Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1992-11-10 Agenda ':'1 I ,I ~. IOWA CITY CITY COUNCIL AGENDA , " I I I i I I I 1 , I I ; "," " ~' REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OF NOVEMBER 10,1992 7:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CIVIC CENTER 410 EAST WASHINGTON .,......,'......',.... . ',.' ~. , I 1 AGENDA IOWA CITY CITY COUNCIL REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING - NOVEMBER 10, 1992 7:30 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS ~ ~i ~ ,r~ 7Jt~ ~ 7It.iMtJ ~~I ~ ~rJ ITEM NO.1. CALL TO ORDER. ITEM NO.2. ROLL CALL. Jh~~~ MAYOR'S PROCLAMATIONS. a. Philanthropy Day - November 18, 1992. ITEM NO. 3 - SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS. a. Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the Government Finance Officers Association. ITEM NO. 4 - CONSIDER ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT CALENDAR AS PRESENTED OR AMENDED. a. Consider approval of Official Council actions of the regular meeting of October 27, 1992, as published, subject to corrections, as recommended by the City Clerk. b. Minutes of Boards and Commissions. (1) Human Rights Commission meeting of October 26, 1992. (2) Airport Commission meeting of September 15, 1992. (3) Library Board special meeting of October 15, 1992. (4) Library Board meeting of October 23, 1992. (5) Board of Adjustment meeting of October 14, 1992. (6) Historic Preservation Commission minutes of November 2, 1992. c. Permit Motions as Recommended by the City Clerk. (1) Consider a motion approving a Special Class "C" Liquor License for Pagliai's Pizza Palace, Ltd., dba Pagliai's Pizza, 302 E. Bloomington. (Renewal) (2) Consider a motion approving a Class "C" Liquor License for Ground Round, Inc., dba The Ground Round, 830 S. Riverside Dr. (Renewal) (3) Consider a motion approving a Class "E" Beer Permit for B.J. Partnership dba Expres-Stop, 2545 N. Dodge St. (Renewal) . :l_..___:w..~~.__..... -, ..,...........,.......,,-_.. - .b&..; Agenda Iowa City City Council November 10, 1992 Page 2 d. Resolutions. 9a. Jq\? (1) CONSIDER RESOLUTION ACCEPTING THE WORK FOR THE STORM SEWER, WATER MAIN AND PAVING IMPROVEMENTS FOR WESTPORT PLAZA ILSNRDI. Comment: See Engineer's Report. e. Correspondence. (1) Letter from John Kammermeyer regarding noise poliution caused by concerts on University property. (2) Letter from Cynthia Richards Borsa regarding Public Access Television. 13) Letter from Michael J. Hathaway regarding Public Access Television. (4) Letter from Douglas W. Jones, Chair of the Iowa City Area Group of the Sierra Club supporting the original version of the proposed pesticide ordinances. (5) Letter from Friends of the Iowa River Scenic Trail expressing apprecia. tion for the support for the FIRST Annual 8ike Ride. (6) Memoranda from the Traffic Engineer regarding: (a) Parking prohibition in the cul.de.sac of Olympic Court. (b) Parking prohibition on Morningside Drive at its intersection with High Street. (c) Parking prohibition on Terrace Road at Court Street. f. Application for use of streets and public grounds. (1) Application from the Fire Marshai to exhibit new fire apparatus In a parade on November 22, 1992. (approved) g. Applications for City Plaza Use Permits. (1) Application from Art Sma Ii for the use of the stage area in the Plaza for a political raliy on October 31, 1992. (approved) JhM/~ ~ ~tV END OF CONSENT CALENDAR / ~LWHU % "Jj(~~ , I I I I I I I I I I i , "':'1 I , I ~. Consent Calendar page I Courtney/ Moved and seconded (AmbriHorow) to adopt the consent calendar. Discussion. NoV/ Can we include all the correspondence that we got yesterday and today or do those go into the p.h. Karr/ Those would be part of the p.h.s, respectively. Courtney / Any other discussion. Roll calI- Consent calendar is adopted. "- -" I I , Agenda Iowa City City Council November 1 0, 1992 Page 3 ITEM NO.5. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS. a. Public hearing on a resolution approving the voluntary annexation of an approximate 7.0S acre tract of land located north and east of the present Iowa City corporate limits, east of Scott Boulevard, and north of Court Street. (ANN 92.0001) Comment: At its October 1, 1992, meeting, by a vote of 5.1 (Gibson voting no), the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the application submitted by Plum Grove Acres, Inc. to annex the subject parcel. The Commission's recommendation is consistent with the staff recommenda. tion included in the report dated August 20, 1992. Information requested by the Council concerning development within existing subdivisions is included in the Council packet. Action: DlI &1I~ tlffAJ b. Public hearing on an ordinance amending the Zoning Ordinance to change the use regulations of certain property located east of Scott Boulevard and north of Court Street from the County designation of RS, Suburban Residential, to RS.5, Low Density Single-Family Residential. (REZ 92.0010) Comment: At its October 1, 1992, meeting, by a vote of 5.1 (Gibson voting no), the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the application submitted by Plum Grove Acres, Inc. to annex and rezone the 7.08 acre tract from the County RS designation to RS-5. The Commission's recommendation is consistent with the staff recommendation. Action: 11-9 ~ /lIt fUOM..f c. Public hearing on a resolution adopting the Iowa City Historic Preservation Plan. Comment: At its October 13, 1992, meeting, by a vote of 6.0, the Historic Preservation Commission recommended adoption of the Iowa City Historic Preservation Plan, The Historic Preservation Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commission held a Joint public hearing on the Historic Preservation Plan on October 6, 1992. The Council's hearing on this Item has been continued from the October 27, 1992, meeting; comments concerning the plan were received by the Council at the October 27, 1992, hearing. The Historic Preservation Commission has submitted a memorandum to the Council 1"J~on;Bjj3, ~he comments received at the October 27 public heap'~r"~ Action: ~dRA~ r'111 Lt't<Mt-?t?r>>, ~ (d/~,.) A'k.d '" .&~rU-1t/ IUe. lk~tJ D ~. J I , ql t.JJt.k.vfCtMf/ M ea.w), ~rtl f. ~t 4flJf!'j~U-vo ~~ dlitfIU ~!I/~ (>>JtiUittJ 'jj~ --~ .................-. 1lIlIl.1&.1a', --. ... ~. IISC page I Courtney I reopen the p.h. on this item. Doug Russell I am the chair of t he Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission. I thank the council ,md the Mayor on behalf of the other commissioners for time to address you again on the subject of the Historic Preservation Plan. I have been asked by the council to give a brief synopsis of the plan for the benefit of the public. The plan comes in five parts that are bound separately. There is an executive summary which is a ten page summaty of the policy goals of the plan. It is the quickest way to understand what the policy goals are. The plan itself comprises of 97 seven pages and includes historic background material and details of the survey work that was done. There are appendixes A through Q bound separately and these are such background and working papers as the results of the neighborhood survey that was conducted. A memo from a legal consultant on the plan, lists of previous mvard \\~nners of HP awards and so fourth. These are considered background documents for the plan. There is a fourth separately bound document called the Historic Resources of Iowa City. If you read carefully you will see that this is Appendix Q bound separately. The reason that that is done is that this document contains the histOlical background of Iowa City itself. Tlus is a document that will be of use for persons who want to nominate a property onto the National Register of Historic Places. Such <U1 application form requires placing a building in an historic context in the themes of Iowa City histOlY. This document outlines those contexts and themes and is available for the public use. The fifth document is called the Neighborhood Summaries document and is 18 pages long and it is itself excell1ted from the General Plan. It is the best summary of the particular policy goals and objectives for a number of designated neighborhoods in Iowa City. The goals of a plan are ten in number and I would like 10 read them briefly. They all support the mission statement of the plan which is to identify, protect, preserve the communities historic resources in order to enhance the quality of life and economic well being for current and future generations. Historians and curators are interested in arti!(ICts and papers and books and machines and objects. Historic preservationists are interested in the buill environment. in buildings, in neighborhoods and downtowns. And the fabric of the community. The first goal we have is to ._.-.... --_._----------_._-~~------ -.. fiSc page 2 identifY historic resources significant to Iowa City's past. This is the process of surveying the town to learn more about the buildings and their history to deteI1uine what might be important to be preserved. The second goal is to enhance the municipal policy of protection of historic resources and implement this policy through effective and efficient legislation and regulatory measures. The third goal is to establish economic incentives to encourage the preservations of historic buildings in neighborhoods. This is part of the private initiative and economic incentives that Mr. larson was concerned with. Goal number four is to provide technical assistance necessary to preserve and improve historic properties. This is something that the Commission does now but we want to expand so that private individuals can do lllore without the govemment doing the work for them. To survey and designate historic properties on their own. Goal number five is to strengthen historic preservation education programs and develop private support and commitment for preselvation undertakings. Private groups in the past have created the cunicula for grade schools. We have published an historic guide map to Iowa City. These are the kinds of activities contained n Goal number five. Goal number six is to lllaintain and strengthen preselvation partnerships between municipal government and state government and between municipal government and federal agencies. One reason to do tillS is to get educated on what resources are available. A second reason is that there is federal and state funding for preselvation malleI'S that will help relieve the city budget pressures. Goal number seven is to establish and implement historic preservation objectives for the University of Iowa campus and surrounding neighborhoods. We think it would be beneficial for the city and the University to continue to cooperate. We think this is one area where tJlat could be done. Goal number eight is to establish and support heritage tourism efforts appropriate to Iowa City's historic resources and comlllunity needs. For every Old Capitol in Iowa City which is well known and often visited. there is aiso a Plum Grove or some older historic building. We would like to expand tourism in Iowa City by focusing on historic properties. Goal number nine conduct regular review and evaluation of historic preservation initiatives by the HP community. We IVant to work together " --. II:;C page 3 with private organizations like Project Green and Fliends of liP and other govermllenl agencies like the J.e. HP Commission to avoid duplicating our efforts and to get more done. The tenth goal is to adopt strategies to conserve historic neighborhoods which retlect their organic development, historic roles and traditions, modern needs and economic health and stability. Goal number ten is the subject matter of the Neighborhood Strategies document. Now in this list of goals that I have read there m'e trailing each a series of objectives. The goals are the general policies we are asking the city council to adopt in adopting the plan. The objectives which are specifically listed in the plan. in the sUlllmmy, and in the Neighborhood Strategies are the policy options the HP Commission will consider for recommendation to the city council. Judgments have not been made on which reconullendations will be made and which will not. This is the menu or the road map or the list from which to select policy options. Only two of the goals which I have listed concem regulations or ordinance changes. There was some concern voiced at the earlier city council meeting about Appendix N. Appendix N, is the legal memo from a consultant to the HP Commission mld it contains a discussion of possible regulations. The city council or the HP Commission in meeting with the council and heming the public concerns felt it appropriate to draft a clarifying introduction to Appendix N. to help explain what it is and what it isn't because we think there m'e a lot of unfounded concerns about what lllay happen eventually based on taking aspects of Appendix N, out of context. I wouid like to read it too, it is very brief. The introduction to Appendix N. states, as a part of the development of a historic preservation plan for Iowa City, Clarion Associates, Incorporated was asked to review the current historic preservation ordinance and zoning practices that affect Iowa City historic structures and make recommendations about potential amendments where appropriate. Brad White with Clarion Associates met with the city planning starr and iegal stall, members of the historic Preservation Commission and other city officials and conullunity representatives in November of 1991. The memorandum which follows which is Appendix N. represents ~'Ir. White's appraisai of Iowa City's ordinance and outlines .. - " 1., If)C page-l potential means lor dealing with issues which were identified dllIing the planning process. This memorandum represents a list of options which may be considered at some future date by the Iowa City HistOlic Preservation Commission ,md the city council. Adoption of the Iowa Historic Preservation Plan does not obligate the city to adopt the specifics prescribed in the memorandum. Adoption of any of the measures discussed will req uire significant public discussion and evaluation. As the council has discussed in its previous meetings, adopting the plan does not give the council responsibility of enacting each objective that is listed as a policy choice in the plan. But does have the city council endorsing the goals of this document. This is not a new policy, this historic preservation business, As I've said earlier, the city endorsed historic preservation as government policy including regulation 10 years ago, and we've been working at it in a process with private citizens, business organizations, and the city government since then. And the members of the commission in asking the council to approve the plan believe that adopting this plan is necessmy for that plan to go fOlWm"d. I want to just very briefly address some of the specific questions that have been raised about the preservation plan at city council meetings and telephone communications with counselors and commissioners in the past several days. We have prepared a document called Questions and Answers about the Iowa City Historic Preservation Plan. It has been distributed to the city cOllncilmembers, is available to the public, and it's available in the back of the meeting room tonight. In addition, all the parts of the plan are available to the public from the planning department and the copy's on file at the Iowa City Public IJbrary for inspection and copying. I just want to hit a couple of the high points from the question and answer sheet because I think it may address some of the concerns about person's who are nol familiar with the plan. Question: Does the plan create any new Historic District? Answer: No. The plan creates no new districts, does not change current city laws or zoning requirements. It does identify older neighborhoods where hlstOlic districts may be considered after further research and neighborhood input. Number 2 Does the plan list as a goal the designation of the entire Northside as an histOlic district! No. Only Brown Street and Bella Vista Place are mentioned as possible historic districts in the future. The ~, I frSc page 5 rest of the Northside is not involved. Question: Does the plan create any new regulations or create or impose any fines. The answer is no. Q.uestion: Does the plan crEate any conservation districts. The answer is no. Question: Does the plan create ,my municipal land mark ordinance or designate any municipal landmarks, The answer is no. Are their any restrictions on the sale of the property in an histmic district? No, Are their any restrictions on whether a house or property in an historic district may be leased of rented? No. If my property is in an historic district will I have to 11, it up or restore it. No. Will the city tell me what color to paint my house. t\o. If my property is in an historic district willI have to get permission from the city to landscape the property. No. Erect fences. No. Change the gutters. No. Change anything inside their building. No. Change anything outside that doesn't require a building or demolition permit. No. At present there are only two historic districts in Iowa City. South Summit Street and Woodlawn. The plan doesn't create any new ones but works towards evaluating and surveying areas of Iowa City that may be appropriate. Only those buildings in those designated historic districts are subject to these regulations. The vast Illajority of the neighborhoods in Iowa City will not be affected. Thank you. Courtney/Thank you, lXlug. Nick Russo/ Thanks for the opportunity to talk to you here tonight. I . didn't have a chance to look at the questions and answers before I came here. But I read through them quickly and I will address them in a moment. But I want to start out with a quote that appeared in the newspaper that was imputed to Susan Horowitz to the affect that there is a great deal of misinformation and ignorance sUITounding this Issue. [I' there is misinformation and if there is ignorance surrounding this Issue it is certainly not the fault in my judgment, Ms. Horowitz, of the opponents of this legislation and of the option of this ordinance. Rather appropriately the responsibility for thaI should fall upon the proponents who in my judgment have taken kind of a Madison Avenue approach of this thing in an effort to get this passed by presenting the only most palatable and acceptable dimensions of this bill without addressing the invariable enforcement provisions which are going to surf~lCe down the road. What is not admittedly the purpose of this plan . --- - . ~. ,I iiSe page () that is being adopted is to provide an ovelview or a structure within whic h further advancements in the preservation of aIi architects within this city is going to occur. What the plan does is basically commit the city 10 a course without committing the city to the specifics of the course. But as sure as I am standing here at some point or another the city is going to be asked to commit to specifics and I take very little consolation in the fact that I as a citizen in the north end in an area that is targeted as a conservation district or p01entiaIiy targeted as a conselvation district get a hearing. I am not the least bit consoled by that. What is not addressed and what is going to surface and I think the council should consider. If it doesn't consider now it assuredly it is going to consider it at a hearing down the date where in my judgment this room is not going to be able to house all the people that are going to come forth with their concerns and opposition. Number one it is creating additional bureaucracy that citizens have to deal with. Number two there is additional control being imposed on people with respect to the use of their property. Number three there is enforcement provisions which invariably, as I am sitting here I'll bet, going to involve fines. They are going to involve various other aspects of control. There is going to have to be some, to meet constitutional muster, some provision for people to escape the onerous application or unfair application of the enforcement provisions. Which is invmiably going to place upon the citizen the responsibility of proving that financially they cannot at 'least in part financially they can't swing the repairs or the corrections or the improvements consistent with the judgment of the committee or boards set up to review their actions which in tUI11 is going to invulve the divulgence of their financial resources which I have indicated previously is unfathomabie to me, And it is to many citizens in this conuJ1unity. Now since I spoke here last I have received more calls in my office regm'ding the topic that [addressee! and the opinions that I address then I have of a legai nature. Which is a little disappointing but none the less many many people share my concerns 0 They aren't here today but they will be eventually to share my concern with the fact that if there is an enforcement provision and peopie then-the burden shifts to them to prove thai they can't swing or afford the cost of the repairs or improvement s consistent with the ordinance. It is '~-.