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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-02-05 TranscriptionPage 1 ITEM 2. STUDENT CITIZENSHIP AWARDS — Regina Elementary Hayek: Would the students from Regina please come forward! Hi, guys! Well, hello! I'm Matt Hayek, I'm the Mayor of Iowa City and I want to welcome you to City Hall. So, uh, behind you sits the City Council of Iowa City, our senior staff, and lots of other people, and I just want to welcome you ... welcome you to our meeting and, um, also say hello to your ... your parents and ... and anyone else who might be here to ... to support you! Um, so what tonight's about and ... and this is something that we do throughout the school year here at our City Council meetings is to, um, bring the student leaders, uh, of the various schools in Iowa City, uh, down to our meetings and uh, get to know you a little bit and we have an award that we want to present to you, but it's really an opportunity for us to see all the great things that are happening at your school. So I see each of you have ...has prepared a ... a statement, which is exactly what we were hoping for, and I'll just pass the mic to you and ... and just read one after the next. Malkusak: Hello, my name is Kate Malkusak and this is what I do to be a good citizen. I always make an effort to donate to charities. For my birthday, instead of presents, I collected food and money for the Animal Shelter. I also attempt to give to my school whenever they collect for other charities. For my family, I always try to help with my little brother who has special needs and help clean the house for my parents. With my classmates I try to set a good example and help them voice their opinion when we work in groups. In class I respect it when people are talking and do all my homework on time. Every year I participate in two cancer walks to help raise money for those with cancer. (applause) Mulcahey: Hi ... (applause still going) Hi, my name is Ryleigh from Regina Elementary. First I would just like to thank my teacher for nominating me. I would also like to congratulate everyone else who received this award. I think everyone is part of us for receiving this. I think I received this because I'm doing a lot of activities, varying from helping out Sister Mary Fran to doing violin to doing softball. I participate in strings, softball, and dance. I'm involved in a group called Satan Girls and we are a group of eight girls who do a lot of community service. We do projects for Oaknoll Retirement Home and help our school sister daily. Again, thank you! (applause) Rude: Hi, my name is Marisa Rude and I go to Regina Elementary. When I think of citizenship, I think of community. When you're a good citizen, it doesn't matter if you help your local nursing home or your softball team. Either way, you've made a be ... big difference in your community. I think you may have picked me for this award because I love to help out. I help the kindergarten teachers on Friday during recess. I help Sister Mary Fran during recess, as well, every day that I can. And I grade papers for my teacher. I love getting to help out my school. (applause) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 2 Hayek: Well, and ... and, uh, I want to thank you for those. Before I forget though, Ryleigh's mom is a big wig up in North Liberty, and so you probably know a little bit about city council work, don't ya? (laughter) Long meetings and... having to answer lots of phone calls and stuff like that. So, uh, just wanted to point that out. Um, anyway, the three of you read really wonderful pieces and it's great for us to ... to get to know you a little bit better, and get to know what you do at...at your schools, and ... and you know, one of the reasons we do this is to show the community how great our kids are, and how much they're learning, and uh, the ... the kind of example that they're setting, uh, for not only the ... the other students in your school, but ... but for ... for kids around, uh, the community, and it's just fantastic and, you know, the people up here have ... have Regina roots too. Terry Dickens is, comes from a big Regina family and ... and he's a really important part of our City Council and ... and uh, Regina graduates serve in very ...many important, uh, positions throughout our community and I'm sure you guys will, as well, so ... I want to read, uh, for you, uh, the Citizenship Award. And ... and it reads as follows: For her outstanding qualities of leadership within Regina, 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, February 2013. (mumbled) Let me shake your hands as well! You're welcome to stick around for the rest of our meeting (laughter) or go home and do homework. It's your call. Your call! (laughter) Thanks a lot. Congratulations! (applause) Speaking of, uh, student leaders, I want to point out that the Shimek Webelos Scouts, uh, Cut Scouts are here, uh, to watch our meeting. Um, they're from, I think, Pack #200, which was my Cub Scout pack, uh, a million years ago (laughter) and uh, so it's great to see you guys and ... and I know you're here for your, uh, the government section of...of your Webelos, uh, syllabus, or learning process, and it's ... it's good to have you in the crowd! This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 3 ITEM 4e(3) NEW URBAN RENEWAL AREA - RESOLUTION DETERMINING THE NECESSITY AND SETTING DATES OF A CONSULTATION (February 21) AND A PUBLIC HEARING (March 5) ON A PROPOSED CAMP CARDINAL URBAN RENEWAL PLAN FOR A PROPOSED URBAN RENEWAL AREA IN THE CITY OF IOWA CITY, IOWA. Champion: Move adoption of 4e(3). Payne: Second. Hayek: Uh, 4e(3) moved for adoption by Champion, seconded by Payne. Discussion? Throgmorton: Okay, I ... I asked to have this, uh, considered separately because I ... I can't see any good reason to create an urban renewal area at that particular location. It ... it seems to me the only reason to create an urban renewal district and then use instruments like TIF to support it is to provide incentives for the private market to do something it would not otherwise already do. And it seems to me if a piece of property is zoned properly, and in a suitable location, the market will recognize that and respond accordingly. So I ... I don't see any need to be doing this. If...if I ... I'd be willing to support it if I thought it promoted features that I greatly value, but I don't see it. So I... so I'm going to vote no on this. Hayek: What's our normal process on this? Does ... does this come directly to ... to Council? Does it go another route? Davidson: Mr. Mayor, Jeff Davidson, Director of Planning and Community Development. Uh, this is always the first step, the resolution of necessity is ... is according to the State code, the first step in establishing an urban renewal area, which then can lead to the City providing economic incentives in the form of tax abatement or mo ...most commonly TIF, but it is basically the first step and it is initiated according to a process dictated by State law. Hayek: Does ... does the resolution of necessity come to us ... first, as opposed to like through the Economic Development Committee or some other route? Davidson: Um ... yeah, we ... we have mentioned this project at the Economic Development Committee just in, during staff time. There's no formal requirement. Uh, the formal requirement is for the resolution of necessity to have the three elements, which you have contained, um, in that resolution, having to do with notifying the Planning and Zoning Commission, um ... let me make sure ... uh, consultation with the other taxing entities, and holding a public hearing, which would be held at a subsequent City Council meeting. Those three items are what's stipulated. Hayek: Okay. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 4 Dobyns: Jim, I'm going to go ahead and support this, because in that particular part of town ... I think there are elements that maybe the market won't be able to draw, that I think would very ... very helpful in terms of high technology developments, research developments, that might be over and above what the market might naturally, um, offer that area. Possibly! And I think the intent is not to, uh, at this point, uh, to put something that might need tax increment financing in there. As long as we're transparent about the TIF, uh, you know, discussion. Um, I think that's what important. Pushing this forward does not make that opaque. Um, as long as we make sure it doesn't continue to be opaque. So I'm going to vote for it, for the possibility of the discussion of TIF, even if we decide not to utilize it. Payne: I mean, I think that to be competitive with our neighboring communities, we have to do this. Otherwise they'll go someplace else that does it. So I, I mean, I think to be competitive, we ... we have to be ... we have to be open- minded enough to say that we might ... have the need to do this in this area. Throgmorton: The ... the logic of that leads to providing TIFs to everyone, everywhere in the city. Champion: No, we don't TIF residential property. Throgmorton: Well ... all commercial off ...office commercial, industrial, all ... all those other non - residential activities. Payne: But we always have the right to say no! This doesn't stop us from saying no. Throgmorton: Well, I'm trying to make a free market argument, which