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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-08-24 Bd Comm minutesANIMAL CONTROL ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES - JUNE 24, 1999 MEETING ATTENDING:Ursula Delworth, Marry Shafer ABSENT:Shawn Lockhart (excused), Diana Lundell STAFF:Susan Cota, Misha Goodman-Herbst, Terry Koehn VISITOR:Janelle Henkner, DVM Minutes of the April 22,1999 meeting were approved as written. OLD BUSINESS 1. SHELTER STATISTICS. These are not yet available because of problems with the new program. 2.ADOPTATHON. This project went very well, with 36 animals adopted and over $1,300.00 raised for the donation fund. 3. OFF-SITE ADOPTIONS. No site has been located, but a store window in Old Capitol Mall has been made available. Staff will decorate this with appropriate materials. Goodman-Herbst spoke to the manager of Eastdale Plaza. Delworth will follow up. 4. UPDATE ON ORDINANCES. AII,ie microchipping, invisible fences, circuses and rodeos, are in the hands of the Iowa City Council. Microchipping is being done currently on animals adopted from the Center. 5.MICROSCOPE. The new microscope (to test for canine heartworm) has arrived and is in use. NEW BUSINESS No votes could be taken, since a majority of the Board was not present. Items are for information only. 1 .APPOINTMENT OF NEW BOARD MEMBER. Janelie Henkner, DVM, veterinarian at the Oxford Vet Center and Johnson County resident, attended as a visitor and may be interested in joining the Board. 2.CORALVILLE ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER. The Board welcomed Susan Cota, who began work in Coralville last month. Cota has extensive experience through emplayment in a local veterinary clinic. 3.CONTRACT FOR VET SERVICES. A written proposal was not available, but the Board discussed this topic and gave feedback to Goodman-Herbst. Board members appeared to favor soliciting services/fees from interested Johnson County vets for diagnostic/treatment services and spay/neuter of adopted animals. There seemed to be less support for giving rabies shots to adopted animals. A variety of other suggestions were given to Goodman-Herbst. Funding plans for this program will need to be presented to the city councils once a proposal is formulated. 4. GOALS FOR 2000. For 1999, two of the six goals were completed. These were the outdoor cat area and an increase in spays/neuters for Center animals. A third (microchipping) was partially completed and has been presented to the Iowa City Council. The three remaining goals, off-site adoptions, bids for vet services, and animal care classes, will be carried over to 2000. Goodman-Herbst may add 1-2 more goals relating to the Center environment, and will present the final list at the August meeting. CITIZEN COMMENTS: Henkner joined in the discussion with Board members and staff. NEXT MEETING Thursday, August 26, 1999 6:30pm - Coralville City Hall AGENDA OLD BUSINESS 1. Shelter statistics 2. Off-site adoptions 3. Contract for vet services 4. Goals for 2000 NEW BUSINESS 1. Appointment of new Board member. Ursula Delworth, Secretary MINUTES IOWA CITY BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT JULY 14, 1999 CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS PRELIMINARY Subject to Approval MEMBERS PRESENT: Susan Bender, Lowell Brandt, T.J. Brandt, Kate Corcoran, Michael Paul MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Dennis Mitchell, John Yapp, Anne Schulte OTHERS PRESENT: None CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Bender called the meeting to order at 5:02 p.m. ROLL CALL: All members were present for roll call. CONSIDERATION OF THE JUNE 9, 1999 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MINUTES: Yapp said thera were two typographical errors that he had corrected in the minutes, changing "site" to "sight" and on the last page changing "call" to "calling". MOTION: L. Brandt moved to approve the June 9, 1999 minutes, as amended by staff. Corcoran seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0. SPECIAL EXCEPTION ITEM: EXC99-0013. Public hearing on an application submitted by Carl Stieglitz for a special exception to reduce a front yard to allow the construction of an open porch for property located in the Low Density Single-Family Residential (RS-5) zone at 811 Florence Street. Yapp said Mr. Stieglitz amended his application after staff informed him that they would not support a six-foot fence along the Keokuk Street right-of-way. Yapp said Keokuk Street is a high traffic street, and staff did not want to set a precedent for the closed-off appearance that would result from the proposed fence. He said staff suggested to the applicant that he plant a hedge, and Mr. Stieglitz decided that he would prefer a hedge instead of a fence. Yapp said the applicant has constructed a split rail fence, and he will be planting the hedge behind the fence. Yapp said the application involves a setback reduction in order to construct a porch of eight feet in depth on the north side of the house. He said the porch would encroach up to four feet into the front yard. Yapp stated that Florence Street has an 80-foot right-of-way, wider than the 50-foot right-of-way that is the standard on newer residential streets. Yapp said that there is a 28-foot area between the curb of Florence Street and the property line. Yapp said the area of encroachment would be a 5.7% reduction in the front yard. He stated that the porch would not impede visibility or affect sight distance and would not encroach on any easements or utilities. Yapp said staff feels this is a reasonable setback reduction to grant. He said staff recommends approval of the reduction in the yard from 20 feet to 16 feet along the 43-foot length of the proposed open porch. Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes July 14, 1999 Page 2 Public hearing: No one was present to speak. Public hearing closed. MOTION: L. Brandt moved to approve EXC99-0013, a special exception to reduce the front yard setback from 20 feet to 16 feet along the 43 foot length of an open porch on the north side of the property located in the RS-5 zone at 811 Florence Street. T. J. Brandt seconded the motion. L. Brandt said he would support the motion. He said the scale of the project and the impact on the zoning ordinance is minimal. L. Brandt said ingress/egress and utility issues really don't apply in this case. Having viewed the property on the corner lot, L. Brandt said that from a visual perspective it will probably be nice to have a porch there. He said he did not see anything that would appear to cause any harm to the neighborhood or people's use of the property. L. Brandt said it does not appear that there has been any objection to the proposal. Corcoran said she would also support this. She said she agreed with L. Brandt that there is not any negative impact on the properties around this. Corcoran said it is probably good for the neighborhood in that originally the owner intended to tear down the house but now plans to rehabilitate it. She said she thought the owner has met the guidelines of the Board for approval. T.J. Brandt said he would also support this, mainly because the amount of the addition on the porch is very minimal on the total property, and it will serve to enhance the house a little better. He said he assumed the resale value would be increased greatly with the addition of the porch. T.J. Brandt said he would be in favor of the exception. Paul said he also would be in favor of approving this for the reasons previously stated: this would have no negative impact on the neighbors and because of the configuration of the neighborhood and that particular corner. He said that in light of how the house sits on the lot, he felt the front porch would actually complete the look of that corner and how the house sits on that corner and will have a positive impact on the neighborhood. Bender said she concurred for the reasons stated. She said she thought all the general standards were met. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0. OTHER: 1. Consideration of FY99 Annual Report Yapp said the Board of Adjustment Annual Report was included in the Board's packet. He asked that the Board vote to accept the report and/or let staff know if there should be any changes. Yapp said the report is in the standard format used over the past few years, listing the actions taken over the past year. Yapp pointed out that no special exceptions were actually denied in the past year, although 15 of them were approved with certain conditions. Yapp said there were a total of 26 special exception approved altogether. He added that one variance was denied. Iowa City Board of Adjustment Minutes July 14, 1999 Page 3 MOTION: Corcoran moved to accept the Board of Adjustment Annual Report. T. J. Brandt seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0. 2. Handbook for Board and Commission Members Yapp said the handbook lists the structure of City government and the relationship of all the 'boards and commissions to the City Council and to other City departments. Yap~ said it is updated with the current staff members and City Councilors so that it should replace the old handbook. Yapp said the next meeting is scheduled 'for August 11. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: Adjournment was moved by Paul and seconded by T.J. Brandt. The meeting ended at 5:15 p.m. Susan Bender, Chairperson .John~Yapp~,Ai~ng e~cretary Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte ppdadmi n/mi n/boa7-14-99 .dec MINUTES IOWA CITY BOARD OF APPEALS MONDAY, JULY 12, 1999, 4:30 PM IOWA CITY MAIN LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM ' 2PROVEu MEMBERSPRESENT: Anna Buss, Robed Carlson, Tim Fehr, Gary Haman, Wayne Maas, John Roffman, Tom Werderitsch MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Tim Hennes, Loren Brumm, Roger Jensen (Fire Marshall), Dennis Mitchell (Asst. City Attorney) OTHERSPRESENT: Morgan Forbes CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Carlson called the meeting to order at 4:45 p.m. Minutes from the June 7, 1999 Board of Appeals meeting were reviewed. Motion to approve by unanimous consent. REQUEST FOR MODIFICATION OF SECTION 310.6.1 CEILING HEIGHTS AND SECTION 1003.3.3.2 STAIRWAY WIDTH OF THE UNIFORM BUILDING CODE. (234 SOUTH LOWELL ST.) Home owner Morgan Forbes was present and presented photos to help explain the situation. She indicated that the work started by the previous owner has been removed and she would like to start over. Stair Carlson indicated that the 34 and 35" wide stairs should not be a problem. In the past 30" wide stairs have been allowed in single family dwellings. The width is not an issue, but the rise and run is an issue. MOTION: Carlson moved to allow the stairs to be acceptable as long as they meet a minimum 30" width and meet the rise and run requirements. Roffman seconded the motion. The motion was carried by unanimous vote. 2"d Level Hall Carlson confirmed that the average headroom height in the hallway at 6'5" which is halfway between 5'6" and 7'3" as indicated on the plans. Carlson mentioned the 6'5" centerline of the hallway is an issue because a firefighter with an airpack may have a problem accessing the area in the event of a fire. It was verified with Fire Marshal Jensen that a low point of 6'6" would be adequate for a shod distance. Carlson moved to allow a minimum of 6'6" on the low side when measured 30" off the high wall. Roffman seconded the motion. The motion was carried by unanimous vote. Iowa City Board of Appeals Minutes July 12, 1999 Page 2 Bedroom Ceiling Height The issue of the ceiling height in the 2"d floor bedroom itself was addressed. Hennes noted the habitable area of the room is measured at 10'3"x 25'6" and on a sloping ceiling it needs to meet the 7'6" headroom requirements for 50% of that area. Currently there is 34.5% which meets that requirement. Carlson then verified that there is only a path down the middle of the area that is 3'6" wide that meets the 7'6" requirements. Carlson then confirmed that there is an 8'2" ceiling that is 18" wide flat ceiling above that. Roffman suggested that a wall be built at 6 feet vertically to meet the 50% requirement. Carlson then pointed out that by building a wall the percentage could be cheated, but then the room becomes less useful, and this would not make the room any safer. Motion: Carlson to allow the ceiling height remain as it is due to the fact that: 1 ) by enclosing space to narrow the room there would not be an increase in the level of safety of the space; 2) it still provides adequate bedroom space according to the housing code with the average ceiling height of 7'0" in the bedroom. Roffman seconded the motion. The motion was carried by unanimous vote. Maas then brought up the issue of the floor being rated for a load. Hennes said that it was another issue on this project. It also has been an issue on other projects. Hennes went on to say that Brumm noted on his visit that floor joists are 2x6 fir. Maximum span for 2x6 for residential floor loading of 40 pounds live load/10 pounds dead load at 16' O.C. is 9'9" and at 24 inches O.C. is 8'1". He said spans in the kitchen were noted to be in the 12-foot range. This is an item on his plan review notes, but is not before the board today. It does need to be addressed by the builder. Hennes and Forbes conferred on other issues that will need to be addressed in existing and new structures in the home. AMENDMENT TO THE PLUMBING AND ELECTRIC CODE Hennes stated the proposed amendment is initiated by staff to allow greater flexibility in license renewals. Staff is proposing the building official be given authority to waive reexamination when the license provides evidence that the license expired due to circumstances beyond the control of the licensee. Hennes then noted that there is a case where a plumber was ill and the 60 calendar days allowed for reinstatement had expired. According to current code the only alternative is to re- take the Block and Associates exam. Werderitsch commented that 60 days for medical reasons is fair. Carlson then suggested that a decision could be brought to the Board of Appeals. Motion: Carlson moved to recommend to Council the approval of the proposed amendment with one revision. The revision is that the licensee be required to appeal to the Board of Appeals for Iowa City Board of Appeals Minutes July 12, 1999 Page 3 reinstatement when the request for reinstatement is based on circumstances beyond the control of the licensee. Roffman seconded the motion. The motion was carried by unanimous vote. OTHER BUSINESS County Buildin.q Code Hennes explained that Rick Dvorak with the Johnson County Zoning Department contacted the City expressing an interest in Iowa City preparing a proposal to help them jumpstart the building inspection program for the unincorporated areas of Johnson County. There has been discussion to leave the Board of Appeals as is and when a county issue is appealed there would be two members previously appointed by the Board of Supervisors to evaluate the county code issues, in addition to the existing board. Hennes noted that Assistant City Attorney Mitchell is preparing a contract for the county's review. Roffman said he believes there should be a countywide inspection. 1999 National Electric Code Hennes commented that Pat Hanson has gone through the 1999 National Electric Code and has proposed some amendments in addition to reviewing the existing amendments. Maas, Hanson and Hennes will meet at future dates to review the code prior to bringing it to the Board. Tentatively, the review will be available for the September 7th meeting. Handbook for City of Iowa City Board, Commissions and Committee Members A copy was given to all members. Carlson commented that it was his understanding a decision of the Board of Appeals could only be appealed to District Court - not the City Council. The section "Council Policy on Legislative or Political Issues" implies that the Board of Appeals has to do whatever the city council dictates. This has not been the method of appeals process in the past and the Handbook should be clarified. Mitchell made note and said he would look into this issue. ADJOURN: Roffman moved to adjourn. Buss seconded motion. Unanimous vote to adjourn at 5:55 p.m. Approved: I~oFoert Carlson, Board of Appeals Chair Date Minutes submitted by Le Ann Dunne-Tyson hisbldg/rnin/boa7-12-99.doc Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Iowa City Civic Center- Lobby Conference Room MEMBERS PRESENT: Joan Jehle, Mary Larew, Charles Major, Diane Martin, Janice Simmons-Welburn, Rick Spooner, Mettie Thomopulos, Jan Warren MEMBERS ABSENT: Jane Nelson-Kuhn STAFF PRESENT: Laz Pittman OTHERS PRESENT: 1. CALLTO ORDER: Chairperson Martin called the meeting to order at 7:31 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: MOTION: Warren moved to approve the minutes from the May 24, 1999 meeting as submitted. Jehle seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 8-0. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: The Human Rights Commission (HRC) recommends to Council that the following revised HRC by-laws be submitted for approval. III. Membership B. Commissioner shall attend twelve (12) regularly scheduled monthly meetings during the calendar year. The Chairperson or Human Rights Coordinator must be notified of an absence prior to any meeting. 1. Three consecutive absences or four absences in a 12 month period may result in: a. A vote by simple majority to request the resignation of the Commissioner in violation of the absence policy b. A vote by simple majority to recommend to City Council that the Commissioner in violation of the absence policy be removed from the Commission. X. Powers and Duties of the Commission. Duties: It is each Commissioner's responsibility to take an active role in the work of the Commission. This shall include reviewing human rights complaints and the investigative file, attending Commission meetings, and planning and attending community/educational functions. 