-<ItI --- -. - -, ~, ItSC page 7 an incredible invasion of privacy. It would have to be a public hearing and it just-it troubled many people as it did me. One thing that has not been mentioned through all of this is the cost. Not one person, not one preselvationist has stood up here and said what is this going to-told you folks what it is going to cost or told the t,"\payers what it is going to cost. And there is reference to the rederal funds. Well folks. it is just a matter of time before that all dries up. And if we embark on some course here where we are counting on rederal funds coming in and sharing the cost or repairs and the incentives that ivIr, Russell addresses. It is going to trigger a lot of the voluntary participation in the preselvationists agenda, I suggest that people take a look at our deficit and the likelihood that rederal money for this sort of thing is going t dry up. My understanding is that it is already down to a lIickle. So if the city puts tins apparatus or puts this structure in place and sets it roIling and all of a sudden federal funds dlY up, where are we then. Now, I did my own little survey in the neighborhood. It wasn't enormously sophisticated but it consisted of one or two questions. The lJrst one is how are you doing. The second one was did you receive anything from the preselvationists regarding what your wishes are with respect to the enactment or the preselvation plan or with respect to your attitude to the neighborhood and its preservation. 23 people didn't hear a word. I live at 820 North Dodge and I went up Brown, east on Brown up to the cemetery and over towards Marty Melanies on Ronald Street and nobody had heard one thing. If I were going to do a study and find out what the pulse or the people with regard to this issue, here is how I would put it to them, I would say are you prepared to support an ordinance that is going to preserve the historical dimensions or the neighborhood and is going to carry with It the creation or additional bureaucracy, additional control over your Iil'e, enforcement provisions and conceivably the nature or a panel that you have to go in rront or in order to make exterior improvements on your home. Some how that issue wasn't rorged that clearly. And ror any study in my judgment purporting to rellect the will or the people on the north end where I live, certainly should be rorged in such direct or terms. I don'l take consolation in the ract that the Ill' Commission has with respect to Summit Street as they so proudiy declare has always _....~- --~ " ...." ~, riSe page 8 granted the wishes ol~or the applications of those who have sought to make changes. Summit Street is a street that, South Summit, that is historic dimensions is just overriding and no one would move there and live there if it wasn't the primalY goal or at least the major focus of where they wanted to live and why. The point is that if the Commission wants to it Call say no. That as a citizen, is in itself concerns me. Now tlus question and allSWer things. in my judgment, maybe it is my training as an attorney, it raises more questions than it does answers. I'DI' instance, does the plan indicate any new regulations or impose any fines or penalties. The answer that l'<lr. Russell indicated was no. Fine. My follow up question-will it. And what are they. And why aren't they before us now. Why is it that this thing is being presented in a bifurcated fashion. Why is the city first being asked to commit to the concept of preservation and then at a later date being asked to adopt or consider the sort of teeth that are necessmy to further the goals. You can't separate the promotion of these goals from enforcement. I guess the way I conceptualize this thing is that if you want a child to eat an apple with a worm in it the way you grab that puppy is in such a way that you can't see the 1'1'01111 holes. And you present it to them. And it is my feeling that the way that this is being presented, though sophisticated, has a slick dimension. l3ecause what it is doing is presenting the most palatable dimension of tillS to the public first without regard for the most significant and potentially onerous dimension. The dimensions that concern the public the most. Who, in this room <md in this town, will dispute the proposition that an old home should be preserved. That an old home is beautiful. That historic relics or historic artifacts should be maintained. No one would dispute that. Kubby/ There are plenty that are getting demolished. I would have to disagree. Horow/ Plenty of people t hat would demolish an old hClI11ei Russo/ Nobody in this room would. And certainly nobody on my north end that I know who share-who arc very enthusiastic about their own home. Eileen Holbrook, I(Jr instance. She loves her old home. Perhaps I have overstated it but there are some people that don't care about that bUl a lot of people do. Maybe that would be a more accurale way to forge it-forge the issue. But the point is the way this is presented, The way this plan is i/SC page l) presented in my judgment is the most palatable and the most acceptable dimensions of the plan are being led with and then the follow-up-the enforcement provisions are nor beIng addressed at this time. So there is an inherent momentum being established in favor of this plan that is going to. in my judgment. create a momentum for the passing of the enforcement provisions. And my feeling is that if this is what the city wants then it should be passed. But why not put the whole package on the table at once instead of this piece mill approach. That makes me suspicious. Why not. If they know what they want to include in the plan why isn't it before us. Why aren't the enforcement provisions beltlre us. Why aren't the provisions before us that are going to be employed to relieve people from the onerous or financially burdensome impact that the enforcement of the plan. I don't understand it. I just don't understand it. There are a couple of other things that appear in the question and answer document that I was handed. With respect the question #7-VVhat is a conservation distIict. Mr. Russell recited that among other things that design review wi1I be required for new buildings within the district to help make sure that new construction is compatible with surrounding neighborhoods. What a euphemism. Design review. It is not design-it is desIgn review with the ability to say no. To me that is disenguinous language. And what if somebody cannot afford to build a house that is compatible with the neighborhood. What is they can't afford to. Then there is #12. Does the present ordinance provide for economic hardship exceptions or special merit exceptions. No they are not in the ordinance now. But in my judgment to meet constitutional muster they have to be in there. Of course, now evelybody is kind of doing a crabwalk back and disavowing thIs consultants, thIs Appendix N. Which was mentioned by in the last hearing that we had. But that Appendix contains a recital of what this consultant who are take it is learned and knowledgeable of the sort of substance that is necessary 10 incorporate into regulations and ordinance to effectuate these goals. It conlained his proposal for hardship provision. If there is nol going to be a hardship provision then what does that say. Why isn't t'his being addressed righlnow. Then we go on to 1/15 and I briefly address that but I reference to the fact that most of Ihe Certificates of Appropriateness were 1 -.. 'I I , /fSC page 10 approved. But anybody that works with government or the law knows that a past record is no guarantee of what the future records are going to be. I took no consolation in that. The last thing is number 21-If you don't like the decision of the Commission regarding a remodeling project, you can appeal to the counciL Here again, going back to the remark that I made pre\~ously, there is another tier of bureaucracy that is being set in place that peopie have to wade through to live their lives. I am opposed to it. I am opposed to-what I am primarily opposed to light nolV is the way this plan prevents its most palatable acceptable dimensions \\1thout addressing the hard and velY difficult issues that invariably this council is going to be confronted with. I am at a loss to understand why they are not before us now. And the only reason I can think that they aren't before us right now is that by dividing this plan up in the fashion in which it does you can gain a tactical advantage and momentum that otherwise you wouldn't have if the teethe of the plan were tlle table, The hardship provisions were on the table. What exactly the Certificate of Appropriateness is going to accomplish is on the table. That would really put something before the council that would produce a tremendous outpoLlling of response from the affected neighborhoods. Why aren't the neighborhoods in the areas after all these studies that are going to be designated specifically mentioned firmly so that llle neighborhoods can appropliately guide their response to these proceedings. It is so amorphous that it is hard top rally citizens that will be affected by the plan. That is my opposition to it. I was just going to say one last thing here. I am going to go back to my opening remarks when I spoke previously and that is this. By adopting-page three of the Executive SummaIY says by adopting this plan the City of Iowa City is not assuming the responsibility of enacting each objective but is endorsing the policies and concepts included. Thus I think the council quite clearly by this language is a( some point or another given Goaj #2 committing itself to Ihe proposition that it wiII address and create the ordinances and the regulations that are necessary to implemenl this policy. Incidentally there is a lot of attempts to disavow the economic hardship provisions. And there is reference to the f~lcl that this is not in the ordinance. But in Objective 112, under Goallf2, which you folks are asked to adopt . ~.. - - -.. IISc page 11 there is reference 10 including iandmark designation, conservation district designation and economic hardship provisions. It is in there. I appreciate the opportunity to chat with you. Kubby, Nick, J hope that this is a quick question, most of your comments, it seems, are directed towards Goal #2, about the conservation districts, historic districts and other legislation. What about the otller four goals as something in our compo plan for us to try to implement. Russo/ I don't want 10 personalize it but it is difficult for me to stand up in front of you folks and my fellow citizens here and take the stance I am taking and the reason why and if anyone knows me they wiII know tllat this is true is that I have a commitment to my home. One part was made in 1880 and the other part was added on in 1992. I spent an enormous amount restOling the home to its OIiginal proportions and I am personally committed to the concept of preservation. The issue is whether or not this is approprIately a subject or a goal to be promoted through legislation, the expansion of bureaucracy and through ordinances or whether it is something that people should be encouraged to do 011 their own tllrough persuasion, through explanation of the merits and the benefit to them of the promotion of the historic dimensions of the property in their neighborhood. So to the extent to which the other goals accomplish that task, I sUPP0l1 them, Courtney/ Thank you, Nick. . Larson/ 1would hope that evelyone would give us the credit that we can remember back two weeks. And not repeat the just of . their comments that they made two weeks ago. Connie Champion/ 1 just like to address a few issues thatl have heal' on-1 have watched your reruns. I live in a historic district with overlay zoning. I have lived there for 20 years. I bought my house after the area was zoned or declared a historic . district. 1 had looked at a house in that area tlu'ee years before that. 1 did not buy it, It was not a historic district. At [hat time there was a threat of an apartment building going up on . Court and Summit. I have no objections to an apartment ..... building by the way but there was no control about what it was going to look like andl was really afraid to invest money in a large house with no neighborhood protection. Wondering what . going to happen to illY property value. As I have lived on -- -- '. U LLj:....._ j." , .t:.,: ~. liSC page 12 this street for twenty years I have seen property values grow. I am firmly convinced that they have grown because of overlay zoning. There are a lot of people on Summit Street who put additions on their house. It is hard to believe isn't it but I have. And it \Vas a very easy process. [didn't feel persecuted by the lIP Commission. i did not feel like I was being intruded pon. I found the process veIY quick, very efficient and veIY cordial. EvelY thing on my plan to enlarge my house did not meet their specification. I was not denied a peI1l1it because their ability to deny you a permit is pretty limited and some of the things that they objected to I did not have to correct to get the permit okayed. I did not find it a difficult process at all. I think it is really important that people know this. That it didn't require weeks of my time or expensive drawings. i didn't have to have a lawyer there with me or an architect. It was a very simple procedure. I found it very worthwhile. I also find it encouraging for myself as a neighbor that it maintains some integrity in this neighborhood. And to me that improved the economic asset of my house. So it is quite obvious that [ am encouraging you to pass these goals of the HP ConulIlssion has put in front of you. That I find that the economic gain and stability for neighborhoods which can easily be downgraded or developed in an uncomfortable manner because of the encroachment of the d.t. and our University. This is protection for neighborhoods and I am velY much for protection of the neighborhoods. I think it is important for you 10 knolV that [ was at one time a member of the liP Commission. [am not at this point. But I encourage you to adopt these strategies. I think it would be an economic asset for Iowa City. Thank you. Kevin Banick/ llUO Friendship Street. I am a member of the liP Commission. Speaking for Madison Avenue. I guess we need to address-l hate to direct to much to what Nick has said both here tonight and in the past but I think it needs to be addressed because I think it is a source of a lot of misconception that is standing in the way of really looking at a valuable plan. And that is the problel1llhat I am having here. He almost slipped up here. i wish he were stili around. Maybe he is ani there listening. When he said yes you are going to address and he stopped by saying address plan and said something else. Something stronger that you would have to ~, !tSc page 13 deal with. J think that is an important distinction there. llecause what this plan is asking you to do in the future is to take into consideration and address some of the questions and ideas that the study has presented. I think that is the important thing and as Doug I think very beautifully pointed out in his question and ,mSIVer and his supplementary comments, this is not legislation. This is not meant to do any regulation of any kind. And I think that has been widely misinterpreted and as I listened last meeting I had a veIY strong response. First of all anger ,md I feit misrepresentation. And secondly, genuine sadness at some of the misunderst,mdings and I was told that there was a call from elderly neighbor on the Northside that said that I can't afford to paint my house this year. Are they going to put me in jail. That kind of response. I mean it is ridiculous. Completely ridiculous. Doug quoted veIY well the fact that we don't control paint colors or fences or any of that stuff. I think these are being held up as being misrepresented as threats to what citizens can or can't do with their property. And certainly I wouldn't support and I know that people on the Commission aren't suppOIting that kind of regime. I mean you almost get a picture of HP Patrol cars going down the neighborhood and I think this is getting way ofT track to what we should be looking at here because I don't think that has anything to do with the HP Plan that you are considering. It is simply a direction. We asked you for money. The HP Commission to hire experts to study our town, our community and look at what we have got here and provide for us, as Doug has saki, a menu. A direction. Some things that we should be looking at. And that is what we have here. And it is something that we want to approve for further study and hopefully some legislation, regulation, some change, some direction. But not just that. There are ten goals, not just making laws to make people restrict the use of property. And as it has been point out time and time again no one has been turned down for these in the historic districts in the past. And we don'l anticipate that happening and Nick is correct in saying the past doesn't guarantee the future. That is correct but I think there has to be a sense of how commissions have operated in the past and how the community wants them to operate because i think that is an important facet here. The final outcome maybe, as I said, il'gislation or regulation. Bul ~, i:SC page 1-1 there are always and I think it has to be reiterated to the public that any legislation or regulation is going to be a product of a lot of conversation and input from neighbors. From citizens of all kinds in our conullunity and it is going to have to go through the same processes that any regulation goes. We are going 10 have discussion. We {li'e going to have P/Z. We {li'e going to have starr work. We are going to have a lot of resem'Ch before the public and the council deai with any final level. There is no legislation here. I found it interesting, frankly and if I am not mistaken, three out of the four seeming opponents last week were before you 110t too long ago during the Mercy heliport discussion clmlloring for your regulation to control because they felt that there had to be some control exercised by the city. I thought that was interesting because and I know that someone will stand up and say it was in the interest of public safety. Well it was in a public interest of some kind. If they thought that helicopters are going to crash in a neighborhood" maybe that is legitimate concern. But people do come to our regulatOlY bodies and ask for vmious things. You have to be against all kinds of zoning if you have any kind of naive sense that the government and you aren't involved in some kind of partnership. I think that it has got to be viewed that way and what a real community is in my sense and this is only my sense is it is a partnership. It is a very delicate balance between the good of a whole bunch of people and the interest and rights of individuals. That is always the way it has been as I see it. I don't see how you can argue against it. And I am not prepared to tell you what I think the final outcome should be. The HP Plan has lots of different options. I may agree with some and may not with others. But we want to take a direction. We want to get stm1ed on trying to get at some of these queslions. I Ihink that is what the plan is trying to do. Give us a sense that we are going somewhere with it instead of standing. By the way I think if you don't endorse the thing you got to go back, you better undo a lot of the stull that is already done with Ihe compo plan in reference to the historic preservation, establishment of a HP Commission, establishment of the two historic zones Iha1 we already have. We are already into this anclll'e want to be here. This isn't taking on any new ground as I see it at ail. Some of the citizens that are striking Ihe balance Ihe ot her way. Nick mentioned -.. I I , r:Sc page 1 S that he founcl23 people that hadn't heard and I would only suggest that he spent too much time in the cemetery and not enough on Brown and we were given petitions by two neighborhoods on their own who have come to us ancl wants us to look into historic dislticts. People around College Green and College Street and Court Street east of Summit. 