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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-06-04 TranscriptionPage 1 ITEM 3. NORTHEAST CORNER OF COLLEGE STREET AND GILBERT STREET (CHAUNCEY) — REZONING APPROXIMATELY 0.62 ACRES OF PROPERTY LOCATED AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF COLLEGE STREET AND GILBERT STREET, FROM PUBLIC (P-1) AND CENTRAL BUSINESS SUPPORT (CB -5) TO CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT (CB -10) (REZ15-00006) (SECOND CONSIDERATION) Mims: Move second consideration. Dobyns: Second. Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Dobyns. Discussion? Any ex parte from the last reading? Anyone from the audience? (mumbled) Yes, please! Murray: Um, my name is Margaret Murray. I've lived in Iowa City for about... 13 years and um, I'm kind of...I'm ... I'm kind of late to this party, uh, the discussion of The Chauncey, but I read about the ... the last hearing and I just thought, uh, I wouldn't feel good if I didn't say something about this. Um ... I ... I'm ... I'm just mystified as to why such a tall building is being approved in that zone, and I know I'm not the only person to be so, um ... so mystified. Um, but I remember when I first moved to Iowa City and I voluntarily moved here from Blacksburg, Virginia. It was a ... an exciting place for me to move to. Around about 2003 or 2004 I remember hearing, um, Marc Moen say to the press that, um, he wanted to turn, um, Iowa City into Manhattan. Um, and this was around the time that the Plaza Towers was going up, and I actually think the Plaza Towers have ... have been, you know, pretty ... a pretty reasonable construction. Um, I'm a little less enthused about 201. Um, but ... the one thing... there's... there's so many ways in which Iowa City isn't Manhattan, but the idea I had was ... the sense I had was that Marc Moen wanted to see a lot of tall buildings in the central business district. So I wondered why one would construct a building of up to 15 stories, so that it would directly cast a shadow on Trinity, uh, Episcopal Church, why it would congest, um, what is a hard-won bicycle route, um, why the construction ... the construction will be extremely disruptive. I'm really still mystified as to why the ... er... the other plans were rejected and, you know, I'm sort of watching institutions in downtown Iowa City kind of disappear. So like the Co -Op isn't going into that spot, and um, Trinity, uh, Trinity Episcopal is going to have, um, shadows in its sanctuary, and um, you know, maybe ... maybe people just figure that Trinity will move to Coralville like the UU is doing. Um, but you know the one thing ... one thing that just comes to mind about Manhattan is that, um, you know, they haven't yet driven out Riverside Church. So I'm just not quite sure what the idea of the central business district is, if it doesn't ... now it doesn't sustain a synagogue. It won't sustain the Unitarians. We're trying to shadow out the Episcopalians. Um, I just feel like it's... it's... it's going to be, you know, a place full of tall buildings. I think developing that spot is a fabulous idea, but developing it with a huge building that has, uh, such a ... and I'm not an Episcopalian either, by the way, but that has such a huge impact on a religious This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 4, 2015. Page 2 institution in the city and has such an impact on the transitional zone right there, um, from downtown. This is my chosen home. Uh, I fell in love here. I got married here. Um, this ... this home means, this place means a lot to me. Downtown means a lot to me. And I just, uh, think allowing a building that large is a mistake. Thanks! Hayek: Thank you for your comments. Moen: My name is Marc Moen ... and ... I live at 221 E. College Street and I have never said anything remotely like what was just attributed to me, ever! Nor have I ever felt it. Thank you. Hayek: Thank you for your comments. Neades: Hi, Rebecca Neades, Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce and an Iowa City resident and I would just like to thank you publicly for taking your vote on Tuesday night. I know that this has been an issue that's been before the Council and the community for some time and I appreciate the fact that it's moving forward and, um, that you took a hard vote, you listened to the community, and we indeed do support, um, the ... this project, The Chauncey. Thank you! Hayek: Thank you for the comments. Is there anyone else from the audience? Okay, we'll close it down to Council discussion. Throgmorton: Matt, I want to ask a question, uh, yesterday I distributed by email, uh, a table ... and graph that I had drawn based on the table, and I'm just wondering if everybody got a copy of it, because I sent it to each of you and to Tom and Geoff and Eleanor and Marian. So... Karr: It was in the packet (both talking) Throgmorton: ... wondering if you got it and if it was legible and... Mims: I got it. I haven't looked at it (both talking) Hayek: (both talking) um, and Marian's saying it's in the packet, so we'll ... we'll have it for next week. Throgmorton: Yeah, okay! Karr: You'll have it ... it's in today's! (several talking) Hayek: Yeah. We have it today and ... will have it for next week, as well. Karr: Yes! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 4, 2015. Page 3 Hayek: Any further Council discussion? Roll call, please. Second consideration passes 4-1, Throgmorton in the negative. Karr: Motion to accept correspondence. Throgmorton: So moved. Dobyns: Second. Hayek: Moved by Throgmorton, seconded by Dobyns. Discussion? All those in favor say aye. Opposed say nay. Motion carries 5-0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council special formal meeting of June 4, 2015.