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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-10-14 Bd Comm minutesMINUTES APPROVED HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM THURSDAY, JUNE 19, 2003 - 6:30 PM Members Present: Jerry Anthony, Lori Bears, Amy Correia, John Deeth, Mark Edwards, Matthew Hayek, Morgan Hoosman Members Absent: Rick House, Jayne Sandier Staff Present: Tracy Hightshoe, Steve Long Council Present: Irvin Pfab Call to Order Amy Correia called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. Approval of the May 15, 2003 Minutes MOTION: Bears moved to approve the minutes of May 15, 2003 as submitted. Anthony seconded the motion. All in favor, motion passed 6-0, (Hoosman not yet present). Public/Member Discussion of Items Not on the A.clenda Correia noted the nomination of Commission officers would be at the July 2003 meeting. The new officers and any new commission members will begin serving in September 2003. The commission informally discussed the idea of thanking the City Council for unanimously approving the CDBG (Community Block Development Grant) recommendations. The group concluded it would be appropriate for Correia to verbally, and also with a letter from the commission, thank the council at the National Community Development Week "big check" presentation on July 1, 2003. It was also decided the thank you should be for the council's deliberative process, for all the work they do, and for all the time spent. Hoosman arrives. Correia asked the commission if they are interested in working on the issue of lead based paint in older homes and how it effects affordable housing and grant applications. Hightshoe and Long clarified that the City applies for State and Federal funding to address this issue and they have not received funding to date. Hightshoe said the Housing Rehab department could speak or provide a written update regarding this issue at the next meeting. Bears referred to an article concerning the new proposed homeless shelter that was in the Iowa City Press Citizen. She asked how far along they are with the project. Hightshoe responded that they have identified a site but the process may be delayed because of a possible soil stability problem. The proposed site is adjacent to the Iowa River and they must work with the appropriate agencies to determine if the property is suitable for construction and if there are any archeological issues. Correia suggested that in response to any negative feedback concerning the Shelter House project, the commission members might want to send letters in support of the project. Monitorinq Reports · Habitat for Humanity - Court Street (Correia) Correia and Hightshoe reported the home is currently being renovated. The new owner is handicapped and they are making the home accessible for wheelchair use. There is a new driveway, ramp, and plumbers are currently reworking the bathroom. The projected move in date is August. · Elder Services - Small Repair Services (House) Hightshoe and Long reported that all money for the project has been spent. · Greater lC Housing Fellowship- Longfellow Manor (Anthony) Anthony and Long reported that GICHF is ready to begin construction on a new zero lot located on Sheridan Avenue. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes June 19, 2003 Page 2 · MECCA, UAY, Elder Services Inc. - Aid to Agencies (Hoosman) Hoosman reported that MECCA has hired a new medical coordinator. UAY has counseled over 696 homeless youth and teen runaways. They help with the 24-hour crisis hotline. To date they have received over 522 calls. UAY anticipates that the need for both services will increase; however some funding has been cut. Elder Services has started a nutrition program that is similar to the meals-on-wheels program that serves area senior citizens. ESI is planning for the new assisted living facility, Emerson Point. Hoosman reported the daycare that received CDBG funding; Hannah's Blessing, opened. Old Business · Community Development Celebration - Hightshoe said the theme for this year's celebration is "inspiring, Empowering, Achieving". The event will be held at Uptown Bill's. Extend the Dream Foundation will provide the catering. Ron Reed, CEO of Mercy Hospital Iowa City, will be the speaker for the event and Mayor Lehman will be present to hand out the "big checks". The event will be held on Tuesday, July 1, 2003 from 4:30 to 6:00 PM. Invitations have been sent and there will be several press releases about the event in the newspaper. Correia thanked Hightshoe, and the Celebration planning committee (Deeth, Edwards and Hoosman) for putting together such a great event. · National Housing Trust Fund Resolution - Correia reported that the City Council may be looking at a local Housing Trust Fund and Leach is close to sponsoring the resolution in congress. Correia asked that everyone call or write the City Council, Board of Supervisors, and Governor Vilsack asking for support of the resolution. New Business · Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County Update- This is a newly formed non-profit that will provide another source of funds for affordable housing in Johnson County. Correia reported the Johnson County Housing Trust Fund is incorporated and has a Board of Directors. Correia recently became the Chair of this newly formed non-profit. Long stated they are still waiting to hear if the Fund will receive a grant from the EDI account. · CDBG Economic Development Fund Update - Correia noted there was information included in the commission's meeting packet about a recently approved CDBG project. The proposed project is from the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED) which is a local non-profit organization that provides micro-enterprise training. Long noted that included in the packet was a letter from the City Manager, Steve Atkins, concerning a HUD complaint submitted by Irvin Pfab. The complaint concerned CDBG funding and the allocation process in Iowa City. Steve Nasby's (Community and Economic Development Director) response is also included. · Correia asked if any members are interested in chairing or co-chairing the Housing and Community Development Commission for the next year to please call or email her. She also announced that there are possibly three vacancies on the commission beginning in September of 2003. The appointments are for 3 years and there is not a limit that one can serve. Applications and a summary of responsibilities are available at the City Clerk's office and on the City's website. Adjournment Motion: Deeth moved to adjourn the meeting. Hayek seconded the motion. All in favor, motion passed 7-0. Meeting adjourned at 7:18 PM. data on citynt/pcd/minut es/hcdc06-19q33.d oc FINAL APPROVED Public' Library MINUTES IOWA CITY P1JBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRIJSTEES MEETING ROOM C - REG[ILAR MEETING AUGUST 28, 2003 AT 5:00 PM Members Present: Dean, Magalh~tes, Prybil, Schnack, Singerman, Swaim, VanDusseldorp Staff: Black, Craig, Clark, Curtin, Lauritzen, Logsden, Lubaroff, Nichols Others: Miller CALL MEETiNG TO ORDER Meeting was called to order at 5:05 pm. PUBLIC DISCUSSION None APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the regular meeting of July 24, 2003 were approved after a motion by Schnack, seconded by Prybil. All were in favor. Motion passed 7-0. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Building Proiect: Miller distributed his report including photographs. He said another payment had just been approved, with 300 days left in the project. The project is still ahead of schedule. We may phase in some early moves. We skipped a tour, since next Thursday from 11:30-1:00 we will have a "sign the beam" pizza party in the construction zone. Staff and Board are invited to sign their name on a steel beam that will be part of the completed building. There was a question about change orders and who is responsible for the expense when they are corrections to plans that add cost. Miller explained that the expense comes from a contingency fund, which is for that purpose. The architect's contract does not hold them liable for added expense. Change orders are to be expected and it is the expectation that plans are not perfect because as detail oriented as the plans are, mistakes are made and things come up that are unexpected. We are still well within budget. FINALAPPROVED County Update Craig reported on a meeting of the task force held after the memo of August 20 was mailed. She felt that some moderation in responsiveness was evident and is hopeful a mutual agreement can be reached. They asked for further input from Library Boards. County would like to have a county representative on all library boards and then bring those people together for meetings. They would like a more flexible way to get out of the contract than the current one if budget conditions change suddenly. There is still some interest in charging users some type of fee. They seemed to accept that they would be responsible to administer such a plan. Prybil, who attended as our Board's County representative, said she thought Craig made a clear point that fees are difficult to administer. Prybil thinks that it would be more beneficial to have library directors meet with the supervisors rather than the county representatives from each board. Ultimately there were questions for library boards. The committee will not meet again until October. Craig said Board could discuss issues in September. County is having to cut funding, Swaim said. Some questions were raised regarding what we would do if they cut budgets. Another question was raised about how boards would feel with a contract similar to that of SEATS with a set amount that has scheduled increases for a period of years. Although we are the only library that they have a contract with, they use the same formula with all the other libraries. Swaim asked that we schedule this for the September agenda and in the meantime, library staff consult with the City attorney about the contract history with Seats and the County. If anyone has any comments about the response, pass them along to Magalhgtes or Craig. Patriot Act/Confidentiality A lot of reading material about the Patriot Act was included in the packet. Nationwide there is a groundswell of public sentiment that has to do with the Patriot Act. Some of the provisions of the new law have sunset clauses. Justice Department has a strong interest in seeing that they don't lapse. Local request came from Julie Spears of the local Bill of Rights Defense Committee to endorse the statement made by the American Library Association. They are urging Board of Trustees to take a stand on this issue, and may be asking City CounciI to endorse it as well. The Iowa Library Association has already endorsed the resolution. Swaim moved that we endorse, on behalf of the Trustees, The ALA Statement on the USA Patriot Act. Schnack seconded it. There was discussion on posting a warning as proposed. If the resolution is endorsed, we do not need a formal action to post the warning. Staffis recommending that we post an informational warning. Magalh~es asked, pending our endorsement of ALA statement, what could Board members do in terms of a statement. Some suggestions made were posting the ALA association's endorsement, along with a statement that ICPL Board has endorsed this. We could send notification to our congressmen; send a Press Release, to mention a few. There has been an article written for The Window. Magalh~tes called for a vote. All were in favor. Motion passed 7 to 0. MagalhSes offered to attend a meeting of the local Bill of Rights Defense Committee. Board Minutes August 28, 2003 Page 3 Art Advisory Committee At the Board's direction, we advertised for applicants to fill two vacancies on this committee. Two individuals submitted application forms. Dyer recommended that the Board appoint Anderson and McClellen. Singerman moved approval. Dean seconded it. All in favor. Motion passed 7-0 Review of FY03 Annual Report Trustees complimented staff on the annual report. A question was asked about the plan to discontinue the adult multimedia collection. It will remain in temporary quarters but will be withdrawn before the move to the new facility. Librarians looked at the use, time to process, check in and check out before making the decision. It is a very high maintenance collection. The children's collection is marketed more to schools and items are easier to load and run on the computer. Other questions. Magalh~es said, "It is impressive. Congratulations." Set a public hearing for Equipment package. This bid package is mostly AV equipment for meeting rooms to support sharing o£ all types o£media; broadcasting live fi.om meeting rooms, video taping in the Children's Story Time room, etc. We have to use a bid process because of the estimated cost o£the project. A public hearing on the specifications will take place at the next meeting. Swaim made a motion that we set the public hearing for the early part of our September meeting. Singerman seconded. Public heating is to allow interested parties to ask questions on the bid documents that are going to be on file at the City Clerk's office. All those in favor said Aye. Motion passed 7-0. Request to fund Literary Walk art plaques. City Planning Director, Karin Franklin, and Craig have discussed the possibility of the Library funding plaques like the Literary Walk art plaques on Iowa Avenue. These plaques would be installed on the sidewalk by the library. The grand plan for the walk includes extending it down Linn Street to the Library. The same artist would work on them and the quotes have been selected. We need to chose which ones we want. The City's Art Advisory Committee made the selection. Craig is recommending a budget of no more than $25,000. If Board approves the funding, she will see if trustees can be involved in selection of the plaques. Singerman moved approval. VanDusseldorp seconded. Magalhaes expressed concern about spending a significant amount of money for the plaques. Craig said that money from the building contingency fund or NOBU funds, which had been, was committed to building could be used. All in favor voted Aye. Motion passed %0. Staff Reports: Board Minutes August 28, 2003 Page 4 Prybil commented on the addition of stories at the Scanlon Center. Parks & Recreation Department has talked to us about continuing his popular programming. Swaim commended staff for partnering. Swaim asked about the recent worm viruses. He wondered if patrons call us for help. Clark said that patrons ask questions at the Reference Desk. Staffthere recommends other resources for help like the Help Desk at Weeg at the University. Our computers are very well protected from the virus. President's Report Magalh~es reported that the State Library is celebrating its 165th anniversary. A full day of activities is planned on September 24 at the State Library. He recommended looking at Iowa Center for Book, web site that was launched last week and attending Voices from the Prairie program on September 19. He reminded trustees of the ILA annual conference in Cedar Rapids. Announcements from Members Foundation: VanDusseldorp reported on the quarterly meeting. The Investment committee revised investment guidelines in light of a plan to seek proposals from financial managers to manage invested funds. There has been lots of discussion about a major fundraising event. He looks forward to the planning session next month. Good time to talk about long-term approach. Swaim gave a report from the committee that has been looking at homeless issues. He reported that the committee developed a position paper and that Shelter House has offered to provide space in the morning. FY03 FINANCIAL REPORTS Receipts & Expenditures: FY03 Receipts were at 103% and expenditures were at 98.4. How secure are Enrich Iowa Funds? Craig thinks that we are not in danger of losing them entirely. There is concern about money for reciprocal borrowing. Ten years ago it was planned to be funded funded at $1.00/transaction. In fact it was funded much lower and we are now down to about $.27/transaction. This program does, however, continue to provide reciprocal service for Iowa City residents. Open Access use is growing. Craig does not think we'll lose it all but it is in danger of being cut. Board Minutes August 28, 2003 Page § Disbursements Review Visa Expenditures for July 2003. Approve Disbursements for July, 2003 No disbursements. City is changing from one accounting system to a brand new one. We hope to have disbursements available next month. Set agenda order for September meeting Public Hearing County Task Force Questions FY05 Budget - first look Adjournment Adjourned at 6:30 pm after a motion by Swaim/Singerman Minutes taken and transcribed by Martha Lubaroff MINUTES FINAL IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, AUGUST 25, 2003 - 5:30 P.M. CITY CABLE TV OFFICE, 10 S. LINN ST.-TOWER PLACE PARKING FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT: Saul Mekies, Kimberly Thrower, Terry Smith, Brett Castillo MEMBERS ABSENT: Jim Pusack STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Mike Brau, Bob Hardy, Dale Helling, Andy Matthews OTHERS PRESENT: Phil Phillips, Rene Paine, Beth Fisher, Jon Koebrick, Randy Brown, Susan Rogusky, Andy Kromphardt RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL None at this time. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Thrower asked if a quarterly graphical report could be developed in an effort to decrease the number of re-occurring complaints. Koebrick said that Mediacom is willing to work with the Commission in providing whatever data is desired. Koebrick reported that Mediacom is initiating a local origination channel called Mediacom Connections. The channel will be on the family cable package on channel 68. Paine reported that PATV held a grant writing workshop attended by 15 people. PATV is working with United Action for Youth on a grant and is providing training for them. Training sessions are also being offered to the Senior High Alternative Center. PATV's annual fundraising telethon will take place Sept. 12-14. Rogusky reported that beginning in the Fall, Senior Center programming will generally be of a longer nature rather than centering on programs presented at the Senior Center. In the past the Senior Center programs were generally free but because fees are now charged it is not fair to cablecast the program for free when there is a fee to attend in person. Hardy reported that the Media Unit will be taking a more proactive approach in generating more government programming. In the past, programming was generally initiated by requests for coverage but in the future politically neutral events may be covered on the Media Unit's own initiative. Koebrick said that Mediacom had been hit by a computer virus twice that took down the new call system that is supposed to transfer calls to available customer service representatives in remote locations in case local representatives are unable to take the calls. Shaffer said that the City selected two refranchising consultants as finalists. Additional questions are being developed to address to these finalists in conference calls. The finalists are Rice, William's Associates and Miller, Van Eaton. Koebrick distributed a report on the drop audit and said that the results are generally positive. The largest problem revealed was improper grounding or unverifiable grounds on about 5% of the drops. Signal strength was good. The system is tighter than the national average. This is due, in part, because of the higher system specifications required by advanced services such as digital cable and cable modem service. Matthews said that he will develop a side letter agreement to address the requirements of the franchise regarding the drop audit. Shaffer will review the data. Koebrick reported that the system upgrade has been finished. 