Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1995-09-12 Bd Comm minutesIVlINUTES HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING AUGUST 28, 1995 MEMBERS PRESENT: Alison Ames Galstad, Patricia Harvey, Mel Dautremont, Joan Jehle, Ann Shires, Osha Davidson. MEMBERS ABSENT: Dorothy Paul, Ken Gatlin STAFF PRESENT: Heather Shank, Anne Burnside CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Galstad called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m.. New Commissioner, Diane Martin was welcomed to the Commission. Commissioners and staff introduced themselves to Ms. Martin. IVlINUTES: Minutes approved from the Jul,/meeting, although concern was raised that the Minutes did not reflect the depth of the conversation regarding the members concerns for the workload, ie., backlog existing in the Coordinator's office. Shank commented that July was slower than usual but since school has started, the number of complaints are rising. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: 1. Commissioners considered and unanimously approved the Amendment to the Human Rights Ordinance, Section 2-2-2(J}, which would provide the Commission with the authority to subpoena witnesses and conduct discovery in all cases involving allegations of discrimination as opposed to just housing discrimination cases. The amendment would apply retrospectively to cases filed after January 1, 1993. Burnside pointed out that the Commission previously had subpoena and discovery authority but this provision was omitted when the Human Rights Ordinance was recodified. Burnside said that approval of this amendment would be a corrective measure and not a change in the scope of the power of the Commission. Burnside emphasized that Commissions across the State have subpoena power. She also recommended two word substitutions be made in the last sentence of the amendment so that shall will be substituted for will and complaints will be substizuted for cases. Ann Shires made a motion to delete the first sentence of Section 2-2-2-(J), and replace that with the proposed change and to add the sentence relating to the retrospective application of the amended Ordinance. Mel Dautremont seconded the Motion. The Commissioners unanimously voted to approve the revised amendment. Alison Galstad moved to recommend Council set the issue for public hearing and vote for the amendment as revised. Mel Dautremont seconded the motion and it was unanimously approved. (See attached proposed revised amendment.) 2. The 2rid amendment came out of a subcommittee which was charged by Council to consider the addition of transsexuality as a protected category to the Human Rights Ordinance. Galstad mentioned there was quite a bit of discussion in the last Commission meeting on the subject. Osha Davidson, Ann Shires and Alison Galstad were the members of the subcommittee that considered the issue. They went over Ordinances from other cities that included transgender or transsexuality as a protected class. The subcommittee felt that MINUTES HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AUGUST 28. 1995 PAGE 2 the easiest way to incorporate this into Iowa City's Human Rights Ordinance was to expand the definition of Sexual Orientation. The-proposal will just be an additional sentence under the definition of Sexual Orientation in Section 2-1-1 of the Human Rights Ordinance. The addition of the proposed sentence will make the amendment fairly inclusive but no language changes will need to be made in the definition. Osha Davidson said that the subcommittee agreed this revision was the intent of the Commission at the time the Ordinance was revised last fall but the Commission did not have the vocabulary to make sure the people that should have been included at that time were covered. Thus, rather than considering this proposal as an expansion, it should be thought of as just filling in a loophole that should have been included but was not well understood at the time. Dautremont asked the subcommittee to review the difference between transsexual and transvestism. She understands the difference as follows: a transsexual is undergoing a procedure to change gender and a transvestite is a person who chooses to dress in a manner contrary to society's expectations, Galstad said that she would share with the Council the definitions provided in the materials supplied by the other municipalities that provide protection. She emphasized that Council had asked the Commission for its recommendation on the issue. Galstad read the definition for transsexual that the subcommittee considered. The definition is as follows: "Transsexual: Anyone who, (1) wants to have, (2) has had or (3) should have a sex change operation. The 3rd definition (should have) is for those who are in denial." The definition also includes "nonsurgical transsexual." This is an individual who assumes the opposite anatomical gender, who has no intention of having surgery. According to Galstad, a transvestite is defined as a cross-dresser, "someone who from time to time wears the clothes of the opposite physical and anatomical gender to relieve gender discomfort. Cross-dressers want to appear as convincing as possible as their other selves." Dautremont asked what would happen if a man wanted to go into a store and try on women's clothes? An analogy to this could be middle America in the 30's when an African American went to the drug store and sat down. This would have