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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-07-27 Bd Comm minutesMINUTES IOWA CITY AIRPORT COMMISSION THURSDAY JUNE 10~ 1999 - 5:45 P.M. IOWA CITY TRANSIT FACILITY MEMBERS PRESENT: Pat Foster, Rick Mascari, Howard Horan, Mark Anderson, 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: Mascari said the minutes from the last meeting should reflect that the Commission is attempting to get weather data to determine how many times the Airport is below a 500' ceiling, with less than one mile visibility. Other than that addition, the minutes of the May 13, 1999, Commission meeting were approved as submitted. AUTHORIZATION OF EXPENDITURES: Anderson made a motion to approve the bills. Horan seconded the motion and the bills were approved 4 - 0. PUBLIC DISCUSSION - ITEMS NOT ON AGENDA: Dick Blum said that in the discussion of how wide of a primary surface to reserve for Runway 06/24, the question was raised on how long it would be before manufacturers would provide reasonably priced GPS instruments for precision approaches. He circulated an article that said that Garmin was producing a combination GPS, ILS, VOR and NAVCOM instrument for less than $10,000. They sold 1000 units and are receiving more orders daily. Kyle Koch presented a proposal to lease lots #17 and #18 in the North Commercial area. Their intended use would work with the CI-1 zoning. The Commission will review the proposal. The NCA will be on the agenda for the July meeting. Koch said they would like to get started in two or three months. It will hopefully be on the Planning and Zoning Commission agenda in June or July. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION/ACTION: a, ACSG Project: Greg Bridger said there were four tenants remaining in the Iowa City Mobile Home Park. He thought all but one would be moving this weekend. The remaining unit will be moved out, along with the tenant. Dave Kisser is having a difficult time finding a company to move the unit. Bridger said everyone except the railroad has refused the easements. He is waiting for a response from the railroad. He said he thought the project was on schedule. Bridger is meeting with an auctioneer next week to schedule the auction of the mobile homes, the two houses and the motel. Airport Terminal Building: O'Neil said the project started on June 7'h. He was trying to get the offices in the new hangar completed so ICFS could completely move out of the Terminal building. This move should be completed by June 18th. The renovation project is expected to take six months. Iowa City School District lease: O'Neil said a copy of the lease was in the information packet. It is the same lease that the Commission has had for the last several years. Only the dollar amount has changed. Anderson asked if this property was in the North Commercial area? Mitchell said it is in the area but the Commission has the right to terminate the lease with sixty days written notice. Anderson made a motion for a resolution to approve a one-year lease with the Iowa City Community School District. Foster seconded the motion and it passed 4 - 0, with Bender being absent. USAR lease: The original lease was for three years. It expires in August of 1999. The lease allowed for an additional three years if agreed to by both parties. Although there was a public hearing for the original lease, Mitchell suggested holding another public hearing. Horan made a motion to set a public hearing for the USAR lease for July 15, 1999, at 5:45 p .m. Anderson seconded the motion and it passed 4 - 0, with Bender being absent. Southwest T-hangar building: O'Neil said there are 13 people on a waiting list for T- hangars and ICFS said they have additional names. Time is scheduled at the June 14m Council work session to discuss building another T-hangar. O'Neil said it would be located west of the south T-hangar buildings and would contain ten t-hangars or six t-hangars and three larger hangars. O'Neil said that the Council has been willing to build hangars in the past if the Commission can show how the building would be paid for. Mascari and Anderson said they would attend the meeting on June 14t~. f. Southwest FBO hangar: The hangar is almost completed. ICFS will move into the office area as soon as they can, in an effort to accommodate the contractor in the Terminal. The doors are all on and most of the windows are in. The main power should be turned on tomorrow. The building should be ready for occupancy in two weeks. Anderson asked who has the responsibility for any of the planes parked in the building at night? Mitchell said no planes should be in the hangar until it is completed. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT: Mascari said he met with Bender and Dick Blum conceming the North Commercial area. Because of the setback required for the taxiway on the south side of the development, there would be very little land lost ira 1000' primary surface is reserved for Runway 06/24. The consensus of the Commission was to preserve a 1000' primary surface for RW 06/24. The plat will go through P & Z as is. The Commission can make their final changes when they update the Airport Layout Plan. Maseari thanked Blum for all the time he committed to the NCA project. O'Neil said some potential wetlands were identified in the NCA. He will discuss their possible impact with the Planning Department. Jurisdiction needs to be resolved and a mitigation plan developed. This should not pose enough era problem to stop the development. Mascari noted that the Council's draft of the absence policy for boards and commissions was in the Commission's information packet. The Council would like input from the Commission. Mitchell said there had been a problem with one board in the past with people missing a significant number of meetings. He said the policy was designed to deal with unexcused absences. After a brief discussion, the Commission said they had no specific comments and agreed with the Council's draft of the absence policy. Mascari said he met with O'Neil to discuss how the vehicle replacement plan works. He thinks the plan should be reviewed and perhaps revised. He will work with O'Neil to better understand the plan and see if there is a more efficient way to replace vehicles. Mascari said it all goes back to trying to make the Airport self-sufficient. Mascari said there was an article in AOPA magazine that said two airports in the western U.S. that are getting TLS approaches. He is still interested in trying to site a TLS in Iowa City. O'Neil said this is not yet eligible under the IDOT or FAA CIP ~mding. The project would cost over $1,000,000. Mascari said he was at the Airport last weekend and said he noticed three City police cars parked by one of the hangar buildings. When he asked if them was something he could help them with, they said they were doing some training. O'Neil said he has asked officers in the past not to drive on the airside of the Airport unless there was a need to be there. He said he appreciates the police patrolling at night but there shouldn't be a need for patrol cars on the taxiways and aircraft ramp during the daytime. There are aircrat'~ moving around the hangars and vehicular traffic is supposed to be limited. COMMISSION MEMBERS' REPORTS: Heran said he has made several trips to the Airport to observe the construction of the new hangar. He said he would also take some before and after pictures of the Terminal renovation. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: Mitchell said he wanted to confirm the Commission's commitment to preserve a 1000' foot primary surface for Runway 06/24. The Commission agreed that was the plan. Mitchell said the Science Center should be made aware of this. Blum said he is on a committee for the Science Center and has discussed this with Jim Larew. Larew thought he could still put in a large screen theater with the building restrictions that go with the 1000' primary service. O'Neil said that he has received proposals for refurbishing the windsock and wind tee. He is waiting to hear from the IDOT for permission to proceed. The USAR would like to make some improvements to the property they lease from the Airport. This would include removing some trees and expanding their parking lot. There will be additional information at a future Commission meeting. O'Neil said the Commission might want to consider discontinuing the DTN weather service until the Terminal Building is renovated. It would be less expensive to pay a renewal fee than pay for the service for six months when it is not being used. O 'Neil said he might try to find a temporary location for the monitor. In discussing the DTN aviation package with several pilots, O'Neil said most agreed the aviation package was useful but most of the information was available in other places for free. O'Neil said the Commission could save $ 300 per year by not continuing the aviation package of the DTN. This will be discussed at the July meeting. O 'Neil said the Police Department has requested the use of the ICMHP for training in June. He said it would depend on if the tenants were all moved out. SET NEXT MEETING: The next regular Airport Commission meeting is scheduled for Julyl5, 1999, at 5:45 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjoumed at 7:22 p.m. Rick Mascari, Chairperson MINUTES IOWA CITY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 1999 - 5 P.M. CIVIC CENTER - COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRELIMINARYr Subject to Approval MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Bender, Lowell Brandt, Kate Corcoran, Mike Paul MEMBERS ABSENT: T.J. Brandt STAFF PRESENT: John Yapp, Dennis Mitchell OTHERS PRESENT: Harry Wolf CALLTO ORDER: Chairperson Bender called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. ROLL CALL: All Board members were present except for T.J. Brandt. CONSIDERATION OF THE MAY 12, 1999, BOARD MINUTES: MOTION: L. Brandt moved to approve the May 12, 1999, Board minutes as submitted. Corcoran seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 4-0. SPECIAL EXCEPTION ITEM: EXC99-0012. Public hearing on an application submitted by Southgate Development Co., Inc. for a special exception to permit off-street parking on a separate lot, a vacant lot located at 439 Southgate Avenue, to provide additional, non-required parking for the MCI Telecommunications office use located at 1925 Boyrum Street. Yapp said the MCI property is located in the Intensive Commercial (C1-1) Zone on Boyrum Street and the lot where additional parking is being proposed is on Southgate Avenue. He showed an overhead of the property location and the revised plan. Yapp said since the first staff report was mailed out, Public Works staff discovered a 30-foot wide drainage easement along the south edge of the property at this location. He said there is a stormwater pipe in this easement, which is designed to carry up to a 1 O-year storm. He said within the easement a swale has been shaped to provide an overland route to both carry and convey the stormwater to the west toward the river· He said staff notified the applicant that they could not support parking within this easement because it increases the liability potential to the property owner and the City if parking were permitted in the easement and any cars that were parked within this easement were damaged by high water. He said the applicant submitted a revised plan that leaves the easement unaltered, shifts the parking to other areas and moves the greenspace from the center of the parking lot to the easement area. He said in staff's view the new design has the added benefit of providing a wider buffer of 30 feet between the parking lot and the residential manufactured housing park to the south. He said the applicant has also asked staff to revise the condition requiring the parking lot lights be on poles no greater than 15 feet in height. He said this is partly due to the redesign of the parking lot which resulted in a more elongated parking area, and also due to the City's new lighting regulations that are currently at the City Council level which require lights to be mounted no higher than 25 feet within 300 feet of a residential area. He Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes June 9, 1999 Page 2 said staff feels it is reasonable to hold this property to the same proposed lighting standards to be used for the rest of the City. Yapp said MCI occupies a building located on Boyrum Street and Southgate Avenue and has a telecommunications business in that location. He said they have found that their parking lot is not adequate to provide enough parking for their employees. He said a telecommunications business typically has a lot more employees in the building than most other office uses. He said staff observation of the site shows that there is a lot of parking in parking lot aisles, on other properties and along the street, so it is obvious that there is spillover parking. He said currently they have a 220-space parking lot and have as many as 280 employees on site. He said most of those employees drive themselves to work. He said MCI has attempted other strategies to reduce the demand for parking, such as encouraging car pooling and offering half-price transit passes for employees. He said while a few employees have taken advantage of those programs, it is not enough to reduce the parking demand. He said the building occupancy is set at 336 people so they could have more people in the building than they do now. He said staff feels that it is obvious that more parking is needed than what is currently provided on-site. Yapp said when parking is provided on a separate lot the Zoning Chapter usually requires that a written agreement be submitted that said parking will be provided in perpetuity. He said the intent of that is for required parking, but since this is for non-required parking staff does not feel that this written agreement needs to be in place. He noted that Southgate Development owns both properties, and staff does not feel that a written agreement is needed. Yapp said in considering whether parking should be provided on a separate lot, the Board shall consider the desirability of the location of off-street parking spaces, aisles and drives separate from the use and any detrimental effects such off-street parking may have on adjacent property. He said part of this assessment involves that the nearest point of the parking area to the nearest point of the building shall not be greater than 300 feet. He said the MCI building is about 220 feet directly north of this proposed parking lot, but to go directly between the two would require crossing through a parking area on the intervening Mecca property. He said if employees were to traverse the MCI property between the proposed parking area and the MCI building, the distance would be approximately 270 feet. Yapp said that one concern that staff has is that this is a mid-block crossing for pedestrians and it is likely that most people will not walk down to the intersection, cross the street and walk back over, but would cross at mid-block. He said this is similar to many other urban parking areas that appear to function very well if there is good site distance. He noted the Chauncey Swan parking ramp across from the Civic Center as one such example. Yapp said the Board should assess the desirability of having a commercial lot solely occupied by a parking lot that could take away commercial land from other commercial development. He said typically the City discourages lots to be solely occupied by parking lots because it is not an efficient use of commercial land. He said there is a need to balance that against the demand for parking by an existing business. He said staff feels that the proposed parking area should have a positive effect on the area by reducing parking congestion and spillover parking currently being experienced. Yapp said in order to buffer this parking lot from the residential area to the south, staff has suggested that a solid wood fence at least six feet in height be placed along the south property line. He said he thought the applicant had already agreed to that. He said the applicant has requested that landscaping other than the typical evergreen screening be Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes June 9, 1999 Page 3 allowed and staff feels that is appropriate as long as the proposed landscaping is approved by City staff. Yapp said staff recommends approval of EXC99-0012, a special exception to permit off- street parking on property located at 439 Southgate Avenue to serve a telecommunications company use located at 1925 Boyrum Street, subject to 1 ) a six-foot high, solid wood fence being constructed along the south lot line, 2) any parking area light fixtures being mounted no higher than 25 feet, being downcast and shielded, and causing no more than 1.0 foot- candles of light along the south property line, 3) the construction of the parking area being in general conformance with the site plan date-stamped June 9, 1999, 4) if landscaping other than standard evergreen screening is provided between the fence and the parking area paving, such landscaping being approved by City staff, and 5) Public Works staff approval of the parking lot design plan date-stamped June 9, 1999. The Board members reviewed the revised site plan and read the staff memo. Bender asked if Public Works had seen the revised plan. Yapp said planning staff received the plan earlier that afternoon and no one from Public Works had seen it yet. He said that Public Works' main concern was that none of the swale be paved or altered. The revised plan shows that the swale and the 30-foot wide drainage easement are to be preserved. Bender opened the public hearing. Harry Wolf, Southgate Development said he represented the applicant. He thanked staff for doing a thorough job of reviewing the issues, and said that they agree with staff's recommendation. He said their client, MCI, is anxious to have the parking lot constructed, and he asked that the Board approve the special exception item, understanding that it would be subject to Public Works review. Bender closed the public hearing. MOTION: L. Brandt moved to approve EXC99-0012, a special exception to permit off-street parking on property located at 439 Southgate Avenue to serve a telecommunications company use located at 1925 Boyrum Street, subject to 1 ) a six-foot high, solid wood fence being constructed along the south lot line, 2) any parking area light fixtures being mounted no higher than 25 feet, being downcast and shielded, and causing no more than 1.0 foot- candles of light along the south property line, 3) the construction of the parking area being in general conformance with the site plan date-stamped June 9, 1999, 4) if landscaping other than standard evergreen screening is provided between the fence and the parking area paving, such landscaping being approved by City staff, and 5) Public Works staff approval of the parking lot design plan date-stamped June 9, 1999. Corcoran seconded the motion. L. Brandt said he would support the motion. He said he thought staff explained the issues well and the item appears to be non-controversial. He said the area in which the lot is being constructed is quite commercial and there is some buffering with the trailer court. He said it didn't appear that there would be any issues in terms of detriments or endangering the public health, safety or welfare. He said there is the concern about people crossing at the street, but in terms of the related amount of traffic and the good site lines, the potential for setting up a dangerous situation for pedestrians should be reduced. He said there did not appear to be any significant impact on other's use of the property in the near-by vicinity. He said he understood the concerns about taking away from the possibility of developing other commercial property in that area with the lot being turned over to parking, but even in a late afternoon drive by the property he said he saw the obvious need for parking by the MCI Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes June 9, 1999 Page 4 business. He said the standard on the utilities is being addressed, traffic congestion did not seem to be an issue and all the other standards seemed to be met. Corcoran said she would support the motion for the same reasons stated by L. Brandt. She said she thought the greenery and the fence would be adequate screening. She said she also went by the property and it seemed to her that parking was a necessity. She said she thought the buffering would take care of any negative aspects. She noted that new plan had 77 parking spaces while by her count the old plan had 75 spaces. Paul said he would also support the motion for the reasons previously mentioned. He said he had some safety concerns before he found out that the entrance would be down further west. He said he had been down to that area before and the visibility for crossing the street is very good so the concern about pedestrian mid-block crossing was a very minor one, if a concern at all. Bender said she concurred and would support the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 4-0. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT INFORMATION: Bender asked about summer meeting schedules and attendance. All present members said they planned on being in attendance at the July 14 meeting. Corcoran said she would not be present for the August 11 meeting. Bender suggested called T.J. Brandt to make sure they would have a quorum for the August meeting. Yapp said the August meeting date could be changed if necessary. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: L. Brandt moved to adjourn the meeting. Paul seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 4-0, and the meeting was adjourned at 5:25 p.m. Susan Bender, Chairperson John Yapp, Acting Secretary Minutes submitted by Traci Wagner. ppdadrn/mirt,~ooa6-9-99.doc MINUTES ::;':';~. ,:2:, .:;? %¥ IOWA CITY BOARD OF APPEALS "' ':"' "'~;"' ;~: MONDAY, JUNE 7, 1999 - 4:30 P.M. SITE VISIT AT 403 SOUTH LUCAS STREET AND MEET AT LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM CITY CIVIC CENTER MEMBERS PRESENT: Anna Buss, Robed Carlson, Tim Fehr, Gary Haman, Wayne Maas, John Roffman, Tom Werderitsch MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Tim Hennes, Gary Klinefelter, Roger Jensen, Dennis Mitchell OTHERS PRESENT: Casey Cook, Cal Fuoss, John Loomis BOARD INSPECTION OF 403 S. LUCAS ST.: The Board members perlormed a site inspection of the third floor bedroom., Owner Cal Fuoss, Sr. Housing Inspector Gary Klinefelter, Sr. Building Inspector Tim Hennes and Asst. City Attorney Dennis Mitchell also attended. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Carlson called the meeting or order at 4:55 p.m. CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE MARCH 1, 1999, MEETING: MOTION: Buss moved to approve the March 1, 1999, meeting minutes as submitted. Roffman seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 7-0. HEAR AN APPEAL OF NOTICE OF HOUSING CODE VIOLATION (403 S. LUCAS ST.): Carlson noted that is the property that the Board just visited. Klinefelter said he tried to be fairly thorough in the chronology, summary and recommendations. Roffman said #2 of the staff recommendations said that the escape/rescue window should be installed, but then Klinefelter said the door could be become the escape/rescue point and the window would not be needed. Klinefelter said he thought they could consider that to all be one room if the wall section is removed, so they could use the door to the west in lieu of an escape/rescue window. He said the habitable area would be the east end and the west end would become the hallway. Maas said he was concerned about not putting an escape/rescue window in because of the hallway length. He said if a fire would start in the back of the room a person would not be able to get from the habitable room to the outside stairway. Buss said if a fire would zoom up the stairs the person would be completely out of luck. Klinefelter said there is a hard-wired smoke detector at the top of the stairs. He said they are asking for an additional one to be installed in the sleeping area. Carlson asked why this space was directed to be vacated in 1986, vacated and now has become reoccupied, and they are now being asked to approve that this space be rehabitable. Klinefelter said yes, with some modification. Carlson asked if the building was converted from a single family house back to a duplex in 1987. Klinefelter said there was a building permit and Certificate of Structural Compliance issued for that, but they did not have any record of inspections. He said there is still an outstanding issue of utility separation for electricity, but that is under the jurisdiction of the Iowa Utilities Board. Klinefelter said the whole thing was kind of an embarrassing affair because a lot of mistakes were made. Iowa Ci~ Board of Appeals Minutes June 7,1999 Page 2 Werderitsch said that inspections were recorded from 1996-99 on the licensing, but no observations of the attic being used as a separate sleeping room was made. He asked if he could infer from that that an inspection was not made upstairs or that the attic was not being used at those times. Klinefelter said he thought they could infer that the assumption was made by the inspector that that area was nonconforming habitable space. He said no one had done any research to go back and find out what had transpired previous to that. He said there is no record of any appeal, but it probably wouldn't have taken much work to research that. He said he would make the assumption that it was being used, observed by previous inspectors and they thought that an appeal or variance had been granted. Werderitsch asked what triggered the investigation. Klinefelter said the lack of utility split for the two dwelling units caused them to start researching the file. He said there are a lot of entries and microfilm, but there are also a lot of gaps in the file. Carlson asked if they knew when the permit was issued to change the structure from single- family to duplex, and asked if there was enough information there to see if at that time it was intended for the third floor to be habitable space. Klinefelter said they do not know that. He said there is a set of floor plans in the file from the previous building permit, and there are no drawn plans of the attic space on those plans. Buss said she thought the Board came to a conclusion about how wide interior stairs going up to habitable space had to be. Hennes said they took the approach that if the building had another conforming set of stairs on the outside leading to the habitable space they would be okay. Klinefelter said that they measured the existing window to see if it would be possible to remove the double-hung window and install a casement to meet escape and rescue, and it was only 4.8 square feet, so they can't use the existing opening for an escape/rescue window and would need to make some modifications to do so. Werderitsch asked if a Certificate of Occupancy was ever granted. Klinefelter said no. Carlson said the Board discussed the interior stairs issue, and they established that the interior stairs had to be a certain width between two habitable floors even if there was a conforming exterior set of stairs. Maas asked if the second floor and the attic were the same residence. Hennes said yes. Klinefelter said the building code previously allowed interior stairways serving a dwelling unit to be 30-inches wide. Buss said she was under the impression that if a building owner had a space like this it had to be locked and the tenants could not have access to it. Klinefelter said if they came down to obtain a building permit for this property today they would end up with something that is much different than what is currently up there, if at all. Buss said the interior stairs leading to the attic are 26.5 inches wide. Jensen said he missed the site visit. He said they would obviously like to see everything conform to the most modern building code so the closer the Board could get it to conforming to the code they happier they would be. Buss asked how quickly a firefighter could get up 26.5- inch wide stairs with all their equipment on. Jensen said it would be tough to do. Buss asked if they removed the wall would they still meet the height requirements that figure up overall. Hennes if the rest of the room is considered, the passage to that access is part of the room and they would not. Klinefelter said not without major roof modifications. Carlson asked when the attic was first reoccupied. Fuoss said he just received the brief chronology earlier that afternoon. He said there was never any agreement