56 nodes were added bringing the total to 91 and the capacity was increased to 860 MHz. Iowa City now has a state of the art system. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mekies moved and Thrower seconded a motion to approve the July 28, 2003 meeting minutes. The motion passed unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS Castillo reported that he attended the PATV Board meeting on behalf of the Commission. Castillo said that PATV Board members expressed a desire to have more input in the decision to move a City budget line to the pass-through fund and hope to be able to utilize the pass-through fund themselves in the future. The Board also discussed PATV's role in re-franchising. Castilllo will attend the September PATV Board meeting. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. CONSUMER ISSUES Shaffer reported receiving 13 complaints Among the complaints were 2 about not being able reach the company on the phone, 1 about multiple outages over the month, 1 about rude customer service representatives, 1 about a billing error and not being called back by the company, 1 about no notifications of burying a cable on personal property, 1 about poor service regarding an installation and an uncoordinated office, 1 about cable modem price discounts if subscribing to cable TV service, 1 about technical personnel not showing up for scheduled appointments, 1 about not receiving a return phone call in response to multiple calls regarding the availability of service in a new development, 1 about the company being unresponsive to a technical problem, 1 about a cable TV technical problem, and 1 about a cable modem technical problem. Thrower asked if a quarterly graphical report could be developed in an effort to decrease the number of re-occurring complaints. Koebrick said that Mediacom is willing to work with the Commission in providing whatever data is desired. However, some types of complaints are not really complaints that would have a resolution such as a complaint that rates are too high or with service calls. The system Iowa City uses of communicating complaints via email from the City to Mediacom has worked well and Koebrick is working to establish that type of relationship in all cities served by Mediacom. Smith said that tracking the resolution of complaints and the nature and type of complaints would help the Commission follow any trends of complaints. Thrower will work with Shaffer to develop a database of complaints and resolutions. MEDIACOM REPORT Koebrick reported that Mediacom is initiating a local origination channel called Mediacom Connections. The channel will be on the family cable package on channel 68. Mediacom requested that the City waive thc 30 day public notice so that the channel can be added sooner. Mediacom is reviewing the City's rate order and will be requesting a meeting with the City to discuss the rate order. Smith will participate in any rate order meeting. UNIVERSITY OF IOWA REPORT Kromphardt reported that the University of Iowa has upgraded their studio and is increasing the number of productions they produce. It is hoped that the programming on the University channel will reflect the activities taking place at the University. PATV REPORT Paine reported that a grant writing workshop was attended by 15 people. PATV is working with United Action for Youth on a grant and is providing training for them. Training sessions are also being offered to the Senior High Alternative Center. The United Nations Association, the Emma Goldman Clinic, and the Woman's Resource and Action Center will be having programs cablecast on PATV. PATV's annual fundraising telethon will take place Sept. 12-14. SENIOR CENTER REPORT Rogusky invited Commissioners to attend the weekly Senior Center TV meetings held on Tuesdays at 11:15. Beginning in the Fall, Senior Center programming will generally be of a longer nature rather than centering on programs presented at the Senior Center. In the past the Senior Center programs were generally free but because fees are now charged it is not fair to cablecast the program for free when there is a fee to attend in person. Coralville's access channel is now cablecasting 4 hours of Senior Center programming a week. The Senior Center will hold an open house September 18th at 4:30. A number of activities are planned. IOWA CITY COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORT No representative was present. LEGAL REPORT Matthews said he had nothing new to report. LIBRARY REPORT Fisher reported that Project Greens Second Sunday Garden Forum will begin in September and will be cablecast by the library. The library channel will cablecast a number of series beginning in the Fall including The Intemational Writing Program, the Book Talk Lunches, and the Community Reading Month. KIRKWOOD REPORT No representative was present. MEDIA UNIT Hardy reported that the work on the Senior Center to allow them to originate live programming has been finished. Hardy thanked Mediacom for their assistance with this project. The project was funded with the pass-through fund and benefits all access channels. The Community Television Service has been quite busy. Due to the large number of events recently taped Media Unit staff have been assisting the CTS on editing those programs. The Media Unit will be taking a more proactive approach in generating more government programming. In the past, programming was generally initiated by requests for coverage but in the future politically neutral events may be covered on the Media Units own initiative. For example, the installation of the Irving Weber statue was recently taped. CABLE TV ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Shaffer noted the draft letter in the packets regarding InfoVision focus groups and said that it was intended as an invitation to Commissioners to participate if they are interested. Mekies said he would like to participate. Shaffer thanked Mediacom for the approximately I000 spots promoting the county fair. Chey Ness, the Cable Division's newest empolyee and Special Projects Assistant and who also coordinates the avatar Prjoect, was accepted into the Community Leadership Program put on by the Chamber of Commerce. Shaffer asked Koebrick about problems Mediacom experienced answering their phones over the past weeks. Koebrick said that they had been hit by a computer virus twice that took down the new call system that is supposed to transfer calls to available customer service representatives in remote locations in case local representatives are unable to take the calls. REFRANCHIS1NG Shaf£er said that the City selected two refranchising consultants as finalists. Additional questions are being developed to address to the finalists in conference calls. The finalists are Rice, William's Associates and Miller, Van Eaton. DROP AUDIT Koebrick distributed a report on the drop audit and said that the results are generally positive. The largest problem revealed was improper grounding or unverifiable grounds on about 5% of the drops. Signal strength was good. The system is tighter than the national average. This is due, in part, because of the higher system specifications required by advanced services such as digital cable and cable modem service. Matthews said that he will develop a side letter agreement to address the requirements of the franchise regarding the drop audit. Shaffer will review the data. SYSTEM UPGRADE Koebrick reported that the system upgrade has been finished. 56 nodes were added bringing the total to 91 and the capacity was increased to 860 MHz. Iowa City now has a state of the art system. ADJOURNMENT Mekies moved and Thrower seconded a motion to adjourn. Adjournment was at 6:59 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Wm. Drew Shaffer Cable TV Administrator FINAL/APPROV PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 10, 2003 MEMBERS PRESENT: Kevin Boyd, Craig Gustaveson, Judith Klink, Margaret Loomer, Nancy Ostrognai, Matt Pacha, A1 Stroh, Sarah Walz, John Westefeld STAFF PRESENT: Terry Robinson, Terry Trueblood GUESTS: Karen Dawes, Beth Shields FORMAL ACTION TAKEN Moved by Boyd~ seconded by Walz, to approve the August 13~ 2003 minutes as amended. Unanimous. Moved by Boyd~ seconded by Stroh~ to accept the 17 acres and the small area abutting Wetherby Park as proposed by the Sandhill Estates developer~ along with an area to provide a trail link to Wetherby Park. Unanimous. Moved by Walz~ seconded by Boyd~ to recommend utilization of the remaining funds and any future funds in the parkland acquisition fund sufficient to complete a park and recreation master plan. Unanimous. PUBLIC DISCUSSION - Dog PAC Beth Shields, Vice President of Johnson County DogPAC, addressed the commission with respect to the group's proposal for a dog park in Iowa City. The proposal was presented to the City Council at its informal work session on Monday, September 8, and Shields indicated the group would like the commission to support the proposal. She gave a brief history of the group, which was organized in November 2002 out of a growing awareness and consensus of a need for a place to exercise dogs off-leash legally. She stated the group has a high level of commitment from its members who are willing to help develop and see it through to fruition. The group has incorporated and has applied for 401C-3 status as a tax-exempt non-profit organization. Pacha asked if they had a parcel of land in mind; Shields noted the parcel's location on the map included in the proposal. They initially identified the 40-acre city-owned site with the help of city staff, which is west of the current landfill on Kansas Avenue. This summer the group learned the parcel might not be available because of future intended use by the Public Works Department, but the group is not ready to give up on this piece of land. The City Council directed the City Manager to appoint a staff person to assist the group in its search for land. The group likes the Kansas Avenue site to develop an off-leash recreational area to facilitate multi-uses. They would like to return one-half of the area to prairie, put in an accessible trail, and eventually raise funds to build a facility to hold dog sporting events and dog shows. Shields noted the group is willing to take whatever they can get as far as land, but would like a minimum of 5 acres. The proposal would then need to be redone for a dog park as opposed to an off-leash recreational area. Pacha asked if the group was requesting funding from the city; Shields indicated not at this point. The group includes people who are experts at grant writing, and there are many grants available, especially if creating an eco-friendly park or restoring areas to prairies. She stated the group is not above asking for financial support, but is aware of the city's financial crunch. She noted when they were developing the proposal last year city staff indicated such a project would be considered a capital improvement project. If Parks and Recreation Commission September 10, 2003 Page 2 of 5 the group does not receive any funding from the city it might have to cut back its goals. She noted the major expenses are fencing, paths and parking. Pacha asked about the on-going maintenance. Shields noted the area would be a city park, but the group would be willing to adopt it and would restore part of it to prairie. This will cut back on mowing, and some of the trails ~vould not have to be entirely cleared of snow in the winter. Shields stated the group is willing to do as much maintenance and beautification as they can. Pacha noted the amount of parkland has increased dramatically over the years and staff has not. Currently staff struggles to keep parkland mowed at a basic level. Shields stated the group would take into consideration what kind of naturalness they want the park to receive. Boyd noted the name of the group is Johnson County DogPAC, and asked if they have worked with other elected officials from the surrounding communities, such as North Liberty and Coralville. Shields noted there are members who live in Johnson County and are not Iowa City or Coralville residents. The group has talked to Coralville, who indicated it is on their horizon but they are not interested in talking about it right now. The Johnson County Board of Supervisors is aware of the group, but the group has not presented the proposal to them. The group is proposing it as an Iowa City park. Boyd stated people from Coralville, North Liberty and Johnson County would use the park and it would be in their interest to offer the same recreational opportunities for their residents. Trueblood expressed concern about additional maintenance, especially in terms of mowing. He noted if the facility was developed in an existing park, it would not be as big an issue as long as there are volunteers to help keep it clean. With respect to the capital improvement program, it was previously stated it would be easier to get funding through it than the operating budget. Trueblood stated a dog park was included on the CIP list, but it was not prioritized very high. He noted at that time there was not an organized group as there is now. Shields indicated she was asking for the commission's support of the idea of a park of some sort and what the group is trying to accomplish. Walz stated the general idea was great, noting it is a good thing for parks in general when people are active and committed. She felt it was a good thing for people who own dogs and also those who don't like dogs because they don't have to be confronted by dogs. Gustaveson stated the commission has been talking about a dog park for the last several years, and he would like the commission to support this idea. Pacha noted the commission could not act formally on the proposal since it was not an agenda item. The consensus of the commission was to support the group's proposal. Westefeld complimented the group on the proposal, which he felt was very thorough and reader-friendly. Pacha asked the group to keep the commission posted. Tmeblood stated a staff person would be in contact with the group in the next few days. SANDI-IILL ESTATES DEVELOPMENT Trueblood gave a brief background of when the property was before the commission previously, at which time the Concerned Citizens for Sand Prairie Preservation was formed. The current developer is proposing to donate 17 acres and a small area abutting Wetherby Park as open space to the city, which exceeds the 2.5- acm N.O.S. requirement. Tmeblood acclimated the commission as to the location of the proposed development. He noted Terry Robinson suggested a trail link to Wetherby Park, and pointed out its location. Plans for this area would be to restore the prairie, with the most active use being walking trails. Trueblood noted the historic house and area around this development is still owned by the family, and in the past they have indicated the possibility to donate a portion of it. Parks and Recreation Commission September 10, 2003 Page 3 of 5 Karen Dawes, President of the Concerned Citizens for Sand Prairie Preservation, expressed her appreciation to the commission for their past indication and willingness to accept the land as open space. She noted this will be a unique piece of land, part of a larger tract of land that is a sand prairie and the group is grateful for some of it being preserved. The family, which owns the adjacent 20-acre parcel, is in the process of getting clear title, and has been working with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation to donate it, with the intention that it would then be donated to the City. She stated this is why Southgate Development has proposed this particular area because the two areas are contiguous. The group feels there needs to be a written agreement regarding controlled bums and that the removal of"junk trees" be allowed. Walz asked if the group would be managing it. Dawes stated they are willing to be helpful by fund raising and giving whatever assistance they can. The group feels it is critical to get something in writing before the land changes hands, that no matter who owns the property, a professional entity would manage the area. They feel there needs to be a written land management plan because of the size, uniqueness and potential for the area being 40 acres. She noted Southgate Development has agreed the group can do plant rescue. The group's hope is that it will be on the planning and zoning agenda on the 18th, with the process starting thereafter. The group would like to have some sort of plan for plant rescue and replanting and a land management plan for that area also. Trail access would be key so people can ride bikes and the trail would connect to the Iowa River Corridor Trail and Sycamore Regional Trail. Walz noted certain areas on the map and asked if they will be developed as naturaI areas. Dawes indicated she thought so, noting they are mainly dry areas except when it rains, and she would hope it would be planted with natural plantings. Dawes reiterated that they would like a written agreement before the City accepts - that a professional entity would manage and bum the area. She felt this is important for this development and any future developments. Pacha asked for staf?s input. Tmeblood stated he didn't know if Southgate could do any more than to put in writing that this area may be burned, because only the Fire Department can give a permit to burn. Dawes stated another concem is that normally land isn't tumed over to the City until 90 percent of the lots are developed, which could be 10 years. From their standpoint this is a nice amenity, but the prairie needs to be restored and it is imperative that this land be turned over prior to that. They would also ask that the area be fenced so construction work or equipment does not inadvertently damage the area. Walz stated this development differs than others because the prairie is already there, it just needs to be restored. If the City waits 10 years there will be much more work than if it is managed sooner. Moved by Boyd~ seconded by Stroh~ to accept the 17 acres and the small area abutting Wetherbv Park as proposed by the Sandhill Estates developer along with an area to provide a trail link to Wetherb¥ Park. Unanimous. Trueblood stated staff would work with the developer to put in a trail connection, and as things progress staff will work with the Concerned Citizens for Sand Prairie Preservation. PARKS & RECREATION MASTER PLAN Pacha noted that at last month's commission meeting it was briefly discussed to move forward with funds remaining in the parkland acquisition fund to complete a master plan. Trueblood noted that unless things worsen budget-wise, the City Manager has proposed that the parkland acquisition fund grows each year through hotel/motel taxes. Currently