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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-08-15 Correspondence ,..o City Council Members City of Iowa City Civic Center 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240 Dear Council Members: August 3, 1995 I have reviewed the plans to develop a 41-unit apartment complex on 7.8 acres east of Old Dubuque Road and north of Dodge Street. I understand that a recent request by Mr. Burns to have the area rezoned from RSS to 0PDH-8 has been rejected. I don't understand this response. Iowa City desperately needs quality, lower cost housing for the young couples and people who are beginning their employment experiences. NCS has over 800 employees in Iowa City, most of whom earn in excess of $35,000 per year; and many who started their work history with jobs that paid between $15,000 and $20,000. If Iowa City is not interested in efforts to develop housing for this kind of quality individual, then I suggest that future growth of companies like NCS will be limited due to lack of employee availability. I urge you to reconsider your decision. Sincerely, Vice President /rick Bob Burns Charlie Eastham Jay v. Clark Vice President Measurement Services Division National Computer Systems P.O. Box 30 Iowa City, Iowa 52244 (PF0 319-339-6560 (FAX) 319-339-6990 3 August 1995 Att'n Lorraine City ~anager's office City of Iowa City 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240-1826 Lorraine, City Manager's Office: The attached written statement is in support of my presentation to Council during public discussion of the Draft "Economic Development Policies, Strategies, and Actions." It is my understanding that this will appear on the agenda at the meeting of August 15 or August 29. Please include this in the appropriate meeting packet. 225 Church Street Iowa City, IA 52245 351-4515 3 August 1995 Att'n Lorraine, City Manager's office city of Iowa City 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, IA 52240-1826 To the City Staff and Council: This draft of the City's economic development policies misses an important opportunity to clearly and forcefully articulate a vision for our economic future. Some rhetorical flourishes aside, it follows a familar pattern of low-road smokestack chasing. As an alternative, we ask that you consider the high-road taken by many municipalities in recent years: a social compact with investors which pursues good jobs, public accountability, and environmental sustainability. My response to this draft is organized around three general concerns: 1) This draft focuses too much on growth and too little on the kind of growth we should pursue or reward or encourage. The logic here is clear: municipalities have always competed to offer an attractive business climate; a struggling national economy and increased global competition have made this competition even fiercer. But the logic is also false. The vast majority of jobs are not in footloose multinational companies; most existing firms can and will accomodate themselves to new rules; and most new firms actually desire, even depend upon, the sorts of resources cities like Iowa City have to offer. * [Policy 1]: Many terms need clearer definition: What are the "targeted industry groups" and by what criteria will they be targeted? * [Policy 2]: The assumption here is that growth = jobs, and that the nature of those jobs is a purely private concern. We should only reward "high road" firms willing to pay a living wage and respect workers rights. * [Policy 4]: Here the shape of economic development is left largely to the promoters. In this way, the City not only surrenders public authority and responsibility but also invites constant pressure to relax its expectations and facilitate indiscriminate growth. 2) This draft makes no effort to llnk p~bllc regulation or public subsidies to particular avenues of growth. In setting the rules and conditions for economic growth, the City should be less anxious about the mobility of capital and more attentive to the long-term goals and interests of all its citizens. The question is not how much regulation, but what kind and toward what ends. As experience elsewhere suggests, attaching strings to public subsidies and regulating land use in the public interest do not shut off local growth -- but they can divert it into more promising channels. * [Policy 2] Instead of merely shaping the local labor force to meet business needs, the City can and should tie living wage guidelines and tenure requirements to any public subsidies. * [Policy 5] Rather than simply "encourage" or "support" environmentally conscious business, the City should tie public subsidies (and clawbacks) to past and future environmental records; and it should demand energy conservation through commerical building codes. * [Policy 6] The financial incentives should include both explicit rewards or subsidies for high-wage, environmentally-sensitive development and explicit penalties (no subsidies, clawbacks) for firms who cannot meet (or who violate) the terms of the "social compact." 3) This draft assumes, in tone and in po1icy, that economic development is a process driven by investors and employers, forgets that the economy is a public good in which the rights of workers and consumers deserve equal respect. * [Policy 1, Strategy A]: "compatible with the community" should not be equated (in Action 2) with "complement[ing] local businesses" or (in Action 3) "assist[ing] businesses." * [Policy 1, Strategy B, Action 2]: It is not the role of the City to use "community education efforts" to "increase public awareness of the role of business in the community." * [Policy 2]: This section is strongest on meeting the labor market demands of employers and weakest on meeting the needs of workers. * [Policy 2, Strategy B, Actions 2 and 3] Any "school-to-work" initiatives at the K-12 or post-secondary level should also include education in workers' rights, labor law, and workplace safety. * [Policy 3]: In all, Policy 3 is hopelessly inconsistent: Strategy A appeals to new investors with new perimeter infrastructure; Strategies B and C appeal to established businesses by suggesting inner city development. And none of this is tied to a larger sense of community growth and sustainability. * [Policy 4]: "Cooperation with existing local and regional organizations" lists ICAD, the University, and business interests. What about