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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-07-02 Correspondence Office of the Johnson County Attorney Johnson County Courthouse · 417 South Clinton Streel · P.O. Box 2450 · Iowa City, IA 52244 Phone (319) 339-6100 · Fax (319) 339-6149 Crtmlnal J. Patrick White Unda June 26, 2002 Child Support TO: Iowa City City Council Alcoholic Beverages Division RE: Airliner renewal FROM: J. Patrick White Johnson County Attorney I have recommended approval of this license renewal contingent on using the correct name of the entity---Lodog, Inc. The Secretary of State advises that the name of the corporation was changed by law last December to Lodog, Inc. Thus the renewal application should be issued only in the appropriate legal name--- Lodog, Inc. It is the same entity, just named differently. A minor contingency is that the Secretary of State advises that the corporation is not currently in good standing because it has failed to pay its annual corporate fee. This should be remedied immediately and prior to renewal. I want also to express concern over the lack of timeliness of this renewal. I don't ascribe fault to anyone; however, this license appears to have been due for renewal several months ago. The delay here is not in the public interest. Should there be questions about this manner I'd be happy to respond to questions. Marian Karr From: Sater/ACTInc@actorg Sent: Friday, June 14, 2002 9:18 AM To: counc[l@iowa-city.org Subject: Some Sidewalk Concerns I would like for the city to investigate two situations that involve the sidewalks where I believe some action is required. 1. On Prairie Du Chien after you turn off Dodge Street there is a place in the sidewalk on the right side as you are heading away from Dodge street where mud totally covers the sidewalk ever time it rains and makes it impossible to get by without going out into the street. This has been the case for all 12 years I have been in Iowa City. Over the years I have seen at least three different times where someone has come and marked for the sidewalk to be fixed. Each time someone come, take a shovel and removes the mud only to have it happen the next rain. The last time the individual tried to dig a trench he felt would drain the mud away, but as you can see it did not. The side walk has sunk below ground level and the sideway is by far the lowest spot in that area so mud will also settle there in any rain. Could you please try to get someone to build up the sidewalk so it is above ground level and force the mud to stay in the grass. At least have them remove mud again. 2. Where Burlington dead ends into Muscatine there is a row of cedar trees that are planted along the side walk. If you head toward Court street, the last set of the cedar tress has grown to the point that they are covering more than half of the sidewalk and will only get worse if not addressed now. A couple of years ago you did have the owner of the cedar trees om the opposite end of the row cut them back after they totally grow over the sidewalks. As one can see they have never grown back because they waited too long to act. Hopefully, getting these people to do the cutting new might allow the trees to continue to be green and still leave the sidewalk a passable. Thanks for your time in checking on these sidewalk issues. Tom Saterfiel 49 Samuel Drive Iowa City, IA 52245 319-337-1196 From: Roxann Bennett Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 1:58 PM To: 'Sater/ACTInc@act org' Cc: *Ci~ Council; Klm Johnson; Jann Ream; Lisa Mollenhauer Su~ect: Prairie DuChein Sidewalk Mr. Sater, We appreciate you bringing your concerns regarding this sidewalk to our attention. I have inspected the sidewalk in question and have marked 13 squares of sidewalk for repairs due to ponding. The owner has been notified to clean the mud and debris from the sidewalk. The owner has informed us that the storm sewer system overflows in this area during heavy rainfall. I am investigating this issue with the streets department. The gravel from the driveway is also washing onto the sidewalk adding to the problem. My research of this address does not show any previous complaints or concerns regarding this sidewalk. After all of the data is collected and assessed, a letter will be sent to the property owner requesting action on their part to correct the situation. Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions. ROW/Utility l'echnician City ol Iowa City 310-356-54'~8 Marian Karr From: Jann Ream Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 11:03 AM To: 'sater/ACTInc@act.org' Cc: Lisa Mollenhauer; *City Council Subject: Burlington bushes Mr. Sater- Thank you for bringing the bushes on Burlington Street to our attention. A Notice of Violation has been sent to the property owner and he has until 7/5/2002 to trim the bushes back away from the sidewalk. I will re-inspect on Monday, July 8, and if the bushes have not been trimmed, the City will have it done and the charge will be assessed to his property taxes. Marian Karr From: Judy Pfohl [judypfohl@hotmail.com] Sent: Monday, June 10, 2002 8:39 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Cc: Marcia_Klingaman@iowa-city.org Subject: Kiwanis Park-thanks! To City Council, While at Kiwanis Park Saturday I visited with many people. Everyone was exclaiming how nice ~he park was, how beautiful, peaceful, and always being used by families and walkers. There were comments that the team of young men who pulled weeds and put down the shredded mulch were very hard workers and had done an excellent job. Thank you for this oasis in the city. Judy Pfohl, President Ty'n Cae Neighborhood Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com Marian Karr ~ From: Lisa Moilenhauer Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2002 10:32 AM To: 'Brittany Miller' Cc: *City Council Subject: RE: arts fest Cadet: The Arts Fest is not organized or run by the City of Iowa City. If you would like to relay a concern about the times indicated on the advertisements, please contact the Fest Coordinator, Vicki .lenning~ at 337- 7944. Have you checked out the activities for youth offered by our Parks and Recreation Department? We have an extensive array of programs and events along with pools and a skate park that should be open in .luly. Feel free to contact Matt Eidahl of our Recreation Division at 356-5109 for further information on the numerous activities available for youth. Lisa ' Lisa Mollenhauer Administrative Assistant to the City Manager (319) 356-5010 ..... Origina! Message ..... From: Brittany Miller [mailto:Blue4Aaron~msn.corn] Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2002 9:24 AM To: Lisa Mollenhauer Subject: Re: arts fest City council, The paper I picked up on Sunday morning said that it ended at 8 pm. I received a flyer, at school last Friday that stated it ended at 8 pm. And the Arts Fest website said that it ended at 8 pm. I would like to say that I'm surprised that this problem arose but truly I'm not surprised. ! also think the city should give the teenagers of !owa City more to do during the summer instead of having us go to Coralville or another town just to have some fun. Some kids even go to violence because there isn't anything that they can do or that interests them here, which is true. [ may only be in eighth grade but I'm part of the future of Iowa Ci ry. If ! were the city council ! would be a little more concern for this issue. Please take care of this issue before the junior highs and high schools are full of violence and gangs. Artist Teenagers sent by, Cadet Hiller ..... Original Message ..... From: Lisa Mollenhauer Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2002 8:08 AM To: 'Brittany Mille¢ < B>Cc: *City Council Subject: RE: arts fest Cadet: 6/11/02 Page 2 of 2 Thank you for sending your comments to the City Council. A copy of your email will be distributed to all seven Council Members on their next printed Formal Agenda Consent Calendar. However, if your email pertains to an current agenda item and was received after the agenda was printed but before the meeting, it will be distributed to Council Members at the meeting. All correspondence addressed to Council becomes a permanent public record. Would you mind being more specific about where you received the information on the ending time of the Arts Festival? The City's web calendar indicated it would last until 5:00 p.m. Lisa Lisa Hollenhauer Administrative Assistant to the City IVlanager (319) 356-5010 ..... Original Message From: Brittany Hiller [mailto:Blue4Aaron@msn.com] Sent: IVlonday, June 10, 2002 6:23 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: arts lest We would like to know why the city chose to lie to its citizens. By telling us that the Art Fest on Sunday ended at 8 pm when really it ended at 6 pm. Which is really a bad thing to do when you think about it. Thank you for listening, Artistic Teenagers sent from, Cadet Miller 6/11/02 Title: Iowa City's Smoking Ban Student Researchers: Bentley Wingert, Chris Yates, Jenna Broghamer, David Li, Katie Monson, Daniel Reck, Colleen Lawrence, & Emily W School: Irving B. Weber Elementary ~- (; ~-- Address: 3850 Rohret Road Iowa City, Iowa 52246 Grade: Team 4/Grades 5 & 6 Teacher: Chris Rohret I. Statement of Purpose and Hypothesis We wanted to find out how many people knew about the smoking ban in Iowa City restaurants, and whether they supported it or not. Our hypothesis stated that most kids our age wouldn't know about the smoking ban but when they knew more about it that they would support it. We also thought most of the adult staff members at Weber would support the ban. II. Methodology First we had to build our background knowledge about the smoking ban. So we interviewed a member of C.AF.E., Clean Air For Everyone, and we read articles to learn about smoking bans. Then we developed our survey questions, and distributed them to 280 students in grades 3 through 6 and 40 staff members. Finally we compiled our data and wrote our abstract. III. Analysis of Data The data we collected showed that a large percentage of students and teachers support the smoking ban. Also, about 50% of the Weber teachers make decisions about eating at restaurants based on if smoking is allowed or not. About one third of students said that their families make decisions on where to eat based on if a restaurant allows smoking or not. Of all the students we surveyed more than half felt that the ban should be spread to all other public places in Iowa City, while 75% of teachers felt the same way. IV. Summary and Conclusion The majority of students and teachers supported the smoking ban in Iowa City restaurants. The main reason students supported the ban was because they don't like 2nd hand smoke, while teachers said it was less enjoyable to eat in restaurants. Therefore we accept our hypothesis that most people would support the ban. V. Application We plan to send our results to the Iowa City and Coralville City Councils. We will also send it to C.A.F.E. to let them know that all their efforts are working and are appreciated. We also hope this information will help the City Councils make future decisions related to smoking in restaurants and other public places. Marian Karr From: PDesch918@aohcom Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2002 12:47 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: City council meetings Last nite I watched another city coucil meeting with much frustration. As a retired Human Resouce Dir. with Honeywell I am appalled with the councils lack of interpersonal skills as to one anothers opinions but also to those who take time and effort to come to council meetings to express their thoughts and opinions concerning important issues that come before the council. Last nite, I believe, a Mr welch spoke eloquently, politely, and intelligently concerning the Moen building issue, when he finished there wasn't even an acknowledgment of his presence. I'm sure that when he got through he must have felt WHY BOTHER. The body language of the board tells much, four of you had completely made up your mind, your minds were closed to any and all suggestions from the floor. If you had only said to Mr Welch, thank you for your thoughtful imput we appreciate your expressing your thoughts. Well enough of my ramblings, I'm sure this won't be read anyway. By the way I do not know if the proposal will work or not however It's obvious you have all put a lot of time and effort into the project. I'm not even going to get into the lack of respect some council members have for others, all I can say is its a very sad situation. I do not have any solutions other to suggest you consider hiring a consultant to help you resolve some of these issues because if it continues the city will be the loser. Regards, Joe Deschenes Marian Karr From: Norm Cate Sent: Monday, June 17, 2002 10:24 AM To: 'AmblinRick@aol.com' Cc: *City Council; Doug Boothroy Subject: Housing inspections in owner-occupied units. Hi Rick, This is Norm Cate, Senior Housing Inspector for the City. I'm responding to your email of 6-14-02. First of all, I'm sorry your wife had to wait 3 hours for the inspection. We notify the property managers about when the inspections are to take place and how long it will take. Managers will then notify the property owners/tenants regarding the date and time of inspection. I know that many managers will broadly state the time frame for the inspection by saying, for instance, anytime between 1-5 PM. We do our best to move through the properties as efficiently as possible but the inspector had a very heavy load that afternoon. If there is to be a follow-up reinspection on your unit, I'd advise you to contact your management company to be more specific regarding the reinspection time. Rick, the ordinance to inspect all units in a multi-family structure if there is a rental unit is not new. It has been part of the City's Housing Code since the 1980's. That decision, made almost 20 years ago, to inspect owner-occupied units was based upon concerns for the safety for all occupants of the building and the City's liability in the event of life-safety violations originating from owner-occupied units sharing the same structure with rental units. Exempting owner-occupied units from inspection may create a situation where those units could develop safety hazards that would jeopardize the entire structure, thereby exposing the occupants of all units to risk of injury. However, for owner-occupied units like yours, we only require that you meet the minimum life-safety requirements that help prevent hazardous situations from occurring or spreading (smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, electrical items, proper maintenance of fuel burning equipment). We d.