44 people signed petitions who want us to look into that. We dicln't seek them out. We are not lIying to drive anybody to regulate themselves. There are a lot of citizens and you are going to here from some of them I am sure who want us to work toward some kind of preseli1ation beyond what we have now. I think that that is what this plan basically sets up. I should say I feel obligated to say Nick Russo is a good liiend of mine and has been for many years. We often disagree but we are stilI good friends and I feel like I can say some of these things. But Nick chastised Susan for saying that there is a lot of misinformation and it is not his fault. Baloney. I can't believe that. That Is just not true. Because immediately after he said that he makes this gigantic leap and I don't think it is fair to confusing the plan with some future outcomes of the plan. That was obvious to me. I am not a trained lmvyer. Thank God. But I think-sorry Handy- Larson/ You couldn't afford to live on what we lawyers make. Hanick/ But I don't think you can confuse the plan and some of the outcomes of the plan may lead us discuss eventually get to and some of the thIngs-the future things that might happen. And the threats to individuals and the conlrols ancl the hardships and so on. It is not there. f think that that kind of leap and that kind of discussion is exactly what establishes a sense of misinformation and confusion that we have with the plan and what Nick sees and what he fears to be some outcome clown the road. And I guess the final thing that I want to say is there Is an innuendo here that there is a hiclden agenda. And I don't know what else to say except that I just don't think that there is. We are as open about this. I think that the people on the COlllmission certainly believe in I his thing in all different levels. I don't think you coulcl say that all of the COlllmissioners absolutely agree>. But I do think that there is no hidden agenda about this. It is right outlhere. And I c1on't think that we are trying to leacl anybody dO\\'l1 a path by . ", ~, ',', " "" ,..,.,:.:/; ('. ,"'" ',"';:' ."j~S~"I;:~'(::II;:' 'r' ";1"("".','1";, fth:m~Pf!:~'>::':::i~~\'I::-,':;: ':;...~\(:.~'<.. >,: .' :.' ~9!l'\l:"\Xl':'i:,i);1'\':!':"'":''''':''''''''' " , l~~"'l\ .,t:li,I.l'~,\",:~ .',.'. ~". ':.,',' ..~{IN~W~1~j,~W:~~:~~;:,::t: ::,'Y?:',:.:'i';~~:':,\<,; , ' . :2.-~.. \J~I\bi1ttj~J!~i;;~)~~',':!.' :\i(d(ft:.:::';':.~.;,>;;:;:, /;~:'::.,L .:,<,'/ 'lj~~~Mt~'IlI~l~"'''~ In '1'1/ \"'.")~"-:F"""'::';".i'.'" ';J~";H.illlt~Qrm""~~il,V;"J';~lb:;ilill"~I,.',,';o\:':.il'.;.!:;,:' ", ,". .. ifSC page] (, trying to take one slep so we can get them closer to the edge. lt is just not true. That scenario I think is again misleading CHANG E TAPE TO REEL 92-100 SIDE 2 Hanick/ II creates a fear in people's minds who haven't really become that famiIjar with the plan. One last comment and that is basically last night there was a suggestion by a number of councilors that there be more discussion about this thing. And of course we want to get this thing passed as soon as possible. But if we have to do that we have to do that because we don't want anybody not understanding what we are tIying to do here. We are trying to be as open and forthright with all of these suggestions that we possibly can and are open to any more and it is not just the Commission that is pushing this. There are citizens that are going to speak. I think, and wlII tell you that we need this and want the council support on this. Larson/ Kevin, I suggested a language change last night that was in a sentence that Nick quoted tonight which said that instead of endorsing the policies and concepts that we could say we are endorsing the goals. And 1 assume that that was okay based on your comments last night. Uanick/ Yeah, I thought that was entirely appropriate because if in fact the policies was a word that suggested regulation and legislation, we don'( intend that. Goal I think is a perfect word for that because that Is what we see the plan as is a statement of possible goals. Larson/ And if the main word used in the document to set out these main goals. H,mick/ That is right. I think that is a fine addition. Larson/ The question I want (0 know ii' you felt like you could answer that Nick posited was why is it presented as a plan rather than a package of ordinances. I have my concept 01' why It is still this way but could you address that issue. Hanlck/As I say, I don't think there is any agreement about what those ordinances might be. I wouldn't be prepared 10 present that to you. Any ordinance I think needs full airing by the colllmunity at large, by variance commissions and bodies that deal with those things. I don't think we know. I think maybe Nick made that point well that we don't knoll' entirely-that is one of the goals. To nnd out what people want. So when we .-'.', " I ~, ,15c page 17 find that so11 of thinking out we can do some appropriate legislation or enaclment of those goals. Larson In other words, you don't think it is inconsistent at all to be behind this plan as a council member, for instance, and yet not have made up your mind about whether it is appropriate to legislate via ordinance what you can do \\lth your home but that other parts of the plan _ Hanicki Absolutely, And also, just to take that one step further, I don't see how you can be a city official and not be behind the plan because of what you already have in (lace. Because the plml, Iioankly, in tenus of its affect, fairly enoxuous. It throws everything into the future which is where we want It. And we want to get at the future and stm't dealing with some of the questions the plan raises and some of the possibilities that the plan suggests. Because that is still to do. We see a lot of work that this suggest and you have got a community hat is ready for that now. Larson/ 1 think that Is impoItant to be on the record Is the only reason I interrupted because this is really public time. I want people to understand that even the HP Commission is saying you can be against some of these ordinances that are possibilities expressed in the plan and still vote in favor of the plan. Hanickl I agree with you Handy and I don't think it is a black and white issue at all. Larson/ Thmlk you. I-1anick/ Thank you. Ilene Holbrook/ I am back. And I am goi'1g to be very c<u'eful with what I say tonight. IlI'0n't mention wanting to paint my house pink and I hope nobody mentions our fence as it has been in the paper several limes and 1 have heard it on television and everything else, Nick couldn'l have said things any better than anybody could. I am not learned like Nick and I don't understand all of the legal wording of these papers. I do thank Doug for doing his homework. That was a question that I asked at the lastmeeling. What are the penalties. Nobody had said anything at that point. The only thing is it sounds real good. But are we going to have that down in black and white for the next 50 years or 25 years or is there going to be a thing now and be changed two years down the road. Another thing, I don't know what his name was. ,\ gentleman that was just up " _.',;.. -.. I I I I I i . i I i .. I i I , I rlSc page 18 here. Put a Hille comedy into iI by ridiculing Nick a little bit abow what he said. Nick is up here speaking for an awful lot of Northside people who for Some reason or another don't want to come up here and be seen themselves. I know one man who has a business on the Northside ane! he said a lot of people wouldn't enter his business anymore. Nick is just not speaking for Nick Russo ane!llene Holbrook Is not speaking for Ilene Holbrook. We are speaking for an awful lot of people and I know as the gentleman said we want to pass this right through as quick as we can. Well I am sure that they do. Heal sure that Uley do. Il'ls. Horowitz saying that some of us are ignorant about not understanding. '''''ell, iI maybe makes you feel a little ignorant to figure out how some of these things can be passed by this council. As a homeowner, yourselves, most of you and some of you may be in the Northside. I don't know. Or if some of these other districts that are coming up, But I hope that you take evelything that Mr. Russo said very seriously and before you vote on this in any way I hope you take in concept a lot of these things that are a problem to us. The things that we are questioning and my, the heliport thing was a fantastic win over Mercy Hospital. That wasn't the object at all. We were Interested in the Northside as we are interesled in the Northside. Doing the right thing for t11e Nort11side and doing the light thing for the residents that live there and the people tl1at llave owned homes there for 8S years and livee! there all of that lime. We are wO/Tied about these people and we don 't want a snow job done on them. So I do hope-l do hope. I have heard some sneering and so forth from people here tonight. It is vel)' obvious we are outnumbered. But I do hope you take into consideration the questions that Nick brought up and I hadn't saw that copy. I didn't knoll' it was back there. I would have read it through because I Was here pienty early. But he saw some things that I probably would have questioned also in that. And I know Doug has worked real hard on this. Much of it is fine. Great. But there is questions there, A lot of questions there. Ane!l know that Nick look par! of his li'ee day and went door to door ane! it IVasn'! at the tombstones, It was door to door. Ane! you take 23 people oul of Ihal small of a section of the Northside residents and you wonder why aren't they here tonight. Nick and 1 wonder why they aren't here tonight either because Ihey are the ones that arC' calling us. . , ~. ~- ~, t5c page 19 Uke the two dummies to stand up here and speak for everybody. NOlI' I have probably made more fJiends. We are concemcd ,Uld I hope thjs isn't passed rcal fast without a lot of looking and a lot of reading ,Uld a 101 of concern and a meeting and this explained right down to the limit. Everything that is that report explained to not only the residents of the Northside. Other people are going to be subjected to this. We all need to understand thoroughly in plain language what is happening to us as homeowners. And I hope that all of you take this into consideration. I am not particularly against the pl,m and itself. I don't understand the word plan. That has been my problem from the beginning. Doug, I have never understood that word plan. Why it is a plan. I always understood that a plan was something that was going to be done in the future. PositIve. I never understood why they called it a plan. But I am asking you-l am not asking you to vote no on this tonight. I am asking you not to vote on it at all until this has bcen really dug into and evelY resident that is subject to it now. Everybody especially on Brown Street gets a copy ,Uld has a right to look into it a little bit themselves to know just what is in store for us. And like I was reported saying, I didn't like dictatorship. Some of this seems to be a little bit like that. I alii going to have to leam to keep my mouth shut to the paper. As I have got to watch what I am saying tonight. But anyway I am just asking you to not ask fast on this. Take your time. And lets let everybody knolV what is there ahead. this isn't just for today or tomorrow. It is for years coming. I know for a fact that once you get something like this in working condition it doesn't slop. There is no change in it. Thank you. Courtney / Ilene, do you think that-would it be better If there was a presentation with the whole Northslde Neighborhood Association or would you like to have a separate meeting of just the Brown Street people. Holbrook/ I Ihjnk not only the Northside but what about these other arcas. IVe are not just worrying about the Northside. Courtney' ThaI is Irue but you live in the Northside. I am asking you about that particular neighborhood because you are representing them. Holbrook' I am not representing the Northside. f am representing '1I1 awful lot of people in the Norlhside- "__'.._n. ~ --. tlSc page 20 Courtney r think Doug and the Commission and certainly our Neighborhood Services Coordinator. Whoever you like would be more than happy to come to a meeting. Council people will come to it and we will describe this as much as you want. Holbrook' I think that is what we need. Doug has worked real hard on this. Other people have worked hard on it too. But it is not really understanding. It is not explained and there are some things in there that I don't like. I don't think sounds right. And I think that there needs to be more regulations put down timewise on some of these things and I think it should be an open meeting for anybody in Iowa City that is going to be subjected to this because it doesn't just speak for the NOIthside. Courtney / That is fine but we are finding that having individual meetlngs in individual neighborhoods is working better than having large meetings where all different interests come in from different neighborhoods. It is a little easier to target each one one at a tlme. Holbrook. I wonder how many people. You would be overflowing and out into the middle of the street and up to the tavem if this light now was subject to evelY neighbor that was going to be in the future on this plan. Courtney/ Just for your infolluation and also evelybody that hasn't got up to speak. The items do show up for consideration ,md a vote tonight but we agreed informally last night not to vote on it and defer it to at least two weeks and maybe as long as four or size weeks. It is not imminent tonight. Holbrook/ Thank you very much. It gives a little time maybe for some other considerations. !.arson/ Just on that matter. I think that was borne out of a desire by most of the council but not all that the matter just be given a fuller airing. And we a~x)logize for those people that wanted closer on this matter tonight. When it is on the agenda you think it might get voted on but we just thought it would be better to have one more hearing and let it sift throughout the community. It is a fairly significant matter we think and more discussion could do nothing but help all the population. To clarifY one thing so that people in the Northside Neighborhood Association don't think their president didn't do her job. We did get a letter from Sue Feney as president of the Northside Neighborhood ;\ssociat ion strongly in favor of the plan. Ilene has so long been identified with the Neighborhood Association. ~, IISC page 21 I know we don't want to mislead people. That is the position of the Association of/leially. Pat Eckharctl' Sl.f North Linn and I hal'e lived in the Northside of21 years, happiiy. I can hardly believe that it has been 15 years since I got my baptism by fire in what city government was about and what HP was about. I remember 15 years ago a house being torn down in the block in which I lived and it began this whole thing of neighborhood meetings and could we, little people of the Northside, get a moratorium on the building on the Northside. Could we get a plan. A preservation plan. Unlike some of the speakers that have been before, I wish you would vote on it tonight and I wish you would say yes because I have been wailing for 15 years, But one of the things that I have noticed in the 15 years that I have been thinking and working for preservation as a member of the Board of Friend of HP as well as a neighborhood advocate is that friends would ask me-HP, they would say, what is that mean. And I could never teli them in one sentence. And I think tllat Is not the problem but it is the fate of tile plan. You cannot say it in one sentence. You can't put it all dOIVn in this plan and say that we are going to vote on this. We are going to do this. But what you do have here is a framework in which to address problems. But they have to be addressed indi\idualIy. Individual zoning problems. Individual neighborhoods. Individual intersections. Individual streets, whatever. What you have here is the, I am searching for the word, the framework, the context that puts in place what Iowa City deserves. We have an important historic city with wonderful neighborhoods in it. There is going to be change but let the change be carefully watched so that things happen in a way that we want. For the benefit of all of us. Take, for instance, an imagined Dubuque Street in five years. This is the street I love to come in when I come into my tOIVn of Iowa City. I love to come dowll Dubuque Street and up the hill. What is the street going to look like in ] 5 years. Do we W,ll1t ilto be lined with apartmelll buildings with no doors that face the street. These apartment buildings with no front doors kind of irk me. What do we want. \Ve have to decide that and that is one of the conservation districts that is proposed. My o\\'n neighborhood in the Northside I wish it would be a historic district but in this plan ill \,vill not be that. It will be a conservation district. But I welcome it. [look forward to this , , . -" "SC page 22 as a \Vay to maintain my neighborhood in its beauty. Though I urge you to vote j(JI' this I do believe people's views should be listened 10 but I hope you don't terry to long in this. I of course have waited 15 years. Not everyone has. ll'l would feel tenilied about anything it would be that you wouldn't approve this. So I do hope you will. Thank you very llluch. ~'/ike Lewis-Beck' I am just recently the x-vice president of the Northside Neighborhood Association. We had a meeting Sunday. An announced meeting for the neighborhood. I attended. We elected new officers and I essentially just giving you information. The new president is Sue Feney. The new vice-president is Dawn Nepple. We also appointed a new secretary and treasurer for the year and a new board. I thought it might useful since the number of questions have come up about the Northside, to announce that. Also since I was at the meeting I would be willing to answer any questions if anyone has some. We-the meeting was announced. We always urge and hope for a big attendance and we never get as many as we would like. We had 20 people. Most of whom had attended. Some new people. One of the agenda items was historic preservation. Also the new logo and Kay Ireland won the logo contest. She won $50. The Northside-in the announcement lIP was on the agenda and Doug \Vas the official representative from the lIP Commission to present the plan and he did as good of job as he did tonight. VelY forthcoming in answering questions. There were questions. People spoke at length about this. Spoke freely. Not everyone spoke. The people who spoke, no one spoke against the plan, Of course nolV not everyone spoke so you don't know what people thought who didn't speak. There was a wide J'<mging discussion. The people here this evening who spoke against this I wish they had been there. They weren't there and I wjsh the people who are in the neighborhood and feel strongly about this and are opposed would come to these meetings because the purpose of the meetings is to bring neighbors together and talk about these things. And my fen'ent hope is that we will meet not only informally on the street corners but at the Neighborhood Association meetings and I think now is a good time sjnce we have a new board of directors, new leadership and I knoll' from knowing the people in the new leadership that it is not a 100% HP crowd at all. So regardless of your side .:< -- .