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ITEM 2. OUTSTANDING STUDENT CITIZENSHIP AWARDS -Longfellow
Elementary
Hayek: Would the students from Longfellow Elementary please come forward! Well
hello, young ladies, I'm Matt Hayek. I'm the Mayor, and this is the City Council,
and we want to welcome you and your families and...and teachers to City Hall!
This is where we hold our meetings, uh, pretty regularly. (laughter) Um, well,
we're really honored to have you with us tonight, um, and the way this works is
that we have an award, which I will read to you after we hear from each of you,
and as I understand it, uh, you've each brought something that you'd like to read
into the microphone, and what we can do is I can just hand the microphone to you
and you can read yours and then we'll pass it along! Thank you!
Hunter: Hi, my name is Christina Hunter. A good citizen is a person who follows the law,
is being helpful to one another, and respects each other. What I do as a citizen is
that I like to do...to be there or help (mumbled) through a rough time or is scared.
I have been in Student Council and recycling at my school. I play the flute and
the piano. I also play soccer. One of my favorite things to do is ride my bike
with my friends. I think that being a good citizen can lead to a long, happy life!
(applause)
Wisdom: Hi, my name is Genevieve Wisdom. I think someone who's a good citizen has to
be caring. You can't just think of yourself. You have to think about the
person...how the person will feel after you say what you are going to. I think I do
that by always thinking before I speak. Another thing a good citizen should be is
polite and responsible. I think I'm polite because I always listen when someone
else is speaking and I'm always respectful of everyone's thoughts and opinions,
whether I agree with them or not, and I'm responsible because I always get things
done and turn them in on time. That's what I think makes a good citizen. One
thing that I think has helped me become a good citizen is the fact that I've been in
Girl Scouts for as long as I can remember, and I think that...that has made me
into a better citizen because Girl Scouts makes girls feel better about themselves,
and just better people overall. I've also been in Student Council for the past two
years, and that has helped me and the rest of Student Council have a sense of
responsibility and importance, because we represent the entire student body.
Lastly, this is my fourth school in three different countries. I think that that has
helped me become a good citizen, not only of my school, but of many countries
and of the world. (applause)
Grove: Hi, my name is Sam Grove. I would like to be nominated for this award because I
am serving the community by being a safety patrol (mumbled) recycling team and
Student Council. I love being in safety patrol because it's nice knowing that
people will get home safely. Being on the recycling team is great to know that
I'm helping (mumbled) and to be a part of Student Council makes me a
(mumbled) of school, helping make decisions to help the school. That's why I
should (mumbled) and I am! (laughter) (applause)
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Hayek: Well those were wonderful presentations, and I want to tell you that, you know,
the...the purpose of this award is to recognize, uh, young people in Iowa City
who are not only good students and contribute a lot to their schools, but are also
good citizens, and that's what this, a student citizen award, and you set a... a
remarkable example for everyone else at your school and around the community,
and I know your parents and teachers are very proud. It's important to us here at
the City to know that the next generation is learning, uh, what it needs to learn
to...to help lead our city, and that's what the people on the City Council do, and
the things you've done so far with, whether it's the recycling or Girl Scouts or
Student Council or... or safety patrol, all part of that. You're helping your school
and...and you're helping your neighborhood, and you're helping your
community. So we're very proud of you for that! And...and I also want to
recognize especially your parents and teachers who are here in the crowd. I
suspect they've had a little bit to do with your success, as well! So, uh, the award
which I'll give to each of you reads as follows. It's called the Citizenship Award,
and it says for her outstanding qualities of leadership within Longfellow
Elementary, as well as the community and for her sense of responsibility and
helpfulness to others, we recognize you as an Outstanding Student Citizen. Your
community is proud of you. Presented by the Iowa City City Council.
Congratulations (laughter) (mumbled) Congratulations! Congratulations! Thank
you very much. (applause)
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ITEM 3. PROCLAMATION.
a) National Fair Housing Month -April 2011
Hayek: (reads proclamation)
Karr: Here to accept the proclamation is Human Rights Commission Member, Dianne
Day. (applause)
Day: Mayor, City Council Members, my name is Dianne Day and I'm currently the
Chair of the Human Rights Commission. I accept this proclamation on behalf of
the City of Iowa City Human Rights Commission. In accordance with the
National Fair Housing Month, the Commission is sponsoring a Fair Housing
training on Apri125~'. For more information on the training, or for more
information on fair housing in general, please visit our web site at
www.ic og v.or umanri~hts. Thank you. (applause)
Hayek: Thank you very much!
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ITEM 5. COMMUNITY COMMENT (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA).
Hayek: This is the, uh, portion of the Council meeting where we invite the Council to
address, or...the public to address the Council, uh, on items that are not on the
agenda. So if there's something you'd like to bring to our attention, and it's not
on the agenda, please feel free to step forward to the podium, uh, sign in and give
us your name, and please limit your comments to five minutes or less.
Maiers: My name is Sarah Maiers, and I'm on the Senior Center Commission, and I just
wanted to give the Council, uh, a report from the Senior Center Commission.
First of all, we are in the process of becoming re-accredited by the National
Institute of Senior Centers, which is a sub-unit of the National Council on Aging.
We hope to have this completed by September, which is, uh, the 30~' anniversary
of the Senior Center. Uh, accreditation demonstrates that we have a
comprehensive evaluation of our operation, and it shows that we are either meet
or exceed the standards of the excellence developed by the National Institute of
Senior Center...Centers. We also have two HACAP employees working two
twenty-plus hours a week, one as a receptionist and one as a coffee shop
attendant. Proposed federal budget cuts have put these positions in jeopardy. The
loss of one or both of these employees will create significant problems in the
operation of the Center, but we're hoping for the best, um, of outcomes. Linda
Kopping and a social worker intern, Alexa Peaton, recently sent out surveys to
people who have participated in our fitness and performance group programming
to determine what types of outcomes their participation has had in their lives. We
should have those results in about six to eight weeks, and we will give you that
information then. We also plan to do surveys on other participants, such as those
who have participated in literature and language classes, and arts and crafts
programs. The staff is involved with the Advance Care Planning Community
initiative that's being spearheaded by Iowa City Hospice. This is a community-
wide program based on an...an evidence-based program developed by Gunderson
Lutheran Medical Center in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. This is a three-year project,
and the Center will be a pilot site during the first phase of implementation. In the
future, the Center's role will focus largely on education and facilitation. And as I
mentioned earlier, it will be the 30`" anniversary of the Senior Center in
September of this year, since it started in 1981. The staff and Commission and
various groups are in the planning stages of celebration activities, and we will
keep you up to date with what those are in the future. There is a Senior Center
forum on April 14~`. Each of you should have already received an invitation for
this forum, which is called, "Getting Connected, Getting Involved." This is
sponsored by the Membership Committee. They will give updates on all of the
member-organized committees, such as Steering, Membership, Program, and the
Community Outreach Committees. Jean Martin is the Commission Liaison to the
Steering Committee, and at each forum there will be voting for officers of the...of
the Steering Committee. There will be two forums, one in the afternoon starting
at 7:00, or excuse me, starting at 2:00 with, uh, entertainment, followed by the
forum at 2:30 for 90 minutes. In the evening, it will start at 6:30 with
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entertainment and the program will start at 7:00. We hope that you'll be able to
attend one of these sessions. And last but not least, I would like to show you the
new logo for the Center that the Community Outreach Committee chose from a
selection designed by Robin Hepker. It looks like this. Does anybody have any
questions for me?
Hayek: Any questions for Sarah?
Maiers: Thank you!
Hayek: Thank you very much (mumbled) report. Would anyone else like to address the
Council during community comment? Okay, we'll move on to Item 6, Planning
and Zoning matters.
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ITEM 6. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS.
a) AMENDING THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO INCLUDE THE
SOUTHEAST DISTRICT PLAN, FOR PROPERTY GENERALLY
LOCATED SOUTH OF COURT STREET, EAST OF SYCAMORE
STREET & FIRST AVENUE, NORTH OF HIGHWAY 6 AND WEST OF
THE CITY'S EASTERN GROWTH BOUNDARY.
1. PUBLIC HEARING
Hayek: This is a public hearing. (bangs gavel) Public hearing is open.
Miklo: My name is Bob Miklo, Senior Planner, uh, with the City of Iowa City. Also with
me is Karen Howard, Associate Planner, and Ann Freerks, uh, who's on the
Planning and Zoning Commission and also Charlie Eastham who are, uh, is on the
Planning and Zoning Commission and participated in the drafting of this plan.