there remains $50,000 and next year there would be a minimum of $62,000. Pacha asked for an estimate on the cost for completion ora master plan. Traeblood noted it would cost a minimum of $60,000, and two consultants indicated it could be closer to $80,000 if it includes a community-wide survey. Gustaveson stated there needs to be a road map to know where we are going. Parks and Recreation Commission September 10, 2003 Page 4 of 5 Stroh stated that if it is done right it would be an investment in the future. Walz stated the process would involve community input, and it would be an opportunity for people to become aware of the commission's thoughts and limitations the department is working with. Moved by Walz~ seconded by Boyd, to recommend utilization of the remaining funds and any future funds in the parkland acquisition fund sufficient to complete a park and recreation master plan. Unanimous. Trueblood noted this is only a recommendation to the City Council and his only concern if it is approved is that staff will need to come up with another funding source to make up the shortfall. Pacha suggested borrowing the shortfall from the annual park maintenance fund. Tmeblood noted another possibility may be the CIP budget. WATERWORKS PRAIRIE PARK Walz reported they have a group of volunteers, money and seed. They thought it would be a good opportunity to raise awareness of the park and get public involvement by planting the seed late this fall - probably sometime in November. She asked if this would be possible and if so, if the city would be willing to prepare the land. Pacha asked how the land would be prepared; Walz stated Russ Bennett's plan is tilling. Trueblood asked about the size of the area; Walz indicated it would be no more than six acres. Trueblood stated arrangements could be made, noting Russ Bennett will be ranting equipment to till up the areas around the ponds and could do another area for the group. Walz noted they have identified the area around the parking lot entrance. She asked if the second or third week in November would be a good time; Robinson felt it would be appropriate. Klink asked about November 4; Robinson stated it would depend on the weather. Walz stated she would ask the volunteers to see what dates work best for them. COMMISSION TIME Klink noted the small prairie in Kiwanis Park is coming up nicely. She also stated the Miller/Orchard neighborhood is eager to begin planning for the park. She reported that Southgate Development mowed the Harlocke Park, which has not yet been accepted by the City. She stated there are still lots of big stones and tree trunks that need to be removed, and asked about the timeline for acceptance. Tmeblood noted the developer wanted the City to accept it quite some time ago, but it wasn't ready. Robinson stated the land should not be accepted until the large stones and tree trunks were removed. Klink stated she would inform Southgate Development. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Tmeblood reported on the following: City Park Rides. The train's odometer has registered 2,000 miles as compared to 900 miles last year. Waterworks Prairie Park REAP Grant. The grants have been scored, but staff has not heard anything yet. Coralville Parks and Recreation Tour. The commission has been invited to their park tour on September 15, and members need to notify them by Friday, September 12 if they plan on attending. BIC Letter. The group feels it is a high priority that the trail link-up be funded and completed between Waterworks Prairie Park and Foster Road. This project does appear on the Commission's CIP priority list. Walz noted the Parks and Recreation Foundation should identify such groups it should be working with in order to involve these project-oriented people on its team. Parks and Recreation Commission September 10, 2003 Page 5 of 5 Dog Paddle Event. The event was a success, with 356 dogs in attendance. Kiwanis Park. Staff is working with Old Capital Kiwanis Club to create a memorial in the very north end of the park. John Dane brought in a concept drawing, similar to the Hospice Memorial, but on a smaller scale. Staff Member Recognition. Mike Moran has reached his 20-year anniversary of employment with the city. OTHER BUSINESS Walz asked about next month's park tour; Tmeblood asked members to e-mail him with sites they would like to include on the tour. Gustaveson noted the commission had discussed inviting City Council members and successful candidates, and urged commissioners to contact council members to invite them. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m. MINUTES APPROVED PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AUGUST 7, 2003 EMMA J. HARVAT HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Benjamin Chair, Don Anciaux, Beth Koppes, Ann Bovbjerg, Jerry Hansen, Dean Shannon, Ann Freerks STAFF PRESENT: Shelley McCafferty, Mitch Behr OTHERS PRESENT: Michael Lensing, Joel Fagan, Steve Holland, Winifred Holland, Cortland Burwold, John Roffman RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Recommended approval, by a vote of 7-0, VAC03-00001, the vacation of an alley right-of-way located south of Kirkwood Avenue and west of Diana Street subject to the retention of any necessary utility easements, the conveyance of the right-of-way being approved concurrently with the approval of the ordinance vacating the alley and the inclusion of a curb along the east-west graveled alley to prevent vehicular access from the commercial property to Diana Street. Recommended approval, by a vote of 7-0, SUB03-00031, a final plat of Windsor Ridge Part 17B, a 3.49- acre, l-lot residential subdivision located at the intersection of York Place and Broadmoor Lane. Recommended approval, by a vote of 7-0, SUB03-00032, a final plat of Windsor Ridge Part 18B, a 1.09- acre, 2-lot residential subdivision located west of Broadmoor Lane and north of Camden Road. Recommended approval, by a vote of 7-0, SUB03-0003:~, a final plat of Windsor Ridge Part 19A, a .82- acre, l-lot residential subdivision located west of Broadmoor Lane and south of York Place. CALL TO ORDER: Bovbjerg called the meeting to order at 7:34 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 the current vacancies on the various boards and commissions was posted in the outer lobby. The City always appreciated the help of its citizens who volunteered to serve on a board or commission. VACATION ITEM: VAC03-00031: discussion of an application submitted by Michael Lensing for the vacation of an alley right-of-way located south of Kirkwood Avenue and west of Diana Street. McCafferty said Staff had no additional information to add to their report given at the 7/17/03 Commission meeting. Bovbjerg asked Behr to summarize what the Commission should consider and what their responsibilities were with respect to reviewing this padicular application for a vacation. Behr said the question the Commission should consider was if they felt that the City needed this property to be maintained for public use and/or as a public right of way. The criteria they should use in their decision making process were the criteria set forth in the Staff Report prepared by Jessica Hlubek, dated July 17, 2003. Behr said their decision would be a discretionary act. If the Commission recommended the vacation, only when offers to purchase all of the vacated property had been received, would the proposed vacation and subsequent conveyances go before the Council. Both the vacation and the conveyance would be done at the same meeting. Behr reiterated that the Commission's only consideration be if there was a public need for this property to be retained for public use. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes August 7, 2003 Page 2 Public discussion was opened. Michael Lensinq, Lensing Funeral Home, said he it was his understanding that if the Commission recommended that the vacation occur, that would mean that the alley could be vacated. The next step would be to work out a land agreement with the adjacent land owners and then he probably would go back before the Commission for zoning issues. Lensing asked when his application would go before the City Council. Behr said Lensing could go before the Council with offers to purchase the vacated land, but it was also possible that he would come back before the Commission with rezoning issues before he wished to appear before the Council to request that the vacation actually occur. Lensing said he had really wanted to find out if the City was willing to vacate the property. His next step would be to see if he could work out agreements with the adjacent properly owners to purchase part of their backyards and at that point he would decide if he wanted to purchase the land from the City. Behr said it was possible that Lensing would be back before the Commission for rezoning issues before he approached the City Council about purchasing the vacated land. He might wish to get answers about rezonings before actually purchasing the land. Lensing agreed. Chait said it was very confusing. Behr said he could see where Lensing would not want to go straight to Council to purchase a good deal of this property until he knew if he would be able to get the zoning he would need. Lensing might wish to make his offers to purchase contingent upon receiving the needed zoning. Bovbjerg said those issues were down the road and not the issue at hand. Chait said he thought they were muddying the waters, the issue was simply the vacation of this parcel. He felt it was best not to talk about rezonings before the Commission had voted. Lensing said he did not wish to mislead anyone so he was sharing his anticipated future plans. Freerks asked if there was a time constraint involved. Behr said there was no specific limitation. Recently a vacation request had sat for almost one year at Council level before it was acted upon. Anciaux asked if they made a recommendation for vacation of this property, would it be appropriate to include wording indicating that Diana Court would be closed to traffic from the business property or would that be negotiated at City Council level. Behr said it would be appropriate but there was wording in the Staff Report to that effect. Chait said it was in Staff's report and in the public record as well. Joel Faqan, 741 Chestnut Court, said he did not have a direct personal interest in this application. It had caught his interest when he had accidentally attended the previous Commission meeting. He said by the City deciding to vacate this property in essence they were saying that they did not have any interest in owning the property anymore and the property would be disposed in an orderly way. Fagan said when the City gave up its possession of a parcel of property, there was no turning back, someone else owned it. He said there were a number of adjacent property owners to the Lensing property, one of them had a long term interest in the parcel and had an idea about what he wanted to do with it. Other adjacent property owners might not have a serious long term interest in the property or have the time and energy to pursue it. Since the City was currently the owner of the parcel, someone needed to represent the general public's interest and think what the right thing to do for that property was. Property owners could be transient. In order to make sure that the public's long term interests were attended to, Fagan said it seemed that the City in some form be it the Commission or the Planning Department under the direction of the Commission should stop and think if there was something useful that should be done with the parcel with the public interest in mind. After considering it seriously, a consideration done by more than just the members of the Commission, the City Planning department could be directed to think of a creative use for the parcel or they could talk to the neighborhood to think of a creative use for the property. At least one property owner in the neighborhood had an idea about what to do with the property. Fagan said before deciding to vacate the parcel, it seemed wise for the Commission and the City Planning department to think about if there was something useful to be done with it. Chait said what Fagan said was insightful. The fact was, what Fagan was thinking should happen was exactly what did happen. Planning Staff had evaluated it and the Commission was the body that looked out for the public's concerns, it was not just a siam dunk that the Commission automatically did things. The Commission evaluated and analyzed vacations of properties in the way that Fagan had just spoken of. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes August 7, 2003 Page 3 Steve Holland, son of Winifred Holland, said he had prepared slides to acquaint the Commission with the area and to illustrate his concerns with the proposed vacation. His main concerns for rejecting the project which he had expressed at the previous Commission meeting were: · A line already existed between commercial & residential which had been there for a long time · The Commission was not ready to make a decision. Project Green or some similar organization should be consulted or brought in · There were better uses than a parking lot · The discussion of the trees that were already there should be reconsidered · A TARP Plan program, which provides funds to repair houses, was currently underway. His mother's neighborhood qualified for the TARP plan. The proposed vacation was an infringement on that. · He had an interest in the neighborhood and would like to know more about Lensing's plans for his business for the future. Slides shown included pictures of Winifred Holland's backyard fence looking south; the size of an area encompassed by removing 40-feet of a backyard space; the walnut trees being discussed and surrounding trees which would be removed; the rear view of the funeral home; the fence that separated Vesely's yard from the business area which was a fence that demarcated residential from business interests in the Plum Grove area. It ran all the way down past Burger King to Hwy 6. This fence did not go up to Kirkwood Avenue but stopped at Vesely's. The businesses had been required to install the fence. Freerks said the fence was a way to make a transition from commercial to residential, the fence started where the alley stopped and followed all the commercial property all the way to Hwy 6. Holland said there currently was no fence behind the McCormick proper[y, the next property which was for sale, a third property but it eventually connected with the alley which led back to Kirkwood Avenue. Holland said his point was there currently was no fence there and according to code there should be a fence there. Holland said if it went to the next step to rezoning, Lensing would have to install another fence to demarcate that area. He and his mother had gone through this years ago with the commercial properties in their neighborhood. Freerks asked McCafferty if that was also her understanding of when a commercial area abutted a residential area in such a way. McCafferty said she didn't know. Behr said he was not aware that it was an automatic requirement, there might be special exceptions or CZA's that came into play or it might have been voluntary. Holland said there was already precedent for doing so in the neighborhood. Holland said another concern was that if the property were vacated and conveyed, some of the purchased land would not be used but would still need to be maintained by the owner. He showed a slide of an area with tall grass and weeds that had not been mowed or maintained currently located behind the auto shop and plumbing business. Holland said he wished that the Commission would visit the site to become more familiar with it. Holland said it was his understanding that the funeral home was an exception to the rule of businesses in that area. It was a fine business and Mr. Lensing should be very proud of it. The crematorium was also a special exception. Now that they were moving toward a rezoning it would be another exception to the rule, he wondered where it was all headed. He thought there were better uses for the area than a parking lot and they had not yet begun to explore them, Chait asked if the walnut trees were to the east of the alley that would be vacated. Holland asked Lensing to address the question. Lensing said the trees were on the right-of-way. Lensing asked to make a clarification about the fence. An agreement twenty years ago stipulated that he would put arborvitae trees in. They had all died because of the walnut trees. When the crematory addition was added, they had been asked to install a border of some type to give some separation, but nothing really about a fence. He had gone to the nurseries, who had said dogwood trees would grow there. There was one left, all the others had died because of the walnut trees. He was willing to keep some of the walnut trees but wanted everyone to understand that nothing grew under the walnut trees which left sap on the ground and the cars, Lensing said if the City could determine what, he would rather put in something growing that would look beautiful within the neighborhood rather than a fence which was cold and harsh. Chait said he wished to address comments to Holland. The concerns that the Hollands had were valid concerns. However in terms of the technical kinds of things that the Commission was currently considering, the Holland's concerns really did not have anything to do with what was being considered by the Commission. Bovbjerg suggested it would be helpful if Chait shared his comments during the Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes August7,2003 Page 4 Commissioner's comments. Chait said what was being discussed was not regarding what grew or did not grow nor what had or had not been committed to by Lensing in the past. His concerns had to do with that in the United States there was a bigger value which had to do with being innocent until proven guilty, which was a basic part of the system. The reason he brought that point up was because the Commission was not talking about a rezoning or what Lensing might do. They were discussing what was the best use of the alley and if they recommended a vacation or not. Ultimately the land might not even be disposed of. For the discussion to become "woulda, shoulda, coulda" in the future was over the line, as Chait saw it. The Commission had demonstrated that it had a distaste for an applicant who came in and asked for something which the Commission gave them. Then they came back and asked for something more but they also had an agenda for which the Commission had a suspicion about, but never fully disclosed their plans. The fact was that the Commission was not presuming anything about what might or might not happen in the future. Lensing had disclosed an intention because the Commission had an aversion to not having a sense of that. Chait said those things were very close to a line and they were completely different. The issue had to do with vacating the alley not and what might or might not happen in the future. The concerns that Holland had raised were not what the Commission was looking at right now. If the Commission determined that the alley was not beneficial to the City and it could be vacated, items such as who bought parcels of land had to happen before a conveyance