HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-10-18 AppointmentMarian Karr
19n
From: Wally <zinguy @gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 9:34 PM
To: Council; Ann Freerks(ann- freerks @uiowa.edu); Beth Koppes (ekoppes2000 @gmail.com);
Bob Miklo; Carolyn Dyer(Carolyn- dyer @uiowa.edu); Charlie Eastham(eastham @mchsi.com);
Michelle Payne(mlpayne @midamerican.com); TimWeitzel (tweitzel.email @gmail.com)
Subject: Fwd: Regrets
Dear Friends,
I really have been overwhelmed at work and earlier today I cancelled a trip to Chicago to meet
with my mentor, Bobby Kacher. Later, I took the most expedient route to informing you of my
decision to resign by finding the most recent note with everyone's name on it and hitting "reply
all." After receiving a nice note back from Karen I saw that my note included an exchange
regarding my faux pas of contacting everyone about an item before the commission. I just
wanted to make clear that there is no connection between my resignation and that note, or any
matter that we have considered as a commission. It has been a privilege to serve with and learn
from all of you, commissioners and staff alike, and it is with a high degree of confidence that I
resign, knowing that the work of Planning and Zoning continues through your efforts and that
everyone involved has our community's best interest foremost in mind.
If a reference to another email was called for, the one below explains in full my motives for
seeking more time. Thanks, Wally
---- - - - - -- Forwarded message ---- - - - - --
From: Wally <zinguyggmail.com>
Date: Wed, Oct 12, 2011 at 2:51 PM
Subject: Regrets
To: Anne Markovich - Girard <am irg and (a�robertkacherselections.com >, Bobby Kacher
<rckacher(a,, earthlink. net>
Cc: Victoria Walton <walton.victoriakgmail.com>
Dear Anne & Bobby,
I guess I should be pleased that things are too busy here to get into Chicago tomorrow to taste
some 09 Burgundies. I'm not. Regrets, Wally
Wally Plahutnik
The Wine Room at John's
319 BIG VINO
or
319/244 -8466
Marian Karr
From:
Wally Plahutnik <zinguy @gmail.com>
Sent:
Wednesday, October 12, 2011 4:51 PM
To:
Council
Cc:
Ann Freerks(ann- freerks @uiowa.edu); Beth Koppes (ekoppes2000 @g mail. com); Bob Miklo;
Carolyn Dyer(Carolyn- dyer @uiowa.edu); Charlie Eastham(eastham @mchsi.com); Michelle
Payne(mlpayne @midamerican.com); TimWeitzel (tweitzel.email @ gmail.com)
Subject:
Resignation
Dear fellow Commissioners and Planning Staff,
When I reconsidered my decision to let my tenure on P & Z expire, I had serious concerns about my ability to
fulfill my commitment. Sadly, as my busy season has engulfed me I see that I must tender my resignation,
effective immediately. Many thanks for the opportunity to serve with and learn from you all. Wally Plahutnik
Wally Plahutnik
(319) BIG VINO
(319)244 -8466
Please excuse any typos. Sent from my phone. Big fingers, small keys.
On Aug 19, 2011, at 9:17 AM, Sarah Holecek < Sarah- Holecekgiowa- city.org> wrote:
/_115
Please do NOT respond to or otherwise discuss this e-mail amongst yourselves
or others, particularly by a "respond to all" or an otherwise mass e-mail, as this is
largely interpreted as "convening" a "meeting" under Iowa Code Chapter 21, which is
Iowa's Public Meetings law. The Public Meetings law requires notice and a public forum
to be convened when matters involving the deliberations of a policy board or matters
before a public body are discussed. IF a Commission member wishes to articulate their
point of view to the rest of the Commission on a matter before the Commission or on a
policy recommendation by the Commission or any other matter concerning the
Commission's policy purview, it MUST be done during a public meeting (or on a verbal
one -on -one basis) to prevent a violation of the open meetings law. This is based on the
principle that if a majority of the members of the Commission "discuss" or "deliberate"
on matters concerning the Commission or their recommendations /policy, that
"conversation" constitutes a "public meeting ", and appropriate notice and public
observation are required. (See Iowa Code Section 21.2(2). Given the immediacy of
electronic communications and the ongoing discussion they invite with either a reply to
sender or reply to all, electronic communications are legally considered to constitute a
meeting.
Additionally, I remind Commission members that the Commission bylaws state that any
member of the Commission "who has had a discussion of an agenda item outside of a
public meeting with an interested party shall reveal the contact prior to [the] staff report,
naming the other party and sharing specifics of the contact, copies if in writing or a
synopsis of verbal."
To rectify this situation, I suggest that Wally's email be made public, synopsized at the
next meeting and be made part of the record before the Commission.
PLEASE contact me with any questions you have regarding this matter.
