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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-07-18 Bd Comm Minutes Animal Control Advisory Board Meeting April 6, 2000 Iowa City/Coralville Animal Shelter Present: Marty Shafer (President), Ursula Delworth, Janelie Henkner, DVM, Diana Lundell Staff: Misha Goodman Absent: Shawn Lockhart Staff: Susan Cota Public: Jean LAST NAME 1. Minutes from last meeting were approved. 2. It was noted that the March meeting was rescheduled to April 6 due to lack of quorum. 3. Old Business The Board reviewed its goals. Goals 1 and 2 have been completed. Goal 3 - Increase mobile adoption sites. Second Saturday is still being done at Eastdale and very popular. Some UI students will have a display at the Coral Ridge Mall, whose management wants to see how that goes before considering more. We are still pushing Old Capital Town Center. Is an outdoor site a possibility? Misha answered that the shelter does take animals to City Plaza over the noon hour occasionally. Misha also described the Y2 Canine project in which at risk children help obedience train select shelter animals prior to their being adopted. The idea is to increase the adoption and retention rate. This will be demonstrated at an upcoming Second Saturday. Goal 4 is in process Goal 6 Misha and others have been doing informational sessions every three months over the noon hour at the Iowa City Public Library. 4. New Business There was some discussion of the need to get new dollars into the spay/neuter fund. Several alternatives were considered. Final recommendation: Unanimous vote to increase the license fee for altered animals by $2 (half-price for senior citizens). This margin would go into the spay/neuter fund. In addition, any proceeds from re-sale products should also go into the spay/neuter fund. At this time Jean LAST NAME, described the formation of a new group Friends of the Animal Shelter. She said the group's first project would be one to which they would like to donate the proceeds to the spay/neuter fund and estimated that they would be able to provide funds to alter about 100 animals. In addition she said the goals of the new group would be to work with Misha and support the goals of the shelter. In addition they plan to provide transportation two times each month to licensed rural vets. Jane!le asked if we do a Dog Jog. Misha reported that the American Cancer Society used to have a similar event to raise funds that involved a pet walk. In addition there was discussion of a Dog Wash to raise money, but no action on either. 5. Supervisors' Reports Misha told the board about the new floor cleaning machine and vacuum. The staff is very pleased with it. In addition she reported on the progress of installation of new computers and software and updated the Board on a need for $6,000 in funds to convert current records into new software. Final recommendation: Unanimous vote to approve allocating $6,000 from the sheiter's gift account to cover the cost of converting the records. Misha also updated the board on the suggestion that there be a park in Iowa City at which residents could exercise their pets off leash. There was quite a bit of discussion including the idea of possible locations (Scott Park); starting a citizen group to advocate and fund raise for the project; examples of other towns that have such parks and how they work. Final recommendation: Unanimous vote to recommend to the Iowa City Parks and Recreation Commission that such a park be established. President Shafer will send a letter to the Commission. 6. There was some discussion of the continuing problems encountered by the lack of coordination between Iowa City and Coralville in regard to selling licenses. Diana will check into the situation in Coralville and report back at the next meeting (May 4). 7. Board Members Reports There was a need to reset the standing dates of our meetings from the fourth Thursday. The Board agreed on the first Thursdays and Ursula encouraged us to set the meetings for the remainder of the year. They shall be at 6:30 p.m. May 4 in Coralville; July 6 in Iowa City; Sept. 7 in Coralviile; and November 2 in Iowa City. 8. Citizen Comments Jean LAST NAME reported on the renewal of the local Human Society organization, including the election of Jan Becker at President of that group. In addition she said the group is interested in re-establishing a good relationship with the Animal Shelter. Minutes submitted by Diana Lundell, Secretary PRELIMINAR' IOWA CITY HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION Subject to 43.proval J ' THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2000 - 5:30 P,M. . .... CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Richard Carlson, Mike Gunn, Peter Jochimsen, Doris Malkmus, Pam Michaud, Michaelanne Widness MEMBERS ABSENT: James Enloe, Sue Licht, Marc Mills STAFF PRESENT: Scott Kugler OTHERS PRESENT: None RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: MOTION: Malkmus moved to approve amendment to the bylaws to allow a second monthly meeting when needed. Jochimsen seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 5-0. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Gunn called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. SECTION 106 REVIEW: 1638 WILSON STREET: Kugler said that no survey had been done in this area and passed around photos of the property. He said that the home was constructed in the 1940's as a cape cod style home and the Commission needed to determine if it was a historically significant property. Widness asked who filled out the form for the property. Kugler responded that a housing rehabilitation staff person, Liz Osborne, filled out the form. He also told the Commission that it was up to them to make an independent analysis. Gunn asked if another property was recently considered on Wilson Street. Kugler confirmed that another property on Wilson Street was reviewed and determined ineligible due to some issues with an addition. Malkmus asked if the siding on the home was original. Kugler said that he was not sure. Malkmus then said that she felt it should not be eligible as a historic property. Jochimsen asked why the property was being considered. Kugler explained the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) process and said that it is the Commission's responsibility to determine if the property is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Gunn clarified that the Commission has nothing to do with the funding and would only impact what could be done with the money. Kugler said that the most important thing to consider is criteria "C" which has to do with the architectural importance and integrity of the building. Carlson stated that the structure was not worthy of preservation at this time, but could be later. MOTION: Jochimsen moved that the property located at 1638 Wilson Street not be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Malkmus seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 6-0. SECTION 106 REVIEW: 838 RUNDELL STREET: Kugler passed out photos and said that this property was part of the Longfellow Neighborhood survey where it was not found to be individually eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission Minutes Thursday, June 8, 2000 Page 2 MOTION: Widness moved that the property located at 838 Rundell Street not be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Jochimsen seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 6-0. DISCUSSION OF GOVERNOR/LUCAS/BOWERY STREET CONSERVATION DISTRICT REPORT: Kugler reported that the document is fairly well drafted at this point. There are a few places where items need to be added, including information regarding property ownership. Before this could be added, he said that the boundaries of the conservation district needed to be decided. Malkmus suggested that this information would fit in well on the top of page three in the historic character section. Widness asked about the formatting of the footnotes. Kugler clarified that this is a draft and that it will be taken care of in the final document. Kugler said that the Commission had previously considered using the same boundaries for the district as the recent rezoning boundary. He said that using that boundary would likely eliminate some properties that perhaps should be included. Malkmus asked what the area closer to the railroad tracks was zoned. Kugler said that the area included RS- 8, RNC-12, and RM-12. Malkmus then suggested that the area south on Lucas might not have enough historic properties. Kugler began passing out photos of properties not included in the packet. Carlson said that he thought the properties in that area were split about half-and-half between contributing and non- contributing based upon his walk through the area. Michaud asked what percentage of contributing structures was required for a conservation district. Kugler and Gunn clarified that half of the properties must be over fifty years old, but there is no threshold for contributing vs. non-contributing. Gunn said that he thought the area had eleven non-contributing structures and just seven contributing structures. Malkmus stated that she thought the boundary should then stay the same as the rezoning boundary. Carlson asked about the criteria of a conservation district vs. that of a historic district. Malkmus followed by asking if the ordinance holds the Commission to anything in particular. Kugler said that neighborhood character is the overriding concern in a conservation district, while the individual historic value of each building is also important in a historic district. Jochimsen asked about the property owner's perspective. He wondered what the people on S. Lucas thought about whether or not they would want to be included. Malkmus said that they never ask residents first if they would like to be included. The Commission applies the same standards to each property and then brings the results to the homeowners to see what they think. Jochimsen asked what the advantage was to being included in the conservation district. Malkmus said the advantage is that the likelihood of a new building or remodeling of an existing building that is out of character with the neighborhood is reduced. She said that the neighborhood becomes stabilized, but this is a trade-off for some restrictions on their own property. The Commission then discussed the need for specific criteria for interpreting the properties that currently are undetermined as to whether they are contributing or non- contributing. Carlson said that when he looked at a property and could tell when it was built, it was probably a contributing property for a conservation district. Michaud asked about looking at the front of the house vs. looking at the whole house. Malkmus said that in a conservation district, the Commission has given more weight to the front of the property. Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission Minutes Thursday, June 8, 2000 Page 3 The commission then attempted to interpret individual properties to determine their status based upon the photos. Gunn determined that this process was leaning toward including Governor Street south of Bowery Street in the conservation district. He suggested that the boundaries be set and then have two members go out and make a final determination on the undecided properties. Carlson said that criteria was needed for this interpretation. Commission agreement was reached that the threshold for properties to be considered contributing would not be as stringent for conservation districts, and they could still be considered contributing even if modern siding had been applied, porch modifications had taken place, some window changes, and some "detachable" additions had occurred. Heavier modifications including several of these changes would not be considered contributing. Kugler asked if the Commission would like to designate two people to finish the determinations. Gunn suggested Carlson who agreed to do so with the use of Malkmus' notes. Malkmus had begun a motion to keep the boundaries the same as the rezoning, but rescinded the motion, as it was no longer needed. Kugler said that an official motion on the boundaries was not needed at this time and could wait until the report was completed. Discussion of the boundary continued and Malkmus suggested that the boundary go down the alley between Governor and Lucas Streets. Kugler asked if the corner properties not included in the rezoning should now be included. Gunn said that perhaps the properties facing Burlington should not be included. Kugler moved on to begin discussion of the guidelines and said that things seemed to be on track. Gunn asked about an incomplete sentence on page five. Kugler said that he was aware of that error and would edit it out of the final draft. Michaud informed the Commission that she needed to leave and Kugler suggested that the Commission address the minutes before she left. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FROM APRIL 13 AND MAY 11, 2000 MEETINGS: Gunn asked for any revisions to the April 13, 2000 minutes. Carlson suggested that "National Historic Register" be replaced with "National Register of Historic Places," where appropriate. MOTION: Michaud moved to approve the April 13, 2000 minutes as corrected. Widness seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 6-0. Kugler had one change to the May 11, 2000 minutes. He said that in the second paragraph on page five, the word preference should be reference. MOTION: Widness moved to approve the May 11, 2000 minutes as corrected. Carlson seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 6-0. The Commission thanked Michaud for her contributions to the Historic Preservation Commission. Kugler reminded the Commission that a new member would be needed from the College Green District. DISCUSSION OF GOVERNOR/LUCAS/BOWERY STREET CONSERVATION DISTRICT REPORT CONTINUED: Widness inquired about the fact that some of the attachments in the document are not labeled. Kugler said that they will be labeled and that task just has not yet been completed. Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission Minutes Thursday, June 8, 2000 Page 4 Gunn said that he would like to discuss a change to use facade square footage requirements in place of the square footage requirement, due to comments by the City legal council. Malkmus asked about the footprint of buildings in the area. Gunn said that there are a wide variety of footprints in existence and that there are no good patterns from which to achieve a regulation. Kugler said that is not likely going to be a problem now that the down-zoning has been approved, and limiting the street elevation of buildings should be enough to ensure new buildings fit in terms of scale. Malkmus inquired about changing the setback requirements. Kugler said that the current setback requirement is twenty feet, but if other buildings in the area are closer than that, the building could be as close as fifteen feet. After discussion, Kugler said that he will rewrite the section to address adjacent properties rather than using an average setback from the entire block. He also said that he would try to have an intern create a few sketch possibilities for architectural styles to include for the next meeting. Malkmus said that in the roofing section that limiting dormer styles to gable and hip roofs may be too specific. She thought that some building styles would be appropriate with a shed roof. Kugler said that the text could be modified to suggest that dormers will have roof pitches consistent with the rest of the building. Malkmus questioned the consistency of the Commission's actions. She wondered if the commission was being too strict on how properties could be remodeled when compared to the relatively loose way that buildings can be let in. Gunn suggested that it is better to let in problems than to encourage more problems. DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED PROCEDURES AND DESIGN GUIDELINES: Kugler informed the Commission that the City Council would be holding a public hearing on the design guidelines on Tuesday, June 13 and that he and Gunn would be attending. He also said that he had made a number of revisions to the guidelines based upon discussion at the April meeting. Information was added on page eleven to the disallowed category to reference materials that do not accept paint. Similar language was added to the section on porches regarding materials that do not accept paint. The section on paint was revised due to the complexity of the issue of lead paint. The section now refers to state and federal guidelines. The railing section was removed on request of the building official. In order for the Board of Appeals to make decisions regarding railings, there would need to be a code amendment. A bylaws amendment was also included to reflect a second monthly meeting. Kugler said that the Commission would need to officially recommend the amendment to the City Council the next time that the Commission has a quorum. After brief discussion, the Commission realized that due to the open position, a quorum was in place. MOTION: Malkmus moved to approve amendment to the bylaws to allow a second monthly meeting when needed. Jochimsen seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 5-0. DISCUSSION OF PROPOSAL FOR ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: Kugler told the Commission that the City Manager is asking for comment from the City's Boards and Commissions about a proposal for an advisory committee of people with disabilities. He said that the City Manager's position was that a new committee was not needed. Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission Minutes Thursday, June 8, 2000 Page 5 Malkmus said that Sue Licht should be made aware of this request for comment. Kugler said that she would have received the packet with the memo from the City Manager. Carlson asked who the contact person is for ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) questions. Kugler said that various city staff persons are familiar with the regulations. Gunn and Kugler attempted to clarify what the Commission was asked to do. The Commission could support / not support the decision through any kind of comment or non-comment. MOTION: Jochimsen moved to concur with the City Manager memorandum of May 18, 2000 that the creation of a separate advisory committee for people with disabilities is not needed. Malkmus seconded the motion. Malkmus then withdrew the second. The motion failed for lack of a second, The second was removed from the motion after discussion. Commission members decided that an official motion was not necessary if there were no strong opinions. DISCUSSION OF ANNUAL REPORT: Kugler said that he will have a draft of the Fiscal Year 2000 Annual Report for the next meeting. He asked if the Commission knew of any items that also needed to be included in the document other than those suggested in the packet. Malkmus suggested adding the National Register of Historic Places nomination for the AME Church. Widness asked about the Emma Harvat house. Kugler said that the Harvat house listing was not official yet, but it would be included. He then asked that Commission members pass any other possibilities on to him if they should come up. FOLLOW UP ON AWARDS PROGRAM: Gunn asked the commission for comments on how the awards program went. Widness said that too much coffee was prepared. She also said that providing punch was a good idea and that putting up the old photographs seemed to go over well. Widness suggested that in the future, nametags should be considered, especially for the award winners. Kugler asked the commission to keep an eye out for possible projects and speakers for next years program. COMMISSION INFORMATION/DISCUSSION: Commission Time Malkmus began a discussion about the possibility of the Iowa City Civic Center being renamed in honor of Emma Harvat, a woman of historical significance in the community. She said that a group of women within the community are interested in this cause and have approached her about the possibility of the Historic Preservation Commission acting as a vehicle to bring the cause to the City Council. Kugler told the commission that the square in the new Peninsula development may be named in honor of Emma Harvat. Gunn and others expressed that they were uncomfortable with the Commission bringing the issue forward. It is not an issue of whether or not it should be renamed, but rather it is a topic outside of the role of the Commission, Malkmus asked what the Commission's role could be. Widness suggested that the members should instead write individual letters of support for the project, if desired, and direct the group to take their issue directly to the City Council. Group consensus was achieved that it is not the Commission's role to have an opinion on this topic. Kugler said that a Certified Local Government grant application round was coming up, with a deadline of August 30. He asked if the Commission had any ideas for a possible project. Kugler said that some possibilities might include a study of Iowa Avenue or a Longfellow Neighborhood Iowa City Historic Preservation Commission Minutes Thursday, June 8, 2000 Page 6 National Register of Historic Places Nomination. Jochimsen asked about the possibility of doing a waterway analysis. Kugler said that he thought that would better fit into the Riverfront and Natural Areas. Group consensus was quickly achieved that an application for the Longfellow neighborhood should be done. Kugler asked if anyone would be interested in writing the grant application. Gunn asked how much the actual nomination would cost. Kugler said that it is hard to estimate, but could cost as much as $10,000 to complete a nomination. Kugler mentioned the following items were included in the packet: The Alliance Review, March/April 2000 "Iowa Invests in its History," Des Moines Sunday Register, May 28, 2000 ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: Jochimsen moved to adjourn the meeting. Widness seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a vote of 5-0. The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Minutes submitted by Ben Champ. ppdadm/min/hpc6~-OO.dec Iowa Oily Human Rights Oomrnission April 25. 2000 - 7:00 p.m. Page 1 MEMBERS PRESENT: Mary Larew, Charles Major, Diane Martin, Rick Spooner, Mettle Thomopulos, Jan Warren, Maureen Howe MEMBERS ABSENT: Janice Simmons-Welburn STAFF PRESENT: Heather Shank OTHERS PRESENT: Dave Leshtz, Jacob Wilkin, William Greiner, Steve Kanner 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Warren called the meeting to order at 7:08 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Minutes unanimously approved from the March 28, 2000 meeting. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: 4. Dave Leshtz - Guest Speaker Dave became an Iowa Civil Rights Commission (IGRG) member in April of 1999. During the last year the IGRG voted to develop a subcommittee to explore issues raised annually by the Iowa City Human Rights Commission regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation. The three new Commissioners appointed to the IGRG volunteered to serve on the subcommittee. After exploring the issues it was determined that the IGRG would: (a) Begin to track and report to the Commission the intakes and complaints not covered under the IORO's jurisdiction; (b) Have staff provide information to Commission about existing policies and legislation relevant to sexual orientation; © Discuss sexual orientation and related issues during retreat; (d) Clarify the legal role of ICRC in making recommendations to the state legislature. Dave asked for suggestions of individuals to speak to the ICRC regarding sexual orientation issues. Some suggestions included, Bill Crews, Diane Finnerty, and PFLAG (Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays) Dave indicated that the ICRC did not meet last month but they are meeting May 20. He also mentioned that the ICRC has named both the Iowa City Human Rights Commission April 25, 2000 - 7:00 p.m. Page 2 EEOC and HUD as groups it can collaborate with. In addition, Frank Tribble will be conducting a series of accessibility lectures across the state. 4. NEW BUSINESS: Legislation has been introduced regarding racial profiling in Iowa but there is no real momentum to do anything substantive. Shank explained her response to the Press Citizen's editorial, which had confused the Iowa City Human Rights Commission with HARRT. The Commission indicated that it would go forward with the poster campaign that was initially developed with HARRT and the Affirmative Action Office in response to incidents at the Dental School. Benson & Hepker have offered to design the poster free of charge. Jehle and Howe and Thomopulos agreed to purchase the ribbon that will accompany the posters. Shank agreed to write the letter to accompany the posters. 5. OLD BUSINESS: Shank said Janusz Bardach accepted the HRC's request that he speak at the next Human Right's Breakfast and Jan Warren agreed to write Dr. Bardach a letter thanking him. The town meeting addressing racial profiling has been postponed until the fall because the Commissioners have been unable to meet and plan. Shank brought to the Commission's attention the Procurement Policy and memorandum dated April 4, 2000 regarding the purchasing of goods and services by the City of Iowa City. Shank mentioned that these documents came about after Councilperson Steve Kanner inquired in her office as to origins of the city uniforms. This inquiry led Shank to do research on the issue of sweatshops. Mr. Kanner mentioned that the City's procurement policy was limited to just the canceling of the employee purchased t-shirts. Warren indicated that the policy was more comprehensive. Mr. Kanner mentioned that the Commission might want to consider "codifying" the City Manager's new procurement policy. Mr. Kanner asked that the Commission consider recommending to the Council that it sign the proclamation drafted by the Students Against Sweatshops. Shank indicated that the issue regarding sweatshops and the students' position was very complex. The students wanted the University to withdraw from the Fair Labor Association and join the Worker's Rights Iowa City Human Rights Commission April 25, 2000 - 7:00 p.m. Page 3 Consortium. The University joined the WRC but did not withdraw from the FLA. The students alleged that the FLA is made up of businesses that after agreeing to, failed to monitor their business practices. The companies found to be guilty of this include Gap, Nike and Liz Claiborne. While some of the companies as mentioned above are guilty of deception, the WRC has not conducted an investigation. Mr. Kanner indicated that perhaps representatives from the University and the SAS could attend the next meeting in order to present both sides of the issue. The Commission indicated it would take it under consideration and reach a decision after discussion. 6. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS: Major indicated that he was a graduate in the Citizen's Police Academy. Major does not believe the officers racially profile. 7. STATUS OF CASES: The cases are progressing nicely. There hasn't been any word from either lawyer on the case that was recently unsuccessfully conciliated. 8. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. HRC032800.doc IOWA CITY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION IOWA CITY CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS MAY 23, 2000 - 7:00 MEMBERS PRESENT: Maureen Howe, Joan Jehle, Charles Major, Diane Martin, Rick Spooner, Mettle Thomopulos MEMBERS ABSENT: Mary Larew, Jan Warren, Janice Simmons-Welburn STAFF PRESENT: Elizabeth Harken, Heather Shank OTHERS PRESENT: David Burnett 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Thomopulos called the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. 2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES: Discussion of the April minutes was tabled until all commissioners had a chance to review the document. 2 3. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: The City Council requested that the Human Rights Commission (HRC) make a recommendation as to whether the Council should pass the resolution drafted by Students Against Sweatshops (SAS). The draft resolution suggested by SAS is a recommendation that the University of Iowa immediately withdraw from the Fair Labor Association (FLA). Martin said that no matter how the HRC feels about the issue, the City does not have any jurisdiction over the University. A suggestion at the previous meeting to add something about this to the ordinance would not make sense either because they would have no enforcement authority. Jehle asked if the Commission could do something other than make this recommendation; for example, could the HRC issue a statement to the Council? Major said he believed the HRC should make this recommendation because the Council wants to know where the Commission stands on the issue. He thought this would be more effective than simply saying this is not in the HRC's jurisdiction. He said he would vote to recommend to Council to pass this resolution. Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 23, 2000 - 7:00 p.m. Page 2 Thomopulos said she believed the recommendation to pass this resolution would be a moot point and did not see what effect this would have. She agreed with Martin and did not see the point in recommending a "barren" resolution. Major said if the HRC voted this down, they would be setting a terrible precedent by tacitly approving the FLA and approving sweatshop abuse. He thought the City Council was simply asking whether the Commission would support this resolution, not whether it could be enforced. Spooner responded that the HRC is obviously not in favor of sweatshops, but he did not feel well informed about all sides of the issue. Martin said the complexity of this issue was one of the points raised at a conference she and Shank had attended. Martin said people who work with human rights in these countries have seen the flipside of sweatshop labor (such as prostitution) and do not see a clear-cut solution. Strong statements against sweatshops need to go hand in hand with working with the economies of the areas. Shank added that the representatives who have worked in the countries say the conditions for children who work are often better than the alternative. She said one of the human rights workers had been involved in setting up a fund for children that would allow the children to work while receiving an education. Shank noted that this is a complex issue, but the issue before the HRC is simply whether the Commission wants to recommend that the City Council advise the UI to withdraw from the FLA. Thomopulos said the pros and cons of the issue could be discussed forever, but the issue before the HRC is whether they should make this recommendation to Council. Howe said she agreed that this was out of their jurisdiction. Major said that he did not believe the FLA would ever do much because they are in the pocket of the corporations. He said the HRC does not have to solve the sweatshop issue, but the Commission does need to request that the Council recommend to the UI to go against the FLA. He noted that the Council will also debate this and he would not have a problem with making this recommendation. Public Hearing Opened David Burnett, Students Aqainst Sweatshops (SAS), said the issue is the difference between the FLA and the Worker's Rights Consortium (WRC). He noted that no organization wants to take jobs away from people. To Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 23, 2000 - 7:00 p.m. Page 3 further educate commissioners about the issue, he offered additional information about both groups. Burnett explained that both the FLA and the WRC want to improve conditions; however, with the FLA, a lot of concessions were made to industry. For example, when factories are inspected, workers are told not to talk to the inspectors. In addition, the information is not made public, as it will be with the WRC. Burnett said some of the benefits of the WRC include: the organization is affiliated with universities; information about the industries will be made available to the public; and the WRC will hold subcontractors accountable. For example, a subcontracting company cannot "cut and run" (close the factory and move) when there is a problem. He said neither organization has actually done anything. However, the FLA has certified companies as Fair Labor Organizations. This has been ineffective because the FLA will only check on the company once per year for three years. The WRC instead plans to conduct repeated checks of a company in order for a company to maintain its certification. Commissioners asked who financially supports each organization. Burnett said the WRC is supported by universities while the FLA is supported by corporations. Martin clarified that the students' objection to the UI belonging to the FLA is because of its structure, and that the Ul's position is to wait and see while belonging to both organizations. Burnett added that the UI also has major contracts with companies such as Nike and Reebok who are big FLA supporters. The corporations are pushing for the UI to stay in the FLA. He said SAS believes that it should be the other way around; that the UI should be able to tell corporations what they want. Major said that he would argue that the FLA has had its chance for three years but has not done anything. Now, the WRC, which is made up of universities, has a chance to do something. He added that he did not see why they should stick with something that does not work. Thomopulos noted that she still believed the HRC was not there to address these issues; the issue was whether to make a recommendation that is restricted to asking City Council to do certain things. She thought this was a separate issue from deciding what should be done about sweatshop labor. Shank asked why the UI could not remain with both the FLA and the WRC and compare the responses from both organizations regarding a particular Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 23, 2000 - 7:00 p.m. Page 4 business. A decision could be made as to the better organization based on the thoroughness of the responses. Would it not be good for the UI to evaluate individual companies, rather than designating "bad" companies as belonging to the FLA and "good" companies as belonging to the WRC? She questioned whether the UI could make an individualized assessment. Burnett said the WRC will make its findings public but the FLA will not. He said the watermark indicating that a garment was made by a company belonging to the FLA will have a greater impact on consumers than a public document released by the WRC that shows the same company's violations. Burnett said being in both the FLA and WRC muddies the waters. Spooner said he wanted to know what voting to make this recommendation would mean. He asked if the Commission knew enough to make this recommendation or if they were just wasting time. He said he would not want to indirectly tell the University to do something without knowing all sides of the issue. He said voting against making this recommendation would not mean that he approves of sweatshop labor. Howe asked what the corporations have at stake. Burneff said corporations in the FLA have $30 billion in licensing contracts at stake. He noted that only a couple of companies belong to the WRC because the WRC would make them do things that cut into the profit margin. Burnett stated this is a complex issue and that is why SAS is requesting support. Public Hearing Closed MOTION: Major moved to make a recommendation to Council to pass the resolution drafted by Students Against Sweatshops (SAS). Jehle seconded the motion. Thomopulos asked if there was any further discussion. Major said if commissioners did not vote for this recommendation, they were really saying the FLA is okay. Other commissioners disagreed with this statement. Major said this is what it would look like to the public. Spooner said he simply felt that he did not know enough to make this recommendation, but would commit to learning about the issue. Martin said that for her, voting against this would mean that she's voting on the situation. She would vote against the recommendation because the HRC does not have any jurisdiction and because the Council does not have any jurisdiction over the University. Simmons-Welburn said that she also questioned the appropriateness of this recommendation. She wondered Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 23, 2000 - 7:00 p.m. Page 5 about the Council's role because the Council has no control over the UI. She added that she wondered what message this would be sending. Thomopulos said that she did not see how one could make a motion and then state how one's vote would be perceived. Howe said she understood the FLA has problems, but was not convinced with the history of the WRC. The motion was defeated by a vote of 1-7. Commissioners agreed they would like to express that they support the City's procurement policy and desire that the City continue to be aware of the issue. Thomopulos asked for volunteers to draft a separate statement. Because a second meeting would need to be called in order to approve a statement, Simmons-Welburn said she thought the minutes would clearly explain the Commission's decision not to recommend to Council to immediately make this recommendation to the UI. Thomopulos agreed that there had been enough discussion. 4. NEW BUSINESS: Gay Pride Parade - June 17, 2000 Shank said the HRC has always sponsored a table at the Gay Pride Parade. Thomopulos and Simmons-Welburn volunteered to work at the table from 11 a.m. to I p.m. Major and Martin volunteered to work from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Howe said she would assist throughout. Simmons-Welburn said that she would buy a new tablecloth for the table. 5. OLD BUSINESS: Substantial Equivalency Shank said she received a call from someone at HUD who stated that there was a typographical error in the revised ordinance. Therefore, a revised draft would need to go before City Council before Iowa City's ordinance would be deemed substantially equivalent to the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act. Shank said the ordinance has gone before Council at least three times since 1994. She referred the call to Eleanor Dilkes who advised the typographical error could be corrected by the codi~ers. The last time Council reviewed the document, HUD said the Human Rights Office would simply need to send a copy of the revised ordinance in order for it to be approved. Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 23, 2000 - 7:00 p.m. Page 6 Human Rights Education Training Conference Martin artended the conference and thought it was wonderful. She said they did activities with children and adults based on the United Nations (U.N.) Declaration of Human Rights and some other covenants of the U.N. Many of the covenants have not yet been ratified by the United States. The primary attendees were the before- and after-school workers from the local school district. Each person received books of activities (one for activities with children and one for adults). Martin added that the Stanley Foundation helped to fund the conference and had underwritten the materials along with Minnesota's Office for Human Rights. Posters/Ribbons At the April meeting the Commission indicated that it would go forward with the poster campaign that was initially developed with HARRT and the Affirmative Action Office in response to incidents at the Dental School. Benson & Hepker offered to design the poster free of charge. Thomopulos said the posters and ribbons will be prepared and members of the HRC will distribute them to businesses. Shank would let them know when these were ready for distribution. 6. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS: Jehle said she scheduled a slot on Dottie Ray's radio show to talk about the Human Rights Breakfast. Jehle and Spooner were scheduled for Tuesday, August 1 st at 11:30 for coffee and 11:45 on the air. Jehle also reported that the Hate Acts Rapid Response Team (HARRT) would sponsor lunch at the synagogue as part of an effort to recruit new members. Jehle said Major (who had left the meeting) had asked her to mention that the Supreme Court of Vermont ruled that committed homosexual relationships should have the same rights and privileges afforded to married straight couples. Major told her that it is very close to being passed. Supporters are asking people to please add their names to a list (which Jehle had) and then email the list to their friends. When the list reaches 50 people, they are asked to forward a copy of the list to the governor. Howe reported that two students from the UI law school were involved in writing legislation that was passed. It would allow small businesses to receive an assisted-device tax credit. The ADA only covers businesses with 20 employees or more. 7. STATUS OF CASES: Iowa City Human Rights Commission May 23, 2000 - 7:00 p.m. Page 7 Shank said they are doing very well. She noted that an error in April's case status report was corrected. Martin asked what "investigative summary pending" meant. Shank said it means the interviews are complete but they have not had time to write the summary. Jehle reminded everyone that commissioners help with stuffing envelopes for the Human Rights Breakfast nominations letter at the July meeting. Shank said people were confused by the Human Rights nomination form the previous year. Martin asked if they were confusing people by asking for nominations by category. Instead, they could request the nominations and then the nominating committee would be responsible for placing them into the appropriate categories. Martin said they should remember to request nominations for businesses. Shank said that she would send a list of past winners to all commissioners. 8. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m. HRC052300.doc MINUTES IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, MAY 22, 2000 - 5:30 PM CIVIC CENTER LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Betty McKray, Cathy Weingeist, Terry Smith MEMBERS ABSENT: Steve Hock Jim Pusack STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Dale Helling, Mike Brau OTHERS PRESENT: Beth Fisher, Rene Paine, Phil Phillips, Lanae Juffer, Mary Jo Langhorne, Rick Karnes, Kara Logsden RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL The Commission recommends to the City Council that they approve the resolution regarding Rice, Williams report and AT&T's rate increase. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Juffer reported that AT&T's rate increase notices outlining an increase in cable rates beginning June 1 were received by consumers on Saturday. A lease for space in Kennedy Plaza for a customer service center was signed and renovation will begin soon. PATV is working on a Iowa Women's Foundation grant. PATV will hold a twenty-four hour fundraising telethon on June 23 and 24. Additional fundraising events include a Salsa-thon on June 4, a car wash on June 17, a bowl-a-thon, and a kareoke~a-thon. PATV will also have a direct mail campaign in conjunction with the above events. Langhorne reported that City High has finished installing a closed circuit television system. AT&T was very helpful with technical advice. AT&T installed equipment that will enable City High to be an origination point for channel 11. The City Cable TV Office has been working on a plan to develop support across the state for an Iowa public affairs channel similar to CSPAN. Work has also begun on an application for a low power radio license. The Commission voted to recommend to the City Council that they approve the resolution on rates drafted by the City's consultant, Rice, Williams Associates. Shaffer reported that the resolution would approve AT&T's basic tier rate increase, but would not approve the AT&T's calculated Maximum Permitted Rate (MPR). The MPR is the starting point for future rate calculations. The resolution also does not approve the network upgrade charge associated with the cost of the system rebuild. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Smith moved and Weingeist seconded a motion to approve the mended 4/24/2000 minutes. The motion passed unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS Weingeist noted that service on the Iowa City Telecommunications Commission was not among accomplishments by McKray included in the newspaper accounts of McKray winning the Distinguished Senior Award. Weingeist congratulated McKray on the honor and thanked her for her conh-ibutions to the Commission. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. SUBSCRIBER ISSUES Shaffer reported he received three complaints-one regarding @Home customer service, one regarding @Home not being willing to connect a second computer, and one about a continuing problem with the hardware installed in the subscriber's computer. Karnes reported that ~-Iome does not support networking computers. The complaint regarding the hardware problem has been resolved. AT&T REPORT Juffer reported that the rate increase notices outlining an increase in cable rates beginning June 1 were received by consumers on Saturday. A lease for space in Kennedy Plaza for a customer service center was signed and renovation will begin soon. Requests for information from the City regarding the audit and @Home customer complaints are still being investigated. PATV REPORT Paine reported that the City Council approved their contract for another three years. PATV hosted two media classes, one for Northwest Junior High Media Club and another for a class from Southeast Junior High. A workshop was held in conjunction with the City Recreation Department in the Recreation Center over the past two Saturdays. Governor Viisack appeared in a promotional piece for PATV. PATV is working on a Iowa Women' s Foundation grant. PATV will hold a twenty four hour fundraising telethon on June 23 and 24. Additional fundraising events include a Salsa-thon on June 4, a car wash on June 17, a bowl-a-thon, and a kareoke-a-thon. PATV will also have a direct mail campaign in conjunction with the above events. LIBRARY REPORT Fisher reported the annual Young Puppeteers Festival was held all day on May 6. The library taped the event. 3 episodes of the Lunch at the Library series and ten Storytimes were taped. June Lunch at the Library programs include How to Evaluate Internet Sites on June 7, Health and Fitness on June 21, and a Jazzfest Preview Show on June 28. On June 20m the Hills Bank Iowa City People Who Change Lives lunch will be held. ECC REPORT Longhome reported that City High has finished installing a closed circuit television system. AT&T was very helpful with technical advice. AT&T installed equipment that will enable City High to be an origination point for channel 11. West High will also be wired. City High will be applying for a grant to acquire digital editing equipment. Channel 11 will cablecast the High School's graduation and some end of the year concerts. SENIOR CENTER REPORT No representative was present. MCLEOD REPORT No representative from McLeod was present. LEGALREPORT Helling reported that Matthews was on vacation. CITY CABLE TV REPORT Hardy reported that the Friday Night Concert Series and the Saturday Jazz concerts will be cablecast. Channel 4 has been cablecasting programming related to the elections and more is anticipated as the general election nears. Shaffer noted the article in the meeting packet on state public affairs channels similar to CSPAN. The City Cable TV Office has been working to develop support across the state for an Iowa public affairs channel. Work has also begun on an application for a low power radio license. The City will apply during the filing window in Feb., 2001. Completion of a program statement is the first step. The proposed radio station would be able to reach nearly all of Iowa City. Programming would follow the mission statement of the City. @/-IOME CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDS Shaffer said the City is developing an ordinance relating to ~x-Iome customer service standards. Once the draft ordinance is finished it will come before the Commission and AT&T for input. The ordinance will be based on an ordinance agreed to in Fremont, CA. The ordinance will deal with customer service issues, not speed and performance issues. RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL REGARDING RICE, WILLIAMS REPORT AND AT&T's RATE INCREASE Shaffer reported that the proposed resolution wouM approve AT&T's basic tier rate increase, but would not approve AT&T's calculated Maximum Permitted Rate (MPR). The MPR is the starting point for future rate calculations. The resolution does not approve the network upgrade charge associated with the cost of the system rebuild. AT&T can refile with the FCC if they wish. AT&T has selected a rate of $13.06, which is below the MPR calculated by the City. The increase will go into effect on June 1, 2000. Juffer said AT&T is working on a reply to the questions forwarded from Rice, Williams regarding the network upgrade charge. The company can recoup under-collected revenue (the difference between the MPR and the operator selected rate) for a period of 2 or 3 years. Smith moved and Weingeist seconded a motion to recommend to the City Council that they adopt the resolution. The motion passed unanimously. SURVEY PRESENTATION DISCUSSION Shaffer said the Commission needs to decide when they would like to hear the presentation on the local access survey by the Iowa Social Science Institute. It could be held during the regular Commission meeting or at a special meeting. It was agreed to hold a special meeting for June 5 at 5:30P.M.. ADJOURNMENT Weingeist moved and Smith seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. Adjoumment was a 6:33 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cable TV Administrator IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, JUNE 12, 2000 - 5:30 PM CIVIC CENTER LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Betty McKray, Cathy Weingeist, Terry Smith, Steve Hoch, Jim Pusack STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Dale Helling, Andy Matthews, Mike Brau, Bob Hardy OTHERS PRESENT: Beth Fisher, Rene Paine, Phil Phillips, Mollie Marti, Art Miller, Lisa Werner, Andy Hoch RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL None. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION The Iowa Social Science Institute (ISSI) gave a presentation on the survey conducted of Iowa City cable TV subscribers regarding the local access channels. ISSI Director Art Miller was surprised at the amount of information respondents had about the access channels and the level of viewership. HBO or CNN would be happy with the level of viewership. The length of residence in Iowa City shows a consistent viewing pattem among all channels. The longer the length of residence, the more likely one is to view the access channels. Marti reported that the open-ended questions soliciting comments produced many good suggestions and should be helpful to the channels. Miller noted that a significant number of comments were made that they didn't know where to get program schedule information. There may be a need to inform viewers what is on when and where. Overall, the results of the survey suggest that many Iowa City viewers utilize local cable access channels and services. The report also indicate the rating of the cable access channels and services were predominately positive. LOCAL ACCESS SURVEY PRESENTATION Shaffer introduced the staff of the Iowa Social Science Institute Mollie Martie, Lisa Werner, and Art Miller. Miller distributed an additional document that showed the demographic breakdown of respondent's answers to questions asking them to name the access channels (without prompting) and viewership of the channels. Overall, Miller was surprised at the amount of information respondents had about the access channels and the level of viewership. HBO or CNN would be happy with the level of viewership. Two thirds could name one or more of the access channels. There are some interesting minor variations. You might expect that younger 'people might be more likely to view the channels but, in fact, they were the least likely to be able to name any of the access channels. As might be expected, the less well educated are the least informed about the access channels and the better educated, better informed. Regarding viewership Miller noted that a quarter of all sitbscribers are tuning into the access channels at some point. This is quite high and would be a strong figure if it were measured as a Neilson rating. There are some patterns regarding viewership and age. Younger people tune in with less frequency than middle age and older viewers. 