Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-07-13 Bd Comm minutesIOWa CITY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 1999 CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRELIMINAR' Subject to Approval' MEMBERS PRESENT: Lars Anderson, Frank Gersh, Mike Gunn, Sue Licht, Doris Malkmus, Marc Mills, Linda Shope, Michaelanne Widness MEMBERS ABSENT: Richard Carlson, Pam Michaud STAFF PRESENT: Scott Kugler OTHERS PRESENT: Lowell Brandt CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Anderson called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: Therewas none. CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS: 824 NORTH GILBERT STREET: Kugler said the Brandts intend to do some extensive landscaping in their front yard, including expanding the driveway, which requires moving existing steps that come down from their home to the sidewalk farther to the north. He said all of the work can be done without a building permit with the exception of the steps and the handrail that is needed on one side. Kugler said the Brandts are proposing a handrail along the south side of the stairs leading down along the steps to the sidewalk and plan to match the existing rail that is on their porch step. Anderson asked if the rail is required. Kugler responded that a rail is required on one side of the steps, according to the building inspector. He said the Commission is concerned with reviewing the steps and the rail, which together require a permit. Brandt said that the current run of the steps is extra long, and these steps would be more standard. Gunn asked if the building department requires a particular rise and run. Brandt said he was not aware of that. He said that Mike Streb is doing this work, and he expected him to meet the City standards. Malkmus asked if there were any reason based on the age of the house that would indicate that the railing part of the landscape should be simpler or more delicate. Brandt said that originally there was no railing. Licht said she did not know but thought that in general, railings were probably not used until they were installed as a reaction to accidents, and then a sort of pipe rail was used, as opposed to something planned in. Brandt said they discussed just doing the top rail, which would be less expensive, but they wanted to mimic the railing that is on the porch now. Malkmus asked if the spacing on the railing would be identical to the spacing on the house. Brandt confirmed this, adding that the railing is just on the step portion. He said the reason for this project was to get the steps away from the traffic. He said that there is also just a solid concrete view of the house from the street, and they would like to create a vegetation buffer there. MOTION: Malkmus moved to approve the certificate of appropriateness for plans as submitted for 824 North Gilbert Street. Mills seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 8-0. Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission June 10, 1999 Page 2 SECTION 106 REVIEWS: 507 East College Street. Kugler distributed photographs of the property. He said the property was included in the College Hill survey and was evaluated as being a potential contributing structure in an historic district, should it be pad of an historic district. Kugler said that when the boundaries were drawn for the College Green District, they stopped about one half block short of this property. He said the property was not evaluated as being individually eligible at that time for the National Register. Kugler said the first question in a Section 106 review is whether the property is eligible for listing. He said that if the answer is no, that stops the review, but if the answer is yes, the Commission needs to look at the work being done to determine if the standards are being met. Kugler said that the 106 review pertains only to property that is determined to be eligible for listing in some manner, either individually or as part of a district that is eligible as a group of properties. Malkmus said this property does not seem to be eligible because of the evaluation results. She said it was interesting that the information shows the date of construction for the building to be 1856. Kugler said that was a typographical error. Anderson said the site inventory shows the date of the building's construction to be after 1899 and before 1906. MOTION: Gersh moved that the 507 East College Street property is not individually eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Widness seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 8-0. 26 East Market Street. Anderson said that Old Brick is already listed on the National Register of Historic Places so that the Commission needs to determine whether the proposed alteration falls within the standards. Kugler said the application is for the addition of an interior elevator. He stated that if this were a residence, the Commission would not even be looking at the interior spaces, but because it is a public building, it needs to go through this process. Kugler said the elevator will not impact any original part of the church as it would be in a later addition, and it will not be visible from the exterior or any of the major public spaces within the building. Licht said that she would not vote on this, as she is an ex officio member of the board of Old Brick. MOTION: Malkmus moved to determine that the proposed work for the property at 26 East Market Street is in conformance with the Secretary of the Interior Standards. Shope seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0-1, with Licht abstaining. DISCUSSION OF HISTORIC DISTRICT GUIDELINES: Kugler said the question posed at the last meeting is whether the guidelines are ready to go to the neighborhood for input or if more work needs to be done. Licht asked how these guidelines relate to the original design guideline booklet, which was developed as a neighborhood tool. Kugler said the booklet itself was never adopted as the Commission's regulations. He said there is a set of guidelines that was adopted by City Council resolution in 1990. Anderson said the Commission discovered that there was not a lot of specificity to the guidelines. Widness and Licht said the booklet was very good. Kugler said he was trying to print more booklets but was having trouble finding the artist who did the original sketches so that he could use the originals. Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission June 10, 1999 Page 3 Anderson said the ordinance allows the Commission to review the certificates of appropriateness based on the Secretary of the Interior Standards and the Commission's own guidelines, which have been approved by City Council. He said the Commission is trying to better the guidelines that are already in place. Licht said she liked the proposed matdx and felt it was easy to read. Gersh asked how this would all fit with regard to the Longfellow District. Anderson said the idea is to refine the guidelines since the City Council is concerned about the vagueness of the standards and guidelines. He said the Commission wanted to have something more concrete in place before going to Longfellow and eventually going to the City Council to propose a new district. Malkmus said previous discussions had been about involving the Longfellow residents in coming up with guidelines. Anderson said the Commission is at the point now where it could take the guidelines and have a neighborhood meeting with the Longfellow residents to get their view before going to the City Council. Malkmus said there is still a lot of work to be done, e.g. when talking about "compatible to primary structure", because it is the place where the guidelines from the Secretary of the Interior are the vaguest. She said that in those cases, the Commission has to have its own guidelines regarding what should fit and what should be compatible. Gunn said that all four categories in the matrix are separate unto themselves. He said the booklet is very close to what he would consider adequate for the category "compatible to primary structure". Licht said the booklet was written for the purpose of informing the people in the neighborhood who were trying to add something compatible, and it was written mostly for additions. Anderson suggested that portions of the booklet could be excerpted and attached to the guidelines or referenced in the guidelines. Gunn said that the third and fourth columns in the matrix need to be written for each district. Licht said the booklet has a lot of visual illustrations and is much easier to understand than the verbal descriptions. She said that part needs to be included so that the guidelines can be understood more readily. Licht said that because the districts are so different, what works in one district does not necessarily work in another. She asked if design guidelines need to then be done for each district. Malkmus said she thought there could be a series of characteristics for each district that would include such things as average height and average setbacks. She said that all of those 'characteristics could be pulled from the neighborhood evaluations or contributed by people living in the district. Gunn said there has to be a certain general nature to it, although some things could be specified. Licht said that all of the district reports have a list of defining characteristics, and those could become part of the guidelines for the neighborhood. She said the neighborhood could look at those characteristics and discuss whether they fit the definition of the district. Gunn said the documentation for the historic district is the vital starting point. He said the Commission also needs to find a consensus within the individual districts if they want certain things done in a certain way. Gunn said that if the Commission had the support of the neighbors saying what they wanted in their historic district, that would be backing for the Commission to be more restrictive. Licht said that was true to a point as long as what the neighbors are accepting as their rules for the district are things that have already been defined as features of the neighborhood. She said that if it can be based upon the things that are architectural or historic features, that can then become the neighborhood's rallying point. Licht said that Summit Street is a difficult area to do because there are so many different types of houses there. Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission June 10, 1999 Page 4 Anderson asked what sort of standards could have been written for the Summit Street area that would have answered the question posed last summer. Gersh said the guidelines should say that things should be of a scale appropriate to the historic district. Anderson said there was a lot of dispute about that. He said that unless you include a specific percentage or square footage in the guidelines, he did not see how that question could have been answered ahead of time. Licht said it would be difficult to include such specifics for the Summit Street neighborhood. Anderson said there will always be vagaries. Licht stated that there would always be those unique individual cases, but the parameters can be set a little tighter. Kugler said there is a danger in setting limits in terms of percentages and square footages because there is always a situation where it might be reasonable to go beyond those limitations, e.g., an attached garage in the case of a disability. Gersh said there is a problem in that the standards could depend somewhat on who in the district comes to approve this. He said that is why the Secretary of the Interior standards are good, adding that other guidelines might be too picky. Widness said the standards have to be detailed enough for the City Council's standards. Licht said they can be picky enough in character and scale without putting exact definitions on square footages and percentages. Widness said that it why the booklet is so good - because people can look at the book and understand intuitively the point to be made. She said the booklets could be distributed to the neighborhood associations as an example of what is needed before making changes. She said this visual part is very important. Malkmus said there are two simultaneous things happening with this: one is to set something down to be approved by the City Council and the other is to convey information. She said the Commission needs to decide if the two things can be done simultaneously or can the Commission use a tool like the booklets for the Longfellow area and at the same time work out the language for the guidelines. Kugler said the more user friendly the guidelines are, the better. Anderson said some form of the booklet could be used. He said he liked the idea of listing the Secretary of the Intedor Standards and referencing the booklet for the category "compatible to primary structure". Anderson said that for "compatible to historic district", the booklet could contain an appendix for each specific district, and this could also be done for the category "scale to historic district". Malkmus said that sounded like a manageable approach. Anderson said that two of the categories have already been determined. Licht said the appendix for each district could contain the defining characteristics of the district. Anderson said the Commission could go to the City Council with the overall blueprint and then have the City Council approve the rest appendix by appendix. Licht asked how much money the City would provide to rewrite the booklet. Kugler said he would look into how much it would cost to reprint the booklets, and if the City cannot pay for them, the Commission could approach Friends of Historic Preservation or a similar group. Licht said the Commission should do a major edit job and rewrite the booklets, incorporating the work Gunn has done and then adding the appendices. Licht said the Commission has all the National Register nominations for all the districts and should be able to glean out of that the defining characteristics. She said they could be approved by the neighborhoods before putting them in, and there would then be one document. Kugler said that, given some of the concerns raised at the City Council level, the Commission didn't want to go ahead and add another 225 properties in Longfellow without having the guidelines straightened out. He said that if the two things could be done simultaneously or the Iowa City His~dc Pmservation Commission June 10,1999 Page 5 guidelines could be done and then followed up with the Longfellow District and the Longfellow guidelines, that might be the way to go. Licht said that any of that would take