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Home My WebLink AboutP&Z Packet 11.17.16MINUTES PRELIMINARY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION OCTOBER 20, 2016 – 5:30 PM – FORMAL MEETING HELLING CONFERENCE ROOM – CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT:Carolyn Dyer, Mike Hensch, Ann Freerks, Max Parsons, Mark Signs, Jodie Theobald MEMBERS ABSENT:Phoebe Martin STAFF PRESENT:Tracy Hightshoe, John Yapp OTHERS PRESENT: CALL TO ORDER: Freerks called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There were none. PRESENTATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACTION PLAN: Hightshoe presented and discussed the Affordable Housing Action Plan which includes 15 affordable housing strategies that the City Council approved at their September meeting. Hightshoe explained that affordable housing is considered those under 80% of median income for home ownership and people under 60% for rentals. Overall to be considered affordable is for a family to be paying less than 30% of their income on housing. The need for affordable housing in Iowa City keeps rising over the years. Hightshoe showed data on the needs versus the inventory of affordable housing in Iowa City. Yapp noted this presentation is being made to the Commission because there are many code amendments as part of this larger plan which will make their way in front of the Commission, and it will help put those code amendments into the larger context of the strategy. Hightshoe gave an overview of the Affordable Housing Strategy. Freerks asked about the goal of keeping families with children in the same home for stability, and why isn’t there an incentive to stay put and not allow the housing vouchers to transfer to new locations. Hightshoe agreed that stability is important, but it is a federal program to allow tenants to move. She noted it is rare for families to move frequently once they are settled in a home. There was discussion about tenant displacement and assistance. Freerks asked about how it would work if it were a student housing unit that was being torn down. Yapp said that if more than 12 units are being torn down, it does not matter if the tenants are students or household families, then the tenant displacement policy would take effect. Planning and Zoning Commission October 20, 2016 – Formal Meeting Page 2 of 4 Freerks asked about rooming houses and Yapp stated that under the Code a rooming house is considered one household because they share a kitchen. So he would need to follow up on that situation because it could affect more than 12 tenants. Rooming houses typically rent a ‘room’ to each tenant, so that each room might be able to be considered a household in a rooming house situation. Hightshoe noted that developers have said the City’s design standards can be an obstacle for constructing affordable housing so the City will be looking into a review of the design standards. Freerks cautioned against varying the design standards noting they were put in place because the City was told the multi-family design standards in Iowa City are weak compared to other communities. Yapp said the multi-family design standards have evolved over the past 10-15 years and have gotten stricter with the goal (especially in the older neighborhoods) is for the project to fit into the neighborhoods and be constructed with high quality materials. Yapp said the concern is the design standards add costs. Freerks agreed, but commented that looking at some of the older multi-family buildings in the City shows why those design standards are necessary. Theobald asked about rentals and over occupancy and how that is enforced. Hightshoe said when the City hears complaints they do investigate about over-occupancy, but the City does have to give notice to landlords so a lot of times when the landlords are given notice they have time to move out some of the beds. Dyer asked about tiny houses if they could be used for affordable housing. Yapp said those could be used for affordable housing however tiny houses have to be hooked up to water and sewer and if it is not then it’s considered a recreational vehicle. Dyer said that in some areas they have placed tiny houses in areas to help with homelessness. Freerks stated her concern about the use of duplexes and triplexes as the City had just undergone extensive zoning code amendments about use of duplexes in residential areas. Yapp said this would be factored into a form-based code item, so with a form-based code duplexes and triplexes could be allowed, according to location and design criteria in a Form Based Code. Parsons asked why the Council wanted to include the Northside in the request for proposal for form-based code (in addition to the Alexander School area). Yapp said there was perhaps an opportunity to add housing diversity to the Northside. Yapp noted most of the Northside is covered by historical or conservation overlays. Freerks added she feels the Council should rethink adding the Northside to this request. Freerks stated it would be great if the school district and other communities (Coralville and North Liberty) would also be on board with this type of affordable housing plan because it cannot truly be successful as a community until everyone is a part of it. Signs added that he knows there is pressure on Coralville (and North Liberty to a lesser extent) to do more with affordable housing and the Affordable Housing Coalition will be working on those fronts heavily in the upcoming years. The approach the Affordable Housing Coalition needs to take with the other communities is to give them an assortment of ideas and that process will likely begin in Coralville soon. Hightshoe noted that she did a similar presentation to a joint meeting with representative from Coralville and North Liberty and they seemed very interested in the ideas Iowa City had to share. Planning and Zoning Commission October 20, 2016 – Formal Meeting Page 3 of 4 Signs added that the thing about affordable housing is everyone agrees communities need it, however no one wants it in their neighborhood. So how is a community to fill the need for 2200 units if no one wants them in their neighborhood? The Commissioners thanked Hightshoe for the presentation. CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: OCTOBER 6, 2016 Hensch moved to approve the meeting minutes of October 6, 2016 with changes. Parsons seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 6-0. PLANNING AND ZONING INFORMATION: Yapp noted that on agendas instead of listing “other business” it will be listed as “Planning and Zoning Information” per a directive of the legal department. “Other Business” is vague and implies there may be other official business, when the intent is for this part of the agenda to be for sharing of information. Yapp also referred to a flyer for a presentation by Jeff Speck, a renowned advocate for walkability, who will be lecturing in Iowa City on October 24. ADJOURNMENT: Parsons moved to adjourn. Hensch seconded. A vote was taken and motion carried 6-0. PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSIONATTENDANCE RECORD2015 - 201611/5 11/19 12/3 1/7 1/21 2/19 3/3 3/17 4/7 4/21 5/5 5/19 6/2 7/7 7/21 8/4 9/1 10/6 10/20DYER, CAROLYNX X XXX XXX X X XXXX X X X X XEASTHAM, CHARLIEX X X X X X X X X X -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --FREERKS, ANNO/E X X XO/E X X X X X XO/EXO/E X X X X XHENSCH, MIKEX X X X X X X X X XXX X X O/E X X X X MARTIN, PHOEBEO/EX XXXXXX X X XXXXO/EX X XO/EPARSONS, MAXX O/E X X X X X O/E X XXX X X X X X X X SIGNS, MARK-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- XXX X X X X X X THEOBALD, JODIEX X XXX XXX X X XXXX X X X X XKEY: X = PresentO = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused --- = Not a Member