~.o not inspect basic maintenance items that are included in our inspections of rental units. This exemption from iter~s not directly related to life-safety I hope will make the issue of your inspection more rational and acceptable to you. If you have any more questions or concerns, please let me know. I'll try to answer them as best I can. Sincerely, Norm Cate Senior Housing Inspector City of Iowa City 410 E. Washington St Iowa City, IA 52240 356-5137 (o) 321-5652 (c) [mailto:norm-cate@iowa-city.org] Marian Kart From: AmblinRick@aol.com Sent: Friday, June 14, 2002 5:43 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Cc: tim-hen nes@iowa-city.org; doug-boothroy@iowa-city.org Subject: Bogus Housing Inspection Hello. My nome is Rick Kasfer (]nd I live (]t ] 532 McKinley Pl(]ce. I live in (] fownhouse fhc]f is one of four in one building, which is (] p(]rf of Mormon Trek Village. I'm writing fo the city council tod(]y because I think it's a load of cr(]p that just bec(]use there (]re units in some of the buildings which are rented OUt, that we, tis homeowners_, h(]ve fo h(]ve our homes inspected. Not only is this Q financi(]l burden on the (]lre(]dy squeezed association funds, I feel if is just one more w(~y the City of Iowa City is (]ftempfing fo drum up revenue! It's funny how sudden ordin(]nees appe(]r out of nowhere, surprisingly to raise revenue, when the budget is fight. Also, my wife had fo wait for 3 hours before (]ny inspector showed up, which me(~nf she h(~d to take time off from work. Do you REALLY think we're just going to GIVE (] str(]nger Q KEY to our house so they c(]n inspect it without us being fhere.~.~ Rent(]l property is one thing, but owner-occupied is another. Rick Kaster ]532 McKinley Place Iowo City Marian Karr From: Lisa Mollenhauer Sent: Monday, June 17, 2002 4:37 PM To: 'ThurmanE/ACTInc@act.org' Cc: *City Council; Steve Atkins Subject: RE: Information needed Ms. Thurman, It is my understanding that our Public Works and Engineering Department is in the process of notifying this property owner of their responsibility to maintain the grass. Thank you for relaying your concern. Have a nice evening. Lisa Lisa Mollenhauer Administrative Assistant to the City Manager (319) 356-5010 ..... Original Message ..... From: ThurmanE/ACTInc@act.org [mailto:ThurmanE/ACTInc@act.org] Sent: Monday, June 17, 2002 11:15 AM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: Information needed Who could I e-mail or contact about possibly getting the grass/weeds mowed along the sidewalks and street of Scott Blvd. out by ACT. A lot of employees walk there. The grass is too high, and a lot of people have begun to walk on the street.., but this is often hard because of the construction traffic right now. Thanks. Emily Thurman Emily Thurman Health Programs-74 PDS Professional Development Services ACT, INC. Phone: (319) 337-1084 Fax: (319) 341-2551 email: thurmane@act.org Lisa Mollenhauer Subject: FW: First Avenue/Court Street construction complaint ..... Original Message ..... From: Brian Globokar [mailto:brian_globokar@hillsbank.com] Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2002 1:23 PM To: 'Ross Spitz' Subject: RE: First Avenue/Court Street construction complaint Thank you very much for your response. We saw that the stop sign was placed on Tudor, and we understand what you are saying regarding the truck traffic. We were not aware that the detour would be rerouted at the end of the month (weather-permitting, of course), which is also helpful information. That will cut the number of streets affected by the detour in half. There were some other things that were done after we sent our e-mail which helped the situation, such as placing no parking signs on the affected roads. We would also like to mention that we have been impressed with the city's responsiveness to inquiries. We moved to Iowa City two years ago after five years in the Chicago suburbs, and we can premise you that your communication and interaction with the residents is light years ahead of what we saw over there. Perhaps we have been a little spoiled by some of your communication efforts in the past. For instance, we received mailed notices regarding repairs to Rochester Avenue and Post Road last year. In this case, the detour route and extensiveness of the road repair (beyond the First Avenue and Court intersection) was more of a surprise. Thank you again for your consideration and actions. We will wish for good weather along with you! Brian & Beth Globokar ..... Original Message ..... From: Ross Spitz [mailto:Ross-Spitz@iowa-city.org] Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2002 4:34 PM To: 'brian_globokar@hillsbank.com' Cc: Beth Pfohl; *City Council; Rick Fosse Subject: RE: First Avenue/Court Street construction complaint Brian and Beth Globokar, Sorry for my delayed response. I have been out on the job site dealing with a utility conflict and have been unable to respond to your email until this time. The leg of the detour route using Tudor Drive, Post Road, Princeton Road and Mount Vernon Drive will be shifted as per plan to Washington Street after the concrete paving repairs are done between Tudor and Washington Street on First Avenue. We expect this to occur by Monday July 1st, weather permitting. I have asked the contractor to install a stop sign on Tudor Street. My experience with detour routes on other projects is that the truck traffic will decrease as word spreads about the detour. Generally, you will not see the same truck go through the detour twice. In general, after the first few ! days drivers generally find an alternate route around construction (like 7th or Scott as you suggested). If you have any more specific questions I can be reached at this email address or the number shown below. Thanks- Ross Spitz Civil Engineer City of Iowa City Public Works/Engineering Division Phone: (319) 356-5149 Fax: (319) 356-5007 ross-spitz@iowa-city.org ..... Original Message ..... From: Brian Globokar [mailto:brian_globokar@hillsbank.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2002 8:29 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: First Avenue/Court Street construction complaint I submitted this complaint to the city manager's office via their website, but I wanted to pass this along to the city council as well. During this construction phase, I can concede the fact that my children cannot play in our front yard due to the heavy increase in traffic volume. I realize that everyone must make some sacrifices. However, it seems that the choice in posted detour routes poses several hazards that can still be mitigated with prompt attention. I am a resident who lives along the detour route for the First Avenue/Court Street project, and I have several problems with the city's choice in routing the traffic. First, there is no special truck route on the detour. Yesterday, we had several semi trucks going down a street that is NOT designed for such traffic. Second, it is clear that the detour route was designed simply by taking the shortest distance between two points. You have taken traffic from a busy street and twisted and turned it (a total of TEN turns in all!) around very lightly traveled residential roads. Third, your route includes an uncontrolled intersection at Tudor and Post Road. Southbound traffic on Post does not have a good sightline to see eastbound traffic on Tudor, and no stop sign or yield sign is present. Fourth, my road (Post) is already in great disrepair, and sending high volumes of traffic down my street will inevitably lead to another summer of road repair. It seems to me that a better detour route would be to use either 7th Avenue to the west or Scott to the east. If people choose the shorter route, so be it. But at least keep the main traffic flow on roads designed to handle it. At a minimum, I think consideration of a truck reute and consideration of a yield sign on Tudor are essential for the safety of my neighborhood. I would appreciate any insight as to how the decision on the detour route was made. Thank you for your considerations. Brian & Beth Globokar 108 Post Road Home: 351-8830 Work: 358-2254 2 Marian Karr From: Ron Logsden Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 4:41 PM To: 'tleaven@mac.com' Cc: *City Council Subject: Bus Service to Hunters Run Mr. Leaven, There are no current plans to expand bus service west of Mormon Trek beyond the current Westside Loop bus that runs one trip in the morning and one trip in the afternoon when Iowa City Community Schools are in session. We are currently encountering cuts in the State Operating Assistance we receive from the Iowa DOT and unfortunately we do not have the luxury of being in an expansion mode. We are continuously looking for ways to save money in order to maintain our current service. I appreciate your support for Iowa City Transit and your 24 years of dedicated ridership. A year ago we installed bike racks on all of our buses in order to better accommodate riders who either lived or worked beyond the areas in which we provide service. I do not know if you are a bike rider or not, but I wanted to make sure you were aware that may be an option rather than walking the 1.5 miles to the nearest bus stop. I apologize for not have better news for you at this time. Ron Logsden Transit Manager 356-5154 ..... Original Message ..... From: Tim Leaven [mailto:tleaven@mac.com] Sent: Wednesday, June 19, 2002 2:14 PM To: council@iowa-city.erg Subject: bus service I work at the University of Iowa Hospitals and have been riding the bus to work for 24 years. Now that I have moved to Hunters Run I find the nearest bus stop 1.5 miles from my house. Is there a plan to provide bus service to this area? With the amount of development in the area I find it surprising the city does not provide bus service west of Mormon Trek. I also find it ironic that the Transit Manager, who lives in the same area, can not ride a bus to work. Tim Leaven The Greater Iowa City Area Iowa City, Iowa 52244 HBA Phone: [315, 351-5853 Fa)c (:319) 358-2443 E-mail: hbaofic@cs.com HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION www,iowacityhomes.com Advocates for homeownership by promoting standards for qual ty and affordablility June 7, 2002 Mayor Emie Lehman City of Iowa City 410 E Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Dear Mayor Lehman: The 2002 Parade of Homes is once again a success due to your support and commitment. The City of Iowa City's sponsorship of the 2002 Parade Homes TV Special enabled us to showcase to the community and eastern Iowa the type of community we live in. One we are proud of and one we call home. Tapes of the 2002 Parade Special should have been delivered to you by Dirk Keller of KCRG. On behalf of the Association, we thank you for your financial support, your commitment to our industry and your time to make this project a realty. We hope that you will work with us again next year. Sincer~y_.~ ' ,v Kevin Hochstedler President The Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Assn. (2) Affiliated with National Association of Home Builders & Home BuiMers Association of lowa Marian Karr From: Dr. Carter [Must_Book@address.com] Sent: Thursday, June 13, 2002 9:05 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: It is beneficial to your ribrary & its patrons to have the book (Please suggest) Dear Sir/Ma'am: It is significantly beneficial to your library and its patrons to have a book titled "Complete Conduct Principles for the 21st Century" by Dr. John Newton. Please suggest to your local library(ies) that the book be purchased. This is a great contribution you can make to your neighborhood! "I find it heartening that you are crusading on behalf of this worthy book. It has occupied a space on our shelves for some time now. To have this book in our library is a quiet source of pride to me, the librarian." said Mr. Don Brusha, a highly respectable Librarian of Avon Park Library in Avon Park, Florida, USA, in a letter to me regarding the book. This book is a MUST for EVERYONE to be better prepared for personal conduct for the 21st century. EVERY LIBRARY SHOULD HAVE IT. You may ask yourself > How to make people respect you > How to win friends > How to let your conduct help your health, work, job, career, relationships, spirit, mind, well-being, ... > How to make your life smoother and happier > How to do whatever you like without being unpleasant to other people > How to develop good conduct in your children or students > How to make the world peaceful and better You (and the library patrons) can find all the answers to these questions, and much more, in this great book. BENEFITS to each individual reader: Many! ~- such as for health, work, job, career, self- improvement, education, relationships, spirit, mind, well-being, and much more -- almost all the areas that are important to you in the 21st century. People around you will benefit, too. (Please see the preface of the book for details.) EVERYONE may find this book useful and helpful, regardless of age /from children to oldsters), occupation, rank, status, gender, religious beliefs, nationality, country, or region. If you are a parent or a teacher, you can learn how to develop good conduct in your children or students from this book. Please advise your children or students to read the book. It will result in great benefits for both you and them. The book's content is obvious from its title. The complete useful conduct principles cover not only what we should do, but also what we should not do -- especially those faults people make often and easily. "The book will also be effective for violence prevention for the whole society." said some experts. This timely, unique, and very important book is designed to suit most people, and is self- contained and user-friendly. This book is significantly different and better than competitive works. Some of its innovative contents may help solve problems that Western culture cannot. 