HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-01-05 TranscriptionJanuary 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 1
January 5, 2004 Council Work Session 6:55 PM
Council: Bailey, Champion, Elliott, Lehman, O'Donnell, Vanderhoef, Wilbum
Staff: Atkins, Dilkes, Franklin, Helling, Howard, Karr, Rocca
TAPE: 04-02, BOTH SiDES
04-02, SiDE ONE
3 d (1). CONSIDER A RESOLUTION ADOPTING TItE STATEWlDE MUTUAL
AID COMPACT
Atkins/With the agenda tonight under your Consent Calendar, you have a resolution
adopting statewide mutual aid compact. Andy's here it! you have any questions
about that before Karin gets started on hers. It would be under Resolutions d.
(1). Yeah.
O'Donnell/Don't have any questions.
Lehman/Are there any questions on d. (1)?
Vanderhoef/I would take a briefing on it.
Champion/I've got a briefing.
Atkins/OK.
Rocca/A little briefing? Certainly, sir.
O'Donnell/Three minutes or less.
Rocca/Enabling legislation passed by the governor, I think a couple of years ago, for
Iowa Mutual Aid Compact and we looked at it and we learned that subsequently
down the road this may be one of those (can't hear) that we need to be a
participant in the Iowa Mutual Aid Compact in order to qualify for some federal
funding through Homeland Security. It hasn't come to pass yet but this is not a
mandated piece of legislation. It's enabling and basically it allows us to share
resources with other political subdivisions that have signed onto the 1MAC
through natural or manmade disaster. I think back to the floods of '93, the
windstorms of'98 where at some point some of our resources were tapped out.
This would be--or those would be examples of types of emergencies provided
that we have declared ourselves a disaster and have requested this assistance
through Emergency Management, ultimately it will go to state Emergency
Management and Homeland Security and then other entities that have signed on
could share resources. We certainly always have the right for whatever reason
not to send our resources out of the City. When we have needs here, the winds,
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 2
the floods, those types of things, we can maintain our resources, we don't have
to send anybody. Likewise, other political subdivisions can do the same. Should
we need it though, it's nice to know if our resources here are exceeded, we have
the ability to request.
Lehman/I would assume if we adopted sort of a position that unless we absolutely had to
have these folks, that we would give our resources to other communities. I
mean, if we can't do that, there's no point in passing this.
Rocca/No, but it does allow you to maintain coverage at home. That's really---
Lehman/No, I would always assume we would take care of our own first.
Rocca/Certainly.
Lehman/And we don't have the intent of helping other folks when we can, we shouldn't
be passing this.
Rocca/No, but I think the intent is it's reciprocal---
Lehman/Right.
Rocca/...to have the luxury to call if we need it as well as to help if others need help.
Lehman/And the only cost involved is if and when we do this.
Rocca/Right. And staff has met, we've developed costs for all of our rolling stock
equipment, personnel, and an overtime rate to include wages and benefits. So,
ali of those things are in place. The recommendation was made to the City
Manager that we do this, provide Homeland Security probably more than
anything but as well to take care of situations out of the national disasters as
well given our immediate past experience.
Elliott/How does this differ from what has happened in the past? In the past, I know that
when there has been a problem, an emergency, other towns have brought their
fire tracks. Have they in the past been reimbursed by us and if we do the same,
do they reimburse us?
Rocca/We have a 28-E agreement now for fire protection in the County and we share
resources pretty much willingly and freely within Johnson County.
Elliott/Freely financially?
Rocca/Correct. Correct. About the only cost that I think we've ever incurred is maybe a
little fuel to get somebody back to their community.
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Elliott/This will change that free?
Rocca/No, not at all.
Elliott/OK.
Rocca/That agreement stays in place unaltered, unamended, unchanged by this. This
kind of lays on top of that as a larger umbrella of protection.
Elliott/My only comment is, it seems to me, it's I understand why it is, but it's a pity this
has to be in an official form. It seems to me that communities and individuals
should work like this just because it's the right thing to do. But I understand
why you have to---
Rocca/ Right. And I think the state Emergency Management's goal is to get all political
subdivisions signed on.
Elliott/Yes.
Vanderhoef/And if moneys were to come, are you anticipating those too by capital kind
of projects, not to reimburse cities for manpower? Are those kinds of things---
Rocca/ Any moneys we would receive would be strictly a reimbursement for either
equipment or personnel that went to assist.
Vanderhoef/So it can be---
Rocca/ It wouldn't be a revenue generating. It would kind of be a break-even situation.
Vanderhoef/No. But it would pay for personnel?
Rocca/Absolutely. So we wouldn't incur that cost. We, or the Council, the City
Manager, could decide that they want to donate that.
Vanderhoef/Mm-hmm.
Rocca/You know, equipment cost, personnel costs--that's also allowed, obviously,
within the agreement.
Vanderhoef/Is this sort of becoming an overlap with FEMA--that are the natural
disasters versus---
Rocca/Clearly, it is. I mean, when you look at Homeland Security and Emergency
Management, the Presidential decree for establishing a nationwide mutual aid
system, nationwide instant command system. This is probably the next logical
step. There is a--and I don't recall the name of it off the top of my head--but
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 4
there's a nationwide mutual aid compact as well. So a state can share resources
with another state. So this is, while related to the Department of Homeland
Security, or while related to that, it's the local version is probably the best way
to put it.
Vanderhoef/Where it actually happens.
Rocca/All connected. Yes.
Dilkes/I think one of the big benefits of this is that each entity that adopts it has to adopt
verbatim the language of the statute, without variation. And so all these terms
are set, issues about liability are decided; issues about how you request and how
you receive aid and what state-generated forms to fill out to put what money is
owed. And so hopefully those things can happen more quickly without, you
know, people having to think through some of these things before they offer aid.
Rocca/There are a couple provisions within that that ask us to identify authorized
representatives, and that would be people who obligate funds, resources, and
people. And then there are the designated contacts. And that would be more like
myself, the police chief, the public works director, that would actually send
people or equipment. And then we've identified key people in that as well, in
those two areas.
O'Donnell/Very good.
Rocca/Any other questions?
Lehman/Thank you, sir.
Rocca/Thank you. Appreciate it.
Addition to Consent Calendar
Kart/Before Karin starts, I'd just like to note for the record, you have two additions to
the agenda for tomorrow night. One you had mailed to your home, which is the
motion approving the tentative agreement with AFCSME. And the other one
would be an addition to the Consent Calendar, to issue a dancing permit to Los
Portales on South Gilbert Street, and all the papers are in order. So, I'll amend
the Consent Calendar tomorrow night to include that and distribute. The
information regarding the tentative agreement was mailed to you on the 30th of
December.
Lehman/Right.
Atkins/I think it's important for the new Council Members, you're in charge of dancing
as well as---
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Lehman/So, 13b, the AFCSME agreement will be an agenda item.
Karr/Yes, sir.
Lehman/The other will just be an addition to the Consent Calendar.
Karr/To the Consent Calendar.
Lehman/All right.
REVIEW ZONING ITEMS
Lehman/OK.
Franklin/We have a few Planning and Zoning items tonight. And I may go into a little bit
more detail tonight because of the new members on the Council. Or that's a
good excuse for me to go into more detail.
(Laughter)
Franklin/So, you'll just have to be tolerant, Mike. OK?
Lehman/It's all right, Karin. You've got five minutes.
(Laughter)
O'Donnell/Get it done in three.
a. REZONING APPROXIMATELY 119.94 ACRES FROM INTERIM
DEVELOPMENT SINGLE-FAMILY, IDRS, AND INTERIM
DEVELOPMENT MULTIFAMILY, IDRM, TO PLANNED
DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY--SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL,
OPDH-5, SUBJECT TO CONDITIONS, FOR PROPERTY LOCATED
SOUTH OF PEPPERWOOD ADDITION AND EAST OF GILBERT
STREET. (REZ03-00020)
Franklin/OK, the first item is a public hearing on a rezoning of 119.94 acres from
Interim Development, IDRS, to IDRM, to OPDH-5. This is the Sandhill
Project and you can see on the overhead the area that we're talking about. For
the rezoning, there's a portion of the area which is not included, and that is
this portion down here which will be rezoned at some later period of time. So
the rezoning is this crosshatched area. This is the part that's IDRM and this
little piece down here, and then the rest of it is ail IDRS at the moment. The
ID zones, the Interim Development zones, are those that are zoned that way
because there is insufficient infrastructure. This was zoned at the time that we
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did not have sewer in this area. Since a major truck line has gone in here, and
so it is ripe for rezoning to some kind of development zoning. The Planning
and Zoning Commission's recommendation was to rezone this area from the
Interim Development zones to the OPDH-5 by a vote of 6 to 0 with certain
conditions. This is a planned development, and what that means is there are
tradeoffs as this goes through. When we look at planned developments, it is
about using different types of housing than would be allowed by the
underlying zone, different dimensional requirements than would be allowed in
the underlying zone. The underlying zone that this would start with is RS-5.