been considered outrageous and under present law the individual could sue if he or she was denied service. This is just a different, identifiable group. Shank mentioned that there are two cases currently in another jurisdiction in which a fellow asked to try on clothes in a women's clothing store. The store owners had previously allowed this person to take clothes home to try on but they refused to allow him to try the articles on in the store. The individual asked the store to permit him to try the clothes on in the store. The owners refused and he sued. The Commission took the case, alleging sex discrimination. The store called the Commission and said that it would accommodate this person and make a separate dressing room for men that wished to try on female clothes. Jehle sa~d that in the 1950's, when she was a clerk in the women's section of a department store, a man came in regularly to try on women's clothes. She indicated that the man routinely took the items he wanted to try on to the men's dressing rooms. Martin inquired about an employment situation involving a transsexual. Burnside mentioned the Iowa Supreme Court case involving an employment situation in which an employee was undergoing medical treatment in anticipation of a future sex change operation. The employer told the employee that he could not use a MINUTES HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AUGUST 28, 1995 PAGE 3 certain bathroom. The Court was no~ unsympathetic to the person's complaint but indicated that he had not been the victim of discrimination under the law as it was currently written. The upshot of the case was that the person had been fired because of the reaction from co- workers. The Supreme Court denied the claim because the Iowa Code did not include transsexuals as a protected class. The Court is required to follow the law as written. That is why this amendment is important. It will require employers to work things out instead of just saying, "You're too different for us." Martin said that she hires people to work with a mostly rural clientele and she indicated it could bring up some interesting issues. Shank mentioned that when she was a nurse she noticed that some of the female patients had trouble adjusting to male nurses but it all worked out. Davidson pointed out that .there may be transsexuals and transvestites in rural areas too. Mel Dautremont moved that the Commission approve the addition to the definition of Sexual Orientation and recommended that Council adopt the amendment as written. Jehle seconded the motion. (See attached amendment.) HUIVIAN RIGHTS BREAKFAST Shank indicated that all the paper work, such as the letter, and poster are with Document Services. It should be available soon. Shank is going to ask the Chamber of Commerce for the address labels it provided last year. In addition, document services is going to give Shank the address list she has put together in the last year. The deadline for nominations is the 22nd of September. The subcommittee which will consider the nominations submitted include Joan Jehle, Mel Dautremont, and Osha Davidson. The subcommit~ee's nomination choices will be considered at the next Human Rights Commission meeting. A discussion was Ileld on the availability of Commissioners to stuff and label envelopes. Shank indicated that she sent letters and invitations to the newspapers and radio stations along with a press release. Don Wood has been contacted regarding a sequence screen advertising the breakfast. Mel Dautremont is going to do a public service announcement for the breakfast. Cable has already been contacted. TRAINING SESSION FOR CON1MISSIONERS The training session for Commissioners will take place in Des Moines, la. The Iowa Civil Rights Commission will be picking up the tab for the staff and Commissioners who attend. The Commissioners who are attending will be Diane Martin, Ken Gatlin, Ann Shires, Joan Jehle, Mel Dautremont and Osha Davidson. Temporary Investigator, Cynthm Riley will be attending as staff. DIVERSITY CONFERENCE The Diversity Conference will be held October 17 & 18, 1995 in Des Moines. Shank and Jason Chen went last year. The group that organizes this event wants community teams to IVIINUTES HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AUGUST 28, 1995 PAGE 4 attend, Shank thinks it would be a good idea if more people attended this year. Dautremont indicated she thought it would be a good idea ~f Shank went to the conference. REPORTS OF COIVINIISSIONERS Mel Dautremont reported that starting on the 13th of September, the Iowa Women's Music Festival, an annual event in Johnson County, It starts with a sing a-long at Old Brick and moves to.a play at Hancher, Ashes and Dust. On Saturday, the Festival will move to the Johnson County Fairgrounds. Old Capitol Mall has moved the Community Day to September 30, 1995. Shank indicated that Ken Gatlin usually receives notice of the Community Day and he is on vacation. Shank will call him in the next couple of days to see if he received any information. NOW is having a fund raising garage sale, September 9, 1995. The garage sale will be held at 2633 Walden St.. STATUS OF CASES Shank identified the members of the Commission teams for persons who were not sure. A conciliation has been scheduled for September 13, 1995. Team B has a case to read. The cases noted as pending appeal are those cases being represented by the same attorney. The probable cause decision