1 The book's merit and importance have been recognized and praised by many experts, elected public officials, and world leaders. How to make the world peaceful and better --- You (and the library patrons) can find the solution in the book. Let's work together to make the world peaceful and better! The author, John Newton, holds a Ph.D. from MIT, and does researches at Harvard. His long- term research on "The personal conduct in the human society of the 21st century" resulted in this book. It is published by Nicer Century World Organization, headquartered beside Harvard University and MIT, two leading institutes of new knowledge and literature. It has the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data. Trade hardcover (case bound, Smyth sewn; with dust jacket) ISBN 0967370574; trade paperback (perfect bound) ISBN 0967370582. Bound durably and functionally to stand up to heavy library use. 60 lb natural acid-free excellent and healthful paper. 5.5inXS.5in. 192 pages. Including Principle Index and General Index. Self-contained. Please forward this E-mail to your local librarian(s) or your colleagues having the authority of ordering the book if you do not have it. Your effort to make a great contribution to your family and neighborhood and the whole society will be highly appreciated. Sincerely yours, Tom Carter, Ph.D. President, Nicer Century World Organization Massachusetts, USA (Nicer Century World Organization is an educational, non-profit, non-partisan organization; it endeavors to make the 21st century nicer than ever before. To accomplish its mission, Nicer Century World Organization is proud to introduce this book.) Marian Karr ~ From: Kevin and Linda Dellsperger [LKBD@mchsi.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 18, 2002 8:43 AM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: re: Manville Heights Traffic Good Morning: While I attended the work session last week for the library parking issue, I had the chance to peruse the council packet for last Tuesday night. There was a piece that particularly caught my eye and that was the petition from some of my neighbors who are interested in installing stop signs as a means of slowing traffice on Ferson Street and Magowan Avenue at McLain St. and putting some type of traffic calming on Grove Street. There is also an issue of people driving the wrong way on Grove that is partially a one-way street. It is my opinion that one of the reasons that traffic is moving so quickly on Ferson and Magowan is the blockade on Lexington. This is one example of how a "fix" on one street causes problems on a neighboring street in the same area. It is my understanding that the blockade on Lexington will be evaluated this summer. After a conversation with Beth in the traffic engineering department yesterday, I learned that only those people who actually live on Lexington will be surveyed on the merits of the blockade on Lexington. It seems to me that the surrounding neighbors who have been affected by that blockade should also be surveyed. I would venture to guess that the folks on the surrounding streets would have a far different opinion about that blockade than those who live on Lexington. The neighbors on Magowan and Ferson would probably not be asking for traffic calming if the blockade on Lexington were removed. As a resident on the far south end of Magowan, I am NOT interested in the city putting stop signs as a means of slowing traffic. Maybe the city could station a police officer on the streets periodically to control speeders. It seems to work quite nicely in University Hieghts. Grove Street is a very narrow street and almost a gravel road in areas. I don't think traffic calming is in order. I do think that the one-way should be better marked as many folks don't pay attention to the signage there. The bottom line to this memo is: * No stop signs to slow speeders on Ferson and Magowan * Strategic police speed enforcement * Survey the surrounding neighbors of Lexington Avenue before making a decision about the permanance of the blockade there, * Place better signage about the one-way on Grove * Grove street is in itself a deterent to speeder - from my perspective it doesn't need traffic calming. Thanks for your attention to these matters and once again thanks for working with the Library Board to get that parking for the library convenient for the users. Thanks again, Linda Dellsperger 351-5869 6/18/02 Marian Karr ~ From: Ruth Baker [ruth-baker@uiowa.edu] Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 9:41 AM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force Council Members: I hope you will support the recommendations presented to you by the Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force. There are definitely problems within the neighborhoods resulting from a lack of enforcement of existing laws and ordinances, and it is past the time for changes to be made. I felt the initial recommendations the task force presented at a public forum were extreme. It appears those recommendations have been re-evaluated and the task force has now formulated a list of important changes that should receive support from city staff and the City Council. Rather than have police officers and housing inspectors waste their time repeatedly warning property ownedoccupants, there needs to be better record-keeping and deterrents implemented for continued violators. This should not call for additional staff, just a better use of staff time and, in the long run, less problems in the neighborhoods and less use of staff time. Home owners and renters alike need to respect each other's rights. When consideration for others is lacking, deterrents need to be implemented in a responsive and timely manner. Please support the recommendations presented by the task force and direct a Citizens Committee to continue serving this important c~mmunity need. Thank you. Ruth E. Baker 515 West Benton Street lowa City, lowa 52246 This e-mail (Including any attachmenLs) is covered by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 USC. 2510-2521, It is confidential and may be legally privileged, if you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any retention, dissemination, distribution, or copying of this commur~ication is strictly prohibited. Please rep~y to the sender that you have received the message in error, and then delete it. Thank you 6/24/02 Marian Karr From: Tim Toomey [timothy2me@mchsi.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 9:59 AM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: neighborhood relations In responce to the neighborhood housing relations task force initiatives feed back request, I find fault with the following; 1)"Direct legal staff to work with County Attorney or U.S. Attorney for forfeiture action in appropriate (drug) cases." These laws are already well abused by law enforcement. It also has nothing to do with neighborhood relations. 2) "Adopt ordinance amending parking ordinance to require that cars be parked at least three feet from driveways." This will just make the parking situation worse (loss of 6 ft. for every driveway). We need more parking not less. Revisit where parking is restricted or when it is restricted. 3) "Direct city staff to develope (a) pilot program for landlords, in consultation with neighborhood representatives and (the) post office, to install tags inside mailboxs, which will limit delivery to actual, authorized occupants." Probably illegal, definitely stupid. Marian Karr From: Jeff Davidson Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 1:41 PM To: 'maurer. bruce@luthbro.com' Cc: *City Council; *City Manager's Office; Rick Fosse; Ross Spitz; Beth Pfohl Subject: RE: unsafe intersection Hello Mr. Maurer. Your email message of June 24 was forwarded to me for response. I appreciate your concerns regarding the First Avenue/Friendship Street intersection. We frequently receive comments such as yours from persons trying to access arterials streets such as First Avenue from collector streets such as Friendship Street. First AvANashington St, First AvNVayne Av, Muscatine/Dover St, and Muscatine/7th Av are other intersections where we receive similar comments. It is our policy to try to keep arterial street traffic moving as efficiently as possible. Besides overall community benefit, this has the added positive aspect of reducing cut through traffic on local neighborhood streets. Keeping arterials moving efficiently has the tradeoff of making intersecting movements-- such as Friendship street-- more difficult. The First Av/Friendship St intersection is temporarily the relocated intersection of 2 arterials: First Av and Court St. That is why the temporary all-way stop has been installed. It is our intention to remove the all-way stop at the completion of the First Ay/Court St reconstruction project. I do want you to know that we do not consider the efficiency of the arterial street system to take priority over making sure all of our public streets are as safe as possible. Although there may be some inconvenience to motorists at the First Av/Friendship St intersection as you have pointed out, it is not an unsafe intersection. Last year there was only one reported collision at this location, and there have been zero reported collisions this year through the end of May. You may be interested to know that the First Av/Court St intersection has a much higher collision rate, with most of the reported collisions related to motorists pulling into the intersection simultaneously from the all-way stop. I would expect the collision rate to increase similarly if we were to install a permanent all-way stop at the First Av/Friendship St intersection. Having said all this, we are aware that when the First Avenue extension is opened this fall, traffic conditions will change and we expect traffic volume to increase. Compared to the previous all-way stop at First Ay/Court St, I believe you will see better gaps in the First Av traffic stream once the traffic signal at Court St is operational. This will make it easier to cross First Avenue from Friendship St. We will continue to monitor the Friendship St intersection for needed traffic control modifications in the future. In the meantime you may wish to consider crossing First Av via the signalized intersections at Court St or Muscatine Ave rather than Friendship St. Thank you for your correspondence. Jeff Davidson, Traffic Engineering Planning. ..... Original Message ..... From: Lisa Mollenhauer Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 11:02 AM To: Jeff Davidson Subject: FW: unsafe intersection Could you please respond to Mr. Maurer and cc the city council? Thanks. ..... Original Message ..... From: MAURER. BRUCE@Iuthbre.com [mailto:MAURER.BRUCE@luthbre.com] Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 10:33 AM To: council@iowa-city.org; beth-pfohl@iowa-city.org Subject: unsafe intersection I live on the east side of Iowa City and travel Friendship Street every day (along with many, many others) on my way to the office. I feel the most 1 unsafe when I cross First Avenue. Often it is very difficult to get across due to the heavy traffic on First Avenue. This often results in drivers "taking chances" and trying to dart across when a small opening presents itself. For some time I have seen this intersection as an accident waiting to happen. The current stoplight installation at Court and First Avenue has also resulted in Friendship and First Avenue becoming a 4 way stop. This has really been a breath of fresh air for drivers such as myself. Now that we have accustomed the First Avenue drivers to stopping at this intersection it would be the ideal time to permanently establish this as a 4 way stop intersection. Without such action, this intersection will only become even more dangerous when First Avenue is extended out to Dodge Street/Hwy. 1. Many people who now travel Muscatine to Governor to 1-80 will now be travelling First Avenue to get to 1-80. Having lived in this area for 19 years I believe I speak with a little authority on that issue. Please consider the safety of drivers like myself and install a permanent 4-way stop at Friendship and First Avenue. Thanks. Bruce Maurer Agency Resource Manager Iowa-Illinois Agency Aid Association for Lutherans/Lutheran Brotherhood maurer, bruce@luthbro.com 337-5450 or (888) 704-3614 2 PHELAN TUCKER MULLEN WALKER TUCKER GELMAN LLP ,- ':~i. !',: -, , 32] East Market A T T 0 R N £ Y S A T L A W Post Office Box 2]50 . Iowa City, Iowa 52244 ¢..'' June 21, 2002 Phone: (319) 354-1104 Fax: (319) 354-6962 attorney's last nameMayor Ernie Lehman @ptmlaw.com City of Iowa City 4t0 E. Washington St. www. ptmlawcom Iowa City, Iowa 52240 William V Phelan Dear Mayor Lehman; Bruce L Walker This past winter and spring, my eight year old daughter, Harper Lee, participated Richard M Tucker in a basketball instructional program and a flag football instructional program that was administered by Matt Eidhl and his staff. In short, these were wonderful Thomas H. Oelman programs for Harper Lee. The instructional programs were well organized, efficiently run, educational and fun. Harper Lee not only learned a great deal, but she had a wonderful time as well. Gary J Schmit My wife and I were both very impressed with the attention and instruction that Margaret E Winegarden was provided to not only our daughter, as well as the other participants. We have recommended and complimented these programs to others in the Iowa City area. Julie L. Pulkrabek I would appreciate it if you would see that a copy of this letter is placed in Matt John E. Beasley Eidhl's personnel file with the City of Iowa City. Once again, thank you for providing these types of programs to the citizens of Iowa City. Michael J. Pugh* Dean D L:arnnglon Very truly yours, Sarah E. Swartzendruber E, geasley Vlr~v Daniel W. Boyle / Trueblood Mike Moran Robert E. Lee Recreational Center William M. Tucker Retired Charles A. Mullen [1937-2001] *Also admitted in Illinois Marian Karr From: Caroline D[eterle [caroline-d[eterle@uiowa.edu] Sent: Monday, June 24, 2002 3:15 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: Fwd: Seven towns ban pesticides!!! (FW) To the City Council: Please read this post about pesticide regulation/banning in Canada. It's time for Iowa City to do something to stop/lessen lawn care pesticide run-off into the river, as well as the problems pesticide usage in residential areas causes for pets, wild birds, children, native flora and gardeners. - Caroline Dieterle Walnut Street ............... Text of forwarded message ............... >Date: Sun, 23 Jun 2002 15:28:05 -0500 >Subject: Seven towns ban pesticides!!! (FW) >From: Ericka <doodles@netins.net> >To: DO NOT SP~AY/Midwest Anti-Drift Coalition <doodles@netins.net> >Status: > >Thanks much to Carmen for this information re: pesticide control reform - >please pass it along to anyone concerned about problems with unwelcome >pesticides and