4b(4) Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Page 2 4. OLD BUSINESS: HRC's Meeting Dates and Times Martin asked what meeting dates and times work best for commissioners. After some discussion, commissioners agreed that the fourth Tuesday of each month is agreeable. The July meeting will be held on July 26th. After the July meeting, the HRC will meet on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Commissioners agreed that this could be reviewed again as needed. Simmons-Welburn and Thomopulos said that they may not be able to attend the July meeting and Major said that he may be late. Attendance Policy Martin asked if there were any comments or suggestions for the revised attendance policy that will become part of the HRC's bylaws once approved by the City Council. Warren said that she thought the revision covered everything the Commission had talked about. Jehle thought the revised policy covered all of the concerns. Larew asked if they had planned to include anything about "excused" vs. "unexcused" absences. Martin said that this was what the subcommittee determined to be most appropriate after the many discussions on this issue. She added that the general feeling was, even if the absences are excused, a person's effectiveness as a commissioner is affected when they miss three consecutive meetings or a total of four meetings in a twelve-month period. In addition, if a commissioner misses this many meetings, they usually have a good reason that would be excused. Simmons-Welburn said the language does not preclude the Commission from looking at the types of absences because the policy says "may result in..." Martin agreed and said that the Commission left the policy this way because there are things that may happen (like an illness in the family) that the Commission can work with, yet the policy also leaves room for making the decision to recommend removal if a commissioner simply does not show up. Jehle added that she liked the addition of X. Powers and Duties of the Commission that discusses a commissioner's responsibility for participating in other activities besides meetings. Simmons-Welburn said that this will help new people get an idea of what will be expected of them if they want to serve. Martin said that Shank has also added a similar statement to the application form. Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Page 3 Major asked if Shank or someone will take attendance. Jehle said that the minutes are on file if they wish to track this. Pittman asked if the Commission would like Shank to chad attendance. Commissioners agreed that they would like attendance tracked by either one of the commissioners or by Shank. However, they wished to discuss this further at a later time when Shank is present. Martin said that the HRC does not want this to be difficult or a burden. MOTION: Jehle moved for the adoption of the revision of the Human Rights Commission bylaws pertaining to membership and powers and duties of Commission members, and that the revision be accepted as written. Larew seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 8-0. Martin read the proposed revision to the by-laws for the minutes. The revision appears above in Recommendations to Council. Human Rights Breakfast Subcommittees A list of duties and assignments for the Breakfast was distributed. Martin said that a copy of the mailing list was sent to commissioners for any changes or corrections. She reminded everyone that the HRC will stuff envelopes after the July meeting. The Commission attempted to narrow the list of duties that Shank and Pittman need to take care of. Warren suggested that the Public Relations subcommittee take care of arrangements with the local TV news media. , Simmons-Welburn and Warren agreed to make arrangements with the Union. Simmons-Welburn and Thomopulos said that they would take tickets and take care of last-minute arrangements. Review Nomination Form - Suggest Revisions Martin stated that a copy of the nomination form was included with the mailing list Shank had previously sent to commissioners. A copy of the cover letter was also included. The title of Diane Finnerty's speech "We Are Committed To Diversi~y But Are We Committed To Each Other?." sounded fine to all of the commissioners. After discussing improvements to the nomination forms, commissioners agreed that a cover letter would announce the Human Rights Breakfast, offer tickets, and announce the speaker. A separate nomination form would describe each award on the front of the form and have room for nominations on the back. The nomination form will state that nominations are always accepted and encouraged. Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Page 4 For the program, Warren suggested that rather than arranging the list by year, the list could be arranged by award. Jehle said that she will create a list by award for the City News. Simmons-Welburn said that she would send an example to Martin. Martin will then provide Shank with a copy. Warren asked if the HRC has a logo. Jehle said that she thought it was the logo of the hands. Martin will ask what the HRC's logo is and whether the same logo can appear on the program and nomination forms. As part of the public relations subcommittee, Jehle reported that an article had appeared in the most recent City News and that there will be another article (hopefully on the front page) in the next City News. Schedule People to be at ADA Fair The ADA Parade is July 24th at 10 a.m. with additional activities until 4 p.m. at City Park. Because so few members are available that day, Martin suggested that the HRC just try to cover the main hours. Jehle and Thomopulos said that they will be able to host the table from 11-1. Spooner and Martin agreed to host the table from 1-3. Martin said that she would check with Nelson-Kuhn about her availability. Warren asked if the HRC has a tabletop display that they could take to various events. Major said that they only have a poster and handouts. Commissioners agreed that a tabletop display would be beneficial considering the number of events at which the HRC is present. Warren said that she would research the cost of having a display created and the Commission could discuss this as a possibility for the next budget year. Housing Public Forum - Jan Alderton As noted on the agenda, Alderton said that she was delighted to be the only speaker as she has a lot of information to share. The forum is scheduled for September 22 at 7:00 p.m. Martin asked everyone to write this date on their calendar. She said that the Commission will need to discuss the timing of the mailing and posters at a future meeting. 5. NEW BUSINESS: Martin said that the speakers from the ADA who will be attending the July meeting requested to have questions in advance. She said questions should be submitted to Shank. Martin said that Shank talked to Diann Wilder-Tomlinson, chairperson of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, about the fall retreat and placing the Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Page 5 issue of sexual orientation on the agenda. She has not heard back from them. However, Wilder-Tomlinson's office called for information on the HRC's meeting dates because Wilder-Tomlinson plans to attend one of the Commission's meetings. Pittman stated that Wilder-Tomlinson's office has been very active in gathering information. Major suggested that they invite Wilder-Tomlinson to the Human Rights Breakfast. Warren said that they should have her as next year's speaker. Pittman said that she will place this idea on the November agenda. Simmons-Welburn asked about the town meeting public forums. Commissioners reviewed the decisions from the previous meeting and noted that they had agreed to hold the housing public forum in September featuring Jan Alderton. In October the Commission will begin planning a series on racism and discrimination, possibly to begin at the same time as the University of Iowa's (Ul's) Martin Luther King, Jr. activities. Martin recommended that the HRC work together with the UI and the Ul's calendar. Simmons-Welburn said she is concerned about the fact that these issues are only focused on around the time of MLK Day. She added that she would like the HRC to hold a public forum on race and gender. Warren said that although there are a lot of events for MLK, the HRC may be appealing to a different audience than the UI. In addition, she noted that this is the one time of year when the HRC is expected to be visible and would be expected to hold an event. The Commission could follow up with events throughout the year. Simmons-Welburn said that before the July meeting, she would talk with the UI about their MLK calendar and the possibility of co-sponsoring an event. Jehle asked whether the HRC could prepare a proclamation about MLK for the mayor to read at a City Council meeting. Spooner commented that the proclamations are read at the beginning of the Council meeting and that this would be a good place to start and make an impact. 6. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS: As a City Council candidate, Major said that the experience is helping him to work on his message, which is human rights. Major said that he attended Karen Kubby's progressive forum. A woman he spoke with said that she had some recommendations for the Commission about changes to the ordinance concerning gay partners. He also attended the Gay Pride picnic where he gave a talk about human rights. He said that the group, Human Rights Iowa City was also in attendance. Major said that he was Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Page 6 not familiar with them. Warren explained that HRIC is an active group that has existed for 3-4 years. Warren said that she was surprised by the HRIC's decision to try to implement a human rights policy for the county. She said that the question that came to her mind is who would enforce this, accept complaints, investigate, etc. Martin said that a citizen of Coralville asked her about a similar ordinance. She encouraged the woman to find a councilor in Coralville who is supportive of gay partners. Pittman said that the Iowa City office can offer direction to people from outside of Iowa City who have complaints but can only investigate claims of discrimination that occur in Iowa City. Simmons-Welburn said that she also attended the rally and that a lot of people stopped by the HRC table to talk. She commented that there was a lot of information available and would encourage anyone who has only attended the parade to also go to the inside rally. Thomopulos said a woman stopped by the table who told them she had asked Shank to notify members of her art exhibit on human rights in China. Unfortunately, the exhibit had ended. Martin said that the woman had called. Jehle reported that the Rapid Response Team did not hold a meeting in May. There was to be another meeting the next day at which time she thought the team would have a brochure completed. She noted that there will be a large article about the Human Rights Breakfast in the City News. She also let everyone know that the wife of former commissioner Tom Dickerson had a baby and that his family will be moving back to Iowa City. Warren also artended the Gay Pride Rally and said that the audience continued clapping for some time after Karen Kubby spoke. Kubby is retiring from the Council and has been a strong supporter of the HRC. Warren and other commissioners asked if the HRC could do something special to acknowledge her efforts. Spooner said that he too attended all of the aforementioned activities. He said that he has been working with someone from Independent Living and plans to ask questions about the ADA. Major also mentioned that the Iowa City Police Department is including race and gender on forms for traffic stops beginning July 1. 7. STATUS OF CASES: Iowa City Human Rights Commission June 21, 1999 - 7:30 p.m. Page 7 Pittman said that she is in the process of preparing three closing summaries and Shank is finishing a lengthy investigation. She said that it has been helpful to have a transcriptionist because it allows them to complete cases more quickly. She added that one to two cases are coming in each week. Warren asked about case #54. She said that the construction of the following sentence seems awkward. "The police did not find the Complainant was carrying a gun." She thought the statement would be clearer as, "The police found that the complainant was not carrying a gun." Pittman said that she would ask Shank about changing the wording. Major asked if they were continuing to work on both old and new cases. Pittman said that she is working on all cases at the same time. All are at different stages because there can be delays in receiving cooperation. 8. ADJOURNMENT: Warren moved to adjourn the meeting. Larew seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m. HRC062199.doc I/ Iowa City Human Rights Commission July 26, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Page 1 MEMBERS PRESENT: Joan Jehle, Mary Larew, Charles Major, Diane Martin, Jane Nelson-Kuhn, Janice Simmons-Welburn, Rick Spooner, Jan Warren MEMBERS ABSENT: Mettle Thomopulos STAFF PRESENT: Laz Pittman, Heather Shank OTHERS PRESENT: UI Law Professor Len Sandler, UI Law Students Heather Garrity, Cynthia Hilberg, Eric Tindal 1. CALLTO ORDER: Chairperson Martin called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Martin noted that although the previous minutes were correct, the ADA Parade was actually moved to College Green Park this year rather than City Park. Warren asked for a change to a statement on page 6 about Karen Kubby. The statement should read, "Warren and other commissioners asked if the HRC could do something special to acknowledge her efforts." MOTION: Larew moved to approve the minutes from the June 21, 1999 meeting as amended. Jehle seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 8-0. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: There were none. 4. GUEST SPEAKERS FROM THE UI COLLEGE OF LAW: Summary of the Presentation The guest speakers introduced themselves. Garrity said that they were asked to discuss accessibility laws for public accommodations particularly federal law and how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) relates to state and local laws. Garrity said that due to time constraints, they would only discuss public accommodations (not residential and federal buildings), during the presentation. The speakers displayed a large flowchart described as the "legal maze" because the laws are so complicated. Tindal demonstrated how the Iowa City Human Rights Commission July 26, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Page 2 flowchart works. He said the first question that needs to be asked with any public accommodation is: Is it a new or existing facility? The laws are different for buildings constructed after 1993. Tindal explained that the second question is: Who owns the building? He said there are different standards for federal, state, and local governments vs. private ownership. The third question is: What type of building is it within these categories? For example, the three basic categories for privately owned buildings are: · Public accommodations or commercial facilities; · Residential buildings; and · Other types of buildings not falling under the ADA such as churches, private clubs, and small businesses that do not affect commerce. Major asked about the process for getting elevator buttons lowered in a building that was constructed after 1993. Tindal responded that the problem that arises is enforcement. On the federal side, the U.S. Department of Justice (DO J) would attempt to work out the problem with the business owner. If thero were noncompliance, the DOJ would take the business to court on behalf of the United States. The other option is an individual suit in federal court. However, this is an inefficient system because the case could take years. Garrity added that the state building code is only able to enforce the law through making sure that site plans are compliant. Nelson-Kuhn mentioned the City's struggles to make the City's ordinance substantially equivalent to the Fair Housing Amendments Act and its attempts to gain HUD's approval. Shank said that she was told it is not unusual for HUD to take this long. In the meantime, she tells people with housing complaints that they can file with the Justice Department if they want to indicate that a building is not accessible. Hilberg said that there is a lot of confusion over who is responsible for enforcement at the federal, state, and local levels. The Io~a City municipal code has adopted the state provisions on accessibility. However, most enforcement is through permits and that is basically it. This makes the current system inefficient because most people do not want to file a federal lawsuit over a local problem. Professor Sandler said that in looking at Major's example, they would review the standards that were in place at the time the elevator was installed. If the elevator buttons do not meet those standards, it would be Iowa City Human Rights Commission July 26, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Page 3 a little easier to deal with because the design specifications would have been violated. An additional complication is that the standards for enforcement and oversight for that building and that feature may vary. Tindal noted that because the ADA is a federal civil rights bill, state and local building codes and inspectors do not have an obligation to follow the ADA. However, the state of Iowa passed a code provision for all buildings to be accessible. But at the state and local levels, enforcement of accessibility is only available through building permits. Professor Sandler said that the students talked with people in the State Department of Public Safety and locally with building code enforcement and the Civil Rights Commission. They found that there is tension between the ADA and many parts of the building code. For example, the ADA guidelines state that a lift must be key operated. Yet the fire code states that there cannot be a key in a platform lift. To resolve this, they would need to change the public accommodations provision in the state and local Civil Rights Act. Spooner asked about the complex language of the ADA, such as "reasonable accommodation." Garrity said that there are guidelines provided to