went out and the attorney's secretary sent the request for appeal so as to not miss any deadlines. He has not however, discussed it with his client. He will get back to us on whether he and the clients will appear before the Commission. Another case will be given to legal tomorrow. A Right to Sue letter was sent out in a case, the first one from this office. A mediation has been scheduled for tomorrow. Shank said there had been an average of 6 interviews a week and she had done three that day. She said she is making progress but getting the parties to cooperate made her job much more difficult. Sometimes attorneys, especially the ones that do not live in Iowa, will put up incredible obstacles to any kind of investigation. Others will provide a written response to the charge and then stop cooperating. STATUS OF HUMAN RIGHTS COORDINATOR'S OFFICE Shank reported that the City has agreed to employ Cynthia Riley on a temporary basis until December 31, 1995, for $10.00 per hour. Shewdl also get a parking place. Shank indicated that Cynthia has been a great help to her. They have been extremely busy. Although they are making progress, the process is slow. Shank said they have to take some time to catch up on all the work that was generated as a result of the interviews conducted. Shank estimated that she has about 20 tapes to transcribe. Mel Dautremont stated she wanted the minutes to reflect that Shank is making progress but there is a phenomenal amount of work' to do. Shank said that the office received so many cases last year that it added significantly MINUTES HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION AUGUST 28, 1995 PAGE 5 to the backlog. Harvey mentioned that Shank also spends part of her time promoting the Human Rights Commission. Shank then reported that she is giving a lecture to a University class on Race and Discrimination in the School of Social Work. In addition, Shank will be a panelist at a conference pertaining to supported employment on Thursday, September 7, 1995. The conference will be attended by employers and human resource personnel. The Commission wondered if there would be someone available to transcribe the tapes. Burnside indicated that if someone were hired, confidentiality would not be jeopardized because the individual would be bound by the confidentiality of the office. In essence, the person would be an agent of the Coordinator. Joan Jehle asked whether there were any grants available to assist in the funding of Human Rights work. Shank indicated that writing a grant proposal would take an !ncredible amount of time with no guarantee of success. Davidson stated the backlog and the lack of permanent staff suggest that the City doesn't really care about Human Rights. It was suggested by Alison Galstad that a subcommittee be developed to recommend ways in which funding could be increased. Davidson thought the idea of a subcommittee was a good one. He does not believe it is Shank's job to request additional permanent staff. He thinks it is the Human Rights Commission's duty. Shank pointed out a recent article in the newspaper in which the Federal Court threw out several cases because the EEOC had not completed the investigation and determination of probable cause in a timely fashion. Sl~ank expressed anxiety over the possibility of this occurring. She also mentioned that the article stated it was found that a large proportion of the cases dismissed by the EEOC were found not to have been adequately investigated. Shank thinks cases were turned over in an attempt to get rid of some of the backlog. Volunteers for the subcommittee include Diane Martin, Osha Davidson, and Alison Galstad. COIVIIVlUNITY DIVERSITY TEANI Shank is waiting for a call from Susan Mask's office regarding the Community Diversity Team. A meeting should be set up soon. OLD BUSINESS Alison Galstad indicated Commissioners should decide who will sit at the Mall on Community Day. NEW BUSINESS None. Meeting adjourned at 8:38 p.m.. PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO TITLE 2, SECTION 2-2-2 (J) OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS ORDINANCE Title 2, Section Co~mission. Section (J) ordering of discovery. reads as follows: 2-2-2 pertains to the Powers of the addresses the issuing of subpoenas and the Section (J), under the current Ordinance, Issue subpoenas and order discovery as provided by this' Section in aid of investigations and hearing of alleged unfair or discriminatory housing or real property practices. The subpoenas and discovery may be ordered to the same extent and are subject to the same limitations as subpoenas and discovery in a civil action in District Court. The proposed revision submitted for approval of the Commission deleted the first sentence of (J) and replace~ it with the following: Issue subpoenas for witnessas and order discovery as provided by this Section to aid in the investigation of allegations of discrimination. In .addition, the proposed revision submitted for approval included an additional sentence: This Section will be retrospective in its operation and will apply to cases filed after January 1, 1993. After discussion, the Commission made the following changes in the sentence mentioned above: This Section shall be retrospective in its operation and shall apply to complaints filed after January 1, 1995. The Ordinance will read, if the changes are approved: Issue subpoenas for witnesses and order discovery as provided by this Section to aid in the investigation of allegations of disor~inationo The subpoenas and discovery may be ordered to the same extent and are subject to the same limitations as subpoenas and discovery in a civil action in District Court. This Section shall be retrospective in its operation and shall apply to complaints filed after January 1, 1995. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the amendment to Title 2, Section 2-2-2(J) and also voted unanimously to recom~,end Council vote in favor of the amendment as written. Human Rights Commission August 28, 1995 7 PM Proposed text for addition to the City of Iowa City Human Rights Ordinance from the subcommittee considering transexuality as a protected class (Davidson, Galstad, and Shires). This text would be added to the definition of Sexual Orientation, on p. 4 of Ordinance No. 94°3647. "Sexual orientation includes ~actual or perceived male or female heterosexn/ality, bisexuality, homosexuality, transexuality, or transvestism and includes a person's attitudes, preferences, beliefs and practices pertaining thereto." ) MINUTES IOWA CITY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1995 - 4:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Lowell Brandt, Patricia Eckhardt, Bill Haigh, Tim Lehman MEMBERS ABSENT: Susan Bender STAFF PRESENT: Melody Rockwell, Anne Burnside, Jeff'Hating CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Eckhardt called the meeting to order at 4:33 p.m. Eckhardt introduced Lowell Brandt, the new Board member. CONSIDERATION OF THE JULY 12, 1995, MINUTES: MOTION: Halgh moved to approve the minutes of the July '12, 1995, meeting of the Board of Adjustment, as prtnted. Lehman seconded. The motion carried on a vote of 4-0. SPECIAL EXCEPTION ITEMS: EXC95-0019. Public headng on a request submitted by St. Wenceslaus Church for special exceptions to expand a religious institution and modify the front yard require- ments along Davenport, Johnson, and Fairchild Streets to allow a 30-space parking area to be constructed for property located in the RNC-12 zone at 618 Davenport Street. Rockwell said the applicant requests Board of Adjustment approval of a special excep- tion to expand a religious institution by adding a parking area. ' She said the application had been amended to request construction of a 26-space parking area, not a 30-space lot. The parking area is proposed to be constructed on properties owned by the church west and north of the parsonage. A revised parking area plan submitted on August 4, 1995, eliminates parking spaces from the front yard setback areas along Davenport Street and Johnson Street. The front yard modification request by St. Wenceslaus Church is now limited to the Fairchild Street frontage. Rockwell said the appropriateness of establishing a parking area in a residential neigh- borhood also needs to be considered. In a letter dated August 3, 1995, AI Kleinmeyer. President of the St. Wenceslaus Padsh Council, states that the church has experienced substantial growth in recent years, and this has added to the parking shortage the church had experienced in pdor years. Providing off-street parking would alleviate some of the on-street parking congestion experienced in this neighborhood during church services. Rockwell said an existing garage is proposed to be removed to construct the parking area, but no houses are proposed to be removed at this time. Rockwell sa~d staff is Boa~ of Adjustment August9,1995 Page 2 concerned that no more housing be removed from this block to expand the parking area beyond what is now proposed by the applicant. in the interest of preserving the resi- dential character of the area, staff recommends that the Board send a strong signal about the compelling public interest to retain housing in this area. Rockwell said a 26-space parking area will introduce negative impacts into the neighbor- hood that are associated with the proposed vehicular use of the property. These impacts could be tempered to some extent by providing a landscaped buffer to soften the appearance of the parking area, absorb noise and block headlight glare. Rockwell said staff recommends that the Board approve a modification of the standard screening requirements for arbor vitae along the street frontages. A landscaped buffer could alleviate some of the negative impacts of the parking area without completely blocking the public's surveillance of it. The applicant has indicated the intent to submit a land- scaping plan for Board review at the September meeting. Rockwell said in order to reduce headlight glare for the residents living directly across Johnson Street, staff recommends that the one-way aisle/drive be a one-way onto Davenport Street, instead of from Davenport Street. This would require reconfiguration of the parking area such that two exits are provided, the angled parking would be reversed, and would result in the loss of one parking space. To date, the applicant is reluctant to change the direction of the one-way aisle/drive. Rockwell said the Zoning Chapter provides that except for single-family residences and duplexes, parking is not permitted in the required front yards of residential zones. Rockwell said the parking area is shown with a seven-foot setback from the Fairchild Street right-of-way line. The requested exception is faidy substantial in quantitative terms, as it represents a 47% encroachment into the required 20-foot front yard along