herbicides. > >If you are on the MADCO mailing list and have recieved a duplicate of this >post, or would like to be removed from this list, please let me know. (The >traffic is light...) > >Thank you! Hope you are enjoying a chemical free summer in your neck of the >woods... > >Best, >Ericka Dana, Midwest Anti-Drift Coalition >From: CCubillo@aol.com >Date: Sat, 22 Jun 2002 >To: doodles@netins.net > >Seven towns band to weed out pesticides >by MICHELLE LALONDE. > >Seven towns north of Laval have pledged to act together to outlaw >unnecessary pesticide use on private and public land within their borders. > >Since the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the right of the town of Hudson, >just west of Montreal, to ban pesticides last June, many Quebec >municipalities have moved to pass new anti-pesticide bylaws. > >But this is the first time municipalities have come together to harmonize >bylaws in an effort to create a no-pesticide, or at least iow-pesticide, >zone. > >"We are sending an important message to the industry and to government that >this is an irreversible movement and it's not going to stop here," said Yvan >Desch~nes, mayor of Rosem~re and chairman of the regional county >municipality of Therese-De Blainville. > >The municipalities of Blainville, Boisbriand, Bois-des-Filion, Lorraine, >Rosem~re, Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines and Sainte-Th~r~se, which together form >the regional county municipality of Th~r~se-De Blainville, are preparing to >pass strict bylaws on pesticide use that will come into effect next January. > >$4,000 Fines > >First, the towns will pass bylaws that outlaw pesticide spraying by lawncare >companies unless the landowner can prove there is an infestation problem. > >In that case, a permit will have to be approved by the city and strict >guidelines followed. Fines for defying the bylaws will go as high as $4,000. > >By January 2005, private landowners will be subject to fines if they >themselves are caught using pesticides on their property. > >Golf-course owners will be given until 2005 to comply with the ban, but in >the meantime, they must create a buffer zone between the course and >residential areas, where pesticides cannot be applied. > >In the meantime, the towns have launched a public-education campaign to >raise awareness about the health impact of pesticides, their proper use and >organic or safe alternatives. > >City workers are being trained on weed and pest management without >chemicals. > >Desch~nes said the towns plan to pressure Ottawa to move faster to license >safer lawncare products and outlaw pesticides for cosmetic use. > >Desch~nes said the seven towns will pass resolutions over the next few weeks >encouraging the provincial government to outlaw the casual sale of chemical >pesticides. > >- Michelle Lalonde's E-mail address is mlalonde@thegazette.southam.ca. > >© Copyright 2002 Montreal Gazette > >Ericka Dana >Catnip Farm Organic, Iowa County >http://www.catnipfarm.com (one page, rebuilding site} >http://www.localharvest.org/listing.jsp?id=87&hit 1 >{319} 685-4270 <doodles@netins.net> >Wildgirl Accessories {Iowa Artisans' Gallery, Iowa City) >Mail Order: Box 72, Victor, IA 52347 >IAGP Treasurer, Agriculture Committee >Organic Consumers Association Regional Coordinator >http://www.purefood.org >Sierra Club Iowa Chapter Executive Committee, >Genetic Engineering Chair >http://www.sierraclub.org/chapters/ia/ >Copy Editor, The BUZZ - >Iowa Honey Producers Assoc. Newsletter >Director, Midwest Anti-Drift Coalition >http://www. IowaFarmer.com/000617/drift2.htm >http://www. StopDrift.org {under construction} CITY o[ IOW^ CI1¥ 410 last Washington 5trcet Iowa City, Iowa 52240-1826 (319) 356-5000 (319) 356-5009 FAX www.icgov.org June 25, 2002 Mr. Robert Dostal 326 Douglass Street Iowa City, IA 52246 Dear Bob: I wanted to take a moment to respond to your recent note to Mayor Lehman and Council concerning the Englert Theatre. In the note you asked "How much did the City lose when we bought and then sold the Engler[ Theatre?" The theatre was purchased for $700,000, and the City Council chose to contribute $200,000 to the purchase price. It was in effect, sold back to a group of private interests for $500,000. If you believe that to be a "loss of money, "then I am not sure how I can debate the merits. We do have a loss of interest income on our use of City monies. The City Council chose to contribute the $200,000 in order that the theatre would be preserved as a par[ of downtown. If you have other questions, just drop me a note. Sincerely, City Manager cc: City Council Mgr\ltrs\englertresponse.doc enjoy a city utility discount, the municipal electric power venture looks like a back door approach to socialized juice. A more benefi- cial undertaking would be build- lug over from urban motoring to personalized rapid transit as at the University of West Virginia, Morgantown. Look up personal- ized rapid transit on the Internet. Given traflic density on FS0, it would make sense for Iowa City to join the Midwest High Speed Rail Coalition. Phone (319) 409- A parkin0 fix 7723, and ask the Iowa congres- 'sional delegation to keep Amtrak Speeding, drunk driving, con- long-distance trains rolling until gested side streets, scarce park- high-speed rail makes it debut in lng -- it's all the fault of the uni- the Chicago-Iowa City-Omaha versify students and their damn corridor. cars. Robed G. Oostal Because hardship cases already Iowa City resident 326 Douglass St. IOwa City, IA 52246 Marian Karr From: Irvin Pfab [ipfab@avalon.net] Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 12:10 PM To: marian-karr@iowa-city,org Subject: Fw: Looking good ..... Original Message ..... From: Fisher, Ei!een To: Irvin Pfab (E-mai!) Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 10:15 AM Subject: FW: Looking good ..... Original Message ..... From: Leslie E. Weber, M.D. [mailto:drles1498@mchsi.com] Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2002 4:25 AM To: Champion, Connie; Lehman, Ernie; Vanderhoef, Dee; Wilburn, Ross; Pfab, Trvin; O'Donnell, Mike Cc: Fisher, Eileen Subject: Looking good Mr. Mayor, Councilors Thank you for your trailblazing action in passing a no smoking ordinance in Iowa City restaurants. Articles like this make you look even.better. Work on broadening the ordinance.to include all business establishments. http;/Iwww~smhcom~au/articles120021O612111023864480949.html (See Below.....) Les Weber Coralville CAFE member. Scientists find smoking gun to more cancers By Freya Petersen and Jonathan Pearlman June 21 2002 Some of the most common kinds of cancer, including cancers of the stomach, liver, cervix and kidney and myeloid leukemia, have been added to the already long list of cancers caused by tobacco smoke. A team of scientists funded by the World Health Organisation's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) this week not only confirmed the links between smoking and lung cancer, but found there was evidence it triggered other cancers. The group of 29 experts from 12 countries, after reviewing every significant published study, on active and passive smoking, also found second-hand smoke was not only carcinogenic but increased cancer risk by 20 to 30 per cent. The scientists unsurprisingly confirmed the cancer-causing effects of 6/25/02 Page2of3 active smoking, which kills about 19,000 Australians each year and three million people around the world. Their report, which draws on more than 3000 scientific papers, refers to a "smoking epidemic" in which one half of all persistent cigarette smokers are eventually killed by their habit - half of them between the ages of 35 and 69. There was also an emerging epidemic among women and in developing countries. Other forms of tobacco smoking, including cigars, pipes and bidis, common in South-East Asia and increasingly in the United States, carried a risk. On the other hand, the group found there was clear evidence that smoking caused little or no risk of breast or endometrial cancer, and prostate cancer did not seem to be attributable. The IARC's last report in 1986 was unable to to provide firm concIusions about passive smoking. In Australia, the findings have prompted renewed calls for an increase in government funding for anti-smoking campaigns and research into tobacco's harmful effects, and for authorities to be given more power to protecting passive smokers. The Cancer Council NSW called for aggressive government action based on the findings, which, it says, give the weightiest assessment yet of smoking risks. "Studies have accumulated over the past several years expanding the portfolio of diseases caused by smoking, but this gives a strong consolidated expert view on the role of tobacco in causing cancer," the council's chief executive, Dr Andrew Penman, said yesterday. "We recommend the State Government should be spending $13-14 million a year on mass media campaigns in NSW. You could drop smoking rates by at least 1 per cent a year [from the present 20 per cent]." A spokesman for the NSW Health Minister, Craig Knowles, yesterday pointed to a doubling of state funding on tobacco control in the past year, from $1.6 million to $3.3 million, and said the Government had recently introduced some of the toughest anti-smoking laws in the country. "We can legitimately claim to.be reflecting community attitudes to this, with our legislation regarding sales to minors and, from last year, bans on smoking in restaurants in pubs and clubs." The NSW Government will meet hoteliers and employee representatives next month to discuss a ban on smoking and licensed premises. However Mr Knowles's spokesman said there was unlikely to be any consensus for an immediate ban on smoking. 6/25/02 Page3of3 The Australian Hotel Association's deputy director, Andrew Wilsmore, dismissed the significance of the WHO's findings but conceded that a total ban on public smoking was foreseeable. "This research is just expressing an opinion. It's not new," he said. "There might come a time when the public don't want smoking in public places. But the tradition of having a smoke and a drink at the local pub at the end of the day hasn't died out yet." Ken Fowlie, a partner in Slater and Gordon, the law firm which represented 51-year old Rolah McCabe, recently awarded $710,000 damages by the Victoria's Supreme Court against the British Araerican Tobacco Company, said Australian governments needed to acknowledge mounting evidence against passive smoking. This story was found at: http://~ww.s~h.com~au/~rtic~es/2~O2/O6/21/~O238~4480949.html *** eSafe scanned this email for malicious content *** *** IMPORTANT: Do not open attachments from unrecognized senders 6/25/02 Marian Karr From: DLech3@aoJ.com Sent: Wednesday, June 26, 2002 10:28 AM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Cc: DLech3@aol.com Subject: Height restrictions for downtown buildings I would like to propose that the Council set height limitations for buildings in the "heart of the heart" of downtown Iowa City. The "heart of the heart," as I see it, consists of about four square blocks, from Iowa Avenue to College Street, and from Clinton Street to Linm. These buildings are essential to Iowa City's identity--just as much so as the Pentacrest and even the Old Capitol. Many of the facades date from the nineteenth century and some are nearly as old as the city itself. Buildings that aren't so old, like the Bremers building, are unobtrusive because they are about the same height as the older ones. Developers are already bringing big changes to the peripheries of this area. Right now, there are no laws to stop them from putting a parcel together, tearing down a group of old buildings from the 1850s, and erectign a glass and brick box twelve or fourteen stories high. I don't object to development in itself. But, as you know, not all developers have the citys best interests at heart. Many are out of state corporations that may see our vulnerable little downtown as nothing more than a chance to make a lot of easy money. I believe it is urgent that the Council act quickly to protect our downtown. I understand that our city planners hope to get the downtown designated a historic monument. But that is a very slow process. By the time it's completed, there may not be much left to designate. By imposing height limitations immediately, the Council can slow or prevent the destruction of Iowa City's downtown streetscapes while the planners work on getting historic designation. Dan Lechay 528 Clark Street 339-0528 To: City Council From: Hillary A. Sale, Chair, Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force Re: Proposed Initiatives/Report of Task Force Date: June 27, 2002 I write to report to you on the work of the Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force (the "Task Force"). As I understand it, you will meet on July 1, 2002. Members of the Task Force plan to attend your meeting, but we understand that you will call only on myself, as Chair, to provide you with further information. The Task Force is submitting to you several items for your review, and, we hope, action. Attached, please find: A copy of the Task Force Background Statement, detailing the manner in which the Task Force has operated and its goals as we interpreted them from your Resolution. r~ A copy of a statement with the Task Force's proposed Initiatives. As you will see, most of them would require you only to indicate your support for the initiative to staff. A few would require you to adopt ordinances. c2 Draft ordinances for the initiatives that, as we understand it from legal staff, would require ordinances rather than direction to staff. In addition to the sample ordinances, we are providing: o Copies of documents from East Lansing. These documents show how East Lansing has actually implemented two of the Task Force's proposed ordinances. ! would also like to discuss the role of the Task Force or other citizen committee (as recommended in the initiatives) in implementing any initiatives you might wish to adopt. 