builders that help to spell out what the builders are required to do for a new building. Hilberg added that the court cases are helping to define what the language in the ADA means. Professor Sandler said that an example of a "reasonable accommodation" discussion occurred with a case they studied for the Hall Mall. They found that removing the barrier (the stairs) in the Hall Mall and including elevators or lifts was not readily achievable and cost-effective. In order to accommodate customers in a way that was reasonable and permissible, the stores bring the services to the street level or go to people's homes. Martin asked whether dentists and hospitals are required to provide sign language services. Professor Sandler said that to determine this, they would first need to look at whether the dentist has a private office in a public accommodation or a business subject to Title II like the UIHC. He said that a business is supposed to have a means to communicate "as effectively" as they would with others. The hospital or dentist office is not necessarily required to provide the communication in the manner requested, but in a manner that is effective. The court cases have gone both ways with Title II and Title III. Commissioners received additional handouts about the ADA, including a sheet noting laws (such as the ADA), the party responsible for enforcement (such as the DO J), and the telephone number. Iowa City Human Rights Commission July 26, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Page 4 5. OLD BUSINESS: ICRC Meeting in Ames, IA At the meeting in Ames, Shank and Martin spoke on the topic of adding sexual orientation as a protected category to the State legislation. Shank said that this is discussed every year but has never been backed by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Martin said three commissioners accepted the Human Rights Commission's (HRC's) recommendation to appoint a subcommittee to study sexual orientation discrimination in the state. She said the subcommittee of three commissioners are all new to the State Civil Rights Commission. The HRC's responsibility is to now provide them with as much information as possible. Martin said that the HRC's recommendations were to: 1. Gather information; 2. Publish the information; and 3. Take a recommendation to the Legislature. Martin said that the Chair of the State Commission believes this is a two- sided issue and requested that the subcommittee gather information from both sides. Shank said that Robert Smith is still on the Commission and has generally not been in favor of recommending this to the Legislature. Warren asked how the subcommittee was assembled. Shank said that it was voluntary. Warren commented that it was interesting that no one from the other side volunteered. Shank said that she believed Smith meant the other "side" as the people who are usually in attendance opposing "special" rights. She said there are many arguments by opponents to this action and Smith wanted to provide the other side with an opportunity to speak again. Jehle asked if Shank and Martin felt that they had made progress. Martin said yes, but this is just a baby step. Shank said the subcommittee's first meeting is August 27 and Smith has requested that the HRC send a packet out to all of the state commissioners. Shank has contacted several people for updated information. · Warren said the feeling is that the State Commission will be more swayed if they hear from people all over the state. Previously, 80 to 90 percent of the letters the HRC has provided have been from the Iowa City area. She asked commissioners to contact anyone they know from other parts of the state, including organizations, who would be willing to write a letter of support. Shank said that she would send commissioners an e-mail regarding the deadline for receiving letters of support. Iowa City Human Rights Commission July 26, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Page 5 Attendance Policy- Rules Committee Approval after Amending Martin asked if the HRC's recommendations for revisions to the HRC by- laws were ready to be submitted to City Council for approval. Shank said that the rules committee, a subcommittee of the Council, approved the recommendations with minor changes. The committee liked the addition of section X. Powers and Duties of the Commission. Shank said that she just needed to prepare a resolution to be presented to Council. Human Rights Breakfast Jehle said that she and Larew will publicize the breakfast on Dottie Ray's radio show. She said that she also asked for additional information to be published in the City newsletter that is included with water bills. Martin said .commissioners would stuff the invitation envelopes that evening and in October all commissioners would need to help put up posters advertising the breakfast and honoring the winners. Martin reminded everyone that the deadline for nominations was September 10. Martin, Nelson-Kuhn, and Major agreed to discuss a date for reviewing the nominations. 6. NEW BUSINESS: Janelie Rettig is scheduled to be a guest speaker at the August 24, 1999 Commission meeting to discuss proposed revisions in the Iowa City Human Rights Ordinance. Martin handed out a sheet with the requirements for the domestic registry. Commissioners had received by mail changes that Rettig proposed for the Iowa City Human Rights Ordinance (see list on the following page.) Shank said that she placed the information in this meeting's packet because she wanted commissioners to review the information and think about numbers 1 and 2 and their application in the City's ordinance (See list on the next page). Martin said numbers 1 and 2 would be definite changes to the current ordinance. Numbers 3, 4, and 5 may not be necessary because of the way the ordinance is written. For 6 and 7, the Human Rights Ordinance only applies to the City, not the University. Shank said that Rettig would like to see a County ordinance. However, because the City has a home rule form of government, a county ordinance would not pertain to the City if the City also has an ordinance. Rettig's list of possible changes to the Iowa City Human Rights Ordinance include but are not limited to: Iowa City Human Rights Commission July 26, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Page 6 1. New definition of marital status; 2. Updated definition of sexual orientation; 3. Amendment under "Employment" to include words wages and benefits. 4. Public accommodations should be modified to add a phrase contained in the credit transactions section. 7. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS: Nelson-Kuhn said that there was a tremendous turnout for the ADA parade and that she was impressed with the keynote speaker, Marilyn Turner. Turner talked about the difficulties with the least-restrictive environment rulings. Turner also discussed how people with disabilities are allowed or expected to develop a culture of people with disabilities. If a person with a disability has a job or their disability is corrected with crutches, glasses, etc., people of other cultures do not take that culture away from the person. Nelson-Kuhn said that Lt. Governor Sally Pederson and Senator Bob Dvorsky also spoke. She thanked the Commission for their support of the ADA Parade. Larew said that she has a friend for whom she is the payee that receives Social Security Income. She said that she continues to receive letters that his additional income from working will be taken out of his checks. However, the Social Security Office has told her that he should be able to work. Shank suggested that she take copies of all of the letters to the Office. Major said he will be attending the Des Moines annual LAOHRA conference that does have a section covering sexual orientation issues. He said that he was unable to go to the ADA parade because he was at a political convention in Michigan. He ran for national secretary against two other people. He said that he included his Human Rights Commission membership as part of his biography and people listened closely. However, he came in third because one person was the incumbent and the other a resident of Michigan. He was on CNN and several people told him he did a good job. Simmons-Welburn did not have a report. Jehle brought newspaper articles to the meeting, including an article about an Islamic youth camp, a clipping about hate crime charges that followed a brawl in a bar in West Branch, and a story about Dubuque considering a rule to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination. Martin pointed out that there was an article featuring Jan Alderton in the Icon. She said that she could provide members with a copy of the article. Iowa City Human Rights Commission July 26, 1999 - 7:00 p.m. Page 7 Spooner said that he attended the ADA celebration and ran the parade. He said that people seemed to take notice of the HRC. He also mentioned the work-incentive bill going through Congress that will allow a person to earn more and still receive Social Security benefits. Martin reported that a federal hate crimes bill passed through the Senate with no opposition the previous week. Martin asked when the Commission should begin publicizing the Housing Public Forum. Shank said that the HRC could start at the next meeting. Nelson-Kuhn said that the HRC should ask what day Hy~Vee posts items on the board because the postings do not always go up right away. Shank said that she would find out. 8. STATUS OF CASES: Shank said that they are doing all right. Martin said her count of the cases showed 7 to legal, 3 closed, 3 pre-determination settlements, 1 to a team, 2 right-to-sue letters, and 5 mediations. Shank said that Team A has a case to work on. Only Martin and Spooner will work on the case because Larew has a conflict. 9. ADJOURNMENT: Nelson-Kuhn moved to adjourn the meeting. Martin seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. HRC072699.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 Wilburn, Candidate for City Council CALL TO ORDER - President Singerman called the meeting to order at 5:03 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION - Ross Wilburn requested a copy of the Selzer survey. A copy was provided for him. Wilburn commented that the Library meeting rooms are 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. Minute~ 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 Ianuary 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 Eibrary can build on the preferred site of 64-1A, and for funds to pay an architect to design the building Eckholt confumed 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 Libr~ were approved: Swaim/Dellsperger. The Director Evaluation Committee recommended that the director receive a 6~h % raise in salary over FY99. This breaks down to 3 % for ATB and 3 ~/~ % 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 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. 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 C, The City Council has appointed Shaner Magalhies, the State Historical Society Bureau Chief, 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 th~ 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 learheal 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. Sh~ recommended that everyone try out the Encyclopedia Britanica and ProQuest. She stressed that only ICPL cardholders can reach these subscription services. · Parker is writing a piece for the Chamber newsletter about the Lib~ary's decision not to pursue the option of a branch library. COMMITTEE REPORTS - NONE COMMUNICATIONS - NONE DISBURSEMENTS a. The .Visa expenditures f6r 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 IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, JUNE 28, 1999 - 5:30 PM CIVIC CENTER LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Betty McKray, Cathy Weingeist, Jim Pusack, Terry Smith, Steve Hoch STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Bob Hardy, Andy Matthews, Keri Stokstad, Mike Brau OTHERS PRESENT: Beth Fisher, Rene Paine, Denis Martel, Kevin Rice, Kara Logsden, Miriam Bennett, Phil Phillips, Cindy Smith RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL None. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Paine reported PATV held a number of special workshops this summer for children's groups, including two Neighborhood Centers groups, the Girl Scouts, and the Youth Leadership Program. PATV has begun cablecasting a program produced by the PATV staff on media literacy entitled Tuning in on Television. Fisher reported that 15 productions were shot during the last month, including 10 Storytimes, 2 Summer Reading programs, an episode of One of a Kind, and a program on how to build a deck. Hoch said the Commission has had an ongoing discussion regarding the conflicting interests between producers and viewers. Producers want equipment; viewers want programs. While better equipment contributes to programming, there needs to be a better balance between equipment and programs. The recommendation from the CTG allocates 90% of the funds for equipment and has not adequately allocated funds for production of programs of significant community interest. For example, funds could be allocated to cover the costs of producing programs by providing grants to producers. One possibility would be for the CTG to announce that they have $2,000 to pay for the production of a program or for the CTG members to use the $2,000 themselves to produce the program. Weingeist said she does not support giving grants to produce programs. The Commission and/or the CTG would be put in the position of deciding who and what is funded. The City has already committed resources to community programming through the Community Television Service in the Cable Television Division (CTS). Weingeist moved to approve the CTG recommendation as proposed for fiscal year 2000 funding. Smith seconded the motion. McKray, Weingeist and Smith voted yes, Hoch and Pusack voted no. Hoch asked when McLeod anticipates the first customer would be served in Iowa City. Rice said mid 2000 would be a good estimate if everything were to go fight. It will take 2-3 years to build the entire system. Hardy reported the government channel again arranged to have the special election results cablecast. The results were carried on the library channel due to a conflict with the live coverage of the City Council. The CTS produced 105 programs during the past fiscal year. Shaffer reported the North Liberty Cable Commission voted to fund channel 4 being carded on the North Liberty cable system as outlined in the letter from Helling included in the meeting packet. APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved by Pusack, seconded by Smith to approve the May 24, 1999 minutes. The motion passed unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS None. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. PATV REPORT Paine reported PATV held a number of special workshops this summer for children's groups, including two Neighborhood Centers groups, the Girl Scouts, and the Youth Leadership Program. PATV has begun cablecasting a program produced by the PATV staff on media literacy entitled Tuning in on Television. Smith noted that job vacancies are listed on the Davenport public access channel and asked if PATV has considered this. Hoch said that InfoVision, on the government channel, carries job listings. LIBRARY REPORT Fisher reported that 15 productions were shot during the last month, including 10 Storytimes, 2 Summer Reading programs, an episode of One of a Kind, and a program on how to build a deck. Weingeist noted that videotape deteriorates over time and asked if the library was archiving important local history programs such as One of a Kind. Fisher said master tapes are archived and dubs made as a tape deteriorates. CTG REPORT Logsden referred to materials in the meeting packet noting the letter requesting pass-through funding for the next three years and the specific recommendations for expenditures for the next year. Also included in the materials was each CTG member' s three-year needs assessment. Shaffer said the Commission had allocated pass-through funds for the CTG for a three-year period that has ended. The Commission may want to consider making a recommendation regarding future funding. The CTG has arrived at a recommendation for specific expenditures for the next fiscal year, which is included in the meeting packet. Shaffer said the total amount of the $0.50 pass-through funds comes to about $100,000 per year. Of that amount, annual allocations of about $60,000 have been committed to the CTS and $25,000 for a joint facility. Over the past three years the remaining $15,000 has been allocated to the CTG. Hoch said the Commission has had an ongoing discussion regarding the conflicting interest between producers and viewers. Producers want equipment; viewers want programs. While better equipment contributes to programming, there needs to be a better balance between equipment and programs. The recommendation from the CTG allocates 90% of the funds for equipment and has not adequately allocated ~mds for production of programs of significant community interest. Funds could be allocated to cover the costs of producing programs by providing grants to producers, for example. One possibility would be for the CTG to announce that they have, say $2,000, to pay for the production of a program or for the CTG members to use the $2,000 themselves to produce the program. Weingeist said she does not support giving grants to produce programs. The Commission and/or the CTG would be put in the position of deciding who and what is funded. The City has already committed resources to community programming through the CTS. Pusack said there is a spectrum of local producers. On one end are the access channels staffs; on the other is the public trained by PATV. There could be a middle ground of people who have a good idea for a program, but not the time to engage in the actual video production. Perhaps someone trained at PATV or a staff member from one of the access channels could be hired to do the production work. Hoch said there are a number of organizations that have good events, programs, or activities, but do not have