I would think a person from your certain political persuasion might actually (laughter) support, uh, you know, which ... which is basically let's let the market decide. Get the zoning right, have ... make sure it's in a good location, the market will choose! Dobyns: (laughing) ...maybe he was talking to me! I (laughter) Throgmorton: Well anyhow, I ... I ... (both talking) Hayek: You know, Jim, you and I talked about this ... this earlier today, and my ... my concern was, you know, whether we have followed our, uh, standard protocol for this. You know, does this ... is ... is this resolution of necessity coming to the Council first, as opposed to going to the Economic Development Committee or some... some other subset of... of City government, uh, initially. Um, and... and if the answer to that is it should have gone somewhere else, then I ... I would have discomfort with this, but since it does come to us appropriately, um, and ... and since it does not, uh, commit us to anything and ... and since I agree with you, we need to engage in that analysis, um, before we agree to anything, and in fact would, should an opportunity come along and there ... there be a request for ... for This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 5 some sort of package, um, I guess I'm ... I'm comfortable proceeding with this. But I note your concerns! Dilkes: Well I just ... I just want to make sure that we're clear is there's no, um, you know, there are not State code requirements about what goes to the Economic Development Committee. So if ..if the ... if the Council as a group wants the Economic Development Committee to look at this, before it comes to you, that's certainly something that can be done. Hayek: And I'm not suggesting we necessarily do because ... you know, we do on other things where ... where there's a specific proposal. Dilkes: Right, right! Hayek: And we vet that fully, but I wanted to make the distinction. Mims: Well, and what we're voting on here tonight is to set the public hearing. So I can't see any reason not to have a public hearing. Champion: (mumbled) (several talking) Oh! Right. Hayek: Well, there's the necessity. Mims: Right. Throgmorton: It's initiating things and I ... I thought, you know, what better moment than right at the start. Dobyns: It's hard to know when to bring something up, I agree. I, you know... Dilkes: (several talking) ...want the EDC to look at it in the interim, between now and the set... and the holding of the public hearing, that's certainly something (mumbled) Davidson: Public hearing would be scheduled for March 5th, if you (both talking) Dilkes: ...plenty of time to do that. Hayek: Okay. All right. Any further discussion on 4e(3)? Roll call, please. Uh, item passes 6 -1, Throgmorton in the negative. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 6 ITEM 5. COMMUNITY COMMENT (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA). Hayek: And this is the opportunity at each City Council meeting for members of the public to address the Council on items that are not on the agenda, and ... so if there's something that is not on the agenda, um, I invite you to step forward and... and to sign in and verbally give us your name, uh, and we're going to ask that you limit your comments to ... to five minutes or less. I do, however, before we get started want to make a ... a couple of comments about SEATS, because it's clear that there are a number of people in the audience who are here regarding the SEATS issue, the paratransit funding issues, um, that have received some media attention in recent weeks. Um ... uh and ... and first of all I want to welcome you to ... to City Hall, and ... and I also want to indicate that ... that we welcome your comments and we ... we invite your comments. Um, but I ... I want to explain, uh, where the City of Iowa City is with respect to this issue, um, and... and what lies, uh, before us. We had a work session earlier this evening and we received a lot of information for the first time, uh, regarding the SEATS program, where the funding comes from, what the proposals are, etc. Um, and ... and we had some initial discussion, uh, regarding that and reached no decisions and were not asked to reach any decisions, uh, tonight, but I want to make it clear to the public, uh, that from the City of Iowa City's perspective, SEATS is not going away. It is a federally- required program. Um, it is an excellently run, uh, program and ... and is held in very high regard down here at City Hall and throughout the community, um, and it will remain a high priority for the City and is ... and is going to continue. Um, and so that's a message that needs to be heard, uh, by the community. The issues we're dealing with relate to how SEATS is paid for. And that gets to a ... the arrangements between the various local governments who collaborate to pay for and provide the paren ... paratransit services. That's where the rub is. That's where we need to do work as local governments... to, uh, go through the current situation and ... and reach a ... a mutual accommodation in terms of how we pay for these services, uh, going forward. Um, the, as I said before, the information we received this evening, uh, is fairly voluminous. It represents our understanding of the funding and all of those things. Um ... uh, we're going to continue to discuss it as a Council. We're also going to engage, um, the, uh, the other local governments and have a dialog with them about the program, and then we will at some point come back as a City Council and determine how we want to proceed, how we think we should proceed as ... as we relate to the program, and obviously the citizens of Iowa City represent a ... a large portion of...ofthe SEATS program. Um, but SEATS will continue. It's an excellent program, and you need not worry about that! So, but I don't want to discourage people from talking either, and so if there is anyone who wants to, even having heard that information, address us, by all means, please do! And... and the information that we received tonight will... is already or will be soon, very soon, on the City web site, and I encourage you to check that out. So ... with that ... someone who's probably here not to talk about SEATS! (laughs) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 7 Tharp: Mr. Mayor, Council Members, uh, good evening. Um, I'm Mike Tharp. I'm the Airport Operations Specialist. I'm here tonight with Jose Assouline the Chair of the Airport Commission and Chris Ogren who is actually our newest Member of the Airport Commission, and ... in your packet on Thursday we had the, uh, 2012 annual report from the Airport, and we just wanted to walk through a couple of things with you real quick, and uh, hopefully not take up too much of your time. (mumbled) with that, I'm going to turn it over to, uh, Jose! Assouline: Thanks for having the opportunity to ... to do that. I didn't want to turn that into a mathematics, uh, exercise here, but just to tell you that, uh, we are doing well at the Airport (mumbled) the Airport and um, we have, uh, an economic impact, uh, can be sustainable at this point. Um, we have, uh, as you can see, I'm not going to reiterate all the numbers there, but uh, this is a calculated, uh, impact due to the, uh, the various, uh, Airport traffic, people that come from ... from a variety of places, and refuel and use our airport. We also have, um ... Air Care and um... and a variety of other, uh, facile... facilities that we use that are used for... for patient, uh, care, and um, and you can see here that in the last year, we have, uh... um, received enough funding or wrote enough grants to actually fund most of our problems with the, um, with the, uh, Airport, uh, runways and... and maintenance, as well as, um, basically through our, through the sales of some of our land, we were able to, um, to reduce the levy, uh, by a significant amount and obviously this is mor ... money for some... something else for the City. We are trying to be as self - sufficient as possible, while really impacting the, um, the community. Uh, we, as you can see, also we have (mumbled) fairly successful in getting grants from FAA and ... and DOT to actually do the maintenance and we are doing pretty well with that. Uh, this is actually one of our latest, uh, acquisition. Uh, we actually got a brand -new hangar that, uh, we, uh, have fully rented by now, and uh, we are making money out of this (laughs) Uh, it was also made privately, uh, that is a portion of that is actually, uh, put together and was made, uh, Jet Air, uh, and put together (mumbled) three to six aircrafts. So, uh, basically, um ... we also have, and this is actually through grants, we were able to, uh, to, uh, add or repair taxiways, uh, so that it is more efficient and obviously with a better, um ... safety, uh, possibilities, and also that would increase the possibilities of landing in a, under a different... difficult conditions or poor weather conditions, which actually obviously increase our traffic, and the possibilities also remember that, uh, the Air Care also, uh, works in a difficult... difficult conditions so that really helps a lot. Um, so that's basically (mumbled) to do ... to say, and uh, in the last couple of years we are trying to make concerted effort from the Chair or ... and/or other Members of the Comm ... the uh, the