighborhood. We didn't know it at the time, but we were helping to stabilize the neighborhood. In 1999, we were surprised when a charming old house across the alley was torn down and a large three-story apartment building went up. There was no care given to how the building fit in a neighborhood. All the beautiful mature oak trees were cut down and every square inch of the available space was taken up with a new building. Although we enjoy having college kids as neighbors, we found that as more and more students moved in, their habits can conflict with working families. There are costs and benefits in every situation. For this reason neighborhood stability, and an increase in density on these narrow lots has great impact. We knew little about zoning before the apartment building went up. Several of our neighbors were in Planning and Zoning Commission October 18, 2023 Page 6 of 14 the same situation. We talked and then decided to approach the City, which is when we found out that Lucas and Governor Streets were zoned RM-12 multifamily and more three story apartment buildings were planned. Investors were actively trying to buy properties. A realtor called me and said I should get out while I can. In a hurried moment we considered selling but we thought of the elderly neighbors who had welcomed us and the other young families that were also making their homes on the western streets of Longfellow. We also knew long term renters were drawn to the neighborhood for the same reasons we were. They too were concerned about being displaced by new and more expensive student housing. We decided to stay and fight for our neighborhood. This experience taught us that zoning can be a powerful tool affecting our daily lives. We had our neighbors petition the City to rezone our neighborhood to RNS-12. Investment companies that were buying up houses objected to our request but the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council agreed with us that Iowa City needs some close -in neighborhoods that are sustainable and attractive to all sorts of households, owner - occupied families as well as renters, young families, singles and retirees. Recent proposals for a 35-foot-tall houses in the RNS-12 zone have revealed a loophole that is counter to the intent of the zone to stabilize and preserve existing neighborhoods. I urge the Commission to approve the Northside Neighborhood's request to bring the allowed building heights in line with existing houses in the RNS-12 zone. This will not only apply to the northside but will be beneficial to South Lucas and South Governor Streets as well. We have raised our family on South Governor Street and at some point we will be ready to move on. We hope to sell to another young family who will send their kids to Longfellow and walk to their jobs downtown. We hope that you will support such families with good zoning policy. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for serving on the Commission." Nancy Carlson (1002 E. Jefferson Street) is one of the group of neighbors who approached the City in 1993 who were concerned with a proposed development that they felt would dramatically change the character of their neighborhood so they asked for help. The City responded by changing the zoning from RM-12 to RNS-12, that was the solution the City came up with. Over the years they felt that this was a serious undertaking and knew it would change the course of their neighborhood. They discussed it, they contacted all of the neighbors, they explained the differences between the RM-12 zone and the RNS-12 zone and wanted to make sure that everyone understood and was on board for this change. Their neighborhood was the first, thanks to the help of the City and over the years other RM-12 zones in the University Impact Zone also requested to be rezoned to RNS because of the pride and love for their neighborhood. Most of the homeowners in these neighborhoods are working class, they have worked hard to own their homes and they are proud of them. At the time of the rezoning to RNS-12 the concepts of historic districts and conservation areas were foreign to them, they wanted to give new neighbors the dream of home ownership that they had experienced. They had faith new neighbors would responsibly respect what was already there and for years that was true. Because of that their neighborhood is an encyclopedia of housing styles, but all the houses no matter what style have similar proportions, they are all one to two and a half stories tall. When they first were presented with this zone, they discussed all these things over and over again because they realized that this would make a big change in their neighborhood. They looked at the dimensions but were naive and not as adept as someone in construction to understand what the 35-foot height limit actually was. They looked around the neighborhood and looked at the height of all the houses in Planning and Zoning Commission October 18, 2023 Page 7 of 14 the neighborhood and thought okay, this is a good height. Houses from the 50s and houses