1 look forward to our conversation on July 1. Respectfully Submitted, Hillary A. Sale NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING RELATIONS TASK FORCE Background Statement On October 23, 2001, the City Council passed Resolution No. 01-353, establishing the Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force (the "Resolution"). The Council stated that it had "identified the need for review of existing housing, nuisance laws and policies to afford peaceful habitation in residential areas of Iowa City" and determined that creating an ad-hoc, citizen group (the "Task Force") was the most appropriate vehicle for conducting that review. In the Resolution, the Council listed the members of the Task Force. Those members are: · Three Neighborhood Council Representatives: · Ann Freerks, · Jerry Hansen, and · Tim Walker; · Three Tenant Representatives: · Mike Carberry, · Nick Klenske, and · Mike Newman; · Three Landlord Representatives: · Ted Chambers, · Larry Svoboda, and · Anne Vespa; · One member to be named by the Association of Realtors: · Sally Cline; and · One At-Large Chair, · Hillary Sale. Since its inception, the Task Force has met almost weekly to learn about and propose solutions to problems facing Iowa City's neighborhoods. The impetus for the Task Force came largely from the Neighborhood Council, a group of neighborhood representatives that regularly meets with City staff. That group had discussed many of the problems facing iowa City neighborhoods, including: · party houses, · traffic, · parking, · trash, · overoocupanoy, · drugs, · alcohol, · criminal activity, and · neighborhood deterioration. From the Neighborhood Council's and city staff's perspective, many of these complaints were chronic, with housing staff and the police receiving, for example, thousands of phone calls in a year. Some of the problems were Iocational in nature, for example, some neighborhoods experience more serious drug and criminal problems than others, but the group felt that without more attention and resolution, those concerns could easily spread to other neighborhoods. The members of the Neighborhood Council expressed concern about the safety of residents and pedestrians in some neighborhoods. They also raised concerns about privacy, noise, property rights, and property value deterioration due to poorly kept or managed neighboring properties. Members of the Neighborhood Council also reported that many people perceived that city staff was not addressing their concerns. As the Neighborhood Council pursued the issues further, they began to turn to other communities for solutions. In the process of their investigation, they discovered the Davenport nuisance ordinance (the "Davenport Ordinance"). In general terms, that ordinance provides Davenport with a tool to address problem properties by allowing it, when circumstances warrant, to revoke rental permits from properties which have had the requisite number of nuisance violations and for which there appears to be little hope of cooperation or change. This ordinance appeared to be a tenable solution to members of the Neighborhood Council, and they adopted it as a model for further discussion. In addition to the Davenport Ordinance, the Neighborhood Council also explored the efforts of other college communities to address the tensions that exist when long-term residents co-exist with significant, short-term rental populations. For example, the Neighborhood Council collected information on keg ordinances, couch ordinances, tenant information handbooks, and efforts to limit overoccupancy. After collecting this information and agreeing that much of it was useful for discussion, the Neighborhood Council raised their concerns with the City Council. The Task Force was the result. In its meetings, the Task Force has heard from the vadous members about the problems they face. City staff from Housing Inspection, Police, Neighborhood Services, and the City Attorney's office have attended and provided the Task Force with statistics, background information, and options for resolving neighborhood concerns. In the early meetings, Task Force members identified the problems, including those listed above. Next, the Task Force began brainstorming about creative solutions to those problems. Of particular interest was some of the information provided by the Housing Inspection staff. For example, in 1992, staffing in the rental housing inspection division was at the same level as today. However, in 1992, there were approximately 11,900 rental units in Iowa City. Today, there are approximately 15,000 units, an increase of 20-25%. Thus, the same number of staff must inspect, approve, reinspect, and monitor many more housing permits. in addition, the rental housing staff must monitor for new compliance issues. For example, in 1995, the housing code was amended to change the way in which fire-related safety compliance is determined. Before, structures were in compliance with the housing code if they had not changed since their initial permit was issued. Now, many units that were originally in compliance must make changes, dictated after inspection. This change, while presumably impodant, has had a significant impact on the amount of staff time required for the reinspections and the inevitable negotiations and explanations that arise when owners long in compliance face citations for lack of sprinkler systems, rescue and other exits, and others. In addition, staff faced increased training and certification requirements. The workload' of staff is not limited to fire issues. In addition, they face regular changes in zoning codes and the concomitant changes in permits and inspection concerns. And, of course, they must review for possible citations the hundreds of complaints that they receive about garbage, parking, overoccupancy, and other concerns. It is not surprising that they feel pressured and that the neighborhoods feel their response is inadequate. The police face similar pressures. For example, members of the Task Force were stunned when Captain Johnson reported that between January, 2001 and August, 2001, the police department received over 1,700 disorderly house calls. That time period includes the summer months, a period of time in which Iowa City's population decreases, making the number seem even larger. These calls, in addition to those about parking, must be addressed. The total number of calls per police officer has increased from about 1,230 to 1,330 in the last five years. Neighborhood representatives expressed considerable concern about the length of time it takes for responses, but the volume of calls received may be part of the explanation. And, of course, these statistics do not directly address the concerns of members of the Task Force about serious cdminal activity, in May, 1998, Iowa City had a drive by shooting in the Wetherby neighborhood raising this issue to a new level. Last year's news repoded on gang activity in Iowa City neighborhoods, and members of the Task Force told personal stories about the level of criminal activity in their neighborhoods -- ranging from street violence to drug dealing. Although the police have held public forms and continue to work hard to address the Wetherby concerns in particular, and other more general concerns expressed through the Neighborhood Council, the Task Force believes that additional solutions will be necessary to achieve real change. After spending several meetings discussing problems and concerns, the Task Force turned its attention to possible solutions. Working on a consensus basis, the Task Force adopted a wide range of proposals, including some of the ordinances now used in other communities, like keg and couch ordinances. A keg ordinance, for example, would require people who want to have a keg, and who are not otherwise licensed ~o sell alcohol, to obtain a permit from the city. Other proposals from the Task Force include changes designed to increase information provided to tenants, landlords, and members of the community. Task Force members agree that some problems arise out of ignorance on the part of tenants, property owners, and landlords, and that increasing information should reduce noncompliance, complaints, and, ultimately, staff time. Although not endorsing the Davenport Ordinance, the Task Force did consider and adopt several proposals aimed at criminal activity, including, for example, urging greater coordination between city staff and county officials on drug forfeiture cases. The Task Force has also adopted a proposal that would provide for review of problem properties, with greater coordination between city staff and property owners. These are just a few of the ideas the Task Force hopes to present to Council. A more complete description of the proposals is attached. The members are well aware that any proposals adopted will require enforcement. Enforcement, in turn, raises the question of person power. That question can be answered, at least in part, by both police and housing issuing citations, rather than warnings, thus decreasing the number of visits to a problem property or party before the citations are issued. Many members of the Task Force expressed a desire for making citations of many violations mandatory, but most were persuaded, after listening to staff, that discretion is necessary. That being said, increased enforcement, while probably necessitating staffing changes, may, over time, decrease police and staff time involved by reducing repeat visits to repeat offenders and by sending the message that the city takes enforcement seriously. On April 30, 2002, the Task Force held a public forum. The comments at the forum ferl into three general categories. First, many people indicated their opposition to the keg, couch, and pady suggestions. Second, people stressed that they would like to see better and stronger enforcement of existing ordinances, particularly the disorderly house code. Several people spoke about problems with parties and some even mentioned damage that had occurred to their property as a result of parties in their neighborhoods. Third, people stressed the need for better mechanisms to control over occupancy. The second and third concerns were the subject of most of the Task Force meetings and most of the initial suggestions were designed with these concerns in mind. The Task Force reconvened after the public hearing. After discussion, it eliminated the couch, keg, pady, as well as a few other items from the list under consideration. The Task Force then refined and changed other suggestions in order better to focus and express concerns. The final suggestion list is attached. NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING RELATIONS TASK FORCE Policy/Administrative Initiatives The Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force respectfully requests that the City Council formally support the following list of policy/administrative directives: Implementation: Direct City Manager to appoint a Citizens Committee to continue the dialogue about neighborhood concerns and to assist with implementation of these proposals. Members of the committee should include neighborhood, landlord, property management, tenant (including a student representative), and affordable housing representatives. Staffto the committee should include representatives from police, housing inspection, legal, and neighborhood services. Q Direct City Manager to initiate promotional and educational efforts to detail initiatives, emphasizing City Council's support and need for cooperation of the city, county, and court officials. [3 Adopt ordinances and resolutions detailed below. Enforcement: Direct City Manager to direct police to issue citations in disorderly house occurrences moro frequenfiy, and, where appropriate, on the first call. Direct police to develop program for notifying landlords at the time of violation. o Task force and community membem want enforcement of this code. o Eepeat visits to houses, with warnings but not citations, keep neighbors up longer and cost staff time. o Citations arc likely, in the long run, to decrease demands on staff time. Direct City Manager to direct police, housing inspection, and legal staff to enforce codes proactively, rather than waiting for complaints to cite violations; and request maximum allowable fines more frequently. o Proactive enfomement would decrease neighborhood tensions. o In long run, enfomement and fines arc rikery to decrease the number of violations, and again, to decrease demands on staff time. Direct City Manager to develop procedure for police and housing inspection to keep complaint records up to date and to keep each other apprised of activities related to properties, particularly: disorderly house violations/criminal activity, overoccupancy, garbage, and other housing-related issues. o Upqo-date records allow for timely access to information, including violation histories, and will create mechanisms for better enforcement on repeat problems. o Certain properties generate calls to both offices. o Better coordination of information could lead to understanding of problems sooner and, thereby, better enforcement. Direct City Manager to direct police to consider increased patrols of neighborhoods experiencing numerous disorderly house and criminal complaints, including, for example, foot patrols in near-town neighborhoods between 2-3 a.m. o This proposal would help to stop problems before they happen. r~ Direct City Manager to direct porice to utilize the municipal infraction process to cite properties in violation of zoning and housing codes. For example, police cannot cite cars parked on lawns under the parking code, but can cite them as municipal infractions. o Many problems occur on the weekends, when housing inspection is unavailable. o If police carried a ticket book and an infraction book, they could issue both. o Infractions carry larger fines (for example, in the context of parking) than tickets, and are often the only effective sanctions against certain violations. r~ Adopt a resolution to move all single-family and duplex rental units to a two-year permit review cycle. NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING RELATIONS TASK FORCE Policy/Administrative Initiatives Direct City Manager to direct housing inspection to develop a process to identify and address properties that are subject to numerous or serious complaints, including a method for identifying such properties, establishing a process to work with the owners of such properties, and standards for meeting compliance. Methods to ensure ongoing compliance could include, for example, mandatory annual inspections for a five-year period. [] Adopt ordinance expanding relevant portions of code on which permit issuance is conditioned. [] Direct City Manager to direct legal staff to work with County Attorney or U.S. Attorney for forfeiture actions in appropriate (drug-related) cases. Direct City Manager to direct legal staff to work with housing inspection staff to urge property owners to make use of the clear and present danger provisions of the