65% ofthe 35-55 age group and 74% of the 56 and over age group report watching the government channel. This represents very heavy usage and suggest that the channel is presenting things that are of significant interest to the viewers. There is no pattem for PATV and InfoVision. The library channel and the education channel have higher viewership among older viewers, which runs counter to what was expected. Regarding education level and viewership there is no effect for less than a college degree. Those with a college degree are more likely to view the government channel (~63%). PATV's viewership shows no strong pattern, but there is a higher viewership among males, those less than 20 years old, and those with less than a high school education. There is no clear explanation for this. There is no pattern regarding gender, age, and education for the library channel, the education channel or InfoVision. The length of residence in Iowa City shows a consistent pattern among all channels. The longer the length of residence, the more likely one is to view the access channels. This pattern is most pronounced for the government channel. Marti reported that the open-ended questions soliciting comments produced many good suggestions and should be helpful to the channels. The survey provides baseline information and the trends are unknown. A follow-up survey would reveal any trends. Warnet reported that respondents were eager to respond to the survey. This is evident in the rich comments provided, even after a 12 minute interview. Hoch referred to Table 5 and said that it is not clear to him what constitutes "viewing". For example, Hoch will stop and watch InfoVision if the animal shelter section with cats available for adoption happens to be playing. In addition, there may be situations when people will not want to respond that they never view a channel due to the perceived harshness of the response. Marti said the Institute discussed if "viewing" should be defined, but decided to let the respondents define it themselves. In regard to Table 5, the sample is those who responded that they have watched the access channels and the frequency of viewing was open-ended, i.e. the timeframes were not provided to the respondents. Hoch asked what the figures would look like if those who responded that they never watch the access channels were included in this question. Miller said that figure can be calculated by multiplying each figure by .6 to account for the total sample. Those tables will be provided. Smith said that making these calculations that 71% watch PATV, for example, less than once per month. Miller said that questions such as this ask for an abstracted response i.e. it is an estimate, often averaged, by the respondent. It is known from a number of studies that if the question had been inquiring about real times events that there would be a very high correlation between the two responses. Weingeist noted that some suggestions are actually being done, such as cablecasting the Friday Night Concert Series. Miller noted that a significant number of comments were made that they didn't know where to get a program schedule information. There may be a need to inform viewers what is on when and where. Hoch said that the listings are in the newspapers, which one would think would be the main method viewers would expect to get this information. Another vehicle might be needed. McKray noted the newspapers don't give details. Pusack said that some cable channels will email you when your favorite actor is in a program. Perhaps something like that is needed. Hoch said that more promotion of the listings on the World Wide Web may be productive. McKray noted that PATV runs a program schedule for the day between programs. Hoch asked about the evaluations of each channel and noted that PATV was eva!udted lower than the other channels. This may be due to the nature of PATV's programming, which can be more controversial than the other channels. Hoch asked for an interpretation. Miller said there was not an attempt to sort out that difference. Marti said that more production problems were reported for PATV and that may be pan of an explanation. Pusack noted that the difference between channels is slight. Miller said ratings for all channels were positive. The differences among channels are fairly moderate. Pusack said that PATV has a wide variety of programming. Unlike the other channels, it is sometimes difficult to get oriented to PATV's programming. It is more difficult to know what you're watching on PATV when you land there by surfing. It may be helpful to have a scroll across some of PATV's programs to inform viewers what they are watching. Miller said that is possible to sort respondents who rated PATV lower and then look at the comments they made. This might reveal something specific for that group of viewers. That information will be provided. Weingeist noted that several comments were made to provide more funding to PATV. It may be that respondents don't know from where the funds come. Pusack said that respondents evaluation of PATV may be affected by a strong negative reaction a viewer might have to some of the more controversial programming on the channel. Miller noted that there were very few negative comments in the open-ended section. In general, people like what they see. Pusack said the Commission will need to come back and look at innovative ways to get out program information. ADJOURNMENT Pusack moved and Smith seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 6:42 p.m. Gpe~t~l~mitted~ Wm. Drew Shaffer Cable TV Administrator Telecommunications Survey SUMMARY OF FINDINGS Prepared by The University of Iowa Social Science Institute Arthur H. Miller, Director Mollie W. Marti, Program Director I I June 2000 1 INTRODUCTION In the Spring of 2000, the Iowa City Cable Commission contracted with the Iowa Social Science Institute (ISSI) to conduct a telephone survey of Iowa City cable users about their perceptions and use of cable television channels. The survey addressed cable subscribers' familiarity with the access channels, viewership levels, perceptions of the channels, and suggestions for how the channels might be improved. This report contains a summary of the major findings of this survey. DESCRIPTION OF SAMPLE AND METHODS During April of 2000, the ISSI conducted a telephone survey of Iowa City cable users. A copy of the survey instrument is included in Appendix A. Seventy percent of eligible respondents participated in the study, resulting in 400 completed interviews with a sampling error of + 4.5%. The average length of the interview was 13 minutes. In this report, descriptive statistics are used to characterize respondents' viewing habits and perceptions of cable access channels and services. In addition, demographic characteristics are examined to determine whether they are related to patterns of viewing or evaluations of local access television. Only statistically significant group differences are discussed. Table 1 provides gender, education, length of residence, and age characteristics of the overall sample. A gender quota was used to ensure that the sample approximated the gender breakdown of Iowa City. The average age of respondents was about 40 years. Table 1. Local Cable Access Survey Respondent Characteristics Characteristic Percent Characteristic Percent Gender Length of Residence in Iowa Male 47.5 < 1 year 8 Female 52.5 1-2 Years 14 3 - 5 Years 20 6 - 10 years 11 > 10 years 47 Education < High School 7 HS Degree 14 Some college 29 Age (mean) 40.35 Bachelors Degree 26 Some grad school 6 Graduate degree 18 Note: Total number of respondents is 400. 2 KNOWLEDGE, VIEWING PATTERNS, AND EVALUATIONS OF CHANNELS Respondents were asked to name local access channels by name or channel number. Table 2 shows the number and percent of respondents that could name one or more channels. A majority (63%) of respondents could name at least one channel. Very few (< 3%) respondents could name all local access channels. Table 3 shows how many respondents were able to name each channel. Respondents most frequently named PATV and least frequently named the Educational Channel. Demographic groups did not differ significantly on the number of channels named or which channels were named. Table 2. Number of Cable Channels Table 3. Percentage of Respondents Who Named by Respondents Named Each Channel Able to name: Percent Channel Percent Zero 37 PATV 44 One or more 63 Government ChanneFlnfoVision 33 Two or more 38 Library Channel 20 Three or more 20 University of Iowa Channel 17 Four or more 6 Educational Channel 15 Five 2 Note: Percent values are calculated from all respondents (n=400). Table 4 shows the number of respondents who indicated having viewed each channel when provided with a brief description of the channel. Approximately half of the respondents reported viewing PATV and the Government Channel, while fewer respondents reported viewing InfoVision, the Library Channel and the Educational Channel. Table 4. Percentage of Respondents Who Have Viewed Each Channel Percent Government Channel 54 PATV 49 InfoVision 29 Library Channel 30 Educational Channel 23 Some demographic groups differed on whether or not they had viewed certain channels. Men were more likely than women to report having viewed PATV. As compared to younger respondents, older respondents were more likely to have viewed the Government Channel but less likely to have viewed InfoVision. Similarly, respondents who were longer-term residents of Iowa City were more likely to have viewed the Government Channel but less likely to have viewed InfoVision. However, it is important to note that age and length of residence in Iowa City are highly correlated. There were no 3 differences between demographic groups on whether or not respondents had viewed the Library Channel or Educational Channel. Table 5 displays frequency of viewing for each access channel. Across all channels, frequency of viewing is fairly equally distributed between viewing less than once a month to viewing several times a week. Only five to ten percent of viewers watch an access channel daily. Demographic groups did not differ significantly on viewing frequency. Table 5. Viewing Frequency by Channel Government Library Educational PATV Channel lnfoVision Channel Channel Overall (percent) (percent) (percent) (percent) (percent) (percent) Never 5 3 8 6 4 5 < Once a month 20 19 30 27 25 25 Once a month 16 12 19 16 14 16 2-3 Times a month 20 25 16 15 15 18 Once a week 23 21 15 22 16 19 Several times a week 10 14 7 8 16 11 Every Day 6 6 5 6 10 6 Note: Percent value is computed from the number of respondents who indicated that they have viewed each channel. Table 6 shows time of viewing for each channel. Across all channels, most respondents indicated that they view between noon and midnight. There was a trend towards the Library Channel being watched earlier in the day than other channels, probably due to the children's programming telcoast on the channel. Table 6. Time of Viewing by Channel Government Library Educational PATV Channel Channel Channel Overall (percen0 (percent) (percent) (percent) (percent) Midnight to 6:30am 4 3 -- 4 3 6:30am to 8:30am 2 2 6 3 3 8 to 10am 5 6 6 6 6 10am to noon 1 4 11 4 5 Noon to :~pm 7 4 20 16 9 3pm to 6pro 19 16 16 21 15 6pm to midnight 75 80 55 63 68 Note: Percent value is computed from the number of responde nts who indicated that they have viewed each channel. Respondents were permitted to give more than one response, therefore column percent values do not sum to 100. There were a few demographic differences for time of viewing. Women were more likely than men to view the Library Channel earlier in the day (39% to 6% viewing before noon). Additionally, Education Channel viewers differed in their viewing patterns by length of Iowa City residence. No viewers with less than 3 years of residency viewed the Educational Channel before noon. However, 30 4 percent of those with 3 to 10 years residency viewed the Education Channel in the morning and 5 percent of those with over ten years did the same. Age and education were not related to time of viewing, Figure 1 presents mean values representing opinions of whether channels or services are fulfilling their functions. All mean ratings fell between 6 and 8, suggesting that respondents generally believe that the channels and services are fulfilling their functions to a great extent. The mean rating for the PATV Access Center was 7.70, indicating that respondents viewed the center favorably. However, because so few respondents rated the center, it was not appropriate to make statistical comparisons between the Access Center and the other channels. Analyses show that PATV was rated significantly lower than the three other channels, but no differently than InfoVision. Additionally, InfoVision was rated significantly lower than the Educational Channel and the Government Channel. There were a few differences between demographic groups on ratings. Respondents under 35 gave more positive ratings than older viewers to InfoVision (6.86 to 5.88). Women gave more positive ratings than men to the Library Channel (7.31 to 6.31). Figure 1: Evaluations of Access Channels and Services 10 ~ ................................................................................................................................................. 9 ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 7.04 7.02 6.~9 7 ...............................................................................................................ii;ii .......................................... I} 6.16 6 ........................................................................................................... 4 ............ 3 ......... 2 ............................................................................................................... Education Channel Government Channel Library Channel Infovision PATV Channel/Service Nofe: Values are mean ratings of the extent to which each s~ation or sewioe is fullriling its functions on a scab from I (not at all) to 10 (completely). 5 INDIVIDUAL CHANNELS PATV Respondents who indicated that they have viewed PATV (n = 197, 49% of all respondents) were asked a series of questions about PATV and the PATV Access Center. Of these respondents, six percent (n=12) indicated that they have used the PATV Access Center or training sessions. One~half of these respondents have used these services once and the other half were repeat users. PATV viewers were asked whether they believe the primary purpose of PATV is to provide television programming, train people in television production, or both. As shown in Figure 2, a strong majority of respondents (70%) indicated that the primary purpose of PATV is to provide both programming and production training. Responses did not differ between demographic groups. Figure 2: Primary Purpose of PATV Note: Percent values were computed from the number of respondents who have viewed PATV. Finally, PATV viewers were asked whether PATV could offer additional programming or services that would make it more likely for them to view or use PATV. Twenty-four percent (n=47) answered affirmatively and gave suggestions. Several of the comments addressed the quality and availability of PATV programming. Other comments indicated that respondents would like to see more programming dedicated to children's and school events, community events, education, and specific interests such as sports and music. The full text of these suggestions is available in Appendix B (Q 5AZ)o 6 GOVERNMENT CHANNEL/INFOVISION Respondents who indicated having viewed the Government Channel (n = 217, 54% of all respondents) were asked to evaluate programs broadcast on this channel and to relate their experiences with InfoVision, the interactive service offered on this channel. Figure 3 shows mean values representing opinions of the extent to which various Government Channel programs provide information about the local community. Examples of each type of program are found in Appendix A (Q 8A). The mean ratings fell between 5 and 8, suggesting that respondents believed that each program provides information about the local community. Viewers rated Iowa City Council meetings significantly higher than the other types of programming. Additionally, Iowa City Council meetings, local events programming, and non-profit forum programming were rated significantly higher than local information programs and local news magazine type programs. There were a few demographic differences between Government Channel viewers. Women gave higher ratings than men to local events programs (6.70 to 5.84), respondents with at least a college degree rated non-profit forum programs more highly than those with less education (6.86 to 5.15), and shorter-term residents gave higher ratings to news magazine type programs (Less than 2 years= 6.92, 3 to 10 years= 5.71, over 10 years= 5.00). Figure 3: Evaluations of Government Channel Programs ................................................ - ..................................~;~:i ................... ........................................................................................................................ City Council Meetings Local Events Coverage Non-pro61 Forums Local Info Programs News Magazine Type Programs Program Note: Values are mean ratings of the extent to .which each program provides information about the local community on I scale from I ('not at air') to 10 ('completely"}. 7 Viewers of the Government Channel were asked about their familiarity with or use of InfoVision. They also were asked about frequency of use and whether they have experienced trouble with using InfoVision. Figure 4 shows that a majority of Government Channel viewers (54%) are familiar with InfoVision. These respondents are divided equally (27% each) between those who have used InfoVision on an interactive basis and those who have simply viewed InfoVision Ten percent of Government Channel viewers reported that other household members have called InfoVision. Most of these household members were over 18 years of age (69%) versus under 18 years (31%). Figure 4; Use of InfoVision ,~.5~ ,: :,: i, ! 46% [] Never Viewed [] Viewed Only [] Called/Interacted 27% Note: Percent values are computed from number of respondenls who have viewed Government Channel Results presented in Table ? suggest that a majority of InfoVision users access the service less than once a month. As repbrted earlier, younger Government Channel viewers (??% compared to 39% of those over 35), and shorter-term residents of Iowa City (Less than 3 years = 65%, 3 to 10 years = 75%, over 10 years = 42%) were more likely to have viewed InfoVision. Table ?. Frequency of Caging InfoVision Percent Never 4 < Once a month 54 Once a month 20 2-3 Times a month 10 Once a week 10 Several times a week 2 Note: Percent values are computed from the number of respondents who indicated that they have called InfoVision. 8 As Figure 5 shows, the majority of InfoVision users (76%) indicated that they had not experienced any problems with the service. The most commonly cited problems were determining how to use InfoVision (17%) and getting through to the service (4%). Other answers are set forth in Appendix B (Q ~BX). Figure 5: Nature of Experience Using InfoVision 3% 4% ,. ' .' [] Difficulty Determining Use [] Difficulty Getting Through [] Other or Multiple Difficulties Note: Percent values are computed from the number of respondents who have used Infovision. LIBRARY CHANNEL Respondents who indicated having viewed the Library Channel (n = 118, 29% of all respondents) were asked additional questions about what programs they have viewed and what they would like to see more often. Figure 6 shows how many respondents indicated having viewed each program. Examples of each type of program are found in Appendix A (Q 14A). A majority of respondents reported that they most often viewed programs on local history, live library events or meetings, children's programs, and education programs. They least often viewed programs about the library or programs that focus on the library's collections. There were a couple of differences across demographic characteristics. Respondents over 35 were more likely to have viewed adult library programs than younger respondents (52% to 32%). Those living in Iowa City longer were more likely to have viewed local history programs (Over 10 years = 74%, 3 to 10 years = 62%, less than 3 years = 57%). Figure 6: Programs Viewed by Library Channel Viewers 80% 1 70% ......... 60% 55% .54% 50% ............................................................................................................................................................... ,43% 42% ,% ....................................................................................................................... 20% 10% ............................................................................................................. : .... 0% ~ "' · Local History Lue Events Children's Education Adult Info Library Programs Library Announcements Collections Program Note: Percent values were computed from the number of respondents who have viewed the Library Channel· 10 Figure 7 presents the types of programs viewers would like to see broadcast more often. Fourteen percent of respondents indicated that they thought the programming was adequate as is. Of those suggesting additional programming, children's programs and local history were most commonly cited. Some of the Library Channel viewers expanded on the types of programs they would like to see. These suggestions are set forth in Appendix B (Q 14J). There were no significant differences between demographic groups on what programs were desired. Figure 7: Library Channel Programs Desired by Viewers ! 25% 25% 25% -~ . .......... 20% .......... ! ................................. t-~ 15% ......... ~-' . 11% 5~ .................................................................................................................... ' ~ ' L~ H~ ~ E~ E~ A~ ~ I~ ~ ~s N~e N~e: Valu~ ~i~te ~nt of Li~ Channel vi~ ~ expr~ ~ d~m to ~ m~ ~ ~ch ~ of pr~mm. Re~ondents ~e ~t~ to g~e more t~n o~ r~on~, theterse ~nt val~ ~ ~t sum to 100. 11 EDUCATIONAL CHANNEL Respondents who indicated having viewed the Educational Channel (n = 93, 23% of all respondents) were asked additional questions about what programs they have viewed and what programs they would like to see more oeten. Figure 8 displays the number ofrespondents who indicated they have viewed each program. Examples of each type of program are found in Appendix A (Q 16A). The only significant demographic difference was that viewers over 35 were more likely than younger Education Channel viewers to have viewed Iowa City Board Meetings (67% to 32%). figure 8: Programs Viewed by Education Channel Viewers 51% 0°6 Ic~ City Board Me~ngs Kirk-~xxt Pra~mmmir~ School Distfic~ E,.~mts Sd, x~ District Mee~nOs Kirk'we. xl Classes Program Nc~e: Values are percents of E~ueation O-arnel viw~s who inclieated ~-~wing each program. ~ were allowed to give more l~an one 12 Figure 9 presents the types of programs Educational Channel viewers would like to see broadcast more often. Nearly one-fourth (22%) of viewers indicated that they were satisfied with the amount of each type of program. Although Kirkwood classes were viewed less often than other types of Educational Channel programming, viewers most often indicated that they would like to see more Kirkwood classes telecast. Some Educational Channel viewers expanded on the types of programs they would like to see. These suggestions are set forth in Appendix B (Q 16G). Demographic groups did not differ on what programs were desired. Figure 9: Educational Channel programs Desired by Viewers 35% .... 30% · 29% .......... 25% .... 22% ..~ 20% 19% ....................................................... 16% ~ 15% ............................................................... ~ 13% 10% .................................................................................. 0% * ~ Kirkwood Classes School District Kirkwood Iowa City Board School District Other None Events Programming Meetings Meetings Note: Values indicate percent of Education Channel viewers who expressed a desire to see more of each type of program. Respondents were allowed to give more than one response, therefore percent values do not sum to 100, 13 VIEWING DIFFICULTIES AND COMMENTS Respondents were asked a series of questions about problems they have experienced with access channels. Of those who have tried to find access channel program listings, some (17%) have had trouble finding them. A minority (24%) of respondents also reported that they had problems viewing a program because of picture or sound quality. Figure 10 displays the number of respondents who reported difficulties with each channel. PATV was the channel most often cited as having difficulties. Respondents reporting problems with access channels did not differ demographically from those who did not report problems. Figure 10: Viewing Difficulties by Channel 70% ~ 62% 60% .... e.. ~ 32% ~ 30% 21% 20% 19% 15% 10% ........................ 0% PATV Government Channel Educational Channel Library Channel University of Iowa Channel Channel Note: Values indicate the percent of respondents reporting viewing difficulties. Respondents ware allowed to give mere than one response, therefore percent values do not sum to 100. Respondents were asked about events or activities they would like to see videotaped and telecast on the access channels. Twenty-one percent (n= 83) of respondents offered comments. Respondents suggested coverage of several types of community and University of Iowa events including concerts, performing arts, lectures, and sporting events. Special events like Jazzlest and Riverfest were 14 commonly mentioned. In addition, respondents indicated that they would like to see additional information and programming about political events and charitable organizations. The full text of these comments are found in Appendix B (Q 19B). Finally, respondents were asked whether they had any suggestions for improving local access programming. Nineteen percent (n= 77) answered affirmatively. Respondents had several suggestions about improving access to and knowledge of the channels and their programming. They also addressed the need for improved quality of production and increased funding. In addition, they offered suggestions about particular types of programming The full text of these comments are found in Appendix B (Q 20B). 15 CONCLUSIONS The City of Iowa City commissioned this survey to both gather benchmark data and obtain suggestions for improvement. The survey achieved these objectives. The results provide information regarding Iowa City cable subscribers' level of viewership and their perceptions of the access channels. The results also provide detailed viewer suggestions for improving the channels. The results of the survey suggest that many Iowa City cable users utilize local cable access channels and services. In response to an open-ended question, a majority of respondents could name at least one access channel. When given a description of the channels, the recognition levels increased for all of the channels, with approximately one-fourth to one-half of respondents indicating that they had viewed each channel. The most frequently viewed channels, by far, are the Government Channel and PATV. The ratings of the cable access channels and services were predominately positive. Each of the channels was rated positively for fulfilling its functions, although PATV was rated lower than the other channels. Approximately one-fourth of PATV viewers gave specific comments regarding how PATV could improve its services to make it more likely for the respondent to view the channel. The Government Channel's most highly rated program for providing community information was Iowa City Council meetings, and a majority of Government Channel viewers were familiar with InfoVision, the interactive service offered on the channel. A majority of the Library Channel viewers reported that they watched local history programs, live events or meetings at the library, children's programs, and educational programs, and they also indicated that they would like to see more of each of these types of programming. The most often viewed programs on the Educational Channel were Iowa City Board meetings, Kirkwood Community College programming, and Iowa City Community School District events, yet viewers indicated that they would most like to see more Kirkwood Community College classes. Viewers of local access channels report fairly reliable service and sufficient information regarding programming. For example, only about one-fourth of respondents reported that they had problems viewing a program because of picture or sound quality, and even fewer respondents had trouble finding access channel program listings. 16 Demographic groups showed few differences in viewing habits and evaluations of channels and services. This suggests that local cable access channels have been successful in providing access to quality programming for a diverse Iowa City community rather than just specific subsets of the population. At the same time, the results of the survey, particularly the viewers' comments, provide myriad suggestions for improving the access channels, programming and services. The City of Iowa City now has an opportunity to carefully study the suggestions and integrate them into the operation of the access channels. This could lead to an even more successful relationship between the access channels and local cable subscribers. APPENDIX A Survey Instrument Q: INTRO1 Hello, my name is I am calling from the University of Iowa Social Science Institute. We are conducting a survey of area residents' attitudes and experiences concerning local cable television access channels, Q: QUAL1 To find out if you are eligible for our study, I have a few preliminary questions. Do you live in the official Iowa City limits? Or do you live in the area, but outside the city limits, such as in Coralville, or North Liberty? 1. Inside IC limits 2. Outside IC limits 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 1) SKP THANKS3] Q: QUAL2 Do you subscribe to Cable TV? 1. Yes 2. No 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 1) SKP THANKS3] Q: QUAL3 Are you 15 years or older? 1. Yes 2. No 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 1) SKP THANKS3] Q: QUAL4 Are you or is anyone in your household a Cable Commissioner or employee of any access channel? 1. Yes 2. No 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 2) SKP THANKS3] Q: RESPOND Your household qualifies for our study. In order to know with whom I should speak, I need to know which person 15 years or older had the most recent birthday. 1 ) CONTINUE INTERVIEW ~- ELIGIBLE RESPONDENT IS ON THE PHONE 2) REPEAT INTRO --- ELIGIBLE RESPONDENT WILL COME TO PHONE 3) ARRANGE CALLBACK -- ELIGIBLE RESPONDENT WILL COMPLETE LATER 4) RESPONDENT REFUSAL -- ELIGIBLE RESPONDENT WILL NOT PARTIC[PATE 5) HOUSEHOLD REFUSAL -- PERSON WILL NOT CONFIRM ELIGIBILITY Q: CONSENT Your responses are confidential and if we come to any question you do not wish to answer, just let me know and we can move on to the next question. If this is a good time for you, I would like to begin, CONTINUE INTERVIEW 1 SCHEDULE CALLBACK 2 RESPONDENT REFUSAL 3 Q: SEX [ IS THE RESPONDENT MALE OR FEMALE? ASK RESPONDENT ONLY IF UNSURE ] 1. MALE 2. FEMALE Q: Q1 1. How long have you lived in Iowa City? 1. LESS THAN 1 YEAR .2 1 TO 2 YEARS 3, 3 TO 5 YEARS 4.6 TO 10 YEARS 5. MORE THAN 10 YEARS 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED Q: Q2A-Q2F 2. Local access channels are non-commercial cable TV channels featuring programs of local interest. There are several local access channels provided with your cable subscription. Off the top of your head, can you name any of these stations by their name or channel number? 