Before we talk about the Southeast District Plan, I'd like to, uh, put it into the
context of the Comprehensive Plan, uh, and the process that we use to get to this
point, uh, of presenting the plan to you tonight. Um, as you know, the
Comprehensive Plan, um, is used by our department and the Planning and Zoning
Commission, uh, to guide our decisions regarding land uses, rezonings, and
subdivisions, but the Plan also addresses a number of other issues, uh, such as
economic development, housing, transportation, environmental protection, uh, as
well as other important community, uh, concerns. Uh, the Plan is used by, uh, not
only the Planning Department, but other departments, boards and commissions,
City Council itself, um, to guide future...future development. Uh, it's used when
we draft our capital improvements plan to determine, uh, where we might need to
invest in infrastructure, such as new roads or, um, sanitary sewer lines. It's used
to identify areas where we want to invest in public land, such as parks, um, to
serve new neighborhoods. Um...it's also used to, uh, identify areas where we
want to, uh, preserve, uh, or conserve neighborhoods, or naturally
environmentally areas, uh, as well as areas where we want to encourage
redevelopment, removal of what's...might be there, and replacing it with new
(coughing, unable to hear). There are a number of examples throughout the city
that we can point to to show how the Comprehensive Plan has shaped our...our
community. Uh, I think one of the better ones is the, uh, Iowa River Corridor
Trail. This was first included in the Comprehensive Plan over 20 years ago, and
over the years we've incrementally added to the trail, uh, to complete the plan we
now have a trail that goes from the far north side of the city, the Waterworks Park,
all the way to the south side of the city, uh, Napoleon Park, and, uh, it's served us
well. Another example, uh, is, uh, the Terry Trueblood Recreation Area. When
the, uh, South District Plan was, uh, drafted in 1997 the citizens in that part of the
city said that that part of town was lacking in amenities and they really wanted to
see a...a major amenity for the area south of Highway 6, and also expressed a
desire to make better use of the riverfront. Uh, so as part of that plan, uh, we
identified the quarry area as a possible future open space. Just ten years later
we're now, uh, developing that as the Terry Trueblood, uh, Recreation Area. Uh,
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another, uh, recent example of how the...the Plan has affected our community,
uh, the, uh, Northeast District Plan was drafted in 1999, uh, the citizens who
participated in that planning process told us that they wanted their new
neighborhoods to have a focal point or a center. As a result, we show a green
space in the middle of Lower West Branch Road, and on either side of Lower
West Branch Road there were cornfields. iJh, today that's developing into Franz-
Holt Miller Park, so it's becoming a real focal point or a centerpiece for the...for
the neighborhoods that are developing up around it. The, uh, the Comprehensive
Plan itself is...is intended to cover the entire city. Um, but there are areas where
we need to bring more focus than can be done in one document. So we've been
doing the district planning process, um, where we, uh, the broad policies of the
Comprehensive Plan and, uh, try to, uh, use those to craft more specific plans for
smaller districts and neighborhoods. And that's what we've been doing with the
Southeast District Plan. Uh, to do this we seek the viewpoints of the people who
know the community the best. Uh, for the Southeast District Plan, uh, we invited
all of the property owners, uh, the business owners, um, representatives of, uh,
important institutions, such as churches, uh, schools, uh, Kirkwood Community
College, uh, we also invited organizations, such as the Home Builder's
Association, uh, the Board of Realtors, the Chamber of Commerce, uh, groups
like environmental advocates, um, and of course the residents themselves,
including, um, renters in the district. Uh, we sent out over 3,500 invitations to the
Southeast District, uh, workshop that began in April of 2009, and we did have a
pretty good turnout, I believe over 150 people attended that initial, uh, session.
Um, we, uh, make the meetings, the workshops where we gather input from the
citizens, a comfortable inviting place, um...it's a good place to exchange ideas.
We have both small, uh, group discussions, and then larger group presentations.
Uh, for those who can't attend the meetings, we also, uh, posted the plan, the
drafts of the plan, the...the various stages of the plan on the City's web site, and
citizens are allowed to participate and send in comments by...by email if they're
not actually able to get out to the meetings. Uh, during the meetings, we ask
citizens, uh, to begin by telling us what they like about their neighborhoods. Uh,
what makes it a good place to do business, to live, to recreate, um, what's... what
they want to build on in terms of foundation for... for the future of...of their
neighborhoods. Uh, we then go into, uh, identifying problems and issues, what
the City can do better, or...or what, uh, traffic problems exist in the
neighborhoods. Um, we also seek possible solutions to...to those issues. Um,
after we've gathered that input we do a rough draft and we come back to the, uh,
to the workshops, uh, and invite the participants again for a second round, where
we present what we think we heard from them. We confirm that we're on the
right track, or we find the, uh, the goals and objectives of the plan, um, as...as
they see fit. Um, so as...as a result, we believe that the plan does represent, uh,
the citizens, uh, who live in the area, work in the area, or... or own property in the
area. Karen Howard, um, who did a lot of the coordinating in terms of the
meetings and drafting different sections of the plan is now going to give us just a
quick, uh, highlight of some of the main points of the plan.
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Howard: Thanks, Bob! I'm glad to be here tonight to present, uh, the Southeast District
Plan, and some of the highlights, and I would like to urge you that I can't, um,
describe everything that's in the plan. There's a lot of things in there, and I urge
you to look it over, um, for some of the details which are really important, um, to
the citizens of southeast Iowa City. Um, but just to run through a few things, uh,
first of all to describe basically where...where the southeast district is. Uh, the
north boundary of the district, um, is Court Street. It's bounded by Highway 6 on
the south. Um, it includes, um, mainly the, um, the Sycamore Mall area and First
Avenue on the west. And the eastern boundary is the eastern growth boundary for
the city, so you can see from this map it gives a snapshot in time...this is what the
southeast district looks like today, as far as land uses go. So you can see just from
the colored map here, kind of the character of the southeast district as it stands
today. Um, the red areas are some major, uh, commercial areas on the east side of
town. Towncrest commercial area, and um, Sycamore Mall and the First Avenue
commercial corridor. The southeast district also includes the largest industrial
area in the city. So it is a part of the major employment for Iowa City in general.
Uh, that's all this purple area here. You can see that there's residential
neighborhoods, and a variety of housing types in the southeast district, as well as
quite a bit of undeveloped land on the eastern edge of the city, that's
unincorporated now in the county, but within the city's growth area limit. The
plan itself is divided into six sections, um, housing; neighborhood quality; the
eastside growth area; commercial development; industrial employment areas; uh,
parks, trails and open space; and streets and transportation. With regard to
housing and neighborhood quality, we tried to address in this section of the plan a
lot of those things that the...the neighborhood participants, um, expressed about
their neighborhoods, and tried to, um, include a lot of those details that are
important to people, and what they like to see in their neighborhoods, what kinds
of things to be improved in the future. So the Court Hill neighborhood, which is,
. um, the, uh, the northwest side of the district, um, just south of Court Street, north
of Muscatine Avenue, one of the unique facts...factors of that neighborhood is the
fact that it's divided by Ralston Creek. It helps define that neighborhood. It
defines, um, the character of the neighborhood. People have really appreciated
the Court Hill trail system that's been developed in recent years, and also people
mentioned quite a few times, a lot of people mentioned that they liked the fact,
they live here because it's convenient to lots of daily services, such as Hy-Vee
and the Towncrest commercial area. Moving south of the Court Hill
neighborhood, just south of Muscatine and east of, uh, First Avenue is what we're
calling the Towncrest neighborhood, and you can see from this map that it's really
the, the residential areas are kind of sandwiched between the Towncrest
commercial area and some large institutional uses, Southeast Junior High and um,
Mercer Park and Scanlon Gym. So lot of those are assets to those...that
community there, um, but also it presents some challenges. Uh, moving on to the
Village Green neighborhood, as you can see the street pattern is quite different in
this neighborhood, which is just east of the Towncrest neighborhood. It's quite a
unique pattern. It has a mix of housing. On the north...northern edge and of this
neighborhoods mostly detached single-family homes, but as the area has
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developed to the south, there's condominiums and some unique aspects of...of
that development, as well. Um...one of the aspects of this neighborhood that's
mentioned quite a bit, both in the district planning meetings and outside the
district planning meetings we've received, uh, a number of concerned, um,
citizens calling about the fact that we need a better buffer between industrial area
and residential. Um, this...the way this neighborhood, you can see the large
purpose area to the south, um, it's pretty close to homes. And so we need to learn
from that in the future as we think about growing east of... east of, uh, Scott
Boulevard, uh, and we develop new residential areas near industrial areas, what
kind of a buffer will be better, um, or to co-exist with industrial areas. There's
still, um, new housing opportunities in this neighborhood. Homes are still being
built. There's still lots available. Um, some of those homes are...have recently
been built, are single-family, uh, new construction program in that neighborhood.
