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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-03-11 Bd Comm minutesMINUTES IOWA CITY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2003 - 5:00 P.M. CIVIC CENTER - COUNCIL CHAMBERS APPROVED/FINAL MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: Mike Paul, Dennis Keitel, Vince Maurer, Carol Alexander Eric Gidal John Adam, Sarah Holecek John Rutherford, Kris Rutherford, Sue Dulek, Peg Raab, Sharon Satterquist CALL TO ORDER: Vice-Chairperson Mike Paul called the meeting to order at 5:00 P.M. ROLL CALL: Keitel, Paul, Maurer, Alexander present. ELECTION OF NEW BOARD CHAIRPERSON: Keitel nominated Mike Paul as the new Board Chairperson. Maurer moved that nominations cease. Keitel seconded. The motion passed 4-0. Maurer nominated Dennis Keitel as the new Board Vice-Chairperson. Alexander seconded. The motion passed 4-0. CONSIDERATION OF THE DECEMBER 11,2002 BOARD MINUTES: Motion: Keitel moved to approve the December tl, 2002 minutes. Maurer seconded. Motion carried 4-0. SPECIAL EXCEPTIONS: EXC02-00024. Public hearing regarding an application submitted by John and Kris Rutherford for a special exception to reduce the side yard setback from five (5') feet to two (2') feet to allow the addition of a garage in the Low-Density, Single-Family (RS-5) zone at 1717 East College Street. Adam stated that the applicants wish to add onto their existing house, and they need a reduction of side setback from 5 feet to 2 feet. He said that the Zoning Ordinance intends to permit the full use and enjoyment of property in a manner that does not intrude upon adjacent property, and that the Board may grant relief from the requirements of the Zoning chapter through a special exception if the action is considered to serve the public interest and is consistent with the intent of the Zoning chapter. Adam said that, in staff's opinion, the unique situation here is that the existing house is situated on the lot such that the garage cannot be attached to the side of the house without removing some of the east side. He said that other houses in the neighborhood have garages set well back on their lots, but the applicants' lot has a peculiar shape that tapers at about a 30° angle towards the back and would cause any structure built there to intrude awkwardly into the backyard space. He said that, in this situation, the impact on the proposed garage and the types of activities associated with it should have a minimal effect on the neighbors. He said that the adjacent back yards touch this lot and the closest any house could come would be 22 feet. He said the existing separation between the buildings is far greater than you would encounter on some other lots. Adam said that if the lot's peculiar shape was it's only unique quality, staff would hesitate to recommend the reduction. However, the lack of impact from reducing the setback requirement, in this case, diminishes that hesitance. iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes January 8, 2003 Page 2 Adam said that the practical difficulty in this case is that redesigning the addition so that the garage is partially eclipsed by the existing house, offsetting it behind the house, could cause contact with the back corner of the house when backing out. Adam said the unique shape of the lot makes building elsewhere on the lot an unattractive option. He said that the yard area is substandard to the RS-5 zone, making the maximal preservation of the useable back yard important in this case. Adam stated that approximately 15% of the required side yard would be covered by the garage footprint. Adam said the effect would be minor relative to the neighboring yards. He said this is a fairly large intrusion, but the neighboring properties are not going to be building anywhere near there, unless it would be an accessory structure. Adam said that this use would not increase the population density or affect the use of municipal facilities. He said that staff does not believe there would be a substantial change or detriment to the neighborhood as a result of the exception. He said that the provision of housing for the applicants' automobile could be a visual improvement to the area, and the applicants appear to have made an attempt to de-emphasize the garage by setting it well back on the lot and making it fit in better with the character of the neighborhood. Adam stated that the applicants have no access to an alley. He said they did investigate the possibility of purchasing land from adjoining properties, but those properties are also substandard in size for this zone, so it is not possible for them to increase the non-conformity of those lots. Adam said that fire safety, ventilation, light and privacy are some of the reasons for having setbacks. He said that, because the lot to the east is a corner lot with its front facing eastward, any house built on the neighboring property would have to be set back at least 20 feet from the applicants' lot line. Staff feels that the intent of the setback requirement would be preserved if the special exception were granted. Adam reiterated that staff feels that the reduction of setback would not substantially affect the neighborhood. Therefore, staff recommends that EXC02-00024, an application for a special exception to reduce the required side setback from five feet to two feet for a single-family home in the Low-Density Single-Family zone, provided the reduction applies only to the footprint of the garage as shown in the applicants' site plan file-dated December 12, 2002 by the City Clerk's Office. Public Hearinq Opened John Rutherford identified himself as the applicant and presented himself for questions. Keitel advised that he noticed a grade separation between the property and the lots that back up to it, and asked if Rutherford was planning to install a concrete wall or something. Rutherford said that it has not yet been addressed because he believes the garage is set back almost to the point where the grade levels off, but if it was necessary they would be willing to take care of it. Paul clarified that this issue would come up in the site plan review process. Kris Rutherford identified herself as the applicant. Sue Dulek, 201 Lowell Street, said she lives in one of the properties adjacent to the applicant's property. She said she is in favor of this application and hopes the Board approves. Peg Raab, 203 Lowell Street, said she lives in an adjacent property, and is in favor of the special exception. She said that they had earlier been in favor of selling three feet of their property to the applicant to help them comply, but due to restrictions in their lot could not go through with that. Sharon Satterquist said she lives directly across from the applicant, and is in favor of this exception. She said she feels it will add to the property value. Public Hearing Closed Motion: Maurer moved to approve EXC02-00024, an application for a special exception to reduce the required side setback from five feet to two feet for a single-family home in the Low-Density Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes January 8, 2003 Page 3 Single-Family (RS-5) zone, provided the reduction applies only to the footprint of the garage as shown in the applicants' site plan file-dated December 12, 2002 by the City Clerk's Office. The motion was seconded by Keitel. Findinqs of Fact Keitel said that it appears the interests of justice would be served and all of the other points the Board needs to consider have been satisfied, so he will vote in favor. Paul said he will vote in favor. He said it has been demonstrated that the applicants have met the specific standards for reducing established setbacks. He said that it is a unique situation with practical difficulty, and it is not substantial in relation to the requirement. He stated it will not increase the population density or affect use of municipal facilities, and won't be a substantial change or detriment to the neighborhood. He said there does not seem to be a feasible practical alternative. Paul said that the exception would not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, comfort or general welfare; would not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property or impair property values; and will not impede the normal orderly development of the surrounding properties. He said that ingress and egress items have been met, and there are obviously adequate utilities, access roads, drainage and necessary facilities. Maurer said he will vote in favor, and stated it is good to see something practical being applied here. Alexander said she would vote in favor for the reasons stated and based on the statements of the neighbors. The motion passed on a vote of 4-0. OTHER Holecek said that the special exception by David Thompson which was approved on December 11, 2002, across from the Hy-Vee store on North Dodge, contained issues with regard to screening and the widening of North Dodge as a planned project. She said that there may have been a mistake of fact with regard to the width of the easement, and that may affect the setback or location of the screening as required in the Board's decision. Holecek said staff met with Mr. Thompson, and would like the Board to make a motion to reconsider so that this item can be placed on the next agenda, if necessary, to consider correction or reconsideration of the decision from 12/11/02. Keitel moved to reconsider the decision made by the Board of Adjustment on December '12, 2002, regarding an application brought by David Thompson. Paul seconded. The motion passed on a vote of 4-0. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT INFORMATION None. ADJOURNMENT Maurer moved to adjourn, seconded by Keitel. The meeting adjourned at 5:22 PM. Board Chairperson Board Secretary Minutes Submitted By Neana Saylor shared on c~t ynt/pcd/min ut e s,/boa/boaO 1 ~8-0 3.doc MINUTES IOWA CITY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION EMMA HARVAT HALL (City Council Chambers) 410 E. Washington St. December 17, 2002 j 03-11-03 FINAL/APPRO ED - MEMBERS PRESENT: Lisa Beckmann, Paul Retish, Lucia Page, Jan Warren, Charles Major, Nick Klenske, Keri Neblett, Bob Peffer, Rick Spooner MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF MEMBERS: Heather Shank CALL TO ORDER: Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Beckmann asked for approval of or any changes in the minutes from the November 26th meeting. Changes will be on the second page, first paragraph. Peffer should be changed to Page with regard to a comment on display setups. Under New Commissioners the name Billy should read Billie. Motion to approve amended minutes by Warren and seconded by Neblett. Motion: Minutes unanimously approved. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL: None Billie Townsend introduced herself to Commission members. Townsend works at the University of Iowa, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in the office of the Dean. Commissioners also introduced themselves to her. Consider a Motion to Adjourn to Closed Session based on §21.5(1)(a) of the Code of Iowa to review or discuss records which are require or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential and pursuant to Chapter 216 of the Code of Iowa and §2-2-4 of the Iowa City Municipal Code which requires that complaints of discrimination, reports of investigation, statements and other documents or records obtained in the investigations, shall be closed records unless the Human Rights Ordinance specifically permits disclosure. Motion made by Warren and seconded by Page. Motion passed unanimously by role call. Consider a motion to take no further action in case #14-14-0106 and close the file: Motion made by Neblett to reluctantly take no further action in this case. Seconded by Page. Motion passed 7-2 vote. Peffer and Retish opposed. NEW BUSINESS: Awards and Certificates for persons leaving the Commission: A certificate was given to Page and plaques were given to Major and Warren recognizing their effort on the Commission. Beckmann expressed thanks for all their hard work. Co-sponsorship of Arabian Human Rights Day: Information regarding this event is in the packet. Shank was contacted by AsmaTaha regarding this event. She asked whether the Commission was interested in co-sponsoring this annual event celebrating the life of her father who was killed by the Sudanese government for his more liberal views of Islam. The Arabian Human Rights Day will take place on January 18th in the Wayne Ritchey Ball Room. Motion to co-sponsor this event made by Retish, seconded by Neblett. Motion passed unanimously. Annual MLK Service-January 19th at 7:00 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church: Shank spoke highly of past services and she wanted the Commission to be aware of this great event that was in previous years was held at Old Brick. Cultural Diversity Festival-February 23rd: Beckmann asked what role we are to play in the festival. Shank stated that the Commission usually provides information. While Shank called the organizers and asked for a booth she has not heard back from them as of today. Beckmann would like to wait till the January meeting before asking for volunteers to staff the booth for this event. There was a brief discussion about possible means of attracting people to the Human Rights table. MLK Celebration: Shank stated that she had talked with Jessie Villalobos and the National Conference for Community & Justice (NCC J) will have a Martin Luther King celebration in Iowa City this year. ViHalobos would like to have the entire Iowa City community involved, including the Commission. Shank asked whether the Commission wanted to co-sponsor this event. Tim Wise is the keynote speaker. The affirmative action office is putting together the reception that will be held at the Union. This does not necessarily require work other than attending. Motion passed unanimously. Latino/a Conference: Shank informed the Commission of the upcoming conference and announced that there will be a planning meeting on January 27th if anyone would like to attend. Beckmann stated that she felt Commissioners might want to attend planning meetings closer to the event. Her opinion was based on her understanding that not much was accomplished in the early planning meetings last year. Warren suggested a sub-committee be involved in the early planning to save Shank some time. Retish indicated that he did not know what the Commission's role would be in this and that maybe we're being pretentious and should wait and see if their needs fit our skills. Neblett stated that the Commission was asked to attend the planning meeting though. Warren indicated that she was getting the impression that the Commission was trying to distance itself until it is specifically told of the plans for the event. Beckmann stated that Warren misinterpreted her statement and at no time was there a suggestion that the Commission not be involved in this event or wanted to distance itself. Beckmann agreed with Warren that the Commission should be involved in reaching out to the Latino population. Warren continued that she felt it would be a good idea if someone attended the early planning meeting. Warren also acknowledged that she will be off the Commission but she thought another Commissioner might be able to go. Beckmann asked whether someone would be interested in attending the planning meeting. There were no volunteers. Since there was no response Shank will follow-up with more information and send out an email to Beckmann & Retish later. Beckmann stated that the Commission should be sponsoring this. Peffer said that he would know more about his schedule closer to the meeting. Comments on Case Readings: Retish asked for a meeting with the lawyers in Shank's office to discuss the process the Human Rights Office goes through in its decision making, recommendations, case law and authority it follows. Retish indicated that 99 times out of 100 he agrees with the lawyer's recommendation, although he may not like it. He is frustrated at times and Shank indicated that she is as well. He thought it might be helpful if the Commission had a chance to say if they're dissatisfied and be able to ask what the Commissions options might be as Commission members. Shank stated the Commission could educate. Shank agreed that she too is frustrated over cases. As she has mentioned many times over the last few months disability law especially as it relates to employment is discouraging because it is becoming more and more difficult under the law to prove that a person has a disability. In addition, the Supreme Court is narrowing the effect of the federal statutes. Shank stressed that this did not mean she was giving up. She is doing a great deal of education to encourage people to see how important it is to treat every person with respect. Page asked what happens if two out of three Commissioners read a case and decide one way and the third Commissioner disagrees. Shank stated that the majority decision would stand. She further stated that if the two disagree with the attorney's probable cause determination, then the Commission's decision without the backing of the City Attorney. However, Shank emphasized that the Commissioners can disagree with the attorneys and tell them this, but that will not necessarily change the opinion of the City Attorney's office. Warren asked if the Commission's comments, concerns or disagreements are noted anywhere in the