Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-03-05 Bd Comm minutesIOWA CITY PUBLIC ART ADVISORY COMMITTEE REVISED MINUTES WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2001 4:00 PM LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBRS PRESENT: Rick Fosse, Sandra Hudson, Betsy Klein, Gary Nagle, Terry Trueblood, Emily Vermillion MEMBERS ABSENT: None STAFF PRESENT: Joyce Carroll, Karin Franklin, Marcia Klingaman OTHERS PRESENT: None PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. DISCUSSION OF THE IOWA AVENUE LITERARY WALK: Franklin outlined the options available for dealing with the north side of Iowa Avenue between Linn and Gilbert streets. The four options presented were to do nothing; to eliminate the entire block from the Literary Walk; to complete just the bronze inlays by cutting out the existing concrete; and to complete the project by removing and repouring the sidewalk, inlaying the bronze plaques and stamping the new concrete. Franklin pointed out there would be costs to any of the options. The first two were ill defined given the reaction of the artist to a change in the contract could not be known but that the Committee should expect that he would want full payment under the contract; the costs for options three and four were an increase of $4,032 and $14,732, respectively. Hudson indicated she had take the issue before The University Club Writers Group, whose members have a strong interest in the Literary Walk. They felt rather than redo the walkway on Iowa Avenue from Linn Street to Gilbert, it would have greater impact for the community if the bronze plaques and stamping were to be placed along Dubuque Street between Iowa Avenue and Washington Street. There were three reasons for this. First, it would directly connect the Iowa Avenue Literary Walk to the Ped Mall and the public art sculptures that will soon be installed there. Second, the Literary Walk would then go past Prairie Lights Book Store, which is a literary institution in this community which should be represented on an equal footing with Iowa Book. Third, pedestrian traffic is greater on Dubuque Street, thus the Literary Walk would be enjoyed by a greater number of people. Franklin pointed out that the sidewalk was narrower on Dubuque Street and there were sidewalk vaults in Dubuque Street. Vermillion stated her concern with the diminishment of the size of downtown as had experienced in her lifetime in Iowa City and suggested that this project provided a necessary visual expansion of downtown to the east. She felt one of the benefits of this project was to draw the downtown outward. She supported completing the project along Iowa Avenue. Hudson countered that she felt the downtown center needed to be strengthened and solidified before we attempt to stretch it outward. Fosse expressed concern over the public reaction to removing a sidewalk that had just been placed last year and suggested stockpiling the bronze plaques for use somewhere else, as the opportunity arose. Trueblood indicated that there is likely to be negative comments from the public regardless of what is done and advocated completing the project. Nagle agreed indicating the added cost was not huge. Fosse indicated he would not do it regardless of the cost for fear of public negativity. Nagle moved and Trueblood seconded a motion to proceed with completing the project by removing the band of sidewalk, repouring the walk, installing the plaques and stamping the concrete. The motion passed 4-2 (Fosse and Hudson voting no). Meeting adjourned at approximately 4:45pm. Minutes submitted by Karin Franklin. MINUTES IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2001 Members Present: Winston Barclay, Linda Dellsperger, Mary McMurray, Mark Martin, Lisa Parker, Linda Prybil, Shaner Magalh~es, Jesse Singerman, Jim Swaim Staff Present: Maeve Clark, Susan Craig, Larry Eckholt, Debb Green, Heidi Lauritzen, Kara Logsden, Madha Lubaroff, Liz Nichols, Others: CALL TO ORDER: President Madin called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. Public Discussion APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Swaim clarified his statement in the minutes regarding the City's low frequency radio application. His comment should have been reported that if the FCC proposal goes through, United Action for Youth, in a separate but coordinated effort, might work with the City to provide a youth radio station. Minutes approved as corrected. Dellsperger/Swaim UNFINISHED BUSINESS Buildinq Project: The report on the second public meeting with the architect was very positive. About thirty people came and had issues to raise. The meeting was broadcast and taped. Several Board members artended. There was much support and enthusiasm for the building. Craig was asked about the response to the issue of public art. She reported on a plan that she is working on with the staff. As Joe Huberty, our architect, explained, there are artistic elements to the building: walls, floors, entryways, as well as an oppodunity for public art outside the building. The library currently owns a collection of public art. Competition for space between the art we currently own, donor recognition concepts, and purchasing more art could present a problem. Craig suggests putting together a committee that is composed of the five public members of our present art advisory committee, two staff members, one manager and 2 or 3 board members. Parker suggested there could be communication between our art advisory committee and the city's art advisory committee. In response to a question, we are not governed by state regulations that require a percentage of the budget be spent on art. Swaim encouraged an art space for local young people that would be a permanent yet ever-changing display. The architect has talked with Craig about the YA section as a possible location for the mural; perhaps a reproduction of it or a piece of it. The City does set aside an amount of money for public art each year. However, Craig explained that she thinks it is earmarked for the next several years to complete the literary walk and sculpture for downtown. This proposed committee would work on the process, consult with the architect and ICPL Board Meeting January 25, 2001 Page 2 make a recommendation to the Board. Swaim asked if we were targeting any of the campaign money for art. Eckholt said the first goal is to raise the $1.5 million we have committed too. Once that is raised, any extra could be used for art if that was a priority. Craig will write up the proposed committee structure and charge for the next meeting. NEW BUSINESS AFSCME contract. Staff member Byers, who represented Library bargaining unit staff during negotiations, was present. The revised contracts are included in the packet. Byers repoded that the temporary employee issue raised early in negotiations was later dropped. The current language on use of temporary employees stays in the contract. Prybil asked about longevity pay. Byers said that 64% of City AFSCME employees are at the top of the pay scale. Craig explained that this is a way to reward employees who remain at their jobs long-term. Martin asked Byers her thoughts on whether or not library staff would ever want to negotiate a separate contract since a councilmember asked. Byers replied that other city departments are looking at the library's "open door" management labor relationship as a model and that she believed that Library AFSCME employees would not want a separate contract. A motion to approve the contract was made by Swaim/DeIIsperger. It was approved unanimously. Architect's contract It was not available at meeting time. Andy Matthews, Assistant City Attorney, came to the meeting to highlight points of contract. He said there were many people providing input. As a result it became a series of three contracts rather than one contract. He explained that there would be a great deal of repetitious material in contracts. He saw no significant issues that would result in delays. Merging documents took a lot of time. Most architects are familiar with the traditional AIA contract language and the City wanted to use their own contracts. Matthews met with Huberty that day. They reached a consensus, final changes will be made and they should have them ready sometime next week. Matthews said the architectural firm has been very responsive to questions, very flexible, and all parties are working toward the same goal. Contracts should be ready for Board's review next week. Craig wants to set a special meeting sometime during the week of February 5. Contracts can go out by next Friday. Meeting time was set for 7:30 am Tuesday February 6. Craig asked for a formal motion to allow her to authorize the payment of bills that have been submitted to her without a contract thus far. Parker/Dellsperger moved and seconded to authorize Craig to pay the architect's bills pre-contract. Six month planninq report for FY01 Craig expressed her gratification at seeing how much has been accomplished. She asked for any questions or concerns. A question was raised about the planning goal to solicit staff's input for the building. Craig explained that for two days, the, architects are meeting with all staff members departmentally to share concerns. All