from the 1900s are all pretty much the same amount in height so they did not realize that they had allowed something to happen that they had no intention of having happened. Right now they have reached a point where newcomers are interested only in their rights and maximizing their investment. The investment those of them who live here and have made in creating and maintaining a neighborhood is of no concern to them. Their properties become dark holes, sucking the life out of the neighborhood. Everybody has been talking about the Comprehensive Plan and what this means and how they're supposed to follow it. The zoning code was made up to enforce the Comprehensive Plan. To quote from the zoning code on the purpose of the zoning code, "the provisions of this title are intended to implement the city of Iowa's City's Comprehensive Plan in a manner that promotes the health, safety, order, convenience, prosperity, and general welfare of the citizens of Iowa City." Carlson is asking the Commission to amend the height to 27-feet which is what they thought was 35-feet when they did their thing out of love for their neighborhood. She believes this is needed to continue the investment made in creating and maintaining their neighborhood. Sharon DeGraw (519 Brown Street) lives in the Northside Neighborhood and walks a great deal. In moving to the Northside Neighborhood, it's the whole walkability factor and the experience that one gets living in the neighborhood. She showed an image not in the Northside Neighborhood but represents something that is the kind of thing that they would want to avoid in the RNS-12 neighborhoods. The image is an apartment complex on Iowa Avenue. The apartment complex is gigantic next to the single-family home. If they allow that kind of patterning that is a visual dissonance, it disrupts the neighborhood, and makes the neighborhood a place that people don't want to walk by and are less excited to live in. People don't want to live next to tall buildings that are out of character. She likens it to the experience of when you pull up to an intersection and someone has music blaring very loud, the first thing you want to do is get out of there and get away from that car. This height differential in a neighborhood is not what she would want to live in nor look at and feels other people who invested in their neighborhood and bought property there would feel the same way. The next image shows a suburban neighborhood and that's where they would find a 35-foot-tall building because in the back of the house there would be a walkout basement but the front facades are well under 27-feet. In all the RNS-12 single-family or duplex houses that are currently in the close to downtown area, the character is mostly one or two stories, they can have walkout basements that are in the back, even then they're rarely 35- feet tall for the residential dwellings. The next image shows apartments that are in the RNS-12 next to single-family homes, the ones in RNS-12 zones throughout the City are mostly under 27- feet, there are very rare instances when they're above that. She next showed four instances where there are nonresidential businesses, St. Wenceslaus, Preucil School, Bethel AME and a daycare on Fairchild Street. Only two of them are over 35-feet tall, but they're on properties that are very large and there's not the issue of keeping light and air away from the neighboring buildings. The Bethel AME Church is under 27-feet and so is the preschool. In conclusion DeGraw stated that the overwhelming character of Iowa City's RNS-12 zones consist of one- and two-story houses and a few apartment buildings with three floors, but even those apartment buildings are respectful of their neighbors in teRNS of height. There are a couple of taller historic buildings, but they have generous setbacks and do not harm their neighbors. The intent of the RNS-12 is to preserve the single-family character and the Comprehensive Plan encourages the Planning and Zoning Commission October 18, 2023 Page 8 of 14 infill development to be compatible with the existing character. The requested change in height from 35-feet to 27-feet is consistent with those goals. The change will help preserve the quality of life of the neighborhoods and it's a valid zoning code change. DeGraw stated it's very important because of the consistency that will be brought to developers. If there's the two and a half story height that is true for historic districts and conservation districts, then if they go to 27-feet high, which is about two and a half stories tall in the RNS-12 zones that eliminates any confusion for developers and would be a safe way to proceed. Char€ie Thomas (100 Currier Hall) is a student at the University and lives in a campus residence hall. He would like note a brief take on the larger scope of this endeavor. He took a walk to the northside area yesterday and while it's numerous trees, falling leaves and cozy homes he found attractive, it's clearly not sustainable. It lives on the border between a growing university and near the