RS-5 is a single-family residential zoning, five dwelling units per acre. So that
is ~vhy the nomenclature on this is OPDH Overlay Planned Development
Housing at five units per acre. So it's taking the basic concept of a fairly low-
density single-family and making some adjustments because of the particular
property that's involved to get the planned development. As we look at
planned developments--that's fairly good but I don't know if it's better on
your laptops or this rendition--but as we look at planned developments, we
look at the, and look at rezonings of property, we look at the District Plans for
the area and use those District Plans as a guide for whether the zoning that's
being requested is appropriate. It is also a guide for any conditions that we
may place on the zoning when we're going through this rezoning or planned
development process. Now to get to the details of this particular project, as I
indicated initially, it's 119.94 acres, there are 379 lots. All of the lots are for
single-family detached housing. In that alone, one would not think that you
would need to do a planned development because RS-5 is for single-family
detached housing. But the distinction here is that the lots are smaller than what
you could have in the RS-5 zoning by right. The lot sizes and the lot
frontages, that is, the frontage along the streets, varies from the base
requirements of RS-5. In the RS-5 zone, the minimal lot size is 8,000 square
feet. In this project, 63.6 pement of the lots are less than 8,000 square feet.
The lot frontage for a lot in RS-5 is 60 feet minimum. In this project, 75
percent of the lots are less than 60 feet of frontage. So what we have here is
narrower lots and smaller lots. But the overall density is that which is allowed
under RS-5. Excuse me. The reason for that, one of the primary reasons for
that, is the preservation of the sand prairie. Well, I was going to say
"purported" but that's too strong of a word. We don't know at this point
exactly the qualities of this prairie, but there's a lot of documentation out there
that points to this being a sand prairie. So what's happened is that the density
has been transferred off the prairie into these smaller lots. There are 13 out-
lots in this project, which is a little unusual. But a number of them are small
spaces--like in this area there's some open space that is an out-lot. I'm going
to just highlight the major ones. Two out-lots, and let me go back a minute
here, because when we're talking about the lots and the subdivision, the plat,
it is this entire shaded area, including this part. But the rezoning is just on the
stippled area.
Elliott/Karin?
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Franklin/Yes.
Elliott/Tell me, what is an outlot?
Franklin/OK. An outlot is a lot which is not for development ora housing type in that
subdivision. It is set aside for some other purpose. And each of those purposes
must be stated by state law as to what those out-lots are for. Two of them are
this area over here by Gilbert Street at the intersection with the arterial that
will go through here. And those out-lots are designated for future
development. If you recall, this is where we had the Dinerstein project, and
this property to the south of it is an area that the developers have considered
for commercial development. These two properties at this point in time are not
being rezoned. They are staying at their IDRM and IDRS designations. But
they are part of the plat and will be designated as out-lots for future
development. There are then four out-lots along this part of the project that are
for stormwater management. Those will remain under the ownership and
responsibility of the subdivision. There are two out-lots which are significant
for open space: the prairie, which is 17.86 acres, and a small piece right here
which is out-lot I, which adds 9,656 square feet to Wetherby Park, which is
right in this area here. There is also an out-lot right here which is for a
possible future right-of-way to provide access to this property over here. If
that is not needed for access to this property, then that would become a
buildable lot because it's 60 feet wide. Any questions about any of that so far?
Got it? OK. The Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation and
Don Anciaux is here tonight if he, if you have any questions specifically about
the Commission's position. The Planning and Zoning's recommendation is
approval with four conditions. Three of those conditions have been agreed to
by the developer. One has not. The first condition is a left-bound turn lane on
Gilbert Street, and I'm going to go back and forth here, hopefully, not to
confuse you. This is Gilbert Street right here. If I go back to the larger picture
here, at some point we will have an arterial coming across the river about at
the location where the arrow is pointing and then coming through this project
and dipping south into property which is currently outside the corporate limits.
At the intersection of Gilbert Street-Sand Road and that arterial, the condition
is that a left-turn lane be included on Gilbert-Sand Road for access into this
subdivision. The subdivision is likely to develop from Sand Road and come
in. Correct, Glenn? OK. Just tangentially or in concert with this point, the
Gilbert-Sand Road improvement which is a project that is in your Capital
Improvements Program in the budget scheduled for fiscal year '05 is a joint
project between the City and the County, which would improve Sand Road,
Gilbert Street from where it's been improved in the County, north to
Napoleon Lane, the lane that goes in by the ball diamond. So, assuming that
this all goes forward, as we're doing that project, we would work that leg-turn
lane with the developer into that whole joint project that we're doing with the
County. So the timing is rather good. This road is necessary from the
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developer's perspective to get access into this area. OK, the second condition
is that there would be alley access to lots 161 through 204 and 304 through
330. These are the lots which are shown in yellow here, and those lots are
shown with alley access. This is an alley right here. There's an alley back
here, back here, and then also here. Those lots are about 30 feet wide, most of
them. Some of them are, I think, the smallest one is 25.5 feet. To give you an
idea of what that means, on Shannon Drive on the west side where there are
the houses that are quite close to one another and they have the front porches
and then the alley access in the back, those lots, I think are 25 or 27 feet wide.
So, just to give you some notion of that. And that rear access that enables one
to build on that narrow of a lot and have a single-family detached house.
Lehman/How deep are the lots?
Franklin/117.5.
Lehman/OK.
Franklin/Roughly.
Lehman/That's pretty precise.
Franklin/Well, some of them vary.
Lehman/I see.
Franklin/And down here there are some that are 113, 124, so---
Elliott/Karin, if the, in yellow are the narrow lots, is that correct?
Franklin/Are the very narrow ones, yes. The ones in blue are the ones that are less than
60 feet without alley access.
Elliott/OK.
Franklin/OK, the third condition, whoa, OK. The third condition is that the design of the
structures on these same lots would be approved by Planning and Zoning. And
those design provisions are included in the conditional zoning agreement. I
think you can read those--I don't to go over them. Basically, what I would call
them is anti-monotony standards so there's variation as you go along, and you
don't have the same house, blunk, blunk, blunk. And that has been agreed to
by the developer. The fourth condition is the garage placement standards. And
that's the condition that we're having some debate about. Or the developer
hasn't agreed. Now that would apply to all of these lots that are blue. Those
are the ones that are less than 60 feet and do not have access to an alley. The
standards are basically that the garage face be no more than 50 percent of the
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width of the whole building, except it can be 60 percent if it's set back a little.
Also, that the garage be flush with or behind the building face except that they
may be pushed forward up to 6 feet if there's a pomh which is also placed
next to the garage. The reason for this has to do with the residential character
of the neighborhood and how it fits in with this neighborhood. What we have
done, what the Commission has done is go back to the South District Plan,
and these statements am statements that are within the South District Plan, and
remember we go back to these plans for not just the color map of what the
land use is, but also the principles that it states. And use that in guiding us in
making decisions about rezoning. In the South District Plan, which was
adopted in 1997 after our regular Citizen Planning process, there is specific
language about housing density, increasing lot sizes being reduced, then
attention must be paid to design issues such as garage and driveway locations.
When we say design, we're not talking about materials, we're not talking
about paint, we're not talking about shutters, we're not talking about
architecture. What we're talking about is the placement of the building on the
lot, something that we have always talked about with zoning. That is part of
what zoning is. It is land uses, but it also is the placement of buildings on lots
and how that contributes to or does not contribute to a feeling of congestion or
a feeling of neighborhood. The issue here is the streetscape and the impression
that what one gets as you go down this street when you look at the streets that
will be affected by this, the collector street here, this local street here in which
the housing types, the lots are dominated by these naiTower lots. There is
going to be a cumulative effect of however these buildings are placed on those
lots. There's a statement that John Yapp included in one of his memorandums
that I will refer you to in the packet that I think sums up nicely the concerns
that if there is a predominance of houses in which the garage is placed forward
and tends to dominate that street face, the appearance of the public street in
the neighborhood is less residential and the integrity and function of the
neighborhood is compromised as a result.
O'Donnell/Karin?
Franklin/Yes.
O'Donnell/Excuse me. On these narrower lots, when you're saying that the garage
cannot be more than 50 percent of the front of the house---
Franklin/Mm-hmm.
O'Donnell/...what's the width of the lot you're talking about?
Franklin/It would be anything less than 60 feet. Most of these lots are 50 feet. And at this
point, because this is a very visual thing, I think it's important that you see
what we're talking about, and Karen Howard, who is associate planner in our
department, has a presentation that was done for the Planning and Zoning
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 10
Commission--it's quite brief, it's about 10 minutes--that gives you a visual of
what this is about. So I think I'd like to turn it over to her now so that she can
go through that, and it goes to show you some of those dimensions---
Champion/Just, I did say though, if they were willing to put a porch in the front of the
house, the garage could be out.
Franklin/Right.
Champion/Them intends to be at least six (can't hear)
Franklin/Right. With the, if the garage is six feet out, that there be a porch that is on that
same plane as the garage---
Champion/ OK. Just wanted to clarify that.
Franklin/And we'll have an illustration of that, too.
O'Donnell/Doesn't it seem though like if the garage extends out, it affords a little bit of
privacy like an alcove in there or something? To me, it would.