staff will have opportunities to review plans and comment. ICPL Board Meeting January 25, 2001 Page 3 Swaim encouraged us to work on the strategy in our plan that encourages collaboration with youth. Director's qoals. Craig's goals were reviewed. One suggestion was made that we give out the Library's history book to all new Board members. Sponsor a team for the Spellinq Bee: The request was for $300.00 to sponsor a Spelling Bee team. Singerman moved/Dellsperger seconded. Motion passed unanimously Naminq Policy alteration: A recommendation from the Gift Recognition committee was to alter the naming policy to allow for gifts of $50,000 and up to qualify for naming space in honor of donor. Eckholt pointed out that it seemed fitting since our definition of major gifts is $50,000. Swaim moved adoption/Prybil seconded. The Board was unanimous in the revision of the policy. STAFF REPORTS Follow-up on FY02 budget request. Craig reported that during the budget discussion, council members expressed interest in working on the mural issue. The need for a network specialist was explained. Craig thinks the Budget meeting went well. Board members expressed concern about the Library being in the press often lately with a negative slant suggesting the library's expansion plans are responsible for some of the City's financial problems. The Mayor has written a letter to the County Supervisors about the jail library. He expressed his concern that inmates are losing access to the browsing library. The Board asked Craig to draft a letter from them as well. ALA membership. Any Board members interested should let Lubareff know. Memberships in ILA will be renewed automatically. Development Office Report. Included in packet. Eckholt said things are moving ahead on the campaign. A new library in Tiffin is being considered. ILA Legislative Day. Craig attended and will include something in next months' Board packet. ANNOUNCEMENT FROM MEMBERS Swaim reported that United Action for Youth may be moving their youth center to the south side of HWY 6. Contact Swaim if you'd like to know more. COMMUNICATIONS E-mail communication regarding building plans from John Gelhaus was included. FINANCIAL REPORTS Gift account report was reviewed. Operating budget receipts are about 50%; and expenditures are at about 50% as well. Reports show that we are about where we should be at this time of the fiscal year. USE REPORTS Some use numbers are up; like Intemet use, for example. Others are down somewhat. Circulation is going back up. DISBURSEMENTS Swaim moved approval of disbursements. Parker seconded. Approved unanimously. The Board recessed to the Civic Center. ARCHITECT'S PRESENTATION AT CIVIC CENTER Architects were there with plans prepared to provide information and field questions. The architects will need to study the most economical and least disruptive method to handle the temporary displacement of the playground equipment. They had met with City staff and discussed issues of consequences of possibly closing parts of Linn Street and preserving portions of 64 1A for a staging area. Council will meet soon to discuss possibilities of marketing 64 1A and when. There have been suggestions by interested parties who think it would be wise to get all the construction and disruption done at once. Plans were reviewed starting with the first floor. The Circulation area was modified somewhat in order to pull self-checkouts out to encourage people to use them. They re-organized a portion of the popular library and enlarged the young adult section. ICN room has been brought down to the first floor so it can easily be used before regular library hours. Staffing level at Help Desk will be similar to that of Children's Service Desk to provide assistance with adult collections on first floor. Mix of librarians with Masters in Library Science and library assistants with bachelors degrees and training in popular materials. Book returns will be designed for accessibility for patrons and staff. Restroom facilities will be accessible to meeting rooms. The upper level was reorganized to allow for arrival space, business tables, and a clear line of sight from Information Desk to page station. They are looking at incorporating a quiet room in the northwest camera. They've done some shifting of meeting rooms on the second floor; flipping with first floor. Training room is being discussed as being a room available to the public for word processing. There will be word processing available at many of the computers. Large meeting room will be set up to handle laptop presentations like Power Point. There is consensus that the outsides of the building reflect the feel of the library. There was discussion about the materials used. Reactions to the limestone have been positive. The goal is to have the building be as maintenance-free as possible. The building will have lots of glass. At the end of the design process, architects will present an estimate and a list of things that can be cut if necessary to fit the budget. There will be many opportunities to change things in the next few weeks. By the next meeting it is expected they will have material samples for the Board to view in the daylight. The consensus by the Board is that the design is one we can be comfortable with. Go for it. Adjourned at 7:05 p,m. Minutes taken and transcribed by Martha Lubaroff MINUTES Agenda item 3B IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY BOARD OF TRUSTEES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2001 Members Present: Winston Barclay, Linda Dellsperger, Mary McMurray, Mark Martin, Lisa Parker, Shaner Magalh~es, Staff Present: Susan Craig, Martha Lubaroff Meeting called to order at 7:30 am The one item on the agenda was to approve the contracts with Engberg Anderson Design Partnership. Barclay moved approval. Parker seconded. Discussion By way of background, Craig explained that three contracts are not the norm. In architectural projects, the contract for Furnishings, Fixtures & Equipment (FFE) is often separate from others but we have also separated Design Services & Construction Services. The City's Public Works Department preferred it this way. Details took a while to work out because the architects were not familiar with the terms. During construction, the architects report to Craig and the manager of the project from Public Works. Architects wanted to be comfortable with the contract and be able to have authority to inspect, etc. Details took awhile to work out. Magalh~es asked whether Craig felt it was necessary to have some son of informal written agreement between ICPL and City' s Public Works Department who will be administrators during construction. Craig has talked to Chuck Schmadeke and he is providing figures for the budget. She doesn't see the need for a formal contract. She is confident that we wilI get from them what we expect. City will chargeback the library for their services. Craig hopes that by February or March she will have a revised budget to show the Board. Did the early numbers include any money for construction management? Craig replied that there was an amount of money budgeted (about $100,000) but that will not cover the City's costs. Dellsperger is concerned about extra costs if building on 64 1-A takes place simultaneously. Craig said perhaps covering that could be included in an RFp ifthe property is marketed. Craig will approve the bills. Finance manages the money and issues the checks. They will decide when the bonds need to be issued. Craig explained that it is a similar process to any other capital project. Board is authorized to approve expenditures but Finance ICPL Special Board Meeting Page 2 February 6, 2001 at 7:30 aru pays the bills. City Attorney has said the referendum is the authorization for the Board to spend the money. Any other questions. Why the difference in reimbursement rates between the contracts? Craig believes that the $70,000 is the total amount of reimbursable. Magalh~es asked if the City discussed the inclusion of language regarding some type of reward or penalty for keeping to a schedule. Craig said that occurs at the construction level and should be included in the construction bid documents. Martin asked for a vote. All in favor voted Aye. Motion is carried. The February meeting will be a joint meeting with City Council to review the plans. Board agreed to meet on the regular meeting day at 4:30 p.m. and then adjourn to Civic Center at 5:30 p.m. Meeting adjourned at 8:15 am. I03-05-01 DRAFT 4b(4) IOWA CITY TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2001 - 5:30 PM CIVIC CENTER LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM MEMBERS PRESENT: Betty McKray, Jim Pusack, Terry Smith, Cathy Weingeist STAFF PRESENT: Drew Shaffer, Dale Helling, Andy Matthews, Bob Hardy, Mike Brau OTHERS PRESENT: Brad Workman-Goetz, Jason Livingston, Bob Simpson, Kara Logsden, Phil Phillips, Greg Thompson, Irvin Pfab RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL None at this time. SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION Bradley-Goetz reported that PATV has submitted a grant application to the State Historical Society for their Community Archives Project. The PATV Board will hold a strategic planning retreat on February 4 to plan for the