the time, money, or ability to produce a video program. Funds could be set aside to fund the costs of such programs. The access channels might then be allocated money to produce such a program. Weingeist said she does not see the need in the community to hire independent producers. The CTS is not turning away a great number of organizations. Pusack said there might not be enough awareness in the community of the services provided by the CTS or PATV's staff-assisted series. A grant program could be a means to get programs produced that go beyond merely taping a community event. McKray said that recommendation for funding from the CTG includes an outreach program and equipment for the CTS, which has been dependent on the government channel for equipment. Paine said the digital camera recommended for purchase would be dedicated for staff-produced community programming. This is in response to the desire expressed by Commissioners for more community programming. Smith said that community programming accounts for 60% of the total pass-through fee. 25% goes towards a facility. Of the remaining 15%, 10% is recommended for outreach leaving about 13.5% for equipment. McKray said the CTS and PATV have made efforts in the past year to contact non-profit organizations to inform them of the services they can provide. Smith said the Commission is not ready to address mechanisms to provide production grants. Perhaps it could be addressed in two or three years. Weingeist moved to approve the CTG recommendation for fiscal year 2000 funding. Smith seconded the motion. McKray, Weingeist and Smith voted yes, Hoch and Pusack voted no. ECCREPORT No representative was present. SENIOR CENTER REPORT Bennett reported that the Senior Center would begin producing a program previously produced by the government channel in August entitled "From the Mezzanine" which will highlight upcoming events at the Senior Center. TCI REPORT Matthews said that Martel asked him to relay that he had to step out of the meeting due to a competing commitment. Weingeist reported her experiences with the cable modem service @Home. There were numerous difficulties encountered in setting up the account during ihe first service call. A different technician was sent a second time and the installation went very smoothly. Weingeist is very pleased with the service. Pusack asked about progress towards getting the name of the access channels listed in the digital program guide rather than the generic names provided. Pusack said it should not take three months to accomplish this. Shaffer said he has emailed Martel about this. Pusack expressed grave concern that the issue has not been addressed. Pusack also said that the program overlay on the library channel bounces around. Fisher said she was unaware of this and will pursue a correction. MCLEOD REPORT Rice reported that Coralville just recently responded to their request to meet to discuss their franchise. They plan to meet July 2 and hope to clear any hurdles so the issue can be put on the November ballot, if needed. Pusack asked why McLeod is waiting on Coralville to proceed in Iowa City. Rice said that McLeod thought building a cable system would be easier than anticipated. After one year only 5% of the Cedar Rapids plant has been built. It would be inefficient to design, engineer and build the Iowa City portion of the plant without incorporating Coralville. Hoch asked when McLeod anticipates the first customer would be served in Iowa City. Rice said mid 2000 would be a good estimate. It will take 2-3 years to build the entire system. LEGAL REPORT Matthews had nothing to report at this time. MEDIA UNIT REPORT Hardy reported the government charmel again arranged to have the special election results cablecast. The results were carried on the library channel due to a conflict with the live coverage of the City Council. The CTS produced 105 programs during the past fiscal year. The CTS has been able to produce so many programs because the Media Unit is able to provide backup support when needed. CABLE TV ADMINISTRATOR REPORT Shaffer reported the City recently met with McLeod regarding placement of telecommunications equipment. The section of the public fight-of-way ordinance that deals with the role of the Telecommunications Commission is ~nalized. Shaffer received 6 complaints, two of which are still being worked out. The North Liberty Cable Commission voted to fund channel 4 as outlined in the letter from Helling included in the meeting packet. PROPOSED PATV PERFORMANCE GUIDELINES AND QUESTIONS FOR 1996-2000 AND 2000- 2003 Hoch moved to table this item, seconded by Weingeist. The motion was unanimously approve& ADJOURNMENT Hoch moved to adjoum, seconded by Weingeist. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 6:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Wm.~~a/~ffe~ Cable TV Administrator MINUTES IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, JULY 26, 1999 - 5:30 PM CIVIC CENTER LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Betty McKray, Cathy Weingeist, Jim Pusack, Terry Smith MEMEBERS ABSENT: Steve Hoch STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Andy Matthews, Dale Helling, Mike Brau OTHERS PRESENT: Beth Fisher, Rene Paine, Denis Martel, Arlene Heck, Russ Nordman, Phil Phillips RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL None. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Russ Nordman, a member of the PATV Board, read a prepared statement reflecting ideas generated at the Alliance for Community Media national conference. Nordman noted that the rapid development of communications technologies (particularly the convergence of cable TV, telephony, and the Internet) and the consolidation of media through corporate mergers present significant challenges to communities to promote the interests of all citizens and present a challenge to the survivial of all access channels. Matthews report referred to the letter to the City from McLeod that indicated they anticipated no immediate resolution to outstanding issues with Coralville. Consequently, McLeod does not expect to be in a position to have a franchise referendum on the November ballot. Matthews said the disagreements with Coralville may not be the only matters holding up progress and noted that McLeod may be re-evaluating their cable TV plans. Paine reported that Josh Goding has been hired as PATV's Office Coordinator and will replace Kristen Baumlier. Phil Phillips and Casey Hayes have been appointed to the PATV Board. Coralville has indicated they wish to work towards a new agreement with PATV. Fisher reported that the library produced sixteen live productions and three episodes of Off the Shelf the past month. It was clarified that PATV needs to respond to both the Commission approved 1996-1999 Performance Guidelines and the request for information contained in the June 22, 1999 memo from Shaffer within the 60 day timeframe outlined in the Contract Review timetable. Additionally, Paine said PATV would offer preliminary requested changes in the contract language. APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved by Weingeist, seconded by Pusack to approve corrected June 28, 1999 minutes. The motion passed unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS Pusack said he was grateful that TCI has listed the proper names of the access channels on the on-screen digital program guide and would like to see the actual program listings also listed. McKray said she has been attending the PATV Board meetings and other Commission members are welcome to take a turn if they wish. Pusack offered to attend in the event McKray was unable to attend. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS Russ Nordman, a member of the PATV Board, read a prepared statement reflecting ideas generated at the Alliance for Community Media national conference. Nordman noted that the rapid development of communications technologies (particularly the convergence of cable TV, telephony, and the Intemet) and the consolidation of media through corporate mergers present significant challenges to communities to promote the interests of all citizens. Nordman said the Alliance for Community Media believes public access organizations should become local Internet service providers and mangers of local I-Nets. Nordman urged the Commission to address these issues in the future. Smith said that many of the issues Nordman addresses are beyond the scope of local governments and will be decided by the federal government. McKray said that PATV might wish to hold some educational forums on these issues. Weingeist said that predicting the future of telecommunications, especially as they could develop in Iowa City, is virtually impossible. TCI, for example, covers all bases, as even they are not sure what the future will bring. It may not be prudent to urge the City to make plans that anticipate unclear future developments. The City could end up in worse shape than if it had waited to see how conditions developed. TCI REPORT Heck reported TCI has now listed the library channel and University channel in the on-screen digital channel listings. Because the listings are generated outside TCI, it took longer to accomplish than TCI would have liked. For individual programs to be listed schedules need to be provided to a company name TV Data. Arrangements are being worked out with them. Martel reported work has begun on what accommodations will need to be made when the City Cable TV Office moves from the Civic Center. Work has also begun on the Coralvillerebuild. MCLEOD REPORT No one was present from McLeod. LEGAL REPORT Matthews referred to a letter to the City from McLeod that indicated they do not anticipate immediate resolution to outstanding issues with Coralville. Consequently, McLeod does not expect to be in a position to have a franchise referendum on the November ballot. Matthews said as the time period from the past referendum increases it becomes more likely a second referendum would be legally required. Helling said there are performance criteria ip~ the referendum covering the length of time within which a system must be built. McLeod would be very unlikely to meet the deadline. Smith asked if there might be some benefit for the Commission to meet with officials from Coralville. Matthews said he did not believe that the disagreements with Coralville were the only matters holding up progress and noted that McLeod has been re-evaluating their cable TV plans. McKray noted that McLeod indicated at the last Commission meeting that they had been unable to build the Cedar Rapids system and gain subscribers as quickly as anticipated. Pusack agreed with Smith that if it becomes beneficial at some point to meet with Coralville, the Commission shotrid do so. PATV REPORT Paine reported the PATV staff attended the national Alliance for Community Media conference and have written reports which are available to the public. At the conference there was a call for a Midwest regional conference. PATV is considering hosting this conference in the spring. Josh Goding has been hired as the Office Coordinator and will replace Kristen Baumlier who is moving to Cleveland with her husband. Phil Phillips and Casey Hayes have been appointed to the PATV Board. Coralville has indicated they wish to work towards a new agreement with PATV. PATV's public relations intern has completed a project involving a survey of the public access centers in Iowa. The results of the questionnaire will be included in PATV's August newsletter. The special summer workshops for children's groups continue to be popular. LIBRARY REPORT Fisher reported that sixteen live productions and three episodes of Off the Shelf were completed the past month. Channel 10's annual report was distributed. Channel 10 experienced a fair degree of growth over the last year. ECCREPORT No representative was present. SENIOR CENTER REPORT McKray said that Bennett is on vacation. CITY CABLE TV OFFICE Shaffer reported he has been reviewing plans for office space. Completion of the audit of TCI is being pursued. The process of hiring the Special Projects Assistant for the Avatar Project has been initiated. Shaffer received three complaints including two about the DMX music service not being stereo after it was moved to the digital service. IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION ANNUAL REPORT Smith moved and Pusack seconded a motion to approve the amended annual report. The motion passed unanimously. PATV PERFORMANCE AS SES SMENT GUIDELINES FOR 1996-1999 AND 2000-2002 Shaffer said that in developing the draft Performance Assessment Guidelines for 2000-2002 and the request for information he looked at a number of items, including the 1996-1999 Performance Assessment Guidelines, the contract and the Buske Group' s Community Programming Index, to which PATV subscribes. The draft 2000-2002 Guidelines include some themes that came into focus as a result of the experiences over the past four years. PATV is to respond to the draft 2000-2002 Guidelines by the end of August and the Commission is to finalize a preliminary set of Guidelines in September. The final Guidelines will not need to be approved until the contract is complete. It was clarified that PATV needs to respond to both the approved 1996-1999 Performance Assessment Guidelines and the request for information contained in the June 22, 1999 memo from Shaffer within the 60 day timeframe outlined in the Contract Review timetable. PATV' s response should be in the form of separate documents. Pusack moved to accept PATV's response and agreement to respond to the June 22, 1999 memo and 1996-1999 Performance Assessment Guidelines with two separate reports and encouraged PATV to include any additional information they feel appropriate not covered in the 1996-1999 Performance Assessment Guidelines and the June 22, 1999 memo. Weingeist seconded and the motion passed unanimously. Shaffer said the City legal department will need to look at compliance with the existing conditions set forth in the contract with PATV in regard to deadlines for PATV to respond with requested changes in the contract language. Paine said PATV would offer preliminary requested changes in the contract language. ADJOURNMENT It was moved by Smith and seconded by Weingeist to adjoum. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 6:55 p.m. Respectfully submitted, "' Cable TV MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION JULY 14, 1999 MEMBERS PRESENT: MEMBERS ABSENT: STAFF PRESENT: GUESTS: Toni Cilek, Bruce Maurer, Rex Pruess, Allen Stroh, Kathy Wallace, Ross Wilburn; Craig Gustaveson and Barbara Endel joined commission on tour Matt Pacha Terry Trueblood, Mike Moran Terry Dahrns, Dee Norton, Dee Vanderhoef, Larry Wilson FORMAL ACTION TAKEN Previously Endel had requested to add under her Commission Time regarding the new procedure for checking in at the Mercer Park pool that "Pool staff are handling the complaints very well". Moved by Wallace, seconded by Stroh, to approve the June 9, 1999 minutes as amended- Unanimous. NEIGHBORHOOD OPEN SPACE ITEMS: WAI,DEN WOOD - PART SIX Trueblood noted previously the commission accepted 1.7 acres of open space in Walden Woods-Part Nine. At that time one of the key interests of the commission was to see a trail from Walden Road through the open space to eventually connect with the Willow Creek Phase I Trail. The developer is proposing dedication of an easement along the east edge of the property for "open space and trail", and staff's recommendation is to accept it. Moved by Stroh, seconded by Maurer, to accept the easement as proposed in the Walden Wood - Part Six development Unanimous. WINDSOR RIDGE Trueblood noted the location of Outlot K which the developer is proposing to be dedicated to the City. The preliminary plat indicated that a pond may be constructed on Outlot K, although details regarding the pond were not provided. Staffs recommendation at this time is not to accept this parcel due to the fact of the many uncertainties as to the proposed pond. Moved by Stroh, seconded by Wallace, to not accept Outlot K at this time, with the caveat that the Commission might be willing to reconsider when more details are available. Unanimous. WILLOW CREEK TRAIL Trueblood reported at its meeting on June 29, the City Council removed and deferred for at least one year, or until repairs are necessary, the section of the trail extending from Burry Drive to the Willow Creek bridge near the shelter. At its meeting on July 13, the City Council voted to discuss reconsideration of this action. Bids will be let on July 22, with the project to be awarded on July 27. In order not to delay the project, the "Burry Drive Connection" is being put out as an alternate. Trueblood stated this section was originally planned to be eight feet wide and a compromise was reached to widen it only to six feet in the section running between the Muller and Dunner residences. Pruess noted the City owns a 20-foot wide easement, Parks and Recreation Commission July 14, 1999 Page 2 of 2 which was put in the plat originally for access to the park. Maurer felt the two adjacent property owners had very little grounds for complaint. Stroh noted this area was City-owned property before these houses were constructed. Wilburn felt the offer to reduce the trail to only six feet wide was a good compromise. Terry Dahms of FIRST stated he had spoken before the City Council twice on the issue of connectivity with Burry Street. With the Iowa River Corridor Trail nearly complete, the Willow Creek trail behind West High, and this segment, it will be the backbone of the trail system. He stated the issue of connectivity is very important, and in this case it represents connectivity to the neighborhood. Initially the distinction when talking about the neighborhood meant the very small area along Burry Street. He stated the neighborhood includes all the development that is taking place in west Iowa City, which includes a large amount of people. He noted in order for these residents to get to the Willow Creek Trail this connection is important, and he was also concemed with setting a precedent. He felt staff has done a good job of compromising even though both neighbors have encroached on City property. He requested the Commission to write a letter of endorsement to the City Council indicating its endorsement of the Burry Street connection and asking the City Council to proceed with the project as planned by staff. Larry Wilson of the Riverfront and Natural Areas Commission seconded Dahm's comments, stating the RNAC would support such a letter of endorsement. Stroh noted the Commission endorsed this plan as proposed by staff previously, but would be willing to do so again. Moved by Stroh, seconded by Wilburn, to send a memo to the City Council reiterating the Commission's endorsement of the Willow Creek Trail Phase II Improvement Project as proposed by staff. Unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m., and the Commission and guests departed for the Parks and Recreation Department's annual tour of facilities. MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION THURSDAY, JULY 15, 1999 - 7:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS pRELIMINART Subject to ,ppr0val 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 Ddve to its northern terminus before the issuance of building permits for Parts 10 and 11, and 5) the pdvate 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, 15-1ot 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. 