Franklin/That's something that you can, I mean, that's a matter of your judgment, you
know, whether you think that that's a positive or not. What we're looking at it
from is the perspective of the street, which is the public space. Roughly 20
percent of the land in the City is streets, and about 80 percent of the public
space, the space that we are responsible for is in streets. So that's why it
becomes a very important factor for us as we build new neighborhoods.
Howard/Just to give you a little zoning history and to show you how lot size and really
the width of the lots really affects how neighborhoods have been built over
time in Iowa City, from 1925 to 1960, the lot width requirements were 40 to
50 feet, and as you know, most of those subdivisions were built with alleys,
and so these are the kinds of streets that we saw during that period. So you
didn't see the garage, and the cars were not--them weren't as many cars
around obviously. And then in 1960 the lot width requirements in the Zoning
Code changed, and we went to the wider lots. They were a little less deep, but
they were wider, and the lot width ranged from 80 to 100 feet, and so that's
when we had all the ranch style houses. We saw at the beginning of that
period, front-loaded garages. Developers didn't put in alleys as much. We
had, still had the one-car garages, but over time we saw more and more two-
car garages. But you still saw mostly house because the houses were long,
long and narrow. And then in 1983, the Zoning Code changed again, and we
went to narrower lots, once again, allowed narrower lots and we started to see
homes getting built on those narrower lots, but we obviously had the lifestyle
change where we have mom cars, and so what happened, the easiest place to
put the garage since alleys weren't being built any, or very infrequently, it
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squished that house together, that ranch style house and that garage really
popped out front. It was the easiest place to put the garage. Some new
building designs came into vogue, and we started to see the garage out front.
O'Donnell/Karen, can I ask you a quick question again? On that last picture, you would
not be able to build this house now, is that right? Because that garage is more
than 50 percent of the front of that house.
Howard/You mean, with the garage placement standards?
O'Donnell/Yes.
Howard/I don't know what the actual--it's hard to tell from this what the measurements
of the two because that portion, this portion to the right here is recessed quite
a ways back so it's difficult to say as you measure it, without losing the
building plan.
O'DonnelI/But it appears to me like that garage would be more.
Howard/It appears that it is more. I don't know. It's probably significantly back so it's
hard to tell from that perspective, but yes.
O'Donnell/OK. But if this garage was wider than the recessed part back there, you could
not build that house?
Howard/On the narrow lots.
O'Donnell/On the narrow lots.
Howard/This is probably a 60-foot lot.
O'Dormell/OK.
Howard/And then the other trend we're seeing more and more of is that more and more
houses are going with the three-car garage. We have people desiring three-car
garages so this is what you see. And there's a number of concerns here. You
know, if you have one or two houses down the street that have the wide
garage, it's not so much of an issue, but when you have every house down the
street that's the same, you get a lot of pavement, you see less and less of the
house. These are all houses that are built in Iowa City, North Liberty,
Coralville, all these pictures were taken in the neighborhood. Another issue is
if you really have a blank face on the street, you have a lot of paving out front,
it leaves very little room for street trees or front yard landscaping. And we
have the wider driveways that interrupt the sidewalk. It's less pleasant to walk
down the street. It's a little less safe because you have all of the cars turning
and backing up out into the street. And you have also the loss of the on-street
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parking that you have in the neighborhoods with alleys are or with narrower
driveways. Especially as garages get to three-car garages, those driveways
really get wide. And some of the driveways are even wider than some of the
streets. And as you build, if you have all the same house down the street, you
get sort of this garage-scape effect, and we have more and more of that
occurring in Iowa City as well as surrounding communities, and you get this
sort of garage-scape effect. So you see very little living space and more like,
warehouse-looking streets. So the question is, is it possible to have it all? Is it
possible to have both affordable small lot neighborhoods that would prevent
sprawl? We like to have the narrow lots because they're easier to serve the
infrastructure. They keep us from sprawling out into the countryside. They're
less costly to build, more affordable. There are a lot of good things with
narrow lot subdivisions. But can we have it all? Can we both preserve the
public part of the subdivision, which are the streets, the most important public
parts of the subdivision which are the streets and still have all the things that
we expect to accommodate our modem lifestyles? And we think that you can.
You can have it all. You can have the front-loaded garages, you can have the
attached garages, you can have the living space, the private living space
behind the garages. People like to have family rooms behind the garages that
face the backyards, that you have that private space. It still preserves the
fronts. For instance, this is a subdivision in Coralville where the garages are
flush with the front of the house. You still have a really nice streetscape as
you walk down the street. There's all two-car garages and they take up about
50 percent. Just around the comer from that subdivision was this subdivision,
or these houses, which do not meet the standards that we're suggesting.
Things that we would like to have are living areas that are visible from the
street, rather than the blank garages, streets that are pleasant for walking,
biking, and visiting our neighbors, room for street trees and front yard
landscaping. These are all possible and these are all houses that are built in
subdivisions in Iowa City. Now this is an old subdivision and people have said
well, it's because the trees have grown up that the streets look so great. But
it's going to be very difficult for this street to ever look like this street because
there's just not room for the street trees and the landscaping in the front, and
when you have such wide driveways and so little space in the front. So, as
Karin said, how this relates to Sandhill, these are the garage standards
illustrated. No more than 50 percent of the front of the, the length of the front
facade can be taken up by garages. These are all houses that meet that
standard. These are in the South Point subdivision. This is in Coralville. These
houses all meet that standard. The garages are no more than 50 percent depth.
On a 50-foot-wide lot, you can accommodate a nice size two-car garage and
still meet the standard.
O'Donnell/Well, what if you wanted a three-car garage?
Howard/You're going to have to have a wider lot.
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Lehman/A bigger lot.
Vanderhoef/Or a double load.
Howard/And that's, you know, one of the things when you lay out a subdivision, if you
want, if you're expecting a market of people that want three-car garages, you
maybe need to have, plat it out with wider lots.
Lehman/What's the setback?
Howard/Now, this would allow--the setback in Iowa City is 20 feet.
Lehman/Could this be what you're proposing for Sandhill as well?
Howard/That hasn't come under discussion as being, that they wanted to vary from that.
I was assuming they want to keep that same--now one of the things that the
developer said that some people like a little extra wide garage. The 60 pement
one on a 52-foot-wide lot which a lot of the lots in the subdivision are 52 feet
wide, that would make with your side setbacks, you'd have a 42-foot-wide
house. That would mean that the garage could be 25 feet wide, which would
be an extra wide two-car garage, almost a three-car garage, if you set that
garage back six feet from the front of the house so that it's not so dominant.
Vanderhoef/Is 19 feet minimum size for a double garage?
Howard/I think 20 is pretty standard. Sometimes you're going up to 20, 22. I think 18
you couldn't get--that would not be so standard.
Lehman/It's pretty (can't hear)
Howard/Yeah.
Vanderhoef/It seems like some of those designs that were congested in the, from that
other developer were like 19, and I was just trying to see how that would fit
particularly if you went down---
Franklin/The Saddlebrook one? Is that what you're referring to?
Vanderhoef/I don't know. I read it three weeks ago.
(Laughter)
Howard/Yeah, you see sometimes a 19-foot-wide garage but most of them are 20 feet.
Vanderhoef/OK, 20. That's fine.
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Howard/And then the second standard is the placement of the garage, where it is with
regard to the front side of the house and the standards that it needs to be flush
with or back from the front of the dwelling. And these standards are illustrated
in these houses. Here the garage is slightly back from the front of the house.
Here's a two-story model with the garage slightly back. Here it is flush with
the front of the house and there's a little porch out front. And this--the only
photograph from a city outside the area--this is from Madison, Wisconsin,
which illustrates that you can still have a two-car attached garage and set it
even further back. And you had also--the further you set the garage back, the
narrower you can get your driveway and the less you have to interrupt the
sidewalk. And this is then set way back. This is an infill lot on Governor
Street. So you can even set--you can have a really wide garage if you set it
way back on the lot. There are a lot of different ways you can meet the
standard. We're not saying you have to build a certain type of house. There's
all sorts of houses that you can meet the standard with and there's a second
standard here with the porch exception that Kafin talked about with the
dimensions. This is a house that meets that minimum dimensions. The garage
is flush with the front of the porch here. This is in Southpoint Subdivision.
This is in Coralville where they have the garage flush with the front of the
porch. I believe this is also in Southpoint. So you still get that residential feel
of the house rather than just the garage. So, sort of in summary, I guess, we do
feel like there is a choice, that you can have it all. You can have both the
small-lot neighborhoods with the nice residential feel to the neighborhood that
will age and endure over time. We feel like that, the garage-scape is becoming
more and more of a problem.
Vanderhoef/May I ask a question that isn't specific to this, but looking at the pictures
brought up something that happened this fall? I looked at one of your pictures
and it looked like the pomh was so tiny, the pad out by the door. And my
experiences with some of the houses south of Highway 6 when I was door
knocking---
Franklin/Uh-huh.
Vanderhoef/You don't want to stand right up to the door when you know that there's
going to be a storm door swing out at you, and I found them almost
dangerous. The paths were so small that if you backed up to give enough
room to swing it around and not be in their face intmediately.
Elliott/You're talking about my house.
Vanderhoef/Is that it?
Elliott/That's it.