Moving, uh, further east to the far east side of the city is what we're calling the
Windsor neighborhood. A number of subdivisions have the Windsor name to
them -Windsor Ridge, Windsor West, um, one of the unique aspects of this, uh,
neighborhood is the fact that it's got a very linear park. People in this
neighborhood really appreciate that open space amenity and the trails that that
provides, and are looking forward to having that trail system connect to other trail
systems in the city. Um, the other issues that, as far as the problem side of it,
because this development has kind of leapfrogged over some land that's still in
the county, um, that makes it costly to extend the infrastructure and so, uh,
American Legion Road has not yet been developed to urban standards. Uh, it
doesn't have sidewalks yet, so those are some of the things that people have
mentioned, um, as issues. Moving on to address that area of the city that's not yet
developed, um, we did do interviews with a lot of the farmers in this area and
property owners out in the county to find out kind of what their plans for the
future are, and of course this is prime farmland, and so until this area's really
needed for urban development, it probably should stay that way. Um, but we
wanted to put a plan in place so that if, and when, that land is annexed into the
city we have a plan in place and it provides some guidance. So as expressed
previously, we need to learn some lessons from previous...previous development.
Um, we do have, uh, areas planned for expanding our industrial, um,
development. The City has, our new industrial area that we're developing,
um...along the Iowa Interstate Rail line, and so we talked a lot in our district
planning meetings about what would create a good buffer, um, and think it was
mentioned to us trying to create more of a park, uh, a larger green space that
would separate industrial from residential neighborhoods. So that's what, one of
the things that's expressed on this concept plan. Also there's been, uh, much
discussion, both in the City and I know in the School District, about the possible
need for another elementary school on the east side of Iowa City, somewhere.
Now that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to be in the southeast district, but
that's one of the possibilities, and so the plan does have some language in it to
address the important aspects of location of schools within, uh, central locations
with good access to streets and sidewalks, um, and other amenities. So that's
addressed in this part of the plan, as well. Um, more of the other important
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things, uh, is making sure that all those trail networks, people will...if I was going
to list the top ten, uh, issues that were mentioned by citizens, this would probably
come at two or three. Um, is making sure that our bicycle trail network is
extended through these neighborhoods. Uh, the southeast district contains several
major, um, commercial areas important to, um, citizens of east Iowa City.
Sycamore Mall, First Avenue commercial corridor, and of course Towncrest; has
some smaller commercial areas along Scott Boulevard, and then a small
neighborhood commercial area at Court and Taft that's not yet developed. I'll
just focus on...on Sycamore Mall and uh, mention Towncrest, as well. Um...this
is a major, Sycamore Mall provides and the First Avenue commercial corridor
important, uh, people mentioned that they appreciated the improvements that have
been made in this area, and would like to continue to see, uh, an effort made to
continue those improvements, uh, maybe expand on those improvements, maybe
a more cohesive plan, streetscape plan, something to create some identity, uh,
people like the idea of what...what's being done in Towncrest, and maybe
something similar, more extensive planning process, for Sycamore Mall, as well.
Um, and then one of the other important aspects of this area of course is... is
Kirkwood Community College and how that affects this, uh, area with traffic
and... and activity, as well. I know you've heard a lot about Towncrest. You've
already passed an urban renewal district, so I really won't go into any details, um,
this is the commercial area at the corner of Muscatine and First Avenue, um...I
did want to mention though that we had the Towncrest meetings, um, with all the
businesses there and the residents nearby, but we also posed these same questions
at the larger workshops where we had a lot of people from larger, a broader area,
and they did reaffirm a lot of the same principles that the people in the Towncrest
area themselves, um, are trying to achieve. Uh, as mentioned the southeast
district probably is going to have more about industrial development than any of
the other district plans because it has the largest industrial area, and one of the
reasons that it does is because it's right along the Iowa Interstate Rail line. So it's
important that we reserve areas for industrial uses along the rail line, um, and this
is a good area to expand industrial uses. Um, we also want to minimize conflicts
between new residential areas and new industrial areas as we move forward. The
plan contains a section on parks, trails, and open space. Um, the main basic, uh,
goals for that are to improve our existing parks. There are quite a few major
parks in the southeast district, and connect those parks with trails. People also
mentioned they'd like to see Mercer Park and Scanlon Gym continue to be used
as a community center, maybe expand some services there, such as library
service. Um, and making sure that, uh, our parks are...our park's plan continues
to be developed in the future. Uh, streets and transportation - I told you that top
ten list, well the number one issue in the southeast district is the railroad avenue
overpass at First Avenue (laughter). Um, every single group mentioned this, and
discussed it extensively. So, this is obviously a big issue for the southeast district,
and the congestion, frustration that creates. So, we're hoping sometime soon to
have...to have that improved. There are a number of other improvements of
roads, improvements that are planned already, improvements to Lower Muscatine
Road, uh, Muscatine Avenue. There's planned intersection improvements at the
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corner of Scott Boulevard and um, Muscatine, and improvements to our roads that
service our new industrial area, and in the long-term plan is to improve Taft
Avenue.
Hayek: Can you refresh my, uh, memory? Does Taft... is Taft slated to be the future
north-south...north-south route for commercial vehicles?
Howard: Taft...is extended to...is intended to be another north-south route up to the
interstate.
Hayek: Right, but I mean, it will accommodate that and...
Howard: Right, it's intended to be...to help relieve some of that truck traffic that's now on
Scott Boulevard.
Hayek: Right. Okay.
Howard: Um, so in the long-term future, if we have two routes, um, we're hoping to relieve
some of that congestion off Scott Boulevard, which extends right through several
residential neighborhoods.
Hayek: Thank you.
Howard: I'm sorry! I messed up my slides here. Somehow I hit some button here
that...wasn't quite right! I think this is where we're at. So, uh, the final aspect of
the plan that I would like to mention is similar to a lot of our district plans, we
have a plan map at the back of the document. This is the map that, when
developers come in, this is what they're looking at. It's really our road map to the
future. It brings all these concepts together that were talked about in the rest of
the plan and puts the puzzle pieces together, to guide future development. And, in
summary, um...the plan was created with a lot of public participation and I would
like to say that I'm always impressed with the number of people that show up for
our meetings, and I think one of the reasons that people do is because they know
that the City Council and um, the various departments in the City use those plans.
They don't just sit on the shelf. So, uh, kudos, um, to...to everyone for...for
actually using these plans. I know a lot of cities create these plans and they're not
really used very extensively. Um...it'.s used for guidance, for new
neighborhoods, as well as reinvesting in existing neighborhoods and, uh, we want
to emphasize in this plan the commercial areas that are important, and also
industrial development, and a plug for all the hard work that our Planning and
Zoning Commission does in these efforts. Um, they have reviewed the plan and
recommend approval. Any questions?
Bailey: Karen, you mentioned that you had the participation of Kirkwood and... and
Sycamore Mall and you invited them, but was their participation extensive,
because those are significant players in the southeast district.
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Howard: Um, we did have participation. We did look over the...the attendance records for
some of the workshops, um, now whether it was extensive...it wasn't like you
know we did a concentrated effort for Towncrest, and I think the plan addressed,
uh, Sycamore Mall and First Avenue, there's more of what else can we do, to do
more planning for that area. So, um, whereas the Towncrest area we were more
certain of what...of what the businesses wanted to see. Uh, I think some more
extensive planning will need to be done for the Sycamore Mall area, as well.
Bailey: With the Sycamore and First Avenue sitting down, talking with them about some
plan or streetscape-sorts of aspects.
Howard: Right, some more detailed planning for that area, as well.
Hayek: Any questions for Karen?
Wright: Not so much a question as comments. I appreciate, first of all, all the work and
the effort that the focus groups and staff and Planning and Zoning have put in on
this. This is really a nicely done document, and I particularly appreciate the
attention paid to the industrial/residential conflict areas, and looking at, not just
buffers, but the possibility of some step... step-down zoning in there. I think
that's, um, going to be a good solution long-term to avoid some of the problems
we've had in the past, when not quite as much attention had been paid, and thank
you all for that.
Bailey: Come up with anything we could do with the current problem, the lack of buffer
between existing neighborhoods and the industrial.
Howard: Well I know that there's some...been some, um, research done on fast-growing
species such as poplar trees, that grow really quickly. Now they don't have a
long, uh, life, but I know there's been trees planted along there, but maybe some
efforts to plant more fast-growing species that can also help absorb some of the,
maybe the smells and the, uh, the other things, or maybe it's more of a perception,
having...having that there, um, something to screen...visually. But other than
that, you know, it's kind of...