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 eadier 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 He said the actual 24-hour count was northbound and southbound traffic. Kugler length for that 24-hour count. traffic count were incorrect in a previous staff report. 466 vehicles, with about an even split between said less than 1% of the vehicles were over 20 feet in 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. Sh~. added the extension of Court to Taft is not really connected with the development of this property. Holecek said staffs recommendation is to have Huntington connected to Court Street pdor 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 Emie 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. Watts ~aid 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 spdng 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 cendominium 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. Waiter 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 artedal 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 faidy 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 fait 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 developers preference for Plan B. Barron said many things could be developed in this area, but in the spidt 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 staff's 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 vadety 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 rumaround 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 consensusthat is being repoded. 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. Chait 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. She 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 developers 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 nodh 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 Hodzons 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 concemed that Far Hodzons 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 defidencies 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 roadway 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 ovedand 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 ddves 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 ddge 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 mad 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 do Dave Cahill for 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 Keamey 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 discrepandes, 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 none. 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, Pad 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 eadier 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 Distdct 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 percentlie 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 85un percentlie speed. Kugler said the 85~h percentlie 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 percentlie speed to a more appropriate level. Kugler said if Public Works is correct that wider streets can better accommodate this 85th percentlie 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 Ddve 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 nodh 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 derides 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 stdp 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 dght 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 read. 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 eldedy. 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 alder. He said if we want bicyclists to commute, we need streerwidths 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 read 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 ddver 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 lumping 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 85~ 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 85~h 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 filtedng 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 faidy 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. Chait 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 foc 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 routes. Schintler said the City does not always know what will be a bus route ten years down the road. 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 ddvers 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 majodty 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 arterial 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 mad have gotten along so far. Schnittjer said it is a private read 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 readway. Supple asked Schnittjer about his opinion regarding the width of the road. 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 Pad 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 ppdadnVmin/p&z7-15-99.doc POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD MINUTES -July 13, 1999 Lobby Conference Room CALL TO ORDER Chair L. Cohen called the meeting to order at 7:05 P.M. ATTENDANCE Board members present: L. Cohen, P. Farrant, and J. Stratton. Board members absent: P. Hoffey and J. Watson. Staff present: Legal Counsel C. Pugh and Administrative Assistant S. Bauer. Also in attendance was Captain T. Widmer of the ICPD. CONSENT CALENDAR Motion by P. Farrant and seconded by J. Stratton to adopt the Consent Calendar. Following discussion of (c) of the Consent Calendar (6/30/99 Memorandum from Chief Winkelhake), staff was directed to reply to Chief Winkelhake that the Board wishes a presentation at its August 10t' meeting of the present policy on unmarked cars and plainclothes police officers in making traffic stops, together with the department's proposed changes in its Traffic General Order regarding this issue. Motion carried, 3/2, Hoffey and Watson absent. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL None NEW BOARD MEMBER ORIENTATION Chair welcomed new Board member, John Stratton, and Stratton introduced himself to the Board. Chair Cohen advised that she and administrative assistant Bauer met with Stratton on July 12 to introduce him to the Board's procedures. Active PCRB complaints were provided to Stratton at that time (past complaints are not available to new board members unless the Board is reviewing something in regard to those past complaints). P. Farrant suggested that Board members meet individually with Mr. Stratton to further his orientation to the PCRB and its present members. Legal Counsel Pugh advised of the open meetings/open records law. ANNUAL REPORT PLANNING The draft of the Board's annual report to the City Council was discussed (once the report to the city council is approved, the shortened version will be reviewed). Members concluded that the "General Responsibilities" paragraph, as drafted, should remain. · Both the new Board member, J. Stratton, and the outgoing member, M. Raymond, will be acknowledged in the report. · The format of this draft was accepted · #3 and #5 of "Board Concerns" requires expansion. Chair reiterated the concern that a pattern seems to have developed where officer statements are not voluntarily being submitted in a PCRB investigation; nor are officers voluntarily cooperating where a name-clearing hearing is scheduled. Legal Counsel C. Pugh addressed this issue by stating it comes down to the Fifth Amendment, the right against self-incrimination. She stated officers are not required to make any statements, and the only reason that they make the statements within their employment is that their employer can compel them to do so in order to determine whether there are issues to be dealt with by their internal affairs. But those same statements cannot then be disseminated to the Board or to anybody else because of possible civil liability. It's something the employer can compel, but the Board has no authority to compel. Chair stated that staff, upon further research, advised that some other police review boards use the subpoena power (which this Board does not have) as a vehicle to get the same information before the board in an investigation that the Chief has in front of him when he makes his determinations. Farrant expressed the continuing concern of the Board's limited authority and the fact that the Board is compelled to apply a deferential standard of review. That wasn't such a problem at the outset, but now when the Board is getting less and less information, it's a concern that the standard of review and the declining information may produce a problem. Stratton acknowledged that it's difficult to make an informed decision without sufficient NEW BUSINESS information. Statton also expressed his concern that when people take the 5t", there's often the assumption that there is a reason to do that. That presumption may be wrong, but that presumption is nevertheless often there. Cohen reported that staff is delivering a meeting packet (absent confidential matters) to the police department at the same time board members are sent theirs. Captain Widmer stated he will be a regular attendee of board meetings to accommodate questions members may have. When going into executive session, the Chair will advise the police department representative whether that representative should remain until after executive session for followup questions. In a continuing Internet search of police review boards, Bauer provided a suggestion that might help the board in its effort to educate the citizens about its role in the community - enclose the Board's brochure in a city mailing (i.e., with the water bill). MEETING SCHEDULE · Special Meeting July 27, 1999, 6:00 P.M. · Regular Meeting August 10, 1999, 7:00 P.M. · Special Meeting August 24, 1999, 7:00 P.M. PUBLIC DISCUSSION None BOARD INFORMATION None STAFF INFORMATION None EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion by J. Stratton and seconded by P. Farrant to adjourn into Executive Session based on Section 21.5 (1)(a) of the Code of Iowa to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that government body's possession or continued receipt of federal funds, and 22.7(11) personal information in confidential personnel records of public bodies including but not limited to cities, boards of supervisors and school districts, and 22.7(5) police officer investigative reports, except where disclosure is authorized elsewhere in the Code; and 22.7(18) Communications not required by law, rule or procedure that are made to a government body or to any of its employees by identified persons outside of government, to the extent that the government body receiving those communications from such persons outside of government could reasonably believe that those persons would be discouraged from making them to that government body if they were available for general public examination. Motion carried, 3/2, Hoffey and Watson absent. Open session adjourned at 7:46 P.M. Regular meeting resumed at 8:27 P.M. ADJOURNMENT Motion for adjournment by P. Farrant and seconded by J. Stratton. Motion carried, 3/2, Hoffey and Watson absent. Meeting adjourned at 8:27 P.M. 4b(12) POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD MINUTES - July 27, 1999 Lobby Conference Room CALL TO ORDER Chair L. Cohen called the meeting to order at 6:05 P.M. ATTENDANCE Board members present: L. Cohen, P. Farrant, J. Stratton and J. Watson. Board member-absent: P. Hoffey. Staff present: Legal Counsel C.' Pugh and Administrative Assistant S. Bauer. Also in attendance was Lt. M. Johnson of the ICPD. CONSENT CALENDAR Motion by J. Stratton and seconded by J. Watson to adopt the Consent Calendar. Following discussion of (d) of the Consent Calendar (Internal Affairs Investigation General Order), Chair directed that further discussion be deferred to the next meeting when P. Hoffey will be in attendance. Motion carried, 4/0, Hoffey absent. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL Receive PCRB Annual Report ANNUAL REPORT PLANNING The draft annual report was discussed and amended. !n reviewing the demographics, it was noted that 'race" was not listed on the demographic information sheet attached to the complaint form. Staff was directed to correct that on all complaint forms. With respect to the annual report, staff was directed to add the category 'race", taking the information from the complaint form, if possible. Upon inquiry of the Chair, the Chief responded that the ICPD Investigative Log dated June 22 is complete of its written complaints. The Board is in agreement with the City Council that the PCRB should look at this log every year to achieve a clearer picture of complaints, and report that it has done so in the Board's annual report. A lengthy discussion followed regarding the Board's concerns, specifically the increasing limits on the Board's access to information needed to do a thorough review of the Chief's reports. The Board will explore alternative 2 ways of obtaining the information it needs to execute fair and balanced reviews. Following further discussion, Motion was made by J. Stratton and seconded by J. Watson to approve the PCRB Annual Report, as amended, and to forward it to the City Council. Motion carried, 4/0, Hoffey absent. Motion by J. Stratton and seconded by' P. Farrant to approve the condensed version of the annual report, as amended, for publication in the City Directory of Annual Reports of Boards and Commissions. Discussion followed. Motion carried, 4/0, Hoffey absent. COMPLAINT FORMS INFORMATION SHEET Following discussion, Motion was made by J. Watson and seconded by J. Stratton directing staff to attach the Information Sheet to all PCRB complaint forms that are distributed, and request, through a letter, that the Chief attach a copy of the Information Sheet to all copies of the ICPD complaint form. Motion carried, 4/0, Hoffey absent. POLICE POLICIES, PRACTICES, AND PROCEDURES Hoffey was not present to give a report on the issue of plainclothes police officers and unmarked cars in making traffic stops. Confirmation was made that the Chief will come to the August 10 meeting to discuss this topic with the Board. In response to Board questions, Lt. Johnson acknowledged that unmarked cars with plainclothes officers are not sent out to do normal traffic stops, but rather in regard to specific activities. Chair asked Board members to consider which policy/procedure/practice they wish the Chief to address in September. PRIORITY SETTING GOALS Chair asked Board members to consider arrangements for a community forum. J. Watson suggested a visit to the Police Academy at Camp Dodge would be nice this fall. P. Farrant volunteered to research police review national boards and associations. At the Board's meeting on September 14, 1999, she will provide information in which the Board could decide whether to affiliate or not. NEW BUSINESS None MEETING SCHEDULE · Regular Meeting August 10, 1999, 5:00 P.M. · Special Meeting August 24, 1999, 7:00 P.M. · Regular Meeting September 14, 1999, 7:00 P.M. · Special Meeting September 28, 1999, 7:00 P.M. Staff was directed to check room availability and the Chief's availability for the August 10 meeting at 5:00 P.M. rather than 7:00 P.M. PUBLIC DISCUSSION Lt. Johnson provided the 'Policy & Operation Procedures Manual" to the Board. The department will update the index on a quarterly basis. Bauer stated this book would be kept in the Clerk's Office. Lt. Johnson stated the department will update this book with new general orders that are replacing existing general orders, or new general orders they have created for CALEA (Commission on the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies). Lt. Johnson stated two general orders have recently been returned from Legal and are ready to be included in the manual. Board members requested that when new general orders are placed in the policy book, copies be sent in Board packets. As the index is updated, Board members would also like to have that distributed in packets. 4 BOARD INFORMATION None STAFF INFORMATION C. Pugh will be on vacation July 28-August 6, and S. Bauer will be on vacation from July 31-August 9. EXECUTIVE SESSION Motion by P. Farrant and seconded by J.