labor, environmental groups, consumer and citizen groups, neighbourhood associations, and the like? * [Policy 5]: This is a feeble nod to environmental concerns. By conventional economic wisdom, pursuing the high road might seem at best a sucker strategy and at worst economic suicide. We reject this wisdom. The high road strategy not only costs very little, but it will also create a community whose high-wages, public goods and infrastructure, and environmental climate make it more attractive to prospective investors, workers, and citizens alike. Here, by way of summary, are some of the things we can do: * Attach strings to public money: New investment often relies on public subsidies (loan guarantees, tax expenditures) and in-kind services (industrial parks). Increasingly, municipalities are trading this candy store mentality for a social compact with new investors. These take the form of conditions on public support such as wage and environmental thresholds, or "clawbacks" which force firms which do not live up to their promises to reimburse public subsidies.* * Retain, renew, and upgrade "old" investment: In their eagerness to attract new investment, municipalities routinely overlook the potential of old (even abandoned) investments. The retention and renewal of old investment is not only as good a path to job growth and new investment, it also promises environmental rewards by "greening" old jobs and minimized industrial sprawl. * Protect the rights of workers and consumers: The rights of consumers and workers are no less important than the "property" rights routinely championed by municipal growth strategies. Strings on public subsidies should encourage worker participation; "school-to-works initiatives at the K-12 or post-secondary level should include education in workers' rights, labor law, and workplace safety; local zoning and licensing should encompass full compliance with the letter and spirit of OSHA, ADA and related laws in such a way that guarantees equal and safe access to all citizens. * Guarantee a 1lying social wage: Municipal government does not have the regulatory power to fully control local wages. But it can -- in its subsidies to private employers, in its contracting of public works, and in its role as a local employer -- set high standards for both wages and benefits. Some examples: Iowa requires subsidized firms to pay wages at least 75 percent of the county average. North Dakota requires subsidized firms to pay wages which meet the federal poverty level for a family of four. Mississippi ties the interest on state loans to wages paid; States (Ohio, Illinois, Connecticutt, Vermont) and cities (Austin TX, New Haven CT) clawback loans and tax abatements (with interest and penalties) granted any firm which leaves the state or city within a designated period. In Washington, state legislators have proposed forcing any firm recieiving public assistance to permit union organizing, provide a living weage (including health insurance}, and comply full with environmental and plant closure law. Clawbak provisions can easily be combined with "early warning systems" which give workers and communites time to adjust to plant closures. Connecticut and Lousiana tie public subsidies to firms' past and current environmental records. Gary IN cosiders past environmental performance before granting tax abatements. * Use public capital and p~blic institutions for public ends: One of the most appealing short-cuts to a more democratic and public economy is to bypass, when necessary, private capital. Private investment, after all, is necessarily short-sighted and eager to avoid the costs of public goods. The options here are limited, but promising: Encourage alternative forms of economic organizations, such as worker and consumer and housing co-operatives. When possible, use public capital such as state and federal grants or pension funds to finance innovative development, affordable housing, and the like. * Demand environmental Justice and sustainability: Contrary to popular wisdom, environmental regulation does not stifle growth -- or at least the kind of growth we want. Economic regulation can (as suggested above) reward environmentally-conscious investment. Local zoning can accomplish effective and sensitive land use. And strict environmental guidelines can (as experience elsewhere attests) actually create "green" investment and jobs and spur impressive productivity gains. Colin Gordon Iowa City New Party 225 Church Street Iowa City, IA 52245 319-351-4515 colin-gordon@uiowa.edu ROBgRT P. BURNS 328 East Washiogton S~reet P.O. Box 1226 Iowa City, Iowa 52244 August 9, 1995 City Council City of Iowa City Civic Center 410 East Washington Street Iowa City, Iowa 52240 RE: Rezoning No. Old Dubuque Road Dear Council Members: 019) 33g-7600 FAX 019) 337-2430 I hereby request a revision to rezoning application number REZ95-0010 to limit density to thirty-two apa~hnents plus one site manager's apartment on parcels numbers 59341000 and 59343000. I am available to answer any questions regarding this project and look forward to the process of being considered by the city council. Sincerely Yours, RPB/slk XC: Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship City of Iowa City MEMORANDUM Date: August 7, 1995 To: The Honorable Mayor, City Council and City Clerk From: James Brachtel, Traffic Engineer Handicapped Parking in the 1100 Block of Church Street As directed by Title 9, Chapter 1, Section 3 of the City Code, this is to advise you of the following action: ACTION: Pursuant to Section 9-1-3A14 of the City Code, the City Traffic Engineer will direct the removal of the handicapped parking zone in front of 1129 Church Street. Removal of this handicapped parking zone will take place on or shortly after August 22, 1995. COMMENT: In 1989 the resident of 1129 Church Street was the primary care provider for an infirm parent that lived at 1129 Church Street. The then resident had been provided with the appropriate designation for his vehicles designating his vehicles as eligible to use handicapped parking stalls. It has now come to the Traffic Engineer's attention that the infirm parent no longer lives at 1129 Church Street and the resident of 1129 Church Street no longer requires the handicapped parking stall designation in front of 1129 Church Street. The removal of this designation will return this curb frontage to the on-street parking inventory. bl~ ! 129chu~