downtown of a city with egregious housing demand. To implement a height restriction like this legitimizes the economic enclave Northside represents. It is in the Commission's best interest to code a city that provides for the numerous kinds of people that want to live there and further cementing these low -density zones directly conflicts with that. There is no indication from the data of approved demolitions that the current height limit gives an incentive at all to demolish existing property. The fear of out of scale buildings is mitigated by the already existent and limiting historic preservation measures and it is simply redundant to give this extra measure. Deanna Thomann (208 Fairchild Street) stated she has lived in the Northside District for more than 20 years, her sister Dana and her bought the house when they were in college. The home was built in 1876 and once belonged to her great great grandparents. Today, her sister teaches at the University and she works from home as a copy editor. Dana lives upstairs in the old house and Thomann live downstairs. She likes her home and her neighborhood, she likes the vibrancy of living near the downtown and the University. From the second floor of her house she is able to gaze down at the flower beds she keeps in the front yard. Above this she sees a layered horizon to the south that includes church steeples, as well as tall new structures as the trend in Iowa City is to build up. That trend makes good sense in the right places, but historic districts are just not the right place. In 2004, she stood at this same podium and voiced her support for the creation of the Northside Historic District, a plan which included her block. Some property owners objected so much that they were left out of the district and therefore several non -protected properties sit across the alley from her house and two others are across from her on Fairchild Street. The two properties that are across the street were built in 1890 and 1900, these are solid homes and are rentals with large backyards. These structures are in the RNS-12 zone but there is no conservation overlay for these homes. Currently, they could be torn down and replaced with tall, dwarfing structures surrounding old homes and blocking sunlight and the skyline that her neighbors and she enjoy. Tall structures would undoubtedly disrupt the scale and the harmony of her block. As they all know, the RNS-12 was created to stabilize fragile residential areas. In his August 15, 2023, letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission Robert Miklo, former senior planner for the city of Iowa City, explained that the height limit of 35-feet was meant to accommodate walkout basements on sloping lots. However, they now realize few RNS-12 structures sit on sloping lots and his August letter Miklo states the limit of 35-feet is excessive and should be changed to 27-feet and that would be in keeping with the two and a half story houses that are commonplace in the neighborhood. Thomann agrees with Miklo and asks that Planning and Zoning Commission October 18, 2023 Page 9 of 14 the Commission change the maximum height for houses and duplexes in the RNS-12 zone to 27-feet. This change will further stabilize the RNS-12 zone and protect her neighborhoods quality of life. Thomann wants to stress she is not resistant to change, she realizes they need to accommodate the growing population but tearing down good historic structures and sending materials to the landfill is not the answer. She really hopes they can continue to take pride in preserving the embodied energy of the older neighborhoods. Furthermore, she encourages City staff, City Commissioners and City Council to explore ways to shake old properties from the grips of the large rental companies. Imagine finding a way to make the old housing stock affordable so that a new wave of various people can live here. She saw this new wave of various people last night when she watched the City Council meeting. That was a long, emotional meeting, with immigrants coming to the podium and an interpreter telling about their struggles to find housing close in. Thomann would hope this new wave of various people would be included within her old neighborhood, she really would love that. She realizes they don't talk about who lives in the structures in planning and zoning but if they could integrate people like that and get more homeowners in the neighborhood, that would be the ultimate stabilization plan. Dave Moore (425 E. Davenport Street) thanked the Commission for considering the zoning amendment. He stated the amendment is really simple and it makes sense and it lines things up with the Comprehensive Plan. Moore thinks this will be good for all neighborhoods, and blocks in the RNS-12 zone or the residential neighborhood stability zone. More specifically, he's here today on behalf of himself because of a situation that has impacted his family and the people living in his immediate neighborhood in the lower north side of Davenport Street and Bloomington Street. It's an example of