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Home My WebLink About2023-11-06 Transcription Page I Council Present: Alter,Bergus,Dunn,Harmsen, Taylor, Teague, Thomas Staff Present: From,Jones, Goers, Grace, Platz,Knoche, Sovers,Russett,Kilburg, Hightshoe, Sitzman,Lehmann, Clark,Durst Others Present: LeFevre,USG Liasion 1. Call to Order Teague: Welcome to your City Hall. It is just after 6 P.M. On November 6, 2023 and I'm going going to call the City of Iowa City formal meeting to order. And we're going to start with a roll call, please. (Roll Call) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 2 2. Proclomations 2.a CRPS Awarement Month and Color the World Orange Day Teague: All right. Well,we have a full house tonight, and I want to welcome everyone here. Um,we're going to start with some proclamations,which is item#2. 2.a is CRPS Awareness Month and Color the World Orange Day (reads proclomation).And we're gonna have this award,uh,this proclamation received by Eyad Hanna. Hanna(Eyad's Daughter): Hi. When I was about six years old was when I started to understand that my everyday activities, such as running or climbing up things, or even walking upstairs, are a giant privilege, a luxury. It was then when I started to understand that my uncle is and was always in pain. But I mean, I was six, so I didn't really understand that to the full length of it. Really, I thought that one day we would all just wake up and he would be perfectly fine and we would go back to sledding, and playing Frisbee and all the nature walks and lovely things that we did before.Now I'm older and I realize that that can't happen and we have the responsibility to make that happen and be here today and have meetings like this. I'm so grateful for everyone here,who is here along on this journey with us. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. And thank you for sharing that story with us. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 3 2.b National Apprenticeship Week Teague: We're going to move on to Proclamation 2.b is National Apprentice Week- Apprenticeship Week(reads proclomation). And receiving this,uh,there's a lot of folks here that uh-uh have gone through this program,uh,but we're going uh,to welcome Bill and others to come up at this time. Gerhard: Hey,thank you so much. Teague: Thank you. Gerhard: Hello, I'm Bill Gerhard. I live in Iowa City. I've spent my life working for the building trades. I was a construction laborer and then I became the Business Manager of the Labors Union, and for 14 years, I was President of Iowa State Building Construction Trades Council. Uh,the Building Trades is a term for the umbrella organization that covers all the 15 different crafts that do construction work. We all have apprentice programs where we're entrusted with training the uh,the workers of the future. For many of us, it's a program has been going on for 100 years,uh,where kids,young people get indentured into a program,they earn while they learn. That means at no cost for the program,there are no student loans,they work. And then it used to be evenings during the week or one weekend a month,they would go to class and do the book work for it. At the end of four or five years,we would turn them out as journey people. And as they worked their way up,they would get well paying jobs based on what year apprenticeship they are and would always include health insurance and retirement. It's been the pathway to the middle class for a whole lot of people. And the good news is there's going to be a whole lot more people taking this-this road too. Uh,you guys live in Iowa City,you know the 10-year plan the University has for all the amount of work, all the money being coming down from the federal government for infrastructure and inflation reduction and green energy. These are gonna be an opportunity for a lot of people to become part of the middle class. And as the proclamation said, and thank you for reading it,we're looking for new people to become apprentices. We're especially interested in the underserved communities,people that have sort of been left out in the past. This is an opportunity for them,uh, so thank you for honoring Apprenticeship Week. I'm mean we have a big group of apprentices back here and a couple of them are going to come and speak about their experience. So,thank you,Mayor. Teague: Thank you. Eckhardt: Hi,my name is Cole Eckhardt. Um, I was part of the pre-apprenticeship program that the City of Iowa City actually helped fund. So thank you guys so much for doing that. Uh, and now I'm a helper with the electricians. And I think it's really important that we continue to,um,put funding into things like this because it's such a great opportunity for people like myself who maybe can't really afford college or maybe you don't really want to go to college. I personally like to work with my hands and,um, for me,this is a great way for me to make a good income and feel like I'm- if I can talk,um, contribute to our, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 4 um, community,uh, in a really helpful way. And so I think that that's why,um,this is something that I kind of chose to do. So,um,yeah. So thank you guys. Teague: Thank you. Washington: My name is Jasper Washington, I'm a carpenter. Um, I second everything she said, but also I think it's super important because she reached out,they reached out on my behalf and I was working the next day. They have a wonderful tool library that some of the guys on my job site were jealous of when I told them about it. So it's super helpful and we really appreciate it. Teague: Great. Mwandjlulu: Um. Good afternoon guys. My name is Justin. I'm from Congo DRC, Africa. And, um, I'm third year apprentice and I really enjoy working with my hands, and I really appreciate you guys giving funds for this program and I basically graduate at the University of Labor Center. Yeah. They really helped me out to find this path and I really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Houser: My name is Kaden Houser. I'm a second year apprentice for Laborers Local 43. Uh, I really think this is a good program. I learned about it from a job fair actually hosted at Kirkwood. And it's a great opportunity to learn a bunch of skills with your hands and then also make good money while you're doing it. Matondo: Hi guys. My name is Ricky Matondo. I'm from Congo DRC. Uh, I'm Local 43 in Cedar Rapids . I like this program because it changed my life. I was working today at a warehouse right now. I'm happy for this program because pay good money. Thank you. Teague: Great. And I- I know that there's quite a few of you that came. So if you don't mind all of you just waving your hand so we can see all of them that are in the room. Thank you all. All right. We're going to move on with our agenda items. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 5 3. Consent Calendar Teague: We're gonna,um, can I get a motion to approve consent,uh, consent, calendar agenda items, items 3 through 7,please. Bergus: So moved,Bergus. Alter: Second Alter. Teague: All right. Would anyone from the public like to address this topic?All right. Online. I see, and I want-I want to give some clarification because when we,uh, did our public notice on- on this agenda, I want to just point out that we'll be taking all comments from individuals that want to speak except for one item, oh, in person or in Zoom,but for our public comment,uh,time that is on non agenda items,um,we will only allow that to be in person. So I just wanted to make that clarification. So any agenda item,Zoom or in person,you can speak,uh,which this is an agenda item that people can speak on. All right. Anyone else like to speak, on agenda items? Seeing no one in person or online, we're going to move on to Council discussion. Roll call,please.(Roll Call) Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 6 8. Community Comment Teague: We're on to item number 8 which is community comment. This is an opportunity for people to speak on items that are not on our agenda. And we are only,um, as I mentioned before,we did public notice last Thursday that we're only going to allow comments for in-person only on agenda items that are not on our agenda. We're going to allow up to three minutes. We ask that you state your name and the city you're from. And there is a sign in at this desk,but there are also stickers in the back,uh, if people want to pre,uh, write their name. Uh, so we'll, I want to just get a show of hands of how many people want to speak during this time. Okay. Welcome. Just come on up. Welcome. Weiner: Hello,Janice Weiner from Iowa City. Seems particularly appropriate what I'm about to speak about. At the last Council meeting, as well as attempts online here,there was virulent, antisemitic, as well as openly racist comment. Whether it was actually community or from the outside,we are not immune. And I'm glad you've taken the step to require that community comment be in person. We can never stay silent in the face of hate. As Ali Vizele said,the opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference. Five years ago after the Tree of Life murders in Pittsburgh, in a letter to the editor, I wrote, we Jews have always been the canaries in the coal mine. And here we are with antisemitic vitriol and acts expanding exponentially throughout the US and abroad. Every time we give permission to hate,whether it's the State legislature punching down on trans and LGBTQ kids,members of congress introducing the bill to expel Palestinians, or a Council meeting that unintentionally platforms antisemitic hate speech, it gives permission, it opens perilous doors. I'll quote Rachel Goldberg,Mother of Hersh, a hostage. She spoke at the UN about hate. "In your quiet moments alone, all of us everywhere on planet earth need to really ask yourselves, do I aspire to be human or am I swept up in the enticing, delicious world of hatred? This is not a phenomenon unique to Israel and Gaza,this is everywhere on our planet. I understand that hatred of the other,whoever we decide that other is, is seductive, sensuous, and most importantly, it's easy. Hatred is easy, and in a competition of pain,there is never a winner." I'll add that there is also an age old search for a scapegoat, and it never ends well. What is harder is for us all to work to solve problems and to give space for all children who are in harm's way, and that's not just limited to Israel and Gaza. Give hate no purchase, stand up, speak out. In this case it was antisemitican racist vitriol, but supplies as well to Islamophobia, transphobia and any other form of hate. Hate only hurts and tears down, it builds up nothing. And it is here in our city, in our state, and in our country. Please don't avert your eyes, don't close your ears. It is up to each and every one of us to never be indifferent. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Maharry: Hello. I'm just going to make note, excuse me,um, an award here and I'll just put this down. Hello,my name is Shelley Maharry, and I am President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Johnson County. On October 17,we had the honor of awarding a Community Impact Award for Community Convening to the City of Iowa City's Office of Equity and Human Rights. Unfortunately,we held our celebration on the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 7 same evening as a Council meeting, so many were unable to celebrate the honor with Stefanie Bowers and her colleagues in person. During the event,the following remarks were shared. Within some cities and county governments, academic institutions, and corporations,having an official office of Equity and Human Rights might be a new addition. Likely in response to the death of George Floyd, or a charge to address systemic racism,privilege, and inequity. But that is not the case with the Iowa City Office of Equity and Human Rights. In fact, in 2023, it marked the 60th anniversary of their work, providing outreach and education on civil rights, convening conversations about belonging and inclusion. Most importantly,the knowledge that they share in learning opportunities that they host are not offered exclusively to Iowa City residents. Anyone is welcome to participate. The Community Foundation Board and staff have benefited greatly from the many learning opportunities offered by the Office of Equity and Human Rights. I strongly encourage everyone to subscribe to their monthly newsletter called "The Lens". In October's newsletter alone, it contained information and resources about tokenism and how it hurts DEI efforts, a book review on the Art of Allyship, resources on the National Hispanic Heritage Month and LGBTQA+history, an invitation to learn about Iowa's Don't Say Gay Law and information about the City of Iowa City's Indigenous People Celebration, and that was all in just October's newsletter. All free, all available to everyone, demonstrating community convening at its very best. Again, congratulations to the City of Iowa City's Office of Equity and Human Rights, and for everyone who works to support their important efforts. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. I know Stefanie Bowers would love to be here. You can com- come on up. I'll allow that, and I would accept this on her behalf. Thank you so much. Maharry: Thank you. Teague: Yes. All right. Anyone else like to make a public comment that is uh,not an agenda item? Seeing no one, I'm going to close the community comment,period. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 8 9. Planning& Zoning Matters 9.a Zoning Code Amendment—Housing Choice, Supply,and Affordability Ordinance amending Title 14,Zoning Code,to improve housing choice, increase housing supply, and encourage housing affordability. (REZ23-0001) (Pass & Adopt) Teague: We're going to move on to Planning and Zoning Items. 9.a is Zoning Code Amendment, Housing Choice Supply and Affordability. Um, this is um, the third reading. So, could I get a motion to pass and adopt please? Harmsen: So moved Harmsen. Bergus: Second Bergus. Teague: All right. Anyone from the public like to address this topic in person or online?Please raise your hand at this time. Okay, I'm wanting to do a count. Okay. Great. All right. Ah, we'll start right here and everyone will be allowed three minutes. If you need additional time, if you have an interpreter,we will allow an additional three minutes. Welcome. Campos (via translator): Hi. Good evening. My name is Ninoska, I'm from Handuras and I live in the trailers at Modern Manor. We are in a crisis for affordable housing for the migrant workers. Just like other cities like Chicago,Denver,New York,there is a lot of immigrants that are arriving here in Iowa City and they don't have anywhere to live. Just in this last week, 50 immigrants arrived from the border that don't have a place to live. We know trailers where 22 people are living in one trailer. We know of a family with an eight-month-old baby who's living in a garage, and families who are moving to Nichols, Iowa because we don't have spots here. And what is happening,prices are going up and this isn't helping the people that need it(that was summarized). We are in support of the changes that you are making,but we are in an emergency in that we need more funding for housing. We are in an emergency ah,where people are coming from the border and there's no housing and people are living in garages and in trailers overcrowded. That's it. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. We're going to move online and then we'll come back. So welcome Jared, online. Knote: Hi there. Can you hear me? Teague: Yes. Welcome. Knote: Thanks. And I- I have a document I had sent over. I don't know if that's available. Grace: If it was after 4 p.m. it wouldn't be in your late handout. Knote: [INAUDIBLE] on um, Thursday of last week. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 9 Grace: Then it would be in your packet. Teague: It's in our packet,yup. Knote: Okay. Could you- could you- could we please follow along with that?And I'll- I'll- I will talk to the slides. Teague: So just so that you know,your three minutes is running, I'm going to just allow um, for a restart and you can speak for up to three minutes. Knote: Okay. Thanks so much. I appreciate it. Um, so Jared Knote,Market Street, Iowa City. I'd asked to-to reject the housing choice amendments as proposed. In the slides I've shown, that I- I live in a stabilization neighborhood. Redevelopment in recent years has replaced more affordable units. Um,the Housing, Council's amen- amendments liberalize the market for more redevelopment and more displacement. I live in RNS-12. For you,these may be tran-busy trans- ah, transportation corridors. For us these are neighborhoods. Transition streets between quiet neighborhoods are more often affordable,which has made them a prime spot for redevelopment. Community members have come before this Council many times seeking protection. The Council's own Housing and Equity study includes testimony from developers,no affordable housing without taxpayer subsidies. The current amendments incentives offer thoughts and prayers, and equally bad alternatives shift the burden of redevelopment through higher taxes to those being displaced. Ah,there's a slide showing - I have a view from my window of a diverse neighborhood that supports diverse stock. There's a summary of all the development that's happened since 2020 where rents have increased up to 250% on one side of the street. Affordable housing redevelopment,which is very nice ah,but has for the same number of bedrooms,the same amount of space,the redevelopment,which is a duplex, has increased rent $550 a month,that's 250%. Ah,the only difference is everyone in the higher-income housing gets an extra bathroom. Similarly redevelopment has increased rent next door from a thousand dollars a month to $4,200 a month. Around the corner, redevelopment replaced a smaller home on a comer plot with a luxury home. And after that home did not sell, it appears that again that rents for more than a thousand dollars over a reference house in the market. Momentum is building,marked-marketed as a complete teardown and has since been knocked down and another home on Jefferson has also been knocked down. Whether it's great- gateway or riverside redevelopment and displacement near the the University seem to be ready today,but execution of affordability always seems to be waiting for a better tomorrow. Iowa City can take advantage of being a follower. Gainesville,home of the University of Florida,undid their zoning liberalization after less than a year due to displacement. It's a bad outcome. Gainesville still needs houses. We have great ideas in the proposed zoning amendments, but you need to own the execution and own negative outcomes and students across the country have sought equitable solutions and owning their role in contributing to more equitable solutions. So looking to request rejecting this proposal as it is today without um, ah, and pause see ah,to understand displacement. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 10 Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Diaz (via translator): Hi,my name is Tania Diaz. I'm from Honduras. I'm here with Escucha Mi Voz and fust of all, I come here with um, for myself and for all of the immigrants that are arriving. I arrived in Iowa City four months ago. It's been very difficult because um,my husband did not get through and so I'm here with my kids. It's been very difficult to find a stable place for myself and my children, especially since it's a new country for me. Starting from zero, it's very difficult. Right now, I'm living in one room in a trailer that the school has found for me for one month. The only thing that I'm asking for is a place um, an opportunity to get started, a safe home for my kids. For my daughter who goes to school,this is her new home now. It was very hard to get to this meeting.Where I live, there is no public transportation. We support the changes and we'd like you to take us into consideration,because we're in need of a lot of opportunities. We just want some support to get started, a place for our kids. I speak for myself and all the people that have recently arrived, and all those who are coming. We'd just like to be included in all of these new changes that are coming. We are immigrants,refugees, and we just want an opportunity. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Martinez (via translator): My name is Carla Paola Martinez. I'm here with my baby. I got here 15 days ago. My husband is still in detention. They only let myself and my baby come through and the journey has been really hard. We're here supporting Escucha Mi Voz, because we're immigrants and there's a lot more immigrants that are coming and are suffering. Right now,the houses are full. There's lots of immigrants and lots of kids. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. And if- if ah,we really do want to hear from everyone that wants to speak, but I'm going to ask people to uh,the majority of their comments should be surrounded around the zoning code amendment,housing choice, supply and affordability. Welcome. Hernandez (via translator): Good evening. My name is Paula Hernandez, and I'm from Colombia. I got here about six months ago. I came here as an immigrant and um,back home I have ah, lots of family. My parents and my um, cousins. I'm here to support Escucha Mi Voz,to support um,what your-they're working for and to have a better quality of life here in Iowa City. Not just for me,but for the immigrants who are here and coming. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Saravia(via translator): Thank you. Good evening. My name is Danixa and I'm from Honduras. I work in a hotel cleaning. Last week, 11 people arrived from the border. I have 20 people living with me at this moment. Refugees are arriving to Iowa City every day.,just like other cities like New York,Denver, and Chicago. Okay. Thank you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 11 Teague: Thank you. Saravia: I think we're in an emergency-housing emergency for everyone that's coming. Teague: Thank you. Saravia: Thank you for the opportunity. Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Guetes (via translator): Hi, my name is Jaiyo Guetes and I'm from Colombia. I live here in Iowa City, I work in a restaurant. Um, right now, I'm living in the Catholic Workerhouse and I come with Escucho Mi Vos. The reason that we're here is that we're asking for more affordable housing for all of us. We're not asking for anything free,but just to have more affordable housing. Like I said earlier, I'm living at the Catholic Workerhouse, and I know that I need to leave, so other people can have an opportunity. But the problem is I can't find anywhere to go. The trailers are really far away, and,um, a lot of places ask for papers that I don't have. Uh,when you go through immigration,you're only given a piece of paper with your court date,nothing else,just this piece of paper with when you need to show up for court. Thank you. Teague: Thank you,yup. And we'll accept our last speaker at this time. Welcome. Salinas (via translator): Hi,my name is Julio Salinas,um, I'm from Honduras. I live in the Catholic Workerhouse. I'll just tell you a little bit about my story. Four months ago I was in a car accident. Two months ago I had surgery. I fractured my shoulder. Very happy to be where I am now because it's fair. It would be very hard to pay rent,um, if I couldn't work. Recovery takes six months. I still have a ways to go. When I can get back to work I'd hope that,uh,there is affordable housing that I can rent and go to. I'm a father of two and I have my wife here, and the truth is, it's been really hard,um, since I can't work. Thank you. Teague: Thank you I'm going to allow this one additional speaker because when I asked how many people wanted to speak, I saw her hand raised. Yeah. So. And this will be our last speaker. Welcome. Norbeck: Thank you. Um,my name is Martha Norbeck and I live in the Longfellow area, and, uh,my neighborhood has a whole bunch of duplexes in it. And I ride my bike over to the north side every day for work. And I pass by a lot of duplexes. When a lot opened up mid block on Muscatine Avenue that my mother wanted to purchase, I wanted to design her a duplex because she only needed a small house. But we couldn't do that for her because it literally wasn't legal. And yet,the neighborhood is full of duplexes. There was a zoning This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 12 change not long ago that said,nope,you can't do duplexes except on the comers anymore,which dramatically restricted the capacity to build duplexes,um, in- in neighborhoods across the etire city. These proposed zoning changes are applying across the entire city. I'm really excited about this change to allow duplexes- duplexes mid block. I'm just going to point on this one thing because there's a lot of things I'd love to say are great about these changes. And the reason I'm very excited about this is because of climate action. I specialize in green building architecture. And so I think about embodied carbon. So if you're going to build one foundation for two units, it's a lot less concrete. Concrete has a crazy amount of carbon in it. We want less concrete. It takes less energy to operate those two duplexes because they're sharing a wall. Um,there's just,the other climate benefit of this is when you increase density,you increase the potential for people to pursue different types of transit. When there's more, a higher density,bringing commercial businesses closer to those denser neighborhoods becomes a viable proposition. Single family housing is not dense,not in any definition of the word. When my mother's house,which wound up with two units, got,uh, LEAD certified, one of the points, actually three of the points they earned was by having two,two units on one half acre lot. She was able to claim moderate density. Moderate density. So this is an existing regular sized lot in town in the central part of Iowa City that she was only moderately dense with two units. So the idea that single family housing that is surrounding our entire city is going to promote an ability for people to bike and take transit, and access more community stores is ludicrous. These changes are great and I'm very excited and I look forward to you approving the third reading. Thank you. Teague: Thanks to all of the speakers that have come forth on this agenda item. We're going to switch to,uh, Council discussion. Thomas: Mr. Mayor, I, I would like at this time to make a motion to amend the current,uh, zoning amendment,um,to establish a density bonus within the University Impact Area for new duplexes not located on the block corners of the RS5 and RS8 zones. Uh, any developer may voluntarily apply for the density bonus with the condition that one of those units shall be income restricted affordable housing. Uh,the purpose of this zoning amendment is to further advance the goal of creating affordable income restricted affordable housing in addition to increasing housing supply. So, so just to be clear,uh, the-the amendment would remain as is, for all areas outside the University Impact Zone. It is only within the University Impact Zone that this particular density bonus would be considered. Dunn: Second. Teague: Uh,moved by Thomas. Second by Dunn. All right,um, so any discussion. Goers: If I may, Mayor, I just want to,kind of,provide some logistical support as to how we would proceed. First off, Councilor Thomas, as a point of clarity,you mentioned that you'd want to establish a density bonus. Just-just so everyone's clear what you mean by that. Right now, I think that with the proposed amendment unamended,that density This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 13 would be available as a matter of right. You're saying in the University Impact Zone,we would say,uh,no you can only get that if you have one unit of affordable housing. Everywhere else that is outside the University Impact Zone it would go forward as is. Do I understand your proposal? Thomas: Right. It would be a voluntary density bonus that any, any property owner could apply for with the condition that one of the units would be affordable. Goers: Right. All right. Thank you for that.Now, logistically,um, if the motion to amend the ordinance amendment, and I'm sorry for the,um,kind of, double negatives that it starts to feel like here,uh, if Council were to approve it,that would be a substantive change and so it would need to go back to the starting point with,uh,Planning and Zoning review, City staff review, and so forth, and then come forth to City Council. Any questions about the logistical procedures? Alter: Thank you. Goers: Thank you. Teague: All right. Council discussion. Bergus: I feel like we're in a similar situation as we were on the second reading where,um,you know,we're just now learning about a proposal that would stop the process and send it all the way back to Planning and Zoning and starting that process again,um, I think hearing the compelling need and the level of emergency for making change that can facilitate increases inflexibility in density sooner rather than later. I wouldn't support that amendment. Alter: Um I'll just add on that at the same time,we have a room and- and beyond of,um,people who need affordable housing. Um, and I applaud the fact that,um, Councilor Thomas, that you are you know looking to that to help preserve a neighborhood and its character as well as achieving density,you know some of our strategic plans. And I applaud all of that. I think if I'm understanding you correctly too,that-that the density bonus would be something that ultimately, I believe our City Manager mentioned last time,that the likelihood of that being taken up just won't happen by private developers. And so I think that some of this is to perhaps pave the way for nonprofits to step in and- and to hold that space perhaps. I fear that the likelihood-nonprofits don't have that much money to buy land that is in one of our more expensive neighborhoods —um, and I- I believe that what would end up happening is that there just wouldn't be infill of these duplexes. So I'm- I'm not in favor of this though I applaud the desire and- and the thought process to-to try to uh mitigate some of these circumstances. But at- at this point,we're at third reading, and these are things that the Affordable Housing Coalition of Johnson County has endorsed, as well as local architects who are well apprised of the situation. And so I'm going to,um, continue with my yes vote for third reading. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 14 Taylor: I would be in favor of Councilor Thomas' Amendment. Uh, I'd also like to fust of all,uh, thank the staff who put this amendment together very thoughtfully and- and for the most part sensible. But I'm still bothered by the continual use of the word encourage. I think we need to move away from encourage and offer incentives to actually creating affordable housing. And I- I just can't see how the wording in this,uh, actually,uh,will create affordable housing. But I- I do think that Councilor Thomas' wording could move towards that. Harmsen: I think I find myself agreeing with,um, Councilors Alter and Bergus on this. I do think it is time to move forward on this. Um, I-by the way, also want to say thank you and welcome to the people that spoke here, gracias y bienvenidos. Um,we appreciate hearing those stories. Those of us on the Council,uh, listen to those,take them to heart and we keep them in our minds even when we think about other ways we can help on this important issue. Um, I do think it's time to move forward on this. Um, I agree with the sentiment of looking for ways to require affordable housing,um, in- in many other contexts, and we do do that in other contexts. I just don't think it's-this is the one that it's going to have the biggest bang for the buck,um,when we really want to get more-this is more designed to get more stock and- and that's an important thing. We need more places for people to live in Iowa City, so I will be,uh,voting against the amendment,but-but then for the original proposal. Teague: Okay. Um, so I was made aware of this. I think right before we,um,there was a deferment on this item. And what I've heard is the urgent desire and need,uh, for affordable housing and I am not going to support this. But I will say that,um, as with anything else we have to start somewhere. And affordable housing we know that there are,um, a few tools in our toolbox that we've used in the past is not enough.But I do believe that we can after,you know,kind of moving this forward, look into that toolbox to see how can we ensure,um,that affordable housing,um, is created. Um, I- I- again, I think when you're looking at single family,we just heard from someone who talked about from single family to duplexes,that in itself, um, creates an opportunity for someone,um, in a neighborhood that would be higher priced,um, and priced out of that neighborhood if it was a single family only. And so I won't support the amendment,but I do appreciate the-,um,the thought process going into an opportunity for us to consider. Thomas: I just- I just want to add that the thought that was expressed by Susan Shiloh in one of the late handouts, I think it's really important,um, for- for the Council looking forward to,uh,keep track of the amount of affordable-truly affordable housing that is generated by this change. Um, I mean that's one of my concerns is adding supply,particularly in the University Impact Zone,which has seen thousands of units, literally thousands of units added in supply over the last 10 years,um,with very-very minimal,um, creation of affordable housing and also,um,the other aspect of our Strategic Plan, and the Central District Plan which speaks to,um, creating better demographic and social diversity, that's-you know,we're focusing on- on the density. I think density is good,um,but we- we need to also be keeping an eye on how that density is addressing other issues such as making sure that,uh, our neighborhoods are, in fact, socially diverse. And unfortunately, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 15 in the University Impact Zone,where we've seen more development,more supply,more- more choice is generated than probably anywhere in the city,uh, it's- it's for a particular- particular,um, subset of short term renters and that generate extraordinary pressure on the market and not the University Impact Zone. That's why it's known as the University Impact Zone. And,um, so that-that was the- the-the reason for my suggestion was to try to address that pressure. Um,but I think it's important looking forward,you know,that- that we go, as we- as we move forward to look at how many actual affordable units we're generating through this initiative. Dunn: I think to that end,um, I think that's a really good idea. Keeping up with the reporting on- on the changes of however this amendment looks. Um,would Council be,uh, amenable to requiring or directing staff to give us like a biannual report at the start and end of every building season on- on like what building changes we see coming from these specific changes. Or would that be overly cumbersome or? Thomas: Well, it could be incorporated in the-the Neighborhood and Development Services report,which I believe is issued annually. Goeff is that correct? Fruin: That's correct,yes. Thomas: So we-we could track what we've generated,um,perhaps through that forum. Dunn: Yeah, I think that'd be useful. Bergus: I think one- one thing for us to keep in mind is that when we're talking about private property and people who may be renting,we have no mechanism to compel disclosure of that information. That's not something that we can gather from,um. Fruin: To- to build on,we typically report on,uh,rental permit numbers in those neighborhoods and new units created or bedroom additions created. And that was in response to some of the State Legislature changes over the past decade or so. We don't track,um, income,uh, unless there's City subsidy- City subsidy involved in the project. Dunn: I think that's the information that would be useful to us in the grander scheme of things too. Alter: Can I mention one? I just want to because so much of- of these proposed amendments have,um,the conversation has been framed as affordable housing and it is incredibly important and these amendments are also addressing as,uh, Councilor Harmsen said,the need for housing stock. We are woefully behind in that, of simply having housing stock now as well as 10 years from now. And so it- it's sort of the walking-walking the walk and chewing gum at the same time. I mean,we have to keep multiple needs in mind. Um, and these amendments absolutely,the conversation has centered around so much of the north side and the University Impact Area and understandably so,but we also have to think about how to increase our housing stock, increase density, and do it throughout the This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 16 city and hopefully through having different sizes of houses,to have duplexes as options throughout the city ,this is also going to help create more housing,which we desperately need as we have heard tonight, as well as just looking at the numbers. So I just wanted to point that out for us because again,understandably so, affordability for housing, it is a human right. And these amendments are also addressing something to allow the city to grow in a way that we are not constantly in a state of crisis for housing. Dunn: So just want to reiterate what I at least I would like to do. Are we comfortable directing a specific part of that report to demonstrate to us what this particular policy change, however it ends up looking,how it affects the community in terms of stock and elsewise. I think it is just a good thing for us as policymakers and for the community to see the impact of our policy and the success of the policy over time. So that'd be something I'd be particularly interested in seeing if Council is willing to support that. Harmsen: And I think we get some of that with the building permits and the reports we get on those every year that are broken out into different kinds of permits. So maybe if-there might already be a geographical component to that,but if there isn't that I would,you know-that would be helpful to know. Teague: And we get a routine-we get a routine report. So I think what you're asking is really maybe just ensuring that Council gets that report that's already existing? Dunn: I want to see a measurable difference,right? I want to be able to say,you know-these are the projects that were enabled by this change in policy. I want to be able to see that. That's what I'm saying,not really anything more or less. I'm just saying like, I would like there to be a section of that report that says due to the changes that we made here,these properties were enabled to be redeveloped or created. That's what I'm specifically wanting to have happen. That's a way for us to tell if the policy is successful. Thomas: I would add the geographic distribution. Such reports have been generated by the City of Minneapolis showing,you know-what-what the changes to the code, such as we're proposing,how many units were created and where they were located. Bergus: Just to be sure I understand, Councilor Dunn, are you wanting to condition-the consideration of the amendments on that? Okay. Dunn:No, I'm just that is like a separate correlative direction that I think would be useful to us as policymakers into the community to see impact. Bergus: I always think we should be measuring the impact of our policy and reporting on it. Yes, Taylor: I just don't see how that's going to show us the affordable units. So the affordability of these units, it's going to show what we get now as far as how many are being built,the permits for them. But there's no way we can know that this actual amendment led to these units,this number of units being affordable. I still- I just don't see how it can do that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 17 Dunn: That's not the question though. The question that I'm bringing up is just the increase in supply because like Geoff was talking about,we can't necessarily qualify... Thomas: Unless it's income restricted. Thomas: Unless it's income restricted,yeah. Teague: Tracking data to inform our decisions I think is critical. And certainly we have Tracy Hightshoe who is here who has done a lot of work, of course,with tracking data. The question would be,you know,will the current system be able to do some of the geographical items or not, and- Fruin: Well, Tracy come on up--I guess what I would say is we don't need to figure this out tonight. Teague:No,no we don't. Fruin: Let us confer and talk to you about what some reasonable metrics are and we can come back to you. I think there's probably some things that we're tracking now that are particularly burdensome that we