Vanderhoef/You know, and that would be a concern with these kinds of designs that they
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 15
"put the porch there" to say they had a porch.
Lehman/Can you distinguish between a stoop and a porch?
Franklin/There's a minimum size of 48 square feet. No dimension can be less than 6 feet,
and a porch by definition requires a roof. And the roof is not your issue, Dee,
but it's to--it gets at the massing to what you're trying to do with that porch as
the garage comes forward is to diminish the mass of the garage by having
more of that residential space there, out there with the garage. I think the point
we want to make is that--I think Don can say that the Commission and the
staff were together on this, that the concern here is how the appearance of
these streets manifests itself as it's built out, and that's important to us as a
community because those streets are used by the people who live there. They
are used by the people who develop it. They are used by the people who are in
the neighborhoods abutting it. That the residential feel of it as opposed to this
kind of more "warehousey" commercial feel of the garage is an important
public concern. And if there is a way to do it better, which we believe there is,
those examples are out there in Iowa City, in Coralville, they're being built
now. That that is what should be done as the tradeoff for having those smaller
lots. Otherwise, we make the minimum lot sizes always the larger lots. I
would not like to see us go in that direction. I like to leave the option there of
those smaller lots for a number of reasons. Karen addressed one, that is the
issue of sprawl and wanting to infill and the efficiencies of that. But it's also a
matter of cost. One of the things that we're looking at with the Development
Code is what are ways in which the Development Code affects affordability?
Well, minimum lot frontage affects affordability. One of the reasons that
developers will go with these narrower lots is because they can get more lots
in. You can get more housing in, you can have more affordable units. If we
require 60, 80, 100 foot frontages so that we can have the three-car garage and
still be flush with the house and not have it dominated by the three-car garage,
that's going to be more expensive housing. And so there's a way to do it
better. Smaller lots still have livable space and have a nice residential feel to
the neighborhood. And that is the purpose of that fourth condition.
Lehman/That fourth condition is not more than 50 percent of the frontage and the
garage?
Franklin/Right, unless--but there's the exception---
Lehman/Right.
Franklin/...of you can 60 percent if you're setback.
Lehman/Right.
Franklin/Yeah.
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Elliott/I thought, is it all right to express a concern right now?
Lehman/Yeah, we're not going to have the public hearing tonight but I think you
certainly may.
Elliott/Yeah, I just think that, Karen, I thought it was really interesting as I prepared for
this, I copied down a quote, and it was the same quote you had: "The
appearance of the public street in the neighborhood is less residential in
integrity and the function of the neighborhood is compromised as a result. The
cumulative effect, etc., is a less pedestrian-friendly neighborhood." I just don't
agree with that. After reading that I drove down Wellington Drive and then I
also drove down Lindemarm--is that it? Lindemann Drive.
Franklin/Mm-hmm.
Elliott/And everyone of those very attractive houses had the garages that protruded.
Some had some porches but they rarely were the same. They didn't come out
to meet where the garage protruded to.
Franklin/And the standard would not address the Lindemann, because Lindemann is an
RS-5 subdivision with 60 foot lots.
Elliott/Is it then--are you saying that if the lot is larger that is not---
Franklin/It's not as much of a concern.
Elliott/The appearance doesn't concern you as much.
Franklin/It is not as much of a concern. It is when you go to that narrower lot, when
you're kind of squeezing the house on there and it's the garage that pops out.
It's on the narrower lots, the concern. And that's a real critical point because a
lot of the lots which are 60 feet and larger are fine. But it's when you've got
the narrow ones and then it all comes together in a number of--remember how
many lots we have in this project that are less than 60 feet.
Elliott/And is the reason those lots are narrower, does that have anything to do with the
amount of space that the developers are providing for that sand prairie?
Franklin/Sure. Absolutely.
Elliott/So the developers are providing a great deal for the sand prairie and that's the
reason the lots are smaller.
Franklin/Yes.
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ElliottJ And because the lots are smaller, then we don't want them to put the houses the
way they want to put them. It seems something's wrong there.
Franklin/Because we believe there is a better way to do it, that is in the public interest
because this is creating a neighborhood here for all time.
Elliott/Mm-hmm.
Franklin/And, yes, the developer has made many compromises. This has been a long and
arduous journey, has it not, Glenn? There have been a lot of tradeoffs that
have happened and the developers made a lot of compromises. And if there
was not evidence in the community that you can do it another way, get the
same house, the same square footage, the same cost point, and yet still have
something that meets the concern, then why not do it? Why not?
Wilburn/Has the developer--I know we're going to have the public hearing--but the
question is has the developer expressed to you and staff what component of
that feature he disagrees or just what staff does; has he said what part of it or
what---
Franklin/Yes, but I think probably that's best left to the developer to express at the
public hearing.
Lehman/All right. Let me just say, and ! think we've gone long enough with this one
tonight because we are going to have a public heating tomorrow night. Should
there be a feeling on the part of the Council that we may not concur with
Planning and Zoning Commission, this public hearing will be continued
tomorrow night during which time we will schedule a meeting with the
Planning and Zoning Commission to get their input as to why the conditions
were put on that they're presenting to us. And the other thing that I would
suggest, if Council is interested, I went on a tour with Karin and---
TAPE 04-02, SIDE TWO
Lehman/...to various neighborhoods in the community looking at various homes and
garage widths and sidewalks and driveways and setbacks and whatever. And
that certainly is something that we could arrange for Council to do prior to'us
voting on it. That would be up to Council.
Franklin/The other reason that you need to continue your public hearing is because we
do not have a signed conditional zoning agreement. If you were to close the
public hearing tomorrow night, you would have a re×oning with no
conditions.
Lehman/All right. So this is going to be continued anyway. Anyway, we'll go from
there.
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O'Donnell/Just one more question. So, Karin, we're saying that this is fine with the
amendments to it?
Champion/Yes.
Franklin/Yeah.
O'Donnell/That's OK?
Franklin/Oh, yeah. I think we've agreed on everything except this one condition about
the garage standard.
Lehman/Which hasn't been signed and which we could not close the public hearing until
it is.
Franklin/Right, just by law we can.
O'Donnell/I understand.
Lehman/OK.
Elliott/Thank you.
Lehman/Moving along. So, we will not be considering in first consideration tomorrow
night; we'll be continuing the public hearing.
b. REZONING APPROXIMATELY 16.1 ACRES FROM RESIDENTIAL
FACTORY BUILT HOUSING (RFBH) TO PLANNED
DEVELOPMENT HOUSING OVERLAY-12 (OPDH-12) AND AN
OPDH PLAN FOR PROPERTY ON HEINZ ROAD. (REZ03-00024)
Franklin/OK, next item is a rezoning of 16.1 acres from RFBH to OPDH- 12. This is in
Saddlebrook, which is Heinz Road extended on the east side. What this shows
you, and it's kind of, it's very hard to see, on the right is the RFBH zoning
what was already approved, and these are all individual manufactured housing
units that are placed along Heinz Road on either side. What is proposed in this
amendment is a change which has a mixture of duplexes and townhouses. The
original has 66 manufactured units. The new has 78 multifamily units. There
are two eight-dwelling unit multifamily buildings up at the northern end, 27
duplexes which are scattered throughout here and then 16 townhouse-style
units here and then here across from the multifamily. This project--these are
the units that are being proposed, duplexes which have alley access. Here we
have a front-loaded unit and a side-loaded unit. These all meet the garage
standards that we spoke of with the Sandhill project likewise, and this one,
this part is pulled out. This is the multifamily. So these are the designs of the
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 19
various units in that project. The Planning and Zoning Commission
recommended approval of this on a 6-0 vote. We have on your agenda
tomorrow night the public heating as well as first consideration. We will be
putting the first considerations on with the public heating, as I understand
from your organizational meeting direction, but you have the option of either
voting on that or not for first consideration. And for the new Council
Members, first consideration you always have three on a rezoning. First
consideration means that you feel positively enough about it to go on to
another reading. It does not mean that it has passed or that you necessarily are
going to vote for it at the very end, but you're going onto the next reading.
c. REZONING APPROXIMATELY 26.98 ACRES FROM HIGHWAY
COMMERCIAL, CH-l, TO SENSITIVE AREAS OVERLAY (SAO/CH-
1) FOR PROPERTY LOCATED WEST OF MORMON TREK
BOULEVARD AND SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 1. (REZ03-00027)
Franklin/Item c, if there's no questions about that, Item c is rezoning 26.98 acres from
Highway Commercial to SAO, that's Sensitive Areas Overlay Highway
Commercial. This is the Davis Subdivision on Mormon Trek extended, the
new Mormon Trek south of Highway 1. This is the subdivision and the reason
that it is before you for a rezoning has to do with the wetlands issue here.
There is a drainage way which hms through the southwesterly portion of this
project and this is a wetland which is a jurisdictional wetland; however, it is a
low-quality wetland. It is dominated by reed canary grass, which is an
invasive species. What is being suggested is that this wetland be modified, and
let me see if I've got a, yes, it's being, this is the development site here, the
wetland under consideration, and then the compensatory wetlands are over
here on the Davis property that is west of 218. There's a pond here and one
back here. In this circumstance, as I've said, because there are compensatory
wetlands which means that you put them someplace else in the same
watershed, these then will be reconstructed. There are two other issues with
this, relative to the wetlands. One is reducing the buffer around the wetlands
which is this kind of a hatched area, and it's extremely difficult to read this
because there's so much hatching on top of hatching. But there's a buffer area
that goes around the wetlands that is being reduced as well as being averaged.