as to this unit not being occupied, and he said what lies before the Board is what the department has tolerated over the years. He said in the last 14 years that he has owned the property he has followed the advisement, recommendations and translations of the policies of the City based on the people in the Housing Inspection Department. He said he has been reinspected, supervised and micro- analyzed ever since he purchased the house. He said he bought the house in 1983 when he was a sophomore at the University of Iowa, and soon met an inspector named Dave Malone. He said when Klinefelter inspected the house in January, he said that the file on the house was Iowa City Board of Appeals Minutes June 7, 1999 Page 3 very thin, and he didn't understand how that could be when he was inspected about every two weeks. He said everything that is in front of the Board is what has been acceptable for the Housing Inspection Department. He said he was issued rental and building permits in 1987, and there was never any agreement as to anyone not occupying that east room on the third floor. He said inspectors that came through the house advised him that room was conforming based upon the ceiling height and the size being between 70 and 110 square feet. He said they said the two windows in that room were enough to suffice based on the room's square footage. He said every time the property was inspected it happened during January or February, and since he rents to college students they would have been occupying that space during those months. He said he has never covered anything up from the City and does not intend to do so now. He said the property stands as he purchased it in 1983 with the exceptions of having to follow a number of City recommendations. He said this property went though the HUD rehab program because he could not afford the City's recommendations and created a lien on the property for 10 years at the expense of about $16,000, along with that $3,000 staircase. He said when this happened he argued with the City to allow him to put a ladder out the east window on the third floor because he noticed them on other similar properties around the City and he thought it would be less expensive than a treated outdoor staircase. He said he lost the argument and had to construct the staircase. He said every time an inspector went into that east room on the third floor there was a bed in it, the closet was occupied, and the ceiling height has not changed as the bottom of the tie rafters is 6'8". He said in the chronology there were some inspections in 1983 credited to a Richard Norton and he was not aware of those so he could not speak for those. Carlson asked when in 1983 did Fuoss purchase the house. Fuoss said in July or August. Roffman noted than an emergency order was issued in 1985 not to use the third floor and the issue went to court. Fuoss said the staircase was not built in 1985. He said the third floor had always been occupied until then, and the door out to the west of the house and the staircase was built in 1986. He said he remembered that that problem centered around egress issues, but once the door was in everything was fine. Carlson asked if the building was ever used as a single-family dwelling. Fuoss said when he first purchased the house in 1983 it was used as single-family, and his first rental permit was issued as a single-family. He said in 1985 the inspectors started insisting that the property be split as a duplex. He said his first argument was to let it go as a rooming house because his understanding of the codes at the time was that it allowed you have to have seven or eight people in the house. He said a couple inspectors indicated that would not be allowable as far as a rooming house, so it was converted to a duplex. He said all the major changes were implemented then and the parking areas were installed. He said additional requirements were a new boiler unit, electrical service and adding a second kitchen on the second floor. He said Klinefelter told him that he would now have a better chance of having the property as a rooming house. Klinefelter said that would remove the utility issue. He said there is no paper trail of any inspections to the house. He said since the staircase was a rehab project they applied for a building permit, but there was not good communication between building and rehab at the time. He said obviously no one ever addressed if there was legal habitable space in the attic. He said Fuoss was probably told that if the exiting was there that everything was fine. He said there was a building permit issued for the construction of the exterior stairs alone. Maas asked why a permit would be issued for the stairway if it was not considered habitable space. He said that made him think that somebody along the line told Fuoss that he could occupy it, otherwise they wouldn't require the stairway. Buss asked what can of worms would this open when the Board has refused to allow bigger spaces than this. Werderitsch asked how Fuoss felt about the five issues that staff has recommended. Fuoss said he would like to have his $16,000 back and then he would consider it. Werderitsch said Fuoss had to understand that the codes changed and decisions vary over the period of five years, so what was right then may not be right now and that is not necessarily a local decision. Fuoss said Iowa Ci~ Board of Appeals Minutes June 7,1999 Page 4 those are some of the issues that they have to live with, but he feels that this is a grandfather issue due to the fact that he followed the advice of the department and the inspectors during the entire process. He said to raise rafter ties to seven feet would be a very costly issue. He said the window measured 2.33 by 2.5, which would be 5.82 square feet, so a casement window would work for an escape/rescue window. He said he could go to the expense of installing a casement window, but he would also have to deal with the steel ladder that he originally intended on doing 14 years ago. Werderitsch said the ladder was not necessary, the window just has to be accessible for the fire department. Fuoss said Klinefelter did the rental inspections in 1990 and 1993 and this was never an issue in his reports. He said creating an opening in the west wall of the east room, which is just north of chimney, does not seem to be any more sensible than what the two doors are right now. He said the chimney is a permanent fixture, and the removal of the wall would gain two feet. He said the doors going from one half of the attic to the second half of the attic are wider than two feet. He proposed to remove the doors if they want to make that one room. He said in prior inspections, tenants had put locks on those doors and it was noted that there could not be locks on those doors so there could be access to the installed egress. He said there is already a hard- wired smoke detector with back-up batteries, which was one of the City requirements when he went through the conversion process. He proposed to leave the room stand as it is and leave the rafter ties as they are. He said being 6'1" and living in the property for two or three years, he never had to duck in that room and was not concerned about getting out of it. Buss said she is in the property management business and she is very adamant about siding with the landlords in most cases, but she has a problem with this space. She said a fire is going to breakout and a tenant is going to die up there. She said other appeals have come before the Board that were not this small and they were rejected or required to make changes. She said 'what was then' had no bearing on those issues because this is now. She said she would have serious problems renting that attic to someone because there is no electricity when the fire breaks out, they are confused and don't know which way to go and if they can't get out the front windows they will be in trouble. She said if they could get out of the front windows she would feel a little bit better, but the walkway would not be considered even if the doors were taken out. She said if the space was open and there were windows on the end she might think twice about it, but as it sits now she had a problem with it. Werderitsch said he did not agree with the two feet because you have to go all the way around the closet and through, and that is more like a 10' run. He said taking that out (the wall) and the window are the most important issues as a minimum to him. Maas said he thought the closet should be removed if Fuoss wants to get closer to the required ceiling height. Fuoss asked if the closest was counted as living square footage. Hennes said they originally considered that, but when looking at the exiting pattern of the room he could see where they could want to remove it and put it in the nonhabitable space. Werderitsch said he thought the most expensive issue would be the window, and if a casement could fit in there it would save money. Buss said before the Board would not have allowed this because of the steps. Fuoss said that it was allowed 14 years ago, and while he knows that the Board is trying to right a wrong, he had to live on the advisement of what was told to him a number of years ago and now he has to live on this Board's advisement today. He said he was not pleased with the contradicting stories. Buss said nobody is, but it is a basic fact of that space being a fire hazard. Fuoss said the space was never locked to prevent an inspection. Buss said she didn't ask if it was locked to prevent an inspection. She said that sometimes the City has a policy that if there is a space like this that is nonconforming and the rest of the property is being rented out, it is acceptable, for a rental permit, for the door to that space to be locked so the tenants do not have access to it. Fuoss Iowa City Board of Appeals Minutes June 7, 1999 Page 5 said had that been the case he would not have put a door on the west side of the house or construct the staircase. Carlson said one reason they want the ceiling up higher is to give the smoke a place to go, but rafter ties do not inhibit the movement of smoke. He said in a basement they allow ducts down to 6'8", so the rafter ties being at 6'8" does not bother him. He said a person near that height would probably not rent that property. He said he understood that the rafter ties should probably be at 7', but he was more interested in getting an egress window and a connection through that space so there is access to that west door. He said he had a problem with doing it, period, and that it probably shouldn't have been allowed to be occupied, but it is rather obvious that Fuoss was helped to the conclusion that that space could be occupied. Mitchell said it may seem incredibly unfair, but if a permit is not legal issued at the time it is issued it can be revoked later, and that does happen from time to time. Fuoss said he thought that spoke of the staff downstairs at that time, and said the permits were signed at the time. Klinefelter said they are trying to take a situation that is not very good and that has a bad history, and offer some reasonable safety provisions for continued use. He said the only thing about the rafter ties was if they were raised up it would make the space genuinely legal and habitable. He said he didn't think this was any different than in some places where they have granted variances for sub-standard ceiling height. He said it might not be as important as the other issues, but they have tried to reach some compromise to provide reasonable safety provisions for the use of the attic. Werderitsch asked if the Board was to agree with the recommendations, with the exception of #1, and Fuoss carried them out, would this house be as safe as it could be. Carlson said he can't do that because Council could rewrite the housing code tomorrow and change the standards. Werderitsch said he understood that, and asked if Fuoss would run into any more problems given today's standards. Klinefelter said if he makes changes that the Board agrees upon it will be well documented and show a good history of the changes made, and he could not see why anyone would want to raise this issue again. Roffman said that part of the ceiling is waferboard and the rafter ties are wood. He asked if that had to be fire-protected in a duplex. Hennes said he thought that would be classified as a type V-N building, which would not be rated, so not necessarily. Klinefelter said the permit was issued under the 1985 Building Code, and it was not until the 1988 UBC that they required a one-hour separation between dwelling units. Carlson asked if the rest of the issues on the violation list had been resolved. Klinefelter said the laundry equipment is stored down in the basement and is not hooked up. He said other than just a few minor things the list has been taken care of. MOTION: Werderitsch moved to grant the appeal for the Housing Code Violation at 430 S. Lucas Street, subject to the property owner completing items 2-5 of the staff recommendations to get the space back into habitable condition with the thought that the rafter ties being at 6'8", being that they are existing and that it is allowable headroom in a stair and duct. Buss asked if this meant that the property owner would have to install an escape/rescue window in the front and completely open up the space from front to back. Hennes said yes. Buss seconded the motion. Buss said she thought that the Board would be opening up a major can of worms because this is not a dead issue. She said the Board has voted on this before, and fought it over and over. She said they have fought the issues of the staircase not being wide enough, the rise to run not being correct, the height only being a couple of inches off, and a twisting indoor staircase that could not be corrected and the building had a staircase outside to get to the second floor. She Iowa City Board of Appeals Minutes June 7, 1999 Page 6 said she thought this would come back to haunt everybody. Carlson said he agreed. Buss said she has always voted with the landlord, but she has a problem with this one. Werderitsch asked what the alternative was if this motion failed. Carlson said the third floor could not be occupied. Buss said there would have to be a lock on the door to prevent the space from being used. She said there are a lot of houses in the City that have spaces with higher ceilings, more clearance, wider stairs that have to have that lock on the door. Mitchell asked Hennes that if Fuoss did the things on the list, would the property be in compliance. Hennes said staff felt this was a reasonable solution to the property in this particular case, but he did not know the Board's history with similar cases. He said to the letter of the code, this would not be compliant. Buss asked if Fuoss came today and said that he wanted to make the third floor space habitable and he was willing to install the outside stairway and the front window, but he wanted to leave the rest of it the way it was, would he be allowed a permit. Hennes said no. Mitchell asked if these were things that he could get a modification for. Hennes said no. Carlson said the interior stairs are overly narrow, too steep and have winders at the bottom. He said they have moved people out of space far better than that. He said he had a problem with this whole case because staff helped him get where he is, but that doesn't mean that it is safe or right. Hennes called the roll. Werderitsch, Maas, Haman, Buss, Fehr, Roffman and Carlson all voted no. The motion failed on a vote of 0-7. Carlson said the space is not safe to be habitable. The outside stairs do not overcome the problem of the inside stairs, even though they meet the housing code for an exit. He apologized to Fuoss and said that maintaining the space would not make it right despite what staff had previously done. Fuoss asked if complying with all of staff's recommendations would change the vote. Carlson said no. Fuoss said he wished he would have known that decision 14 years ago. Carlson said if this Board had been there 14 years ago, he would have gotten basically the same answer. Fuoss said he relied on the professionalism of staff and took, followed and adhered to their advice and didn't question it. Carlson said the Board does not feel the space is safe to be inhabited, even with the modifications suggested by staff. Fuoss asked if the other issues to make this a duplex had been addressed, such as parking. Klinefelter said the parking is not an issue. He said there is still a violation with the Iowa Utilities Board, but that is not this Board's purview. He said when the utility issue is resolved and the attic is vacated and dealt with in a way that it is not accessible to the tenants, a rental permit would be issued. Fuoss asked what his time frame to comply with the attic issue was. Buss asked when his leases ran out. Fuoss said August. Buss said that is 45 days. Klinefelter said that would be reasonable for staff in most situations. The Board decided to give Fuoss until August 1 to comply with the attic issue. Maas asked if Fuoss could find a way to modify the interior stairwell to 36 inches wide and 8 and 9 on the rise to run. Hennes said it would also take some roof modifications because they would then have to ask for 50% required headroom in the attic. HEAR A REQUEST FOR A MODIFICATION OF SECTION 1003.3.3.4 OF THE UBC (115 S. LUCAS ST.I: Loomis said the space complies with the 50% rule over five feet and the stairs are conforming, except that he has to alter them to turn them up. He showed the plan for the modifications. Buss asked if there was a landing there. Loomis said yes. He is centering it with the dormer. He said he can get 6'6" for 16 inches and then it slopes down to about 5'8" with a 12-12 pitch. Buss Iowa Ci~ Board of Appeals Minutes June 7,1999 Page 7 asked about the windows. Loomis said he put in an egress window at the landing, and he thought the landlord was going to put a fire escape out there. Hennes said it was his understanding that there would be an egress window up on the third floor level without going to the stairs and the landing. Loomis said he has not put them in yet on the front and he could do that above the front porch of the house. Roffman asked what the ceiling height was within the dotted line. Loomis said 8'6". Buss asked if the space was meant to be used as a bedroom. Loomis said yes. (Roffman left at 6:04 p.m.) Hennes said it would follow rooming house regulations. Members discussed the required ceiling height and the plans. Loomis said the stairs are 34 1/8" or 34 ~,~" wide and there is plenty of space with the altered stairs. He said he had to alter the steps below to conform to the winding staircase rules. Werderitsch asked if there was a headroom problem coming down the stairs. Loomis said he did not measure that. He said a person would have room, but within a foot from the wall it would get pretty tight. He said that point is over 6'4" and goes up immediately at the outside edge. Carlson said he saw less of a problem with day to day use, but when a firefighter has a helmet and a backpack on it might be more of a problem. Jensen said he did not like it, but he did not see any alternatives. Werderitsch asked if the valley rafters were cut down. Loomis said he had to lower the ceiling because he could not get enough insulation in there. Hennes asked if Loomis could maintain the required height without the insulation. Loomis said he did not think so. Buss said there are a lot of old houses that have had this problem, but this is not as bad as what they have had before, so she did not have any problem with it. Loomis said he would put an egress window on the front over the porch as well as on the landing with the fire escape. Buss said as long as there was an egress window over the porch she did not have a problem with it. MOTION: Buss moved to approve the modification, subject to an egress window being installed in the front of the house over the porch and incorporation of the drawings. The additional egress window would be a modification to the UBC that would allow the Board to approve an exception for the width of the headroom over the stairs. Haman seconded the motion. Hennes called the roll. Fehr, Carlson, Buss, Maas, Werderitsch and Haman voted yes. The motion carried by a vote of 6-0. HEAR A REQUEST FOR A MODIFICATION OF SECTION 310.6.1 & 2 OF THE UBC (1 OAK PARK COURT): Loomis said there was a correction for the appeal form because there is currently an office and apartment there and they would like to improve the conditions by removing the kitchen, remodeling the bathroom and upgrading the insulation. He said the ducting is currently at 6'6"with the trim and wrap on it, not the 6'8" as listed on the appeal form. He said from the concrete floor to the tile ceiling is 7'1/2''. He said he applied for a 6'10 1/2" ceiling, but he was not sure that would happen. He said they want to insulate the floor with a 1 ~" system and that would reduce that amount. He said their two requests are a 6'10 ~" ceiling and the ducting at 6'6". Werderitsch asked if the duct work could be modified. Loomis said he had not talked to the heating contractor so he did not know what he could do, but said he seldom sees trunk lines that are much less than six inches. He said they are going to reduce the amount, and he could talk to the heating contractor. Haman said when they raise the floor it will be more around 6'4". Loomis said he thought it would still be around 6'6" because he could change the trimming. He Iowa Ci~ Board of Appeals Minutes June 7,1999 Page 8 said the carpet currently down there reduces the ceiling height to 6'11 1/2" and the insulated floor would definitely lower the ceiling. Cook said one of the reasons they are remodeling the basement is because it is a damp, moldy place. He said it was an apartment when the house was built in 1952 and it remained one until about 1991 when they took it over and let the duplex status end. He said they are pressing this because his wife has a terrible mold allergy, so they want to get as much carpet out of the house as possible and put in insulated tiling. He said they have lived at the property for 14 years. Loomis said there is a 3'6" by 6' 1/2" egress door. He said there is another exit to get to the house, but none of the windows are egress windows. Buss said she did not have a problem with approving this. Carlson said the Board has allowed shorter ceilings. Cook said they would like to see the ducts kept as high as possible. MOTION: Carlson moved to accept this as reasonable accommodation being that the floor has adequate egress directly to the exterior plus egress to the upper floors and egress windows, that the exception be granted to the ceiling height requirement with the understanding that the ducts will be up tight to the joists to minimize the lack of height at that location. Buss seconded the motion. Hennes called the roll. Fehr, Carlson, Maas, Buss, Haman and Werderitsch voted yes. The motion carried by a vote of 6-0. OTHER BUSINESS: There was node. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: Maas moved to adjourned the meeting. Werderitsch seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 6-0, and the meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. Minutes submitted by Traci Wagner. IOWA CITY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION THURSDAY, JULY 8, 1999 CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS "PRELIMIN, · ubject to Approval MEMBERS PRESENT: Lars Anderson, Richard Carlson, Frank Gersh, Mike Gunn, Sue Licht, Doris Malkmus, Pam Michaud, Marc Mills, Linda Shope, Michaelanne Widness. MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Scott Kugler OTHERS PRESENT: None CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Anderson called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none REVIEW OF PROPOSALS FOR COMPLETION OF THE DOWNTOWN SURVEY PROJECT: Kugler mentioned that he received a proposal from Svendsen-Tyler for the Original Town Plat, Phase III survey. He said when the budget estimate was done, it didn't include the idea of looking at previous surveys to determine boundaries. He reported that as a result, there is a shortfall of about $2,500 to $3,000 for that project. He said since we didn't receive the HRDP Grant for the ordinance revisions, we have about $3000 leftover from that project. We could use those funds to make up the difference, or they could be put toward the downtown project. Kugler noted that the Commission has received 5 proposals, and that they are to be evaluated by three criteria: Project cost, quality of the proposal, experience of individuals proposing the work. Anderson said the city authorized $20,000 to fund this survey project. He prepared a graph, which includes the following information: Consultant Pat Eckhardt Downtown Brochure/ Survey Iowa City Guideline Community Cost Experience Experience Experience Involvement $16,500 total Yes Yes No ? No $13,000 survey (Des Moines) Svendsen, Tyler $39,545 total $24,810 survey History Pays Hess, Roise & Co. Louis Hafermehl Yes Yes Yes Yes (p 8) $28,901 total No ? No ? No ? No ? $25,501 survey $40,865 total Yes No Yes Yes(p.6) $31,935 survey $22,996 total Yes Yes Yes ? (p. 3) $19,171 survey Historic Preservation Commission Minutes July 8, 1999 Page 2 Malkmus said that she, Anderson, and Widness called some of the references listed for the proposals. She reported that she called the references for History Pays. The reference she spoke with had done a lot of work with History Pays in Adams County, and said they were delighted with their work, that Jim Jacobsen was a joy to work with and that his work was outstanding. The reports or reviews of his report that she received were about accuracy, were extremely favorable and that his inter-personal relations with the people were fine. She also talked to Betty Kelly who gave high ratings to Tim Reinders. Widness called two references for Louis Hafermehl. One of the references never returned her call, but she spoke to James Perry, who was the Chief State Preservation Officer in North Dakota. He retired a year ago, but worked during the ten-year period when Hafermehl was the Deputy State Officer. Perry said he did an excellent job. Said he was the head of the archeological division; he knew his job well; he knew the regulations well. Widness asked Perry if he had any knowledge of Hafermehl having any experience working in the downtown surveys, such as the one we're undertaking, and he said he's supervised a lot of these things over the last ten years, and he's certainly aware of the issues involving adaptive use, and that sort of thing. Then he said he really couldn't speak to whether or not Hafermehl could come at this project from an economic (to sell the economic benefits to the downtown community) perspective. And suggested she try to reach someone in South Dakota, which is where he had gone after he left. They didn't return her call. Widness considers this a fine reference. Lars Anderson tried to call the City of Des Moines regarding some work Pat Eckhardt had done there. She did some work for some downtown buildings, but the individual he talked to said she hadn't been there when Pat did the work. Kugler noted that he received a return call from a reference regarding Hess-Roise that Malkmus tried to contact. The reference was a staff person from Winona, Minnesota. He had nothing but good things to say about them They contracted with them for a number of projects. They've done survey work, and they're doing design guidelines right now. The reference said they have never been disappointed with the work, and would hire them again for other jobs. Kugler did not inquire about the downtown surveys, but he had indicated that they did a city-wide survey, which would likely include the downtown area. Anderson asked for the committee's input on the direction this should take. Widness contributed her perspective on the "impressing factor" of the proposals. Hafermehl's seemed satisfactory, but short in terms of experience working with downtowns. Eckhardt's was better. But her opinion is that the Svendsen-Tyler package is the best. Widness directed the committee to look at the Pages 7-8 in the Svendsen-Tyler proposal regarding the number of meetings they planned to have, indicating that they planned to sell this package to downtown interests. The political element of this package is every bit as important as the survey itself. Svendsen-Tyler has given this much thought, and seems to understand what needs to be done. Widness noted that her only reservation about Svendsen-Tyler is that they have already done a lot of work for Iowa City. Anderson asked Widness' opinion on the other proposals. Widness liked the History Pays proposal better in some ways, until she read his sample piece and found it very fiat and uninteresting. By contrast, the Hess Roise piece was very good writing. Mills felt similarly that neither History Pays nor Hafermel offered very clear proposals. He was especially unclear about the Hess Roise proposal regarding some of the charges when they were broken down. Especially the way they budgeted their per hour charge. Their per hour charge, depending on what individual was involved was 50 to 75 dollars an hour. The others were within the neighborhood of 35 to 37. Anderson said that it seems that if we are looking at cost and quality it seems that the Svendsen-Tyler proposal is even better. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes July 8, 1999 Page 3 Licht said that she thought that the reason the Svendsen-Tyler proposal was so high was due to the expenses that it takes for her to get here. Also, they do excellent work and are very professional. Her only concern is that they charge more money that we have budgeted at present. Kugler said that on occasion, we have asked consultants to pare down a proposal, or look at ways to trim the project. The Commission could go back to the City Council and say we have reviewed the proposals that came in, we would like to hire this person, they are $4,000 over- budget, will you authorize the additional $4,000? They could say yes, if not we will have to pare the project back or pick somebody else. Lars Anderson suggested that we could come close to that amount with the funds from the failed HRDP application, and look at alternatives for the Original Town Plat, Phase III survey. Or we could try to find other funding Kugler suggested that there may be some cost sharing potential in the case of Svendsen-Tyler, since there could be two projects going on at once where travel and other costs could be shared. Kugler reported that the other thing to keep in mind is in the past we have received complaints from some consultants for not picking the lowest bid. Cost is not the only factor, particularly if there is a big difference in what we perceive to be the quality of the proposal or the experience of the consultant. However, Eckhardt in the past has been passed over despite being the lowest bidder. Malkmus reported that when she talked to Eckhardt about the Emma Harvat nomination she said very vehemently what the Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission is doing is illegal and we are going to be in a lot of trouble. Malkmus tried to tell her that we are under no obligation to take the lower bid, but she just kept going on and on. Finally when Malkmus made it clear that we are under no obligation, Eckhardt said everybody else does it and Iowa City is being unethical. Malkmus say she has a fear that, even though we are following our own procedures and the letter of the law, there may in fact be some impression of favoritism. She said she is afraid that there is some agitation around the subject in the preservation community, or maybe Eckhardt was simply saying that there was this kind of agitation. She said she wonders if we need to be careful about agreeing to have Svendsen-Tyler stay with a Commission member because of the appearance of friendship or favoritism based on that. Malkmus said she felt that if there is someone agitating this issue in the community, we would be better off paying extra for more standard lodging arrangements. Michaud said that the committee should carefully explain in a letter to Pat if we don't accept her bid, what we were looking for that she didn't have. Widness agreed and suggested that we even send her a copy of the proposal they plan to accept. Licht said that record of the decision making process should go in the file because we have ranked the proposals according to how they responded. She agreed that the issue of staying with a Commission member is an important thing to look at, even though it would be great to save that $1000. Anderson suggested that the Commission approach some other organizations besides ours such as Friends. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes July 8, 1999 Page 4 Shope mentioned concern in regard to the Eckhardt proposal. She brought up the request about the City staff person being used in the time consuming newspaper research and the string of owners research required for commercial structures. Kugler said he was pretty sure Eckhardt was talking about the intern that we reference in the RFP. The intern is available for up to ten hours per week throughout the project. Frank Gersh asked about Eckhardt's work; specifically, has she adequately estimated the project? Her proposal is under the estimated budget and the other proposals enough that Gersh wondered how finished the product would be. Malkmus said that the Emma Harvat nomination, not only was the nomination delayed quite a bit, but wasn't very carefully proofread. Eckhardt seemed to have forgotten to mention in the nomination that she was once Mayor of Iowa City. Licht mentioned concern that the Eckhardt budget seemed to be very low in hours. Widness commented that she and her husband were downtown on Christmas Eve and we were just about the only couple downtown on Christmas Eve, and was worried because downtown needs a lift. She restated her position that this survey work and the brochure and talking to downtown business owners and perhaps re-doing some of the storefronts represents the best opportunity to really do something to change the fortunes of downtown Iowa City. Therefore, this is a critical decision. Widness wants the best person for the job no matter what he or she charged. She said she would be willing to go to city council and make the case that we need to get the best person on this job - in this case, Svendsen-Tyler. Widness said she believes that we should not hesitate from going to City Council and explaining that if anything can boost downtown's prospects its going to be this survey and this additional work. Anderson noted that there seemed to be a consensus that the Svendsen-Tyler proposal is the best one. He asked if there was anyone who would disagree? Or was there a general consensus that Svendsen-Tyler should be asked to do the work? Malkmus brought up the fact that History Pays has Tim Reinders who has done much work doing mainstreets across Iowa. She stated that if anybody would be familiar with economic development in a downtown area, it would be someone like him. She further noted that the weakness of History Pays' proposal was definitely in the quality of the product, not in the ability to enthuse people and work with downtown people. That being said, she supported Widness' opinion that we should go to Council and try to get them to provide the additional funds. Anderson asked Kugler about the procedure of awarding a contract for which we still need to ask more money than was budgeted. Kugler said that to be fair to the consultant, we need to make sure that Council is going to authorize that before we negotiate a contract. Malkmus said that information should be made to the public about what proposal had been accepted, especially to the other consultants. Kugler said that he typically sends a letter to everyone who made a proposal with such information in it. The Commission felt that was fine, and that anyone who wanted to follow-up could check the public record. Anderson asked when we should approach the Council about the money we still need. Widness said that we should take it to them very soon and present it as a package. Gunn asked if costs Historic Preservation Commission Minutes July 8, 1999 Page 5 could be cut by taking the design guideline component to someone else. Licht said she would rather take the brochure to someone else and leave the design guidelines to Svendsen-Tyler. Anderson thought the brochure would be more interesting to the public, but all were agreed that the downtown needs some stimulus, and the best way to approach the Council is to sell this package as a way to breathe life into the downtown. Kugler noted that the important component to consider is the survey. That is what the Council authorized in the budget. The idea of design guidelines and the brochure were included in the RFP to get an idea of what those items might cost and whether it was possible to get more out of this project. MOTION: Widness moved to accept the Svendsen-Tyler proposal for the downtown survey. Malkmus seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 8-0. DISCUSSION OF ANNUAL REPORT Kugler included copies of last year's annual report in the packet. He said that although a draft of the current fiscal year's report has not yet been prepared, we can discuss what to include in plans for fiscal year 2000 as well as accomplishments for fiscal year 1999. He needs to have this completed by the end of July. Widness suggested that we spent the entire last summer dealing with Summit Street issues. Malkmus concurred, and added having a change in the ordinance that gives us review over windows and siding. Kugler said we've begun reviewing procedures/ordinances for updating. Anderson mentioned that we had the Old House Seminar. Kugler said we've finished the Phase 2 survey report, which he will bring to the next meeting. Malkmus noted that we were awarded the grant for Phase 3. Malkmus mentioned the Emma Harvat nomination. She also mentioned the Uniform Building Code for Building Conservation Many of the items for the report will not change. Malkmus said she thought #6 under "plans" the one regarding additional areas for surveys, should be removed for FY2000. Anderson asked about the item "Consider pursuing recommendations contained in Dubuque St. - Linn St. Corridor Survey report". Kugler explained that this is a recommendation for a conservation district along Dubuque Street and Clinton Street. He said the Commission decided to postpone that until a conservation district is designated in the Longfellow neighborhood. It was decided that the item should be removed. Kugler asked about the item regarding the second series of Historic Landmarks. Malkmus suggested a more specific proposal by saying "Research and prepare nominations for the second series of Iowa City Historic Landmarks, on an African-American theme". He said he could prepare this and mail it out, and ask for comments by the end of the month, or a special meeting could be scheduled to review it. The Commission agreed that mailing it would be fine. DISCUSSION OF PROCEDURES/ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS The Commission discussed a draft of a letter to historic district residents asking their opinions on the appeal issue. Malkmus suggested other changes, as well as Widness and Carlson. Michaud asked about the broadness of the letter, and Anderson explained that the letter was left Historic Preservation Commission Minutes July 8, 1999 Page 6 broad as to make sense to most people. It will be sent to people living in historic districts, but not landmark owners. Kugler called the members' attention to the fact that their names and phone numbers will be sent out with that letter. Sue Licht brought up the date the discussion about this letter will be held. She said that many people will be on vacation. Anderson answered that people don't have to attend the meeting, they can call or write with comments, or they can attend the September meeting, which may be a public hearing DISCUSSION OF HISTORIC DISTRICT GUIDELINES Gunn said that they tried to get the existing neighborhood design booklet scanned by the City's Document Services department, but they were unable to scan it, so they retyped the whole document. It is now available in text format. Licht said to send edit suggestions to Gunn or herself. DISCUSSION OF BUTLER HOUSE Kugler said that we've got to start moving on this project if anything is going to happen. The city has had this building for two years now, and is obligated to attempt find a permanent use for the building and begin rehabilitating the building, or to find someone or organization to take it over. If we don't make a serious effort on this house, we may be in violation of an agreement with the Corps of Engineers and the State Historical Society. Licht said that it is one of the most historic buildings in the state. She asked our position with TEA-21 funding potential. Kugler reported that sometime in the next year, the City will likely allocate additional funds. Malkmus asked if we need to register the building, Kugler said that there was an additional grant program that the project was eligible for that may require listing. Licht asked if Friends might be willing to take a leadership role in trying to organize a rehabilitation project of this house. The rehabilitation project is a huge job and would take much the same kind of work as the downtown survey project. Licht asked about CLG funding, to hire a consultant to spearhead the project. Kugler said it was worth looking into, but would delay things for a full year. Malkmus wondered about promoting awareness about the Butler house by putting photos on a poster-board and displaying it at Irving Weber Day. Licht has some photos on file she could use. Richard Carlson offered to prepare forms to nominate the building to the National Register of Historic Places. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FROM THE JUNE 10. 1999 MEETING MOTION: Licht moved to approve the minutes of June 10, 1999 meeting of the Historic Preservation Commission, as corrected. Widness seconded the motion. The motion carried a vote of 8-0. COMMISSION INFORMATION/DISCUSSION Widness said that the members should look at page 9 of The Alliance Review, regarding the PR of preservation. It has some suggestions for becoming a more high-profile group. She thinks the Commission doesn't do enough to raise awareness in the community. She also pointed the members to the National Trust publication, which has an article which discusses move-out momentum to highway strip malls from downtown. The towns discussed in the article went through a mainstreet program, which recreated the historical facades of the building. In turn, new downtown offices were rented and opened. This is the direction Widness thinks we need to go. Historic Preservation Commission Minutes July 8, 1999 Page 7 Kugler noted that the Iowa Chapter of the American Planning Association holds a conference annually. This year it's going to be in Iowa City, during September. They would like to do a session related to historic preservation, in the form of a mobile workshop. They called to ask for some assistance from the Commission personally, or in finding volunteers locally. Anderson agreed to do some checking with individuals who might be willing to help lead a tour. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 7:18 p.m. ppdadmin\min\hpc7-8.doc MINUTES IOWA CITY PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION THURSDAY, JULY 1, 1999 - 7:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Ann Bovbjerg, Benjamin Chait, Pam Ehrhardt, Dick Gibson, Marilyn Schintler, Dean Shannon, Lea Supple MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Bob Miklo, Sarah Holecek RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Recommended approval, by a vote of 7-0 of a preliminary plat and a final plat of Mii~er Meadows, a 47.69-acre, three-lot residential subdivision with one agricultural outlot located on the north side of American Legion Road one-half mile east of Taft Avenue in Fringe Area B, subject to the conditions outlined by staff. Recommended approval, by a vote of 7-0 of VAC87-0001, an application Submined by Philip and Helen Oldis and Robert and Rosemary Oldis for the vacation of an unimproved portion of Virginia Drive located northeast of the intersection of Virginia Drive and Ridgewood Lane. Recommend approval, by a vote of 6-1, Erhardt voting no, of an application submitted by Hodge Construction to rezone approximately .33 of an acre from Medium Density Single-Family Residential (RS-8) to Community Commercial (CC-2) zone for property located at 813 Gilbert Court, subject to the conditions outlined by staff. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Supple called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: Supple asked for discussion of any item not on the agenda. Public Discussion was opened. There were no items. Public Discussion was closed. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES ON CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: Supple encouraged the public to find out about vacancies on boards and commissions and apply to serve at the City Clerk's office. She said that this is an opportunity for applicants to have input into how the City progresses and an opportunity for the City to benefit from the expertise of the applicants. 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 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. (Reference to May 20 meeting packet.) (The applicant has requested that this item be deferred until the July 15 meeting.) Miklo said that neighbors and those who spoke at the previous meeting had been notified of the deferral of this item until the July 15 meeting. Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission July 1, 1999 Page 2 Supple said that anyone from the public who wished to speak to the Commission on the Windsor Ridge application could do so. Public Discussion was opened. There were no comments and Public Discussion was closed. MOTION: Gibson moved to defer REZ99-0007 until the July 15, 1999 meeting. Shannon seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 7-0. REZ99-0010. Public discussion of an application submitted by Hodge Construction to rezone approximately .33 of an acre from Medium Density Single-Family Residential (RS-8) to Community Commercial (CC-2) zone for property located at 81 3 Gilbert Court. (45-day limitation period waived to July 1, 1999.) Miklo said a revised site plan has been received that addresses some of the concerns raised in the staff report. The revised plan shows additional landscaping, including the required vegetative screening on the south side of the property. As requested, there is no access from Gilbert Court. All access would be from the Kennedy Plaza property. Lighting was a concern because of the residential development in this area. He said the site will be required to adhere to the new lighting standards. Miklo said that staff recommends approval of the rezoning from RS-8 to CC-2 subject to general compliance with the site plan. Bovbjerg asked about access from the east side along the railroad and the change in grade. Miklo said that there will be no vehicle access from that side and that much of the change in grade occurs along the railroad side. Supple asked if the applicant wished to make a presentation. Jim Kenyon, Hodge Construction, said that he was the manager of the project and was present to answer any questions. He said that he understood that there was a question about the retaining wall. He said that the grade plan is not complete and a short wall will be constructed where it is needed. Bovbjerg asked who would be responsible for erosion control if the change in grade is along the railroad right of way. Kenyon said that they will not be disturbing the railroad right of way. The elevation is too high so they will retain it and add vegetation. Ehrhardt asked if the main purpose in rezoning the property was to add a commercial building. Kenyon said that the main purpose was to manage the parking problem. Ehrhardt asked if adding more commercial would add to the problem. Kenyon said that it would a little bit but there was a juggling act in trying to pay for the project. He said that they will probably end up with 20 more parking spaces than they had. Public Discussion Opened There were no comments from the public. Public Discussion Closed MOTION: Schintler moved to approve REZ99-0010, an application submitted by Hodge Construction to rezone approximately .33 of an acre from Medium Density Single-Family Residential (RS-8) to Community Commercial (CC-2) zone for property located at 813 Gilbert Court, subject to the conditions outlined by staff. Bovbjerg seconded the motion. Supple asked for any discussion. Ehrhardt said that she would not vote in favor of this because she did not approve of the encroachment of commercial on the residential and does not believe that this is a positive change for the area. She added that if parking is such an issue, then it Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission July 1, 1999 Page 3 should all be parking rather than adding both commercial and parking. She said that she thinks this will make the situation worse. Gibson said that he had the same concerns; however, no neighbors have said a word during the progress of this application. He said that if the neighbors are not worried about it, then he thinks it is a marginal issue. Miklo pointed out that this area is designated on the Comprehensive Plan for commercial use rather than residential. This includes the housing on Benton Street. However, the area east of the railroad tracks is slated for continued residential development. Chait said that he thinks this is a good interface between residential and commercial and will vote for the rezoning. The motion was carried by a vote of 6-1. (Ehrhardt opposed.) REZ99-0009. Public discussion of an application submitted by Southgate Development for a preliminary planned development plan (OPDH-12) for Lot 77 of Walden Woods, Part 6, a 16-unit residential development located at the north end of Jensen Street. Miklo showed the location of the property on a map and noted that the property is subject to the Planned Development Housing Overlay zone. He said that the OPDH plan proposes eight duplex-style units for a total of 16 units on a cul-de-sac that is accessed by a private drive. He said the plan shows open space to the east, which possibly could be an extension of the open space to the south and be added to the Willow Creek Trail system. Miklo said the Parks and Recreation Commission is currently reviewing whether it would want to accept that open space or fees in lieu of open space. He said that they expect to receive a recommendation before the next Planning and Zoning Commission meeting. Miklo said that staff noted a deficiency in that the plan did not designate the location of the flood plain. Staff received a revised plan showing the location of the flood plain; however, staff found that part of the plan would need to be revised because no habitable space may be below the 1 O0 year flood elevation. The plan shows the units as having basements; therefore, the units would not adhere to the flood plain regulation. Miklo said that this is a peculiar case because although this is part of the Planned Development Housing Overlay zone, the plan must be approved by the Commission and Council just as in the case of a rezoning. He said the property was previously zoned R-3, Multi-family Residential, and was part of the Aspen Woods development which is north of Willow Creek. When that property was developed, the owner at the time realized that this property could not be accessed from the north. The owner sold the southern part of the property. The City rezoned the entire area to OPDH-12 in 1983. The applicant requested a rezoning of the southern portion of the property in 1991 to RS-8 to allow for the Walden Woods subdivision. Walden Woods was designed with single-family housing units with the exception this remnant OPDH parcel. He said that as stated in the zoning ordinance, the OPDH zone is intended to allow flexibility in architectural design and in the placement of buildings. It is also intended to encourage the incorporation of private open space on the property, and to address concerns about traffic circulation, parking, and related environmental and site considerations. He said ODPH plans should be compatible with the neighborhood in which they are located. He said staff has reviewed the plan and does not feel that the plan, as submitted, complies with the intent of the Planned Development Housing Overlay zone. He said there is little useable Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission July 1, 1999 Page 4 open space because the open space is consumed by paving. He said the Commission may recall the OPDH plan from Windsor Ridge that had considerable open space with a town square. Another example is the condominiums off of Foster Road which have a sizable area set aside for gardening and walking paths. Miklo said that technically, the plan does not meet zoning requirements for the flood plain regulation. In addition, a requirement for lots with multiple units is that the buildings be separated the distance of their height. The buildings are 25 feet high and would require a distance of 25 feet between the buildings. The Planned Development Housing Overlay zone does allow for the waiver of this type of requirement. However, staff feels there are no other amenities or benefits in the design that would warrant a waiver. Miklo said that for traffic, the proposed development is estimated to generate 115-120 vehicle trips per day. All of those trips would access Jensen Street. Stormwater management was planned at the time of the larger subdivision and Public Works is reviewing whether what was previously planned is adequate. In summary, Miklo said that although this is zoned as an OPDH-12, there is a requirement that any development on this site receive approval of the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. That plan should address compatibility with the neighborhood and should provide useable open space. Miklo said that staff feels the current plan does not address this. In addition, he stated that there are technical difficulties with the plan not adhering to requirements for floodplain regulations and maintaining adequate distance between buildings. He said that staff is recommending denial of the plan. Schintler asked Miklo what they would recommend for this development. Miklo presented an alternative sketch and said that because of the floodplain, the easements, the odd shape of the lot, and the way that the rest of the subdivision is laid out, it would be difficult to achieve the density that the applicant is proposing. The concept sketch showed three single-family homes and a duplex, which could be compatible with the neighborhood. Miklo noted that this is just one possibility and the applicant may have other ideas. Shannon asked about the report from Parks and Recreation and open space. Miklo explained that with an OPDH plan, there is an expectation that private open space will be set aside for use by the residents themselves. In addition, there is the public open space requirement that includes the dedication of land to the City for parks, or fees in lieu of land. Miklo said that the City does have parkland to the south and would consider whether some of the area within the pipeline easement would be accepted as a trail for public open space. Supple asked for clarification on the floodplain. Miklo explained that the floodplain regulations state that there cannot be habitable structures below the floodplain, including basements. It is permissible to build in a floodplain; however, the habitable portion has to be one foot above the floodplain. Supple asked if the applicant wished to make a presentation. John Beaslv on behalf of Southgate Development Company, said that he had not previously had the opportunity to view the revised map showing the flood plain and asked who prepared the map. Miklo said that the map was prepared by the applicant's engineer. Beasly said that after reviewing the zoning ordinance, he felt that the applicant's proposal was above the minimum and below the maximum for many of the requirements. He stated that Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission July 1, 1999 Page 5 according to the ordinance, the land can have 16-18 dwelling units per acre and the proposal has 16 units on 2.2 acres. The building coverage to land less concrete can be a maximum of 35 percent. This land would have building coverage to land less concrete at 21.9 percent. The ordinance requires that, at a minimum, 35 percent of the land be devoted to open space. The proposal without cement has 58 percent open space. Beasly said that he read Miklo's report and does not understand what is not compatible about this proposal when looked at with the entire surrounding area. He said that in driving around the entire area, there are condominium developments and duplexes in the neighborhood. He asked whether staff feels this development is not compatible simply because the duplexes will be located next to single-family homes. He added that he has not heard from the streets department and said that there is nothing to suggest that 115 additional vehicles per day would be an overburden on the street system. Beasly said that the technical issues discussed in the report, such as the distances between buildings, can be worked out. He said that Miklo noted an open space requirement of 5,500 square feet and that this plan proposes 8,800 square feet. He believes that there is ample open space and that although some of the area needs to be groomed, it lies on flat ground and will be useable. He said that he does not believe that the plan is incompatible with the neighborhood and believes that there is ample open space to meet code requirements. He asked for approval of the plan subject to any technical issues. He asked Miklo to further explain staff's position that the proposed plan is incompatible in the neighborhood. Miklo said that he would be happy to address the question. He said that nowhere in the staff report does it say that duplexes are incompatible with single-family homes and that the Commission should be aware from the City's past zoning practices that the staff often encourages a mixture of housing. Miklo said what the report does say on Page 2 is that due to the amount of paving in the front of these units and lack of useable open space, it is not compatible with the residential area on Jensen Street. He said that it is more of a design issue than the fact that these are duplexes. He said the concept plan staff created includes the possibility of duplexes. The front yards in the proposed plan have a lot of paving. He said that in terms of the neighborhood, it is true that much of the neighborhood has multiple-family units and higher density, but in this case the part of the neighborhood that is most affected is Jensen Street, the only point of access. In terms of open space, the proposed plan does meet the technical requirements, but as stated in the OPDH guidelines, there is the intent to create useable, enjoyable open space. He said that the plan shows very little of that for the private open space. Beasly said that as he understands the comments, there is a concern about compatibility because of the amount of paving. The open space issue is a concern with regard to the amount of space between and around the units themselves. Miklo said that the concern about open space has to do with the lack of open space available as an amenity for the residents of the proposed development. Beasly said that he wanted to address why a plan for a fourplex was submitted and later changed to duplexes. He said that the ordinance does not prohibit fourplexes. However, after the original plans were submitted, it was discovered that there was a restrictive covenant in place that only permits single-family residences or duplexes in this particular subdivision. The applicant then proposed to separate the fourplexes into duplexes. The applicant has not hired a draftsperson to draw a separate document for each duplex because of the expense. Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission July 1, 1999 Page 6 Beasly said that concerning the expectations of neighbors, he does not think that residents can say that they did not expect to see development of duplexes in this area because the restrictive covenant permits only single-family residences or duplexes. Ehrhardt asked if the developer had met with the neighborhood. Beasly asked the applicant, Glenn Siders, who said that they had not. Shannon asked if the developer could greatly reduce the paving. Beasly said now that he understands the compatibility comments in the staff report, they will try to address this and will discuss the suggestions of staff. Shannon asked if they would also address the issue of the floodplain. Beasly said that he was not aware of the issue previously but they will have to address it. Public Discussion Opened Beverly Ravalino, 2608 Irving Ave., stated that the homeowners in the neighborhood have met and consolidated their concerns. She said that she would be one of a few of the homeowners who would be speaking that evening. All of the homeowners, including the more than 20 homeowners present, are opposed to this proposal. She said that their development has a lot of young families with small children and this addition further in the neighborhood will greatly increase traffic on Jensen Street. The only access to the proposed development is through the center of their neighborhood. Although there is another high-density neighborhood to the east, that neighborhood does not have to go through a lower-density housing area to access the neighborhood. Although there is diversity in housing types in the area, there is no other area where single-family houses are adjacent to such long drives and hard surface parking areas as proposed. Although there are garages attached to the units, there will be additional cars, and possibly campers and boats always parked in the drives. Those drives are only several feet away from the single-family lot lines. During snow removal, snow will end up being pushed from those drives onto the single-family properties. She said that neighbors are also concerned about accessibility by emergency vehicles and service vehicles such as garbage trucks. They realize that the area will probably be developed but they have concerns about such high density housing so deep within the development. The neighborhood proposes a reduction in the total number of units and a minimum 50-foot grass strip between the access drive and single-family property lines. When people purchased their homes, there was no site plan. Because the new development is so close to the property lines, some people will have a paved drive on both sides of their lots. She said they are concerned that the high density and large amount of paving will have a negative effect on their property values. In conclusion, the neighborhood requests that the proposed plan be rejected and revised. Judie Hermsen, 2635 Westwinds Drive, said that she lives on the north side of the development in question. She said that much of the surrounding area has been developed as high density. Because of this, there is a need for more open space and maintaining this area as open space. She said that she does not understand the argument that more high-density housing is compatible because there is other high density housing in the area. She said that the City should have some interest in this because within the last two years, the City has purchased land in the area for the development of a trail. She noted that there is wildlife in the area and that it is nice to look across the lake and see green space, ducks, beavers, etc. She does not understand why they would propose to have a bridge to access the open space. She said that although a developer has to make money, the developer also has the responsibility to maintain the area as a favorable living space. The greenery in the area is an asset not only to the homeowners but to all of the users of the trail. Gretel Beck, 1052 Jensen Street, said that she and her husband are opposed to the new development because of the density of the houses and the traffic issue. She said that 115 more Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission July 1, 1999 Page 7 vehicle trips per day is a significant amount of traffic. She currently is comfortable with allowing her daughter to play with supervision in the front yard. However, with garbage trucks, landscaping crews, and the parking issues, she will not feel as secure. Allowing children to play in the front yard with supervision is an important part of the neighborhood. She presented a couple of photographs of duplexes on Walden Road where there are parking problems because cars are parked across the sidewalk on a daily basis. She said that because of this, her family cannot go for a walk without having to take a stroller out into the street to go around the cars. James Rice, 1110 Jensen Street, said that he is strongly opposed to the proposed development because the additional traffic will be detrimental to the neighborhood by changing the atmosphere and affecting property values. He said that when he purchased his home two years prior, there was no mention of a possible development with 16 additional families at the end of the block. He said the traffic currently is minimal and creates a nice environment for families. He encouraged the Commission to vote against the proposed development. Toufic Moubarak, 2648 Irving Ave., said that he was glad to hear the flood plain issue will be addressed. He said that he was one of the first residents in the area and recalled that the creek used to run through the center of the property. The landscape was changed during development. He said the current open area has a lot of trees and is becoming a good wildlife area. He said that he is also concerned with the traffic because many of the developments must access Irving or Jensen. He also requested that the Commission reject the proposal. Mark Goodhart, 2628 Irving Ave., said that he agrees with all of the concerns that had been raised by residents living along Jensen, Irving, and Westwinds. He said that he has lived in his current residence for three years and previously lived at Walden Ridge. He is not opposed to duplexes, but is aware of the possibility that duplexes, particularly rental units, may decrease the value of the single-family homes. He said that although Jensen Street could technically handle more traffic, they should also look at the additional traffic that would be generated along Irving Avenue. In addition to the technical issues Miklo discussed, he is concerned about the useable sidewalk open space and the future possibility of maintaining open space along the trail. He asked if any of the commissioners had questions for the residents in the area. Ehrhardt asked if the neighborhood had previously seen the concept plan that is being provided as an example by City staff and whether the neighborhood would be willing to meet with the developer. Goodhart said that he had not seen the concept plan Miklo presented but there had been discussions of an alternative plan with single-family homes and a duplex. He said that residents would be willing to work with the developer on a plan. Xian Wu, 2613 Irving Ave., said that he wished to speak for himself and on behalf of his seven- year-old son. He said that after his son first learned to ride a bicycle, his son would ride by himself. Now that Irving is a busier street because of the new developments, his son requests that he go with him to watch for traffic. He said he told his son that he does not have time to go with him every time he wants to go out. Instead, his son must stay home and watch television. He said that he has two more children who will also be asking to go out and play as they get older. He said kids should be able to have a life and go out and play. He asked that the Commission consider children's' expectations and needs. Theresa Ball, 1060 Jensen Street, said that she wished to speak about all of the open space that existed as recently as 1996 in the area. New development has covered that space. She said that she is concerned about the congestion with more traffic and the cluttered look that may be created because there are no areas for additional parking besides in the driveways. She said that people now have a view of the pond as they walk along the new walkway. She said that Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission July 1, 1999 Page 8 there must be a happy medium where they can preserve some of the land but still have development. Public Discussion Closed MOTION: Shannon moved to defer REZ99-0009, an application submitted by Southgate Development for a preliminary planned development plan (OPDH-12) for Lot 77 of Walden Woods, Part 6, a 16-unit residential development located at the north end of Jensen Street, to the July 15th meeting. Ehrhardt seconded the motion. Gibson said that he wished to note for the record that two of the speakers from the public are his co-workers in the organization for which he is administratively responsible; however there are no financial ties and he does not believe this constitutes a conflict of interest. He said this will not interfere with his ability to make an objective decision. Ehrhardt said that she wished to strongly urge the developer to meet with the neighborhood. Glenn Siders, Southgate Development Company, said it would be helpful for the company to find out the Commission's position and each individual's concerns. Once Southgate knows what those concerns are, they will meet with the neighborhood to find out the concerns of the neighborhood's residents. Bovbjerg said that a remnant parcel is a difficult piece to work on; however, the whole point of a planned development is to pull it up out of the flood plain and the woods. OPDH should look at the topography and type of soil in compatibility with the neighborhood as well as compatibility with safety and traffic. The purpose of OPDH is to make a development possible on an otherwise difficult piece of land. Both the spirit and letter of OPDH should be met. She said that they can argue numbers; however, the spirit of OPDH, type of neighborhood, compatibility, and safety must be pulled together. She said that what she sees with this plan is a bunch of concrete and erosion down the hill. With the input of the neighborhood and the skill of the developer, she knows that something could be done. She added that if everyone wants this to remain as open land, perhaps all of them could buy it. Supple commented that she believes there are four rules to development: be respectful of the land; be compatible with the neighborhood; be a benefit to the community; and be profitable to the developer. She said that this plan fails the first two rules and she would like the developer to consider a single-load street and back the buildings up to the already developed area. This thought occurred to her as a way for the developer to keep the homes out of the floodplain, The motion to defer REZ99-0009 was carried by a vote of 7-0. DEVELOPMENT ITEM: SUB99-0003. Public discussion of an application submitted by Gerald and Pauline Milder for a preliminary plat and a final plat of Milder Meadows, a 47.69-acre, three-lot residential subdivision with one agricultural outlot located on the north side of American Legion Road one- half mile east of Taft Avenue in Fringe Area B. Miklo said that staff recommends approval subject to access easement and covenant restricting outlot 8 agricultural purposes. The staff report was available for review. Public discussion was opened and closed. No one from the public was in attendance. Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission July 1, 1999 Page 9 MOTION: Chait moved to approve SUB99-0003, an application submitted by Gerald and Pauline Milder for a preliminary plat and a final plat of Milder Meadows, a 47.69-acre, three-lot residential subdivision with one agricultural outlot located on the north side of American Legion Road one-half mile east of Taft Avenue in Fringe Area B, subject to the conditions outlined by staff. Ehrhardt seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 7-0. VACATION ITEM: VAC87-0001. Public discussion of an application submitted by Philip and Helen Oldis and Robert and Rosemary Oldis for the vacation of an unimproved portion of Virginia Drive located northeast of the intersection of Virginia Drive and Ridgewood Lane. Miklo said that this right of way is no longer needed for public purposes. Therefore, staff is recommending approval of the vacation subject to retention of a storm water and drainage easement. Miklo said the applicants own the surrounding area and the trust owns the remainder. Everyone in the area has been notified. Public discussion was opened and closed. MOTION: Ehrhardt moved to approve VAC87-0001, an application submitted by Philip and Helen Oldis and Robert and Rosemary Oldis for the vacation of an unimproved portion of Virginia Drive located northeast of the intersection of Virginia Drive and Ridgewood Lane. Schintler seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 7- 0. CONSIDERATION OF THE JUNE 17, 1999 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES: MOTION: Gibson moved to approve the June 17, 1999 Planning and Zoning meeting minutes as revised at the June 28th meeting. Shannon seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 7-0. ADJOURN: MOTION: Gibson moved to adjourn the meeting. Ehrhardt seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 7-0. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Minutes submitted by Wendy Larive. ppdadmin%p&Z7-1 .doc IOWA CITY PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION MEETING THLIR~DA Y, 3LIL Y 2, 1999 - 7:30 P. M. Civic Center Council Chamber~ SIGN IN SHEET Name Address Phone /I/o 12. 1£ 17, lg. 2O. MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION THURSDAY, JULY 15, 1999 - 7:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRELIMINARY Subject to A proval MEMBERS PRESENT: Ann Bovbjerg, Benjamin Chait, Pam Ehrhardt, Marilyn Schintler, Dean Shannon, Lea Supple MEMBERS ABSENT: Dick Gibson STAFF PRESENT: Scott Kugler, Bob Miklo, Sarah Holecek, Rick Fosse, Jeff Davidson, Anne Schulte OTHERS PRESENT: Gary Watts, Don Walter, Michael Barron, Gary Frakes, Dean VanLoh, Tom Williams, Peter Fisher, Robert Wolf, Larry Schnittjer RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, of REZ99-0007, in the form of Plan A, the second plan with six four-plexes, 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 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, subject to the extension and connection of both Court Street and Huntington Drive prior to the development of the site and subject to the development of the proposed park on Outlot O prior to the issuance of building permits for more than 12 units on the property. Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, of SUB99-0014, final plats of Windsor Ridge, Parts 10-14, a 62.25 acre, 72-1ot residential and commercial subdivision located south of Court Street, west of Taft Avenue, subject to: 1 ) approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to City Council consideration of the plats, 2) the approval of a revised sensitive areas site plan for Outlot K, or the removal of the proposed pond from the grading plan, 3) the sidewalk along the Outlot K frontage being installed at the time of the Arlington Drive improvements, 4) the construction of the connection of Arlington Drive to its northern terminus before the issuance of building permits for Parts 10 and 11, and 5) the private streets that surround the square being shown on the plat/plan for Lot 260 or Part 14. Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, of SUB99-0017, a final plat of ABCO First Addition, a resubdivision of portions of W. B. Development, an 8.81-acre, five-lot commercial subdivision located on the east side of Naples Avenue at Sierra Court, subject to the approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to City Council approval of the plat. Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, of SUB99-0018, a preliminary plat of Galway Hills, Part Six, a 4.82-acre, 13-lot, residential subdivision located at Melrose Avenue west and the south side of Kearney Lane. Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, of SUB99-0015, a preliminary plat of Scott Boulevard East, Part 4, a 7.36-acre, 15-lot residential subdivision located east of Scott Boulevard at Washington Street, subject to approval of a grading plan prior to City Council consideration and approval of the tree protection plan by the City Forester prior to City Council consideration. Recommended approval, by a vote of 6-0, of SUB99-0016, a final plat of Scott Boulevard East, Part 3, a 9.5-acre, three-lot residential subdivision located east of Scott Boulevard at Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 2 Washington Street, subject to approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to City Council consideration. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Supple called the meeting to order at 7:37 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES ON CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: Supple said there are vacancies on the Housing and Community Development Commission, the Police Citizens Review Board, the Riverfront and Natural Areas Commission, and the Public Art Advisory Committee. She encouraged those at the meeting to consider applying for a position in order to have input into the progress of the City, something that is a privilege as well as a responsibility. MOTION: Bovbjerg moved to change the order of the development items on the agenda to take them in order of 1, 4, 5, 2, and 3. Shannon seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. REZONING ITEMS: REZ99-0009. Public discussion of an application submitted by Southgate Development for a preliminary Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH-12) plan for Lot 77 of Walden Woods, Part 6, a 16-unit residential development located at the north end of Jensen Street. (45- day limitation period expires July 26, 1999) Miklo said the developer is presenting new material, so this item should be deferred to the August 5, 1999 meeting. Public discussion: There was none. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Chait moved to defer REZ99-0009, an application submitted by Southgate Development for a preliminary Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH-12) plan for Lot 77 of Walden Woods, Part 6, a 16-unit residential development located at the north end of Jensen Street, to the August 5, 1999 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission. 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 rezoning from Medium Density Single-Family Residential (RS-8) to Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH-8), for property located at the northeast corner of Barrington Road and Huntington Drive. (45-day limitation period waived to July 15, 1999) Kugler said the applicant has submitted a revised plan. Kugler first showed the previous plan with six four-unit buildings located along Cardigan Lane with landscaping and a series of berms Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 3 along Barrington Road and Huntington Drive. Kugler then showed the new plan, saying it has been revised to remove the westernmost townhouse and replace it with two duplexes, one fronting on Huntington Drive and one fronting on Barrington Road. He showed front building elevations of the duplexes. Kugler said there was a proposal to establish Cardigan Lane as a public street rather than a private drive within the townhouse and neighborhood commercial center. He said that proposal has been removed from the plans, and the latest plan shows Cardigan Lane as a private drive rather than a public street. Kugler said that issue no longer needs to be discussed. Kugler said staff feels the most recent changes resulting in the plan with the two duplexes is a step back in terms of the quality of the site design and the relationship of the proposed development to the neighborhood center and the town square. Although the duplexes are lower in height and would add some variety to the housing options available in the neighborhood, Kugler said they do not relate well to the square. He said the previous plan does relate to the square and would visually complement the commercial center and create a better environment and a nicer amenity in that portion of the neighborhood. Kugler said the townhouses will be similar in height to a typical two-story single-family home within the neighborhood. He added that because the individual dwelling units within the townhouses are relatively narrow, 19 feet in width, the four-unit buildings will not be excessively large in this location. Kugler said staff feels the landscaping that was provided on the previous plan would provide a nice visual buffer the back of the units for the rest of the neighborhood, although these are residential uses, and staff does not see a need to extensively buffer the two uses from each other. Kugler said staff has some concerns that the initial concept plan upon which the rezoning was based is being compromised by a series of incremental changes being proposed to the plan. He said staff is concerned that the end result will be a plan that is not of the quality that was originally anticipated. He said staff feels at this point a decision must be made as to whether the town square concept is going to be approved as a concept and in that event, the plan should be one which best implements that concept. Kugler said if the decision is made that the town square concept is not the way to go, then a new concept plan is needed. Kugler said staff continues to recommend approval of the previous plan with the townhouses. He said it is in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan policies and earlier decisions made when the property was rezoned. Kugler said staff feels the proposed landscaping will provide a nice buffer between the townhouses and the existing neighborhood to the south and the west. Kugler said staff has provided some rough estimates for the extension of Court Street all the way to Taft Avenue, rather than just to Huntington Drive as requested by the Commission. He said if the roadway were to be extended to City arterial street standards, the estimated cost would be $310,000, while the estimate for construction of a temporary chip seal roadway is $180,000. Kugler said both of those figures include a $100,000 estimate for grading along Taft Avenue to reduce the grade there and improve the sight distance at that future intersection. Kugler said staff has discussed the possibility of providing a temporary drive for construction vehicle access at some earlier point in lieu of actually extending Taft Avenue. He said the applicant has submitted a letter indicating that it would not be feasible to create a temporary roadway out to Taft Avenue because of liability and other concerns. Kugler said as an alternative, the applicant would agree to extend Arlington Drive all the way up to Court Street to provide that access prior to any building permits being issued for any additional single-family development in that area. He said with Part 13, staff recommended that Huntington Drive and Court Street be extended to provide that access before development occurs on Part 13. Kugler said Part 12 is already served by Court Street, and before Part 14 could be developed, it would Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 4 be required to have access to Court Street as well. This would ensure that construction vehicles would have access from Court Street. Kugler said staff was asked to address the timing of the improvements to the town square open space within this development. He said there is no hard and fast requirement in the ordinance for when that open space would have to be developed. Kugler said there have been instances in the past when the City has required that a certain percentage of the open space be developed before occupancy permits are issued, and staff feels it would be reasonable, if the Commission wishes, to require that after 50% of the residential units are developed, the open space would have to be developed prior to building permits being issued for the remaining 50%. Kugler said figures for the June 9 and 10 traffic count were incorrect in a previous staff report. He said the actual 24-hour count was 466 vehicles, with about an even split between northbound and southbound traffic. Kugler said less than 1% of the vehicles were over 20 feet in length for that 24-hour count. Chait asked what it would take to go back to the second plan, the previous plan. Holecek asked the developer if the previous plan is still on the table as a proposal, and Watts confirmed this. Holecek said the Commission could vote on each plan in series or could amend the motion to vote on a particular plan. Supple said staff is recommending approval of the prior plan and asked if staff is recommending denial of the new plan. Miklo said staff would not recommend denial, but would recommend approval of the prior plan and leave the most recent approval up to a judgment call by the Commission. He said staffs advice is that the plan with the townhouses instead of the duplex units is a better plan. Miklo said for clarification, the second plan with the six four-unit townhouses should be called Plan A and the newest plan should be called Plan B. Bovbjerg asked if the original plan with the six-plexes and eight-plexes was off the table, and Miklo confirmed this. Ehrhardt asked for a clarification as to what the Commission can require as a condition about the construction traffic. Holecek said she did not believe there is enough empirical evidence to say that the connection of