might say we don't need to track anymore. But maybe we can just present to you a framework for future NDS annual reports, and make sure that we're covering everything that you want us to,but we'll spend all night trying to figure out what those metrics are if we try to do it at the table here. Dunn: It's fair. Hightshoe: Yes,we can track data regarding units created based on what the housing text amendments propose. We will track that. As Geoff mentioned,we can't track incomes and rent,but we can track the supply. Teague: Great. Hightshoe: And the location of that. Teague: All right. Bergus: Thank you. Teague: All right. So, I'm going to ask that we kind of do a roll call at this time if there are no other comments, for the amendment. (Roll Call) Goers: Right. Just so we're clear, this is on the motion to amend the proposal before you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 18 Teague: All right. Motion fails 4-3. We're back to our original pass and adopt that was on the floor in the beginning. Any other comments by Council?Roll call,please. (Roll Call) Motion passes 5-2. Teague: All right. We are on to item number 913. Goers: You need a motion to accept correspondence. Dunn: So moved. Teague: Yes. Bergus: Second. Teague: Could I get a motion to accept correspondence. Alter: So moved,Alter. Dunn: Second,Dunn. Teague: All right. All in favor say, aye. Any opposed?Motion passes 7 to 0. (Voice Vote) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 19 9.b Zoning Code Amendment—Encouraging accessory dwelling units to improve housing choice,supply and afordability. Ordinance amending Title 14,Zoning Code,to improve housing choice, increase housing supply, and encourage housing affordability by adjusting standards for Accessory Apartments (REZ23-0001) Teague: Item number 9.b is Zoning Code Amendment-Encouraging accessory dwelling units to improve housing choice, supply and affordability. Ordinance amending Title 14 Zoning Code to improve housing choice, increase housing supply, and encourage housing affordability by adjusting standards for Accessory Apartments. I'm going to open the public hearing and welcome our staff Kirk. 1. Public Hearing: Lehmann: Thank you,Mayor. Kirk Lehmann,Associate Planner. I'll be providing an overview of the affordable housing amendments as they relate to accessory dwelling units tonight. If you can't hear me through my mask,just let me know and I'll try to speak up and speak clearly as I move through this. First, I just wanted to start by how we got here tonight. It's part of a presentation that you've seen somewhat before. You know,housing affordability is a complex issue in Iowa City. It's especially influenced by continued growth, driven by our high quality of life,by a strong economy,but our housing being constructed is not meeting the demand of that growth. So we're seeing an unmet demand for housing and increased competition for the housing that does exist,which increases prices and rents. So this specific code change related to ADU's started out as part of the suite of zoning code amendments that you considered on your previous item. As a refresher, it's been part of several years of planning through the City. Starting with the 2016 Affordable Housing Action Plan adopted by Council. That identified 15 action steps, including changes to zoning regulations. In 2019 the City also adopted a Fair Housing Choice study that looked at protected characteristics such as race, gender or disability, and recommended actions to affirmatively further fair housing within Iowa City. One of the most significant fair housing issues identified was a lack of affordable rental housing. And improving housing choice is one of the many strategies recommended for that. In 2022,the City updated its Affordable Housing Action Plan to build off of some of these previous efforts and included advancing and also at the same time, it updated its strategic plan as well in 2022,which included advancing the plans,prioritize recommendations as part of its strategic plan. Accumulatively,the plans have had a significant amount of public input over these past several years, and so that was really integral in developing this suite of zoning code amendments that you just considered.Now, earlier this year,we brought those changes to the Planning and Zoning Commission over several meetings starting in February, and at their meeting on August 2, Commission recommended approval of the suite of zoning changes,with the exception of those related to accessory dwelling units. So it was at that time that this portion of the amendment got split out, following additional public feedback at the request of P &Z, and then went again before P &Z. So I'll talk a bit more about that separate input in a minute,but that's really how we got to where we are with this proposed amendment being separate from the other one. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 20 I also wanted to take a step back and just discuss ADUs because I tend to throw around that acronym very loosely, it stands for accessory dwelling units, also called an accessory apartment in our zoning code.Now,these are small self contained units located on the same lot as a principal residential use. So it is accessory and it is a dwelling unit,hence the name. They're also called a variety of other names,you'll hear them called Carriage houses, in law suites, guest suites, all sorts of things. But because they re small,they can take a variety of arrangements, especially as that relates to the principal use. So they can fit discretely into all sorts of contexts, all sorts of neighborhoods, depending on how they're integrated into that neighborhood. They also have many benefits as a result of that flexibility,because they can increase the housing supply and diversity. They're flexible and convenient for owners and they tend to have lower construction costs than other housing arrangements, especially single family detached homes,which is what you see in many new neighborhoods. As such,the city does see it as really positive thing to encourage the construction of ADUs. Over the past 30 years,we've only seen 52 built, and so we've heard that some of our current regulations are a barrier to their construction. Now, in terms of going back to the public- additional public input we received regarding ADUs,we did hold two open houses in mid September at two different locations. We had more than 58 attendees who joined to learn more, ask questions of staff,provide additional feedback, and we also provided,uh, a survey that was distributed at,uh,that- those public open houses, and then also online as well. So we received 51 responses. Uh, really what we're looking for is you know what specific parts of our proposed changes might be a concern and the only item that a majority of respondents noted was a concern was allowing ADUs on rental properties,but others did not have a majority of respondents who thought that those were a concern. When it comes to the individual,uh, proposals,uh,that comprise this amendment, I'll discuss those in more detail later,but you have all these materials,uh, in your agenda packet,uh,that you reviewed before tonight. I also wanted to discuss on how it ties into the Council's strategic plan. So it really ties into the city's core value of racial equity, social justice, and human rights, which emphasizes removing and addressing systemic barriers present in all facets of city government, including land use decisions and specifically to that Housing and Neighborhoods Impact area,which encourages several things,but that includes updating the zoning code to encourage compact neighborhoods with diverse housing types and land uses, and also in addressing the unique needs of vulnerable populations and low to moderate income neighborhoods. Uh, it also does within that action plan, like I noted,uh, it specifically recommends advancing prioritized recommendations from that 2022 Affordable Housing Action Plan at the same time. And so with that background,we can begin talking about the zoning code amendment itself. So when it comes to zoning code text amendments like this,uh,there's really one review criteria that we are primarily looking at,which is that it's consistent with the comprehensive plan. Um,this is because the zoning code really implements that vision of the comprehensive plan. And as I noted ear- earlier,the proposed amendments regarding ADUs were initially part of a suite of zoning code text amendments that you just discussed. Ah,the suite was proposed to help ensure the city's zoning code doesn't unduly restrict development or act as a barrier to creating a diverse housing stock, instead we wanted uh,to really ensure that it allows encourages the diversity of housing options for the community. Uh, in terms of that suite This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 21 of proposed changes,the- it was grouped into five categories. Ah,the proposed amendments related to ADUs were tied specifically to providing additional flexibility to enhance the supply of housing. Uh,really what we're looking at is trying to help increase the supply of housing and promote lower cost housing types seamlessly throughout Iowa City's neighborhoods. And this proposed amendment related to ADUs was the third of- of three different amendments in that,uh,the other two were just previously considered. So in terms of what's actually being proposed tonight,um,the- I am fust going to present you,uh,the amendments as they are proposed by staff. That's what's included in the October 4 memo to P &Z. Uh, I'll also mention P &Z's recommendation which changed slightly from staffs recommendation. So when I talk about staff and P &Z recommendation,that's kind of the difference. Uh, I'll be sure to address that,but I just want to make sure that you understand that there are two different recommendations there. So fust the amendment proposed to expand where ADUs are allowed. Uh,this proposed amendment would allow them to be accessory to single family and duplex uses instead of just detached single family uses, and it would also allow them in all zones that allow household living uses. So currently, it- it's only allowed in certain zones within the city.Next,the proposed amendment removes barriers to the construction of ADUs that includes,uh, staff recommended removing the requirement that the-an owner live on site, uh,that an additional parking space be provided for an ADU. Uh, in terms of the change between staffs and P &Z's recommendation,that was that P & Z recommended retaining that owner occupancy requirement so that it is continuing to require an owner to live on site. Staff had recommended,uh,that that not be the case. Uh, I also did want to touch briefly on how the owner occupancy requirement is administered. It is something that's permanently associated with the property and it's checked upon issuance of rental permit. So as such, if an ADU is built on the property,that means that the owner must live on the property,uh, in order to acquire a rental permit. That's how-that's how it's checked. So just to talk about kind of that administrative side,uh, of that requirement. Uh, on top of that,the proposed amendments also simplify design requirements for ADUs. They allow a wider variety of a- arrangements in the ways that they can be provided on the site. That is,they can be attached,uh, as an addition on a property that's more than 10% of the floor area of that property. Uh, it would also allow a standalone ADU,which is not allowed under our current code unless it's part of an accessory used to- a different accessory use as well. Uh, it also increases the allowable size and occupancy of ADUs. Uh,but part of this is done by relying on our existing standards within our rental code as they relate to occupancy,the number of bedrooms, and some of those sorts of related standards that are regulated for all rental properties. Finally, the proposed amendment would change the name from accessory apartment to accessory dwelling units,uh,throughout our code or ADU. Uh, this is because based on feedback we had during our public meetings, it can be really confusing for folks when they hear accessory apartment,they think that's gonna mean an apartment complex that's accessory. Uh, so really trying to clarify and boil down to,you know,the single accessory unit that would be allowed on a property.We figured that this clarity would help with some of that. Uh,the proposed changes were initially based on recommendations that, ah,the Johnson County Livable Communities Housing Action Team provided, and then also on staffs understanding of Council's goals,uh,to increase the supply of housing and the diversity of housing types in neighborhoods. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 22 These in turn support affordability,uh,writ large since you can't really have an affordable housing stock unless you have enough homes to meet the demand for housing. In terms of our analysis, it's based on that staff proposal, since this was provided as part of P & Z. Uh, generally,what we see in terms of anticipated impacts is that the 13,000 parcels that currently have single family uses that could currently allow an ADU if they're owner-occupied,those can continue to provide ADUs. Um, as of right now, less than 1% of the parcels that could allow ADUs have built them. So we see really low,uh- low levels of folks actually taking up the construction of ADUs on those properties. In terms of the amendments as proposed by staff,they would increase the number of allowable parcels by 1,400 and that one's based on expanding the zones and uses that would allow ADUs. So that's the expansion criteria. Uh, st-with staffs recommendation, another 3,100 parcels could also allow ADUs,uh, if the owner occupancy requirement were removed. Uh, I did- do want to know that many of those would be in the University Impact Areas. That's where we see lots of single family homes with rental permits. Ah, we'd also like to see by reducing these other barriers to the construction of ADUs,we'd hope that more than 1% of eligible parcels would actually use it. So in addition to expanding where these things are allowed,we're really hoping that more people will take up the opportunity to construct these units on their property. Uh,however,that being said,you know, staff doesn't anticipate all eligible units to suddenly provide ADUs. Obviously,we've had lower levels of interest due the barriers and other things in the past, uh,but our goal is really to encourage their construction, see increased numbers over time. Uh, another benefit of ADUs, like I discussed previously, is that they are more likely to be built in the most walkable and transit oriented parts of the city, so we really see this as also bolstering the city's sustainability goals, including things like not requiring parking helps with promoting alternative modes of transportation and dovetails really nicely with the city's free-the-the two year free transit trial,which we think is a really positive thing that kind of work together. In terms of what areas would be most affected,uh,the green areas are currently those that allow them if the property is owner- occupied. Uh,under the current or the staff proposed version,those would also allow them if they're renter occupied,uh,under P &Z's recommendation,those would continue to be if they're owner-occupied. And the yellow areas are those,uh,that would allow ADUs that currently don't allow ADUs. So,uh,they're in different zones. They're for different uses that don't currently allow ADUs,that's what that yellow is on this map. Staff did also look at other larger jurisdictions in Iowa and jurisdictions with large university populations. And what we've found is that many communities have recently been reevaluating their ADU regulations, including things like removing owner occupancy requirements, off street parking requirements, increasing allowable sizes. There have been all sorts of changes,uh,but really at the end of the day, each community really has a unique set of regulations. So it's not a one size fits all approach. Uh,you'll notice that none of these look identical or even close to identical, and uh, so it- it's really a fact that-that everyone approaches it a little differently. But that being said, our proposed changes are in line with other communities that we see in similar situations, both the staff recommended version and the P &Z recommended version as well. We also did look at national best practices, so folks like the American Planning Association, who puts out an equity and zoning guide,which encourages allowing a broad range of This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 23 building forms and residential types and low density residential neighborhoods. It also encourages allowing ADUs subject only to conditions needed to mitigate potential impacts on neighboring properties. And we also rely on materials,uh,provided by the AARP, which has recently become a champion of ADUs, especially as they can help,uh, seniors age in place. Uh,they do provide a model local ordinance,which I think was the basis of a lot of the recommendations we received from the Housing Action Committee of the Johnson County Livable Communities. Uh, overall,the proposed amendments we identify in our local action and strategic plans do fit within this national best practice framework,uh, and those have been tested and refined in other cities and counties, as well as been res- supported,uh,by research from multiple public policy institutes. And most importantly,uh, is consistently with the comprehensive plan. The vision of the comprehensive plan does support creating attractive and affordable housing for all people. That is the foundation of healthy, safe, and diverse neighborhoods throughout our city. Uh,to that end,the plan discusses the need for a mix of housing types within neighborhoods to provide residential opportunities for a variety of households along with integrated affordable housing options. And also using infill development to add to the diversity of housing options without compromising neighborhood character or overburdening infrastructure. So overall,the proposed amendments, again both staff and P &Z recommend-recommended, are consistent with the comprehensive plan,uh,just as it's consistent with many of the other plans that-that I had previously mentioned earlier in the presentation. So things like our 2016 Affordable Housing Action Plan,which noted to consider regulatory changes including allowing more building permits by right. Um, cops, sorry. The 2019 Fair Housing Choice Study,which recommends allowing a varie- wider variety of housing types throughout the community and exploring ways to increase density and types of housing allowed, especially in low-density single-family residential neighborhoods. And also the 2022 Affordable Housing Action Plan Update,which discusses increasing the allowable number and/or type of dwelling units in single-family zoning districts by right, including ADUs, and it specifically notes to consider allowing ADUs associated with rental housing. And then finally,the Strategic Plan adopted in 2022,which recommends implementing that Affordable Housing Action Plan. So again, with staffs recommendation,um, grounded in the goals of the comprehensive plan and- and supported by input received through our action strategic plans,we did present the- the proposed amendments as I presented previously. That includes the owner occupancy requirement for ADUs. And we really focus on that because we believe that removing that requirement would substantially increase the number of ADUs that actually get constructed within the community,uh, and with the Planning and Zoning,they also looked at it,uh, and at their meeting on October 4,the P & Z Commission recommended approval of changes with the exception that the owner occupancy requirement be retained. So that vote was 4-3, and the ordinance in your packet that you are considering tonight is based on that Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation. So that's- that's how it's set up. It- it retains the owner occupancy requirement in the materials that you're voting tonight. In terms of next steps,this is the fust consideration of the amendments related to ADUs. Uh,however,the suite of zoning code amendments is really warming up for the much more broad public process of our comprehensive plan update that we're looking at. Especially trying to make sure that affordable housing is This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 