what can happen without this amendment. In fact, it is evidence that the current height limit is an incentive to tear down and build big. What was torn down was an 1840s Weaver's cottage at 319 North Van Buren. Formerly it was rentable and it was affordable. The biggest property owner in the Northside, Prestige Properties, has proposed a full 35-feet house with a nearly flat roof in his backyard. Moore showed images of the proposed building from the east elevation noting its nearly flat. The north elevation shows the blank wall would be what he'd be seeing over a small backyard for the next 20 years. It's huge and would block the view and sunlight from his house. He showed another image capturing the scale of the first building and then a second building was proposed which was actually taller. If the builder is successful with this new model, he could build it elsewhere, there are other vacant lots in the RNS-12 zone, just like the mansard roof apartment became a model for student housing in the 1980s. Back then the City actually created the RNS-12 zone to prevent more of them. Moore reiterated this particular three-story design is injurious to neighboring properties and is at odds with the compatibility asked for by the Comprehensive Plan and a bad precedent. At first he was not sure really how tall 35-feet was but then as he walked around and looked at buildings to get a sense it became clear this is like a tower, it is crazy and is like a monolith. How high is 35-feet, the Englert Theater building is 35-feet high. He noted he and his wife have lived in their house for 45 years, somebody called it a century neighborhood and it's a little daunting to think that they've lived there half the existence of the neighborhood, but apparently many of the houses are like that. They raised two nice daughters there and do not want to be forced out of their neighborhood because the quality of life will be diminished by a three-story house that they can see out their south window, his work room. They don't want to be driven out by someone who's trying to squeeze every dime out of one of the smallest lots in any core neighborhood. Planning and Zoning Commission October 18, 2023 Page 10 of 14 Additionally, does anyone recall ever seeing any flat roof three-story houses anywhere else in Iowa City. The tenants in the house directly north of this property will lose even more sunlight. The residents on the other side of the busy alley with young grade school children will also be affected. They appealed this twice to the Board of Adjustments and got letters of support from every single owner -occupied home within 200 yards. The lower northside is a fairly moderately income -based neighborhood. The most common complaint was the height. The Board of Adjustments found that the building official made a mistake when she approved the setback reduction to allow the 35-foot-tall building to be built two feet closer to the property line. Spencer Blackwell (25 N. Lucas Street) is a renter and is concerned that this will add more complexity to the zoning code and will reduce the amount of units being built. Whether it be duplexes or single-family zoning houses, if less units are being built, everybody's rent starts going up. This does affect more than just this neighborhood and over the last year most people's rents have gone up over $100. If they limit the amount of housing they're going to build, they're going to end up with higher rents and push people further out and away. Jared Knote (1021 E. Market Street) stated on page four of the agenda packet is an image of the stabilization area and there's little carve outs relatively gerrymandered around this one little section of Market and Jefferson, he keeps coming back to it and has asked folks to get on Google and just look at the 900 block of Jefferson Street and if they look across on Jefferson, they'll see four squares. If one is familiar with the 1920s type of architecture, you will see lots of approximately 1000 square foot, single family ranches. The bar chart that showed most of the recent buildings that were built in 2021, what came down was a farmhouse with a gable on it and what was replaced there was a duplex. It is on an angled street which would explain the fact that instead of having human scale where they see their neighbors, the back to the basement is really a single story, then the second story or third story, which is a second story, but its really quite elevated. Then they've got to the attic area for more living and it really takes up the entire lot. On the other side of Jefferson right in the middle of the block is a hole in the ground that used to be another small tutor style home. The point being that once one of these houses started to go right next to that duplex that was built is actually another duplex where it's actually two homes on a single lot. Next, that was another two homes on a single lot. It's not where his block is but if he looks out his window, and Knote brought images from Google Maps to show the lots are non- conforming lots, their