1. CHANNEL 2/PATV/PUBLIC ACCESS TELEVISION/(NOT PBS) 2. CHANNEL 4/GIC4/GOVERNMENT INFORMATION CHANNEL 4/INFOVISION 3, CHANNEL 10/LIBRARY CHANNEL 4. CHANNEL 11/THE EDUCATIONAL CHANNEL 5, CHANNEL 12/THE UNIVERSITY CHANNEL 6. OTHER 7. CAN'T NAME ANY 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED/END QUESTION Q: Q2BZ PLEASE SPECIFY Q: Q2z Has your ability to identify any of these channels been influenced by recem publicity on this study? 1. Yes 2. No 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED 4 Q: Q3 First, iet's talk about Public Access Television, Inc. or PATV. PATV is a nonprofit organization that operates the public access cable channel (Channel 2), provides training workshops in video production and production equipment, and cablecasts programs free of charge. Programming includes community events such as the Homecoming Parade, local church services, news and informational programs, and other original programs made by PATV staff and community members. Please keep in mind that PATV is not affiliated with PBS. 3A Have you viewed the public access cable channel? 2. NO 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [SKP Q6 2] Q: Q3B 3B. PATV's primary purpose is to support diversity in community communication, provide opportunities for local citizens to make use of current technology to exchange information and ideas, and promote media literacy through production training. On a scale of 1 to 10 with one being not at all and 10 being completely, to what extent do you feel PATV is fulfilling these functions? Not at All Completely DON'T KNOW REFUSED I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Q: Q3C 3C. On average, how often do you view Channel 2: less than once a month, once a month, two to three times a month, once a week, several times a week, every day? 1. NEVER 2. < ONCE A MONTH 3. ONCE A MONTH 4. TWO TO THREE TIMES A MONTH 5. ONCE A WEEK 6. SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK 7. EVERY DAY 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [SKI' Q6 11 Q: Q3D1-Q3D7 3D. What time of the day do you most often view Channel 27 [SELECT ALL THAT APPLY] 1..MIDNIGHT-6:30 AM 2.6:30-8:00 AM 3.8:00-10:00 AM 4. 10:00-NOON 5. NOON-3:00 PM 6.3:00 PM-6:00 PM 7.6:00 PM-MIDNIGHT 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED/END QUESTION Q: Q4A 4A. Have you ever used the PATV Access Center or attended a PATV training session? 1. Used Access Center 2. Attended training session 3. Both 4. Neither 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS > 3)SKP QS] Q: Q4B 4B. PATV makes the Access Center and its video production equipment available for the public to make programming to be shown on the public access channel, and it offers monthly public training workshops in video production. On a scale of 1 to 10 with one being not at all and 10 being completely, to what extent do you feel the Access Center is fulfilling these functions? Not at All Completely DON'T KNOW REFUSED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Q: Q4C 4C. How often have you used the PATV Access Center or attended a training session? 1. Once 2.2-3 times 3.4 or more times 4. NEVER 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED Q: Q5 5. Some people believe the primary purpose of PATV is to provide television programming. Other people believe it is to train people in television production. Others believe it is both. Do you believe the primary purpose of PATV is to provide programming, provide production training, or both? 1. PROGRAMMING 2. PRODUCTION TRAINING 3. BOTH 4. OTHER 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 4) SKP QSA] Q: Q5Z PLEASE SPECIFY Q: Q5A 5A. Is there any programming, services or training that PATV could offer that would make it more likely for you to view Channel 2 or use PATV's services? 1. YES 2. NO 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 1) SKI' Q61 Q: Q5AZ PLEASE SPECIFY Q: Q6 Now we will talk about Channel 4, The Government Information Channel This channel operates under the general supervision of the City of Iowa City, Cable TV Division. Its programming includes the interactive service, InfoVision. Other programming includes the Iowa City Council meetings, Foreign Relations Council, Johnson County Board of Supervisors Meetings, and the Air Force and Navy News programs 6. Have you viewed any Government Information Channel programs? 1. YES 2. NO 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 1) SKP Q13A] Q: Q7 7. The Government Information Channel's primary purpose is to produce and provide quality public affairs, government, and community programming for Iowa City. On a scale of 1 to 10 with one being not at all and 10 being completely, to what extent do you feel Channel 4 is fulfilling these functions? Not at All Completely DON'T KNOW REFUSED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Q: Q7A 7A. On average, how often do you view Channel 47 1. NEVER 2. LESS THAN ONCE A MONTH 3. ONCE A MONTH 4. TWO OR THREE TIMES A MONTH 5. ONCE A WEEK 6. SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK 7. EVERY DAY 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [SKP Q9 1] 9 Q: Q7B-Q7B7 7B. What time of the day do you most often view Channel 47 [SELECT ALL THAT APPLY] 1. MIDNIGHT-6:30 AM 2.6:30-8:00 AM 3.8:00-10:00 AM 4.10:00-NOON 5. NOON-3:00 PM 6.3:00 PM-6:00 PM 7.6:00 PM-MIDNIGHT 8~ DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED/END QUESTION Q: Q8A-QSE I now am going to read a list of programs cablecast on the Government Information Channel. On a scale of 1 to 10 with one being not at all and 10 being completely, to what extent do you feel each program provides you with information about your local community. Not at All Completely DON'T KNOW REFUSED 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 8A. Iowa City City Council meetings 8B. Forums and panel programs presented by local non-profit organizations that discuss local issues (e.g., the League of Women Voters, legislative or candidate forums) 8C. Coverage of local community events (e.g., Jazz Fest, ArtsFest, Irving Weber Day) 8D. Fifteen to thirty minute informational programs about local issues, local nonprofit organization's services or community events 8E. News magazine type programs that present short informational and summary segments about local issues, local nonprofit organizations or community events 10 Q: Q8Z 8Z. Which of the following channel types would you most prefer the government information channel to look like? 1. It should remain as it is 2. A local version of Iowa Public Television [CHANNEL 13] 3. A local version of C-Span 4. A local version of The Discovery Channel 5. A local version of an All News Channel 6. Other 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 6)SKP Q9] Q: QSZZ Please specify: Q: Q9 Infovision is the interactive service accessed through one's telephone on Government Information Channel 4, occupying over 1/2 the schedule time. It provides over 70 categories and 2000 screens of information, including both Iowa City and regional information. Callers also can get limited access to the World Wide Web through lifoVision. 9. Which of the following best characterizes your experience with InfoVision? You have never viewed InfoVision, you have viewed but not called lifovision, or you have called lifoVision? 1. NEVER VIEWED INFOVISION 2. VIEWED ONLY 3. CALLED/INTERACTED 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [SKP Q12A 1] 11 Q: QIOA 10A. InfoVision's primary purpose is to help provide local cable subscfiber's access to relevant local civic, cultural and community information. On a scale of 1 to 10 with one being not at all and 10 being completely, to what extent do you feel InfoVision is fulfilling these functions? Not at All Completely DON'T KNOW REFUSED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Q: QIOB 10B. On average, how often do you view InfoVision? 1. NEVER 2. < ONCE A MONTH 3, ONCE A MONTH 4. TWO TO THREE TIMES A MONTH 5. ONCE A WEEK 6. SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK 7. EVERY DAY 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (Q9 = 2) SKP Q11A] [SKP Q12A 11 Q: Q10C 1 oC. On average, how often do you call InfoVision.9 Less than once a month, once a month, two to three times a month, once a week, several times a week or every day? 1. NEVER 2. LESS THAN ONCE A MONTH 3. ONCE A MONTH 4. TWO OR THREE TIMES A MONTH 5. ONCE A WEEK 6. SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK 7. EVERY DAY 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED 12 Q: Q11A 11A. Have you ever had trouble calling or understanding how to use InfoVision? 1. YES 2. NO 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> | ) SKP Q | 2A] Q: Q11B 11B. What was the problem? 1. COULD NOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO USE THE SERVICE 2. HAD TROUBLE GETTING THROUGH TO SERVICE 3. DID NOT REALIZE SERVICE WAS INTERACTIVE 4. SERVICE WAS UNAVAILABLE AT THAT TIME 5. OTHER 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED IF (ANS <> 5) SKP Q~ mZ] Q: Q11BX PLEASE SPECIFY [SKP Q12A] Q: Q11BZ PRESS 1 TO CONTINUE [IF (QllB <> 4) SKP Q12A] 13 Q: Q11B_I=Q11B_7 11B-1. What time of day would you most like to call InfoVision? [SELECT ALL THAT APPLY] 1. MIDNIGHT-6:30 AM 2.6:30-8:00 AM 3.8:00-10:00 AM 4.10:00-NOON 5. NOON-3:00 PM 6.3:00 PM-6:00 PM 7.6:00 PM-MIDNIGHT 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED/END QUESTION Q: Q12A 12A. Has anyone else in your household called InfoVision? 1. YES 2. NO 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 1) SKP Q13A] Q: Q12A_I-Q12A_6 What are the ages of the other InfoVision users? [SELECT ALL THAT APPLY] 1.12 AND UNDER 2. 13-17 3.18-24 4.25-44 5.45-64 6.65 AND OVER 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED/END QUESTION 14 Q: Q13A Now we will talk about Channel 10, the Library Channel. Channel 10 is under the supervision of the Iowa City Public Library Board of Trustees. Programming includes information about the iibrary's programs and collections, local history, and meetings and events of local non-profit organizations held in the Library's meeting rooms that may be of interest to the community. 13A. Have you viewed programs on The Library Channel? l. YES 2. NO 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 1) SKP Q15A] Q: Q13B 13B. The Library Channel's primary purpose is to extend library programs for adults and children to a wider audience; to promote library collections; and to foster literacy and life-long learning in Iowa City. On a scale of 1 to 10 with one being not at all and 10 being completely, to what extent do you feel the Library Channel is fulfilling these functions? Not at All Completely DON'T KNOW REFUSED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Q: Q13C 13C. On average, how often do you view the Library Channel? 1. NEVER 2. < ONCE A MONTH 3. ONCE A MONTH 4. TWO TO THREE TIMES A MONTH 5. ONCE A WEEK 6. SEVERAL TIMES A DAY 7. EVERY DAY 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED 15 [sKP Q15A 1] Q: Q13D-Q13D_7 13D. What time of the day do you most oPten view the Library Channel? [SELECT ALL THAT APPLY] 1. MIDNIGHT-6:30 AM 2.6:30-8:00 AM 3.8:00-10:00 AM 4.10:00-NOON 5. NOON-3:00 PM 6.3:00 PM-6:00 PM 7.6:00 PM-MIDNIGHT 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED/END QUESTION Q: Q14A-Q14H I now am going to read a list of programs cablecast on the Library Channel. Please indicate whether you have viewed these types of programs. Yes No DON'T KNOW REFUSED 1 2 8 9 14A. Children's programs (e.g. "Story Times") 14B. Adult Library Programs (e.g. the Hancher series "The Search for Identity in Literature and Chamber Music") 14C. Local History Programs (e.g. the series "Tell Me Your Story") 14D. Programs that focus on the Library's collections (e.g.the series "Off the Shelf") 14E. Live Events or Meetings at the Library (e.g. Leonard Slatkin from the National Symphony Orchestra) 14F. Educational Programs (e.g. National Gallery of An Programs) 14G. Information announcements about library programs and services. 14H. Programs about the Library (e.g. Building Tours or How to Use the Library Catalog)? 16 Q: Q14I-Q14II 14I. Of the types of programs we just discussed, which types of programs would you like to see more of?. [WILL RE-READ LIST LIPON REQUEST] 1. CHILDREN'S PROGRAMS 2. ADULT LIBRARY PROGRAMS 3. LOCAL HISTORY PROGRAMS 4. PROGRAMS BASED ON COLLECTIONS AT THE LIBRARY 5. LIVE EVENTS OR MEETINGS AT THE LIBRARY 6. EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS 7. INFORMATIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT LIBRARY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES 8. PROGRAMS ABOUT THE LIBRARY 9. NONE 10. OTHER 11. DON'T KNOW 12. REFUSED/END QUESTION Q: Q14J PLEASE SPECIFY Q: Q15A Now we will talk about Charmel 11, the Educational Channel. Channel 11 is the cable channel granted to the local schools by virtue of the City's franchise with the Cable Company. Kirkwood Community College manages and operates the Channel in return for local schools being able to have their programming played back on the channel. 15A. Have you ever viewed any programs on the Educational Channel? 2. NO 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 1) SKP Q17A] 17 Q: Q15B 15B. The primary purpose of the Educational Channel is to convey information about member institutions and educational issues to the general public, share visual programs produced by students, and present non-credit educational programs and courses for credit. On a scale of 1 to 10 with one being not at all and 10 being completely, to what extent do you feel the Educational Channel is fulfilling the functions I just described? Not at All Completely DON'T KNOW REFUSED 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Q: Q15C 15C. On average, how oeten do you view the Educational Channel? 1. NEVER 2. < ONCE A MONTH 3. ONCE A MONTH 4. TWO TO THREE TIMES A MONTH 5. ONCE A WEEK 6. SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK 7. EVERY DAY 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [SKP Q17A 1] Q: Q15D-Q15D7 15D. What time of the day do you most often view the Educational Channel? [SELECT ALL THAT APPLY] 1. MIDNIGHT-6:30 AM 2.6:30-8:00 AM 3.8:00-10:00 AM 4. 10:00-NOON 5. NOON-3:00 PM 6.3:00 PM-6:00 PM 7.6:00 PM-MIDNIGHT 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED/END QUESTION 18 Q: Q16A-Q16E I now am going to read a list of programs cablecast on the Educational Channel. Please indicate whether you have viewed each of these types of programs. Yes No DON'T KNOW REFUSED 1 2 8 9 The first type of program is... 16A. Iowa City School Board meetings 16B Programming of meetings concerning the Iowa City Community School District (e.g., District Parent Organization meetings, community education meetings) 16C. Programming of Events concerning the Iowa City Community School District (e.g., school sports events, concerts, drama performances). 16D. Kirkwood Community College programming (e.g., careers, educational programs) 16E. Kirkwood Community College classes Q: Q16F-Q16FF 16F. Of the types of programs we just discussed, which types of programs would you like to see more of?. [WILL RE-READ LIST UPON REQUEST] 1. IOWA CITY SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS 2. IOWA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT MEETING PROGRAMMING 3. IOWA CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT EVENTS PROGRAMMING 4. KIRKWOOD PROGRAMMING 5. KIRKWOOD COLLEGE CLASSES 6. NONE 7. OTHER 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED/END QUESTION Q: Q16G PLEASE SPECIFY 19 Q17A 7. Have you ever had problems finding listings for any access channel programs? 1, YES 2. NO 3. NEVER TRIED TO FIND LISTINGS 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED Q: Q18A 18A. Have you ever experienced difficulty in viewing a program on an access channel because of the picture or sound quality of that program? 1. YES 2. NO 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [~ (ANS <> 1) SKP Q19] Q: Q18B-Q18BF 18B. On which channel or channels have you experienced these difficulties? 1. CHANNEL 2/PATV/PUBLIC ACCESS TELEVISION 2. CHANNEL 4/GIC4/GOVERNMENT INFORMATION CHANNEL 4 3. CHANNEL 10/LIBRARY CHANNEL 4. CHANNEL 11/THE EDUCATIONAL CHANNEL 5. CHANNEL 12/THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA CHANNEL 6. OTHER 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED/END QUESTION 2o Q: Q18c PLEASE SPECIFY Q Q19 19. Are there any public events or nonprofit organization's activities you would like to see videotaped and shown on the access channels that are not now taped and shown? 1. YES 2. NO 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 1) SKP Q20] Q: Q19B PLEASE SPECIFY Q: Q20 20. Do you have any additional suggestions for improving local access programming? 1. YES 2. NO 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED [IF (ANS <> 1) SKP Q21] Q: Q20B PLEASE SPECIFY Q: Q21 21. Finally, for demographic purposes only. What is your age? REFUSED= 99 21 Q: Q22 22 What is the highest educational level you have completed? 1. LESS THAN 8TH GRADE 2.8TH - 11TH GRADE 3. HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE 4. SOME COLLEGE 5.4-YEAR COLLEGE DEGREE 6. SOME GRADUATE SCHOOL 7. GRADUATE DEGREE 8. DON'T KNOW 9. REFUSED Q: END Those are all the questions I have for you today. Thank you very much for your time and input. PRESS 1 TO CONTINUE Q: COMMENTS Comments: 22 APPENDIX B Respondent Comments Programming, services or traininl~ that PATV could offer to make it more likely for viewers to watch PATV or use its services {Q 5AZ): · Improve programming-not interesting enough to capture attention · A lot more professional · More newslike structure · Better produced programming · Sound production · No clue what programming is · Less vulgar production, a lot of the times production is offensive · More popular things that people will watch · Broadcast more watchable programs. Don't broadcast programs with no meaning · Make it more accessible by getting rid of more programs · More entertaining shows · A regular program show--like a show presented on a weekly basis or something, that would make you want to watch every week · Knowing what 's going to be on, no more dead air, better sound and video quality · Advertise the training courses, because I am interested but don't know about the courses or how to find out · More information sent out about programming · Scheduling in the local paper · More people to help in commtmity, people w/disabilities, more access · More public involvement · Don't run programs that the people who work at PATV provide, more community events regardless of whether someone is producing it or not · Coverage of children's events and activities · More issues about children and daycare · More student things · Contests for kids at school · Focus a tad more on the high schools, have them start using as many resources as possible · Iowa City School things · More programming of City High, West High and the elementary meetings I don't think that 's regularly on. More local events on that channel · More local events · Televised Wednesday night concerts at the university or recitals that the umvers ity puts on~ also lecturers, or dance productions · More at the art center, artistic programs · Discovery channel, science and Iowa City calendar · More events about private businesses in community, people 's views on them · Things of interest to Iowa City, diversity! To accommodate it, httle things go on here in Iowa City, cultural activity · International oriented programs · Offer more classes · I think they should do more educational programs and umversity things, such as live programs from the university, rebroadcasts of special lectures, that sort of thing. That's a great opportunity there · More educational programs. African languages. Like they do with Sparash · Instruction in computing · See more computer training access. · Something about learning computers · Gardenrag · Gardening shows · If they broadcast high school events, regularly show sporting events · Sports (local) · Sports · College sports · Music, punk or alternative rock · More channels for "older songs" that appeal to senior citizens Problems usinl~ lnfoVision (0 11BX): · It didn't look like it was user friendly. · Information outdated, cud up going in circles--hard to get anywhere, to navigate. Don't have very much time to use it. · I didn't have enough time on the clock · It's a good idea but it doesn't work - you can't get through and when you do you can't get past level one. It doesn'l report the results either. I lhave told other people tiffs but it hasn't changed. Desired Library Channel Orol~ramminlZ (Q 14J): · Anything related to arts, literature, especially poetry, chamber and jazz music. · More programs involving high school activities. Both City, West, and Regina hold annual music events that I would like to see more of. · A book talk type thing · Local gardening · Movies sampled from video collection · More public events · Programs that tell you more about what is going on in the community... political issues (e.g. , city' planrang) · Information about weather related delays · What the library has to offer Desired Educational Channel Orol~rammin!~ (Q 16G): · More of the Kirkwood arts performances, local school arts performances. · Kirkwood musical simal cast · Sports events, high school level · Sports · University of Iowa programming · More university stuff (more information regarding the umversity) · I like lhe idea of showing different programs of community interest, what could be going on in commumty, events, education about commumty. · I want to see the students using the channel as a leanring tool and to see the Public schools stop throwing this resource away! Public events or non-Dro~t orl~anizations' activities viewers would like to see videotaDed and shown on the access channels that are not now taped and shown (Q 19B): · Downtown events, a calendar for city entertainment, a schedule of events · I would like to see more public activities since I usually just see information about activities · Live events in Iowa City · Broadcasts of Riveffest or even things happening downtown · Anything at Hancher or readings at Prairie Lights, demonstrations going on downtown in the ped mall · Shoxv more book readings at the bookstores; or a tour of Natural History Museum · The readings at Prairie Lights that are broadcast on the radio. The programs offering pets for adoption could provide follow-up info on pets. Friday night concerts from downtown--I would like to see those aired. · There needs to be more Friday night concerts. Pet shelters. More cultural events. · During the summer, they had a women 's gathenng in the park that should be shown, entertainment and gatherings in ped mall on Friday nights · Friday Night Concerts, Take Back the Night Rally · The diversity fair, maybe 44 Ave Jazz programs being televised · Local theatre group performances · Local community theater plays · More of the state and county fairs and more events at the hospital and umversity itself · More university stuff at prime time viewing · U of I homecoming parade, or any parade · More coverage of Riverfest · Riveffest and some of the concert performances there · Events, concerts · Ethnic events. Choirs. Little events, we have time to show it. · July Fourth JaT-~fest · University events and things like Jazzfest · Musical things, school orchestras, Jazzfest · City High Band Show · Elementary school musicals · Orchestras, bands, local concerts of high school and junior · More local concerts! Entertainment · Local bands in bar, I would watch if they played that · Local band concerts · More music performances, Hartchef · Dances at Hancher · Maybe the UI dance productions, like the one on 4/14 that I think was in North Hall · Kids cencens, Maybe more emphasis on local bands, schools, art/performing arts projects. Groups involved with kids that may not get recognition like the sports do. · Boy Scout/girl scout programs, women' s Hawkeye's--would be a really positive thing · More children's programs · More sports · College sports · Iowa football games · Local high school football · High school sporting events · High school sporting events · High school sports, festival footage · Athletic events, gymnastics, volleyball · Iowa City Criterium bike races · Broadcast more guest lectures. Put more UI stuff on them · University lectures · Some more speakers that the university brings in · Guest university lecturers · High-level guest lectures · Johnson county health Department should present a series of issues. each of the chapters that guide our public health education. It would be very stimulating · More about an · Art lessons · Various arts (paintings, drawings), crafts and sewing related programs · More programs on writing and literature · Something to teach people about buying and selling houses, procedures about how to go about things, stages that one has to go through, especially first home buyers, if they have government grants for 1 st buyers · Something about space programs · International Shows · Programs by Nature Center Corp of Engineers · Gary Sanders program · Democratic and Republican Party stuff · More republican points of view. While most of the representatives are democratic I want to see a more balanced point of view. Local lobbyists or something · Iowa caucuses · Iowa City Foreign Relations Council meetings · Foreign relations council · Activities issues for the rights of the disabled, gay issues · Russian tea party, environmental issues, senior center. · Feb. 28, Culture Diversity day · Concern for women, body, different issues · Domestic violence and rape activists · Subjects on students against sweatshops at the university · Student orgamzations ff students don't take advantage · United way conlributions · Hospice, like to see more of and the Wesley foundation programs and free lunch and free medical clinics. Have announcements and fundraisers to raise public awareness about AIDS, and similar things · Habitat for humamty and other voluntary organizations · Dance marathon, Greek week, philanthropies (good causes, cures for cancer, etc.) · The current Englert, save the Englert Organizations meetings · More American Heart Association & American Cancer Association speakers · Charity events, fiat. · A local church group 24/7, which I believe is currently being shown. · Prayer services · More footage · There is a whole world of events out there not covered because of the resources Additional suggestions for improving local access programming (Q 20B): · More listings of what's going on · More listings · Possibly providing more listings · Better listings · Have some listing · The listings on Direct TV should be more complete. They just say PATV and not Local history. I think that I would really be peaked by further descriptions of programming · More listings for kids' events, going on in the city. The channels should inform people of these events · Easier access to information about programming · Easier to fred listings or scroll of programs · Advertise more about what kinds of things they have on their programs · Making schedule more accessible · A program guide would be good for viewers to select as an option and would be helpful · The TV Guide doesn't show what is on each channel; only the newspaper does · More overlays ofwho's talking and what the agenda is would be nice · On digital cable it doesn't list the actual shows that are playing and when, I would like a list on the digital cable menu · Send out informational flyer · Try to fred flee advertising, get info out that programs exist · More outreach · More advertisement. Make people aware of opportunities provided · More awareness about the programs · Letting people know how to access and utilize it for themselves · Make it more available to everyone, advertised · Little more self-promotion · More advertised! · Maybe better advertisement, print media would be the best; but you know if there was a big event that would interest the general population · Better listings, better productions · Better knowledge ahead of time, information on programming and better picture quality · Coordinate computer systems with public television, so you can access information from computer toTV · Maybe to make training a little bit more accessible, in terms of the hours, weekend opportunities · I think the University could be more involved in a lot of the programs. I don't think they do as mush as they could do concerning the community. They could use TV to reach out to state teachers more. Make it obvious what is coming up, the local paper doesn't do a very good job · Increase news content and some sort of regular schedule · I am not dissatisfied, sometimes the program listings. Maybe make it more. Play old movies form 20s and 30s · Making it known what programs are on when. Irving Weber was a nice guy but he was old at the time. And it is difficult to watch...needs to be updated · Cut back on channels. Lots of duplication · Any time over the years that I've worked w/PATV, the equipment was fairly poor and had heavy use by amateurs, never enough money to fix it or have enough equipment to go around. It's a need definitely. · More funding, more awareness that it's there for the public to use, make it more available to train, more days · More funding · More funding 6 · Use more modern stuff, the lighting is always kind of bad and the sound is not that great, I can't always hear what people are saying · Better quality-not like a home movie · Better quality on videotaping · Be up to date and improve quality · Little more colorful programming · Look as glitzy as other channels, more appealing sound/picture quality · Take it off the air · I think it is important event though I don't watch it. Can you get grants to produce local programming? The more one can do to allow us to know about our own community the better. Create a sense of town square. · Keep it clean · Combining the government and the PATV: to offer more government channel type program. Both channels should have as their main purpose to cover community events like the Video an festival · It has a deeper impact than my viewing shows, I hear about things second hand. There must be a lot of people who tune in · What I have seen is pretty good · Even though I don't watch it much myself, I think it is helpful and of value to children. I am thinking of approaching PATV with my Girl Scout troop · Keep up the good work. Introduce more new things for it to be more active. · People who talk are boring at city council meetings · Info vision is really boring, need to liven it up or get rid of it · Info vision: cats and dogs, no more of one · A little more discrimination as to what is put on access channels, no ice cream lady, no cameras · Some things on channel two are stupid because there is no point to what some of them do (skits people think are humorous, etc.)