Airport Commission to come and bring you the ... the good news about, uh, our endeavors and we surely, uh, are grateful for your support, as well. Hayek: Thank you, and we appreciate your hard work, as well! We've got a hand -held microphone there if that would help. It needs to be turned on. (noises on mic) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 8 Hayes: Hello! My name is Casey Hayes. I live on Court Street. I have been using SEATS for 17 years. (mumbled) integral part of my life and help me to raise my son (mumbled) community. I chose to move here from Chicago so that I could raise my son in a community that was accessible (mumbled) Um ... (mumbled) it was very upsetting to me about the TIF expenditures and um ... the lack of money and growth that Johnson County did receive because of the TIF expenditures. I think it's very important for (mumbled) to um, be on top of the budget when they're thinking of, um, development (mumbled) I was very fortunate to be part of the passage of that law and it (mumbled) spirit of the law that I speak to you now today. (mumbled) the law needs (mumbled) aspects of life (mumbled) and they have choices in how they live their lives, and that means that (mumbled) people who use SEATS right now choose that (mumbled) I would like to thank everyone who has come today to support SEATS (mumbled) wonderful program (mumbled) situation where SEATS (mumbled) funding for SEATS has to be a problem that we have to solve (mumbled) support upfront and everyone knows upfront that it's going to continue and there is not controversy. (mumbled) with that situation and there's (mumbled) controversy, um, five years ago when the contract was signed. So in the future I would like to see us (mumbled) to continue (mumbled) so that people don't have to be upset and anxious about a very important resource (mumbled) I brought with me (mumbled) petition. I have... 1,652 signatures, um (mumbled) country so SEATS has become (mumbled) funding for this mandatory paratransit issue of national interest so I hope that you will move forward in a (mumbled) and I forgot if I didn't thank everyone that came tonight to support SEATS and I would like to thank the Council for your, um ... time and the process that you need to go through to work things out with Johnson County. Thank you. Hayek: Thank you for your comments. Hayes: Who wants to collect... Hayek: Yep, we can ... we can take that in. Thank you. Hayes: Thank you, and the notebook (mumbled) comments from members (mumbled) Thank you. Hayek: Thank you. Welsh: Mayor and Council Members, my name is Bob Welsh. I'm a, uh, long -time, uh, long, long time citizen of Iowa City. Uh, several people have, uh, contacted me about their concerns about SEATS. Uh, I was privileged to be in attendance at your, uh, work session where you discussed SEATS and I'm glad that you are taking the step to, uh, have Members of the Council meet with, uh, Members of the Board of Supervisors to discuss the facts and the philosophical, um, differences maybe of...of how do you define fair share. Uh, the uh ... um, on Monday we have a meeting of the Johnson County Task Force on Aging, and one This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 9 of the things that I'm considering proposing to that Task Force is that in addition to the governmental units talking is that it might be well to have a meeting, uh, devoted to SEATS and the operation, uh, the sharing of information and providing a dialog for, uh, persons who are using SEATS and their family members to react to the various proposals and various alternatives as to how that would affect them and their lives, and I guess I would, uh, merely invite those of you, uh, again, my name is Bob Welsh and (mumbled) telephone book and my email address is just welshbobkaol.com uh, and would appreciate any reactions you have prior to my meeting on Monday, uh, as to whether or not you think it would be a good idea if, uh, a Task Force in cooperation with other groups. I could name a whole list of them (mumbled) think of, uh, had a meeting where we had, for instance, from the City, the County, uh, having the facts shared at this point and then having a discussion, and so I guess my point is, uh, I would appreciate your input as to whether or not you feel that would be helpful and uh, I guess while I'm here, although I can't see all the people behind me, uh, I ... I want to express my appreciation for what I heard you all say and that is your commitment to SEATS and, Connie, I appreciated your, uh, statement about, uh, a door -to -door service. Champion: (mumbled) Welsh: Uh, because, uh, way back when the SEATS first started as a paratransit, you all not only fulfilled all the requirements that Kevin pointed out to us, you exceeded them. Uh, you know, you exceeded them in terms of providing Sunday service. You exceeded them in providing door -to -door rather than curb -to -curb. The other thing which was not mentioned that you did in addition to that is you only are required by federal law to provide service to the areas, I think it's three - quarters of a mile from your bus line. Uh, when we looked at that geographically a long time ago, they were just small pockets of Iowa City that were not covered as mandatory. And the City Council I think wisely said, hey, we're going to do the whole city, and I think and I trust that that is a, again, a continued commitment that you all have and thank you, and thank you for ... for your reassurance that, uh, SEATS is not going to go away, that uh, the governmental units are going to meet the needs of persons with disabilities, and those of us who age are very close to fitting the category of disability. I, you know, even myself, I now have a handicap parking sticker! I won't tell you all the reasons why but (laughter) as ... as we get older, we do, uh, become disabled also and the disability community is becoming older and so nationally... those two groups are working very closely together in what's called aging /disability resource centers. Thank you very much. Hayek: Thank you, Bob. Olmstead: Good evening. My name's Harry Olmstead. I'm on the Para Advisory Committee ... Paratransit Advisory Committee for the County, and I'm also a SEATS rider. I appreciate tonight's work session and the work that the staff has put into this, and I realize the monumental task that the Council has before them This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 10 in deciding on a budget. I am concerned about two things that I heard tonight, and the first being the half fares being eliminated. 90% of the riders, it was indicated, are on half fare. That indicates that 90% of the riders are living at or below the poverty level, and to take and ask them for more money out of their pockets is going to be almost impossible. They're on fixed budgets. I myself am on a half fare and I'm on a fixed budget, and I can't afford more than I am paying right now for SEATS. So I ask that that be considered. The other thing is the curb -to -curb, door -to -door service. It's not going to cost anymore because the bus drivers going to have to sit in that bus and wait for the person to come to them, and most of the bus drivers, uh, have told me that they have people that need to be brought down to the bus that are blind, that are in wheelchairs, that need the assistance, and so I would hope that we wouldn't eliminate that for the simple fact that there's no cost involved anyway, and it's good public relations. Again, I thank you for your time and I hope that you come up with a budget that's suitable for all involved. Hayek: Thank you. Gravitt: My name is Mary Gravitt, and I ... I want to talk about SEATS. I take SEATS, especially in the winter, because I can't deal with ice, and I have bad knees. But I want you to avoid at all costs privatizing SEATS, and since this ... in this age of re ... Republicanism, everything has to be privatized. Even the University privatized what I call their `drunk bus,' so that the bus won't go around late like it used to. They've farmed it out to some taxis and the student can only take it twice a month. This is what a friend of mine's told me. She was complaining to me, and I tell her she'd have to take, you know, her case to the University, but if a ... a plan is privatized, it's no good for the, uh, disabled. Like they talk about privatizing Social Security. Privatizing Social Security will kill Social Security, because the idea is that everybody has an interest in keeping Social Security in the public, and we all have an interest in keeping SEATS in the public, because we all get old. If we don't get old, we die. And we gotta have some way to get around this city. Thank you. Hayek: Thank you for your comments. Barr: Thank you. My name is Dr. Robert Barr, and I've been riding SEATS for over five years, and it's enabled me to be part of the community. Uh, to get to our Mayor's lecture, which was open to the public a few years ago, after which I tried to join the Peace Corps, but uh, few people kind of gave me a negative look in that. But, uh, it's enabled disabled people who had previously worked at the University ... or ... rather than sitting home, SEATS has enabled us to contribute back to the community in such a way that we would not have to be able to sit at home in our wheelchairs. So SEATS, the drivers you've heard before are