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Home My WebLink About1999-06-29 Bd Comm minutesMINUTES IOWA CITY CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION CIVIC CENTER, CITY MANAGER'S CONFERENCE ROOM JUNE 23, 1999 MEMBERS PRESENT: Lyra Dickerson, Sue Dulek, Mike Kennedy STAFFPRESENT: Sylvia Mejia, Karen Jennings, R.J. Winkelhake, John Kelly OTHERS PRESENT: None RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY MANAGER AND STAFF: None. RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: Commissioners recommended that Council accept the certified list for the position of Police Sergeant. SUMMARY OF RELEVANT DISCUSSION: Chairperson Kennedy called the meeting to order at 8:20AM. The first order of business was the certified list for the position of Police Sergeant. Mejia reported that 15 candidates participated in the Assessment Center. Five candidates participated each day for three days. All candidates then met individually with the consultant on the fourth and final day. The process resulted in a certifed list of 10. Mejia also reported that there is currently one new opening for a Police Sergeant, and there may another opening in the very near future as a Sergeant has applied for retirement. Dickerson moved and Kennedy seconded a motion to approve the certified list for Police Sergeant. Motion carried unanimously. Old Business: NODe. New Business: None. Kennedy moved and Dickerson seconded the motion to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 8:25AM. MINUTES HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1999 - 6:30 P.M. LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM - CIVIC CENTER JUN 171,qq MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: Bob Elliott, Denita Gadson, Rick House, Jayne Moraski, Gretchen Schmuch, Lucia-Mai Page, Kathleen Renquist, Bill Stewart Dan Coleman Maurice Head, Steve Long Maggie Grosvenor, Peggy Doerge, AI Axeen CALL TO ORDER & APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM APRIL 15, 1999: Schmuch called the meeting to order at 6:34 p.m. MOTION: Elliott moved to approve the April 15, 1999, meeting minutes as submitted. Page seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 7-0. PUBLIC/MEMBER DISCUSSION OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: Commission members reviewed a letter from Mercantile Bank. Long said Mercantile was allocated the $80,000 in FY96, and they have $72,500 left. Peggy Doerge from Mercantile Bank said there is money left because they had an initial source of low loan to value manufactured housing loans that were very competitive and were selling at that time. She said they thought it would be a nice piece to fit with the funding source. She said that became non-competitive fairly quickly and there is a shortage of manufactured housing that is in Iowa City. She said they have received requests from Coralville and North Liberty, but said there just has not been the demand in Iowa City that they anticipated. Head noted that there was a one year delay in getting the program approved by HUD, which was out of the bank's control, and as a result they could not get the program staffed when the market was high and there was a lot of demand. He said by the time the program was approved the market had changed. Elliott asked if there was an increase in the number of manufactured houses going up, such as the Saddlebrook development. Doerge said the people who are buying in that area do not fit into the income requirements for this program. She said the bank is proposing that the funds be made available to eligible buyers who may want to purchase a single-family home or a condominium in Iowa City, or be used with the combo rehabilitation mortgage that the City is promoting. Head explained the combo rehabilitation program. Stewart asked how these funds would be used with the combo program. Doerge said they could do 100% financing for Mercantile customers. Long noted that all the funds remaining would be used for Mercantile customers because the bank received the funding. Head said it is difficult to return the funding because of the regulations and the shod time window remaining. Long said the money could not be reprogrammed for allocation until next year's funding cycle. Head said that the money has to be spent within five years of receiving it. Elliott asked if there was a conflict of interest with him voting on this issue because his wife works for Mercantile. Head said he did not think so. Elliott asked if there was a down side for letting Mercantile using the funding for something else. Stewart said this proposal is not what was applied for and approved. Stewart asked what the original program's guidelines were. Doerge said the maximum loan was to be $2,500 for people at or below 80% of median income. She said the loan was forgivable after five years, but the bank would recapture some. Housing and CommunityDevelopmentCommission Min~es May 20,1999 Page 2- Head said this request is to broaden Mercantile's market for downpayment assistance. Schmuch said the downpayment assistance program run by the City has been going slow, and asked if the money could be expended during the time frame. Long said the biggest hitch in the City's downpayment assistance is that they charge interest on the funds, so people go for the IHAP grant first. Moraski noted that this proposal could compete with the City's program, so those funds that are moving slowly now could move even slower. Doerge said if the IHAP grant is more attractive and there are people at or below 80% of median income are not getting taken care of because they did not want to pay the 5% interest, she did not think it would be competing. Stewart said he did not think these funds could be used in conjunction with IHAP. Doerge said no. Elliott asked if the Commission had a problem approving the second paragraph of Doerge's letter if that were the initial request. House said he thought it would have been a problem giving the funding to one lender, but under the circumstances the money has to be used or lost. Head said the funding would go into the contingency fund, but it would have one year to be allocated and spent. He said the funding process does not prevent other banks or lenders from applying for funding. Stewart said he thought the ranking for manufactured homes would have been higher during the funding allocation. He asked if Mercantile was going to guarantee a rate on the manufactured homes. Doerge said the company they were selling the loans to at the time had rates competitive to Green Tree, but by the time this program was approved their rates were getting higher. She said at one point Mercantile's in-house rates, which were 11.5% for mobile homes, were better although a bigger downpayment was required through the in-house loans. MOTION: Stewart moved to allow the funds to be reapportioned to the other two programs mentioned in the letter, so the funding could be used for downpayment assistance for manufactured housing or single-family housing, or in the combo rehabilitation program. House seconded the motion. 'Moraski asked if Mercantile did any advertising for the program. Doerge said not lately because they did not have the rate on the first loan. She said they promoted the program initially, and they intend to promote this if approved by the Commission. The motion carded by a vote of 6-0-1, with Elliott abstaining. Stewart suggested continuing monitoring. reports for all ongoing projects. Schmuch said she would not have supported the motion if the proposal had come in January because there would have been more time to reallocate the money during the funding cycle. DISCUSSION OF HACAP PROPOSAL: Schmuch noted the letter from HACAP included in the packet. AI Axeen said he could not explain why HUD was suddenly questioned something that they written grants about for two years. He said they are questioning whether Supportive Housing Program (SHP) funds could be used to purchase housing that was constructed with HUD funds, even though the source of the housing is the Iowa City Housing Authority. He said HUD had the same questions when they purchased the Broadway Apartments, but that project did not incorporate SHP funds. He said the application was for an ongoing support program which has a three-year renewable HUD grant for the SHP funds. He said the HUD grant is $461,000 and only $190,000 is for purchase and renovation. He said the other problem is the relocation costs involved with the existing tenants. He said when they purchased the Broadway apartments, they were allowed to transition the tenants into the program if they wanted to or let them stay there if they did not, and in about one year those that did not participate in the program had moved on. He said that five Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes May 20, 1999 Page 3 or six units were empty from a previous fire so the existing tenant population was also down. He said with seven existing tenants HACAP would have to pay $200 per month for 42 months for each tenant to support the relocation costs. He said that a single person would only qualify for a one-bedroom voucher, and since the existing tenants all live in two-bedroom units HACAP would have to pay the difference. Stewart asked if that information was not available before. Axeen said it is not a new regulation, but they did not think they would have to deal with it. Stewart said the total for relocation would be approximately $67,000. Axeen said HACAP is proposing to purchase eight two-bedroom units in any configuration to make a scattered site program because that is what the HUD office in Omaha, Neb., recommended that they do. He said the units must either be owner-occupied and for sale or the existing tenants were not renewing their leases. Head said the problem with the voucher is that since there are single people living in two bedroom units and the voucher would not provide them with a like-place to relocate. Stewart asked why there were single people living in two-bedroom apartments. Grosvenor said the tenants are all disabled, and the Housing Authority designated the units elderly/disabled because the unit structure is not as accessible to families. Stewart said this application was presented as a win-win situation because the City would get rid of the units and HACAP would get them. He said this changed the application substantially, and said there is $67,000 of relocation costs that the Commission should have been made aware 'of during the application. He said he could appreciate HUD not wanting to purchase the same unit twice. (Renquist arrived at 7:07 p.m.) Elliott said he did not realize that there was going to have to be money spent to put the current tenants up for 3.5 years. Stewart noted that the $67,000 is just the difference, not the entire subsidy. Grosvenor said the idea for this program was to invite the current tenants to stay in their units and begin participating in the program, so no relocation costs would have had to be paid, but HACAP found out they could not do that. Axeen said the program has to be in place and operating by December 1, 1999, or else they will lose their funding from HUD. Stewart asked what the City was going to do with those units. Gmsvenor said they were going to keep them because there is not a push to sell them. She said in general the City Council has said that they want the Housing Authority to decrease their public housing and this was a way to encourage a program in the community that would do that. Axeen said he has done a preliminary look in the community and thinks that they can find the eight units at scattered sites. He said the bid for the units would be published Monday. Schmuch said on the positive side this could bring eight additional low-income units with supportive services into the community. Stewart said he liked the scattered site idea better. He asked where HACAP would have gotten the money for relocation if HUD had not balked at the project. Axeen said HACAP could not have provided that and it probably would have squelched the project. Elliott asked what level of subsidy the people in these units receive. Grosvenor said it is public housing so they pay 30% of their income. Stewart asked what the allocation was. Schmuch said $190,000. Head said the proposed program is the same, it is the location of the units that has changed. Moraski said the Commission gave points to the application because it would be purchasing units from the Housing Authority, but this would be adding more affordable units to the overall pot. Page asked if Axeen had any units in mind to purchase. Axeen said he has seen some listed, but he has to put out a bid for the units. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes May 20, 1999 Page 4 MOTION: Elliott moved to allow the funds to be reapportioned for the new proposal from HACAP for eight potentially scattered site units. Renquist seconded the motion. Elliott said he understood that this was not the win-win situation the Commission thought it would be when they allocated the funds. Stewart said both of the proposals tonight circumvent the all~ocation process to a certain extent. Schmuch noted that some applicants have been penalized because they have had a major change in the application during the allocation process. The motion carried by a vote of 8-0. IOWA CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY UPDATE: Grosvenor said they are at 100% occupancy for the voucher program, 98% occupancy for the certificate program and about 95% occupancy for the public housing program because they are in the process of moving people in and out. She said there are no people on the waiting list and she is trying to get the word out about that. She said as of earlier today they had 174 people issued that are out looking for units, 237 people pending in the various stages of eligibility and 27 people were invited to the next briefing. She said these numbers are partly due to the grants they received last year. She listed the' new employees that the Housing Authority has hired. She said they have been trying to educate landlords and rental associations about taking people with Section 8 assistance and treating them like their other tenants. Grosvenor said the newest HUD regulation they are working with is the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act which combines certificates and vouchers and requires a citizenship certification. She said there are also new self-monitoring regulations for Public Housing and Section 8 Assistance. She said HUD is contracting with private inspector companies to inspect the public housing units, will do a random sample survey and inspection of seven buildings and the Housing Authority will be judged on that inspection. Elliott asked if the City had a formula for a certain percentage of housing that received assistance, and when that percentage is reached the assistance is stopped. GroSvenor said there is a parameter in CITY STEPS, but no formula. She said since they have no waking list they cannot apply for more assistance at this point in time. Moraski said there would be a limit set by HUD to the amount of assistance received. SELECTION OF PROJECTS TO MONITOR IN FY00: Commission members selected projects to monitor in FY00. Long wrote down the list and said he would include the schedule for the reports in the June agenda packet. MONITORING REPORTS: Iowa City Housing Authority - Tenant to Owner Program Gadson she spoke with Grosvenor who said a total of six houses have been sold through this program. She said of the three purchased with last year's allocation, they are going through a review process with applications and interviews, and the three homes sold more recently were sold at appraised values between $86,500-$92,000. She said the average first mortgage was $55,000. She said two of the buyers received grants from the Federal Home Loan Program for $10,000 each. Long said the income range for the buyers was below 50% of median income. Grosvenor said that all of their funds were allocated. Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes May 20, 1999 Page 5 Successful Living - Support Services Schmuch said she spoke with Theresa Kopatich who said the funding went for a position. She said they talked about future plans, and Kopatich said with the funding they received everyone would be paid for the work they did with the program for the first time. She said they have a goal of raising $20,000 privately and are expanding and specializing their board. United Action for Youth - Aid to Agencies Renquist said she did not do her report. Iowa Valley Habitat for Humanity - Land Acquisition Moraski said she spoke with Carol Dollman about the project. She gave some background on the program. She said they purchased two more lots in Indigo Court, but since they don't have a waiting list they are having some trouble matching the people with the lots. She said they are trying to do two application processes each year, and will be coming to the Commission to ask for an extension for the building and explain their situation. Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship - Acquisition and Rehab Stewart said they had not spent their funding yet, but they have until 2001 to do so. He said they have accepted offers on two two-bedroom duplexes, one for $128,000 and one for $110,000, have made an offer on another duplex and are negotiating an offer on a house. He said the Commission allocated $300,040 and they have $961,000 from other sources. Moraski asked if they were working on site location. Schmuch said she thought they had units in every school district except for Shimek. OLD BUSINESS: Swenson & Associates Update Commission members read a letter from Swenson. Long said there is a national federal HUD policy pending regarding allowing non-citizens to participate in federally funded projects, so they told Greater Iowa City Housing Fellowship to proceed with placing a Bosnian family because it is legal until HUD makes that decision. He said that Swenson could have taken the 'same risk and did not. Renquist said that she spoke with Swenson, and it was her understanding that the City would not allow her to place a Bosnian family in one of her homes. She said that she was not happy with the way some people were characterizing Swenson's project. She said she did not know where the problem was except for the fact that Swenson was not following through with her project as quickly as she should. Stewart said he did not think that people were making light of the project, but that they were concerned Swenson was not performing. Moraski said she thought it was very frustrating for the Commission, and she thought the frustration came through with people being light-hearted about the subject instead of being angry because of all the missed deadlines. Renquist said that Swenson used the funding to purchase lots just like Habitat for Humanity and neither one has built. Long said Habitat purchased their lots in December, have one more year to expend their funding and are planning to come to the Commission to ask for an extension. Elliott said he knew Swenson and he thought she got into the project for all the right reasons, but he thought she was in over her head. Long said that Swenson has purchase agreements signed with Pentattest Homes. Moraski noted that companies such as Pentacrest Homes would deliver the homes whether the excavation of the lots was complete or not. Head said he thought Pentacrest Housing and Community Development Commission Minutes May 20, 1999 Page 6 Homes would give Swenson a delivery date and staff would work with her on a project timeline working backward from that date to ensure that everything gets done. 1999 Community Development Celebration Update Long said the Celebration is scheduled for June 17 from 4-6 p.m. at Torus Technologies. He said the ideas for speakers were James Van Allen, Louis Frank and Vincent Rogers. He said the following have been suggestions for the awards: Torus for the business award, David Sears from the Salvation Army for the individual award, DVIP Furniture Project, and ISED. He said they would also like to honor a local contractor that participates in the program. Elliott suggested having a speaker that can put the things that the community is accomplishing with community development funds into perspective. Long said they have done that in the past, and maybe they could have two five-minute speeches. Stewart suggested letting the award recipients have the opportunity to say their thanks. Commission members decided to let the subcommittee decide on the award recipients. Long said the posters would be done next week and an announcement of the event would be published in the Chamber of Commerce newsletter. NEW BUSINESS: Purchase of Lot for Affordable Housing Demonstration Long said in past years the City has done different affordable housing demonstrations, and he listed the locations of the houses that have been built. He said the opportunity to find an infill lot in Iowa City does not cOme up often. He there was a lot for sale on High Street across from City High School, but it had just sold. He said in the past the project was done with money from the City's general fund and there is usually a second mortgage on it. He said that is something the Commission could pursue if the opportunity arises again. Schedule Tour of Community Development Projects Members decided that the tour would take the place of their August meeting. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: Moraski moved to adjourn the meeting. Stewart seconded the motion: The motion carried by a vote of 8-0, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:27 p.m. Minutes submitted by Traci Wagner. MINUTES IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION THURSDAY MAY 13, 1999 - 5:45 P.M. IOWA CITY TRANSIT FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT: Pat Foster, Rick Mascari, Mark Anderson, Tom Bender STAFF PRESENT: Dennis Mitchell, Ron O'Neil CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Mascari called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes of the April 8, 1999, Commission meeting were approved as submitted. AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDITURES: Foster made a motion to approve the bills. Bender seconded the motion and the bills were approved 4 - 0. PUBLIC DISCUSSION - ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA: No items were discussed. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: ACSG Project: Dave Kisser reported that Iowa City Mobile Home Park was on schedule to have all the tenants relocated by the first week in June. The auction will be scheduled for mid-July. Eighteen of the tenants have been relocated. He circulated a chart showing the progress of obtaining easements. Kisser said ACSG should be ready to move out of the Fitzgarrald house by the end of May. The house will be auctioned at the same time as the ICMHP. be Airport Terminal Building: Anderson said there were five bids on the project. He thought they were very competitive bids. Selzer Werderitsch was the apparent low bidder. Mottie Cohen, from HLM, explained the bids and the altemates. He recommended awarding the bid to Selzer Werderitsch, and not take altemate# 3. Bender made a motion to recommend the low bid and authorize the chairperson to sign the contract if funding is approved by the Council. Anderson seconded the motion and at roll call vote, the motion passed 4 - 0, with Horan being absent. O'Neil said he would like to see the contract signed and the "Notice to Proceed" by June 1. O 'Neil said it would be on the Council agenda on May 18~. He said he would be there to answer any questions the Council may have. Mascari and Anderson said they would be there to represent the Commission. Iowa City Flying Service lease: Mitchell said the lease provides for a month to month lease for the United hangar and the Maintenance Shop, starting June 1, 1999. This is part of the agreement that was negotiated with the new FBO hangar. Foster made a motion for a resolution to accept the lease with Iowa City Flying Service for the United hangar and Shop. Bender seconded the motion and it passed 4 - 0, with Heran being absent. de HLM hangar: Dennis Gordon said he is interested in adding an addition to the hangar he subleases from HLM. The addition would be approximately 30 feet by 60 feet. Maseari said he thought there was a problem with adding on to a building that did not meet flood plain requirements. Anderson said he thought the Commission could apply for a waiver. O'Neil said he would get some cost estimates for budgeting purposes. If the addition were built, that would be the time to renegotiate the lease, and lease directly to Gordon. Southwest FBO hangar: O'Neil said the second half of the floor was poured today. O'Neil said he contacted Curt Hooyer from Wendler Construction and said he wanted the building ~mctional by June 1. Hooyer said he thought the deadline could be met. The offices may not be complete but the doors should be on and the hangar part completed. f. North Commercial area: Bender presented information on the latest design for the area. He said the project had been delayed several times from being sent to the P & Z Commission. The Planning Department is still waiting for MMS to do the mandatory environmental study. Mitchell is working on an agreement to exchange some property with Cub Foods on the west side of the property to allow for the construction of the read. Mascari said he has several concerns. One of the major concems is whether or not to reserve enough area to have a primary surface wide enough to accommodate a precision approach. Ira primary surface is reserved for precision approach, it would take away a lot of the property planned for the North Commercial area. Dick Blurn, from Howard R. Green, said the new approach would be based on a WAAS. The instrumentation will be based in Ames. It would not require any new instmmerrtation on the Airport. This would be a satellite-based system. But if it is a precision approach, it will require a 1000' primary surface. Mascari said he would like to bring in enough income to be able to fund Runway 17/35 and keep it open indefinitely. Blum said one of the main reasons that the decision was made to eventually close RW 17/35 was the cost to mitigate the obstructions and buy the property for the RPZ's for this runway. The Master Plan did not address mitigating the obstructions because the runway was scheduled to be closed. Dennis Gordon said if you don't have a precision approach, it may not keep a corporate aircraft from coming to Iowa City, but it may keep them from basing their aircraft here. Mascari said if the choice is b~veen losing development land and reserving space for a precision approach, he would not support having a precision approach. O'Neil said some FAA officials have indicated that although it is important to become self-sufficient, the first priority should be to protect the Airport. O'Neil suggested sending a letter to the based aircraft owners to see what their opinion is with relation to having a precision approach. He will draft a letter and this can be an agenda item for June or July. go Southwest T-hangar building: O'Neil said that there are eleven names on the waiting list for a T-hangar. He said ICFS has several additional names. O'Neil said he discussed the financing for the building with Finance Director Yucuis. He said he thought it would be possible to finance an interdepartmental loan to build the hangar. Anderson made a motion to proceed with building another T-hangar building. Foster seconded the motion and it passed 4 - 0. The Commission directed O'Neil to schedule time with the Council to discuss financing a new T-hangar. O 'Neil will try to schedule time at the June 14m Counc~ work session. Corporate hangar lease - # 34: O'Neil said the tenant in hangar #34 made a request to terminate his lease. O'Neil said there is a waiting list for the hangar and ICFS was next on the list. He said the lease would nun until it's original termination date in 2001. Anderson made a motion for a resolution to terminate the lease for hangar #34 with Joel Hilgenberg and to sign a lease with ICFS. Foster seconded the motion and at roll call vote, the motion passed 4 - 0, with Heran being absent. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT: Mascari said he attended the Central Region AlP Conference with Heran and Bender. He said they met several FAA officials who were enthusiastic about the Iowa City Airport. Mascari said he thought it was a productive trip. Mascari noted that in a University of Iowa sports camp brochure, the brochure mentioned the Eastem Iowa Airport as conveniently located to Iowa City but did not mention the Iowa City Airport. He suggested contacting the Sports Information office and seeing if the Iowa City Airport could be mentioned. Mascari said O'Neil is preparing some budget information for him from the past few years. Mascari said he would look at the information and report to the Commission at a ~mLre meeting. COMMISSION MEMBERS' REPORTS: Foster asked the Commission what they thought was their main purpose was? The consensus was that the first priority was to provide aviation services. The second priority was to become as self- sufficient as possible. Anderson asked about the vehicle replacement schedule? Mascari said he is discussing the budgeting process with O'Neil. Anderson asked about the wind sock and wind tee lights? O'Neil said he would have an update at the June meeting. Anderson said he liked the new entrance sign. O'Neil said additional landscaping would be done around the sign this summer. Bender said his trip to Kansas City was very infommtive. He thought the FAA officials he talked with were knowledgeable and interested in the Iowa City Airport. Bender said he and O'Neil discussed the development of other commercial lots on the Airport. There are two commercial lots available on the east side of the Airport, on South Riverside Drive. Bender said he would look into what it would take to develop the lots. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: O'Neil said he received a call from a person interested in doing an air show in Iowa City. It would cost $ 2500 per day per aircm~. Dennis Gordon said that the Constellation might be able to come back this summer. He said a sponsor would be needed if they were to come back. SET NEXT MEETING: The next regular Airport Commission meeting is scheduled for June 10, 1999, at 5:45 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjoumed at 7:43 p.m. Rick Mascari, Chairperson MINUTES IOWA CITY BOARD OF APPEALS MONDAY, MARCH 1, 1999 - 4:30 P.M. CITY ATTORNEY'S LIBRARY - CIVIC CENTER MEMBERS PRESENT: Anna Buss, Robed Carlson, Tim Fehr, Gary Haman, Wayne Maas, John Roffman MEMBERS ABSENT: Tom Werderitsch STAFF PRESENT: Tim Hennes, Andy Rocca, Bernie Osvald, Dennis Mitchell OTHERS PRESENT: Chuck Ford CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Carlson called the meeting to order at 4:36 p.m. CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 7, 1998, MEETING: MOTION: Maas moved to approve the December 7, 1998, meeting minutes as submitted. Haman seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 4-0. REQUEST FOR USE OF ALTERNATE MATERIALS OR METHODS OF CONSTRUCTION: 217 Stevens Drive Carlson asked what would be kept in the building. Ford said it would be used to store tools and body shop pads. (Buss arrived at 4:39 p.m.) Carlson asked if any Board members had problems with the request. He said he thought it made sense to do, but he was not sure of the precedent it might set. Hennes said he thought that the situation was unique in that the area was all asphalt and the building is less than 1,000 square feet in size. He said when a building is less than 1,000 square feet and not used for human occupancy, the rat barrier footings could be used. Carlson said he thought the situation was unique enough, and noted that the parking lot went through and vermin would be kept out. Hennes noted the staff recommendation and read the following three items from that: 1) The structure is securely fastened to the asphalt surface (anchor bolts 6' on center, within 12" of the ends and penetrates through the asphalt surface), 2) The base of the structure is constructed such that collection of debris and the harboring of vermin are not possible, and 3) All other requirements of the building code are met. Ford said the building has been set with blocks to make it flush, but they could slide it another 30 feet to the east, remove the blocks from underneath it and set it flush on the ground. He said the building has 2x8's that will enclose it so nothing could get in. He said regarding the anchoring, they are thinking about taking a 4x4 or 6x6 piece of channel iron and bolting that in. Hennes said he thought that would secure it. Iowa City Board of Appeals March 1, 1999 Page 2 MOTION: Carlson moved to accept the request for alternative materials or methods of construction for'217 Stevens Drive with the staff recommendations included. Maas seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 5-0. REVIEW EXAMINATION REQUIREMENTS FOR GAS PIPE INSTALLERS: Osvald said he is recommending the Journeyman Gas examination because he wanted to address the people who are actually doing the installation to make sure they know what they are doing. The other two exams that are available get more into business aspects of gas pipe installation. (Roffman arrived at 4:43 p.m.) Maas asked if the Journeyman Gas Installer needed to work for someone with their Masters License. Osvald said they do not have that distinction. Maas said he did not think this was a new field, just one that had not been covered before. Osvald said he is trying to cover people who are working for a mechanical contractor or plumber and doing the installation, and who may not know exactly what they are doing. (Mitchell arrived at 4:45 p.m.) Osvald said there would be one level of licensing for a gas pipe installer. He noted that all three exams are three-hour exams, where the electrical, plumbing or mechanical contractor exams are six-hour exams. Roffman said they are at least going from nothing to something with the Journeyman Gas exam, and he suggested going with this exam and see what experiences Osvald has with it. He said if there are a number of noncompliances, the Board could review the exam again. Osvald noted that some of the same questions appear on all three exams. He noted in the question breakdown for the Journeyman Gas exam, that there are 24 to 26 fuel gas systems questions on that exam. He said he had not reviewed this particular test from the company. Maas said even the Journeyman Gas exam would be a step from where they are now. Carlson asked if the Journeyman Plumber exam included gas questions. Osvald said yes, and said they set this up so a gas pipe installer could be someone who didn't necessarily have plumbing license, but who wanted to run gas piping. Carlson suggested seeing how the Journeyman Gas exam worked and said the Board could review the exam if necessary. Osvald said the code amendment states, "test as approved by the Board of Appeals," so an exchange could be made administratively through the Board. Roffman asked what the timeline for passing the exam would be. Osvald said the amendment states that people will have to pass the exam by January 1,2000. Maas noted that nobody would be grandfathered in as of January 1,2000. MOTION: Roffman moved to adopt the Journeyman Gas examination as submitted. Carlson secSnded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 6-0. Iowa City Board of Appeals March 1, 1999 Page 3 OTHER BUSINESS: Hennes passed out copies of the 1999 National Electric Code ("NEC") to Board members. He said staff would go through the 1999 NEC, sit down with Maas to go over their concerns with him and bring that information to the Board. He also passed out copies of the Building Code Amendments. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: Carlson moved to adjourn the meeting. Roffman seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 6-0, and meeting was adjourned at 4:53 p.m. Minutes submitted by Traci Wagner. Approved: ~l~ard of Appeal~ Chair Date ppdadmin\rnin~oa3-1 ,doc M IN UTES .:;EEiE~, IOWA CITY PUBLI.~ LI~ BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEET~ .... E~ii~f~ii~i~"':'/E ......... THURSDAY, MAY 27, 199,9-5:00 PM Agenda item 3A Members Pre,s~'~;t: ';:E':~ton Barclay, Linda Dellsperger,Stephen Greenleaf, Mary McMurray, ~rk Martin, Lisa Parker, Jesse Singerman, Anne Spencer, Jim Swaim, Staff Presc, nt: ~:;!i~iii!~iiii::iii ....Others: Barbara Black, Susan Craig, Larry Eckholt, Debb Green,Heidi Lauritzen, Kara Logsden, Martha Lubaroff, Liz Nichols, President Singc, rman called the meeting to order at 5:10 pm A__PPROVAL OF .MINUTES: Approve minutes of regular meeting of April 22, 1999 Approve special minutes of May 11, 1999 Minutes for the above two meetings were approved unanimously after a motion from Parker/Martin. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Building Project: Singerman asked Board to review with her the previous night's community meeting. It was felt that the tour was the most valuable portion of the evening. It was noted that there seemed to be an attitude from the group that indicated many people felt that the Board was unwilling to look at other options. Also it is clear that the issue of a branch is one that keeps coming up. Another message from the public is that we need to plan well so that we don't run out of room again in the future. It was suggested that we state clearly that this will be the last expansion downtown; that the next expansion will be a branch. Parking remains an issue and Singerman thinks that we should push for some way to provide free parking. Accessibility keeps coming up. Craig asked Board about thoughts on the tour; any changes, improvements. Swaim said we need to be patient with the public who don't always have enough history to get the big picture. Singerman raised the question of whether we should proceed with design work on 64 1A. The architect quoted ~60,000 for such a design. Singerman thinks we should wait until after the public survey is done and we have the information gleaned from it. Craig passed out a copy of a letter being sent to to the new owners of Holiday Inn from the City Manager. Greenleaf, Swaim concurred that awaiting the results of the survey is important even though that means we probably will not be on the ballot in November. It seems the responsible way to proceed. Singerman then asked the Board about whether or not we should do more of these public meetings? It was suggested that we do another meeting after we get the results of the ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES MAY 27, 1999 PAGE 2 Agenda item 3A survey. Craig hopes to have the survey back in time for the next meeting. July 8 was settled on for the next community forum. NEW BUSINESS Circulation Policy: This was a periodic review scheduled to coincide with the new system. Proposals to make changes necessary to reflect current practice and to update terms used have been made. There was a question about the proposed deletion of 801.16 D which described checking out of limited use materials restricted by the copyright holder. A copyright warning does appear on those items. The policy was approved as updated unanimously after a motion by Greenleaf/Martin STAFF REPORTS Enrich Iowa bill passed! Not only did the Governor sign the bill, he signed it in our Meeting Room A. Craig said that it is a foot in the door and significant that the state recognizes that libraries are part of the educational programs in Iowa. We will receive about ~ 15,000 the first year and hope the amount increases each year. System status. Acquisitions training has been completed. New materials will be ordered using this module of the new system. Receipt printers are still being talked about with opinions both pro and con. Nichols reported that she sent Innovative a list of a few things that need to be corrected before we sign off. Things are moving along though and working incredibly smoothly. Open House on May 16. Gave away balloons, had registration for prizes, offered programs and training. We featured the new catalog system and combined it with the Poetry in Motion event. It was kicked off by parking a City bus in front of the library that had poetry posted inside. All City buses will have pieces of poetry written during this event posted as part of the Poetry in Motion campaign. Next Tuesday we'll pull for prizes. Childrens Day is moved to the Pentacrest