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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-07-05 Bd Comm minutes2 mumaiiin MINUTES APPROVED BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT APRIL 13, 2016 — 5:15 PM EMMA J. HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Larry Baker, Gene Chrischilles, Connie Goeb, Tim Weitzel MEMBERS ABSENT: Becky Soglin STAFF PRESENT: Susan Dulek, Sarah Walz OTHERS PRESENT: Brian Flynn, Pat Barta, Aaron Doubet CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 5:15 PM. ROLL CALL: A brief opening statement was read by Baker outlining the role and purpose of the Board and the procedures that would be followed the meeting. CONSIDERATION OF THE MARCH 9. 2016 MEETING MINUTES Chrischilles moved to approve the minutes of March 9, 2016. Weitzel seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 4-0. SPECIAL EXCEPTION ITEM (EXC16-00002): Discussion of an application for a special exception submitted on behalf of Joe's Place to allow a Rooftop Service Area for property located in the Central Business District (CB -10) zone at 115 and 117 Iowa Avenue. Walz began the staff report showing an aerial view of the property indicating the zoning designations of the surrounding properties. Joe's Place consists of three store fronts, and the proposed rooftop service area is above two of those, 115 and 117 Iowa Avenue. The opposite side of Iowa Avenue and Clinton Street is the P-2 zone, which is the University of Iowa. Other surrounding areas are CB -10 zones. Walz explained this is the first application the Board has received under this new ordinance to allow rooftop service areas. The subject property is in the Downtown District and CB -10 zone. The purpose of the CB -10 zone is to allow for a wide range of retail, service, office and high density residential uses and to support a healthy and vibrant commercial area and allow the development of a mix of uses often with residential or office uses above store front commercial uses. Walz noted that in 2015 the Zoning Code was amended to allow rooftop service areas (RSA) as an accessory use in a number of zones and each of those zones has its own criteria Board of Adjustment April 13, 2016 Page 2 of 12 for the standards it has to meet to be allowed. In the CB -10 zone RSAs are allowed provisionally for hospitality oriented uses (hotels), commercial recreational, and eating establishments (restaurants). RSAs for drinking establishments (bars) are allowed under the special exception process. Joe's Place is a drinking establishment. RSAs are an accessory use—an outdoor gathering space on the rooftop, or upper floor terrace of a building that is open to the public. If the RSA is an accessory to an establishment that is licensed by the State to sell alcohol it is considered a type of outdoor service area, so that brings in additional regulations that have to do with the serving of alcohol. So there can be a RSA that doesn't serve alcohol, but when it is a rooftop service area that does serve alcohol a number of other provisions apply. The applicant, Joe's Place, is seeking a special exception to allow a rooftop service area above the existing drinking establishment. Walz showed photos and sketches of the building and where the RSA would be and the views of the surrounding areas. The applicant is proposing to construct a wooden deck on the rooftops of 115 and 117 Iowa Avenue to provide a little over 1200 square feet of open air seating. The proposed area will be elevated slightly above the existing roof, so that the floor area will be even across the rooftop of the two buildings. They will be using some of the 2°' floor area of the building at 115 Iowa Avenue to create the necessary restrooms, and the service area of the bar (where the employees would be) is in the interior of the building as well (so it can be locked up at night) but all the area where the customers will be served is on the exterior of the building. The proposed RSA would serve concession style food and beverages and the proposed hours of operation would be 3 pm to 2 am with no amplified sound after midnight. Amplified sound is permitted on the exterior of the building for rooftop service areas by temporary permit only and live music is not permitted. Walz next discussed the specific standards. The RSA shall meet all building and fire code requirements, be ADA compliant, include elevator service, and have accessible restrooms provided. There will be an elevator to make the RSA handicap accessible. The route back to the elevator from the ground floor will be inspected at the time the building inspections are done to confirm it is an accessible route. Access to the second floor will be via an interior stairwell and the elevator. In terms of emergency egress, there is an outdoor stairwell that would go down by the exterior beer garden at the back of 119 Iowa Avenue. Customers won't have access to the interior of the building but it is possible if there was an emergency there is an additional stairwell that is shared by a neighboring building that could be accessed as well. The RSA shall be designed in an attractive manner that will not detract from adjacent uses, and will prevent nuisance and safety issues. The site plan that was provided shows the layout of the proposed RSA and Walz showed some views of the outside of the buildings and explained how the RSA would be constructed and laid out. The RSA will be setback 40 feet from the front of the building and there will be 4 foot tall metal panels so it won't be visible from the street. The 5 - foot metal panels will also be installed on the parapet wall so the RSA will be screened from the views of the buildings to the east. Along the remaining perimeter area, railings 4 feet in height will prevent customers from falling or entering onto other rooftop areas or adjacent structures. Walz also noted that the property at 113 Iowa Avenue has no upper floor use. The RSA shall be located directly adjacent to or above the use to which it is accessory and there shall not be other uses located on floors in between the RSA and the use to which it is accessory. This RSA is directly above the bar area at 115 and 117 Iowa Avenue and there are no other uses located between. Board of Adjustment April 13, 2016 Page 3 of 12 The RSA must be set back from adjacent upper floor uses and the edge of the roof and screened and completely enclosed within a decorative fence or wall. Walz confirmed that is the case on the eastern wall of the building that will face towards the Basta building. The proposed RSA must be set back a minimum of 10 feet from the street facing edge of the roof. Walz confirmed it will be setback more than 40 feet from the street facing edge. The lighting must comply with the Outdoor Lighting Standards. Walz noted typically this is included in the special exception because it is a requirement of the special exception. The lighting plan has not been submitted yet but will be as part of the building permit process and it must comply with the City standards. No signs shall be allowed in or on the exterior wall or fence of the RSA that are within public view. Walz explained that no signs are being proposed for the RSA, the applicant has indicated that there may be television screens in the area around the bar but those should not be visible from the public street or the adjacent residential uses. For RSAs that are also outdoor service areas, there must be an RSA management plan in place and at least one employee must be designated to monitor the safety and compliance of the RSA during hours of operation. Walz showed the Board the management plan that was submitted with the application and it indicates the hours of operation, no amplified sound after midnight, all customers will be carded at entry to the bar, all customers will only be able to access the rooftop from the interior stairs or elevator, and at least two to eight employees will staff the upper bar at all times and there will be a floating crowd control manager that monitors the entire bar. To ensure that the RSA is managed appropriately over time, the City Code states that if nuisance or safety issues arise, the City may require immediate changes to the management plan and/or the number of monitors to remedy the situation and reserves the right to suspend or revoke the RSA permit. Staff recommends reiterating this as a condition of the special exception. This is important so that the condition is clear to the current owner, but also any future owner as the RSA is allow to transfer with ownership. In the CB -10 zone, where the building containing the RSA abuts or is directly across a public alley from a property containing upper floor residential uses or hotel rooms that have windows facing the RSA, there are limits on the hours of operation. In this case the alley to the rear is not a public alley, it is a private alley. If alcohol is being served, food service must be provided. Prior to approval of an RSA, the applicant must submit evidence indicating how this requirement will be met. In this situation the applicant intends to sell food concession style, so people would order at the bar area, food would be available in the RSA but not in the lower floors of the bar. Dulek explained the noise conditions, starting with amplified sound. The way the ordinance reads is amplified sound is not allowed escept by a temporary use permit. Therefore from the Board's standpoint, the Board cannot limit amplified sound, because it does not exist. Non amplified sound is allowed, but there must be a plan by the applicant to address the noise. The temporary use permit will be a City Staff decision, and it will be an annual permit review that Staff can revoke at any time if there are nuisance issues. The Board has no jurisdiction over that. Goeb asked if amplified sound is permitted by the temporary use permit, why live music is not allowed. Dulek said that was discussed during the ordinance approval process last year but did not know the specifics. Board of Adjustment April 13, 2016 Page 4 of 12 Walz continued and discussed other noise outside of amplified sound. Given the distance of this RSA and other adjacent upper floor uses, the screening to the east, and that the CB -10 zone is a zone where a certain amount of noise is anticipated, it will not create a significant disturbance to the neighborhood. Dulek noted the ordinance states the design of the RSA must minimize the area of noise, so it must be designed with that in mind. Chrischilles asked if there were apartments above the Basta restaurant. Walz confirmed there were, and that is why the screening will be mounted on the parapet wall on the east of the RSA. Walz noted additional special exception approval criteria for nonconforming drinking establishments. An RSA accessory to a nonconforming drinking establishment may be allowed by special exception provided it meets the general approval criteria and the additional approval criteria The RSA shall be located directly above and contiguous to the licensed drinking establishment. This RSA meets that requirement, it is directly above the bar. There shall be no horizontal expansion of the licensed drinking establishment. The proposed RSA is located above the existing bar area. There is no horizontal expansion of the use. There shall be no increase in interior floor area or interior occupant load. This is met, all of the customers, except those using the restroom (which is an allowable exception) will be on the exterior of the building as shown on the floor plan. Walz noted the general standards follow from the specific standards. She noted general criteria number 3: the establishment of the specific proposed exception will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of the surrounding property for uses permitted in the zone in