took place. Chait said it was not fair to start talking about the future when the issue was very specifically related to if the alley was or was not needed as public property. Freerks said she thought it was legitimate to talk about other public uses for a piece of public land before it was made not public. The consideration of the property as open space, as mentioned by one of the neighbors, was legitimate, but she did not think having an island park in the middle of something that could not be accessed was an easy thing to do. Freerks said she did not know if there was a major deficit of green space in that area but that was something for later consideration. Holland said he believed that Lensing had opened the door by indicating that he did not wish to purchase the property unless it was rezoned. He appreciated that the Commission was talking about only one item but he had a problem with it as it had been presented. If there was no rezoning, then there would be no need for Lensing to ask for a vacation of the property. Holland said he did not think the issue was as simple as the Commission presented it to be. It was a very complicated issue. Winifred Holland, 1105 Diana Street, said the City had fencing regulations. It had taken her two years to get the fence repaired a few years back. Holland said they had discussed the environmental regulations at the last Commission meeting. Section 8, Item 2, said "Permit and define the reasonable uses of properties which contain environmentally sensitive features and natural resources while recognizing the importance of environmental resoumes and protecting such resources from destruction." Holland said she thought it fell under that because the row of trees were not 12 inches around so they did not fall under the definition of a grove of trees. The pamel of land was not an acre in size, so it did not qualify as a prairie remnant. Holland said when she first received the letter she was not concerned. However when she walked out and looked at the taped off area she had been shocked to see the tape stretching across the two adjoining properties. She felt there was moro there than met the eye. Even though the Commission was only making a decision about the right-of-way, she suggested that they consider other concerns that had also been brought up that evening. Holland said if they voted yes on the application, they would be laying the groundwork for a rezoning roquest that threatened the stability of the neighborhood. Cortland Burwold, 1035 Diana Street, an adjoining property owner to the Lensing property. Burwold said he personally did not have an issue with the vacation. He had purchased the property from his grandparents and had lived there approximately three years. He currently maintained and mowed 20-feet of the alleyway. Burwold said the only issue he had with it being vacated was if the property to the west at 424 Highland Court were to purchase their parcel. They had not maintained their portion of the hill for years. Slides shown by Holland had shown the brush and overgrowth behind that building. Burwold said since the time that the telephone company had sold the building that land parcel had not seen a lawnmower so he was forced to look directly out over a weed patch. If the owner of that building were to purchase his parcel, that would mean an additional 10-feet of weed patch would ensue. The current owner did not maintain what he had now on the backside of his building because he didn't look out over it. As far as the alley itself was concerned, at present it only served foot traffic from Grisley's Bar and on Sunday mornings Burwold had to go out and pick up beer cans. BUnNOId said he might have accidentally planted asparagus on the proposed vacation portion, but he would either move his asparagus or purchase his 10-feet himself. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes August 7, 2003 Page 5 Burwotd said he felt the neighborhood itself, thanks to John Roffman fixing up the house to the north of Burwold's property, was already on the way to improvement. During the previous summer the lawn had only been mowed two times dudng the whole summer. Improvements that were being made within the neighborhood would hopefully raise the property value of his home and the homes that currently surrounded him were much more decent than what they previously had been. As an adjacent property owner, he had no problem with the vacation. Chair and Anciaux suggested that Burwold talk to the City Inspector as there were City regulations regarding such. Burwold said it was just grass and junk trees that had overtaken the area. Even if the building owner opted to purchase his parcel of land, Burwold could still take action to have the area maintained. Anciaux asked when a parcel with two adjoining neighbors was vacated did the City get an appraised value on the properties. Behr said the practice had been to solicit offers from each adjacent owner. Anciaux asked if it ever became a bidding war or did it go just up to the appraised price. Behr said there was not an automatic appraisal. The City liked it when the property owners obtained an appraisal, but sometimes it just did not pay to get one so they went with the assessed value. Behr said everyone with alley adjacent to their property got the chance to purchase their property at fair market value. Chait said the property needed to be 100% acquired before the City would vacate it. He asked if the adjoining property owners didn't want to purchase their parcels could a third party not connected to land being vacated purchase it? This related to an earlier conversation regarding if Lensing could purchase additional parcels of land and give them back to the property owners. Behr said it would be possible but highly unlikely that the City would sell to someone who did not own any property adjacent to the vacated portion. Staff would not recommend to Council that only a portion of the parcel be conveyed. Chair asked if it would become a big dollar sale or more of just an accommodation to erase the alley. Behr said it depended on the assessed and appraised values, but they were not talking about a lot of property. John Roffmaq, 1314 Burry Drive, said he had talked to Lensing in terms of acquiring part of his parcel to expand the funeral home parking lot. It seemed to make sense because at times there was not enough space to accommodate parking and Lensing was landlocked in. Roffman said physically looking at the alley now one would not have any idea that there ever was an alley there. Obviously it was public property that had never been used so it made sense to vacate it, generate more dollars out of it and have the best use of it. Freerks asked Roffman if he lived on the property. He did not. He had acquired the property, fixed up the house and had spent two days with three men cutting brush down and clearing the property which had been neglected for a long time. Lensing said he wanted everyone to know that if the property were vacated and if he were to purchase all the land, he and Burwold had already reached a verbal agreement. There was nothing that he could do with the lower piece of the vacated parcel. All he wanted to do was square off his lot for parking. Even some of the land he might purchase from Roffman would not be touched because there was nothing he could do on it, it would be left just as it was now. Anciaux asked who owned the nonconforming lot? Lensing said it was owned by Peter Weinstein. Roffman said he had spoken to Weinstein who was planning to be around for only one more year then moving on. Roffman was anticipating combining the two properties at that time. There were no written agreements, but they would work things out. Chair and Bovbjerg discussed that the Weinstein lot was a non conforming lot but it could still be used for a single family home because any lot, even though it was technically non conforming, could have a single family home on it. Holland said it was an odd area but a unique opportunity to use it in a different way. He urged the Commission to consult with Project Green or other neighbors. He would like to join a panel discussion to determine a different future than what the property was headed for now. Public discussion was closed. Motion: Chair made a motion that the City vacate the 6680-square foot portion of right-of-way located to the southeast of 605 Kirkwood Avenue subject to: 1) the retention of any necessary utility easements, 2) Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes August 7, 2003 Page 6 the conveyance of the right-of-way being approved concurrently with the approval of the ordinance vacating the alley, 3) the inclusion of a curb along the east-west graveled alley to prevent vehicular access from the commercial property to Diana Street. Shannon seconded the motion. Chair said they had discussed a lot of items specifically related to the vacation and a lot of concerns around the ramifications of the vacation. He felt that there were adequate protections in the codes and ordinances to provide for screening, etc. With respect to all of the concerns that had been expressed regarding a parking lot being put in and the property developed, based on ordinances that were currently in place there was no way that it was going to happen to the neighborhood without going through the proper procedures and protocols. The Commission was simply looking at a recommendation to vacate the alley. There had been a lot of discussion about private party interests but again the ordinances on the books regulated that as well as the best use of the properties involved. When things came to fruition there were ample safeguards in place. He felt the request was a reasonable one. Shannon said they had heard a lot of things which he was trying to simplify it in his mind. To him an alleyway was basically access to a properly. He had heard other good ideas mentioned, but the adjacent property owners did not have a problem with the vacation. The Commission was also being asked to make a decision on and speculate on a rezoning, but it was not their business to speculate on it. Chair said a valid point made by Roffman was that it was a public right-of-way, but there was no visible evidence that a usable alley had ever existed. Shannon said in keeping with all that, since it was an alley that was not being used and wasn't meant for park land, the Commission should vote it up or down on the merits of the neighbors input, what was originally asked for and was it a good thing. It was more of a political issue and it was City Council's job to make decisions about what could and what should be. Freerks said for her the question put to them was did the City need the property maintained in a public way. She didn't see that there was great benefit in that and it was probably fine to vacate that property. However further meetings about other issues could become much messier. Those would be things for a later discussion when it came to encroachment and rezoning, those were things that the Commission would take into consideration. As far as this issue, she was comfortable with the vacation. Freerks said if the property changed hands, she urged Lensing to take into consideration the desires and concerns of the neighbors who lived in the area when trees and buffers were considered. Hansen said he agreed with Freerks. The question was: was it viable for the City to keep the properly or not. He could not see anything good the City would be doing with the property as it had sat vacant. The vacation did not guarantee that there would be any type of sale on the property if agreements could not be reached. Anciaux said it was only 6680-square feet which was not a very big parcel. The City was reserving the utility easements and was protecting the City in doing so. He did not see any other need to keep the property as City property. Koppes said she had walked down the alley and would not have known that it was an alley if she had not seen it on a plat. The City was not using it as an alley so there was no reason in her mind not to vacate it. Bovbjerg said she agreed with the previous comments made. The protections on the property were good, especially the restrictions on the east-west portion accessing to Diana Street. Those houses used the alley and it had been an accessible right-of-way for years. Keeping traffic from the commercial area from accessing onto Diana Street was a very important restriction that was part of the motion for the vacation. She would vote in favor of the vacation. The whole process had been a neighborly work and she felt certain that it would continue to be so. The motion passed on a vote of 7-0. Chait said if a rezoning came back before the Commission, it would be a very different playing field in terms of who owned what, who was proposing what and it would be a very different conversation in a whole different context. For the Commission to speculate about alliances or the outcome was premature. It would be a very different landscape in terms of title. ZONING / DEVELOPMENT ITEMS: SUB03-00031, discussion of an application from Arlington L.C. for a final plat of Windsor Ridge Part 17B, a 3.49-acre, l-lot residential subdivision located at the intersection of York Place and Broadmoor Lane. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes August7,2003 Page 7 McCafferty said the memo dated August 7, 2003 was a correction. The fees for the improvement of West Branch Road for these three particular plats would go into an escrow account for when West Branch Road was upgraded. Behr said it was detailed in the legal papers and did not have to be noted separately. Public discussion was opened. There was none. Public discussion was closed. Motion: Hansen made a motion to approve SUB03-00031, subject to Staff approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to Council consideration. Freerks seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 7-0. SUB03-00032, discussion of an application from Arlington L.C. for a final plat of Windsor Ridge Part 18B, a 1.09-acre, 2-lot residential subdivision located west of Broadmoor Lane and north of Camden Road. Public discussion was opened. There was none. Public discussion was closed. Motion: Anciaux made a motion to approve SUB03-00032, subject to Staff approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to Council consideration. Hansen seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 7-0. SUB03-00033, discussion of an application from Arlington L.C. for a final plat of Windsor Ridge Part 19A, an .82-acre, 1-lot residential subdivision located west of Broadmoor Lane and south of York Place. Public discussion was opened. There was none. Public discussion was closed. Motion: Freerks made a motion to approve SUB03-00033, subject to Staff approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to Council consideration. Koppes seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 7-0. OTHER: It was decided that a Code Review meeting would take place at 6:30 pm on Monday, August 11, 2003, at the Recreation Center in Meeting Room B. Chait said what concerned him about the Code review on Monday was that it seemed to him that the Commission was totally missing the opportunity of context. The Commission was looking at the Code review in such a level of minutia and micro-detail that they were missing the forest and the context of what kind of process and development that they wanted to have happen in the community. They were dealing with skinny branch details that were way out there. What had set him off was the mention of incentives as if they had always offered incentives to tighten regulations, such as if there was a carrot and a stick and a way to make it more voluntary. Chair said the kinds of things that they talked about at the Code review meetings were so in the box that they were missing the big picture. In terms of guidance, leadership and direction for the Commission, there was a huge opportunity. Freerks said she thought they should look at it in detail to see if they were missing something that might be very important. Chair said his point was that they looked at it in detail and only in detail. They didn't look at the context where they had the opportunity to set the course. Context was the whole way of being in this world, in this City and they were not doing it. Bovbjerg suggested they address Chait's issues Monday evening. Everyone should look over the Code prior to Monday evening. She said if they needed to pull back and look at the whole thing that was a good reaction which meant that they were trying to look at the whole thing. Looking at the whole city and all the ordinances and how they worked together was very important. Bovbjerg said Chair very possibly was not alone in his feeling and it should be discussed next Monday evening. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes August 7, 2003 Page 8 Freerks said it was hard to get from point A to B to C to D when they received B then D then received A later. It was difficult to fit all the pieces together. Hansen said he agreed that the overall look of the ordinance needed to be addressed. Then how everything fit together would make more sense to him. McCafferty said from what little she had been working on the Code, it was a very complicated process. To try to pull it all together all at once was very difficult. Howard and Miklo continually cross-referenced other sections which the Commission had not yet addressed. One way to deal with it at this point was to write a memo to Staff or make a note that they were concerned with how something related to other issues so it could be earmarked. When they got to that issue, they could cross-reference back to the odginal concern. McCafferty said it was a very daunting process because there was so much coordination between the different sections, and other codes came into play. Behr said from a Staff meeting perspective, they looked at A, got a consensus on what they wanted out of A, then looked at B, decided what they wanted out of B, then someone would notice that the two didn't fit. That was why it was being done that way. They would study vadous things then at the end they would look at it all together and if things didn't fit then they had to make revisions or change choices. It was a frustrating process so that was why it was being done in informal meetings so that at the end they could look at the whole thing. CONSIDERATION OF 7/17/03 MEETING MINUTES: Anciaux made a motion to approve the minutes as written and corrected. Koppes seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 7-0. ADJOURNMENT: Chair made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:54 pm. Freerks seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 7-0. Jerry Hansen, Secretary Minutes submitted by Candy Barnhill data on ciLynL/pcd/rninut e s/p&z/8-07-O 3p&z.doc MINUTES APPROVED ~ PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 18, 2003 EMMA J. HARVAT HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Beth Koppes, Ann Freerks, Jerry Hansen, Ann Bovbjerg, Don Anciaux, Benjamin Chair MEMBERS ABSENT: Dean Shannon STAFF PRESENT: Bob Miklo, John Yapp, Mitch Behr OTHERS PRESENT: Joe Holland, Dave Moore, Karen Dawes, Steven E. Nelson, Joel Fagan, Alexis Kuklenski, Amy Bouska, Glenn Siders, Kavel Mostafowi, Doug Ruppert RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, REZ03-00021, a rezoning from CB-2, Central Business District Service to PRM, Planned High Density Residential for approximately 13,500 square feet located at 512 S. Dubuque Street. Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, VAC03-00002, the vacation of the alley located to the east of 512 S. Dubuque Street subject to the retention of any necessary utility easements. Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, SUB03-00034, a final plat of Oakmont Estates, an 8.7-acre, 16-1ot residential subdivision located west of Foster Road subject to Council approval of the pending rezoning and preliminary plat and subject to Staff approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to Council consideration. 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 way for citizens to help their City was to volunteer to serve on a board or commission. Their viewpoints on what was happening within the town was very important. A listing of current vacancies on the various boards and commissions was announced. ZONING / DEVELOPMENT ITEM: SUB03-00028/REZ03-00020, discussion of an application submitted by Southgate Development for a rezoning of 119.94-acres from Interim Development Single-Family and Multi-Family Residential (ID-RS and ID-nM) to Planned Development Overlay, OPDH-5 and a Preliminary Plat of Sandhill Estates, a 146.48-acre, 378-1ot subdivision located south of Pepperwood Addition and east of South Gilbert Street. Yapp said the property was located in the City's South District. The City had a District Plan for that area. The applicant was seeking to rezone approximately 119-acres. The remainder was part of the subdivision and was proposed to remain not zoned for development at this time. Several years ago the applicant had presented a plan which showed most of the area as being developed. There had been a negative reaction to the plan from both surrounding residents and persons now known as Concerned Citizens for Sand Prairie Preservation. An Ornate Box Turtle habitat had been identified as being located on much of the sand hill area as was a suspected prairie. As a result, the applicant had contracted with conservation designer Randall Arendt to design a conservation design for the subdivision. That had involved the setting aside a large area of open space in return for allowing smaller lots on the remaining area proposed for development. Yapp said the net result was about the same number of lots as a regular single-family development, but smaller, in return for a larger open space. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes September 18, 2003 Page 2 Yapp showed an early version of the Arendt conservation design plan overlaid on an aerial photo. It showed a portion of the sand hill area with most lots 50- to 52-foot wide with some 30-foot wide lots interspersed throughout the development with an interconnected street system and other green spaces within the street network, the idea being that most of the residents would have a view of some green space on the property. He said the current application encompassed 378 lots and followed the same philosophy. The developer's proposal proposed an approximate 17-acre area of the sand hill in the center of the development. Last week the Parks and Recreation Commission had recommended accepting this area as public open space along with a small area adjacent to Wetherby Park. The remaining interspersed open spaces through out the development were proposed to be private. Yapp said the one area in which the current plan differed from the Arendt plan was the inclusion of a number of lots along an area of open space that Yapp pointed out on the overhead site map. The previous plan had indicated a much larger public frontage onto this particular piece of open space. On the north, south, southwest and an opening facing Wetherby Park were connections to the public streets through the proposed open space. Other elements of the plan that had evolved as Staff had worked with the applicant included the inclusion of and an extension of the Iowa River trail. Because Gilbert Street did not include sidewalks in this area, Staff had recommended that the Iowa River Trail be included with this development for a connection to the regional trail system. The applicant had also agreed to construct a trail connection to Wetherby Park from the neighborhood. Staff would continue to work with the applicant to identify the exact location for the connection, which then would be maintained by the Parks and Recreation Commission as part of the park. Yapp said an issue that Staff had noted in the planning documents was, when lots became smaller and narrower, a dominant garage streetscape had the potential to occur. A number of the 30-foot lots would have rear garages and alley access. The remaining lots were between 50 and 55-feet in width and had a double car garages. Staff had had some discussions with the applicant over this issue and hoped to reach some proposals to alleviate the garagescape appearance within the neighborhood. Staff's report outlined one potential way to alleviate the issue was to set the garages back from the main part of the house so the residential form of the house was the dominant form on the streetscape. The applicant had worked with the Department of Natural Resources to relocate the box turtles to a different habitat from their current habitat on the sand hill, knowing that the area would be developed. Earlier in the spring the DNR had been on the property and had relocated some turtles. If more turtles were discovered it would be required that they too be relocated. Staff had shared all the development information with the DNR. Yapp said as noted in the Staff Report, in addition to not having sidewalks Gilbert Street did not have a turn lane in this area. Staff recommended that once 25 units were constructed, a left turn lane be required to be constructed at the expense of the applicant because of the connector street and the development of new residential lots. Wet hydric soils and steep slopes were located on the property. Specific construction methods would be required to be utilized to deal with those features of the property. The general design of the street network was an interconnected street network which was recommended in the City's Comprehensive Plan. Staff was comfortable with the overall street network, the pedestrian sidewalk and trail connections. The loop streets would be posted as one-way streets to allow for their narrower 22-foot width. Yapp said this part of the City was generally rather flat so in some area neighborhoods there was not very good drainage. The proposed drainage system would go along the north and east borders of the property following the natural drainage pattern in the property. Several basins were proposed for future development. City Engineering staff was comfortable with the proposed level of stormwater management. Yapp said in response to a concern raised at Monday's informal meeting regarding if the proposed stormwater system would alleviate stormwater issues is the Pepperwood Neighborhood, it was likely to alleviate any drainage issues in the southern Pepperwood area because the basins would be lower and they would capture drainage. They were not designed to deal with any drainage issues further north. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes September 18, 2003 Page 3 Bovbjerg requested Legal Staff to clarify what issues the Commission could consider with regard to the rezoning and the OPDH plan. Behr said items mentioned in the Planning Staff's Repod such as: · the Gilbert Street improvement (specifically the turn lane) recommendation to be included in the Conditional Zoning Agreement because it was a basic public infrastructure item · the proposed design considerations proposed by Staff because it was an OPDH and there was a request to reduce the size of lots to the extent that the reduction in size created a public need for regulation of the appearance of those units · the suggestion by Staff for the clustering or removal of lots that backed onto the open space because it was an OPDH and the applicant had proposed additional open space in exchange for the reduction in size of the lots · the lots that backed onto the open space to the extent that they felt a change in how it was proposed really affected the value of the open space and its merit as a basis for reducing the size of other lots Bovbjerg asked if improvements to Gilbert Street and the new east-west arterial were considered a part of the CZA along with the rezoning or were they just part of the development itself. Yapp said the turn lane would be proposed as part of the CZA, the arterial street as shown on the plat would need to be required to be constructed by the developer with the City paying the oversized cost of the street. The trail as shown on the plat would be required to be constructed because it was shown on the plat. Based on the assumption that this item would be deferred, Hansen asked if it would be possible to have a prairie expert present at the next meeting to provide information about the difference in management of the open space with respect to burning versus mowing. Yapp said Staff would try to contact someone. He had spoken with Terry Trueblood regarding management of the open space. Trueblood had said that one this became public land, the Parks Department wished to work with any and all prairie groups interested in maintaining this area as it should be maintained. Parks and Recreation did not have specific plans for the open space at this time. Hansen said he had made the request because of several double-loaded issues before the Commission. If burning was the favored method for prairie maintenance, then it seemed it would be putting a lot of homes in danger. Miklo said staff would try to consult with someone who has expertise regarding prairies. If possible staff would arrange to have such a person at the next meeting or staff may have a written response regarding this concern. Public discussion was opened. Joe Holland, attorney for Southgate Development. Holland said he had only very recently begun representing Southgate Development for this project. He had come to the project with a different perspective as he had somewhat followed it in the media. He too had an interest in what was happening on the property. For almost three years he had served on a Johnson County Commission with Glenn Siders and another member of the audience. Their purpose had been to draft a number of ordinances for Johnson County which had included a Conservation Clustered Subdivision ordinance and a Sensitive Areas ordinance. The committee had had a broad representation and had spent a long time making the drafts. Through his work on the committee, Holland had become acquainted with Randall Arnedt, who was very involved in conservation design subdivisions which dealt with open spaces, clustered housing and trying to preserve natural features. He had gained an awareness of how much of a balancing act it was between environmental issues and the development of property. Holland said he felt the project as presented before the Commission was very much an example of the balancing process in progress. The applicant's design was an outgrowth of the one proposed by Amedt. Early in the process Siders and Arnedt had met at the site and Arnedt had proposed a concept design. That had been the genesis of what the Commission was seeing in terms of the subdivision. The balancing act had come in because no one could have everything in a project that they wanted including the developer, neighbors, and environmentalists. He felt Southgate was far more flexible than other developers he had seen in the community. The open space that was proposed to be set aside for prairie was more than 6.5-times the amount required by the City's Open Space Ordinance. Holland said that was a sacrifice by the developer, but Southgate was not doing it with the feeling of having a gun held to their heads. They had attended citizen meetings, worked with Staff and had come to the proposed design because they felt it was the best design that could be found which would accommodate neighborhood interests, environmental interests and the interests of the developer. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes September 18, 2003 Page 4 Lingering issues that the developer had recently met with Staff about included the design of the houses on the small lots. They were actively working to find common ground that would satisfy City concerns but still give the purchasers of the homes the maximum square foot per dollar that could be achieved. Open space issues, everyone had to understand that they were not going to get precisely everything that they wanted. The design had been a progression of design issues over the last couple of years. Holland said it was a good, well-designed project and the Commission should recommend approval on. Dave Moore, 425 Davenport Street, said he was referring to the Sand Hill ridge itself and the land to the west and southwest facing Sand Road. Moore said he believed 10-years from now a lot of people would be asking why on earth this particular spot of land had been developed at all. It was historically important as it was close to the original settler John Gilbert's cabin and native camping grounds on the river. It was a beautiful area on the Iowa river abundant with wildlife, it was part of the south corridor and adjacent to the quarry ponds which were set for recreational use in the future and it was an area already rich in recreational features which included the ball diamonds on the other side of Sand Road, the golf courses to the south and biking clubs used Sand Road all the time. Moore felt if the community were to stand back and say, "Where could we preserve an area that is a real slice of rural Iowa and right for recreational and/or preservation possibilities, you couldn't find a better spot than that area right there". Moore said that the main reason he was there was because if the Commission didn't know it already, a lot of people were not happy in a general sense about the development and he felt it needed to be put on record. Last year Southgate had had several meetings to present their plans and he had attended one of those meetings. Moore said he appreciated Southgate's efforts to meet with the neighbors, to offer a small part of the land to the City, the efforts of Southgate's architect to make the site more attractive and Sider's helpfulness when Moore had been seeking information, but based on the dialogue of those meetings he didn't know of anyone who had attended those meetings who if they had it in their power to make the entire project simply disappear, would not do so. Moore said the entities who would really gain from the development of a piece of land of this type were Southgate Development, the people who actually would live on the site and the people in the building trades. The losers in his opinion would be the people who lived in the area and who used the area for recreational purposes. City Staff had indicated that they expected the traffic on Sand Road to double or triple over time. He said future generations of Iowa Citians would lose a beautiful spot of land that could have been the centerpiece of a really beautiful entryway in the south corridor to our community. Moore said he would like to see Southgate reconsider the City's request for a botanical survey of the area and for the Commission to bear in mind the special nature of the land in their decisions. He would also like to see the City Council consider purchasing the Sand Hill ridge and the land to the southwest and for Southgate to be open to those possibilities if the City was so interested. Karen Dawes, 1055 Briar Drive, president of the Board of Directors for the Concerned Citizens for Sand Prairie Preservation. Dawes said she wanted to say thank you to everyone who had worked very hard in relation to this development over the last two years, especially to Southgate Development and to the City Planning department. Dawes said she would suggest that there remained a great deal of work to be done. The four points she had to make were: · She did not think the question the Commission had posed a year ago last April, which was whether or not this area should appear on the Sensitive Areas map, had been answered. · If the development was to be a true conservation subdivision then all of the basic concepts must be observed. She felt that removing most of the views of the prairie from public streets and from the homes that would be there made the much smaller lots much less desirable and less marketable. · The appearance of the homes that would be built in this neighborhood on the much smaller lots would have a very long-term impact on the new neighborhood and the surrounding neighborhoods. Because the lots were small every effort should be made to avoid the cookie cutter garage appearance. A house design that maximized yard space rather than concrete and garage space should be looked at. · Because the prairie area had been and would be marketed as an amenity to this development it would need to be managed and restored rather aggressively and sooner versus later. Protecting the area during construction and allowing an appropriate prairie management plan would be essential. Bovbjerg said the Commission had received a letter from the Concerned Citizens for Sand Prairie Preservation and it would be entered into the record. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes September 18, 2003 Page 5 Hansen asked if the Citizens were working with anyone at present to restore the prairie. Dawes said they had hoped that once the project was approved that they would be able to do some plant rescue from the areas that would be destroyed. It would also depend on the time of year that grading would begin. Southgate had said to them that they would be able to, but she felt it would be dependent on the time of year. They hoped to bring in some experts to assist them. The invasive species of the trees that were currently on the area needed to be removed and some burning needed to be done, there was a lot of work that needed to be done. They had been waiting for this project to move forward, it was not their land and it was not the City's land, it was Southgate's land so they would also need their cooperation. Hansen asked Dawes how she felt about the smaller lots proposed to be built south of Wetherby Park, how would their view be affected by being built where they were currently shown on the plat. Dawes said she thought if the prairie was surrounded by lots so that they were blocking views from the public streets and the people from across the street couldn't look onto the prairie because there was a house in the way, then the trade off with the smaller lots was not there. She said even if a person had a small lot, if they could "look out" it made it feel like a larger place which was part of the basic concept of a conservation subdivision. One of her colleagues had studied this concept and would be able to discuss it in detail. Dawes said she felt Randall Arnedt probably would not be very happy with what had happened to the plan in some respects. Steven E. Nelson, 1033 Sandusky Drive, said he wished to emphasize the point that had been made at Monday's informal meeting, "this was a large development." In his viewpoint, it defined what would be the South District of Iowa City. Nelson said he was a little disappointed in what he saw. He had used the South District Plan as his guidebook. He'd envisioned a district with a variety of housing, with some upscale housing and larger lots for people who wanted to live in this part of Iowa City. With the proposed scale of development plus what else was already built, there was no possibility for larger homes. He could not build the home that he currently resided in on Sandusky Drive. He did not consider it to be opulent but the houses were too big to fit on any of the proposed lots. Nelson said he would like to see some, but not too many larger lots. He had pictured the golf-course crowd of persons who wanted to live near an open space but didn't golf. He supported the idea of mixed housing, some apartments and townhouses, a real mixture in a real neighborhood. Nelson said he was not overly familiar with the Peninsula Neighborhood but he believed in some of the concepts they were initiating by providing variety in a mixed neighborhood. With all the proposed small lots, many of them 6,000 square-feet houses, there would not be a lot of variety in housing designs that could be built. Nelson had an article by Amedt which showed what type of attractive houses could be built on lots of those sizes and avoid the "Snout Houses" as they had been called. He said that was a concept that Staff had pointed out. They wanted the fronts of the houses to look attractive and not to look like you were driving by a bunch of storage buildings or garages. Nelson said there were a lot of nice things about the design, but because it was so large and defined the South District so much, he felt the Commission needed to look at it carefully and see if there weren't more changes that could be made to get a larger variety. Freerks asked Nelson, if he knew the trade off for a larger lot home could be to remove chunks of the green area, how would he feel about it as a neighbor in the area? Nelson said he didn't believe it had to be a trade off. When Southgate had purchased the land they had known that the South District was there and that land had been set aside as open space. It had been designated in the Comprehensive Plan as open space. Now that Southgate wanted to develop part of the open space, Nelson didn't feel that they should have to trade off more just to reduce the sand prairie area that would be developed. He said Iowa City had many jewels, it hadn't been known that the Devonian Gorge existed until ten years ago. The sand prairie had been there forever, mostly undisturbed. He didn't think people appreciated the potential that it held, it was a rare piece of land. They were giving up two-thirds of it to save one-third. Nelson said 378 lots were a lot. He suggested that the school board be consulted as well. The South District Plan discussed a school being developed in the area which he didn't think would happen. As the neighborhood was developed Nelson said consideration needed to be given as to which school the kids would attend, a natural division needed to be created instead of an arbitrary house-to-house division. Nelson said when this large an area was going to be developed by a single developer, that would define the neighborhood. There were a lot more issues beside just what the lot sizes would be. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes September 18, 2003 Page 6 Hansen asked Nelson if he could define what the ideal development on that area would be, what percentage of larger lots would he put there? Nelson said probably 30. Hansen asked Nelson what he would call a larger lot? Nelson said something over 10,000 square feet, double what the lot sizes were now. Hansen said looking at the proposal he saw quite a few lots of over 10,000-square feet in size. Nelson said he had not studied the plan closely; he had looked mainly along Sandusky Drive. That would meet his request, and he was glad to know that they were proposed as such. Hansen said as far as he knew the school was still a proposal to be located along Sycamore. Nelson said it looked like some of the water went under the house lots as it approached the south end. Yapp said there would be a culvert under the roadway there. Bovbjerg asked who would be taking care of the culvert. Yapp said the culvert itself would be part of the public street. The stormwater basins would be taken care of by the homeowners association as far as mowing them. Debris on the upstream side of the culvert would likely be taken care of by City crews. Joel Faqan, 741 Chestnut Court, said one of the early plans had a number of ponds along the north edge of the development. They had looked very nice on Arendt's concept plan but he had concerns about the presence of that type of pond because of ones he'd seen in and around Iowa City and Coralville. Over time they tended to become really unattractive and messy. Fagan specifically asked about the pond at the end of Birch Street. Yapp said they were proposed to be dry water basins. They would be designed as grassy basins that would collect water during rain storms and slowly drain out toward the south and the east. The homeowner's association would be required to maintain and mow the basins. Such basins were located in the Scott Park area. Fagan said the real issue was, was this going to be the best way to manage the stormwater drainage, was it going to be an eyesore for the neighborhood, would it be a problem for the homeowner's association or was there a better way to do it that would avoid potential problems of that kind. Was it being done this way just because other persons did it this way and had careful thought been given to the proposed basins. Yapp said the other way would be a wet basin which would be a permanent pond that would collect water. Some type of basin system would be required in this area. An example of a private dry bottom basin could be seen looking west from Scott Boulevard near where it intersected with Rochester Avenue. Fagan said another issue was that this plan differed from the original plan in the location of the narrow lots. Originally some had been proposed to border the Chestnut Court area, but he was happy that they had been moved. Fagan said he and his neighbors felt it would not be appropriate to place that type of lot adjacent to existing standard single-family lots. Fagan asked if within the zoning process there a way to assure that they didn't get moved again during the course of development. He wanted to make sure that a reversion back to an earlier plan that changed the location of the narrow lots wouldn't occur. Yapp said should this plan be approved as it was now, if the developer requested a change in the plan or location of lots, Staff would go through the same notification and public hearing procedure that was occurring at this meeting. Fagan said it had been interesting to hear Hansen/Dawes discuss that having an open area, even if it was not yours, made you feel like you had a bigger, more attractive, enjoyable place. Fagan said because his lot currently backed up to an undeveloped cornfield, it made a very big difference as to how his backyard felt. He would guess that even if a large proportion of the proposed lots in this development had an unobstructed view of the prairie, it would indeed give a very different feel to those lots. Anything that could be done to make the open area more visible and more accessible would be a big advantage to the overall character of the development. Alexis Kuklenski, said she was concerned with the way the sand prairie kept being referred to as a prairie. Prairies were very special to Iowa, but sand prairies were even scarcer. They were only found in areas where large amounts of sand had collected. Because Iowa was very fiat there were not very many hills where sand would have accumulated. Kuklenski said it was her understanding from studies that sand prairies were one of the most sensitive types of prairies. Walking on them could destroy them, heavy machinery would definitely destroy them. She was concerned that an expert had not been brought in yet to look at the prairie to identify it as a sand prairie, one of the few in Iowa. The only other sand prairie she was aware of in the area was located in Muscatine. Kuklenski said if this was truly something unique to this area it needed to be looked at and preserved. Since that had not been done yet, it concerned her. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes September 18, 2003 Page 7 Bovbjerg said if the green area on the map were set aside, what type of restrictions or advice would be given with respect to placing machinery there or doing any disturbance. Behr said the area that was to be dedicated to the public would not be available for use in the process. Bovbjerg asked if it could legally be kept off bounds for storage or parking or any use at all. Behr said it could be. Freerks asked if it had to be dedicated and accepted first. Behr said not necessarily. It could be stipulated as a no development area. Yapp said in a conversation with Glenn Siders, Siders had said he would be more than willing to fence off the area during development of the surrounding area so that any construction equipment would not inadvertently drive across it. Yapp said the Commission might wish to include that as a condition of approval. Behr said there would be discussions as to how soon the open space was to be dedicated. If it was not to be done soon there could be arrangements or an agreement as part of the legal papers that it was off limits until it was dedicated. Bovbjerg asked if it would have to have been accepted by the City as a dedicated piece of park land. Behr said no, it could be agreed between the developer and the City that until it was dedicated it would be off limits. Amy Bouska, 1049 Briar Drive, said she was a Board member of Concerned Citizens for Sand Prairie Preservation. Bouska said approximately two years ago when this proposal initially went before the Commission she had gotten involved as had many of her neighbors to try to integrate the principles of the South District Plan into the proposal. Bouska said she would like to give Southgate Development a lot of credit for bringing in Arnedt to look at the land in a little different way and to incorporate a conservation subdivision design. She said the best part of a conservation subdivision design was that large areas of open space could be preserved. That was balanced by having smaller lots and the homes were clustered. The important balance was that not only were the homes clustered, but you were able to see the open space, to see the vistas and to experience them. Accessibility to the open space was also a part of the design. Bouska said there was a difference in the concept plan that had been designed by Arnedt and the one that was before the Commission. The whole process had been a compromise, it had been a long process in which both sides had done give and take. The South District Plan had been a guiding principle for their neighborhood. Bouska said they would like to see the finishing touches of that come into play and the Commission could play a role in that. One of the finishing touches would be to restore some of the vistas that were in Arnedt's conceptual plan. Another finishing touch would be to look at the long-term maintenance of the land. It could be set aside and protected from development, but consideration also had to be given to what was going to be done from a management standpoint. The invasive honeysuckle and honey locust trees needed to be removed and the area needed to be burned. The prairie area could not be left as it was now. Controlled burning could be a scary thing to people who did not understanding what burning meant to a prairie. Bouska said one of the things that could help them move along toward management of the land was by doing some single loading of the streets. In restoration or reconstruction projects, fire was a very important management tool to help stimulate the seed banks. If remnant plants were actually located there, they would respond to the fire, with mowing it would be hard to simulate fire. The design of the subdivision would make a big difference in how the land could be managed. Bouska said one of the other tools that the Commission could help them with was if they were concerned about the burning, it would be nice to do some up front marketing regarding burning of the lots. If the area was to be a conservation subdivision design and the open space was going to be marketed as an amenity, it would be helpful to have that information available at the beginning to the homeowners and have written agreements from a legal perspective that the area would be burned. She said that prairie management would be subject to approval from the Fire Dept. and to approval of a land management plan. Citizen's didn't expect City Staff to do all that; they knew that they were going to need to be involved and would have to help with it. They would like to see controlled burning as an active part of that. Bouska said she would like to give a lot of credit to Southgate as they didn't have to bring in Arnedt. Although what they were looking at today was a much different plan than the plan presented by Arnedt before, Bouska said Citizen's hoped to work out some of the finishing touches to help make this area, which would hopefully be set aside, sustainable in the long run. Hansen asked if Staff would also get a Fire Department opinion for the next meeting. Yapp said the Fire Department had a permitting process for burning of this type. Burning of prairie had been done within the City limits. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes September 18, 2003 Page 8 Hansen asked what was the difference in the number of units between Southgate's proposed plan and Arendt's concept plan. Yapp said Staff would count the number of units for the next meeting. Siders said he didn't have the exact number but thought it was very similar as well. Behr said it sounded as if Hansen's questions with regard to the burning went to how the Commission would approach the lots that backed onto the open space. The burning and the management of that open space would be up to the City. When the developer dedicated that property how it was ultimately used would be up to the City. Hansen said that was why he had asked about a Maintenance Plan and if the Fire Department was even open to burning 17 acres. Bovbjerg said there were groups within the City and the County who were very experienced doing burns. It would be possible for the Fire Department to link up with those resources and do a burn if that were the way the prairie was going to be maintained. Some prairies were more realistically and naturally maintained by burning rather than by mowing or grazing. Glenn Sider~, Southgate Companies, said as far as the City obtaining ownership of the prairie, Southgate was going to press really hard to get the City to immediately accept it because of a number of issues and concerns that people had already raised such as what did or did not get on the property. It was very difficult for Southgate to manage it. There was growth on the property now that they had no control over. He wished to get the area dedicated, fenced/marked and then they could implement what ever management methods they felt appropriate as the City worked them out with the community. Siders said in response to Fagan's concerns about stormwater management, this stormwater was unique to anything else in Iowa City in the aspect that it was a lineal basin. It was not just a big hole in the ground or two in the ground next to each other. It incorporated the entire natural drainage way of the property. It was a whole series of basins that interconnected and acted as one unit. They could be either wet or dry bottom. The concept plan had shown water in them, that was their preference, but it would basically be determined at the engineering stage whether they were wet or dry. It depended on how quickly the water would drain and those types of details wouldn't be known until the engineering phase of development. If it was the neighborhood's desire to have dry bottom basins, that could be done also. Bovbjerg asked if it were dry or semi-dry bottom basins, would it be a somewhat gradual slope from the north area to the southeast. Siders said that was correct, it would be a terraced type of arrangement where you had a basin area then stepped down into the next basin area then kept going down to the southeast. It would be engineered to be draining and not just seeping into the ground underneath. Bovbjerg asked if the ditches would be open or culverted? Siders said he thought there would be certain areas that would have to be piped such as under the roadways. Primarily he thought they would be open, but from prior conversations with the Engineering Department, in order to transfer from one level to the next they had to be piped. There might be an open area, then an area of piping, then an open area and so on, but he thought the majority of the area would be open and overland transfer of the water. Bovbjerg said she hoped this could be an amenity as a green open space and not a hazard. It was well known among developers that green space, open space and trees sold lots and sold developments. Siders said they were pretty open to either wet or dry bottom, they had not gotten close to making that decision yet. Prior conversations had been if the basins were dry bottom, Southgate had an interest in what Parks and Recreation would be doing with their section in the southwest corner. The developers had an interest in incorporating the same theme throughout the whole area to naturally tie the neighborhood into the park. They would landscape with some type of grasses. Hansen asked for a clarification about the corners of the park area on the south. Siders said Parks and Recreation wanted to keep the area on the southeast corner of the park, he had been referring to the southwest corner of the park near the trail. Hansen said both sides of the trail were prairie restoration. Siders said it seemed natural to try to incorporate that same theme through out the whole neighborhood so as to tie it into the park. Hansen asked if there was financially a difference as far as the upkeep of a wet bottom versus a dry bottom basin. Siders said he would suggest that a dry bottom was less expensive to keep up. With the exception of some erosion repair, basically the expenses would be for mowing. Wet bottoms ponds would silt in, lose capacity and have to be dredged out. It was difficult to get equipment in and out, get the dirt transported out and it was expensive to do. Hansen said adjacent to Outlot E there were four lots that would line up where the fronts of the buildings faced the open lot and there was no sidewalk there. He asked if there would be a common sidewalk along Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes September 18, 2003 Page 9 the front of the buildings. Siders said there was an alley along the back and the intention had been to access the property vehicularly from the rear. They had not given any consideration to a sidewalk, they had assumed that pedestrian traffic would go along the City right of way. The purpose of the vacant lot was to