24 central to the construction of that plan. Once that plan is adopted and the policies are considered by the full community through a comprehensive public outreach effort,uh, that would be followed by a comprehensive zoning code update at some point,uh, in the future. And with that,that concludes staffs presentation. So I'm happy to answer any questions you have. Harmsen: Thank you for that. Uh, quick question. With the um,the proposal that we have from the zoning-uh,Planning and Zoning,um, if-which keeps the owner-occupied uh, requirement,what happens if the property is then sold? Can the new owners then use the ADU even if they are,you know, somebody buys, say I put one up,you know, in my backyard or whatever,um, and then I decide to move, somebody else buys my house, decides they're going to just be a landlord. Does that mean that the ADU then has to become vacant or can that still be used? I mean,how does that sort of work? Lehmann: So it really depends on the situation. At the end of the day, if it's going to be rented out and they need a rental permit,you know,we would evaluate it like it was any other use because it is accessory to that principal use. So in some cases, it may have to be vacated, in some cases, if there's adequate parking and adequate occupancy,it might be occupied as part of the principal use. It really depends. But it- it's- it's the same process that we would use today where we evaluate it at the time that we provide a rental permit. Dunn: I've got a question about process and it might be a question for you,Kirk, or it might be a question for Eric. Um- so considering P &Z did not recommend the owner-occupied requirement,um, did not agree with the staff recommendation. Goers: They want to retain the owner-occupied. Dunn: Yeah,they want to retain the owner-occupied requirement. That was their recommendation. Um, should Council want to go against that recommendation,would we need to confer? Goers: Right. If there is an informal consensus that a majority of Council members are interested in changing that,that is, um, disposing of the owner-occupied requirement,then you would need to offer a consult to Planning and Zoning. Dunn: As staff recommends. So if we went with the staff recommendation,we would have to confer. Goers: Yes. That's right. Dunn: Okay. Thank you. Teague: And that would happen before I close the public hearing? Goers: Yeah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 25 Alter: I have yet another question. If there was-um,there have been some letters to Council suggesting that the,um,University Impact Area is kept owner-occupied,but then outside of that, it could be non-owner-occupied. Is that something that we would have to have a conferral with P & Z? Goers: Well, we viewed that, our office discussed that,uh,having seen that letter that you,uh, mentioned, and we viewed that as a more substantive change. Alter: And that was my other question. Goers: Right. Alter: So it would have to go all the way back through the process? Goers: Yes, given- I mean,the-the difference being that the owner-occupied requirement and so forth,uh, across the city,not just in the University Impact Area as the letter references, was something that was discussed at great length and so forth and,you know,they made a change. The other,uh,was discussed,you know, treating the University Impact Area separately from the rest of the city as my understanding was just kind of in passing and we were cons-, our office would consider that a substantive change. And as you say,you need to go back probably just vote denial,um, and then go back and- and start again. Um, obviously,what's important here is that Council express their preference for that so that, you know, staff understands what it is that you'd like to see. And then that would go through staff input as well as Planning and Zoning consideration as well. Dunn: Question again about process. Uh, so if we were to theoretically request to confer with P &Z,um, are they able to do business if they have a majority and that's posted in our- in our conferral? Goers: I was a no until the last thing you said,when you said and it's- and it's noticed. Dunn: Well,yeah. Like a public meeting. You'd notice it as a public meeting. Goers: Um,that would be a joint meeting. Dunn: Yeah. Goers: What you're describing,um,boy, I'm not sure I've ever encountered it done that way,um, but I'm trying to think of why you- I see you've- I see Kellie wants to speak up. Grace: Typically we have those joint meetings at a work session where no action is taken. Teague: It would be at our 21-November 21st work session. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 26 Dunn: Yeah. I understand that that's what has been done. I'm more so questioning what can be done. Goers: Right. So I'm trying to work my way through your hypothetical. Um, because the other part of it is, of course,there's a chronology of this process whereby the Planning and Zoning Commission does their work,they make a recommendation, and then it comes to you folks. Um, if you're suggesting we have a consult to have Planning and Zoning,uh, do work,um,properly noticed at that consult, I don't know that you City Council could then act on that same recommendation because, of course,the public doesn't know what that recommendation is going to be yet. Dunn: That make sense. Goers: So I would not recommend that. Dunn: Makes sense. Bergus: Can I ask about a fifth way? Goers: Sure. Bergus: Hypothetically,no. We could- so as recommended from Planning and Zoning, if we kept the owner-occupied requirement that applied to the entire city,we could at the same time indicate if it was our intention or desire that we would like to see an amendment right away relating to the proposal,uh,to treat the University Impact Area differently. Goers: Sure. If- if- again,making sure I understand your hypothetical. When you say right away, this,uh, ordinance amendment would pass three readings and so forth, and then right away, staff brings forth,uh, an amendment,which would go through Planning and Zoning as anything else would and- and brought before you. Is that what you're suggesting? Bergus: So that we could continue with the recommended-the proposal this evening as recommended or as presented to us in the--the ordinance and consistent with Planning and Zoning's recommendation. Goers: Yes. Bergus: Could be in place more quickly. Goers: Uh, I think that's correct. Alter: Suppose we get one thing and-we get one thing in place and then be able to--amend it after it's gone through. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 27 Dunn: Because we would-we wouldn't be taking- Bergus: Right. Dunn: -with the second amendment. Goers: You would be passing it as it went through Planning and Zoning, so passing as is presented to you this evening. So no amendments as- as I'm understanding this hypothetical. Uh, it goes forward as presented and then immediately followed up with an amendment or whatever it is you folks are- are seeking. The only thing I would say about that is at some point along-at some point along the line, staff would need to understand that there's at least four Council members who have an interest in the- in that amendment and what that amendment is. And then, of course, staff could do that and present it through P &Z. Teague: Any other questions for staff? Bergus: Any concerns with the Fifth Way?Eric or Geoff? Goers: Um, I'd better look to Planning and Zoning staff to see if they have any questions or concerns. Ah, I'm seeing- I'm seeing non expressed. Alter: And also that was an amazing presentation,Kirk. Bergus: Yeah. Alter: Thank you. Bergus: Good job. Dunn: Thank you. Teague: All right. I'm going to allow,um, at this time, anyone from the public, in person or online,that wants to speak to this topic to come-fust, I'm going to take a raise of hands of everyone that wants to speak. If you're online and you want to speak on this topic,please raise your hand. All right. I'm going to ask for people to raise their hand once again because once I see hands raised after that,we're going to be ending public comment. Great, great, great. All right, please come. At this time and we ask you to sign in,uh, at the desk if,um, and there are stickers in the back if you want to speak and there's a basket you can place it in, everyone will be given three minutes to speak, and if you need additional time,um, for someone to translate,that will be given another three minutes. Welcome. Throgmorton: Good evening,Mayor and Council members. My name is Jim Throgmorton. I speak to you on behalf of the Northside Neighborhood Association steering committee. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 28 In part,we support the Commission's recommendation with regard to properties located within the University Impact Area. We strongly agree with the Commission that the Council should continue permitting ADUs only on owner-occupied properties. But we urge you to modify the Commission's recommendation in two specific ways.First,we do not object to eliminating the owner occupant requirement in areas outside of the University Impact Area. We further recommend that you carve out an exception to permit nonprofit providers of income restricted affordable housing to build ADUs on properties located within the University Impact Area. We make these two recommendations because we want to ensure that affordable owner-occupied housing- affordable owner-occupied housing remains viable in the UTA. And we want to facilitate the construction of housing that is affordable to people who need it the most. Contrary to the City staff stated goals, eliminating the owner occupant requirement for ADUs might increase the supply of housing in the north side and other UTA neighborhoods,but it would also cause the supply of affordable owner-occupied housing to shrink. And given the way the housing market works in neighborhoods close to the University, eliminating the owner occupant requirement would result in the neighborhoods becoming more dominated by investor owned rental structures. Carving out the exception for nonprofit providers would enable them to increase the supply of housing that is affordable to people who need it the most. If you prefer not to adopt our two recommendations,we urge you to support the Commission's initial recommendation that the owner occupant requirement be retained for ADU properties throughout the city. The written statement we shared with you over the weekend explains our rationale in greater detail. And I'd say don't fret about having to start all over because it's not going to take all that much time. P & Z would have to hold a public hearing. They'd do the hearing,they would vote to approve whatever it is that you wanted, and they'd send it back to you and you'd be right back in the game. So don't fret about that. Thank you. Thank you. Welcome. Norbeck: Thank you. Martha Norbeck,um, I want to tell you some more about my mother's house. So,um, actually it was Councilor John Thomas who suggested I do an ADDU 'cause I found out you couldn't do a duplex mid block. So I was like,what do I do? She needs someone to live on that property with her when she needs someone there to help her, and it's not going to be me. So how do we figure out that solution? So we- she actually has an ADU upstairs and it is exactly the allowed square feet that was permitted of 30%very carefully designed to be exactly that. Um,we were able to pull that off, and, um,now my mother is bringing in money to help her expenses and pay her property taxes. She has someone there on site who can kinda keep an eye on her without actually being annoying,um, and- and- and also when she needs to transition to have someone to help her who's actually living on site, she has that opportunity. And the best part of the story is when we had the good fortune to meet a young man who really needed a leg up in life,we were able to lower the rent substantially so he's paying 500 a month,all in, all utilities, everything. We were able to reduce that rent substantially, and partially because it was owner-occupied. My mom doesn't even need to make money off of this. She's going to pay, even at that lower rent, she's going to pay for the cost of the fust build in 12 This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 29 years now instead of nine. It's not a huge imposition on her, and it's been a great solution. Here's another story. A friend who lives on College Street, she would like her mother to live in an ADU but the ADU has to be on the ground floor. Her mom does not want to be attached to her children's house,but she can't do a freestanding ADU right now. Um, she can-they can't build above the garage. She need stairs, and most garages are just quite frankly,not well built enough to be able to build another unit on top of,you would have to substantially beef up the garage to be able to build above it. And then a lot of existing homes just it's really hard to reconfigure them to get that extra bathroom and that extra kitchen in that space. So the freestanding ADU is a really great alternative. And I think these kind of opportunities with accessibility and affordability,um, can be accommodating even with the owner-occupied. I don't have any concerns about maintaining the owner-occupied with all of the other recommended changes. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. And we're going to welcome,uh,the next speaker and I'm going to just ask people that are able to that have raised their hand to start lining up.Welcome. Please state your name and city you're from. Westemeyer: My name is Laura Westemeyer. And my husband used to own Westport Touchless, and I owned a business here in Iowa City. And we've been blessed by the community for a lot of just economically, financially,we've been blessed, and we're very grateful for that. And as a side business, all through running our businesses,we started buying rental properties. And I really love the way that she mentioned that leg up because there really are landlords out here who do want to help those people, and you see all the need. And the leg up is something that I think the accessory dwelling unit would allow us. We actually have our property that I have visited with the City about,but we couldn't do it because it has to be owner-occupied, and we don't live in this,um, home. It sits on a half acre, it's in Towncrest, and so it would be a perfect like location for an accessory dwelling. And when you've got a half acre with one house, it has a basement that could access the basement. So-um, so if there was bad weather,we can put up the accessory dwelling, and it wouldn't have to be a basement, it wouldn't have to be crazy expensive, but you do want to help other people, and there's a lot of need in this community. So by adding the-um,taking away the owner-occupied,um, it would really help us a lot as somebody who does wanna give back and just say thank you to the community. And also meet the needs of the communities who's helped us make what we have,you know, and what we've been able to provide for our family. So thank you. Teague: Great. Thank you and welcome. And I will just remind people,there are stickers at the back of the room that you can pre-write your name, and there's a basket you can drop in where the sign in sign is. Welcome. Sinwell: Hi. My name is Emily Sinwell. I'm with the Catholic Worker House. And I'm here today to support the ADU changes, including allowing new ADU construction on rental properties. This will ai- aid- or add to the housing supply and help preserve historical homes. The Catholic Worker Movement has promoted the Housing First Model since 1933. One of Dorothy Day's inspiration came from St. John Chrysostom who wrote, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 30 "Therefore, set aside a room in your house to which Christ may come, 'say this is Christ's room. This is set apart for him.' Even if it is very simple,he will not disdain it. Christ goes about naked and a stranger,he needs shelter. Do not hesitate to give it to him." Families who want to create a Christ room of affordable housing in their home could construct a new ADU to do so. If 4,000 homeowners built a Christ room,ADU,the city's housing supply would actually begin to meet the demand. However,zoning policy changes alone will not make new construction affordable. More public investment and affordable housing is necessary if the ambitious goals of the proposed zoning changes are to be met. This was my week. Monday, a family of four from the Congo. Tuesday, single guy from Colombia. Wednesday, a family of five from Angola has been sleeping on the streets for four nights. Thursday, 11 people arriving from the border. Friday, a family of si- six from Guatemala. Saturday night, a family of five living in a garage. They've been here eight days and haven't showered. Sunday, a single mother from the border. Son has been in detention for three months,but she can't get him out without an address. Today, a family of three from Col- Columbia in a hotel. They get two meals a day,nothing on the weekends. The father can't work because he has an ankle bracelet. The affordable housing, or the housing crisis is here, and now the migrant crisis is here. Winter is coming and many people are not going to be able to pay their rent,um,because roofing and construction is slowing down, and they don't qualify for the assistant programs because they don't have a Social Security number. Thank you for voting yes on the previous zoning,um, changes. Thank you for submitting the Pro Housing Grant. We urge you to pass this ADU,um, changes,but to pair them with millions more and emergency funding to meet the growing crisis. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Gorman: Good evening. And I already signed in. My name is William Gorman. I'm the chair of the Housing Action Team of the Johnson County Livable Community for Successful Agenc-Agency Policy Board. We support the proposed zoning code changes regarding ADUs. We commend the staff for their diligent work to develop the recommendations that you are considering this evening. We support these changes because it's undeniable that we need more affordable housing. ADUs are one important strategy to increase affordable housing for single adult workers,young couples, seniors who want to downsize, or seniors who want and need personal care services to remain in their homes. We encourage you to approve the proposed zoning code changes. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. All right. Did I get everyone that wanted to speak to this item? It looks like I did. All right. At this time, before I,uh, close the public hearing,um, I know that there was a lot of discussion between,uh, staff,um, from the Council, a lot of questions. And so, eh,uh,without going through all of that, I think,um,what is before us,um, is the ADUs,uh,that's been approved by P &Z that are owner-occupied,because that seemed like the most contentious thing. Um, so if you are inclined to vote,um, for that amendment,um,then,um, I will take a look around in a second if you're inclined to vote for that. If you're inclined to not,then we will have the opportunity to speak to P & Z, um, and have a discussion about,um, some of the things that has been,uh,brought up This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 31 today. So at this time, I'm gonna see who is inclined to vote with P & Z, uh, stating that the-um,throughout the entire city,uh,the ADUs will be remain owner-occupied. Alter: Just to be clear, I would be in favor of that, and I would like to then signal that I would like to see an additional amendment after we pass this. I'm just saying so that- so that it's clear because that- I understand where you're coming from. Teague: Yeah. Alter: My vote,yes, on this is contingent on that we would come-that we would do something after this to- as a- get to P &Z as an amendment that would allow for non-owner- occupied outside of the University Impact Area. Dunn: I would agree. Harmsen: I- I feel the same. Teague: Okay. Alter: So that this would continue the process so that we can get this through. Teague: Okay. Harmsen: And then we can expand it. Alter: Right. Teague: I know we can't have a lot of discussion at this point. Um, so, um, it sounds like there's a majority that will support P & Z recommendation to the Council. Is that correct?All right. So I'm going to close the public hearing. 