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Home My WebLink About2015-04-21 Correspondence04-21-15 4f(1) Marian Karr From: Tim Weitzel <tweitzel.email@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, April 10, 2015 11:35 AM To: Council Subject: Housing Policy I'm writing with concern over our local housing policy. In a couple of articles in Little Village, namely "Whyare tenants in Johnson County the most cost -burdened in Iowa", September 26, 2014 (http://Iittlevillagemag.com/why-are-tenants-in Johnson-county-the-most-cost-burdened-in-iowa/) and "A Segregated Iowa City" pp.6-8,April 1-14, 2015 (https:Hissuu.com/littlevillage/docs/littlevillage-174/7?e=0), there has been considerable criticism aimed our fair housing practices in Iowa City. Namely racially motivated discrimination and discrimination against renters holding housing vouchers. To be clear, while it is legal to refuse to accept Section 8 vouchers, Iowa City should not tolerate this as a rule. Racial discrimination is clearly illegal and likely violates the equal protections clause of the 14th Amendment. But beyond that, large share of workers in Iowa City can't afford to buy a house, and are therefore at the mercy of rental property practices, which appear to include aggressive requirements about lease renewal and fairly inconsiderate practices about showing properties while an apartment is still leased. From experience, I am also aware that damage deposits seem to be more like paying an extra months rent, because it is so difficult to actually get that deposit refunded. Let's take another look at affordable housing. HUD defines affordable as 120% of median. The median income in Iowa City for a household is $35,000. At that income you are making $17 per hour, well above the minimum wage. Okay, so you can afford a house of $137,032. The median sale price in Iowa City is $207,900. Well above what you can afford. The median income level in Iowa City cannot afford to buy a home, but the apartment market is largely driven by the large student population, commanding rents well above what a house payment at $137,032 would require. Does anyone else see the disparity here? It's all about supply and demand. Until we create enough affordable units, prices will continue to have a higher than average cost for housing in Iowa City, which is a high cost place to live, whether you compare our community to the county, the state, or a wider field, such as the Big 10 conference communities where only Madison, WI and Ann Arbor, MI are more expensive for communities in the Midwest. The eastern communities are also more expensive, as is the cost of living in general in the East Coast megaregion. Minneapolis is about equivalent. The UniverCity partnership is a great program, but it appears unable to meet the demand. Requiring a reasonable amount of affordable units per building in River Front Crossings seems like a common sense approach, but it will take more than this. In addition to inclusionary zoning, I suggest we seek greater participation on the part of the City to be sure housing practices are fair and meet the needs of a large section of our population. Additionally, a county -wide minimum wage increase could provide additional economic stimulus by increasing the purchasing power of residents. It is clear that such an increase will not happen at the State Level this year, or probably anytime soon. The following table was developed using simple online cost of living comparison calculators. The figures are echoed in a study titled Cost of Living Analysis Case Study by Dalyrmple et al., Purdue University http://www.purdue.edu/oir/PDF%20Files/OIR Presentations/Maggie/Purdue%20Cost%20of%20Living%20Re op rt.odf Place Equivalent SalaryDifference (%) Iowa City !$25,000 0.00% College Park, MD ;$28,381 13.52% State College, PA $27,476 9.90% Ann Arbor, MI $26,452 5.81% East Lansing, MI $22,929 -8.28% Madison, WI $27,548 10.19% Bloomington, IN '$23,381 -6.48% Urbana, IL $21,143 -15.43% Columbus, OH ;$19,548 -21.81% West Lafayette, IN $23,310 -6.76% Lincoln, NE $21,548 -13.81% New Brunswick, NJ ;$28,714 14.86% Minneapolis, MN $25,714 ;2.86% Ames, IA !