which such property is located. That is not just for what is currently there, but what could be in the area in the future. The subject property is located in the Central Business District of the Downtown District and it is intended to allow for high density mixed uses and to be an entertainment area in Iowa City. The zone is intended to provide a healthy and vibrant commercial core with a mix of uses. RSAs were added as an allowed use in the zone in order to obtain more diverse seasonal opportunities similar to what the City has with sidewalk cafes. Staff believes with appropriate controls and amplified sound administered through a temporary use permit the proposed use would be compatible with surrounding development and would be an attractive development to the downtown environment. Walz stated that this is addressed in the Comprehensive Plan, that this be a vibrant area. Downtown is a growing area with lots of activities and as the population grows and the university grows, providing new and unique venues is a good thing for downtown. Staff is recommending approval of EXC16-00002, a special exception to allow at Rooftop Service Area in the Central Business (CB -10) zone located above 115 and 117 Iowa Avenue subject to the following conditions: Substantial compliance with the site plan submitted. • No solid roof shall be constructed over any portion of the outdoor service area. Amplified sound is allowed by temporary use permit only. No live music or live performance permitted. A lighting plan must be in compliance with the Zoning Ordinance and approved by the Building Official prior to issuance of a building permit. Handicapped accessible routes must be maintained between the front entrance and elevator and between the elevator and second floor restrooms. Board of Adjustment April 13, 2016 Page 5 of 12 Substantial compliance with the management plan, requiring no fewer than 2 employees present on the rooftop at all times, and one crowd control manager for the entire bar/business. As per City Code, if nuisance or safety issues arise, the City may require immediate changes to the management plan and/or the number of monitors to remedy the situation and may suspend or revoke the Outdoor Service Area permit. Food service must be provided during all hours of operation Baker noted for the audience that the Board has no preparation meetings, so this is the only opportunity the Board has to ask questions about the report in front of them. The Board is not allowed to talk to the public or each other regarding this application outside of this meeting. Chrischilles asked about the railings that will be 4 feet in height, what material will they be composed of and how are they constructed. Walz showed on the applicant's packet a rendering of the material and fencing that will be used for the railings. Goeb asked how the hours of the RSA are decided upon and Walz explained those are the allowable hours for a bar under the ordinance, and the currently hours of operation for Joe's Place. Goeb asked if Joe's Place was to change their hours of operation, would that also change the hours of operation for the RSA. Walz said yes, if the Board does not restrict the RSA. Dulek noted that 10 am is the earliest a RSA can be open and 2 am is the latest under the Code. Chrischilles asked if the RSA would be a non-smoking area. Walz confirmed it would be non- smoking. Chrischilles noted that on page 4 of the report, item number 2, it refers to "The portion of the outdoor seating area located above 115 Iowa Avenue is set back approximately 30 feet from the rear of the building. Screening is not indicated in this area, which overlooks a private alley." And wondered why there would be no screening back there. Walz said that portion of the roof will have railings, and a large portion of the area will be screened by the elevator structure. She also noted there is only a small part of seating in that area, most of the roof in that area will be preserved for the HVAC units. Goeb questioned the sturdiness of the roof with all the extra weight. Walz explained that will the construction of the decking on top of the roof, it is almost as if they are constructing a whole new roof that will support the additional weight. Chrischilles asked about the standard that states "Amplified sound may be restricted or prohibited during public events, festivals or concerts" and who determines if it will be restricted. Dulek said the City could restrict amplified sound during times like Jazz Fest and will be noted in the temporary use permit. Chrischilles asked how that would be enforced. Dulek said they temporary use permit holders would be notified when the City is restricting or prohibiting their amplified sound. Chrischilles noted that City Staff are the only ones that can issue the temporary use permit for amplified sound, and questioned then if City Staff could alter the permit to allow amplified sound past midnight, or make if end at a time earlier than midnight. Dulek said that the ordinance approved by Council says that midnight is the latest, but a temporary permit could be issued that states amplified sound must end prior to midnight. Chrischilles asked if the Board felt that Board of Adjustment April 13, 2016 Page 6 of 12 midnight was too late, do they have any authority to enforce that. Dulek said the concern can be noted in the minutes, but cannot be part of the exception. Goeb asked how it came about that sidewalk cafes that serve alcohol have more leniency than what is being issued to the RSA. Walz commented that the sidewalk cafes do have restrictions placed on them in terms of hours of operation and amplified sound, and are on an annual permit system. Dulek noted that sidewalk cafes are on City right-of-ways and not on private property so they are regulated through an annual easement agreement and they pay for the use of that space. Walz noted the RSA will require the property owner to make a significant financial investment into their property and therefore it was decided they should not be on a yearly permit basis. Baker asked why amplified sound is allowed but not lived music. Dulek answered that was a decision the Council made in passing this ordinance. Baker asked about other live performance. Dulek confirmed that the Code only says "no live music" and Walz said they added the condition of no live performance given the scale of the RSA in this application. The Board can decide to remove that condition. Baker asked if they could install televisions on the RSA, and Walz confirmed they may. Baker asked if the volume of the televisions would be a separate issue than the volume of the amplified sound. Walz said that would be considered amplified sound. Baker asked if the televisions would be wired into the sound system. Walz said either way it is considered amplified sound. Dulek said the volume of the televisions will be enforced through the temporary use permit. Baker pointed out under the design criteria 'The RSA shall be designed in an attractive manner that will not detract from adjacent uses, and will prevent nuisance and safety issues. The applicant shall submit a design plan with the application for an RSA that, at a minimum, specifies and illustrates the proposed size, dimensions, setbacks from adjacent buildings and roof edges, occupancy load, layout, landscaping elements, access routes, elevator, and accessible bathrooms. RSAs shall meet the following minimum standards. If a special exception is required, the board of adjustment may impose additional or more restrictive conditions to mitigate any anticipated externalities, including, but not limited to, restrictions on hours of operation, lighting, size, occupancy load, and setback and screening requirements." Baker questioned why the Board has purview to change all other conditions except sound amplification. Dulek confirmed that the ordinance is written such that the Board is not allowed to consider amplified sound, that the City Council wished for that to be an administrative decision. Chrischilles asked about the temporary use permit, and when that would be issued. Dulek said that after the Board makes a decision, regardless of the decision, no amplified sound is allowed. If the RSA applicant wishes to have amplified sound, they must apply for a temporary use permit. Other examples of temporary use permits used around Iowa City are for the fall Regina Fun Festival, or for the HyVee lawn centers. These temporary permits are for a use that is not normally allowed in the zoning code, and the zoning code does not allow a RSA to have amplified sound. Therefore the only way to get amplified sound is to obtain a temporary use permit. A temporary use permit is not a special exception, a special exception is permanent whereas a temporary use permit has a finite time limit. Baker asked how the City will measure the grounds for revoking a temporary use permit. Dulek noted she would find the provision in the Code and share it with the Board. Chrischilles asked Board of Adjustment April 13, 2016 Page 7 of 12 about the rooftop at FilmScene and Walz said that was different because it is not a drinking establishment. It is an entertainment venue, not a restaurant or bar. Baker noted also in the standards it notes "Amplified sound may be restricted or prohibited during public events, festivals or concerts" and asked if the applicant is operating the sound system at a level that was approved by the staff in the temporary use permit, why would it be prohibited during these other events. Dulek noted they could say no amplified sound at all during such events as Jazz Fest or Arts Fest. Baker questions then if it can't be used during those events because it can be heard and interfere with those events, then why allow it at all. Dulek said it will depend on the event and the RSA location as to whether it will interfere with other events. She noted that is why they use the temporary use permit process, because of its flexibility. Baker opened the public hearing and asked the applicant to come forward to address and answer questions of the Board. Brian Flynn (Joe's Place) began by stating the difference between a drinking establishment (that serves food) and a restaurant (that serves alcohol) is that a drinking establishment is open until 2 am. Restaurant licenses only allow them to be open until midnight. Chrischilles asked if this particular RSA is for a drinking establishment. Walz and Flynn both confirmed that was correct. Walz noted that is why it requires a special exception. Goeb asked about the hours of operation. She noted a drinking establishment can be open from the hours of 6 am to 2 am but wondered what the hours of Joe's Place are. Flynn responded that currently they open at noon, perhaps earlier on weekends especially on football weekends which can sometimes be as early at S am. Goeb asked then what the hours of the RSA would be, it appears in the report to be from 3 pm to 2 am. Walz said that was part of the management plan submitted by the applicant. Flynn noted there are several items in that management plan that do not work for their business operations. The two employees on the rooftop at all times logistically doesn't work if there isn't the business on the rooftop to support the need for two employees up there. Goeb asked more specifically about the hours of operation for the RSA and with respect to football game Saturdays. Flynn noted that for special events, such as football games, they might open the RSA earlier than 3 pm. Walz confirmed that if the Board approves this application without restrictions, the applicant can have the RSA open anytime within their normal hours of operation. Chrischilles asked how the applicant would monitor the number of people on the rooftop. Flynn said they use security to make sure they stay within the limits of the occupancy