Sarah E. Holecek
First Assistant City Attorney
410 E. Washington St.
Iowa City, IA 52240
Ph: 319- 356 -5030
Fax: 319- 356 -5008
email: sarah- holecek(a)-iowa- city.org
Notice:
Since e-mail messages sent between you and the City Attorney's Office and its employees are transmitted over the Internet, the City
Attorney's Office cannot assure that such messages are secure. You should be careful in transmitting information to the City Attorney's Office
that you consider confidential. If you are uncomfortable with such risks, you may decide not to use e-mail to communicate with the City
Attorney's Office. Without written notification that you do not wish to communicate with the City Attorney's Office via e-mail communication,
the City Attorney's Office will assume you assent to such communication. This message is covered by the Electronic Communication Privacy
Act, 18 U.S.C. Sections 2510 -2515, is intended only for the use of the person to whom it is addressed and may contain information that is
confidential and subject to the attorney - client privilege. It should not be forwarded to anyone else without consultation with the originating
attorney. If you received this message and are not the addressee, you have received this message in error. Please notify the person sending
the message and destroy your copy.
Thank you.
APlease consider the environment and do not print this email unless absolutely necessary.
From: Wally [ma ilto: zing uy @gmaiI -corn]
Sent: Friday, August 19, 20118:04 AM
To: Ann Freerks (ann- freerks@uiowa.edu); Becky Soglin; Beth Koppes (ekoppes2000 (@gmail.com); Bob
Miklo; Carolyn Dyer (Carolyn dyer(&uiowa.edu); Charlie Eastham (eastham (&mchsi.com); Bob Miklo; John
Yapp; Karen Howard; Michelle Bacon Curry; Michelle Payne (mlpayne(�bmidamerican.com); Nick Benson;
Sara Greenwood Hektoen; Sarah Holecek; Sarah Walz; Tim Weitzel (tweitzel.emaiMcimail.com)
Subject: corrected copy
Apologies- this is the final copy. I somehow hit send while proofreading the first version.
Dear fellow Commissioners,
Extemporaneous gathering of my ideas into a logical, succinct statement during a
meeting is sadly, a skill I lack. I hope to voice some of these points during our next
public meeting but I did want to make them available to you before then and to also
make this part of the public record without the tedium of reading a statement
during the meeting.
Before voting on this rezoning and even more importantly, changing the
comprehensive plan, I encourage all of you to take a walk in the neighborhood.
Specifically, the 200 block of Bloomington, then the blocks of Davenport and
Fairchild between Dubuque and Clinton. When you are done, drive down Dubuque,
glancing left and right.
I ask that you take a walk because the Northside is a part of town built to a
walker's scale. These cobblestone streets and front porches were built before the
automobile ruled the world and now, in the 21st Century, the Northside
accommodates the cars but is not dominated by them.
As you walk up Bloomington toward Dubuque, what you see isn't pretty, from a
planner's standpoint. Each structure has been "maxed out." The areas behind the
buildings are worse, having been paved over to provide parking for more people
than these buildings were ever meant to house. And yet, the 200 block of
Bloomington retains a nice, neighborhood feel. As you can see, this is in spite of the
people who own the properties rather than because of the efforts they go to to
preserve the character of their buildings. History and the many bad add ons have
shown that most of the rental property owners on the 200 blocks of Bloomington,
Davenport, Fairchild and Church see their structures in the light of how much rent
they can extract from them. As you cross Dubuque and head up Davenport you can
see where that view of rental property leads. The Northside is in high demand. For
some, the human scale, the shaded cobble streets and turn of the century
architecture are the draw. For others, it is simply the proximity to the UI campus.
Now, on Fairchild and Davenport, large apartment blocks have replaced the human -
scaled homes that use to be student rentals.
3
And then on your drive as you leave the Northside, look at the east and west sides of Dubuque
from Church to Bloomington. Houses on the east, Blocks of apartments on the west.
The difference is in zoning. The apartment blocks on the west side stand as testament to what
direction rental property owners on the Northside tend to move. The RNS 12 zoning was
established as a counter to the purely economic force that manifests itself with a bulldozer and
wrecking ball.
I am not de facto against redevelopment of these properties. But I do think that changing the
comprehensive plan without a prior, clear vision of what we want and the effects on adjacent
areas is foolish and risky. Often rewards only come with risk but in this instance the rewards are
only for the property owners and developer. Iowa City puts another couple blocks of the
Northside at risk and gains what is essentially another apartment block with three storefronts; a
scaled down copy of the n building that replaced the QuickTrip /Gazette and parking lot. I don't
know what design would be a "game changer" for me, a structure and site plan that offered so
much to Iowa City that I would be willing to risk another block or two of the Northside to give it
a chance for success. I do know that this plan is not it. The applicants risk is balanced by the
opportunity of financial reward. Simply by changing the zoning, the value of these properties
increases greatly without anything being built. But Iowa City risks much. After the bulldozer,
that block and more importantly, perhaps others, will be irrevocably changed and all we and
future residents of Iowa City are offered to take that risk is "more of the same."
Wally Plahutnik
319/244 -8466
Wally Plahutnik
The Wine Room at John's
319 B]G VINO
or
319/244 -8466
Wally Plahutnik
The Wine Room at John's
319 BIG VINO
or