provide a green space. Arendt had tried to put a green space at most intersections. As the plat had developed from concept to design, that remnant parcel of land had remained as green space. Siders said if the Commission wanted sidewalks installed it would be no big deal to do so. Public discussion was closed. MOTION: Hansen made a motion to defer SUB03-00028/REZ03-00020, a rezoning of 119.94-acres from Interim Development Single-Family and Multi-Family Residential (ID-RS and ID-RM) to Planned Development Overlay, OPDH-5 and a Preliminary Plat of Sandhill Estates, a 146.48-acre, 378-1ot subdivision located south of Pepperwood Addition and east of South Gilbert Street. Anciaux seconded the motion. Hansen he was a lot happier with this plan than with the first plan. He wished to thank Southgate for being so open about the project. He felt it would be a wonderful addition to the neighborhood. Hansen said he also wished to thank the neighbors from the surrounding area for getting involved and saying what was on their minds. They were coming out with a much better plan. Anciaux said he was happy with the plan. He liked the six-times the open space more than was required, it had come a long ways. Freerks said it was a good plan, much better than the first one. There had been a lot of give and take. She asked the developer to again look at Covered Wagon Drive where a lot of houses had been added to see if it was possible to make it more open without taking away too many lots. Possibly place them along Sandusky making them a little bit narrower to reflect what was going on across the street. It might go a long way to help iron things out with the neighbors. Hansen said he would like to echo Freerks thoughts on the units that had been added in. He would like to know what the Fire Department and City were going to do about management of the prairie. Hansen said that would go a long way toward making up his mind, what he would like to see done with the units that had been added in. Anciaux said originally he'd thought narrowing up those lots would be a good idea. However now he was not sure he wanted to see an alley on the backside of the prairie. Hansen and Freerks said they would suggest eliminating those lots. Bovbjerg said some of the suggestions from the neighbors and from the Commissioners regarding changing configurations and changing lots to open up the vistas was very important, especially in areas where there were small lots and a lot of people in one area. They wanted the feeling of being open. In areas near cities where townhouses were closely located with a wide road or green space across the street the residents didn't realize the density. The density became an amenity in itself and the open space became an amenity to persons living in close houses. Bovbjerg said she would like to have a discussion on the wet and dry bottoms and how the drainage would flow. She appreciated the large green space, but felt the vistas should be opened up. This could be a very good neighborhood for this very large development. It would make its mark on this side of town. She said the design could compliment the Comprehensive Plan and she appreciated that. She liked staff's recommendations regarding the garage placement, porches and percentage of concrete. She said with these design issues addressed this would be a very good development. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0 REZ03-00021, discussion of an application submitted by University View Partners for a rezoning of approximately 13,500-square feet located at 512 S. Dubuque Street from Central Business Service (CB- 2) zone to Planned High Density Multi-Family Residential (PRM) zone. Miklo said the City had recently rezoned the property to the north to PRM, so a fairly large PRM area was now established in this neighborhood. There were currently only two properties that were not zoned PRM or PRM with a Sensitive Areas Overlay. A steep slope ran through the back of the property and an alley Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes September 18, 2003 Page 10 that had been dedicated but never paved also ran through the property. The Near Southside Neighborhood Redevelopment Plan, part of the City's Comprehensive Plan, recommended that this area as well as the surrounding properties be redeveloped for high-density multi-family use. Many of the near by properties had recently been redeveloped and Staff anticipated other properties in the area would be as well. The logic of promoting higher density residential near the downtown lay in the concept that people living near the downtown would have less of a need for an automobile, they would be able to walk to the businesses, employment centers and the University. They would also contribute to the vitality of the downtown neighborhood. Miklo said Staff felt the proposed rezoning was in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan and was compatible with the surrounding neighborhood which consisted mostly of higher density multi-family, some commercial and a considerable amount of public land that was owned by government entities. There were some environmentally sensitive features associated with the slope at the back of the property which would be regulated by the Sensitive Areas Ordinance. Staff recommended approval of REZ03-00021, a rezoning from CB-2, Central Business District Service to PRM, Planned High Density Residential. Freerks asked Behr to explain why this would not be considered spot zoning. Behr said spot zoning would be if the Commission picked a particular piece of land and actually zoned it differently from the land around it. If changed, this piece of land would be zoned to be consistent with the land around it, the one remaining commercially zoned property on that block would be a considered a remnant. This was actually the reverse of spot zoning. Public discussion was opened. Joe Holland, attorney for the applicant, said it was a straight forward request to have the property rezoned, which would be consistent with the surrounding land uses, the Comprehensive Plan and the zoning of the surrounding areas. The owners of the Willis parcel to the north had spoken with Mr. Clark and City Staff and were satisfied with this proposed rezoning. Miklo said he'd spoken with Mr. Willis regarding his property which was currently zoned CB-2 and about the City possibly rezoning it PRM to be consistent with the surrounding properties. Willis had objected to a rezoning of his parcel but had no objections to the rezoning of the Clark parcel. Kavel Mostafavi, 219 E. Harrison, said they had no problem with the rezoning but were concerned with the alleyway directly in front of his building where cars parked. He had previously spoken with Clark and wanted to make sure that access to their lot and parking on the alleyway would not be hindered in any way. His family had built the apartment building approximately 10 years ago and had paved the driveway in front of it to park cars. He'd spoken with their tenants and they were also concerned about how this would affect access to the Clark property and their parking on the alleyway. His father owned the apartment building and he managed it. Public discussion was closed. Motion: Chait made a motion to approve REZ03-00021, a rezoning of approximately 13,500-square feet located at 512 S. Dubuque Street from Central Business Service (CB-2) zone to Planned High Density Multi-Family Residential (PRM) zone. Koppes seconded the motion. Koppes asked in conjunction with the next item, how would the Commission put language in it to stop usage of the alley? Miklo said it was a public alley. The prior use of the property had been a veterinary clinic. The property currently had access to the alley as well as a driveway onto Dubuque Street. The applicant's proposed intention was to continue to use the alley to provide access to a future parking lot which would serve a building to be set on the front of the lot. Bovbjerg asked if the paved alley was technically and legally not part of the piece of ground that was being rezoned. Behr said that was correct. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes September 18, 2003 Page 11 VACATION ITEM: VAC03-0002, discussion of an application submitted by University View Partners for the vacation of the alley located to the east of 512 S. Dubuque Street. Miklo said this was the alley to the east of the property which they had just voted to rezone. At one time the alley had been platted the length of the entire block and had ended at Prentice Street. The southern half of the alley was vacated a number of years ago and had been acquired by the adjacent property owners. The far northern one-quarter of the alley that was open was paved and used by the adjacent property owner. The applicant had told Staff that he would like to amend the original application to vacate 90-feet of the alley to reduce it to 80-feet of the alley. Miklo said the southern 80-feet of the alley that remained as public land would be vacated if the request for vacation were approved and the property owners on either side would have the opportunity to purchase the alley. The applicant would be able to purchase the 10-foot by 80-foot strip on the west side that ran adjacent to his property and the two property owners to the east would be able to purchase the 10-foot by 80-foot strip on the east side (517 S. Linn Street and the Harrison Street property.) Both property owners had indicated that they would like to purchase the portion that was adjacent to their property. The intention of the alley had been to serve as a rear vehicular access for the entire block but Staff felt it had never been built due to the steep topography and ridge that ran along the rear of the property. Staff did not believe the alley would ever be built and therefore did not serve a public function in terms of providing access to the properties on either side of it. The alley had a sewer line down it and an easement would be needed to keep public access to the line. Staff said given its isolated location they did not feel it would be suitable for open space or any other public use and recommended approval of the vacation of the 80-foot by 20-foot portion of the alley that had been requested by the applicant. Chair asked if the area to the north that was used for parking, was a legal use. Miklo said there were City ordinances with respect to parking in City alleys. He didn't believe it was legal but didn't know the exact ordinance specifics. Freerks asked if the idea was to eventually have vehicular access from the paved portion of the alley to whatever would be developed on the lot at 512 Dubuque Street? Miklo said that was the applicant's intent. Freerks asked with the current parking that was occurring there, was the alley wide enough to allow vehicular access to the applicant's property. Miklo said he didn't know. Chait said his point had been, legal or not now, the parking on the alley had nothing to do with the vacation and what ever use might happen in the future had nothing to do with the vacation. Koppes asked if any of the requested 80-feet of the proposed vacation was paved yet. Miklo said it was not. Chair asked if Staff knew why the applicant had requested the vacation. Miklo said he thought it was to use it for density purposes. He was scheduled to visit the property with the applicant next week. The property was in rough shape, it had been an area where concrete and other road debris had been dumped a number of years ago. The applicant's intention was to try to clean it up. Because of slope stability concerns, any work in the area would be regulated by the Sensitive Areas Ordinance. Bovbjerg asked why the vacation dimensions had changed from 90 feet to 80 feet. Miklo said the Commission might like to have the applicant to address that, but he thought the applicant felt it might be wise to keep more of the public alley open to allow more maneuverability on the north side of it. Behr said the vacation was a question of if the Commission wanted the property for public use to provide access to private properties or for general use. The conveyance would come at a later time. It was not officially vacated until there was a conveyance to be done. Public discussion was opened. Joe Holland, attorney for the applicant, said it was intended that the public alley would provide access to the parking at the rear of the 512 Dubuque Street property when it was redeveloped. The reasons for acquiring the alley was two fold. Historically the entire area had been built on fill area which was put in Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes September 16, 2003 Page 12 when the railroad had come to Iowa City many years ago. It was an effort to clean up the area. The purpose was not to increase the lot size for density purposes but to make the onsite parking situation more flexible. The applicant had shorted the 90-feet to 80-feet partly out of consideration of the neighbors, it was better for the other users if the additional 10-feet remained open and in common use, and it provided better more flexible access to the Clark property. The Clarks always tried to work with the neighbors and be good citizens. They understood the need for access to their property and their neighbor's need for access to their property, hopefully those issues would work themselves out to everyone's mutual satisfaction. Kavel Mostafavi, 219 E. Harrison Street, asked if the alley was used for access to the property at 512 Dubuque Street, what would happen to cars that used the alley for parking. They also had garages there and had paved the alley to improve parking conditions for their tenants. Miklo said the applicant already had access to the property. They would not be granting him anything he did not already have. It was a public alley and there was already some question of whether parking on the alley was legal, it was a matter of enforcement whether the City chose to enforce it or not. Behr said the vacation to the south would not affect in any way whether or not they would be able to continue parking in the alley or not. The northern portion of the alley would not be affected by the vacation of the southern portion. Behr suggested Mostafowi might wish to take up the parking issue separately with the City. Chair said in his experience there were City ordinances that were enforced on a complaint basis. If someone didn't make a stink about an issue, no one would know about it, or the next day someone could make a complaint and a citation would be issued to discontinue the practice. The fact that they had been parking in the alley for 10 years did not matter. The point was, whether the vacation did or did not occur, someone could still complain. Public discussion was closed. Motion: Anciaux made a motion to approve VAC03-000~, the vacation of the alley located to the east of 512 S. Dubuque Street subject to retention of any necessary utility easements. Chait seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. SUBDIVISION ITEM: SUB03-00034, discussion of an application submitted by K.G. Bird L.L.C. for a Final Plat of Oakmont Estates, an 8.7-acre, 16-1ot residential subdivision located west of Foster Road. Miklo said Staff had received a revised plat with notations regarding the tree protection plan and tree replacement plan that are to Staff's satisfaction. Staff recommended approval of SUB03-00034, subject to Staff approval of construction drawings and legal papers prior to Council consideration. Public discussion was opened. Douq Ruppert, attorney for K.G. Bird, said he was there to answer any questions. Public discussion was closed. Motion: Freerks made a motion to approve SUB03-00034 subject to Council approval of the pending rezoning and preliminary plat and subject to staff approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to City Council consideration. Hansen seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. OTHER: Miklo said a copy of the Capital Improvements Plan was being mailed to the Commissioners. The number of projects and expenses might appear to be overwhelming. He would highlight some pages about Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes September 18, 2003 Page 13 current projects for the next several years that he wanted the Commissioners to review to see if the priority that was currently in the plan was adequate or if there was anything that they wanted to move around. The last several pages were unfunded projects. They were projects that had been identified in the District and Comprehensive Plans and other City documents. They had been identified as good projects but currently the City did not have the money for them. Should any of them be given more serious consideration than others? Miklo said he wanted to discuss this at the next informal meeting to get their feedback. Bovbjerg said she wished to thank Staff for the aerial view and overlays. Anciaux said they were very easy to read. CONSIDERATION OF 8/7/03 MEETING MINUTES: Anciaux made a motion to approve the minutes as written and corrected. Koppes seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. ADJOURNMENT: Hansen made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:50 pm. Chair seconded the motion. The motion passed on a vote of 6-0. Jerry Hansen, Secretary Minutes submitted by Candy Barnhill MINUTES APPROVED PUBLIC ARTADVISORY COMMITTEE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER4,2003-3:30PM LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM Members Present: Chuck Felling, Rick Fosse, James Hemsley, Terry Trueblood, Emily Walsh Members Absent: Barbara Camillo Staff Present: Karin Franklin, Marcia Klingaman Others Present: Josh Schamberger, Marybeth Slonneger, Jerry Hanson, Will Thomson Call To Order Felling called the meeting to order at 3:33 PM. Public Discussion of any item not on the Agenda There was none. Consideration of the Minutes of the August 7, 2003 Meeting It was noted the correct spelling is Dalayne, not Delay,n~he, Williamson. Also, ,,on the first,page, last paragraph, the word 'she" should be deleted. On page 3, 4 paragraph, the word committees should be possessive and not plural. Also, Committee Time/New Business on page 4, it was noted that Betsy Klein would be working on the formation of a new Creekside neighborhood association and art project. MOTION: Trueblood moved to accept the minutes as amended, Fosse seconded the motion. All in favor, motion passed 5-0. Presentation by Josh Schamberqer, Executive Director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, on Themed Street Art Proiect Felling welcomed Schamberger to the meeting. Schamberger has been the director of the iowa City and Coralville Convention and Visitors Bureau for the past two years and previously served as the Marketing and Communication Director of the Cedar Rapids Bureau. In that position, they accomplished the "Overalls All Over" art project.. Schamberger presented the committee with a handout detailing the "Overalls All Over" project. The project began in November of 2000, and was an idea gained from Chicago's "Cows on Parade" art project that was very unique and popular. They used the Grantwood painting, American Gothic, as the art form for the Cedar Rapids project. This theme was chosen because it is one the most recognized artworks and also one of the most spoofed. He cited examples of Kermit