Bailey: It's really close!
Howard: It's pretty close, right.
Hayek: Any other questions for Karen, or Bob? Okay. Thank you. Would anyone else
from the public like to address us during the public hearing? Okay, I will close
the hearing. (bangs gavel)
2. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
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Page 13
Bailey: Move adoption of the resolution.
Dickens: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? I just want to echo the
Mike's thanks for the. time that went in on this, both staff and with P&Z and
everyone else who was involved, uh, great collaboration; I appreciate it!
Anything else? Roll call, please. Item passes 6-0.
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ITEM 6. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS.
b) CONDITIONALLY REZONING APPROXIMATELY 2.17 ACRES OF
LAND LOCATED AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF TAFT
AVENUE AND COURT STREET FROM NEIGHBORHOOD
COMMERCIAL (CN-1) TO PLANNED DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY-
LOW DENSITY MULTI-FAMILY (OPD-RM12). (REZ10-00018
1. PUBLIC HEARING
Hayek: This is a public hearing. (bangs gavel) Public hearing is open, and as an initial
matter, any ex parte communications?
Bailey: I did talk to, um, the Director of Planning, um, about the reduction of the
commercial areas, because I had specific concerns about that, um, and just
clarified some of the long-term goals.
Hayek: Anything else? Bob.
Miklo: This property is located on the, uh, to the south of Court Street and to the west of
Taft Avenue, uh, Huntington Drive is just to the west, and Cardigan Lane, which
is a private street that serves, uh, some townhouses, is, uh, to the south. The area
is currently zoned neighborhood commercial, which allows, uh, limited
commercial uses, mostly retail. Uh, there are some more intense uses such as,
uh...um, gas station or convenience store that could be developed there by special
exception if approved by the Board of Adjustment. This area was zoned CN-1 a
number of years ago, uh, when the City was planning to build Court Street to, uh,
Taft Avenue. At the time the Windsor Ridge development was just getting...
getting underway. Um, the idea was that it would be good to have, um, some
services and retail in the area, uh, to serve the...the growing neighborhood. Um,
the applicant has indicated that they thought that the market would be there faster
than it has been, um, and has requested that a portion of this property be rezoned
to, uh, low-density multi-family from neighborhood commercial, and that the
northern portion of the property be rezoned to mixed use, uh, rather than
neighborhood commercial. Um, the mixed-use aspect of the rezoning is still, uh,
at the Planning and Zoning stage yet. Um, we anticipate that that will come
forward later this spring or...or summer. Um, and that we believe would fulfill
uh...the need for commercial in this neighborhood, or in this area, because the
mixed use zone allows either residential or commercial on the ground floor,
whereas the existing zoning requires that the ground floor be, um, commercial.
Uh, so this is the area that's proposed and recommended for approval for, um, low
density multi-family, uh, there is a plat that you will see, if this gets to the third
reading, that would subdivide the property into two pieces, one for the, uh, multi-
family and one for the mixed use zone. There's also a planned development that
lays out four, uh, buildings on this site. Each would contain six, uh, townhouse
style condominiums, um... six, or excuse me, twelve of them facing a new private
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Page 15
street that would form a square around the park in the area, and then six that
would face on to Taft, uh, with...um, with Taft Avenue, uh, with an evergreen or
a, um, a vegetative buffer, uh, along the east side. Uh, these are some drawings of
the proposed townhouses, um...these are the fronts that would face the park or
Taft Avenue, and then these are the...the sides. Um, because there are existing
townhouses, uh, south of this that would look into an alley between the two sets
of... of townhouses, we recommended some sort of, uh, decorative wall or
screening to, uh, to improve the views of those existing townhouses, and um,
that's what's being proposed, uh, between...between the units. The Planning and
Zoning Commission, um, has reviewed this and has recommended approval,
subject to, um, some conditions to address some of the concerns identified, and
those are in a, uh, draft conditional zoning agreement, which the applicant has, uh,
signed, uh, basically the conditions are that the plan pretty much follow what you
see here in terms of the site plan and the building designs, uh, that the applicant
contribute towards the future upgrade of Taft, uh, Taft Avenue, uh, and there's an
amount spelled out in the, uh, the conditional zoning agreement. Uh, and that the,
uh, developer, uh, build the visitor parking area that's proposed along the, uh, the
city park here, um, this land was dedicated by the same developer as an earlier
phase of...of, uh, Windsor Ridge, and is, um, is now a green space or a park that's
fully landscaped. Uh, the eastern edge of that would have some parking that
would serve this overall development. And the Parks and Rec, uh, Commission
has agreed to that. Um, and then the owner would also be responsible, uh, for
maintaining that...that parking and uh, repairing any landscaping that is damaged
during its installation. I'd be happy to try to answer any questions you might have
about this proposal.
Champion: Bob, it looks to me like it's going to be like a square, and... and all the parking
will be in the middle. (mumbled)
Miklo: There would be, um...there would be parking, uh, along the private street, as well
as in the middle, um, each, uh, townhouse would have atwo-car garage, plus two,
uh, spaces behind it, so there'd be four off-street parking spaces for each unit, and
we felt that was important because there's no parking...we anticipate there'll be
no parking on Taft. There's no parking on Court. Uh, so the parking will be on
the private drives around the square and within this property.
Champion: I like that design!
Mims`. (several talking) No, that's okay.
Wright: (mumbled) clarification (mumbled). Um, question I had is along the Taft Avenue
frontage, that you know we're going to be funneling the truck traffic now onto
Taft, try to take some of the heat off of Scott Boulevard. Are we going to be
recreating the same situation we have with unhappy residents on Taft Avenue
going into the future because of truck traffic, when we're moving into similar
residential type development?
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Miklo: To address that, the zoning code requires an additional setback when you're along
an arterial street. That's the case here. There'd be a 40-foot setback. He plan
also shows extensive landscaping as a screen along the street. I don't know if that
will, uh, be a total solution, but we have applied that to some of the townhouses
that were built along Scott Boulevard, and it does seem to ameliorate the
concerns.
Wright: Thank you.
Mims: Their only access to Taft is going to be from on Court or this Cardigan Lane?
Miklo: Yes, Cardigan Lane will in the future provide access to Taft. Otherwise access
would be...let me see if I can...um...would be via Huntington, Cardigan Lane,
there will be a new street that's part of the subdivision, uh, that will form a square
around the green space. And, then there'll be, uh, a drive or an alley, uh, in the
back that will have access to both this street and to Cardigan.
Mims: I guess my question kind of becomes, we've had the discussion as we get to the
point of upgrading Taft and really encouraging that for truck traffic and trying to
have minimal stops along there, um...you know, how many streets like Cardigan
are we going to end up, you know, having come onto Taft, because it just kind of
seems like some of the discussion we've had, or have heard from staff, is we
really want to kind of minimize the number of access points onto Taft Avenue as
we are approving development out there. LTh, to avoid accidents and not to be
forced to put in additional stop signs for the trucks so that people can get on there,
and I guess my question becomes, given the number of housing units is Cardigan
an absolute necessity to extend on to Taft? Or could we restrict it and say, you
know what, if you're going to come out, you've got to go through Court or
something further south. I'm just concerned we're getting too many (both
talking)
Miklo: ...actually in this area from Court, um, all the way down to, uh, American Legion
Road, I believe, Cardigan is the only other access. I think there are a few
residential driveways, but there are no, um, public streets that intersect there, um,
so it's...it's pretty limited from Court, farther to the south. This is already...was
approved with a previous plan. We think it's reasonable. It's...it's going to serve
a fairly, uh, small area in terms of providing access to Taft. But I think I...I
agree, it is a concern that as development occurs farther to the north, we will want
to be cognizant of that and minimize those curb cuts.
Bailey: And I think the challenges when residential comes first, and then the upgrade of
Taft comes later, people will be accustomed to their patterns and frustrated at
truck traffic. And, um, I'm concerned that we're creating a similar problem, as
we have with Scott.
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Mims: Well that's why I'm...I'm concerned that we not get too many curb cuts along
here, that people get trained from the beginning that these are going to be some of
the restrictions and, um...I know it's always hard to make sure people know what
they're getting into when they purchase property, but...if they're listening, Taft
will be developed and there will be a lot of truck traffic on there from years from
now.
Hayek: Let's try to keep our comments to questions, just so we can get our questions
asked and then maybe other people, uh, during the public hearing will want to
address us, and then do more the discussing during discussion. I have a couple
questions, Bob. One is, can you clarify what mixed use means as it relates to the
commercial, versus residential...uh, possible outcome and...and how you build
that out, etc., and secondly, um, what is the impact on, uh, required parking
depending on which outcome, uh, is ultimately pursued?