upcoming year. Shaffer noted the memo in the packet which outlined the action of the City Council on January 16~. The Council approved a resolution that moved forward the contracting process for the finishing costs of the new City Cable TV Office in Tower Place. The Council approved using $125,000 from the pass-through fund for a portion of those costs. The Council also requested a recommendation from the Telecommunications Commission on a re-allocation of the $125,000 from the pass-through fund that will be accrued over the remaining life of the franchise. Weingeist said she resented the representation made by PATV to the Council that implied that because the joint facility concept fell apart that PATV is entitled to half of the facility funds. If any of the local access channels have a plan for a capital project, they should bring it to the Commission just as the City Cable TV Office. Helling said that provided the policy does not change regarding setting aside $25,000 per year for facilities, the fund will have $125,000 at the end of the franchise period. If the Commission wishes to make a recommendation to use only half of the accrued $125,000 for the Cable TV Office in Tower Place, then the City could make an internal loan for the remainder and apply funds to be collected over the next five years for re-payment. Smith said at this time there is one request before the Commission for the use of one half of the total amount of the funds that will be collected and is consistent with the intent of the funding. The Commission is interested in hearing requests from any other access channel for the remaining $125,000. The item will be placed on future meeting agendas. Smith moved to table the item to allow time for requests consistent with the current policy to use the funds to build equity in a facility to be prepared. Weingeist seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. In regards to the Triennial Review Pusack suggested that ShaffYr draft AT&T a letter addressing the issues and questions raised, including those brought up during the meeting. The Commission could discuss AT&T's response at the next Commission meeting and provide an opportunity for public input at the March meeting. The Commission reached consensus on that course of action. Smith moved to recommend the by-law changes to the City Council. Weingeist seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. APPROVAL OF M1NUTES Smith moved and Weingeist seconded a motion to approve the November 27, 2000 minutes. The motion passed unanimously. ANNOUNCEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS McKray said that she is no longer able to attend the PATV Board meetings. Other Commissioners may wish to consider attending the meetings. She asked that this be put on a future agenda after the new Commissioner come on board. SHORT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS None. SUBSCRIBER ISSUES Shaffer reported receiving 39 complaints between November 27 and January 16. Of those, 23 were about the cable modem service @Home and 16 about cable TV. Among the cable TV complaints 4 were about not being able to reach a customer service representative by phone, 2 about the rate increase, 2 about poor reception, 2 about the need for competition, and 5 about billing problems. Weingeist reported she too had difficulty reaching a customer service representative on the weekend. Pusack said that he has been unable to reach anyone, including an answering machine, at night. Shaffer said that this is an area that may need to be addressed during the triennial review. Pusack suggested that AT&T be asked what level of service they believe they should be providing and the level of service they believe they are providing. Pfab said that sometimes no one answers the phone at all. Shaffer said he will draft a letter to AT&T. Workman-Goetz reported that PATV's telephone number is listed in the new Qwest phone books as that for AT&T cable installation. Shaffer reported that of the 23 @Home complaints 12 were about technical problems, 5 about the toll free customer service number not being helpful or could not get through, 2 about the @Home web page being of no help, 2 about billing problems, 1 about an @Home representative giving false information, and 1 about a three-day outage. Shaffer sent AT&T an email stating that AT&T has not been responsive enough in responding to him regarding the status of complaints. Karnes replied that he had presumed that Shaffer knew that those complaints not addressed had been resolved. Shaffer replied that AT&T needs to inform him of the status of all complaints. AT&T has subsequently done so. AT&T REPORT No representative was present. SENIOR CENTER REPORT Livingston reported the work of setting up the new studio area in the Senior Center has started, including the new curtain purchased with pass-through funds. Training workshops for the new digital cameras will be held in February LIBRARY REPORT Logsden reported that staff has been busy planning for the new library building. The Library Board will meet on January 25 and a presentation on the new facility given in the City Council Chambers around 6 p.m. ECC REPORT No representative was present. Weingeist said that the schools have many events taped that could be played on the channel. As an example Weingeist cited a tape of the highlights of the City High Marching Band. Weingeist said she talked to School Board member Nicholas Johnson about making better use of the channel. PATV REPORT Bradley-Goetz reported that PATV has submitted a grant application to the State Historical Society for their Community Archives Project. PATV is now offering a cable radio workshop. Cable radio programs will be played over the computer-generated PSA's screens. Interns are being sought for public relations, production assistants, and workshop assistants. PATV will have a booth at the Business Expo in which video from the booth will be streamed on PATV's web site and the site playing at the booth. The PATV Board will hold a strategic planning retreat on February 4 to plan for the upcoming year. MCLEOD REPORT No representative was present. LEGAL REPORT Matthews said he had nothing new to report. CITY CABLE TV OFFICE Hardy reported that the Media Unit has had a relatively quiet month which has allowed more work on longer term projects. Shaffer reported he met with the Community Television Group regarding getting the local access channel listings on the digital tier program guide. Shaffer also talked with AT&T's Jon Koebrick on the details of the form and how to report. More details should be available for the next Commission meeting. Work is continuing on the low power FM radio project. The filing period will most likely open up in late February. PASS-THROUGH FUNDING Shaffer noted the memo in the packet which outlined the action of the City Council on January 16tl~. The Council approved a resolution that moved forward the contracting process for the finishing costs of the new City Cable TV Office in Tower Place. The Council approved using $125,000 from the pass-through fund for a portion of those costs. The Council also requested a recommendation from the Telecommunications Commission on re-allocating the $125,000 from the pass-through fund that will be accrued over the remaining life of the franchise. Weingeist said that she was at the January 16 Council meeting and was upset with the process. The issues raised by PATV at the meeting could have been brought up and discussed six months ago rather than at the last minute. Weingeist said that the joint facility idea started to fall apart when she joined the Commission. Since then Shaffer regularly updated the Commission on efforts to locate a new facility and the intent to use the pass-through fund for a portion of those costs. PATV's concerns never came up. Weingeist said she felt blind-sided by the way PATV brought this to the Council. Pusack asked Greg Thompson to clarify his role. Pusack noted that Thompson statement to the Council indicates that he did not speak for PATV as he is no longer on PATV's Board. Thompson said that his term ended in November but PATV had not yet chosen a new chair and he had been on the Board when the decision was made. Smith noted that there is a request for funds by the City and said the real issue is if PATV has a request for a portion of the pass-through funds committed to facilities. Thompson said PATV is exploring getting space in the new library building and the Englea theater. Weingeist said she resented the representation made by PATV to the Council that implied that because the joint facility concept fell apart that PATV is entitled to half of the facility funds. If any of the local access channels have a plan for a capital project, they should bring it to the Commission just as the City Cable TV Office. McKray said that having attended PATV Board meetings it is clear that Thompson' s statement reflects the sentiment of the Board. Helling's memo notes that the Tower Place facility will facilitate support for other access channels. It is important that this idea be carried out. Tower Place can be a central location for local cable TV operations in Iowa City and be able to provide support for all access operations, as needed. Thompson