exquisite. They're very helpful to the disabled, the people in wheelchairs, the people that are blind, and ... to privatize that service, uh, would be a major, major negative for the community. SEATS provides something that everybody can be This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 11 proud of, especially those people that are disabled and absolutely need SEATS as it functions now. Thank you very much. Hayek: Thank you for your comments. Hart: Good evening. Uh, my name is Holly Hart. I live on South Summit Street. I'm not here on SEATS business tonight, um, but I am here on something, uh (mumbled) what you might call public service, and I think this week in your packet you should have had a letter from me. Um, concerning the need for temporary, overnight shelter for people who have nothing else. Any, uh, typos in that were ... I blame on my i -Pad auto - correct (laughter) Um, since I wrote that letter, I was concerned because I have a few hours a week at the Library and I'm kind of a ped mall rat and so I've seen people around and I know people sleep out in the summertime. I knew there was a need for some temporary shelter, uh, during colder months, well, Shelter House has done a fantastic job in covering a lot of that, there was a need for some... still some overflow for people who either don't qualify for or have used up their Shelter House days. And the churches are no longer handling that. I started calling around and I met with, um, Bob Miklo, who told me that the old St. Pat's parish hall was being used for that. Um, so I wrote about that, about the idea of using that again. In the meantime, a couple things I learned. One is that Geoff Fruin wrote back and said that it's full of mold and structural problems and they're going to demolish it. Um, I don't know how bad the structural problems are, and if just splashing bleach over the place wouldn't allow it to be used at least for the next couple months for people who need a warm place to sleep over. Um, but I also came up with a few other, uh, possibilities other people had suggested some things and I also found out from Jim Throgmorton that in fact the Council has been talking about doing a study and kind of homeless assessment to find out, you know, just what the numbers are, what the needs are. So I want to thank you for that. I was very happy to find out that there is a concern, and urge you to ... to, uh, continue and push forward on this. In the meantime, there is for the next couple of months, a real need for at least a few, uh, spaces for people to, uh, find a place to ... to just stay over, uh, overnight and we're not talking about anything fancy. Just a place where they can put up their sleeping bag. It would be heated with a bathroom. I believe I and, uh, I can get others to staff it. Some suggestions were County Administration building, Neumann Center, Rec Center, Old Brick, and I would like to be in contact with a few people to, um, to see about the possibilities again, just maybe through March. I know it's been a ... a fairly mild, weirdly mild winter and probably getting not much colder at this point, but, um, I don't think any of us would like to be sleeping outside, even now. So ... um, I would like to urge you to continue to look into this, and I hope to get ... if it's possible, some response or be able to work with you in finding a place for the next couple months, if that's possible. Hayek: Thank you, Holly. Would anyone else like to address the Council during community comment? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 12 Gravitt: (unable to hear away from mic) Hayek: Well, I think there are some others here. Barr: Uh, my name's Laurel Barr and, um, I come before you as a employee, a visiting nurse, of Iowa City. I'm an occupational therapist, and I'm thrilled to hear that SEATS will still be with us. Many of the people I work with have spoken to me lately about how concerned they are about SEATS, and I see firsthand through work how much SEATS adds to their quality of life, as far as getting to Senior Center where they are able to participate. Also, um, where they are able to go to essential appointments, such as doctors, therapies, to the food stores, to, uh, pharmacies, and um, I also realize how important, um, the emotional health and the physical health is in our main, uh, goal, or universal goal, is to stay in our home as long as we can, and I think SEATS contributes to this greatly. The other point I'd like to bring up is as a caregiver. My husband, Robert Barr, just spoke and I've been a care... caregiver a long time. We appreciate SEATS because this way he is able to get out and as I do my daily work, whatever. So we as a family appreciate SEATS very much. Thank you. Hayek: Thank you. Is there anyone else waiting to speak to the City Council? Goedken: I'm Roger Goedken the Director of the Successful Living, which is a Human Service agency here in Iowa City. I also serve as the ... uh, on the Board of, um ...um (mumbled) for SEATS as well ... for a number of years, and uh, I have to say that I've seen, um, SEATS become a lot over the fe ... past few years, that Tom Brace has been the Director, he's really, uh, refined it to where it's ... it's one of the top, uh, paratransit systems in the nation, and uh, to not fund it or partially fund it, um, is ... is going to detract from that and I work daily with people that, um, try to work on becoming more independent and uh, I have to say that paratransit system is absolutely necessary step. A lot of people, especially in the winter time, cannot take ... take the City bus, and without SEATS, people will just be staying at home and isolating... will not be able to make it to work. So, definitely want to ... I hope you guys really support SEATS when you have to ... that choice. Thanks. Hayek: Thank you for your comments. Anyone else from the audience? Mary, if you want to make a very brief comment, that's fine and we don't usually, uh, go back for a second bite at the apple but... Gravitt: I feel ashamed taking up time from SEATS for this, but I ... I have another quality of...of life issue. The Library needs a security guard, at least two. I went in the Library, uh, the other day and they're complaining about people sleeping and so forth. Nobody's sleeping. I'm complaining that the teenagers that come in there are creating a disturbance at the computers. One girl came in. I didn't know there were so many f's in the English language. And nobody said anything to stop her. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 13 I just sat there and looked, and I wanted to see if any of the Library staff will come over and stop her, but if they care for their safety, they won't! That's the job for a security guard. Like I said, I'm sorry to take up ... cause SEATS is a serious, serious problem, and people need SEATS, but the quality of life is also important. I'm, like I said, the Library needs a security guard. Thank you. Hayek: Thank you. Okay! Doesn't appear to be anybody else interested in speaking to the City Council, so I appreciate your com ... oh, we do have another one! I'm sorry! Young: Uh, my name is Louise Young and I don't use SEATS very often right now because I drive and there are certain distances that I can walk, but I have in the past, for instance when I was recovering from my broken leg, SEATS was very helpful for getting me to my appointments with my doctor at a time when I could not have used my car. Anybody can break a leg and be in that same situation and need to use SEATS. Always remember that anybody can acquire a dis ... a disability, temporary or permanent. Any time! And ... when you have that disability, SEATS is there to help! And it must not be privatized. It needs to be supported by both the City and the County because it does work for the whole county, not just the city. I remember a time when my car was in the garage and I was still living in North Liberty when I had to use SEATS to get to an appointment that I needed to get to for a grant application. Um, there are all sorts of practical things that come up that a person needs to get to when their normal vehicle isn't working and the SEATS bus works best for them. It is so very important to remember too, the more people that are able to get to their jobs, never mind what the disability is, the less money has to go out to support them from other sources, like the government. So it's very much to advantage to have the SEATS bus available for anybody who needs it. Hayek: Thank you. Gepford: Hi, I'm Steve Gepford, uh, Iowa City resident and a SEATS driver. And I heard the comment about curb -to -curb versus door -to -door, and as a driver I can tell you that door -to -door is more efficient than curb -to -curb would ever be, and there's a health and a safety issue. Um, many of our, uh, riders need assistance getting from their front door to the bus, and I as a driver couldn't sit there and watch a frail individual fall and break a hip getting out to the bus. So, I implore that you, uh, don't consider curb -to -curb service and SEATS works so efficiently right now, and what is needed is funding to keep it at its level, the way it is. Don't privatize and don't change anything. Thank you. Hayek: Thank you for your comments. Okay! I'm going to close out public comment and uh, or community comment and move on to Item 6, Planning and Zoning Matters. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 14 ITEM 6a CITY INITIATED REZONING NORTHSIDE — ORDINANCE REZONING APPROXIMATELY 0.47 ACRES OF LAND LOCATED AT 906 N. DODGE STREET FROM MULTI - FAMILY (11311) ZONE TO HIGH DENSITY SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL (RS -12) ZONE AND APPROXIMATELY 1.15 ACRES OF LAND LOCATED AT 911 N. GOVERNOR STREET FROM COMMERCIAL OFFICE (CO -1) ZONE TO HIGH DENSITY SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL (RS -12) ZONE AND APPROXIMATELY 1.78 ACRES OF LAND LOCATED AT 902 AND 906 N. DODGE STREET FROM MULTI - FAMILY (R3B) ZONE TO MEDIUM DENSITY MULTI - FAMILY RESIDENTIAL (RM -20) ZONE. (REZ12- 000016,18 & 19) [Discussion only at formal meeting] 1. PUBLIC HEARING Hayek: This is a public hearing. The public hearing is open. (bangs gavel) Initially I want to, uh, ask for, uh, Council disclosure of any ex parte communications. Throgmorton: Who ... who should start? Hayek: I ... I'll start, uh, I ... I spoke to, uh, Jim Throgmorton earlier today, uh, and... and he, uh, expressed some ... some questions about the particular proposed rezonings and ... and whether they accomplished the goal of neighborhood stabilization, whether ... uh, I think in particular on the Governor Street side, uh, was ... was the gist of...of, uh, the conversation, as I recall it. And I also want to disclose, it's not an ex parte communication, but I just want to get it out there, um, I ... I own a, uh, a rental property on Brown Street, specifically 714 Brown Street, um, it's in the general vicinity, but it is outside of the ... the zone that would constitute a conflict. I ran it by the City Attorney's office. They looked at it and did the measurements and I've conferred with the City Attorney who tells me I don't have a conflict; I don't believe I do have a conflict; and so I will participate in this, uh, process. Any other ex parte? Champion: Well, I did ... this is just something dear to my heart. I did call Sara Taft and then Dewey Neighborhood to make sure they knew this was going to be a public hearing tonight, but they already knew! Throgmorton: Yeah, I ... I need to, um, disclose a few things. I ... I have communicated with Professor Jerry Anthony who's in the Department of Urban, or School of Urban and Regional Planning at the University. I simply informed him of this particular, uh, proposal and told him it might be of interest to, uh, him as a scholar, and also to students in his land -use planning law course. Uh, also ... course like everyone else, I guess I've received several long emails from Tracy Barkalow. I ... I haven't responded to them but... uh, they've been there. I talked with Matt about it. Um, over the past year and a half I suppose I've had interim... intermittent conversations with various people, including Tracy at the, uh, the neighborhood, um, meeting that you held up in Horace Mann some time ago. Uh, but none This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 15 focused specifically on this particular rezoning. The ... the last thing I'd like to mention is somewhat like Matt I live in the vicinity of this, uh, rezoning. I live at 814 Ronald Street, which is about a block farther south than, uh, than Matt's property. Uh, so I'm outside the zone as well, so I don't feel any compelling need to recuse myself. Hayek: Okay! Unless there's anything else, this is a public hearing. I think we're going to hear from staff initially. Howard: Good evening, Mayor, Members of the City Council. I'm Karen Howard from the Iowa City Planning Department. Um, this is a City- initiated rezoning of several properties located on north Governor and north Dodge Street. As you may recall the Council recently amended the City's Com ... Comprehensive Plan to change, uh, the central district plan map designation of the shaded properties you see on the screen here. Um, the designations of these properties were changed from multi - family to single - family and duplex residential. Um ... this next slide shows a close -up of that, uh, central district plan map as it was previous to the recent Comp Plan amendment. Um, and this next slide shows that same map with that change incorporated. (clears throat) As you can see from the ... the slide here, the change indicates that the intent that these properties when redeveloped should be consistent with the character, um, of other properties in the neighborhood, most of which are designated as single - family and duplex residential, and in fact the character of the existing neighborhood is largely, um, single- family in nature. It should be noted that this rezoning application was filed by staff, uh, last August. Um, but we agreed at the request of the property owner to defer that application, to give the property owner time to come up with a plan that would be more consistent with, um, the intent of the Comprehensive Plan, and all the discussions that had occurred at City Council. Um, and the character of the surrounding neighborhood. In that time the property owner has proposed a number of different concepts, um ... uh, has sub... submitted them to staff for ... to look them over, um, but we could not come to an agreement these concepts were consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Of course at any point during that time, the property owner had the right to initiate a rezoning proposal, um, but did not do so. Therefore, after six months, we felt we needed to move forward, uh, given the Council's direction to bring some resolution to a zoning pattern that is both obsolete and inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan to stabilize the older, central city neighborhoods, um, staff and the Planning and Zoning Commission recommend the following rezonings. I'm going to go through them individual... individually, property by property, so it's clear. Uh, this first one is a flag lot that's located on ... with access to north Dodge Street, um, the rezoning proposal is to go ... rezone that from R313, which is an obsolete, high- density, multi- family zone that is no longer in the zoning ordinance, to high density single - family res ...residential RS 12. This would allow, if this were rezoned, this would allow up to one duplex or one single - family home to be built on this lot. For the property at 911 N. Governor Street with the vacant office building, uh, rezoning from This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 16 commercial office to RS12 is recommended. With this designation approximately seven single - family home lots, or four duplex lots, could be platted. Throgmorton: I ... I'm sorry, Karen. Could you repeat that please? Howard: If... if this were rezoned to RS 12, which is a single - family zone, it would have to be replatted into single - family home lots. It would allow with this frontage, it would allow up to seven single - family home lots or up to four duplex lots, given the frontage on Governor Street. For the properties that are zoned R3B, that have the existing multi - family buildings on them, uh, we're recommending RM20. This zoning would... rezoning would acknowledge basically the density that is already there on the properties, but would not allow further redevelopment, or development on the property. This zoning designation is consistent with the central district plan map which designates... still designates these properties as multi - family. With that I'd be happy to answer any questions. Throgmorton: I ... I want to make sure I heard what you just said, and ... cause you know this is a very complicated, um, rezoning, I think, but this particular R3B thing, uh, site or parcel, you're saying that, um, if it's rezoned to RM20 because of the existing buildings ... on part of that lot, that no further buildings could be ... would be permitted. Is that what I heard you say? Howard: We calculated, um, the lot area, and took the RM20 zoning and with that I think it came out to that they would be able to get one more unit, um, so essentially it would ... would, uh, acknowledge the existing apartment buildings that are there. Throgmorton: Okay. I just wanted to make sure I understood that. Yeah. Hayek: Okay, this is a public hearing. (mumbled) the public! Wright: Good evening, I'm Mike Wright. I'm Coordinator of the Northside Neighborhood Association and I live at 225 N. Lucas Street. Been talking about this one for a little while. Uh, I, uh, think it's a good time right now to right a mistake that was made quite a number of years ago with the zoning in this particular neighborhood. This down- zoning proposal is way over due, and I really appreciate staff and Council, um, bringing this up this evening. This site presents an opportunity to do something really good for the neighborhood, something unique, something that would add to the neighborhood as opposed to detracting from the neighborhood. Um, so far none of the proposals we've seen have really added much to the ... to the discussion. So we really appreciate this ... this down - zoning proposal. But it isn't perfect! It's good, but it's not perfect. Uh, and there's an amendment I'd like to suggest, and that's for the Governor Street properties to not do RS 12, but to do RS8. Um, RS 12, we believe, is too dense, particularly should a developer choose to do a planned overlay. They could get a number of units on that property, depending on how you figure the (mumbled) somewhere between 13 and 18 properties that there's a planned development This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 17 overlay for townhouses. That would be too much. Um ... RS ... RS8 in the same planned overlay type development for townhouses could allow up to eight units on the property. Now this is hypothetical. Maybe a developer's not going to do that, but that's what I believe would end up being permitted by the code. Um, this is a parcel that this particular Council did not want to change to an RM 12 zoning just two years ago, which would allow approximately one more unit on the property than an RS 12, given a planned overlay development. Um, I don't think that's probably the direction you want to go for a max ... maxed out planned overlay development. The zoning to the north, to the east, and to the south of this property is RS8. It would seem to make sense. It's better suited to the scale of the neighborhood. Uh, as Karen Howard mentioned, we're taking into account considering the, uh, character of the neighborhood and uh, I believe RS 12 would be far more appropriate for these properties than RS 12. Did I say RS 12? 