What that means is that in some places it's closer to the wetlands; in other
places, it's farther away. It's never any closer than 25 feet, which is a
minimum reduction that you want to get. Yes, Emie?
Lehman/Karin, this has to be approved by the Army Corps of Engineers---
Franklin/ Yes, it does.
Lehman/...one way or the other. So I mean as long, I don't quite understand our role in
this.
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 20
Franklin/OK, the Army Corps of Engineer does not require a buffer around wetlands.
Our local ordinance does.
Lehman/OK. But the wetlands have to meet their standards---
Franklin/Yes, they do.
Lehman/...a buffer in addition that we have (can't hear)
Franklin/Yes. The Corps has to approve the compensatory wetlands and all the
mitigation that happens here.
Lehman/OK.
Franklin/The buffering, the averaging of the buffering is our local code and that's why
you have it.
Lehman/OK.
Franklin/We will hold the third reading on this until we get approval of the Corps on the
wetlands land.
d. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE REZONING APPROXIMATELY 1/3 OF AN
ACRE FROM PLANNED HIGH-DENSITY MULTI-FAMILY
RESIDENTIAL (PR/VI) TO SENSITIVE AREAS OVERLAY PLANNED
ItIGH DENSITY MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL. (OSA-PRM) FOR
PROPERTY LOCATED AT 512 S. DUBUQUE STREET. (REZ03-
00022) (SECOND CONSIDERATION)
Franklin/OK, Item d is a rezoning from PRM to OSA-PRM of 512 South Dubuque
Street. This is the second consideration. There's already some construction
going on there in the foundation on Dubuque Street. Mr. Clark does not let
moss grow on him.
Lel:anan/Especially when it's below zero.
e. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE VACATING A PORTION OF AN ALLEY
RIGHT-OF-WAY LOCATED SOUTH OF KIRKWOOD AVENUE
AND WEST OF DIANA STREET. (VAC03-00001) (PASS AND ADOPT)
Franklin/Item e is to consider an ordinance vacating a portion of alley right-of-way south
of Kirkwood, west of Diana. This was brought to us by the Lensings. This is
pass and adopt. It is dependent upon your position on item number 7. Item 7 is
the actual conveyance of the alley to the Lensings and to two other abutting
property owners. John Roffrnan and Cortland Berwald.
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 21
Champion/We should defer that till after we do number 7 then?
Franklin/You can do that. You can just reorder the agenda and put Item e after number 7.
Or if you know that you are going to pass number 7, you can just go ahead
and vote on number e.
Champion/I don't think we ever know until we vote.
O'Donnell/But this is pass and adopt so it's all (can't hear)
Franklin/It's a new age, Connie.
Champion/Right.
Lehman/No, but the point is--if there's anyone on the Council that has a problem with
number 7, they need to speak---
Franklin/The conveyance.
Lehman/...before we do Item e.
Franklin/Correct.
O'Donnell/That's fine.
Lehman/OK.
Bailey/I have a question about that.
Franklin/OK.
Bailey/It's totally a really simple question. So, staff recommends that the conveyance be
subject to the utility easement and the inclusion ora curb so the owners will
include a curb?
Franklin/Mm-hmm.
Bailey/And that's why the price is below market?
Franklin/Right.
Bailey/OK.
Franklin/They need to put the curb on the alley which runs bet~veen Diana and the north-
south alley and that's so traffic won't go out into Diana Street from the funeral
home.
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 22
Wilburn/That was also to address some concerns that some of the neighbors had
addressed.
Franklin/Right. We're concerned about more traffic on Diana so that's why the curb was
put in.
Bailey/The curb will prevent that more traffic issue?
Lehman/Right.
Franklin/Yep.
Elliott/Those concerns that we earlier heard, have those been alleviated by this?
Franklin/Yes.
Elliott/OK.
L CONSIDER A RESOLUTION APPROVING TItE EXTRATERRITORIAL
FINAL PLAT OF KENNEDY SUBDIVISION. (SUB02-00026)
Franklin/OK, last item then is the resolution approving the extraterritorial final plat of
Kennedy subdivision. This is the plat that is in the county. That's what
"extraterritorial" means. We review any subdivisions within two miles of
Iowa City's corporate limits. The preliminary on this was approved November
2nd. This is the final. It's a fairly simple four lots, yeah, four-lot residential
subdivision off of Dane Road south of 218. And it is recommended for
approval. All is in order.
Bailey/Since that's extraterritorial, that has no implications on City services, right?
Franklin/That's correct.
Bailey/OK.
Vanderhoef/And it's in another watershed with a lot of hills over there so it's one that we
were never---
Bailey/ OK.
Franklin/Right. It is not---
Vanderhoef/...services to.
Franklin/It's not in our growth area even.
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 23
Bailey/Right.
Vanderhoef/And that's why partly that---
Bailey/Because of the watershed (can't hear)?
Vanderhoef/There's that piece of (can't hear) water land over there so there are several
small little subdivisions of four or five houses clustered.
Franklin/I'm done with that.
Lehman/Thank you.
Wilburn/Thank you.
Franklin/Oh, I guess I've got the next item.
Champion/You've got another one.
O'Donnell/Do you want to do that, Karin?
12. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION CONSENTING TO TIlE ASSIGNMENT OF
THE PENINSULA NEIGIIBORItOOD DEVELOPMENT
AGREEMENT FROM TERRY L. STAMPER IIOLDINGS, L.L.C. TO
PENINSIJLA DEVELOPMENT L.L.C. AND APPROVING THE
SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE PENINSULA NEIGHBORIIOOD
DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT.
Franklin/Do you want to take a break first or--OK. Well, heck, I don't have my notes.
The other item that is on your agenda tomorrow night is the reconstituted
Peninsula Development.
Lehman/Which is item number 12.
Franklin/OK, I just thought what I'd do is run over some highlights of this agreement as
opposed to going through the whole thing. What has happened, I think you're
aware, that there has been some change in the players of the Peninsula
Development team. Essentially, we're working with the same group of folks
except for Mr. Stamper is, has left and there are two new investors, William
Johns and Wayne Webber, both businessmen from Michigan, who are
primarily investors in the project. Barry Kemper, who has been with this
project from the beginning, is the president of the new company, the new
company being the Peninsula Development Company, L.L.C. There is no
longer a Terry L. Stamper Holdings, L.L.C. On site will be Kurt Grates, who
has been the on-site manager for some time. What I expect to have happen
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 24
with this is that there will be a new way of presenting this project to the
community in that it will be much more inclusive in terms of including local
builders and local Realtors. Previously there was the development company,
the building company, and the Realty company, all of which were controlled
by Mr. Stamper. The developer company now, Peninsula Development
Company, will do the development, that is, put in the infrastructure, create the
lots. They will sell the lots to local builders who will build the buildings.
Local Realtors will sell them.
O'Donnell/Seems (can't hear)---
Franklin/I think it will be quite an improvement.
Champion/Yeah.
Elliott/Great.
Franklin/Given where---
Lehman/Are you comfortable with this agreement, Karin?
Franklin/I am very comfortable with the agreement. We have some performance
standards in there now to do conveyance. There's some timing on the
conveyance of the various phases. I feel very good about it.
O'Dormell/Karin, I've got a, just a quick question. I read in the paper, Mr. Stamper said
it was always his intention to exit the project after 30 houses or so?
Elliott/Yeah.
O'Donnell/I hope that was a figment of his imagination because I don't remember
reading anything about that.
Franklin/I was not aware of it.
O'Donnell/OK. Good answer. That's all I needed.
Bailey/Karin, since this is a little bit new to me---
Franklin/ Sure.
Bailey/...and I only know about it from the papers, so this generally doesn't change the
spirit of the, I mean, I was talking about that with (can't hear)
Franklin/Not at all.
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Bailey/It will be more local, more inclusive.
Franklin/Right.
Bailey/OK.
Franklin/One important thing about this is that in terms of the agreement, we took out
everything that had to do with the planning of it because it's done.
Bailey/Right.
Franklin/We have in place the codes, the plats, the zoning that are necessary to carry out
the vision. Those are fixed and they cannot change unless you guys change
them.
O'Donnell/But this plan seems to be overall more inclusive to the whole city?
Franklin/Oh, yeah.
O'Donnell/I think we're certainly headed in the right direction.
Elliott/Do you have indications that including local builders, local Realtors is going to
come to, that will be a reality? Or is that just hoped for?
Franklin/The local realtors, no, the local realtors are already involved in it. And my
understanding is that eight of the lots are being considered by one of the local
builders right now.
Elliott/Good. Good, I think that's terrific.
Lehman/I think it's time.
Champion/I mean, nobody knew it was them.
Lehman/OK. Dee?