-.-. .~.... . ~. JT)C page 23 of the fence you will get a hearing at the meeting. And I certainly enjoy having a chance to talk to you tonight. Thanks. Corrine Suter, I live at C109 Brown. I am vel)' puzzled. The people who have spoken here and what I have read I the paper about what the polls are about how many people are for this and how many are against it. I live on Brown Street as I said and nobody has knocked at my door and asked me what my opinion is. So I discount some of that. I hope you folks do too. If there is anybody here tonight who is taking a secret poll to put in the paper tomorrow I will give you my vote. It is yes for HP. But if you want to come and see me I am always at home. I am always in my dirtiest clothes preselving my house. So if you come to my door. expect me that way and I will show you what I am doing to preserve it. Thank you. Courtney / Thank you. Kate FranksKlaus/ 416 Reno Street. And I am here to say for my opinion I am all for this plan. I think it is about 30 yem-s over due. That we made a beginning to try to salvage what is left of our inner city neighborhoods. As the pressw"es of population press and come in upon the city. From the expansion of the town and in the suburbs and in the county. I was sent a written invitation to give citizen input in those sessions which were part of the program which set up this plan. And j went to all but one of those meetings, I had a scheduling conl1ict, with some intrepidation because I have lived in Iowa City since 1965 and I have seen what has happened to the town. I went through most of the horrible 20 yearsome fight to get some urban renewal program. Our philosophy in place and underway and done. I may not agree with everything that is set forth in this philosophical statement which is more or less sort of a policy statement. But it is a place to start and I am prelly sure I was invited to take part in these things because I am sort of the liaison between Goosetown and the Heno Street neighborhood and Reno Street nejghborhood Park. Which I and my neighbors funded and bulit. And to some extent. still maintain. I don't know why else I would have been called upon because I live a pretty private life. As a person who has lived In Goosetown on the east edge of Goosetmvn since 1970 I can tell you it is a very rare and wonderful place to live in a city this size because it is in its olVnway still a town. Like a small Iowa town like the one I lVas raised in north of here. I I... ~. IT)C page 24 That means it is a working class district or neighborhood, the old third ward. It remains that. The properties by and large are small. The yards are open. We have alleys. It is like a heritage which has been passed onto us by those people who founded Goosetown 100 -150 years ago. A way of life. And one thing I like about Goosetown. our neighborhood, is that it is open to everyone. I think we have-lam not sure but I think we have a largest proportion of older people. We have a large proportion of young families starting out. We have a large proportion of couples. It is diversified, We have middle aged couples. And it is not and everybody is not of the same economic level because they are not at the same age level or lifestyle level. But we all muddle along together. And because it is a more modest neighborhood we need protection that might be made possible by this program, this plan. Because it is easy to buy up the houses in Goosetown. Cheap. It is easy to buy up the side yards and put in a duplex. It is easy to tear down old houses because they are pretty modest rather than fL'-:ing them up. They are not mansions. They are cottages most of them. 1 guess they are small houses. There are a lot of them that are beautifully built. They are not replaceable. And 1 th.ink we could get help through this program and make this lifestyle still an option in this community and 1 really am concemed if something is not done along these lines. Not only will Goosetown go but the other neighborhoods that we looked at as 1 was taking part in tllis citizen input program. They wllJ gotoo and Ive did on our lillle bus tour see some of the neIghborhoods that are gone like north of Burlington. They (ij'e gone. There is nothing Ihere. like I said it was like somebody pulled most of the teeth and you just have a few straggles left from our past. Thank you. John Shaw/437 South Summit. I undertook an extensive renovation project livIng in a middle of a IlP dislrict this year. I found no problems workIng with the commission. No problems being allowed to do anything I chose 10 do. I would like to take issue also with something that has been posed tonight and that is the assumption that doing things Ihat are compatible to Ihe ,neIghborhood are necessarily going 10 cosl additional money. I don't see that as necessarily following. It is somelhing that has '. been put fonvard and I think needs 10 be seriousiy questioned .' because 1 don't think doing work thaI is compatible with the - ~ ~, liSC page is I I I I I I I I I I I , neighborhood is necessarily going to cost individuals more mOl!e);. Thank you. Pam Michm' 109 South Johnson. My house laces the beautifully renovated or revitalized College Green Park. The lights have which have been set ablaze last night. The historic lamps are really wonderful and I love the idea of having gazebo put up after 100 years of being gone or restoring it. On one hand my house faces a beautifully restored park. On the other hand. breathing down my neck, is a four story parking ramp. And I think that is a pretty dramatic instance of what potentially going on in Iowa City. There is a very fragile block between the new parking ramp that is being built across form the civic center and College Green Park, Since a qUaIter of a millIon dollars of Project money and maybe city money has been put into that park the people living around College Green are interested in that becoming a historic area or a historic district. I myself initiated a petition last January and cIrculated it and probably three fourths of the people living CU'otU1d that park are single family or owner occupied rental. So I am just saying that this is a velY drcullatic instance of within one block you have this restored park and a parking lUmp. And this kind of plan would help us muddle through some of these decisions if it was in place. Joan Hart! I live at 328 East Jefferson Street on the flinge of the northside in a neighborhood. a velY small residential neighborhood which is sandwiched between the University and a highly commercial district on Market Street. We cu'e zoned commercial so I really approve of this plan as it would give us another framework for myself and my neighbors to organize a somewhat of a historic-our houses are of a historic nature. Old homes. So if we could be included in a conservation district it would help us all. On top of a project to down zone our neighborhood to maintain a small residential neighborhood in the midst of a commercial neighborhood which is historic. I think that the only thing thai really helps the cily retain its individuality is the nature of lis neighborhoods. If' we don't have a plan to help preserve a variety of the neighborhoods in our city Iowa City doesn't look like much or a unique city. We can all look like a row of apartment buildings very easily. - - - -, '-. t;Sc page 26 Please excuse my English because it is not my mother tongue. I was originally born and raised in Germany. And I came to Iowa City 16 years ago. I 1V0uld never like to leave Iowa City if it were according to me. We live a block from Rose Hill and three years-well actually it was in '87 December we bought a little old stone house on 614 North Johnson Street. It also was awarded the HP Award of the City of Iowa City in '88 and I am vel)' giad. I saw tJle house in a very vel)' dilapidated state for about 12 years because we owned the property all those yem's next door and f1nalIy when this little house came up for sale I very much wanted to buy it mld restore it but my husband said he didn't have the time to do that. It was then restored by George Jensen, an independent contractor, who did a marvelous job and we then bought it from him and someday I would like to live in that house and I would also like to say that there were many people who were going to tear this little house down which was 140 years old and make a parking lot out of it. I feel vel)' sad for the future generatIons of Iowa Citians. The chlIdren that are being born or that are around now if the trend that has been going on is allowed to continue. A couple of days ago I drove with my husbmld along South Johnson Street to the post oftlce and there is just one after another ugly ugly apartmenl building and there iU'e more coming up like mushrooms evelyday I think and it is sad. It is really sad that this is being allowed to happen. Where I was originally born and raised in Hanover many of the old buildings were destroyed or partially destroyed during the second World War. However what little could be salvaged in many of the German cilles were salvaged and there has been a Vigorous historic preservation going on. People are not threatened by this at all. Cities and citizens are working together hand in hand and whenever there can be funding there is funding. Where ever people can manage to pay for it themselves they pay for it themselves. I just love Iowa City and I really hope that this thing-this plan comes through. That something is done because otherwise this city is going to look like-l don't know, a concentration camp maybe. Thank you. Courtney. Thank you. Michael Ann Witness (l2!) Melrose Ave. My house is directly across the street from the construction of the new eye dink at the hospitaL The house dates from 1870 and is on the National 'I I , ~. 115c page 27 Register of Historic Places. It was one of the mostly historic houses included in the house tour to commemorate the Iowa City Cessequentennial in may if 1989. I am here tonight to urge you to adopt the Iowa City lIP Plan because I believe that without it a neighborhood like that which comprises Melrose Ave will have no voice. Although there are three signing examples of .19th century houses within a two block section of Melrose Ave, the houses which co-exist with these three are of such a varied lot intenns of construction, architectural style, present condition and owner occupcmcy that our neighborhood lacks the cohesiveness needed to address the issues that the University is raising and will continue to raise in the future, I would argue that our neighborhood is perhaps the most diverse of the nine proposed historic districts because although there are these three historic properties and there are some owner occupied dweilings there cu'e a large number of day care centers. There are some University owned houses that are rented to students. There Is even an apartment building at the entrance of Hawkins Drive. So we are a real patchwork quilt of properties and it is difficult given this situation for s to speak with one voice. Most of the people who live on Melrose Ave, don't ccu'e what goes up next to them. The clay care centers don't care. Certainly the students don't care and as a result I would argue that without a plan to provide you focus for our neighborhood it will be velY dimcult to mount a defense against a University that is encroaching at an ever increasing rate. [t would seem that when the University decides, for instance, that instead of turning Melrose Ave. into a four lane road thai they would like it to be five or sb; lanes, who is going to help us speak to that kind of issue. How will we arrive at a mechanism that will allow us to make our neighborhood fears and needs and wants known. I believe the [IP Plan provides the answer. We may lack the uniformity of a Summit Street of a Woodlawn Ave. but Melrose Ave. is worth preserving while there is something leI'! to preserve. I urge you to vote yes on the question of adopting lIP Plan. Thank you. Chestin Van GildolT 330 S. Summit. I am another accent. I just want to say that when we bought the hose on Summit Street] () years ago we were very fortunate to move into a historic distlict area. We have done a lot of IVork like all of us have on Summit Street and [ certainiy would not do it if I knew that I '.. . trSc page 28 would have another apartment building south. I have one east of me and I would not invest the money in the house if 1 couldn't be secure of it. And I also want to say that the HP Commission was very helpful to us when we did some reconstruction on our house. And I just hope that you will vote yes for the very Northside. It is a security for us all. Thank you. Sandy Eskin I live on Woodlawn which is a historic district. [am here to speak in favor of this Iowa City HP Plan which perhaps maybe should be more aptly named the Iowa City Preservation and Conservation Plan. We have to have an avenue to make policy. We are not talking about balustrades on porches. We are talking about having a format to address the way we protect whole neighborhoods. There is a need in this city to have a pl,m in place and to develop tools for action to protect our older residential and commercial neighborhoods. I would like to name a few recent examples where the lack of such policy has caused the neighbors to come to arms right to this velY room. I will just point them out to you. You might have saved yourself a little work here. One-the proposed widening of KIrkwood Ave. and the proposed widening of the bridge on Summit Street to four lanes. What plans and tools do we have in place to protect our avenues and streets from the cutting of mature trees, reckless street widening and destruction of a streetscape. The street is. after all, part of the setting of the neighborhood. With a preservation piml in place evelY block may look like the moonscape that we have on Dodge Street next to the four lane bridge. A second point, a 1 S unit4S bedroom apm'tment building that now replaces two t1ne turn of the centmy homes at the corner of Church and Dubuque. Why weren't those homes maIntained or sensitively divided into multi-family housing. Why is the new building so out of scale to its neighbors. So umvelcoming as an entrance to Iowa City. So out of the touch with the community in which it resides. When will Iowa City draw the line and have the University take back its responsibility lor housing its own students. Three-the pulling down of Norlhside homes to make parking lots for churches. We now have cars and cement for neighbors where recently we had families and gardens. Four-the too late discovelY of an aI'chitectuml historic gem. BlulTwood. Failure to have identit1ed and extended protection to this modest but ".-~-- - _. -~ \, Ll~ ~. ;iSC page L9 imporlanl structure resulted in its loss 10 lhis community. Are there other significant historic structures waiting [or protection. Do we know. There is a crying need for modestly priced single fmlliIy homes. duplexes i;uld group living !}lCilities. Where \\1llthese needs be met if not in our older neighborhoods. Do people who won older homes know that there is a demand for these homes by young families. r<C1milies that would gladly take over a ieaky rood or a tilting front porch and repair them if they were assured that their financial investment and sweat equity would not be suddenly lost to becoming a neighbor to a 1S unit apartment building with 30 parking spaces and 90 or more tenants. We have an obligation to protect these homeowners and residents. We have ml obligation to protect the neighborhoods. its character and its economic viability. You will remember that recently tlu'ough the combined efforts of the City of Iowa City, the Department of Housing Rehab., FIiends of !-IP, and a developer. we mmlaged to find a lot for the Bowely/RundeII house that was then moved. That resulted in one building being saved and one [mllily being housed at a modest cost. But what about BowelY Street. With its new 15 plex in place what has now happened to the value of the residences in that neighborhood. Is that neighborhood with its 19th and 20th century houses now worthless for what they are. Are those blocks at risk. Is that land just easy picking for more infamous 15 plexes. What about those owners. WiII no one on 1l0welY now repair a roof or add a half bath or rewire or by a dishwasher or plant a gm'den because they know their days are numbered. How are they-are they now each forced to sell because the value of their home or residence has been destroyed. Is there no plan to protect their neighborhoods. Well, no there isn't. Do you city council members, you yourselves, personally want the trees pulled down or streets widened on your block. Do you want to wake one morning to a ] 5 plex brick wall, a sea of cement and 30 cars outside your kitchen window. What will Nick l~usso do and will happen to his double lot when his house is old and he is not there to protect it with appeals to PZ. I have an idea of what we could do. Susan Snllt 7L2 l~undell SI reet. I would like to express my support tonight /()r t he propose iIP Plan. In particular because of the way it would afTecl the part of IOwn thai I live in. The . ~, !/ Sc page 30 I nngfellol\' Neighborhood. As proposed in the plan our neighborhood could be designated a conservation district ,llld as such the city would have to review any building within the district before that structure could be torn down. A design review process would also be required before constnlction or any new construction within the district. This is of particular significance to our part of town because while most stmctures in our neighborhood are not really old enough to be designated as historic many of them are definitely worth preserving. These homes aren't the stately brick homes with hundred year old trees in their front yards that a lot of people ordinmily think as historic. These are the quaint homes of the people who made this tOlm what it is today. The character of this town was not shaped only in the parlors of this towns elite bankers and professors and senators. It was molded in the cozy living rooms of factory workers and bank tellers and sales clerks. In the homes whose histOlY is worth preserving. The proposed plan before you would help neighborhoods like ours n18intain their architectural integlity. Unfortunately Iowa City is ripe with examples of significant structures which have been demolished only to be replaced by bland unimaginative and unattractive new construction. You only have to look a IeII' blocks from here to South Van Buren and South jolmson Streets to see the aesthetically sterile structures which have replaced which at one time was a neighborhood. It IVould be a shame to allow construction of unsightly box shaped zero lot line condos and townhouses and duplexes in older neighborhoods like ours. We want our neighborhood to stick out because it is a IVonderful example of period history. We don't want a batch of newly built houses to stick out like a sore thumb because some developer has made little or no effort to assure that new conslruction is compatible with surrounding neighborhoods. I recently was on the Northside of Chicago where developers are constructing a lour block long stretch of single family homes across from a well established mature neighborhood. I was astonished 10 find the new homes are almost indistinguishable in sly Ie and construclion from the 50 to 80 ye,u' bungalows across the street. There is no doubt thai new construction in old neighborhoods can be harmonious with each olher. If it can be done elsewhere it can be done here in luwa City as welL So - - --. ., I , " --. ~, IISC page 31 I ask you to help us preserve our neighborhood history, its integrity and its dignity by voting to support this pl,m. Tom Sco11419 East Fairchild Street and I appear before you tonight as chair of the Iowa City P /Z Commission CHANGETAPE TO REEL 92-101 SIDE 2 The council in adopting the E'\ecutive SummalY and the Neighborhood Strategy section of the Iowa City lIP Plan as part of the Iowa City Compo Plan. As was indicated earlier the COlllmission voted 6-0 to incorporate those two sections jnto the Compo Plall. None \\~thstanding those comments I would like to say that both the Chair of the l-IP Commission, Doug Russell, and the mayor's comments and Monday nights Press Citizen said it much better than I. It is a plan. Guidelines. It is not mles. It is not regulatIons nor is it ordinances. Any additional designation of historic districts, landmark designations or conservation districts will go through the process. i.e. neighborhood input and I put tIlis dOIVn first. Neighborhood input, lIP Commission, public input, P /Z Comlllission, public input, city council deliberation and consideration, public hearing, public input. A couple of years ago Ih~r~ was a lot of discussion about neighborhood plal1l1ing. Even the appointment of a neighborhood services coordinator. If neighborhood planning is ever going to work there has to be a framework for change to occur. fur that matter there has to be a framework for the status quo to remain. I view the adoption of this plan as an added incentive to neighborhood planning. Two aspects of the plan that are attractive to the ]J/Z Commission are the pote11lial for landmark designation and the establishment of conservation districts. Both of these particular avenues would have proved helpful in past deliberalions with the Iowa City P/Z Commission. I might make a fell' personal comlllents as a 21 year resident of the north end of Iowa City. Ten years ago I served as a ]J/Z representative to the lIP Commission. I have 10 tell you thaI the plan before you tonight is a conservative approach to H1l:> It was asked earlier why the plan is before you as opposed to particular or specific ordinances. I would tell youlhal it is based upon the request of the city. Councils presenl and past. Thallhe lIP COlllmission go forlh and develop a plan or a - - i I , .h...4.111...