HomeMy WebLinkAboutDowntown Regulations.pptITEM 9:
REGULATORY CHANGES IN THE DOWNTOWN
City of Iowa City
City Council Meeting
August 20, 2013
Framing the Issue
The recommendations aim to address a rapidly growing
number of complaints about behaviors in the downtown
region
Some concerns, such as aggressive behavior and
smoking, can and are being addressed through increased
police outreach and enforcement
Other behaviors, such as storage of personal property
and use of electrical outlets, are not expressly prohibited
and thus require changes to the City Code in order to
address
Approaching the Problem
The Police Department has initiated a community policing
strategy in the downtown and has been working to
establish relationships with residents, businesses and
people that frequent the downtown
The City and ICDD have tried to engage individuals to
seek voluntary behavior changes and to better
understand their needs and desires for the public spaces
After months of consideration, regulatory changes were
determined by staff to be the most effective way to
address behaviors that are detracting from the public's
use and enjoyment of downtown open spaces
Use of Planters
Individuals can currently sit and lie on or in the planters
downtown
Some planters were designed for sitting while others were not
designed for such purposes
People in the planter areas are causing damage to the
vegetation which is maintained by staff and volunteers
The recommendations would restrict people from being in the
planters, prohibit lying down on all planters and permit sitting on
only those planters that were designed for such purposes
Those not designed for such purposes include the curb -style
borders that are low to the ground. When sitting on these
planters there is an increased likelihood for damage to the
vegetated areas, and the adjacent pedestrian walkways are
narrowed considerably by out stretched legs
Storage of Items in the Right -of -Way
There are a growing number of people storing personal items
in the public right -of -way
This eliminates public spaces available to other persons and
thus restricts public use of the space
The recommendations prohibit storage of items in planters, on
tree rings and on other public amenities
It further restricts storage of other items based on time and size
(Maximum 2 hours in a 24 hour period and no more than 4 sqft)
Use of commercial shopping carts for storage of personal items
would be prohibited while residential scale carts would be
allowed for transporting goods through the district
Unattended Property
Items that are
stored
and
left unattended
by their owners
take
up space
that
is
then
unavailable
to
others
The recommendations would allow the Police Department
to remove property when the owner, or person the owner
has authorized to care for the item, is not within 20 feet of
the property
A reclaim procedure will need to be formally adopted by
the City Council
Persons accompanying children using the playground
equipment downtown are exempt
Use of Electrical Outlets
An increasing number of individuals are plugging personal
items, ranging from phones and laptops to television sets,
into the public electric network
The network does not have the capacity to meet these
demands and use for personal reasons can complicate
uses for public purposes, permitted events, and mobile
vendors
The recommendation is to prohibit personal uses of the
electrical network and consider upgrades during the
streetscape project that could selectively permit such
uses in the future
Lying on Benches
A growing number of complaints have been received
about people lying on benches and thus restricting use of
them by others
The recommendation would prohibit lying on benches
from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. when the city crews are
preparing to clean the district and when peak pedestrian
traffic volumes are experienced
Allowed Panhandling Areas
Panhandling is currently restricted by distances to
specified locations (ATMs, outdoor cafes, etc.) where
individuals are captive or are frequently handling money
The proposal extends prohibited areas to sidewalks
where parking meters are present and people are
frequently handling money
It also extends prohibited areas to the three entrances to
the ped mall where pedestrian volumes are high and
district wayfinding information is maintained
Enforcement Strategy
Violations can only be issued if a verbal warning has been
provided
The Police Department has created a diversion program
that would allow some offenders to perform community
service in lieu of paying a fine.
The Police Department intends to continue its community
policing approach and build relationships with the patrons,
visitors, residents and businesses downtown