houses are less than 1000 square feet. He is probably one of the people who helped stabilize the block, because it was a student rental. He is working on his house every single weekend and is concerned about destabilizing the neighborhood, in this stabilization zone where they don't have any protections or overlays. What they've seen is once one house came down and was replaced by a giant duplex and other builds, they have two houses on a single lot. His neighborhood and his block is very diverse, by income, by rental status, by type, duplex, non - duplex, students, nonstudents, families, racially diverse, and then one block over it's now gone into price insensitive, monoculture, all students and more houses being knocked down sequentially. Therefore, to say that there's no evidence that on single blocks where they're seeing houses being taken down and replaced by price insensitive monoculture that it doesn't destabilize blocks, that's just categorically in this case, not true. Knots thinks there's evidence to that once that continues there's more and more momentum. Again he asks them to go to that 900 block of Jefferson and walk around the corner, the 900 block of Market and see that these Planning and Zoning Commission October 18, 2023 Page 11 of 14 are pretty every type of housing stock, there's so much housing choice in these neighborhoods, and at lots of different price points and lots of different types of people. But if they provide no protection to the type of development that can go in these areas or have savvy developers who can keep within the word, but push the spirit of what is described, they really will lose the stability of the neighborhood. Jim Throomorton (814 Ronalds Street) wanted to add the houses at greatest risk from the height differential are ones located in the southeastern part of the Northside Neighborhood and in the Court Hill District. Those houses tend be on smaller lots, they tend to be occupied by structures that are valued in the $100,000s. Anyone who owns a house knows that assessed value in the $100,000s is something very affordable in this area. It didn't used to be when he first moved here, but it is now. So it's misguided to say, as a couple of speakers did, that this is sort of an effort to preserve property rights or something like that in the Northside Neighborhood. The biggest concern they have is for those properties outside of historic preservation districts and in the southeastern side of the RNS-12 district. Wally Plahutnik (430 N. Gilbert Street) wanted to add two points that he didn't get in. The first is they're talking about the RNS-12 stabilization district itself, not historical districts and overlay. He keeps hearing 75% of the RNS-12 is covered by historical district and conservation overlay. Well, 25% isn't and don't those people deserve to be spoken for as well. Secondly, this type of thing has already been done. The South District has a two and a half story limit and so just considering that this isn't out of the blue, this isn't something completely new, completely different. The South District already has this type of restriction. Dave Moore (425 E. Davenport Street) wanted to finish his thoughts about going to the Board of Adjustments. The Board of Adjustments had found that the building official made a mistake when she approved a setback reduction to allow the 35-foot-tall building to be built two feet closer to the property line and that issue prevented the building from being built. The issue that prevented the building was incorrect setback, but not the height. One of the Board of Adjustment members said a simple drive by could have cleared this whole thing up months ago, it's obvious that this doesn't fit in with the neighborhood. They had hoped the developer might come back with something that was a little bit more reasonable, but he came back with an even taller building. Once again, the Board found that the building official made a mistake about the front setback, again about the front setback, it wasn't the height, so the developer could propose another building that would be injurious to the neighborhood and to the neighbors who live close by. Its hard to believe that so much time and money was spent by citizens simply to fight off a building that the Comprehensive Plan and Central District says shouldn't even exist in the first place. This amendment would put an end to that kind of problem this amendment has broad support all the owner -occupied homes in the immediate area signed off, many people in the Northside and other neighborhoods, many organizations and very deeply experienced people who wrote letters. Moore wanted to thank the volunteers from the Northside Neighborhoods for walking the streets and doing the real measurements, finding out the real facts and putting this proposal together. Hensch closed the public hearing. Planning and Zoning Commission October 18, 2023 Page 12 of 14 Quellhorst moved to maintaining the 35-feet as the maximum allowable height in the Neighborhood Stabilization Residential (RNS-12) zones. Padron