of the area. It will be easily controlled since there is a single set of stairs up to the area. Chrischilles noted that the applicant has done a good job with their proposal and planning. However he is bothered by a couple of items. One being since this is on a roof, there is a safety concern. The other issue is the amplified sound, however the Board has no jurisdiction on that issue. In terms of the safety, he is concerned about the 4 foot railings and they look as if they could easily be climbed over. Flynn noted that is the basic idea of what will be used, however they will likely use something with more screening because the view of the HVAC systems is not attractive. He noted that his establishment 30 Hop in Coralville has never had an issue with someone trying to climb over the rail. Chrischilles noted the clientele is different. Walz noted that the Board can impose conditions on the special exception to state certain materials are used for the railings, or they must be at a certain height. Board of Adjustment April 13, 2016 Page 8 of 12 Chrischilles asked how far is the edge of this RSA with respect to the beer garden below (in terms of throwing things). Walz showed the area, the RSA is directly above the beer garden. Pat Barta (contractor) noted that with regards to the screening, the architect didn't totally understand where the contractor wanted the perforated fence. The perforated fence is supposed to run across the back of the RSA to screen the HVAC equipment. He also noted there would be a masonry wall behind the bar area. Weitzel asked if they discussed with the architects the sound proofing properties of the screening that is indicated on the drawings. Aaron Doubet (DB Acoustics, Marion, Iowa) said the actual panel in the railing would not control sound very well, but if there are issues an absorbent panel for sound control can be sandwiched between the perforated panels. Baker asked if there would be a maximum sound level set that staff could not go above. Doubet said they would set an adaptive volume level with a maximum, he can put microphones in the space that will measure the ambient noise of the space and that can control individual speakers. So for example if the north end of the RSA is populated heavily the speakers in that area will automatically be raised to a level predetermined above the ambient noise level, but other speakers on the RSA will not change. The system is programmed so staff do not need to worry about changes. There will be an override to turn it off, but not necessarily to turn it back on. Doubet noted that with regards to the televisions, the sound is only controlled through the sound system, it is not controlled at individual televisions. This will control from having a blaring television, it is hard -wired controlled through the sound system. So the same standards and systems that apply to the music volumes will apply to the television volumes. Baker asked if the music upstairs would be the same music as downstairs. Doubet said it doesn't have to be, it can be completely separate or tie in. Doubet also explained that with the sound system they can direct sound certain ways. Where Basta and the apartments above are, no sound will be directed towards that area, all sound will be transferred away. Baker asked about exit safety from the RSA and if an employee has to access the exterior emergency exit to get people out. Barta explained that the existing outdoor patio has an 8 foot fence that has a crash bar system for emergency exit. On the roof they will have a similar system, there will be a gate to the exterior stairs that will have the crash bar system. Those exterior stairs egress into the private alley. Flynn noted that staff monitors those exits to make sure people aren't entering through those emergency exits. Baker asked about stairway widths. Barta explained that the Code requires a minimum width for stairways depending on the occupancy. Weitzel asked about monitoring occupancies and the management plan, which states a minimum of two people. Flynn responded that the number of staff on the RSA will depend on the number of occupants. Dulek said the owner/applicant can decide what the adequate management plan is and there is a need for reasonable flexibility. If the reasonable expectations are not met, they may not be able to get the temporary use permit or alcohol permit. Board of Adjustment April 13, 2016 Page 9 of 12 Goeb indicated the part of the staff report where it says "while staff is not aware of any proposed heat sources being proposed at this time, heat sources would be requiredto meet Fire Code and Building Code, and would be inspected" and wanted to verify that if the applicant wanted to add propane heaters to the rooftop it would have to meet the Fire Codes. Flynn noted that at 30 Hop in Coralville they do have the propane heaters and the sprinkler system on the roof covers that area. Walz said this language was added just for assurance that if an heat source or open flame was added, Fire Codes would be followed, the applicant has not indicated they will use propane heaters at this time. Baker asked about the rooftop space and if there would be dancing space on the rooftop. Flynn said that every year when they apply for a liquor license they need to indicate whether or not there will be dancing at the establishment. Barta noted the floor construction would not change if there were to be dancing, the proposed design could handle that activity. Baker closed the public hearing. Dulek replied to the earlier question of revocation and enforcement of the temporary use permit. The outdoor service area, the permission to sell and consume alcohol outside, is completely within Council discretion and if there is a violation or Council has issues with it, Staff can recommend to Council it should be suspended or terminated, and the appeal goes through Council. With the temporary use permit, if Staff feels the permitee is in violation of the terms, Staff will say it should be suspended or revoked, and the appeal of that decision comes to the Board of Adjustment. The Board and Staff discussed the amplified noise with no live music versus live performance issues and also the levels of decibel noise and how it will be regulated by the temporary use permit. Goeb moved for the approval of EXC16-00002, a special exception to allow at Rooftop Service Area in the Central Business (CB -10) zone located above 116 and 117 Iowa Avenue subject to the following conditions: • Substantial compliance with the site plan submitted. • No solid roof shall be constructed over any portion of the outdoor service area. • Amplified sound is allowed by temporary use permit only. • No live music or live performance permitted. A lighting plan must be in compliance with the Zoning Ordinance and approved by the Building Official prior to issuance of a building permit. • Handicapped accessible routes must be maintained between the front entrance and elevator and between the elevator and second floor restrooms. • Substantial compliance with the management plan, requiring no fewer than 2 employees present on the rooftop at all times, and one crowd control manager for the entire bar/business. • As per City Code, if nuisance or safety issues arise, the City may require immediate changes to the management plan and/or the number of monitors to remedy the situation and may suspend or revoke the Outdoor Service Area permit. • Food service must be provided during all hours of operation. Weitzel seconded the motion. Board of Adjustment April 13, 2016 Page 10 of 12 Chrischilles moved to amend the motion with an additional condition that the site plan include the perforated metal screening is used in all areas where there is screening to be located, and should be at least 5 feet in height above the floor. Goeb seconded the amendment. Baker and Weitzel both understand the concern, but are not compelled to add that condition. Weitzel noted it is an unnecessary expense and there has been no proof of a problem. Chrischilles noted that the contractor said it would actually be cheaper since it would be uniformity of product. Chrischilles said he does not want the railing concept shown on the architect's site plan to be used, he believes the railing invites people to climb over it. Weitzel also noted the code already indicates what the minimum screening and railing is necessary for safety and asking for the 5 feet is above the requirement. Goeb noted that not only for safety, but for aesthetic reasons it will look better to have a consistent product around the whole rooftop. Baker noted that once the Board opens up adding a foot to the minimum standard that then opens up the conversation as to why not add two and so forth. The safety standards are in place already for a reason. Since the amendment did not receive the support of three members of the Board, it will not be added to the motion. Baker called the question and asked for a finding of facts Weitzel stated regarding agenda item EXC16-00002 he concurs with the findings set forth in the Staff Report of April 13, 2016 and concluded the general and specific criteria are satisfied. Unless amended or opposed by another Board member he recommends that the Board adopt the findings in the Staff Report as our findings with acceptance of this proposal. Weitzel specifically noted in the Staff report it was compelling that the specific standards addressed everything that was required by code and other uses in the area will be preserved. Baker noted that the inability of the Board to consider sound mitigation or amplification issues is an issue that needs to be reconsidered. The findings of the Staff, based on the limitations the Board have, he does concur. Chrischilles stated he opposed based on the findings in the Staff Report because he feels they could do a better job with regards to the safety of the project. Goeb seconded the findings of fact. A vote was taken and the motion passed 3-1 (Chrischilles dissenting). Baker stated the motion declared approved, any person who wishes to appeal this decision to a court of record may do so within 30 days after this decision is filed with the City Clerk's Office. Board of Adjustment April 13, 2016 Page 11 of 12 BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT INFORMATION: Walz noted that the Board had drafted a letter to the City Council in January regarding rental properties located in the flood plain. Staff has proposed a remedy for that in which all rental properties located in the flood plain are identified on a map that will be attached to the rental disclosure form so people can see whether the property they are renting is in a flood plain. Baker stated with regards to the Board not being able to discuss or weigh in on the issue of sound amplification he would like a rationale as to why. Goeb also asked for a clarification on the live music issue. ADJOURNMENT: Weitzel moved to adjourn. A vote was taken and the motion passed 4-0. BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT ATTENDANCE RECORD NAME TERM EXP. 4/8 5/13 6/10 8/12 9/14 10/14 12/16 1/13 2/17 3/9 4/13 BAKER, LARRY 1/1/2017 X X X X X X X X O/E X X GOEB, CONNIE 1/1/2020 X X X X X X X X X X X GRENIS, BROCK 1/1/2016 O/E X O/E X X O/E X — CHRISCHILLES, T. GENE 1/1/2019 X X X X X X X X X X X SOGLIN, BECKY 1/1/2018 X X X X X X X X X X O/E WEITZEL, TIM 1/1/2021 — — — — — — — — X X X KEY: X = Present 0 = Absent 0/E = Absent/Excused — = Not a Member -a 77x3 AW4 IOWA CITY 26(2) f�i PUBLIC LIBRARY 123 S. Linn St. • Iowa City, IA 52240 rn5 nCrag •Hare 319,3% SM w 319356"91 —.kplaq BOARD OF TRUSTEES Minutes of the Regular Meeting FINAL APPROVED May 26, 2016 Members Present: Diane Baker, Janet Freeman, Adam Ingersoll, Thomas Martin, Robin Paetzold, Meredith Rich -Chappell, Jay Semel, Monique Washington. Members Absent: John