state code in appropriate cases. Direct City Manager to direct housing inspection to develop a policy to alleviate blowing trash problems, including requiring newspaper deliveries to be made to porches or the inside of multifamily units, and to be bound or bagged. Direct City Manager to consider a process for reporting unpaid fines to credit agencies. [] Direct City Manager to establish an amnesty day for disposal of large appliance and furniture, perhaps twice a year. o People complained that these items appear in their yards instead of being properly disposed of. Adopt ordinance increasing fines for municipal infractions involving nuisance violations. Adopt ordinance amending parking ordinance to require that cars be parked at least three feet from driveways. Direct City Manager to direct planning and zoning staff to include mandatory participation in Good Neighbor Policy (currently provides process for developers to communicate with neighbors about proposed land use changes) in zoning code revisions. Overoccupancy: ri Direct City Manager to direct City staff to develop pilot program for landlords, in consultation with neighborhood representatives and post office, to install mailbox tags inside mailboxes, which will limit delivery to actual, authorized occupants. [] Direct City Manager to direct City staff to develop information packets for landlords/property managers that cover: inspection cycles, occupancy issues, disorderly house and other codes, mandatory lease provisions, model leases, sources for criminaJ background checks, permit-posting requirements, and parking requirements. Direct City Manager to direct City staff to work with University of Iowa administration to create a rental information packet for students/tenants. This packet should include information on overoccupancy, mandatory lease provisions, parking limits, permit requirements, and the disorderly conduct ordinance. [] Adopt ordinance requiring that rental permits be posted on rental properties. Direct City Manager to direct Housing Inspection staff to revise rental permits to include occupancy limits, name of, and contact information for, landlord and/or property owner, and language indicating permit-posting requirement. o Improves information-sharing and, thereby, enforcement. r~ Adopt ordinance with mandatory lease addendum specifying occupancy limits and other terms. [] Direct planning and zoning staff to develop pilot residential permit parking program, of three to five years in length. Issuance of permits should be tied to occupancy limits and payment of outstanding fines to City. 2 Prepared by: Susan Dulek, Asst. City Attorney, 410 E. Washington Street, Iowa City, IA 52240; 319-356-5030 ORDINANCE NO. working draft re: landlord obligations WHEREAS, Resolution 01-353 established a Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force (hereinafter "Task Force") to fulfill the goal of improving peaceful habitation in Iowa City and appointed eleven individuals representing the interests of tenants, landlords, and neighborhoods to serve on the Task Force; WHEREAS, the Task Force met __ times between November 7, 2001 and ; WHEREAS, the Task Force held one public forum to elicit comments from the public on its proposal; WHEREAS, the Task Force flied its (hereinafter "the Report") with the City Council on ,2002; WHEREAS, in addition to proposals to amend policy, the Report recommends code amendments including but not limited to increasing landlords' obligations requisite to issuance of a rental permit; WHEREAS, continually failing to cooperate with the City and failing to attempt to control disruptive activity of tenants should also be a basis for non-renewal of a rental permit; and WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to adopt these amendments. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CITY, IOWA: SECTION I. AMENDMENTS. 1. Title 14, entitled "Unified Development Code," Chapter 5 entitled "BuiJding and Housing," Article E, entitled "Housing Code," Section 19, entitled "Responsibilities of Owners Relating to the Maintenance and Occupancy of Premises" is hereby amended by adding a new Subsection Z as follows: Criminal and Other Disruptive Activity: Every owner and operator shall take reasonable steps to assure that occupants are not engaging in criminal activity or other disruptive activity on the rental property that may threaten the hea~th, safety, welfare, or right to peaceful enjoyment of other occupants of said rental property and persons residing in the immediate vicinity. Criminal activity means Disruptive activity means Immediate vicinity means feet of the rental property. Reasonable steps include, but are not limited to, Ordinance No. Page 2 SECTION II. REPEALER. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the provision of this Ordinance are hereby repealed. SECTION Ill. SEVERABILITY. If any section, provision or part of the Ordinance shall be adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such adjudication shall not affect the validity of the Ordinance as a whole or any section, provision or pad thereof not adjudged invalid or unconsti- tutional. SECTION IV. VIOLATION. Violation of this Ordinance shall be a municipal infraction punishable by a penalty of $250 for a person's first violation, $500 for the second offense, and $750 for the third offense. SECTION V. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall be in effect after its final passage, approval and publication, as provided by law. Passed and approved this day of ,2002. MAYO R ATTEST: CITY CLERK Approved by City Attorney's Office Working Draft sue/ord&res/NTF LL Obl.d~c Prepared by: Susan Dulek, Asst. City Attorney, 410 E. Washington Street, Iowa City, IA 52240; 319-356-5030 ORDINANCE NO. working draft re: lease addendum and posting rental permit WHEREAS, Resolution 01-353 established a Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force {hereinafter "Task Force") to fulfill the goal of improving peaceful habitation in Iowa City and appointed eleven individuals representing the interests of tenants, landlords, and neighborhoods to serve on the Task Force; WHEREAS, the Task Force met__ times between November 7, 2001 and ; WHEREAS, the Task Force held one public forum to elicit comments from the public on its proposal; WHEREAS, the Task Force filed its (hereinafter "the Report") with the City Council' on ,2002; WHEREAS, in addition to proposals to amend policy, the Report recommends code amendments to require that an addendum be attached to every residential lease setting out, among other items, the maximum occupancy of the rental unit, and that the rental permit be posted in the rental unit; WHEREAS, tenants are not always aware of the maximum occupancy ~imits of their rental unit; WHEREAS, landlords are not always aware that the persons who actually occupy the rental unit are different than those who signed the lease or that the police have responded to repeated disorderly house and loud party complaints; WHEREAS, posting of rental permits will provide important information to tenants including the maximum occupancy of the unit and how to contact the landlord; and WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to adopt these amendments. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CITY, IOWA: SECTION I. AMENDMENTS. 1. Title 14, entitled "Unified Development Code," Chapter 5 entitled "Building and Housing," Article E, entitled "Housing Code," Section 3, entitled "Definitions," is hereby amended by adding a new definition as follows: Tenant: Any occupant of a dwelling unit who is not an owner or operator of said dwelling unit or who is entitled under a rental agreement to occupy a dwelling unit to the exclusion of another. 2. Title 14, entitled "Unified Development Code," Chapter 5 entitled "Building and Housing," Article E, entitled "Housing Code," Section 16, entitled "Certificate of Structure Compliance and Rental Permit," is hereby amended by adding a new Subsection A3 as follows: The owner or operator executes with all tenants a Lease Addendum, which is furnished by the City Department of Housing Inspection Services, that provides the following: Ordinance No. Page 2 a) The maximum occupancy limit of the dwelling unit as established by the City and the names of the tenants, pursuant to the rental agreement, who may occupy said unit. b) Acknowledgement that the owner, operator, and tenant are responsible for maintaining the maximum occupancy limits and that violation of the maximum occupancy limits can result in a fine to the owner, operator, and tenant. c) Parking restrictions, if any. d) Trash and recycling requirements. e) A recitation of the language of Iowa City City Code section 8-5-5, the crime of disorderly house. f) Acknowledgment that all substantial provisions of the rental agreement have been initialed by either the owner or operator and the tenant. g) City web site address. h) Contact information for the neighborhood association serving that address. i) Information on where to locate the Iowa Residential Landlord Tenant Law (Iowa Code chapter 562A) including a web site. j) Who is responsible for snow removal and lawn mowing. The Owner or Operator shall provide a photocopy of the executed Lease Addendum to the inspector at the time of the inspection and at any other time upon request by the inspector. 3. Title 14, entitled "Unified Development Code," Chapter 5, entitled "Building and Housing," Article E, entitled "Housing Code," Section 15, entitled "Certificate of Structure Compliance and Rental Permit," is hereby amended by adding a new Subsection C(6) as follows: Owner or Operator shall post a photocopy of any rental permit that is issued after the effective date of this ordinance in a conspicuous location near the primary entrance of the dwelling unit. SECTION II. REPEALER. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the provision of this Ordinance are hereby repealed. SECTION III. SEVERABILITY. If any section, provision or part of the Ordinance shall be adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such adjudication shall not affect the validity of the Ordinance as a whole or any section, provision or part thereof not adjudged invalid or unconsti- tutional. SECTION IV. VIOLATION. Violation of this Ordinance shall be a municipal infraction punishable by a penalty of $250 for a person's first violation, $500 for the second offense, and $750 for the third offense. SECTION V. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall be in effect after its final passage, approval and publication, as provided by law. Passed and approved this __ day of ,2002. MAYOR ATTEST: CITY CLERK Appmvedby Prepared by: Susan Dulek, Asst. City Attorney, 410 E. Washington Street, Iowa City, IA 52240; 319-356-5030 ORDINANCE NO. working draft re: fines for nuisances WHEREAS, Resolution 01-353 established a Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force (hereinafter "Task Force") to fulfill the goal of improving peaceful habitation in Iowa City and appointed eleven individuals representing the interests of tenants, landlords, and neighborhoods to serve on the Task Force; WHEREAS, the Task Force met __ times between November 7, 2001 and ; WHEREAS, the Task Force held one public forum to elicit comments from the public on its proposal; WHEREAS, the Task Force filed its (hereinafter "the Report") with the City Council on ,2002; WHEREAS, in addition to proposals to amend policy, the Report recommends code amendments to increase the fines for municipal infractions for nuisances and other code violations that impact on neighborhoods; WHEREAS, in order to enhance deterrence of nuisances and related neighborhood problems, fines for municipal infractions for violation nuisances and related neighborhood problems should be increased; and WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to adopt these amendments. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CITY, IOWA: SECTION I. AMENDMENTS. 1. Title 6, entitled "Public Health and Safety," Chapter 1, entitled "Nuisances," by adding a new Paragraph 7 entitled "Violation" which reads as follows: Violation of this Chapter shall be a municipal infraction punishable by a penalty of $250 for a person's first violation, $500 for the second offense, and $750 for the third offense. 2. Title 6, entitled "Public Health and Safety," Chapter 2, entitled "Hazardous Substances," by adding a new Paragraph 4 entitled "Violation" which reads as follows: Violation of this Chapter shall be a municipal infraction punishable by a penalty of $250 for a person's first violation, $500 for the second offense, and $750 for the third offense. 3. Title 6, entitled "Public Health and Safety," Chapter 3, entitled "Weed Control," by adding a new Paragraph 5 entitled "Violation" which reads as follows: Violation of this Chapter shall be a municipal infraction punishable by a penalty of $250 for a person's first violation, $500 for the second offense, and $750 for the third offense. 4. Title 6, entitled "Public Health and Safety," Chapter 2, entitled "Noise Control," by adding a new Paragraph 7 entitled "Violation" which reads as follows: Ordinance No. Page 2 Violation of this Chapter shall be a municipal infraction punishable by a penalty of $250 for a person's first violation, $500 for the second offense, and $750 for the third offense. 5. Title 6, entitled "Public Health and Safety," Chapter 2, entitled "Graffiti," by adding a new Paragraph 4 entitled "Violation" which reads as follows: Violation of this Chapter shall be a municipal infraction punishable by a penalty of $250 for a person's first violation, $500 for the second offense, and $750 for the third offense. SECTION II. REPEALER. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the provision of this Ordinance are hereby repealed. SECTION III. SEVERABILITY. If any section, provision or part of the Ordinance shall be adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such adjudication shall not affect the validity of the Ordinance as a whole or any section, provision or pad thereof not adjudged invalid or unconsti- tutional. SECTION IV. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall be in effect after its final passage, approval and publication, as provided by law. Passed and approved this __ day of ,2002. MAYOR ATTEST: CITY CLERK Approved by City Attorney's Office Working Draft No. sue/ord&res/NTFord fines.doc Prepared by: Susan Dulek, Asst. City Attorney, 410 E. Washington Street, Iowa City, IA 52240; 319-356-5030 ORDINANCE NO. working draft re: Parking behind driveways WHEREAS, Resolution 01-353 established a Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force (hereinafter "Task Force") to fulfill the goal of improving peaceful habitation in Iowa City and appointed eleven individuals representing the interests of tenants, landlords, and neighborhoods to serve on the Task Force; WHEREAS, the Task Force met__ times between November 7, 2001 and ; WHEREAS, the Task Force held one public forum to elicit comments from the public on its proposal; WHEREAS, the Task Force filed its (hereinafter "the Report") with the City Council on ,2002; WHEREAS, in addition to proposals to amend policy, the Report recommends code amendments prohibit parking within three (3) feet of the entrance of a driveway; WHEREAS, establishing a buffer of three (3) feet from driveways in which people may not park their vehicles will promote the safety and welfare of the residents of Iowa City; and WHEREAS, it is in the public interest to adopt this amendment. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CITY, IOWA: SECTION I. AMENDMENTS. 1. Title 9, entitled "Motor Vehicles and Traffic," Chapter 4, entitled "Parking Regulations", Section 1, entitled "Parking Prohibited in Specified Places," Subsection (A)(7) is hereby repealed in its entirety and a new Subsection (A)(7) which reads as follows: Within three (3) feet or in front of any public or private driveway. SECTION I1. REPEALER. All ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict with the prevision of this Ordinance are hereby repealed. SECTION II1. SEVERABILITY. If any section, provision or part of the Ordinance shall be adjudged to be invalid or unconstitutional, such adjudication shall not affect the validity of the Ordinance as a whole or any section, prevision or part thereof not adjudged invalid or unconsti- tutional. SECTION IV. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall be in effect after its final passage, approval and publication, as provided by law. Passed and approved this __ day of ,2002. MAYOR UNIT ADDRESS: 1. LICENSE AND INSPECTIONS. A valid rental license is required for all rentals. It must be displayed inside the premises. A person who rents out or occupies a rental without a license may be tined up to $500 per day. All rentals are sub.~ect to inspections by the City Housing Compliance Officers. 2. OCCUPANCY LIMITS. This unit is licensed for a maximum of unrelated individuals, family or a domestic unit. This occupancy limit must be displayed on the license and in the lease. Owners and all tenants may EACH be fined up to $500 a day for over-occupancy. 3. SLEEPING ROOMS. Basements, attics and other rooms carmot be used as sleeping rooms if they do not comply with requirements for windows, square footage, exits and ventilation. These requirements are in place for the health and safety of the tenants. Violators may be fined up to $500 or sentenced up to 90 days in jail. Under these requirements, using the following areas as a sleeping room is illegal: 4. PARKING. Park only in designated areas. Parking on the lawn, over the sidewalk, or on the street from 2 a.m. - 5 a.m. is illegal and subject to tickets and fines. A. This unit has legal parking spaces, as shown on the a~aached parking plan. B. This unit is in a neighborhood with without (CIRCLE ONE) permit parking. 5. TRASH AND RECYCLING. Owners must supply approved containers and covers for trash, and provide approved storage where trash remains until weekly pickup. Owners and/or tenants must properly store, remove, and dispose of all trasMittar and recyelable items, lfthe Cityprovides trash and/or recycling services, the owner must provide blue recycling bins. The City will collect one trash bag or container each week without charge. All other trash must be placed in yellow City trash bags (available five for $5 at local stores, City Hall and the Department of Public Works). Trash must be placed at the curb for pickup. Trash may not be set out earlier than 7:00 p.m. the evening before scheduled pickup. Responsible party should check and initial. Trash Removal from Storage Area to Curb for Pickup: · · Owner · · Tenants Trash and Recycling Service provided by: · · Owner · · City 6. NOISE OR PUBLIC NUISANCE: Penalties for noise violations may result in civil and criminal fines up to $500 and up to 90 days in jail. A property is a public nuisance if it is violation drag, liquor, public health, safety or welfare laws. The penalties are substantial and lnay include eviction and forfeiture ofparsonal property, and may result in restrictions or revocation of the rental license. Any violation of East Lansing City Code may be deemed a public nuisance. 7. PARTY LITTER. Bottles, cans, cups, kegs, food wrappers or containers lef~ in yards for more than eight hours from the time a litter violation notice is served is a municipal civil infraction, punishable by a maximum fine of $500. The violation notice is issued to the property's occupants. 8. SNOW SHOVELING/GRASS CUTTING/LEAF RAKING. Grass must be shorter than 6 inches. Sidewalks must be shoveled within twenty-four hours after the last snowfall. Violators may be fined. Appropriate tools must be provided by the propelny owner to the tenants if any of the foIIowing responsibilities are assigned to the tenants. Responsible party should · · and initial. SNOW SHOVELING GRASS CUTTING LEAF RAKING I I · · Owner · · Tenants · · Owner · · Tenants · · Owner · · Tenants 9. PETS. Pets are arenot (CIRCLE ONE) alinwed in this unit. DogsmustbelicensedatlnghamCountyAnimalControl(517/676- 8370). Pets must not be kept in the front yard. Pets must be kept in a clean area. Pets that are not licensed or properly cared for may be impounded. Dogs must always be confined or on a leash. 10. NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION. Most areas of the City have active Neighborhood Associations. Your unit is in the · Call City Hall at (517) 337-1731 to contact a representative in this group. 11. LEGAL AGENT. This unit may have a legal agent, someone to whom the owner legally assigns responsibility for all aspects of managing this unit. This unit does does not (CIRCLE ONE) have a legal agent. Agent Name: Address: Phone: Under City Code, responsibility for trash removal and property maintenance are assigned to the property owner. However, under terms of this lease, and as noted in this addendum, specific responsibility may be assigned to the tenants. We, the undersigned owner, legal agent, and tenants, have read the addendum, checked and initialed the addendum in the spaces indicated, circled items indicated, and filled in the blanks with the correct information. TENANT SIGNATURE(S) AND DATE: / / / OWNER SIGNATURE AND DATE: LEGAL AGENT SIGNATURE AND DATE: / / RENTA~ HOUSING LICENSE CITY OF EAST LANSING CODE ENFORCqgMENT AND NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION ISSUED FOR: 557 CORNELL AVE CLASS:CLASS IV LICENSE DATE OF ISSUE: 5/22/01 DATE OF EXPIRATION: 6/30/02 MAXIMUM OCCUPANCY LIMIT: A SPACE RESTRICTIONS: ISSUED TO: ~: 01-01749 Thi~, s of The , limit. .... IS HORITY:Howard Aseh, Director Code Enforcement and Neighborhood Conservation mON-HABITABLE ROOM OR SPACE: Any finished, unfinished, enclosed or unenclosed room or space within a structure or building not allowed to be used for human habitation in the form of sleeping, living and routine accessory uses such as studying, working, or recreational activities. eE:~:OI I0 ~i~. TO: The Honorable Mayor and the City Council RE: Civil Service Entrance Examination- FIREFIGHTER We, the undersigned members of the Civil Service Comrmssion of Iowa City, Iowa, do hereby certify the following named person(s) as eligible for the position of Firefighter. Bryan Hardin Timothy Heiman David Dvorsky Devin Juel Alisa Aossey Daniel Reade Shawn Henson Cory Burkle Tim Bell Kevin Griffin Justin Thompson Scott Donohoe Jason Brodie Tim Quick Ben Stammeyer Corey Archer Jeremy Snyder James Jackson Jason Siegle Erik Wisecup Rochelle Blaldey Darrm Thompson IOWa W~/~ ~COMMISSION /~i~hael W. ienn/~Chair L~W. D~icke~s~r n~ Ja~s L'A~n-~erlik Marian"fi~Karr, City Cl~rk City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: June 18, 2002 To: City Clerk From: Beth Pfohl, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Item for July 3, 2002 City Council Meeting: Installation of a NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER sign on the east side of the 100 block of North Johnson Street As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(10), a NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER sign will be installed on the east side of the 100 block of Nodh Johnson Street near the intersection of Market Street and North Johnson Street. Comment: Metered parking spaces have been installed on the east side of the 100 block of North Johnson Street. The NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER sign will insure vehicles do not park too close to the corner and cause visibility problems. jw/rnem/bp-n~ohnson doc City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: June 18, 2002 To: City Clerk From: Beth Pfohl, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner)/~''''-' Re: Item for July 3, 2002 City Council Meeting: Installation of two NO PARKING CORNER TO HERE signs and two NO PARKING BETVVEEN SIGNS signs on the west side of North Van Buren Street As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9~1-3A(10), two NO PARKING CORNER TO HERE signs will be installed on the west side of the 10 and 100 blocks of North Van Buren Street and two NO PARKING BETWEEN SIGNS signs will be installed on the west side of North Van Buren Street in front of 109 North Van Buren Street. Comment: Parking meters have been installed on the west side of the 10 and 100 blocks of North Van Buren Street. These signs are being installed to insure vehicles do not park in the above locations and cause visibility problems. jw/mem/bp-va nb u r eh.dOC City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: June 7, 2002 To: City Clerk From: Beth Pfohl, JCCOG Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Item for July 3, 2002 City Council Meeting: Installation of one NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER sign and one NO PARKING HERE TO DRIVEWAY sign on Bloomington Street As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3B of the City Code, this is to advise the City Council of the following action. Action: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A(10), one NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER sign will be installed on the north side of the 400 block of Bloomington Street, and one NO PARKING HERE TO DRIVEWAY sign will be located on the north side of the 500 block of Bloomington Street. Comment: Metered parking spaces have been installed on the north side of the 400 and 500 blocks of Bloomington Street. These signs are being installed to insure vehicles do not park in the above locations and cause visibility problems. jw/menVbp-bloomington doc .~,~ (,, ~.~. ) Page 1 of 2 I~larian Karr From: Tim Holman [timothy-holman@uiowa.edu] Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2002 10:34 AM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Cc: Sewell/ACTInc@act.org Subject: Neighborhood Relations Task Force's proposals To the council: We are north side property owners. We have lived at 420 Fairchild for 6 years. We support many of the proposals developed by the Neighborhood Relations Task Force. In particular, we support a pilot program for parking permits in the north side neighborhood. In our years living in the neighborhood, it has been our observation that most of the litter and parking violations come from commuters during university sessions. These violations include parking on the wrong side of the street, across sidewalks and across driveways. We regularly pick up trash that often comes from these same conunuters who choose to clean out their cars in our neighborhood by dumping ashtrays, fast-food containers, diapers and drink containers on the street. Limiting parking in the neighborhood on weekdays from 8am to 5pm would eliminate the source of much of the litter and illegally parked vehicles. In addition, limiting parking to neighborhood residents with a system that bases the number of permits on the legal occupancy of a residence will have the desirable effect of reducing the number of rental permit violations. People are less like~ to live in a place where they cannot legally park their car. It is our view that a resident-only parking system, if done correctly, allowing service vehicles and neighborhood guests, will improve the quality of the neighborhood, reduce many of the other problems specified in the proposal and do so without violating the rights of property owners or tenants. The parking permit proposal will not force any legal occupant from their home or cause any law-abiding landlord any loss of revenue. We urge you to listen to your constituents, the ones who live here and obey the law. Do not listen to the complaints of absentee property owners who consistently violate existing laws by allowing over-occupancy, or commuters who don't live in or pay taxes to Iowa City. Please encourage the use of downtown parking ramps and/or car pooling by restricting parking on the north side. Yours truly, Tim Holman Meredith Sewell 420 Fairchild Iowa City, IA 52245 Tim Holman, MA Research Assistant III 1-459 MEB University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa 52242 319-335-6769, phone 319-353-3003, fax pager 1428 6/27/02 Marian Karr From: Barbara M. Buss [72703.2457@compuserve.com] Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2002 12:57 PM To: Iowa City City Council Subject: Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force To: Iowa City City Council Members: I am writing in support of the recommendations of the Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force. In particular, I urge you to adopt those recommendations which apply to overoccupancy and provide for the effective enforcement of all such violations. When I spoke at the Public Forum on April 30 I gave the following hypothetical, but quite reasonable, case: A house is zoned for 3 occupants, but 7 people live there in order to pay the $2100/month rent. By over-letting his house, the landlord makes it virtually unavailable to a single family. By over-letting his house, the landlord realizes a profit which enables him to purchase other houses in the neighborhood and over-let them. The landlords and tenants of these over-let houses, whoever they are, are breaking