seconded the motion. Quellhorst noted he lives in Longfellow in an historic home and shares a lot of the concerns that have been voiced today but this area appears to be well protected by historic and conservation district overlays. He thinks the appropriate remedy is expanding those overlays rather than pursuing a niche carve -out to the zoning code. He also doesn't see any indication of a large influx of tall homes, staff indicated that they don't have any record of homes over a 27-feet being constructed since the 1990s. Finally, he shares staffs concerns that the proposed amendment would be inconsistent with that standard in most other residential zones and would result in varying height limits based on purpose, which isn't a sufficient justification. Padron stated she read the staff proposal and it makes more sense to her. She has listened to all the neighbors, and they just don't convince her that their reasons are reason enough to lower the height. Townsend stated she can't vote in accordance with this because she thinks the 27-foot is tall enough in these residential areas. She lives in one of those areas and would hope that they wouldn't get a 35-footer and in her neighborhood. Craig asked staff if the building they saw that has galvanized a lot of this reaction, the 35-foot building, where is it in the approval process, and it isn't part of the approval that it has to fit in with the neighborhood. Russett replied it needs to meet the standards in the zoning code. Her understanding is they did have a building permit issued for it but it's not moving forward in terms of construction. It doesn't have to meet subjective character standards, it just needs to meet the height, the setbacks, and other zoning standards. Hektoen cautioned them away from focusing too much on that one example, this is a change to the text of the code that would apply in multiple situations. Craig understands but is interested in knowing what protections are in place without changing the code and if there is a protection that they have to meet some standard and some type of conformity as in fitting in with a neighborhood, that's what is important to her. Russett replied that particular property is not in a historic or conservation district so the zoning code doesn't have any design standards that it needs to meet, there's no design standards or regulations related to it fitting in with RNS-12. Craig stated another building that is often brought up as an example is the one on the Bloomington Street but she drives down that street two or three times a week for 30 years and doesn't know any big monstrous building there. She looked up the address and the building that they're talking about looks very much like a single-family home and fits in with the neighborhood. It did replace a very small decrepit house, but it's got a yard and they built a double car garage off the alley in the back. She doesn't know why anyone would complain about that being in their neighborhood. Criag noted the issue is it didn't sell as a single-family house, it's being rented by the room and so instead of having a five member family in there they have five students. However, if they had a five -member family in there, she doesn't think anyone would be Planning and Zoning Commission October 18, 2023 Page 13 of 14 complaining about it. That's the struggle for her when that is used as an example of what they don't want in their neighborhood and yet if it had two adults and three children, they'd be happy to have it in their neighborhood. Craig also asked staff about why in one neighborhood is the limit defined as two and a half stories and in another 27-feet or 35-feet. Russett would prefer that it would be in feet and not stories in this zone. Elliott stated walking into that neighborhood and can't imagine having a three-story structure, it just doesn't fit into the character of the neighborhood. She also feels like lowering it to 27-feet adds to the affordability of the neighborhood and is consistent with the strategic plan. Wade will be supporting the denial. He hears the concerns and lived up in the Northside Neighborhood for a long time. He is familiar with the house on Jefferson, also on the corner of Market and Jefferson, along the alleyway used to be a white house there that was torn down and replaced with the duplex up on Market Street and Rochester. Also smaller houses that were replaced with newer houses. None of these became intrusive to their neighborhood and for that reason can't support lowering it to 27-foot and will support leaving it at 35-feet. Hensch noted the difficulty always is this question of affordable housing and that's what causes him the quandary. He is extremely concerned about the proliferation of rentals throughout the City and that the whole City is just going to become rental. Additionally, he doesn't see any evidence that more rentals is reducing the price of rent, so that's not the answer to affordability. He will oppose this motion because it's reasonable and particularly what really stayed with me him was