Miklo: The...the mixed-use zone allows either commercial or residential on the ground
floor, and the...thinking in a situation like this where it's a developing
neighborhood. It may be a number of years before there's development farther
east of Taft, and there's a population that can support commercial, that the, uh, the
mixed use zone requires that the ground floor be built to commercial standards,
but not necessarily occupied by, uh, commercial users. That way the, uh, the
area's reserved, and if there's a market that can support the commercial, the space
is there available for them. Uh, the parking, and we're still working on the mixed
use aspect of this...this proposal, uh, the, uh, the parking for the commercial is the
same as in most, uh, commercial zones, one space per 300-square feet, and then
the residential would have to provide their own, uh, and we, um, the concept plans
that we've seen, that we've worked with the developer on so far, do accommodate
both the commercial and residential aspect of... of this area.
Hayek: So the parking requirements the same because it's tied to the zoning, and the
ultimate use of that space can be whatever (both talking) parking.
Miklo: Right.
Hayek: Any other questions for Bob? Would anyone else like to address us, uh, on this
before I close the public hearing? Hello!
Moreland: Hi, I'm John Moreland, and I'm the developer, and there's just a couple things I'd
like to go over. I've owned this land since 1994, and we've constantly waited for
Taft to be developed, and we know that you can't just do part of Taft. It either
has to come all the way from Herbert Hoover Highway, all the way down to
Highway 6, or it doesn't do any good for the truck traffic. You can't have part of
it gravel. We have a tremendous demand for condos out there. We've done a lot
in the state IAD program, and we're down to our last six-plea, and that's why we
applied for this. And so Ihad agood-neighbor meeting, and um, I was probably, I
don't know, 30 people there over at Regina, and the way it was set up prior to
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Page 18
this, um, people were scared to death there was going to be a convenience store
on the corner, which it could have been, um, there could have been a lot of really
harsh commercial projects that really would have affected the neighborhood. So I
came to the staff, I don't a year ago I think we started on this, and I said, you
know, we really need some more condo ground in this azea, and so we designed
this project with the idea of keeping the corner commercial, and what I've done
with the design, I...I just brought something tonight which isn't done, but when
you deal with an RMU design which is new, like this commercial part, we're on
our fifth draft right now, of trying to get it worked out and get it right. And what I
started out with, just to give you an example, I mean, I'm going to put the condo
project aside, is we have some townhouse-type units with fourteen feet on the first
floor that can be commercial. So for instance if you're a chiropractor, you want
to have a small coffee shop, you can live upstairs and you can rent out the bottom.
And that's what the neighbors want to see. They don't want to see a convenience
store. They don't want to see a car wash. They don't want to see that sort of
thing. Now, the other thing that's good about this district is if you buy a
townhouse above and there's just absolutely zero commercial, which we've found
out since Taft isn't paved, there's no...no demand at all for commercial out there.
You could, I mean if you wanted to, you could live in the upstairs, buy that as a
condo. You can make the first floor into a... an apartment rental for relative. You
could put your, you know, father-in-law, mother-in-law, or relative in there, and
they could use that. Now down the road, if the commercial, you know, there's a
demand, once Taft gets paved, then we have the buildings kind of designed that it
could be turned into, like I say, a small coffee shop; a, you know, chiropractor,
something like that. That's the only thing that's going to go out in that area, and
the other thing I want to remind you of, when Taft ever does get paved, it's not
only the millions of dollars to do it, but we also have all the land on the other side
of Taft, on the east side of Taft, that has to be developed. So there's going to be
two more huge corners over there that could be done all in commercial, cause
when you look at the CN-1 I have there right now, all of that is multi-family, 12-
plexes right across the street from there. That's not commercial. So it seems
more logical to me to put the commercial on the other side of the street, because
there'd be no demand until it gets paved. No demand, and as far as, you know,
truck traffic, you know, there will be some truck traffic, but I mean the thing
about it is, when you look at all the way along Taft, now when we first developed
Windsor Ridge, we've got houses that back right up to Taft, with no screening!
And people bought those houses! But they knew that Taft was eventually going
to be, you know, a throughway, but I mean, I don't think any of us in this room
can say, well, it's going to be this year. We know it's not on the ten-yeaz
improvement program, so I mean, you know, these condos might be built and sold
three different times, and so you know, the staff and I have worked together, you
know, the...the parking mainly along the pazk is for pazk people. The condos
have all the parking they need. They've got four units for, or pazking for each
unit. So that's mainly to help out the people that come and visit the pazk, so they
aren't parking in the condo people's space, so they can use the park. You know, I
think the bigger question is, you know, like I say, we're on a fifth draft of the
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RMU, and the reason I wanted to get this going is we're down to our last six-plex.
We have four out of six sold, um, four of `em are through the City's IED program
and it's been very popular for us on that side, so you know the reason that you
know I'd kind of like to get this passed and get a first reading tonight is so that by
the time, you know, I'm...I'm ready to go again, you know, with more
condominiums, and...and obviously, you know, uh, some of that landscaping
won't be...won't be built until Taft is built, so we'll have to escrow the money for
it, but I think the other thing you need to look at is we've got 24 beautiful units
and six of `em sit right on top of the park. And it makes no sense to have a
printing company sitting right on top of that park. Why not have a beautiful
condo with decks and porches and, you know, we donated that land to the park, or
the City, for that reason. So I mean, you know, I know there's an issue about
traffic and noise and all that, but um, Susan, as far as your comment, the only
thing we plan to bring forward in the future is the zoning that I brought last fall to
ya. From American Legion Road all the way through Cardigan, other than Court,
is the only one that's supposed to go through, when that goes through. There's
one other project we're working on and I had it zoned and you passed the zoning
last fall, and it would be down, and by the way, that...from Cardigan all the way
up to Court, I think 700 feet, so it's not like they're right on top of each other, but
we have another project just beyond in that RS-8 up there that's going to be small,
uh, small lots. We're trying to find some housing that we can build under
$200,000, and so there'll be one more access point there, talking about a street,
that...that we're going to be bringing that forward. So when you look at it, if you
take the distance from Herbert Hoover Highway all the way to American Legion
Road, and there's only three main public accesses, I think you'll see that that's
pretty limited compared to a lot of other, well, look at how many come off Scott
Boulevard, you know, so anyway, I'll answer any questions. Otherwise I
probably talk too much!
Champion: Well I like the project!
Moreland: Thank you!
Champion: It... it looks good to me.
Moreland: It took us six months, but we got it worked out. Thanks.
Champion: (mumbled) that land for a long time.
Hayek: Would anyone else like to address us during the public hearing? Okay. Public
hearing is closed. (bangs gavel)
2. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE (FIRST CONSIDERATION)
Wright: Move adoption.
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Page 20
Champion: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Wright, seconded by Champion. Discussion? Roll call, please. Item
passes 7-0.
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ITEM 6. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS.
c) FOR A VOLUNTARY ANNEXATION OF APPROXIMATELY 12.72-
ACRES OF PROPERTY LOCATED AT MORMON TREK
BOULEVARD AND DANE ROAD, JOHNSON COUNTY, IOWA.
(ANNl 1-00001)
1. PUBLIC HEARING
Hayek: This is a public hearing. (bangs gavel) Public hearing is open.
Miklo: There are actually two aspects to this...this property on your agenda tonight. The
annexation, uh, and then the second aspect would be rezoning it, uh, from the
County designation of agricultural to the City designation of intensive commercial
or, um, CI-1. Um, as noted, the property is on the north side of Mormon Trek
Boulevard. The City built Mormon Trek Boulevard a number of years ago, in
order to encourage, um, future economic development in this area, particularly,
uh, the focus was on the area to the south and... and um, west of the Airport,
which is relatively flat, and that was identified as, uh, a good prospect for
industrial land because of...of those features. Uh, the Comprehensive Plan,
therefore, calls for industrial, uh, just to the east of this property and it, uh, shows,
uh, this area as having the potential for either intensive commercial, CI-1, or
commercial office, um, CO, um, zoning, and you can see the area that's already
and the city has a mixture of that type of zoning. Um, the, uh, the CI-1 zoning,
uh, allows intensive, uh, land consumptive, uh, uses such as, uh, auto dealerships,
um, developments that require some outdoor storage, uh, it does not allow
traditional retail, uh, like a...a retail store or strip-mall type...type situation.
Uh...the, um, Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed this, uh, rezoning
application and did recommend approval, along with staff, with some conditions
regarding its relationship to the property to the north, uh, this area, uh, remains in
the County and is zoned a combination of agricultural and uh, residential. Uh,
there's the, uh, indication that this will be dedicated at some point for, uh,
parkland and the, um, other rezoning in this area, for example, when this area was
rezoned, uh, there was a condition that a buffer requirement be established, uh,
with any commercial development. So the, uh, the conditional zoning agreement
would require a landscape buffer along the north side of this property, uh, before
there's any development. Be happy to answer any questions you might have.