6. AN AMENDMENT TO THE FY04 ANNUAL ACTION PLAN, THAT IS A
PART OF IOWA CITY'S 2001-2006 CONSOLIDATED PLAN (CITY
STEPS), AS AMENDED, TO ALLOW PRAIRIE GARDEN IHA LP TO
USE FY04 CITY HOME FUNDS TO ACQUIRE 912-14 2ND AVENUE,
IOWA CITY, IOWA.
Vanderhoef/Karin, while you're here, probably Steve Long or Steve Nasby would be the
person I should ask, but item 6, where we're talking about changing the
Consolidated Plan.
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Franklin/Yeah.
Vanderhoef/This bothers me a bit in that one of our highest needs in the City is--oh,
sorry about that---
Wilburn/I have to exit from the table as due to a conflict of interest.
(WILBURN LEAVES TABLE)
Vanderhoef/...one of our highest needs is for three-, four-, five-bedroom establishments
for the large families.
Franklin/Mm-hmm.
Vanderhoef/And this is being changed now to accept one-bedroom housing.
Franklin/Three units of one-bedroom---
Vanderhoef/Three rather than one large unit housing.
Franklin/Yes, that was a concern that was raised by one of the HCDC Commission
members, but the vote of the Commission was to approve this change as
requested.
Vanderhoef/Well, I know it gets, it helps a bit with the scattered sites, but it still is not
what I envisioned when we---
Franklin/ Mm-hmm.
Vanderhoef/...approved the money.
Champion/Isn't it, you're right, Dee, and this is also in the Hoover School District,
which does not have a high population of low income.
Bailey/Right.
Franklin/If you recall, when---
Vanderhoef/That's part of the tradeoff.
Champion/Right.
Franklin/Yes, and when the Council was considering the letter of support or resolution of
support, that was one of the issues, is that these units were not within one of
those more sensitive areas---
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Lehman/Right.
Franklin/...or sensitive school districts.
Champion/But it's unlikely that a one-bedroom affordable unit is going to have children
living in it, so---
Vanderhoef/That's just it.
Champion/...that's not going to help solve our problem.
Franklin/No, it won't. Well, it won't. And this particular unit or building, my
understanding is that those three units will be in conjunction with Successful
Living, that there's a partnership between Successful Living and---
Champion/Right, that's right.
Vanderhoef/OK, but these are all upstairs---
Franklin/Mm-hmm.
Vanderhoef/...so they are not handicapped-accessible.
Champion/Well, Successful Living doesn't necessarily have physical---
Vanderhoef/No, I recognize that. But sometimes we also have elderly that---
Franklin/No, it's not a perfect one and you're, I mean, Matt Hayek had those same
concerns.
Elliott/For future considerations, Second Avenue doesn't really meet my idea of
scattering the facilities. It's still in South East Junior High area.
Franklin/Well, we're going to have---
Elliott/And South East Junior High is suffering---
Franklin/...extensive discussions of what "scattered site" means.
(Laughter)
Lehman/That's going to be a big issue this year.
Vanderhoef/Yeah.
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 28
Franklin/It is. It's going to be a huge one.
Champion/The junior highs are pretty equivalent. We only have two, so. There will be a
third one someday.
Elliott/Yes.
Champion/(can't hear) have their share because it'll be in the North Liberty corridor.
Lehman/Dee, do you have any other question on this?
Vanderhoef/No, just to raise that.
Lehman/OK, thank you, Karin.
Franklin/You're welcome.
Champion/I have one more question about this. What is that replacing? I mean, it's a
tradeoff. What was going to be built with that money?
Franklin/Five single-family or duplex rental units for large families.
Champion/Where at?
Franklin/It was not identified.
Champion/I guess I'd like to know where they were going to be built.
Franklin/I don't think they knew.
O'Donnell/They didn't have a site.
Franklin/They didn't have a site.
Vanderhoef/That was part of it, that they couldn't find sites.
Lehman/The original proposal was to acquire the land for the other units.
Champion/Right.
Franklin/Mm-hmm. Right. And that was the problem (can't hear)
Champion/(can't hear) we dealt with with the school districts.
Vanderhoef/And those are going forward.
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 29
Champion/I thought those, we were going to be replacing some of those---
Franklin/No.
Champion/...and I was totally for this, but (can't hear) they're not.
Lehman/Thank you.
Franklin/You're welcome.
Elliott/Mike, that was more than five minutes.
Lehman/An official timeout.
Bailey/We're taking a break?
Lehman/We're taking a break.
Vanderhoef/It's only 8:00 o'clock.
O'Donnell/Five minutes.
(BP~AK)
REVIEW AGENDA ITEMS
Lehman/OK, £olks, the next item on the agenda are review of agenda items. Are there
items on the agenda or the Consent Calendar that anybody has questions or
comments about?
8. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 3 ENTITLED "CITY
FINANCES, TAXATION AND FEES," CHAPTER 4, "SCHEDULE OF
FEES, RATES, CHARGES, BONDS, FINES, AND PENALTIES";
AMENDING TITLE 14 ENTITLED "UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT
CODE," CHAPTER 3, "CITY UTILITIES," ARTICLE A, "GENERAL
PROVISIONS," SECTION 14-3A-2, "DEFINITIONS," AND SECTION
14-3A-4, "RATES AND CHARGES FOR CITY UTILITIES"; AND
AMENDING TITLE 14 ENTITLED "UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT
CODE," CHAPTER 3, "CITY UTILITIES, ARTICLE G, STORM
WATER COLLECTION, DISCHARGE AND RUNOFF," TO CREATE
A STORMWATER UTILITY AND ESTABLISH A STORMWATER
UTILITY FEE. (SECOND CONSIDERATION)
O'Donnell/I have a question on 8.
Vanderhoef/Mm-hmm.
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Atkins/OK.
O'Donnell/Stormwater utility, Steve?
Atkins/Yeah, I was going to mention, you have, I thought you had correspondence.
They've had some computer difficulties. The Chamber has asked that you
postpone the readings on that. You know, from my perspective, you could
certainly vote the second reading and hold the third. We did meet with the
Chamber informally and we're having a meeting with a group of businesses
that's being set up now. So, we're doing the things you asked us to do. We
won't have that by tomorrow.
Lehman/I did talk to Pat Guard this morning on the phone and Pat is going to, has met
with staff as Steve has indicated. They've got a couple other meetings. As far
as he is concerned, he would appreciate us delaying the third reading. Second
reading he has no problem with. Of course, that's up to Council. Going
through the second consideration obviously indicates an intention to proceed
with something. But their board meeting at the Chamber is not until after we
would have had our third consideration and he really would like us to wait for
the third consideration until after the Chamber board meets.
Elliott/What would be the possibilities--would it be possible to just not move on this, to
accept something that would be a temporary fee program for one year, from
X'04 to X'05, and set up a 2-4-6-8 fee schedule during that time, have an ad
hoc group look at this. It seems to me there are so many things we don't
know. What constitutes pollutants, what we do, what the cost of it will be. It
seems to me looking at the budget for that, out of $700,000, something like
only $200,000 is new cost. Now, correct me if I'm wrong.
Atkins/It's more like about $450,000, Bob. We figure it's about---
Elliott/OK, I just took the things with the asterisks and you know more about that than I
do.
Atkins/The fee schedule that you're dealing with right now would generate about
$700,000, that's correct.
Elliott/Mm-hmm.
Atkins/Of that about $450,000 would be available for capital projects, and those are
decisions that you all would make. We've already applied to the feds for our
permits, all the federal hoops we've jumped through. This really is down to
the bottom line questioning of how we're going to finance the cost of this, the
administration of the thing as well.
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Elliott/And something of a temporary nature won't fit?
Atkins/Oh, I don't want to say that it wouldn't, Bob, yeah, that's not--that'd be--because
once ~ve get the billing system set up. I don't want to set a billing system until
I know for sure that you know we're on board with the thing. You know, you
could bill it for a year and stop it.
O'Donnell/I kind of disagree, too, with something temporary for something that's going
to be permanent.
Atkins/Yeah, this is not going to go away.
O'Donnell/Yeah. This is something we're not going to have any choice on, it's a federal
mandate, it's unfunded. But I have, I share the same concerns with Bob and I
would really like to see the, I'd like to see us adapt some sort of a scale. I
suggested it before, up to 10,000 feet, 2 bucks---
Atkins/Well, what I might want to suggest to you then, Mike and the others, is that ~ve
need to have this meeting with the business and industry folks, who is the next
group of people we're going to meet with. You see, they may come back with
some options, let's hear what they have to say.
O'Donnell/I would like to see this deferred then.
Atkins/The third reading is the important one.
Lehman/I don't have a problem with doing the second reading tomorrow night because I
do think it does indicates, showing an intention on the part of the Council that
we are going to have to move forward with something, but I think the
discussion that you're talking about and whatever may come up at that
meeting---
Atkins/Yeah. Then I could answer your question better, Bob, I think after we've met
with those folks in business and industry.
Champion/We're going to have to, we defer the second reading. I mean, whatever, if
they come back to us or something or we pick up on Mike's idea, we're going
to have to redo the three readings anyway. It's going to be a whole new
program. So why---
Atkins/That's true.