the law, adversely affecting adjacent property values thereby removing viable neighborhoods from the market of lower priced houses and affordable rentals. Their proximity to downtown Iowa City, makes these neighborhoods ideal locations for the affordable housing which Iowa City has acknowledged that it needs. It is this very proximity, however, coupled with the low cost of these houses, which makes these neighborhoods especially vulnerable to unscrupulous tenancy practices. What is so pernicious about the present failure of the City to enforce its ordinance against over- occupancy is that the ill-gotten profits from this practice permit it to spread and the profits to grow while a much needed asset for the City is destroyed. Once gone at these locations, these neighborhoods cannot be successfully redeveloped "further out" where transportation is an issue. I have written here of the value of the affordable housing in these threatened neighborhoods because I believe this is a critical issue for the City, but that is not their only value. These older, "inner city" neighborhoods are valuable as the only mixed neighborhoods in the City. In these neighborhoods there is a range of property values and property use. With proper regulation, these various property uses can be maintained as the structure of a stable and desirable neighborhood. Many of us prefer this heterogeneity to the homogeneity of the new developments, and I believe it would be a real loss to Iowa City to lose this residential option. In writing to ask you to support the recommendations of the Task Force with respect to overoccupancy, I am asking you to support the structure of these neighborhoods which are being undermined, not for some greater good to the community, but so that a few bad citizens can make a buck. Sincerely yours, Barbara M. Buss 747 W. Benton Street Marian Karr From: Barbara M. Buss [72703.2457@compuserve.com] Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2002 8:35 PM To: Iowa City City Council Subject: Housing Task Force: A postscript To Iowa City City Council Members: A Postscript to my letter of June 27, 2002 It has been brought to my attention that my remark about "bad citizens" at the end of the letter I sent you earlier today might be construed as an indictment of all landlords. This was not my intention, and I apologize to anyone who might have thought it was. Iowa City needs rental property, and landlords who comply with the City ordinances are important to the City and are entitled to profit from their investments like any other legitimate businessmen/women. Furthermore, landlords who voluntarily comply with these ordinances do not burden the City with the cost of enforcing them. I would argue that responsible landlords are injured by unfair competition with landlords who do not observe the City's housing ordinances. These responsible landlords are among the "good citizens" who deserve your support of measures which will correct the present inequities in the rental market caused by the practice of overoccupancy. Barbara Buss Marian Karr From: Rudolf Kuenzli [rudolf-kuenzli@uiowa.edu] Sent: Friday, June 28, 2002 11:04 PM To: Cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: July 1 discussion of Housing Task Force Recommendations Dear Councilors, I have just read the list of final recommendations of the Task Force and agree with them. Concerning upholstered furniture on front porches and what to do about it...I read in the June 10 issue of "Time Magazine" , that a suburb of Boulder Colorado has a city ordinance forbidding couches on front porches. A ONE THOUSAND DOLLAR FINE is assessed for every infraction. Interesting, no? Let's not be timid about taking some action on this in Iowa City. Sincerely, Cecile Kuenzli 705 South Summit St. Iowa City, Iowa 52240 Housing Task Force 3 h(D.~ ~age lof2 Marian Karr From: paula o. brandt [pobrandt@avalon.ne~ Sent: Saturday, June 29, 2002 12:07 PM To: council@iowa-city.org Su~ect: Housing Task Force We are grateful for the hard work performed by the Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force. They dealt with really tough but important issues. We have lived on the north side for 17 years so our comments can only reflect our experiences in this one neighborhood. But we do believe that the City has to make a decision about the future of its older neighborhoods and how these neighborhoods will continue to serve the City as desirable places to live. The City says that it wants to promote diversity in its neighborhoods, with a mix of ages, economic status, and owner occupied/rental units. We live in and support our neighborhood because this diversity is important to us as well. Our concern is that many owner occupied homes will continue to be converted to rental units if the City doesn't help the neighborhoods maintain a healthy balance between rental and owner occupied dwellings. Even though the "couch ordinance" was dropped from the proposals, the problem is a real one. On the north side, we love our porches, we use our porches. Two north side houses recently won Porch Rehabilitation Recognition Awards from the Historic Preservation Commission.. While many people had fun poking fun of the proposed "couch ordinance," there is a serious point to this issue. How hard would it be to sell a house to an individual or a couple or to anybody with young children if it is next door to or across the street from a house that has several couches on the porch? When you see several blocks with numerous porches with battered couches, what does that tell you about the sense of cormmunity and pride in neighborhood that those house dwellers feel? If you're in the market to buy a house because you plan on being in this town and neighborhood for a long time, why would you invest in a neighborhood that is showing these early signs of blight? Why is it that some landlords take such pride in their properties and make sure their tenants also respect the building, the neighbors and neighborhood and other landlords couldn't care less? Why should our neighborhood's well being and future be at the mercy of people who show no respect for their neighbors and their homes? This is not the silly issue some people made it out to be. We also want to encourage the Task Force and the City to pursue permit parking. We have seen it operate in other cities, states and other countries and believe it is necessary for our neighborhood and other neighborhoods near downtown and campus. We know the problems with administering such a program seem endless, but that doesn't mean this solution shouldn't at least be studied. Our neighborhood is used by daytime as a commuter parking lot for students, University and Mercy employees, and users of the free shuttle bus and Cambus systems. However, during the school year, our block--the 800 block of North Gilbert--is also packed with cars owned by students who live in the Mayflower Apartments, hardly in the neighborhood. When we have needed service people such as painters or plumbers to work on our house, we have had to park our car five blocks away in order for the service vehicle to use our shared driveway. We do not understand why commuters and people who do not live in the neighborhood have priority over those of us who do--and we pay taxes! Other cities have figured out ways to make permit parking work, and we think Iowa City can at least implement a trial project to see if it can work here, too. We support the efforts of the Task Force that call for more housing 7/l/02 Housing Task Force Page 2 of 2 inspections more often and for more accountability on behalf of landlords, particularly regarding over-occupancy and disorderly houses. We know that these are not easy issues, but they are important to those of us who have long term commitments to our older neighborhoods. We hope that the City Council would like to continue to see the mix of ages, economic levels, and housing types that are currently available by helping to make these good neighborhoods for all of us Best wishes, Paula and Lowell Brandt 824 N. Gilbert St. 7/1/02 r- Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr From: Robert Hilton [rhilton@zeus.ia,net] Sent: Sunday, June 30, 2002 3:48 PM To: council@iowa-city.org Subject: Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force Report I simply wish to express my appreciation for the work this report represents, and for the report itself. I hardly feel qualified to criticize anything in the report. The task force had some knotty problems to deal w,.ith, and it appears to me it did so very even-handedly. Obviously, the worth of its eflbrts will depend on the implementation of its recommendations. Bob Hilton 602 Dearborn 7/1/02 Page 1 of 1 Marian Karr ~ ~ {.3,~_) From: Charles & Margaret Felling [mcfelling@mcleodusa.net] Sent: Monday, July 01, 2002 12:19 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force Dear Council Members We express our appreciation to you and to the NHRTF for creating a working list of recommendations to enhance neighborhoods throughout our city. We see the proposed approaches as voicing the rights of people to a neighborhood that is safe for their person and their property (renters and owners) and where there is mutual respect between people. Regrettably, rules, regulations and fines seem necessary to spell out and to emphasize guides to community living. In our opinion the NHRTF recommendations do not interfere with a reasonable person being able to accommodate hedhis own needs and the needs of others. We wish that those who see the NHRTF as an attack on their individual rights or on 'students' could relax and discuss the problems in a reasonable dialogue. We ask that you address the recommendations of the NHRTF with the same openness and creativeness th'at you presented to past neighborhood issues. Sincerely Margaret Felling Chuck Felling 825 South Seventh Avenue Iowa City Iowa 52240 7/1/02 THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA [¥!!-! F-'*',, ~...../~ Dear Councilors The Student Government of the Uniwrsity of Iowa would lik~ to formally thank the Neighborhood Housing Relations Task Force for liste~i~ to the concerns of the ~nany students who attended dedicated to solving housing problems in Iowa City. We have read the fine repo~ ot the Task Force and offer th6 followin~ Citizens Committee We applaud the cu~ent policy o¢ a student r~pr¢sentatiw o~ the committee. Howewr, if the committee te¢ls the need to continue to discuss issues that p¢~ai~ largely to students and young renters, we feel it would be i~ the committee's best i~t¢r¢st to include a propo~io~al amount of stadents on the core,tree as there ~e in Iowa City. Disorderly Houses We s~ongly agree with the Task Forces recommendation that Police Officers mai~tai~ discretion whe~ citing tenets for disorderly house violations. Many residents i~ the city simply call the police at ~y disturbance without ~wr congo~ting their neighbors about the problem. We haw no doubt that many of the 1,?00 disorderly house calls reposed to the Task Force by Captain Johnson were merely a few people with a loud stereo and not massive beer pa~ies. Furth¢~ore we believe that i¢ police were to give a strong w~ning on the first call and ticket on any subsequent visit that ~ight, it would do more to prevent muldpl¢ c~ls to the same residence in a~ ewning that simply ticketing more often. ~olice Pa~ols We b¢liew that this is a very good idea that would increase the safety of many students living in near-town neighborhoods that aren't as well lit as others. would also offer some protection to the ma~y students w~king home from downtown late at ~ight. Howewr, if the pu~os¢ o¢ these patrols would be merely to break up pa~ies and cite and a~es[ students for no~-violent crimes then we would oppose these pa~ols. Newspapers We would reco~end that the city contact Bill Casey, the publisher of the Daily Iowa~ rot more i~fo o~ what can be done to cu~ail "blowing trash" and scattered newspapers in neighborhoods. Amnesty Day for Large Appliances W~ b~lieve that this is a~ ~xc~ll¢~t idea ~at the city should implement as soo~ as possible. The first week ot August is the ideal tiB~ for such a day as it is wh¢~ the vast majority o¢ ~¢w leases begin. It may also be a good idea to hold an Amnesty Day during the last w6ek of classes in the spring. I~formational Packet for New Renters The Tenant-Landlord Association, a UISG funded organization, cu~¢ntly provides students with renter i~fo~atio~. They would be the Student Government 48 Iowa Memorial Union 319/335 3860 www.uiowa.edu/-uisg Iowa City, Iowa 52242-I 317 FAX 319/335-3577 E-mall: uisg~uiowa.edu THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA appropriate agency for the city to work with on these information packets. We have discussed some suggestions during our monthly University of Iowa-Iowa City Relations Committee meeting with Councilors Steve Kanner and Dee Vanderhoef. Again we thank you for valuing student input on these issues. If there are any questions or comments we can be reached at the following address. Thank you for your time Sincerely Nick Herbold, Pres~d~Jt M~;~ice-President UI Student Government 48 Iowa Memorial Union Iowa City IA 52242 319-335-3860 Student Government 48 Iowa Memorial Union 319/335-3860 vor~.uiowa.edu/-uisg Iowa City, Iowa 52242-1317 FAX 319/335-3577 E-mail: uisgf~uiowa.edu Marian Karr From: Michael Wright [michaeI-wright@uiowa.edu] Sent: Monday, July 01, 2002 3:10 PM To: cou ncil@iowa-city.org Subject: Housing Task Force Recommendations Dear Councilors: I would like to encourage you to look closely at the recommendations from the Housing Task Force. Most of these involve closer enforcement of statutes already in existence; very few would entail new ordinances. These recommendations are very reasonable and address some serious problems in Iowa City which are often difficult to detect (over-occupancy in housing) or which appear, frankly, often ignored (party houses). Tighter enforcement of existing laws and regulations will not hamstring police and city regulators. The process is ultimately still within their judgment. But by encouraging citations rather than warning, a clear message is sent to would-be violators: no more fooling around. The few recommendations for new ordinances really will serve to tighten loopholes and perhaps clarify the intent of other laws. Thank you for your time. Again, I urge you each to look carefully at these recommendations. I believe their adoption will make for a more neighborly Iowa City. Sincerely, Michael Wright 815 Roosevelt St.