2. Consider an Ordinance(First Consideration) Teague: And,uh, could I ge- could I get a motion to give fust consideration? Dunn: So moved,Dunn.. Alter: Second,Alter. Teague: Council discussion. Dunn: So I think we should talk about process again. Um, so I guess I just want to have a better handle on what the amendment that we're going to be asking for should detail. Is this an appropriate time? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 32 Teague: Yeah, of course, it is. The-um, maybe I'll just jump in a little bit. Uh,there's one thing that came up,uh,that,uh, former Mayor Throgmorton had mentioned. Um, and I feel a little uncomfortable saying that we're gonna pass something and then come back into an amendment. Um, it doesn't seem that authentic as to the process of what we're saying we're going to do to the community. And- and I would suggest that if we are- I mean, we've already closed the public hearing. But if we're not going to- if we're going to go and do an amendment, it would seem most authentic to not approve this and then come back. We-we can talk to P & Z if we decide to,you know, outside of-we've already closed the public hearing,but it doesn't-because we heard people here that talked about passing the amendment,um,you know, as it is today. And we heard from a landlord,um, that,um,talked about being a compassionate landlord that does,um, and,you know, want to give opportunities to people to have housing. So there's a lot to balance here. And I just personally don't feel comfortable saying that we're going to pass this and then on the flip side,we're going to do an amendment. So I just wanted to maybe just put that out there that if you're not voting on what's before us as a final thing in good faith and moving forward, and we're gonna- and we're gonna turn right back around and do an amendment, I don't think that that is the- it causes confusion to the community. We-we know what we're doing,but the-the general public, some of them won't clearly understand. So whatever Council,you know, decides to do by a majority,uh, it will be what it would be. But I don't personally feel comfortable passing something with this. I'm gonna amend it after we pass it. Bergus: Well, and if I could just speak to that, Mayor. I think- I think you're right in that everyone should understand that if we pass the first reading tonight as presented,that means owner occupancy throughout the entire city. That's what that means. And if we wanted to amend for the- like the recommendations we heard for the,um, applying that only to the University Impact Area with an exception for nonprofits doing income restricted EDUs, that whole thing,we can't do that tonight no matter what. We can't do that tonight no matter what. So that whole issue has not yet been vetted by Planning and Zoning. That's why it would be a substantive change to our City Attorney's point, correct? Goers: Correct. Bergus: So that hasn't been noticed to the public,that hasn't been vetted by Planning and Zoning. The public hasn't had an opportunity to weigh in on that proposal at a public hearing in front of Planning and Zoning. So that all will still happen. And if Planning and Zoning says no,we are going to go with what we said before and we think that was the right thing to do,then we're in the same place as we are tonight. Or if Planning and Zoning says no,that's a great idea,then at least we've had the opportunity for that all to be considered. Um, if- and again, I'll look to our City Attorney. If we were inclined to remove the owner occupancy requirement for the entire city,that also is something we cannot do tonight. And also is something that needs to go back to Planning and Zoning, correct? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 33 Goers: Uh,right. If you were to do that,you would at least need to offer the consult because that is something that they discussed,um, so I don't know if you'd need to start from scratch with that one,but you would need to offer the consult and I'm not sure what we would do with that at this point given that you've closed a public hearing and after saying that there is an informal consensus to approve it as it is. Uh, so I would have to think through if- if Council changed their mind and did not vote at this point in favor of it,um, I would have to think that through. Teague: I think the question would be,um, can we reopen a public hearing?That's the question. Goers: At what point? Teague: Oh, if-because I've already closed the public hearing. Goers: Right. Teague: And if we were to decide that we want to do a consult with P & Z. Goers: Right. Teague: At this point,which we can still do a consult if we want to do a consult,the public hearing has been closed. The question would be,um, can the public hearing be reopened? Goers: Well, my hesitancy is that once it's closed, if the members of the public who are watching at home, let's just say, turned it off because now that it's done,um,then that would not be fair to them. Uh, I haven't watched to see if anyone's left since then,um,physically present here. But I think it's been close enough in time that probably not. And so probably so. But as you can probably sense from my tone of voice, I'm a little uncomfortable with that,but I think it could probably be defensible. I think if you're going to have to defend one side or another, it's usually better to have the opportunity for more public comment and not less. Dunn: Yeah. Bergus: So let me rephrase what I was saying then. At this moment- at this moment,we cannot take away the owner occupancy requirement without going back to Planning and Zoning. Goers: That is true. Bergus: Okay. Teague: Yeah. Alter: And I guess what I would say, as far as confusion goes,that I think in some ways,the sequential moves of approving what's before us, and then saying,hey, and a lot of This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 34 interesting stuff has come up, let's talk about it, let's have P & Z talk about it to create an amendment that allows for non-owner-occupied outside of the University Impact. There's a sequencing to it that I think actually is less confusing than saying do we do a consult? Do we do a substantive?Do we reject this in order to get P & Z? I get confused. To me, I'm like there's sort of actually a logical flow to this, and it is- I heard what you were saying about authentic,but I think that we've been-this is now hopefully we've got our press here. They can help say,well,there was a robust conversation about this, and- and it can help further the conversation. So, I mean, I don't think we're trying to- I think where you're coming from and- and I don't want to put words in your mouth,but I think you want-you want to make sure that the public doesn't feel like we got one over on them,right, or that we did a switcheroo. And I think that that is absolutely commendable. And that's not what we want to do,this is why it's public. But I think that it does make sense to approve what's before us and then very clearly and openly state sort of these are- this is something we would like P & Z to investigate because I think that it should- I do think that ultimately we want it- I would like to see us in a slightly different place that actually addresses some of what former Mayor Throgmorton and other members of the public have talked about. So I think that there's a clarity to it in a way that right now are kind of working it through is a little less clear. So that's my two cents worth. Teague: I- I have a question just,um, are people inclined to have the discussion about excluding the University Zone? Bergus: After it goes through P &Z? Teague: Yeah. Bergus: It has to,right? Teague: Yeah. People are inclined to have that discussion. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I just think if- if- if we're inclined to have that dis-well discussion,we certainly could have some of that here now because it has been all a part of the comments. Um, and then, I mean, I hear the logic, and I- I there's-there's,you know, always the yes,no,you know,you can go either way. Um, I hear that, but I think if we are talking about doing an amendment,um, I would want the community to come before,because we don't hear anybody saying um, no ADD-ADUs throughout the entire community,which is great. Well, I'm sorry, I won't say that's great,but we don't hear that. So we don't have that challenge at this moment. But yeah, I think we can co- continue discussions and,um,we go from there. Dunn: So I'd say a couple things. Um,really, I just see this as expediting the process for us. Um, you know, I think that,um,the- the University Impact Area,uh, amendment with nonprofits and all that involved,um, I think it makes sense for it to have its own day, honestly. We-we hear a lot of folks in the community who are very frustrated about participation in the process and this laser focus is what the issue is. Um, so I think it's a good idea,um,not, of course,pre judging on how I'd go with that but I- I would want to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 35 have that discussion, like you said,Mayor, about what our direction for that amendment should be. Um, and John, I think you-you have some- some good specifics on that. Thomas: Well, I- I think the-you know,the proposal by Jim Throgmorton,uh,would-would be what I would support that we-we maintain the owner occupancy requirement within the Impact Zone,with the exception being for nonprofits who provide income restricted affordable housing. I think that's a really good compromise,uh,based on what we're hearing from the public. We are hearing that,uh, outside the University Impact Zone, I'm not hearing really any objection to that-that concept. Uh,within the University Impact Zone,we've had serious concerns about it,um, and I think as I've been trying to emphasize,you know,within the University Impact Zone, it's difficult to create deep affordable housing and this would be one strategy to do that. Um, so,um, that I think is the-, ah,the best outcome that we can have here. I- I would say one as I- I,you know, I'm sort of torn and I've often said that I don't like it when Councilors say they're torn but, um,the benefit I guess in approving it tonight is that there is support for- for the ADUs. And, ah, - so there is the sense of,well, if we say yes tonight to the ADUs, we're-we're on board with that kind of positive tone and that what we're then saying is we'd like to refine that, ah, further in the way I was describing. So you're kind of building on the foundation,um,you know,that-that has been established with this vote and giving it further articulation and clarification. Dunn: So- so if I could just repeat kind of what I'm hearing the amendment should look like just for my own understanding and- and group clarity. Um,the amendment that we would like to direct staff to produce and then P &Z to review, would expand, ah,ADU access to non owner-occupied,uh,properties outside of the University Impact Area and carve out an exception for non owner-occupied properties owned by non profits within the University Impact Area and that would be it,right? Teague: Well,that amendment couldn't take place because we couldn't vote on it. Dunn:No -no -no, I'm just saying what we would direct tonight so-but is that's the idea. Thomas: We retain the owner-occupied requirement within the University Impact Zone. Dunn: Aside firm,yeah aside firm. We wouldn't be changing that,we'd just be creating the carve out for the nonprofits. Thomas: Yeah. Dunn: Yeah. Okay. Harmsen: That would be the future steps. Dunn: Yeah. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 36 Bergus: And to further clarify we're not prejudging what the outcome of that would be because that's what we want input from the public, have that noticed,have P &Z give their consideration. Dunn: Yeah. Harmsen: I'm glad you mentioned that, I think that's really important. And yeah,this is one of those issues too that-John, I'm going to agree with you on a couple of different things. First, I'm torn and also, I think,you know, in terms of- of what you're proposing is good with the caveat,um,that I think it's important in getting back to our last item a little bit, um,that future data. So you know, for me, especially since we have that-the comprehensive plan update that we'll be working on as we work through that and this will actually be easier to track. I'm sure building permits for ADUs will actually we'll be able to put a solid number on and put that geographic overlay. And so if we-,you know, in my mind,um, I'm willing to support this thing knowing that we can look at it later and see that if it does have a- if our actions in the future have a chilling effect on developments of ADUs in any part of the city,um,you know, I- I- then-then I would revisit that. I think we should revisit that,but that's-that's you know,the way I'm talking 18, 24 months down the road. Just-just my thought process. Dunn: So is now the proper time to direct that amendment be drafted in the process begin? Goers: Well, uh,you can whenever,but when you say the process began, I understood the hypothetically to be that we would get through three readings of the ordinance presently before Council. And- and then -now that's not to say that NDS and planning can't be doing their own work and kind of getting everything ready,but if you have a consensus now, great. If that's at the second reading, great. You know,but-but to be clear, I don't- I don't think it begins until this passes three readings. Thomas: We-we could consider collapsing second and third reading. Goers: Of course. Teague: Well, I have to tell you,John,you've convinced me. So,um,you know, as I think about this again,you know,the ADUs, as I mentioned, is across the entire community,we've not heard anyone say,you know,with the unoccupied,that we don't want it. And so I would - I feel comfortable saying yes to this. Um,the question becomes like,when do we direct staff,you know, for,um,just kind of moving on a little bit with some of the other- with the ideation that was just explained by Councilor Dunn so I can support this. So thank you, Councilor Bergus for making that recommendation,um, and we'll go from there. Yeah. So we're ready to - it looks like we're ready to vote. All right- all right, roll call please. (Roll Call) Motion passes 7-0. Could I get a motion to accept correspondence? Dunn: So move Dunn. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 37 Bergus: Second,Bergus? Teague: All in favor say aye. (Voice Vote)Motion passes 70. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 38 10.Regular Formal Agenda 10.a Sale of 2129 Taylor Drive—Resolution authorizing conveyance of a single- family home located at 2129 Taylor Drive. Teague: All right. We are on to item number 10.a which is Sale of 2129 Taylor Drive - Resolution authorizing conveyance of a single family home located at 2129 Taylor Drive. And I'm going to open the public hearing and welcome Tracy Hightshoe. 1. Public Hearing Hightshoe: I just thought sometimes a photo speaks a lot better than my narrative. So, the South District program started,um,with 11 duplex, 22 units,we have rehabbed six units. This is our sixth home that we're selling,um,we are selling it for 147,600. However,we've provided 35,000 in, ah rehabilitation assistance. That's a declining balance loan, so the homeowner just needs to finance 112,600. They are a resident of the South District, um. Just to remind you,when we buy these homes,we completely renovate,we do almost like a gut rehab so,um,this is what the interior of the unit used to look like. We do a gut rehab,we do several improvements,um,the new bathroom,new flooring,new HVAC, new roof,new windows. Um, sometimes we-we-we put, add another bedroom in the basement,new kitchen. Um, so you can see some of the - and we-we make sure we do a lot of sustainability improvements we work with, sustainability on what we-what improvements can we do that lowers the utility bill so it's affordable to the homeowner on a long term basis. Um, so if you have any questions,but this is the same oh. We have one duplex that's currently under renovation, so the seventh and eighth unit will be come online probably in the next couple of months and then we have another duplex that's completely vacant by Wetherby Park and I think Geoff is going to be talking to you about some of the options for that property. All the rest of them, at least one of the units is- is occupied. So we don't start in earnest the renovations until both units are - are- are vacant. Teague: How many of those units we have remaining that one side is vacant or outside of the one by Wetherby Park. Hightshoe: There's a total of 22,we have six and we have eight. So, is that 12?My math -my math might-might not be good on the spot. Teague: It sounds about right for government work, so. All right. Hightshoe: We'd have 12 more. Teague: Great. Hightshoe: Okay. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 39 Teague: Great. Any questions for Tracy?All right. Any, oh, sorry. Harmsen: I said thank you. Teague: Yes -Yes. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? If so - if you're present on- in person,please raise your hand. If you're online,please raise your hand and I'll call upon you. Seeing no one in person or online, I'm going to close the public hearing. 2. Consider a Resolution: Teague: Can I- could I get a motion to approve,please? Taylor: So move Taylor. Dunn: Second Dunn. Teague: Move by Taylor, second by Alter. Council discussion. Bergus: These are great. Thank you. Teague: Yes. Thank you. Dunn: Thank you. Teague: This is one of the fust things when I came on Council in 2018,that was at the top of the list for approval,um,was buying houses in the south district and revitalizing them for home ownership at affordable rates. So thanks to the staff for their leadership on this and I'm happy to approve this tonight. Roll call,please. (Roll Call)Yes. Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 40 10.b Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvements—Resolution approving project manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvements Project,establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing City Clerk to post notice to bidders,and fixing time and place for receipt of bids. Teague: Item 10.b is Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvements -Resolution approving project manual and estimate of cost for the construction of the Wwastewater Treatment Facility Improvement Project, establishing amount of bid security to accompany each bid, directing City Clerk to post notice to bidders and fixing time and place for receipt of bids. I'm going to open the public hearing and welcome,Ben. 1.Public Hearing Clark: I'll try and make this really quick. So this is really three-three projects rolled into one construction contract. Two up at the head of the plant, one down in the solids processing area. Um,the fust project will be to install,um, a parshal flume so it's,um, replacing an ultrasonic sensor,which is important for regulatory purposes and control of the plant to give them a better reading of what's coming into the plant. The second project is replacing,um, some grit removal equipment. It's just basically an in-kind replacement. Third project,um,we'll install a conveyor belt at the end of the bio solids processing equipment. And the reason this is important is,um, right now there's a- a bottleneck. It uses a screw conveyor and we can't operate the presses at full- full speed. So the reason this is important is in a couple of years we'll be having a project to rehabilitate the digesters and it'll allow us to kinda speed up the process a little bit so they can close the tanks down longer. Um, so estimated cost about 1.3 million. We'll take bids at the end of November and it'll be a one year construction contract. So with that, is there any questions? Harmsen: This is Enterprise Fund, correct? Clark: Yeah. From wastewater. Yeah. Teague: Yeah. Thank you. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? If you're in person or online,please raise your hand. Seeing no one, I'm going to close the public hearing. 