Hayek: What's the...there's a slope as you head to the north out of that area, does that
impact the consideration as to buffer?
Miklo: Well it does...it does slope up considerably from, um, Mormon Trek Boulevard to
the Dane, uh, Driscoll property on...on the north. I think it's roughly about an
8% slope, um, I do, uh, anticipate that the, when this is developed, there will be
some grading to create some more level areas. Uh, the buffer would be required
on the...on the north end of, uh, of the property, um, so it should provide some
(both talking)
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Page 22
Hayek: ...benefit of the elevation.
Miklo: Right.
Hayek: Thanks, Bob.
Champion: Bob, where would the access be if this land becomes (mumbled) a park? Where
would the access for the parkland be?
Miklo: We are reviewing a concept plan for a subdivision right now, and one access is
proposed directly across from Dane Road, which would be shared, uh, by the
properties to the, uh, to the west, uh, and, uh, possibility of another driveway in
this area, and the possibility of a driveway or a street that would serve both the
property to the east as well as this property in this vicinity. There are some grade
issues and we're not sure whether or not this will be a street or just a driveway.
So there'd be three access points, uh, potentially along, um, Mormon Trek
Boulevard.
Hayek: Would anyone else like to address us during the public hearing? Hearing none, I
will close the public hearing at this time. (bangs gavel)
2. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Bailey: Move adoption of the resolution.
Wilburn: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Wilburn. Discussion? Roll call, please. Item
passes 7-0.
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Page 23
ITEM 6. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS.
d) CONDITIONALLY REZONING APPROXIMATELY 12.72-ACRES OF
LAND LOCATED AT MORMON TREK BOULEVARD AND DANE
ROAD FROM COUNTY AGRICULTURAL (A) TO INTENSIVE
COMMERCIAL (CI1). (REZll-00004)
1. PUBLIC HEARING
Hayek: This is a public hearing. Public hearing is open. (bangs gavel) As an initial
matter, uh, any ex parte communications? I'll disclose that I got an email over the
weekend from, uh, the Dane family, um, inviting me to come down and check out
the site, and I communicated back, uh, that on Monday and Tuesday, today, I
wouldn't be able to do so, given my work schedule, but that I'd check with staff.
I spoke briefly with Tom Markus, um, and uh...that's the extend of my
communication, but I just wanted everybody to be aware of that, and I did not get
an opportunity to go down to the...to the site. Um, Bob, do you have anything
further to add on that?
Miklo: No, I have nothing (both talking) uh, there is a photograph that shows the
property, looking from Mormon Trek Boulevard back up to the, uh, I believe this
is the Dane-Driscoll property to the north, and you can see there's quite a grade
change.
Hayek: Can you, um, give us a sense of the...of the similarity, or lack of similarity,
between this and what we've approved a few months ago, I believe, to the west?
Miklo: Right. It's the same, uh, the same zoning and the same conditions are being
proposed.
Hayek: Would anyone from the public like to address us during the public hearing? On
this rezoning? Mr. Dane.
Dane: I'm George Dane. I live at 1 Oaknoll Court in Iowa City. Formerly lived at 4120
Dane Road SE. We're here this evening to discuss what will become the zoning
for this 12.72-acre strip along the north side of Mormon Trek Boulevard, and east
of Dane Road. My interest in what happens, or is allowed, is because I own a 16-
acre parcel on the hilltop, immediately north and abutting this strip under
question. This was our family home for over 50 years. It is now the home where
my daughter and my son-in-law. When our family is done living here, this entire
hilltop will become a park. The planning is all completed, and the gift was
featured in articles in the Daily Iowan and the Press-Citizen in the summer of
2006. Whatever is built or allowed on that 12.72-acre strip will affect the park.
Why did we choose to donate this piece of ground for the park? Well, there's
several reasons. We were raised to believe that we are stewards of this land, to
care for it, nurture it, and help it to be there in the future generations. Our hilltop
rises approximately 100-feet above the Airport, and this gives magnificent views
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Page 24
in all directions. Watching the sun rise and set, and the moon rise and set, are
awesome treats. These are unique and belong to everyone, not just a few. Also
this is the last sizable open area close to Iowa City, reachable by all modes of
transportation, and is uncovered by trees and buildings. People of all ages can
enjoy the out of doors all year round. Sometimes kids may even want to fly kites
again! The recommendation by P&Z Commission is for intensive commercial
CI-1 zoning. I do not agree with that recommendation. The other zoning option
described in the Comprehensive Plan is CO-1, commercial office park, and is
more compatible use for...adjacent to a park. If the Commission's
recommendation goes forward, the 12.72-acre strip under consideration will
become filled with intensive commercial zoning activities. Such things as auto
dealerships that do vehicle sales and repair, use-car sales, industrial services,
warehousing and light manufacturing are likely the uses. All with heavy traffic
coming and going at all hours of the day or night. Adequate vehicle access is
necessary for these activities. Ideally, they're shielded visually, geographically,
or topographically for less intensive zones. Now fast forward to when our hilltop
becomes a park. Folks may well ask, or wonder, what was the City Council doing
or thinking back in 2011 when they let intensive commercial use build next to a
park? Why did the City allow this to happen? This was all open ground at the
time, and they had a choice. Other parks in Iowa City are not burdened with this.
City Park has a nice Levitz Center across the street. Thank heavens there isn't a
warehouse or an auto dealership right next door to City Park. Commercial office,
CO-1, zoning is more compatible with a public park. I encourage you to go that
route. At your convenience, I invite the Council to come and see what I have
attempted to describe to you tonight. Thank you.
Hayek: Thank you, Mr. Dane. Any questions for Mr. Dane?
Champion: No, I...will try to get out there, Mr. Dane. I did get a letter from you. I got a
letter from you about (both talking)
Dane: Yes, Ma'am.
Champion: ...and I will get out there!
Dane: Thank you, appreciate that!
Champion: Um, can I...of Planning and Zoning? Charlie's here.
Hayek: Sure, I don't know why not.
Champion: Charlie?
Hayek: There's a request to, uh, to have one of the P&Z representatives just to answer a
question or two.
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Dane: Anything for me?
Hayek: I don't believe so.
Champion: Thank you!
Wilburn: Just, uh, thank you, Colonel, for your future family gift to the City.
Freerks: Yes, Connie. It's a tough act to follow, but I'll try to answer questions!
Champion: Um...
Hayek: Could you give us your name just (both talking)
Freerks: Yes, Ann Freerks, uh, Chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Champion: Ann, can you tell me if the, um, Planning and Zoning Commission...I'msnrry, I
didn't read the minutes on this, discussed the problems with the park, with
intensive commercial?
Freerks: Well, we talked about all of the things, um, that go...it currently isn't a park.
Champion: I know.
Freerks: Um, but what we want to do is, um, create a buffer for whatever would occur
there in the future, and uh, it was our feeling that by addressing the...the lighting,
the noise standards, which are in the code already, and um, the space buffer, that
it would be, um, enough probably there. I mean, there was quite a...we talked
about the fact that, uh, a lot of community money went into the infrastructure
there in order to put, um, this kind of development forward in the future, and um,
and we just felt that the zone that we ended up with would be best for that area.
But we did definitely take into account, um, lighting, the buffer, the trees, that
type of thing. And...I don't know if that answers your question properly,
but...we definitely discussed it. Bob might answer some of your questions. If
you didn't have the minutes, I mean, there was quite a bit of talk about it, um,
and... and you know I' d feel free to go through that... we spent, I think there were
a couple different meetings where we addressed it.
Hayek: In the packet, the memo to PZ talks about...the park and other area uses.
It's...there's (mumbled)
Freerks: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, and the thing is, it isn't at this time. We know, and we've
expressed thanks and great interest in the fact that hopefully some day it will
become one, but... at this point in time there has been interest and acceptance in
some way, is what we understood, with, um Parks and Rec, but nothing official
has occurred there. We did want to take it into account though.
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Hayek: Anyone else during the public hearing, before I close it? Okay, I will close the
public hearing. (bangs gavel)
2. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE (FIRST CONSIDERATION)
Bailey: Move first consideration.
Wright: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Wright. Discussion?
Dickens: The same consideration will be taken as we did for the auto dealership at the top
of the hill, with the lighting and a concern...because that was a big concern when
that was approved, so I guess we would just want to make a side note that
that...I'm sure it will be addressed, when this area becomes developed, that they
have the same consideration from property behind it.