said that PATV was unaware that the City intended to use all the accumulated $125,000 until two weeks ago. Smith said that he first heard of specific plans to use the pass-through fund for Tower Place at the October Commission meeting. Helling said that provided the policy does not change regarding setting aside $25,000 per year for facilities, the fund will have another $125,000 at the end of the franchise period. If the Commission wishes to make a recommendation to use only half of the accrued $125,000, then the City could make an internal loan for the remainder and apply funds to be collected over the next five years for repayment. Smith said at this time there is one request before the Commission for the use of one half of the total amount of the funds that will be collected and is consistent with the intent of the funding. The Commission is interested in heating requests from any other access channel for the remaining $125,000. The item will be placed on future meeting agendas. Smith moved to table the item to allow time for requests consistent with the current policy to use the funds to build equity in a facility to be prepared Weingeist seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Shaffer will prepare a history of the pass-through fund. CITY COUNCIL BUDGET MEETING Shaffer reported that the Commission has an opportunity to speak at the Council budget meeting January 23. There are generally two reasons boards and commissions show up-to encourage the Council to approve a budget request or to make a specific request to change the budget as proposed. Pusack moved to respectfully decline the opportunity to address the Council budget meeting. Weingeist seconded and the motion passed unanimously. TRIENNEIAL REVIEW. McKray noted the document included in the meeting packet by Smith raising questions for consideration during the Triennial Review. Smith said that if the Commission agrees to the types of questions it contains, then the Commission could direct Shaffer to draft a letter to AT&T addressing those questions and asking AT&T for any remedies needed. This could satisfy the requirements for the Triennial Review in the 3rd and 6th years. The timing is good to review the performance of AT&T as many items in the franchise refer to conditions after the rebuild has been finished. Matthews noted that the ordinance contemplates a public meeting as a part of the Triennial Review. As a practical matter talking points or areas of discussion should be developed for that meeting. The public meeting could be incorporated in a Commission meeting. Pusack suggested that Shaffer draft AT&T a letter addressing issues and questions raised. The Commission could discuss AT&T's response at the next Commission meeting and provide an opportunity for public input at the March meeting. The Commission reached consensus on that course of action. BY-LAWS Shaffer noted that the by-law changes go back to a period when a telecommunications ordinance was being developed which later evolved into a public right-of-way ordinance. The list of new duties are things that the Commission can do. The City legal department has approved the changes. Matthews said that the process first involves getting a recommendation from the Commission for the changes, then it goes to the City Council, which assigns it to a subcommittee of the Council for a recommendation. The Council then would adopt the by-law changes. Smith moved to recommend the by-law changes to the City Council. Weingeist seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. ADJOURNMENT Weingeist moved and Pusack seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously. Adjournment was at 7:04 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Cable TV Administrator PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION ~dt~ FEBRUARY 1, 2001 - 7:30 P.M. CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBERS MEMBERS PRESENT: Ann Bovbjerg, Jerry Hansen, Marilyn Schintler, Dean Shannon, Benjamin Chait MEMBERS ABSENT: Pam Ehrhardt STAFF PRESENT: Mitch Behr, Bob Miklo, John Yapp, Sarah Holecek OTHERS PRESENT: RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: Recommended approval, by a vote of 4-0, to amend 14-6L-1Q as follows: In residential zones, adult daycare facilities providing care to six or more adults shall have access to arterial or collector streets, or to a street with paving wider than 28 feet. Recommended approval, by a vote of 5-0, to indicate to the City Council that there is no objection to the requested rezoning of CZ00-0027, an application submitted by JEBB LC, to rezone approximately 1.76 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, despite the fact that we continue to believe that further rezoning to RMH of any property of significant size in this area without annexation is inconsistent with the Fringe Area Agreement. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Bovbjerg called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES ON CITY BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: Bovbjerg said there is a list available on the lobby bulletin board. She said the City needs volunteers to be a truly representative city. ZONING/DEVELOPMENT ITEMS: REZ01-0001. Discussion of a rezoning from High Density Multi-Family Residential, RM-44, to Sensitive Areas Overlay, OSA-44, on 4.01 acres to allow 39 dwellings in 3 buildings located on the east side of Harlocke Street. Miklo said the applicant, Southgate Development has requested approval of a Sensitive Areas Development Plan for a 4.01-acre property located on the east side of Harlocke Street. The Sensitive Areas Development Plan is required for any development on this property due to the presence of critical (25-39%) and protected (40%) slopes. The applicant proposes to build two twelve-unit apartment buildings and one 15-unit apartment building. The property is currently zoned RM-44, High Density Multi-Family, which allows 44 units per acre. The property has had this zoning or a similar designation since 1962. The current application doesn't change the zoning as far as use or density but it is required because there are protected and critical slopes on the property and the Sensitive Areas ordinance allows the City some extra scrutiny over the property to ensure that those environmental sensitive areas are taken into consideration. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes-Formal Februa~ 1, 2001 Page 2 He said there were previous attempts to downzone this property. In 1984, a petition by the Harlocke-Weeber neighborhood to the west asked for a rezoning to RS-5, Low Density Single- Family. There was a study of this area done and the Planning and Zoning Commission and staff recommended that this property be zoned RNC-20 which is a Multi-Family zoning designation that allows approximately 25 units per acre. The Ruppert property was studied at that time and the Commission recommended a zoning of RM-12, Medium Density Multi-Family, which allows about 15 units per acre. Neither of these recommendations was approved by the City Council. They were tabled and sent back to the Planning and Zoning Commission. In 1994, a second request was made on the same question and again the staff recommended a Medium Density Multi-family zoning (RM- 20). It was thought by staff and the Commission at that time that due to the limited vehicular access to the area, that the High Density Multi-Family zoning was not appropriate, but recognizing the zoning that's been in place for a number of years and the existing development on the western part of Harlocke Street, which is High Density Multi-Family and also to the north and east, it was felt that down zoning to a medium or moderate density was appropriate. That was staff's position. The Commission's position was to zone the property to RS-5, Single Family Residential. That was forwarded to the City Council and after a number of negotiations the property owner had agreed to an RS-8, Medium Density Single Family. The neighborhood did not agree to RS-8 but continued to request RS-5 zoning. Again it was tabled and no zoning action was taken. He said the purpose of explaining that history is to point out that the property is zoned RM-44, which allows 44 units per acre. The actual development being proposed is considerably less than that. It is 9.5 units per acre. The Sensitive Areas Plan for this site does show the location of the protected and critical slopes in the northeast and southwest portions of this property. Coinciding with these slopes are wooded areas. However there aren't enough woodlands to constitute a protected woodland based on the Sensitive Areas Ordinance. For this plan to be accomplished there would be no grading for the most part in the protected slopes and some grading adjacent to critical slopes and that is allowed by the Sensitive Areas Ordinance. There is some earthmoving work proposed to allow a storm water pipe to be brought in to allow the northeast area to provide storm water retention. If the woodland provisions of the ordinance did apply, 20% of the wooded areas would need to be retained. The plan provides for the retention of over 50% of the wooded area. Staff is recommending a conservation easement be established over the required slopes and the buffers. This is not a requirement of the ordinance but staff feels it's important to put a recorded easement on those features so that any future property owners know that those protected slopes are on the property and they should not be further disturbed. There are two 12-plexes proposed that would face Harlocke Street and would have a Harlocke Street address. There is a 15-plex proposed on the southeast portion of the property. The applicant is working with the fire department to ensure there is adequate turn around space for emergency vehicles. He said this issue has not yet been resolved. Miklo pointed out the area where storm water management would be provided for the majority of the site. Some of the storm water will run off to the south. This is allowed by the Stormwater Management ordinance because the applicant is providing storm water storage for the properties to the west that were developed prior to the ordinance. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Formal February 1, 2001 Page 3 The Parks and Recreation Commission will review the plan to determine whether this property contains open space suitable for dedication as neighborhood parkland or whether the fee should be paid in lieu of open space. It is staffs thought that fees should be paid in lieu of and used in a nearby neighborhood park rather than adding land to the park system in this area due to its rugged topography. Miklo said there are some items still under review. The Office of the State Archaeologist has indicated that there may be an archaeological site near the southern property line. The actual location of the site may be on this or the Ruppert property to the south. The Sensitive Areas Ordinance provides the State Archaeologist the opportunity to study the site in relationship to the property line and to determine if further study is necessary in this case. The storm water calculations are being reviewed and those must be approved before the Commission votes on this. The Fire Marshall is reviewing the turn around capabilities. A grading and erosion control plan is being reviewed. Until these items are resolved, staff is recommending this application be deferred to the February 15, 2001 meeting. Miklo said if these outstanding items are resolved to the satisfaction of the City, then staff recommends approval of the Sensitive Areas Overlay rezoning and the Sensitive Areas Development Plan. Public discussion open: Glenn Siders, PO Box 1907, Iowa City, said he is with Southgate Development; the applicant for this project. He said as can be seen by the staff report, they have complied with all the requirements of the City. He said they are well below the allowed density of this property and fall within the traffic guidelines requiring secondary access. He said they are disturbing some of the protected and critical slopes to provide the storm water retention that is required by the City and that is permitted under the ordinance. Bovbjerg asked if the 12 parking spaces for the 12-plex would be behind the unit and if it is surface parking. Siders said that was correct. Bovbjerg asked how the water would be going south; whether it would be through small culverts, which can only lead to erosion or whether there are going to be measures taken to control erosion. Larry Schnittier, 1917 South Gilbert Street, Iowa City, referred to the overhead and starting at the upstream end showed the direction of the drainage and where the storage would be. He said the storage mechanism is an existing ravine and they would be building a wall across that ravine. In that wall will be a small orifice that controls the outflow. He showed the entire route of drainage and the locations of basins and sewers. Bovbjerg asked where drainage from the 15-plex would go. Schnittjer showed the contour lines and the route of the drainage. He said in the beginning of construction there would be a silt fence there, but once you have sod and plantings they will help to mitigate any future erosion. William Knabe, 1101 Weeber Circle, Iowa City, said he is speaking on behalf of the Weeber Harlocke Neighborhood Association. He said he is there to voice their concern about the proposed plan for a Multi-Family Residential Development on the east side of Harlocke Street. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Formal February 1, 2001 Page 4 He said they seem to be trapped in some kind of time warp because they have been discussing the development of this property off and on since 1984. He said some things do not change; many of the issues are the same as 18 years ago. He said the property is very unique and the problems associated with it have been allowed to accumulate for years. He said although the Commission may only be looking at the slopes of the property, they feel there are some major sensitive environmental issues that will need to be addressed. He said they see development of this property as proposed as putting their neighborhood on the endangered species list. He said the reason they do is because this piece of property has only one street access. He said Miklo did a good job of explaining the history in a short time but he wants to add to that. He encouraged the Commission to drive to the property to become acquainted with it. He said to get there you have to go down Benton Street to Weeher Street and then to Harlocke Street which dead ends. He said please note that Weeber and Harlocke are 24-foot wide curb to curb. They are 3 to 4 feet short of a standard street in terms of width. He said some might think Benton Drive is an access, but it is not. That is a private drive and the City has no rights over that street. The owners of that have already stated and will probably state again that they do not intend to allow developers or renters of this property to use Benton Drive as access. He said there is one dinky street that emergency and garbage vehicles will have to try to get down and there is parking on one side of the street. He said there are some major issues and that is why they have said over the years that this property should be developed as RS-5. Knabe said some things have changed in 18 years. One is that the whole Benton Hill area has become more saturated with Multi-Family housing. He said they are beginning to wonder if Iowa City views this as a dumping ground for Multi-Density housing. He said they have traffic and safety concerns with the whole Benton Hill area. The second change is that the voice of resistance to developments like this has grown. He said it used to be just the Neighborhood Association but now there are renters who have decided they have a stake in this. He said he could guarantee that if the Commission passes this on to Council, Council will give it right back. He said that is the history and even though they have tried and are still willing to try to work out an agreement about how this property should be developed, someone isn't willing to take the stand. He said he is hoping that when the Commission hears public input from people who want to preserve and survive in this neighborhood, that the Commission will give it serious thought. He said they are willing to work with the City; they are the ones who proposed the solution, He said they have a solution to the whole hill. Ernie Cox, 913 Harlocke Street, Iowa CitV, said he and his partner have rented and resided on Harlocke for the past three years. He said as it stands now, he thinks the area is a good example of what Multi-Density can do. He said the renters and home owners form a very cohesive neighborhood. He said service vehicles such as fire, refuse, recycling and snow removal have difficult access to Harlocke. He said most residents have two cam per unit so there is a lot of on street parking. He said the proposed application for a Sensitive Areas Ordinance directly conflicts with some of the premises for that ordinance. He said the ordinance expresses the need to have useable public space and lot 25 is that space for the Harlocke neighborhood. This is a destination for families; children to play, people to walk their dogs. It is a functioning public space right now. He said looking at this plan as written they would not have that public space. He said he has a hard time coming up with a proper amount that they could pay in lieu that would be proper compensation for this neighborhood. He said the space down Benton has been designated as park space for as long as he can remember and that hasn't happened. He said the ordinance also talks about ecologically sound transitions between environmentally protected areas and urban development. He said he has difficulty finding this transition is happening with any degree of certainty. He thanked City staff for educating him about different zonings and how they relate Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Formal February 1, 2001 Page 5 tO this property, He said looking at this on paper and actually visiting the location are two entirely different things. He said the wooded area misses being considered woodland by about 10 feet. He said that is a shame because for all intents and purposes this is a wooded area. He said in the illustrations of the ordinance, he doesn't understand how critical slopes can be included in a buffer zone. He said his