Beasley. Staff Present: Maeve Clark, Susan Craig, Kara Logsden, Patty McCarthy, Elyse Miller, Brent Palmer, Angela Pilkington. Guests Present: None. Call Meeting to Order. President Paetzold called the meeting to order at 5:02 pm. Public Discussion. None. Approval of Minutes. The Minutes of the April 28, 2016, Library Board of Trustees meeting were reviewed. A motion to approve the Minutes was made by Ingersoll and seconded by Freeman. Motion carried 8/0. Ingersoll asked about John Beasley. Paetzold said she would follow up. Unfinished Business. Bookmobile. Craig, Semel and Paetzold attended the City Council meeting at which time Council approved the funding for the bookmobile. Craig invited Antelope Lending Library's (Antelope) director to the Public Libraries of Johnson County (PUC) meeting earlier this month. Also, Craig posted Antelope's summer bookmobile schedule on the Library's blog about the bookmobile. April 12, 2017, is National Bookmobile Day and we hope to have a bookmobile festival in Iowa City that will include Antelope. Craig asked Board members how involved they want to be in determining the bookmobile stops. There was discussion about the availability of rest rooms, and severe weather access at potential stops. Members suggested retirement facilities, schools, mobile home courts, neighborhood centers as options to consider. Semel said when he spoke to the Mayor he hoped the bookmobile would provide access to underserved areas. Faith Academy and summer camps were suggested by Washington. Freeman asked if we have information about library card users and perhaps the bookmobile could go where people don't use their cards frequently. Craig said maps provided by the consultant showed library card penetration everywhere in Iowa City and it would be difficult to figure out who wasn't using a card. Older and younger people who may have transportation issues are target populations said Craig. Roosevelt School was suggested by Freeman. Martin feels the Board does not need to make the decisions about where the bookmobile goes but needs to be kept involved in why the decision was made to go somewhere. It is hoped we will be able to be flexible with where the bookmobile will go depending on the time of year, school in session versus summer, for example. Martin said other libraries are watching Iowa City to see how the bookmobile progresses. Craig said we are very excited and ready to get going. Ingersoll was surprised our vehicle does not require the driver to have a CDL. Chassis and weight determine that said Logsden. New Business. Election of Officers. Nominating Committee Chair Martin stated the slate of officers put forward by the Nominating Committee is Semel for President, Washington for Vice President, with Freeman serving as Secretary for a second term. A motion to accept the slate of officers was made by Martin and seconded by Ingersoll. Motion carried 8/0. Art Advisory Committee. Paetzold asked how long a term is on the Art Advisory Committee. Craig said three years. A motion to approve the two recommended candidates for the Art Advisory Committee was made by Rich -Chappell and seconded by Martin. Motion carried 8/0. Amend NOBU Budget. Craig said NOBU expenditures are typically approved in July. However, this year, there is some direct state aid money left and these funds must be used in the year they are received. Craig seeks approval to spend the unused portion of this money to replace our main power backup system and to replace office desk chairs. Freeman asked if the State will require an accounting of how the money was spent. Craig said yes, she provides a report identifying how the money is expended. A motion to approve the use of the Enrich Iowa Funds for the power backup and office desk chairs was made by Ingersoll and seconded by Baker. Motion carried 8/0. Summer Reading Program 2016. Pilkington demonstrated the Summer Reading Program (SRP) website. Paetzold was pleased to note the logos for program sponsors on the website. Users can register exclusively online this year for the first time. Families and summer camps can be linked this year, which has many advantages in addition to saving lots of time for those who take advantage of it. This year we are using a new program, Beanstack, which also provides book lists for SRP users. Another feature allows users to keep a personal log of all the books read. North Liberty Community Library and Coralville Public libraries are also using Beanstack. We are moving toward being able to gather data uniformly to help share with our schools. There are game cards for participants of all ages which were distributed to Board members. Reading and exercise are components of SRP this year, said Clark. SRP begins Tuesday, 5/31/16. A reminder that Saturday, 6/4 is Children's Day and there will be 14 different organizations which will have booths at the event. There will be entertainment from 10-3. Craig said ICPL participates in the national SRP theme. This provides access to graphics and other features that all libraries can use. Materials are available at a reduced rate because of State Library support. Staff Reports. Director's Report. Craig included the article about Charlie Robinson in the packet because he was a great influence on librarianship, and on her, and she wished to share this with the Board. Craig, Logsden, and Paulios met with Rachel Zuckerman and three other UI students to talk about having graduate counseling students in psychology and sociology help with outreach to homeless individuals who might benefit from counseling. It was suggested that a place might be identified in the library where people could talk to counselors. Craig said having a faculty member involved in the project really helps. We will follow-up if the students are able to organize some hours of service in the fall. Yesterday was our last Music is the Word program. The Catfish Keith finale was last Saturday. Craig said both the 2 community and staff really embraced this project. It was unlike any other project the library had previously done in its breadth and has been both memorable and successful. ICPL applied for a Convention and Visitors Bureau grant for $5000 for a Friday/Saturday'Family STEAM festival next May with the Downtown District, the Iowa City Community School District, Little Village, Merge, and other partners. We hope to bring the Magic School Bus to Iowa City. CBJ online announced that protostudios was awarded $1.5M by Iowa Economic Development Authority so the Merge space is moving forward. Merge is hoping for additional money from the federal government. Departmental Reports: Adult Services. VITA has been going for 30 -some years. Clark said we used to stay open until midnight on 4/15 assisting people with their taxes; we even took the returns to the post office in Iowa City, and later drove them to Cedar Rapids when Iowa City did not stay open until midnight. Now all returns are filed online and it is much more efficient. Community & Access Services. Craig emphasized how easy it is to use the Summer Library Bus for children and the adults who accompany them to the library during the summer. Development Office Report. McCarthy thanked Baker, Semel, and Ingersoll for attending the Looking Forward fundraiser. The event was more successful than last year's. The committee will debrief on it tomorrow. It is the summer reading program prize solicitation time and the cash value of the prizes received so far is in excess of $125,000, said McCarthy. Many sponsors also make cash contributions. Semel asks how many people attended Looking Forward: McCarthy said 92 persons attended this year, and 89 attended last year. She said there were more reservations made last year, but fewer people were present. The presenter said he would be delighted to come back to talk to us and Board members were impressed with his knowledge of the subject and his delivery. McCarthy is working on the packet for the annual meeting. Paetzold asked about Mary Gilbert. McCarthy said the timing for Mary Gilbert's gift was synchronous with when we began discussion about the bookmobile and since she wanted her gift to benefit as many people as possible, this is a good way to honor her and her gift to the library. Volunteer Recognition. Craig said the Volunteer recognition event was lovely as always. Spotlight on the Collection. No comments. Miscellaneous. No comments. President's Report. No comments. Announcements from Members. Martin commented on the Bettendorf Library's water pipe break causing $1M worth of damage. The library will reopen 5/31 with limited access. Martin suggested sending an official note of support and see if there is anything ICPL may be able to help them with. Freeman would like the Board to send a letter to their Board of Trustees. Committee Reports. Foundation Members. Communications. None. Disbursements. The MasterCard expenditures for April, 2016 were reviewed. A motion to approve the disbursements for April, 2016 was made by Ingersoll and seconded by Rich -Chappell. Motion carried 8/0. Set Agenda Order for June Meeting. Director's Evaluation Board Annual report. Adjournment. A motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Baker and seconded by Martin. Motion carried 8/0. President Paetzold closed the meeting at 6:08 pm. Respectfully submitted, Elyse Miller Board or Commission: ICPL Board of Trustees ATTENDANCE RECORD 12 Month KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting Meeting Date Name Term Ex iration 7/23/15 8/27/15 9/24/15 10/22/15 11/19/15 12/17/15 1/28/16 2/25/16 3/24/16 4/28/16 5/26/16 6/23/16 Diane Baker 6/30/19 X X X O/E O/E X O/E X X O x X John Beasley 6/30/21 X X X X x x x O O/E O/E O/E X Janet Freeman 6/30/19 X O X X X X O/E O/E X X X X Adam Ingersoll 6/30/21 X x x X X X X X X x x x Tom Martin 6/30/17 X x O/E X X X X X x X x X Robin Paetzold 6/30/17 X X X X X x x x X X x X Meredith Rich -Chappell 6/30/17 X O/E X X X x X x O/E X x X Jay Semel 6/30/19 X x X X X X X X x O/E X X Monique Washin ton 6/30/21 X X x X X X X X x X X x KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting MSTSSTr- 2b(3) MINUTES — FINAL CITY OF IOWA CITY CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION June 23, 2016 — 8:15 a.m. HELLING (LOBBY) CONFERENCE ROOM — CITY HALL Members Present: Lyra Dickerson, Rick Wyss Members Absent: Jesse Case Staff to the Commission Present: Karen Jennings, Tracy Robinson Others Present: None RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL (become effective only after separate Council action): None. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 8:15 a.m. Dickerson chaired the meeting. POLICE CHIEF RECRUITMENT: After a brief discussion, Wyss moved to approve the process proposed by staff in the June 21, 2016 memo to the Commission. Dickerson seconded, and all were in favor. OLD BUSINESS: Jennings stated that Police Officer testing was conducted on June 11`h and interviews will be held the week of July 11`h. None. ADJOURNMENT: Wyss moved to adjourn, Dickerson seconded, all were in favor and the meeting was adjourned at 8:32 a.m. Board/Commission: Civil Service Commission ATTENDANCE RECORD YEAR 2016 (Meeting Date) NAME TERM EXPIRES 3/21/16 5/5/16 6/23/16 Lyra Dickerson 4/3/18 X X X Paul Hoffe 4/4/16 X --- Jesse Case 4/3/17 X O/E O/E Rick Wyss 4/4/20 X X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No Meeting --- = Not a Member �� 2b(4) MINUTES APPROVED HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION MAY 12, 2016 EMMA J. HARVAT HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Thomas Agran, Esther Baker, Zach Builta, Gosia Clore, Sharon DeGraw, Pam Michaud, Ben Sandell, Ginalie Swaim, Frank Wagner MEMBERS ABSENT: Cecile Kuenzli, Andrew Litton STAFF PRESENT: Jessica Bristow, Bob Miklo OTHERS PRESENT: RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action) CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Swaim called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. CERTIFICATES OF APPROPRIATENESS: 608 Grant Street. Bristow said this property is a Mediterranean -style house in the Longfellow Historic District. She said the stucco house was built about 1925-1930. Bristow said the metal railing on the balcony on the second floor is a hallmark of this style. Bristow showed where there have been several additions, sided with shingle siding, on the back of the house. She said the application is to take the deck, which was previously approved by the Commission, extend it outwards, and turn it into a screened porch. Bristow said a roof would be added that would meet just under the gutter line. She said she spoke with the owner about extending it not only out towards one but also into the space. The contractor, Marty McCafferty, said it will just come straight east. Bristow said the drawings are therefore accurate. Bristow said this will have a low slope roof and charcoal -colored screens, and all of the structural elements and frames for the screens will be covered with cedar to be stained to match the house. She showed where the stairs will be pushed out. Bristow said that at the time of the application, the only thing staff really had a question about was the skirting. She said that since then, staff has spoken with the contractor, who has spoken to the applicants, and they are looking at doing a horizontal, narrow and wide alternating pattern of boards that would also be stained to match the siding. Bristow said the recommended motion included something about approving a skirting by staff and chair later, but if this is something the Commission would approve, that would not have to be done. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION May 12, 2016 Page 2 of 7 Sandell asked about the roof material for the add on. Bristow said she assumes it will be a membrane roof with a gutter system. She showed the area that will be the new roof. MOTION: Baker moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 608 Grant Street as presented in the application. Clore seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 8-0 (Kuenzli. Litton, and Wagner absent). Swaim noted that Frank Wagner arrived. 818 North Linn Street. Bristow said this property is in the Brown Street Historic District. She stated that it is a foursquare with prairie-style detailing. Bristow said the application is to remove the gang of three windows on the north side. She said they are not visible from the street, and there are no windows above them. Bristow said the owners want to replace them with a gang of four windows, with stud pockets in between the windows to divide them up, similar to other windows on the property. She said that around the corner from that, the owners will put in an opening for a pair of wider, double hung windows. Bristow added that around the corner from that on the south face, the owners will take a door that is on the interior of the porch and make it an exterior door. Bristow said there is an updated plan drawing since the time of the staff report. She said it shows the four ganged windows along the bottom as represented in the manufacturer's type drawing. Bristow showed on the drawing where the pair of double hung windows would be. She said they are at two different scales. Bristow showed the new location for the door. Swaim asked about the stud pocket. Bristow answered that basically it is a little pocket that is in between the frames of the windows so that a wood member such as a two by four can be put in so that the windows are not just butted up against each other. Wagner commented that that is where the window weights would have been. MOTION: Sandell moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 818 North Linn Street as presented in the application. Baker seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 9-0 (Kuenzli and Litton absent). 804 Iowa Avenue Bristow stated that this house is in the College Hill Conservation District on the corner of Iowa Avenue and Lucas Street, facing Lucas. She said it is the Chi Omega house. Bristow showed different views of the house. She said the project involves removing the retaining wall area that is below grade and the wall that is adjacent to it on the back of the house and move the structure out, creating a new retaining wall further out. Bristow said the space would be enclosed as part of the dining hall inside, and a deck would be put over the top of it. She said that closer to the Iowa Avenue side, better access to the lower level and the rest of the building would be created. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION May 12, 2016 Page 3 of 7 Bristow said that on the first floor, the applicant would remove the four windows that are not original and are deteriorated and replace them with double hung windows that better match the others on that end that are the nine over nine pattern. She said they would also replace the windows that are deteriorated in the lower level, but everything would be moved out there. Bristow showed the demolition plan with the area that is below grade. She referred to the retaining wall location and where everything will be moved out. Bristow pointed out where new space has been captured. She showed the ground level plan with the new deck, some ramps, stairs, and a patio that are also part of this project. Bristow stated that at grade, around the deck, there will be a railing design as seen on the front of the house and mimicking that in the back. She said that some of the handrail guidelines do not need to be met, because this is less than 30 inches above grade. Bristow showed the current east elevation, with a typical railing. She showed how it will look after the project is completed, with some ramping and some of the new railing. Bristow showed the French doors that mimic the French doors on the other side and the windows to be replaced. MOTION: Michaud moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 804 Iowa Avenue as presented in the application. Baker seconded the motion. The 618 East Davenport Street Bristow stated that this property is in the Goose Town Horace Man Conservation District and is the rectory for St. Wenceslaus Church. She said it is Italianate and was built about 1882 by Joseph Koza. Bristow said the building has a previous addition close to the church with a gable that is probably pitched higher than the original church. She said the project is to take the existing porch area behind that and extend it about another five feet toward the east. Bristow said it would have a hip roof so that it would not have the monumental appearance of the other addition. She said it will have a hip that comes straight out to the east like it is a gable and will then clip off with a hip. Bristow said it will not really look much different from the front. Bristow said it will all be screened in, and all the wood material will be painted white. She said it will not have the board and batten on it any more. Bristow said it will have a door that faces toward the bay on the side. She said it will only extend out a total width of ten feet, because the hedge is supposed to remain. Bristow said the applicant will paint to match the trim. She showed the plan and where the part of the existing rectory is not really to scale. Bristow said it will be ten feet by sixteen nine. She said it will have the look in the middle of a gable. Regarding the roof plan that staff asked the applicant for, Bristow said it shows that there is a hip, and some of the original shed roof will be retained. She said staff was concerned that if there is a hip and the water was just sloping right into the rectory that there would be a water problem. Bristow said the applicant therefore plans to keep that part of the shed roof so that the water leads out away from the building. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION May 12, 2016 Page 4 of 7 Swaim said the photograph showing the nine windows shows the bottom six as blocked off. Miklo said that will be retained inside the screened porch to keep it as a breezeway. Agran asked if the roofline would not go above the sill on the window. Bristow confirmed this. She said the peak of the roof will come out somewhere near the center of the whole and will just come straight out. Bristow said it slopes down in two directions but will be less of a slope than is there, just because it will have a greater distance and can't go above the sill. Michaud asked if it will have a membrane roof. Wagner said the plan calls for asphalt shingles. Bristow said some of that is still in the works, and the applicant might find that there is not enough slope for asphalt shingles. Bristow said that since this would not be overly visible and if it does have a lower slope, it would probably be acceptable to use a membrane roof here. Sandell asked for some background on the previous add-ons on the property. Miklo said that was done in the mid-1980s, before this was in a conservation district. Sandell said the previous additions seem like dramatic departures from the original architecture. Bristow said that because this is a screened porch, it will have less wall surface, so it will not have the impact that the board and batten siding has. She said there is not too much to be done about this, since it happened prior. MOTION: Agran moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 618 Davenport Street as presented in the application with the following conditions: exterior wood to be painted to match the trim on the house and staff and chair approval of the roof plan and materials. Clore second the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 9-0 (Kuenzli and Litton absent). Swaim mentioned that several of the applications were created using an on-line application form. She said this was created by Bristow to streamline the process. REPORTS ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF: Certificate of No Material Effect - Chair and Staff Review 510 Grant Street . Bristow said this house in the Longfellow District is having the deck/guardrail replaced. She added that it is currently heavily deteriorated. Bristow said it will be replaced with wood material to match what is there. 414 North Van Buren Bristow stated that the owners plan to replace the roof membrane on the bump out. She said the roof membrane does not require approval, because this is in a conservation district - the Goose Town Horace Mann Conservation District. Bristow said, however, the railing around that roof is heavily deteriorated, so that needed to be reviewed. She said the owners are replacing the railing with a wood material painted to match the existing. 1121 Burlinaton Street Bristow said this house is in the College Hill Conservation District. She stated that part of the porch floor and the railing are to be replaced. Bristow said the owners are doing a minimal HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION May 12, 2016 Page 5 of 7 I replacement of the structure. She said the railing will match the railing in the guidelines, not the railing that is currently on the stairs. Miklo said that everything will be painted. Minor Review - Preapproved Item - Staff Review 838 Dearborn Street. Bristow said this house has aluminum storm windows, and they will all be replaced with storm windows that have been previously approved. She said they will all be dark to match what they should have for the sashes originally. 827 Rundell Street. Bristow said this house has been before the Commission a few times. She said the owners are adding a minimal pipe railing to the front stairs. 747 Grant Street. Bristow said this house has concrete steps in the back that are to be replaced with wood and a wood railing. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FOR APRIL 14,2016: MOTION: Baker moved to approve the minutes of the Historic Preservation Commission's April 14, 2016 meeting, as written. Wagner seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 9- 0 (Kuenzli and Litton absent) . COMMISSION INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION: Report on Ned Ashton Site Improvements. Miklo said the Ned Ashton house is in City Park. He said that the house and the surrounding property were acquired after 2008 as part of the flood buyout. Miklo said that all of the other houses purchased as part of that program were demolished and removed. He said that because this house is on the National Register, it was retained and is now used as a park shelter/conference center. Miklo said the Commission reviewed the addition of the ramp a few years ago. Miklo said the proposal is to redo the patio in the back. He said it is fairly small and is broken up flagstone. Miklo said it would be replaced with a larger, more functional patio in the same style as what was there before. He said there would also be the addition of a dumpster with a small screen around it. Miklo said that even though this is on the National Register and is City -owned, it is not yet a landmark. He said staff wanted the Commission to know what is going on here. Swaim asked if the house can be used for private events. Miklo confirmed this and said it has been used for weddings, parties, family reunions, etc. Update on Grant Wood Art Colony Fence. Bristow showed some photographs of the almost -complete fence. She said that the entire fence is in, and workers have been installing the stone under it. Bristow said the two stone markers that were part of the original gate plan have recently been installed. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION May 12, 2016 Page 6 of 7 Letter from CLG Coordinator. Swaim said the letter involved an annual evaluation and came from Paula Moore at the State Historic Preservation Office. Miklo said the letter also made reference to the Preservation Conference in Davenport on September 15 and 17. He said the City would pay the expenses of one or two Commission members to attend, and anyone interested should let him know. Update on Houser -Metzger House Move. Miklo thanked Bristow and Alicia Trimble for all of the work they did to make this house move possible. Bristow showed photographs of the process of the house move. She showed the house on its new site and pointed out how well it fits in with the neighboring houses. Bristow showed a video about the move from the Iowa City Press -Citizen's website. Baker asked what the next steps are for the house. Bristow said that a lot of grading needs to be done, and the foundation needs to be filled in where there was blocking. She said that some of the basement windows from the original location were salvaged, and they will go into some of the holes where there were beams. Bristow said the whole front section is open. She said that will all be filled in with concrete block. Bristow said there are two places where the beams stuck out in the back, and that will be filled in with block. Bristow said that once that is done, and after the furnace is installed; grading will be done, the window wells will be poured, and the porch piers will be poured. She said then the windows will be installed, and she is still looking for someone to do that work. Bristow said that Wagner is going to work on the porches. She said a cellar door cover needs to be built. Bristow said the inside work will then begin. She said the chimney was removed, because it was already non-functional. Bristow said the fireplace will be turned into a gas fireplace. She said that wall will be built back, and the mantel and tile surround will be put back. Bristow said there still needs to be window repair, floor refinishing, and plumbing work. She said the exterior really needs to be painted. Bristow said there were some small cracks in the plaster. She said there is a lot of work to be done to get the house back to where it was before the move. Swaim stated that a letter from the Commission will go out to thank everyone for their efforts ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 6:15 p.m. Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte HISTORIC PRESERVATION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2015-2016 NAME TERM EXP. 6111 7/9 8/13 9/10 10/8 11/12 12/10 1/14 2/11 2/25 3/10 4/14 5/12 AGRAN, THOMAS 3/29/17 X X X O/E X X X 0/E X X O/E X BAKER, ESTHER 3/29/18 X X X X X O/E X X X X X X X BUILTA, ZACH 3/29/19 — — — — — — — — — — — X X CLORE, GOSIA 3/29/17 1 0/E 0/E X O/E X X X O/E X O/E X X X DEGRAW, SHARON 3/29/19 — — — -- — — — — — — — X X KUENZLI, CECILE 3/29/19 — — — — — — — — — — — 0/E O/E LITTON, ANDREW 3/29/17 X X O/E X X X X X X X X X O/E MICHAUD, PAM 3/29/18 0/E X X X X O/E X X X X X X X SANDELL, BEN 3/29/17 O/E X X X X X O/E X X X X X X SWAIM, GINALIE 3/29118 X X X X X O/E X X X X X X WAGNER, FRANK 3/29/18 X O/E O/E O/E X O/E X X X X X X X KEY: X = Present 0 = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused — = Not a Member 2b(5) MINUTES FINAL HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MAY 19, 2016 — 6:30 PM DALE HELLING CONFERENCE ROOM, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Peter Byler, Christine Harms, Bob Lamkins, John McKinstry, Harry Olmstead, Dorothy Persson, Emily Seiple MEMBERS ABSENT: Syndy Conger, Matthew Peirce STAFF PRESENT: Kris Ackerson, Tracy Hightshoe OTHERS PRESENT: Charlie Eastham CALL TO ORDER: Byler called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM. APPROVAL OF APRIL 21. 2016 MINUTES: Olmstead moved to approve the minutes of April 21, 2016 with minor edits. Lamkins seconded the motion. A vote was taken and motion passed 7-0. Eastham addressed the Commission and noted that in the agenda packet there is a crime free release addendum document that is apparently from Southgate Property Management and wondered if that would be on the agenda for discussion this evening. Byler said it is not on the agenda, there had been a question raised so Staff attached this documentation as informational. Since it is not on the agenda the Commission cannot have substantial discussion regarding the document. Eastham noted for the Commission's interest he read the addendum and assumes Southgate is using this document, however that should be clarified, and also this addendum should be compared to the HUD Office of General Council Standard for Fair Housing Act to the use of criminal records by providers of housing and real estate -related transactions. Eastham stated in his opinion this document is not in compliance with the HUD directive and standards. Eastham suggests the Commission take some steps to review this addendum, perhaps referring it to the Human Rights Commission or to the Council for review especially if Southgate is using this addendum for any properties that have received public assistance monies. Byler suggested Eastham contact Staff to discuss, but also suggested that the Commission put this topic on a future agenda for discussion. Ackerson noted that typically during the summer they do not hold Commission meetings every month, so likely the next meeting will be in July. However, City Manager will be presenting to the City Council a list of funding strategies and ways to move forward regarding affordable housing Housing and Community Development Commission May 19, 2016 Page 2 of 5 and Staff is anticipating that to done in the beginning of June. Therefore if the Commission wishes to meet in June, please let him know. Olmstead noted that if they do meet in June perhaps to change the time to after 7pm due to a social gathering for the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition at The Mill that evening. Hightshoe encouraged Commission members to go to the work session where the Council outlines affordable housing strategies and possible financing sources. Hightshoe also mentioned the "So you want to start a business" series started last Saturday and they had 30 attendees, and 1/3 of those were persons of color. The next workshop already has over 40 people signed up. Byler said because there will be at least two agenda items, they should hold a June meeting. Persson agreed and noted the Human Rights Commission will also be having another one of their educational sessions which is very beneficial. Byler noted some handouts that were provided by Seiple that are housing statements from various housing organizations throughout the community that they will be submitting to City Council. Byler said that when talking to City Staff the focus is mainly on sources of funding for land banking. He questioned if as a Commission do they want to make a statement to officially submit to the Council in the minutes or to affirm any of the statements from other organizations Persson feels that the Commission should make a statement to Council to take a very serious look at all these proposals. Byler agreed noting that the document that the Affordable Homes Coalition put together is extensive and well written so perhaps the Commission should endorse this proposal to Council. McKinstry stated he is familiar with the Coalition and the Consultation of Religious Communities and is comfortable supporting both those proposals. Persson noted that the League of Women Voters also puts together solid documents, and they are all coming from reputable groups in the community. Byler mentioned while he supports the CRC proposal, he doesn't necessary support all four bullet points in the document feeling some might be detriments to housing in general getting built. Persson and McKinstry both stated that over the past twenty years the supply of affordable housing had decreased while the demand has increased. Olmstead suggested they look at combining the Affordable Housing Coalition along with the CRC proposals in a recommendation because there are items in the CRC that do not appear in the Coalition's document. Olmstead moved that the Commission accept the recommendations of the Iowa City Affordable Housing action plan and the CRC's action plan. Housing and Community Development Commission May 19, 2016 Page 3 of 5 Persson amended the motion to add an encouragement for Council to consider these documents very seriously. Olmstead seconded the amendment Seiple noted that in the documents they reference covenants and feels that is something new and why have an ordinance if the covenants can override the ordinance. Ackerson said it is a property rights issue to create an understanding amongst all the neighbors about what the neighborhood wants to allow. Hightshoe said the reference to covenants is to state that subdivisions cannot restrict covenants so much to disallow affordable housing, but is unsure if that can be achieved, can the City tell a developer what they can or cannot do with their property She said they will ask the City Attorney for clarification on this. Lamkins noted he is uncomfortable approving anything because they just received these documents at this meeting and have not had adequate time to review them. Hightshoe agreed and said perhaps it should be on the next agenda for discussion after review. Olmstead withdrew his motion Persson withdrew her amendment. Olmstead noted his concern about residential TIFs and feels that should also be discussed at the next meeting. He also has concerns about the ADA requirements of 30%. Ackerson said he would email out the PowerPoint presentation and notes that were prepared on this topic so that can also be reviewed and then discussed at the next meeting. DISCUSS CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLANNING FOR PUBLIC FACILITIES: Byler stated that he met with Ackerson and Hightshoe to discuss this topic. The question is if the Commission would like to encourage all the groups