Court Street to Taft is necessary to relieve the traffic through the neighborhood. She added the extension of Court to Taft is not really connected with the development of this properly. Holecek said staffs recommendation is to have Huntington connected to Court Street prior to the issuance of building permits on this property. She said that does seem perfectly reasonable under the prior Conditional Zoning Agreement (CZA) and to secure a secondary access without going down through the settled neighborhood area. Holecek said she did not believe the other connection would have a close enough nexus or be rationally proportional as a requirement. Public discussion: Gary Watts, 4988 Lower West Branch Road, said the reason he deferred this item the last time is because the City Council asked him to meet with the neighborhood, which he did. He said he met with eight or nine members of the Windsor Ridge community along with Chuck Bruggeman, his designer, Larry Schnittjer, Mayor Ernie Lehman, Mike O'Donnell, and some members of the planning staff, on the Monday after the last Council meeting regarding this item. Watts said there were comments at the meeting asking for more of a transition into the four- plexes and asking Watts if he would consider looking at some duplexes. He said he looked at duplexes after meeting with staff. Watts said staffs initial concerns included having all the driveways into Barrington or Huntington, so he turned the duplexes so they do not have a traditional look with both driveways coming out from the garages - the driver comes from the Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 5 side to enter the garage. He said he felt this resulted in a nice streetscape and more of a residential family feel going up Barrington and Huntington. Wafts Said by doing that he had to take out two heavy berms from the six four-plex plan. He said he felt strongly that based on neighborhood input, that it would be a better transition into that area. Watts said the value for each half of the duplex would be between $155,00 and $180,000. He said there were neighborhood concerns about resale and about the transition, and that is how the new plan came about. Regarding the construction entrance, Watts said he looked into possibly on Cardigan Lane as it goes across being a straight shot with maybe an access to Taft. He said with the amount of gravel that would have to go in and the possibility it could be washed away with a heavy spring rain and people being stuck, for liability reasons he decided not to go that route. Watts said he discussed this with his attorney, Doug Ruppert, and they decided it would not be feasible. He said the goal is to move dirt this fall for the extension of Arlington to Court. Watts said this would allow, as he progresses in Part 9 and the single-family area, the alleviation of the construction traffic through existing residential development in Windsor ridge by having it routed through Huntington up to Arlington to Court to Scott Boulevard. He said most construction traffic, if the drivers are told and asked, will come down Scott Boulevard, where they can go a lot faster than on Taft, a gravel road. Watts said he proposed the letter stating that for Part 10 or 11 or as he proceeds north, any more building permits in Part 10 or 11, before he could get a permit, he would hook up Arlington to Court to help alleviate the traffic. Watts said if he did that, it would allow three separate entrances into this subdivision: Barrington Road, Arlington Drive, and Court Street. Supple asked Watts which plan he preferred. Watts said he appreciated getting input from the neighbors. He said he felt strongly about the duplexes or he would not have presented the newest plan, and he actually preferred the duplex plan. Watts said he listened to the neighbors and thought this would be a good compromise plan. He said the six four-plex plan contained heavy berms, but when the duplexes are added, he had to take out a lot of the berming and the look of the plant material. Watts said another plus for the duplex plan is the driveway that would enter and come around to the five four-plexes would be up off Cardigan Lane and not off Barrington. He said the neighbors really had not wanted the entrance into the condominium area off of Barrington. Watts said he likes the duplex plan and feels it gives a different product and a little better transition for the single-family homes to look into a duplex that looks very similar to a single-family house. Regarding the height of the townhouses, Watts said from the rear of Sheffield, the land goes down to the north and near the fronts of the townhouses, it comes back up. He said someone driving past will just see the sides of a two-story building. Watts said there are benefits to both plans, but the duplex plan was drawn in response to neighborhood input. Donald Walter, 1051 Barrington Road, said he is a twelve-year resident of Iowa City and one of the first two residents of Windsor Ridge. He said when he first came to look at this property, the developer and the realtor promoted it as single-family housing and provided a plat as proof of this. Walter said he contacted the City, and they confirmed that it was all zoned single-family residential as he had been told. He said that was the original plan and the plan he bought into, and in fact he was informed. Walter said a deal should be a deal. He said he kept his promise by coming up with the funds to purchase the property and by complying with all of the covenants of the development. Walter said it is only then fair to expect the developer and the City to keep their promise as well. He said he had a simple solution to allow that to happen. Walter said the City's original plan to stay with all single-family housing all the way up to Court Street should be the solution. He said that is what most of the residents of Windsor Ridge bought into, and it was a good plan. Walter said Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 6 the residents do not need or want these ongoing rezonings and incremental changes and a parade of plans. He said there was a good plan to begin with, and that plan still allows a mixture of housing and community types consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, which came later. Walter said it allows a more natural transition of these neighborhood types across an arterial street and meets the needs of the residents of Windsor Ridge as well as the City and the developer; it just delays when the developer can put the taller, more profitable buildings in because they would go on the north side of Court Street, which would be developed a little later. Mike Barron, 725 Arlington Drive, said the City Council was fairly explicit in suggesting to the developer that he had a communication problem and perhaps all the changes the City has seen fit to make and the conditions they have imposed on building and development in this particular area have not necessarily, even though open to public input, worked out. He said the City Council suggested the developer and the Windsor Ridge residents come together to find some common ground to reach another level of understanding. Barron said he thought there has been considerable effort on the part of participants. He said it has been noted there is a wide range of possibilities that a builder may put on a property zoned in the ways that these were zoned originally and the ways they are being requested to be rezoned. He said the developer has listened to what the neighborhood has to say about making a better transition. Barron said he believes Walter is correct in his assessment, but he also knows that changes have been made. He said if those changes are a fair accompli, then he would suggest his comments are within the context of that being a fait accompli - there will be different types of housing in this area as it transitions into Court Street as an arterial street. Barron said he thought the recent plan, including the same density as proposed in the prior plan that was preferred by staff, provides for a better transition, one which softens the area of the conversion from single-family homes to the area of multi-family housing leading into the square. Barron said there is a difference of opinion, one that is a question of style and design, but the population density remains the same in the area. He said he would support the developer's preference for Plan B. Barron said many things could be developed in this area, but in the spirit of the Comprehensive Plan, what the City Council asked the developer and neighbors to come together and discuss has happened. He said this is a better way to do this than ways we have seen in the past. Barron said it seems arbitrary to simply go back on another plan when the two principals in this area, the developer and the neighborhood, have actually found themselves closer to being in agreement than they were before. Ehrhardt asked Barron if he preferred the duplexes over seeing the berms and the vegetation. Barron said he thought that was clearly a message that came out of the meetings with the developer. He said the question raised was can the transition be softened by doing something different on the corner and changing the street access point. Barron said he actually believes duplexes of this quality, style, and design appear more like houses and will move into multi- family housing in a less abrupt transition. He said the berms, even though they are substantial, are not high enough to totally soften that transition point for years to come in ways a dwelling that is also properly landscaped will do. Barron said it makes for a more obvious transition, and he thought the plan was better. Gary Frakes, 53 Chandler Place, said he lives in the very southern part of the subdivision. He said this particular plan really does not affect him, but because he feels strongly about the process this has gone through, he wanted to give his impression. Frakes said he personally prefers Plan A with the berms and the plant material. He said if there were not so many homes built and occupied as far north as they are today, he would strongly feel it should be that way, because it does frame the neighborhood park better and gives a better feel to the neighborhood/commercial area. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 7 Frakes said, however, he has been involved in several of the meetings held over the past weeks, and he respects the viewpoint of his fellow residents who do live close to that area. He said the neighbors were adamant and sometimes even hostile about what was going on. Frakes said the City Council felt that and charged the developer with meeting with the residents, which was done. Frakes said at this point, he would hate to see the process break down and have all the meetings and the sincere feelings of the residents be forgotten or left behind simply for the original intent of this zoning in this particular area. He said for that reason, he would support the compromise position, Plan B, has come about between the neighborhood and the developer. Frakes said even though it might not be his personal preference, it would be a mistake to leave the residents out of this process, especially since this is a bit of a litmus test for what is to happen in the years to come in the northeast quadrant. Dean VanLoh, 913 Barrington Road, said he wanted to ensure Huntington Road and Court Street will definitely be developed before the permit for the developer to construct these units goes into place. Kugler said staffs recommendation is for Huntington to extend to Court and for Court to be extended to that point. He said it is up to the Commission and the City Council to decide whether that is an appropriate condition. VanLoh said he definitely prefers Plan B. He said he likes the style of the look and likes the drive for the condominiums coming in off of Cardigan and avoiding Barrington Road. VanLoh said he thought that would push more traffic up to the arterial and that traffic will use Court Street more often because of that particular feature. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Bovbjerg moved to recommend approval of REZ99-0007, in the form of Plan B, the most recently submitted plan, 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 Housing Overlay (OPDH-8), for property located at the northeast corner of Barrington Road and Huntington Drive, subject to the extension and connection of both Court Street and Huntington Drive prior to the development of the site. Shannon seconded the motion. Kugler said another condition the Commission had discussed in the past is the possibility of requiring the open space to be developed prior to the issuance of building permits for the second half of the units. Miklo said staff received two letters from neighborhood residents who could not attend the meeting. He said neither resident supported either plan. Miklo said the letter writers did not like the first plan but felt it was better than the compromise plan so there is not a unanimous position among the neighbors. He said the letters were from Deb Liddell and Jeffrey Martin and were distributed to the Commission. Bovbjerg said she has looked at the property and the plans and listened to comments from a variety of people. She said she likes Plan A. She said understanding the discussion between the developer and the neighbors, she did not see that the duplexes do a better job, and from what she has seen around town, she feels Plan A will do a better job with traffic and with the aesthetics. Bovbjerg said she would not vote in favor of Plan B. Ehrhardt said staff had mentioned if the duplexes were constructed, staff would like to see the townhouses shifted to the west a bit. Kugler said it was a suggestion from staff. Ehrhardt said it seems a big concern of staff is the position of the four-plexes in forming a frame around the town center. She asked if the driveway on the left is critical. Kugler replied the driveway is an Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 8 access for emergency vehicles. Ehrhardt asked if two of the four-plexes could shift over with the roadway going up the middle. Kugler said he did not know whether the grade there would make that feasible, and there would still be the issue of emergency vehicle turnaround space. Ehrhardt asked if moving the townhouses to the west should be a condition of this plan, and Kugler said it was a suggestion from staff. Shannon said he liked Plan A, but it seems like there are more than a few people who live here who like Plan B. He said the developer was told to meet with the neighbors and he did so. Shannon said if the Commission doesn't listen to what they came back with, possibly in the future no one will want to conduct these meetings. Kugler said staff did not leave the neighborhood meeting feeling there was the kind of consensus that is being reported. He said in fact the idea of the duplexes came up late in the meeting, and there was not a lot of discussion about it. Kugler said there was no consensus that the duplex plan solves all the problems and that it should be gone ahead with. He said until the present meeting, the only comments staff received were in the two letters from residents indicating they did not care for the duplex plan. Chait said he was respectful of the fact the developer and the community worked together. He said he had a real problem with Plan B, and it is important to remember that Plan A is not the first plan; the first plan with six and eight-plexes is no longer on the table. Chait said the process did get this application to a different place than where it started as a result of feedback and dialogue between the developer and the community and staff. He said the duplexes in Plan B represent structures in a place where Plan A has green space and landscaping. Chait said Plan B has four curb cuts; Plan A has the drive coming through making one curb cut. He said he cannot see an advantage to two duplexes in lieu of open space, especially open space with some grade change, berms and heavy landscaping. Chair said he thought Plan A had a much better transition in holding the line of duplexes and the park. He said it may be a little more rigid, but he believes it is a much more pleasant transition than Plan B. Chait said he likes the idea of the park, and it is a unique concept. He said without compromising anything, there can be a little more definition and accent on that park by using Plan A. Chair said in choosing Plan A, the Commission will not have ignored the participatory process of the community, because this is not the original plan, which that process in some way changed. Schintler said she also likes Plan A. She said the berming and plantings make it a better transition. Schintler said it frames the square better and does more of what the Comprehensive Plan calls for. She thanked the developer for working with the neighbors in the area. Ehrhardt said she would vote for Plan A. She said if there had been a stronger consensus from the neighborhood about the preference for the duplexes, she might have gone with that. Ehrhardt said she likes the idea of the berm and the vegetation as a separation, and she is a strong supporter of the neighborhood center. Bovbjerg said the Commission never really got to discuss Plan A in an open meeting. 8he said there never was a big public input and discussion on Plan A, and that might be part of the dilemma. Bovbjerg said when Plan A came up she was ready to vote in favor of it. WITHDRAWAL OF THE MAIN MOTION: Bovbjerg agreed to withdraw the main motion to recommend approval of Plan B, and Shannon withdrew his second. MOTION: Chait moved to recommend approval of REZ99-0007, in the form of Plan A, the second plan with six four-plexes, 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 Housing Overlay (OPDH-8), for property located at the northeast corner of Barrington Road and Huntington Drive, subject to the extension and connection of both Court Street Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 9 and Huntington Drive prior to the development of the site and subject to the development of the proposed park on Outlot O prior to the issuance of building permits for more than 12 dwelling units on the property. Schintler seconded the motion. Bovbjerg asked about the legality of tying the park to 50% of the building completion. Holecek said there was no difficulty with it. Supple said she liked Plan A when she first saw it and thought it would make a nice transition from single-family to the condominiums to the commercial area. She said she also liked Plan B as it offered some other opportunities and included the diversity called for in the Comprehensive Plan. Supple said she probably could have voted for Plan B, although the duplexes stick out a little bit, but she likes the framing of the park and will vote in favor of Plan A. She said she would be willing to vote yes even without the park completion contingency, because it is in the developer's best interest to do the park, and she thought he would do it anyway. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. DEVELOPMENT ITEMS: SUB99-0014. Public discussion of an application submitted by Arlington, L.C., for final plats of Windsor Ridge, Parts 10-14, a 62.25 acre, 72-1ot residential and commercial subdivision located south of Court Street, west of Taft Avenue. (45-day limitation period expires July 26, 1999) Kugler showed an overhead of the plat. He said this platting will essentially final plat all of the property that the developer owns south of Court Street and including Court Street itself. Kugler said overall there will be an additional 69 single-family lots, two lots intended for multi-family development, one lot intended for commercial development, and seven outlots. He said that is consistent with the preliminary plat approved in 1997. Kugler said the deficiencies listed in the staff report have all been taken care of with the exception of a note on the plat indicating that the developer will be responsible for the installation of a sidewalk along the frontage of Outlot K. Kugler said if the plat is approved, that should be a specific condition. Kugler said a trail system is being proposed, and there is a proposed trail on Outlot J, which is located along Ralston Creek. He said the trail will connect from Arlington Drive west to Scott Park, and the City could then extend that trail west to Scott Boulevard. Kugler said there is a proposed trail north through the neighborhood to Outlot J. He said there are also short trail connections to allow pedestrians to get to the town square open space and the neighborhood commercial zone as well as to get from the neighborhood north to Court Street. Kugler said an eight-foot sidewalk will be installed on the south side of Court Street, rather than the traditional four-foot sidewalk, as well as an eight-foot sidewalk down the west side of Arlington from the proposed trail north to Court Street and along the frontage of the town square north to Court Street. Regarding open space, Kugler said that all of the outlots shown on the plat are to be dedicated to the City with the exception of two: Outlot M in the center of the cul-de-sac of a street and Outlot K, the maintenance of which will be taken care of by a homeowners' association. Kugler said a pond was proposed for Outlot K at the time of the preliminary plat and on the construction plans associated with this plat. He said staff had noted that there were not a lot of details about that, and staff was not sure it could be approved under the Sensitive Areas Ordinance. Kugler said a concept plan has now been submitted for how that pond would be handled, and it was distributed to Commission members before the meeting. He said if the Commission is comfortable approving the plats, staff is proposing that it be done subject to approval of an Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 10 amended sensitive areas site plan before City Council consideration so that the development of the pond is consistent with the intent of the Sensitive Areas Ordinance in that it has some positive environmental benefits in terms of water quality, habitat, etc. Kugler said staff recommends approval of the final plats for Windsor Ridge Pads 10-14 subject to approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to City Council consideration of the plan, approval of a revised sensitive areas site plan for Outlot K or the removal of the proposed pond from the grading plan, and subject to the provision of a sidewalk along the Arlington Drive frontage of Outlot K at the time of street improvements. Kugler said the letter refers to the proposed extension of Arlington prior to the development of any of the single-family lots in Part 10 and 11, and the Commission could choose to include that as a condition, in which case staff would ensure it was written into the legal papers before City Council consideration. Holecek asked if there was a revision on the plat on either 13 or 14 to include the private streets that frame the square. Kugler said there was not. Holecek said Larry Schnittjer indicated that he would take care of that. Kugler said the final plat shows an easement for Cardigan Lane, and there should also be an easement for the other two legs of the private drives to provide the loop drive around the town square. Bovbjerg said that Part 11 abuts the Far Horizons development. She said there is a spur of Far Horizon coming from Buckingham down to Far Horizon. Bovbjerg asked about the timing of that and if there is or would be any kind of delineation between Far Horizons and Windsor Ridge. Kugler said the plat provides for a stubbed street called Fairway Lane to be constructed, but at this point the roadway would not be extended through. He said the roadway to the south is not constructed to City standards, and given the number of lots proposed in Windsor Ridge, staff feels there could be a substantial increase in traffic on that street. Kugler said staff feels it would not be appropriate to connect those two streets at this time; however, if the Far Horizons subdivision is annexed at some point and that street is brought up to City standards, this would provide for that connection to take place. Kugler said the street would be built and there would be a barricade placed at the end of the roadway. Bovbjerg said she was concerned that Far Horizons not get bashed. Kugler said the pavement would likely be stopped slightly short of the property line in order to install a barrier. Public discussion: Gary Watts said he would be installing the sidewalk going along by the pond. He said he is going ahead with the platting because it was in the works anyway. He said when Part 12 and Part 13 were coming before the Commission on the planned development housing overlays, and when he met with the neighborhood, he felt very strongly that he would go ahead and pursue the platting of the rest of it up to Court Street. Watts said he is excited to get the trails all hooked up. Watts said the idea of the pond came from a neighborhood meeting, and the process with the neighborhood has been good. He said he is fulfilling what was already promised in that he will final plat the area all the way to Court Street. Watts said he believes the deficiencies can be handled in short order. Regarding the pond, Watts said he intends to landscape it with prairie grasses and make it a natural looking pond that should be excellent for wildlife. Dean VanLoh asked if Court Street would be extended to Taft Avenue as part of development of Part 14. Kugler confirmed this. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 11 MOTION: Shannon moved to recommend approval of SUB99-0014, final plats of Windsor Ridge, Parts 10-14, a 62.25 acre, 72-1ot residential and commercial subdivision located south of Court Street, west of Taft Avenue, subject to: 1) approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to City Council consideration of the plats, 2) the approval of a revised sensitive areas site plan for Outlot K, or the removal of the proposed pond from the grading plan, 3) the installation of a sidewalk along the Outlot K frontage at the time of the Arlington Drive improvements, 4) the connection of Arlington Drive to its northern terminus before the issuance of building permits for Parts 10 and 11, and 5) showing the private streets that surround the square being shown on the plat/plan for Lot 260 or Part 14. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. SUB99-0017. Public discussion of an application submitted by Maxwell Development for a final plat of ABCO First Addition, a resubdivision of portions of W. B. Development, an 8.81-acre, 5- lot commercial subdivision located on the east side of Naples Avenue at Sierra Court. (45-day limitation period expires August 8, 1999) Kugler said the preliminary plat for this property was before the Commission a couple of months ago and was recommended for approval, subject to the requirement that language be added to the legal papers requiring that construction fencing be placed around critical slope areas on Lot 5 prior to development of the lot. He said staff will insure that that requirement will be incorporated into the legal papers. Kugler said the plat is in conformance with the preliminary plat for this property, and all deficiencies have been taken care of. Kugler said a question was raised about the drainage in the area, and he received information from Public Works about the situation. He said prior to any of the development activity that occurred down here, there was a culvert that went under Naples Avenue and collected water from the west side of the readway and sent it into a drainageway on the east side of the roadway. Kugler said as part of the improvements made in this area, the culvert was removed and a 30-inch storm sewer was constructed to carry water farther to the east beyond the private street to the outlet closer to the existing storm water detention basin. He said in addition to that, there is an overland flow route that shows up as an easement on the final plat, which will carry any water that the 30-inch pipe cannot accommodate overland to the same point in a safe manner such that it will not affect buildings and other properties. He said there is an area designated so that there will be no building other than parking areas or drives within that easement such that the flow is not obstructed. Kugler said he spoke with Rob Winstead, the City Engineer who is reviewing these plans, and he feels the plan meets the City requirements in terms of storm water management and drainage. Kugler said the City typically designs for a certain level of storm water to be handled through the underground storm sewer system and then provides for a safe overland flow for water that can't be accommodated through that underground storm system. Kugler said staff recommends approval subject to approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to City Council approval of the plat. He stated that both the legal papers and construction drawings have been submitted. Ehrhardt asked if the high point on the land is way to the west. Kugler said the low point, the stormwater basin, is to the east. He said there is a basin that was constructed next to Naples Avenue that has apparently not been well maintained and is partially silted in. Kugler said that basically water from the area should run to the basin and be collected by the storm sewer system and eventually run to the detention basin within Outlot A. He pointed out another detention basin along Highway One farther to the north. Fosse said there is a ridge line that cuts through the subdivision, and that which drains out into the County does not have stormwater management, while that which drains back into the Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 12 urbanized watershed or to-be urbanized watershed does have stormwater management. Supple said there has been some concern on the part of the property owner to the south that there is water from this area flowing to his property. Fosse said the farmer working the land to the south is concerned about the water flow west of the ridge line. He said that is independent from the subdivision under consideration. Fosse said that once the ridge line is crossed, you are in a watershed that never makes it back into the City's growth area. He said because of that and because the subdivision is not inside the corporate limits, stormwater management is not required for that area west of that ridge line. Fosse said the drainage issue is between the farmer and the property owners in the County. Fosse said that in the Fringe Area Agreement where there are areas that are not going to drain into the City's projected growth area, the City does not impose its stormwater management standards on the County in those areas. He said the resolution of any drainage problem there would lie with the County engineers and property owners. Public discussion: Tom Williams, 4146 Dane Road S.E., said he owns the property to the south of this property. He said that with the old soil conservation maps, the cul-de-sac would flow to the east. He said that after bulldozers work the land for a period of years, water does flow different directions. Williams said the County told him this was approved by the City, and when he goes to the City, they say it's the County. He said he does have a problem with drainage. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Chait moved to recommend approval of SUB99-0017, a final plat of ABCO First Addition, a resubdivision of portions of W. B. Development, an 8.81-acre, five-lot commercial subdivision located on the east side of Naples Avenue at Sierra Court, subject to the approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to City Council approval of the plat. Bovbjerg seconded the motion. Chait said he would like to hear more about the drainage issue. Fosse said the drainage issue is independent from this subdivision, which all drains east. He said the drainage problem is on a subdivision that occurred about six years ago. Fosse said he did not know if the ridge line has changed from where it was originally. He said that when water flows west of the ridge line, it is pretty much a County drainage issue and when it flows east of the ridge line, it is a City drainage issue. Fosse said that is the way the jurisdictions are broken up in that two-mile limit outside the City limits. Bovbjerg said she would like to vote on this and then have the Commission strongly urge resolution of this drainage issue. She said there have been other properties abutting the County where there have been drainage problems, and it has been helpful to have the Commission strongly urge a recommendation. Bovbjerg said these things may be off the area being looked at, but they are in the entire area and are a real public concern where there should not be one. Supple asked if there were a specific person that Williams should speak to. Fosse said he should speak with Mike Gardner. Fosse added that the County does not regulate storm water to the same level that the City does. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. MOTION: Bovbjerg moved that the Commission urge the City, the County, and Williams to resolve the issue of the drainage onto Williams' property, regardless of how it Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 13 occurred, who the current owner is, or what it was in the past. Chait seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. Chait said that if the City has a higher standard and there is a resident of the County who feels he is getting the runaround, the City, in its commitment to that higher standard, should make that extra effort to get his concerns addressed. Williams said that when the County zoned and platted on the west side of the road about six years ago, the water was to flow to the east. He said that now when he asks the question he is told that it was approved by the City, which has control over it because of the two-mile limit, so it must be the right way. Williams said it is true he is getting the runaround. Miklo said, in terms of subdivision review, it is true that the City reviews subdivisions and approves them in the County, but has to rely on the County to enforce. He said the County also approves those same subdivisions. He said staff will need to work with them to try to resolve this. Bovbjerg said in the past few years, she has been impressed by the fact that the County has become much more conscious of this and conscientious about subdivisions. SUB99-0018. Public discussion of an application submitted by DAV-ED Limited c/o Dave Cahill for a preliminary plat of Galway Hills Part Six, a 4.82-acre, 13-1ot residential subdivision located at Melrose Avenue west and the south side of Kearney Lane. (45-day limitation period expires August 8, 1999) Miklo said this property is located on the south side of Melrose Avenue west of West High School. He said the area directly to the east was recently approved as Galway Hills, Part 5 and will include a ten-acre retirement community. Miklo said this particular subdivision will include a local street and a cul-de-sac to serve the new lots. Miklo said storm water will be provided in the adjacent subdivision, Part 5. He said the neighborhood open space required for Galway Hills is being provided to the south of this property. Miklo said staff recommended a landscape buffer easement to the north so that there would be a buffer from the arterial street, and that has been included on a revised plat that staff received earlier in the day. He said the plan has no deficiencies or discrepancies, and staff is recommending approval with no conditions. Ehrhardt asked if there would be a variety of vegetation in the buffer. Miklo said the landscape plan included a variety of pine trees, blackhill spruce and red pine trees. Public discussion: There was RODe. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Schintler moved to recommend approval of SUB99-0018, a preliminary plat of Galway Hills Part Six, a 4.82-acre, 13-1ot, residential subdivision located at Melrose Avenue west and the south side of Kearney Lane. Chait seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. SUB99-0015. Public discussion of an application submitted by Plum Grove Acres Inc. for a preliminary plat of Scott Boulevard East, Part 4, a 7.36-acre, 15-1ot residential subdivision located east of Scott Boulevard at Washington Street. (45-day limitation period expires July 25, 1999) Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 14 Kugler said this is a 15-lot subdivision with all the lots proposed along Hummingbird Lane and the two lots on the east side of Scott Park Drive zoned RS-5, single family lots, and the three lots on the west side of Scott Park Drive zoned RM~12. He said the preliminary plat is in conformance with the City's subdivision regulations, and all of the deficiencies that were noted in the staff report have been addressed. Kugler said the plat proposes a curved Scott Park Drive, as was proposed with the rezoning that occurred in the area. He said Scott Park Drive would intersect with Scott Boulevard. Kugler said that Hummingbird Lane, rather than being a straight through street as was originally proposed with an earlier concept plan, would now tee into Scott Park Drive. Kugler said the preliminary plat proposes Hummingbird Lane as a 25-foot wide street, rather than the City's standard 28-foot wide street. He said the planning staff feels that this street width is appropriate for most local residential streets and that this is a particularly good candidate for a narrow width given that the size of the lots located on the east side and the proposed lots for the west side are wider than the standard single-family lots, and the street would be unlikely to have a lot of on-street parking. Kugler said staff does not feel this will be a major cut-through route, particularly with the redesign of the intersection at Scott Park Drive. He stated that there are policies contained in the Comprehensive Plan and the Northeast District Plan that call for looking at narrower residential streets as a means of addressing traffic speed problems and other issues associated with wider streets. Kugler said Public Works recommends that the current standard of 28 feet be required, and staff has discussed this with that department many times without any resolution. He said it is now time for the Commission and the City Council to look at the street width policy and make a decision as to which direction the City should be going. Kugler said staff feels the current standard for a local, residential street is excessive, and a reduction to 25 feet would help not only save costs for the development community but also result in more aesthetically pleasing and safer streets. He stated that about one-half of the current local, residential streets in Iowa City are 25 feet in width or less. Kugler said there have not been a lot of complaints from residents on these streets indicating that the street width is a problem, and there has not been an unusual accident history associated with these streets. Kugler said Public Works has indicated that they feel the City should be providing infrastructure to accommodate the 85th percentile speed, typically around 31 to 32 miles per hour on local, residential streets. Assuming that traffic speeds will be the same on a 25 and 28-foot wide street, Kugler said Public Works feels the 28-foot width better accommodates that 85th percentile speed. Kugler said the 85th percentile speed is basically the speed at which 85 % of the traffic along that street is going or slower. He said staff feels that rather than designing for this higher speed, the City should be encouraging reduced speeds through design in order to make streets more livable and consistent with the residential uses along those neighborhoods. Kugler said staff feels a narrower street does result in motorists driving at lower speeds and is advocating a street design that lowers that 85th percentile speed to a more appropriate level. Kugler said if Public Works is correct that wider streets can better accommodate this 85th percentile speed, this should be reflected in accident rates. He said staff has researched data since 1997, looking at all streets that have had three or more mid-block collisions over that period of time. Kugler said there is no evidence from the data indicating that wider streets are safer than the narrower streets. He said the planning staff is recommending that the proposed 25-foot street width be accepted for Hummingbird Lane and that the City consider reducing the standard for all local residential streets from 28 feet down to 25 feet. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 15 Kugler said when this property was rezoned, there was a requirement for an easement for a pedestrian walkway to connect from Scott Park Drive to the east to undeveloped property that staff expects to be brought into the City at some point and developed residentially. He said that easement has been provided along the north edge of Lot 79 as well as a five-foot construction easement. Kugler said Public Works has looked at that and the grading needed to establish a trail there. He said it is unlikely there could be a trail in that location that is ADA compliant; however that is not necessarily required here, and there are alternatives, such as providing resting areas along the trail or flattened spots. Kugler said staff feels it is possible within the easement and land provided to establish a pedestrian connection through that length of property being proposed for dedication and would recommend approval. Kugler stated that a tree protection plan has been filed for Lots 79 and 80, as required at the time of the rezoning. He said that plan has been reviewed by the City Forester, who has some suggestions for improvements to the plan. Kugler said staff recommends that if the Commission decides to approve this plat, that it be done subject to the tree plan being finalized and approved by the City Forester prior to City Council consideration of the preliminary plat. Kugler said neighborhood open space is required as part of this plat. He said the walkway that is being dedicated as per the CZA is not to count toward that neighborhood open space requirement. Kugler said staff recommends fees in lieu of the dedication of land to be used to purchase open space somewhere within this district. Kugler said the deficiencies have been resolved, and staff recommends approval subject to the approval of a grading plan and the tree protection plan prior to City Council consideration of the plat. Ehrhardt asked if there has been any thought of, instead of the fees, buying a wider strip than the 25 feet to allow for the rest areas on the walkway. Kugler said he was not sure that would gain much, given the acreage included in this plat, and he did not know the exact amount of open space to be required. He added that the lots would then be diminished; the CZA indicated 25 feet plus a temporary construction easement, and staff has been trying to see if this trail will work within the area provided. Kugler said Ehrhardt could ask the applicant if he would be willing to reduce the size of the lots, or the Commission could require that as a condition. Kugler said he did not think it would gain much considering the 362-foot length of those lots. Kugler said the Parks and Recreation Commission has not looked at this yet, but should be doing so before this goes to the City Council. He said that the Parks and Recreation Commission could be asked to consider that also. Bovbjerg said that Lots 81, 82, and 83 are within the RM-12 zone and across the street from RS-5 zoning, and Kugler confirmed this. Bovbjerg asked what is next to them to the south. Kugler said the property is zoned RM-12 beyond Court Street. Bovbjerg said the size of the building and number of units would depend on the size of the lot, and Kugler confirmed this. Bovbjerg asked how many units could be put on a 22,000 square foot lot. Kugler said it would depend on how the parking and access drives are designed, and given the odd shape of a couple of the lots and the topography at the west end, it may be difficult to develop them to their full density. He said the RM-12 zone allows approximately 15 units per acre at a maximum, so that a 22,000 square foot lot would probably have about eight units per lot as a maximum. Kugler said the other possibility would be that those lots could be combined to make one larger development parcel. Public discussion: Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 16 Peter Fisher, 3722 Hummingbird Lane, said he thought most of the neighbors would support the staff recommendation of a 25-foot width for the street for the reasons laid out and also because of the cost sharing agreement - the less concrete property owners have to pay for the better. He said anything that would reduce traffic and make Hummingbird Lane less attractive as a cut- through street would be appealing to the neighbors. Fisher said one of the neighbors was concerned about the street. He said the concrete street proposed there would end and then transition right into the existing Hummingbird Lane, a private street maintained by the homeowners. Fisher said if that is a City street, there would be basically only two or three property owners left to maintain that last 700 to 800 feet of Hummingbird Lane as it connects on to Lower West Branch Road. He said the concern of the neighbors who own the property at the end of Hummingbird that would remain in the County is that they are going to be in the position of maintaining a street that not only they use, but other people use for through traffic. Fisher said the street is really not designed to hold much traffic at all, especially heavy vehicles, which heavily damaged the street over the course of a week during last spring's thaw. He said he thought the neighborhood preference would be to have some kind of a barricade to prevent that being a through street. Fisher said this is similar to the issue the Commission discussed before with Fairway Lane, except that the pavement is continuous so it would be very easy to continue to use it. Chait said that is a valid point and asked what the difference between this and the Windsor Ridge area is and why not install a barricade here for the same reason. Kugler said the City would not support the idea of a barricade here, as there would be difficulties with access and there would have to be a turnaround at each end. He said there are also concerns that once a dead end street is created here, it will be difficult to extend through. Kugler said that with the Fairway Lane situation, there is a significantly larger amount of development proposed that could potentially impact that County street as an attractive route to get down to American Legion Road. He said the Hummingbird Lane situation involves a much lower number of lots, and staff does not see this as a significant cut-through route. Kugler said it is important to establish this as a through street at some point as the properties to the north may be annexed or there may be a decision to upgrade the roadway there. He said it is important to not have two cul-de-sacs butting up to each other in this location. Chait asked if the people on the north end of Hummingbird could apply to have their properties annexed into the City. Kugler said that would not necessarily result in the City upgrading the road. He said the City could annex and there could be an assessment to improve the road, or it could be done at the property owners' initiative. Chait asked if either way, the property owners would have to pay for the street improvement. Kugler said unless the City changes its policy, it is typically only involved in constructing arterial streets, and local and collector streets happen as development occurs. Fisher asked if at the point that existing lane has to be rebuilt and the people who are left maintaining it actually only need access to about 2/3 of that length, they are under any obligation to rebuild the entire lane to adjoin with the City street. He asked if they could leave a gap at the portion they are not using. Chait said that may be true unless the County government puts it through and then makes an assessment. Bovbjerg asked if it were possible to do some kind of embargo of construction trucks on Hummingbird Lane. Kugler said it is a County road and would be the County's decision as to whether to post the road as a "no truck" route. Chait said the County does that in the spring anyway for some roads. Kugler said the construction traffic could come up Scott Park Drive, but the difficulty is in enforcing that. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 17 Bob Wolf, 3732 Hummingbird Lane, said he lives in the County on this road. He said the neighbors originally wanted a cul-de-sac at the location where Hummingbird Lane would end. He said when the neighbors talked to the City, a compromise was reached so that there would be a radius on the intersection, rather than a straight through street. Wolf said the problem is not going away unless that end can be barricaded off. He said the City should consider putting a barricade there, or it will become a big mudhole, because no one is going to put the funds into it to allow it to be used. Wolf said this application will increase the population ten or twelve-fold, and all that traffic will eventually migrate through that area. He said there needs to be some sort of device to stop that traffic from exiting to Lower West Branch Road. Chait said if no one down there wants that to go through and there are very few people, wouldn't that be the time to put a cul-de-sac there and put a turnaround in. Kugler said staff would not want to see that from a neighborhood circulation standpoint. He said the policies of the Comprehensive Plan and Northeast District Plan encourage connections within neighborhoods, versus cul-de-sacs and isolation. Miklo added that the Fire Marshal is particularly concerned about having this connection. Chait said the reality is then that the road to the north in the County will become impassable if it continues to deteriorate, and people will figure out not to go that way. Miklo said if it gets that bad it will be self-regulating, but staff feels that ten additional houses would not create enough traffic, especially since it will be more attractive for people to go south on the paved portion. Wolf said, regarding the pavement width, that since the neighbors are participating in the costs of the road, they would like to stay with a 25-foot width because it is more economical for them. Public discussion closed. Kugler asked Larry Schnittjer who owns that roadway from the northern end of this subdivision up to Lower West Branch Road. Schnittjer said it is owned by Plum Grove Acres, Inc. (the applicant), but three or four property owners have access to it. Chait asked why that connection was not included in the annexation if Plum Grove owns it. Schnittjer said it would have complicated the annexation because Plum Grove only owns a strip, and the property owners on either side of the strip did not want to be annexed. He said the annexation of the strip would have come close to creating an island of Lou Frank's property on the west side. Miklo asked if it would be a reasonable condition to require that that portion of the road be maintained by Plum Grove Acres or a homeowner's association. Holecek said the appropriate infrastructure is in place with the paving of Hummingbird Lane to support the development that is being placed there. She said she was not sure that it would be a reasonable condition. Wolf said he did not want to see the project dumped because of this little problem. He said he was sure it could be resolved over time. Wolf said in the last five years, neighbors have had a number of meetings with the developer because they realized that at some point there would have to be a paved road out of where they live. He said they have worked hard to coordinate this, and he saw no reason to dump the project or put extra pressure on the developer, because he thought the problem would work itself out over time. Fosse said he represented the Public Works Department in advocating a 28-foot wide street standard here. He said street widths started out at 31 feet in the north end of town, then were reduced to 25 feet, and then about 30 years ago, the City went to the 28-foot standard. Fosse said the additional three feet were added for a number of reasons. He said one of the primary reasons was safety, in that part of what that three feet does for a driver is increase his reaction and recovery time. Fosse said with each passing year, the driver population ages. He said that Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 18 to go to a 25-foot standard for our streets would not make them as usable for the elderly. Fosse said if the City is serious about this multi-modal thing, the 28-foot street is more accommodating to buses, as well as the inexperienced and less experienced bicycle rider. He said if we want bicyclists to commute, we need street'widths to accommodate them. Fosse said the planning staff report advocates the 25-foot width for four reasons: I) reduced speed, 2) improved safety, 3) aesthetics, and 4) economy. Regarding economy, Fosse said the streets have width standards and also have storm sewer standards. He said the storm sewer standard is that during a five-year storm, there needs to be a clear lane in the middle of the road of twelve-feet wide. Fosse said that when the street is narrowed, the width available for carrying stormwater is reduced so that storm intakes need to be put in more often. He said that intakes run from $1,000 to $1,600 each. Fosse said he has researched the numbers, and the prices of paving and storm sewers can vary significantly, but it could vary from about a two dollar advantage to a two dollar disadvantage per front foot for going with the 25-foot width versus the 28. He said the storm sewer requirement tends to offset the savings gained from the reduced width of paving. Fosse showed an overhead of statistics regarding speed information and mid-block collisions. He said based on the experience of Public Works and speed studies done, he 'thought the speeds would be pretty similar on 25 and 28-foot wide streets. Fosse said he got information from Doug Ripley regarding all the speed information he had available. Fosse said he went through that and went through all of the local residential streets of widths of 25 and 28 feet, looked at the 85th percentlie speed, and then took an average of that. He said he found that the 28-foot wide street had a slower 85th percentlie speed by about 3.5 miles per hour. Fosse said Public Works discussed why that might be, and one suggestion was that when people stop and alternate to go around parked cars, they tend to try to make up the time between the parked cars, as is the case in neighborhoods where stop signs have been placed to reduce speed and people tend to drive faster between the stop signs. He said the other possibility is that sometimes people will speed up to beat the other driver past the parked car. With regard to the safety issue, Fosse said he looked at the accident data and pointed out the resulting statistics. He said it is pretty clear from the data that the 28-foot wide street is significantly safer than the 25-foot wide street. Fosse said the Commission may wonder how Public Works reached a different solution from the same data set as the planning staff. He said the difference can come from drawing a line between all the 25 and 28-foot wide streets and then lureping 28 in with all the 31-foot wide streets in the north end, where there is a collision problem associated with all the dense parking on the streets there. Fosse said if one lumps in 28 with the 31 and wider streets, it is possible to make that statement, but it is an inappropriate use of the statistics for the case in front of the Commission tonight. He said that when comparing 25-foot wide streets to 28-foot wide streets, it is clear from a safety perspective that 28-foot wide streets perform much better. Regarding aesthetics, Fosse showed slides of two different subdivision streets, one with a 25- foot width and one with a 28-foot width. He said most people would agree that the slide of the 25-foot wide street is much more appealing. Fosse attributed that to the fact that any 25-foot wide street in the City is at least 30 years old so that there is at least 30 years worth of growth on the trees in the neighborhood. He said that the architecture on some of the 25-foot wide streets may also be more appealing than in the newer neighborhoods. Fosse said he thinks the predominant factors in aesthetics are the trees and architecture in the neighborhood. He said that if the standard is changed to 25-foot wide streets, the result will be the same as the 28-foot street with no trees, except that the street will be three feet narrower. He said it takes decades to build character in an area. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 19 Fosse said when comparing a width of 25 feet to 28 feet, one looks at speed. He said there is nothing to support that a 25-foot wide street will result in lower speeds than a 28-foot wide street, and in fact the statistics show that the 28-foot wide street has a lower 85th percentlie street. Regarding safety, Fosse said the 28-foot width is the clear hands down choice. With regard to aesthetics, Fosse said the predominant factors are the trees and architecture, not the street width. He said that Public Works believes strongly that the 28-foot width is the standard width for the street that is consistent with the goals of a livable community. Regarding the collision data, Bovbjerg said the comparison between eight streets and one street may be inconclusive. Fosse said there was no other 28-foot wide street that exceed the criterion of three mid-block collisions since 1997. Bovbjerg said that looking at a single criterion of mid- block collisions might be useful but is only one thing to look at. She said that all of the other streets of a 25-foot width are either heavily populated and/or are major routes from one place to another. Bovbjerg said she found that to be a factual, but not a valid comparison. She said you cannot compare one road with eight. Bovbjerg said she tended to have the same problem with the average 85th percentlie speed, as the streets chosen are heavily traveled as throughways or heavily populated themselves. She said Lexington Avenue itself is a roller coaster, not an avenue. Bovbjerg said she was not questioning the math, but was questioning that these might be more apparent than they are real, just for the width itself. She said there are many other factors working on these numbers. Kugler said the set of numbers regarding mid-block collisions comes from a data set that staff looked at in preparing the last paragraph of this section of the staff report. He said staff looked at the numbers and discussed them with Jeff Davidson, who noted that there really was not enough data there to draw any conclusions. Kugler said that if the line is drawn between 25 and 28, a larger number of accidents there were reported for the wider streets than for all of the narrower streets, but Davidson said he did not feel it was appropriate to use the information in this way because there are so many other factors that can be considered, such as vehicle miles traveled along these streets, the length of the streets, shrubbery along the roadway, the location of on-street parking, etc. Kugler said staff did not use the numbers to try to draw those kind of conclusions but noted that there does not seem to be a significant set of data that indicates that 25-foot wide streets are less safe than the wider streets. For the speed data, he asked Fosse why these streets were chosen, and what the rationale was for comparing this set with the other set. Fosse said they were taken from two JCCOG memos, the 1998 traffic counting program and the 1997 traffic counting program. He said Public Works went through and, for every street that was either 25 or 28 feet in width that there was speed data on, that information is represented on the chart. Fosse said there was no filtering of the data. Kugler said traffic counts are often done on streets because a traffic problem is reported. He said a lot of information the City has are on streets like Friendship or Sheridan, which are cut- through routes, not typical local, residential streets. Kugler said the planning staff is advocating a reduction in the street width for the City's true, local residential streets, not for collector or arterial streets. Fosse said in the count programs, each street is classified as local, collector, or arterial, and only local streets were used for this information. Kugler said that is one of the reasons there are not a lot of streets to go by here since there have not been a lot of requests to study the typical residential neighborhood streets. Ehrhardt said she was surprised there was not more data. Chait said if the Commission is changing a standard that will be more far-reaching than this one subdivision, the issue is important, and what he inferred from the evidence is that there are streets similar to the types of uses on the streets that are 25-feet wide that have the three or more accidents per time period that are 28 feet. He said he is assuming that there are comparable 28-foot streets that have Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 20 similar structures and densities on them that are not on the list because they have not had three or more accidents in the time period. Fosse said he has not gone to that level of detail, but felt that was a fairly accurate statement. Chait said if that is true, then he thought the information is significant to the extent of what it shows. He said if there are no other streets of 28 feet that have conditions similar to the 25-foot wide streets, then he agreed with Bovbjerg. Miklo said staffs point is that this is such a small sample that, regardless of what is shown, it is hard to make conclusions from a set of data this small. Chair said he did not want to hold up this application for discussion of a change, but it does warrant more study, if the Commission wants to recommend that change. Fosse said he did not feel this subdivision would be a good candidate for a 25-foot wide street because it is a fairly long stretch, connects two collector streets, and has the potential for a fair amount of traffic on it. He said he felt the 28-foot standard would be appropriate here. Chair suggested the reason staff wants this to be 25 feet wide is to dissuade people from making it a heavily traveled street. Fosse said he is saying from drivers' behavior that regardless of the standard of the street, if they perceive it to be their best route, they will take it. He said that coming west on Rochester where the road jogs to the left, there used to be an alley that would take the driver right to Governor Street. Fosse said it was a block of gravel alley that was 16 feet wide functioning as an arterial street, because people perceived that as the best route. He said the solution there was to make that one-way the wrong way to prevent its use as a cut-through route. Schintler said she had concerns about constructing the 25-foot wide street and then expecting buses, fire trucks, garbage collectors, etc. to effectively use such a street. She asked what would happen if this doesn't work. Ehrhardt said that as shown on the City map, there are already a tremendous number of streets that are 25 feet in width. Fosse agreed but said the 28- foot wide standard really works better. He said he has discussed this with the Fire Department, Transit Services, and other services, and everyone likes the 28-foot wide street better except for the snow plow drivers, who can clear a 25-foot wide street in only two passes. Miklo said this width of street would not be proposed for bus mutes. Schintler said the City does not always know what will be a bus route ten years down the mad. Miklo said that local, residential streets will typically not be a bus route. Ehrhardt said the statistics seem totally against one of life's basic truths that the narrower the road, the slower the drivers go. Davidson said the City does a very extensive traffic count program between April and November. He said that probably less than 5%, maybe even less than 2%, of those streets are local streets. Davidson said the vast majority of traffic counts are done on collector and arterial streets. He said the only local streets the City ever does a traffic count on are those for which there has been a request from a neighborhood group because of a problem, and that problem is usually speeding traffic. Davidson said the streets in the report are streets that the City looked at specifically because there was a perceived speeding problem. He said this is not really a representative group, because very few of the local streets are ever surveyed by the traffic counters for speed and volume since they are not the streets where the problems are. Davidson said he has spent a lot of time with the accident data, looking at high accident locations, and trying to rectify problem areas, whether it be an arterial, collector, or local street. He said he does not believe there is any relationship between safety and the width of the street. Davidson said the accident data shows that sight distance is a very big factor. He said there are contributing factors, frequently driver impairment, when talking about mid-block collisions, that the City has no control over with respect to how the streets are designed. Davidson said he did not feel that the data brought together regarding local streets was in any way conclusive. He said he did not think a 28-foot wide street is unsafe, nor is a 25-foot wide street unsafe on its own, as there are a lot of contributing factors that lead to the safety of a street. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 21 Bovbjerg asked if there is a correlation between the width of the street and on-street parking and if there is a correlation between on-street parking and accidents. Davidson responded that there are very few aderial streets with on-street parking. He said collector streets, depending on the situation, may or may not have on-street parking. Davidson said local streets are usually designed to have on-street parking because the volume is usually low enough that the whole street is not needed for the movement of traffic. He agreed with Fosse that on a street like Friendship, cars will speed up to make it around the parked cars first, and staff does not advocate a narrower width on collector or arterial streets. Davidson said, regarding the multi- modal aspect of streets, that he concurred with Fosse but did not think it is an issue on local streets, although it is an issue on collector and arterial streets. Ehrhardt asked if the space between the sidewalk and the street is the same size regardless of the width of the street. Davidson said that usually depends on the right-of-way. Miklo said the parking would generally be wider on a 25-foot wide street. Fosse said Davidson made an interesting point about what streets were selected for speed data, and based on that piece of information, you can draw from this that if you live on a 25-foot wide street, you are 40% more likely to complain that the traffic on your street is excessive. He said the comfort of the drivers is one issue and the comfort of those who live on the street is another. Fosse said he believes that those who live along a 28-foot wide street are more comfortable with the traffic on their street because of that ability for the reaction time and because traffic moves more slowly. Fosse said that 25-foot wide streets are not the cure for traffic issues. He said that Seattle has an extensive network of 25-foot wide streets. Fosse said Seattle was a pioneer in traffic calming measures because they had problems on their 25-foot wide streets. He said one of the measures of the success of their traffic circles was a reduction in mid-block collisions. Miklo said the Commission is not being asked to change the standard but is being asked to consider a narrower street for this one particular case, Hummingbird Lane. He said staff agrees that the issue needs more discussion. Supple asked Fosse how important an issue the width of Hummingbird Lane was to him. Fosse said if it is a precedent setter, it is a very important issue, but if it stands alone, it is an issue simply because the street will function better at a width of 28 feet. Supple asked if the easements would be the same. Fosse said the right-of-way width would be the same. Supple asked how difficult retrofitting the street, widening it, would be. Fosse responded that is very difficult because of the storm sewer intakes; once those are in place, they would have to be moved to widen the street. Bovbjerg asked what the current width of Hummingbird Lane is as it exists now. Larry Schnittjer said it is 16 to 18 feet wide. Shannon said he understands the needs for connective streets but asked what happens to the street when the private part of it gets all torn up next spring or whenever. He asked who was responsible for repair. Kugler said he was not sure. He said the question eadier was whether there is a sufficient tie between the platting of these lots and the platting of that roadway. Kugler said there have been other developments in the City where the City has required off-site improvements because of the impact of traffic or for some other factor caused by the development. He said Holecek has indicated there is not a strong enough tie, but if this were deferred, staff could discuss the question further. Holecek said a waiver of the 45-day limitation period would be needed and asked Schnittjer if he were willing to submit a waiver. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 22 Larry Schnittjer, 1917 South Gilbert Street, said he would not really be in favor of a deferral because he would like to get started on construction at the site. He said the site is constrained enough that he needs to do all of the construction for the entire area. Schnittjer said the Mazzotta deadline for completion or occupancy is coming up and he needs to get started. Kugler said the Parks and Recreation Commission has not yet looked at this application with regard to neighborhood open space. He said their meeting will be in August about the same time as the City Council meeting, and if this application were deferred, it will probably end up going to the Parks and Recreation Commission and the City Council at about the same time. Chait said the only reason he would be inclined to defer would be to get more research regarding tying maintenance of the northern end of Hummingbird to this application. He said the unbuilt portion is a County road, and the homeowners on that road have gotten along so far. Schnittjer said it is a private road that has been maintained by the homeowners. Holecek said it seems to be a prescriptive easement for the purpose of access. She said she did not believe it is owned to the central line by the adjoining property owners. Schnittjer said that Plum Grove Acres owns the land. Miklo said that this issue of maintenance and upgrading of Hummingbird was discussed at Joint Staff, and the conclusion was that since there were only ten lots here, there would not be a significant amount of traffic that would result in the severe destruction of this roadway. Supple asked Schnittjer about his opinion regarding the width of the mad. Schnittjer said it was not a major issue to Bruce Glasgow, but he did not know what Frank Boyd's position is. Schnittjer said Fosse was correct about the storm sewer issue in that the storm sewer system for the street will be more costly on a narrower street. Schnittjer said it is not so much a cost factor than it is just the general character of the street. Schnittjer said he would be willing to waive the limitation period. MOTION: Ehrhardt moved to defer SUB99-0015, a preliminary plat of Scott Boulevard East Part 4, a 7.36-acre, 15-1ot residential subdivision located east of Scott Boulevard at Washington Street to the August 5, 1999 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Shannon seconded the motion. Supple said she would like to vote on this application. She said she is uncomfortable with having the 28 versus 25 foot discussion incorporated in with this application, because this application isn't about that. Supple said this is not precedent setting, and she said she agreed with Wolf that the problem with the 700 feet at the northern end will work itself out. Schintler and Chait said they also were prepared to vote. WITHDRAWAL OF THE MAIN MOTION: Ehrhardt withdrew her motion, and Shannon withdrew his second. MOTION: Bovbjerg moved to recommend approval of SUB99-0015, a preliminary plat of Scott Boulevard East Part 4, a 7.36-acre, 15-1ot residential subdivision located east of Scott Boulevard at Washington Street, subject to approval of a grading plan prior to City Council consideration and approval of the tree protection plan by the City Forester prior to City Council consideration. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. Supple said she would like to discuss the street width issue again, and it should not be considered in the context of a specific application. She asked Fosse and Davidson to come back when this issue is on the agenda. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 15, 1999 Page 23 SUB99-0016. Public discussion of an application submitted by Plum Grove Acres Inc. for a final plat of Scott Boulevard East Part 3, a 9.5-acre, 3-lot residential subdivision located east of Scott Boulevard at Washington Street. (45-day limitation period expires August 20, 1999) Kugler said the plat is in conformance and is ready to be voted on. He said legal papers and construction drawings are under review. Kugler said staff recommends approval, subject to approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to City Council consideration. Kugler mentioned that there will be a situation with the street name being different across Scott Boulevard. Public discussion: Schnittjer asked Kugler to check to see whether the grading plan submitted for this subdivision, which included the other subdivision, was adequate, or whether another drawing would be needed. Kugler said he would check. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Chait moved to recommend approval of SUB99-0016, a final plat of Scott Boulevard East Part 3, a 9.5-acre, 3-lot residential subdivision located east of Scott Boulevard at Washington Street subject to approval of legal papers and construction drawings prior to City Council consideration. Shannon seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. CONSIDERATION OF THE JULY 1, 1999 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES: MOTION: Chait moved to approve the minutes of the July 1, 1999 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, as written. Ehrhardt seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. OTHER INFORMATION: Miklo said at a recent meeting, the Commission voted 4-3 against an amendment to the zoning ordinance to allow parking on an adjacent lot of a different zone. He said there appears to be a majority of the City Council that favors that amendment, and the City Council has requested an opportunity to meet with the Commission, if its members choose to discuss this further. The consensus was to not meet with the City Council regarding the amendment. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 10:42 p.m. Dean Shannon, Secretary Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte ppdadm/min/p&z7-15-99.doc MINUTES IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING 2nd FLOOR ADMINISTRATIVE CONFERENCE ROOM Thursday, July 1, 1999 5:00 PM Members Present: Winston Barclay, Linda Dellsperger, Mark Martin, Mary McMurray, Lisa Parker, Jesse Singerman, Anne Spencer, Jim Swaim Members Absent: Steve Greenleaf Staff Present: Barbara Black, Maeve Clark, Susan Craig, Beth Daly, Larry Eckholt, Debb Green, Heidi Lauritzen, Kara Logsden, Liz Nichols Guests Present: Ross Wellburn, Candidate for City Council CALL TO ORDER - President Singerman called the meeting to order at 5:03 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION - Ross Wellburn requested a copy of the Selzer survey. A copy was provided for him. Wellburn commented that the Library meeting rooms a.re very well used by the community, that he was unable to find an available date to hold a meeting here. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - It was noted that the minutes were of May 27, not March 25 as stated in the agenda. Minutes of May 27, 1999 were approved, Parker/Dellsperger. EXECUTIVE SESSION - In response to Craig's request to move into closed session for purpose of personnel review, a motion was made to consider Executive Session. McMurray/Spencer, passed unanimously. At 5:20 PM, the meeting was resumed. For the record, an Executive Session was held to discuss the Director's evaluation. UNFINISHED BUSINESS The Board reviewed the Selzer survey. The findings of the survey confirmed assumptions made earlier: that there is wide support for the expansion project, that a majority of voters would prefer a downtown library, that parking and children's services are very important issues to most voters. The Board discussed various ways to clarify the Library's needs to the public. They talked about advertising, tours, displays, hand-outs, and creating a vision. They examined accessibility, children's programming, meeting room space, and aisle width. ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES January 28, 1999 Page 2 The Board concluded that there is still a lot of work to do to pass a referendum. They directed Craig to schedule a joint meeting with the City Council. [Note: set for August 23, 1999.] The Board will ask the Council for a referendum date in the Spring, for confirmation that the Library can build on the preferred site of 64-1A, and for funds to pay an architect to design the building Eckholt confirmed that that the Friends Foundation is ready to begin the capital campaign. Eckholt suggested that if the City Council were to announce in October that there would be a referendum in the spring, the timing would be excellent to begin soliciting donors. NEW BUSINESS It was noted that the payment from the Regional Library is down because our staff costs have gone down. Other parts of the contract were increased about 3 %. The contract with Regional Libraries and the Regional Reference Office in ICPL was approved: Barclay/Swaim. There are several major changes in the Open Access Agreement this year. The year's payment will be made at the beginning of the Fiscal Year, based on use recorded the previous year. In the past, payments were made quarterly, based on that quarter's use. The Open Access and Access Plus agreements with the State Library were approved: Swaim/Dellsperger. The Director Evaluation Committee recommended that the director receive a 6~/1% raise in salary over FY99. This breaks down to 3 % for ATB and 3 ~/2 % for merit. This is in keeping with City guidelines for similar positions. The evaluation is on file. The Director's salary for FY2000 was approved as recommended: Dellsperger/Parker. d. Craig led the Board through listing FY1999 accomplishments and FY2000 goals for the City annual report. Craig will take the rough ideas and draft a report. STAFF REPORTS ao Debb Green reported that the Summer Reading Program is in full swing, with 1,400 children registered. The theme this year is "Treasure Your Library." A popular reading program addition to the Children's Room has been a fish tank, loaned by Gary Glenn, ICCSD teacher and husband to staff member, Sara Glenn. Green joked that the Children's Room will have to acquire a permanent fish tank to keep the kids happy. b, Singerman reiterated that Members of the Library Board of Trustees, Linda Dellsperger and Linda Prybil, will serve a one-year term as representatives to the Friends Foundation Board. ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES January 28, 1999 Page 3 The City Council has appointed Shaner Magalh~es, the State Historical Society Librarian, and Linda Prybil, Johnson County representative, as the new members of the Library Board of Trustees. Jesse Singerman and Jim Swaim were re-appointed. Craig will work with the board president to set up new member orientation. Since Governor Vilsack has signed the Enrich Iowa Bill, ICPL can expect about $15,000 that can be added to the Board's NOBU funds. Librarians all over Iowa worked very hard for this bill d. The Development Office Report was included in the packet and reviewed by Eckholt. Miscellaneous readings were included in the packet. The Board was concerned about the state of litigation dealing with Internet filtering. Craig assured them that the staff is monitoring the situation. There have been one or two minor incidents at ICPL since terminals outside the Web Corral were converted to Web access stations. In one case, a young man was asked to move to the corral, since his viewing matter was not suitable for all ages. There have been no problems in the Children's Room beyond trying to monitor who is logged in at any one time. Nichols explained that the biggest request from the public is for the Library to get word- processing software. Clark mentioned that the Information Staff often hears requests for more web stations, but the staff is trying to reserve some terminals for access to subscription reference services, such as Encyclopedia Britanica. Singerman passed around a brochure on a conference on Internet Ethics and requested that one or more board members attend. Craig mentioned that many of the sessions at the recent ALA conference dealt with the Internet, filters and access. PRESIDENT'S REPORT - There was a consensus that the Annual Board Dinner should be changed to August, since more members would be able to attend. As a side benefit, this would give new members a chance to meet everyone before being thrown into the dinner setting. The July 8 Community Forum/Tour will start at 7:00 PM. It will be advertised in the WINDOW. Board members recommended that the tour be given first and questions and answers afterward, since the tour answers many questions and raises others. The Board requested that the Selzer survey be summarized in a one-page handout in time for the tour. They further requested that Eckholt create a press release and that Craig and Eckholt place an ad in the Cedar Rapids Gazette to publicize the results of the Selzer survey. President Singerman congratulated Mark Martin for succeeding her as president. She turned over the president's copy of the Library Board of Trustees Policies Manual. ICPL BOARD OF TRUSTEES January 28, 1999 Page 4 ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM MEMBERS Barclay mentioned that an article he read dealt with the drop in non-fiction use due to the Web. Some articles also suggest that Library use in general will drop due to Internet use. While non-fiction use at ICPL seems to follow the trend, Craig assured the Board that Libraries will continue to serve a vital function in the community. Barclay was concerned about the University of Iowa's plans to eliminate the International Writer's Workshop. Craig was sympathetic, and said that similar plans to eliminate the Library School would have an impact on the Library. Barclay gave the address of a Web site for those interested in more information: saveiwp.webjump.com Anne Spencer expressed her thanks for a great nine years on the Board. She said that she learned a lot from her time, and said that the most important lesson she learned is that if you hire a good administrator, the rest is easy. Clark announced that there are new buttons on the Library's Web page. She recommended that everyone try out the Encyclopedia Britanica and ProQuest. She stressed that only ICPL cardholders can reach these subscription services. · McMurray and Singerman will work on ways to educate the public about the Library's decision not to pursue the option of a branch library. COMMITTEE REPORTS - NONE COMMUNICATIONS - NONE DISBURSEMENTS a. The Visa expenditures for May, 1999 were reviewed. b. The disbursements for May, 1999 were reviewed and approved: McMurray/Barclay SET AGENDA FOR JULY MEETING - review strategic plan, NOBU budget ADJOURNMENT - The meeting was adjourned at 6:05 pm. Dellsperger/Spencer Notes taken by Beth Daly MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION JUNE 9, 1999 MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: GUESTS: Toni Cilek, Barbara Endel, Bruce Maurer, Matt Pacha, Rex Pruess, Allen Stroh, Kathy Wallace, Ross Wilburn Craig Gustaveson Terry Trueblood, Mike Moran Ken Fearing, Jim Williams, Dick Mason, Charles Tucker, Tony Malkusak, Treyor Maxwell (Press-Citizen) FORMAL ACTION TAKEN Moved by Pruess, seconded by Wilburn, to approve the May 13, 1999 minutes as written. Unanimous. Moved by Endel, seconded by Maurer, to move forward on acquiring the Braverman property at $135,000. Unanimous. Moved by Pruess, seconded by Wilburn, to accept the Windsor Ridge town square open space, with the caveat that trail connectivity is made southwest along the sewer easement Unanimous. PUBLIC DISCUSSION Ken Fearing addressed the commission with respect to the condition of the City Park and Mercer Park tennis courts. He questioned why the City's tennis courts are in the terrible condition they are and why they are always low on the priority list. He shared a picture of the Mercer Park tennis courts with the commission. He felt the courts are dangerous and they should have been refinished one year ago in the fall. He stated at a minimum the courts at City Park need a heavy resurfacing and lines repainted, and to be comparable to other courts in cities of this size, a windscreen. With respect to Mercer, the cracks need to be completely filled in before resurfacing and painting, the handles to adjust the height of the nets replaced because the present ones do not work, belts installed to