a certain amount of time, so that these things could be worked on all at the same time. Anderson said the Commission already has the standards and the compatibilityy data. He suggested that before holding a meeting with the Longfellow neighbors, someone look at the survey and then go to them with the characteristics, asking if they have any to add or if they disagree with any of them. Kugler said he thought there was still some work to do on the second category, "compatibility to pdmary structure". Licht said she would work with Gunn on the category and would also look at the Longfellow survey. Anderson asked Kugler to investigate funds for reprinting a revised booklet. Shope asked what kind of resources are available to the Commission. Kugler said the only things specified for the Commission are one quarter of Kugler's time and about $6,500 to use as matching funds. He said any other funds come out of the urban planning budget. Malkmus said it would be helpful if Kugler would circulate information from the design book before the next meeting. She said it could at least be photocopied at this point. Widness asked if the Moffitt guidelines were complete. She said she had typos to submit. Malkmus asked her to submit them to her. She said she would contact her neighbors and hold a meeting to discuss the Moffitt guidelines. Kugler said he had some concern about how the Commission approaches the neighborhood regarding the third and fourth categories. He did not want the Commission to go to the neighbors to present ideas and then ask the neighbors to write the standards, which could result in problems, depending on who gets involved. Licht agreed that the Commission does not want to go to the neighbors with an open plate but should present them with some documented information and ask for their input. DISCUSSION OF PROCEDURES/ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS: Kugler submitted the revised copy of the ordinances and the amendments. Anderson said the big issue is the change to allow an appeal by abutting property owners. He said this is fairly common in other historic preservation ordinances, and the standard for appeal would be the same as for the property owner, with the basis for appeal being an arbitrary and capricious decision. Anderson said a big concern here is whether this right of appeal would delay things by quite a bit of time. He said that conceivably, if someone applies for a certificate of appropriateness, he would have to wait until the appeal period passes before beginning work or would be doing the work at his own risk. Anderson said he actually wrote the ordinance so that the homeowner could not get a permit before the appeal period expires. He added that he did not know what the City's liability would be if they issued someone a permit while someone else had the right to appeal. Anderson said that could be discussed with the City's legal department. Kugler said that after a Board of Adjustment decision, there is a 30-day period of appeal, but most applicants proceed with the work before then. He said, however, the Board appeal is directly to the courts, which is more involved than appealing to the City Council. Anderson said the City Council would review any appeal by an abutting property owner. He said that the standard for appeal would be an arbitrary and capricious decision by the Commission. Anderson said this gives the abutting neighbor the same right as the property owner with the same definition, arbitrary and capricious, that the owner can use. Malkmus said she thought Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission June 10, 1999 Page 6 there should be a provision for an obviously erroneous decision by the Commission. Widness said that as a practical matter, this provision will never come into play. She said she sees it as somewhat insulting to abutting owners to give them the notion they may be able to do something about a decision that they don't like. Anderson asked if it were not then insulting to the property owner. Widness said that the property owner actually owns the property and therein lies the difference. Licht said it is a somewhat a question of property rights and asked why an abutting property owner should have the right to appeal something that the owner wants and the Commission has already agreed works. Anderson said that a property owner in an historic district sacrifices some property rights for the benefit for the district. Widness said she does not believe the Commission would make an arbitrary and capricious decision, although it might make wrong decisions. Anderson responded that the standard could be changed for both owners and abutting property owners. He said that arbitrary and capricious would indicate that the Commission was not following its own guidelines or the Secretary of the Interior's standards. Widness said the problem with changing the standard from arbitrary and capricious to the merits of the case is that the City Council does not want to review that. Gunn said that in the case of the Houser appeal, the Commission had done such a thorough review that the City Council's review never got to the point of discussing issues like the siding to be used. Anderson asked if the Commission wanted to add the appeal provision for abutting property owners. Malkmus said she would like to see it added to the regulations. Widness said she had mixed feelings. She said she thought it would alienate more than it would soothe. Kugler said that before amending the ordinance and procedures, the Commission will want to hold a public meeting and invite those from the historic districts to get their opinions. Widness said most people don't think about these issues until there is some big event to cause them to. Mills said one advantage to only allowing the abutting property owners to appeal, rather than the entire neighborhood, is that it might help focus the appeal on the issue of the appropriateness rather than having it become a political argument. Kugler suggested holding a public hearing on this and gathering data, after which the Commission could make its decision. Anderson briefly read through the proposed ordinance amendments. Widness asked that wherever the regulations refer to a Certificate of Appropriateness or Certificate of No Material Effect, the key words be capitalized in order to be consistent. She also asked that in Section 14- 4C-2A, the words "Iowa and Iowa City"' be included after the word "American". Anderson said that in Section 14-4C-8, Remedy of Dangerous Conditions, no definition was included. Kugler said he would check into how the previous ordinance read. Malkmus asked when the public hearing could be held. Kugler said there were still a couple of things to be resolved, including developing alternative language regarding an appeal. Anderson said the Commission may also want to add something about demolition by neglect. He said he would like to do as many ordinance changes as possible at one time so that they can all be discussed at a public hearing in order to get feedback. Anderson said a lot of other ordinances have an economic hardship provision, and the Commission may want to consider that as well. Kugler said, regarding the Mondo's fire, there was a question of whether the Commission has any review over the new building. He said the question then arises