- Watson to adjourn into Executive Session based on section 21.5 ( 1 )(a) of the Code of Iowa to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that government body's possession or continued receipt of federal funds, and 22.7(11) personal information in confidential personnel records of public bodies including but not limited to cities, boards of supervisors and school districts, and 22.7(5) police officer investigative reports, except where disclosure is authorized elsewhere in the Code; and 22.7(18) Communications not required by law, rule or procedure that are made to a government body or to any of its employees by identified persons outside of government, to the extent that the government body receiving those communications from such persons outside of government could reasonably believe that those persons would be discouraged from making them to that government body if they were available for general public examination. Motion carried, 4/0, Hoffey absent. Open session adjourned at 7:32 P.M. Regular meeting resumed at 8:25 P.M. Motion by P. Farrant and seconded by J. Stratton to change the level of review to include 8-8-7 B. 1 (b) to Complaint//99-02 (interview/meet with complainant). Motion carried, 4/0, Hoffey absent. Chair advised that a committee has been assigned to interview the complainant in PCRB Complaint//99-02. ADJOURNMENT Motion for adjournment by J. Stratton and seconded by P. Farrant. Motion carried, 4/0, Hoffey absent. Meeting adjourned at 8:26 P.M. ANNUAL REPORT OF THE POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD October 1, 1998 to June 30, 1999 GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES The Police Citizens Review Board (PCRB) was created by Ordinance No. 97-3792 of the City of Iowa City on July 15, 1997 (amended by Ordinance No. 99-3877 on April 28, 1999). The Board was established to assure that investigations into claims of police misconduct are conducted in a manner which is fair, thorough, and accurate, and to assist the Police Chief, the City Manager, and the City Council in evaluating the overall performance of the Police Department by reviewing the Police Department's investigations into complaints. The Board is also required to maintain a central registry of complaints and to provide an annual report setting forth the numbers, types and disposition of complaints of police misconduct. To achieve these purposes, the Board complies with Chapter 8 of the Iowa City Code, the Board's By-Laws and Standard Operating Procedures and Guidelines. PCRB Responsibilities Include: Review all complaints of police misconduct · Review Chief's Report in a manner that is fair, thorough and accurate · Issue public report to City Council a Help the Chief, City Manager, and City Council evaluate the overall performance of the Iowa City Police Department (ICPD) Maintain a monitoring system for tracking complaints Provide an annual report to the City Council · Review practices, procedures and policies and make recommendations for change · Recommend ways for the ICPD to improve community relations and be more responsive to community needs Assure the citizens of Iowa City that the ICPD's performance is in keeping with community standards. · Seek and accept comment, opinion and advice · Hold periodic community forums to gather public input and to inform the public VCRB A~ n~p~t FY '99 - 1 ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS FROM 10/1/98 TO 6/30/99 Meetings The PCRB holds regular meetings on the second Tuesday and special meetings on the fourth Tuesday of the month. To address complaints during the period covered by this report and to handle a variety of administrative tasks and outreach activities, the Board held 30 meetings, each lasting one to three hours in length. Board members assigned to review investigations of complaints and prepare written reports for the City Council spent up to four hours per complaint to complete these tasks. The whole Board also devoted about 16 hours to discussions, preparations, meetings, and presentations related to changes in By-Laws, Standard Operating Procedures {SOPs), and the City Ordinance. During the period covered by this report, Board members each dedicated at least 84 hours to the work of the PCRB (for a total of 420 hours). Administration Bylaws, Standard Operating Procedures, City Ordinance Changes During the year, the Board worked with City staff and the Council to make minor revisions to its By-Laws and to obtain formal approval for the Standard Operating Procedures {SOP) the Board originally implemented in September 1998. In addition, the City revised the Ordinance under which the Board was established and operates. During this lengthy process, the full Board and individual members met a number of times with City staff and the City Council, and the full Board made a formal presentation to the Council expressing concerns related to proposed SOP and ordinance revisions. One of the Board's major concerns was that it continue to have access to information with which to track patterns in complaints against officers, though not necessarily information that would identify individual officers. Satisfactory resolution of this issue and other matters were ultimately reached and are reflected in the ordinance amendment passed on April 28, 1999 and on July 13, 1999, and in the changes approved for the SOPs. PCRB Annual Report FY '99 - 2 Complaint Procedure.f To streamline the complaint process for complainants, the Board redesigned and simplified the complaint form to collect only essential information. It also initiated development of a simple message to accompany both the PCRB form and the Police Department complaint form. This message was designed to help complainants choose which form to complete and, thereby, to designate the process by which their complaints will be handled. The Board also developed form letters and procedures for addressing untimely filed complaints and standardized the content of routine board correspondence. Ordinance 99-3877 extends the time complainants have for filing complaints from 60 to 90 days of the alleged misconduct. Time Required to Complete the Complaint Review Process To complete the Board's review and reporting on complaints in the reporting period covered by this report, both the Board and the Police Department consistently found it necessary to request extensions of the time limits specified in the ordinance establishing the Board. Both groups requested that these limits be extended. Ordinance No. 99-3877 specifies that the Chief's Report to the Board must be completed within 90 calendar days after a complaint is filed, and that the Board's report to the City Council must be completed within 45 calendar days of receipt of the Chiefs Report. Community Forums The PCRB held two public forums during the reporting period covered by this report. Approximately 60 people, including a number of Iowa City police officers, attended the forum at the Newman Center on December 1, 1998. Discussion and comments focused mainly on concerns of university students. The Police Chief made a presentation at the forum held at the Broadway Neighborhood Center on April 28, 1999. The Board heard comments from neighborhood young people, landlords, and other citizens, mainly about neighborhood concerns. Issues raised at community forums help determine the direction of Board activities and are addressed in its long-term goals. I~RB Am~ual R~poa FY '99 - 3 To provide more flexibility in options for future forums, the Board modified its By-Laws to permit forums to be held in non-City buildings. Complaints Number and Type of Allegations The Board received thirteen complaints in the reporting period covered by this report, nine in calendar year 1998 and four to date in calendar year1999. Nine public reports have been issued by the Board; one was dismissed as not timely filed; three are now under review. The following data is based on the twenty-eight allegations in the nine complaints reported on. All nine complaints contained more than one allegation. Allegations Excessive force 5 Rude behavior or 'attitude* 4 Racial discrimination/racially motivated behavior 3 Unreasonable search' 3 Disagreement with officer assessment of the situation 3 Unprofessional conduct 2 Unwarranted charged filed 2 No probable cause 1 Arrest for intoxication on private property 1 Complainant not informed of outstanding warrant 1 Complainant not permitted to take medication 1 Unnecessary administration of breath test 1 Profanity used 1 Levd of Review Selected for Complaints Covered in this Report The Board decided, by simple majority vote, the level of review to give each report submitted by the Chief or the City Manager, selecting one or more of the six levels specified in the City Code: Level a Level b Level c Level d Level e Level f On the record with no additional investigation Interview or meet with complainant Interview or meet with named officer Request additional investigation by Chief or City Manager, or request police assistance in the Board's own investigation Board performs its own additional investigation Hire independent investigators 1.0/1/98 to 6/30/99 4 0 0 5 4 0 ~cgn ~ R~-t FV ,~ - 4 Complaint Resolutions Complaints of misconduct of police officers are investigated by the Police Department. The Police Chief summarizes the results of these investigations and indicates in a report (the Chief's Report) to the PCRB whether allegations are sustained or not sustained. (If complaints are made against the Chief, the City Manager conducts the investigation and prepares and submits the reports.) The Board reviews both the citizen's complaint and the Chief's Report and decides whether the allegations should be sustained or not sustained. The Board prepares a report for the City Council, with copies to the Chief, the officers involved, the City Manager, and the complainant. Of the twenty-eight allegations listed in the nine complaints for which Board reports have been released, twenty-six were not sustained and two were sustained. Comments and/or recommendations for improvement in police policy, procedures, or conduct were made in four of the Board's reports. The following is a synopsis of the Board's comments and recommendations: An officer was summoned to a situation that was complicated by cultural and language differences. The Board recommended that officers receive further training in awareness of cultural differences, and suggested that officers exercise more flexibility when responding to clearly 'non-standard' situations. · The Board questioned the appropriateness of using plainclothes police officers in unmarked vehicles for 'traffic stops. · The Board suggested that the Chief make it clear that the use of profanity by officers while acting in an official capacity is unprofessional conduct; that the Chief enhance training in methods to de-escalate situations and to prevent escalation, and; that the Chief reinforce efforts to insure racial and cultural neutrality in all policies, practices, and procedures. · The Board concurred with the Chief's plan to provide formal counseling on public contact and demeanor for an officer. Name Clearing Hearings The ordinance requires the Board not issue a report critical of the conduct of a sworn officer until after a name clearing hearing has been held. During the period covered in this report, the Board scheduled two name- clearing hearings; in both cases, the officers waived their right to the hearing and did not attend. Mediation Officers and complainants are notified by mail that formal mediation is available to them at any stage in the complaint process before the Board adopts its public report. All parties involved must consent to request for mediation. The Board received no requests for mediation during the reporting period covered by this report. Complaint Histories of Officers City ordinance requires that the annual report of the PCRB must not include the names of complainants or officers involved in unsustained complaints and must be in a form that protects the confidentiality of information about all parties while providing the public with information on the overall performance of the Police Department. In addition, at one of its first meetings, the Board independently agreed that it did not wish to use the names of officers or complainants in cases in which complaints are sustained. The Board and the Police Chief agreed to use only the unique code numbers the department has assigned to each Iowa City police officer. During the reporting period covered by this report, there was a great deal of debate over a proposal to discontinue the use of these individual unique identifiers and replace them with a numbering system that would not have permitted the Board to identify (by identifying number only) patterns in complaints against officers. After lengthy deliberations that included several presentations by the Board, the City Council agreed not to change the ordinance but to retain the current practice of preserving officer identity through use of individual unique identifying numbers assigned by the department. Complaint Histories - 10/1/98 to 6/30/99 Of the ten complaints this report addresses, eleven officers were named. One officer was cited in four of these complaints, and one officer wes cited in two. The remaining officers were each cited once. ICPD Internal Investigatfons Logs - 1/1/98 to 6/2/99 The Board reviewed the ICPD Internal Investigation Log dated June 22, 1999, provided by the Chief of Police. DEMOGRAPHICS OF COMPLAINANTS The following demographic information provides information from the 10 complaints for which the Board has submitted its report to the City Council. Bocause demographic information is provided voluntarily, the Board has incomplete information to report. Of the ten complaints, eight complainants provided some demographic information. Age: Under 21 - I complainant Over 21 - 6 complainants Unknown - 3 complainants Color: White - 4 complainants Black - 2 complainants Unknown - 4 complainants National Origin: US - 1 African - 1 Irish - 1 German - 1 Unknown - 6 Male - 4 Female - 2 Unknown- 4 Male - 4 Female - 4 Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual - 3 Unknown - 7 Marital Status: Married - 3 Unknown o 7 Mental Disaltity: No - 4 Unkr~own - 6 No 4 Unknown- 6 Report FY '~ - 7 Agnostic - 1 Catholic - 2 Unknown - 7 Caucasian - 4 Back - 2 Unknown - 4 Some demographic information not provided on the sheet attached to the complaint form was taken from the first page of the complaint form. BOARD CONCERNS, ISSUES The Board concerns and issues include: Continuing to monitor and address issues related to race-based traffic stops and other race-based (profiling) issues in policing. Closely monitoring the results of the Iowa City Police Department's new policy on collection of information on race for all traffic stops. Completing the information 'card" to be distributed with complaint forms (both ICPD and PCRB) and specifying uniform procedures for its distribution. Continuing to address concerns with limits on the authority of the PCRB and with the deferential standard of review in the complaint process. Continuing to work on specific areas of concern with respect to department policies, procedures, and practices - for example, interview techniques. Continuing to address concerns about limits on Board access to information needed to do a thorough review of the Chief's reports. Exploring alternative ways of obtaining the information we need to execute fair and balanced reviews. PCRB GOALS' FOR YEAR 2000 I. Mission Review complaints of police misconduct Help ensure that police department is responsive to community needs II. Goals A. Board Education PC'RBAnm~Rq~aFY Hold forums (minimum of two a year) Continue to streamline Board procedures · Decide whether to affiliate with national boards and associations · Establish a baseline of information to analyze different types of reports · New Board member briefings · Visit Police Academy at Camp Dodge B. Community Educetion Hold forums Provide information aimed at improving officers' understanding of the Board's function and educating the public about the PCRB C. Pogcy/Practice!Procedure (PPP) Review · Review general police policies, procedures and practices, to include the use of force · Address the perception of discriminatory enforcement · Community relations COMMISSION MEMBERS Leah Cohen, Chair John Watson, Vice Chair Patricia Farrant Paul Hoffey Margaret Raymond - resigned, effective June 1, 1999 John Stratton - appointed June 29, 1999 ~'C~BAmm~Rq,atFY '99-9 Information Sheet for Filing a Complaint About an Iowa City Police Officer There are two kinds of complaint forms. The form you choose determines how your complaint will be handled. Iowa Ci.ty Police Department Complaint Form If you use the Police Department form, the Iowa City Police Department will determine how to investigate your complaint. The investigation may be informal, such as a discussion between you and the officer's supervisor. Or, it may be formal, which means that you, the officer, and witnesses will be interviewed by Police Department investigators and a written report on the department's findings and conclusions will be prepared. You will be notified of the outcome of the investigation. Generally, investigations and any officer discipline that may result from them are considered nonpublic, confidential records. By law, the Police Chief decides if and how an officer will be disciplined. When you use the Police Department complaint form, it usually takes from one week to three months to receive a final response ~'om the department. Police Citizens Review Board fPCRB) Complaint Form If you use the PCRB form, the Police Department will conduct a formal investigation. As soon as you file your form, the PCRB will also receive a copy of it, so they know your complaint is being investigated. When formal investigation is completed, the Police Chief will prepare a written report and send copies to the PCRB, to you, and to the officers involved. The PCRB then reviews the Chiefs Report and sometimes conducts its own investigation. The PCRB decides whether the Chiefs conclusions are reasonable and issues a public report to the City Council. You will be notified of the outcome of the PCRB's review. The PCRB has no authority to discipline police officers. The PCRB handles its work with complaints confidentially and generally does not include information identifying you or the officer in its reports. However, if a complaint is upheld, the PCRB does have the fight to include the names of complainants and officers in its reports. When you use the PCRB complaint form, it usually takes three months for the Board to receive the Chiefs Report on the formal investigation and an additional one to two months for the Board to complete its work. If you have questions about choosing a form, contact the Police Department (356-5275) or the Police Citizens Review Board Office (356-5413) For more information about the PCRB, consuk the city ordinance that established it (Iowa City Code Chapter 8-8). Copies are available in the City Clerk's office at the Civic Center, 410 E. Washington Street (356-5043). Information Sheet 6/99 POLICE CITIZENS REVIEW BOARD MINUTES - August 10, 1999 Lobby Conference Room CALL TO ORDER Chair L. Cohen called the meeting to order at 5:00 P.M. ATTENDANCE Board members present: L. Cohen, P. Farrant, P. Hoffey, J. Stratton and J. Watson. Staff present: Legal Counsel C. Pugh and Administrative Assistant S. Bauer. Also in attendance was Iowa City Police Chief R. J. Winkelhake. CONSENT CALENDAR Motion by J. Stratton and seconded by P. Hoffey to adopt the Consent Calendar. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL Receive PCRB Public Report #99-02 POLICE POLICIES, PRACTICES, AND PROCEDURES Chair confirmed that P. Farrant will provide information regarding her research on police review national boards and associations at the meeting on September 14, 1999. P. Hoffey stated the only exception he found in the Internal Affairs Investigation General Order was on page "ADM 06.8.4(e), "Policy Failure: Investigation reveals that the alleged acts did occur and were improper; however, the officer was acting in accordance with established Department policy." "In other words," Hoffey said, "maybe the officer followed the policy, but maybe the policy is wrong... I've never seen that before, it's quite innovative..." Hoffey stated he feels the General Order is quite comprehensive. There was Board consensus that there is no need at this time to further review the Internal Affairs Investigation General Order. Hoffey stated he reviewed the C.A.L.E.A standards, marking several items he would like to see further discussion on: (a) stopping procedures [which will be covered tonight], (b) hot pursuit policy, and (c) use of deadly force. 2 Winkelhake stated the "hot pursuit policy" is completed and was recently put in the "Policy & Operation Procedures Manual." Bauer stated she will include the General Order on hot pursuit in the next packet. Watson requested that the Board be advised on the present status of legal vehicle searches and personal searches in connection with a vehicle stop (Iowa law). Legal Counsel Pugh stated she will provide case law and actual factual circumstances. Chair directed Pugh to provide this information to the Board at its meeting on September 14, 1999. With respect to the use of force policy, Winkelhake stated this policy could be discussed and then the Board could be shown what the department does through the use of a video which is used in their MATS training. Chair requested that this policy be on the agenda for October 12, 1999. Winkelhake confirmed his availability and stated he will report to Bauer as to the length of the video; if need be, that meeting will commence at 6:00 p.m. P. Hoffey reported on his knowledge of the issue of plainclothes police officers and unmarked cars in making traffic stops. As references in the "Standards for Law Enforcement Agencies, third edition, Chapter 61 ," he stated it's a standard which is optional for all police departments. However, there is a requirement for a written directive which establishes procedures for stopping and approaching traffic law violators, which is mandatory for all departments. Hoffey further stated, "lt's not uncommon for law enforcement agencies to have unmarked vehicles for enforcement purposes, with plainclothes police officers in those vehicles. By the same token, there are departments that have required their officers in plainclothes in unmarked vehicles when making a traffic stop, for whatever the reason, to call in a marked unit to make that stop. That's done for several reasons, (1) the vehicle may not stop because they don't know who's trying to stop them, especially after dark, (2) creates a greater risk to the citizen. Since it places the citizen at risk, it is important that there be a requirement that a marked police unit make the stop. 3 Presentation by Chief Winkelhake There may be situations when a marked unit is not available and it's absolutely essential that a stop be made as soon as possible, but that would be rare. It is Hoffey's opinion that there are many law enforcement marked units in the State of Iowa. If you can't find a local unit to make the stop in Iowa City, you perhaps have a University unit, a Sheriff's unit, a Coralville unit, or possibly a State Trooper. So it's not uncommon to have unmarked cars and plainclothes police officers making stops; and it's not uncommon that there are requirements that if a stop is to be made by an unmarked car with a plainclothes police officer, that they contact a marked unit to make that stop. Some departments require it and some don't. Very few have it as a matter of policy, but do as a matter of practice. If it's going to be a matter of requiring a marked unit to be called in to make the stop, usually it's a written directive of some sort." After explaining the process with Orders, Chief Winkelhake gave his presentation on the department's General Order on Traffic. The issue of unmarked police cars and plainclothes police officers making traffic stops is covered in the Order under III.A. 8 and 9. Discussion followed with Board members. In response to what information can be given to citizens in this community to feel safe and be safe, Winkelhake stated a citizen in Iowa City can open their car window slightly to request police officer identification and to request going to a lighted area or to the police station. This is not a written policy, but a general practice; Winkelhake stated he would hope all Iowa City officers would allow this. There is no statewide or universal mandate on this issue. John Watson requested that the "In Car Recording Devices" General Order be placed on the agenda for the next Board meeting. As a point of clarification in the "In Card Recording Devices" General Order, page OPS 12.3, Tape Control, second paragraph, "An officer may request that a tape be removed from service if he/she believes it contains information of a critical [to the case] nature... ", Watson stated this implies that the tape may be protected or privileged for the officers, like an transcript. (An officer can refuse to release a transcript of his interview in the course of an investigation; the Board doesn't have automatic access to that.) If there was a PCRB case and there was an in-car tape of the incident, Watson questioned whether that too could be considered privileged. The Chief did not know the legal answer to the question, but responded it is his opinion that it would not be considered privileged information. The Board requested that the issue of plainclothes police officers and unmarked cars in making traffic stops appear again on the next meeting agenda. REVIEW PROCESS REPORT-WRITING & P. Farrant distributed "Suggestions for Modifying the Report Writing Process." Discussion was deferred until the next meeting. Chair advised that Paul Hoffey has joined the report-writing committee. NEW BUSINESS None MEETING SCHEDULE Special Meeting August 24, 1999, 7:00 P.M. · Regular Meeting September 14, 1999, 7:00 P.M. · Special Meeting September 28, 1999, 7:00 P.M. · Regular Meeting October 12, 1999 · Special Meeting October 26, 1999, 7:00 P.M. PUBLIC DISCUSSION Press Citizen reporter, Grace Shim, requested board membership identification. BOARD INFORMATION None STAFF INFORMATION With direction by the Board, C. Pugh stated, in regard to the in car recording devices, she will contact the City 5 EXECUTIVE SESSION Attorney to determine whether tapes are available to the Board. Motion by P. Farrant and seconded by J. Watson to adjourn into Executive Session based on Section 21.5 (1)(a) of the Code of Iowa to review or discuss records which are required or authorized by state or federal law to be kept confidential or to be kept confidential as a condition for that government body's possession or continued receipt of federal funds, and 22.7(11) personal information in confidential personnel records of public bodies including but not limited to cities, boards of supervisors and school districts, and 22.7(5) police officer investigative reports, except where disclosure is authorized elsewhere in the Code; and 22.7(18) Communications not required by law, rule or procedure that are made to a government body or to any of its employees by identified persons outside of government, to the extent that the government body receiving those communications from such persons outside of government could reasonably believe that those persons would be discouraged from making them to that government body if they were available for general public examination. Motion carried, 5/0, all members present. Open session adjourned at 6:10 P.M. (Watson left meeting at 6:30 P.M.) Regular meeting resumed at 6:50 P.M. Motion by P. Hoffey and seconded by P. Farrant to approve PCRB Public Report #99-02 and forward it to the City Council. Motion carried, 4/0, Watson absent. Motion by J. Stratton and seconded by P. Hoffey to review PCRB #99-03 at level 8-8-7 B. 1 (a) in accordance to the ordinance. Motion carried, 4/0, Watson absent. Motion for adjournment by P. Farrant and seconded by P. Hoffey. Motion carried, 4/0, Watson absent. Meeting adjourned at 6:53 P.M. PCRB PUBLIC REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL This is the Report of the Police Citizens Review Board (the "Board") review of the investigation of PCRB Complaint #99-02 (the "Complaint"). BOARD'S RESPONSIBILITY Under the City Code of the City of Iowa City, Section 8-8-7 B, the Board's job is to review the Police Chief's Report ("Report") of his investigation of a complaint. The City Code requires the Board to apply a "reasonable basis" standard of review to the Report and to "give deference" to the Report "because of the Police Chief's...professional expertise." Section 8-8-7 B.2. While the City Code directs the Board to make "findings of fact," it also requires that the Board recommend that the Police Chief reverse or modify his findings only if those findings are "unsupported by substantial evidence," are "unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious," or are "contrary to a Police Department policy or practice or any Federal, State or local law." Sections 8-8-7 B.2(a),(b), and (c). BOARD'S PROCEDURE The complainant originally contacted the PCRB by letter dated March 18, 1999. She was advised by letter dated April 1, 1999, of the procedures and deadline for filing her complaint; a PCRB complaint form was enclosed with this letter. On April 6, 1999, the Complaint was received at the office of the City Clerk. As required by Section 8-8-5 of the City Code, the Complaint was referred to the Police Chief for investigation. The Chief's Report was received on May 7, 1999. The Board voted to review the Complaint in accordance with Section 8-8-7 B. 1 (a)(d), which means that the Board may request additional investigation by the Police Chief or request police assistance in the Board's own review. On July 27, the Board voted to review the Complaint in accordance with Section 8-8-7B. 1 (b), which means that the Board may interview or meet with the complainant. By letter dated May 13, 1999, the Board requested the following additional information: transcript of the interview with the complainant and transcript of the interviews with the two officers who are subjects of the Complaint. As an attachment to a letter dated June 18, 1999, the First Assistant City Attorney provided a synopsis of the complainant's statement, which had been taken by two internal affairs investigators before she filed her Complaint. She also reported that the officers had declined to release their statements to the Board. On July 28, a Board member interviewed the complainant by telephone. The Board met on May 11, May 25, June 8, June 21, July 13, July 27, and August 10, 1999 to consider the Complaint. FINDINGS OF FACT In March 1999, at approximately 5:15 p.m., Officers 1 and 2 followed the complainant, a black female, who was driving a friend's Nissan pickup truck, and whom they had originally observed at the Town and Campus Apartments on Arthur Street, from the intersection of Highway 6 and Gilbert Street to the intersection of Highways 923 and 921, on South Riverside, where they stopped her for the traffic violation of crossing the center line with both left tires. The officers were wearing identical civilian clothing and were driving an unmarked light blue vehicle. Officer 1 asked the complainant for her license and proof of insurance, which she produced. He ran a records check on the complainant and her vehicle, told her she was free to go, and turned away from her. As she prepared to leave, Officer 1 then turned back and asked her if he could have permission to search the truck. The officers reported that they advised the complainant 3 that they were assigned to the Special Crimes Action Team (SCAT) and explained what they do. At first, the complainant refused to permit the search. Then, reporting that she felt pressured to do so as the officers continued to ask and to question her refusals, she reluctantly assented to the search. She was told to step away from the truck during the search. She was asked if she had any weapons or drugs and she replied no. She was then told to empty the contents of her pockets on the hood of the officers' vehicle. She complied. No illegal items were found, no traffic citation was issued, and the complainant was allowed to leave the scene. The officers reported that the search was cursory and took less than a minute, and that they thanked the complainant for her cooperation. The Chief's investigation included an interview with the complainant conducted by two internal affairs investigators at her residence on April 6, 1999, before the Complaint had been formally filed with the PCRB; it was not tape recorded. The transcript provided to the PCRB is a synopsis based on notes taken during the interview session. CONCLUSION Allegation 1. The complainant believes she was unfairly targeted, singled out, and stopped, when other drivers were committing more serious traffic violations in the area where she was stopped. The officers report that they followed the vehicle because they had observed some suspicious behavior on the part of the nephew of a co-worker of the complainant when the vehicle she was driving was parked at Town and Campus Apartments. The complainant stated she was parked in the area because the young man had locked his keys in his car near Muscatine and 7th Avenues and had requested that she give him a ride to his uncle's apartment in the Town and Campus complex to pick up a spare set of keys. She was waiting in her parked truck while he was inside the complex. 4 The officers reported that there is substantial drug and other illegal activity in the general area of the city that includes the apartment complex and that they noted the following suspicious behavior on the part of the young man: he was talking to someone seated in the parked truck; he "leaned into" both sides of the parked truck; he seemed nervous and kept looking at the officers from time to time; he looked into the window of another parked vehicle. They reported that he then got into the passenger side of the truck. The officers stopped the complainant for the minor traffic violation of crossing lane lines, which she does not dispute, though she pointed out that two other drivers (both white) in the immediate vicinity were at the same time committing clearly visible, more serious offenses (speeding and making erratic lane changes without signaling). No citation was issued and the stop was of short duration. We find that the Chief's conclusion that the officers' observations of activity they deemed suspicious warranted their actions in following the vehicle, since probable cause is not required to continue observing a subject in plain view and they did not violate department policy or applicable law. Further, we find that the Chief's conclusion that the officers' stop of the complainant for crossing the center line, which she did not dispute, was supported by probable cause and did not violate department policy or applicable law. In both cases, the Chief's conclusions are supported by substantial evidence, and are not unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious. Allegation 1 of the complaint is NOT SUSTAINED. Allegation 2. The complainant feels that she was intimidated into consenting to a search of the vehicle and that by pressuring her to do so, the officers "overstepped the bounds" and violated her rights. The officers reported that the events leading up to the assent to search consisted of an explanation of their role in SCAT, a request to search the vehicle, and several questions to the complainant as to why she was refusing the search. Although the complainant does not claim she was treated overtly inappropriately during the stop, she reported that she felt she had been singled out because of her race and felt insistently pressured to assent to a search. She reported that although the officers did not "bully" her, their constant and, to her, insincere smiling bordered on condescension. The complainant said that since she felt intimidated by the officers' behavior, had nothing to hide, and felt that she would not be permitted to leave until she assented, she agreed to permit the search. In her interview with the PCRB Board member, the complainant stated that the location of the traffic stop on South Riverside was a remote area and that dark was approaching. She said she did not understand why the officers followed her so far and stopped her in such a remote area rather than in town. She reported that she felt uncomfortable and unsafe when the officers persisted in questioning her refusal to submit to a search. The Chief's Report concludes that feelings of intimidation are common in traffic stops and have not served to nullify voluntary consent. We find that the Chief's conclusion that the search was proper under the law is supported by substantial evidence, and is not unreasonable, arbitrary, or capricious. Allegation 2 of the complaint is NOT SUSTAINED. COMMENTS In his recommendation, the Chief cites the importance of securing voluntary consent for vehicle searches, and recommends that these officers