keep the nets at the right height and a windscreen. Pacha stated funding was available July 1 for renovation of the tennis courts. Trueblood stated the project will involve a complete rebuild of the Mercer Park tennis courts and resurfacing and painting of the City Park tennis courts. Plans are to have this work completed this fall, and if this is not possible, to complete the project first thing next spring. An individual indicated there are approximately 15 to 20 senior citizens who play 4 to 6 times per week and have done so for 7 years. He noted the nets cannot be adjusted, with the problem being people playing with the handles and breaking same. Fearing suggested that a belt be put in the middle of the nets to keep them at the right height. Cilek asked about the timing of the project and if it would affect the NJTL program; Trueblood indicated tennis programs are over August 7 and work would begin after that time. Trueblood noted the contractor's recommendation may be to completely tear out and rebuild the Mercer Park tennis courts; if this is necessary, all available funds may be expended for this purpose. Trueblood indicated if this is the case, the City Park tennis courts will at least be repainted this year. Parks and Recreation Commission June 9, 1999 Page 2 of 5 BRAVERMAN PROPERTY Staff has been corresponding with Mr. Braverman regarding the purchase of his property on Benton Street. Since the purchase will be partially funded with HUD monies, it is necessary to obtain a new appraisal. The price offered was $125,000; Braverman stated his price was $135,000. Trueblood asked the commission if they were still interested in purchasing the property at that amount, noting the CDBG funding is $65,000. Pruess asked if the City chooses the appraiser and if the appraised value is less than the amount offered, would Braverman accept it. Trueblood indicated the city is proceeding with the appraisal at city expense, and it is unknown whether Braverman would accept the appraised value. Pruess asked staff to inform the appraiser of the possible Benton Street widening project and the possible overhead pass, which could lead to condemnation of this property. Stroh stated CDBG funds were available for only one year and the city needs to take advantage of them. Pruess queried whether Braverman would commit to selling the parcel at $135,000 regardless of what the appraisal is; Trueblood indicated he did not know. The commission as a whole was still interested in purchasing the property at $135,000. Moved by Endel, seconded by Maurer, to move forward on acquiring the Braverman property at $135,000. Unanimous. WINDSOR RIDGE, PART 13 Information was included in the commission's packet. Trueblood pointed out on the plat the 3.33 acres of open space the developer is willing to dedicate to the City. This is in addition to the open space in this development that will soon be city-owned property. When this first area was started years before the NOS ordinance was adopted, the owner asked the City to annex the property and at that time dedicated land to the City. The City agreed to accept this open space once it was planted and mowable, a trail put in, and 90 percent of the lots were built upon. These conditions have been met and the resolution accepting this land may be on the June 29 City Council agenda. The total open space acreage equals approximately 22 acres. Trueblood noted this subdivision far exceeds what would be required by the NOS plan, and they were not obligated to dedicate any more open space. Pruess indicated he favored accepting the proposed green space and would like to see trail connectivity between the two parcels on the sewer line easement. Trueblood noted the original plans in Windsor Ridge were to have a trail eventually connecting into Scott Park. Pruess stated it appeared to be a nice focal point and it would be a shame to cut the trail access off. Trueblood indicated the sewer line easement may be part of the green space to be dedicated. From staff's perspective, there is a growing concern with acquiring additional space with very little additional help. Pacha asked if the total area would be considered high maintenance. Trueblood indicated he considered ball fields and soccer fields high maintenance, with this area being considered moderate maintenance. Maurer asked if there was funding to hire additional staff to assist with mowing operations in the summer. Trueblood stated in the last 8-10 years summer staff has grown considerably, while the full time staff has shown very little growth. He stated the problem is summer staff cannot operate the larger $50,000-$60,000 mowers, and the bulk of the mowing is done by these larger mowers. Pacha asked if staff would be pursuing contracting for mowing services this year or next. Trueblood stated they would like to pursue it this year, with one of the difficulties being drafting a contract that is understandable and enforceable. Moved by Pruess, seconded by Wilburn, to accept the town square open space, with the caveat that trail connectivity be made southwest along the sewer easement. Unanimous. Parks and Recreation Commission June 9, 1999 Page 3 of 5 SKATEBOARD PARK Trueblood stated the commission previously indicated the primary three areas for a skateboard park would be Terrell Mill Park, City Park and Mercer Park. He stated the skateboarders would like the facility in the downtown area, but there is no area available. Pruess asked about Chauncey Swan Park; Trueblood stated the park is heavily used, it would take up the entire park, and this is also the proposed location for the old downtown fountain. Trueblood reported he held one public meeting, with approximately 30 individuals in attendance. He stated their next unanimous choice was Terrell Mill Park. Since that time, one argument heard with respect to Terrell Mill Park is that it is a gateway to Iowa City. Maurer indicated he favored Terrell Mill Park, with the facility being kept away from the river by the parking lot. Stroh stated the bike path would be used to get to the park, and there would need to be a hard-surfaced connection from the path to the facility. Pruess asked about the area south of Burlington Street, referring to the southside development plan. Stroh stated a lot of the property in this area will be eventually acquired by the city. Pruess noted the small bridge over Ralston Creek in this area and suggested this location for the skateboard park. He stated his preference would be to have the park in the downtown area. He felt skateboarders would stay in the downtown area because that is where they want to be. Maurer stated if the skateboard park is nice it will draw them to it. Endel stated a proportionate of park resources should be allocated to the relative population in providing recreation opportunities. She questioned if a skateboard park will take away the problem of skateboarders in the downtown area. Cilek noted the possibility that if the park was located in the downtown area, skateboarders would be going through the pedestrian mall and using the downtown sidewalks to get to it. Stroh agreed with Pruess regarding the area south of Burlington Street, and suggested putting up a temporary skateboard facility in Terrell Mill Park and moving it when this area is developed. Trueblood stated the skateboard group prefers the type that is built in-ground, with swales and ridges, and it would not be moveable. Stroh stated there should not be expectations about behaviors, with part of the commission's responsibility being to develop recreational activities and facilities. Endel stated she would like more investigation done on locating the park closer to where the activity is; staff will do so. Trueblood asked if the three choices were City Park, Mercer Park or Terrell Mill Park which location the commission preferred. The consensus of the commission was that it preferred Terrell Mill Park. Stroh asked staff to discuss this issue with other city staff with respect to the southside development plan. ANNUAL PARK TOUR Some of the tour sites will likely be Willow Creek Park and trail, Kiwanis Park, Napoleon Park maintenance building area, soccer park, skateboard park site, Windsor Ridge parkland, CBD playground equipment, Wetherby Park planned development, and the Iowa River Corridor Trail portions that are completed. Endel asked how the peninsula project was progressing. Trueblood stated during the budget process, the budget was reduced to $100,000 to start the plantings, with the project being delayed until development of the upper peninsula begins. Stroh suggested the First Avenue extension route; Pruess suggested the Jensen and Braverman properties. Pacha indicated he would not be able to attend the July meeting. COMMISSION TIME Wilbum noted he attended the Hospice trailside dedication ceremony, where appreciation was expressed to the Parks and Recreation Department for their assistance. He also noted he rode the trail from Napoleon Park to Burlington Street last Saturday evening and it was quite busy. Parks and Recreation Commission June 9, 1999 Page 4 of 5 Endel addressed the new procedure for checking in at the Mercer Park pool. She has heard a lot of people who dislike having to go through the locker room, paying on deck, and getting change on deck for the lockers. She questioned the possibility of having some sort of stamp at the main desk when patrons come through that would allow them to get into the pool. Moran noted the system is no different than at the Recreation Center pool, and there will soon be the possibility to obtain change at the front desk. He felt once there is a full time person at the front desk that things will fall together. Trueblood noted staff is not averse to changing the new procedure if it doesn't work out well. Endel also noted she received two calls regarding the installation of the asphalt trail in Willow Creek Park. Maurer asked about the status of the north end of Napoleon Park; Trueblood indicated this is where the park maintenance building will be constructed. People will be able to park around the building unless vandalism occurs. He noted most the parking will be north of the building. Pruess stated he would like to add the extension of the Willow Creek trail westward under Highway 218 using the existing culvert to the CIP unfunded list. He felt the time is right as the trail is being extended through Willow Creek and Kiwanis Parks. Pruess referred to concerns expressed that trails and parks are not safe. He discussed this with John Yapp who has a study that was completed of 370 plus trails, which reflected they are some of the safest places to be. Trueblood noted the concern is with the safety of the underpass. Endel stated they are a dark, confined where a person can plan an attack. Stroh indicated they do not have to be dark. Endel noted it is the number one site where assaults occur. Maurer asked if the gas pumps at the Oakland Cemetery were as unsightly as noted in a recent Letter to the Editor; Wallace suggested adding this to the tour route. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Soccer Complex: Two new buildings will be constructed, which will contain areas for concessions, restrooms and storage. The bids came in high; the recommendation to the City Council is to accept the low bid of Moore Construction of Iowa City. Staff will work with the contractor to determine possible deducts in order to lower the cost. Willow Creek Trail: The public hearing on the plans and specifications was held, with bids scheduled to be awarded at the City Council's second meeting in July. With respect to the Burry Drive connection trail from Teg to Burry, a four-foot wide trail exists that does not meet trail specifications. Trail specifications require trails to be eight feet wide. Trueblood noted the city has a 20-foot right-of-way in this area. The adjacent property owners were opposed to widening the sidewalk and the city agreed to a 6-foot wide sidewalk, which will still meet ADA guidelines. DOWNTOWN PLAYGROUND: The playground installer will begin installing the equipment next week, and it should be usable in approximately three weeks. NAPOLEON PARK: Landscaping work has begun. OAKLAND CEMETERY EXPANSION PROJECT: The project is progressing on schedule and should be completed by November. Parks and Recreation Commission June 9, 1999 Page 5 of 5 BABE RUTH BASEBALL: Staff asked members to inform them if they hear any concerns. Pacha stated someone contacted him about the fences being locked, preventing them from using the fields. Trueblood indicated since the fencing was installed, there have not been any break-ins in the concession stand, it has not been set on fire, and they prevent people from playing on the sod when it shouldn't be played on. Craig Gustaveson is on the Babe Ruth Board and has volunteered to be the liaison. EXECUTIVE SESSION The commission went into executive session to discuss pending property acquisition. Trueblood stated Guy Drollinger informed the City this is the last year his family will operate the rides in City Park. Staff met with the City Manager and discussed the possibility of working with civic groups to operate the train and carousel. He asked the Commission whether they felt this idea had any merit. Endel stated the rides are Iowa City icons. Trueblood stated Drollinger felt he could get $40,000 each. Wallace asked if there was a proposal with numbers regarding maintenance and staffing. Trueblood stated at this point he would like to know if the commission thought the idea had any merit, and if so, staff will proceed to gather additional information. A straw poll was conducted, with the Commission being in favor of the idea. Stroh felt it was a good opportunity to continue with the privatization of this facility. Trueblood stated Drollinger would like to sell all the equipment to the same vendor. The ultimate question of whether the City would allow the rides to continue under another vendor would be the City Council's decision. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 6:25 p.m. MINUTES PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 1999 - 3:30 PM COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: OTHERS PRESENT: Rick Fosse, Deborah Galbraith, Nancy Purington Terry Trueblood, Lesley Wright Karin Franklin, Karen Cowdery None Kevin Hanick, Gary Nagle, CALL TO ORDFR: Nancy Pudngton called the meeting to order at 3:41 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THF AGENDA: There was none. CONSIDFRATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 3. 1999 MEETING: Consideration of the minutes was deferred until the July meeting. DISCUSSION OF THF ART COMPONENT OF THE WATER PI ANT PROJECT: Franklin suggested the committee look at examples of water features in slides and pictures and select three artists to invite. She then presented the slides of submitted artwork. Kevin Hanick ardved at 3:48 PM. Pudngton asked if there were any artists from the slides that people liked? Franklin reminded everyone that the site is a rural, not urban. It is located off Dubuque Street near the water plant. Nagle said that he liked Hu Hung-Shu, and Galbraith agreed. She also liked Freeman. Fosse and Pudngton liked Freeman. Hanick said that he liked Freeman, but didn't mind any of the other artists. Nagle did not like Anderson. Purington asked if they could put a bubbler or small fountain instead of a small sculpture on some of the pedestrian mall sculpture pads. Franklin said it was too late for that. Nagle questioned whether the fountain at the water plant would be interactive or not, and Fosse raised the issue of who the audience was going to be. Galbraith said that she thought the sculpture was not going to be very interactive, because kids might be alone and if it were interactive, it could become a slip hazard. Franklin mentioned that there might not be too many kids there alone. There would be kids on field trips and on bikes, but fewer kids would visit the water plant fountain than the one downtown. Hanick thought that the fountain might not be visible from the interstate, but Galbraith mentioned that people might be able to see it from Dubuque Street. Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes June 17, 1999 Page 2 Purington noted the "Splash Spectacle" article. The article displayed water extrevaganzas rather than sculpture oriented water features. She further suggested that it might be more appropriate to focus on this type of water feature, because the feature would be for the water plant. Nagle agreed that a feature more focused on water than on sculpture might be better for the site. Purington asked who uses water as a medium? Franklin suggested that a company, rather than an artist, might be easier to find. Nagle retumed to the issue of interaction. Are kids going to be allowed to play in the feature? Should interaction be allowed but not the main focus of the feature? Everyone liked the water feature of the globe in Spain. Hanick found the fountains in Charlotte, NC rather uninspidng. Hanick liked the fountain in Burlington, VT, where kids could walk threugh it. Franklin suggested that perhaps the Burlington fountain was not very visual for the water plant and might be more appropriate in an urban setting. Nagle thought that there wasn't very much in the pages of photos appropriate for the setting. Galbraith thought that jets might be better than dripping water. Purington passed out pictures she received from Carol Spaziani in San Diego as well as ones she took on trips to Kansas City and Phoenix. Galbraith mentioned that there was a neat fountain in Cleveland where the water comes out like a snake. It was fascinating, but they might not want it at the water plant. Franklin said that there was a St. Louis company that handles that sort of feature. It would be possible to take the public art component out of the feature if the committee so desired. Pudngton suggested that they might want to think about using the water feature as an ice- skating rink in the winter. Fosse mentioned that a water extravaganza might use a lot of energy and would be dependent on low energy costs or it might not be operable in the future if it became too expensive to operate. Purington liked Doug Freeman's work, and perhaps they could use him and just ask him to limit his sculpture. Franklin asked what mood the greup was trying to achieve with the water feature and Galbraith said "water power." Nagle asserted that he didn't think the interactive component was very important. Hanick liked Bill Fitzgibbons' work where the water looked like fire. Purington mentioned that she would like the feature to reflect the flora and fauna of the area from the past millennium. She also mentioned that an artist, Doris Parks, was very good at this sort of art, and had made a bowl out of bronze maple leaves. It was shiny and looked just like the wet floor of the woods. Hanick asked what people thought of Debra Yates? Nagle liked her work shown on the pages presented, but thought she would be too pricey. Franklin looked her up and found that her work costs between $15,000 and $75,000. Hanick thought that Yates' combination of color and water was good. Purington didn't like Yates' work because she didn't find it energizing. Public Ad AdvisoryCommittee Minutes June 17,1999 Page 3 Fmnklin also looked up Bill Fi~gibbons and bund that his work mns between $10,000 - $200,000 Pudngton wanted to find the artist of a fountain in San Diego that she particularly liked. It was the most lyrical use of water she had seen. Perhaps Carol Spaziani would know where it was in San Diego. Franklin, who was compiling a list of people's favorites, mentioned that there were not a lot of "big splash" artists on the list, but suggested the artists might able to create a "big splash" piece of work. Fosse suggested working with engineers to design the jets and then hire Doris Parks to design inserts around the jets. It would be possible to insert blocks like downtown, so the feature would be visually appealing both from a distance and up close. Nagle asked how different Fosse's plan to hire the engineers first would be, since they have to use engineers anyway? Fosse clarified that this way, they would have the fountain first and then insert the art component. Purington questioned whether or not this method would be cost effective. Galbraith mentioned that she really liked the fountains in Odando, Florida. Nagle asked what the committee knew about WET (Water Entertainment Technology), the company featured in the article? Purington asked how much of the feature would be hydraulics and how much will that cost? She also wondered if the budget would be divided, and Franklin said that no, everything is to come out of the $100,000 water feature budget. Nagle reminded the committee that the rewards for the invited artists need to come out of the budget, too, so they do not have the full $100,000 to spend on the feature. Galbraith suggested talking to someone like WET who has done water features like this before. Pudngton said that she would rather use the money to engage an artist with engineers, to support and integrate the work of an artist in the community. Franklin mentioned that the committee might not be able to afford WET, so Nagle said that he would visit WET when he goes to LA next week. Franklin noted that when they did the water feature downtown, they considered people who did sculpture and could include water. Purington said that many modern fountains look mechanical and boring. However, the Van Debure Park fountain in Davenport looks very neat and has different tiers of water. Hanick liked Bill Fitzgibbons and noted how it is possible to do a lot of things with lights. Fosse wanted to see how visible the site will be and suggested they put flags up around it and drive by the area to see how visible it is from the surrounding streets. Hanick noted that with Freeman, it is necessary to closely examine the work to enjoy it, whereas with Fitzgibbons, this close examination is not necessary to appreciate the work. Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes June 17, 1999 Page 4 Fosse cautioned the committee not to overdo it, because not too many people will see or visit the area. Pudngton mentioned that people might have a problem with a big water feature using lots of water at a water plant. Hanick mentioned again that he liked the work of Debra Yates. Purington and Galbraith were not in accordance. There was discussion on Maya Lin's work, but the committee came to the conclusion that her work would be too expensive. Pudngton mentioned that she called Kansas City to get the names of the artists in her pictures. Nagle said they need the name of an artistic fountain company. Purington mentioned that perhaps the people at WET would have resources on independent artists, and Fosse suggested that perhaps they could get the name of a Midwestern company from WET. Discussion followed regarding the dates of Nagle's tdp to California, and then Purington asked when the deadline for specs was. Franklin said that it was October, and will not be easy to meet. If the water feature is included in the contract, the deadline of October holds. If not, there is no deadline, but it would save money to include the water feature in the contract. Therefore, they need to get somethingout dght away. Purington wanted to add Gene Anderson to Franklin's list. Fosse said that he didn't like Anderson and wanted Freeman. Franklin said that perhaps Freeman isn't the most appropriate for what the committee was trying to accomplish with the water feature, as Freeman's work is far smaller and more detailed than the "big splash" feature they were looking for. Pudngton noted the picture she brought of the fountain with horses and said that she liked that one a lot. Galbraith said that she liked the fountain, but not the horses. Franklin asked if Fosse knew any local engineers that could do this sort of feature? Fosse said he did not. Galbraith asked if the committee could call Disneyworld to get the name of the artist for the fountain at Epcot Center?. Franklin noted that Disneyworld might have its own engineers. Hanick mentioned that he still liked Debra Yates. Franklin noted that everyone liked Bill Fitzgibbons, but Nagle said to be careful the feature didn't get too extravagant. Franklin said that Fitzgibbons uses water and light, two things the committee liked. Franklin also asked how many people liked Yates' work. Three did, but Purington and Galbraith were very opposed to Yates. Galbraith returned to Freeman, and asked if they could tell him that they were focusing on water, and that there was no need for sculpture? Nagle cast his vote for Hu, but Pudngton did not favor Hu. Hanick noted that Hu's work is already in Coralville and Purington supported this and said that they didn't need to have an artist with two works in the area. Nagle was steadfast in his support for Hu. Galbraith said that she would support something similar to Hu's work, only bigger. Public Art Advisory Committee Minutes June 17,1999 Page 5 Nagle, admitting that Hu was his number one, asked if everyone else had a number one favorite? Franklin noted that a water company was a viable third option for artists. Hanick suggested the company be the fourth option and leave the first three for artists. Purington suggested sending the water works companies information to find out more about them. Hanick mentioned that the area might become more accessible once the park was installed. Nagle wanted to pick three artists and a water company. Pudngton wanted to keep the list long and limit it later. Nagle mentioned that he liked the globe in Spain, but it might be done by a European artist, and it would be very expensive to fly him/her to the US. Fosse was interested to find out what the energy costs would be. Nagle said that WET might be able to answer that and that he would contact them while he is in California. Purington said she doesn't want to rely on Fitzgibbons because the committee is looking at a color photocopy of a picture taken at night and it is difficult to tell much about his work. Hanick asked about Water Works, and whether they might be a possibility. Galbraith suggested they find out how much it would cost to run the fountains, and Franklin said she would see if Water Works did fountains. Galbraith mentioned again thought Disney used very architects. how she liked the fountains at Disneyworld/Epcot Center. Hanick famous architects and it might be very expensive to use these Pudngton said that any sculptor could do a water feature because s/he understands movement. Franklin noted that there probably wouldn't be time to do a general call for this project. Pudngton recommended Doris Parks in Kalona. Hanick and Fosse said they would like to see her work. Purington suggested that Parks send in twenty slides of her work. Hanick noted that if they did that, then they would need to pair an artist with an engineer and it wouldn't be a call anymore. Fosse said it would be interesting to see what sort of fountain they could get for $50,000 and then impose sculpture on that with the extra money. Franklin reminded the committee that they needed to set the next meeting date. Hanick suggested July 8th. COMMITTEE TIME/OTHER BUSINESS: Galbraith mentioned that she saw another call for artists that listed the total budget and the number of sculpture opportunities, and wondered if the committee wanted to change their call to this format. In this case, it would read something like, "5 opportunities with a total budget of $50,000 for the year 2000." She wondered if this would clarify the $5,000-$50,000 per sculpture issue. Franklin said that the wording of $5,000 - $50,000 indicated the City would consider paying different amounts; all artists should not expect $50,000. The Committee decided not to change the range. Public Art Adviso~ Commi~ee Minutes June 17,1999 Page 6 Franklin recommended that suggestions for the Call to Artists go directly to Purington since she's doing the revisions, unless the suggestion needs committee input. Galbraith said that for the fountain dedication, they may want to talk to the artists to see if they would do interviews for arts education, such as on cable TV, local channels or schools. Hanick suggested Public Access. Franklin mentioned that schools would require a time commitment and the committee might not want to pay for it. Fosse left at 5:15 PM. Galbraith asked about the timing of the fountain dedication. Nagle asked when Weatherdance was to be completed. Franklin said that the installation was scheduled for August 1st and the fountain was expected to be completed one-two weeks afterward. However, the August 1 ,t goal might not be met. The meeting adjourned at 5:17 PM. Minutes submitted by Karen Cowdery ppddir/min/arffi-17-99.doc