Fairchild Street. However, because of the peculiarity of the Fairchild Street frontage and the extra-wide right-of-way of 80 feet, the qualitative impact of the parking encroachment into the required front yard along Fairchild Street should be minimal, particularly with appropriate landscaping placed along the edge of the parking area. Rockwell said staff recommends that EXC95-0019, a request for special exceptions to expand a religious institution use by constructing a parking area and to reduce the front yard setback from 20-feet to seven feet for the 100-foot length of the parking area along Fairchild Street be approved, subject to: 1) Board of Adjustment approval of a modified screening/landscaping plan for the parking area. 2) external illumination of the parking area will be shielded, downcast and located in such a manner that illumination from the source of the light will not exceed one and one-half foot candles at the lot hnes of the property, and 3) revision of the parking area configuration to make the one-way drive/aisle an exit onto Davenport Street. Rockwell noted that she had received two telephone calls conceming requests for information. The callers did not comment in favor or against the application. Several members of the Board asked for clarification on the location of the parking spaces that staff recommends for removal, the alignment of the parking spaces, and the Board of Adjustment August 9, 1995 Page 3 location of the access points to the parking area. Rockwell responded using an over- head transparency to cladfy locations. Public hearing: Larry Schnittier, MMS Consultants, 1917 South Gilbert Street, asked the Board to consider leaving the parking arrangement as submitted by the applicant. Schnittjer said the present configuration would result in much better traffic circulation. The staff request would result in left tums into parking stalls which would not be impossible, but could be an awkward situation. Schnittjer said the applicant would be happy to submit a land- scaping plan, as requested by staff. Brandt asked whether the width of the access drive from Davenport Street is determined partially by the parking immediately adjacent to the drive. Schnittjer said the width is determined by a combination of the minimum standards for a one-way traffic situation and angled parking. Gre(~ Jones, 1131 East Davenport Street, said his major complaint is the impact of the drive off Davenport Street. Jones said there is plenty of opportunity for access off John- son Street. Jones said the Davenport Street access unnecessarily impacts the frontage of Davenport by having it run inlmediately adjacent to a house. Jones said although discouraged by the Zion Lutheran Chumh parking lot, at least there is not a direct access onto Davenport Street from the Zion parking lot. When the landscaping matures along the street frontage, there will be the sense of a buffer between the parking lot and the street. Jones said there is ample room to run two access points into the alley or onto Fairchild Street, where there are no residences that would be negatively impacted. Jones felt that allowing an access onto Davenport Street would change the visual situation for motorists and pedestrians alike. Jones felt with the correct access points, the correct landscaping and lighting, a facility that is sensitive to the neighborhood could be achieved, but he does not see it in the current configuration. Eckhardt pointed out that two drives already exist in this area. Jones agreed, but said these are not commer- cial ddves. He thought there could be a better plan to address what happens visually on Davenport Street. Public hearing closed. Brandt expressed his concern about the ~mpact of the parking area and drive on the existing duplex. The plan appears to be removing the garage which accompanies the duplex, which is to be left intact. He asked how the parking for the duplex would be provided. Rockwell said the chumh would be required to provide parking for the duplex if the garage is removed, and could do so in the newly constructed parking area. Rockwell pointed out that the church is the owner of the duplex. MOTION: Haigh moved to approve EXC95-0019, a request submitted for special exceptions to expand a religious institution use by constructing a parking area and to,reduce the front yard setback from 20-feet to seven feet for the IlS-foot length of the parking area along Fairchild Street, subject to: 1) Board of Adjuat- Board of Adjustment August 9, 1995 Page 4 ment approval of a modified screentngllandscaping plan for the parking area, 2) external illumination of the parking area that is shielded, downcast and located in such a manner that illumination from the source of the light will not exceed one and one-half foot candles at the lot lines of the property, and 3) revision of the parking area configuration to make the one-way drive/aisle an exit onto Davenport Street. Lehman seconded. In response to a question from Eckhardt, Rockwell said the drive onto Johnson Street is designed for two-way traffic. Rockwell said staff felt the headlight glare would be better directed toward the Zion [.utheran parking area across Davenport Street. Brandt emphasized his concern that the location of the access drive was too close to the existing duplex. The fact that the garage was to be removed to accommodate the ddve could endanger the existence of the duplex. Eckhardt said the church may already