this year. We are still looking for volunteers. If you have time, please call Kate Millster at 356-5200 x 150. An Art reception will take place on June 11 from 5-8 in Meeting Room A. We will be displaying all but three pieces of the original art purchased for circulation since the inception of the project 15 years ago. This exhibition is part of the Gallery Walk for Arts Fest and will remain open through the weekend. Development Office report included in the packet. Consultant will be arriving on June 17 to meet with DO staff and review the donor base. It was suggested that we issue a special invitation to Foundation members for our next Community Forum. A suggestion was made to provide some information on the library's web page that would keep people updated. Eckholt was asked to explain in more detail the statement in his report that annual fund drives are not as well received by younger donors who tend to give more to specific projects. While the annual fund will remain the backbone of most development programs, alternative ways of support need to be explored. A question came up about the Friends committee situation. A ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES MAY 27, 1999 PAGE 3 Agenda item 3A report will come back later on this summer or early fall. Eckholt would like to get several projects in place that the Friends can manage and raise money for particular projects. Constitutional amendment Craig included a fax about a proposed State constitutional amendment which will be voted on June 29. This is something that could potentially affect all levels of government and Craig will get more information for anyone who wants to learn more. Program for Trustees. "What makes a public library a public library", a workshop over the ICN. We are not currently a site for this conference however Logsden will check to see if we can be a site if there is interest. Lubaroff will draft a memo to Council members inviting them to participate. Reading material. Craig reported that she got one call from the public regarding Internet access and the availability of certain sites at ICPL. There has been a lot of publicity as a result of the "Dr. Laura" radio program and web page. Swaim pointed out that as a Board we have to be ready to have a dialogue with people regarding the violence that appears on some internet sites; in particular, after the tragedy at Littleton, Colo. He encouraged us to stay in touch with Iowa City schools regarding their provision of access and respond as a community. Craig reported on a recent teleconference program, that examined the issues of filtering. It was presented by the American Library Association. We have it on tape and Craig would be happy to schedule a time for Board members to see it. Martin said he'd like to have that experience with library staff. PRESIDENT'S REPORT Next month we need to make appointments to the Foundation Board. Singerman asked for interest. Please let her know. ANNOUNCEMENT FROM MEMBERS Parker talked about Cedar Rapids Public Library who just set up a program with all the Cedar Rapids Hy-Vees to accept library books. It was suggested that we look at northside and southside Hy-Vees, and the possibility of dropping books off inside. We will look into it. COMMITTEE REPORTS Report from evaluation committee to be presented next month. Craig's self-evaluation form was included in packet. Send your evaluations to Lubaroff by June 3. COMMUNICATIONS E-mail communications and letter from Mr. Perkins. ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES MAY 27, 1999 PAGE 4 Agenda item 3A DISBURSEMENTS Review VISA expenditures. Approve disbursements for April. Unanimously approved. Dellsperger/Parker SET AGENDA ORDER FOR JUNE MEETING June meeting will be held on July 1 due to Board absences on June 24. ADJOURNMENT: Meeting adjourned at 6:25 pm. MINUTES IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, MAY 24, 1999 - 5:30 PM CIVIC CENTER LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Betty McKray, Cathy Weingeist, Jim Pusack, Terry Smith MEMBERS ABSENT: Steve Hoch STAFF PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Dale Helling, Bob Hardy, Andy Matthews, Keri Stokstad, Mike Brau Beth Fisher, Rene Paine, Arlene Heck, Kevin Rice, Kara Logsden, Miriam Bennett, Phil Phillips RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL None. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Paine reported that PATV is continuing work on compiling the information needed for the three-year review. Fisher reported that on May 25 Governor Vilsack will sign a piece of legislation providing state funds to libraries at the Iowa City Public Library. The event will be carried live on the library channel. Bennett reported Senior Center TV received an award from the Heritage Agency on Aging for excellence in service to seniors for their series of programs on Medicare fraud. Heck reported that on June 1 four channels will be moved and additional channel movements to be-made after the Coralville rebuild is complete. This will enable the basic tier channels to be grouped together. Kevin Rice of McLeod USA reported that there has been no change in status from last month regarding negotiations with the City. McLeod has been working with Coralville on several issues to bring them up to the level of readiness as Iowa City. McLeod wishes to move towards agreements with both cities in parallel. Rice said McLeod is committed to providing cable TV service. Shaffer referred to the proposed PATV contract and performance evaluation timeline. Shaffer said the process involves two concurrent tracks- development of new performance assessment criteria and an evaluation of PATV's past performance. In regards to Commission by-laws changes Shaffer noted that new sections were added that reflect expanded responsibilities contained in the draft public right-of-way ordinance in development. Matthews suggested deferring approval of the by-laws until the right-of-way ordinance is approved. APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved by Pusack and seconded by Smith to approve the April 26, 1999 minutes. The motion passed unanimously. Weingeist was not yet present. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS McKray said there are two areas the Commission should explore in the future. Before the CTG pass- through funds are allocated, the downtime and duplication of programming should be reviewed for all the access channels. Public availability of daytime access channel programming schedules also needs to be explored. Hardy said he has talked with the Press Citizen and they have indicated they are looking into ways to make more complete schedules available. McKray said other strategies beyond the Press Citizen should be explored. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. PATV REPORT Paine reported PATV held a 9-year anniversary open house that was well attended. Work is continuing on compiling the information needed for the three-year review. Two interns have joined the staff for the summer. LIBRARY REPORT Fisher reported that on May 25 Governor Viisack will be at the Iowa City Public Library to sign a piece of legislation providing state funds to libraries. The event will be carried live on the library channel. The library had 13 live shoots in May. A series of programs on library departments and services is being produced. Logsden reported the CTG started to review funding proposals and will continue to do so next month. ECC REPORT No representative was present. SENIOR CENTER REPORT Bennett reported Senior Center TV received an award from the Heritage Agency on Aging for excellence in service to seniors for their series of programs on Medicare fraud. The series has been cablecast on government channel 4 and will soon be combined and cablecast on PATV. TCI REPORT Heck reported that on June 1, four channels will be moved and additional channel movements will be made after the Coralville rebuild is complete. This will enable the basic tier channels be grouped together. A new Warner Brothers broadcast channel will be entering the market around September 1. The channel qualifies as a must-carry channel and will be added to the channel lineup. The ~Home cable modem service has had a big demand. There is currently a one-month wait for installation. MCLEOD REPORT Kevin Rice reported there has been no change in status from last month regard negotiations with the City. McLeod has been working with Coralville on several issues to bring them up to the same level of readiness as Iowa City. McLeod wishes to move towards agreements with both cities in parallel. Rice said McLeod is committed to providing cable TV service. Smith asked about McLeod's plans to serve University Heights and the University of Iowa. Rice said McLeod first wishes to complete Iowa City and Coralville. University Heights and the University will be added at a later date. LEGAL REPORT Matthews reported the committee working on the public right-or-way ordinance met and anticipates a final draft will be ready within the next two weeks. At that point, it will be forwarded to the Commission and City Council for review. MEDIA UNIT REPORT Hardy reported the Media Unit has been focusing more on project videos during the dip in other production schedule typically encountered at this time of year. The Community Television Service (CTS) has been quite busy. Two interns will be working with the CTS for the summer..The CTS will be taping the Friday Night Concert Series this summer. CABLE TV ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Shaffer referred to the proposed PATV contract and performance evaluation timeline. Shaffer said that any changes to the timeline should be made soon given that some of the items will commence in May. Shaffer said the process involves two concurrent tracks-development of new performance assessment criteria and an evaluation of PATV' s past performance. McKray said that some items that may need to be included in the new performance assessment criteria may not become apparent until an evaluation of PATV's past performance is complete using the. current performance assessment criteria. McKray suggested that the work "tentative" be added to the September 1999 timeframe for the completion of the new performance assessment criteria. Pusack asked if the public hearing was to provide response to PATV's first report. Shaffer said the hearing is not necessarily to gather feedback to the report, but provides any member of the community an opportunity to provide input on any aspect of PATV's past and potentially their future performance. Shaffer reported the City' s committee working on the public right-or-way ordinance met. The committee is trying to determine where to locate the section dealing with the role of the Telecommunications Commission as the ordinance deals primarily with where and how to regulate and locate public right-of-way infrastructure. Shaffer noted the rate regulation materials from Rice, Williams and TCI included in the packet and said that although the savings for consumers may not be large, there is a principle involved. Shaffer noted that the savings will occur in the basic tier, which likely impacts lower income subscribers more. InfoVision is developing a brochure about that service. Two new sections have been added to InfoVision-one on understanding the City Council meetings and one on the Salvage Barn Project. Shaffer said a letter was received from McLeod requesting a meeting with staff and the Telecommunications Commission dealing with placement of telecommunications equipment. Shafl~r and Helling said this is primarily a zoning issue rather than a concern of the Commission. Matthews said the issue is where such equipment fits within the existing zoning ordinance and determining if the ordinance needs to modified to contemplate the placement of such equipment. A meeting will be scheduled to gather further information. Shaffer reported that the City and McLeod have not met for further negotiations on the cable TV franchise as McLeod wishes to first get conditions in Coralville at the same level of readiness as Iowa City. Matthews said the need for another referendum depends on the choices McLeod makes. Helling said the issue would need to be to the County Auditor by late August if it were to be placed on the November ballot. McKray asked about provisions in the franchise that provide additional access channels. Shaffer said there are mechanisms for additional channels and will check on it. IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION BY-LAWS Shaffer noted that new sections were added which reflect expanded responsibilities contained in the draft public fight-of-way ordinance in development. Matthews suggested deferring approval of the by- laws until the right-of-way ordinance is approved. McKray asked about one section that had been deleted dealing with reviewing applications for a franchise. Brau said this section refers to the original franchising process involving a competitive process for the selection of applicants. Federal law has since changed and the current enabling ordinance reflects those changes. Shaffer said the section of the by-laws dealing with purpose and duties provides the Commission the authority to review applicants such as McLeod. Smith asked about the deletion of language requiring recording statements at Commission meetings. Brau said the section was vague, duplicative, and covered by the taking of minutes. Pusack suggested deferring approval. PATV CONTRACT AND PERFORMANCE GUIDELINES Shaffer said this item had been addressed earlier in the meeting. ADJOURNMENT Pusack moved to adjourn and Smith seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 6:40 p.m. · Respectfully submitted, Wm. Drew Shaffer Cable TV Administor MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION JUNE 3, 1999 - 7:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS PREU MEMBERS PRESENT: Ann Bovbjerg, Pam Ehrhardt, Dick Gibson, Dean Shannon, Marilyn Schintler, Lea Supple MEMBERS ABSENT: Benjamin Chait STAFF PRESENT: Sarah Holecek, Scott Kugler, Anne Schulte OTHERS PRESENT: Larry Schnittjer, Tom Bender RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, of SUB99-0011, a preliminary plat of ABCO Ist Addition, a Resubdivision of portions of W. B. Development, an 8.81-acre, 5-lot, commercial subdivision for property located at the intersection of Naples Avenue and Sierra Court, subject to the approval by Public Works of the revised plat and information that has been submitted prior to City Council consideration of the preliminary plat and subject to the addition of construction fencing to ensure that there is no encroachment by development activity onto critical slopes on Lot 5. Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, of SUB99-0012, a preliminary plat of Westcott Heights, Part 2, a 24.99-acre, four-lot residential subdivision located in Johnson County at the west termini of Westcott Drive and Rose Bluff Circle subject to approval of a grading plan and subject to the receipt of a letter of approval from the Solon Fire Department prior to City Council consideration. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Supple called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES ON CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: Supple said that serving on a board of commission is a responsibility and a privilege and encouraged those at the meeting to consider applying for a vacancy. REZONING ITEM: REZ99-0007. Public discussion of an application submitted by Arlington L.C. for a preliminary Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH) plan of Windsor Ridge, Part 13, a 7.72 acre, 28-unit residential development, and rezoning from Medium Density Single-Family Residential (RS-8) to Planned Development Overlay (OPDH-8), for property located at the northeast corner of Barrington Road and Huntington Drive. (45-day limitation period expires June 19, 1999) Kugler said staff would have information to present at the June 17 meeting. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 3, 1999 Page 2 Public discussion: Larry Schnittjer. 1917 South Gilbert Street, said the developers met with the neighborhood on Tuesday to get a few points that could be incorporated into the plan but did not hear anything that could be so incorporated. He said that the neighbors in this area apparently do not want to see diversity here. Schnittjer said the developers will be meeting with staff on Friday for more discussion. He said he has not made any revisions or corrections on the drawing at this point but hopes to have everything taken care of by June 17. Kugler suggested that there not be a lot of discussion on this item since staff informed the neighbors that this would be deferred, as the applicant requested. Kugler said he would not want the Commission to receive a lot of information that the neighbors are not aware of. He stated that the neighbors intend to submit a written report regarding their issues of concern, and it will be in the Commission's next packet. Bovbjerg said she was pleased that the developers met with the neighbors, regardless of the outcome of this. MOTION: Bovbjerg moved to defer REZ99-0007, an application submitted by Arlington L.C. for a preliminary Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH) plan of Windsor Ridge, Part 13, a 7.72 acre, 28-unit residential development, and rezoning from Medium Density Single-Family Residential (RS-8) to Planned Development Overlay (OPDH-8), for property located at the northeast corner of Barrington Road and Huntington Drive, to the June 17, 1999 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Shannon seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0. DEVELOPMENT ITEM: SUB99-0011. Public discussion of an application submitted by Maxwell Development for a preliminary plat of ABCO 1't Addition, a Resubdivision of portions of W. B. Development, an 8.81-acre, 5-lot, commercial subdivision for property located at the intersection of Naples Avenue and Sierra Court. (45-day limitation period expires June 13, 1999) Kugler said this application is for a resubdivision of lots that have been previously platted and adjusted on several occasions. He said the plat appears to be in general conformance with the City's subdivision regulations. Kugler said staff is waiting for final approval from the Public Works staff that all deficiencies have been addressed. He said staff recommends approval of the plat subject to Public Works approval occurring prior to City Council consideration. Kugler said that if the Commission is not comfortable with that and decides to defer this item, the applicant will need to provide authorization to waive the 45-day limitation period. Kugler said the plat includes four existing lots that have all been purchased by the applicant. He said this application basically involves lot line shifting. Kugler said there is a private drive, Sierra Court, which was built to serve as the access for all of the lots. He said that this plat would shift the lot line for the two northern lots south to the center line of that roadway. Kugler said this would bring the development that has already been approved for proposed Lot 3 all onto one lot by shifting the boundaries. Kugler said that Lot 4 has already been fully developed, and the lot boundary encompasses the development in that area. He said that Lot 5 has not yet been developed, and it could possibly be resubdivided in the future but at this point is being left as one large development lot. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 3,1999 Page 3 Kugler said staff feels that this application should, for the most part, clear up a somewhat confusing property record and bdng the lot lines into conformance with what is actually happening on the property and what will likely happen there in the future. Regarding the sanitary sewer capacity, Kugler said that the developer of the original subdivision, Howard Winebrenner, owns and operates the lift station and force main. He said that improvements may occur, but there is sufficient capacity left within the subdivision to accommodate some development on these lots. Kugler said staff does not feel it is to the point where the creation or development of new lots can be limited if they come in with a use that fits within the sanitary sewer capacity that is available. He said staff, therefore, feels that has no bearing on this subdivision but wants to see the revised capacity allocation figures for these changed lot sizes and the one new lot followed up on in the legal papers. Kugler said staff recommends approval of this application subject to the approval by Public Works of the revised plat and information that has been submitted pdor to City Council consideration of the preliminary plat. Bovbjerg asked, regarding the issues of sensitive areas and sanitary sewer capacity, if the City keeps track of these things or if they were investigated on a complaint basis only. (Ehrhardt arrived at the meeting at 7:40 p.m.) Kugler said there is a statement on the plat indicating that the critical slope areas will not be disturbed as a result of this subdivision. He said that if the Commission is concerned about this, a stipulation could be added that construction fencing be placed around the sensitive areas when Lot 5 is being developed, although staff would probably require that anyway as part of the site plan review. Kugler said the improvements associated with the plat involve the extension of a sanitary sewer line and possibly a water main and should have no direct impact on those slopes. Holecek said that with the initial subdivision, it was not discovered that there would be capacity constraints. She said that with each successive resubdivision, there have been covenants constricting and allocating sewage capacity to each lot. Holecek stated that every time a building permit is issued, staff asks for calculations regarding the use on each lot. She said that if the assigned allocation does not meet the type of use, then there has been some movement of numbers, but there is also a reserve so that the property owner can allocate some additional capacity. Holecek said the City has been careful to review this with each step. Public discussion: Larry Schnittjer, said he was available to answer any questions from the Commission. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Gibson moved to approve SUB99-0011, an application submitted by Maxwell Development for a preliminary plat of ABCO 1st Addition, a Resubdivision of portions of W. B. Development, an 8.81-acre, 5-lot, commercial subdivision for property located at the intersection of Naples Avenue and Sierra Court, subject to the approval by Public Works of the revised plat and information that has been submitted prior to City Council consideration of the preliminary plat and subject to the addition of construction fencing to ensure that there is no encroachment of development activity onto critical slopes on Lot 5. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 3,1999 Page 4 Gibson asked what action the City Council took on the ridges that were discussed in this area. Kugler responded that the grading proposed for the north part of Lot 5 was approved, but grading for the eastern part was not approved, and the sensitive areas will have to remain unless a future sensitive areas rezoning would be approved to allow development in that area. SUB99-0012. Public discussion of an application submitted by Jim Anderson and Tom Bender for a preliminary plat of Westcott Heights, Part 2, a 24.99-acre, four-lot residential subdivision located in Johnson County at the west termini of Westcott Drive and Rose Bluff Circle. (45-day limitation period expires June 26, 1999) Kugler said a 31-lot subdivision called Westcott Heights was approved recently, which included two streets stubbed out to the adjacent property with temporary cul-de-sacs. He said the applicant is now asking for an additional four lots, with one of the temporary cul-de-sacs to be removed and the roadway extended to serve three of the lots and the other to become a permanent turnaround to serve the fourth lot. Kugler said the one item to be resolved is approval from the Solon Fire Department regarding the proposed plat. He said that, given the time it takes to receive that approval, staff feels that in a case like this with a relatively small subdivision, it does not make sense to hold up the plat approval. He said staff recommends approval subject to approval of a grading plan and subject to the receipt of a letter of approval from the Solon Fire Department before City Council consideration. Kugler said that if this were a major subdivision, staff would want the letter of approval before a Commission vote, but in this case it is likely not a big issue. Bovbjerg asked if Westcott Heights up to this boundary were approved by the Solon Fire Department, and Kugler confirmed this. Bovbjerg asked if there were any reason to think there would be any problem with these four additional lots. Kugler said staff is not expecting any problems but does want to ensure the Fire Department is okay with the temporary cul-de-sac becoming permanent, as it is sized a little bit smaller than a standard cul-de-sac. He said the Solon Fire Department had no problems with this as a temporary turnaround. Supple said she recalled that the land to the west was going to have poor access onto Prairie du Chien Road so that there would be some kind of accommodation for that. Kugler said that was actually the property to the south, for which staff required the right-of-way for a street to the south that could be extended if that property develops; however it cannot be extended until there is an access off of Prairie du Chien established for that property. He said it does not relate to this plat but does relate to the previously approved Westcott Heights plat. Ehrhardt asked if this property was required to have 50% of the land as an outlot. Kugler replied that if this property would have been rezoned to RS, then it would have required that 50% be set aside for open space, but this property is an area that was zoned RS prior to the Fringe Area Agreement being adopted. Ehrhardt asked if the County has any kind of sensitive areas ordinance. Kugler responded that the County has been working on such an ordinance, but he did not think it was adopted yet. He said the proposed building sites for this development are sited well and are generally on the ridge tops, although the septic field locations will have to be reviewed by the Johnson County Health Department before this is approved by the County. Public discussion: Tom Bender. 44 Sturgis Corner Drive, said he was available to answer any questions the Commission might have. Public discussion closed. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 3,1999 Page 5 MOTION: Bovbjerg moved to approve SUB99-0012, an application submitted by Jim Anderson and Tom Bender for a preliminary plat of Westcott Heights, Part 2, a 24.99- acre, four-lot residential subdivision located in Johnson County at the west termini of Westcott Drive and Rose Bluff Circle subject to approval of a grading plan and subject to the receipt of a letter of approval from the Solon Fire Department before City Council consideration. Ehrhardt seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. CONSIDERATION OF THE MAY 20. 1999 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTFS: MOTION: Gibson moved to approve the minutes of the May 20, 1999 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, as written. Schintler seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION INFORMATION: Ehrhardt said she had composed notes from the APA conference in Seattle regarding Planning and Zoning Commission goals and accomplishments, as well as ways for the Commission to support the Comprehensive Plan in a proactive manner. Supple asked about the Commission's annual report. Kugler said the report is prepared at the end of the fiscal year and should be prepared in the next several weeks. Ehrhardt suggested that the Commission discuss these kinds of issues when the yearly report comes out, and the consensus was to discuss such issues after reviewing the report. The Commission discussed whether these issues could be raised spontaneously at a meeting when there is extra time available, or whether this would have to be on the agenda. Holecek said that any discussion of the Commission's goals in light of the Comprehensive Plan should be included as an agenda item because the Commission will be discussing the public process and will affect process. Supple then asked that this type of item be placed on the agenda for every informal meeting, so that it could be discussed if there were time and so that there would be public notification. Bovbjerg said that there will be an agricultural morning called "What's on the Farm" on June 12 for two hours in the morning on the corner of Highway 1 and Kansas Avenue S,W. that would be worthwhile for Commission members to attend. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m. Dean Shannon, Secretary Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte ppdadm/min/p&z6-3-99.doc SIGN IN SHEET IOWA CITY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 1999 - 7:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS Name Address 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. lO. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION JUNE 17, 1999 - 7:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRELIMINARY Subject Approval 2b(8) MEMBERS PRESENT: Ann Bovbjerg, Benjamin Chait, Pam Ehrhardt, Dick Gibson, Marilyn Schintler, Dean Shannon, Lea Supple MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Scott Kugler, Bob Miklo, Dennis Mitchell, Anne Schulte OTHERS PRESENT: Gary Watts, Deb Liddell, Don Walter, Jeff Martin, John Watson, Jim Hall, John Westefeld, Michael Barron, Charlene Wolf, Dave Hodge, Steve Schmidt RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Recommended approval, by a vote of 7-0, of SUB99-0013, a final plat of Crestview Third Addition, a 22.69-acre, three-lot residential subdivision with one outlot located at the northwest quadrant of Landon Avenue and Highway 1, subject to the approval of legal papers before City Council consideration. Recommended approval, by a vote of 7-0, of amendments to the Zoning Chapter pertaining to the regulation of adult businesses as contained in staffs June 11 memorandum. Recommended denial, by a vote of 3-4, with Ehrhardt, Gibson, Shannon, and Supple voting no, of an amendment to Zoning Chapter subsection 14-6N-1C and 14-6N-1 C-2 regarding off-street parking on a separate lot in a different zone. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Supple called the meeting to order at 7:33 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES ON CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: Supple encouraged those at the meeting to consider serving on a City board or commission by applying at the City Clerk's Office. She said that living in Iowa City has many benefits as well as responsibilities, and in order for the City to take advantage of its citizens' expertise, it is most appropriate for those citizens to serve on a board or a commission. REZONING ITEMS: REZ99-0007. Public discussion of an application submitted by Arlington L.C. for a preliminary Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH) plan of Windsor Ridge, Part 13, a 7.72 acre, 24-unit residential development, and a rezoning from Medium Density Single-Family Residential (RS-8) to Planned Development Overlay (OPDH-8), for property located at the northeast corner of Barrington Road and Huntington Drive. (45-day limitation period expires June 19, 1999) Kugler said the Commission reviewed this item at its May 20 meeting and deferred it to allow the applicant to meet with the neighborhood and discuss this plan. He said since then, a revised Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 2 plan and some new information has been received from the applicant, as well as some new information from a neighborhood resident. Kugler said the development plan has been revised in a number of ways, with the most major change being a reduction in the number of units and the size of the buildings. He said the plan now contains six four-unit buildings, and the overall number of units has decreased from 28 to 24. Kugler stated that berms and landscaping have been added along the street frontages of Barrington Road and Huntington Drive to help better screen these units from the rest of the neighborhood. Kugler showed a cross section view demonstrating how the proposed townhouses will sit in relation to a typical two-story home along Sheffield. He added that revised building elevations have been submitted that show additional brick and screen porches on the rear of the buildings. Kugler said the revised information has been reviewed by staff. He said there is not a variation or modification needed for the building height as it would fall within the 35-foot height limitation of the RS-5 zone. Kugler said Public Works has looked at the changes to the plan and found it to be in technical compliance. Kugler said staff feels the concept plan for this area is in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan, which calls for a moderate increase in the overall density of neighborhoods, diversity of housing types within neighborhoods, neighborhood commercial centers as focal points within neighborhoods, reducing vehicular trips throughout Iowa City by providing for neighborhood- scale commercial development within neighborhoods, and moderate density housing within and near neighborhood centers. He said other policies in the Comprehensive Plan suppod the process that was used in this case to zone these parcels in advance of development. With regard to increased neighborhood density, Kugler said studies have been conducted throughout the country that clearly document that low density residential development simply does not pay for itself in terms of the taxes collected versus the cost of providing services to those areas. He added that low density sprawl has been criticized for having negative impacts on the environment and agricultural areas because it takes such a large area to house a relatively low number of people. Kugler stated that communities throughout the country are attempting to address these problems, and the neighborhood design policies in the Comprehensive Plan are Iowa City's attempt to address these issues by encouraging a moderate increase in the overall density of new neighborhoods. Thus, to accommodate a growing population, less land area will be needed. He said the policies do not prohibit the creation of large lot single-family detached housing areas, but do encourage that these areas be integrated with various other types and densities of housing, such that housing opportunities are open for a variety of families, and the result is a moderate increase in the overall density of new neighborhoods. Kugler said the City recently extended Court Street up to the Windsor Ridge property as part of its Capital Improvements Program, due in part to the development of a mix of housing and a neighborhood commercial center being proposed for the end of Court Street. He said the City probably would not have made this investment if the proposal were for all low density, single- family housing in this area. Kugler said the fact that some of the policies of the Comprehensive Plan were to be met in this area was part of the impetus for the City extending Court Street. Regarding neighborhood commercial centers, Kugler said questions were raised as to why there should be commercial areas within neighborhoods. He stated that the Comprehensive Plan does support the idea of creating several small-scale neighborhood commercial centers throughout the developing new neighborhoods. Kugler said the goal is not simply for the benefit and convenience of nearby property owners but could also have community-wide benefits as Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 3 well. He said that as new development occurs, obviously traffic on existing streets throughout the community increases. Kugler said the idea of the neighborhood commercial center is that if some services can be provided within the neighborhood and some of the trips generated from residential areas can be captured, it can have a positive impact on streets elsewhere in the community. He said that one neighborhood commercial center and a few trips saved won't make a huge difference, but if the City can adopt these policies community-wide, there could be significant benefits. Kugler said that whether or not a neighborhood commercial center will increase neighborhood traffic is debatable. He stated that the intent of the CN-1 zone is mainly to serve the immediate neighborhood. Kugler said it is likely that some businesses would draw from a wider area than just this neighborhood, and the key to allowing those businesses without it having a major impact on neighborhood traffic is for the commercial center to have good access to the arterial street system. He said in this case, Court Street will provide access to the neighborhood commercial zone, and Taft Avenue is a future arterial street which will provide access to the neighborhood commercial zone, so that this site does have good access. Kugler said traffic from within the neighborhood driving to the neighborhood commercial zone is presumably not new traffic, but traffic that would have otherwise gone to a different commercial area and therefore still used neighborhood streets to get to the arterial streets to travel to those other areas. He said it is likely that there will be a slight increase in neighborhood traffic, but not to the degree that might be feared. Regarding the timing of the neighborhood commercial center and how it develops with relation to the rest of the neighborhood, Kugler said it is really not reasonable to expect that a neighborhood commercial zone will develop concurrently with the residential neighborhood because of the nature of the zone. He stated that businesses within this zone are intended to be neighborhood-oriented businesses so that the neighborhood really needs to be established first. Kugler said that staff has typically found in the other CN-1 zones that development of the commercial zone has lagged behind the development of the residential uses. He said staff feels it is not reasonable to expect that the final design and layout of the CN-1 zone be established at this time, but should be assured that the concept plan that has been provided will be adhered to in the future as the final design and development of the site occurs. With regard to housing diversity, Kugler said the Comprehensive Plan contains a number of policies aimed at providing housing for a broad range of families rather than creating large, single-use neighborhoods and rather than excluding families that do not have the need, the means, or the desire to live in single-family detached residences. He said the Comprehensive Plan recognizes that design issues are critical to insure that this mix is provided in such a way that these uses are compatible. Kugler said it is clear that the provision of medium densities is most appropriate along or near arterial streets, given traffic issues and input received from the public. He said other suggestions received from the public include avoiding the creation of large apartment complexes, providing good access to the arterial street system for higher density housing, that townhouses seem to be more compatible with single-family uses than apartment buildings and are better used as a transition between single-family areas and commercial or higher density areas, and that areas surrounding neighborhood commercial areas are appropriate for increased density housing. Kugler said for the neighborhood commercial center to be attractive to a neighborhood-oriented business, there needs to be sufficient population in the area for it to draw upon. He said one of the key elements is to increase the density near the neighborhood commercial center and thereby increase number of people within reasonable walking distance so that a business can reasonably expect to locate there and rely on the neighborhood rather than catering to people throughout the community to make the business profitable. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17, 1999 Page 4 Kugler said although the zoning proposal is for RS-8, the density is relatively low. He said if the open space is included, which staff typically does when calculating densities, the density would be 3.1 units per acre. Kugler added that without the open space and the paving, the density would be about 7.7 dwelling units per acre. Kugler said staff feels the process that was used to zone these parcels is supported by the Comprehensive Plan. He said there was talk of a catch-22 situation at the May 20 meeting in that the City is striving for neighborhood participation in the planning process, yet because there was no neighborhood here, the current residents had no input in the decisions made regarding their neighborhood. Kugler said staff does not view this as a catch-22 situation, but rather as a difference in opinion as to how public opinion is considered when planning a new neighborhood. He stated that staff feels that the policies of the Comprehensive Plan, which were established as part of a public process, are what the City should use to ensure that the goals of the community are considered when making these decisions. Kugler said planning is essentially making these kinds of decisions regarding land use and infrastructure ahead of time, prior to the development of the neighborhood. He said the policies of the City's Comprehensive Plan and the character of the land help to guide the City Council and Planning and Zoning Commission in making these decisions. Kugler said citizen involvement in this case has occurred at the visioning stage when the general goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan were established during public hearings associated with the adoption of the Plan and during citizen planning workshops. He said these policies are used as a guideline by developers, staff, City boards and commissions, and the City Council in making decisions on items such as the rezonings. Kugler said to say that all these decisions need to wait until the rest of the neighborhood develops so that they can be involved in the planning process would be non- planning. He said staff would like to see these areas planned for ahead of time so that the goals of the Comprehensive Plan can be accomplished and in order to make a public record of the plan for that area so that someone interested in purchasing property in an area can come to the City to see what is planned for that area and make an informed decision. Kugler said regarding these parcels, staff and the Commission were concerned about design issues, and a planned development overlay rezoning was recommended and required, mainly to insure that what was illustrated on the concept plans in 1995 would be adhered to when the property was developed. Kugler said staff feels that the concept plan for this area is supported by the City's Comprehensive Plan. He said the Comprehensive Plan clearly supports a moderate increase in the overall density of new neighborhoods; the creation of neighborhood commercial centers; higher density residential development in, around, and near the neighborhood commercial centers; providing a mix of housing within neighborhoods; providing housing opportunities for a broad range of individuals and families; and the idea of zoning parcels in advance of development to insure that the concepts are integrated into new neighborhoods and are achievable. Kugler said staff feels the applicant's plans for this development are consistent with the policies of the Comprehensive Plan as well as the process used to obtain the current zoning classifications. Kugler said questions have been raised about Taft Avenue, particularly the Cardigan Lane connection to Taft. He said staff has studied the sight distance at this proposed intersection and found it to be more than adequate in terms of visibility. Kugler said a traffic count done in 1994 indicated average daily traffic of 250 vehicles per day on Taft, and a one-day count on June 9 and 10 found 528 vehicles using that roadway. He said an increase in traffic is likely to be due mainly to the development within Windsor Ridge, as that is the easiest route to get from Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 5 Windsor Ridge to the Interstate. Kugler said Taft Avenue is a future City arterial street, but that is likely in the very long range plans. Kugler said staff feels that the construction of a connection from the northern part of Windsor Ridge out to Taft Avenue is important. He said staff considered two other possible streets for the connection. Kugler said the initial plan indicated that a street would be stubbed out near Barrington Place; however, it was clear when the details were being worked out that there would be a sight distance problem in this location along Taft Avenue. He said staff also considered recommending extending Sheffield Place out to Taft Avenue. Kugler said this was not provided, in part because the developer wanted a cul-de-sac there and partly because of a sanitary sewer problem. He said to provide sanitary sewer to these lots, the roadway needed to be elevated so that lots would drain back to the sanitary sewer system. He said this would then not allow for a street connection in this location because of the difference in elevation. Kugler said staff feels it is important to get a connection here, even though there will eventually be a connection from Court Street. He said the pattern has developed for anyone going from Windsor Ridge to Interstate 80 to come down along Arlington or Barrington to American Legion Road, then to Taft to the north. Kugler said the more development that occurs in Windsor Ridge without a connection, the more traffic there will be on these streets. He said a Cardigan Lane connection would alleviate some of the traffic on the southern ends of Arlington and Barrington Road. Kugler said that this will result in additional traffic in front of the townhouses, although there will likely be traffic there even after Court Street is extended because it is an entrance to the commercial zone. He said staff is therefore recommending that the Cardigan Lane/Taft Avenue connection be required in association with this development. Kugler said staff recommends that the rezoning and preliminary planned development plan be approved subject to the extension and connection of Huntington Drive to Court Street being extended prior to development of the property. Bovbjerg asked if Cardigan Lane would be a private road, and Kugler confirmed this. Bovbjerg asked if the parking spaces across Cardigan Lane from the townhouses is being counted as part of the required parking for the townhouses. Kugler replied that all of the required parking for this development is actually under the units, with two parking spaces per unit, so that the parking across Cardigan Lane from the houses would be visitor parking and parking for the commercial center and town square open space area. Bovbjerg said this whole tract, which includes the park, is being rezoned. She asked if there were any timeline, either by ordinance or by understanding, of when that park will be developed. Bovbjerg said that part of concentrating housing includes concentrated open space. Kugler said that before the City would accept the park, there would need to be development of a certain percentage of the property around the park; full development, not just lots sold, but homes ready to be occupied. He added that the park would have to be developed before the City would accept it. Kugler said it has not been discussed as to when the applicant would be responsible for actually seeding and developing the park in association with the housing units. He said that if the Commission feels that should occur with the first couple of buildings or before the development is halfway built out, a condition that the park be developed and usable at some point could be added. Kugler said typically, the development of the open space area is handled with the final plat, and the open space remains the developer's responsibility until dedicated to the City. Gibson asked if there were a point at which the open space has to be developed when a certain amount of residential development occurs. Kugler said the requirement is usually the other way around; the City usually will not take the land until there is a neighborhood developed around it, until at least 90% of the sites around the square are developed and any necessary Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 6 improvements are made. Miklo stated that part of the reason for this is that the Parks and Recreation Department does not want to have to maintain parks where there is not a population. He suggested that this is a final plat issue, and the Commission would want to work with the Parks and Recreation Commission to get its recommendation. Gibson asked if that would be too late to insert a condition. Mitchell said this issue is generally dealt with at the final plat stage, but if the Commission wants to make sure this is done by a certain stage, it could certainly be included as a condition. He stated that the property is being rezoned with the understanding that the open space will be provided, which should allow this to be addressed before the final plat is approved. Schintler stated that she is a homebuilder and is currently building a home in Windsor Ridge for a family that has already purchased a lot there. She said she checked with the City Legal Department, and they did not feel this was a conflict of interest situation. Schintler said this will not influence any decision she makes. Public discussion: Gary Watts. 4988 Lower West Branch, said he represents Arlington L.C. He said this item was deferred to give him a chance to meet with the neighborhood residents. Watts said they had a good meeting at which he discussed the evolution of Windsor Ridge and what he was trying to accomplish there and to get some input from the neighbors' comments. Watts said that after that meeting, the number of housing units was reduced and more space was created between the buildings, resulting in six four-unit buildings. He said neighbors voiced concern about those living on Sheffield looking into the backs of the building, so he went to his designer, Bruggeman Design. He said they have decided to put brick columns on the back as well as screened-in porches to break up the monotony of the rear elevation. Watts said he has thought a lot about making this development compatible with the existing neighborhood. He said he increased the berms and plant material; the park design includes a lot of detail with plant material and walkways. Watts said the concept plan starting in 1995 was to create a town square. He said he believes the park concept buffers the commercial that is planned to be on the outer edge. Watts said some people in the neighborhood suggested moving the commercial to the north of Court Street. He stated that to the north of Court Street where it comes into Taft is a very hilly site that drops off substantially; it would be very difficult to locate the commercial there and would necessitate reshaping the hillside and bringing in a tremendous amount of dirt. Watts said he wants to stay with the four-plex type buildings and increase the berms quite a bit, Watts said he found some lights that are called bollards to be spotted along the entryway and in certain areas. He said they will be similar to the lights along the sidewalk in Coralville that light up the walk with low density light. Watts said they will light up the driveways but will not make everything all lit up the way a light pole would. He said the front of the buildings will use an antique style light, which would help create some theme for what he wants to do conceptually in the commercial area. Watts said some of the neighbors were concerned about what the commercial area will look like. He said the commercial center that he wants to establish in Windsor Ridge will be like none other in Iowa City. He said he has not seen anything in Iowa City that he would like to do in Windsor Ridge. Watts said he has thought a lot about the concept for the commercial area, and some ideas have come from Windsor Ridge residents who have contacted him. He discussed the Handi-Mart in the Amana Colonies, saying that one cannot even believe it is a Handi-Mart, because it is in the motif and character of the Amanas. Watts said that on Monday morning at 11:30 a.m. in City Council chambers, he will meet with several residents of Windsor Ridge to Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 7 discuss the current rezonings, the future of Windsor Ridge, the design of the commercial area, and other issues. Watts said he would like to put together a neighborhood commercial center that is similar to the processes of an OPDH. He said it may not officially require an OPDH in terms of zoning requirements. He said he is going to go ahead and final plat the rest of the residential lots all the way to Court Street and just to the south of Court Street along the creek. Watts said the covenants he will record will be very similar to Parts Seven and Eight, Windsor Ridge, although he may add some ideas in the covenants on fencing and other things the neighborhood may have input on. Watts said with that many residential homes, he is concerned about what the commercial area will look like. He said he hopes to have the designer attend the Monday meeting to show the neighborhood representatives some of the ideas and concepts. Watts said the site plan shows a convenience store; he sees that as possibly a convenience store, drugstore, or perhaps a bank branch. He said he would like to see that moved in to the east so that it doesn't just stick out. Watts said he may want a convenience store there, possibly with one or two pumps, and would like to see it look like it is all part of the center. He said he wants it so that if someone walked up there or drove by, they wouldn't even know they was looking at a commercial center. Watts said this type of commercial center is all over the United States, including Des Moines, and he has visited a similar type of commercial area in the middle of a residential neighborhood in New Orleans. Watts said he would not be doing a hodgepodge development in Windsor Ridge. He said it would be well-planned and thought through. Watts said the roofiines will be the same with probably a dark brown brick siding. He said he does not know how many people currently live in Windsor Ridge, but it will take a lot of people there to support the commercial center. Watts said in time, with the right concepts, designs, thoughts, and the right input from the neighborhood and himself as the developer, something can be pulled together that the neighborhood is proud of. He vowed to make this work to the best of his abilities. Watts showed on the map the amount of paving that is currently done. He said the reason why he went ahead with the PDH overlay of this RS-8 zone is because when he is selling lots, he wants to be able to show people the concept plan and what has been approved. Watts said that even though he personally feels the commercial, depending on lot sales, could be five to ten years in the future, he wants to go ahead and work on the concepts for this. He said that for the townhouses, he needs to build the street to where the existing Court Street ends. Watts said to do that, he needs to install another box culvert, which is very expensive, and will require a tremendous amount of concrete to even get to one townhouse. He said he would need to sell several of these lots and do more residential development before he would even consider that. Watts said that with that type of restriction, which is probably a good restriction in that it helps slow traffic flow, it could be two to four years before the townhouses. Watts said a neighbor asked him about running Court Street out to Taft. He said he liked that idea, but may not be able to commit to it. Watts said he hoped the City would take over the maintenance of Taft and possibly chipseal it or make it an asphalt surface. He said after discussions with staff, he does not believe Taft Avenue will be paved in the near future. Watts said for the residents of Windsor Ridge and the arterial access to the interstate from Taft, he would at least like to see the City consider paving the street. Regarding paving Court Street to Taft, Watts said he would have to have the site plans, and the City might ask for some land to be lowered for the connection. He stated that he really does not have that information yet because the City is not prepared to pave Taft. He said it makes it more difficult to do, but what could be done is to make the extended part of Court Street into a County road out to Taft. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 8 Watts said the property to the north will probably be geared more to condominium projects, possibly ranch houses with walk-out basements and duplex/triplex designs. Watts said in 1993, he and investor Lowell Swartz, found a farm that would be an ideal place for larger lots in the County with a chipseal road. He said the County informed him that he would need to talk to the City, because the property was in the Fringe Area. Watts said the City told him that doing this in the Fringe Area would require public streets and sewer and water service with City design standards. He said he discussed this further with City representatives, and they suggested he try to annex the property. Watts said the original farm was not contiguous to the City of Iowa City so that he had to acquire more property and get an option on some other property. He said that of the option property, there was about 100 feet of land adjacent to the City, which allowed him to bring this land into the City. Watts said City water services terminated at American Legion Road and Scott, and he asked the City to extend water services. He said the City declined, saying that if he wanted to annex the property, he needed to extend water services. Watts said he asked the City to bring sewer services to the property line, but the City declined to do that as well. He said he brought the sewer to the property and oversized it to accommodate the entire watershed. Watts said he installed a lift station as well. He stated that he reserved fourteen acres for a school site to the north. Watts said in the evolution of Windsor Ridge there was an extremely big risk and a huge capital outlay. Watts said in 1995 when a lot of the rezoning took place, there were 15 to 20 homeowners. He said he wanted to be proactive at that point to get the zoning in and make it a matter of public record. Watts said he regretted a little bit not getting more input from lot owners at that point. He apologized to the people who felt slighted, saying he did not do this on purpose. Watts said he felt that because of the location of this, it would not have any impact on existing property owners. Watts said when he advertises in the newspaper, he only includes the land that has been final platted. He said he will be looking at the advertisements and rewording some things to talk about the total community and diversity of housing so that people do not feel misled. Watts said any time during the process of rezoning the areas, if anyone wants information, he would be more than willing to talk to people one on one to keep them informed. He said he tries to keep people informed, but it is difficult as a developer since people may be buying lots from someone else. Watts said it is good that people are interested in Windsor Ridge and are getting good information out to their neighbors. Watts said it is a challenging process to deal with what the City wants, what the Comprehensive Plan and the Northeast Planning District dictate, what the current neighborhood wants, and what the future neighborhood will want. He said he is trying hard to do the best job he can and to make the commercial center a showcase for Windsor Ridge. Ehrhardt asked Watts if he had a response to the questions regarding an early dedication of the open space land to the City. Watts said it depends on the future sites. He said that when the townhouses become reality, after two or three buildings of the six buildings are sold, he would want the park available for the residents. Deb Liddell. 