Wright: (mumbled) similar discussions about, um, that adjoining piece of land. (several
talking) And I have some of those same concerns that I had at that time about the
CI-1 zone as a buffer to that...future parkland. Um...and I'm inclined to vote the
way I did the last time, which is in the negative, because of that reason. I think
it's a little bit too intensive and too intrusive a use, given the future of the
adjoining property.
Champion: I...I agree with you. I'm really concerned about it, although this isn't my first
consideration. But I do want to get out there and look at that, um, I mean, it may
not be pure fact now that the land is going to be parkland, but if Mr. Dane says
it's going to be, it's going to be, and, uh, I totally believe that. So I am really
concerned about it. So I'm also going to vote no on the first consideration. It's a
beautiful place for a park! Beautiful, and it's got big hills too! (laughter)
Bailey: I think without question it's...it's one of the most beautiful areas of the
community. I think Ann brought forward a really valid point about the
infrastructure and the intent of the area, and as we, um, as we consider
what...what the community looks like, what capacity we have, uh, to...do sorts of
things like parks, I think we have to...to bear in mind the consideration of what
we have for commercial land. Um, particularly CI-1 land, I mean, we don't
necessarily have a lot, and there aren't a lot of areas where we have, um,
infrastructure that lends itself well to it. And so, um...meaning I can see the
concerns, certainly, um...but I think that this makes sense, given the other land
uses around it. So I'll be supporting the rezoning.
Hayek: I'll, uh, I will support it as well, but I...I do want to get out there before we, uh,
get to the next reading, um, because I think it's important to do that, but um...we
went through a similar discussion as has been pointed out, um, this is what the
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area is slated for. There is actually proposed, or...or anticipated industrial to the
east, long-term, and this is part of the gradual lead-up to that, um, and I....I recall
from our last...our discussion last time that...that there was a lot of attention
given to lighting, visual screening, um, buffer distances and... and things like that,
and I see that in this analysis, as well, um, so I...uh, I think it's appropriate to
proceed in this way, but...but I do want to see the site.
Mims: I think it's not an ideal situation, I mean, you've got such diverse uses so close
together in this, and I, um, yet I understand, you know, like you say, with the
infrastructure that we've put in and the limitation on land for that, um, I think
we've just got to do the best we can with the buffering, uh, I'd like to get out and
take a look, as well, cause elevation changes can make a huge difference in how
effective your buffering is. Um, if you're looking down on it, I don't care how
high those trees are, it's not necessarily going to do you a whole lot of good. So,
um, I...I want to get out there before the next reading, as well, but I...I will
support it tonight, but, um...I want to see more.
Wilburn: I think for those...the reasons that, uh, Susan and um, Matt, Regenia, that you
mentioned, I'll be supporting it. I think those comments about the protections I
will point out, though, that some of the protections are restrictions, um...that
would be honoring the request, uh, to help provide some type of, um, protection
and honoring the potential future gift, uh, I will point out that, uh, those
restrictions that we...are put on, uh, are viewed favorably by some, there will be
some in certain communities that will say that this is government trying to do, uh,
too much and why can't I do whatever I want with my property. Um, but, uh,
there...there are reasons for regulation, and this case would be trying to help
honor that potential future gift. So just kind of throwing that tickler out there for
when future Councilors are hammered by that.
Champion: And I'll be around here when that happens! (laughter)
Wilburn: You'll be around forever, Connie! (laughter)
Hayek: Further discussion? Roll call, please. Item passes 5-2; um, Champion and Wright
in the negative.
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ITEM 9. ASSESSING A $300.00 CIVIL PENALTY AGAINST FIVE STARS FOOD
MART PURSUANT TO IOWA CODE SECTION 453A.22(2) (2011)
a) CONDUCT HEARING
Hayek: This is a hearing, and we will open it at this time.
Chappell: Good evening, my name is Andy Chappell. I'm the Assistant County Attorney,
and we're here for a tobacco civil penalty, Iowa Code Section 453A.22 provides
that when an employee of a retail cigarette permit holder sells or provides tobacco
to a minor the business associated with that employee is then assessed a civil
penalty by the entity that grants the...the permit, you folks. Um, in this case, an
employee of the Five Stars Food Mart sold or provided tobacco to a minor on
December 13, 2010, and it was the first situation that, of record that we have
where such an employee has sold or provided tobacco to a minor. So we believe
the, uh, statute requires that the City Council assess a civil penalty of $300.
Hayek: Any questions for Mr. Chappell? Would anyone else...during this hearing would
like to address the Council? Sir, you can step forward.
Gaber: Yes, Yasser Gaber, I'm the owner of Five Stars Food Mart. Uh, I understand, uh,
we got a fine for, uh, $195 for doing, for selling tobacco, which is not exactly
tobacco. We sell that kind of, uh, you can't call it tobacco because some people
use it for hookah. It's not the cigarettes, uh, and some also be able to use it for
like incense, and we sell both. We sell incense next to that, and uh, (mumbled)
and most of the time, of course, we don't even have cigarettes at the store, at all.
Uh...most of the time we ask for an I.D. if they get the tobacco with the hookah
itself, but when we get the tobacco with incense or by itself, we assume it's...it's
anybody can buy this, young ladies, young, uh, men, I mean, we...sometimes we
don't ask for....to sell the incense, and what (mumbled) the incense, like a
(mumbled) flavored tobacco, and I thought if my (mumbled) only $200, which is
the fine, uh, $195, and I said let's pay for it and I thought that was going to be the
end of it, but uh, and then I receive this letter for $300. I wasn't sure what exactly
for. If I paid the fine already, especially this is the first time for a new place and
we didn't know much specifically about this kind of tobacco, if you call it tobacco
or this kind of incense. We know of cigarettes, I understand for 18 years
(mumbled) we cannot sell it, and we have to (mumbled) for that, and that's why
we decided not to deal with the cigarettes at all, and any beers, any liquor,
anything that needs such thing like that. But this thing I'll not sure if I should pay
this fine twice, $200 plus $300. If you consider that's 100% tobacco, no. So...
Hayek: Andy, could you come back up and take, probably have a question as to the
product at issue, and the distinction between 195 and 300, if you could talk to
both of those.
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Chappell: Well I've...I have no idea what, um...what the tobacco in question is. All I have
are the police reports, which indicate that...that the minor in question purchased
Nookala tobacco, um, that's all I know. I don't know anything about, uh, whether
there's any specific requirements for that particular type of tobacco.
Dickens: Does it have a tax stamp on it? Or...
Chappell: It's not information that I have. All I get is really the conviction. Once
they...once they plead guilty or are found guilty of selling or providing tobacco to
a minor, then the civil penalty is really, uh, it's like strict liability, for lack of a
better term. That establishes that there was a violation by an employee. Um, it's
possible that those are things that could have been debated in a criminal trial.
You ask for a different...the different distinction between the $195 and the $300.
The $195 that, uh, he's speaking of is the criminal penalty, including costs,
surcharges, all those things, related to the..violation of 453A.2. The breakdown is
it's a $100 fine, there's a $35 surcharge, and they get you for $60 of court costs,
brings you to $195. That's the clerk who sold the tobacco to the minor. Uh, the
civil penalty is completely separate and it's against the business holder itself, and
I believe the design is basically to encourage the business owner to, uh, educate as
best they can their employees to avoid employees selling or providing tobacco to
a minor. That's the best I can do of my way of explanation.
Wilburn: The State Code refers to tobacco and tobacco products though, doesn't it?
Chappell: Yeah.
Hayek: Can you speak more to the strict liability aspect of this? What does the statute say
as to what we must do, versus can do?
Chappell: The statute says that if there's a violation, if...well, it doesn't even say...I don't
even have to have a true violation. They could be acquitted in the...in the
underlying charge, and we could still move forward because all you have to do is
be convinced that the...the, uh, the employee sold or provided tobacco or tobacco
products to a minor. That's the only thing that's at issue; if you're convinced of
that, the civil penalty is automatic. For lack of a better term.
Hayek: In this case they pled to it?
Chappell: Yeah, they paid the...paid the fine.
Dilkes: So in other words there's been a criminal conviction, which is, you know, beyond
a reasonable doubt standard. You have a civil standard which is lower in this
setting, um...and it is once you find that that has occurred, then the penalty is
automatic.
Hayek: Sir, do you wish to add anything else?