1 meant RS8 would be far more appropriate to these properties than RS 12. Thank you! Hayek: Thank you, Mike. Dilkes: Let me interject while we're waiting for the next person to get up. We did get protest from the property owners, um, so it will require, uh, a ... a super- majority for passage, which is 6 out 7 of you. Um, in addition, the Planning and Zoning Commission did vote on each of the three, um ... individual kind of, uh, areas that Karen outlined separately and you're free to do that, as well. And then finally, of course, just remember if you do want to go in a different way than the Planning and Zoning Commission did, you need to, uh, take the temperature of the Council and ... and have a consultation be ... before you vote. Hayek: We'll do that, uh, if we get a motion on the floor. Okay. Baum: Hi! I'm still Jennifer Baum. I still live at 814 Dewey. Hi again! Um ... first let me thank you for listening to the concerns of the la ... neighbors that live next to the properties on Governor Street and on Dodge Street. We neighbors take a long -term view on these properties since we have been living next to them and will be living next to them for many years to come. I for one intend to move directly from my house at 814 Dewey into my backyard, Oakland Cemetery (laughter) um ... it's a non - perpetual care cemetery (several talking) I'm hoping it'll be a while from now! I support a decision that would make 911 Governor RS8. The other properties on Governor are all RS8. Properties on Dewey are all R ... RS8. And the properties on the 900 block of north Summit are RS8. SO that's everything you can see there. Um ... that would bring the ... Governor Street property into line with the surrounding properties, where we all live. A pocket neighborhood would be ideal! It would fit nicely there since people from in -town are actually looking for small houses. Folks that are singles that don't need much room. Families that need a starter house. The elderly who want to downsize. We have an unofficial waiting list for people to move into houses on Dewey. I know for certain that one developer has contacted Mr. Barkalow about putting several small `green' houses on that property. I'm guessing that she would be willing to This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 18 incorporate some zero -lot line houses into her concept, but I can't speak for her. For the pov ... properties on north Dodge, considering the size of the lots and the surrounding areas, a zoning that would bridge the current RS and other RS12 businesses, um, and the R313 would be RS12. The size of those properties would have a difficult time conform... comfortably holding any more than that. As for the R313, area ... again, we take the long view. RM, what is it, 20? Would ... in fact keep it as it is, but if you ... um, zoned it RS12, or RM12, if I'm not mistaken (laughs) then in the future ... if anything, anyone decided to rip out all those apartments there, which look like they're doing just fine, then it would be in more conformation with the rest of that area. Then everything would be a little more in sync, and the neighborhood area would ... look more all alike. Um... as you can see, the people of the neighborhood that are surrounding this ... these properties are very serious about keeping our neighborhood a welcoming place for people and families of all types. We keep showing up — everybody — we're really concerned. It's an extremely fragile neighborhood that has been treated as separate properties rather than a cohesive neighborhood for a long, long time. We can stabilize this area with zoning that encapsulates the spirit of that area and of the neighborhoods. That is individual houses with a wide variety of people in them. There are apartments going up all over Iowa City that can accommodate those who are looking to live in that density. So I don't feel that we'd be taking away an opportunity or an option for people who wanted higher density living. It is much, much more difficult to find housing for people who are interested in a wee plot and a cozy home that they can call their own. I urge you to zone 911 Governor as RS 8, and 902, 906 Dodge Street as RS12. Thanks! Hayek: Thank you! Boorman: Hello, my name's Lindsey Boorman. I live at 813 Dewey Street. Um, thank you for taking the time to listen to our concerns. Appreciate that! Um, so I moved into Dewey Street with my two kids, um, in October of last year and I felt so blessed to move into a neighborhood (mumbled) with so much character. We love it, and so I am here in support of neighborhood stabilization. Um, I would really like to see the Governor Street, um, property zoned as RS8. It matches, just like Jennifer said, the rest of the zoning in that area, and the Dodge Street RS 12. Um, I have major concerns. My daughter goes to school at Mann and there's already so much traffic and it's so fast, um, so I already have concerns about the existing traffic that's there. I really have concerns about bringing more traffic into the area, let alone destabilizing the neighborhood further with more, um, of a transient population. We love our neighborhood and we want to see it stay the way it is. So, thanks again! Hayek: Thank you. Barkalow: Hello, my name is Tracy Barkalow. I am, uh, the President of TSB Holdings. Uh, on the map it's the property that is the R313 along with the flagship lot, uh, adjacent to that, but is currently R313 as well. Um ... I'd like to state that TSB This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 19 clearly is not the applicant here tonight. Um, again, this was City- initiated. Um, TSB is not in support of the proposed spot downzoning of our properties or any properties shown on any map or application tonight. TSB Holdings respectfully would like to point out to the City Council that our properties shown on this rezoning application and maps before us tonight, at the proposed RS 12 and RM20 zone, are legally protected to be developed presently or in the future at the R313 zone in effect on May 30th, 1978, per the Court Order on the property. This was ruled on on August 21St, 1987, regardless of each property's classification of zoning. Also stated in the Court Order, uh, the apartments were allowed to be built on that property. Just to clarify a little bit on the R313, uh, the zoning would allow up to 58 units per acre to be built there. Uh, the total area that we have would be approximately two acres. So ... I guess I just heard now that we're down to one or two units possibly in addition to the 40 that we have there. Uh, rather than 40 more that we could possibly put. Um ... we have submitted several site plans to the City, uh, one was a 30 -unit apartment complex consisting of two, uh bedroom units. Uh, we've gotten feedback from the City. On their notes it complied, or showed that on the map it complied with the R313 zonings, uh, on the notes from staff. We ... further went, uh, with HIS and ... and revised our plan from those notes and submitted a new site plan that's, uh, in front of the staff right now, and that has not been denied, and that is in compliance with the R313, uh, provisions applicable in the May 30th, 1978, ordinance. Um, TSB today has more than a seven -figure loan against the bare land, uh, which I guess tonight is ... a million dollars for one property plus land costs. I just can't see that, uh, working out with our bank. Um ... it has been stated that, uh, clearly tonight the downzoning would be not even allowing us to build apartments or develop our property as we saw fit when we purchased it in 2009. Uh, in 2009, uh, we had an appraisal done on the property that would support our seven -plus figure number we are discussing, and our current loan on the property. Uh, if you proceed with the downzoning of our property to one unit, I can assure you that our bank will be calling our note due, in full, for more than seven figures. Our ... our company does not have that available funds to take that loss, nor do we feel that it is right to ask us to do that. We look forward to speaking or listening to what the rest of the neighbors have to say, and uh, we urge you to take a look at the actual Court Order, and the language in that Court Order ... that we're here to talk about tonight. Thank you. Hayek: Thank you for your comments. Bowers: Good evening! Sally Bowers. I'm at 931 N. Summit and... just ... it's... it's almost starting to feel almost selfish to me, like our neighborhood, we're worried about the traffic, you know, this... but... but it's not selfish! Urn ... it just doesn't fit. It just doesn't fit. It's like pounding the old square peg into the round hole. I think if you're looking for what fits, take a look at what's around it; go from there. I support the RS8. Thank you very much. Hayek: Thank you. Anyone else? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 20 Shields: Hi, I'm Ashley Shields at 913 N. uh Dewey Street. And I am, you know, like Sally said, I just feel like RS8 is the right ... the right thing to do for our neighborhood. Um, there's a lot of us that have lived here for a long time and we've really, you know, have a nice community there and I ... I just don't support putting up, uh, a large apartment complex or you know tons of town... townhouses. I think that we should develop it and it should have single - family homes or townhouses, um ... I think that, you know, we've talked about the traffic and that, you know, that particular little dip isn't the best place ever to have, uh, a large amount of people, and I think the RS8 is the right thing to do, um, RS8 says, you know, it's there to create and maintain livable neighborhoods. That is what needs to happen. Thank you very much. Hayek: Thank you. Clark: Good evening, Sarah Clark, uh, 509 Brown Street, and um, well ... it is sort of deja vu allover again. Um ... channeling Yogi Berra here tonight, um, just looking back at the transcripts when this matter was before, well, slightly different version of this matter was before the Council in November, December 2011, and January of 2012. Uh, several of you noted at the time, and I appreciate that you did, um, that this is an extremely fragile neighborhood. It is one that's been long neglected. Um, and at the time ... we were looking at an RM12, um ... for 911 Governor; 902 and 906 N. Dodge weren't involved. Um ... I just really want to support ... the numbers that we figured out in terms of tonight that Mike alluded to in terms of, um, unit density. Um, not a... super - genius at math, but we figured out that, um, the RS 12 is not going to be that much less than the RM12, which you all soundly rejected, um, you know, over a year ago. So, we're really hoping to go with an RS8, um, I support the neighbors on this. Um, as you know, we are not on the northside opposed to development. As a matter of fact, um ... very happy to say that, um, we worked with the developer. Came and talked to us three different times on, um, project that fi ... resulted in 221 and 225 N. Linn. Now it has not yet been built, but we have every hope that it will, and that it is going to be a win -win for the neighbors. When it was going through Council here, you did not see us down here speaking against it. We are in favor of development, but we would like to see development that unfortunately we just haven't seen much of in this town. I don't want developers to lose money, but I am convinced that there is a way that you can address and fill a need for housing that Jennifer spoke to in terms of pocket neighborhood or small housing or something that would be affordable. Maybe you could even put in some workforce parameters there. I don't know, but it would be affordable for people, would not be overpriced. There is a market, um, I know folks who would maybe even I will. I'm getting tired of cleaning a large house (laughs) I would like to downsize, urn ... um ... I think ... I think there's an opportunity in ... and we would be very happy to work with developer... you know, give them ideas, work with them on this. I don't want them to go under. We want to see this, uh, it could be a great spot and um ... I really do encourage you though to ... to go with the RS8 This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 21 on, uh, north Governor, and I'm going to stick it out there and say there was a mistake which I think has been acknowledged. Well, I shouldn't say a mistake, but there's been a change in... over the time, how zoning is viewed in neighborhoods and basically the City's documents when they put in this rezoning looked at 902 and 906 N. Dodge and said, you know, we don't really zone that way in neighborhoods anymore. It's time to make it smaller. I'm just going to say let's go for RS 12. Let's make it similar to what the rest of the neighborhood is like. Most of the northside is RNS 12 or RS8. We still have apartment buildings in there as nonconforming buildings. We ... this will not make the two buildings currently leave. But ... you know, we can live with them as non- conforming buildings, but it would be great if the underlying zoning was different. Thanks a lot! Hayek: Thank you. Meardon: My name is Chuck Meardon, 2930 Creighton. Deja vu all over again! I agree, 1977! My dad before this body. Brings back memory, but I'm only going to talk about one thing, you have all the notes, so I just wanted to highlight the devaluation issue that I believe Ms. Howard and Mr. Barkalow already mentioned. The R313 property will go from ... 40 to 50 units realistically down to two, from what I've heard. And uh ... that's all I wanted to highlight. If anyone has any questions. Hayek: Thank you. Anyone else before ... I close the public hearing? Okay, public hearing is closed. (bangs gavel) 2. CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE (FIRST CONSIDERATION) Champion: Move first consideration. Payne: Second. Hayek: Moved by Champion, seconded by Payne. Discussion? Champion: Can I .... can you remind me what can be built on the Governor... RS 12? Throgmorton: Actually in direct response to what Mike said could be built, I mean, right? That's a key point. Howard: Um, that is true that if it's zoned, well, any zone, RS8 or RS12 or RS5 or what... whatever zoning it can be rezoned using the planned development process. But that would be another rezoning that would have to come before you. If it's just straight RS12, as proposed, they would have to subdivide the lots and each one of those lots, um, would have to be a single - family lot that would have a certain amount of frontage on a public street. So in this particular case, on 911 N. Governor, um, as you can see from... from the lot here, each of those lots would This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 22 have to have at least 30 -feet of lot frontage. So that's how I came up with the seven lots it could be subdivided to. If it was done as a cluster development or a pocket neighborhood, it would have to be... go through another rezoning. Throgmorton: And ... and how many units might possibly be in such a clustered development? Howard: That would be hard to say because of course they'd have to get roads in there and they'd have to configure the units. There is a sewer line that runs through the property that causes some constraints. So I don't know if I could really tell you exactly how many units, but ... maximum number of units then would be approximately, uh, 12 or 13 units per acre, and this is approximately 1. 15 acres on that property. Um ... but whether you could actually fit that many units on there with those constraints, I'm not certain. Payne: Which it would have the same issue with the seven individual lots, because that sewer line's still there. You may not be able to get seven individual lots there because of the sewer line either. Correct? Howard: Uh, I did a very simple calculation looking at the drive ... they'd have to come in, they'd have to have a rear drive, urn ... that drive would have to be a certain width. The sewer line goes diagonally from the northeast corner to the southwest corner. So potentially you still could ... could subdivide, uh, the property, but like I said, I'm not an engineer. I haven't looked at it in detail. That's just basically eyeballing how ... how much frontage they have. Dickens: I guess my question is to Eleanor about the legality of the ... the Court in 1978, where does that play into this? Dilkes: I ... I think, um ... the City and, uh, Mr. Barkalow just have a fundamental, uh, difference of opinion over what that Court opinion means and I think his, in... as Sarah said in the memo that she gave you, um, it's our opinion that you have the right to rezone this property, notwithstanding the Supreme Court's decision. Hayek: Let me, uh, weigh in on ... on where I am on this. I ... I would recommend that we move forward with ... with first consideration tonight, and um, you know, this is what I ... this is how I see it. This ... this was initiated by the City, um, consistent with ... with our neighborhood stabilization efforts and ... and you know as a result of...of Council and staff discussions, what's before us tonight is ... is what staff has recommended. Um, it has gone through Planning and Zoning, and the three items passed either 5 -1 or 6 -0, um, and ... and I believe got a ... a thorough vetting, uh, at that stage. Um, you know, the Comprehensive Plan, North District Plan are ...are very clear about this area, uh, and as I said, the neighborhood stabilization, um, goals of this... of this City Council are, uh, I think alive and well, uh, in this