Robert Miklo's comment that the original 35-feet was just to deal with the slope on some of the lots and not for any other reason. A vote was taken and the motion passed 4-3 (Townsend, Hench and Elliott dissenting). PLANNING AND ZONING INFORMATION: Russett gave an update from last night's Council meeting. The Council approved the City's submission for the pro -housing grant to the Housing and Urban Development Department and matching the leveraging funds of $2.8 million from the City so that application will be submitted later this month. Elliott noted there is now a walkway on Riverside Drive which makes it so much safer. Craig stated that's been on the City's books for many years but the railroad was supposed to move their things and they refused so ultimately they took the space out of the street. 0oil [oil]aIId141Y A Townsend moved to adjourn, Elliott seconded by and the motion passed 7-0. PLANNING R ZONING COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2023-2024 1112 11116 1217 12121 1/4 1118 2115 311 4/5 4119 6121 715 7119 812 8116 1014 10118 CRAIG, SUSAN X X OfE X X X X X X X X X X X X X X ELLIOTT, MAGGIE X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X HENSCH, MIKE X X X X X X X X X X X O/E X X X X X PADRON,. MARIA X CIE X X X X X X X X X X O/E X X X X QUELLHORST, SCOTT -- --- ---- ---- -- -- -- ____ ___ __ __ __ __ ___ X X X SIGNS, MARK CIE O/E X X X X O/E O/E X ---- -- -- -- -- --- -- -- -- TOWNSEND, BILLIE X X X 01E X O/E X X X X X X X O/E X X X WADE, CHAD X I O/E X I X X O/E X X I X X X X X X X X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = AbsenVExcused --- = Not a Member Item Number: 5.11h. I i CITY OF IOWA CITY COUNCIL ACTION REPORT November21, 2023 Public Art Advisory Committee: September 7 Attachments: Public Art Advisory Committee: September 7 Approved, p.1 Public Art Advisory Committee Mtg, 9/7/2023 Minutes Public Art Advisory Committee September 7, 2023 Emma Harvat Hall Public Art Advisory Committee Members Present: Scott Sovers, Juli Seydell Johnson, Steve Miller, Andrea Truitt, Anita Jung, Nate Sullivan Members Absent: Eddie Boyken, Jenny Gringer, Jeremy Endsley Staff present: Rachel Kilburg Public Present: Ray Michels, Ethan Wyatt, Rachael Arnone Call to Order Miller called the meeting to order at 3:35 p.m. Introduction of members and public attending the meeting None. Public Discussion of Any Item Not on the Agenda None. Consider minutes of the August 3, 2023 PAAC meeting. Sullivan noted minor typo correction to minutes. Johnson moved and Sovers seconded that the minutes from the August 3, 2023, meeting be approved. Motion passed (6-0). South East Junior High Longfellow Tunnel 2023 painting project design South East Junior High Art Teacher Rachael Arnone introduced herself and one of the student artists, Graysen, and presented the two student mural designs. Graysen shared their design was inspired by a pirate-themed Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Arnone described the project process: the entire class voted upon various designs and selected the two being presented to be painted on each side of the Longfellow Tunnel at the end of September by 10 students from the class who will be randomly selected. Johnson thanked Arnone and the students for their efforts. Jung made a motion to approve the designs, Sullivan seconded. Motion passed (6-0). Consider proposal for restoration of three public art works Kilburg reviewed the memo included in the agenda packet, describing the proposal submitted by Dave Dennis, Inc. for the restoration of three public art pieces in critical need of repair: Birds in Flight (Sycamore Greenway), One's Reality (HWY 6 & Riverside), and the wooden Kovalev Sculptures (Willow Creek Park). Kilburg noted the cost estimates proposed by Dennis exceed the Art Maintenance budget line, but the Committee could choose to allocate a portion of unencumbered funds in the budget towards these restoration projects. Kilburg relayed public correspondence from (1) Jim Approved, p.2 Public Art Advisory Committee Mtg, 9/7/2023 Doorley, a private resident who donated $1,000 towards the restoration of One's Reality and wished to thank the Committee for their restoration of the piece; and (2) Howard Horan, whose family had donated one of the Kovalev sculptures to the City and was supportive of the restoration project. The Committee discussed whether to fund all three restoration projects using unencumbered Public Art budget funds. Kilburg clarified that the unencumbered funding amount noted in the memo is what remains in the Public Art budget after accounting for FY23 carryover funding and planned/anticipated FY24 expenditures. Sullivan asked whether there were any unanticipated opportunities or financial needs the Committee could foresee. Johnson shared her perspective that the Committee has not historically used all of their budget and expressed her support for funding the restoration of all three pieces. Jung noted that there would still be some budget flexibility even if the Committee chose to fund all three projects. Truitt and Sullivan