Lehman/What if they come back to us after the meetings and say, hey, we've looked at
this, we think it's fair, it's OK, then all we have left is the third reading?
O'Donnell/What are the odds, Ernie?
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(Laughter)
Lehman/I don't know. Hey, it makes no difference to me. I'm just telling you I talked to
Pat Guard this morning and as far as he's concerned and the Chamber's
concerned, they have no problem with doing the second reading. They would
like us not to do the third reading until they have an opportunity to come back
and discuss whatever are the results of the conversations.
Bailey/(can't hear) we can go forward if that's what they, I mean, if we're trying to be
responsive to what they're concerned about, this seems to be responsive and
(can't hear)
Lehman/I think it is.
Elliott/Now, for instance, those, I'm sorry, Regenia. It's my understanding there are
some firms that have spent money---
Atkins/Yes.
Elliott/...done the work, obtained permits---
Atkins/Yes.
Elliott/...which puts them almost, why would they have to be charged? Why would they
have to pay a fee when, it's my understanding, they've already done
everything. They have gone above and beyond.
Atkins/I'm assuming, you know, it's a big assumption, I'd have to confirm this---
Elliott/We'd like to get Ernie out of the way, wouldn't we?
Atkins/...we have, larger physical plants have an obligation under the law to apply for
their own permits because in many instances they take care of stormwater on
site. This is intended to be a plan that contributes, hopefully, someday,
ultimately, the whole watershed or the county would be involved, purely a
regional approach to the thing.
O'Donnell/But does it not appear---
Atkins/You're not wrong about that---
Elliott/But I'm not right either.
Atkins/No, no, it's not a matter of right or wrong, I think you're suggesting they should
be given some kind of credit for that work that they do.
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 33
Elliott/Absolutely.
Atkins/OK. And that I'm OK with and I've already suggested that.
Vanderhoef/Part of that credit when we went to the designing bit as a unit of square
footage, which happened to be the average that we came out with with the
residential, that was when we came back with proposals to cut in half that for
industrial and commercial areas because of what you're talking about as well
as the fact that commercial and industrial almost always pays 100 percent on
property tax and don't get the paybacks that the residential has.
Elliott/Oh, yeah.
Vanderhoef/So we have two pieces that we're recognizing is a problem for commercial-
industrial.
Elliott/If there is some change in fee structure, does that mean we have to go through
three readings?
O'Donnell/Three readings.
Lehman/Oh, yes.
Atkins/Yeah, it's---
O'Donnell/As I understand the committee, right, Ernie, did you all not only reduce the
commercial 50 percent but you also reduced residential?
Champion/No.
Lehman/We didn't touch it.
O'Donnell/You did not reduce? Where did I understand it was going to be $1 instead of
$2?
Lehman/I don't know.
Atkins/It was talked about, Mike. It was discussed.
Lehman/That was one of the proposals but was never---
O'Dormell/But you did not---
Lehman/No, and we all voted on keeping residential the same but reducing commercial
by 50 percent.
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 34
Vanderhoef/Which means it's $1 per unit and residential is $2 per unit.
O'Donnell/I just think we need to look at that again.
Champion/I think so, too. The other thing that I thought of today was that, you know,
this was a problem I agree with you, Mike, I think we put ourselves at a
disadvantage with other communities, even though with eventually they're
going to have to pay more. But probably the biggest polluters are the City
streets and all of us drive on them. I mean, it's probably not the industrial sites
that are the biggest polluters. And so I think we're really hammering them for
our own waste.
Elliott/City streets represent 20 percent of the area.
Lehman/Well, actually, you say we're hammering them, but they are actually paying
one-half the fee that residential is for the same space.
Champion/(can't hear) OK.
(Laughter)
Lehman/There may be a lot of discussion on this before it goes but obviously we're
going to get some sort of recommendation or whatever from the Chamber
after these---
Atkins/The bottom line for all of you is that you committed to the Chamber you would
not give a final read on this until you heard from them. You did say that.
Lehman/And that's all they asked for. Right.
O'Donnell/I think basically all anybody's asking is to put Iowa City on a level playing
field with surrounding communities and that should be important.
Lehman/And that may be precisely what they come back and tell us.
Elliott/And what the Council decides, we could decide otherwise in the future? You
could un---
Lehman/ Well, you could change it, yes. Anything.
Elliott/OK.
O'Dounell/That's all I had on that.
Lehman/OK, anybody else have any agenda items?
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 35
13. b. AFCSME AGREEMENT.
Atkins/The other one, Ernie, just a head's up, is that you got the labor agreement with
AFCSME. Dale's here to answer any questions, if you need to know about
that. It was mailed out.
Lehman/It's a three-year contract, as I remember?
Helling/Right.
O'Dormell/It was one of our handouts.
Champion/Yeah, I got it in the mail.
O'Donnell/Did you get it?
Champion/Yeah. And then don't we have that Mediacom thing on too?
13. a. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION RATIFYING SETTLEMENT OF A RATE
CASE PENDING BEFORE THE FCC RELATIONS TO MEDIACOM'S
PROPOSED RATE INCREASE AND ITS CALCULATIONS
RELATING TO ESTABLISHMENT OF A MAXIMUM PERMITTED
RATE FOR BASIC CABLE SERVICE.
Lehman/Yes.
Kart/The Mediacom is in front of you this evening as a handout, the resolution and the
agreement itself. That's item number 13 on your agenda.
Champion/They're raising the rates, is that true?
O'Dormell/Yep.
Lehman/Dale, tomorrow night when we do the Mediacom, would you be willing to give
us a thumbnail sketch of what that is before we vote on it?
Helling/I would be willing to do that. Don't expect me to know the details of these
formulas, because I do not know that. Nor does anybody else on staff.
(Laughter)
Helling/This is the way we regulate basic rates and so this is, you know, we use a
consultant to do all those calculations for us, and they've negotiated this deal,
and I think it's the best we can do.
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 36
Lehman/That's pretty straight---
Elliott/You can't do any better than the best you can do.
Dilkes/Well, the rate is lower than we originally determined it should be so---
Lehman/ Right.
Helling/A tradeoff on the amortization on the monies they pay for Public Access, but
still in the end, we think this is as good a deal as we can get.
3. e. (1) CORRESPONDENCE. CAROL SPAZIANI AND PAT CANCILLA: CO-
CHAIRS LWVJC REGIONAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE.
REQUESTING WORK SESSION AGENDA TIME.
Lehman/There's another issue. There was a letter from the League of Women Voters and
they have worked with some diligence at looking at cooperative efforts
between jurisdictions within the county. They've asked, they're requested
time to be on a Council agenda, and I've mentioned this to Marian and I, she
suggested, and I think this is a tremendous idea--we meet with the, all the
jurisdictions within in the county basically once a month or so, and that
includes the school district, Coralville, North Liberty, Tiffin, everybody.
Many times those meetings tend to be less than productive.
Champion/It's every three months.
Lehman/Whatever. I think this would be a tremendous place---
Champion/I do too.
Lehman/...for them to make a presentation. Also, a tremendous opportunity for Iowa
City and Coralville, the County, whatever, to respond, get some idea where
we stand on this.
Champion/Sounds like a great idea.
O'Donnell/That's a good idea, Ernie.
Lehman/Marian, you had a great idea. It's Marian's idea. I give her--so can we just have
consensus.
Kart/The next one is on the 21st.
Lehman/21 st of January. At the County, I think you said?
Karr/It's the Cotmty's turn to host, correct.
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 37
Lehman/So, why don't we contact the League, indicate to them that we would have---
Kan'/And also send that agenda over to the, that agenda item over to the County sooner
rather than later---
Lehman/Right.
Kart/...so that they can have a block of time reserved.
Lehman/And also I suspect that we need to tell them or the County needs to tell them
about how much time they'll have.
Karr/Right. They'll have them coordinate it.
Lehman/All right.
Atkins/Can I mention, Ernie, that to protect our interest, it is the Council's preference
that we go to the 21 st, because I think the League had intended to go to
everybody?
Champion/I know, but I think they would do better if they presented it---
Lehman/ Absolutely.
Atkins/Oh, I happen to believe the same thing. I just---
Champion/...we'd all hear the same thing.
Atkins/Right. You just want to tell them that it's the Council preference that this be done
in front of all the representative governments.
Champion/Right. Right.
Lehman/Oh, I think that's much better.
O'Donnell/I do too. It's a great idea.
Elliott/I, for one, feel really good about--I'd like to see some things happening along
these lines.
Champion/We all would.
Elliott/I think there's plenty of room for productivity here.
O'Donnell/I agree.
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 38
Vanderhoef/Well, with our working as a joint communications dispatch---
Elliott/Yes.
Vanderhoef/...center, this is certainly one of those things and this is happening
nationwide in various forms.
Lehman/OK. Are there other agenda items that anyone would like to bring up?
O'Donnell/Is that the one you had?
Lehman/Do you want to discuss it again? Yes.
Franklin/How many Council Members are interested in the tour that you mentioned with
me?
Elliott/Yes.
Lehman/I really think that is a worthwhile trip.
O'Donnell/You know, Emie, I live in Iowa City. ! see it all the time.