4831 Southchase Court, said Kugler's report had stated that the traffic increase on Taft was principally due to Windsor Ridge residents. She stated that the increase in traffic on Taft is primarily construction traffic. Liddell said this is an increase in traffic of 200%, and it Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 9 appears to all be southbound traffic. She said she could not imagine that that can be attributed to people who live out there. Liddell said she believed that the last time a speed count was done, the average speed was around 50 miles per hour on this gravel road. She said this is mostly construction and contractor traffic. Liddell said it is appropriate and necessary to have a connection from Windsor Ridge to Taft. She said, however, any connection really needs to be made prior to construction. Liddell said that connection should be at Court and Taft for a couple of reasons. She said the sight distance at Cardigan and Taft is a major problem, especially for heavy vehicles that are traveling very fast on gravel. Liddell said this site really deserves further study and some consultation with people who actually live in the area. Liddell said another reason the Court/Taft connection should be made is that it is going to occur anyway, and the grading issues really need to be dealt with on the front end of any kind of future planning for that area. She added that the developer's plans for any neighborhood commercial zone really should be affected by that connection, how it is made and how the land ends up being graded. Liddell said those issues should, in the long term, affect the developer's ability and efficiency in planning what he wants to do there. Liddell said she and Watts agreed that the connection between Court Street and Taft really ought to be required, and she was surprised to hear him back off of that. She agreed that it would be a major City investment, especially if Cardigan remains a private road without public maintenance. She said she had serious concerns about the connection between Windsor Ridge and Taft. Liddell said staff has stated that the principle behind housing diversity was to provide for those who don't have the means to live in large lot single-family houses. She said this project has always been pitched to the neighborhood as luxury townhouses. Liddell said that is hardly a market that would constitute those who need affordable housing. She stated that while the merits of mixed density housing are certainly there, to suggest that this particular project meets the spirit of mixed density housing is probably questionable. Liddell acknowledged the changes Watts has made and stated that they are an improvement. She said, however, that the concerns of the neighborhood have not changed; the buildings are too big, too high, and much too close to the single-family lots. Liddell said that bookending the single-family lots with two big projects, Parts 12 and Part 13, gives the neighbors serious concerns about what will happen to the single lots in-between and whether they will be viable for sale. She asked if the lots are not viable, would Watts come back to the Commission and claim a hardship and try to downgrade what is planned there. Liddell stated that this project should not be approved until design plans for the neighborhood commercial zone are in place. She said the project really needs to be considered in partnership with what will occur in the neighborhood commercial zone. Liddell said the ideas are interesting, but the community needs to be involved in that development design process. Liddell said a lot of people have spoken to the Commission, saying that either by commission or omission, they felt misled by the developer. She said these are not na'Ne people. She stated that the developer was an officer of the homeowners association, is a real estate agent, and is a developer who is championed in the community. Liddell said that every one of those roles comes with an ethical responsibility to the people he is working with. She said this situation screams for what Marcia Klingaman calls the "good neighbor policy". Liddell said the developer, staff, and the neighbors have a meeting scheduled for Monday, and she feels some progress is being made on the major concerns. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 10 Liddell said there is a lot of detail in Kugler's report that she could argue with, but one of the most offensive aspects of the report is the idea that because there were not neighbors in Windsor Ridge, they have abdicated the right to be involved in planning what is going on out there. She said she realizes that planning is an imperfect process, but she said the neighbors are here and are informed. Liddell said the neighbors recognize the role of mixed family housing and the right of the developer to make a profit on his investment. She stated that this seems to be the essence of community planning; if there is a problem, people get together to work it out. Liddell submitted a petition signed by 106 people to deny rezoning for this particular project. She said that represents about 60% of the Windsor Ridge homeowners, which is a fairly respectable percentage when considering the number of people on vacation, friends and associates of Watts, and City employees who do not want to sign a public petition contradicting City staff recommendations. Donald Walter. 1051 Barrington, said he was one of the first two people to live in the Windsor Ridge community, having moved there around Christmas of 1994. He said he was told that all the way from American Legion Road to Court Street would be single-family, residential RS-5 housing. Walter said this was confirmed by the City. He said the proposed school site for the area is now going to be a Deli-Mart and condominiums, which is not what he was sold, nor what he invested his life's savings in. Walter said this was and is supposedly a planned community. He said the plan was RS-5, and to change this plan after informed buyers invested their money is unfair and unjust. Regarding traffic, Walter said he makes one trip per week into Hy-Vee to buy groceries and will still make one trip; having a Deli-Mart there won't change that. He said he has signed the petition and agrees with everything Liddell stated. Walter said he agrees strongly that Court and Taft need to be connected prior to any further significant construction up in the north end of Windsor Ridge. Jeff Martin 1015 Barrington, stated that he is not against planning, mixed uses, or the developer getting a return on his investment. He said he appreciated the fact that Watts had listened to the neighbors' concerns and has made some adjustments to the plan. Martin said he was hopeful that the process of moving things in the right direction could continue. Martin said he is concerned about some things in this particular development. He said he did not see how the Commission could approve this townhouse development without a clearer idea of how the commercial development will unfold. Martin stated that he also did not see how this could be approved without the connection between Taft and Court to understand how the traffic will flow through there. He said that all of these things are tied together. Martin said the staff report raised some concerns about the parking on the street in front of the townhouses and had definite opinions about how the connection is made to Taft. Martin said these things will be affected by the way the commercial zone is developed, how the access points into it are designed, and how Court Street connects to Taft. He said these issues cannot be separated. Martin said Kugler's report stated that it is not reasonable to expect the commercial to come first. Martin said he believes it is not reasonable to expect that this plan can be approved without knowing what is going on over there. He said he takes Watts at his word that he wants to make the commercial area very attractive, and he would be happy to work with him in doing that. Martin said, however, that we need to know more fully now how that will be developed. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 11 Martin said he also had an aesthetic concern about this development. He said the buildings are too big and too tall. Martin said there will be berms and 10-foot trees coming out of there and buildings that stick up 50 to 60 feet out of the ground on some of the highest land in the development. [Editor's note: the proposed building height is approximately 30 feet.] He stated that it will look way out of character. Martin said he visited the townhouses on Mormon Trek that Watts referred to at the May 20 meeting. Martin said the townhouses fit in pretty well there; there are a lot of townhouses in that area so that they don't stand out. He said townhouses will stand out a whole lot on this property, even with trees as a buffer. Martin said regarding incremental zoning, that if the lots on Sheffield and Huntington cannot be sold because of the nearby townhouses, he is very concerned that the developer will want to change the zoning there to be multi-family zoning. He said Watts will probably say he has no intention of doing that, and that is probably right, but there have been a number of situations already in the development of Windsor Ridge where compromises from what was initially intended have been made. Martin said he had a lot of concern about the traffic. He said the traffic on Taft Avenue is essentially comprised of cement trucks coming from Coralville via the interstate, then down Taft at 60 miles per hour and then up Barrington at 45 miles per hour. Martin said they will do that unless Court Street is connected to Taft, and there will be negative consequences. Martin said the Commission should go back and look at the entire area. He said that since this area was zoned RS-8 and residential commercial in 1995, the Commission should at least consider the possibility that it got the zoning wrong. Martin said that sometimes what looks good on paper may not be a good idea in reality. He said there might be other areas around here that could be a better place for RS-8 zoning. Martin said this may not be the best corner of this subdivision on which to do this. Bovbjerg asked about the elevation for the project looked at several weeks ago. Kugler said the height of the buildings in Part 12 was about 50 feet. He said this is Part 13, and the elevation here is 35 feet up to the peak of the roof. Kugler said the actual building height per the zoning definition would be measured between the eaveline and the ridgeline and would be about 30 feet at the rear of the property, which would be the highest elevation. He stated that from the bottom of the garage door to the midpoint of the roof must be no more than 35 feet above grade for this zone, and the measurement would be about 30 feet for these townhouses. Schintler asked if it would be impossible to connect Court Street to Taft since Taft Street is not yet paved. Kugler said he did not know. He said he has heard from the developer's engineer and one of the City engineers that there may need to be some regradin9 along Taft in order to make that intersection possible. Kugler said no design work has been done in that area to know for certain. Chait said if that is the case, Watts had suggested that that section of Court Street could be done as a County road. Kugler said he did not know whether that would be acceptable or not. Chait said that if it could be done, it would still allow for a connection at an existing grade that would not be a final, finished product. Kugler said before staff could say that was a possibility, he would need to check with Public Works. He said there may be sight distance issues to be addressed, and despite how the roadway comes in, the safety of it needs to be insured. Chait said the point is that even if Watts wanted to put the road in now, given the nature of Taft, he could not. Kugler said there really is not enough information to tell. He said to make a decision, staff would need to see the roadway design and have the engineering staff look at this. He said there is also a question of changing the road materials, which may or may not be acceptable. Kugler said there may be other issues with having a City arterial street terminate into a County road. Ehrhardt asked if that could be researched. Miklo said an engineering study Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 12 would be required, and it would be fairly expensive. He said he did not think the issues could be resolved in a timely manner. John Watson. 1105 Barrington Road, said, regarding the Court/Taft intersection, he was surprised that the City came so far with Court Street without finishing it. He said Court is an arterial street and has to be finished sometime. Watson said now would be the time to get it into the design. He questioned how the commercial area will interact with Court and with Taft. Watson said Kugler's memo said that the developer is responsible for the dust control on Taft Avenue. He said there was a three-year agreement on this that has expired. Watson said the road has dust control now because Watts pays for it, but the agreement has expired. Jim Hall. 1030 Bryan Court, said he signed the petition and is opposed to the townhouse development where it is proposed. He said he was sold on Windsor Ridge due to single-family dwellings all the way from American Legion Road to the far north. Hall said he also lives on Taft Avenue, and last summer when there was supposed to be dust control, there was none. He said that traffic was tremendous, and his family could not use its back porch or backyard. He added that with the addition of the commercial zone and the townhouses, he had no idea what it would be like. Hall said it was a little better this spring, but anything like last year would keep his family in the house. He said he is very much opposed to the development as proposed. John Westefeld, 4831 Southchase Court, said that Watts is being responsive to the neighborhood concerns, and he appreciated that. Westefeld said he is opposed to commercial development in Windsor Ridge based on many of the reasons the Commission has already heard. He said he supports extending Court to Taft, also for many of the reasons already given. Westefeld said Taft is a very dangerous situation. Westefeld said he has signed the petition. He urged the Commission to consider the input from the speakers. Westefeld said that one of the roles of an organization like the Commission is to solicit input and to pay attention to that input when possible. He stated that a large percentage of the Windsor Ridge population has provided the Commission with input, and he urged the Commission to consider that input. Michael Barron. 725 Arlington Drive, said he brought a lot of paper but would not subject the Commission to it because it was really pointed mostly at the City Council hearing and was delivered in full there and is a matter of public record. Barron said he has heard a lot of "1 don't know," "We haven't considered that," and "lt's just too expensive; it might not be able to be done in time" from staff. He said the developer has stated that the process of putting in another 120 or so single-family lots and to get sufficient population to support the CNol zone here is not all going to be developed exclusively because we put condominium units on Arlington Drive and Court or here in this new development. Barron said it is also going to be in part due to the existing homeowners and the others in the additional 120 units to be developed. (What?!?) Barron said with respect to several of these issues, specifically the connection to Taft, staff said there might not be time to have an engineering study done, and it will be expensive. He said by the developer's own admission, it will be several years before this really gets developed. Barron suggested to the Commission that when the developer wanted to do this in the first place, the City said, fine, but do it at your own expense. He said the developer took considerable risk to do some of the work that some might have thought best and most appropriately done by the City. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17, 1999 Page 13 Barron said now, as two City Council members have said, the developer is one of the only ones to step forward and take Vision 2000 in hand and actually begin a planned development that might meet the Vision 2000 standards, we don't give the developer the full opportunity and right to develop this property appropriately and to do it in a way that is safe and consistent with environmental concerns, concerns of the neighborhood, concerns of the children playing, and concern of the almost completely developed initial stages of RS-5 in this subdivision. Barron said unless there is an opportunity for construction and other vehicles that will be in Windsor Ridge for years to come to have sufficient north access to this property that is being developed, the lives of the children who play in this neighborhood are being endangered. Barron said that to do this project right, it would be quite acceptable, if the Commission believes it is in the best interests of Iowa City, to make sure that the area being developed is done so in a manner to preserve the RS-5 area and to provide the developer with the right kind of access and egress to the area for all of the builders and do it in an efficient manner. Barron said he is somewhat ambivalent about this development, but because of recent events, is willing to give the developer the benefit of the doubt because he seems to be well-intentioned. He said he believes Watts is listening, and he hopes the Commission is as well. Charlene Wolf. 3855 Taft Avenue, said she is very concerned about the connection to Taft Avenue. She said the traffic has increased tremendously recently. Wolf said she did not understand why they did not put a connection to Taft at the other locations but want to do it at this lane that is not really a street when Court Street would certainly give a better view. She said it is difficult for her to understand how drivers could see there when there are trucks and farm machinery coming down that road at 50 to 60 miles per hour. Wolf said the connection from Taft to Court is a better location for drivers coming onto Taft Avenue to see. She said that Cardigan Lane is midway up a hill, so that drivers won't be able to see traffic coming over the hill at high rates of speed. Gary Watts said initially in 1994, the City wanted him to try to lay out the active development, and he was just starting to annex; it was a difficult process. He said it is not all residential up to there; the proposed school site was moved and there was an area reserved for future development; currently that is where the townhouse/commercial is. Watts said even though it is all residential up in this area on the initial plan, at that time it was right when he started and that was the initial concept plan. Watts said that the Monday meeting with his designers would be valuable for him to get input from neighbors and staff. He asked the Commission, based on that, to defer this proposal to its next meeting. Watts said he would submit a waiver of the 45-day limitation period in writing. Shannon referred to the map of the area dated October 4, 1993. Watts said that was the initial concept, and none of the areas were final platted there except Parts One through Three. Kugler said the zoning was filed for in 1994 and approved by the City Council in 1995. Watts agreed that the map represented the initial concept. He said it is difficult to have everything figured out on 250 acres initially because of the way things evolve over time. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Chait moved to defer REZ99-0007, a preliminary Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH) plan of Windsor Ridge, Part 13, a 7.72 acre, 24-unit residential development, and rezoning from Medium Density Single-Family Residential (RS-8) to Planned Development Overlay (OPDH-8), for property located at the northeast corner of Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 14 Barrington Road and Huntington Drive to the July 1, 1999 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Gibson seconded the motion. Gibson asked staff to look at the extension of Court Street to Taft and its implications. He also stated that when a specific subdivision was done north of Rochester some years ago, there were concerns about construction traffic. Gibson said at that time, the City agreed to describe a route for construction traffic to use in and out of the area. He asked staff to see if it would be possible to stipulate that construction traffic enter off of Taft Avenue to the townhouse site. Chait acknowledged Watts and the neighborhood residents for participating in the process. He said it is an exciting thing to see this kind of dialogue, and it is not the kind of interaction that the Commission sees very often. Chait said the staff report is very consistent with his understanding of the process of planning and zoning in Iowa City. He said the fact that these two things can exist together, this type of response of interaction and the report from staff, is just as exciting. Chair said the staff report tells him that the process and the project are good, and the project complies with the Comprehensive Plan. He said in reality, there are specific issues brought to the Commission by the citizens that make that change. Chait said those two things working together are something that he would like to see more often, the kind of dialogue that exists beyond the developer and the residents of the area in question. Bovbjerg said housing diversity does not necessarily also include income diversity. She said diversity may refer to the types of housing offered in an area. Bovbjerg stated regardless of who or what goes into a particular building does not say anything about the footprint or the bulk of the building. She said what something looks like, how much land it takes up, or what is zoned as is quite independent of any other kinds of considerations. Bovbjerg stated that diversity of housing types is a major pad of the Comprehensive Plan. Regarding the planning process, she said staff is saying that it is hard to anticipate what will happen in an area and is not saying there are no neighbors yet so "what the heck." Bovbjerg said that the meetings here are essential and added that it takes more listening than talking to be a good neighbor. Supple complimented those who participated in the Planning and Zoning Commission meetings and in the other meetings. She said she sees Taft Avenue and the traffic on Taft as the problem here. Supple said it is obvious that traffic coming on Taft has to go north through Windsor Ridge to get to the undeveloped area. She said she did not have any ideas for solving the problem, but hopes it can be resolved as dialogue continues in order to avoid having that traffic disturb those who are already living in the southern part of Windsor Ridge. The motion to defer carried on a vote of 7-0. REZ99-0010. Public discussion of an application submitted by Hodge Construction to rezone approximately .33 acres from Medium Density Single-Family Residential (RS-8) to Community Commercial (CC-2) zone for property located at 813 Gilbert Court. Miklo said this request is for a rezoning from RS-8, Medium Density, Single-Family Residential, to CC-2, Community Commercial. He stated that the Comprehensive Plan for this general area calls for Intensive Commercial (C1-1), which is characterized typically by commercial uses with outdoor storage in this area. Miklo said even though the Comprehensive Plan calls for intensive commercial here, the current zoning for a good portion of this area around Benton Street is RS- 8, which was done to acknowledge the existing residences in that area. He stated that over time there may be additional requests for commercial zoning farther to the south of this property, but in the interim, staff feels that any commercial zoning should be done to minimize the affect on the existing residences. Miklo said the proposed rezoning would be in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan. Although there is a slight noncompliance in that the Comprehensive Plan Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17, 1999 Page 15 calls for Intensive Commercial, and what is being requested is Community Commercial, more of a retail type zone. He said a similar situation existed with Kennedy Plaza itself, and the justification there was its high visibility on Gilbert Street. Miklo said staff feels this is a minor inconsistency, and as long as the concerns about compatibility with the adjacent residences can be handled, it would be appropriate to rezone this as requested. Miklo showed the site plan for the property, which conceptually illustrates how this would be developed, with the commercial building on the south side and the evergreen screening along the south side. He stated that the concept plan shows all the vehicular access to be to the north through the Kennedy Plaza parking lot. He said traffic would be directed into the Kennedy Plaza parking lot where it would have access to Gilbert Street; there would be no access to Gilbert Court. Miklo said this is appropriate because Gilbert Court is not up to City standards, and traffic should not be encouraged, especially for commercial uses, on that street. With regard to storm water management, Miklo said that storm water from the site would be directed to the storm water basin in the Kennedy Plaza site. He said that Public Works feels that is the natural flow of drainage in this area and has requested a curb or swale on the west property line to insure that water does not flow onto the commercial properties west of this site. Miklo said staff feels this rezoning, with the minor exception of this being retail commercial versus intensive commercial, is in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan for this area, and as long as the concept plan provides for traffic to be directed back toward Gilbert Street and there is adequate buffering from the adjacent residential properties, staff recommends approval. He added that there will need to be a waiver of the 45-day limitation period from the applicant for the Commission to defer this rezoning to a second public meeting. Bovbjerg said on the southwest corner a handicapped parking space is indicated. She asked if that were for the apartment building or for the commercial use. Miklo said it really did not make a difference. He said the Code is written that after there is a certain number of spaces, a certain percentage of those spaces have to be accessible. Miklo said because there are fewer than three apartments, they are not required to be accessible. Bovbjerg said the idea is for water flowing from the surface along the driveway to flow into Kennedy Plaza. Miklo confirmed this. Bovbjerg said she was concerned about the curb at the northwest corner and asked if there would be guttering there. Miklo said there would be an opening with a pipe to direct the water. Ehrhardt asked if there would be a retaining wall on the east side and on the south side. Miklo said there is a change in grade, and there may need to be a retaining wall. He said a lot of that drop is apparently in the railroad right-of-way, and the applicant may be able to elaborate. Ehrhardt asked what the egress for the property was in the past. Miklo said it was onto Gilbert Court; he said that would be removed. Ehrhardt asked how the site would be developed should this rezoning be denied. Miklo said that a duplex could be constructed on the site. He distributed drawings of the proposed commercial building. Public discussion: Dave Hodge, 4548 Southwest HaTelwood, said he is a developer and contractor and was available to answer questions. Ehrhardt asked about retaining walls on the south and east. Hodge said that on the east side, the slope from the railroad tracks down to the curb should be gradual enough so that it can just be planted to grass. He stated that on the south side, he may need to put a small retaining wall there; he said that MMS has not yet provided complete elevations. Hodge said he thought there would need to be a retaining wall to the north also. He Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 16 said he would provide a set of steps going up to the existing parking lot. Hodge said the main reason for the parking was to obtain more parking for the commercial uses in Kennedy Plaza. MOTION: Shannon moved to defer REZ99-0010, an application submitted by Hodge Construction to rezone approximately .33 acres from Medium Density Single-Family Residential (RS-8) to Community Commercial (CC-2) zone for property located at 813 Gilbert Court, to the July 1, 1999 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Bovbjerg seconded the motion. The motion to defer carried on a vote of 7-0. DEVELOPMENT ITEM: SUB99-0013. Public discussion of an application submitted by Steve Schmidt for a final plat of Crestview Third Addition, a 22.69-acre, three-lot residential subdivision with one outlot located at the northwest quadrant of Landon Avenue and Highway 1. Miklo said the final plat is in order and in compliance with the preliminary plat. He said staff recommends approval of this plat, subject to approval of the legal papers prior to City Council consideration. Public discussion: Steve Schmidt. 500 5th Avenue South. Mount Vernon, said he was available to answer questions from the Commission. Bovbjerg said the driveway was cited as an environmental consideration. She asked if the work with engineering, County staff, and the erosion control group was coming along all right. Schmidt said due to the slopes on the site, there was some concern about erosion. He said after discussing this with the County and other groups, he will be putting up silt fencing, and there should not be a problem. Schmidt said there is good vegetation there to keep erosion from being a concern. He said he also came up with a grading plan that was approved by the County. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Bovbjerg moved to recommend approval of SUB99-0013, an application submitted by Steve Schmidt for a final plat of Crestview Third Addition, a 22.69-acre, three-lot residential subdivision with one outlot located at the northwest quadrant of Landon Avenue and Highway 1, subject to the approval of legal papers before City Council consideration. Ehrhardt seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7- O. CODE AMENDMENT ITEMS: Public discussion of proposed amendments to the Zoning Chapter pertaining to the regulation of adult businesses. Kugler said he gave the staff report on Monday and would answer any questions from the Commission. He said he received no calls from any of the four existing adult business owners that were notified of this item. Public discussion: There was none. Public discussion closed. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17, 1999 Page 17 MOTION: Shannon moved to approve the amendments to the Zoning Chapter pertaining to the regulation of adult businesses as contained in staffs June 11 memorandum. Schintler seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0. Public discussion of an amendment to Zoning Chapter subsection 14-6N-1C and 14-6N-1C-2 regarding off-street parking on a separate lot in a different zone. Miklo said staff is recommending amendments to the zoning ordinance to allow parking for housing for the elderly to occur in other multi-family zones, even if they are of a lower intensity. He said that this would be by special exception by the Board of Adjustment, at which time the Board would consider the effect on adjacent properties and on the neighborhood. Miklo said this special exception process would also be available for commercial and industrial uses to allow parking for commercial uses or industrial uses in adjacent commercial and industrial zones. Miklo said staff finds this proposed amendment to be the least obtrusive way of allowing the Oaknoll parking situation to be resolved without rezoning the property to RMo44. He said it was a directive of the City Council to consider such amendments to the zoning ordinance, and staff is recommending approval. Miklo said the neighborhood associations on the list were notified of this agenda item. Bovbjerg said there has always been concern that people maximize a piece of land and try not to comply with the required parking on that land itself by using adjacent property. She asked if this just pertained to non-required parking so that whatever is required by whatever is being built must still occur on that piece of property. Miklo stated that this would only be for non-required parking. He said any use has to provide required parking on site, and only extra parking can go to the adjacent lot. Gibson asked if it were likely that this ordinance would have any application other than the immediate one in front of the City Council. Miklo said it is possible but would be rare since this applies to elderly housing. With regard to Oaknoll, Miklo said they would still have to rezone their lot to a multi-family classification, most likely RM-12, and probably the rest of that block face as well, and will then have to get a special exception from the Board of Adjustment. Gibson asked if this could be done the other way around with the lots being purchased and the rezoning requested and then make it possible for it to be used as parking. He asked what the advantage would be to making the amendment first. Miklo said it could be done the other way, but he did not feel it would make a difference. Gibson said he did not understand the process of changing ordinances on the off condition that the Commission would approve the rezoning later. Chait said the change in ordinance would give Oaknoll something to shoot for. Miklo said there would be no point in Oaknoll applying for the rezoning if it wouldn't get them the parking that they need. Ehrhardt agreed that this was putting the home before the cart. She said in her mind, the question is whether she wants that block rezoned. Chait said this change is not specific to that block or any specific project, so the Commission has to look at it in terms of setting up some standard that anything can work for. He said he feels this is a reasonable modification. Ehrhardt said that everything about this says that it is being considered for the one lot. Chait said that was technically true, but not theoretically true. Mitchell said there is one property, a dentist's office, currently located in a commercial zone that would like to provide some non-required parking in an industrial zone. He said this amendment Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 18 would allow that if a special exception were approved, although a rezoning would not be required. MOTION: Chait moved to approve an amendment to Zoning Chapter subsection 14-6N-1C and 14-6N-1C-2 regarding off-street parking on a separate lot in a different zone as written in staffs June 9 memorandum to the Commission. Shannon seconded the motion. Gibson said he would vote no on this motion. He said he would prefer to see this approached in a straightforward manner. Gibson said if this is going to be part of Oaknoll, they should purchase the property and get it rezoned. He said then he would be far less troubled by approving something like this, because then Oaknoll will own the property and it will all be dedicated to a common function. Miklo said Oaknoll owns three of the four lots. Gibson said that in that case, Oaknoll should come in and have the property rezoned. Supple said she would also vote no on this amendment. She said she voted in favor of Oaknoll's request for a rezoning. However, she said she finds this is offensive, possibly because the wording for this is specifically for one or two parties yet will apply to the entire City. Supple said she did not think this was thoroughly thought through. She said the appropriate thing would be for Oaknoll to purchase the rest of that land, rezone all of the land, and then proceed with what their intentions are. Supple said she did not think this was the answer. Shannon said he voted against the initial requested rezoning to RM-44. He said he feels that Oaknoll should do the whole block and be done with this. Shannon said he agreed with Supple and Gibson and would be voting no on this. Bovbjerg said the problem is that one of the properties in the properties adjacent to Oaknoll's is privately owned. She said it is presumptuous to say that Oaknoll should buy that property. Bovbjerg said she finds the amendment to be quite benign and cannot see that it will be a blight on the landscape. She said it is tailored to specific needs, but the Commission has done that before and should approve this to see how it goes. Bovbjerg said that if it doesn't work, it can be revisited. Miklo said this amendment is not being considered just for Oaknoll. He said that the situation with the dental office is probably a fairly common occurrence so that this ordinance change would be of benefit to other businesses in the City. The motion was denied on a vote of 3-4, with Ehrhardt, Gibson. Shannon. and Supple voting no. CONSIDERATION OF THE JUNE 3. 1999 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTFS: MOTION: Ehrhardt moved to approve the minutes of the June 3, 1999 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, as written. Schintler seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0. PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION INFORMATION: Miklo said the Commission should consider the revised pending list. The consensus was to forward the pending list to the City Council, as revised. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes June 17,1999 Page 19 ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 9:55 p.m. Dean Shannon, Secretary Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte ppdadmin/min/p&z6-17-99.doc MINUTES PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE THURSDAY, JUNE 3, 1999 - 3:30 PM COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRELIMINARY, Subject to proval . 2b(9) MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: CALLTO ORDER: Rick Fosse, Deborah Galbraith, Kevin Hanick, Gary Nagle, Purington, Terry Trueblood, Lesley Wright Karin Franklin, Karen Cowdery Adam Lowenstein (Gazette), Chuck Schmadeke Nancy Nancy Purington called the meeting to order at 3:37 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 16 AND MAY 6, 1999 MEETING: There were no corrections to be made to the minutes. Fosse moved and Galbraith seconded a motion to approve the minutes of April 16 and May 6. The motion passed 4-0. DISCUSSION OF THE ART COMPONENT OF THE WATER PLANT PROJECT: Hanick arrived at 3:40 PM. Schmadeke noted that he wanted artwork around the plant and at the entrance of the plant. The building for the plant has already been designed and the wellhouses have already been built, so the art is intended to be on the property rather than in the buildings. He requested a water feature for the property. He needs the documents for the water feature by late October, 1999 to include the water feature in the contract for the plant. Purington thought it might be nice to be able to see the water feature from Dubuque Street, and Galbraith asked where the money would come from to pay for the feature. Schmadeke said the money would come from the water plant project and the budget was $100,000. He indicated that the council who approved the plant project directed that art should be included. It was determined that nearly all of that money would have to be allocated for the water feature, and there probably wouldn't be much money left over for an additional sculpture out of the $100,000. Purington suggested that they explore a relationship with grad students in the UI art program to see if the students would be willing to create the pieces for a rotating sculpture garden. Hanick questioned how far the cars would be able to go into the park, and Schmadeke showed the committee where the parking lot would be. People will have to bike/hike in order to see the Public A~ Adviso~ Committee Minutes June 3,1999 Page 2 garden. The parking lot will hold approximately 25 cars, and will be separate from the employee parking lot. He also mentioned that the sculpture garden is a separate entity from the water plant, and money to support it would have to come from the Public Art budget. Franklin noted that with the budget for the water feature, it would be best to focus on the water feature first, and if there is money left over, to consider small sculptures. The committee has the option to conduct an invitation or a call to get an artist to design the water feature. Franklin also recalled the popularity of Doug Freeman. Hanick mentioned that he liked the fish in Freeman's previous designs. Franklin explained that there were three avenues by which they could notify artists of the water feature. They could conduct a general call, a call for commission or an invitational to get a design for the feature. Hanick mentioned that Freeman has already been through the call process and that he (Hanick) felt it was legitimate to enter conversation with Freeman. Nagle suggested a combination invitation/competition, in which three people are invited to compete for the design and they are paid according to the ranking of their work (1st, 2"d, 3rd). Hanick suggested that they bring Freeman down to see if he is interested, but others wondered if that was too exclusive. Purington noted that Freeman was a deliberative artist, and that last time he was in Iowa City, he wanted to live here for a while to gain inspiration. Franklin asked what the downsides would be if the feature design was not ready by 12/99? Schmadeke said that as long as the valve and flow rates were known, there probably wouldn't be any down sides. Construction of the plant is scheduled to be completed in 24-30 months. Purington recalled a sculptor from New Mexico that she would like to revisit. Nagle recalled a company in California that specialized in water features, but he couldn't remember its name. He also said that as an architect, he prefers to have everything known in the beginning and breaking out of the contract at a later point may end up costing more. The money spent on revising the contract if things change could take money away from the possible leftover money for the sculpture. Discussion followed as to what the proper number of artists to invite would be. If an invitation were to be used, it was decided that between three and five artists would be ideal, but more emphasis was placed on limiting it to three. Hanick noted that even if Freeman was the only invited artist, the committee was not obligated to purchase his work. Franklin and Purington noted that having an invitational probably wouldn't be more burdensome than dealing with Freeman directly. Also, the invitation didn't need to be as specific as the general call because the committee knew they liked what the invited artists had done. Purington offered a special thanks to Schmadeke and Franklin for getting everything started with the water feature at the water plant. Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes June 3, 1999 Page 3 There was discussion as to whether or not other artists could be invited without compensation, but Nagle noted that there wouldn't be a very good response unless compensation was ensured, because it takes a lot of time and money to create a design and model. Purington noted the need to compensate artists, and that it would be much better for the artists if this transaction was treated like architectural plans. She stressed the need for management in arts solicitation, and wanted the committee to strive to help make the arts/artists successful. Plus, it would be exciting and rewarding for the artists to compete. Schmadeke reminded the committee that he would like the proposals by October, 1999. Nagle made a motion to host an invited competition between three water feature artists/designers and establish a program, time schedule, and a compensation schedule for the selected artists. Purington seconded the motion and it passed 5-0. Franklin suggested that the committee pull together slides they have from Weatherdance and look at the slides and pictures from books at the next meeting, now scheduled for June 17 at 3:30 PM (location TBA). Nagle said that he would fax basic guidelines to Franklin if he can find them. DISCUSSION OF THE SCULPTURE PROJECT Purington handed out a Call to Artists modeled after that from Broward County. She created a submissions material list and would like to consider the presented Call to Artists (after changes made by the committee) as a working format. Discussion followed as to where and what the rotating sculpture project is. Franklin clarified that two of the sculpture pads in the Pedestrian Mall are for permanent sculptures and; the pads on Iowa Avenue are intended for rotating sculpture, unless the committee chose to reconsider those plans. Hanick questioned as to whether or not the artists of the rotating pieces would be compensated. Franklin said that usually they are paid a nominal amount for transportation costs for the sculpture; but that the spot serves as a gallery in which the sculpture is for sale and can be purchased after its designated stay in the exhibit. Franklin then asked whether the committee desired three rotating pads or if all five pads were to be permanent? Purington said that the wording in her Call to Artists, describing the pads as "sculpture opportunities" allowed for commission, purchase, permanent or rotating sculptures. She also noted the changes she made to the submission materials to try to clarify what the committee wanted and did not want to be submitted. Finally, even if there are five opportunities, the committee is not bound by the call to fill all five sites. Franklin noted that they might want to include some project parameters since they received some inappropriate submissions last time. It was decided that the parameters for height should be between four and ten feet to assure that the works aren't too small and so they do not fall over from wind torque. Hanick noted that there should be a clause in addition to the request that materials be durable, in which it is stated that the sculptures must be conducive to public interaction, as they will not be barred off like some sculptures in D.C. Public A~ Adviso~ Committee Minutes June 3,1999 Page 4 Nagle suggested that the clause request that the design and materials be conducive to interaction 24 hours a day. Galbraith mentioned safety considerations of the sculpture. Nagle asked if the quota for Iowa artists could be raised from at least one to at least two. He thought that Iowa artists might put more effod into submissions for the sculpture opportunities if they felt they had better odds. Purington wanted to leave the quota for Iowa artists as at least one and not two so that the committee is not bound if they choose not to fill all the sites. Debate ensued with no conclusion as to the definition of an Iowa Artist. Nagle noted that the sculpture pads hold 38,000 Ibs. Hanick questioned why the cap was set for $50,000 on one work, preventing the committee from spending its entire budget on one piece if it so desired. Purington said that she did not want to spend the entire budget on one work because such action might not be well received by the public. Franklin noted that there is room for significant quality variations between sculpture costing $5,000 and that costing $50,000; and that they might want sculpture of similar quality in the Blackhawk Mini-Park. Furthermore, the $5,000 minimum might be useful so that all artists don't price their work at the upper limit of $50,000. Purington mentioned how many artists' pricing was determined by what the market could bear, so it would be helpful to keep a lower limit so that they don't receive only submissions for $50,000. There was discussion as to the timeframe for this, and Purington noted the 12/15/99 deadline for submissions, so the committee could have all submissions before the holidays, to review after the holidays. Purington indicated that she would revise the call for the July meeting, with the opportunity for further changes by the August meeting before the August 15 mailing date. DISCUSSION OF "WEATHERDANCE" DEDICATION CEREMONY: Franklin mentioned that since the ceremony was planned for September, perhaps it could be integrated into a possible Twenty Years of the Pedestrian Mall celebration. She also noted the need for volunteers to work on this. Galbraith said that she had been in contact with Pauline Aspel. They may want to limit the poem because it may be expensive if they decide to print it. Perhaps a three-minute limit, rather than a line limit, would work best. Fosse mentioned that at the bridge dedication ceremony, for which Aspel also wrote a poem, they had the dedication and then the reading was optional for people could attend afterward. Galbraith suggested that a drama student read the poem because it might be easier to limit him/her to three minutes since s/he would be used to that sort of restriction. Purington suggested that Galbraith head the committee for the dedication. Discussion followed regarding whom should be invited to attend the ceremony. Purington asked whether or not there was a budget for refreshments at the ceremony. Franklin suggested the sub-committee create a modest proposal for that. Public Ad Advisory Committee Minutes June 3, 1999 Page 5 OTHER BUSINESS: Galbraith got the pricing for placing an ad in the Public Art Review (circulation ~1000) and it would be $450 for a half page. Fosse left at 5:13 PM. Franklin noted that the Guild Web has a large circulation. Purington said that they should compare options and decide where to advertise. Hanick motioned to adjourn the meeting, Galbraith seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 5:22 PM. Minutes submitted by Karen Cowdery ppddir/min/art6-3-99.doc MINUTES RIVERFRONT AND NATURAL AREAS COMMISSION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 1999 -5:30 P.M. IOWA CITY CIVIC CENTER - LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Cortney Daniels, Jeff Gillitzer, Mark Graham, Joe Kral, Lynn Rose, Larry Wilson MEMBERS ABSENT: Russell Bennett, Gretchen Gdmm, David Thayer, Dan Mascal ALTERNATE: STAFF PRESENT: Brad Neumann OTHERS PRESENT: Two University of Iowa students observed the meeting for their Group Communication class CALL TO ORDER: Rose called the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: Neumann reported that the Council Bylaws Committee said that the RNAC's proposed change to reduce the number of members on the RNAC to ten is acceptable. However, the Commission first needs to receive Mascal's resignation in wdting. Rose said that she would call Mascal to remind him. Graham asked about the Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission Work Program - Pending List that was included in commissioners' packets. Neumann said that he thought commissioners would be interested in seeing that the 'Review of the Floodplain Management Ordinance" is on the Planning and Zoning Commission's (P & Z's) to-do list. He said that P & Z will take into account what the RNAC has sent them. Wilson commented that FIRST had a meeting' about moving forward with a dver corridor trail opening celebration. They hope to have a two-event celebration to coordinate with a walk for chadty and an event that would be more conducive to having bicycles on the trail. He said that he would not be able to attend the next meeting in May and that FIRST would like to have a representative from each of the cosponsors. Unfortunately, the FIRST meeting conflicts with the RNAC meeting. Rose noted that they may not have a quorum if someone attends the FIRST meeting in May. Wilson said that he will ask a FIRST member what the RNAC can do to help. CONSIDFRATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE MARCH 17. 1999 MEETING: MOTION: Wilson moved to approve the March 17, '1999 meeting minutes as submitted. Graham seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 6-0. COMMISSION REPORTS: Report from the JCCOG Regional Trails and Bicycling Committee (RTBC) Representative "' 06-29-99 2b(10) The representative was not in attendance. Riverfront and Natural Areas Commission Apdl 21, 1999 Page 2 COMMISSION DISCUSSION: Proposed amendments to the JCCOG Arterial Street Plan Neumann pointed out that a map was included in commissioners' packets showing a proposed amendment for the extension of Oakdale Boulevard on the JCCOG's Arterial Street Plan. He noted that the street alignment preferred by the JCCOG Board will have the least impact On the slopes and sensitive areas. Neumann said that the JCCOG Board is asking for public input. Rose clarified that the memo states there are no current plans for construction of the street; however, the amendment must appear in the Arterial Street Plan if they want to complete an extension in the future. Commission members were pleased that the reute with the least harm to the environment was chosen. The Commission did not have any comments to forward to the JCCOG Board. Report from the Special Events Committee Included in commissioners' packets was a copy of the press release for the Earth Day and Arbor Day events to be held on Apdl 25. Neumann said that the Iowa City Press Citizen would publish an article about the events in the Saturday, Apdl 24u' edition. He said that clean-up would be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the tree planting at 2 p.m. Terry Robinson would present the City's Arbor Day proclamation and Tree City USA award. Kral said that he would have to be out of town that day. Commissioners commented that they would make an effort to attend the tree planting. Discuss the Development of the Iowa City Creek Maintenance Program Neumann said that four calls have been received about using the Creek Maintenance Grant. Wilson asked if Wayne Peterson would be involved in assisting homeowners. Neumann said that he would talk to Peterson. In addition, he said that Rick Fosse is willing to work with Peterson. Wilson said that he is concemed about making sure a homeowner gets assistance in case their good faith effort has the potential for long-term negative effects. (Such as causing erosion when the intent was to clean up the creek.) Kral said that Bennett would be another knowledgeable resource. Neumann said that a typed list of all of the objectives was included in the meeting packet. A list of the objectives receiving votes (in order of most votes to least) was also included. Rose said that the next step in the process would be filling in the action planning worksheet. She said that according to the steps of the process, the goal statements (as shown below) are placed on the worksheet. Under each goal statement are categories, such as Capacity, Risk, etc. Rose explained that 'capacity," for example, is what the RNAC would need to make the goal happen. The goal statements were: 1. Provide adequate management of channel flow. 2. Control erosion and sedimentation of the stream corridor. 3. Enhance recreational potential and community amenities associated with the streams. 4. Design, implement, and administer a user-fdendly creek maintenance program. 5. Create opportunities for community education and involvement. Riverfront and Natural Areas Commission Apdl 21, 1999 Page 3 6. Enhance environmental quality and the natural habitat of the stream. 7. Promote stewardship and environmental responsibility in the urban stream corridor. Graham said that, when viewed together, all of the lists and the worksheet seem overwhelming. Rose agreed and asked the Commission for their views on what they would choose as the next step in the process. Gillitzer mentioned defining the scope of the Program. Daniels said that the Program is not only about completing spedtic tasks but also a vision, a way of looking at creeks in Iowa City. After a lengthy discussion, commissioners agreed that the RNAC must first define what the end result of the RNAC's Creek Maintenance Program is. They agreed that a mission statement should be drafted. The statement will sum up the desired objectives, define the boundaries of the Program, and capture the overall holistic approach of the Program.- Members agreed that they would each attempt to wdte a mission statement before the next meeting. A review of all statements at the next meeting will help the Commission brainstorm and ultimately write an appropriate mission statement for the Program. OTHER BUSINESS: There was rioRe. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: Kral moved to adjourn the meeting. Gillitzer seconded the motion. The motion carded by a vote of 6-0. The meeting was adjoumed at 6:45 p.m. Minutes submitted by Wendy Ladve. Jccogs~mlnsVna~21.doc MINUTES SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION TUESDAY, MAY 25,1999 MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT STAFF PRESENT GUESTS PRESENT CALLTO ORDER Bebe Ballantyne, Jay Honohan, William Kelly, Terd Miller, Allan Monsanto, Deborah Schoenfelder, and M. Kathryn Wallace. Joanne Hora. Craig Buhman, Michelle Buhman, Julie Seal and Susan Rogusky. Judy Klapper, Council of Elders; Devonna Weber, Interior Designer Pioneer Office Products; Joel Wulf, Director Adult Day Health Services Abbe Inc.; and John Horn, H. R. Green Consulting Engineers. Miller called the meeting to order at 3:00. MINUTES Motion: To approve the April minutes as amended. The motion carded on a vote of 7-0.Honohan/Wallace PUBLIC DISCUSSION None REVIEW OF FURNITURE REPLACEMENT AND REDECORATION PROJECT- Weber; Wulf Consultants for this project presented the fabdc, lighting, window covering, furniture and carpet samples recommended for use in the lobby, mezzanine card playing area and Washington street entrance. Comfort, safety, lighting, durability and ease of cleaning were considered when making selections. A question and answer session followed. REVIEW OF FIRE SPRINKLER, CEILING TILE AND REPLACEMENT PROJECT - John Horn, H. R. Green Consulting Engineers The project is tentatively scheduled to start at the end of August and will take between six and eight weeks to complete. It involves replacing the ceiling tiles and gdd work throughout the building and installing a fire sprinkler system on the first, mezzanine and second floors. The existing fire sprinkler system on the ground floor will be updated. Installation of the sprinkler system will involve cutting and patching several areas of plaster in the lobby. The entire ceiling will then be painted to match the existing color. Much of the work on the first floor will need to be done dudng evenings and on weekends when the Center is closed. Final cost estimates will be provided. MINUTES SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION TUESDAY, MAY 25, 1999 2 SENIOR CENTER EXPANSION - Honohan Honohan reported the City Council denied the Senior Center's request for additional programming space in the Iowa Avenue Parking facility at this time. However, the Council is censidedng leasing office space in the parking facility rather than selling it in order to allow consideration of additional Senior Center programming space in future years. Commissioners discussed the request for a skywalk connecting the Senior Center and the Iowa Avenue Parking Facility. It was brought to the attention of Commissioners that many participants believe the Skywalk is an approved part of the Iowa Avenue Parking facility project. Commissioners were in agreement that this misperception needs to be corrected and interested participants encouraged to express their support for the skywalk. A petition urging the City Council to build a skywalk from the Iowa Avenue Parking Facility connecting the ramp to the Senior Center will be made available for residents of Iowa City and Johnson County to sign and later presented to the City Council. 28E AGREEMENT COMMITTEE REPORT- Miller The future of the Senior Center and the services it should provide were discussed. Alternative methods of funding the Center if the County withdraws its twenty-percent contribution to the operational budget were also discussed. Motion: To direct the 28E Agreement Committee representatives to seek continued County funding in proportion to the share of the services provided through programs, events, activities and service agencies at the Center. Motion carded on a vote of 7-0. Honohan/Kelly SENIOR CENTER UPDATE Operations- Kopping Report given Pro.qrams - Seal June events were reviewed. Volunteers - Rogusky An update of volunteer programs and opportunities was given. COUNCIL OF ELDERS -Klapper A report from the Council of Elders was given. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - Honohan A report from the Board of Supervisors meeting was given. MINUTES SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION TUESDAY, MAY 25, 1999 3 COMMISSION DISCUSSION The June Commission meeting date was changed from June 15 to June 22. Motion: To adjourn. Motion carded on a vote of 7-0. Wallace/Monsanto The meeting adjourned at 5:35.