last concern is to preserve the habitat of wildlife and to preserve the scenic character. He said one of the joys of having this area in the neighborhood is that it is home to several different species in the meadow and wooded area. He said with the paved parking and construction; as the plan is now he doesn't see how there can be minimum destruction of this habitat. Schintler said Cox referred to the space as public space but it isn't. Cox said he realizes that it is not technically a public space but it very much functions as one. He said that area is easily accessible by foot to the entire neighborhood and it serves as public space now and he would be very disappointed to see no dedication of land in this plan. Miklo said the buffer is measured as 2 feet for every 1-foot of vertical rise from the edge of a protected slope and could include a critical slope. He said this does comply with the letter of the law and the intent of the Sensitive Areas ordinance. He showed on the overhead the area of the buffer zone and location of protected and critical slopes. Bovbjerg asked if the buffer meant there could be no disturbance. Miklo said there can be no grading or removal of trees or development activity unless it's approved as part of this development which is not being requested with the exception of the area where the storm water facility is being proposed which is permitted under the ordinance. Bovbjerg asked who checks on that activity. Miklo said a Development Regulations Specialist who deals specifically with this kind of development and will observe the development activity to make sure those buffers are adhered to. Hansen asked if the City were to accept open ground instead of remuneration, how much land would it be. Miklo said approximately 33,000 feet, based on the Neighborhood Open Space Ordinance. He said the intent of the neighborhood open space ordinance is for the City to acquire level land that can be used as parkland. Robynn Shrader, 1104 Weeber Circle, Iowa City, said they purchased their home 7 months ago and one of the reasons they chose it over other homes in Iowa City is because it was a very diverse yet stable, safe neighborhood. She said she works out of an office in her home so she has the opportunity to spend most of her day in the neighborhood every day and that gives her ample opportunity to see traffic patterns. She said because of the density of the population at certain times of day at the top of Benton Hill you often have trouble exiting Weeber onto Benton because of the amount of traffic on Benton. She said if the light at Sunset is red, irs not unusual to have cars backed up past your line of sight on Benton Street. She said it's absurd to add several hundred more care coming down Weeber Street to Harlooke Street, which is the only access from this property. She said her children and all the other children will soon be crossing Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Formal February 1, 2001 Page 6 Harlocke Street to get to Roosevelt school and crossing Harlocke Street to get to any bus stops. She believes traffic is an intense safety issue. She said about the technicality that has brought them there; staff admits that in 1994 there was some disagreement that RM-44 was an appropriate zoning for this area and that some negotiation went on between Council and whomever about rezoning to RS-5 or RS-8 and that it sort of died this natural death. She said for anyone who regularly navigates the complexity of city government, that shouldn't be taken as a mandate on behalf of the constituents and that certainly this should be relooked at. Stephen Tullev, 917 Harlocke Street #5, Iowa City, said he is a long-term renter at his home since 1996 when he moved to the neighborhood. He said he wanted to bring to the Commission's attention some changes he's observed in traffic and parking. He said at 917 Harlocke is an 8-plex and there is parking behind the building and on the driveway leading to the back near the trash bin. He said in the best of weather when there is no snow accumulation, you might be able to fit six cars in the back without blocking access to the trash bin. That also leaves 2 spaces alongside the building. He said there are many young professional couples in the neighborhood with two cars. This has not only increased traffic, but caused many more cars to be parked on the east side of Harlocke Street. He said he has witnessed garbage trucks not being able to get in and get the trash. He said it would not only be difficult for residents to find parking but family and friends who are coming to visit. He said he also wanted to point out that on football Saturdays; this has become a favorite parking area. He said it's extremely difficult to get out of the area. He said when a new home was built on Harrlocke, it was very difficult to navigate the construction vehicles. He said that was just a single family home and he's wondering what problems residents will face if this entire area is developed as is being proposed. Daniel Eccher, 904 Benton Drive #23, Iowa City, said he is a homeowner in Benton Manor. He said he opposes this plan mostly because it increases the density of residences in this entire area. He named several residential developments on Benton Drive. He said during rush hours Benton Street is extremely busy. He said if you add 39 units and 500 or so car trips per day, traffic will really pose a safety hazard. He said there are children and college students crossing Benton Street and he's very concerned about the amount of traffic this development will add. Bill Graf, 1123 Harlocke Street, Iowa City, said if you go down Benton Street and turn on Weeber Street, which is a pretty steep hill and it's slippery and you try to turn onto Harlocke and you miss you run into his house. He said this year they were lucky because there was a lot of snow early and the snowplows build up banks on the street and these act as bumpers that cars bounce off. He said he's lived there since 1974. In 1975 he planted two fir trees that are now about 40 feet high and they are his protection. He said when this came up in 1984; he had small children. He now has two small grandchildren who are probably going to come and live with him. He said this is a very dangerous situation and he's concerned. He said a lot of people have talked about the development of land and he agrees with all that but his one issue is not to dump 400 or 500 more cars onto the street going by his house every day. He said that is unquestionable. This street was not build to handle that amount of traffic. He said everyone has agreed with that in 1984 and 1995 and now, but to blindly go ahead and throw the traffic on there would be very poor judgment. He said he appreciates the right of people to develop this land but it's the City's right and responsibility to make sure there is access to the land that is acceptable. Tom Waters, 906 Harlocke Street, Iowa City, said he's lived there for twelve years and there have been several people dumping their trash into his dumpster and whenever that happens his landlord could possibly charge him more rent. He said he's also noticed that snowplows can't get through with cars parked on the street. He said if there's going to be apartment buildings in that open lot he's thinking there will be parties. He said the open lot is a nice view and he wouldn't want apartments there. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes-Formal Februa~ 1,2001 Page 7 OlYmPia Neiderecker, 923 Hadocke Street, Iowa City, said she lives in a single family home sandwiched between two 8-plexes. She said according to the plan she received from the City, it does not correspond to what she is seeing here. Miklo said the plan was recently revised. She said one of the problems is getting through, especially for emergency vehicles. Even though there is parking on one side of the street, many times because of all the people who live there and visit, there are cars parked on both sides of the street and it becomes very, very crowded. She said you can hardly get a single car through, let alone an emergency vehicle. Patrick Easland, 1118 Harlocke Street, Iowa City, said they moved to their residence in May 1999 and have started a family. He said the reason they moved into the neighborhood is because it's close to V.A. and University Hospitals and with the intent that it was a single-family area mixed with the other diverse housing where they could provide safety. He said they liked the proximity of the schools. He said by adding more residences as proposed, his biggest concern is safety. He said the current traffic load is more than he would like as a single-family home-owner but it's something they can deal with. He said he doesn't think he can handle more. He said they also have traffic at late hours. He said they might have to consider moving if this development goes ahead and they don't want to have to do that. Kristina Voeland, 917 Harlocke Street, Iowa City, said three years ago she was searching for an apartment and there are not many options that are walking distance to the University. She said there are many apartments on Benton Street but what you get with those are parking lots between the buildings; you have no view. All you can see