that apply for funding make longer term capital plans. Byler's idea was to find one engineer that the City could split the costs with the non -profits to create a five-year capital improvement plan. Having the same engineer do all the plans for the non-profit partners would help the Commission have all the information to make informed funding decisions. Lamkins asked what the benefit for the non-profit would be to spend the additional money since their applications still need to be considered amongst all the others. Byler said that the Commission would likely give more credence to the applications where the five-year capital plan was included so that would be the incentive for the non-profit. The benefit is for the engineer to help clarify for the non-profit what their priorities and plans should be. What has happened is if the City doesn't fund a particular application, the next year the same organization will reapply, but for a completely different project whereas if they had a five-year plan the City could prioritize funding's and make sure monies are available for projects in future years. Additionally Byler noted that the cost estimates that the non -profits present in their applications are inaccurate and having the engineering firm would help correct that issue as well. Olmstead is concerned that non -profits are unable to afford even half of the engineering firm cost. Housing and Community Development Commission May 19, 2016 Page 4 of 5 Persson acknowledged that having an engineer's help is beneficial to the non-profit as well as the Commission to make sure the project is complete and appropriate for the non-profit. Byler also noted he believes having a five-year capital plan helps non -profits plan their fundraising goals and in turn can help with receiving City funding if they can provide matching funds. Olmstead asked about using a City engineer so the non -profits don't have to pay for the services. Ackerson said that the City engineers charge their time to the particular capital improvement project they are working on. If they do not have a project to bill, it would be a cost the City would have to absorb. Additionally having an engineering firm that regularly does capital improvement plans would lend a different level of expertise rather than using a city engineer. Olmstead suggested another idea would be to tap into the university's engineering school. Olmstead suggested even finding an engineer who would volunteer their services. Byler said a request for proposal would be sent to the local engineering firms and the engineering school could be included in that. Because of the nature of the project, there may be some firms that will offer their services at a discount. Byler will put together the request for proposal and send it out to see if this is even feasible. ADJOURNMENT: Olmstead moved to adjourn. Persson seconded the motion. A vote was taken and motion carried 7-0. Housing and Community Development Commission Attendance Record Name Term Exp. 6/18/15 9/17/15 10/22/15 11/19/15 1/21/16 2/18/16 3/10/16 4/21/16 6/18/15 Bacon Curry, Michelle 9/1/2016 X X 0/E 0/E X 0 0 --- --- Byler, Peter 9/1/2017 X X X X X X X X X Conger, Syndy 9/1/2018 --- 0/E 0/E X X X 0/E X O/E Harms, Christine 9/1/2016 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- X Jacobson, Jim 9/1/2017 O/E X 0/E X X X X --- --- Lamkins, Bob 9/1/2016 0/E X X X X X X O/E X McKinstry, John 9/1/2017 --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- X Olmstead, Harry 9/1/2018 --- --- — X X X X X Peirce, Matthew 9/1/2018 -- --- --- — X X X X 0/E Persson, Dottie 9/1/2016 X X X X X 0/E X 0/E X Seiple, Emily 9/1/2018 --- X X X X X X X X Kev: X = Present 0 = Absent 0/E = Absent/Excused -- = Vacant mm-Trm- APPROVED 2 Minutes Human Rights Commission May 17, 2016 Lobby Conference Room Members Present: Eliza Willis, Orville Townsend Sr, Andrea Cohen, Kim Hanrahan, Paul Retish, Shams Ghoncim, Adil Adams. Members Absent: Joe D. Coulter, Karol Krum Staff Present: Stefanie Bowers. Recommendations to Council: No. Call to Order: Ghoneim called the meeting to order at 5:32. Minutes from the April 18, 2016 meeting date were approved. Motion Hanrahan, seconded by Townsend. Motion passed 7-0. Co-sponsors for the upcoming Solidarity event to date include the Center for Human Rights, Consultation of Religious Communities, Johnson County Board of Supervisors, United Nations Association Iowa Chapter, and the Muslim Public Affair Council. Bowers will draft correspondence for Council on a resolution in support of LGBTQ communities. Motion Ghoneim, seconded by Hanrahan. Motion passed 7-0. Bios for possible keynotes speakers for the Breakfast will be provided in the next Commission packet. Suggestions so far are Sally Scott, Katrina Sanders, Zac Wahl and Diane Finnerty, Bowers and Retish will meet with the Sheraton staff to discuss the possibility of hosting a fall job fair at the location. The University of Iowa Center for Human Rights is seeking new advisory board members Townsend reported on the upcoming Reentry Program Fundraiser being held at the First Baptist Church on May 21. Hanrahan spoke on the School District's recent Climate Survey. The results are available on the District's website. She will also participate in the Civil Rights Tour with Henri Harper and youth in the community. Ghoneim reported on the recent talk given by Iowa Civil Rights Activist Mary Beth Tinker at the Iowa City Public Library. Adjournment: 6:49 p.m. Human Rights Commission Attendance Record NAME TERM EXP. 5/19 15 6/16 15 7/21 IS 8/18 15 9/16 i5 1020 15 11117 IS 12/15 IS 1/19 16 2/16 16 3/15 16 4/18 16 5/17 16 Joe D. Coulter 1/12019 X X O/E X X X X X X X X X O/E Adil D. Adams 1/1/2019 — — — -- -- — — -__ O/E O O/P. O X Eliza Jane Willis 1/1/2019 -- — —• __ ___- __ _ .__ X O/E X X X Paul Retish 1/12017 X X X X X X X X O/E X X X X Orville Townsend, Sr. 1/1/2017 X O/E X X X X X X X X X X X Andrea Cohen 1/1/2016 -- --- -- -- __ — __ X X X X X Kim Hanrahan 1112018 X O/E X X X X X X X X O/E X X Shams Ghoneim 1/1/2018 X X X X X O/E X X OIE X X X X Karol Krotz 1/12017 -- — -- -- --- — — — -- — ••• — O Key X = Present O = Absent O/E= Absent/Excused -- = Vacant 'aTffl-Tg� 2b(7) MINUTES APPROVED PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MAY 11, 2016 MERCER PARK AQUATIC CENTER/SCANLON GYMNASIUM — P & G ROOM Members Present: Suzanne Bentler, Larry Brown, Clay Claussen, Maggie Elliott, Wayne Fett, Cara Hamann, Lucie Laurian, Paul Roesler, Joe Younker Members Absent: None Staff Present: Juli Seydell Johnson, Chad Dyson, Matt Eidahl, Zac Hall, Tammy Neumann Others Present: Jennifer Carpe, Brett Douglas, Genus Landscape Architects, Ella Fast, Hannah Fast, Sam Fast, Steve Rohrbach, Genus Landscape Architects RIBBON CUTTING AT NEW MERCER PARK PLAYGROUND: Commission members met at the new playground at Mercer Park where a ribbon cutting ceremony commenced. The event was hosted by the Parks and Recreation Department with lemonade and popcorn served. There was a good turnout for this event. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Claussen called the meeting to order at 5:13 STAFF INTRODUCTION: Seydell Johnson introduced Matt Eidahl, Program Supervisor for Youth Sports and Teen Programs, to the Commission. Eidahl has worked for the department for 16 years. He is a graduate of Coe College and has experience working with at risk youth while employed at the Cedar Rapids Boys and Girls Club. He also worked at the YMCA in Marion prior to his employment with the Iowa City Recreation Center. In this position, he manages youth sports programming for preschool aged children through sixth grade in both individual and team sports. Eidahl also manages special events that are held at Mercer. Elliott commended Eidahl for always being available to patrons of the Mercer Park Aquatic Center and also complemented the staff at Mercer. Claussen mentioned that he has sponsored both T -Ball and flag football teams, which are programs run by Eidahl. Eidahl confirmed that sponsorships are always welcome. OTHER FORMAL ACTION: Moved by Fett, seconded by Laurian, to approve the April 13, 2016 minutes as written. Passed 9-0. PUBLIC DISCUSSION None PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION May 11, 2016 Page 2 of 6 EAGLE SCOUT PROJECT PRESENTATION — SAM FAST: Eagle Scout Sam Fast was present at tonight's meeting to present his request to complete his Eagle Scout project by constructing a Gaga Pit in a city park. Fast distributed photos and the rules of the game to Commission members. He described a Gaga Pit as an octagonal enclosed area that would have walls made of treated lumber and a surface of crushed limestone. The game is similar to dodge -ball except the ball is hit or slapped with an open hand. If a player is hit below the knees with the ball or the ball is caught, that player is out of the game. The last player standing is the winner of that round. Fast shared that he has attended many scout camps that have Gaga Pits and they are by far the most popular activity amongst the campers. He further noted that it is a game that can be played by almost any age and any skill level. The game can be played with as little as 3 people or as many as 20. Fast had suggested that a pit be placed in Upper City Park. Laurian and Roesler agreed that this would be a good location. Brown suggested that Lower City Park may be the better choice as there may be siblings of kids playing in ball tournaments that could take advantage of the facility. Seydell Johnson said that staff has concerns about City Park as the location and will be discussing alternate possibilities with Fast in the near future. Elliott asked how people will know what the facility is for when they come upon it. Fast said that there would be a sign on the outside of the pit. Brown asked what kind of a ball is used. Fast said generally it is a kick- ball. Laurian asked if there could be an entrance made low enough for smaller children to enter. Fast included a photo of one with such an option. It was agreed that this certainly could be part of the plan. Seydell Johnson noted that all of the funding for this project will be provided by Fast as part of his Eagle Scout project requirements. Moved by Younker, seconded by Fett, that department staff work with Eaele Scout Fast to determine an appropriate location for a Gaga Pit within a city park. Passed 9-0. CHAUNCEY SWAN PARK PLAN — BRETT DOUGLAS, GENUS LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Seydell Johnson reminded Commission that Chauncey Swan Park located at 405 E. Washington Street will be closed for a time so that the ground may be used as a staging area for the construction of The Chauncey. The developer of the building has agreed to redesign and rebuild the park for public use at the end of the construction project and has agreed to fund the redevelopment up to $500,000. Brett Douglass from Genus Landscaping was present at tonight's meeting to present the plan for Chauncey Swan Park reconstruction. Douglas noted that the construction will begin in November of this year and will run through 2019. He further noted that for the time frame of March through October the west side of the park will be blocked from construction and left available for Farmers Market use. Douglas presented renderings that show the park in its completion which included items such as street trees, planting areas with one to include a tranquil space, a seating wall, bike racks, drinking fountain including a dog fountain, concrete paving, sloped lawn with irrigation and a terrace garden to name a few. He also mentioned that there will be electrical outlets placed throughout as well as a possible crosswalk from the park to City Hall providing a safer crossing for pedestrians. Discussion ensued about the possibility of planting trees in the future in the open green