expressed the importance of showing a commitment to maintaining the existing inventory in addition to commissioning new pieces. Staff confirmed that One's Reality would be relocated to the Iowa City Public Works Campus along S. Gilbert St. & McCollister Blvd following restoration. Jung made a motion to approve proceeding with a funding agreement for the restoration of One's Reality, Birds in Flight, and the Kovalev Sculptures, Truitt seconded. Motion passed (6-0). South District Bench project update — budget and timeline Artist Mentor Ray Michels and Emerging Artist Ethan Wyatt presented a status update on the project. Michels shared his perspective that proceeding with the chosen "hand" concept does not seem viable due to budget and spacing/setback challenges discovered through the design process. Michels had also evaluated feasibility of the second alternative (the "dominoes" concept) and found that was also cost prohibitive. Michels suggested revisiting the concepting phase using the new information discovered and soliciting additional public input. Miller asked the artists about a revised timeline. Michels suggested new concept options be developed in September, public input in October, a new design recommendation to the Committee in November, fabrication completed by March, and installation occurring in May. Michels also acknowledged the prolonged time commitment this would be asking of Wyatt. Jung suggested dedicating additional funding towards the project due to the challenges that have arisen during the process, and Miller voiced support for this suggestion. Kilburg reminded the Committee the initial budget was $12,000 and $9,400 is remaining in the project line. Jung, Miller, and Truitt discussed contributing additional funding towards artist labor and/or hard costs. Michels clarified that trying to proceed with the initial design may still problematic due to the space constraints and clearance requirements. Johnson suggested delaying the conversation for another month and that the artists return with a revised request. Truitt asked if the Artists could develop a comparison of the current project as -is, a modified design, and/or other alternative concepts as the Approved, p.3 Public Art Advisory Committee Mtg, 9/7/2023 artists see fit. Michels shared that an alternative design is more likely to work in the selected location than the current concept for various reasons. Michels also noted the bus stop was selected by the South District Neighborhood Association because a concrete pad already existed there, so they would need to be involved in the conversation. Michels and Wyatt agreed to revisit the existing concept and prepare possible options to present to the Committee in October. Committee members acknowledged economic inflation challenges impacting the project budget and process and thanked the artists for being patient and flexible in their approach. Staff Updates Kilburg shared an update on the Black Hawk Mini Park Project. Per the Committee's direction, a letter to terminate the agreement was issued to the contracted artist on August 11th and the contract would officially terminate on September 11th following the required 30-day curing period. Per the Committee's August meeting discussion, the remaining $5,137 project balance will be re -allocated to the Lucas Farms public art project. Kilburg provided an update on the Lucas Farms Neighborhood indigenous history public art project. Staff is working with neighborhood leadership to collect historical information and guidance in order to draft an artist RFQ. The targeted location for the piece is Highland Park and the proposed timeline is to issue the RFQ in October or November and complete installation of the project by late Spring/early Summer 2024. Kilburg shared she will not be present for the October meeting. The Committee members discussed options and decided to cancel the October meeting and form a working subcommittee to meet with the South District Bench project artists in early October instead. Truitt and Jung volunteered to serve on the subcommittee. Staff will coordinate the subcommittee meeting and continue to make progress on the Lucas Farms RFQ. Adjournment Sovers moved to adjourn at 4:14 pm. Sullivan seconded. Motion passed (6-0). Approved, p.4 Public Art Advisory Committee Mtg, 91712023 Public Art Advisory Committee Attendance Record 2022-23 Name Term 10/13/22 11/3/22 12/1/22 1/5/23 2/2/23 4/6/22 5/4/22 6/6/23 7/6/23 6/3/23 9/7/23 Expires Ron Knoche X. X X X X X* X X X X X* Juli Seydell- X X* X X* X X X X X X X Johnson Steve Miller 12/31/23 X X X X X 0/E X X X X X Eddie 12/31/24 X X X X 0/E X 0/E 0/E 0/E 0/E 0 Boyken Andrea 12/31/25 X 0/E X X X X X X X X X Truitt Anita Jung 6/30/23 0/E 0/E 0/E X X X X X 0/E 0/E X Jenny 12/31/23 0/E X X X X 0/E 0/E X X X 0/E Gringer Jeremy 12/31/25 X 0/E X X 0/E 0/E X X 0/E X 0 Endsley Nate 6/30/26 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- X X X Sullivan Key X = Present X* = Delegate attended 0 = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused --- = Not a member