as to whether someone could demolish his building, pay the $100 municipal infraction fine and then have a clean site to work on. Kugler said there could be some provision in the ordinance to place a moratorium of Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission June 10,1999 Page 7 five years or more on building, if someone does that in direct violation of the ordinance. Other communities have such provisions. Anderson asked Commission members how they wanted to conduct a public hearing. Kugler said he thought the Commission could propose something and have it out there for discussion, or have two options out there and gather input to make a decision. Malkmus suggested the Commission use what is written and asked if a public meeting could be held before the regular August meeting. Widness said August may not be a good time for a public meeting because so many people are gone. Anderson suggested holding the public meeting in September. He added that those who would attend a public hearing would be those people concerned with the Summit Street issue, and there might result a skewed perception of public opinion. Kugler said another approach would be to send out a letter and survey card in order to explain the appeal process changes and ask for responses. Licht liked the idea of a letter, saying it would draw a more impartial and better response. Anderson said he would draft a letter for the Commission to review at its next meeting. He said the letter would state that the issues would be discussed at the next Commission meeting. Kugler said the letter could be reviewed at the July meeting and then sent out in July, stating that the specifics would be discussed at the August meeting and a public hearing would be held in September. The consensus was to follow this timeline. UPDATE ON GUIDE MAP REVISIONS: Widness discussed the old map and previewed the new map she had worked on. She said she took the downtown area off the map because there was no way to put downtown with all the buildings next to each other on the map. The possibility of having the downtown map on a separate document and referenced by this map was discussed. Widness said she felt strongly that the map should be a complete document and should include the downtown area. She said that if the map size is reduced, it should be possible to fit everything on one guide map. Widness said she would take the map to Technigraphics to see what they can do at this point. UPDATE ON HARMON BUILDING PHOTO DOCUMENTATION: Kugler said he arranged for Louis Berger and Associates to document the Harmon Building inside and outside with photographs. He stated that there are three sets of photographs, and one set will be sent to the State, one will be kept for the City, and one will be provided to the Historical Society. Kugler said he would bring the photos to the Commission's next meeting, if completed. DISCUSSION OF BUTLER HOUSE: Kugler said the Commission hasn't done anything on the Butler House in a long time. He said there are TEA 21 funding decisions to be made in the next year, and the Commission has some obligation to make an effort over the next few years to do something with this building. Kugler asked if a couple of Commission members would be willing to take the initiative to get a group of people together to seriously talk about the building and put together a proposal for the use of the building. Malkmus suggested anyone involved in this should approach the trailhead people. Kugler said it would be good to get them involved, but the Commission should take the lead on this. Licht said she was willing to work with someone else but was unable to be the spearhead of the project. Malkmus said that fundraising is the key for this project. Licht said that fundraising is a good place to start; she said the City Council would probably not throw a lot of money at this unless Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission June 10, 1999 Page 8 there was a lot of money coming from other sources. She said it would be good to determine the end use of the building before fundraising in order to target those who the funding will come from. There was no other volunteer. Anderson said the Commission could discuss this again at next month's meeting. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FROM THE MAY 12, 1999 MEETING: MOTION: Shope moved to approve the minutes of the May 12, 1999 meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission, as written. Widness seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 8-0. COMMISSION TIME: Licht said she attended an ADA Historic Preservation seminar and had information to distribute for anyone who was interested. Shope asked if Bella Vista Place is in the Brown Street District, and Kugler confirmed this. Shope asked if the Commission would be asked to review the work that is currently going on there. Kugler said it depends on what is proposed for the building, but paving is not something that requires a permit. Kugler said the new owners of the building want to rent it to the maximum number of people allowed, which would allow for three unrelated people in this RS-5 zone. He said that in order to have a roomer, there must be three parking spaces, so that the owners are required to get two additional spaces, which they are apparently going to do by putting a driveway on the south side of the building. Kugler stated that most of the changes will be on the interior. He said that any exterior work or site work requiring a permit will result in Commission review. Shope said she was surprised that the guidelines allow parking in a yard in an historic area. Licht said the Commission may want to look at that. Shope asked if the State offers training for people on historic preservation commissions. Kugler said there are workshops around the State. Licht suggested calling Kerry McGrath, who offers such seminars. UPDATE ON HRDP GRANT APPLICATION: Kugler said the grant was not received. MEMORANDUM FROM SARAH HOLECEK, FIRST ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY, REGARDING HISTORIC LANDMARK STATUS OF THE OPERA HOUSE BLOCK BUILDING: Anderson said the memorandum is pretty straightforward. Regarding the new Mondo's building, Anderson said the Commission could write a letter to the property owner and offer to do an informal review. CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING AWARDS PROGRAM: Information was in the packet. Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission June 10, 1999 Page 9 CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING ORIGINAL TOWN PLAT, PHASE II, SURVEY: Malkmus said there were about 20 people at the May 27 neighborhood meeting. She said one gentleman, Karl Klaus, was adamant that the center of Goosetown is just east of Dodge Street. There was some concern about the Goosetown area. Malkmus said there will be fewer problems if Marlys states that the historic districts are about architecture, in order to diffuse some of the animosity. Malkmus said that a lot of people came who were interested in general information. Kugler said some people from Mercy Hospital came, as did Dr. Kammermeyer, who is concerned about restrictions and who contacted the mayor about the meeting. TASTE OF THE GARDEN AT PLUM GROVE, WEDNESDAY, JULY 21 - 5-7 P.M.: Kugler said Betty Kelly wanted to make Commission members aware of this annual event. HISTORIC PRESERVATION FUND ANNUAL REPORT FOR FISCAL YEAR 1998: Kugler said this information was in the packet for Commission members to read. Kugler said that after the Commission was turned down for the HRDP grant application, Kerry McGrath sent an e-mail to Iowa City as well as five or six other commissions that are also looking at ordinance-type issues and suggested doing an ICN network program with speakers from Des Moines at sites throughout the State, in order to talk about ordinance information. He asked if Commission members were interested. Anderson said he would talk to McGrath about the potential program. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 7:42 p.m. Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 24, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Iowa City Civic Center- Lobby Conference Room MEMBERS PRESENT: Joan Jehle, Mary Larew, Charles Major, Diane Martin, Jane Nelson-Kuhn, Rick Spooner, Mettle Thomopulos, Jan Warren, Janice Simmons-Welburn MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: Heather Shank OTHERS PRESENT: 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Martin called the meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: MOTION: Warren moved to approve the minutes from the April 19, 1999 meeting as submitted. Jehle seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 7-0. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None 4. OLD BUSINESS: Attendance Policy Shank said that she spoke to the Mayor who told her the Council will not discuss this issue further because the boards and commissions are not interested in having an attendance policy that applies to all boards and commissions. Martin proposed that the Human Rights Commission (HRC) review the attendance policy that the HRC subcommittee drafted before the Council became interested in this issue. (She explained that the Commission had been working on changes to their own policy before the Council decided to review the possibility of a blanket policy.) She added that commissioners could then vote at the next meeting on whether they believe the attendance policy is acceptable. Martin introduced new commissioner Rick Spooner. Human Rights Breakfast Subcommittee Martin said that the Commission is considering two subcommittees-one for public relations and one for nominations. Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 24, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Page 2 The public relations subcommittee's duties would include: · Prepare/Distribute press releases to local media · Publicize on government access channel, Dottie Leshtz radio program ° Print/post posters · Be interviewed for news stories · Public Service Announcement Ray show, Dave The nominations subcommittee's duties would include: ° Revise and print nominations form · Seek and encourage nominations in addition to mailing · Review forms and select winners ° Arrange to obtain plaques · Host ticket table Jehle volunteered to work on the public relations subcommittee. Martin suggested that they ask Larew if she would also help with this subcommittee. Other commissioners will help with the subcommittee as needed. Nelson-Kuhn, Major, and Martin volunteered to work on the nominations subcommittee. Warren said that she would recommend that the chairperson always be part of the nominations subcommittee because this person's experience will help in determining the winners. Shank said that because the old nominations form and mailing labels are on her computer, she will have them printed. She said that she would also provide a list of past award winners to the nominations subcommittee. Warren volunteered to obtain the plaques and do the Public Service Announcement. Martin proposed to have all members help stuff the envelopes for mailing after the July meeting. Commissioners discussed the potential due date for nominations. Shank said that she would prefer that the Commission receive all nominations and choose winners one month before the breakfast. The HRC can then focus on publicity during the month before the breakfast. Martin noted that the Commission could discuss this further once the forms are prepared. Martin said that by the July meeting, all commissioners should be prepared to commit to assisting with phone calls to businesses/people for nominations. In addition, commissioners will be asked to sell tickets and help out on the day of the breakfast. Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 24, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Page 3 Housing Public Forum - Jan Alderton (Larew and Simmons-Welburn arrived at the meeting during this discussion.) Shank reported that Alderton said she would be happy to be part of a panel on housing discrimination. Alderton asked that they just let her know the date. Warren asked the Commission what they would specifically like to focus on racism and discrimination or housing and discrimination. Martin said that she would like to see a forum that covers all of the protected classes even if it would not be as well attended. Thomopulos and Spooner commented that a public forum on housing and discrimination should gain a wide audience. Thomopulos said that some aspect of racism would be covered with the broader topic; it just would not be focused specifically on racism. Nelson-Kuhn stated that most people will only attend if the issue pertains to them and said she believes a housing and discrimination forum would receive a better turnout. Warren clarified that when they first started the town meetings, it was felt that Iowa City needed to discuss racism. The first meeting was a very general meeting about racism. The second meeting was about teenagers/kids and racism. Out of the second meeting came the idea of talking about where people live and how this affects where lines are drawn for school districts, etc. She said that the message the Commission received from the public was that they wished to continue this discussion about racism in Iowa City. She said that she does not want to end the series on racism or dilute the issue with a broader discussion because the public seems to feel that this has been the problem all along. She suggested that perhaps housing could be a separate forum. Martin said that the HRC has not done anything on housing for quite some time, which is why she would like to have a general discussion on housing and discrimination. After the Human Rights Breakfast, they could hold another public forum in the racism series on public accommodation. Larew asked about having a forum on racism and employment issues. Warren said that would be fine but the Commission needs to make sure that they have people willing to be on a forum panel. Nelson-Kuhn and Shank agreed that Alderton would be able to do a session by herself without a panel. Warren said the challenge for the Commission will be to make sure there is an audience. Martin said the HRC will need to do another mailing. Commissioners decided that Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 24, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Page 4 Wednesday, September 22 at 7 p.m. could be an acceptable date for a housing and discrimination discussion. Shank said that she would check on a room. Martin said that the Commission should compose a letter specifically targeting organizations in order to encourage attendance for this session. Shank and other commissioners agreed that the HRC could work 'on mailings for the housing session and the Breakfast at the same time in July. Other Nelson-Kuhn said that she would not mind changing meeting times, but would like to move the meeting to a different night of the week. Warren said that she was glad Nelson-Kuhn mentioned this because she will have a conflict in the fall if they are not able to move their meetings from Monday nights. Thomopulos suggested that everyone review their calendars before the next meeting. The next meeting will be held June 21 at 7:30. 