- ~, ii'll' page 32 framework to answer the questions of how it is going to work before you come before us and give us district designations or proposed district designations. ! know for a fact that lIP Commission on man)' instances were told exactly that by at least the pi!: CommIssion. Some of the comments tonight! feel are truly unhlir of the work of the lIP Commission over the past years. 1 would ask anyone to look at the appendLxes that are printed and to read through it. There are 14 pages of survey sunullCuies that were sent out. Over sLx hundred and some odd responses. No it wasn't done in the last three weeks or even in the last three months. But the HP Comlllission em barked on an effort to come forth with a basic guidelines or a plan for this city for historic district designation. Include din that is the additional landmark designation and the conservation district desIgnations. Anyone who comes before this body with surprise, I can only say to them where have you been for the last 20 years. Mr. l~usso points out or paints the worse case scenario. I would say that these fears, llIany of them unfounded and not based on factual data, are raised to blur the issues and not to foster dialogue. I would say that Nick's fears will only happen if you absolutely abrogate all views and behavior of the democratic process. As Kevin Hmlick and Doug Russell said earlier there will be a process and that process wiII be subject to public input at numerous and I repeat numerous levels. At just the three bodies that will deliberate any distrlcl designation, l,mdmark desIgnation or conservation district designations will be the lIP Commission, PiZ Commission and you, ladies and gentlemen, the Iowa City council. You have to be willing to trust people's judgment. Give them the opport unity, the framework to work within and let the collective decIsions of the neighborhoods prevail. I readily admit Ihere in some cases and my ii' it is the Northside neighbors that those decisions may not be the views of Tom Scott. They may not be the views of HP Commission, the P/Z Commission of the Iowa City council or Nick nusso's. But they may be the views of the Northside neighbors, the East Jefferson Street neighbors, the Brown Street neighbors, the Summit Street or the Woodlawn neighbors. Or the views of other alTected neighbors. That to me is what should count. In conclusion I urge you, the city council of 10ll'a City, to adopl both the Executive Summa!}, the Neighborhood Stralegy , I I , ~, 1!5c page 33 sections. the Ill' Plan to the Iowa City Comprehensive Plan and that the entire Ill' Plan be adopted as part of city policy. Thank you. Courtney/ Thank you. Tom. Al Souchek/ 801 Brown Street. First of all I would like to thank the council for the wonderful job that was done on the retaining wall in Oakland cemetelY. lllooks the same as it did when I was crawling on it when I was about three years old. Also the repairs on the paving. All the concrete was taken out and the council saw to it that those blicks were replaced. I think further back because I am a native up here. I was born in this neighborhood. When I went off to the wars, what is now Happy Hollow playground was a sleuth of broken bricks used as a dumping place full of cans and evelything else. When I came back a council that is doing the same things that you are doing had the vision to buy that place and make a beautiful playground out of it. I speak as a past vice president of the Northside Neighborhood Association. So as a current board member I was appointed Sunday and I am here to urge your support of the comprehensive preservation plan. 1 am not only a resident but I am a landlord. I own a single family dwelling house on Broml Street. !vly main agitation over the years over the years since I returned to Iowa City that developers keep calling me up and wanting to know if I want to sell a lot and tear it down because it has an adjacent lot. They would like to spot zone it or put in a dupiex or something. So this hasn't happened. As I said, just because I was borne here doesn't me,m I haven't seen some other neighborhoods because my professional career took me to the slums of Detroit and to Beverly Hills, Calirornia. So anyway, 25 years ago I came back and decided 10 build a house there and I enjoy it velY much. One of the changes that I saw and I \Vas a kid when I went to Horace Mann School is that about nve apartments have sprung up. That is bel{lre we had a comprehensive plan. And apartments-although the rules say you are suppose to have a parking place for every unit. That doesn't happen. They can move in four no matter how they are related. They move them in there. So part of the parking problem in the Northside has been due to this growth of apartments. Njck Russo spoke at length about the infringement on property rights. I have no fear of that. We live in a very nice democracy and we paid 'i I , ~, I::ic page 3-1 taxes. IVe shovel snolV. We don't burn leaves when we are not suppose to. We-when I buill my house 1 brought it to a review committee who said you can build it. [t has to be so far away from the house and so far away from the lot line. So I have no fear of that at all and lurge your support and passage of the comprehensive preservation plan. Thank you very much. Courtney, Thank you. Jerry Ful!/ I am from the Southside instead of the Northside. But I do own a business on the Northside and I would like to point out that I believe that lIP can be velY good for business. Go to Navu. most of the great places tJlat people go on trips for are to see old stuff. I run a restaurant in one of the oldest buildings in Iowa City and I think that is one of the reasons that people go there. Because it is a beaullful old building. It is unfortunate that development has taken place in the area because our view is now a neon building surrounded by J1orescenttubes. Too bad, it used to be a real nice old house there. I just want to remind evelybody that not eVel)! business in town is a developer. There is a lot of businesses that depend on people coming to town and eat in restaurants and to go shopping and Iowa City is still a pretty place to do that. It was a prettier place 20 years ago than it is now. I would also point out that I cannot stand government regulations. Especially when it is cumbersome and I think that the people that are wOlTied about government regulations should address the problem of regulation. Of how it is done instead of worrying about what we choose to regulate lets wony about moving-l just ran into a snag the other day trying to get something done and it was delayed by two weeks because somebody forgot something. So I think it should be addressed as could the process be cleaned up to be more efficient instead of saying oh my God they are going to tell me what color to paint my house. 1 don'l think that is a real problem. When you hac! the meeting last week [was kind of at a qll<ll1c!ary about it. Yes. I don't IVant 10 see more regulallon. But I also like the town to maintain its character. When I am waiking back 10 my reslaurant right after the meting and I noliccc! that there is a garage on a truck ready to be hauled out of Ihere for more parking places. Another greal view for my restaurant. Buildings have been torn c!own/(Jr more parking " I , , -.. Il)C page 35 spaces. I guess that is all J have to say, Just it is not as scary as it sounds speaking from the business point of view. Ambr Sir, I happen to know about that garage. That is not a parking piace. ~'Iy parish I know exaclly what is going on. full Okay. I am sorry then but I have seen in that neighborhood a lot of houses go down lilr parking spaces so I made an unfair assumption. Ambri I don't want the public to be mislead. There was a great deal of planning going on in that one. ful]; I didn't know about it until I saw the truck.. It would be nice to know that a demolition permit has been made so I can go find out if it is going to be a parking lot instead of just seeing it on the truck. Thank you. Mike Havercamp/109 North Van Buren. I kind of combine the last two speakers together. I am a native Iowa Citian, lived here almost all of my life. I started my earliest memories on the Southside on South Lucas Street. If you read the summmies you will see it is no longer considered a neighborhood. I find that distressing. I think of some of my earliest memories of South Johnson Street which has been referred to often this evening as about the end of our free range. That is about as far as we could get. I remember playing in those houses. It really wasn't that long ago and ill1as made a radical chmige. Right now I live on the very edge of what would be a proposed Northside conservation district. Not too far from where Joan Hart lives and she mentioned earlier that we do live in a neighborhood that is zoned commercial business. Most of the structures of the neighborhood are still houses, however. In our block we have a church, a grocelY store. We have a architect's office. We have a furniture store. We have an apartment building. We have rooming houses and my wife and I currenlly live in what is the only single family house in the block. Across the street we have a four story parking ramp which is the Mercy ramp. I find that there is probably there is not much that you could ever do to roil back what has happened in many parts of this city. There is no way you could ever make that into a neighborhood. It is just my lot in life to leave places and to move to places that become not neighborhoods anymore. But] can see that we would want to preserve and protect so that doesn't continue to happen. We can only encroach so lilr. lundersland comprehensive ":\'!{'" ,"";;.,. ':;,':,:; i:~, '; i: .', :,:"./,.:, " ::';;>t':'::;.{':'~/.' \,:, ,,:'\;-" ";,~'~: ; " ) ".':."1','-' 1(III~Ji~;;\ ,~\~~;\'t;':~~~':~:~)/;'~~~!~~::0 ~ .;t.: ,lh ":::~)-_::i.;." .!l!'I,,,\~,,,I,L,,,~,.,..'.'t",h'.'!""','.;"": ,-" \,\ ~\l'\f;r ~~,1 h"",..'"I"i~'l;.. 101\,"" iJ,' ,,' .' l \. l;:. ~~~'~~~~1n~W);:~W~;~~~~~:{:~>/< \~!;?i:&~ur~;~S;j"'Y;' ' , , ""\'~-'''~I't~{~~:~:i<:j':::,' ;i',h.}',Vt.\".,,' ,1'f nK'AJ1h"'i :~~tlN~~\~t::.t:.::,::, ,: .t.,j,,~ ,ft.. -''''" I ..'11ft .&11 ~. riSc pagc 3() pianning, I rememher talking about four or five ycars ago expanding the d.l. area. We need to look at that as our city gets bigger. As our city gcls bigger we need more services and we need more facilities. We need to do that in a sensitive way to protect what is already there. (urge you to support the compo plan. Chuck Scolt, 722 Rundell Street which is in the Longfellow neighborhood. I am not a lawyer or a contractor or a Realtor. I do not work for the University of Iowa or any of its interests. I support the proposed liP Plan <llld urge the council to pass it soon. While each of you carefully weigh your decision keep in mind that this plan does not create any new regulations. This plan does not impose fines or penalties. This plan does not anyone from construclion, remodeling, or painting their homes in any way they should choose. This plan will help preselve our neighborhood for future families, families that live here., fmllilies that move here, grow up here, and become part of our town. In reading the proposed I-listoric Preservation Plan, I aIll shocked that there are people who contest its passing. It must be one of the finest documents ever submitted to this council. It is a plan. It is a guide to follow that will help preserve our neighborhood cmd other neighborhoods in Iowa City for future generations. Once an old structure is gone, it's gone forever. It's not like the old IVorld craftsmcmship Is going to be rebuilt. It's not cost effective for anyone to rebuild any of the Howard Moffet homes in our neighborhood. Can we as cIecent citizens of Iowa City, stand by and watch our neighborhoods turn into blighted neighborhoods like east Iowa Avenue, South ]olmson Street, South VanBuren Street, West Davenport Street, and other m'eas too numerous to mention sOllie of which border . historic districts? Whal public policy helps protect our neighborhoods from cUlxious developers who cml't wail to cash in on neighborhood values! This proposed Historic Preservation Plan proVides direction Jor [xllicy makers, councilmem bel'S, city staff. It provicIes logical sound reasons to make the sometimes difficult and controversial decisions regarding " historic preservation and development in the older chm'acteristic neighborhoods of 10IVa City. These areas arc the heart and soul of what 10IVa City is, nolthe Happy Acre housing developments on the edges of this town. By adopting ,tIns preservation plan, council members, planning and zoning, ...-...... - r yr - . . "Sc page 37 city staff can have some ammunition in implementing historic preservation for the public goocl. Sure, you're going to hear from contraclors \Vho says this threatens economic development, from citizens who say this infringes on their rights as taxpayers and homeowners, and from lawyers with nothing to who find footnotes that enrage them. You as governing body must make careful decisions that will govern the way Iowa City will look and feel and be in the next century. This plan will help you and your successors make decisions that will benefit all of us. Others have nitpicked the appendices of this plan and I'd like to encourage council members and everyone to read the comments section in that plan. II is full of feeling, humor, and thought from almost 700 Iowa City residents who have strong feelings about historic preservation In Iowa City. These comments are all from people who live in Iowa City's older residential neighborhoods. I would like to end by reading a short passage from the comment section that I thought stood out, number 788. [reads aloud] Please vote to pass these proposed guidelines. Vote to support neighborhoods , in Iowa City. Thank you. " Joyce BarTetV 1011 Wood lawn. HistOlic Preservation Commission. I can't let these hearings go by without thanking the people who passed the original Historic Preservation Ordinance in 1982. ",: ' I'm begiIUling to understand what they must have gone .lililiiiC.. .~~~~if11f~ii~~~~ff~~~~~~E~:~~~:::: I ~~t~~~~t\t~1~rJ)\)!;,t0;\ii an apartment building there and that ordinance slowed them ~'I'I,- "1'f,!"""'" ,'.' " down. And I think I'm belleI' off, my neighborhood's better 011, ' ", ':Yi;'"WWt{\;::%~'i;}>>and I think the whole community's better off for that ~v, ,00~dinance. In referring to thaI earlier ordinance I think it's 1:';i,;],.':;imp0l1ant for the council andlhe community to remember that "B!;;;;'that is where design and review was initiated. This plan today .:?/':isnot initiating design and revjew. 11 already exists in Iowa ;,;)'Clly. It already works in Iowa City. So I don't think the public ,';,/needs to be concerned allOll1 that aspect. 1\ couple of other },'<questlons thai I as a person want 10 answer. ivls. lIolbrook l!J~\:;,wondered why it \Vas called a plan. For those people who have diN;!; never selved on a commission, it's a volunteer aspect. You've J{I!~,i' only got so many hours in your lill' you can give 10 them and ...,,'...",.... \'!:~:(:; :;:::'~';r> ': _A_ - - ........ ... ..... -.. -,.... -: II> ,1" ;(,~'.\'it:;,.~;i:;::;"",': ',;J\'~f,'k,~;(ql'/ f,~ ',: ',~'\\!:h':;'il;~i ,I::,.:. , . ~"~---...,..,. 'J\' 'I~j-". . ""." . , y~~i~\#~:;{i;~";\;,::::': .' .~.ll'iJlt,.:;t~<~.i~~<., ' ""I.il",,","!"'''' ;jJ;(1r..( .i;.ll.l'~' (, " Iji;l-t~:;;.r')\'",',:,:::,::,:', ',", ..'II(iI!....,":1'i.,".\'n~\.,.,,\",.__ fiSC page 38 \',:' you've got people from the coI1!munii) aSKlllg you to do this. asking you to du that. And you can't do evel)'thing. So the preservation commission said. we need a plan. We don't know where we're going. We don't know what we ought to be doing I1rst. So that's what this is to me. !t's a work plan. So we know what we need to do next. What's the most logical thing for us to do. What's most at risk in our conllllunity. Where will our needs be met. And for me as a commissioner, it's a work plan, nothing else. no hidden agenda. Mr. Russo also asked why didn't we have all the ordinances laid out, all of this laid out. Thai would be neat, I think, but {'m giving right now I think 10 hours a week to this cOlllmission. There're other people who have full time jobs that are giving more and you'd need 10 staff people working full time for a few years to get that much information drawn up together. So for people who don't understand that aspect, that's why these are just choices. Choices for the volunteers on the commission cmd the volunteers in the conllllunity to participate so we can put things together so the community can be stronger for it. Th,mk you. Courtney/Thank you. Any other comments on this item? Jim St. John/ Good evening. I've come down here tonight after seeing the telecast replay of the last city council meeting, and I really have to thank Mr. Ambrisco lor making I think all of us feel as though the input was very critical at this juncture. And so thank you for your call to the citizenry. I went down to the public IibralY and checked out the comprehensive plan and thought there were Jour copies. Instead it was lour volumes to read. So if I look a little tired tonight, that's because I stayed up to read each comment. I think thaI 's velY important, but unfortunately the librar)' didn't have enough copies available and that might be something that planning could take care of so I1mt we could check those out instead of photocopying because that would be costly and it's important to take your . time to read those materials. I had been contaclecl by Historic PresenTation Commission in the summer months to participate in some of the group meetings and planning strategy sessions. Unfortunately I had the summer booked with an awful lot of '. dllferent activities and each time I missed one of their meetings, I kicked myself in the [(Jot. Because I think they're .~-- - I I , , . " , .. . 