review department policy on traffic stops and the law concerning consent to search. DATED: August 10, 1999 MINUTES RIVERFRONT AND NATURAL AREAS COMMISSION WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16, 1999 - 5:30 P.M. IOWA CITY CIVIC CENTER - LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Russell Bennett, Cortney Daniels, Mark Graham, Gretchen Grimm, Lynn Rose, David Thayer MEMBERS ABSENT: Jeff Gillitzer, Joe Kral, Larry Wilson ALTERNATE: STAFF PRESENT: Brad Neumann OTHERS PRESENT: CALL TO ORDER: Rose called the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: Neumann noted that the Iowa City Press-Citizen contacted him and RNAC members because the paper planned to write a series of articles on the river. The Press-Citizen staff interviewed personnel from the Department of Natural Resources and Johnson County. He said the reporters seemed open to any ideas and asked for input. Wayne Peterson specifically discussed creek maintenance. Neumann said that members of this Commission may be interested in watching for those articles. Thayer asked why the Press-Citizen was interested or what their focus was. Rose said that the paper seemed genuinely interested in new ideas about the Iowa River. Grimm noted that Cedar Rapids is conducting a study on the Cedar River, and the Cedar Rapids Gazette is running a series on the Mississippi River. Members thought that the Press-Citizen may be following the Gazette' s lead. Rose asked everyone to keep in mind those who might be interested in joining the RNAC. Daniels and Kral will be resigning from the Commission. Neumann said that Mascal had not yet provided a written resignation. CONSIDERATION OF THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 21, 1999 MEETING: MOTION: Graham moved to approve the April 21, 1999 meeting minutes as submitted. Grimm seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 5-0. COMMISSION REPORTS: Report from the JCCOG Regional Trails and Bicycling Committee (RTBC) Representative Grimm said that she attended the last meeting. The main issue was the debris on City streets that is injuring bicyclists. There is a significant amount of sand, gravel, and debris particularly on the Iowa Avenue Bridge and on the city streets. The RTBC also discussed a concern about a problem with the sidewalk at the corner of Gilbert and Prentiss Streets. She also reported that the trail to Napoleon Park will be finished in July. Riveffrontand NaturalAreas Commission Minutes June 16,1999 Page 2 Neumann added that the proposed trail between Coralville and North Liberty is being constructed on land that was condemned in order to create the trail. Although the current trail plan is not affected, recent state legislation now makes it illegal to condemn land for purposes of trail use. COMMISSION DISCUSSION: Discuss Parks and Recreation Commission membership recommendation Neumann said that included in commissioners' packets was a copy of a memo from the City Attorney's office as well as a memo from Parks and Recreation Director Terry Trueblood. The RNAC had previously asked about the possibility of allowing an RNAC member to attend the Parks and Recreation meetings as a liaison. The RNAC proposed that each month a member of the RNAC would attend the meeting. The RNAC person would sit at the table, and have all of the rights and responsibilities of a Parks and Recreation Commission member except for voting privileges. The city attorney's memo summarized that this idea conflicts with the City's charter. The RNAC's proposal in essence creates a new board member, even though the person would not vote and only the City Council has the authority to appoint new board members. If the RNAC wanted to move forward with the proposal, it would need to present the idea to Council and there would need to be changes to bylaws, procedures, etc. Neumann pointed out that in light of the attorney's response, the Parks and Recreation Commission's memo stated that they would rather not pursue the full membership idea at this time. However, an RNAC member would be welcome to attend the meetings as a member of the public and given time to speak if they wish. Rose asked for commissioners' thoughts on how important attendance at Parks and Recreation Commission meetings is in maintaining communication with Parks and Rec. She said that she would hesitate to move forward on this, particularly because of the fact that the RNAC does not have one person who could attend consistently. Grimm said that she did not see the point in attending all of the meetings as a member of the public if the RNAC member would not necessarily have any influence. Thayer agreed and said that not every Parks and Recreation meeting has issues related to the RNAC anyway. Bennett suggested that an RNAC member attend as a member of the public only if there was a specific issue relevant to the RNAC. Graham agreed and noted that the RNAC still receives the Parks and Recreation minutes. Daniels arrived during the discussion and said that she would not have proposed the idea had she known of the conflicts with the City charter. She asked Neumann if he would send a copy of the Parks and Recreation's agenda to the chairperson each month. The chairperson could then notify members of any pertinent issues that would prompt the RNAC's presence at the Parks and Recreation meeting. MOTION: Daniels moved to have a member of the RNAC attend Parks and Recreation Commission meetings as a member of the public as needed. City staff will forward a copy of the Parks and Recreation's agenda to the chairperson so that they may use their discretion in determining whether a member of the RNAC should be present at a Parks and Recreation Commission meeting. The RNAC will continue to receive a copy of the Parks and Recreation Commission's minutes. Grimm seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 6-0. Riveffrontand NatumlAreas Commission Minutes June 16,1999 Page 3 Discuss the Development of the Iowa City Creek Maintenance Program At the April RNAC meeting, members discussed defining the overall scope of the Creek Maintenance Program. Daniels had said that the Program is not only about completing specific tasks but also a vision-a way of looking at creeks in Iowa City. After a lengthy discussion at that meeting, commissioners agreed that the RNAC must first define what the end result of the RNAC's Creek Maintenance Program is. Members were asked to draft a mission statement for the next meeting. Once an overall mission statement had been determined, the Commission would be better prepared to move forward on the goals and objectives captured during the February 25 brainstorming session. Rose noted that three mission/vision statements had been received for the June meeting. She said that perhaps they should wait to draft the final overall vision statement until more members could be present. She noted that in the meantime the Commission has been asked to make recommendations on the Creek Maintenance Program. Bennett said that one of the problems with the Program is that the private sector has to perform the work, then the City will reimburse them from the Grant. The RNAC can only recommend that the City advertise the availability of funds. If there are not enough inquiries, the Commission can also recommend other options for the funds. In order to be effective this year, he suggested that the RNAC make three to four specific recommendations while continuing to work on the overall vision for the Program. Thayer agreed and said that the vision statement will be used to guide the RNAC. Neumann said that the City has received five or six requests for creek maintenance funding. In addition, he said the RNAC may want to find out if they could carry over funds from year to year. Commissioners discussed how to proceed and agreed that a subcommittee review of the mission statement may be more effective. Daniels, Rose, and Thayer agreed to be part of the subcommittee. Daniels said that they should also find out if the remaining funding could be carried over to next year or if the Commission would soon need to make a recommendation to Public Works for the remaining funds. MOTION: Daniels moved to direct City staff to investigate whether the grant funds for the Creek Maintenance Program could be carried over to the next year. Thayer seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 6-0. MOTION: Thayer moved to appoint a subcommittee to develop the Creek Maintenance Program mission statement and recommendations and present a final draft at the next meeting. Daniels seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 6-0. OTHER BUSINFSS:- ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: Rose moved to adjourn the meeting. Grimm seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 6-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 p.m. Minutes submitted by Wendy Larive. jccogsw/minlrnac6-16-99.doc MINUTES RIVERFRONT AND NATURAL AREAS COMMISSION WEDNESDAY, JULY 21, 1999, 5:30 PM IOWA CITY MAIN LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Lynn Rose, David Thayer, Cortney Daniels, Mark Graham, Larry Wilson, Gretchen Grimm MEMBERS ABSENT: Jeff Gillitzer, Russell Bennett STAFF PRESENT: Brad Neumann OTHERS PRESENT: Chris Rasmussen (student) CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Rose called the meeting to order at 5:40 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON AGENDA: none CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES Meeting minutes from were reviewed from the June 16, 1999, meeting. Motion was made to accept minutes as published with the change of the word "federal" to "state" on paragraph one, page two by Daniels. Motion was seconded by Grimm. The minutes were approved by unanimous consent. COMMISSION REPORTS Grimm reported that RTBC did not meet. COMMISSION DISCUSSION Iowa City Creek Maintenance Pro.qram Thayer, Daniels, Rose and Neumann met ad hoc to finalize the recommendations for Public Works. The following revisions were made by group consensus: On page one the footnote will be changed to identify the group which met in February. The motion was made by Thayer to amend the following as such: Education Section-Page 2: Item #2 will change the word "available" to "qualified". In addition the sentence "The city will determine the training and experience required for inclusion on this list; based on the program scope, purpose and description." Daniels seconded the motion. Vote to pass resolution was unanimous. The motion was made by Thayer to amend the following to read: Program Goals--Item F: Enhance environmental quality and the natural habitat of the stream to protect and enhance the urban linear forest in creek corridors. Wilson seconded the motion and it passed by unanimous consent. Wilson moved that the Iowa City's Creek Maintenance Program recommendations final version be accepted and forwarded Riverfront and Natural Areas Commission Minutes July 21, 1999 Page 2 to the Department of Public Works. Grimm seconded the motion. The motion was passed by unanimous consent. Daniels suggested that copies of the recommendations be forwarded to the parties involved in the initial planning of the project. OTHER BUSINESS Membership Daniels will no longer be a member of the commission after this meeting. Kral and Mascal have resigned. Neumann reported that he has advertisements posted for positions. Daniels inquired about the process of fulfilling commission vacancies. Neumann explained that applications are submitted to the clerk's office. Daniels suggested that perhaps Neumann could request a copy of the application and screen potential commission members so as to find the most interested candidates. Handbook for City of Iowa City Daniels brought up the fact that the commission is not included in the handbook. Neumann explained that this booklet is designed to outline the structure of city government. It does not list all committees and commissions. Commission Future The mission and purpose of the commission was discussed. The group came to the conclusion that there are projects and goals that need to be addressed. This commission does not only act when called upon, but also works as a visionary body that generates new concepts. Accomplishments for FY 1998-99 The commission reviewed the planned activities for the year. The group deleted the following lines: · Continue to assist in the future planning for the Butler House on the Iowa City water plant site. · Continue participation in the review and development of the Sensitive Areas Ordinance. The following items were combined: Continue to support and advocate development of the Iowa River Corridor Trail; including continuing to involve FIRST on river trails issues. Neumann will review list and finalize for submission to the city. Planned Project for FY 1999-2000 · Review the Sensitive Area Ordinance. · Continue to work on the creek corridor development project. · Participate in the Arbor Day project. · Plant a tree in the Hospice Memorial at Willow Creek Park. Riverfront and Natural Areas Commission Minutes July 21, 1999 Page 3 · Support and advocate the development of Iowa River Corridor Trail. · Follow-up on the flood plain recommendation. · Develop knowledge and understanding regarding storm water and water quality issues. · Obtain a report on the impact of the university on the river. · Gain knowledge of the rebuilding project for the Coralville Dam. Items will be carried forward from the previous year's projects. Wilson suggested having a joint meeting with the Clear Creek commission. Thayer proposed a resolution to thank Daniels for her years of service. Wilson seconded the motion. The resolution was passed by unanimous vote. ADJOURNMENT: Rose adjourned the meeting at 7:15 p.m. Minutes submitted by Le Ann Dunne-Tyson jccogsw/min/mac7-21-99.doc RULES COMMITTEE MEETING July 15, 1999 Committee Members Present: Lehman, Norton Staff Members Present: Karr, Shank Human Rights Commission By-Law changes. The Rules Committee reviewed the changes, as suggested by the Commission at their June 2 1 meeting and unanimously recommended adoption with the changes underlined. III. Membership Commissioner is expected to attend twelve (12) regularly scheduled monthly meetings during the calendar year. The Chairperson or Human Rights Coordinator shall be notified of an absence prior to any meeting. 1. Three consecutive absences or four absences in a 12 Month period may result in: a. A vote by simple majority to request the resignation of the Commissioner in violation of the absence policy b. A vote by simple majority to recommend to City Council that the Commissioner in violation of the absence policy be removed from the Commission. X. Powers and Duties of the Commission. Duties: It is each Commissioner's responsibility to take an active role in the work of the Commission. This shall include reviewing human rights complaints and the investigative file, attending Commission meetings, and planning and attending community/educational functions. MINUTES SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION TUESDAY, JUNE 22,1999 MEMBERS PRESENT MEMBERS ABSENT STAFF PRESENT GUESTS PRESENT Bebe Ballantyne, Jay Honohan, William Kelly, Terd Miller, Allan Monsanto, Larry Pugh, Deborah Schoenfelder, and M. Kathryn Wallace. Joanne Hora. Michelle Buhman, Julie Seal and Susan Rogusky. Judy Suthedand, Ruth Bell CALL TO ORDER Miller called the meeting to order at 3:00. MINUTES Motion: To approve the May minutes as amended. The motion carded on a vote of 8-0. Monsanto/Wallace PUBLIC DISCUSSION None SENIOR CENTER/PARKING FACILITY SKYVVALK - Miller Bids for the Iowa Avenue Parking Facility came in over budget and actual construction of this project may be delayed. The Commission will continue to encourage participants to wdte letters to the City Council supporting a skywalk connecting the parking facility and the Senior Center. 28E AGREEMENT COMMITi'EE REPORT - Miller At the last meeting it was decided to ask the County and City architects to meet and discuss the possible acquisition of space for the Senior Dining program in the Iowa Avenue parking facility. The next meeting of the 28E committee is scheduled for July 8, 1999. MARCH RETREAT Commissioners reviewed the minutes from the Retreat held in March. Discussion followed. Kopping was asked to cull out from the retreat minutes a list of Commission action statements and present this list at the July meeting. The next retreat is scheduled for January 22, 2000. SENIOR CENTER UPDATE Operations - Kopping The public headng for the Sprinkler System and Tile Replacement Project is scheduled June 29, 1999. MINUTES SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 1999 Due to overall project cost, it is likely the Fumiture and Redecoration Project will be done floor by floor starting in the lobby. The Mezzanine and the ground floor waiting area will be done in future years. The Voices of Experience requested another piano and two dollies to facilitate movement of new and existing pianos. The pdce of the piano and dollies is approximately $4,000. Motion: To purchase a new piano and two dollies with funds to be taken out of the Gift Fund. The motion carded on a vote of 8-0. Ballantyne/Honohan A release of liability form and suggested rules for regulating use of the Senior Center's exercise room and fithess equipment by Senior Center and in-house agency employees, which had been prepared by Assistant City Attorney Dennis Mitchell, were reviewed and discussed by the Commission. Commissioners elected to make some minor changes associated with room availability in order to provide clarification. Motion: To adopt the amended rules and release of liability suggested by Dennis Mitchell, Assistant City Attorney, for regulating the use of Senior Center exercise room and equipment by Senior Center and in-house agency employees. The motion carded on a vote of 8-0. Kelly/Honohan Programs - Seal July events were reviewed. Volunteers- Rogusky An update of volunteer programs and opportunities was given. COUNCIL OF ELDERS - Suthedand A report from the Council of Elders was given. BOARD OF SUPERVISORS - No report given. COMMISSION DISCUSSION Motion: To adjourn. Motion carded on a vote of 8-0. MonsantolSchoenfelder The meeting adjourned at 4:45.