5. NEW BUSINESS: Gay Pride Parade Martin noted that the Gay Pride Parade will be held on June 19th from noon to 4 p.m. Martin said that the HRC does not need to set up a table as early as they have in the past because the parade never starts on time. Shank suggested that they set up the table at 11:30 a.m. this year. Simmons-Welburn and Thomopulos volunteered to host the table in the morning. Major and Larew volunteered to host the table in the afternoon. ADA Parade Nelson-Kuhn stated that the ADA Parade is July 24th at 10 a.m. with additional activities after the parade. She said that Shank should have received a call about whether the HRC would like to be involved. Shank said that she did not receive any calls. Nelson-Kuhn said commissioners are invited to attend. On another issue, Nelson-Kuhn said that she would like to draft a letter for the Commission to sign and present to City Council. The letter would ask the Council to support the concept of the ADA with the least restrictive environment for persons with disabilities. Nelson-Kuhn said that she could draft this letter prior to the next meeting. Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 24, 1999 - 7:00 p.m, Page 5 Commissioners discussed whether this was something that they should present to Council because they have decided not to address Council on some similar issues. Major said he thought the Supreme Court should have a decision on this by the beginning of July. Nelson-Kuhn said that she did not raise the issue because of the court decision; rather, she wanted to educate the City of Iowa City. She said that she thought it was good to see cities in Texas endorsing the principles of the least restrictive environment even though the governor supported keeping individuals in institutions. Warren said that she supported the idea but thought that the effort could backfire if the Council felt there would be too many political ramifications in supporting this. Shank gave some background on how the ADA has been adopted federally but was not mandated for states and municipalities. The City has to comply in certain respects because of receiving federal funds. However, state law applies in many areas. Major clarified that the ADA was passed in 1989 and any new construction or remodeling since that date must comply. Martin noted that there are many issues the HRC could bring before the Council that they have discussed in the past. However, if the Commission were to bring all of them up to Council, the councilors tolerance for reviewing such issues would be lessened. In addition, Council might say that this is what the HRC is for. Commissioners discussed other ways to raise awareness such as letters to the editor stating that the HRC endorses the ADA principles and encourages others to do the same. In addition, commissioners could write letters to legislators, etc. Simmons-Welburn suggested that commissioners educate themselves about this issue before moving forward. Shank said that she would provide the Commission with information about the ADA. Warren asked if the Commission could include this information in their training manual. She said that they could also include other items in the training manual that were previously discussed, such as when a commissioner should sign a letter as a member of the Commission and when they should sign as an individual. Shank said that Warren would be knowledgeable about this and could draft something. Warren agreed that she may be able to do this as a long-term project. Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 24, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Page 6 6. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS: Nelson-Kuhn said that she received information about how to use words of dignity when talking about people with disabilities from the Commission of Persons with Disabilities. She handed out a copy of the mailing she received and said that there is a longer article called "Person-Fi'rst Language" that she could provide to anyone who would like additional information. Spooner said he talked with the City Council about areas downtown that are physically dangerous for people. Larew asked if commissioners had seen the story about opposition from police officers across the country to having cameras in police cars. She said that she also heard the ruling that a camera person riding with police officers who films on private property is violating a person's privacy. Jehle said that she is the commission representative on the Rapid Response Team. Larew attended the meeting in her place. The Team determined that only a person representing an active group could be a member of the Team. The team is in the process of creating a brochure for distribution throughout the community. She said that the Team plans to call the brochure "Response to Hateful Acts and Hate Crimes" because hate crimes are so narrowly defined. She added that the Human Rights Office telephone number will appear on the brochure so that messages may be left 24 hours a day. Major said that Diann Wilder-Tomlinson, chairperson of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, was at the Iowa City Public Library on May 19, 1999. Major asked Wilder-Tomlinson that discrimination against Iowans based on sexual orientation be considered as a topic for the fall planning retreat. Warren noted that she, Shank, and Martin sat next to Wilder-Tomlinson at a dinner beforehand and were able to talk with her about the fact that the state Commission so far has not even agreed to discuss this issue. Thomopulos said that she and Jehle attended the essay contest awards and found it impressive and touching. Shank said that she wrote a letter to all entrants who won or received honorable mention. Simmons- Welburn suggested that as part of their promotions for the contest next year they mention in their publicity that participation will be beneficial for students' college applications. Warren said that she wanted to let everyone know that she did not draft a letter about the proposed English as the only language law because it was defeated. Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 24, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Page 7 7. STATUS OF CASES: Shank said that there are seven cases in legal, two cases for which investigative summaries are being drafted, four mediations scheduled for the upcoming week, and 27 complaints to investigate. She noted that this is the lowest number of cases her office has ever had. 8. ADJOURNMENT: Warren moved to adjourn the meeting. Larew seconded the motion, and the meeting was adjourned. HRC052499.doc Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Iowa City Civic Center- Lobby Conference Room MEMBERS PRESENT: Joan Jehle, Mary Larew, Charles Major, Diane Martin, Janice Simmons-Welburn, Rick Spooner, Mettie Thomopulos, Jan Warren MEMBERS ABSENT: Jane Nelson-Kuhn STAFF PRESENT: Laz Pittman OTHERS PRESENT: 1. CALLTO ORDER: Chairperson Martin called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: MOTION: Warren moved to approve the minutes from the May 24, 1999 meeting as submitted. Jehle seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 8-0. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: The Human Rights Commission (HRC) recommends to Council that the following revised HRC by-laws be submitted for approval. III. Membership B. Commissioner shall attend twelve (12) regularly scheduled monthly meetings during the calendar year. The Chairperson or Human Rights Coordinator must be notified of an absence prior to any meeting. 1. Three consecutive absences or four absences in a 12 month period may result in: a. A vote by simple majority to request the resignation of the Commissioner in violation of the absence policy b. A vote by simple majority to recommend to City Council that the Commissioner in violation of the absence policy be removed from the Commission. X. Powers and Duties of the Commission. Duties: It is each Commissioner's responsibility to take an active role in the work of the Commission. This shall include reviewing human rights complaints and the investigative file, attending Commission meetings, and planning and attending community/educational functions. Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Page 2 4. OLD BUSINESS: HRC's Meeting Dates and Times Martin asked what meeting dates and times work best for commissioners. After some discussion, commissioners agreed that the fourth Tuesday' of each month is agreeable. The July meeting will be held on July 26th. After the July meeting, the HRC will meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Commissioners agreed that this could be reviewed again as needed. Simmons-Welburn and Thomopulos said that they may not be able to attend the July meeting and Major said that he may be late. Attendance Policy Martin asked if there were any comments or suggestions for the revised attendance policy that will become part of the HRC's bylaws once approved by the City Council. Warren said that she thought the revision covered everything the Commission had talked about. Jehle thought the revised policy covered all of the concerns. Larew asked if they had planned to include anything about "excused" vs. "unexcused" absences. Martin said that this was what the subcommittee determined to be most appropriate after the many discussions on this issue. She added that the general feeling was, even if the absences are excused, a person's effectiveness as a commissioner is affected when they miss three consecutive meetings or a total of four meetings in a twelve-month period. In addition, if a commissioner misses this many meetings, they usually have a good reason that would be excused. Simmons-VVelburn said the language does not preclude the Commission from looking at the types of absences because the policy says "may result in..." Martin agreed and said that the Commission left the policy this way because there are things that may happen (like an illness in the family) that the Commission can work with, yet the policy also leaves room for making the decision to recommend removal if a commissioner simply does not show up. Jehle added that she liked the addition of X. Powers and Duties of the Commission that discusses a commissioner's responsibility for participating in other activities besides meetings. Simmons-Welburn said that this will help new people get an idea of what will be expected of them if they want to serve. Martin said that Shank has also added a similar statement to the application form. Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Page 3 Major asked if Shank or someone will take attendance. Jehle said that the minutes are on file if they wish to track this. Pittman asked if the Commission would like Shank to chart attendance. Commissioners agreed that they would like attendance tracked by either one of the commissioners or by Shank. However, they wished to discuss this further at a later time when Shank is present. Martin said that the HRC does not want this to be difficult or a burden. MOTION: Jehle moved for the adoption of the revision of the Human Rights Commission bylaws pertaining to membership and powers and duties of Commission members, and that the revision be accepted as written. Larew seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of Martin read the proposed revision to the by-laws for the minutes. The revision appears above in Recommendations to Council. Human Rights Breakfast Subcommittees A list of duties and assignments for the Breakfast was distributed. Martin said that a copy of the mailing list was sent to commissioners for any changes or corrections. She reminded everyone that the HRC will stuff envelopes after the July meeting. The Commission attempted to narrow the list of duties that Shank and Pittman need to take care of. Warren suggested that the Public Relations subcommittee take care of arrangements with the local TV news media. Simmons-Welburn and Warren agreed to make arrangements with the Union. Simmons-Welburn and Thomopulos said that they would take tickets and take care of last-minute arrangements. Review Nomination Form - Suggest Revisions Martin stated that a copy of the nomination form was included with the mailing list Shank had previously sent to commissioners. A copy of the cover letter was also included. The title of Diane Finnerty's speech "We Are Committed To Diversity But Are We Committed To Each Other?." sounded fine to all of the commissioners. After discussing improvements to the nomination forms, commissioners agreed that a cover letter would announce the Human Rights Breakfast, offer tickets, and announce the speaker. A separate nomination form would describe each award on the front of the form and have room for nominations on the back. The nomination form will state that nominations are always accepted and encouraged. Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Page 4 For the program, Warren suggested that rather than arranging the list by year, the list could be arranged by award. Jehle said that she will create a list by award for the City News. Simmons-Welburn said that she would send an example to Martin. Martin will then provide Shank with a copy. Warren asked if the HRC has a logo. Jehle said that she thought it was" the logo of the hands. Martin will ask what the HRC's logo is and whether the same logo can appear on the program and nomination forms. As part of the public relations subcommittee, Jehle reported that an article had appeared in the most recent City News and that there will be another article (hopefully on the front page) in the next City News. Schedule People to be at ADA Fair The ADA Parade is July 24th at 10 a.m. with additional activities until 4 p.m. at City Park. Because so few members are available that day, Martin suggested that the HRC just try to cover the main hours. Jehle and Thomopulos said that they will be able to host the table from 11-1. Spooner and Martin agreed to host the table from 1-3. Martin said that she would check with Nelson-Kuhn about her availability. Warren asked if the HRC has a tabletop display that they could take to various events. Major said that they only have a poster and handouts. Commissioners agreed that a tabletop display would be beneficial considering the number of events at which the HRC is present. Warren said that she would research the cost of having a display created and the Commission could discuss this as a possibility for the next budget year. Housing Public Forum - Jan Alderton As noted on the agenda, Alderton said that she was delighted to be the only speaker as she has a lot of information to share. The forum is scheduled for September 22 at 7:00 p.m. Martin asked everyone to write this date on their calendar. She said that the Commission will need to discuss the timing of the mailing and posters at a future meeting. 