-church broadcasts are okay though · Get rid of strange people talking on channel 2 · It's a mistake to try to do everything; do things regularly scheduled · I think they should have some time of introduction and such between programs, make it all flow better throughout the day · Limit the programming, as in type of things shown. Do a program on gardening like with one of the local master gardeners. · Make it more entertaining; catch people 's attention; I like Naughty Pooh pie; more regular scheduling · More informational, less promotional. Give more facts about organizations, not just selling them to the viewers · Less public assisted shows · More university sporting events and organizations · More women's issues · Air Riveffest · They have shows at Hancher; it would be cool if they videotaped those · More on history and culture, government · Iowa legislature taped broadcast · Push the city council, play it a lot so more people will know what is going on in their community, fred a way to put on TV, teach people not to litter · More about community · Expose the corruption · State sports championships · I like "Voice of Iowa City" very well... format should be used more...moves along from subject to subject · More footage of the Irving Weber Day celebration · More stuff from the senior center to be presented Table 1: Number of Cable Channels Respondent Can Name by Gender, Age, Education, and Length of Iowa City Residence. Number of Channels Named Zero One Two or more (%) (%) (%) Overall 37 25 38 Gender Male 37 23 40 Female 38 25 37 Age 20 and under 61 11 28 21 to 25 33 31 36 26 to 35 33 29 38 36 to 55 34 17 49 56 and over 34 30 36 Education Less than High School 47 14 39 High School Degree 58 16 26 Some College 36 26 38 College Degree 37 25 38 Beyond College Degree 25 26 49 Length of Residence Less than 3 years 56 18 26 3 to 10 years 23 30 47 More than 10 years 38 23 39 Table 2: Percentage of Respondents Who Have Viewed Each Channel by Gender, Age, Education, and Length of Iowa City Residence. Channel Government Info Library Education Channel PATV Vision Channel Channel (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) Overall 54 49 29 30 23 Gender Male 54 57 33 25 25 Female 54 43 25 33 22 Age 20 and under 33 57 26 20 22 21 to 25 29 43 22 19 13 26 to 35 54 54 42 25 23 36 to 55 65 49 32 39 29 56 and over 74 47 20 35 26 Education Less than High 46 68 32 36 25 School High School 46 46 21 21 19 Degree Some College 46 51 27 22 25 College Degree 65 47 37 36 25 Beyond College 63 50 27 36 23 Degree Length of Residence Less than 3 years 30 43 19 18 17 3 to 10 years 48 51 35 25 24 Over 10 years 71 52 29 38 26 MINUTES PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION JUNE 14, 2000 MEMBERS PRESENT: Toni Cilek, Barbara Endel, Craig Gustaveson, Bruce Maurer, Matt Pacha, Rex Pruess MEMBERS ABSENT: James Moxley, A1 Stroh STAFF PRESENT: Matt Eidahl, Mike Moran, Terry Robinson, Terry Trueblood GUESTS: Irvin Pfab, Fred Lucas FORMAL ACTION TAKEN Moved by Pruess, seconded by Stroh, to approve the May 10, 2000 minutes as written. Unanimous. Moved by Pruess, seconded by Gustaveson, that the Commission does not support formation of a separate advisory committee of people with disabilities, noting the public's review and input on plans for all projects and facilities is welcome at anytime Unanimous. INTRODUCTION Moran introduced Matt Eidahl, the Program Supervisor who will be in charge of the ScanIon Gymnasium and programs for youth- at- risk. PROPOSAL FOR ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES Trueblood referred to the memo in the packet to the City Council from the City Manager regarding a proposal for an Advisory Committee of People with Disabilities. The City Manager would like input from Boards and Commissions on this matter. Pruess agreed with the statement in the memo that due to the extensive legal requirements and ad hoc use of those with knowledge of disabilities, the creation of a separate committee is not necessary. He noted the difficult time the City has had filling vacancies on existing boards and commissions. Trueblood stated all projects go through a public process, with plans being available for anyone to review. Pacha noted the previous Council on Disability Rights and Education dissolved due to lack of interest. Maurer stated the ADA law is clear and must be followed in all capital projects and programs. Moved by Pruess, seconded by Gustaveson, that the Commission does not support formation of a separate advisory committee of people with disabilities, noting the public's review and input on plans for all projects and facilities is welcome at anytime Unanimous. POTENTIAL LAND ACQUISITION Trueblood reported the City has an opportunity to purchase approximately two acres adjacent to Hickory Hill Park, which fronts on First Avenue. The owner is willing to sell the parcel for $65,000. The City Council has indicated it is interested in acquiring the parcel, which is needed for a waterline easement. It has been suggested that approximately $20,000 to $30,000 of the cost be taken from the Parkland Acquisition Fund, with the remainder to be taken from other sources, which could include the water fund, the general fund and the road use tax fund. Trueblood noted a number of years ago the City met with the neighborhood association in this area and they indicated at that time they would like a small portion of Hickory Hill Park to possibly be developed as a neighborhood park, especially if First Avenue is extended. Gustaveson noted the lack of parking for people who want to access the park in this area and suggested creation of a small parking lot. Endel felt there was a lot of benefit for a low cost. Maurer suggested that one-third of the funding be Parks and Recreation Commission June 14, 2000 Page 2 of 3 taken from the parkland acquisition fund. Gustaveson noted at a First Avenue extension meeting a staff person indicated there would be a buffer area along the west side of First Avenue, which would not be developed; Trueblood noted that was one of the concepts. Endel asked that the commission have a follow- up discussion to determine the best use of the parcel for the area. Moved by Endel, seconded by Cilek, to support the City's continuing efforts to purchase the land adjacent to Hickory Hill Park Unanimous. tIPDATES ON MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES Trueblood updated the Commission on the following projects. Parks & Recreation Commission Vacancy. As of meeting time, no one had applied for the vacancy created by Kathy Wallace's resignation, and Trueblood encouraged members to recruit potential applicants. Mercer Park Tennis Courts. The reconstruction project has been completed and courts were opened on Monday, June 12. The next tennis project will be to replace the lights at both Mercer Park and City Park tennis courts. Babe Ruth Building and Relighting Field 3. Neumann Monson has donated the architectural plans and they are continuing to solicit donations to construct the building. The City will also be relighting field #3 at the Mercer Park complex. Riverside Festival Stage. The project is completed and the first performance was held on June 8. Staff expended a lot of time and effort in preparation for the opening performance. City Park Amusement Rides. The rides opened Saturday, June 10; the popcorn wagon, previously in downtown Iowa City, will be up and running soon; the permanent fence should be installed no later than June 30; a small shelter has been ordered; and flowers have been planted. It is quickly becoming evident that the rides are taking up far more staff time than expected. Other improvements, such as extension of the existing railroad tracks will be completed in the future. Wetherby Park Redevelopment. The contract has been completed, with a number of things yet to be completed in-house. A dedication ceremony will be held later this summer. Kiwanis Park The park is nearly completed, with some landscaping and signage yet to be done. Willow Creek Trail & Hospice Memorial The project has been completed, with some landscaping yet to be done along the trail. Cemetery Expansion. Project is nearly complete. Soccer Complex. Two new shelters and information kiosks have been ordered and should be up before the fall season. Skate Park. Staff has made many efforts to meet with the suggested design consultant without success. Staff will be working with Dunbar Jones to obtain another design consultant, and hope to have them on board within the next two to three weeks. Ned Ashton Park. The project is underway and should be completed in the next 4 to 6 weeks. Parks and Recreation Commission June 14, 2000 Page 3 of 3 Miller/Orchard Neighborhood Park Staff met with neighborhood representatives and is waiting to hear back from them. Dog Park. Staff has met with the City Attomey, Risk Manager and Animal Control officer to discuss liability issues, which will not prohibit establishment of a dog park. Trueblood stated he spoke with a Linn County park representative and they allow dogs off leash in two of their parks - Squaw Creek and Buffalo Creek. There are no signs or specified hours in either park or no delineation other than topography. Gustaveson referred to a WEB site, which listed dog parks throughout the United States. He stated the lower Hickory Hill Park area might work because of the creek and other natural barriers. Maurer asked if staff checked with Johnson County; Trueblo0d indicated he would do so. Trueblood noted staff has been working on other priorities, and has not had sufficient time to make a recommendation. Gustaveson noted at last month's meeting it was made clear that a dog park may not happen this year or next, with Pacha stating the issue would remain on the table for continued exploration and discussion. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Trueblood reported on the following: City Park Pool. Earlier today there was a pool rescue of a 7-year-old girl who was found unconscious in the water. An ambulance was called and the girl was resuscitated at the site, at which time the ambulance left to take her to the hospital. Storm Damage. Robinson stated there has been some storm damage. This time of year the trees have put on a lot of growth and weight and the diameter of the branches has not caught up with the growth. Another factor involved was microbursts, a sudden down burst of wind and air. Some of the damage was a tree struck by lightning in Terrell Mill Park and a private tree falling on a tree in Court Hill Park, which then fell on shelter #2. Community Gardens. A informational meeting has been set for Wednesday, June 21 at 7 p.m. to be held in the lower level of the Senior Center. Pacha asked staff to inform Moxley. ADJOURNMENT Moved by Gustaveson, seconded by Endel, to adjourn. Unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 5:50 p.m. MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION JUNE 15, 2000 - 7:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Ann Bovbjerg, Pam Ehrhardt, Dick Gibson, Jerry Hansen, Marilyn Schintler, Dean Shannon MEMBERS ABSENT: Benjamin Chair STAFF PRESENT: Sarah Holecek, Scott Kugler, Bob Miklo OTHERS PRESENT: Robert Wolf, Roxanne Bohlke, Vicky DiBona, Larry Schnittjer, George Dane RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Recommended, on a vote of 6-0, that the City Council forward a letter to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors recommending that CZ0027, a request to rezone approximately 125.43 acres located east of Dane Road and west and south of the Lake Ridge Mobile Home Park from County A1Rural and County RS Suburban Residential to County RMH Manufactured Housing Residential, be denied. Recommended, on a vote of 6-0, that if the Johnson County Board of Supervisors entertains the possibility of passing CZ0027, a request to rezone approximately 125.4.3 acres located east of Dane Road and west and south of the Lake Ridge Mobile Home Park from County A1 Rural and County RS, Suburban Residential to County RMH Manufactured Housing Residential, then the County Board of Supervisors should meet with the City Council prior to doing so to discuss the merits of the proposal with relationship to the Fringe Area Agreement and the future of the Fringe Area Agreement. Recommended approval, on a vote of 6-0, of REZ00-0017, a City-initiated application to rezone 20.78 acres from Interim Development Multi-Family Residential (ID-RM) to Public (P) for property located west of Gilbert Street, south of Napoleon Lane. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Bovbjerg called the meeting to order at 7:32 p.m, PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES ON CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: Bovbjerg said it is very important for the City to have information from all citizens with regard to areas of interest and expertise. She said vacancies are available on the following commissions: Parks and Recreation Commission, Public Art Advisory Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, Riverfront and Natural Areas Commission, Civil Service Commission, and Planning and Zoning Commission. REZONING ITEMS: CZ00-0027. Public discussion of an application submitted by JEBB LC, to rezone approximately 125.43 acres located east of Dane Road and west and south of the Lake Ridge Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 2 Mobile Home Park from County A1 Rural and County RS Suburban Residential to County RMH Manufactured Housing Residential. Kugler stated that this is a request to rezone property within Johnson County of approximately 125 acres from A1 Rural and RS Suburban Residential to Manufactured Housing Residential. He said a concept plan has been submitted along with the application, illustrating approximately 240 home sites located along a number of new streets. Kugler said this is an urban density development in Iowa City's Growth Area; however, the owner does not contemplate annexation. He added that this property has frontage along Dane Road and Highway 218. Kugler said the establishment of the growth boundary throughout the City is based primarily upon watersheds and the ability of the City to provide sanitary sewer service to areas by gravity flow. He said the growth boundary represents the likely limits of urban growth in any one direction over the next 20 to 30 years. Kugler said State law provides cities with review and approval authority over land subdivisions within a two-mile area around the City so that planning for the future growth of that area can be coordinated; however, zoning remains under the authority of the County. Kugler said Johnson County and Iowa City have negotiated a cooperative and comprehensive agreement, the Fringe Area Agreement, to allow the bodies to look at land use issues within this area while respecting the adopted land use plans of each jurisdiction. He said development within unincorporated areas close to the City limits can have a serious impact on the City's ability to extend infrastructure and annex additional areas that it otherwise could serve. Kugler said in this case, there are additional properties to the south of this area that are within the City's growth area and could be served in the future; however, given the existing State annexation laws that make involuntary annexations very difficult, the development of additional property here without annexation would be a serious limitation to the City's ability to expand to the south. Kugler said providing infrastructure to serve other areas is also difficult when properties develop immediately outside of the City limits. In this case, Kugler said the City has a future need to put a sanitary sewer line in this area along an existing drainageway to be able to serve properties west of 218 in the Naples Road area. He said the easements to provide those future improvements are much easier to get when properties develop in the city; it would be more difficult to establish those routes and easements in the future if development occurs prior to annexation. Kugler said often when development occurs on the edge of a city, the residents of those areas expect city services, although they don't pay property taxes toward the costs of providing any of those services. Using public transit as an example, he said owners of property within the cities pay a specific transit levy to help fund the transit system, and a portion of their property taxes goes toward funding a transit system. He stated that residents in the unincorporated areas do not contribute to those funds in that manner. Kugler said there are some existing residents in the Lake Ridge development that make use of the transit system. He said the City has received requests from residents of that area to extend a regular bus route into the Lake Ridge Development. Kugler said until that property is contributing to help fund that service, extension of a route there is not likely to happen. He said the City has also received requests from residents of Lake Ridge to install a sidewalk or trail along South Riverside Drive so that they have access to the rest of the city's commercial development to the north. Kugler stated that the Johnson County/Iowa City Fringe Area Agreement is generally based upon the premise that low density growth in the County should be directed away from the growth area and quality agricultural areas and that urban density development should occur within the City and be built to urban development standards and with the benefit of City sewer Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 3 and water services. He said basically city governments are designed to be able to provide the kinds of services demanded by people living at those kinds of densities in ways that county governments are not. Kugler said that needs to be taken into consideration when looking at land use decisions at the edge of town. Kugler said this property lies within Fringe Area C. He said the land use map included in the Fringe Area Agreement calls for residential development of this property, if it is to occur in the County, under the RS or RS-3 zones, suburban residential zones with densities ranging from one unit per acre to one unit per three acres. Kugler said most of the property in question is currently zoned RS; there is only a small section at the northwest corner of the property that is zoned A1 for agricultural purposes. He said as such, this property could be developed under the RS zone, provided that appropriate standards are followed - City standards in terms of streets and other infrastructure. Kugler said it appears the character of this development will be much different than the existing development and may in fact be very close to what might be found in the City's RS-5 zone. He said, however, there are a number of development standards included in the Fringe Area Agreement that are not being complied with here. Kugler said for land within the growth area for Area C, subdivisions that are approved prior to annexation are supposed to be cluster developments with a minimum of 50% of the area set aside for open space, agriculture, or future development upon annexation. He said the agreement also states that subdivisions shall conform to City urban design standards. Kugler said in this case, staff really doesn't have a lot of information regarding the standards intended for this property or within the existing development, since the City was not involved in the review of that development. Kugler said the concept plan does illustrate some areas of open space, primarily in areas where there are steep slopes and along the creek to be relocated at the northwest corner of the site. He said however, it appears to be well under 50% of the total property. Kugler referred to a handout submitted by the applicant that contains information about the existing Lake Ridge and the proposed rezoning area. He noted that within that document in the first letter from the applicant to Rick Dvorak of the Johnson County Zoning Department, there is a reference to the Fringe Area Agreement design standards, but it is unclear as to what the meaning of that statement is. Kugler said if the Commission is interested in knowing what design standards the applicant intends to comply with, that would be a question for the applicant. Kugler said because the establishment of a mobile home park typically does not require the establishment and sale of individual lots, the property will likely not have to go through the subdivision review process and therefore will not be subject to City review as with a typical residential land subdivision. He said staff feels clearly the intent of the Fringe Area Agreement is to encourage properties within the growth area to develop within the City upon annexation. Kugler said the agreement does not preclude development within the growth area prior to annexation but requires that those new developments be built to City design standards. He said staff feels strongly that additional residential development in this district should occur only upon annexation into the City and under City development standards. Kugler said if the County is inclined to approve the requested rezoning, the City should expect that the spirit of the Fringe Area Agreement will be adhered to and that the development standards detailed in the agreement will be enforced on the property, including the provision of 50% of the property as open space; streets, water, and sewer lines built to City standards; and a stormwater management system that meets the requirements of City Code. He stated those utilities could then be easily incorporated into the City's system in the future if the area is annexed. Planning and Zoning Commission June 15,2000 Page 4 In addition to the Fringe Area Agreement, Kugler said the City's Comprehensive Plan does have some recommendations for this area, which is located within the South Central Planning District. He said the South Central District illustrates this area as predominantly single family. Kugler said, however, that due to the topography in the area, the plan suggests that a low density conservation design be utilized in designing this area. He said the concept plan does illustrate a relatively low density manufactured housing development, compared to the property immediately east and in other developments in the City. Kugler said it may be fairly consistent with the requirements of the RS-5 zone within the City, but it does not appear that the development will follow the conservation subdivision design model, particularly in the area to the north where there is a fairly high sloped area and where there is rugged terrain where the applicant proposes streets and development lots. Kugler said the Johnson County Land Use Plan also applies here. He said there are a couple of provisions in that plan that it appears are not being met with this development, such as ensuring that adequate infrastructure and quality public services are available. Kugler said with a development of these densities, transit, sidewalks connecting to other areas of the city, and City sewer and water would be desirable. He said other provisions not met are ensuring that development does not occur in the unincorporated area at densities that require urban services, ensuring that traffic demands can be accommodated when evaluating rezoning requests, and minimizing disturbance of natural features such as steep slopes. Kugler said it appears there are some encroachments into those areas that could be avoided if this provided more open space, as suggested in the Fringe Area Agreement. Kugler said the existing mobile home park in place has been developed with one access point onto Riverside Drive. He said approximately 450 units were approved with the first rezoning. Kugler said it is not ideal to have this many residences located within a development with only one access. He said at the time the original zoning was being considered, Dane Road was seen as a possible solution to this - if an extension could be made there, a secondary access could be provided. Kugler said Dane Road has a chip seal road surface, which is not appropriate for a great deal of traffic. He said staff feels if the roadway were provided and traffic were allowed to use that roadway, Dane Road would see a significant increase in traffic. Kugler said the County has recommended that not occur but that if a drive is to be established to Dane Road that it be an emergency road only to allow fire trucks and other vehicles to get in in an emergency situation but to keep traffic coming to and from the development off Dane Road. He said if that occurs and this property were to fully develop, there would be approximately 650, possibly more, units utilizing one means of access leading onto Riverside Drive. Kugler said that alone would generate an estimated 3,900 vehicle trips per day using the single entrance point. He said staff feels it is not appropriate to have this