be making plans to have the entire duplex removed to expand the parking area even further. Eckhardt said that as no representative of the church was present to answer some of the concerns raised, it makes it difficult to make an informed decision. Eckhardt asked if it would be out of the question to suspend the motion on the floor and ask for a deferral of the discussion to the next meeting. Rockwell said yes, and added that the landscaping plan still needs review and approval of the Board. In regard to the state- ment in the staff report about preserving the existing housing stock in the area, Lehman said this may be difficult to achieve in the situation of the duplex as the church is the owner. MOTION: Brandt moved to defer EXC95-0019, until the September 13, 1995, meeting of the Board of Adjustment. Eckhardt seconded. (The previous motion was suspended as a result of the motion to defer.) The motion carried on a vote of 4-0. Eckhardt advised Schnittjer that the Board would like to see some alternatives present- ed at the September Board meeting. Schnittjer asked the Board for direction. Lehman said it would be nice to have someone from the church present at the next meeting. Brandt said the impact of the drive on the duplex needed to be addressed. Haigh said the applicant should address how the parking for the duplex was going to be handled. Brandt said the church might consider leaving the existing parking spaces for the duplex; of squaring off the parking lot. EXC95-0020. Public hearing on a request submitted by Dons Christian for a special exception to modify the rear yard requirement to allow a one-story residential addition for property located in the RS-8 zone at 212 Douglass Street. Rockwell said the applicant, Doris Cl~ristian, would like to add a two-bedroom and 3/4 bath addition to the rear of her home at 212 Douglass Street. If built, the 18-foot by 18- foot addition would encroach 6.3 feet into the 20-foot wide rear yard setback area required in the RS-8 zone. To allow construchon of the addition to proceed, the appli- Boa~ of Adjustment August9,1995 Page 5 cant requests Board approval of a special exception to modify the rear yard requireme.nt for her property. Rockwell said although there is no apparent peculiarity of the property in terms of topography or shape that makes the lot different frqm other small lots in this older Iowa City neighborhood, there is an alley at the rear of the lot which adds some distance between the property in question and the property to the north. The alley is 15 feet in right-of-way width, which means the north edge of the addition would be located 28.7 feet from the south boundary line of the most affected property to the north. Rockwell said the reques{ed yard modification would result in a 9 percent reduction in the rear yard setback area. Rockwell said the yard modification being requested is modest and will likely have little to no impact on the neighborhood or on municipal facilities. The property will be upgraded. No feasible alternative to the requested exception exists if a residential addition is to be constructed on the property. Given these factors, staff views that the interests of justice would be served by granting the requested exception. Rockwell said staff recommends that EXC95-0020, a special exception to reduce the rear yard requirement from 20 feet to 13.7 feet for the 18 foot width of the addition for property located in the RS-8 zone at 212 Douglass Street be approved. Public hearing: Boyd Crosby, 1744 Quincent Street, contractor for the applicant, said the applicant is present, but he is speaking for her due to her hearing difficulties. Crosby feels the pro- posed addition would blend into the neighborhood very well, something he stdves to achieve in his work. Public hearing closed. MOTION: Lehman moved to approve EXC95-0020, a request submitted by Doris Christian for a special exception to reduce the rear yard requirement from 20 feet to 43.7 feet for the 18 foot width of the addition for property located in the RS-8 zone at 212 Douglass Street. Brandt seconded. Haigh said the request is straight forward and he does not envision any negative impacts on the neighborhood. He felt the Board should not inhibit this type of property improvement as long as it is done in a way that is compatible w~th the surrounding neighborhood. Brandt agreed with Haigh and added that the proposal appears to be a very modest modification. Lehman and Eckhardt agreed with Haigh and Brandt. The motion carried on a vote of 4-0. Board of Adjustment August 9, 1995 Page 6 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT INFORMATION: Rockwell informed the Board that staff is still accepting applications for the Planning Commissioners Workshop to be held in Cedar Rapids on Friday, September 15, 1995. She said Board of Adjustment members are encoura~led to attend. The City will pay registration costs. Haigh, Eckhardt, Brandt and Lehman indicated their interest in attending the workshop. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: Haigh moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:25 p.m. Brandt seconded. The motion carried on a vote of 4-0. Patricia Eckhardt, Board Chairperson ecretary Minutes submitted by Jeff Hadng. SIGN IN SHEET IOWA CITY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 9, 1995 - 4:30 P.M. CI~C CENEER COUNC~ CH~BEP3 4. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 1~. 1Z 18. 19,