case records so that the complainant knows that the Commission did not agree with the outcome of the decision.. Beckmann stated that there is a difference between the City Attorney's opinion and how it matches up with case law. Warren understood this but she wanted to know whether the complainant and respondent would be made aware of the Commission's disagreement with the opinions/recommendations of the attorneys. Shank responded that this type of situation had never arisen. Retish asked whether a public hearing could take place if the Commission agreed that it should even though the City Attorneys and the Human Rights office did not think the case was litigation worthy? He believes that the sense of having a public hearing, the sharing of the information in the public domain, is an outcome unto itself. Retish further stated the public hearing would be pursued even though it would lose. Shank explained that pursuing a case, knowing it could not be supported under the law as it currently stands could result in litigation against the City. Retish responded that the Commission could lose the case and win the war. Page inquired as to what would happen if all three Commissioners on a team found one way and the attorneys disagreed? Shank said she would discuss it with the city attorney's office to see how it would work out. Shank reiterated that that situation has never occurred. Beckmann asked if it isn't just "bad law" that two or three lay people can make a decision that counters what trained educated professionals are hired to do. She thinks it's just "bad law." Shank stated that when civil rights law were initially passed, the legislature envisioned lay people conducting mediations of disagreements or small investigations. It was the hope of the lawmakers that discrimination could be resolved through conversations. There was no real enforcement of the law and/or damages until Richard Nixon signed the law that allowed for court intervention. Nixon's efforts took place in 1973 and that is when the concept of employment law and the involvement of lawyers. It was not the intent of the original drafters of the law to involve lawyers. Spooner said that he feels he gets conflicting information from the lawyers regarding the cases. He asked exactly what the Commission was suppose to be doing when it made a decision in a case. Shank asked what inconsistencies he believed had been communicated. Spooner asked if the Commission was trying to determine a possibility of probable cause or is it the idea of a probability of probable cause. He stated that he has used different standards and he wants to be consistent when he looks at a case, or what is it that I'm exactly trying to find. Shank stated that the Commission needed to look at the elements and the facts of the case and ask whether it is more likely than not that discrimination occurred. Shank indicated that she would ask the City Attorney to attend the next meeting to help explain the issues. Shank is anxious to have all of the Commissioners' questions answered. Retish concluded that it was apparent that there was a recent disagreement of opinion on a case. He believes there is a problem between the lawyers and the Commission. He suggested that we ALL get together and have the Human Rights office explain to the Commission exactly how the process works and how our jobs are intertwined. He further stated that he wants to be able to help the complainant even if the law or decision goes against them, but he's not sure how to go about it. Shank reminded Retish that complainants that do not prevail in the administrative process have the option to take their case to court. Retish added that a lot of people would not go that route, as they don't have faith in the legal system. Retish said that the bottom line is that they (the complainants) came here for satisfaction. Shank stated that the HR office does not represent either party to a case, as the staff employees are neutral investigators. She further added that not every case involves discrimination. Spooner stated that he feels frustrated but he understands that although it may seem unfair at times, he is glad that the law is in place. Beckmann suggested that maybe a special meeting should be scheduled with the attorneys. Retish asked about a suggestion Shank raised at an earlier meeting regarding skits depicting discriminatory and nondiscriminatory scenarios to assist in the training of the Commission. Shank indicated that Pittman has resigned to spend more time at home so the office is very busy right now. Retish stated that he would wait to meet with the Human Rights office staff. OLD BUSINESS: Job Fair Progress- Retish talked about a meeting he attended at the Workforce Development Center representing the Education Committee. The Committee decided to break up into three sub- committees: (1) Employer Group, (2) Grant Opportunities, (3) Job Skills. Shank attended the job skills meeting. It is the intent of this group to put together tables at the Eastdale Mall with volunteers to assist interested people in filling out applications, draft resumes, how to interview, write a cover letter etc. In addition, the group wants to educate employers and employees on how cultural differences may fit into the interview process. The final date for the Job Fair has not yet been determined, but on the 14th of January there will be a meeting between the employer group and the skills group to update each other on their progress. Retish said that the Job Force has started a program where they will have luncheon meetings for employers and offer some training. He hopes that we can eventually work with both sides, but we have started with employers. Shank urged Commission members to get involved since the Commission is a co-sponsor and it would be terrific if the Commission members worked with community members on projects like these. Beckmann asked Shank to put this issue on the agenda next month and she would ask for volunteers to work at that time. Sexual Orientation: Beckmann informed the Commission that she drafted the letter that was discussed at the last meeting encouraging other Commissions to add sexual orientation to their ordinances. The letter will be sent out December 18th and there is a February 1st deadline for responses. Shop with a Cop: Shank reported that she met with Matt Johnson and he told her that the Police Department uses the word holiday as opposed to Christmas in the advertisements. He further stated that the people that signed up for the program were from different religions and cultures. Shank said that the State Police Association organized the Shop with a Cop program. Retish suggested the actual shopping day be changed to a time other than Christmas. Beckmann asked if anyone would like to assist Retish in working on this issue. Retish said that he would speak with a community relation's police officer and report back. Breakfast surveys: Beckmann talked about the survey data and indicated that Major's term was up and he was unable to finish the project. Warren asked whether the survey was going to be modified before Diversity Day and if so, who is going to do it? Major admitted that he did not finish the analysis but he would give the materials to Beckmann. Beckmann created a spreadsheet to enter the data and she asked for assistance in entering the date. Retish mentioned a person at ACT that could possibly be of help. HR Breakfast: Memo from Phil Jones. Beckmann would like this item tabled until the next meeting. Warren noted that the memo isn't really from Phil Jones. Jones, Warren noted, just sent the memo to Retish. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS: Page spoke of a magazine that she has called "Diversity Ink. Corn" and she is leaving it with Shank if anyone is interested in looking at it. Major said that he has enjoyed being on the Commission for the past five years. He is disappointed that more ordinance changes weren't made, but perhaps in the future. He also stated that he was disappointed that Senator Grassley did not speak up publicly and make his position clear regarding how he stood on Trent Lott's comments. Warren stated that she too has enjoyed her time on the Commission and the many opportunities it has given her and the Commission does important work in the community. Page stated that she has enjoyed her time on the Commission and feels that she gained a lot more that she has put in. Retish no report Beckmann no report Klenske no report Spooner no report Peffer no report Neblett no report 9. STATUS OF CASES: Shank reports that there are cases down in legal, and several cases are almost finished. Warren asked if anything would happen with the case she just finished reading between now and the end of her term. Shank stated that she should know something soon. Shank also stated that Pittman's last day is January 29 and Shank will miss her. 10. ADJOURNMENT: Motion made by Peffer to adjourn, seconded by Klenske. Meeting adjourned at 8:53 p.m. MINUTES IOWA CITY BOARD OF APPEALS MONDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2002, 4:00 P.M. LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM J 03-1'1-03 FINAL/APP IOWA CITY CIVIC CENTER, 410 E. WASHINGTON STREET IOWA CITY, IA MEMBERS PRESENT: John Roffman, Gary Haman, Tim Fehr, Anna Buss, Wayne Maas MEMBERS ABSENT: Doug DuCharme STAFF PRESENT: Tim Hennes (Sr. Building Inspector), Sue Dulek (Asst. City Attorney), Jann Ream (Code Enforcement Asst. acting as minute taker), Roger Jensen (Fire Marshall) OTHERS PRESENT: Dan Smith ( Chamber of Commerce) RECOMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Roffman called the meeting to order at 4:04 P.M. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES: Minutes from the November 4, 2002 meeting were discussed. MOTION: Haman moved to accept the minutes. Buss seconded. Motion passed unopposed. Roffman noted that Tom Werderitsch had submitted a letter of resignation from the Board of Appeals effective immediately so the Board was short one member. Discussion, and possible recommendation to Council, regarding an amendment to the City Code Title 14, Entitled "Unified Development Code," Chapter 5, Entitled "Building and Housin.q," Article M, Entitled "Appeals" to include a fire professional on the Board of Appeals. Hermes stated that one of the issues previously discussed concerning this proposal was the overall make up of the Board. Would this be the time to add other representative professions to the Board as well as a fire professional? Hennes said that it was the preference of Housing and Inspection Services to leave the Board as it is currently configured with seven members and with two of those members being "at-large" since it allows for greater flexibility in recruiting members and would give the Council opportunity to fill one of the at-large positions with a fire professional. Jensen stated that because of the fire code issues that come before the Board, there should be a permanent position set aside for a fire professional. Buss stated that the expertise of the fire department was available to the Board for those appeals and Jensen stated that was true but staff could not vote on those issues. He said it was important to have a person who could provide expertise and experience on fire code issues actually sitting on the Board. Jensen suggested that the Board keep one at-large position and make the other (and currently vacant) at-large position into a fire professional position. Buss said the Board should keep the two at-large positions and look for a fire professional to fill one of those positions. Jensen reiterated that it was important that the fire professional be a mandatory position since the Board routinely reviewed fire code issues. Haman asked if there was a pool of people in Iowa City who could qualify for a fire professional position. Jensen stated that were a number of people in private industry and at the University who could qualify. Roffman said that he was leaning to fill the currently vacant at-large position with a fire professional at this time and when that term is expired, the Board could look at the issue again. Smith stated that the Iowa City Homebuilder's Association was opposed to changing the make up of the Board either by adding more members or making a fire professional a mandatory position. They did not see a compelling need or justification to do so. Dulek stated that deadline for application for the currently vacant position was January 15, 2003 for approval at the January 21,2003 Council meeting. MOTION: Buss moved that the currently vacant at-large position remain an at- large position but that the Board indicate to the Council that they would prefer a candidate from the private sector who could qualify as a fire professional. Haman seconded. FURTHER DISCUSSION: Buss stated that she specified the private sector because candidates from the University or UIHC or the V.A. Hospital would not necessarily be as sensitive to cost issues as someone from the private sector. Haman asked if the Board member should be required to be a resident of Iowa City. The consensus was yes. Ream asked if the motion could be transferred as an actual recommendation to Council. Dulek said no. She said that a memo could be sent Council from the Board expressing their request but that the Council could fill the position with any candidate of their choice. The position will be advertised as an at-large position and the application would list all of the qualifications an applicant might have. VOTE: The motion passed unopposed 5-0. OTHER BUSINESS: Hermes explained that the Board had previously approved Experior testing for fire alarm and sprinkler licensing. Experior is discontinuing those tests but would continue them for one more year at the request of the City. Hennes said that Experior might change their mind if they saw the volume of testing change but the Board should be aware that a new test might have to be found. He stated also that the State of Iowa is also looking again at state licensing ¢or these trades. Concerning Werderitsch's resignation, Roffman asked if anyone from the City sent out a letter of appreciation. Dulek said she would check into it. The first item on the January, 2003 meeting will be to elect a new chairman and vice-chairman for the Board. Maas asked for clarification on when NICET level III was going to be required for designs of fire alarm systems. Jensen said staff policy had determined that NICET level III would be required for the design of fire alarm systems as of January 1,2003. Discussion occurred concerning how [ire alarm and sprinkler plans were being routed and reviewed and how inspections would be scheduled. The next meeting was set [or January 6, 2003 at 4:00 P.M. ADJOURNMENT: Haman moved to adjourn the meeting. Buss seconded. The meeting was adjourned at 4:45 P.M. John Roffman, Board of Appeals Chairperson Date Iowa City Public'Library I~IINUTES IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Special Meeting - Meeting Room A THURSDAY January 23, 2003 5:00 PM FI N AL/AP P ROVED Members Present: Linda Dellsperger, Lisa Parker, Pat Schnack, Jesse Singerman, David VanDusseldorp Members Absent: Shaner Magalh~es, Linda Prybil, Tom Suter, Jim Swaim Staff Present: Barbara Black, Maeve Clark, Susan Craig, Barbara Curtin, Debb Green, Heidi Lauritzen, Kara Logsden, Martha Lubaroff, Liz Nichols, Others: Joel Miller, Building Project Coordinator, Hata Trbonja, Mark Paterno, Gary Sanders, Pete Johnson, Paul Harbor, Andy Matthews, Assistant City Attorney CALL TO ORDER: The public meeting was called to order at 5:00 pm to discuss the leased space that will be available in the new building. After a brief history of the building site starting with the purchase and demolition of the Lenoch & Cilek building, Parker reviewed the draft criteria for selecting tenants, developed by a sub- committee of the Board. The rental space will be located at the west edge of the building on the first floor, and in most of the basement. Craig reviewed floor plans. There will be 4,037 sq ft of useable space on the first floor. The basement will have 8,411 sq. ft of rentable area with 7,314 sq feet of usable area for a total of 11,000 sq ft of rental space. Deliveries will be made off the sub-alley behind the building, with access by stairs and an elevator. Pedestrian access to basement will be off Pedestrian Mall with use of the stairs or an elevator separate from the library. The basement space has a light well that takes light down into the basement level. Parker discussed the timeline and reviewed the guidelines that favor businesses that would be compatible with the library and create a synergy and positive atmosphere in the building. The committee is exploring the issue of rental rates in the downtown area in order to be competitive. Matthews suggested that it might be conducive to the analysis if we had a lease ready and available for respective lessees to see. Parker asked for comments or questions from the public who were present. Are we interested in only one tenant? Would we consider dividing the space? Parker responded that we could divide the space. A single tenant might get better rent because there would be lower property management overhead but we will charge a competitive rate that attracts tenants. Parker's response to a comment about the wide array of formulas used for rental property downtown is that we do not want the space empty. Terms of lease haven't been decided yet. Is there a guarantee regarding the length of time that space would continue to be available? Craig responded that she ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES January 23, 2003 Page 2 believes the space would be safe for at least 20 years. Logistically it is difficult to run a building that is a block long so we could choose to keep the space rented for that reason. There is an option for a third floor so if necessary we could expand without asking tenants to leave. The ultimate landlord is the City and the City Council will make the final decision after a recommendation from the Board. Day to day property management will be paid from the rental income. Income beyond expenses is pledged to pay off bonds for the library project. We have a mailing list of anyone interested in the space; Craig reminded people to leave their name and address in order to receive future mailings. Adjourned at 5:15 pm. Minutes taken and transcribed by Martha Lubaroff MINUTES Iowa .C:ity.. Pubhc Library IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING - Meeting Room A THURSDAY, January 23, 2003 5:30 PM FINAL/APPROVED Members Present: Linda Dellsperger, Shaner Magalh~es(ardved at 6:00 pm), Lisa Parker, Pat Schnack, Jesse Singerman, David VanDusseldorp Members Absent: Linda Prybil, Tom Suter, Jim Swaim Staff Present: Barbara Black, Maeve Clark, Susan Craig, Barbara Cudin, Debb Green, Heidi Lauritzen, Kara Logsden, Martha Lubaroff, Liz Nichols, Others: Joel Miller, Building Project Coordinator, Hata Trbonja, Mark Paterno, Gary Sanders, Pete Johnson, Paul Harbor, Andy Matthews, Assistant City Attorney CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 5:30 pm. PUBLIC DISCUSSION None APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the regular meeting of December 19, 2002 were approved unanimously after a motion by Singerman/Dellsperger. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Building Project Miller distributed a handout and gave a building update. Some change orders were necessary in conjunction with door hardware, more data to be added to communication ports. We are still planning to close for two weeks and re-open for business on April 30. Over the next thirty days, a lot of work needs to be completed. The basement is 80% complete. The handout contained pictures of the west end. The playground people have been talked to and it is hoped that it will be re-installed by the 2"d week in March. Miller will set up a meeting with the 64 lA people. The construction fence will be moved and will follow the curve of 64 1 A, around to Linn Street taking par[ of Linn Street for a staging area. Book drops will be installed in the area noah of the alley. Miller stressed the need to begin educating people to use the Dubuque St ramp. They can walk directly through Sheraton Hotel and enter into the Library's new entrance. We will schedule a tour for next month. ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES January 23, 2003 Page 2 Leased Space: Newspaper articles regarding the leased space were included in packet. Parker said that the next step is to begin getting the necessary documents together. There was some discussion about the articles and how to market the space. FY04 Budget The meeting with City Council is scheduled for 6:50 pm on January 27. Trustees are encouraged to attend. Dellsperger, Van Dusseldorp, Schnack and Parker volunteered. Trustees were also requested to attend the County meeting at 1:00 pm that same Monday. The County meeting is held in the Administration Building. It was suggested that it might be a good idea to give the Council a building update. Also, it was felt that information should be sent to the Supervisors prior to their meeting. Craig will do that. A plan for informing the public about closing was discussed. All elementary schools are receiving letters about services and programs during that period. Dellsperger asked if any information has been sent to media specialists at junior and senior schools. It will be done once the calendar is approved. NEW BUSINESS: 6-month review of FY03 Plan Schnack said it was impressive to read how much was done. Parker said reading the plan after reading the departmental reports each month was helpful. Dellsperger asked about the National Library of Medicine grant and the worth of continuing training sessions for only small numbers of attendees. It seems like a great effort for small numbers. Adult programs are difficult to attract people too, Logsden explained, since there is so much going on in Iowa City. Logsden also pointed out that there are many people coming to the training sessions at outreach sites. That requirement of the grant is outstanding. Parker commented on the quality of the Medline searching database. In response to a question about staff's response to putting time and effort into projects that have small numbers in attendance, Logsden replied that oftentimes more individualized training makes everyone happy. Policy Reviews: Use of Library's Cardholder File. DellspergedSingerman moved to approve policy. No discussion. All voted Aye and motion passed. Confidentiality policy. Staff did an intense review and had good conversations in light of the Confidentiality policy and the USA Patriot Act, which has made it easier for authorities to get information about library use. Another point of discussion was about child pornography viewed on the Internet at the library and how staff should respond if this happens. The staff recommended reporting to the police. The police should be alerted if illegal action is reported and/or suspected, and they could determine if laws are broken. In response to a question about pornography, which is not illegal, there have been occasions where a patron reported an incident of someone viewing pornography. When this happens, a staff member will speak to individual and point out that there are more private places to view Internet. ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES Janua~ 23,2003 Page 3 Schnack moved approval of approving the policy as suggested. Van Dusseldorp seconded. Discussion: It was articulated again that staff would not do anything different with someone reported or observed viewing child pornography except call the police, if the police came and wanted records related to sites viewed, or information, they would be told that they needed a subpoena to get that information. Matthews has talked to the County Attorney and they said they would be willing to assist library staff in identifying causes of action. Although when someone logs off a computer, their record is cleared, it is still possible to identify a site because we keep logs for seven days. However, E-mail is not stored on our library's computer. If a subpoena was served, police could see a traffic pattern but then they would need to go to the provider site. Although information is purged after seven days, it is theoretically possible it could be retrieved beyond the seven days. Matthews said it is possible to fast track a subpoena. Craig said this is an emotional and sensitive area and we do not want to be perceived as being opposed to the elimination of child pornography. However there is nothing that can keep it out of the library or anywhere else the Internet is available, and the principle of the library is that confidentiality is protected by law, and is an important library value. The real problem is that we do not know and cannot judge what is child pornography and what is legally protected information. It is an interpretation made by placing staff in a position of looking at something on a screen to determine if it is child pornography. We feel legal officers must be involved in this decision. Matthews asked if Craig had visited with the police about whether keeping records for one week is appropriate or whether we need to extend that period? Craig will make the contact with the police. Police need probable cause to get a subpoena, and need to be made aware of our policy and procedure, and that there is a time limitation. Some police feedback might be warranted. The most practical reason we keep logs at all is for statistical purposes. There was no further discussion. All in favor of approving the policy said Aye. No opposition. Motion passed. USA PatriotAct Craig included a copy of an informal request to post information about the USA Patriot Act. The issue is whether or not the Board wants to take a position on this. Craig feels that the suggested statement is political and not appropriate to post in the lobby, however, she also feels the Act does infringe on the rights of library users to confidentiality and use of information resources. If Federal agents want to take records they could take everyone's records. Schnack thinks it might be appropriate to inform people about the Patriot Act Another action taking place in the community is the urging of City Council to adopt a resolution similar to what is included in packet. Craig said the Board could ask Parker to write a letter advocating Council's adopting a resolution. After a brief discussion about informational options for the public, the Board agreed to provide an alternative statement to the suggested statement and include it on a bookmark to be left on public services desks. Information could be included that referred patrons to go to web sites for more information. Calendar: We need an official action from the Board in order to announce closing for two weeks. MagalhAes moved that we close the library from April 16 to 29 due to construction and moving. Singerman seconded the motion. Any discussion? Craig said the library might have to close for one additional day while gas lines are emptied and welded to keep heat in both the old building and the addition. ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES Janua~ 23,2003 Page 4 We are trying to schedule this for President's Day when we usually have holiday hours of 10-6. There was no further discussion. Parker called for a vote to close the library for two weeks. It was unanimously accepted. Approve the FY04 annual calendar: Staff did not recommend closing for Inservice Day while in the temporary quarters. We will resume after moving back into completed building. A motion to approve the calendar was made and seconded by Dellsperger/Shaner. Discussion: What is a declared holiday? Craig explained that holidays are outlined in the contract. In addition a day during the December/January holidays is designated an additional holiday by the City Manager or Library Director. If not declared by Library Director, it must be used within the designated timeframe and is called a floating holiday. If it is declared, the building is closed and everyone takes it off. There was no further discussion and a vote was called for. The calendar for FY04 was approved unanimously. Set Public Hearing for February for the Iowa City Public Library Moving Package A motion to set a public hearing on the moving bid package for next meeting was made and seconded by Dellsperger/Magalh~es. The purpose of the hearing is to allow the public to ask questions about details of the moving package. It will be incorporated into agenda. There was no discussion and a vote was called for. The motion passed unanimously. Approve contract for systems furniture: There are a few changes: 1) staff is asking Board approval of a contract for Phase 1 only and the price has dropped by $400 from what was in the original documents. However, in the best interests of the project, it was felt that bidding out the Phase 2 systems furniture package was the correct thing to do, so staff and architects would prepare bid package. There is also a larger bid package for all the other furniture for the new building. This is just for the workstations in office areas. A motion to approve the contract for Phase 1 was made and seconded by Dellsperger/Singerman. There was no further discussion and the motion passed unanimously. STAFF REPORTS: Craig asked for comments on the departmental reports. Magalh~es commented on the fact that a recent retiree from the Information Services Department is already at work as a volunteer. The BookEnd. Curtin was asked about her request of several months ago for more books. Curtin said they now have lots of library discards, but good books are always needed. Discards are up because of the heavy weeding librarians are doing because of the expense of tagging and having to move books twice. Curtin said some of the discards were not of the quality that would sell. Dave VanDusseldorp commented that he has leamed much about what goes on behind the scenes from departmental reports. He felt that the reports were worth the effort, if the information provided allows trustees to do a better job. Dellsperger said it was her favorite part of the Board packet. COMMITTEE REPORTS: Foundation: Magalh~es reported that an Investment Committee meeting is scheduled for February 12. He asked that an agenda item be included on the Foundation board agenda to allow the Trustees who serve on the Foundation to give a Library Board meeting report. ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES January 23, 2003 Page 5 Art Committee: Dellsperger reported that the artists from Colorado would be here during the first part of February for another presentation. FINANCIAL REPORTS: Use Repo~s: The six-month use report shows a higher circulation than Craig expected. Park 'n Read is going down. The reason is that the entire surface lot was still open during the first six months of last year. Dellsperger would like to see graphic data comparing it to previous years. At next month's meeting we will discuss a "goodbye" to this building. VanDusseldorp asked whether dropping limits has changed circulation? It has, especially with CD's. Circulation of video has not risen dramatically, partially because we now have DVDs. DISBURSEMENTS: Disbursements for the months of November and December 2002 were approved unanimously after a motion was made by Dellsperger and seconded by Magalh~es. There was no discussion and the motion passed unanimously. ADJOURNMENT: A motion to adjourn was made by Magalh~es and seconded by Dellsperger. Motion was approved unanimously. Minutes recorded and transcribed by Martha Lubaroff MINUTES IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2003 - 5:30 P.M. CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. LINN ST.-TOWER PLACE PARKING FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT: Betty McKray, Jim Pusack, Kembrew McLeod MEMBERS ABSENT: Cathy Weingeist, Terry Smith STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Mike Brau, Bob Hardy, Andy Matthews, Dale Helling OTHERS PRESENT: Rene Pa'me, Randy Brown, Jon Koebrick, Kevin Hoyland, Phil Phillips RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL None at this time. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Brown reported that work is being done to split a node on Melrose Ave. Cable modem usage is now being monitored. Monitoring actual usage rather than subscriber numbers will enable Mediacom to better track where upgrades will need to be made. Koebrick reported that Mediacom will be raising expanded basic or the Family Package rates in March. PATV's mortgage was rewritten to take advantage of falling interest rates. The lower rates will allow PATV to put more money aside for the capital reserve fund. McLeod moved and Pusack seconded a motion to approve the Triennial Review Report pending the changes suggested by Weingeist. The motion passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF MIN1UTES McLeod moved and Pusack seconded a motion to approve the November 2002 meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS None. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. C R I UES Shaffer referred to the complaint report in the meeting packet. There were 28 complaints in the last two months-3 relating to telephone service such as being on hold for long periods of time and being unable to get through to Mediacom, 3 about billing problems, including no notice of combined cable modem and cable television bills, 1 that the weather channel should be on the basic tier, 1 that the customer service representative appeared not to understand the a la carte deal, 1 that the notice from the company regarding the a la carte deal and new prices was one week late, 2 wanting competition, 1 about the Encore channel price increase, 1 about being disconnected because a technician decided to disconnect the service of both halves of a duplex when only one was to be disconnected because the wires were not marked, 1 that the television listings in the newspapers are incorrect, 1 that rates are higher here than other places, 1 that the promotional offers were not honored, 1 that rates are too high, 1 that the settlement agreement offer is not good enough, 6 cable modem technical complaints, 2 that cable modem tech support was difficult to get by phone, and 2 that flee cable service was offered at the time they were offered cable modem service but later were charged. All the complaints have be resolved except 2 of the cable modem technical problems. Pusack asked how many people have taken the deal offered in the settlement agreement. Koebrick said he will provide that information. MEDIACOM REPORT Brown reported that work is being done to split a node on Melrose Ave. Cable modem usage is now being monitored. Monitoring actual usage rather than subscriber numbers will enable Mediacom to better track where upgrades will need to be made. Koebrick reported that Mediacom will be raising expanded basic or the Family Package rates in March. UNIVERSITY OF IOWA REPORT No representative was present. PATVREPORT Paine reported a new production intern, Sasha Chacon, has been hired. Paine reported she was elected as the president of Iowa Shares. PATV's mortgage was rewritten to take advantage of falling interest rates. The lower rates will allow PATV to put more money aside for the capital reserve fund. ICCSD REPORT Hoyland reported that the school district has been installing new equipment. The school distzict channel will be moved to channel 21 on March 1. Discussions with the University of Iowa are planned to discuss the possibility of cablecasting graduation ceremonies live if they are held at MacBride Hall. Hoyland said programming is supposed to be played on the channel from noon to about 9 or 10 in the evening. Programming is limited to 6 playback decks. Each deck can rewind and play the program several times a day if desired. Pusack asked if Univision could be moved into the basic tier. Koebrick said that there are only so many channels in the basic tier and with the must-carry broadcast channels and the number of local access channels there is more pressure on the allocation of basic tier channels. SENIOR CENTER REPORT No representative was present. Hardy reported that he is waiting on some special connectors to make the connections to enable the Senior Center to go live from four locations in the Senior Center. The city recreation center is also now wired to provide live feeds. Matthews said he had nothing new to report. LIBRARY REPORT No representative was present. KIRKWOOD REPORT No Representative was present. CITY CHANNEL REPORT Hardy reported that program listings on the digital tier program guide have been corrected. The Community Television Service has been making public service announcements for community organizations. There has been a good response for the PSAs. CABLE TV ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Shaffer reported that the first Avatar Show was cablecast on December 9 and was replayed until January 15. Advertising for the Special Programs Coordinator position is taking place. Shaffer and Helling talked with the Coralville Broadband Telecommunications Commission at their request regarding the possibility of working together on the refi'anchising process. TRIENNIAL REVIEW Shaffer said that Weingeist has reviewed the Triennial Review, said that she felt the review looked very good to her, and suggested that something be included about the need for a comment competition. Weingeist said that the report might mention that the City has attempted to get a competitor on several occasions, including offering McLeod a franchise, conducting a municipal ownership study and sending out information packets to prospective overbuilders. Pusack suggested that competition from dish providers might also be included. Pusack said the drop audit is still unresolved. Koebrick said that Mediacom wants to meet with the City to discuss the issue. Ifa subscriber subscribes to the digital tier of the cable modem service they must have a good drop or it will not work at all. Pusack said that the exact terms in the franchise are not being met, but perhaps such terms are not reasonable. Koebrick said Mediacom has proposed alternative language and the city staff and Mediacom are discussing possible alternatives. McLeod moved and Pusack seconded a motion to approve the Triennial Review Report pending the suggested changes by Weingeist. The motion passed unanimously. ADJOURNM.E_ NT McLeod moved and Pusack seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. Adjoununent was at 6:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Wm. Drew Shaffer Cable TV Administrator MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION FEBRUARY 6, 2003 EMMA J. HARVAT HALL APPROVED MEMBERS PRESENT: Ann Freerks, Don Anciaux, Ann Boy,erg, Beth Koppes, Dean Shannon, Jerry Hansen MEMBERS ABSENT: Benjamin Chait STAFF PRESENT: Bob Miklo, John Yapp, Shelley McCafferty, Mitch Behr OTHERS PRESENT: Paul Shultz, Michael Barton, Jane Driscoll, John Moreland, Hillary Sale, Joannes R. Pool, Martin Pomije, Jackie Briggs, Meg Baron, Philip Lutgendorf, John Loomis, Valerie Russell, Richard Elardo RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Recommended approval, by a vote of 5-1, (Bovbjerg voted no), REZ02-00020, a rezoning of 2.8 acres from Factory Built Housing Residential Zone (RFBH) to Planned Development Housing Overlay 12 (OPDH-12) and an OPDH plan for Saddlebrook Addition Part 2, for 26 townhouse style dwelling units located on the east side of Heinz Road east of Paddock Boulevard. Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, REZ03-00007, a City-initiated request for a rezoning from CB- 2, Central Business Service Zone, to CB-5, Central Business Support Zone, for Block 67, Iowa City Original Town Plat, excepting the 6,000 square foot property at 130 North Dubuque Street. Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, REZ02-00021, a rezoning from CB-2, Central Business Service Zone, to CB-5, Central Business Support Zone, for a 6,000 square foot property located 130 North Dubuque Street, subject to a Conditional Zoning Agreement requiring staff Design Review Committee approval of any new building on the property to ensure compatibility with the historic character of the area. Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, Staff to make updates to the Zoning Code regarding the regulation of childcare homes. CALL TO ORDER: Bovbjerg called the meeting to order at 7:36 pm. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES ON CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: Bovbjerg said a listing of current vacancies on the various City boards and commissions was posted in the outer hallway. ZONING/DEVELOPMENT ITEMS: REZ02-0002(~, discussion of an application submitted by Paddock EEC. for a rezoning from Factory Built Housing Residential Zone (RFBH) to Planned Development Housing Overlay 12 (OPDH-12) and an OPDH plan for Saddlebrook Addition Part 2, a 2.8-acre 26-unit multi-family housing development located on the east side of Heinz Road east of Paddock Boulevard. Miklo said there had been no revisions to the plan since the Commission had last met. Staff recommended approval of REZ02-0002Q, which would allow the property to develop with 26 townhouse style units on one common lot versus the approximately 10 manufactured housing units that would be allowed under the current zoning. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6,2003 Page 2 Public discussion was opened. There was none. Public discussion was closed. Bovbjerg said her reactions were the same as they had been at the previous Commission meeting. She believes that the project is too dense even though it is within the maximum number of units allowed in the proposed RS-12 zone. She feels the buildings appear too crowded and that there should be more open space. She asked if anyone would like to make a motion recommending the rezoning with 22 townhouse style dwellings instead of 26. No motion was made. Motion: Anciaux made a motion to approve REZ02-00020, a rezoning of 2.8 acres from Factory Built Housing Residential Zone (RFBH) to Planned Development Housing Overlay 12 (OPDH-12) and an OPDH plan for Saddlebrook Addition Part 2, for 26 townhouse style dwelling units located on the east side of Heinz Road east of Paddock Boulevard. Shannon seconded the motion. Anciaux said he agreed with the rezoning because it met the criteria ouflined in the Comprehensive Plan, it met the safety requirements the fire department had requested and would be an excellent project in that location. He also liked the access to a public building, the community center, which would relieve some of the need for additional open space. There were also parks close within the area. Shannon said he agreed with Anciaux. It would be a good project and he suppoded what the applicant had proposed to build on that site. Bovbjerg said she could see the value of this type of housing, but felt it was still too crowded so she was going to vote against it because she felt it was an over-use of land. The vote passed on a vote of 511. (Bovbjerg voted no.) Motion: Shannon made a motion that the public hearings for REZ02-00021 and REZ03-00007 be merged. Freerks seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. Motion: Hansen made a motion to amend the agenda to vote on REZ03-00007 prior to REZ02-00021, with reference to the prevention of spot zoning. Anciaux seconded the motion. The mo[ion passed on a vote of 6-0. REZ02-00021, discussion of an application submitted by Kevin Hanick for a rezoning from Central Business Service Zone (CB-2) to Central Business Support Zone (CB-5) for a 6,000 square foot property located at the south east corner of the Dubuque Street / Market Street intersection. REZ03-00007, discussion of a City-initiated application for a rezoning from Central Business Service Zone (CB-2) to Central Business Support Zone (CB-5) for Block 67 of the Original Town Plat, excepting the 6,000 square foot property at 130 North Dubuque Street. Yapp said for the benefit of persons in the audience, the City had received a rezoning application for the property at 130 N. Dubuque Street. Following that application, City Staff had initiated a rezoning for the remainder of the block to also be considered for rezoning to CB-5, Central Business Support Zone, for the entire block. Yapp said his staff presentation would deal with both applications concurrently. Yapp said the Comprehensive Plan identified the Near Northside Commercial Area including this block as a mixed use area, with mixed use development encouraged which would be a combination of residential and commercial uses. In Staff's opinion, the requested zoning, CB-5, Central Business Support Zone, allowed more opportunity for mixed use development than the existing CB-2, Central Business Service Zone, for the following reasons: · The CB-5 zone allows a higher floor-to-area ratio, allowing for more square footage of floor area to exist on a property which would be more conducive to mixed uses in a single development. · The CB-5 zone has site design criteria to encourage pedestrian oriented development. In Staff's opinion, this area should be encouraged to develop a pedestrian oriented mixed use, near downtown, style of development. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6, 2003 Page 3 · The CB-5 zone has lower parking requirements. One of the effects is the developable portion of property is maximized which also encourages pedestrian oriented development and more investment in the properties. · It was Staff's observation that historically the Near Northside has developed with pedestrian oriented commercial and residential development with minimal off-street parking requirements. Yapp said Staff recommended that the entire block, Block 67, be considered for zoning for consistency and for predictability for properties on that block. In the initial zoning application for the 130 N. Dubuque Street property, the applicant had made a case that the property was a gateway to Iowa City and a gateway to downtown Iowa City on Dubuque Street. The block also had a number of historic landmark properties including Brewery Square and St. Mary's Church. For that reason, Staff recommended that a rezoning of the property at 130 N. Dubuque Street be conditioned on Staff Design Review Committee approval of any new structure to ensure compatibility with the historic character of the area. At the request of the Commission, Staff had investigated with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) the contamination of the soil. A remediation plan would need to be approved by the Iowa DNR prior to any redevelopment of the property that disturbed the soil or introduced a basement or piping or something in the soil that could absorb or attract environmental contaminants. That would be the case under either zone. If the property were to become a surface parking lot, Staff estimated that 16 parking spaces could be placed on the parking lot according to City parking standards. The applicant had proposed underground parking with 10-11 spaces. Yapp said Staff recommended the Conditional Zoning Agreement for the Staff Design Review Committee only for the 130 North Dubuque Street property. Bovbjerg asked if the current building were removed and the property were to be used as a surface parking lot, would that initiate an Iowa DNR remediation plan. Yapp said if it resulted in the soil being disturbed it would. However, he did not know specifically what types of demolition would result in the soil being disturbed. If a development action resulted in contaminated soil being disturbed, that would trigger the need for a remediation plan for the property. Any soil disturbance for any future use would require an Iowa DNR approved remediation plan. Bovbjerg said with either a CB-2 or CB-5 zoning, did either of those make the uses that were already there non-conforming. Yapp said the other uses on the block would not be changed or become non- conforming. The auto-oriented use, for this particular site, would become non-conforming under the CB-5 zone. Public discussion was opened for REZ02-00021 and REZ03-00007. Paul Shultz, director of the Wesley Foundation. He said they owned the properties at 213 E. Market Street and 120 N. Dubuque Street. Those properties surrounded the applicant's area. He said they did not have a position of opposing the zoning, but wanted list two concerns that they had for the zoning for the Commission's deliberation. 1. Parking. Parking on that block was a critical issue for persons who worked and lived on that block. To rezone the property to CB-5 would make parking even that much chaotic in that area. 2. Design Review Committee for 130 N. Dubuque Street. They supported Staff's recommendation. They had been long standing residents of those two buildings, one for over sixty years. The house at 213 E. Market Street was a historic building that was over 100 years old. They were very concerned about the structural integrity of the two properties with the kind of building that would be allowed under the CB-5 zoning and how the structural integrity of the two buildings could be maintained. Bovbjerg asked how the rezoning would change the parking. Shultz said under CB-5, it was his understanding that it did not require as many parking spaces per resident as did CB-2. Yapp confirmed that no parking was required for commercial uses and less parking was required for residential uses. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6, 2003 Page 4 Freerks asked if they were currently allowed to use the lot for parking. Shultz said on the off-business hours the person currently renting the lot had allowed and even helped them to use the lot for parking. Shultz said the Wesley Foundation was a religious organization that served college students, that was their mission. They also had several human service organizations that worked out of their building, the Free Medical Clinic and the Free Lunch Program were probably the two most well known. Those programs were staffed by volunteers. The volunteers had a very difficult time finding parking at the time that they needed to be serving the patrons. The proposed development would make it even harder to continue those types of services. Michael Barron, past member of the Board of Directors of the Wesley Foundation and the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Trustees for the First United Methodist Church. Barron said he did not currently speak officially for the Trustees Board of the First United Methodist Church; at the last meeting on his watch they had determined that the rezoning request in general for the entire block did not appear to present any issues, particularly for the Church. Barton said on multiple occasions they had tried to acquire the property in order to bring that entire section into the Methodist Church area with the notion of future development in that particular area. Since they were not prepared to do that and the owner had chosen not to sell the property, but to develop it, they respected that and did not protest the development in that sense. However, it was Barron's personal feeling and the Trustee's feelings that they strongly endorsed that the Commission and the Staff pay particularly close attention to the architectural integrity of that historic area such that the type of building, facility, its height and uses would be consistent with the kind of area that the block represented in the history of the community. Jane Driscoll, 1409 Spruce Street, current chair of the Board of Directors, Wesley Foundation. Driscoll it was only approximately three weeks ago that they had found out that the property was up for rezoning and that the current property owner was planning on doing a development as opposed into enter into a conversation regarding the sale of the property. Driscoll said she wished to reiterate the concern about the parking. As a Board member, she had a job during the day and the Board met over the noon hour, 12:00 - 1:00 pm. Frequently she had only one hour to find a parking spot, walk to the facility and attend the meeting. The volunteers who staffed the human service organizations/programs often had the same difficulties of time limitations and finding parking near the facility. Other concerns they had about development on that property, that related to the DNR concerns, part of the remediation efforts that could occur on the property would be an over excavation. They were concerned about excavation for parking below grade, because they owned the two building adjacent to the property. The old house had a gravel drive between the house and the 130 N. Dubuque Street site. Below that was an old wine cellar with an arched roof made of brick. Driscoll said she felt that would be in great jeopardy if there was a significant amount of excavation next to it, excavation not only for the underground parking but also for the soil remediation/over excavation. Other concerns they had with the proposed development, there would be commercial on the ground floor which would comply with the CB-5 zoning. With religious institutions on that block, there were a variety of businesses that could go in that would not follow in the tradition of a religious friendly business. They were also concerned with having tenants living on the upper floors. Driscoll said more than one person could reside in a one bedroom unit, each person might have their own vehicle. With only 10 spaces available, other tenants would have to find parking spaces, which would increase the competition for the parking spaces. Driscoll said they would be back before the Commission in two weeks, after they had had more time to review the issues. They had just recently found out about the proposed rezoning. Freerks asked Staff to differentiate the differences between CB-2 and CB-5 zonings in terms of ground floor commercial. Yapp said both zones required commercial uses on the ground floor. Both zones allowed very similar types of uses - retail, personal service and restaurants. The significant difference in allowed uses was auto oriented uses which were not allowed in CB-5, they were currently allowed in CB- 2. Public discussion was closed. Motion: Shannon made a motion to approve REZ03-00007, a City-initiated request for a rezoning from CB-2, Central Business Service Zone, to CB-5, Central Business Support zone, for Block 67, Iowa City Original Town Plat, excepting the 6,000 square foot property at 130 North Dubuque Street. Anciaux seconded the motion. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6, 2003 Page 5 Shannon said he concurred with Staff. He appreciated the work they had put in on the project and it seemed logical to change the zoning for that part of the block for the future. There might or might not be any great changes, but the rezoning was a good way to move. Anciaux said he agreed with Shannon. There was not that much difference between the two zones. Hansen said normally he would be in favor of not rezoning simply because of the Code rewrite coming up and because they would be looking at the entire area. Because of the stability of the block and the nature of the businesses on it, it was a good thing for that area right now. Anciaux asked if there were parking requirements in a CB-2 zone and were they different than CB-5 requirements. Yapp said the CB-2 requires much more parking than in a CB-5 zone. Freerks said she did not see any pressure for redevelopment of/in the large portion of the block. She felt this portion of it was non-controversial. She supported the change and wanted the public to know that in the future, the Commission was looking at eliminating the CB-2 zoning, so this was a step that was easy to make. Bovbjerg said she agreed with the other Commissioners. The benefit of going to CB-5 would be to take away the auto oriented uses. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. Motion: Anciaux made a motion to approve REZ02-00021, a rezoning from CB-2, Central Business Service zone, to CB-5, Central Business Support zone, for a 6,000 square foot property located at 130 North Dubuque Street, subject to a Conditional Zoning Agreement requiring staff Design Review Committee Approval of any new building on the property to ensure compatibility with the historic character of the area. Shannon seconded the motion. Anciaux said he felt it was an excellent use for the lot. As a surface lot, it would have 16 parking spaces, as proposed it would have 10-11 spaces. He sympathized with the parking problems in the area, he had also experienced them. Anciaux said the problem there now was so great that nothing short of a parking garage would alleviate the problem. Freerks said she supported the rezoning as well. What needed to be looked at was what would be seen there in the future and what would serve the community better, a parking lot or a structure that accommodated housing as well as commercial. She would like to see it developed in a way that took into consideration the surrounding historic structures, which was very important to the redevelopment of the lot. When the structure was being developed, she requested that consideration be given to loading docks and the traffic commercial structures would generate so it didn't become a problem for the neighbors in an already very busy and congested area. Anciaux said the Commission had also discussed screening for the parking area so it didn't look like a big parking area underneath. Koppes said with the Design Review Committee approval, hopefully it would stay within the historical nature of the area, so she would support the rezoning. The screening needed to be well done and the access coming off the parking ramp onto Market Street should easily be seen, which was a concern of hers. The access would come onto a fairly busy traffic flow area. Hansen said he supported the project. It was a good chance, from the redevelopment angle, for that piece of property to get at least a partial remediation to the contaminated condition of the soil that was located there. His initial concerns about the contaminated soil had been put to rest by explanations from the Iowa DNR and from the City. Shannon said he had supported the project from when he first heard about it. He had also heard the concerns of persons about the neighboring structures and every opportunity had to be taken care to ensure that nothing happened to the surrounding properties. The developer would have the responsibility to build something in the character of the neighborhood and the existing buildings on the block, not just build 'any old thing.' It would have to be something of high quality that would fit in, blend and become our gateway, and everything that went with it. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6, 2003 Page 6 Bovbjerg asked Staff where the Design Review Committee came from with respect to the Infill Committee. Miklo said the Design Review Committee administered the Infill guidelines for multi-family in the Central Planning district. Bovbjerg said she was in support of the rezoning, especially because of the Design Review Committee requirement. She said everyone must work together - permitting personnel, design review personnel, owners and neighbors. What ever excavation was done must not disturb any foundations, cellars, tunnels or anything that was down there. It was only to disturb the soil. With everyone working together, she felt they could have a building that would be an addition to the block and an addition to the City, that would also be a benefit. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. REZ02-00022, discussion of an application submitted by Arlington L.C. for an amendment to the Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH-8) plan for Lot 255, Windsor Ridge Part 12, a 7.93-acre, 64-unit multi-family residential development located south of Court Street and west of Arlington Drive. McCafferty said the original PDH plan for this property was approved in 1999. It called for four 18-plex buildings, a total of 72 units, with underground parking and a clubhouse. This amendment calls for 64 units; three 12-plexes for 36 apartment type units and 28 townhouse style units for a total of 64 dwellings, 8 less units than had been previously approved. Nine garage buildings would provide garages for each of the 12-plex units. McCafferty said the intent of the OPDH plan was to provide flexibility in architecture and site design, promote efficient land use with smaller utility and street networks and promote an attractive, safe and compatible living environment. In exchange for the above listed items, it allows the developer or applicant greater flexibility in the application of zoning standards. The applicant had requested three variations in zoning standards. One would include allowing apartment buildings in this area. The underlying zone was Medium Density Single Family Residential (RS-8) which does not allow apartment buildings. McCafferty said a Sensitive Areas Site plan was also required because there was a wetland, stream corridor and fully hydric soils located on the property. Staff had looked at the proposal in terms of the Comprehensive Plan, which includes goals for housing and diversity compatibility. The adjacent property to the east is private open space, to the south is the stream corridor, further south is single family houses, to the west public open space and to the north is townhouses and apartments. The 18-plex units approved in the previous PDH plan were approved in part because they introduced a new building type to the neighborhood. Parking was located below the buildings which was determined to contribute to a more pedestrian friendly environment in that neighborhood. The proposed amendment contains 12-plex units similar to those located directly north at the intersection of Court Street and Camden Road. In the amended plan, the applicant proposes two new designs for the townhouse style buildings, which would be alternated along Court Street and added diversity to the neighborhood. McCafferty said the Comprehensive Plan states that multi-family housing should be located at the intersection of arterial and collector streets. Court Street is classified an arterial and Arlington Drive a collector, so this standard is met. Staff did not feel that this development would create enough additional traffic to exceed the capacity of those streets. There had been concerns from the neighborhood about traffic in that particular area. One of the concerns was that because Scott Boulevard was difficult to access from Court Street, the traffic flow would cut down Arlington Drive. McCafferty said the monitoring of the intersections along Scott Blvd would be ongoing to determine if a signal was needed and when that would be. More efficient design was another principle of the Comprehensive Plan. The proposed plan had approximately 8 dwelling units per acre. In a typical RS-8 subdivision, 6 units per acre was more standard. Staff felt that the plan had sufficient interconnected streets with access to Court Street and Arlington Drive, also that there were adequate connections within the development. McCafferty said Staff had been concerned about the length of and the monotony of the streetscapes. In order to reduce the monotony along Court Street, a linear tree-lined alley that terminates at a picnic area is proposed. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6,2003 Page 7 Another concern for Staff had been the long row of garages and garage doors behind the town houses. The applicant had also proposed to alternate different garage designs along Berkeley Lane to help ameliorate that concern. Staff had also recommended to the applicant that they provide some planting areas behind the townhouses. The proposed townhouses were wider than typical. In order to make the area more residential and more friendly, planting areas could be located in front of the pedestrian doors. McCafferty said the first plan had approximately 40,000 square feet of building coverage and approximately 56,500 square feet of pavement. The proposed plan had approximately 60,000 square feet of building coverage and 63,800 square feet of pavement. With the addition of parking garages and the need for more driveways, the proposed plan increased the pavement significantly. One of the intents of the OPDH is to get some amenities in exchange for the increase of in density. One amenity provided is the open space along the stream corridor. An accessible trail would be located along the west edge of the property and would connect via a pedestrian bridge to an east-west trail south of the stream corridor. The trail would eventually connect into a larger system and in the future to the west it would connect with the Scott Park trail system. Staff had also recommended that the picnic area, picnic table and a grill, be further developed and landscaped to provide a more significant amenity. Previously the applicant had proposed to have a clubhouse which was a significantly more substantial amenity than a picnic table. Under previous agreement with the Windsor Ridge proposal, the applicant met their open space requirement. The amended proposal did not encroach into the stream corridor, wetland or any required buffer so a Sensitive Areas Overlay would not be required. The new proposal indicated more encroachment of the fully hydric soils than the previous plan, but that is an issue of how the footings are designed. The encroachment was allowed under the Sensitive Areas Ordinance. McCafferty said there were some deficiencies but Staff recommended that REZ02-00022 be approved with the following code variations and subject to additional landscaping: · Reduction in the distance between two primary buildings on a single lot to 17 feet. · Multiple primary buildings located on one lot. · Three 12-pex multi-family buildings allowed on a lot with an RS-8 underlying zone. Hansen said Staff had said that the proposed plan complied with the Comprehensive Plan, but the Comprehensive Plan called for no more than 24 rental units at any collectodarterial street intersection. McCafferty said the Plan recommendation applies to multi-family apartment buildings and not necessarily the single-family townhouses. Hansen said it seemed to him that they were still nickel-and-diming the issue to death. With the first plan, the Commission had bent over backwards to give the applicant what they had wanted, three 18-plexes and they had allowed height variances. Staff was talking about the proposal conforming to the Comprehensive Plan, but he did not see that. Freerks asked if the trail that was approved in the previous plan, was the trail that went to the stream corridor. McCafferty said she did not think it was. Hansen asked where the 100-year flood line was located on the old plan. Bovbjerg said the 100-year flood line was not completely drawn. McCafferty said she would ask the applicant to address that issue. On the original plan, it was located much farther back from the buildings than on the proposed plan. Shannon asked if the 100-year flood line took into account that there was a lake across the street that acted as a flood retention basin? It seemed like a huge amount of water. McCafferty said they had met all the requirements in terms of storm water management and it complied with the SAC. She suggested the applicant's engineer address the question. Miklo said the presence of a storm water pond actually does not affect the legal line that establishes the 100-year flood plain. The buildings were not proposed to be within the 100-year flood plain, although there was some fill along the edge. Bovbjerg asked McCafferty to again clarify that hydric soils could be built upon. McCafferty said that was correct. There were ramifications in terms of how the footings, etc were designed. Bovbjerg said she was uneasy about putting things so far back on hydric soils, she had seen years of silt fences not working, water running downhill and real messes in the waterways that were supposed to be buffered. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6,2003 Page 8 Freerks asked if it was correct that in the proposed revision, the number of units was decreasing by 8- units, the amount of building space was increased by 20,000 square feet and the amount of pavement was increased by 7,300 square feet. McCafferty said that was correct Public discussion was opened. John Moreland, 960 Arlington Drive, one of the applicants. Moreland said the 12-plex buildings were not apartments, they were to be marketed as individual condominiums. Additionally, one of the reasons that there was more building space was because of the garages, not because of the dwelling area. The townhouse units were also to be sold, not rental units. That had previously been an issue with the property owners and it still was an issue. Moreland said eight units per acre might seem like a lot of units per acre. However, they had opted to donate over 5 acres of land to the City for parkland instead of keeping it and combining it with the other land to build only 5 units per acre. Moreland said there was an extreme amount of greenspace available. Moreland said at the onset of the development, he and Gary Watts had met with Staff. They knew because of the streets and access issues, it would be necessary to have multi-family units located in that spot. At that time, Watts had been in the process of building two 18-unit buildings with underground garages on the west side of town. During the preliminary design phase for this development, they had received tremendous criticism from some of the property owners who lived in Windsor Ridge. At that time, they had redesigned a project similar to the proposed project with more townhouses, duplexes, etc. to try to appease the neighbors. Staff said they preferred to see the diversity and suggested that the developers keep the 18-unit dwellings. Upon Staff's request, they stayed with the 18-unit buildings. Watts had found out that there was not a good market for the two 18-unit buildings on the west side of town because residents had a concern about having their cars in unsecured underground parking areas and Watts had not been able to sell any of the units. Presently they were all rental units. Moreland said he resided at Windsor Ridge, the last thing he wanted to do was to get in trouble with his neighbors. As developers, they did not want to build units that they would have to rent. They had been very successful with the 12-plex type units which had over 1,000 square feet, each had a double car garage and they had sold 24-units across the street even before they were built. The townhouse units had a tremendous market with young couples just starting out who preferred to purchase instead of paying rent. Moreland said they felt that they had made an improvement going from 72 units down to 64. He said the neighbors were correct when they said they were concerned about traffic, it was hard to get out onto Scott Blvd. Even if single family housing was placed in that area, it would still be a large amount of houses in that area. Moreland said they had started this process over 6 months ago. They had met numerous times with McCafferty and Miklo, who had been very helpful from the design standpoint. Revisions had been done at least six different times to make the development work for both Staff and the developers. Several weeks ago, there had been some concern from the neighbors. Moreland had met personally with some homeowners and had also put together exhibits which he had presented at the annual Homeowner's meeting. They had tried to do their homework and ensure that everyone was on the same page. Moreland said as far as the floodway, he thought they were a minimum of at least two or three feet above the 100-year floodline. As Shannon had suggested, Moreland said he thought the floodline had been modified and had been brought closer. The pond area was a holding area with a culvert on the other side of the street, which would move the floodline back because of the larger holding area on the east side of Arlington Street. The maps were only updated once every 10-years, when the USGS was published. Moreland said he did not think the floodline was an issue, they "were not concerned with it at all." The garages were a very popular item because they were secure. The garages offered all kinds of storage where the underground parking areas offered no secure area to store items. He said the nice thing about the proposed garages, was that each one had double doors. They would not look like a row of mini warehouses. Each two garage doors would be set back one or two feet, so there would be jogs in the garages. On the upper side of the garages, it would be mainly landscaped. Staff had asked that planters be placed in behind the townhouse buildings, they had no problem with doing that, but it would need to be done in a way that snow could also be effectively removed. Staff had also requested additional trees planted in that area, so the developers would do that as well. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6,2003 Page 9 Bovbjerg asked where the water from the surfaces, would go? Moreland said they didn't have final construction plans, but everything had to be done now with intakes and I)ipes. He thought there would be intakes to catch the water and it would be piped down to the creek. Downspout water would drain into the grass. The back-side downspouts would drain onto the paving and go into the stormwater pipe. Drainage for the 12-plex units would be between the buildings and surface water would be caught in an intake and piped to the channel. Dwayne Musser, MMS Consultants, gave further details for the proposed drainage systems. He said he was familiar with Bovbjerg's concerns with the Hickory Heights project and the slope on the pipe. Musser said when they got into the project they would look at that much closer. He foresaw the slope being flatter, with minimum grades. Musser said he thought the projects would be very different. Moreland said they had also agreed to build a bridge that tied into the trail system. The public would be able to use the bridge to cross the creek. Freerks asked what was the area of disturbance in the hydric soils. Moreland said hydric soils were built on everyday with footings and by rock drainage, they were not a problem to deal with. He said the big issue was the wetlands. A 100-foot buffer was necessary. McCafferty said the developers had done buffer averaging on this project, so it didn't have to be exactly 100-foot all the way around. Freerks asked about the trail on the new plan. When the trail crossed over into the green space area, did it dump people into a parking lot area and did the developers plan to make it a safe crossing area. Moreland said the truth was that they were not going to be able to build that part of the trail. He said Staff had forgotten to mention that point. City Building/Engineering staff would not allow it because it was not ADA accessible. It would all be green space. The picnic area would still be there. McCafferty said it was an issue with interpretation of the State Accessibility code, the City Building Department said it did not meet code. Michael Barron, past president of the Windsor Ridge Homeowner's Association. He said in 1999, he represented 62% of the individual resident homeowners of Windsor Ridge who had concerns about the land use on the entire lot. At that time, Mayor Lehman had requested that the homeowners and the developer come together to find a suitable alternative. They had worked together and had reached an agreement for the new design which allowed the mixed residential usage. Barton said the proposed design change was more in keeping with what original homeowners in 1999 felt was an appropriate use of that particular plot of land. Barron said Moreland had provided a considerable amount of information to the Homeowner's Association. They had had considerable discussion of that particular area, and a general feeling was expressed that they liked the I)roposed design rather than the larger footprint/larger format of the four 18-plexes. Barron said there had also been interest raised by the homeowners and the developer had given verbal assurances that appropriate landscaping would take place to replace the tree line that had to be removed to build the trail system. The tree line closer to Ralston Creek was to remain undisturbed. Barton said the Homeowner's Association had also written a letter to the City requesting monitored usage of the various streets as the surrounding areas developed. An east-west access to the city remained a concern for everyone who lived in that area. They appreciated that the developer had recognized their concerns and sent a letter to the City in support of their concerns in that regard. Motion: Hansen made a motion to defer REZ02-00022, a rezoning to amend a Planned development Housing Overlay (PDH-8) for Windsor Ridge, Part 12, Lot 255, a 7.93 acre development located at Court Street and Arlington Drive with the following code variations and subject to additional landscaping: · Reduction in the distance between two primary buildings on a single lot to 17 feet. · Multiple primary buildings located on one lot. · Three 12-pex multi-family buildings allowed on a lot with an RS-8 underlying zone. Koppes seconded the motion. Koppes requested that the tree line replacement be more clearly illustrated on maps and plans. Hansen directed his comment to Mr. Moreland. He said the motion he had made to defer was for himself. If he had been pushed to vote yet that evening, he probably would have voted against it. He liked the Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6, 2003 Page 10 original project, however the neighbors speaking about how the community felt was also a compelling argument as was the information about the 18-units not being able to be sold. Therefore he wished to think about it further. Freerks said she too would like more time to think about it. There were a few things that concerned her and she appreciated that a resident from the neighborhood had spoken at the meeting. The former plan had been much gentler with the environment and with the land use itself. They also needed to think about what the neighbors felt. Anciaux said he would like to expedite the matter. Shannon said he was on the Commission when they had approved the former project. He had liked the project very much, so he wanted time to think about the proposed revisions. Bovbjerg said the process of approval for the original plan had been filled with "labor pains." The three variations that the Commission was being requested to look at, as well as other types of uncomfodablenesses, had to be ironed out. The variations were major variations and they would set precedents. She said the issue of apartments versus condominiums had arisen before. What the, Commission looked at was dwelling units per acre, it didn't make any real difference if they were apartments or condominiums. They were financial arrangements, tax arrangements, legal arrangements and were not land use. It was well known that there were people who bought a unit of condos and then rented them out, so the condo/apartment distinction didn't really have to do with land use. Bovbjerg said that had not been a provision that had swayed the Commission in other projects and should be recognized as irrelevant to the Commission's consideration. Bovbjerg suggested that if the rezoning request were approved, the Commission might wish to consider making the replacement of the tree line a priority condition. The State had finally come to realize that trees along a stream were not only natural, but they held the soil. Trees of any size and/or type were working trees. The stream had been a condition of the whole property starting 10 years ago and it had to be maintained. All the land features and land requirements had to be maintained because they had all been part of the original rezoning and annexation. Bovbjerg said she wes very pleased to see variations in buildings. She was concerned about seeing row upon row of townhouses along the front and wished to discuss that further. She would also vote to defer. The vote passed on a vote of 5-1. Anciaux voted no. Moreland said none of the trees along the creek line would move. About half-way between Court Street and the creek, half-way up the hill, was a shod old fence line with box elder trees. Those trees would be removed if either the original plan or the proposed plan were utilized. REZ03-00005, discussion of an application submitted by the Historic Preservation Commission for a rezoning from Neighborhood Conservation residential (RNC-12 and RNC-20) High Density Multifamily Residential (RM-44) and Medium Density Single Family Residential (RS-8) to Conservation District Overlay (RNC-12/OCD, RNC-20/OCD, RM-44/OCD and RS-8/OCD) for the designation of the College Hill Conservation District within the College Hill Neighborhood, which will consist of properties along the following streets: Iowa Avenue, Washington Street and College Street between Van Buren Street and Muscatine Avenue; Burlington Street between Summit Street and Muscatine Avenue; and Johnson Street, Dodge Street, Lucas Street, Governor Street, and Summit Street between Iowa Avenue and Burlington Street. McCafferty said in 1996 a survey and evaluation of the College Hill Neighborhood was completed by Paul Grass Historians. They had recommended that two historic districts and a conservation district be considered. At that time the City did not have an ordinance for a conservation district. Now that the City has an ordinance for a conservation district, the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) is recommending this district. The Comprehensive Plan supports designation of historic and conservation districts as well as historic landmarks. Those items are supported under the Housing Goals and Strategies section where it states, "Preserve the integrity of existing neighborhoods and the historic nature of older neighborhoods." The Comprehensive Plan also adopts the 1992 Historic Preservation Plan. The Comprehensive Plan's goals and strategies for Art, Culture & Human Development; Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes Februa~ 6,2003 Page 11 Environmental Protection; and Land Use and Urban Patterns also supports the implementation of the Iowa City Historic Preservation Plan. As stated in the Ordinance, the purpose of a conservation district to conserve the unique character of older neighborhoods, provide design review for new construction and alterations for existing buildings to assure compatibility with the neighborhood, to encourage the retention and rehabilitation of existing dwellings, to encourage the reinvestment in older neighborhoods, and to protect the environmental settings of historic districts and landmarks. Within a historic or conservation district, design review would be required for any exterior alterations that required a building permit. The alterations would have to follow the guidelines which were outlined in the Iowa City Historic Preservation Handbook. In a conservation district, the guidelines for those alterations are less stringent than in a historic district. Within a conservation district the primary concern is the preservation of the character from the public right-of-way. In a historic district there is more concern about the preservation of the individual buildings. What happens at the back of a property was looked at as well as what happens to the front of a property. The College Hill Neighborhood guidelines address issues of site, scale, and new construction. Different historic districts have different characters, and the district guidelines assure that the unique character of each historic neighborhood is considered. The Historic Preservation Commission has taken a position of doing guidelines for entire neighborhoods. The HPC has determined that there is sufficient integrity to designate a conservation district in this area. They had evaluated all the properties and determined which properties were contributing to the character of the neighborhood and which properties did not. McCafferty said the HPC has held two informal meetings and a public hearing. They'd responded to a number of concerns voiced at the public meetings, revised the guidelines, and conducted a survey to determine if conservation or historic designation had an effect on land values, which was a concern of the neighborhood. The HPC had found there was not a particularly significant change, especially for multi- family properties. Before the Commission could act on the application, comment had to be received from the State Historic Preservation Office, which was expected by the next Commission meeting. McCafferty said Staff recommended deferral until comments are received from the State. Public discussion was opened. Michael Maharry, Chairperson of the Historic Preservation Commission, said the HPC recommended the approval of the application as they felt the buildings of the proposed district were a unique cultural resource. They felt protection and renovation under the preservation guidelines would further enhance the street. Maharry said the HPC decision was not made without intense consideration and public input, as detailed by McCafferty. In response to concerns expressed regarding increased costs of modification to structures under the newly said guidelines, the HPC had begun to investigate ways to help defray those costs. Ideas included a revolving Iow or no interest loan program, the reintroduction of a grant program cosponsored with Friends of Historic Preservation, and increased awareness to property owners of existing federal programs. At the public hearings the number of supporters of the districts equaled the number of opponents. Maharry said he hoped the Commission would agree that approval of the College Hill Conservation District would both preserve the existing historic neighborhoods and further enhance the historic nature of Iowa City that provided both a cultural and economic benefit to the City. Hillary Sate, 1016 E. Colrege Street, said she lived within the proposed designated district. She said she commended the HPC and was excited to hear that additional measures were being taken to protect the neighborhoods. Sale said she felt the proposal was consistent with the downzonings seen in those neighborhoods over the last few years. Attempts had been made by persons who resided in the neighborhood to protect the thriving residential neighborhood. The conservation designation would help to protect the flavor and character of a neighborhood that had a lot of flavor and character, and would prevent 'just any old thing from developing' as had been mentioned in an earlier agenda item by Shannon. Many persons were committed to the long term health of the neighborhood. Joannes R. Pool, 805 E. Washington Street, said he was speaking for River City Housing Collective, a non-profit housing cooperative. They supported the proposal. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6, 2003 Page 12 Martin Pomiie, 802 E. Washington, River City Housing Cooperative, said one of the nice things about living in the area was the historic nature of the neighborhood he was living in. The River City Housing Collective cared about maintaining the buildings and keeping up the historical nature of the neighborhood. Jackie Briqqs, Director of Friends of Historic Preservation. She said Friends was in support of the College Hill Conservation District. They loved old houses and were in support of retaining neighborhoods with special character such as those found around the College Hill area. They were also in favor of the next three agenda items, having those properties designated as Iowa City Historic Landmarks. Meal Baron, 115 S. Summit Street. She and her husband also own the property at 117 S. Summit Street. They wished to be included in the conservation district. The neighborhood had homes which were built in 1923 and had been changing a lot. She would like to see the whole neighborhood preserved and more families moving in. Baron said it was wonderful to be able to walk downtown and be close. She had seen much of Iowa City and great old houses disappear, and wished to see the area preserved for the town and for 'our' future. Philip Lut.qendorf, 911 Iowa Avenue, said he strongly supported the idea. He had lived in the neighborhood for 18 years in a house that had been built in 1870. The stability of the neighborhood and having it remain single family residential was very important to him and his wife. They frequently walked downtown. John Loomis, said he had lived in historic districts previously, was a local builder and a member of the Friends of Historic Preservation. He said as a builder who was actively involved in renovating and remodeling homes, he tended to appreciate and welcome the imposition of those types of requirements on the plans because it tended to bring a certain sanity to the plans. City Staff and the Historic Commission were very helpful to the planning of those types of projects. They tried to find ways to do things affordably and brought an understanding to the projects. The process to get a permit was really a help instead of a hindrance. Public discussion was closed. Motion: Anciaux made a motion to defer REZ03-00005, an application submitted by the Historic Preservation Commission for a rezoning from Neighborhood Conservation residential (RNC-12 and RNC- 20) High Density Multifamily Residential (RM-44) and Medium Density Single Family Residential (RS-8) to Conservation District Overlay (RNC-12/OCD, RNC-20/OCD, RM-44/OCD and RS-8/OCD) for the designation of the College Hill Conservation District within the College Hill Neighborhood, which will consist of propedies along the following streets: Iowa Avenue, Washington Street and College Street between Van Buren Street and Muscatine Avenue; Burlington Street between Summit Street and Muscatine Avenue; and Johnson Street, Dodge Street, Lucas Street, Governor Street, and Summit Street between Iowa Avenue and Burlington Street. Shannon seconded the motion. Freerks asked if all feedback received had been in support of the proposal. McCafferty said all comments she'd received had been forwarded to the Commission. She'd had a few persons call with concerns and questions, but that was it. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. Motion: Hansen made a motion to bundle the public hearings for the next three items as Staff had already said the items could not be acted upon until comment had been received from the State. Koppes seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. REZ03-00001, discussion of an applJcation submitted by the Historic Preservation Commission for a rezoning to designate the property at 30 South Governor Street as an Iowa City Historic Landmark. REZ03-00002, discussion of an application submitted by the Historic Preservation Commission for a rezoning to designate the property located at 802 Washington Street as an Iowa City Historic Landmark. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6, 2003 Page 13 REZ03-0000;~, discussion of an application submitted by the Historic Preservation Commission for a rezoning to designate the property located at 726 Iowa Avenue as an Iowa City Historic Landmark. McCafferty said the property at 30 S. Governor Street, the Stevenson Baker House, was built by Samuel K. Stevenson, who had been involved in the establishment of the Carnegie Library. His wife was a lecture agent for Helen Keller. An apartment had been added to the back of the house for Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan when they were lecturing in the Midwest. The Crum-Overholt House was located at 726 Iowa Avenue. The property was originally owned by William Crum, who established the Iowa Standard, one of the first of three newspapers in Iowa City. Overholt had been the postmaster when the post office, which is currently the Senior Center, was constructed. The property at 802 Washington was the Craig/Haddock House. William Haddock had been the treasurer for the University in its formative years and he had been very influential with the Board of Regents. His wife was the first female who was allowed to practice law in US courts. The HPC had determined that all three houses were historically significant and would be eligible both as local landmarks and to the National Register of Historic Places. McCafferty said the reason that they were designating the three landmarks was based on criticisms received from the State previously regarding the City's conservation districts. Buildings which were eligible individually were thought to need the additional protection which they did not have as simply being a contributing structure in a conservation district. The guidelines for these three buildings would be more stringent than they would be for contributing buildings in a conservation district. They would have the same standards as contributing buildings in a historic district. Public discussion was opened. Martin Pomiie, 802 E. Washington, said the River City Housing Collective cared about preserving the historic nature of these properties and supported the applications. Public discussion was closed. Motion: Anciaux made a motion to defer REZ03-00001, a rezoning to designate the property at 30 South Governor Street as an Iowa City Historic Landmark. Hansen seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. Motion: Koppes made a motion to defer REZ03-00002, a rezoning to designate the property located at 802 Washington Street as an Iowa City Historic Landmark. Freerks seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. Motion: Hansen made a motion to defer REZ03-0000~, a rezoning to designate the property located at 726 Iowa Avenue as an Iowa City Historic Landmark. Anciaux seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. REZ03-00004, discussion of an application submitted by the Historic Preservation Commission combining the Longfellow Historic District and the Moffitt Cottage Historic District into one historic district named the Longfellow Historic District. McCafferty said the primary reason for combining the two districts was because State law requires that a resident from each historic district be represented on the HPC. The Moffit Cottage had 5 properties in it and at this time there was not a resident who wanted to serve on the HPC. The position has been vacant for some time. Combining the two districts would have the Longfellow representative also represent the Moffit Cottage district. Revisions to the Longfellow Neighborhood guidelines also included some site and scale issues for the Moffit Cottage area. That would not affect the National Register of Historic Places designation, it just combined the local districts. The guidelines had been written with recommendations from the State. State recommendation was also necessary before the Commission could act on this. Public discussion was opened. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6, 2003 Page 14 Michael Maharry, said in addition to the points presented by McCafferty, the merger would help to ensure the HPC has a quorum at its meetings. Having had the seat vacant for so long, it would be in the HPC's best interest to combine the two districts. Public discussion was closed. Motion: Hansen made a motion to defer REZ03-00004:, an amendment to combine the Longfellow Historic District and the Moffitt Cottage Historic District into one historic district named the Longfellow Historic District. Shannon seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. OTHER: Discussion of definition and re,qulation of childcare homes. Miklo said Staff recommended that the Commission amend the Zoning Code. The amendment would continue to allow childcare homes with up to eight children as an accessory use; and as a provisional use, it would allow 9-16 children with the provisions as listed in the Staff Report. The State had recently changed their regulations regarding home-based childcare providers and this amendment would be consistent with the State requirements. Bovbjerg asked if the State currently made any inspections or did any type of licensing for childcare homes. Miklo said they had some procedures for review and there were requirements in terms of registration depending on the number of children being cared for. Public discussion was opened. Valerie Russell, 735 Westgate Street, said she was a registered childcare provider, and had been a registered teacher for 10 years. Russell said she'd received a letter from the State detailing the changes in State laws. Because City laws were not identical to the State laws, childcare providers in Iowa City would not be able to expand their businesses and/or take advantage of the changes in the State laws. Russell said the childcare providers and the parents of the children they cared for felt they provided a very valuable service for the many parents who worked. She had a waiting list of 10 families. Other childcare providers also had waiting lists. She said even though 16 children might sound like a high number, 2 children would have to be part-time program participants and 2 would need to be school aged who needed only before or after school care. Russell said parents parked for only 5 minutes and left. If each home business had two or three parking spaces, parking would not become an issue. The parents naturally staggered their arrival and pick-up times, and most of her neighbors were at work during the day so the traffic would not bother them. Russell said according to Michelle Hankeys, the Director of the 4-C's Community Child Care, there were only approximately 20 such providers like Russell in Iowa City. Russell and her staff had to be certified in CPR, Universal Precautions, Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse, and First-aid. They were required to take 10 additional hours of training annually. Hansen asked what would be the impact in the summer time. The new law designated that a certain number of children receive only before or after school care, so what would happen to them in the summer. Russell said they would have to be included in the 16 total. Hansen said that Russell lived and worked on an ideal street. His concern was for allowing this throughout the City in other areas that had a lot tighter parking restrictions and limited space availability. What happened to her business in the summer? Russell said her business usually went down. Many of the children were in programs that were less expensive or programs that were sponsored by the schools or recreation center during the summer. She didn't provide a lot of care for children ages 5 and up during the summer. Area daycare providers provided care for many children whose parents were in the school system and had summers off. Russell said she had an employee, she had been one of the first persons in Iowa City to apply for a minor modification in order to have a non-resident employee. Russell said she wanted to and was doing her Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6, 2003 Page 15 best to fulfill all the laws. Shannon asked Russell if she concurred with Staff's recommendations. Russell said she did. Hansen asked why didn't she open a separate facility versus an in-home facility. Russell said she had considered that, but all the places she had looked at had just a concrete lot or parking would be an issue or she could not afford them. A home was really the ideal environment for children to be in. Many local providers had remodeled their homes to provide in-home childcare. Hansen asked Russell if she was sure that there were 19 other childcare providers who wanted to increase their business size to the new allowable State standards. Miklo said Staff had information that there were up to 20 who qualified, who met the State requirements, but that didn't necessarily mean they wanted to do so. Anciaux asked if it was possible to notify persons within 300 feet of the childcare provider locations of the potential changes and see if they had any objections. Miklo said it would be difficult to do. From Staff's perspective, they saw it as 12 children and a few others through out the day, up to 16 children. They did not see it as a terrible traffic burden, especially with staggered drop off times. Miklo said there were also economic development benefits, as childcare in the community contributed to workforce development. Staff had requested the neighborhood services coordinator put the word out to the neighborhood groups that this item was being considered and he would ask her to put word out to the neighborhoods that the item was being forwarded to City Council, if it was approved. Freerks said it was her concern that many places didn't have adequate parking available. She would like to see a provision added regarding staggered drop of/pick-up times and/or an additional parking space if providers wished to have 16 children. Anciaux said he didn't think that would work. They were not going to hear the opposition because the public had not had adequate notice of the change. Hansen asked if when the ordinance was drafted and forwarded to Council, could Staff notify childcare providers in town. He was concerned about excluding current childcare providers because of the proposed square footage requirement. Koppes asked if the 4-C's could be asked to distribute the Code draft. Freerks said it seemed that these types of issues should be taken care of before the Commission voted and passed it on to Council. The notification had not been well made. Miklo said if this was a land use issue that might have serious consequences for a neighborhood, the level of hairsplitting would be worth while. However, given the limited consequences of providing child care in the neighborhood, he didn't feel that was necessary. Hansen said his concern was to not shut someone down. Anciaux said what the Commission was discussing was: did the City want to bring their regulations in line with the State's regulations. Richard Elardo, Associate Professor, Early Childhood Education, University of Iowa. Elardo said he was in support of the move to bring City law into accord with State law. His concerns had been parking and qualifications of the teachers. He felt the parking would not be that disruptive to what was already present, and the qualifications of the teachers were very nice. It would be a good move for Iowa City to do. Iowa was one of the only 6 or 7 states in the United States that did not have any regulations of any kind if persons took care of 6 or fewer children. That was where the problem was. Public discussion was dosed. Koppes requested that the updated Code be sent to 4-C's for distribution. It did not have to be done before the Commission voted on it. Motion: Shannon moved to amend the Iowa City regulations regarding childcare homes to match recent changes in State law, including the recommendations in the '1/30/03 memo from Howard. Anciaux seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. CONSIDERATION OF 1/16/03 MEETING MINUTES: Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes February 6, 2003 Page 16 Anciaux made a motion to approve the minutes as printed and corrected. Hansen seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. ADJOURNMENT: Anciaux made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:45 pm. Koppes seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. Jerry Hansen, Secretary Minutes submitted by Candy Barnhill data on otynt/pcd/minutes/p&z/p&z02-06-03 doc FINAL/APPR 0 VE D POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD MINUTES - January 21, 2003 CALL TO ORDER Chair John Stratton called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. ATTENDANCE Board members present: John Watson, John Stratton, and Loren Horton, Board members absent: Bev Smith and Bill Hoeft. Legal Counsel Catherine Pugh (7:02) and Staff Kellie Tuttle present. Also in attendance were Captain Matt Johnson of the ICPD, Frank Gluck of the Iowa City Gazette and Gigi Wood of the Iowa City Press Citizen. CONSENT CALENDAR Motion by Horton and seconded by Watson to adopt the consent calendar. · Minutes of the meeting on 12/10/02 · Minutes of the meeting on 12/20/02 · ICPD Use of Force Report- November 2002 · ICPD Use of Force Report- December 2002 · ICPD Department Memorandum 02-57 (Sept & Oct Use of Force Review) · ICPD Quarterly/Summary Report- IAIR/PCRB, 2002 · ICPD General Order99-10 (Domestic Violence) · ICPD General Order 00-03 (Less Lethal Impact Munitions) · ICPD General Order 01-01 (Racial Profiling) Motion carried 3/0, Hoeft and Smith absent. OLD BUSINESS No old business. NEW BUSINESS · Memorandum