from your window is concrete parking lots. Then she saw 917 Harlocke with a beautiful field, beautiful landscape and woods and she really enjoys that. She said she couldn't imagine looking at an apartment building instead of the field and lots of cars and traffic. She does not think the neighborhood would be as quiet as it is now. She advised the Commission to visit the site because that day it took her several minutes to cross Benton Street to catch the bus. She said with the proposed development it would only get worse and she doesn't know what would happen with children or adults trying to cross the street. She said that Weeber Street that leads to Benton Street is very steep. She said the tradition is that when it's icy, you push your car up and you stop and push your neighbor up. Brent DeVore, 906 Benton Drive #34, Iowa City, said his concern is traffic along Benton. He said Benton must be one of the busiest streets in Iowa City. His other concern is with the watershed. He asked what it's going to do to the whole system; if it's going to cause a backlog. Siders said there would be less drainage to the east because they will retain the water on their property and release it at a slower rate of speed so there shall be less water to the east. Bovbjerg asked him to show on the map where the water comes from currently and how it would get on that Benton area. Siders illustrated the dam and basin and explained how the water would flow at a slower rate. Bovbjerg asked how currently the water would flow without the retention basin. Siders said it all circles into the hole and goes into the pipe without being slowed at all. He said they would be adding additional watershed. Bovbjerg asked if it is moving as a sheet or through a drain. Siders showed the spot it all drains to currently and the route it takes. Shannon asked if it was going to be a dry bottom basin. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Formal February 1, 2001 Page 8 Siders said yes. Tom Gelman, 714 McLean, Iowa City, said he is the attorney for Southgate Development. He said he wanted to discuss briefly the recommendation for a conservation easement. He said they agree with City staff that it is not required under the ordinance. He said the ordinance requires a conservation easement in connection with woodland areas. He said state law states that conservation easements are to be given voluntarily. They believe the ordinance is sufficient in and of itself as far as constructive notice to property owners and is relied on for that purpose. Even though the easement is shown in the most recent rendition of the plat for protected areas, they believe it is unnecessary and inappropriate. They would like to not have to grant the easement for the property. He said it creates problems that aren't necessary here. Craiq Fobian, 908 Benton Drive #33, Iowa City, said he's been a homeowner there for over five years and their property will be directly affected by the development. He said some of the units have partial retaining walls and he's concerned about the waterflow coming off the parking lot. He's concerned about snow pile up. Hansen asked how many bedrooms these units are. Siders said they would all be two bedrooms. Easland asked how deep the water basin is going to be and what kind of protection there will be for the children in the area. He said he can supervise his own children but can't supervise other people's children. Bovbjerg asked Miklo to explain fencing options for basins. Miklo said in this case he believes this is not a wet bottom basin and Schnittjer may be able to comment on how much water could collect. He said the City has not required fencing in the past except in one case, Wellington Condominiums and that was an actual pond and the fencing did not completely enclose the area. Eccher said last year they had a Benton Drive Home Owners Association meeting. They had a proposal asking to come in Benton Drive in order to access this property in order to develop it and that was rejected. He said that gives the Commission a sense of the unanimity in that area. Graf said there are problems vacating the area because of icy conditions or parked cars. He said he hasn't heard anyone say that traffic isn't a problem. He said especially if it snows in the next few days, the Commission should go to the area and experience it first hand. Samantha Solimeo, 913 Harlocke Street, Iowa City, said her least favorite part of the plan is that the driveway to the parking lot comes directly out of her driveway. She said it's difficult for an adult to cross Benton Street to catch the bus. She said during rush hours, morning noon and night, you often have to wait for another bus because they're crowded. So, if you're adding many more students to the neighborhood, additional bus use will have to be considered. She said when she does drive; it's difficult to get on Benton Street. She said she always drives the speed limit and on her way to this meeting someone passed her on Benton Street. Cox said what he would have liked to hear from the developer regarding the easement is that they would be happy to do that. He said that would demonstrate that they are willing to be a good corporate citizen and willing to take actions for environmental protection and community development that would progress in a way that makes sense. He said it's discouraging to him to hear them say they won't grant the easement and they don't believe it to be necessary. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Formal February 1, 2001 Page 9 Tim RaDosa, 911 Harlocke Street, Iowa City, said that it's very hard to get out of his driveway with snow built up and cars parked on the east side of Harlocke. He's concerned for his daughter going to Roosevelt. He said there are crossing guards but sometimes they are not there. The density is bothering him as well. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Chait moved to defer REZ0t-0001, a rezoning from High Density Multi-family Residential, RM-44, to Sensitive Areas Overlay, OSA-44, on 4.01 acres to allow 39 dwellings in 3 buildings located on the east side of Harlocke Street. Shannon seconded the motion. Schintler asked if there is another access off Weeher Street. Miklo showed another street winding to Sunset and to Highway 1. Graf said several years ago, Weeber Street was a dead end. He explained the route as very winding and residential. He said that whole neighborhood would not appreciate more traffic either. Shannon asked staff to provide a memorandum about traffic and street width and their thoughts on the concerns raised. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0. CODE AMENDMENT ITEMS: Discussion of Development Regulations Analysis report presented by Duncan and Associates. Kurt Bishop of Duncan and Associates reviewed the report for and with the Commission. Hansen asked how fair share housing comes about. Bishop said the notion of inclusionary or fair share housing within new development takes one of two forms, both of which are incentive based. He said you can offer density bonuses to developers in new subdivisions who set aside new dwelling units and restricted occupancy that meet HUD income level guidelines for moderate and low incomes. If for example a developer set aside 10% of the units restricted to moderate-income households, they would get extra dwelling units within their project. The other approach is a mandatory approach where you would mandate a subdivision of a certain size has a certain percentage of dwellings set aside benchmarked against HUD guidelines. The developer would also get density bonuses. Bishop said the market price units within those developments are subsidizing the moderately priced units. Hansen asked if they achieve this by building a lower priced house or having an agency step in and own the land.' Bishop said they do it by offering the units at a lower price and may do it by offering smaller units. Usually it's required that the units contain the same exterior finishes as other dwellings in the development. They most likely would be smaller and the interior may be different but they are offered at below market rates. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Formal February 1, 2001 Page 10 Chait said if he wanted to develop a large lot very upscale subdivision, how would that work. He said in a $500,000 a house subdivision a medium income standard house would be very different. He said at the extreme it would call attention to the smaller house. Bishop said the number of houses in a subdivision is what triggers a mandatory approach and it would usually be the larger subdivisions of 75-100 houses. Chait asked Bishop how familiar he is with the Peninsula project. Bishop said he has followed it and is fairly up to date. Chait said in listening to his analysis of the report, a lot of the things he was saying, the City is experimenting with in the Peninsula. He said Bishop didn't address that fact or acknowledge the City is doing those things. He asked if it would make sense to benchmark that project with some of the concepts Bishop was talking about. Bishop said if he had commented on what is being done in the Peninsula it would have been extremely positive but he saw it as a very unique situation, Bishop said this report is a kind of comprehensive code approach that builds upon the very techniques that are moving forward in the Peninsula. He said if it had been further along it might have been tangible enough for him to point to. Shannon asked about the sign ordinance and that it should be the reverse of what is written in regards to political signs and real estate. Bishop said in a residential zoning district a real estate sign can be in front of a house for 365 days a year. But under the definition of a political sign (not a campaign sign) that expresses an opinion it's limited to a number of days. It's based on the content of the sign instead of the physical attributes of the sign. Many communities have had their hands slapped for regulating political signs. The courts have said that ordinances should not be concerned with content, Chait asked if what Bishop meant is that based on what the courts have said the ordinance is out of step with the law of the land. Bishop said he didn't think they were fatally flawed, but dated. Schintler said she appreciated the charts and graphics and that it really helped. Bovbjerg talked about making specific information readily available and easy to read for the user. She said she likes the general analysis of the report but she's not sure where to go from here. Bishop said in general irs time to comprehensively update the City ordinances. He said it's been twenty years for zoning ordinances and over twenty years for subdivision regulations. He said they're prepared to tell them the approaches they've seen about the next step. Typically there is an advisory committee formed that acts as a sounding board. He said the Commission would be looking at 12-24 months to get completely through the project. He said there would be a number of strategy sessions and education processes before the hearing stage. He said the process takes time; to educate the public with the new document. He said he cautions communities to not look at updating codes as an opportunity to redo the comprehensive plan. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Formal February 1, 2001 Page 11 Chair asked what Bishop is doing there and what the Commission's role is. He said he's confused. Miklo said they are asking if the Commission is in general in agreement with the document and does it address the issues the Commission feels it should. He said if you feel there are major shortcomings; that's what they want to hear. If the Commission is generally satisfied then a motion to accept this and send it on to City Council asking to move onto phase 2, which is rewriting the codes. He said there is no time crunch requiring them to vote tonight. He would prefer that the Commission be fairly comfortable with this. He said if the Commission accepts the document, they are not adopting any code changes. They would all come back before the Commission for text changes. He said staff did work closely with Bishop and they are comfortable with the document. Public discussion open: Charlie Eastham, 1152 East Court Street, Iowa City, said he was a member of Vision 2000 Task Force on which the Comprehensive Plan is based, and he was quite pleased to see recommendations from that were included in this report. He said if the report goes forward and recommendations are made for changes of codes and regulations, he feels most of the recommendations from the Vision 2000 panel would emerge as zoning ordinances so he is encouraged and would be happy to see the report endorsed. Schnittjer said the Peninsula project is a site-specific project and he doesn't think that's what the report was intended to address. He said there are some parts of the report that he totally agrees with and some that he has some reservations about. He said in particular there is mention of some limits to neighborhood commercial uses, i.e. convenience stores and drive-ups. He said until Iowa City and the nation get to the point of not having such an enamoration with vehicles you need those types of facilities. He has concerns about limiting those in neighborhoods. He said if a person lives 2 blocks from a neighborhood commercial but has to go two miles to get gas, it doesn't make sense. He said there must be some auto-oriented facilities in neighborhood commercial. He said he likes the idea of limiting the political process for sensitive areas and planned developments. He said this process adds significantly to the cost of the project in terms of time, and time is money. Some people don't understand just how much money that is. He said if you watch the interest clock tick, you learn pretty fast how much money that is. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Schintler moved to defer acceptance of Development Regulations Analysis report until February 15, 200t meeting. Hansen seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0. Discussion of an amendment to City Code subsection 14-6L-1Q, accessory use provisions for adult daycares, to permit adult daycare facilities on 25-foot wide streets in Commercial Zones. Hansen said he had to abstain on this item because of a conflict of interest. He wrote a letter for Pathways recommending that funding through CDBG be granted. Hansen left the room. Yapp said the City has received a request from Pathways to locate on Pepperwood Lane, which is a 25-foot wide private street in Pepperwood Plaza. The ordinance currently states that an adult daycare facility needs to be on an arterial or collector street, 28-feet wide. That ordinance Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Formal February 1, 2001 Page 12 was put in place to allow those facilities in residential neighborhoods. Staff feels that requirement is not necessary for commercial areas and they recommend that adult daycare facilities be permitted on streets that aren't necessarily 28-feet wide in commercial areas. Bovbjerg asked why Yapp was making a distinction between residential and commercial. Yapp said because in residential zones the daycare facilities create more traffic so that's why there is a provision to keep those facilities on collector and arterial streets to limit traffic coming into residential streets. In a commercial area, it's designed to handle large amounts of traffic and the adult day-care traffic is minimal compared to grocery stores, video stores and other uses. Shannon asked if Pathways plans on using an existing storefront in the mall. Yapp said he believes it will be located in the former building of "Kids Stuff'. Yapp clarified that this ordinance amendment would apply to any 25-foot wide street in a commercial zone, Public discussion open: There was rioRe. Public discussion closed. MOTION: Shannon moved to amend 14-6L-1Q as follows: In residential zones, adult daycare facilities providing care to six or more adults shall have access to arterial or collector streets, or to a street with paving wider than 28 feet. Schintler seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 4-0-1 (Hansen abstained). COUNTY ZONING ITEM: CZ00-0027, discussion of an application submitted by JEBB LC, to rezone approximately 1.76 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. Miklo said staff recommends the Commission indicate to the City Council that there is no objection to this requested rezoning, despite the fact that we continue to believe that further rezoning to RMH of any property of significant size in this area without annexation is inconsistent with the Fringe Area Agreement. MOTION: Hansen moved to indicate to the City Council that there is no objection to the requested rezoning of CZ00-0027, an application submitted by JEBB LC, to rezone approximately t.76 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, despite the fact that we continue to believe that further rezoning to RMH of any property of significant size in this area without annexation is inconsistent with the Fringe Area Agreement. Chait seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 5-0. Chait moved to approve the minutes of the January 18, 2001 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting as corrected. Hansen seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 5 - 0. Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Formal February 1, 2001 Page 13 ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 10:28 p.m. Dean Shannon, Secretary Minutes submitted by Diane Crossett I03-05-01 4b(6) RULES COMMITTEE MEETING February 22,2001 Committee Members Present: Lehman, Champion Staff Members Present: Karr, Helling Others: Pfab Telecommunications Commission By-Laws Assistant City Manager Helling reported these changes are recommended for a variety of reasons, including to more accurately reflect what the Commission does now than twenty years ago, which is more of an advocacy role for subscribers; changing the election of officers to March to coincide with the timeframe when new Commissioners appointed by Council are brought on board; correcting a change in the cable TV ordinance number, and fixing grammatical errors and changes in language usage. Helling stated the by-laws had been reviewed by Assistant City Attorney Matthews. The Rules Committee recommends approval of the changes as attached to the Telecommunications Commission minutes of January 29, 2001.