$24,667 -1.33% Des Moines, IA ;$19,500 -22.00% Chicago, IL $24,619 -1.52% North Liberty, IA $23,571 -5.72% Coralville, IA $23,500 6.00% Tiffin, IA `$24,524 :-1.90% Cedar Rapids, IA '$21,238 -15.05% West Des Moines, IA:$22,690 -9.24% Tim Weitzel, Iowa City 2 r CITY OF IOWA CITY 4f(2) MEMORANDUM Date: April 2"d, 2015 To: City Clerk From: Darian Nagle-Gamm, Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Item for the April 21St, 2015 City Council meeting; Installation of centerline and edge lines on Highland Avenue between Keokuk Street and Gilbert 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 (2), Install centerline and edge lines on Highland Avenue between Keokuk Street and Gilbert Street Comment: This action is being taken at the request of the neighborhood through the adopted Traffic Calming Program. Adjacent residents/business owners were formally surveyed with 100% of respondents (21% response rate) voting to proceed with striping a centerline and edge lines on Highland Avenue between Keokuk Street and Gilbert Street to better define travel lanes. cc: Ron Knoche; Public Works Director Jason Havel; City Engineer Jon Resler; Streets Superintendent Kent Ralston; Transportation Planner Date: April 0, 2015 04-21-15 CITY OF IOWA CITY af(s) MEMORANDUM To: City Clerk From: Darian Nagle-Gamm, Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Item for April 21St, 2014 City Council meeting; Installation of (1) NO PARKING CORNER TO HERE sign on the northeast corner of the intersection of Bradford Drive and Wade 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); Install (1) NO PARKING CORNER TO HERE sign on the northeast corner of the intersection of Bradford Street and Wade Street. Comment: This action is being taken to allow for the turning movement vehicles and to reduce congestion at the intersection located adjacent to Southeast Jr. High School. 04-21-15 CITY OF IOWA CITY 4f(4) MEMORANDUM Date: April 9th, 2015 To: City Clerk From: Darian Nagle-Gamm, Traffic Engineering Planner Re: Item for April 21St, 2014 City Council meeting; Installation of (1) NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER sign on the southeast corner of the intersection of Dover Street and Perry Court. 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); Install (1) NO PARKING HERE TO CORNER sign on the southeast corner of the intersection of Dover Street and Perry Court. Comment: This action is being taken to allow for the turning movement of vehicles and to reduce congestion at the intersection. April 19, 2015 Dear City Council, We Northside residents write in support of Jim Throgmorton's concerns regarding the loss of increased capacity at Lincoln, Longfellow, Mann, and Shimek Elementary Schools in the ICCSD's approved Version 1 of the Facilities Master Plan update. The loss of increased capacity could eventually result in the school closures proposed in Versions 2 and 3. As Jim noted, "the School District's interests are different than ours, and (on the board's turf) their interests will trump ours every time." While the closures of Horace Mann and Lincoln are currently off the table, the shift of enrollment capacity to some of the ICCSD's larger elementary schools (Weber, Garner, Van Allen, Penn) increases the projected enrollment of those schools to well over 500 students. When asked by the Board why additions were chosen to address increased enrollment rather than new facilities, the School Administration basically replied, "We can't afford to operate more schools due to the number of small schools in the District." We believe the City of Iowa City must open discussions with the ICCSD to develop a strategy that addresses the District's goal of controlling operating costs, while strengthening the school's role as a neighborhood center. Inducing enrollment increases at the core schools, especially Horace Mann, Lincoln and Longfellow, would also help strengthen the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as benefitting the Downtown's goal of attracting more community - oriented retail. Iowa City's "urban advantage" — historic, mixed-use neighborhoods within walking distance of elementary schools and the Downtown - has long been frustrated by its inability to significantly increase the number of long-term residents. If we continue on the current course, we risk losing more of our core elementary schools, which would have devastating effects on our goal to strengthen the core of the city. Sincerely, Jacqueline & Matthieu Biger Sarah Clark Liz & Ryan Maas Linda McGuire Susan Shullaw Susanna Strode John Thomas Chris Welu-Reynolds _� 4 Z Marian Karr From: bobby jett <bobby@moengroup.com> Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2015 8:41 PM To: Council Subject: Old Settler's Association cabins I strongly support the resolution authorizing the city manager to make application for funding assistance from the State Historical Society of Iowa for the restoration of the Old Settlers' Association log cabins in upper City Park. These cabins are some of the earliest links to the pioneers who formed what we now enjoy as Iowa City. They are a testimony of those who persevered and withstood many hardships to create what we all call home today. Preserving our history for this generation and future generations is of the utmost importance. Sincerely, Bobby Jett 221 E. College