particular and fragile area, um, I'm confident in the legal analysis we've received from ... from our City Attorney, um ... uh, I'm ... I ... I am somewhat swayed by the ... by the encouragement to go to RS 8 or... or go from 20 down to 12. Um, and I This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 23 see those arguments and ... and ... and they are somewhat compelling, but from my perspective, given that this is what City staff recommended. This is what, uh, went through Planning and Zoning with almost unanimous support, um, and ... and then given the ... given the timing issues with ... with the moratorium that results from ... from the setting of the public hearing and, uh, the timing issues that ... that are involved, and that ... the need we would have to go back before Planning and Zoning if ..if...if we, um, either were inclined to reject this outright, or further downzone, because either one would be a ... a detour from what is recommended to us, um ... based upon that, I think we should proceed with what's before us. I think it's ... I think it's the ... the best route to take. Champion: Well ... well I agree with you. I'm not frightened by this RS 12 zoning. I ... I think sometimes when you get into Iowa, where I didn't grow up, people are really uptight about what's next door to them. Well we all are to a certain extent, but I think that this particular zoning is across the street and I think it's going to actually be an asset to the neighborhood, and um ... I would just, you know, I'm a great neighborhood supporter. I've been fighting for neighborhoods since I moved to Iowa City, um, but I really think that this zoning is not going to hurt your neighborhood, and if I thought it would you know I would let you know it! ] think it's going to be good! Hayek: Further discussion? Throgmorton: Well, yeah, I mean ... one can't remain completely silent. Champion: No, that's for sure! (laughter) Throgmorton: (mumbled) Uh ... well, it seems to me we've been living with the consequences of this, uh, the City's first Comprehensive Plan in 1962, adverse consequences of that plan, uh, parts of it were just misguided from the get -go, uh, and as, uh, a member of the urban planning profession, I take um, my share of responsibility for that, even though I wasn't here and was still in, I don't know where I was just a student at Notre Dame at the time. Uh, but more important, what we Iowa Citians value and the context of our... of our actions are both quite different now from what they were either in 1962 when the Comprehensive Plan was adopted, or in 1978 when the first, uh, rezoning was proposed. And because the context has changed and our values have changed, we should not let ourselves be chained down by errors made a half a century ago. That's my general, uh, thought about this. Um ... I ... I'm torn frankly about the RS8 or ... or RS 12 part of it, um, which is why I asked, along with Connie, for Karen to clarify how much could be developed there. Uh, given your response, I feel comfortable with the RS 12, uh, proposal. I'm a little bit puzzled by what you said with regard to RM20, the other portions, but I take your ... your, uh, estimates as ... as fact. So I'm comfortable with the RM20 rezoning, as well. Uh, in an ideal world, I could imagine a way to redevelop that site in a way that all the neighbors would like and would really enhance the quality of the neighborhood, and make the existing apartment This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 24 buildings even more ... viable, uh ... um, affirmative components of the neighborhood, and... and how it integrates with Happy Hollow Park and all of that. So, uh, love to talk with somebody about that at some point later on, but not now. So I'm going to support the rezoning as proposed. Hayek: Well unless there's... continued discussion, we need to take ye' old temperature. Champion: Oh, right! Hayek: Um... Throgmorton: 98 point (laughter and several talking) Hayek: 98.6! Is there anyone who intends to vote against this? Okay. I think based upon that we can do a roll call. If...unless there is further discussion. I don't want to cut that off. First consideration passes 7 -0. Karr: Motion to accept correspondence. Throgmorton: So moved. Payne: Second. Hayek: Moved by Throgmorton, seconded by Payne. Discussion? All those in favor say aye. Opposed say nay. Motion carries 7 -0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 25 ITEM 6d CONDITIONALLY REZONING ROBERTS DAIRY / HY -VEE GROCERY - ORDINANCE CONDITIONALLY REZONING APPROXIMATELY 7.79 ACRES OF LAND LOCATED AT THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE INTERSECTION OF NORTH DODGE STREET AND PRAIRIE DU CHIEN ROAD FROM MEDIUM DENSITY SINGLE FAMILY (RS -8), NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLIC (P -1) AND HIGHWAY COMMERCIAL (CH- 1) TO PLANNED DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY- COMMUNITY COMMERCIAL (OPD- CC -2). (REZ12- 00026) (PASS AND ADOPT) [Discussion only at formal meeting] ITEM 6e VACATING THE RIGHT -OF -WAY ROBERTS DAIRY / HY -VEE GROCERY - ORDINANCE VACATING THE RIGHT -OF -WAY FOR A PORTION OF ST. CLEMENT STREET (VAC12- 00005). (PASS AND ADOPT) [Discussion only at formal meeting] ITEM 6f PRELIMINARY PLAT ROBERTS DAIRY / HY -VEE - RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PRELIMINARY PLAT OF ROBERTS DAIRY ADDITION, IOWA CITY, IOWA. (SUB12- 00012) Hayek: The next three items, 6d, 6e, and 6f relate to, uh, the HyVee store on north Dodge Street, um... Mims: I move that we defer, uh, Items 6d, e, and f to the March 19th meeting. Karr: February 19th Mims: February 196. 1 wrote down the wrong month! I wondered about that. Payne: Second. Mims: Cause that's a ways out! Hayek: Moved by Mims, seconded by Karr. Discussion? Uh, just for the public's information, this is a request from the applicant itself to defer, uh, action tonight until February, uh, 19th. Further discussion? All those ... all those in favor say aye. Opposed say nay. Motion carries 7 -0. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 26 ITEM 7. MOSS RIDGE ROAD ACQUISITION - AUTHORIZING THE ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY RIGHTS FOR THE MOSS RIDGE ROAD PROJECT. 1. PUBLIC HEARING Hayek: This is a public hearing. The public hearing is open. (bangs gavel) Public hearing is closed. (bangs gavel) 2. CONSIDER A RESOLUTION Champion: Move the resolution. Dickens: Second. Hayek: Moved by Champion, seconded by, uh, Dickens. Discussion? Throgmorton: Matt, I'm going to vote no on this, but in deference to, uh, Connie's concern that I talk way too much, I'm just going to vote no! (laughter) Hayek: Once you start deferring to Connie Champion (several talking and laughing) Mims: Well, I'm going to support this, urn ... I'm excited to see this project moving forward, urn ... I ... I hope we can get an amicable agreement on obtaining the land that is needed for the road, but would like to see it move forward. Dickens: I'm in agreement there too. It's been along time coming. I know they've had a lot of road blocks getting this ... this far, so I'd really like to (several talking) Hayek: Yep! Further discussion? Roll call, please. Item passes 6 -1, Throgmorton in the negative. This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 27 ITEM 11. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION. Hayek: Start down with, uh, you, Jim. Throgmorton: I have nothing to say! Payne: No way! (several talking and laughing) Champion: Uh, I don't have anything. (mumbled) Mims: Nothing! (mumbled) Dickens: I just got back from our ... a show in Phoenix, and downtown Phoenix, I ... it's ... it's so quiet. It's really nice to get back to Iowa City with all the liveliness going on here. There's so much more to do here. So, for a city that size not to have that much opportunity. We're ... we're so lucky! Hayek: Yeah. Dickens: (several talking) Even in the winter, well, it was warmer here one day than it was down there so ... (laughter) Payne: I don't have anything either. Hayek: Dr. Dobyns? This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013. Page 28 ITEM 12. REPORT ON ITEMS FROM CITY STAFF. a) City Manager. Markus: While I was away in the tropics for my son's wedding, I have to tell you about the middle of the second week I was ready to come (laughter) Why I'm not sure, but I was ready to come home. (laughter) Hayek: Uh... Markus: But I'm glad to be back! Payne: We missed ya! Hayek: I expected you to show up, you know, cornrows and ... and deep suntan and flip - flops and kind of go Jimmy Buffet on us (laughter) Um (mumbled) for those of us in this room, maybe not so much for people who are glued to their computers, but apparently the RPS passed, uh, 56% in support, so that's a ... a landmark achievement, I think, for the community. Um, I also want to note, uh ... that we have a couple of high school seniors who, uh, have just been selected for admission to the Naval Academy. Uh, Jackson Peplow from West High and Matthew Lee from City High, uh, both received, uh, spots in the Naval Academy. So I think both high schools should be very proud of those individuals. (several commenting) Anyway, back to staff. You got yours, Geoff? Good job, by the way, in Tom's absence. (several talking and laughing) This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council formal meeting of February 5, 2013.