5. NEW BUSINESS: Martin said that the speakers from the ADA who will be attending the July meeting requested to have questions in advance. She said questions should be submitted to Shank. Martin said that Shank talked to Diann Wilder-Tomlinson, chairperson of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, about the fall retreat and placing the Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Page 5 issue of sexual orientation on the agenda. She has not heard back from them. However, Wilder-Tomlinson's office called for information on the HRC's meeting dates because Wilder-Tomlinson plans to attend one of the Commission's meetings. Pittman stated that Wilder-Tomlinson's office has been very active in gathering information. Major suggested that they invite Wilder-Tomlinson to the Human Rights Breakfast. Warren said that they should have her as next year's speaker. Pittman said that she will place this idea on the November agenda. Simmons-Welburn asked about the town meeting public forums. Commissioners reviewed the decisions from the previous meeting and noted that they had agreed to hold the housing public forum in September featuring Jan Alderton. In October the Commission will begin planning a series on racism and discrimination, possibly to begin at the same time as the University of Iowa's (Ul's) Martin Luther King, Jr. activities. Martin recommended that the HRC work together with the UI and the Ul's calendar. Simmons-Welburn said she is concerned about the fact that these issues are only focused on around the time of MLK Day. She added that she would like the HRC to hold a public forum on race and gender. Warren said that although there are a lot of events for MLK, the HRC may be appealing to a different audience than the UI. In addition, she noted that this is the one time of year when the HRC is expected to be visible and would be expected to hold an event. The Commission could follow up with events throughout the year. Simmons-Welburn said that before the July meeting, she would talk with the UI about their MLK calendar and the possibility of co-sponsoring an event. Jehle asked whether the HRC could prepare a proclamation about MLK for the mayor to read at a City Council meeting. Spooner commented that the proclamations are read at the beginning of the Council meeting and that this would be a good place to start and make an impact. 6. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS: As a City Council candidate, Major said that the experience is helping him to work on his message, which is human rights. Major said that he attended Karen Kubby's progressive forum. A woman he spoke with said that she had some recommendations for the Commission about changes to the ordinance concerning gay partners. He also attended the Gay Pride picnic where he gave a talk about human rights. He said that the group, Human Rights Iowa City was also in attendance. Major said that he was Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Page 6 not familiar with them. Warren explained that HRIC is an active group that has existed for 3-4 years. Warren said that she was surprised by the HRIC's decision to try to implement a human rights policy for the county. She said that the question that came to her mind is who would enforce this, accept complaints, investigate, etc. " Martin said that a citizen of Coralville asked her about a similar ordinance. She encouraged the woman to find a councilor in Coralville who is supportive of gay partners. Pittman said that the Iowa City office can offer direction to people from outside of Iowa City who have complaints but can only investigate claims of discrimination that occur in Iowa City. Simmons-Welburn said that she also attended the rally and that a lot of people stopped by the HRC table to talk. She commented that there was a lot of information available and would encourage anyone who has only attended the parade to also go to the inside rally. Thomopulos said a woman stopped by the table who told them she had asked Shank to notify members of her art exhibit on human rights in China. Unfortunately, the exhibit had ended. Martin said that the woman had called. Jehle reported that the Rapid Response Team did not hold a meeting in May. There was to be another meeting the next day at which time she thought the team would have a brochure completed. She noted that there will be a large article about the Human Rights Breakfast in the City News. She also let everyone know that the wife of former commissioner Tom Dickerson had a baby and that his family will be moving back to Iowa City. Warren also attended the Gay Pride Rally and said that the audience continued clapping for some time after Karen Kubby spoke. Kubby is retiring from the Council and has been a strong supporter of the HRC. Warren and other commissioners asked if the HRC could do something special to acknowledge her efforts and the efforts of all councilors who are committed to human rights. Spooner said that he too attended all of the aforementioned activities. He said that he has been working with someone from Independent Living and plans to ask questions about the ADA. Major also mentioned that the Iowa City Police Department is including race and gender on forms for traffic stops beginning July 1. 7. STATUS OF CASES: Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Page 7 Pittman said that she is in the process of preparing three closing summaries and Shank is finishing a lengthy investigation. She said that it has been helpful to have a transcriptionist because it allows them to complete cases more quickly. She added that one to two cases are coming in each week. Warren asked about case #54. She said that the construction of the following sentence seems awkward. "The police did not find the Complainant was carrying a gun." She thought the statement would be clearer as, "The police found that the complainant was not carrying a gun." Pittman said that she would ask Shank about changing the wording. Major asked if they were continuing to work on both old and new cases. Pittman said that she is working on all cases at the same time. All are at different stages because there can be delays in receiving cooperation. 8. ADJOURNMENT: Warren moved to adjourn the meeting. Larew seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 9:'15 p.m. HRC062199.doc '~ II , I > 0 0 ~X X <>< X 0 z 0 r · -- ~ ~ 0 E,T: 0 G X X 0~>< X X X X x X x X x x z x Ooo~X x X X x X X X X X X X O--~ C)-~-o X × X X >( × >(  O~O r- ~ o E E o .._, ~ ~ .- ~,, m m -~ E~o o ~