11S(' page 3') vel} imporlanl and so I state that al the outset because this has been a vel} inclusive process in my view. And even the council not deciding on this tonight I think has even highlighted the l~lCt you're willing to take added input. So with that in mind I have some opinions on this ordinance and then I'd like (0 tell you which way I think the council should supporl it. Wilhout being persona] or mentioning any names, I do see some inherenl nail's in Ihe plan. As a Johnson County SEATS driver, I give fides to many of the residents on the Northside, all throughout these eilher conservation districts or historic preservation districts, that are on fixed or low incomes, The hardship provisions, if we can instill there a (me desire to help those of low income. make accommodations in this plan I think that's really important. f'Or the residents who have built this communily to be able to retire in a manner that is consistent with being able to maintain their home. Also there students living in this area which has exacerbated I think the tral11c problems in the area, particularly on the Nort11side, And even though we'd like to see the University take of their students, the fact of the maller, they're here and tJley're contributIng to our economy. And some of these homes in my view are for low income people already and to displace them by encouraging the turnover to single family dwelling over time could baSically cast out low income not elderly members of the community. So 1 think any comprehensjve plan needs to take that into consideration also whether they are students or not, people of low income who have to live in homes that are more affordable because they are older or require. the landlord isn't wanting to put the upkeep into them. If the plan is sensitive to that degree and if I see that the hardship cases provisions, I think we could include more information in that regard. I grew up in Iowa City. lid moved around a lot as a child and when my family settled here I think It was forever because of the charm this community had, the approach thai this community had on Dubuque Slreet as lYe came in. And I think we really need to maintain thai, the Dubuque Street corridor. We can't go back in history or change the way things are, but there has been mel1lion in the plan of Ihe use ofCDBG dollars and as former chair of the Commiltee on Community Needs, the HistorJc Preservatjon came to our cOlllmillee in the last year with proposals so there's nol only the desire in these /--, ~, II Sc page-lO areas to bring about a trend toward historic preservation but in many cases you can kill two birds with one stone by allowing for CDBG dollars to he used to rehab houses of a historic nature. After speaking with staff today I was reassured that we won't be purchasing golden hammers with those dollars so I think that's really import,mt not to waste those important federal dollars that are to benefit low to moderate income neighborhoods and people. But if you can get historic preservation along with those dollars. I think that's imp0l1ant. I don't know if the QuikTrip on Market Street or the Pearson's Drug Store is aware that the city, this plan envisions compatible architecture there. I don't know if QuikTrip's been apprised of that and lthink that is what people allude to of the future, what controversies may ensue. Additionally low income people who can't afford the repairs there and compliance with Historic Preselvation goals. However, with all that taken into consideration, the education programs submitted in tins plan in my view are one of the most important structures inherent in the plan. That is, to educate the young and institute into the children of Iowa City and in the future a sense of historic preselvation and its purpose and meaningfulness in the lives, not only of Iowa Citians, but the entire Midwest. Iowa City is such a beautiful city because of the mix of different ethnic groups that settled here and have made a, given Iowa City the sense of character that it has. There's a tremendous deal of talk about property rights vs. regulations and I think that is inherent in the argument but those future arguments will need to be made however I do believe that in the course of the time that I have lived here, J have seen way too many historic buildings that are very significant whether it be to the individual families raised in them or to the citizelllY in this community to not support this plan. So I encourage this council to support the Comprehensive Historic Plan, because it has been an inclusive one and it does address ail of the issues that I sense and as 1~lr as the comments go, I think those were some of the most interesting parts of this plan albeit very too long and it would be better reading probably if 1 had more copies and over time, bul would reaily get to knolV who, you could almost figure outll'ho there neighbors were making those comments. And I thought thai was a, I wish everyone Inloll'a City could readlhis plan because it's really colorful. There , , ' , ! .- -.. JISC page -+ 1 were just a few things mentioned last time that were weaknesses in the plan cmd i agreed that archeological references were important. We need to realize that there were peoples living here before even the settlers that we're familiar with came to Iowa City. I didn't see City High School mentioned and it was a WPA program which I think is of Historic nature. Even old gasoline stations might be something that we could encourage and perhaps use for information outlets and booths so that we could have a new sense or feel. Not that they necessarily need to disperse gas or be a commercial entity, but there's a lot of opportunity there. There's a lot of gasoline stations that you know I would prefer to look at something a little bit more histOlic than all these QuikTrips on the corners of evelY street in town it seems like. And also besides the Moffet Homes, I noticed that the steel homes that were built right after WW II are also included in this plan and it gives you a sense of continuity that there are new horizons for historic preselvation and during the WW II materIals being velY difficult to come by, some of the steel homes that were built are a truly historic in nature and I hope to see that some of these GUl be included in the future too. lid also like to just thank MR. Russell for taking all the time and effort and leading this plan through. I hope that this council will assist him in fulfilling the goals of the plan. And the goals of every Iowa Cilian to drive through the communHy and see what once was, still is. Thank you velY much. Nancy Carlsen/ 1002 E. Jefferson. I can sympathize with some of the people who have had questions about this at the past meeting because when I first got the questionnaire, I had questions too. And I was really afraid. You know. it sounded like I was going to give up some personal rights and the hair went up on my back and J went, wait a minute, you know what am I giving up? And what am I gel ling? And so I went 10 the meetings, almost all of them except one, J was very vocal and I asked lots of questions. And what I !<JUnd in going to the meetings and going home I asked myself two questions. Which was most imporlantto me, my house and illY property rights or my neighborhood? And il was a question that I didn't want to ask, I didn'l want to answer. I wanted my property, illY rights, but m)' final conclusion \Vas that if I won the battle and kept Ill)' I I , , ~, liSC page..J.2 rights and lost the war in my neighborhood. of what benefit would lhe winning of the battle be? Thank you. Courtney Any other comments! harr/ Do youwcUlt a motion to accept the correspondence received? COllI1ney, Moved and seconded to an'eplthe correspondence received on this item. Any discussion! IMotion passes./ We staled last night that we wished to continue this one more meeting. The commission, as Doug infol1ued me ahead of time, their preference would be 10 go to Dec 8. I think that 's probably okay although there is a University basketball game that night that might hold the crowd down somewhat. We always get conflicts coming up like that where we get criticized for scheduling important things against other important things, so I think Doug iI'my best guess is that we probably had the majOlity of input here and I don't know if it IVould require the full commission to be here [or the Nov 24 meeting. Do you all have conflicts? Doug Russell/ Will this be on the agenda for December 8 but not November 24. Larson/ That is my preference. I hate dragging people out not knowing what we are going to do. RusseIl/ I someone will appear on December 8 to say that the lllajority of the U. of I. basketball supporters are in favor of the plan or against the p]cUl. Larson/ How wJ1l you feel if I go to the game and this thing has a 3-3 lie, though. Cou!1ney/ I sense the council is getting pretty close to being ready on this and probably could be ready on the 24th. hubby/ I would prefer the 8th because I am going to be out of town. Courtney..' Okay. 8th it is. RusseIl/ II works better lCJr the Commission and although the Commissioners will not necessarily be speaking on the 8th we do want to be available to answer questions and acl as resource persons j(Jr the council. Ulrson 11hink I he 81 h is soon enough and r would like to see more community involvemenl. I don't want to have it on the agenda on lhe 2..J.lh also so that people keep mming and having to come back. I would just as soon justlwl pul it on until the 8th. ': ' , . 'I '1 , ' ~, 1i5c page 43 Russell: If it were on the 8th we believe it would give council enough time for additional public input and enough time to vote Courtney.' You may get a couple of other neighborhood meetings by then too. Russelli The Northside Neighborhood did meet on tins issue. That point was made by Mike Lewis Beck. Courtney/ Yes. Larson/ But I would like to encourage the kind of contact we often get that Bill spoke of last night. People just calling us up. You don't have to come here and get on the microphone and be on the t.v. Just call us up. Everyone of us is pretty accessible. Russell/ r do know that some of the persons on both sides of the issue don't want to be television personalities. And please feel free to direct ,my and all of them to the Planning Department of the lIP Commission and we will provide them with copies of the plan, answers to their questions and be glad to listen to them so we can have the benefit of their views. Thank you. Courtney / Thank you. I will entertain a motion to continue the p.h. to December 8. Moved and seconded(Ambr/Nov). Discussion. Ali in favor (aye) , . , i [ i I 1 I I I I , ,,; L Agenda Iowa City City Council November 10, 1992 Page 4 d, Consider a resolution adopting the Iowa City Historic Preservation Plan, Comment: See item c, above, dYLAJ /;J--!f I tlH~ e, Public hearing on a resolution amending the Iowa City Comprehensive Plan by incorporating the, Iowa City Historic Preservation Plan Executive Summary and the Neighborhood Strategies. Action: ~/~ ( Comment: At its October 15, 1992, meeting, by a vote of 6.0, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that the Comprehensive Plan be amended to include the Executive Summary and Neighborhood Strategies from the Historic Preservation Pian, This hearing has been continued from the Council's October 27, 1992. meeting; comments concerning this item were received by the Council at the October 27 hearing. The Historic Preservation Commission has submitted a memorandum to the Council In response to the co{t:oZ received at the October 27 public hearing. c;(aAJ / ~ ~ ' Action:A I~,J, aA?~ Lf 1&, ~) Pu/, ~I ~tliU4W1 t~;)~"' r?li:fj'-Y'-"-:;1f'itt~VI~ f, Consider a resolution amending the ~mprehenSiV~bY incorporating the Iowa City Historic Preservation Plan Executive Summary and Neighborhood Strategies. I~ tl/.! ~ g, Consider an ordinance vacating portions of the alley located adjacent to the east side of 410 Reno Street, (V AC 92.0003) (First consideration) Comment: See item e, above. Action: ~/ ~ dfI~ Comment: At its September 3, 1992, meeting, by a vote of 4.2 (Cooper and Starr voting no), the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of the request to vacate the north. south alley located east of 410 Reno Street. The Commission's recommendation is inconsistent with the staff recommendation included in the report dated September 3, 1992. Comments regarding this proposal were received by the Council at the October 13, 1992. publiC hearing on this item, In a letter dated October 28, 1992, the applicant, Jim Jensen, requests that this Item be withdrawn from the Council agenda, Action: ~/ I!tM/uq ~ ifdl/?./() (!,HtlJ/Au~u dU,(/~ ~. Agenda Iowa City City Council November 10, 1992 Page 5 --.1J. . 355tf h, Consider an ordinance amending the Zoning Ordinance by changing the use regulations of approximately five acres of land located at 1301 Sheridan Avenue in Iowa City, Iowa, from 1-1, General Industrial, to RS.8, Medium Density Single-Famiiy Residential. (REZ 92-00111 (Second consideration) Comment: At its September 3, 1992, meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended, by a vote of 5-0.1 (Cook abstaining), approval of a request submitted by John Shaw, Jill Smith and Barbara Ludke on behalf of the Longfellow Neighborhood Association to rezone an approximate five acre portion of the ADS site located at 1301 Sheridan Avenue from 1.1 to RS-8, The Commission's recommendation is consistent with the staff recommenda. tion included in the report dated August 20, 1992. Comments concerning the ordinance were received by the Council during public hearings held on September 15, 1992, and October 13, 1992. Staff has been advised that the ADS property has been sold to James O'Brien, In a letter dated October 8, 1992, Robert Downer, counsel for the property owner, proposes expedited Council consideration of this ordinance, Action: N/UMo ,,) ~<!.. PlOcJf- ~Jt/ ~ JJtdJdkJ J_Cb~' wdhdJJ(lJ~d tdh/J) ik/,/fuUtu I~/,II ~ / f ~7flwf~/JW) i. Conside n ordinance amending Chapter 36 of the Code of Ordinances of the a/uJe, I' City of Iowa City, Iowa, entitled "Zoning" by adopting regulations permitting tc non-required off.street parking on a separate lot in commercial and industrial zones. (Second considerationl Comment: At its September 17, 1992, meeting, by a vote of 5.0, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended approval of the proposed amendment to allow non.reouired parking spaces on a separate lot. Heretofore, the Zoning Ordinance only permitted reouired parking spaces to be located on a separate lot. The Commission's recommendation is consistent with the staff recommendation included in a memorandum dated September 17, 1992, No comments concerning this amendment were received by the Council at the October 13, 1992, public hearing on this item. tJwIr ''to r ".,,, /m)~t vJ J'{ Mil ~ % fi6 ~i M~ ~ % /)IC~ ~d I .~......_._- . ~.,_.-...,.._" -- ~-.- - - - - " I I , , ~. it5h page 1 Courtney; Moved by Ambr, seconded by !Iorow to collapse the second and third readings. Discussion. Roll call- (yes) Moved by Ambr, seconded by Kubby to give the ordinance final consideration. Discussion. Roll call- Ordinance is adopted. It has been a long time in coming. Barbara Ludke/ A very brief comment. On behalf of the ADS Property Committee of the Longfellow Neighborhood Association we would like to thank the council members for voting favorable on our application to rezone tllis property. The neighborhood is willing to work with the new owner to consider various development options. Our desire is to have a development that is consistent with the character of our neighborhood that meets the immediate and future needs of neighborhood residence and is acceptable to the city of Iowa City. Thank you. Courl11ey / Thank you. , I'.' I I. i I I I i - --. 'iJ ^ 35:'5 Agenda Iowa City City Council November 10, 1992 Page 6 j, Consider an ordinance vacating portions of Dubuque Road right-of-way, (Passed and adoptedl ITEM NO.6. Comment: American Coliege Testing (ACT) of iowa City has requested that a portion of the Dubuque Road right-of-way be vacated to restrict public access to a portion of this road within the boundary of the ACT property, At its September 3, 1992, meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission, by a vote of 6-0, recommended denial of the requested vacation of Dubuque Road. This recommendation is not consistent with the staff recommendation set forth in the staff report dated August 5, 1992, Comments concerning this proposal were received by the Council at the September 15, 1992, and October 13, 1992, pubiic hearings on this item, ,f; ~ ~, Action: ~/km1 iV-tV ~ I 1I(~~'A"r . '~4~) PUBLICi~N ~ f1.!J ~~!/ ~ kPrJ ITEM NO.7. PUBLIC HEARING ON THE CITY'S PROPOSED COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY STRATEGY ICHASI ANNUAL PLAN FOR FY1993. i' , , . Comment: Iowa City is required to prepare a CHAS Annual Plan for FY1993 in order to be eligible for certain federal funds. The document also provides an opportunity for the City to review its affordable housing needs and goals addressed in the FY1992 Pian, Public input is required, and any comments received must be addressed in the final CHAS document, ITEM NO.8. Action: chtU aLfa;r a. Consider an appointment to the HACAP Board of Directors. A letter from the Executive Director of HACAP In attached to the agenda, A memorandum from the City Manager which provides further information is also attached. Action: ,.4:.",,) ~Sl',,;";f) k~~ ~4n)/ ~ !4Mv ~ - ~cdv ~t'/!I/' ~~ ~ . '\1 " , , ~, itS j. page 1 CourmeyiMoved by Horow, seconded by Ambr. Discussion. Kubby / I wondered, if 1\'1r. Hunter is here. if there has been any progress on you having access to Dubuque Road. The answer was no progress. Thank you. Nov/ There was some correspondence on this issue. Gentry / You should accept the correspondence from Mr. Meardon. Courtney/ Moved and second (Larson/Nov) to accept the correspondence into the record. Discussion. All in favor (aye) Any further discussion on the motion of the ordinance. Roll call- The ordinance passes final consideration, Kubby voting no. ,f' i..), f. . ~. .:' ' I I I I I I I 'I I , ':(, page 1 Courtney Public disCllssion- Cllt\NGE TAPE TO REEL 92-101 SIDE 2 ~ s ~r~~Y Barbara Wel~h ' " '1' 623 College Street. Having spent most of the evening talking about historical preservution in a theoretical vein I would like to talk about it in a practical vein. And that is by talking again about College Green Park. I know you have argued this at infinitum and Nancy Seiberling is a Ii'iend of my who has my abiding respect and affection and there is nobody in the lVorld who I tl'llst more than she. Although I had some concerns about the renovation. She told me it would be okay and I believed her and as the cement grew I sort of gritted my teeth and as the trees came down I braced myself. But last night when the lights came on my heart sank and I fell into doubt and despair and I 1V0uld ask you just to drive home past that tonight if you haven't seen it yet. I think it is hideous. One sort of benevolent metaphor I heard today was it looks like a baseball diamond. Now you have to understand. My front is tlloroughly illuminated. One of my great pleasures is to sit out with my husband on it on a summer evening. Every house around the perimeter of the park is lit like daylight. So a benevolent metaphor as a baseball diamond having spent a lot of time going back and forth between East Berlin and West Berlin-it is more of Check Point Charlie. And that section, iI' you have ever made that trip before the wall came down. This could not have been what NmlCY Sieberling or Project Green or you folks envisioned when you tried to think about renovating a park. And I am a historian whose specialty is late 19th century. So I know the l880s and the 1890s and if that was suppose to hark back to the 1880s and a romantic view of the 1880s and 90s. Instead it smacks more of a futuristic totalitarian highly illuminated very frightening. Seems to me that a serious mistake has been made. That the lights are too tall. That there are too many of them. That the light bulbs are way to bright. And that iI is thoroughly inappropriate to that particular space. I walked just outside tonight. I walked over and we saw the lights right in front of this building which are qUite charming. The lights Oil the bridge at College Street are quite charming. J think that whoever this archilecture landscape-l know thai this is no( direclly under your control. , i' , I t, .- "-...~..,.._.~,~..,,_.