and Miss Piggy and also Bill and Hillary having been used in versions of the artwork. Schamberger said the "Overalls All Over" project was first sold to corporate sponsors who purchased the unpainted American Gothic couple, made of a special fiberglass, and then commissioned artists to creatively "dress" the couple. Schamberger originally tried to sell just the sculpture to sponsors but realized that they also needed an idea of what the finished product could look like. He then had over 60 local artists submit drawings for dressing the sculptures. The artists were paid $1000 for their designs if chosen by a sponsor and this amount was incorporated into the cost of the basic sculpture. The sponsor negotiated directly with the artist as to the price of their actual work on dressing the sculpture. Schamberger compiled the designs into a book and marketed the design ideas along with the sculpture idea to potential sponsors. The individual designs were sold to the first interested sponsor. Some sponsors chose to incorporate their corporate mission, logo or theme into the dressing of the sculpture. An art review committee was formed to ensure that none of the artwork would offend any viewers. The sculptures were sold to the sponsors for $5000, the cost of the item. The sponsors had marketing rights to the sculpture for 5 months and it then became owned by the City. 2 The completed sculptures had a plaque attached to the base with the name of the sponsor, corporate logo if appropriate, and the title of the work. Cedar Rapids displayed the 42 sculptures downtown for four months and the sculpture were then auctioned. Many of the sponsors chose to pre purchase the sculpture they had commissioned, for an additional $5000, and not have it auctioned. The project drew over 365,000 visitors to the city and they estimate over 2 million dollars in direct spending from the visitors. Because of interest in the project, there was a great deal of national and international media coverage and they estimated the city, sponsors and artists received about 3 million dollars worth of free coverage and advertising. Also, because Chicago had done the "Cows On Parade" exhibit the previous year, they asked each city that was doing a similar project to share one sculpture, for four months to be displayed at the Chicago Lincoln Park Zoo. Because the Chicago Art Institute owns the Grant Wood American Gothic painting, it made a nice tie-in with the project. Schamberger stressed the need to keep the marketing perspective of the idea in mind verses the artistic perspective of the project. Many artists have the perspective that because it is great art, thousands of people will come to view the project. The reality is that clever marketing makes an idea like this a success. He said you must first sell the marketing and then the art. The committee had several questions for Schamberger. He suggested that an idea for Iowa City would be to use Herky as a theme to be used in downtown Iowa City because of the history of the mascot and it is a symbol associated with Iowa City and not just athletics. He said that by applying an automobile lacquer process, the finished products were weatherproofed. Klingaman asked how he advertised and found the artists used in the Cedar Rapids project. Schamberger said they went to the Iowa Arts Council Membership and found all the artist databases that were in the state. Schamberger stressed to the committee that if they proceed with the project, to make sure the manufacturer of the fiberglass mold would not resell the mold. The committee members thanked Schamberger for coming and presenting information on the project. He said the Convention and Visitors Bureau would definitely play a role in the project if the committee moves forward with the project. Presentation of Neiqhborhood Art Proposals Franklin noted items sent out in the meeting packet including the neighborhood art procedures and review criteria for the projects presented. · Longfellow - Will Thomson, a neighborhood committee representative and artist, reviewed ideas the neighborhood committee has decided upon for their neighborhood art. They want to place a series of 10 different signs to commemorate historic locations in the neighborhood. The signs would be constructed of steel and/or hammered copper to be placed in the easement between the sidewalk and the street. There are many sites the committee has suggested to commemorate and if the proposal were approved, the Longfellow neighborhood art committee would then approach the land/home owner and explain the program and see if they wish to participate. Some of the signs may have a photograph etched onto the metal depending on the cost. They would all have a sculptural effect; an artistic flavor and they would be flexible and replaceable if necessary. The second piece(s) is sculpture to commemorate the neighborhood park area. The sculpture is constructed of welded steel, left in its natural coloration, with a trio of birds that gives an aerodynamic feel and a feeling of flight. Also included would be a large sculptural wind chime, constructed of the same material, that would have a very deep resonance with a pleasing sound but one that would not carry very far. The sculpture would be placed near the entrance of the tunnel and the wind chime on the other end. Another idea the committee had, but has been deemed to cost prohibitive, is a statue to commemorate the Civil War campsite. They would like to have a casual statue of a soldier in uniform seated on a rock but they realize this idea is too big and costly. A public art project at Longfellow school is also an idea that they would like to complete. The project is a sand, cast cement, type sculpture that could be carved and also include foundry glass. The idea is to have the entire neighborhood participate in the project. The look of the project would be more abstract but would last several years. This is a project that is relatively inexpensive and the neighborhood could fund. Franklin asked if they have any cost projections for the projects. Thomson said the signs would cost about $750 each, this includes the sign, frame, and sculpture. The sculptures for the park would cost approximately $700- $1000, it is cheaper to source out the pieces of the project and thus keep costs down. Franklin said that if 10 historical site signs are completed at $750 each, and two Longfellow trail pieces are completed at $1000 each, the total amount for both projects would fall within the parameters of the budget and allow a 10% cost over run cushion. Fosse said they might want to be careful in the placement and height of the historical site markers because of sight issues with driveways. Thomson said the majority of the sign is open, cut out design and could possibly incorporate a see-through mesh. Fosse excused himself from the meeting due to a schedule conflict. Franklin asked how vandal proof the sculpture would be. Thomson said the sculpture he has envisioned will not look like something one would want to play on and it would be constructed of steel and thus very durable. Klingaman asked if the chime would be moveable. Thomson responded that it would be moveable but the sound would contribute to the area and enhance and not distract. Franklin asked if Thomson would be the artist involved with the neighborhood projects. Thomson said he would not do all of the fabrication but would be a kind of general artistic design contractor. He would oversee the projects, doing the ongoing grunt type of work. He would be the artist to hammer the brass sculptures and assemble and help place the site signs. He would also supervise and direct the neighborhood concrete sculptures. Franklin said the concrete sculpture sounds like it would be a project for the neighborhood to do outside of the public art program. Thomson agreed. Franklin said the next step would be for the public art committee to vote to recommend the defined neighborhood art projects to the city council. Part of the project proposal recommendation is how the neighborhood would engage the artist for the work. There is a provision for this selection in the art committee procedures. The neighborhood committee can chose the artist ahead of time or goes out and make an artist call. In this situation, the artist/designer has already been agreed upon and the production of the art would be done under his supervision. Thomson said this is the kind of civic project he likes to be involved with. The neighborhood art project, meeting with ones neighbors and coming up with ideas for art, is very grass roots and something he is glad to be a part of. He also said he appreciates that the City is doing something like this in terms of funding public art. Thomson said has he has made a career of public art and it is seldom that civic authorities take the initiative for art and put money behind the project. Trueblood said a consideration might be the underground utilities and to be cognizant of where they are in the area when placing the historical markers. Thomson said they have thought of this and the metal signposts will be drilled and placed down past the frost line and concrete will secure the posts. Franklin said the Longfellow project will be put on the October agenda and it will be voted on in order to make a recommendation to the city council. 4 · Goosetown - Marybeth Slonneger, a Goosetown resident and committee member gave an overview of their committee meetings and what has been discussed. Slonnegar provided a handout for committee members detailing the project proposal. Slonnegar said their neighborhood has decided on the idea of placing graphic street signs on top of existing city street signs as the neighborhood art project they want to pursue. The signs will be two-sided cast metal, bas-relief sign with the name Goosetown, and the date 1856, in English on one side and the Czech name, Husi Mesto, and the date on the reverse side. The casting would be done in bronze by a local artisan. The font chosen would be highly polished for greater visibility; and the background would be treated with a darker pigment for contrast. The signs would also be treated with an industrial poly coating to preserve the sheen of the metal for 10-15 years. On the top of each cast sign will be a two-dimensional metal silhouette of a goose, the symbol of the neighborhood past and present. They are currently exploring options as to how to permanently attach the Goosetown marker to the street signs. Slonneger has spoken with three different artisans to obtain bids for the signs. Slonneger has obtained three bids from artisans for the project. One of the artisans lives locally, in the Goosetown neighborhood, and has expressed his interest in winning the bid. They have estimated they will need 20-25 signs. Slonneger stated that based on the bids they have received, the costs would come within the range of the $10,000 to $15,000 allocated budget. If the final bid were to come in lower than expected, they would like the remaining funds to be used in a neighborhood Alley Renaissance project. Slonneger explained the Alley Renaissance project as one that would clean up and enhance the beauty of the neighborhood alleys. She said the alleyways of Goosetown have long been vital to neighborhood life, gathering places for neighbors and paths for walking and biking, but the alleys have been falling into disrepair. The Goosetown neighborhood committee proposes to designate one day in the spring of 2004 as a day for residents to dispose of accumulated items in the alleys. They would like a City truck to be available to pick up these items or have the City set up temporary drop off site for disposal of toxic household waste items. Slonneger said they would also like to restore a small segment of alley, they propose the alley between the blocks of Church and Fairchild, and Center and Reno Streets. This is the alley that leads to Reno Street Park. This designated alley would be planted with traditional Iow-maintenance Goosetown perennials donated by neighborhood gardeners. The cost of this project would be very minimal due to the neighborhood residents donating plants from their gardens and providing the labor. They would also look into the possibility of receiving donations from area stores and nurseries at the end of the season. The Goosetown committee envisions the neighbors continuing to work together on several related projects that would enhance this initial effort. These projects include an Alley Renaissance Walk; an annual alleyway cleanup; an annual exchange and planting of perennials; an alley birdhouse project; alley exercise walking routes. Felling asked if they are tying these projects together or are they looking to the Public Art Committee for the street sign project. Slonneger said they do not have bids for the alleyway project but would like to allot some money to funding the project. Felling asked Klingaman if the alleyway project might better fit under something like a PIN grant. Klingaman responded that might be a better fit. Franklin said the alleyway project could be more of a neighborhood and community building type of project. The project does not really fall under the rubric of Public Art because the art component of the project is not clear. The city participation in a project like this might be a through a PIN grant or even through their neighborhood association. Felling said the street sign project sounded very good. Franklin and the committee agreed. Franklin said the street signs clearly fall under Public Art, a local artisan can craft them, they benefit the whole community, and the signs have at least a ten or more year life expectancy. Franklin said the next step is for Slonneger to have more discussion with the neighborhood committee in determining exactly what the signs will look like and to also nail down the costs. The Public Art committee will need a final drawing rendition of the sign, the projected budget, and the artist who will perform the work along with his/her credentials. When the committee is ready, they can contact Klingaman and the Public Art committee will formally consider the project and recommend it to the city council. Slonneger asked what date would work best to present the finalized proposal. Franklin said if the neighborhood is ready, the art committee meets the 1st Thursday in October and it could then go to the October City Council meeting. Consideration of a Recommendation to the City Council on the Wetherby Friends & Neighbors Neighborhood Association neiqhborhood art Proposal Jerry Hanson, from the Wetherby Friends and Neighbors Association, was present to formally present the committee with their neighborhood art project proposal. The art committee had previously discussed the project idea and details with Hanson at the August committee meeting. Franklin asked the dimensions of the mosaic base of the clock. Hanson said they proposed the base as 3 feet in diameter and the clock base is approximately 15 inches. This would leave approximately 7-8 inches around the base of the clock that would be visible. Hanson added that the base could be made any size. Trueblood said he likes the look of the clock and it would be a nice addition to the park. However, he has a concern if the clock itself fits within the criteria they have set up for public art. He questioned if the council would view this as an expensive clock purchased from a catalog and it is being called public art. He reiterated the fact that he likes the looks of the clock but other than the base of the clock, there is not an artist involved with the project. The concept can be stretched and one could say an artist designed the clock and there is also an art component with the proposed mosaic base. But, with some council members already having a few concerns with the public art project overall, they might not see the purchase of a clock as public art. Trueblood said this may sound harsh, but this is something he is concerned about when looking at the project from a council point of view. Felling agreed with Trueblood and questioned if there might be a way an artist can be brought in to work on the project. Hanson said he understands what the committee is saying but also questions the definition of art. He said that he thinks art is something people like to look at and cited an example of the sculpture "Ties That Bind", it was an ordered and mass produced piece. Franklin said that it is a mass-produced piece, but it is also the first of a series that was produced. The city required that they receive the first one and with sculptures like "Ties That Bind" and "Jazz", a mold is made and the pieces that are made are numbered and their value is related to the number in the series. Hanson said their neighborhood committee would be willing do something more elaborate, but they are afraid that if the base is larger it may become a place to sit and would encourage vandalism. He said they were trying to choose something that everyone would like, be comfortable with having in their neighborhood and that would also add beauty to the area. Franklin said that no one has a problem with the idea of a clock or its placement in Wetherby Park, but the question is if the funding for the clock comes out of public art money or someplace else. Felling suggested that the committee postpone voting on the project and allow Hanson to make some revisions to the plan. Hanson asked what the committee would be looking for with a revision. Felling responded that they would be looking for an artist or designers involvement not in the clock itself, but in the design, ambience and siting surrounding the clock. Trueblood said if there is not an urgency to put the project to a vote, he suggested it might be good for the committee to have time to mull the whole project over. Felling said the committee consensus is to table the item and discuss at the next meeting. Hemsley had to leave the meeting due to a schedule conflict. Hanson said he would take the project back to the neighborhood committee and see if they can contact an artist and revamp the project. Discussion of Iowa Sculptors' Showcase Franklin asked if anyone had contacted an artist interested in placing a sculpture on the pad downtown. The committee members responded that they not had any luck in finding an artist. Franklin said she had spoken with Elise Kendrot, the new Gallery Director for Arts Iowa City, who is also a sculptor. Franklin asked her why they are having such a challenge in finding a sculptor for this project. Alise said that most sculptors don't usually keep an inventory and they also are not using materials that are appropriate for outdoor sculpture. The materials needed for outdoor sculptures, bronze, marble and stone, are generally more expensive, and the elaborateness of the production to make a sculpture large enough for an outdoor public is also prohibitive. Alise suggested the committee indicate to the artist that the honorarium can be given up front, thus allowing the artist to use the money for materials. Franklin said this is an idea to be used as they look for an artist/sculpture for the spring of 2004. Committee Time/Other Business Any items for committee time and other business were tabled until the next meeting because the committee no longer had a quorum. Adjournment The meeting was adjourned at 5:46 PM. Pcd~rninutes\pa&artO9-04-03 .doc