2. Consider a Resolution Teague: Could I get a motion to approve,please? Thomas: So moved, Thomas. Taylor: Second Taylor. Teague: Council discussion. Roll call please. (Roll Call) Motion passses 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 41 10.e State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Allocation Resolution authorizing the allocation of $500,000.00 State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund(SLFRF)funds for the purpose of a cost-share program to promote lead reduction in drinking water. Teague: Item 10.e is State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund Allocation -Resolution authorizing the allocation of$500,000 State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund, funds for the purpose of a cost-share program to promote lead reduction in drinking water. Could I get a motion to approve,please? Bergus: So moved,Bergus. Thomas: Second, Thomas. Teague: All right, and welcome,Jonathan. Durst: Jonathan Durst,your Water Superintendent. So this is the third leg in the proverbial stool that was proposed a few months ago now. So, so far,the ordinance has just passed to prohibit the repair of lead service lines. The marketing agreement with the insurance company has passed, and we are working on those materials. This would be the cost share to,uh, allow for funds for those who,uh,need to replace their service line,want to check the materials, or,uh,replace any fixtures, fountains, or add a filter into their home to prevent lead from being in their drinking water. Teague: Any questions? Thank you for this. Yes. All right. Anyone from the public like to address this topic? Seeing no one in person or online, Council discussion. Roll call, please. (Roll Call) Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 42 IO.f ARPA Inclusive Economic Development Capital and Operational Grants - Preliminary Funding Recommendations—Resolution approving preliminary funding recommendations under the American Rescue Plan Act(ARPA) for Inclusive Economic Development Support for Underestimated Businesses and Entrepreneurs. Teague: 101, ARPA Inclusive Economic Development Capital and Operational Grants - Preliminary Funding Recommendations -Resolution approving preliminary funding recommendations under the ARPA-American Rescue Plan Act for Inclusive Economic Development Support for Underestimated Businesses and Entrepreneurs. And can I get a motion to approve,please? Alter: So moved,Alter. Bergus: Second,Bergus. Teague: All right. And we're going to have our Deputy City Manager,uh, speak to us today. Jones: Good evening. Uh, so this rep- item represents quite the milestone. So I wanted to take a moment just to kind of,uh,recap where we've been and then I'm going to do a little hand off to Tracy and she's going to follow up with the recommendations and the next steps. So,um, as we said, this has been quite a bit of an evolution. Uh,there's been a number of parties involved in this and I just wanted to recognize some of them. Some of them are- are no longer with the City,uh, and enjoying other things,uh, in life. But,uh,Wendy Ford was part of the review process and I would be remiss if I didn't remember,uh,her contributions as well as,uh,Jasmine Amaya with,um, Community College,uh, Kirkwood Community College. She's come in and actually provided great services to us free of charge,which is,uh, also- also good. And,um,then Tracy Hightshoe,which she'll come in and talk about the recommendations. Um so,this process kind of started in,um, 2021 with obviously,uh,the advent of the American Rescue Plan. Um,those,uh, dollars and those possibilities started the Council discussions,uh, around September 2021 to focus on BIPOC business and business enterprises as a ecosystem. Uh, somewhere around 2022 in September,uh,Johnson County had,uh, launched the Inclusive Economic Development Plan, and that was presented to City Council. Um, in 2022,uh, of December,uh,the Council worked through the Strategic Plan,which valued,uh,racial equity, social justice, as well as economy, and,um, also valued partnerships and engagement. With those notions,uh,the staff began to work on,uh, something that's a bit novel from our- our typical,um,RFP process. We created a,um, Statement of Interest Process,which we thought that it would be easier for folks to respond to,provide concepts,uh,without having to go through a- a- a great deal of rigor so that we can start to have a conversation that could,uh, explore those ideas in- in further detail. We focused on,um,requesting,um, for that Statement of Interest to kind of focus in capital aspects as well as,um, operational aspects, or also physical space and business support aspects. We had a number of workshops kind of working,um,that through so that folks would know how to respond to that, and in April of this year,um, and we wind up having a tremendous response. So we got 31,um, applicants that had,uh,provided information to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 43 us. And that was roughly around 23 or $26,000,000 in request. So obviously,uh,we didn't have 26 million, so that,uh,meant we had to go through pretty rigorous,um, process to kind of get that down into,um, something that we can actually,um,work through. So,um-uh,that generated in June,we did a number of one-on-one interviews, actually seven of them, and we met with the teams of some of the physical space,um, applicants. And we wanted to focus there with the idea that those were likely going to be the largest,uh, outlays of fund requests. And,um,the support services would typically, uh,be working throughout that process and,be,um,be a- as an addition to the process. So that's where we kind of started. We,uh,we-we have very good conversations with those groups, and we wound up then coming back and kind of focusing on the idea of partnerships. Had,uh,three more meetings all as a group. So this was also very novel. We brought all the applicants together,um, and had a number of group sessions to,uh, look at and- and investigate opportunities for partnerships. Um, so that-that basically took our whole month of August,um, of this year. And,um, September,we wound up starting to do a deeper dive and getting into a short- a short list, really looking for the, um, applicants that had,um,more impact,um, collaborative,um, aspects to their proposal, and,um, created and added to that overall ecosystem which we had always had in mind and as a goal. So throughout all that process,uh,we finally get to this point today which I will allow Tracy to come in and talk a little bit more about the recommendations and what the next steps look like. Teague: Welcome back. Hightshoe: Okay. So after this process,the committee recommended funding seven organizations. Oh, I have that up front for you. The Dream Center was the-the application or the Statement of Interest that had the capital improvements. So-but we anticipate about $2 million in capital improvements, acquiring and renovation of the facility, and then a million in business support. What happens is much as like the capital, um,nonprofit capital funds is that these are only are Statements of Interest. They weren't even applications per se. So now is the time where you have to refine and you have to double down on what you're actually providing. So I'll be working, or my staff will be working with each of the applicants to refine what-what they're doing. They'll have to identify the scope of services,what is specific they will be doing,um, if they're hiring staff. Um, the type of renovations. Dream Center will be working with our architect and refine and get cost estimates for the work that they want to do within the facility. Um, so I expect,you know, it might take- depending on which-which application you're talking about or which statement of interest,how much work needs to be done to-to-to do-to refine the statements. It might take anywhere from 1-6 months. Each of these will come back to you individually. Um,we've also been working with University of Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center. We are providing some very large awards to some very small organizations. So to position these folks into that they're able to,um, apply and get awarded state and federal funds in the future to continue their operations,we want to put them on the best footing possible, so we'll be paying with our administrative funds for three of the organizations that are nonprofit organizations that are receiving 100,000 or more. They'll have two sessions with the-the Nonprofit Resource Center. One would be This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 44 the basic accountability, financial reporting, all the policies that you have in place. And then the second session with the- and this is with the board members and the-the staff at each of these three organizations. The second meeting will be one that talks about,will- will tailored to what the actual organization might need and what concerns that they have. So there'll be two sessions between 90-120 minutes each, a couple weeks or a month apart as- as we're working through this process. And then we'll-we'll finalize those-those recommendations. We'll-we'll enter a grant agreement and that'll come before you for approval. Any questions about the process or what happens now? Dunn: I don't know if I have questions about the process, I have other questions. Teague: Well, are you going to ask any questions to staff? Dunn: Yeah. I- I guess,um,you know, one of the things that I noticed,uh,throughout the,um, applicants that we've selected here. Um, I- I guess I'm interested in how we view the impact of these funds on- in our immigrant community. If we have any- any thoughts on that. Hightshoe: The purpose was for underestimated businesses, entrepreneurs. So I'm-well, it was with our thought like the Dream Center, all these organizations will be helping anybody that comes to them. It'd be an entrepreneurial hub. So-while we can't say that these-these services are limited to-to immigrants or refugees,the services will be available for that community. Dunn: Okay. Teague: Any other questions for staff?All right. Thank you. Anyone from the public would like to address this topic? If you're wanting to speak,uh,you can come on up to the podium at this time, and yeah. And we'll allow up to three minutes. The crowd is getting smaller. Perteit: And I promise you I will not bore you. Teague: And I'll just,uh,remind people you'll have up to three minutes to speak. There are also in the back a little stickers,um, for people to write their name down,um, and place in the basket up here. Welcome. Perteit: All right. Well, good evening. Um,my name is Bronis Perteit, and I am- so I have been a resident of Iowa City for over 30 years. I'm very invested in this city and this community. My daytime job, I work as the Director of Client Advocacy Services for the Domestic Violence Intervention Program. And what I'm speaking about on this topic is,um, I've been in victim services,housing,homelessness-related things,um, for over 12 years. And approximately three years ago,my husband and I purchased a 9,000-square-foot building on Arthur Street Town Campus in the Towncrest District. We were one of the programs that,um,were invited to participate in the process of,uh, seeking funding-ARPA funding. And so I want to thank you guys for the opportunity,um,to our Mayor, This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 45 Redmond, Tracy, for giving us the opportunity. Um, and what we were wanting to do was we wanted to highlight a lot of the disparities,um, of the people that live in the Towncrest District, um, and the lack of funding that has gone into revitalizing the area. And since we have been there, it is our goal to build a community outreach center and to bring other business supports in that neighborhood to impact the people who live there, the young people. Um,we still plan on doing that,but what I want to say is I appreciate the process. Um,this was the fust time that me and my team,those that are here with me, have ever been through anything like this. Um, I don't know if I would have had the opportunity to get to know a lot of the organizations that were there in the way that we did through the discussions. And I'm here actually to say I- I fully support the decision that has been made, even though our organization was not one of,um,the organizations chosen at this time. Um, I fully support the work that these organizations are doing in the community and the impact that they're having. Several of them I'm affiliated with,um, I think that it's going to have an incredible impact on our community. And,um,yeah, I just want to highlight. I- I appreciate the opportunity. I look forward to future funding opportunities as we move our project forward to be able to bring back more things about what we're doing on the east side of town and that there will be opportunity to invest. And so I just thank you for your time. Teague: Thank you. Yeah,welcome. And if-yeah- and if anyone,uh,who wants to speak,you can start just lining up in the aisle. Welcome. Thames: Hi,my name is Terrence Thames. I was a part of the team with,um,Bronis Perteit and New Life. Happy to be a part. Uh,we- I formerly lived in Des Moines, grew up here, City High grad moved to Des Moines,um, started my business,have had a lot of success, especially in education and entrepreneurship. Helped organize one of the largest minority business conferences in the state called the Black and Brown Business Summit. I'm also a member of the West Des Moines Chamber. And when my-my family and I moved back, we were very happy just to be involved somehow in the city, I was very blessed to be a part of this process. So,um,just wanted to say thank you again to pick it back off Bronis for the opportunity to be a part of this process. I'm also an educator in the business school at Drake University. So it was a great coincidence to be a part of this process with my experience and just really coming back home with me and my family. So I wanted to say thank you. Also happen to be friends, and,uh,with some of the people who are recipients and very happy to be a part of a community that has put forth ARPA funds with this kind of effort,um,just being around. You don't see a lot of this, a lot of places didn't have the capacity to take on ARPA funds and help facilitate- facilitate these things in a great way. So thank you to the team. Thank you,Redmond, and it's been good. I'm looking forward to contributing more to the community and- and being a part of what's building over in the Town Crest area. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Newell: Good evening. My name is Frederick Newell and I'm the Executive Director of Dream City. I kind of wrote something. I'm gonna stick to it because I want to make sure I hit This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 46 everything. Tonight,we sit at the precipice of a historic moment for Dream City and our esteemed partners. South of Six Business District, Mendoza Consulting,Mogul Consulting,EL Five, and- and Community Development Strategies in the wider Iowa City community. We humbly come before you advocating and asking that the board would receive,um,the-the recommendation from our city. Uh,this process has been a process,um,that we have enjoyed being a part of Um, and most importantly, one of the things I want to do is just kind of commend all the other individuals who sat at the table alongside of us and with us. Um, I know some people are wondering,uh,how does Dream City has this amount of money being recommended?Um, it is not just for our organization,we stand alongside five different organizations,um,with two of those organizations, specifically empowering,um, immigrant status individuals. Um, so we are just ready to continue to add to our partnerships. Um,we are in the process of wanting to create a regional hub where black and brown communities know that they have a space that they belong, a space that they can have ownership of, and a space where they don't have to worry about,um,being told what they can and can't do. Um, especially when it is to advance,um, our community in more ways than possible. Um, so again, I just want to thank Redmond,the City Manager and City Council for this opportunity, and we look forward to continuing to work with you all as this is just the beginning. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Taylor: Hi everyone. Um,my name is Aminata Taylor, I am the owner of Taylor Tax and Accounting. Um, I was actually not planning on speaking today,but I wanted to address Andrew's question earlier about the impact of this funding on immigrant communities. I'm an immigrant myself. I've been in the US, and I've been providing accounting services for people in my community. As an example today, I had,um,the leaders of, um,the refugee-the Immigrant and Refugee Association of Iowa come into my office today, and they were asking about things that they didn't even know where to start. Um, their business, do they need an audit?And those are services that I have been subsidizing for the past two years for the community. And I haven't had the opportunity to spend too much time doing it because of course, I also need to make a living. So this will be giving me an opportunity to really work with people and individuals that I'm really passionate about and that I know need the help. And the fact that I speak French and another language also helps in that language barrier in the community as well. So, I just want to thank everyone involved in this process, and I really hope that this Council approves this list. So, thank you. Teague: Thank you. Talley: My name is Simeon Talley. I'm with the-the Dream City, um,Dream Center team and I just want to express a tremendous amount of appreciation to Redmond, Tracy, Staff, Council,Wendy,who's not here,um to Jasmine for facilitating those sessions. Uh, I wasn't going to say anything but I thought it would just add value to kind of articulate a little bit about my story and my contribution and sort of,um,how this process was so meaningful and the need maybe to kind of do more of this. You know, as Redmond This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 47 talked about,there were,you know,more applications and more requests for funding than could be accommodated. I think that that just says that let's figure out a way to kind of do more and do it maybe more often. Uh during one of the sessions, I think it was James Mims who said that Iowa City can be a really great place to improve your quality of life, uh to make your life better if you know how to plug in,right. If you know how to plug in. I think my story and my journey is a personal testimony to that. I came to Iowa in 2008 to work on politics.Never thought I'd stay,never thought I'd come back,but I saw opportunity, I saw a promise and here I am today. I've been able to-to start several businesses, several ventures,be a part of this effort and do much more. And I'm still here, still trying to build, still trying to cont- contribute and add value. Um but I figured out how to plug in. I figured out where the resources were,where the opportunities were. And I think that this process represents a tremendous investment,you know,in polluting that ecosystem that Redmond talked about um but it can't be the end of these types of investments. So I think this is a great start. It's a great investment. Thanks for-to all the parties involved. Thanks Biden Administration for the ARPA. im-um, for the ARPA a uh uh Law. But let's not stop here. So,thank you. Teague: Thank you. All right. Well,we're going to go to Council discussion at this time. I was a part of the-the-the review committee, and I'll- I'll have to tell you that this opportunity that the Biden administration gave our community,we had $18.3 million and ARPA funds. And we've done some great things with those uh funds. Really doing some services that impact individual lives within our community, and this is a testament to um how lives will also be impacted. This- this is the largest allocation of funds so far that this Council has given to I think any one thing, I think specifically with the ARPA funds. Um and so, I'm super happy to be at this moment,um it has been a long time coming. I want to say thanks to everyone that had submitted an application. There were 31 request proposals that came before us and I have to tell you that when we reviewed those,we were impressed. We were like,wow, there are some people that do some fantastic things that we had never known about. Some,uh,were familiar uh individuals and-that submitted some proposal statements. But what I really enjoyed about this process, as I heard someone say, is the opportunity to get to know a few of the individuals,um, specifically those that submitted some fiscal um request proposals where it wasn't there before. I know that the-there were some heartaches, don't get me wrong, along the way, um but I think at the end of the day,the process that we went through was very necessary because there were so many overlapping needs within our community. When we looked at the applications that I don't have um the numbers before me but we saw,you know,the need for the tax,you know,tax financial literacy services. We saw the need for the commercial kitchens. We saw the need for people just needing a resource. A way to find out how to start a business. Um and as we know, for many black and brown community individuals,um, it's hard when you are working 9-5 or 9-10 or whatever the case may be, working multiple jobs,trying to do life and especially if you have kids and other things, it's a challenge and so this opportunity to create kind of this entrepreneurial ecosystem made so much sense. So I thank this Council for allowing that opportunity to be developed here in this community. There are- There's a lot of work ahead and I encourage everyone that is awarded to work with our fabulous team here at the City of Iowa City. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 48 Of course,there will be some things asked of us that,you know,we'll have to produce um because it- it really is to make sure that you're successful and that the services that is needed in this community is provided and we're here to support. For those that,you know, didn't get funded, I really appreciate your services and I know that there'll be more opportunities,um,you know,with some of our programs. We have some CDBG home funds and some other um our Social Justice Equity grants.Now that some people have never been introduced to the City of Iowa City's funding sources, I en- I encourage you to continue to tap in to what we're doing here at the City. Iowa City- The heart of Iowa City is really to serve all people. And I think that this investment,uh specifically to the underestimated businesses and entrepreneurs speaks to that. So thanks to everybody that came here tonight to speak,thanks to the ones that didn't speak and-that didn't come but did submit their proposal. The $26 million that was there,that was only a fraction of the need that we saw within this community. And so to those that are out there working hard, we really appreciate you. You're doing things that,you know,the City isn't able to contribute to right now. We appreciate you and I'll be supporting this. And again,these are recommendations that this team uh made and I really appreciated working with the team. Oftentimes we have moments with our staff,um,but I had lots of moments with our staff. Um Wendy Ford,Redmond, and Tracy, I have to say that your dedication moves me and I really appreciate all of you. This staff really does love our community: all folks,black,brown, and everyone and they're highly educated,highly knowledgeable professionals and we are in good hands with them. So I want to say thanks to them and I'll leave it at that and um. The one thing I also um I learned from them is, when recommendations come from them,they really do. It is a recommendation and,you know,this is uh something that they look towards Council to deliberate and kind of vet, and so. Um, I know I was a part of that team and as I don't want to act like this is a done deal,but I really appreciated being a part and- and- and bringing forth these recommendations. Bergus: Thank you. Alter: You made that an amazingly hard thing to follow out. So you next? Bergus: Oh, okay. All right. Oh, I was just going to say thank you,Mayor, and thank you for everyone for your patience and participation in the process. The people who are here,the people who aren't here,um and thanks to our staff for recommending that this be our largest ARPA allocation as well,because that came to us,we didn't have to surface that, which I think is pretty awesome. Um we like to talk about our Strategic Plan and I think this is a great opportunity to not just focus on that,but also focus on that county-wide inclusive economic development plan and make sure as we're looking at future opportunities,not just these being carried out, and I do think this should be a done deal, by the way. Um I will be supporting it,but I- I also want to still look at opportunities in the future. This is some private,no I'm sorry, this is our- our public contribution right and hopefully,we are setting a tone for um other local governments to be chipping in at,you know, of a scale that is significant, like we are doing here tonight and also to try and get some additional private investment that can come alongside and leverage the public This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 49 dollars that we're doing now. So I think having,you know,the organizations who are going to be receiving funds helping continue that momentum and yeah, like I said,just leveraging really fantastic. So thank you again for everyone, for your collaboration, for coming to the table, for staying at the table, for coming back and creating new friendships and opportunities. Dunn: I'm not going to beat a dead horse but I will emphasize uh how much I am in agreeance with,uh,the prior comments,um, as well as how excited I am to see what comes from these allocations uh and programs at large. Um that being said, I will vote for this. I do support this very strongly. Um I'm not satisfied, and I don't think any of us should be. Um I think that a project like this should just be the start of the investment that we put into our community um and um I- I certainly want to see uh more funds invested into programs like these,particularly for the immigrant community uh that is so large and has a lot of need. So my-my-my request would then uh just be that we keep thinking about these types of programs,we keep thinking about opportunities that we can have in the future to uh to do these types of things again um and again,be very mindful of a potential focus on on immigrant businesses and other entities. Harmsen: Great people doing a lot of great things. Thank you. You make our community better, all of you. Alter: I just want to say one of the things that struck me,um, and I think it was Simeon,you were talking about knowing how to plug in. And what strikes me from this list, um, as well as those who applied and- and haven't- didn't get their name up on this at the moment. But you're creating avenues to plug in for so many people. And this is extraordinary and it is- it's just the beginning. We have a part to play. You guys obviously know you have a part to play. You came and you said,we're ready, let's go. Um, and this is extraordinary. It's going to have a massive ripple effect and help empower so many people and help people realize their dreams,um,through a ton of hard work. Um,you know, it doesn't just magically happen,you guys know that. You've been doing it for years,um, and it's just- it's wonderful that-that we have this opportunity to-to put this money forward and to see what grows from this. So thank you for all of your efforts. Taylor: Congratulations to those on the list of the seven that-that did receive funding. And it just amazes me that,uh,the group was able to decide and narrow it down to that. At- at- after hearing,there were 31 applicants,that's a lot. And that's a lot of need out there for as what the Mayor had said,the wonderful groups that we've got out there tha-that provide these services and help for these individuals. Like so many of the ones we heard earlier that are- are desperate to find housing. And we've got groups out there that can help these folks find food and clothing and shelter. Uh, it- it's a big need out there. And so,um, echoing what,uh, Councilor Dunn said,this is just the start. And hopefully,we as a city, we won't have those big major ABPA funds. But hopefully,we will be able to find a way to-to help some of these other organizations,too. Teague: Well, I am happy to say roll call,please. (Roll Call) Motions passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 50 And Councilor Thomas, I hope you, I got excited. Thomas: You-you said it all, Mayor, so you know. Teague: All right, I am so sorry. Well, again,thanks to everybody for,uh,they submitted this- their req-uh,proposals. And congratulations to those that have been awarded preliminary some funds. So thanks to all of you. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 51 10.g Support for Manufactured Housing Park Residents —Resolution in support of manufactured housing park. Teague: We're going to move on to item number 10.g - Support for Manufactured Housing Park Residents -Resolution in support of manufactured housing park residents. Could I get a motion to approve,please? Harmsen: So moved,Harmsen. Taylor: Second, Taylor. Teague: Moved by Harmsen, seconded by Taylor. And then I'm going to ask Councilor Harmsen to kind of just,uh,talk about this item. Harmsen: Sure,thank you,Mr. Mayor. Um, first of all,um, thank you um,to the people that helped contribute to this. Uh, first and foremost,the manufactured housing park residents themselves. Um, Tracy Hightshoe at NDS, also with the help with a lot of this verbiage, as well as our City Manager, Geoff From,um, and other members of the Council too,that we've had many conversations over the last year. Um, I'm not going to read through this entire,uh,resolution. Uh,you're welcome. Um,my voice is about to give out. This cold is really kicking me-kicking me a little bit. Um, but essentially,this recognizes,um,that we hear- see and hear the manufactured housing park residents,um, offer a lot of gratitude for their,uh, dedication and bravery for letting,uh,the entire community and the public know about the challenges,um,that are being faced. Um, and add our voice to the calls for a- a better situation, either from the owners or from state law. Um, including, um,you know,we-we add our voice to call for state elected officials to fix the state laws, um,to,uh-that are right now making so many of our residents vulnerable to becoming the prey of unscrupulous investors. Uh, including,but not limited to, our endorsement of statewide rent protections against unjustified rent increases. A requirement that owners show good cause before any evictions. Laws requiring fees to be kept at reasonable levels and tied to good cause. Laws that require fair leases,that spell out park owners responsibilities to maintain clean and safe parks, and prohibit abusive lease provisions. And laws giving residents the fust right of purchase, should an owner desire to sell the property. Uh,we call upon state lawmakers,uh,that if they're not willing to make those above changes,that they restore the ability of local communities, like ours,to exercise home rule, and remove barriers to the enactment of local ordinances,that we could accomplish the above list of goals. So I'll just go ahead and- and- and finish that summary,um,tha-that finish that as a summary of what this is proposing. Teague: Great. Anyone from the public like to address this topic?All right,just come on down.Yes,welcome. Welcome. Evans: Good evening. Teague: Good evening. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 52 Evans: Uh, I'm shorter. Uh,my name is Candy Evans. I live in the manufactured home park in Golf-um, Golf View Mobile Home Park in North Liberty. I moved there in 1998, so I've been there for 25 years. Um,when I fust moved there,the rent was like $145-$190 somewhere right in there. And about every five or six years,Al Streb would drive through and say,you know,we're probably going to have to raise this five dollars. We're going to have to raise it this year,maybe $10. And that wasn't every year. That was maybe six years would go by,because it was designated for affordable housing. There is- our community is made up- in- in almost all these homes or parks, our communities made up of retired,um,people on fixed income. We have a disabled veteran that strolls through the park on his motorized wheelchair. We have single parents,uh,raising two,three children. So almost everybody in that park is on a fixed income. In 2019,when Haven Park purchased our park, I opened my door,March,right around St. Patrick's Day, and there was a note posted on the door that my rent would increase by $140 in two months. So we organized,we wanted to fight back. And we were able to slow the process somewhat. We made nationwide news. We received calls from Pennsylvania. Today I received one from Florida by the way. Park down there that's having the same thing happen to them. So 2019, I was paying $285 a month rent. I had a neighbor next door to me,he's since passed, on Social Security Disability, and his check then was about $800. His rent eventually went up to more than 50% of that.Now I pay 531. In four years,that's an 86% increase. Inflation rate this year was at 3.7. Of course,we're still getting the argument that they have to raise it because the cost of living,blah,blah,blah, and because inflation is so high,which is not true. Even during COVID,when inflation took a dive, I think by 58%maybe, didn't go down to two point something,we still took an increase. So they haven't missed a year and they have guaranteed us that we'll have an increase every year. We realize people have expenses, infrastructure is important,but we also know that none of this money is going to infrastructure. Our parks are in great distress. I have never been ashamed to tell anybody I lived in Golf View- Teague: Thank you. Evans-until the past 2, 3 years. Teague: Thank you-thank you. Evans: Truth. Teague: Yes. I hate doing that.Welcome. Graves: I am Carol Graves. I've lived out at the,uh, Lake Ridge Mobile Home Park for 19 and a half years. Uh, after my husband passed away, I- I had a house full of furniture. So I'm going- I got to move to a double wide. It's the only thing I could afford. I looked all over the place and I came up with Lake Ridge because ho-how it looked. Mr. Wolf cared about its residents. They mowed the yard,they shoveled the driveways. I mean,they even paid for basic,uh, cable. I mean,they-they- I have three pages of things that Mr. Wolf This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 53 did, and the most he raised the rent was five dollars a year. There was even a couple of years where he did not raise the rent at all. But the mass was five dollars a year. And this is Johnson County,but anyway. Uh, and then last fall, the new owners raised the rent to $380. When I fust moved into the park, I don't have it itemized,but with my mortgage and the lot rent,the total was 550,because that was 19 and a half years ago. But in the spring it went from 380 to 430 by the new owners. They have a monopoly on this- on all these parks out here. They're not single-owned anymore. They're all owned by one big company wanting to increase their bottom dollars. They don't care about the residents. In three weeks, it's going to go up to $478 That's almost $100 in one year. And the only thing they do is pick up the garbage. And every once in a while there,when it snows in the winter,they might come down with a plow. It's horrendous. We've had i-uh, ice and snow patched streets where they're barely passable in that park now. Whereas before, is anything- it was no-no different than Iowa City streets. They plowed when it was an inch above and they also plowed out our driveways. They mowed our yard,to pick up the garbage twice a year. And the only thing now that they do is pick up garbage once a year- uh, once a-uh, I'm sorry, once a week-uh, once a week.No recycle and no large pick up once a week, garbage. Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Ramsey: Hi,my name is Jeff Ramsey. I live in the Modern Manor Trailer Court on Scott Boulevard, 1 Century Street. And me and my brother moved there,um, 16 years ago. And we both have a disability, and we have fixed incomes. We've always had to live in trailer courts because we um,have fixed incomes and stuff. It's supposed to be,um, housing for low income people,but ever since Havenpark took over,the rent has gone really high. We need lawmakers and people like you to make caps on lot rent increases. So they cannot go up by more than like $10 a year, so that you can fit it into your budget and not for it to be a budget buster if it goes up a large amount at one time. You know, you can't pay 500 if you only have 400 to work with. And we just need people to help us out and stuff. Otherwise,me and my brother have a risk of losing everything because this is the fust time we've ever been able to own our own place. And,you know, like there's programs out there and stuff to help people with property tax relief and stuff. We need a program for people to help us out with lot rent increases, so it still stays affordable. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome. McKillip: Hi, I'm Judy McKillip. I'm from Modern Manor. Twenty-four years ago,my husband and I sold our home because he had COPD and we bought a home in Modem Manor because at that time,you had to own your home. They did have a lot of amenities. You've already heard how many amenities we had. Hayvenark came in last year, or two years ago, and right away they stopped all the amenities we had.Now we don't have any lawn mowing. And our court looks like it too. If some yards are three or four feet high, some are six inches high, and some look really good, some of them don't. Um, even the street lights,we had to beg. I mean, it took us about a month to get the street lights lit, but we This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 54 finally got them,which really surprised me. It's just that people out there live-we all live on a fixed income. Everybody does. You only make so much a week. Many of the people that live out there are elderly or on- are handicapped or on just low income,they can't make it. They-they-we pay our taxes,we have to pay our insurance on our homes, on our cars, and everything else,just like everybody else does. And then Hayvenpark comes in and doubles everything because the amenities that they took away from us,we still have to take care of that. We have to mow our yard. We had to go buy a lawn mower so we could do it because we'd need one before. Right? There's 1,000 bucks for a month almost. I mean, it's crazy. Uh, as far as the appearance goes,none of us understand. Uh, we would think they'd wanted their business to look pretty and neat because it used to Be- it used to be pretty. It used to be the place to go in Iowa City, and most of us are retired, but it was a nice,neat place. A whole bunch of us, our friends, our age,we was getting retirement age. That's where we all went, the same place because it was neat, it was clean, it was accommodating,the amenities. My husband had COPD when we moved out there, that's why we moved out there. We had a house,but he couldn't mow the yards, and I was still working full time. And he died in 2015.Now, I'm living on my social security. And it don't go very far and I always work full time. Um, I just- it would be nice if we felt safe and secure where we're at work. We don't have safety. We don't have security. We don't have street lights. It's dark. You're walking down the sidewalk,the sidewalks crooked, and you can't see it because the street lights aren't on unless you want to take your flashlight. Uh, I guess we're just tired of the rent gauging. That's all it is. In two more weeks, our rent's going up to 68 bucks again. Teague: Thank you. Thank you. McKillip: Thanks. Teague: Welcome. Furnish: Hello,uh,my name is Sarah Furnish, and I've lived at Lake Ridge for 14 years now. I want to tell you a little story. This is the longest I've ever lived anywhere in my entire life. As a child,my mother was a single mother with six children, and we lived on housing assistance. I'm sure that you all know that when you're living in poverty,you move frequently. Uh,the longest we had ever lived anywhere was six years. So prior to living in Lake Ridge, I was a single mother in California and I always felt the constant tension of being on the verge of homelessness and not being able to afford the rent,which is really scary when you're just one person with a kid. So when I moved back to Iowa and I moved into Lake Ridge, I felt such a huge burden lifted. I felt really good in knowing that I could come up with 285 every month. With a price like that, I could afford my bills. It just felt great to know that I had a place. I always took the place for granted because it wasn't my dream home. Uh,but now,when Hayvenpark came in and started raising the rent and taking away all the amenities and the whole environment changed,I really realized that housing stability is priceless. Um,my son has grown now, and I'm not on a fixed income. I can afford the rent increases for a little longer. But it's not going to be worth it because if I pay a little more for an apartment or another place,they're going to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 55 buy a stove if my stove breaks. So we have all the,um,responsibilities of a homeowner, but we're not getting the other end of the deal from the property owners. They are no longer caring for the place and it's becoming very run down and unsafe. Most of the people who live there are retired and disabled and can no longer work, and they're not able to continue to pay the rising rent and costs. Uh,this is going to put a huge strain on the Housing Assistance Program in the area when people get priced out and can no longer live there. Um, and you know,the other people here talked about a housing emergency, and this is right on the cusp of that housing emergency. And this not-we're not looking for affordable housing,this is low income housing. These are your essential workers, these are your paraeducators,your daycare workers,your people working at convenience stores. We need them. We have to have those people to have our communities survive. Meanwhile, every time that the,uh,rent is raised, all of our money is sent out of state. And every time it's raised,we have less money to spend in our community,ever less jobs. We used to have a full staff of people that took care of the place. They're all gone. So all the money is going right out of our community. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Welcome. Blakeslee: Good evening. Teague: Good evening. Blakeslee: My name is Constance Blakeslee. I'm a resident at Sunrise Village in Iowa City, also on Scott Boulevard,right next door to Modern Manor. Um, as with Candy,uh, our place was purchased in 2019. At that time,my rent was somewhere around 360-365. That included our well water, our sewer with a lagoon, open lagoon, and trash. We will be getting another hike in our rent. Come February, I will be paying over $600.And just to keep it legit,they write down what your base rent is and then they're adding you $38 on top of that to pay for the same well water, the same sewer system, and trash removal. So ditto on everything that they've said. I have a poster here if you don't mind. Can I bring this up for you guys to look at? It's got a photo Teague: You can pass it to our City Clerk. Blakeslee: That would be great. And what you will see on there, if you look at the pictures on there,we want to hold the park owners accountable for maintaining the parks and repairs. As of right now, and you'll see on those photos,there are lamp posts laying on the ground, so no lighting. The only lighting in the park is if you have a working lamp light at the edge of your yard and the bulb has been changed,uh, or people leaving their outside lights on. There are no lighting in any of the common areas, including the playground and the community post boxes,mailboxes. There are potholes,there are broken sidewalks,there's parts of sidewalks that are missing. There are-there are ash trees that are dead.Not dying but dead, and about to fall on people's homes. Mine being one of them. There's a piece of bark large enough you could surf on it that's about to fall off of it. These limbs are lowering it, they're going to fall. When they do, it's not a matter This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 56 of if they fall, it's going to be a matter of when they fall. Um,nothing is getting done to get these trees removed. Um,there's electrical boxes that the mobile homes are plugged into, so it supplies the trailer with the electrical service. There's a picture there,you'll see, it's leaning and laying on the air conditioning unit is the only thing keeping it upright. Um,they need to be held accountable for maintaining the parks. It's not safe to walk there. You can break an ankle. You could step in a pothole,you can't see where you going. And there are no interior lights. The only lights are from people's homes.Thank you for listening. We just want to hold them accountable. Teague: Thank you. Blakeslee: You're welcome. Teague: Welcome. Maria C. (via translator): Thank you. Good evening. My name is Maria. I'm also part of the Modern Manor neighborhood. What all of the people here have been talking about,um, really is what's happening. And it's a great injustice to people who are low income. Uh, the rent increases have been a serious problem. And another thing that's happening in the past, if you were like one day late on your rent you paid on the sixth instead of the fifth, they would charge you $5 as a- as a fee.Now it's $50. The same thing happens when people can't cut their lawn. Some people are senior citizens and they can't cut their own lawn, and they get charged $50,um, for the park to cut it. Another service that was cut is that garbage used to be taken twice a week,now it's just once a week. So this is making it so that the neighborhood, instead of improving, it looks deter- is deteriorating. What we need now is your help in stopping these kinds of rent increases because everything's rising except our wages. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. And I'll just remind that we do we give double time when there's an interpreter. Yeah. Yeah. Yes,when there's a translator. So I hope you said everything you wanted to Hurtado: Hello, everybody. My name is Marcela Hurtado. I live in Regency Park. I just wanted to ask you to support the five points of this proclamation. Since the lack of affordable housing is affecting your communities, and I- and if something- something affecting all communities,um, and if something affect just one person, if should affect all us. I have always hear that the Iowa City is an inclusive city that supports everyone. Um,this is the time or this is the moment to support a stop to increase the rents and continue providing good maintenance to the mobile parks. Sorry for my English,but I try. Thank you. Teague: Thank you-thank you-thank you. Yeah,welcome. Parrish: Thank you. Good evening. My name is Linda Parrish, and I'm a resident of Modern Manor, and I support everything that my fellow citizens have reported to you. And we do wish for the legislators at the city level and the state level to put a cap on lot rent This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 57 increases. And then on the positive side,we used to have security. Okay. We don't have security anymore. At any of the residences at Lake Ridge,Modern Manor or Sunrise. So security was taken away,but I got to give it to Johnson County and Iowa City Police Department because when something happens,they are there to help us out no matter what. And our fust responders from the ambulance drivers to the fire department,just- just so you know, our law enforcement in Johnson County and the- and the City of Iowa City rock,they have our backs,you know, sometimes both are there. All four of them are there just so you know. And I want- and I want to thank you and I am proud to live at Iowa City. Thank you. Teague: Thank you. Anyone else like to address this topic in person or online?Please raise your hand. Yep. Seeing no one,we're going to go to Council deliberations. Dunn: I think I just wanna express some- some raw emotions right now. Um,there's really three things that I'm feeling. Um, the fust feeling is rage,the second is pride, and- and the third is hope. Um, I cannot express how angry I am,uh,that you guys have been forced to go through this. Um,you shouldn't have been forced to-to be in these circumstances. Um, I know that many of you guys, I've spoken with plenty of you,have done nothing to deserve this,uh, and because of- of a leech on society that is a private equity,uh, firm, called Havenpark,um,you're getting bled dry, and I feel as though,um,the powers that be in Des Moines,being the Legislature and the Governor's office,have tied our hands. I- I can say beyond that, it's not that I feel, I know,they have tied our hands as to what we can do to help this situation. Um, I want to be clear that their limitation of our ability to help is working as an accomplice to the company that is screwing you over. They are enabling you to be bled dry every single day. They want it. You can follow the money, you can watch,uh,the campaign finance reports for where Havenpark's packs go to. It's the people that control the State House and the Governor's office in Des Moines. It makes me so angry um, it's hard to put into words. So I really- I want to just express that I feel for you, and um, I know that this Council- I don't speak on behalf of this Council,but I know that this Council is currently and will continue to work to do everything we can to help you all in your situation. Um, In terms of pride, I'm very proud of all of you for all the work that you have done to speak truth to power. Um,whether that be to us,to the Board of Supervisors,to your state legislators, or all the way up to Havenpark themselves. Um,people in power rely on you being silent in systems of oppression in order to keep you silent. Right. You guys have rocked the boat. And you've won some victories to change situations. And I just want to encourage you guys to keep it going. And if there's anything that we can do to help as individuals or Counselors,um, or to build connections with other people across the state and across the country,please let us know. Um,you know, I want to be an accomplice with you guys. The last thing is hope as well. The fact that this is something that continually is brought up in our community, while deeply concerning, does give me hope that things will change eventually. Um, and it's without that hope,nothing will change. I keep that hope for you, for our community, um, and for a better future. So um, thank you all for coming. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 58 Bergus: I wanna thank everyone who spoke tonight and all of those who couldn't wait through five hours of meetings to be here to speak to us tonight as well. I know you represent many many others with your experiences and your comments. Um,thank you for Councilor Harmsen putting this together and um, for the work of the County Wide Mobile Home Task force that I know is happening. And I think when we can't compel some of the things,we can't regulate, some of the things that we're talking about,what we can do is use our voices. And when we hear the stories from all of you, and I look down the dais at all of us, I know that we can doo more in terms of communicating with the park owners, as to our expectations, our disapproval, our discontent, and the unacceptability of things like the conditions getting worse and worse, and while the rent goes up and up. So I hope that this resolution is a beginning and that there can be a coordinated county-wide effort with public officials, engaging the park owners um,to have those very pointed conversations. Harmsen: I think to speak to that real quickly. One of the parts of this is to give direction to our City staff to work on some of those efforts. Let them know that we, as a Council, should we approve this,which hopefully we will,that it gives them- gives them some direction and also is something that we can share now, after we pass this,with other local entities, um, if they're looking for some sort of template that they might consider. Um,the legislative session starts in January, and I think at either our next meeting or one of our meetings in December,we will be talking about our legislative priorities that will instruct um, our city's lobbyists and hopefully this will be one of those things on that list. So-so um,yes. So the answer is yes. Taylor: Um,this is really painful for me. I know many of you, and you know that I've talked about this before. That I lived in a mobile home community for over 20 years before I finally got brave enough to find funding to buy a house. But that mobile home community was home to me and family, and I still know and are friends with many of the people who live there are the ones I call lifers. They have nowhere else to go, and I feel for them,they've lived in that particular,which I still call Baculus Mobile Home Park for probably 50 years,but that was recently bought up too. It started with the North Liberty one and then it was like a nasty disease. It just progressed and festered from there. More and more bought up,not just by Haven Crest,but other companies throughout the country, and it's just terrible. Many of you sat through our discussion earlier about the need for affordable housing in this community. Mobile home parks are kind of the last opportunity for that, for affordable housing in the community. And someone saw that and saw this wonderful opportunity to make money on it and make profit on your backs. And it's just so sad,but I'm so proud of all, Candy included. I saw a wonderful movie that included her about what happened in North Liberty. It's just amazing and there's power in numbers. You're stronger in numbers to keep speaking up,keep fighting, and vote for the right people to get to office in Des Moines. Senator Wahls I know has been working very hard to speak for you folks and help change some of those rules,but that's the only way things are going to get done. But we will certainly, as a Council, do what we can to help. And we have a we have a lobbyist in Des Moines that we can continue to have him speak This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 59 for you folks,because it's vitally important. And I commend you and I applaud you and hang in there. Alter: I'm not going to repeat what many have said already,but,um,thank you so much for coming here to explain the conditions under which you're having to live,um, and for all of your efforts to not accept this. You're doing your part. And I agree completely with Shawn and Laura, and everyone else on the Council to say we need to do ours. And it may not be through direct,because we have had home rule ripped away from us,but there are indirect ways. And I think that we absolutely need to make our voices known as the representatives, as the electeds of the city,to say this is unacceptable and you need to do better. Um, and so-that's my pledge to you is,you have been doing your part by bringing attention to this,by making the rounds and talking to everyone, and now we need to do ours, and so thank you for that. And I'm incredibly sorry. Thomas: Thank you all for coming, it was really quite-quite moving hearing your testimony and heartfelt expression of your-your struggles. I am always impressed with how through those struggles the community you-you show such strong community, it's- it's really quite inspiring. Um,we will do what we can. I- I've kind of looked at this issue and I feel that it's-the- the concept of the mobile home park,where you do not own the land under your own dwelling, is fundamentally flawed. And that's, in my view,what needs to be changed. We need to come up with a different model for-for the type of living that you're, you know,you've committed yourself to. Um,because this concept structurally just doesn't work. It only works if you have a,you know,the kind of property owner that many of you spoke to early on in the process, and that period seems to have gone. So it seems to me it's time to revisit the concept, it's structurally flawed. And I hope that's something that-that's whether at the state level, in combination with the local level, can- can be addressed. Thank you. Teague: So, I spoke to many of you about um, on this topic several times before. Many of you know that my fust home that I purchased was a mobile home, and I was so excited living out in Lake Ridge with Mr. Wolf And to see from that day to this one,where we are, it is very discouraging. My mom lives there where I used to live, and so I know firsthand um, what this is like on someone that is on a fixed income. We-we talk about housing and what percentage of someone's income should go towards housing, and 30%is about that er, average number. And the average um,yearly benefit- social Security benefit for individuals 65 years old, as of May,um, is at $30,000 um,per year,which is about 2,500 per month. If we were to take 30% of that Oh, I know. I- I-you know, I know but I want- I want to bring this point home. Um, even with that number, 30% of that is 760- $767. We just heard that the lot rent was going to be raising,um,being raised to 478 in Lake Ridge. So just think about that. We heard about the services that was there,the amenities, the-the lawn mowing,the snow removal, some of those thing that when I was out there, my neighbors were active and gray,that's what I call elderly people. And-and they were out there because it was home, it was community, and it was also affordable. But when you take that away, and you'll still look at this 670- 677, it's- it doesn't add up. And so I want you to know that I so appreciate your voices on this. It is a national issue, it's not This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 60 novel to Iowa City, it shouldn't be a situation at all. Um, and again, I appreciate um,this Council commitment, one to affordable housing. That is something that I really appreciate that we may have different thoughts and ideas of getting there,but the desire to ensure that people that live in, and around our incorporated city,um,have opportunity to live um, in an affordable space,uh, and in a community that they really can afford, even when they're on a fixed income. I'll be supporting this tonight and I am dedicated because,uh, I'll tell you,my mama screams and hollars every time I talk to her about something happening. But I'm dedicated to continuing to use my voice to make sure that the lawmakers in Des Moines realize what is happening to individuals. And these are individuals er,the majority of people that lived around me,we're elderly. Um,these are individuals that have worked in our community,have serviced us in so many ways, and we need to do all that we can. So I appreciate you all waiting so patiently to speak tonight. And I had to cut off one of my favorite peopl,Miss Motormouth Candy.No, she's not a motormouth. Harmsen: It's a mama thing Teaegue: I know- I know- I know. But thank you all for coming tonight and I'll be supporting this. Teague: We-we're ready for roll call. (Roll Call). Motion passes 7-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 61 12. City Council Information Teague: We are at item number 12,which is City Council information. Bergus: Just remind people to vote tomorrow,there is an election. If you need to know your polling place, go to JohnsonCountyIowa.gov polls are open 07:00 A.M. to 08:00 P.M, bring your ID to vote. Taylor: I want to congratulate Rachel Kilberg on her new position. Teague: Yes. Taylor: Yeah, sorry she's not here to-to-to get that. Uh, because I've really appreciated her time working with the,uh,Disability Awareness Committee,but I'm looking forward to having someone take over her duties, er,hopefully very soon er, so we can meet again because it's a great group and Rachel did a wonderful job helping us with that. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023 Page 62 13.Report on Items from City Staff Teague: All right. We're going to move on to item number 13,report from our City staff, we'll start with our City Manager's Office. Fruin: Yeah,two quick things. Thanks for mentioning Rachel in her new position. She was here for most of the night. She left after the underestimated business grant,um,process,but I know she wanted to take that in because one of her tasks will be to engage all those that did not receive funding as well as those that did, and her hope that we can help carve a path forward for some of those grants. I know Rachel's anxious to jump into that. And then the other kudos to staff today was very nice of Shelley Maharry from the Community Foundation to be here. And fittingly, Stefanie was at a program tonight at the Public Library that the Human Rights Office was conducting about oppression in the school system. So, er- er hard at work as always, and then a reminder that Stefanie's office will also be starting the Racial Equity and Social Justice Grant Program. There's two information sessions one,uh,the fust one will take place this Wednesday uh, at 6 PM. And that's-you can attend,uh,via zoom,uh,through that and we'll be awarding another $100,000,uh,to local organizations. So great work from the office um, - Stefanie's office and more good things to come. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council regular formal of November 6, 2023