- -.. ,t() page 2 But if you have any power to talk to people in Project Green who i assume are paying these architecture landscapes, I think they made a big structural mistake that is not going to be reduced by changing the lines and the light bulbs or whatever they do. And that you should stop it now. Please, if you haven't seen it, drive home past because I think it wiil shock you. I don't think that it will stop crime or rape by eliminating darkness for one thing and it just seems like the amount of light there is more appropriate 10 a park in the South Bron,\: than a park in Iowa City. My husband is a painter and the last series-he has been working on a series called Liminal Icons" and so in our household the concept of illuminality is one that we use to talk about every day things. And a liminal state is a state in between, right. And it seems to me that between Johnson Street and Dodge Street is sort of liminai state in Iowa City. It is in between d.t. and the neighborhoods. And it is a really interesting demarcation point but for the kind of lighting that is in there at tllis moment makes it look like it is closer to the place where I grew up in New York City. So I understand that you people aren't directly in charge of this project and I have talked to Nancy Sieberling. But if you have any influence over convincing people to do it what is very hard for people to do and that is to admit mistake and change it early on. Please Please Please do it. Nov/ Already in the works. Our Director of Parks and Recreation is going to consult with the electrician. They are going to check the wattage on those bulbs. They are going to check the shields which are suppose to direct the light downward and it is not ~d~:eant to illuminate your house. . . '/ It does and all the houses around it. Nov/ 11 is in the works. We are going to see what we can do to ~IA I change it. ,'hradcr/ Alright. Thank you. Kubby/ Naomi, when the shields direct the light downward I had a few calls upon darkness today. People saying that it was a traffic problem for them. Not only the aesthetic problem in the neighborhood but when they are trying to cross Dodge the glare is so bright that your eye kind of goes right to it and you lose your night vision and it just seems too bright. Nov/ Driving youmcan. Kubby/ Yeah. .-...~...,.~"_'''.A ".~,."..u_.. . . ...... I ., , --,r , I , fi() page 3 Nov I drove through it. i didn't reel. Courtney.. J don't think we are going to settle this tonight. Let's give Project Green and Parks and Rec. Department a chance to evaluate this thing and report back to us. Kubby/ My comment were to say that there is more than one issue ~.b involved. 'rader/ There is more than one issue and [ think we have to confront the J~lCt that, like everything else, whether it is an idea or a light bulb, once it gets cemented it is hard to uncement and possibility some of these things need to be uncemented. They are too tall, there are too many of them and they are too bright. ~~y/ We can't decide that right now. , '/ J understand that. I just wanted to bring that out as an issue. Courtney/They are there and they are turned on and now we need to think about change and get some recolllmendations from P,I. \.))eople. S~,/ J is interesting following this long talk about the theOlY- this is an active practice. And that mistakes get made and have to be changed. Courtney/ I came by on illY way to the meeting rather than on my ~rJ.,1' way back and you are right. It is bright ~/ Isn't it pretty shocking. Larson/ The only thing J quibble with you about is that we do control what is in the park. They contributed the money to do I'rqj.(( it and we kind of barely approved it bul- Sl-1Fadcr/ Have you passed there tonight yet. Larson/ No I haven't You called me but I was late getting here o..L anvwav. utwor . . Shrader/ Drive by and it is shocking and 1'01' those of us that live around the park it illuminates the whoie house, Larson/ Thanks. Kubby/ It illuminates down by my house. CarlOrgrelv 5 ~/eirose Place. J am a member of the &lard of Directors of Public Access Television. Next week, Wednesday night, there is a public hearing on the OI'Crall rerranchising or cable in this city. Very important. I invite you to that. On the following night, Thursday night, at (dO there is a potluck. At 7:30 there is the annual meeting or public access television as an organization. And we would certainly welcome each of you ., . 'I '. , , -., ft(, page-l to come to that and have an OPPo11unity to meet producers and talk to Hoard members and get to know one and another. Larson/ When was the meeting again. Orgren/The meeting is at 6:30, meeting room A at the public library. There is some potluck. If you just want to come for the actual business meeting it is at 7:30 Thursday night. Larson/ The other meeting was. Orgren/ 7:00pm in the council chambers. Larson/ That is November] 8. Kubby / I have a conflict. I assume that is going to be cablecast or at least taped. Orgren/ I am pretty sure it is, yes. Kubby/ So I could get a copy of that. Orgren/ It was last year. We have evelY year. Courtney / If you will pass my regrets along I will be in Seattle both of those days. It will be hard to make it. Larson/1Nhat I am concerned about is the public. I want to make sure that they get that straight because they may not want to come to the mmual meeting of PATV but the p.h. is on the 18th at 7 pm here in the council chambers and that is for anyone concerned about the cable franchising questions, the CUlTent cable operator, and so on and so on. Public access or anything. Orgren/ Two velY different things because on the 17th it is dealing with all of the cable, all aspects of the cable. Horowl You mean the 18th. Orgrenl 18th is public access television. Courtney I Any other items for public discussion- 1;7 page I Cuurtney Any comments received tonight or during the public comment period through November 21 \\1iI be responded to in the following c.rr.A.S. which wiiI be adopted at the city council meeting on November 2-1. I open the p.h. on this item. Kubby/ I would like to mover we accept correspondence. Courtney, Moved and seconded (Kubbyillorow) that we accept correspondence into the record on this item. Discussion. All in favor (aye) Horow/ I also have a memo from the ECCOG that I would like to enter into the record. But I would like to do so verbaiIy. For the benelJt of the public the ECCOG and I am the chairperson of Ihis. I asked our staff to submit a memo that would help the public in iowa City realize t11at we do-we are part of ECCOG and we have recognized that within the sL, county area there is a problem of aftardability of housing and that we in Johnson County with Iowa City and we would all be working towards this. SO we received a memo h'om Mr. Creme, our COlllmunity and housing planner, about ECCOG housing efforts in the rural comlllunities of Benton, Iowa, Jones, Johnson, Linn and Washington counties. ECCOG has taken a concentrated action in FY 93 to bring housing rehabilitation programs to rural communitites within a six county region. We are aware of the grwoing migration to larger urban communities because of the lack of quality affordable housing in the rural communities. The overall goal of the ECCOG housing program is to improve the quality and the affordability of both owner occupied and rental housing in rural colllmunities in Region 10. On December 8 ECCOG will submit its llrst four housing applications. Three of these will be targeted iar rehabilitating owner occupied homes in the cOIllmunities of ~'JonticeIlo which is Jones County, Marengo in Iowa County and Lone Tree in Johnson County. The fourth county of Benton County will have an application to create five low income rental units in the city of Urbana. In order to better address housing issues on a regionalleve!, Region ]0 housing advising panel has been developed. This group consists of members from several housing organizations throughoutllegion 10. This group has been developed to create an environment where housing issues in the llegion can be addressed and housing iniliatives can be discussed. I won't continue reading all of this. Butlhe aclililies of EeCOe; and the ~, it? page 2 panel that exists are not going to be doing what Iowa City is doing for Iowa City. Rather it will be complimenting what Iowa City will be doing and hopefully, by creating more affordable housing in tile rurai communities, will slow down the migration into Iowa City which will then exacerbate our situation. I wanted to get this in the record but I also wanted the citizens to realize what we as a government do to participate in outside of Iowa City. Thank you. Coultney/ Moved and seconded (Nov/Horow). Any discussion, All in favor (aye) Motion passed. Any other comment on this item in the p.h. I close the p.h. I , I i I ) i I I I I i I , I I I I I I ..:., I 1 ~, trSa page] Courtney Is considering an appointmem 0 the HACCAP Board of Directors. We discussed this a little bit last night. They are requesting an elected official be appointed to the Board this time. Susan had some interest in it. Horow/ Ms. Kubby and I are game to go this co,appointment if it is possible. Courtney/ I think it is possible but we have to have an official designation- Larson/ What was your concern last night about your ECCOG hat. Horow/ My only concern is that ECCOG eventually does approve the proposals that HACCAP sends in for funding. The various towns do. They sent it through ECCOG> So at some point II'Vas concerned that I would possibly have a conflict of interest on this. lwlll no longer be chair person after January but I would still be on the Board of Directors. Unless I am taken oft On the other hand the regional perspective that I have sitting on that Board certainly lends towards the discussions and some of the decision making process that would go on. LarsonlThe things that they would adapt that HACCAP would eventually come to you on ECCOG> Horow/ Approval in the sense of collaborative agreement that this should go forward. Larson/ I guess what I am thinking of is if it doesn't make any difference to the two of you if Kcu'en was on our I-lACCAP Committee she would have our input there and you would have our input at ECCOG level, we would get both of you. Horow/ Wrong. By the time it gets to ECCOG I can assure you -we do not get into the discussions that probably we should have because we don't have that information. And it is velY frustrating. Larson/ I don't want to pick one of you over the other one. Kubby / The only other disadvantage or going co is having consistency Ihere. Th ursdays are m)' office hours and- Larson/ When is the meeting, Thursday at what time. Nov/ Thursday at dinner time. Kubby/ What does that mean. Somelimes that means 5- i am willing to do this if J can call upon you- Courtney llhink it was I'airiy early in the day. Horaw It said something about dinner AIkins l\andy is correct. It is a dinner time meeting. Like 7 PH You have to go 10 Cedar l\apids. i I , I I I ! \ I , I , i' I , i , ~. 1t8a page 2 Larson/ The meetings end at 9 Horow/ I am not wild about dinner meetings until 9 PM but I thInk it is an important issue. I feel very uncomfortable about this program as it is. I think there are a lot of questions that have to raised. Kubby / I am willing to do it part time or full time. Courtney/Should be defer this thing. Hormv/ If you want to do it go right ahead. Kubby/ Okay. Larson/ Move to nominate Karen. Kubby / And when I can't go I will ask Susan to go and that might happen once in a while. Nov/ Karen as delegate and Susan as alternate. Courtney/ Moved cUld seconded (Larson/Nov). Any discussion. All in favor (aye) i I I i , I i I I I I i , , , I I , , I i . "'1 ., , , I I . , ~, Agenda Iowa City City Council November 10, 1992 Page 7 ~r b/tI , 01 b, Consider an appointment to the 80ard of Appeals for a five-year term ending December 31,1997, (John Roffman's term ends.) f:1I ~A4CJ 73/7' /J,.I~ ~) c, Consider appointments to the Board of Examiners of Plumbers for two.year terms ending December 31, 1994: Action: AI r~v f (1) Master Plumber (Jane Hagedorn's term ends.) Action: jPr~ ~MV ~~/?~ 7J.~ r Jh:ti,,,",) it- (2) Representative of the Public (Mike Dreckman's term ends). Action: A/ 'a"ad.,;,,) " d, Consider an appointment to the Mayor's Youth Employment Board for a three. term ending December 30, 1995. (Kenneth Haldeman's term ends.) Action: Cf.1i~;) QII.ekJ~ 114 ~ jJ;A.P~ e. Consider appointments to the Senior Center Commission to fill two vacancies for three.year terms ending December 31, 1995. (Terms of Jean Hood and June Pieper end.) Action: ~;4~ fd;;,ty' ~ 31 j 'i~g,) ITEM NO.9 - '*UNCIL INFORMATION. Jk&JU ~v .4IJ-19 ~ .h~ ;11&) - - -.... . '\f .., , ' ~, 118e page 1 Courtney' Appointment to Senior Center Commission- Council would like to appoint PatIick Peters and Harold Engen Moved and seconded (Ambr/Horow) for council to appoint all of these people to the respective boards. Discussion. Kubby/ Just a comment about the Senior Center Comntission. That the ratio is now male dominated. Two women were replaced by two men and usually there are more older citizens who are female. I want to encourage older women. t is not exclusively for older citizens but to encourage more women to apply to the Senior Center next time when there is an opelting on the Commission. Larson/ We didn't have- Kubby / So I encourage people to apply. Courtney / Any other discussion. All in favor (aye) '"'"".,... , I 1 , ~, 1:1) page I Courtney City council information. Horowi I would just like to announce on November 22 which is a Sunday from noon unliI whenever the Fire House Engine #3 on Lower MuscaUne Road is going to have an pen house for a new fire engine and there wiII be a parade and hopefully all the city council will be PlIS'- ipg the fire engine into the station and a bunch of other WIL)' things. I t11ink that wiII be fun and we urge the public to come down and support your fire department and see some new fire apparatus and the new truck. Courtney' I hope some of us make it. That is the tail end of my trip. I won't get back until 5 PM. Larson/ I a Dalmatian, take it down and get a picture taken. Bring the family and kids. Nov / How about a stuffed Dalmatian. AmlJli Last Saturday the Ockenlel family that owns the City Carton Recycling establislul1ent had the i1rst gathering of recycling of glossy magazines. It was a smash success and I can't even to begin to tell you the manner in which those recycled magazines are going to be used. You wiII have to ask on of the pros. But there is a market out there for that and I talked to lvIr. Ockenfels Saturday afternoon and they have already made plans to have anot11er one day recycling effort on March 6. So to all of you and to early Ambr. and myself that wiII give us enough time to make that decision whether or not to dispose of our 550 National Geographic. Horow/ I got rid of 10 years of Smithsonian magazines. You can do it J\mbr/ It is only for the glossy smooth stuff... Nov/ When I was there I asked where those magazines were going and where they were going to be used and found out they are going to be recycled into newspaper and the newspaper is sold to the C.R Gazette. So when the truck comes to deliver the newsprint blank they then come out to Iowa City and pick up the old magazines and back in and make newsprint out of it. Horow/ Great Ambr/ The technical process was beyond me. Nov/ I still though it was interesting. Nov/ I would like to suggest that when we are talking about council appointments that we continue announcing vacancies until the actual date that they are appointed. You don't mind. r 1V0uld . -;ywa '.. fl9 page 2 think that these things are not heard when they are announced just once and when I start talking to people about are you interested in a comlllission they said that I never even heard there were openings. So jJ- at the end of these appointments whenever we usually announce vacancies could we say there are three vacancies on the Human Rights Conunission and two vacancies on P/R and one vacancy on tile Board of Adjustment. They were previously announced. They will be appointed on November 24. COUltney / If it ends up on this paper [ will announce it. I can't remember them all. Novi I just announced it and I hope we will get some more applications for another time instead of the few we have been getting. Courtney/ If there any legal posting ramifications. Karr/ The publication is the only one. You still want to publish ones. Courtney / We will just read them each time. Nov/ We could just read the fact that these were previously announced and will be appointed on the following day. Courtney/ Sure. Kubby / I have one last thought about the College Green lights. Steve, if you could pass on to Terry is that another aspect of it is energy conseliration. To make sure that the light source. Atkins/The thing that really hurts is that they are probably one of the more efficient for output light that they manufacture. Nov/ I think they are halogen which is very energy efficient and very bright. Kubby'! As efficient as they are they are if you have too many they are still a waste. Atkins'! it js only a hundred walt bulb in there. Evidently the way these things are designed they just literally pump it out. Kubby/ I know we were going to try to look al the possibilities relocating here. Nov' it will probably be less disturbing in the summer when all of the leaves are our but stiil it is a year round Ihing. Kubby/ ;\ lot of time in the year the leaves aren't there so I think we are going to have to go - Aikins I just want to be cautious about dimming light in a public park because as Terry had mentioned to me- l.arson r would like to see the specifics handled at the stafT level. Kubby. Thank you, Handy. You heard the concerns. Deal with it. I i i i I j I i I i i I I I , . ---- " 1 , '.. I;') page 3 Courtney The Longfellow Neighborhood Association has asked me to make an announcemenl on there behalf. The Longfellow Neighborhood Association and the Longfellow School PTA are co-sponsoring a benefit chili supper for Jose Otero. a Longfellow neighbor and father of three children who was tragically injured on October 29tll. He remains in critical condition at University hospital. The benefit will help offset the anticipated rehabilitation costs. The chili supper wi!! be held at Longfellow School gym on Thursday, Nov 19, from 5:30-7:30 PM. Donations for the supper will be $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for children. Tickets are available at the door or contact Ji!! Smith 337-3480. Secondly on behalf of the 10calneIVspaper who jumped on a story and is now paying the price lor it through lots of phone raIls. The Press Citizen is getting lots of calls about the re- opening of the discussions about leaf burning and we slated last night that we will have discussions on that. It will be placed on the informal agenda for two weeks from last night. To answer the questions they are getting. There has been no lifting of that ban. It is still against the law and there mayor may not be a lifting. Hold off folks. We are going to have a discussion in a couple of weeks. The survey turned out favorably to lift it. It doesn't mean it has been changed or that it \\111 be changed. Kubby/ We encourage people to call Randy because it seems like that is going to be the swing vote. Larson/ I~andy is well known for the swing vote on many items. It is a position I cherish greatly. But I would like to clarJ/y the Ihing that I clarifies to about 50 people in the last tlu'ee or four days which is that when this originally came up to ban leaf burning or allow it the way we had traditionally allowed it a year ago. There were three people thaI voted to not ban leaf burning and three people that had decided fairly early on at some point to institute a complete ban. My proposal which I held alone was thaI we just drastically limit leal' burning to one weekend in the fall and one weekend in the spring. Two days. They should probably be a weekend apart. Two days in the l~lIl and two days in the spring. ThaI proposal which everyone would agree has grealmeril was met with complete disdain by all six other members of the council and I would like to poinl oul that I amllot changing my position allhjs time. . ;. :,. --- - . . "I I , ~, li9 page 4 Apparently the three members that voted to continue to allow leaf burning at any time are thinking of changIng their votes to come to my proposal. And if they should do so tl1en we wiII discuss it two weeks from now and decide how we feel about it. I welcome your input. But my sentiment then is the same as it is now which is that we have way too much leaf burning or had at that time. It is not reasonable. And that I think that a reasonable balance between legitimate interests on both sides can be met in that way. We will just have to wait and see. Courtneyi I really didn't want to bJing this up for dIscussion tonight. Two weeks form tonight. Larson/ It just occurred to me and I purposely didn't bring it up during my time because it just occurred to me that I have explained that to 50 people so far and now I just explained it to everybody. So now I don't have to do it. I can just tell them to watch the tape. I wiII be glad to explain how I feel to anybody. Kubby / There might be some people who call you because they want you to listen to their viewpoint. COllltney/ The last item that I have is something near and dear to my heart. I just want to congratulate the City High football team on outstanding season. I know that you are all extremely disappointed that you didn't get on in the state playoffs and win the state. It certainly hurts at the time but there is 110 absolutely no shame in a 10-1 season and three points difference form a team last night. If we would have only had two more minutes on the clock I am sure we could have done it. i. I I I , I I i , , , I i I I , I I i r I I I I I I I I ,. , ... I , -.. . ':~',~ (,;,:,~<<':' :it~{.I~" ,.