from City Manager (Review of Traffic Stop Policy - GO#99-07) Stratton referred to the memo requesting the Board to review the traffic stop general order #99-07. Horton requested a copy of the Association of Police Chiefs' model policy of Motor Vehicle Stops. Captain Johnson will provide a copy, which will be included in the next packet. Stratton emphasized that the memo asked the Board to look only at the general order and not to review the incident that occurred on October 11,2002. Watson suggested that general order #99-07 should reference other general orders that might appropriate to be kept in mind during traffic stops, such as Use of Force, Weapons, etc. Stratton stated that FIN~4 L/APPR O VED they should also look at possible omissions in the general order and at the interpretation of the order in which there may be some training issues. Horton asked if there was a timeframe for their response. Stratton informed him that there was no timeframe given. Horton suggested delaying the response until March since he will be gone for the February meeting and that he would work on it in the meantime. Captain Johnson informed the Board that the Department will be reviewing the order in February. He also stated that the Department planned on breaking out part of the existing policy into a standard operating guideline so there's a practical application, as well as a more global one. Johnson will also include the IACP Concepts and Issues Paper. Watson felt that the Department's review and the PCRB's review should get to the City Manager at the same time. The Board decided that Horton would try to attend the meeting by teleconference and possibly send in some written comments. · Review of newspaper articles Stratton clipped out several of the recent articles out of area papers regarding the Board, and a video Captain Johnson did in 1999. Stratton suggested possibly running the video again and distributing the brochure on traffic stops to educate the public as to what is expected during a stop. Watson said there was also an article in the paper that mentioned there is a section of the ordinance about who can file a complaint. The ordinance says the City Manager, the Police Chief, the City Council or the Board may file a complaint to the Board based upon a reasonable belief that police misconduct has occurred regardless of personal knowledge. In response to Watson's concern that a Council Member had misunderstood who could file, Stratton explained that the Council did discuss the possibility of filing a complaint, but there was not a majority who wanted to do SO. · Review of PCRB duties The Board packet included a copy of Ordinance #01-3976, which includes Board procedures and duties. Stratton would like to have members make sure they are familiar with the ordinance. 2 FI NA L /AP PR 0 VE D PUBLIC DISCUSSION BOARD INFORMATION STAFF INFORMATION EXECUTIVE SESSION Stratton wanted to point out the justification of the review which is included in Ordinance #01-3976, Section 8-8-2 (O) stating, "The Board shall review police practices, procedures, and written policies as those practices, procedures, and written policies relate to the Police Department's performance as a whole, and shall report their recommendations, if any, to the City Council, City Manager and Police Chief." Stratton asked Pugh to research the difference between obstruction of justice, and interference with an officer in the performance of his duty. He also wanted to know if there is a standard ordinance/law about refusal to obey a lawful order. No public discussion. Horton will be gone at the next meeting, but he will communicate by electronic means. Tuttle informed the Board that there were copies available of the Citizen's Summary (2204-2006 Proposed Financial Plan) if any of the Board members were interested in having a copy. Motion by Watson and seconded by Horton to adjourn into Executive Session based on Section 21.5(1)(a) of the Code of Iowa to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that government body's possession or continued receipt of federal funds, and 22.7(11 ) personal information in confidential personnel records of public bodies including but not limited to cities, boards of supervisors and school districts, and 22-7(5) police officer investigative reports, except where disclosure is authorized elsewhere in the Code; and 22.7(18) Communications not required by law, rule or procedure that are made to a government body or to any of its employees by identified persons outside of government, to the extent that the government body receiving those communications from such persons outside of government could reasonably FIN~I£/~4 PPR O VED REGULAR SESSION MEETING SCHEDULE believe that those persons would be discouraged from making them to that government body if they were available for general public examination. Motion carried, 3/0, Hoeft and Smith absent. Open session adjourned at 7:27. Returned to open session at 7:45 P.M. The Board directed staff to request additional information cited in the Chief's report. · February 11,2003, 7:00 P.M., Lobby Conference Room · March 11,2003, 7:00 P.M., Lobby Conference Room · April 8, 2003, 7:00 P.M., Lobby Conference Room · May 13, 2003, 7:00 P.M., Lobby Conference Room ADJOURNMENT Motion for adjournment by Horton and seconded by Watson. Motion carried, 3/0, Hoeft and Smith absent. Meeting adjourned at 7:48. 4 MINUTES SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION TUESDAY, JAN UARY 14, 2002 MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: GUESTS: Approved/Final Lori Benz, Jay Honohan, Betty Kelly, Allan Monsanto, Charity Rowley, Jim Schintler, and Deb Schoenfelder Joanne Hora Michelle Buhman, Linda Kopping, and Julie Seal. Eve Casserly, Lee McGovern CALL TO ORDER MINUTES Motion: To approve the December minutes as distributed. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. Schoenfelder/Kelly PUBLIC DISCUSSION Cassedy indicated she and McGovern were representing a Johnson County Task Force on Aging subcommittee. The purpose of the subcommittee is to develop a vision for the Senior Center's future that addresses recent changes in the Center's operational funding and outlines a plan for the future. On behalf of the Task Force, Casserly read a statement expressing strong opposition to the current draft of the Commission's proposal, Planning for Change: FY04 Funding, Operational and Programming Changes at the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center. She also indicated that the Task Force wished to be involved in the Center's restructuring process and requested information on the Commission's timeline for finalizing the document and submitting it to the Iowa City Council for final approval. (See Attached Statement). Commissioners requested information related to the Task Force subcommittee and asked if the entire Task Force had reviewed and voted on the statement that was being presented to the Commission today. Casserly and McGovern indicated that due to time constraints the subcommittee's statement had not gone back to the entire Task Force for approval. However, a survey focusing on the Center had been conducted at the most recent Task Force meeting and the comments were representative of the entire Task Force. Commissioners requested a copy of the survey. Honohan expressed a desire to attend the Monday, February 10, 2003, meeting of the Task Force in order to discuss the Commission's current draft of Planning for Change: FY04 Funding, Operational and Programming Changes at the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center. Casserly stated this would not be a problem. OPERATIONAL BUDGET: PLANS AND PROGRESS Review and Discussion of Revision I of Planning for Change. Honohan distributed a revised copy of the timeline for the completion of the Planning for Change document. Discussion of the proposed changes and feasibility of the revised timeline followed. Commissioners agreed to change the time period allocated for the Center's Advisory Committees to review the document and develop recommendations MINUTES SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2002 Approved/Final for changes from February 1 through February 15, 2003, to January 21 through February 15, 2003. Motion to adopt the revised timeline. - Rowley Schintler - Motion approved on a vote of 7-0. Commissioners discussed whether or not to implement class fees as a mechanism for generating operational revenue. Kopping explained that class fees are already in place for some classes offered at the Center. These fees are used to pay for equipment and operational costs associated with the class. Classes taught by independent contractors also involve a fee. This fee, which is set and collected by the independent contractor, serves as payment for instructing the class. Commissioners endorsed the continued use of class fees to cover costs associated with offering a class and to pay for independent contractors. Commissioners reviewed a sample schedule showing a range of class fees and an approximation of the amount of operational revenue that could be generated with each padicular fee. After comparing the revenue generating potential of class fees to the staff time required to collect and track the fees, the Commission decided not to endorse the use of class fees for generating operational revenue. It was the general consensus of the Commission that the implementation of a system of membership fees, in conjunction with a Iow-income subsidy program, was an appropriate form of padicipant cost sharing and could be used to generate operational revenue. While membership fees would be required to enroll in many classes or activities sponsored by the Senior Center, memberships would not be required to visit public areas of the building, receive services from in-house agencies, or attend programming sponsored by the Center or any other agency or group that is free and open to the public. Commissioners discussed varying membership fees based upon place of residence. According to this approach, individuals who live within a community whose governing body contributes funding for the operation of the Center would pay a smaller fee than those who live in an area that does not support the operation of the Center. It was agreed that an extended discussion of membership fees would take place at the Tuesday Jan. 21, 2003, Commission meeting. The Commission agreed to pursue a three-year financial agreement with the Johnson County Board of Supervisors. This agreement would facilitate long-range budgeting and enable the Commission to hold fees at a particular amount for that period of time Kopping stated that all changes to the Planning for Change document that were agreed to at this meeting will be made and that the newly revised document will be available for Commissioners to pick up at the Senior Center on Friday afternoon, January 17, 2003. A summary version of the draft proposal also will be available at that time. Commissioners will continue their review and modification of the draft proposal at the Jan. 21, 2003 Commission meeting. Motion to adjourn. Monsanto/Rowley Motion passed on a vote of 7-0. MINUTES SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION TUESDAY, JANUARY 21,2003 MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: GUESTS: CALL TO ORDER FINAUAPPROVED 03-11-03 Lori Benz, Jay Honohan, Betty Kelly, Allan Monsanto, Charity Rowley, Jim Schintler, and Deborah Schoenfelder Jeanne Hera Michelle Buhman, Craig Buhman, Linda Kopping, Susan Rogusky. Valerie Appleton, Marian Babcock, Eve Casserly, Ruth Dolezal, Davis Dowell, Lee McGovern, Charlotte Walker, Helen and Joe Gjovig, Glenn Joblonski, Jennifer Lott, William Laubengayer, Jack Young, Bob Welch. MINUTES None. PUBLIC DISCUSSION: In reference to recommendations included in the current draft of Planning for Change: F¥04 Funding, Operational and Program Changes at the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center, Dolezal requested that the age at which people are given honorary (free) memberships to the Center be lowered from 85 to 80 years of age. Welch, Chair of the Johnson County Task Force on Aging, asked Commissioners to delay their vote on a final version of Planning for Change. The purpose of this delay would be to give the Task Force's Ad Hoc Committee time to study the proposal, prepare recommendations for change, and submit them to the Senior Center Commission. Welch noted that the Ad Hoc Committee is opposed to the tiered membership fee outlined in the current proposal and to changing the name of the Senior Center. The committee is in the process of drafting a Senior Center vision statement that will be presented to the Task Force at its Feb. 10' 2003 meeting. Following approval by the Task Force, the vision statement will be presented to the Commission at its February 18, 2003, meeting. NUTRITION PROGRAM LEASE UPDATE - Honohan No progress has been made in finalizing the lease agreement. OPERATIONAL BUDGET: PLANS AND PROGRESS Review and Discussion of Planning for Change: FY04 Funding, Operational and Program Changes at the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center Revision I1- Kopping/Honohan MINUTES SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2003 FINAL/APPROVED Using the summary version of Planning for Change, Commissioners reviewed, discussed, and made modifications to the content. Motion-Under Financing, Long-Term Financial Plan, move action step 3.B.l.c (Obtain business support for special programs e.g. a fund to pay membership fees for people 85+ years of age or Iow-income elderly) to the list of action steps in the Short-Term Financial Plan (Section 3.A.l.a-f) Schintler 7-0 Kelly suggested that information related to the operational budget cuts that have already been made should be mentioned in the document. This would provide a more comprehensive and accurate description of the financial plan that has been developed by the Commission. Motion-Under Financing, Long-Term Financial Plan, change action step 3.B.l.a to read Businesses will be encouraged to fund specific items or projects in the operational budget. (e.g. printing and mailing costs of the newsletter). Rowley/Monsanto 7-0 Commissioners discussed lowering the qualifying age for free, honorary memberships to the Center from 85 to 80 years of age as well as the possibility of waiving membership fees based upon income rather than age. After analyzing membership data showing the age breakdown of a sample of participants, the Commission decided to maintain the qualifying age at 85 and over. Rowley asked if those who register as a couple could receive a discount on their membership. Some Commissioners felt this practice discriminated against people without a domestic partner. Kelly reported that many people have told her they are opposed to changing the name of the Senior Center. It was noted that the Commission has not decided to change the name of the Center, it has only recommended appointing a Task Force to explore it as an option. Commissioners discussed a variety of costs for membership fees and whether or not membership fees should vary according to place of residence and the level of operational support provided by the related governing body. Motion to charge a $50.00 annual membership fee for residents from areas whose governing bodies provide operational funding for the Center, and a $75.00 annual membership fee for residents from areas whose governing bodies do not provide operational funding for the Center. Membership fees can be paid on an annual or semi-annual basis. Rowley/Benz Motion carried on a vote of 5-2 (Monsanto, Kelly opposed). Monsanto stated the $75 fee was too high and suggested implementing a $65.00 annual membership fee for people who live outside of the areas that provide financial support for the operation of the Senior Center. Kelly stated she could not support this motion because the fees established were too high. MINUTES SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2003 FINAL/APPROVED Kopping reported that a joint meeting of all three advisory committees will be scheduled for sometime between now and the February Commission meeting. The purpose of this meeting will be for the advisory committee members to review and discuss the Planning for Change document and to prepare any recommendations for change that committee members feel are appropriate. It is hoped that the results of this meeting will be presented to the Commission at their February 18, 2003 meeting. SENIOR CENTER UPDATE Operations-Kopping The draft list of donors who supported the Skywalk has been posted in the hall adjacent to the skywalk for quiet some time now. Following a final announcement in the Post asking donors to check the plaque for typos, the plaque will be ordered. Jay Honohan and Linda Kopping will meet with the City Council of Iowa City to discuss the Center's proposed FY04 Operational Budget on January 27, 2003. Programs- Seal No report available at this time. Volunteers- Rogusky Rogusky reported that the Center for Learning spring catalog is being developed and will be mailed the first part of February. DECEMBER COMMISSION VISITS City Council- Honohan Honohan reported on the progress made by the Commission in the past month. Board of Supervisors- Schoenfelder- Schoenfelder reported that she gave a summary of the Planning for Change document and the timeline associated with completing the document. Motion to adjourn. Motion passed on a vote of 7-0. Monsanto/Schoenfelder