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Gaber: Yeah, what I'm also, uh, need to say...the (mumbled) if you consider cigarettes as
tobacco, no one can smoke indoor and most of that, or almost everywhere,
cigarettes, but tobacco would be still allowed via the other kind of tobacco, the
one we call (mumbled) or hookah or we still give the permission to many stores,
different cities, including Coralville and Iowa City, to smoke this kind of thing
and they don't ask for an I.D. or even...they should not allow any of this stores
around if they consider that's tobacco, 100%. This is different between cigarettes
tobacco and other tobacco or hookah tobacco, besides this tobacco. It gets, and
you can get it in many different flavor. You can have it not for smoking. You
can have it just for this kind of incense. And I...I can leave a sample or I can
show you even how we use it, most of...most of the, um, I want say (mumbled) or
African or, uh, the...they use this a lot for good smell (mumbled) or make
(mumbled) certain flavor or...I don't know if I should pay the $300 or should
I...wait until you decide if this is tobacco or not or...I pay the $195 just believe
me because I didn't want to go through with this. I thought it's 900 and
(mumbled)
Hayek: You're in the middle of this, I mean, we're here now on the $300 so (both talking)
unless we decided to defer or delay this (both talking) um...Eleanor, can you
speak, I mean, what this comes down to in large part, seems to me, the product
itself. Does it fall under the umbrella of what the State statute (both talking)
Dilkes: I, you know, I...I have to tell you, I don't know what product we're talking about.
So, um...but I can read you the definition of tobacco products, if you'd like, if
that would be...a help.
Wilburn: Sure!
Dilkes: Um, tobacco products means cigars, little cigars is defined in Section 453A.42(5)
chair roots, stogies, pear roots, granulated, plug cut, crimp cut, ready rubbed, and
other smoking tobaccos, snuff, snuff flour, Cavendish, plug and twist tobacco,
fine cut, and other chewing tobaccos, shorts or refuse scraps, clippings, cuttings,
and sweepings of tobacco, and other kinds and forms of tobacco, prepared in such
manner as to be suitable for chewing or smoking in a pipe or otherwise, or both
for chewing and smoking pipes, but does not include cigarettes, and then of
course there's another definition of cigarettes.
Gaber: The one we sold, I didn't hear it.
Dilkes: Cigarettes is any roll for smoking made wholly or in part of tobacco, or any
substitute for tobacco, irrespective of the size or shape, and irrespective of
tobacco or any substitute for tobacco being flavored, adulterated, or mixed with
any other ingredient, where such roll has a wrapper or cover made of paper or any
other material.
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Wilburn: It may not name the product, but if it contains tobacco, I mean...
Hayek: Which could be smoked in a pipe, which is...
Wilburn: Whether or not it's intended, are you selling it, but it's whether or not the person
could use it for that. Is that what you're thinking?
Bailey: Well, do tobacco products require a permit to sell?
Dilkes: You have to, yes, you need to have a permit.
Bailey: So they have a permit to sell tobacco products so...it seems that these are
acknowledged as tobacco products. Am L..tracking this correctly?
Dilkes: I think that's a reasonable argument.
Gaber: We have many different kind of tobacco for hookah. That's why we get the
permit.
Bailey: Right.
Gaber: But, this kind of tobacco, it's...if you call it tobacco. I don't call it tobacco
myself. But, this kind of, um, material, it could be used for many things, many
other things.
Hayek: But it could be smoked.
Gaber: Huh?
Bailey: It does sound like...
Gaber: If you are talking about could be smoked...I can mention many things could be
smoked, but (laughter) better than what we sell!
Champion: I have probably smoked them all! (laughter)
Gaber: That's the problem, I mean, it's not really very clear about this tobacco.
Wright: But this is indeed manufactured from tobacco, is that correct?
Gaber: Uh, it's imported, uh, not from...tobacco to smoke. (both talking) Like what I'm
saying you can use, uh, you can use it for...for this, which is number one, I
assume, and you can use it for many other things. You can smoke it. I cannot say
no. You can just put it in, uh, it comes with a lot of like oil or molasses. You can
leave it with oil and near...near, uh, flame, candle or something. It will give good
smell to the...to the room. Many people use it, depends on the culture, depends
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on who's the person using this. And...and...to be honest, we decided not even to
sell this anymore, if...if it's going to continue like that, because we're not going
to ask...most of the people that buy, ladies or young ladies or they come and grab
it with the incense like part of it, and if I keep asking you I.D. and it's not going to
be, and we're not making that much money like any other good stuff, you need
the license and the (mumbled) or tobacco license. It's not good sale or...or good
profit, let's say. It's a good sale, but not good profit. That's...that's my whole
thing. And I can bring sample if...if you want to try it or you want to see it, not to
smoke it...not to smoke it! (laughter) (several talking) No, I recommend
something else to smoke, but I (laughter) can get you a sample.
Hayek: Okay, uh, I appreciate your input and Mr. Chappell's input. Unless there's
anything else you'd like to add, I'll close the hearing at this time. (bangs gavel)
b) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Bailey: Move adoption of the resolution.
Hayek: Moved by Bailey.
Wright: Second.
Hayek: Seconded by Wright. Discussion?
Dilkes: If I can just say, I think the concern with, um, getting into issues of fact at this
stage of the game is that there could be any number of issues of fact in the
criminal, um, trial and so if you're going to do it in this case, then you, I think,
need to be prepared to do that in any case where there's been a criminal
conviction and you're looking to assess a civil penalty.
Champion: I think the problem for me is, he paid the fine, which assumes guilt then. Isn't
that correct?
Dilkes: He essentially pled guilty.
Champion: He pled guilty, so therefore, I don't have any choice but to find him guilty, cause
you've already said you're guilty. If you had, yes, because when you paid the
fine, that admits guilt, and you might have been able to convince a judge, I guess
you could demand a jury, couldn't you? Probably not.
Dilkes: (mumbled) perhaps a jury, I'm not sure.
Champion: (several talking) I'll have to support...
Hayek: Very briefly though, we've heard quite a lot on this already.
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Gaber: To pay the fine, this is...wasn't up to me, because this was, I was dealing with
(mumbled) who got the fine. So the lady sold that tobacco is...is under my name.
I should take care of that. That's why I didn't even think to fight the case,
because her name was there, not my store name. Only (mumbled)
Champion: Right.
Gaber: But when it comes to my name or my, now I pay her, she's out of there. I have to
find out why I' m paying all this, if... if I have the right to (mumbled) but I didn't
blame...I didn't mean to plead guilty by paying her fine.
Dilkes: No, Sir, you didn't plead guilty, she...or...she pled guilty, and this is a common
scheme that you find is upon the employee's conviction, there is a civil penalty
for the, um, employer. We had that same system with alcohol, um.. .
Wilburn: And not every employer is going to choose to pay their employee's fine on their
behalf, and so we really are addressing...there was a...a business that, uh, had an
employee that sold the product (several talking)
Gaber: For the reason I pay, not because I'm a nice guy, because also she's...mention
what I mention, this is not a tobacco. I didn't know much about this. (mumbled)
Hayek: (several talking) ...I think that's...
Gaber: I pay for her.
Hayek: ...I understand, but the way the law is set up, and we need to conclude this, um,
she pled guilty to that under the State statute if the employee's found guilty, or
even with a lesser standard, but in any event it was met here, the civil penalty for
the business owner automatically attaches. Um, and...and I think that's the
situation we find ourselves in, despite the misunderstanding and... and the
confusion about what is or is not, uh, a product under that statute. I mean, that's
my reading of it.
Champion: Right.
Wright: And by paying the fine...
Gaber: Is there any chance to get the fine back and to fight the case?
Champion: Probably not! (several talking)
Hayek: It's a criminal matter, and...and uh, appears to be resolved. So...
Gaber: Once you pay, it's...anything else I...
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Hayek: I think our hands are tied on this, Sir.
Gaber: Okay. Thank you.
Hayek: Sorry about that. Further discussion? Roll call, please. Item carries 7-0.
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ITEM 13. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE CITY OF IOWA CITY AND THE POLICE LABOR RELATIONS
ORGANIZATION OF IOWA CITY TO BE EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2011-
JiTNE 30, 2012.
Bailey: Move adoption of the resolution.
Dickens: Second.
Hayek: Moved by Bailey, seconded by Dickens. Discussion? I just want to point out for
the public that the terms in this agreement are the product of binding arbitration,
uh, and that was the outcome of that process. Further discussion? Roll call,
please. Item passes 7-0.
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ITEM 25. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION.
Hayek: Let's start with Mr. Dickens.
Dickens: Nothing!
Bailey: Nothing.
Wilburn: Nothing!
Wright: Nothing.
Champion: I just wanted to point out that the State of Iowa in 2011 is going to spend $500
million on roads. And I just think that's pretty amazing when we don't support
public transportation and rail, and I think the country is going backwards, and the
state is even more backwards than I thought now.
Mims: Nothing.
Hayek: I...I have nothing.
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