~~,i~!('~r::,i)hb\~'t~I'i'(\;1(Q_I,i',;-",: ;;,' :".:X;;':~{i.1j!7%~!;'~~WJr\;!lf~:1'i.?:i..' : ':';:':'~"'Ijlih~'" ,;t;1<'1 l~lj;'f",;,,'! It' -~1!1ii/ Agenda Iowa City City Council November 10,1992 Page 8 ITEM NO. 10 - REPORT ON ITEMS FROM THE CITY MANAGER AND CITY ATTORNEY. a, City Manager, -tJ ~ b, City Attorney, -t).-- ITEM NO. 11 . CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF A RELEASE FOR A _ 9:; - "Ij'! PORTION OF LOT 8, WEST SIDE PARK ADDITION. Comment: The Conditional Zoning Agreement for the property located In West Side Park, an Addition to the City of Iowa City, Iowa, creates a potential lien against a portion of the rezoned property in the event the City exercises Its' option to construct certain walkways. This potential lien places a cloud on the title of Lot 8. This Release facilitates the development and sale of a portion of Lot 8 while adequately protecting the City's interest by retaining a lien on the remaining portion of Lot 8 and other lots in West Side Park Addition. .. , Action: ,<\/o,;~.hJ I /!&A/l"""<~ I -i!~ 'I~<D aJ'<JO.J' ITEM NO. 12. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE'MAYOR TO SIGN AND THE CITY 9~-.3tn7 CLERK TO ATTEST AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN WILLOWBROOKE POINTE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION AND THE CITY OF IOWA CITYFOR TEMPORARY LOCATION OF A BUS SHELTER ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. Comment: The City of Iowa City wishes to install a bus shelter at the northeast corner of West Benton Street and Mormon Trek, The width of the City-owned right-of. way at that Intersection, however, is not sufficient to accommodate a bus shelter, This Agreement permits the City to place the bus shelter on Wlllow- brooke Polnte Condominium Association's private property. Action: Y\~ J cf.~.) . I t'~v % YIl L D 0-1, ~ a....t' "'-"'.~"."__.,....~....,..,.....,.;.'"'''''''' ",'.":", . ,'. r"'" -, 1.,- . Agenda Iowa City City Council November 10, 1992 Page 9 ITEM NO. 13 - CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AWARDING CONTRACT AND AUTHORIZING THE 'I.;J. .3 0 I' MAYOR TO SIGN AND THE CITY CLERK TO ATTEST A CONTRACTFOR CIVIC CENTER EAST LOWER LEVEL REMODELING. Comment: The bid opening for this project was held November 3, 1992 and the following bid was received: McComas-Lacina Construction of Iowa City Sase Bid. $185,652,00 Add Alternate #1 - $57,416,00 Add Alternate #2 - $6,468.00 Estimated cost: Base Bid $210,000,00 Public Works and Engineering recommends awarding this contract, Base Bid and Alternates 1 & 2 to McComas.Lacina Construction. Action: 1#w/'11~.J k~ h ~ttidv % 01 / J/ ~ 7Jt~~ ITEM NO. 14. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ACQUISITION OFRIGHT.OF. WAY AND TEMPORARY EASEMENT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE MELROSE AVENUE BRIDGE R~PLACEMENT PROJECT. qJ . JoJ Comment: The City of Iowa City must acquire property to construct the Melrose Avenue Bridge Replacement Project. This resolution authorizes the City Manager or his designee to negotiate the acquisition of necessary right-of.way and temporary construction easements, including the right of condemnation. Every effort will be made to negotiate acceptable agreements without resorting to condemnation. Prior to proceeding with condemnation, staff will notify Council. Action: ~/ /k,~ , J,L firdJ 1(MJidv % ?l(:J) ,LA,/1/ ITEM NO. 15. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE INCREASING THE HOTEL AND MOTEL TAX ~~ CONSIDERATIONI. Comment: Voter approval was received at the November 3rd election to increase the hotel. motel tax from 5 % to 7 %. This ordinance must be acted upon and published to allow implementation of the increase on January 1, 1993. The Director of Revenue and Finance has been notified pursuant to State Code, Action: -'~/ ~ ;sr (///11 .J/J/~.J Ih4?,,-0 ITEM NO. 1'6 . ADJOURN TO EXECUTlYE SESSION.:..,..JtJ.- ~1I1 1;1 c/J ~tf AH!/ ~ I. n,~... . t 1TEt'll NO, 17. Af)J'ouRN f116At( fb"/"''1.-arc,.. -- -"v "oj. C . 'tM<--I- ~/ I/htttIu ro/1<CD~..t- /1-02.3 fill. ttLf~ '-~"-"~.....",~. .... ...,.........-... it I 3 page I Courtney/Moved by Horow, seconded by Nov. Discussion. Nov Tell me why we add on these alternates rather than just putting out a bid for the whole thing. Larson/ That was my question, what is the justification for ,.. remodeling the attomey's offices and so fortll. Jim Schoenfelder/ Part of the reason at working within the budget to tlY and get the asbestos removal for the entire downstairs. Which becomes a problem in the legal department because all of the asbestos floor tile is under the existing walls which means you have to remodel the whole thing. You have to take ail the walls out. So we were debating whether or not to try and do the whole thing at once or do it partiaily and then wait and do it at anotller time. It is better to do it all at once. Larson! Are we under some mandate to remove some asbestos. Is this something that whenever you do a remodeling you want to do. Schoenfelder/ Whenever you remodel you should remove asbestos especially if you are going to be breaking it. It is not a danger in place the way the way it is. But once you start drilling it, pounding it and breaking it then you release fibers into the air. Larson/ My question was is it necessary at this point to do the remodeling of those offices. Schoenfelder/ It is not absolutely necessary. It is best to do it at this time because we will have the contractors down there. We have got the asbestos people down there. Larson/ It will be cheaper to do it all together rather than do it two years h'olllnolV. Schoenfelder/ Right. I estimate that if we wait it will be between $15,000 & $20,000 more to do it later just because of the staging, getting back in. Larson/ This is not what you would call an aesthetic or cosmetic remodeling Schoenfelder/No. Gentry This is substantive. Larson/ 1 know it is walls and things but it isn't because we don't like the wails and the floors or that there is just not the way we like them color wise or things like that. Gentry No. We are re configuring the entire area for privacy. Larson i just think these things have to be scrutinized filirly closely when public bodies spend money on t heir own house and r just " I ., , ~, ;113 page 2 wanted to get that into the record. The reasons for it. I didn't mean to infringe on your question. No\" That was the same question. Why are we dOing all of these tllings. Kubby / Will you explajn a little bit about alternate 2. Schoenfelder Aiternate 2 is an alarm system. There are two I100d alarms. One for the elevator pit and one for the lower level because we are in the 100 year I100d plain. We do need some alal1n system to detect if there is a high water condition. That would alert the police department and then they can call the appropriate staff for action. Nov/ So this is water actually coming into the building. Schoenfelder! This wouid be under a flood condition. Atkins/ It has happened. Nov/ Inside the building. Schoenfelder/ Right. Inside the building. Larson/ Us needing a $6,000 alarm to tell us when there is water in the building. If that is what it takes. that is what it takes. ExpenSive machinery I am sure. Schoenfelder/ There are a couple other alarms that are being tied into it. The fire alarm upstairs and the- Larson/ Some people would say that if your feet are wet that is a pretty good indication. Horow/ I could tell you. ThIs has happened in our house in the middle of the night and when you go down and you have to move everything. I would certainly want this facility to have an alarm system that would tell somebody that this is happening in the middle of tile night. Courtney/ Use to be the computer room was in danger. Has that been moved. Atkins/ lt is still on the lower level. HorOlVi I have no question about that. l.arson/ Good explanation. Horow' Thank you. Courtney Any other discussion on the resolution. Roll call- The resolution is adopted. ". .j .. I . 'I , , ' ~. n-l page 1 Courtney Move by Horow, seconded by Ambr. Discussion. Horow Yes. The onl\, question I had. This seemed to be mainly on the east side oj the bridge. The north east side. Is there need to acquire r.o.w. on the west, the north west side. Mainly the market. Denny Gannoni Yes. There wiU be some small pieces on the north west and the south west to be able to fit the bridge, the new lJlidge on that. Horow/ Thank you. Kubby/ Is that the only private property or individually owned property vs. like the railroad or the University that we will need to get easements. Gannon! No. There will be some. Let us see. On the south east corner in Iowa City we will have to obtain a small piece. Kubby/ How big is that piece. Gannon/ I couldn't tell you right now. We don't have the plats, the legal descriptions completed. It is a smull piece. I have got a drawing here ii' you want to- Kubby/ Yeah, that would be good. Nov / I would like to see the drawing. Gannon/(Presents drawing-council and Gannon refer to map) Kubby/ What we are voting on tonight is nothing to do with the widening. It is connected but it is not about the widening of Melrose. It is about the bridge, right. Just getting easements. Gannon/ No. Everything you see on here. Kubby / I want to make sure. I am not sure that the neighborhood has been talked with. I know that University Heights we have had dialogue but I am not sure that Iowa City neighbors down here have had full range of discussion. To make sure that they are informed about the things that are going on. I feel a llttle uncomfortable voting on this if it includes also the widening. Gannon/ It would inciude ilup through-this project would end right here (refers to map) A couple hundred feet east 01'- Courtney, I am not sure that i agree that it includes that. That IVould be the same thing as the Kirkwood thing. It would be in the ielting of the bids and the specit1cations. Kubby If we do these curbs here (refers to map) are we setting ourselves up for needing to widen Melrose. Are we encumbering ourselves by voting on this then. Courtney I don't feel like I am. . .~. " i , , ~- !: l-l page 2 Gannon No. It just gives the staff the go ahead to start negotiations with the property owners to obtain these easements. Kubby/ I don't know. It is just that if we start inquiring property owners here in Iowa City. I mean that is their notice that something is happening. Nov.: The easements is oniy the orange. Karen. Gannon/ Those are just easements. Ambr/ Are you aware that all the widening is going to be on the north side. Kubby/ I do but [ think the nejghbors when even asking for a construction easemenl,it is a- Horow/ Has that already been done. I-lave the houses aiong here been notified about what is being done. Gannon.' No. Kubby / So we are going to approach them for an easement without the neighborhood knOWing that this project is happening and how it is happening. I think if we are going to go ahead and do this then I think that when you go for the easements it needs to be done velY sensitively. Gannon/ One point here before I go on. The bridge would be widened on both sides of the existing so you are going to have a wider bridge equally on both sides. At this poInt here (refers to map) Larson/ Shouldn't there be a sliver of orange (refers to llIap) Gannon/ No. We are doing all within the r.o.w., the existing r.o.w. Kubby / So the space between sidewalk and street will be smaller. Gannon/ Right (refers to map) Horow/ (can't hear) Kubby / I think our Neighborhood Selvices Coordinator should be in on this and gathering the neighbors to have a neighborhood discussion as soon as possible. If we are going to go ahead and vote on this tonight. [feel comfortable doing that only if we can commit some stall time to talking with the neighbors before they are asked to sign easements. We are throwing something in their lab without them having some information. Atkins There is kind of a peripheral issue. The University was doing that tratTic study and I think Jeff has finished that. [ don't knoll' even we even have that in yet I knoll' I had asked Rick and Chuck about some kind ol~ Gentry It is in- Atkins It is in. i I i I I I I , i ., 1 , ~, 1: l-~ page 3 Gentry. Yes. Atkins. Because I had asked them about some sort of a public hearing information meeting. Just exactly how they wanted to handle this thing. Making sure that we did get the word out. And at the time their position was correct-until I have a traffic study from the University we don't even know exactly how the thing is going to shake out. Evidently doing this, at least as Karen points out. is a more serious commitment to getting the tlJing done. Larson! What I think it leads to is talk amongst the neighbors. Atkins! I don't think there is any doubt Larson/ Tell them that this is part of the process that may lead to a widening and you should know about it and the reason it needs to be widened is because we need to widen the bridge. We got the federal money and so on and so forth. Atkins! What if we were to-if you want to approve tlJis resolution. I have no trouble proceeding with it with the understanding we will deal with the bridge first, pull back on that until I can talk to Rick and Chuck and Denny can get together on exactly how to handle that so the velY thing you are talking about at the very least is minimized. The bridge I think you understand we are stuck. We have got to do that. But we can pull back on some of the other things. Kubby / I think we should. I think we would be in on the verge of irresponsible if we didn't do that with all the other ways we try to make sure people have good information. It is just following the tradition. We need to do it before we- Atkins! Traditionally we have gone through the plans and spec hearing process. We changed that process when we did the Kirkwood project and I am sensing you want to do something at least maybe not to that extent but something similar to that. Horowl For every project that we undertake. Gentry 1 want to point out that we are under some constraints to meet some DOT guidelines in term of timing. Larson 1.et's do II then. Gentry However the sooner we ,.," CIIANGE TAPE TO REEL 92-102 SIDE 1 Gannon lime to have all the r.o.w., all easements, all agreements. final plans lJa,.e 10 be into nOT Janualy-l. I I , ~, #1-1 page-l Atkins! I think we also have to be very realistic that we may be held up by University Heights. We know that is hanging out there and that itself can- Larson/ We don't have a lot of La.\\'. purchasing so 1 would hope that these construction easements are easy. There is really only one linle sliver of 1'.0.11'. and it is just going to help us get it all done easier if we can do some public relations at the front end instead of the tale end. Gentry/ That is a good idea. Horow/ But Steve I just want to make sure in my own mind. It isn't just those houses that are bordering the 1'.0.11'. that are going to be notified. All of them along that strIp, light. Atkins/ I don't know what all means, Susan. l-lorow/ All the houses that were on that blueprint. Atkins/l have no trouble notilying people that are directly affected by the thing up and down the street. That is no problem. I-low deep into the neighborhood do you choose to go. l-Iorow/ No, No. Just the ones that I saw on the blueprint because they are the ones that are going to be-again it is the concept of misinformation that mmoring around the neighborhood and I can anticipate one in particular that is going to do it. Kubby / I think the neighborhood is more-the affects of Melrose being widened is more than just the people on the street that I would like to be informed. At a minimum 1 would like a sentence in there saying this letter is being sent to and describe, please pass this information on to your neighbors that are further away frolll- Atkins/ Usually when you send a letter out it is always enough to trigger the folks. We will do that. Courtney / Any other discussion. Kubby/ I can't vote for this unless we inform people. Courtney / Roll call- The resolution is adopted. i I I I I i I i , . " ! . ~, ill S page 1 Courtney/~'Ioved by L:'1rson, seconded by Homw. Discussion. I\ubby/ I had a couple of questions recently since the vote. Since this agenda came out after the vote as to why we are voting on this when the public voted on it. I asked Linda to explain it and what our obligations are in terms of the affirmative vote. Although small, a affinnalive of the people. Gentry/ State law anticipates that the city can only adopt such an ordinance after it has been submitted to the voters. And so it is the state laws design or framework [or permitting you to adopt the ordInance. It must go to the voters first be[ore you adopt the ordinance. Larson/ We don't have to adopt it even tllOUgh the voters approved it. GentlY'! I think that you do. I think in the scheme of things It would be twisting the whole process if the council submitted the question of the voters and tumed around and said April Fool, we are not going to give what you the voters asked [or. Marian and I had discussed this. As any piece o[ legislation that comes out of Des Moines, it is not a per[ect framework but I think it-I have read it to make the most sense. I think. Kubby / Thank you. Courtney / Any other discussion, HoIl calI- Ordinance passes first consideralion, i I i I I , j I I ! ' ,. I I , , '. , .,',. . ." , , '.. City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM DATE: November 6, 1992 TO: Ci ty Council FROM: City Manager RE: Work Session Agendas and Meeting Schedule November 9, 1992 5:30 - 7:00 P.M. 5:30 P.M. 5:50 P.M. 6:20 P.M. 6:40 P.M. 6:45 P.M. 6:55 P.M. City Council Work Session - Council Chambers - Review zoning matters - Historic Preservation Plan - C.H.A.S. Update - Cablecasting of Work Sessions City Council agenda, Council time, Council committee reports - Consider appointments to the Board of Appeals; Board of Examiners of Plumbers, Mayor's Youth Employment Board, and Senior Center Commission November 10, 1992 7:30 P.M. - Tuesday Regular Council Meeting - Council Chambers Adjourn to Executive Session (Collective bargaining and Pending Litigation) November 11, 1992 VETERANS' OAY - CITY OFFICES CLOSED Wednesday November 23, 1992 6:30 - 9:00 P.M. City Council Work Session - Council Chambers Agenda pendi ng November 24, 1992 7:30 P.M. - Regular Council Meeting - Council Chambers Tuesday PENDING LIST Appointments to Board of Adjustment, Parks and Recreation Commission and Human Rights Commi~sion - November 24, 1992 Appointment to the Oesign Review Committee. December a, 1992 Monday Monda~