Atkins/Karin, just to give you a head's up, it's probably going to have to be midday
because it's dark in the morning and dark in the evening. It's going to have to
be, I mean, we could arrange like a noontime and it should only take an hour
or an hour and a haiti
Karr/Are more than three going?
Atkins/Well, hopefully, we can get as many going as we can.
Karr/Well, then, you know, we'd better schedule a bus with media.
Atkins/You know, we will, we'll take care of that. Yeah, we're OK with that. It's just
that it has to be midday and affect people's work schedules, so just keep that
in mind.
Elliott/Will you pick a time and contact us?
Atkins/Yes.
Elliott/Thank you.
Lehman/OK. Thank you, Karin.
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COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS
Lehman/Council appointments. Airport Commission. We had one application, Daniel
Clay. Is there a---
O'Donnell/Why not.
Champion/Anybody brave enough to handle that Commission should be given it.
O'Donnell/That's true.
Lehman/All right. I am, I think I'm hearing---
Bailey/ Get some women on it.
(Several talk)
Lehman/...consensus. Danielle Clay.
(Laughter)
Bailey/Did you tell him that's the condition?
Lehman/No, I just mispronounced it. Board of Adjustment, we have one applicant.
Karen Leigh. Is that?
Wilburn/Sounds good.
Bailey/I've worked with Karen, I think she's great. Northside Neighborhood.
Lehman/OK, the Parks and Recreation Commission. There were, as I remember---
Kart/Do you want to go with Tim, Board of Appeals?
Lehman/I'm sorry.
Karr/Board of Appeals is OK for Tim?
Lehman/Oh, I'm sorry, Tim Fehr.
Vanderhoef/It's a reappointment and I think we should go forward with that.
Lehman/All right. Sorry I missed that.
Champion/(can't hear) person I wanted---
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 40
O'Donnell/Where?
Champion/For Parks and Rec.
O'Donnell/It's too late, we've already appointed.
Lehman/Parks and Rec.
Vanderhoef/Dave Fleener.
Bailey/Dave Fleener.
Wilburn/Dave Fleener.
Lehman/Dave Fleener, I think I've heard three or four people say that. Planning and
Zoning Commission. There were several applicants for that position.
Vanderhoef/I looked at a couple different people. I looked at both Helen Burford and
Robert Brooks. Mr. Brooks might have conflict of interest if there were
University-Iowa City kinds of activities. But Miss Burford has had some
interesting experience, shall we say, on the floating city kind of infrastructure
and planning around how that would be useful. I'm not positive but certainly
looking at maps and talking about policies might be a good addition.
O'Donnell/She's also been there. You know, (can't hear) Anna Buss has applied and
served on City commissions and has applied for this. I think she would be also
good on this.
Elliott/I found, as I was looking through the four that I guess five, I found Helen Burford
looked extremely interesting to me. But then I went to--just, Helen Burford's
experience is her work experience were very interesting. Anna Buss has lived
her a long time. She has applied several times. I think she's been involved. I
would be interested in Anna.
Bailey/I know Helen and I just want to comment also on her work style because she's
been very active since she's moved back in the Northside Neighborhood,
jumps right in, works very well with lots of different groups of people, has a
~:eat communication style so I think that she would be a real asset to this
besides her work experience which would really contribute. My question
about this particular Commission regarding conflict of interest and how
seriously do we consider that when we're looking at appointments with people
who are property owners or--I mean, a couple of people mentioned that
potentially they would and Dee mentioned the University aspect.
Lehman/There are, any member of the Planning and Zoning Commission when dealing
an issue in their own neighborhood or whatever---
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Bailey/Mm-hmm.
Lehman/...can conceivably have a conflict of interest. I think there are certain
professions that might; for example, if you're a real estate agent, you might
be--that might be really a conflict. Or a developer.
O'Donnell/You know, a lot of times, Ernie, that's good knowledge to bring to that board
also.
Lehman/Yeah. But one of the things with Mr. Brooks, that I look at, we need as much, I
believe, input and understanding of the direction that the University is moving
that we can. And not that this person is going to tell everybody on the
Planning and Zoning Commission all their plans for the next 15 years for the
University. But I think that his association with the University could be very
valuable. I also am a little concerned. Right now, we have, I believe, four
Planning and Zoning Commissioners from the same neighborhood. And
although I don't know--Helen?
Vanderhoef/Helen is North---
Lehman/I know. That is another established older neighborhood and I'm not so sure we
need someone who I think--in reading this we have two, well, I think they're
all good. But I think Brooks may have a broader perspective because of his
association. Scott Claire is one who lives in the Peninsula Neighborhood---
Bailey/ Which is interesting.
Lehman/...and who is absolutely convinced that that's a great project and loves the
whole concept.
Champion/Where does the guy from the University live?
Lehman/I don't recall.
Elliott/Quincet.
Lehman/Oh, I think that is right.
Elliott/Quincet Street. My question was where does Anna Buss live?
Lehman/She lives on West Benton Street.
Elliott/So that would be a west-side person.
O'Donnell/Right.
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Lehman/Well---
O'Donnell/Which we don't have now.
Vanderhoef/That's an older neighborhood, too.
Lehman/It's an older neighborhood, bottom of Benton Street hill. Hey, we've got good
folks here. Who do we want?
Vanderhoef/Well, I'll go with Robert Brooks. I know we previously had a campus
person on for many, many years, and there was very few times that the
conflict of interest came up for him and he certainly was an asset for us.
Wilbum/I know.
Vanderhoef/So I would go with---
Champion/Yeah, I would too. I think---
Lehman/Are there four people who would go with Robert Brooks?
Champion/Yes.
Bailey/Mm-hmm.
Lehman/All right.
Elliott/Curses. Foiled again.
(Laughter)
O'Donnell/Drats. Go to the next one.
Lehman/You know the sad part ofthis---
Elliott/There's some really good people.
Lehman/That's the sad part is having---
Bailey/ Can we get them to apply for some other Commissions?
Lehman/Yeah, sometimes we can and sometimes they just get disappointed and
frustrated because they've not been appointed.
Wilbum/Well, (can't hear) applied, I think a couple of times before---
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 43
Bailey/For Parks and Rec.
Wilburn/So he was willing to come back again.
COUNCIL TIME
Lehman/All right. Council time. Anybody have anything yet?
O'Donnell/Welcome, Bob and Regenia.
Lehman/Yes.
Wilburn/Yes.
Bailey/It's good to be here.
O'Donnell/It's a pleasure. I think the talent is going to be good, and, Bob, I wanted to
make sure I welcomed you.
Elliott/Thank you.
Atkins/Emie, can I ask a question for Council? Our Thursday work session is scheduled
to begin at 8:00. Is that what you want?
O'Donnell/Nine.
(Laughter)
Vanderhoef/When I'm awake.
Lehman/Well, there has been some, there is some discussion as to whether or not we
want to change that from 8:00 o'clock. If we want to change it from 8:00 to
8:02, or is this interest in changing it from 8:00 to 9:00?
Atkins/It lets us set up and the number of things that we have to prepare so we just need
to know when you're going to be there.
Lehman/I hear an 8:30.
O'Donnell/It sounds like a wonderful time to begin~ time to get up and---
Champion/You know, you're retired now, so some of us still have to work and 8:00 in
the morning so we would get out of there. Well, I go to work late. I'm not
saying I go to work at 8:00.
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Wilburn/We're out at the---
Lehman/Water plant.
Atkins/Water plant.
Wilburn/I guess I would ask 8:30 just to give me a little extra time to get out there from
dropping my daughter off.
Atkins/We really need you all there before we can get started so I want to pick a time to
make sure that you can all be there.
O'Donnell/Well, 9:00 o'clock to be sure, sounds fine.
Elliott/You know, tell me the time, I'll be there.
Lehman/8:45 we will start.
O'Donnell/We're going to be there for eight hours.
Champion/I'm not going to be there for eight hours.
O'Dormell/I'm not either.
Lehman/All right. 8:45 at the water plant.
Atkins/And secondly, a number of you have been in and out of the office to meet Kathi
Johansen.
Lehman/Oh, she's a nice young lady.
Atkins/She was in our Housing Department before coming over. So.
Lehman/Very good.
Atkins/Please make it a point to---
O'Donnell/Very nice.
Lehman/OK.
Champion/I just want to ask a question of Stephen, too. Steve, when we do the budget
are you going to kind of do a quick (can't hear) change in form like you
usually do?
Atkins/What I intend to do is on the 13th will be mostly an overview and I'll be
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January 5, 2004 Council Work Session Page 45
presenting to you. And I will identify where changes have been made so,
yeah, you can focus your attention on those. In particularly, like Bob and I
were talking about today, or repeat a little bit of the--we just did this six
months ago, remember? So I'll kind of bring those back to just kind of remind
you where they are. And then on the 15th, it'll be capital projects. So the 22nd
and 27th are, in effect, open to you, and you will need to pick a time to talk
about Boards and Commissions. But I'll bring that all to you on the 13th.
Lehman/OK, guys.
O'Donnell/Ernie?
Lehman/Yes.
O'Donnell/No, I'm through. It's just.
Atkins/Are we done?
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of Iowa City Council work session Jan. 5, 2004.