many dwelling units and some of the lengths of the streets here served by one access point, regardless of whether or not a second emergency access is provided. Kugler said at a minimum, it will be a traffic burden on people living close to that entrance road. Kugler said staff feels alternatives for future access should be looked at. He said the South Central District Plan calls for a future arterial street to the north of this site, and this plan should provide for an opportunity to have a future access up to that arterial street to improve the circulation system. Kugler added that the possibility of a drive connecting through the Schuchert property is mentioned in the South Central District Plan, and perhaps the opportunity for an access between the two properties should be reserved to allow another connection down to Riverside Drive through the adjacent property as a future possibility. Kugler said the Iowa City Airport Commission has discouraged the development of additional residential uses near the airport. He stated that is one reason the South Central District Plan Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 5 calls for relatively low density within this area. Kugler said there are obvious potential conflicts between residential development and an airport, and the Airport Commission recommends against additional residential development here. Kugler said staff has some concerns about the concept plan. He said in addition to the areas of non-compliance with the Fringe Area Agreement, staff has concerns about the long-term viability of a private sanitary sewer facility to serve this many units. Kugler said there are documented problems with many other such facilities throughout the city, and some of them have been cited by the DNR. He said in some cases there have been exceedences of the allowed amount of effluent. Kugler said staff feels, given the fact that the City has a very new and modern sewage treatment plan that can serve this property by gravity flow, it does not make a lot of sense to be handling this development on a private system. Kugler said Dane Road is currently a two-lane road with a chip seal surface. He said under the County's road management system, traffic volumes as projected would not be allowed to exit onto that roadway. Kugler said having one exit is not ideal in terms of neighborhood circulation, as it puts all the traffic pressure onto Riverside Drive. He said perhaps the upgrading of Dane Road needs to be considered before the full development of this property is looked at. Kugler said the concept plan illustrates a couple of ponds. He said, given the fact that not a lot of details are provided, there may well be a planned overland flow route, although it is not evident from looking at the property. Kugler said staff has concerns that if the dams holding the ponds back should fail, it may be a hazard for those living downstream from those ponds. He said since the City may not be involved in the review of development plans, staff does not have a lot of information on that and does not know if that will be a problem. Kugler noted that a DNR permit may be needed for those ponds, depending on their size. Kugler said because the proposed rezoning is in noncompliance with the Fringe Area Agreement, the Johnson County Land Use Plan, and the Iowa City Comprehensive Plan, staff recommends that the City Council forward a letter to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors recommending that this rezoning request be denied. Kugler said the booklet distributed to the Commission contains some correspondence between the applicant and the County's Planning and Zoning Department from this year and 1995, as well as a number of illustrations regarding the existing development and a little more detail about the proposed development. Ehrhardt asked if it would be unreasonable to expect the developer to defray some of the costs, specifically for a sidewalk or for a traffic light, if needed, at the entrance to the development. Kugler said that has been done when warranted. He said he believed that would be a decision by the County, as Riverside Drive at the entrance to this property is not in the City limits. Kugler said the City has on occasion required such improvements, and the County has tried to do that in at least one situation on Herbert Hoover Highway where turning lanes were needed. He said it is something the County could consider and would be a good idea to look into given the amount of traffic expected to come in and out of the single access. Schintler asked if the applicant could apply to be annexed. Kugler said it would require the annexation of some intervening property, and he showed the property on an overhead map. He stated it would require the annexation of the existing mobile home park or some intervening properties to the north or to the west to have the property be contiguous to the current City limits. Miklo said the current applicant owns the existing mobile home park, so he could combine the two and apply to have the whole thing annexed. Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 6 Regarding airpod safety, Gibson asked if this is a matter of an absolute rule or a preference on the part of the Airport Commission. Kugler said where there are absolute safety issues, the Airport is purchasing property to obtain an obstacle free zone for the approaching airplanes coming into the runways. He said in other areas there are building height limitations and use limitations based on the fact that airplanes will be regularly passing over those areas at low altitudes. Kugler stated that in an area like this, the concern is mostly noise and the potential for complaints from the future residents of this area. He said this property does lay within the approach paths, although not the actual landing approach paths, to get to the landing lanes for the other runways, so it is likely that airplanes will be regularly passing over the property. Gibson asked if there are any code issues, federal regulations, state regulations, or anything else that would permit the Airport Commission to say this cannot be built here. Kugler said there was not anything like that that he was aware of. Gibson said there is then nothing other than common sense that would suggest against building these houses in this location. Kugler confirmed this. Gibson asked, if this were being built in Iowa City, if staff had enough information to know if the grading that would be required to accommodate these homes even approximately in the manner they are depicted would be in accordance with Iowa City grading ordinances and the Sensitive Areas Ordinance. Kugler stated that most of the contours are the existing contours with the exception of a couple of areas. He said there is really not good enough information to tell what kind of slopes are located here and what category they would fall into under the Sensitive Areas Ordinance. Gibson asked if the elevation lines were an indication. Kugler said the problem is the scale of the drawing, stating that it is not a reliable drawing to use. He said the County staff report noted slopes approaching and possibly in excess of 25%, based on the soil types. Kugler said under the City's Sensitive Areas Ordinance, slopes of 18 to 25% are considered steep slopes, and slopes of 25 to 40% are in the critical slope category. Gibson asked if it would be possible to develop this in the manner shown without extensive grading. Kugler said it would be difficult, particularly in the area to the north where there is a fairly long hillside. He said he did not know what kind of grades were planned for the streets, but without a lot of grading the streets would have to be fairly steep. Gibson said the Commission has been told on numerous occasions that manufactured homes are best suited to fairly flat terrain, and it has been argued that it is about the only economic place to even put these kinds of units. He said that was the reason these were located in southeast Iowa City. Gibson asked if these kinds of housing units could be put on this kind of land without extensive grading. Kugler said in any development and maybe more so with this type of development, the developer needs to be able to establish the roadways and flat pads to put the housing units on. He said there is nothing that says those pads have to all be at the same elevation, and they may be stepped back into the hillside in this development. Kugler said he is not aware of any other similar developments in town with this kind of topography. He said staff has heard that argument on a number of occasions, and with the exception of Lake Ridge that has a fairly high ridge back in the western area, not too many of them have much topography at all. Public discussion: Robert Wolf, 3732 Humminqbird Lane SE, said he and his wife are the applicants, and he was available to answer questions. Gibson asked Wolf why he would not ask to have this land annexed into Iowa City along with his current property. Wolf said he felt he was better off with what he is doing in the County. Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 7 Gibson asked Wolf if he thought Iowa City and the surrounding urban area would be better off as a result of this as well. Wolf said no, that he thinks he is. Gibson asked Wolf if he believes the broader community is better off with what Wolf proposes to do, not having this property annexed into Iowa City. Wolf said it gets pretty deep. He said this is dealing with affordable housing. Wolf said he has residents coming to Lake Ridge from Bon Air and other places where their sewer and water bills are $125 per month. He said that is included in the lot rent at Lake Ridge. Wolf said providing his own sewer and water systems is the biggest example that this is for the benefit of the people living there, his customers. Wolf said he has licensed operators running both the water treatment plant and also the sewage treatment plant. He said they are checked daily, and monthly reports are submitted to the DNR. Gibson asked Wolf to comment on his observation that the Commission has been persuaded that the only practical place to put this these types of homes is on flat land, and this land has pretty severe terrain. Wolf said that was correct; the most logical place to put this would be on flat plain. He said however, that most of that area is good farm ground and is frowned upon for development. Wolf said all his facilities are at that location. Wolf said as a result of his 1995 proposal, the County requested that he go after a secondary access, which he did. He said he negotiated for various pieces of land in order to access Dane Road for Lake Ridge and after some time, acquired land from the Maxeys. Ehrhardt asked Wolf about his comments regarding making the necessary upgrades in materials and design as the Fringe Area Agreement requests pertaining to manufactured housing development. Wolf replied that he received a copy of the Fringe Area Agreement but did not see anything that pertained directly to what he was doing. He said he feels his sewer lines, water lines, manholes, storm sewers, etc. are more than adequate for the Fringe Area Agreement of the City requirements. Wolf said he also has 26-foot wide streets with paved sidewalks on both sides. He said he feels he complies with all those kinds of standards, but there really isn't anything set aside for manufactured housing in the Fringe Area Agreement. Gibson asked Wolf if he would be willing to agree, if this were approved, to meet Iowa City's subdivision standards for a subdivision of a comparable density. Gibson told Wolf that if he were going to sell these properties, Wolf would have to meet those requirements, and the City would have jurisdiction. Wolf agreed that he is not planning to sell the property. Gibson asked Wolf if he would be willing, if Iowa City agreed to this rezoning, to meet the requirements voluntarily. Wolf said first he would have to know what they are. Gibson asked what the point of Wolf's letter about making the necessary upgrades in materials and design is if Wolf does not actually know what the standards are. Wolf said he would like to find out. Gibson said the statement says that Wolf will make the necessary upgrades in materials and design, and it is very unclear what that means. He said the statement is a very broad, limited comment. Gibson asked if Wolf would then not be willing to even think about meeting the City's standards. Wolf said he would not without more information. Gibson asked Wolf if he were willing to get that information and then inform the Commission if the development would conform to the requirements. Wolf said he would have to think about that. Regarding secondary access, Bovbjerg asked Wolf if he would be looking at Dane Road as the secondary road for the 400+ units for the current development or if he would be looking at a second access onto Riverside Drive. She said the County was concerned about that in 1995. Wolf said that is correct. He said in 1995 after doing research, he discovered that the Highway Commission will only allow an entrance every 600 feet. Wolf said where this particular entrance was approved was in direct line with the street across what was 218 at that time. He said he does not own the property 600 feet in either direction that he could access that. Wolf said the Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 8 other stipulation in that regulation is that the access has to be 600 feet from the next one, so in reality, that is 1,200 feet. He said it doesn't work out because the bowling alley has an entrance and Bart Schuchert has an entrance, and there is no other place for him to go in between those two. Bovbjerg asked if Wolf's plan is to then come out onto Dane Road. Wolf replied that is his eventual plan. Bovbjerg asked when he anticipated that would be done. Wolf responded that at his present rate of growth, which is seventy lots per year, he still has about two years' work to complete the existing Lake Ridge. He said in the meantime he would start some of the initial grading and sewer and water work on the Maxey farm. Wolf said it would therefore be two years before he would actually start renting lots in that area, so it would be four to five years before accessing Dane Road. He said he will be developing toward Dane Road and looking at how he can get that emergency access there. Wolf said when he gets to the point where he feels he cannot handle any more traffic on the existing streets in Lake Ridge then he will just stop. He said he understood the City is discussing bringing Mormon Trek Road down in that particular area. Wolf said he talked to the designer about establishing a possible roadway tie-in with that road when it comes. He said he decided to go with this concept, and that is exactly what it is; he can make all the necessary changes to that to conform. Bovbjerg asked Wolf what conversations he has had with the County Roads Department about Dane Road. Wolf said he discussed his concerns with the County. He said it was requested in 1995 that he seek an emergency exit, and that is what he intends to do. Wolf stated the County is comfortable with that, as long as there is a gated access. Bovbjerg asked Wolf if he had discussions with the County regarding using Dane Road as a normal, everyday secondary access. Wolf said at this point he is not interested in having a through road there, because he does not want his property to be used as a shortcut for people who use Dane Road. He said it is a quick way to get to the interstate. Gibson asked if it is considered preferable to only have one entrance and exit to these types of subdivisions. Wolf said he has thought a lot about having a gated community, because it is a lot easier to control. He said he has his own security service, which takes care of nuisance calls. Gibson said it appears this could turn into a community of 2,000 people. Wolf said the State average is about 2.5 persons per lot, resulting in 1,500 to 1,600 people. Gibson said apparently the County is not concerned about dumping all that traffic out on old Highway 218 at one point. He said it is not one of those the County worries about traffic counts on, which is a fairly high concern of the County's in rural development in Johnson County. Gibson asked Wolf what he thinks about dumping all that traffic onto that highway at one point. Wolf said he thought a stoplight out there eventually would be a very good idea. He said traffic travels pretty fast down there, as it does on Dane Road. Wolf said he understands the advantage of having deceleration lanes for people accessing or leaving his community. Ehrhardt asked Wolf if he would pay for the cost of the stoplight. Wolf said he thought he would pay for part of it. He said the other half of the intersection is the City's, so he would ask for some cost sharing on that. Ehrhardt asked about financing of the trails people have requested, specifically the long sidewalk into the City. Wolf said he hasn't seen any draft of any proposal for that. Ehrhardt asked Wolf if he would be in favor of a sidewalk along the highway and would support it financially. Wolf said like anyone else, he would front his property. He said the big problem is that it is a drainage ditch and presents a grading problem at this point, but he would support that. Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 9 Roxanne Bohlke, 4195 Dane Rd SE, said she represents 49 people who have signed a petition opposing the rezoning of this land. She said she lives directly across from this land and presented photographs of the topography of the land. Bohlke said the concerns of the 49 people who signed the petition largely involve the traffic on Dane Road. She said traffic is going faster on Dane Road, but the speed limit there is 30 miles per hour. Bohlke said they are concerned about the number of cars traveling the road. She said she does not believe people will be taking shortcuts from Dane Road through Lake Ridge but rather the reverse in that a large number of people from Lake Ridge would be going out onto Dane Road, resulting in a dangerous highway. Bohlke said even if that should be turned into something approaching a City street, which is what it would have to be, there are over a dozen homes on Dane Road right across from this property. She said for Dane Road to be improved, it could no longer be a highway but would have to be a very slow-moving street. Bohlke said a concern of hers is the drainage problem. She said there is a creek running through her property and that of others. Bohlke said the creek comes out over its banks and rushes through, going under Dane Road and into this property in question. She said the overhead map shows the darker line running across the upper left quadrant where the water runs. Bohlke said that is to be filled in with homes built over it. She said she is concerned about where the water would go, asking if it would come back, wash out Dane Road, or flood her property or her neighbors' properties. Bohlke said Hills is the school in the Iowa City School District that children living here would attend. She said Hills school is already over capacity and cannot take more children, so this is a boundary problem as far as busing children and deciding where these children will go to school. Bohlke said she has concerns about how the infrastructure will hold up 20 years from now. She said she also has concerns about the sheriff and Hills Fire Department servicing this area. Bohlke said this development is going to have more peoi~le than her hometown and in a much smaller area. She said it will be directly across from her driveway. Bohlke said it will be a very dense population of people, and her street is a very quiet street. She said she thinks Dane Road should be improved or some decision should be made as to what to do to Dane Road before anything is rezoned and this many people would eventually be allowed to travel on Dane Road. Bohlke said Indian Lookout is at the edge of the property. She said it is a beautiful property with homes on it as well. Bohlke said if it were responsibly built upon and developed it could remain a very attractive area. She said it is already beautiful, and that could be elaborated on. Vicky DiBona, 4173 Dane Rd SE, said she signed the petition in opposition to this and agrees with Bohlke's statements. DiBona said along with the drainage to that creek is also the consideration of the grading that would be necessary on the slopes that Wolf is proposing to build on. She said she has worked for the Soil Conservation Service and the conservation boards in the area, and controlling erosion and the flow of water off those slopes will be a difficult situation. DiBona said that will need to be addressed. Regarding Dane Road and the traffic there, DiBona said most of the houses already existing on Dane Road are on blind driveways. She said there are two slopes going through the Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 10 neighborhood so that over 50% of the homes have a blind drive already. DiBona said there have been close calls already, and a proposal for nearly 4,000 extra cars on that road is scary. DiBona said this development is being proposed as something that will provide affordable housing to the area, and Iowa City and Johnson County are in need of affordable housing. She said, however, that mobile homes do not provide a good situation for low-income people. DiBona said they are affordable because the required down payment on a mobile home is only 5%. DiBona said for a modest mobile home of 16 x 80 selling for $42,000 with a 5% down payment, the cheapest loan rate she could find was 11%. She said the banks will not give a mobile home loan for less than 10% down, and the other companies charge a higher rate of interest. DiBona said on a 15-year note, the monthly payment would be $466, and on a 30-year note the monthly payment would be $395. She said the balance of those after six years on a 15-year note is just over $31,000, and on a 30-year note it is just over $38,000. DiBona said at the end of those six years, the County Treasurer's Office would assess the value of that same mobile home at $37,800. She said someone with a 30-year note on that home would already be in the red six years after buying it, as it would be worth less than was owed on it. DiBona said that does not meet the criteria for low income housing, as it should look for ways to give people some equity and something to build a future on. She said a mobile home doesn't do that. DiBona added that monthly payments on a 30-year note for a $70,000 house would be about the same, $473, as the 15-year note on the mobile home. She said the balance after six years on a $70,000 note for 30 years is $59,000, and the house has increased in value by $14,000. DiBona said she feels strongly about providing adequate and proper housing for people and giving them a chance to be part of this community but does not think mobile home housing does that. Ehrhardt asked to see the petition. Bohlke presented it to the Commission. Larry Schnittier, 1917 South Gilbert Street, said the intent of the drawing is to illustrate the amount of open space provided in this proposed development as a reflection of the current design. He said 44% of this particular property is illustrated as open space. Schnittjer said the dwelling unit density is 1.91 units per acre, way below any Iowa City current zoning standard for residential uses, with the exception of the IDRS zone, which is not relevant in this situation. Schnittjer said the developer looked at providing an access out to the north, but in the current draft it was deleted. He said the developer did not want to cross the creek at this point in time but thought it would be very feasible to provide another access to the future Dane Road relocation/Mormon Trek Boulevard extension. Schnittjer said the plan illustrates a relocation of the drainageway. He said all of the issues of that particular part have not been finalized, but it is well within the realm of possibilities to provide a very adequate drainageway in order to better utilize the central portion of the site. Schnittjer said there will be a considerable amount of grading done on this site to make things fit, as is a given in most any development. Gibson asked if the grading to be done would meet Iowa City's subdivision and sensitive areas ordinances, Schnittjer said the only place on the site that has protected slopes is in the south end next to the City's park. He said there is a major ravine there, and he is not proposing to do any grading there, with the possible exception of providing a park area with a nice small lake or pond. Gibson asked if the grading to be done to accommodate the homes, streets, sewers, water systems, etc. would satisfy Iowa City's grading ordinances. Schnittjer replied that it could be done in accordance with Iowa City's grading ordinance. Gibson asked if it will be done in Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 11 accordance with the City's ordinance. Schnittjer said yes and said that Wolf's projects have been in accordance with Iowa City's grading design. Schnittjer said Wolf does a good job of erosion control, Gibson said right now there is no assurance it will be done in accordance with those ordinances. Schnittjer said the City Inspector would not be out there to inspect this, but the design for the grading of this property is done in accordance with Iowa City's design standards, because Iowa City's design standards for grading are not that unreasonable. Gibson said in that case no one should have any problem assuring the community that this will be done in that manner if it will in fact be done in that matter. Schnittjer said he did not have any problems with assuring that. Gibson said he would ask the developer. Gibson said nothing about what is shown, if this is rezoned, governs how this development will occur. He said Iowa City has absolutely nothing to do with that or any ability to affect that. Schnittjer agreed. Gibson said all these assurances could be completely hollow. He said the reality is the Commission does not know, nor does this process afford the opportunity to assure, that these developments will occur in this manner. Schnittjer said that is correct. Ehrhardt asked, if the County were to approve this rezoning, would the applicant consider restraints to bind him to this plan. Schnittjer said the plan is an early draft. He stated there are a lot of refinements that need to be made, and there may be decisions to be made that will change portions of the plan. Schnittjer said he does not think binding the developer to this plan is a viable consideration. He said there may be parts where a couple of units can be squeezed in and some pulled out from somewhere else. Schnittjer said this piece of land is too rolling to consider the type of density that there is in the rest of the mobile home court. Ehrhardt asked how a potential connection to the proposed Mormon Trek extension would be dealt with, Schnittjer said he can make an allocation for space for that street when it is more firmeal up as to where the extension will go. He said it is a few years before that street will be constructed, and so he has the same situation here. Schnittjer said he has time to make those kinds of adjustments. Hansen asked how the drainage coming through on the north end is addressed. Schnittjer showed the natural drainageway on the map. He said the proposal illustrates a wide drainage channel and a uniform slope coming down through to handle the runoff as well as or better than the existing irregular and slightly meandering course. Hansen said there are two wells providing water to this property, one 100-foot well and one 400-foot well. Schnittjer said Wolf had more information regarding the water system than he did and would answer questions about the wells. Geor.qe Dane, 4120 Dane Road, said much of what concerns him was already expressed. He stated there is no question that Wolf runs a good operation, but he had questions about what might happen when Wolf eventually is no longer in the picture. Dane said what the County creates, someday the City will inherit, and it will then be the City's problem. He said he is concerned about the traffic on Dane Road, as it is not built for this capacity. Dane said the locked gate concept was discussed at the County meeting. He said it is approximately 3/4 of a mile from Dane Road to Riverside Drive. Dane said that will eventually be another potential First Avenue, and with all that funneling down through there, it will only be a matter of time until there is pressure to put that exit onto Dane Road. He asked who would pay for that, what the improvements would be, and how it would be done. Dane also had concerns about this density near the airport. He said there may not be rules or regulations specifying how dense that could be, but common sense would say that the density Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 12 should not be too great. Dane suggested that a lot of answers are needed before this goes too far, especially who will pay for what and at what time. Roxanne Bohlke stated that everyone pays taxes, whether it is to the City or the County. She talked about the taxes that are generated from a group of people in the magnitude and size of this development, and whether this land was in the City or the County, there could still be the same number of homes on this site. Bohlke said if there are homes with basements, a structure, and a yard, there is some equity there and a solid base and therefore higher taxes. She said someone with a mobile home doesn't own property, and the taxes he pays on the mobile home are much lower. Bohlke said she could see how that relates to low income; however, there will be a lot of people here who will be demanding a lot of services, and there have to be taxes paid on it. Regarding the water supply, Hansen said there is listed an alluvial sand well at a 100-foot depth and a slurry and dolomite at 400 feet. He asked if that would be adequate for current capacity and what kind of expansion that would allow for. Wolf said the test made on the wells shows enough water to sustain the additional development. He said the way the wells are operating and functioning, there will be enough water. Hansen asked Wolf if he has considered the dropping levels of water in the ground supply, and Wolf said he has thought about it a great deal, as has everyone who is on a well. Wolf said there appears to be a huge aquifer out underneath the airport. He said that is part of what supplies the water to this development, and that is part of the reason it is the excellent quality that it is. Hansen asked if the 400-foot well would be adequate to service this area without the 100~foot sand well. Wolf said he was not a professional, but he believed it would be adequate. He said Modern Manor has two 400-foot wells, and it is not a problem at all. Wolf stated one important fact here is that not everyone is in a situation to have a down payment to buy a house in town. He said about 15% of his residents are retirees, and the number of children per household is actually going down, Regarding property taxes, Wolf said that is a big number, and his residents can actually pay lot rent all year for what property taxes are on a house in town. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Ehrhardt moved to recommend that the City Council forward a letter to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors recommending that CZ00-0027, a request to rezone approximately 125.43 acres located east of Dane Road and west and south of the Lake Ridge Mobile Home Park from County AI Rural and County RS Suburban Residential to County RMH Manufactured Housing Residential, be denied. Schintler seconded the motion. Gibson said this is a complex issue, and a lot of information has been presented. He said the most troubling thing to him about this is the very limited role Iowa City has in the control of what will undoubtedly ultimately be City property. Gibson said the City, as a practical matter, has little or no ability to control this proposed development. He said the City Council could vote seven to zero to recommend against doing this, but the County Board of Supervisors could go ahead and do it, and the developer then would be free to do whatever is legal from the Johnson County perspective in terms of development. Gibson said that would not have to have anything to do with what the Commission has seen here tonight; the developer could do anything he wants to. He said the fact we are faced with the prospect of having a community of potentially 2,000 people develop in the southwest corner of Iowa City right next to the airport with no ability Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 13 to control the manner in which that happens is almost ludicrous on its face in terms of the way this state handles these kinds of matters. Gibson said for that reason, the City has a fringe area agreement in place with the County. He said Kugler did a good job of going through the problems this proposal has with regard to the Fringe Area Agreement, the Iowa City Comprehensive Plan, the Johnson County Land Use Plan, and others, but the most important one is the Fringe Area Agreement. Gibson said there are a lot of things in that agreement that say this shouldn't happen, and the County should not even seriously consider doing this. He said it is therefore incumbent for a variety of reasons that are of interest to Iowa City to strongly urge the County Board of Supervisors not to approve this. Gibson said in the event the County Board of Supervisors has any other ideas, the City should further ask the Board of Supervisors to discuss this personally with the City of Iowa City, in the context of the Fringe Area Agreement and its viability and applicability to this kind of development. He said he does not believe the Fringe Area Agreement even contemplated the prospect of a development of this size and magnitude within the fringe area around Iowa City without having some authority beyond being able to offer a recommendation to the County Board of Supervisors. Gibson said the City does not have subdivision review in this case, and he doubted that the law contemplated anyone putting in a development of this size right next to the City without any subdivision review or authority on the part of the City. Holecek said the City would have subdivision review but not zoning review. She said because this is a land-leased community, in which the lots are not subdivided, there is no subdivision review by the City. Holecek said the City does have subdivision review within two miles of its City limits. Gibson said it does not have subdivision review in the case of this particular development, and Holecek confirmed this. Gibson said the law or Fringe Area Agreement is lacking then, because he doubted it contemplated something of this magnitude without vesting that authority to do subdivision regulation in an instance like this. Gibson said there are a number of other substantive issues. He said the issue of annexation and the ability of this project to block voluntary annexation on the part of the community and the areas it has interest in is bad for the community. Gibson said he would very much like to see the developer voluntarily agree to have his current property and this property annexed by the City. He suspected the City would be happy to do that, under the circumstances, because this is very important to the future growth of Iowa City. Gibson said the County should be very skeptical of allowing a rezoning of this property in a place where it should in fact be annexed into the City. He said the City should keep that in mind in terms of its relationship with the County, as should the County keep it in mind in terms of its relationship with the City. Gibson said the County should not do anything to interfere with the notion of orderly growth in the immediately surrounding boundaries of Iowa City, and that is the intent of the Fringe Area Agreement. Gibson said he is very concerned about the issue of access. He said the Dane Road access has been downplayed here. Gibson said the developer obviously doesn't want it. Gibson said that position would be completely consistent with earlier positions he has taken, as have other developers of manufactured home parks, that he really wants a gated community with one entrance. He said Wolf has his own security system, water system and sewer system, and thars fine, but to have a community of potentially 2,000 people with the associated traffic volumes with access to one road doesn't make any sense. Gibson said if this goes in, then there absolutely should be a regular, not emergency, access to Dane Road, and these people should be welcome to use it. He said otherwise there will be a ridiculous situation down there at that intersection, and it will fall on the community to fix this problem at a later date. Gibson said the developer would push the cost of this on the community, probably in the long range, in Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 14 the interests of keeping the costs low for the current residents or to increase the profitability of the operation of the development. Gibson said there should be more than one entrance to this community; it should not be gated or blocked just for emergency use but should be developed. He said whoever is obligated to develop that street so it can handle it should get it done so this is not another repeat of the First Avenue situation. Regarding grading, Gibson said he would like at minimum to see if this would conform to Iowa City's grading ordinance and sensitive areas ordinances, and there is absolutely no assurance this will happen at this time. He said in the final analysis, the City has no opportunity to review the specific development plans if Johnson County goes ahead and approves this rezoning. Gibson said this development is not in any way in the spirit of the Fringe Area Agreement and hoped the Commission would urge the City Council to strongly urge in very clear terms that the County Board of Supervisors reject this development. He urged the other Commission members to take a similar stance, saying the Commission needs to be extremely concerned about this development. Hansen said he appreciates the applicant's efforts to attempt affordable housing in Iowa City. Hansen said he is not certain the housing itself is affordable, but after accounting for utilities, etc., it may be affordable. He said what bothers him the most is the lack of any type of assurances that what the applicant has presented is what will actually happen. Hansen said he is also very skeptical about services to this area and would be supporting the motion to recommend denial. Schintler said she would also vote to recommend denial. She said she is really concerned about all the traffic coming out onto Riverside Drive. Schintler said from what she read in the report, the County Engineer was not in favor of using Dane Road anyway, other than for emergency vehicles. She said she is also concerned that the applicant does not want to be annexed, because that would provide a lot of extras for that community. Ehrhardt said she had a lot of notes about this project, but they were all negative. She stated she did not see anything positive about this development. Ehrhardt said the developer did not take the time to even understand what the Fringe Area Agreement says; he has downplayed it and makes no attempt whatsoever to abide by it. She said this development will have a large impact on this area of the city. Ehrhardt said since the City will not have any kind of review over this development, the City cannot negotiate any of the plans for infrastructure for properties beyond this in the future. She stated there is also the problem of the residents' expectations for services in Iowa City. Ehrhardt agreed with the concept that this property will eventually be in the city, and the City will then have to correct all the problems this development may have. She said she would vote in favor of the motion to recommend denial of the request. Shannon said the existing area being built now seems like a nice place to live and appears to be well run. He said he has some concerns about what will happen down the road if the property ultimately comes into the City. Shannon said he would like to see things agreed on and problems fixed and would like to see something happen between the County and the City to get some of these things squared away before anything else happens. He said at this point he would be against anything further going on down there. Ehrhardt said when she looked at this it was like someone had drawn out a plan and then laid it on the land, almost ignoring the contours of the land. She said that indicates to her that there will be a lot of grading there; there are square lots shown in ravines, and she suspected the way to do that would be to just grade all the land and make it all flat. Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 15 Bovbjerg said she also has concerns about this proposal. She said issues such as secondary access are very critical. Bovbjerg said a lot of the Commission's concerns are addressed in the Fringe Area Agreement, which is looked upon by the City and the County as a very serious document. She said the Fringe Area Agreement reflects the City's plans and the County's plans for how we use land. Bovbjerg said those plans are based upon reality, and the reality consists of land, people, contours, traffic, how people live, and the fact that it rains and water runs downhill. She said all of these realities and people's experience and training have gone into the comprehensive plans and land use plans, which eventually go into the Fringe Area Agreement. Bovbjerg said for those reasons and the seriousness of that agreement, she believes going against that agreement would be a grave error, because it is also going against reality. She said this plan, as proposed, does not fit with the Fringe Area Agreement or reality, and the Commission should not plan for something that would be a real problem for people living here, for people passing through, for the County, and for the City. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. MOTION: Gibson moved to recommend that if the Johnson County Board of Supervisors entertains the possibility of passing CZ0027, a request to rezone approximately 125.43 acres located east of Dane Road and west and south of the Lake Ridge Mobile Home Park from County Al Rural and County RS, Suburban Residential to County RMH Manufactured Housing Residential, then the County Board of Supervisors should meet with the City Council prior to doing so to discuss the merits of the proposal with relationship to the Fringe Area Agreement and future of the Fringe Area Agreement. Ehrhardt seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. Miklo said this would be considered by the City Council at its July 18 meeting. REZONING ITEMS: REZ00-0013/SUB00-0010. Public discussion of an application from Southgate Development for a rezoning from Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH-1) to Sensitive Areas Overlay (OSA-1) and a preliminary plat of Walnut Ridge Parts 8-10, a 35.15 acre, 23-1ot residential subdivision located on Kennedy Parkway. Miklo said staff received a letter from Duane Musser at MMS Consultants regarding the trees within the buffer area and the tree protection area. He said according to Mr. Musser about 25% of those would have sustained tree damage when the grading was done previously on this site and therefore would not be included in the tree preservation and there would need to be replacement trees planted for those. Miklo said staff has not had an opportunity to share the assessment with the City Forester and would like to do so. He said he informed the applicant that staff did not have time to look at the new information, and the applicant agreed to defer this to the next meeting. Schintler asked if the Commission would received a revised plan at that time, since some things have changed. Miklo confirmed this. MOTION: Gibson moved to defer REZ00-00131SUB00-0010, an application from Southgate Development for a rezoning from Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH-1) to Sensitive Areas Overlay (OSA-1) and a preliminary plat of Walnut Ridge Parts 8-10, a 35.15 acre, 23-1ot residential subdivision located on Kennedy Parkway, to Planning and Zoning Commission June 15, 2000 Page 16 the July 6, 2000 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Hansen seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. Referring to the conservation easement, Ehrhardt asked what would happen if the homeowners' association would dissolve. Holecek said staff has not yet resolved whether the City would be agreeable to having the agreement done in the manner of allowing the homeowners' association handle it, as opposed to having a conservation easement. She said she has not yet discussed this with the applicant's attorney, Tom Gelman, so that a deferral is in order. REZ00-0017. Public discussion of a City-initiated application to rezone 20.78 acres from Interim Development Multi-Family Residential (ID-RM) to Public (P) for property located west of Gilbert Street, south of Napoleon Lane. Miklo said when land is purchased by the City or some other public entity, it is zoned P as a matter of course. He pointed out that there is additional land that the City recently acquired to the north of this that will also need to be zoned P, perhaps at the Commission's next meeting. Miklo said the Airport has also been acquiring property in the flight protection areas as well as additional lands but would like to wait until all the properties are obtained to come in with one rezoning, rather than several small ones. Miklo said staff recommends approval of this. He said because it is a rezoning, the Commission may want to hold two meetings, but that could be waived, under the circumstances. The consensus was to vote on this application and not hold a second meeting. Public discussion: There was none. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Schintler moved to approve REZ00-00'I7, a City-initiated application to rezone 20.78 acres from Interim Development Multi-Family Residential (ID-RM) to Public (P) for property located west of Gilbert Street, south of Napoleon Lane. Ehrhardt seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. DEVELOPMENT ITEM: SUB96-0006. Public discussion of an application from Thomas Wegman for a preliminary plat of Prairie View Estates, Part 4, a 30.86 acre, 22 lot residential subdivision located north of Interstate 80, east of Prairie Du Chien Road. Miklo said staff received a letter requesting that this be deferred until the July 6 meeting. He said staff recommends deferral. MOTION: Gibson moved to defer SUB96-0006, an application from Thomas Wegman for a preliminary plat of Prairie View Estates, Part 4, a 30.86 acre, 22 lot residential subdivision located north of Interstate 80, east of Prairie Du Chien Road, to the July 6, 2000 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Schintler seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. Planning and Zoning Commission June 15,2000 Page17 CONSIDERATION OF THE JUNE 1, 2000 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES: MOTION: Gibson moved to approve the minutes of the June 1, 2000 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, as written. Ehrhardt seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 6-0. OTHER: Ehrhardt said she would be unable to attend the July 3 meeting. Hansen said he would miss the July 3 and the July 6 meetings. Miklo said there would be a fairly light agenda so that the meeting of July 3 could be canceled. He said he would keep Commission members informed. Bovbjerg said she would be unable to attend the meetings of August 17 and September 4. Holecek said she would be gone for the July 3 and July 6 meetings, but Andy Matthews would probably stand in as legal staff for that meeting. Bovbjerg said that the Commission thanked Dick Gibson for his many years of public service on the Commission. Holecek said she has appreciated Gibson's comments and how well he has articulated the reasons for his decision making. She said it is important not only as guidance for the applicant but also to have those reasons on the record. She said she would miss his input. Miklo said that even when staff has disagreed with Gibson, it was clear that Gibson's perspective is to ask what is in the best interest of the community and what is the perspective of the larger community in this issue. Bovbjerg said she has learned a lot from Gibson, and it has been helpful to have someone who can show at least one way of presenting thoughts in such a manner that they can be understood and acted on. Gibson said he has enjoyed his experience on the Commission and is regretful that he cannot complete his second term. He said it has been a great opportunity to contribute to the community, and staff has done a superb job during his tenure on the Commission. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Dean Shannon, Secretary Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte ppdadmin~nins~p&z6-15doc PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION JULY 6, 2000 7:30 P.M. ' CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Ann Bovbjerg, Benjamin Chait, Pam Ehrhardt, Marilyn Schintler, Dean Shannon MEMBERS ABSENT: Jerry Hansen ',' E', STAFF PRESENT: Andy Matthews, Bob Miklo OTHERS PRESENT: Glenn Siders, Larry Schnittjer, Tom Gelman "' RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Recommended approval, by a vote of 5-0, of REZ00-0013/SUB00-0010, an a~ation~om Southgate Development for a rezoning from Planned Development Housing OverFay (OP~-I) to Sensitive Areas Overlay (OSA-1) and a prelimina~ plat of Walnut Ridge Pa~s 8-10, a 35.15 acre, 23-1ot residential subdivision located on Kennedy Parkway subject to the final plat including a City Forester approved tree replacement plan including 60 forest trees to be located within the tree protection buffer and/or the street medians of pa~s 8-10, and a conseNation easement to assure the long-term protection of the woodlands and the protected slopes. Recommended, by a vote of 5-0, that the City fo~ard a letter to the Johnson County Board of SupeNisors recommending that CZ0030, a request to rezone approximately 43.17 acres located on the west side of Prairie du Chien Road at Newpo~ Road from A1 to RS, be approved, unless the Board determines that strict adherence to the "infill" policies contained in the Land Use Plan is essential to the successful implementation of the Plan. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Bovbjerg called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES ON CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: Bovbjerg invited those interested to serve on a City board or commission to give input on topics that might be of interest to them. She said the City has a wide variety of boards and commissions. REZONING/DEVELOPMENT ITEM: REZ00-0013/SUB00-0010. Public discussion of an application from Southgate Development for a rezoning from Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH-1) to Sensitive Areas Overlay (OSA-1) and a preliminary plat of Walnut Ridge Parts 8-10, a 35.15 acre, 23-1ot residential subdivision located on Kennedy Parkway. Miklo said the City Forester visited the property, reviewed the applicant's assessment of the tree situation, and concurs with the applicant's findings that 60 replacement trees would be required, since the area of disturbance where a tree clearing occurred resulted in more than 30% of the woodland being disturbed. Miklo said the City Forester has provided a list of trees Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 6, 2000 Page 2 that are in the existing woodland that he recommends be replaced in the general area where the disturbance occurred. He stated that it would be approximately north of the grading limit line where no additional grading is being proposed. Miklo said the recommended trees are a variety of oaks, hackberry, wild cherry, American linden, and hickory trees. Miklo said, as provided by the Sensitive Areas Ordinance, some of the replacement trees could also occur in the public right-of-way, e.g. in the medians or the ends of the cul-de-sac bulbs. Miklo said staff also recommends approval of this include a conservation easement at the time of the final plat to ensure that the tree protection area and the protected slopes are not further disturbed. He said the other technical deficiencies have been corrected, so staff recommends approval subject to the final plat including a plan approved by the City Forester for replacing 60 forest trees, to be located within approximately the tree protection buffer and the other area disturbed and also possibly in the street medians, to be determined at the time of the final plat and subject to a conservation easement to assure long term protection of the remaining woodlands and protected slopes. Ehrhardt asked what percentage of replacement trees could be planted in the median strip. Miklo stated the City Forester would look at the space to make sure the trees are not planted too close together. He said the City Forester's thought was that, given the size of the median and the fact that when they mature, the trees will be fairly large, obviously all 60 would not be planted in the median. Schintler asked about the statement referring to three trees per lot. Miklo said 60 trees are required, so that divided by lot, the requirement would only be three per lot. He said staff is not necessarily recommending that three be replaced on each lot, but 'that over the course of the subdivision, 60 is not that many trees. Public discussion: Glenn Siders, South.clate Development, asked the Commission to consider that the percentage the developer came up with, 25%, is an arbitrary number, which appears to be the consensus of the forester of the number of trees that could be damaged and equates to 60 trees by the City's formula. He said the Commission should be aware of the fact that Southgate has planted nearly 500 trees out there that were not required by any ordinance. Siders said that was done simply to enhance the development. He asked the Commission to consider not mandating a specific number of trees or a specific type. Siders said this development was started well before the Sensitive Areas Ordinance existed. He said the developer came up with a theme throughout the development and has carried that theme up to this point. Siders said the preliminary plat expired so that a new plat had to be applied for, and now the Sensitive Areas Ordinance applies. He said the developer hates to interrupt the theme when he is almost at the end of the development. Siders said it is conceivable that he could easily get 60 more trees in the median and the right- of-way, as has been done in the past and may not have to put any in the buffer strip. He said he is more than happy to do that but has not yet designed the landscaping and some of the trees would not be of the type on the list. Siders said he would like to continue the theme of planting crabapples, spruces, and pin oaks and get credit for that. He said he will not get credit for the nearly 500 trees already planted out there, because the ordinance came after they were planted. Siders said, however, that when he asked staff if the developer could remove 60 additional trees and then replace them and still comply with the ordinance, the answer was yes. Miklo said he did not believe that was the case. He stated that the ordinance reads that the City Forester approves the trees to be replaced. Miklo said if staff informed Siders that existing trees could be removed and then replaced for compliance, then it was an erroneous statement. He Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 6, 2000 Page 3 said the previous subdivision is a different part and is not the same area. Siders asked the Commission to give the developer credit for the many trees already planted and allow Southgate to continue in the fashion as it has been. Regarding the conservation easement, Siders said the developer is not troubled by what was recommended in the staff report. He said Southgate is still having conversations with the City legal department, which is reviewing the possibility of a home ownership type thing. Siders said either way seems to be acceptable to staff, depending on approval by the City legal department, and at final plat stage, it will be one way or the other. Shannon asked how the number 60 was arrived at. Siders said there are 48,000 square feet of trees in the buffer area between the grading line and the 50-foot buffer line. He said the number comes from taking 25% of the square footage and using the formula for replacing trees at one tree per every 200 square feet of disturbed area. Siders said 25% of the 48,000 square feet is 12,000 square feet, and that number divided by 200 equals 60 trees. Miklo said that is correct. He showed the area where grading and tree removal were done without approval of a plan. Miklo showed the buffer area, pointing out that if the developer had followed the ordinance, this is where he would have stopped. He showed the area where additional trees were disturbed. Miklo said there are still trees there and also trees beyond that line that might have been damaged by the grading that occurred near their root systems. Miklo said the estimate is that 60 trees are needed to replace one for every 200 square feet of damaged area. Siders said the developer has not taken out more than 30%. Shannon asked Siders if he had a problem with the 60 tree requirement. Siders responded that he did not have a problem with the number, but he feels that when the developer puts in 500 trees, he should get some credit for that and be allowed to continue on with the same landscape theme. Siders said the City Forester is specifying certain types of trees. He said the crabs and spruces the developer would like to plant are not on the list of approved trees. Miklo stated that the ordinance says that replacement trees must be approved by the 'City and, to the extent possible, should be the same or equivalent species as trees being removed. Miklo said the City Forester has determined that the valuable forest trees in this area are oaks, hickory, wild cherry, and a few others on the list, and that is why the City Forester is recommending that those same species be used. Siders said of the trees the developer has planted, the only one that would comply would be the oaks. Ehrhardt asked how it happened that those trees were destroyed and asked for suggestions so that this would not happen with other developers. Siders said he took full responsibility for how this happened. He said he misunderstood the ordinance. Siders said he thought he was allowed to go in and remove 30% of that and did not realize he had to get the sensitive area tree program and everything approved before that was done. Siders said he was aware of the percentages but not aware he did the process incorrectly. He said he removed the trees and then became aware of how it actually should have been. Siders said better education probably would have corrected his errors. Ehrhardt asked Siders if he had occasion to deal with the Sensitive Areas Ordinance before. Siders said he had but believed it had always related to critical slopes in Southgate's case and did not recall ever doing anything with trees before. Miklo said Walden Hills included woodlands. Siders agreed that was correct but said he was not part of that development. Ehrhardt said one of the reasons for the City Forester suggesting certain trees is that there is no equating a crabapple to the longevity of an oak tree. She said the developer may have plans for crabapples but what has been destroyed is a woodland, with oak and long-lasting trees. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 6, 2000 Page 4 Ehrhardt asked if the developer already plants in the median strip. Siders responded that he plants both along the outside of the curb and also in the split boulevard. Ehrhardt said in effect then, the developer is getting credit, because the ordinance will allow him to plant some of these trees in the median strip, which he would be doing anyway. She said it is just dictating which trees will be put in those median strips. Siders said he did not agree he was getting credit for that. He said this is asking for 60 trees of a different type than what they are doing. Siders said he is allowed to put trees in the right-of-way, so he did not see where that would be a credit. Ehrhardt stated that the expense of putting in an oak will not be much greater than putting in a crabapple, and it is just the design that will be different. Siders agreed but said he has made other concessions such as smaller cul-de-sacs and moving the grading line in order to accommodate the trees. Bovbjerg said the number of trees then seems to not be as problematic as the type of trees. She asked Siders if the developer planned to put those kinds of trees on the median or cul-de- sacs even without the request for the 60 trees. Siders said most likely. He said he did not know if he could get all 60 there. He said he would plant it at the same ratio as was used up to this phase. Siders said he believed the developer planted 71 or 72 trees as part of the landscaping scheme along the right-of-ways and in the median, but not including the cul-de-sacs, in Pads 6 and 7. He said this area is not that large, so he did not think you could get quite that number. Siders said if the tree ordinance did not exist, the developer would continue to do what has been done in the past. Bovbjerg said she had two concerns. She said one concern is putting some of these bigger trees up in the disturbed area as a way of holding the slopes. She said she did not know whether that is one of the aims. Bovbjerg said she is also concerned about making sure there are some there and not just crowding them all down below. She said if the idea is to reforest what was taken down, either for aesthetics or for holding the ground, then there is a difference between what the City Forester is saying and what Siders is proposing. Siders said he would try to get as many in the outlot and right-of-way areas as he possibly could. He said he did not want to put them on individual lots, because he was concerned about an enforcement problem. Siders said he would put the trees on the outlot areas, so they would not be concentrated toward individual lot owners. Siders said he believed most of the slopes were not in the buffer area. Miklo replied that the more severe slopes are not. He said he was not sure that controlling erosion was necessarily the concern, but re-establishing forest trees is the big issue here. Miklo said the City Forester felt the area where trees were removed was the best area to put the replacement trees, because they would not interfere with home sites and would be on the edge of the existing forest. He said because that was a forested area, the indications are that is a good location for those types of trees since they did well before. Siders said the ordinance encourages putting the trees in outlots and common areas, and Miklo confirmed this. Bovbjerg said of the list of trees Siders has put in and the list the City Forester has suggested, the oaks are the only ones common to both lists. Siders said he believed that was the case. He said he puts in a number of spruces, some crabapples for color, some pin oaks, and some ash trees. Schintler asked if Siders could work this out with the City Forester. Siders said unless the Commission says something else is acceptable, the City Forester is going to say here is the list and to follow the list. He said he has a tree person who plants them and spaces them appropriately, so that he does not see any difficulties with technical problems. Siders said the City Forester is obligated by an ordinance, so unless he is told something different, there will not be a lot of flexibility. Miklo said the Commission itself and the City is somewhat bound by the ordinance that says the trees should be of an equivalent species to the trees removed. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 6, 2000 Page 5 Bovbjerg said possible wording for the motion could refer to a City Forester approved tree replacement plan. She said she did not know how much flexibility the City Forester would then have. Miklo responded that the City Forester would refer to the ordinance, which also refers to a list of forest trees. Miklo said that list is a little broader than the one presented. He stated the proposal for this property contains trees suggested by the City Forester, based on the site conditions that he saw on the property. Miklo said the list of forest trees is broader but does not include ornamental trees such as those referred to. Bovbjerg asked if the City Forester had any conclusion or impression of a percentage or number that could or should go in the median versus how much should go up in the woods. Miklo said the City Forester's feeling was the best place for them was near the woodland, that the median was certainly suitable for some, and the end of the cul-de-sacs might also be another possible location. He said the City Forester did not give specific percentages. Siders said if the developer were to be consistent with what has already been done, the entire median would have trees, there would be a cluster of trees in the triangular common area, clusters of trees in all the cul-de-sacs, and possibly clusters of trees in corners of lots for visibility or screening. He said sometimes he puts trees on individual lots, and there is another common area where they would probably put some trees because it is kind of sparse. Siders said that is what they would do, regardless of any ordinance. Ehrhardt said there are two things being discussed here. She said one is the design plan for the landscaping and the other is the trees that were destroyed during the grading. Ehrhardt said the issue here is the trees that need to be replaced. Bovbjerg said that is absolutely correct, but she is trying to honor the developer's request to consider otherwise. Bovbjerg said, however, that the tree replacement is the City Foresters concern as well as what is addressed by the ordinance. Larrv Schnittier, 1917 South Gilbert, said, referring to the City Forester's list, that wild cherry, hickory, walnut, and some of the other species cannot be found in a nursery. Ehrhardt said they can be ordered, and she has done so and used them in a park she has worked on. Schnittjer said hickory trees can be ordered from Cascade Forestry and Nursery, but they come fairly small. Miklo said that is why it is important not to cut them down in the first place. Schnittjer said a lot of these species are not well suited for an urban environment, because people don't like to pick up the nuts and take care of the extra mess that comes with them. He agreed that the list contains forest trees, and it is forest trees that were removed, but as long as they are being replaced, they should be replaced with trees that people will take care of. Tom Gelman, 714 McLean, said he is the attorney for Southgate. Regarding the grading, Gelman said it is clear there was an inappropriate sequence in the grading, but in reality, the grading could be done and approved anyway and the trees removed so that this really becomes a mitigation issue. Gelman said the issue is how the removal of certain trees will be mitigated in a permitted grading situation. He said you're not limited to grading the area, but if you do grade the area and exceed 30%, then there is a mitigation obligation. Gelman said in this situation, there is a subdivision that has been in existence for some time under a consistent development plan that was originally approved by the City and is being built according to that plan very consistently with little variation. He said it was good for the City and reasonable for the developer to do it that way. Gelman said what has happened here is there is an intervening Sensitive Areas Ordinance that has come in with new standards now that have been imposed upon the developer. He said that is okay except for the fact that if that ordinance had been in existence at the inception of this plan, then all the trees that have been planted up Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 6, 2000 Page 6 to this point would or could most likely have complied with the ordinance and would certainly have been credited to the developer and would have mitigated the tree loss and the very final phase of the project. Gelman said but for the fact of the timing of the adoption of the ordinance, now all of a sudden what is being said is there will be no credit for that mitigation for all those trees previously planted. He said if the timing had been somewhat different, the result would have been very different. Gelman said this could be unfortunate for the developer in this instance, but maybe there could be some additional flexibility from the City's standpoint, given the fact that the City wants to encourage that type of development and tree planting in subdivisions. He said he believes the City has been very satisfied with the type of tree planting and landscaping that has been done in this subdivision. Gelman said it is a reasonableness issue that the Commission is now confronted with in this scenario. He said all Southgate is asking for here is some flexibility, rather than rigidity. Gelman said he believed that, from looking at the ordinance, this mitigation is intended to be very flexible and to provide some flexibility to resolve situations as they may arise. He said in this instance he feels there may be too much rigidity in terms of the response from City staff in terms of the possibilities to mitigate this circumstance and in terms of the possibility of giving some credit to the subdivider for the good that has already been done out there in terms of the landscaping. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Chait moved to approve REZ00-00t3/SUB00-0010, an application from Southgate Development for a rezoning from Planned Development Housing Overlay (OPDH-1) to Sensitive Areas Overlay (OSA-1) and a preliminary plat of Walnut Ridge Parts 8-10, a 35.15 acre, 23-1ot residential subdivision located on Kennedy Parkway subject to the final plat including a City Forester approved tree replacement plan including 60 forest trees to be located within the tree protection buffer and/or the street medians of parts 8-10, and a conservation easement to assure the long-term protection of the woodlands and the protected slopes. Shannon seconded the motion. Siders asked that instead of limiting this to just the median and buffer strips, this be opened up to other common areas such as the triangular outlot. Ehrhardt said she is glad the developer has planted so many trees. She said every tree planted is of value, and there is no loss with any kind of tree that is planted. Ehrhardt said it is good the developer admits he violated the City ordinance in his grading. She said the ordinance clearly spells out the consequences of violation, and she feels strongly that woodland trees should be used as replacements. Ehrhardt said she does not think there should be credit for the trees already planted. She said she would vote for the motion as presented. Shannon said he is encouraged to see all the trees the developer has planted. He said he would like to see the developer get credit for that if there were a way to do it, but apparently the ordinance says the developer has to put back what was there. Shannon said he would like to see some way for the developer to get credit for the trees already planted, because it makes such a nice neighborhood. He said he would be voting in favor of the motion. Schintler said she would also vote for the motion. She said she appreciated all the trees the developer has planted on this site. Schintler said if there is any way to work something out with the types of trees she would be in favor of it but was not sure if that would be possible. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 6, 2000 Page 7 Bovbjerg said she also appreciates the way this has been done so far. She said, however, that Parts 8-10 should stand by themselves, even though the whole development as an entirety is well served by what has gone on before. Bovbjerg said she would like to think that the developer and the City could work on this replacement plan. She said it seems that replacing the forest in the forest, to the extent possible, is a very good idea, giving some kind of credit of the 60 trees onto medians, corners, and cul-de-sacs. Bovbjerg said there could be and may be some flexibility within the wording of this motion, and she would be voting for it. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0. Miklo said the City Council would set a public hearing on July 18 for its first meeting in August for this item. REZ00-0005/SUB00-0016. Public discussion of an application submitted by Walden Wood Associates II, LLP, for a revised Sensitive Areas Development Plan and a preliminary plat of a resubdivision of Lot 52, Walden Hills, a 4.89 acre, 19-1ot residential subdivision located on the west side of Shannon Drive, south of Willow Creek. Miklo said this is before the Commission as a rezoning, because it was included in the larger sensitive areas overlay, and the initial plan had transferred some density from an area that was later open space to the western portion of the site. He said that is changing with this particular plan, because the density is actually decreasing quite a bit. Miklo said the previous plan that was approved on the site called for 32 townhouses in four-unit buildings on a private ring road with a pedestrian courtyard in the middle. He said the revised plan would replace that with a cul-de-sac with 19 individual single-family lots on the cul-de-sac. Miklo said the plan, as submitted, is for the most part in technical compliance with the ordinance; however, there are some minor details that have not been worked out with the engineering staff. He said those need to be corrected, so staff is recommending deferral. He stated that a waiver of the 45-day limitation period would be needed to defer. Miklo said there are a couple of issues that are built into the plan to address the design of it. He said four lots are double-fronting lots, with frontage on the new proposed cul-de-sac, Andrea Court, as well as on Shannon Drive. Miklo said staff therefore recommends that a vegetative buffer be included in that area. He said the previous conditional zoning agreement required an evergreen buffer along the interstate highway, and that would continue with this, as would the other stipulations of the conditional zoning agreement. Miklo said staff recommends approval, subject to correction of the technical deficiencies on the plat. He said this should therefore be deferred, and he anticipated that corrections would be made before the next meeting. Bovbjerg said there have sometimes been subdivisions with double-fronting lots for which the Commission has advised a solid wall fence, e.g., along Mormon Trek. Miklo replied that the City did not advise that fence; it was put up by homeowners. He said one of the reasons the City has been suggesting, recommending, and requiring vegetative buffers is to ensure there is not that blank wall effect along city streets. Bovbjerg said sometimes it has been suggested that a wall not go up, but it is not precluded. Miklo confirmed this but said it is thought that if the trees are planted at the time the street is built, then they will be somewhat established, making it less likely that a wall will be erected by the future homeowners. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 6, 2000 Page 8 Public discussion: Glenn Siders, said he had not seen the staff report but would correct any engineering deficiencies. He said he would provide a waiver of the 45-day limitation period. Ehrhardt asked why the design of this subdivision was changed. Siders responded that the previous proposal of townhouses was so architecturally intense that it was not cost beneficial. He said the developer decided to keep building the single-family homes, because they have been selling well. Bovbjerg asked if these would be similar in design to the cottage-type houses on Lot 52. Siders said the design would be similar to the majority of what is out there now and would not be like the little cottage houses. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Schintler moved to defer REZ00-0005/SUB00-0016, an application submitted by Walden Wood Associates II, LLP, for a revised Sensitive Areas Development Plan and a preliminary plat of a resubdivision of Lot 52, Walden Hills, a 4.89 acre, 19-1ot residential subdivision located on the west side of Shannon Drive, south of Willow Creek, to the August 3, 2000 meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0. REZONING ITEM: CZ0030. Public discussion of an application submitted to Johnson County to rezone approximately 43.17 acres located within Fringe Area A on the west side of Prairie du Chien Road at Newport Road from A1, Rural, to RS, Suburban Residential. Miklo said this property is north on Prairie du Chien Road on the west side and is in Iowa City's Fringe Area A. He said Fringe Area A calls for review of rezonings and, on a case by case basis, consideration of approving them to RS-3, which is one lot per three acres. Miklo said if clustering is proposed, the Fringe Area Agreement contemplates the consideration of RS-1, which is one lot per acre. Miklo showed the area under consideration for rezoning on an overhead map. He said the area to the west was previously zoned for RS back in the early 1960s, and the area to the north was rezoned a few years ago. Miklo said there was a requirement to put in a street to allow secondary access for the area under consideration as well as the area to the west. He said by development of this, there will be a good circulation system for both subdivisions. Miklo said the area to the west was zoned and could be built as such. He said the area is proposed for a cluster development, which is in compliance with the Fringe Area Agreement. Miklo said the corn suitability rating on this land is fairly low, so the County's Land Use Plan and Fringe Area Agreement indicate it is appropriate for consideration for rezoning. He said Prairie du Chien Road has been built and brought up to standard for the traffic that would be generated. Miklo said the County Engineer has some concerns about the intersection design and possibly a deceleration lane, which the County will review when it reviews the plat of this in the future. Miklo said because this is in compliance with the Fringe Area Agreement and the Johnson County Land Use Plan, for the most part, staff recommends approval. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 6, 2000 Page 9 Miklo noted that the County has one concern about the Land Use Plan in that it encourages infill development and discourage rezonings when there are large areas that have already been zoned but are yet to be developed. He said that is the case in this area; there are already several hundred acres that are already zoned RS that aren't developed. Miklo said staff feels there may be some justification for the rezoning in this case because rezoning this will actually encourage infill development of some of the area to the west that otherwise would not develop any time soon. He said staff recommends approval. Ehrhardt asked about the density of the area to the west. Miklo said it would be less than one unit per acre. Bovbjerg said the County's concern is that the area to the west should be developed first or this would be considered opposed to infill. Miklo said the County's Land Use Plan says that infill should be developed first, which would lead one to conclude that the existing areas zoned RS should develop first. He said there are also other RS areas zoned in this general vicinity of Prairie du Chien; however it is very unlikely the area to the west would develop without some access to Prairie du Chien Road. Bovbjerg asked about the looped street in the area to the west. She said it appears that it could not be built until getting into the western part, unless a road were brought down separately. Bovbjerg asked if that part were just an idea, and Miklo stated that this is just a concept plan. Public discussion: Larry Schnittier said he would address any of the Commission's questions. He said the area of the existing zone to the west is approximately 60 acres. Schnittjer said from the previous conditions on Westcott Heights, it's understood that the development needs a street system that connects to Westcott Heights and back out to Prairie du Chien before much development at all on this property can be proceeded with. Schnittjer said he did not think the looped street can just be developed and tied back into Westcott Heights and get either City or County approval. He said this proposed subdivision has lots of less than an acre on the west portion and will have a central sewage system and a central water system, so that there will not be the individual septic systems to worry about. Bovbjerg asked if the existing Westcott Heights also had central water and sewer, and Schnittjer said there is just central water. He said this particular development works well for a central sewage system. He said it allows the developer to maximize the density and still meet the 50% open space requirement. Bovbjerg asked if this area is beyond the City's gravity flow service area. Miklo said he believed so. He said the City can sewer approximately 750 acres north of Interstate 80, and this property is probably just beyond that. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Shannon moved to recommend that the City forward a letter to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors recommending that CZ0030, a request to rezone approximately 43.17 acres located on the west side of Prairie du Chien Road at Newport Road from AI to RS, be approved, unless the Board determines that strict adherence to the "infill" policies contained in the Land Use Plan is essential to the successful Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes July 6, 2000 Page 10 implementation of the Plan. Ehrhardt seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0. DEVELOPMENT ITEM: SUB96-0006. Public discussion of an application from Thomas Wegman for a preliminary plat of Prairie View Estates, Part 4, a 30.86-acre, 22-1ot residential subdivision located north of Interstate 80, east of Prairie du Chien Road. (45-day limitation period expires July 6). Miklo said staff received a letter waiving the 45-day limitation period and requesting indefinite deferral. Public discussion: There was RORe. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Schintler moved to defer SUB96-0006, an application from Thomas Wegman for a preliminary plat of Prairie View Estates, Part 4, a 30.86-acre, 22-1ot residential subdivision located north of Interstate 80, east of Prairie du Chien Road, indefinitely. Ehrhardt seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0. CONSIDERATION OF THE JUNE 15, 2000 PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES: MOTION: Ehrhardt moved to approve the minutes of the June 15, 2000 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting minutes, subject to corrections of typographical errors to be submitted by Bovbjerg. Shannon seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0. OTHER: Miklo referred to an article from the Indianapolis newspaper discussing a project very similar to the Peninsula project. Schintler asked if the developer would be building all the homes in the Peninsula. Miklo said the developer would depend on local builders for that but would be constructing the infrastructure. The Commission discussed the possibility of canceling one of the upcoming summer meetings if there would happen to be a light agenda. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:37 p.m. Dean Shannon, Secretary Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte ppdadm/min/p&z7~S~O. doc