space area. Rohrbach from Genus said that it would be possible to plant trees over the geothermal wells; however, the plan was to leave this area open for activities in the park. Claussen asked Hall if he saw any issues with the park being shaded a great deal of the time. Hall said he really could not comment on that at this time. Douglas noted that the irrigation system should keep the vegetation in good condition. Laurian suggested that perhaps plants that would PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION May 11, 2016 Page 3 of 6 not require irrigation be planted, thereby eliminating the need. Douglas responded that while that could be an option, there are some areas that will be pretty tight so would suggest that the irrigation system still be installed as planned. Laurian mentioned concerns about noise from Gilbert Street during the showing of movies. She suggested that Council designate an area of the park to build a future structure that could serve as a sound buffer. Seydell Johnson expressed her concern about space restrictions. Rohrbach commented that the trees planted along Gilbert St. as well as the seating walls, will provide a buffer. Laurian also asked if the pathway from the west could be extended eastward through the park allowing for easier wheelchair access. Douglas said that the slope of the land may prevent this; however, he will take a closer look. He further noted that ADA requirements will be met. Laurian has asked to see the plan for the geothermal wells wondering if they can be placed closer together. Seydell Johnson said that the agreement for well placement has already been agreed upon. Laurian would like to see the square footage that was designated for this project, asking if the plan includes the ally. Seydell Johnson believes that the development includes the ally. Rohrbach confirmed that it is a part of the agreement with the City. There was some discussion regarding the cost of the stairs and whether or not the construction of such is part of the cost to restore the park or if this will be included in the building budget. Seydell Johnson will look into this and report back. Brown said that he likes the plan and that the developer has done a goad job in the process. He feels it will be a great draw for the community. Seydell Johnson explained that this is somewhat of an unusual process as much of the project has already been agreed upon. She further explained that tonight is for Commission to review and give any input to refine the plan. Claussen noted that like Laurian, he too had the understanding that trees could not be planted in the park due to the underground geothermal wells. Other commission members concurred. Claussen said that he likes the plan, likes the green space and the terracing. Laurian agrees that there are wonderful parts of the plan, but now appears that there doesn't have to be a lawn area. Younker requested that a City staff member present the agreement between the City and the developer at a future meeting. Seydell Johnson said that her understanding is that the lawn area was agreed upon. Claussen stated that this is a park and that it can be changed over time but at this point there has to be a starting point and that there can be no more roadblocks as the project is going to move forward. Planting trees can certainly be part of a future plan. Roesler finds the open lawn concept will provide a great place for activities, perhaps may even offer a more appealing location for events such as the Friday Night Concert Series. Douglas said that the intent of the plan is flexibility. He also stated that the public has requested an open green space in the Pedestrian Mall which has not been able to be done. He believes that with its proximity to downtown, this space will meet that need. Seydell Johnson agreed that this space will provide a place for many different activities. Bentler commented that she would like to see permeable pavers used as they would be a better option than adding an expensive irrigation system. Rohrbach said that the irrigation concept came in late but was found not to be all that expensive. He further noted that this is a LEED project and will have green roofs on most of the buildings. Elliott departed the meeting at 6 p.m. Laurian said she would like to see more research done on the placement of geothermal wells. Hamann said that the Commission was misled when told that trees could not be planted in the park due to the underground geothermal wells. Fett said that he would like to close the discussion for tonight and have staff present the agreement at a future meeting as stated earlier by Younker. Other members agreed. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION May 11, 2016 Page 4 of 6 PARKS & RECREATION FOUNDATION INFORMATION: Seydell Johnson noted that as a follow-up to the April Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, members of the Foundation met on Thursday, May 5, to discuss the possibility of redirecting funds to the Community Foundation of Johnson County. The Foundation unanimously agreed that this is in the best interest of the department and also agreed to dissolve the current Parks and Recreation Foundation. The current balance in the Foundation is $73,115.16, of which $29,958.41 is designated for specific projects. The Foundation will spend the designated funds and transfer the rest to the Community Foundation. The Community Foundation offers an opportunity for the foundation funds to be administered under a much larger umbrella. Seydell Johnson has followed up with the City Attorney to get a final opinion and is awaiting a response. Claussen noted that the commission will still have an active role in future fundraising plans. REPORT ON ITEMS FROM CITY STAFF Recreation Division Superintendent (Chad Dyson): • Dyson said he and other staff were very pleased with the turnout for the ribbon cutting for the new playground at Mercer Park. • Dyson reported that department staff is very busy preparing for summer programs. Staff is prepping City Park Pool for its Memorial Day weekend opening, as well as the splash pads and spray pad. Day camp registration is going very well. • Dyson reminded Commission that the funding for the Playgrounds program was reduced last season, thereby making it necessary to eliminate several locations. He was happy to announce that the program will return this season as funding is again available. Parks Division Superintendent (Zac Hall): • Hall announced that the department has hired Steve Erickson for a parks maintenance position. He transfers from Transportation Services and has an environmental service background and a history working in park districts. Hall said that the department will hire a second maintenance worker in July. • Hall announced that the first Party in the Park event will be at Glendale Park on June 2 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Members were encouraged to attend. • Hall received great comments from those who attended the Vicious Circle Disc Golf Tournament that was held at the Peninsula course in Iowa City. The organizer said that they had the largest turnout ever with 100 players attending. One of the players is a top ten touring professional who stated that he was very impressed with how well the City worked with the group. They mentioned that they will be looking into hosting a larger regional tournament in Iowa City in the future. Parks & Recreation Director (Juli Seydell Johnson): • Seydell Johnson announced that the Hickory Hill Master Plan public input meeting is scheduled for May 15 from 2-3:30 p.m. in the Hickory Hill Park shelter at the south park entrance, 1439 Bloomington Street. Rain location is the Recreation Center Social Hall. There will also be a public input meeting for Happy Hollow Park on Wednesday, May 25 from 4:45-5:45 p.m. at the park. There will also be a meeting scheduled in the near future for Frauenholtz Miller Park. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION May 11, 2016 Page 5 of 6 CHAIRS REPORT — CLAY CLAUSSEN Claussen would like to invite Jim Glasgow and David Bourgeois to the next Commission meeting to give the group an update on the pond at Thomberry Dog Park. COMMISSION TIME/SUGGESTIONS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS: Younker commended staff for a job well done on the Mercer playground stating it is a huge hit with his daughter. Hamann asked for a follow-up on the recycling at parks and event venues discussion from last month. Seydell Johnson will invite Jennifer Jordan, Recycling Coordinator, to a future meeting. Hamann was questioning what concerns The Avacentre has about allowing kegs at event facilities. Seydell Johnson said that they have experienced difficulty with maintaining demeanor and clean up at parties where kegs have been allowed. Seydell Johnson said that she will continue to explore this option. Bentler thought that the smaller kegs should be allowed and that perhaps it needs to be determined if this rule is deterring people from renting the facilities. Fett mentioned that he too would like to have more discussion about recycling options for public facilities. Bentler wanted to draw attention to a letter that was enclosed in the packet. This is a letter from Robert McKay regarding the preservation of woodland wildflowers at City Park. He is encouraging staff and commission to plan so that the least amount of damage is done to this area. Laurian said that she is very impressed with the Hickory Hill plan. She has heard positive comments about the dog park pond as well. Roesler said that his family too is really enjoying the new Mercer playground. He said that it is the only playground where he has seen kids waiting in line to play. Seydell Johnson added that the Optimist Club has donated $2000 for the renovation of the fire truck at Mercer. Brown asked about some cabling that is being run through City Park from above. Hall said that this is part of the utility work for the Gateway project. Hamann mentioned the Bike Boulevard program that will be riding from City High to the Farmers Market on May 21. A temporary bike lane will be set up on College Street from 8 a.m. to noon. The route will begin at City High and end at the Farmers' Market at Chauncey Swan Park. The goal is to encourage people to push for a more bike -friendly city and to educate the community on bike safety. The group will also hand out educational material at both ends of the route. Hamann also reminded Commission of the Move Naturally to the Market program. When a person walks or rides their bike to the market, they will receive a $2 coupon to use at the market. This program will run Saturdays in May. Laurian noted that Iowa City Mayor Jim Throgmortan issued a "Regenerative City Day" proclamation at a recent City Council meeting. This proclamation states that the city "must take decisive action to significantly reduce community-based greenhouse gas emission.: The goals of a "Regenerative City" is PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION May 11, 2016 Page 6 of 6 to plant native prairies and trees to store carbon in the soils; expand urban agriculture to power the city and neighborhoods efficiently through green building designs and renewable energy. ADJOURNMENT Moved by Bentley seconded by Hamann, to adjourn the meetine at 6:45 p.m. Motion passed 8-0 (Elliott absent). PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION May 11, 2016 Page 7 of 6 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD NAME n km in to in M e v e 1 e TERM en 00 o N a .ter a n o a M ra EXPIRE S Suzanne 1/1/17 X O/E X X X O/E X X X X X X X Bentler David 1/1/15 X X X X X X X O/E Bourgeois Larry Brown 1/1/18 X X X X X O/E X O/E X X O/E X X Clay 1/1/18 X X X X X X X X X X X X X Claussen Maggie 1/1/17 X X X X X X X X X X X O/E X Elliott Wayne Felt 1/1/19 * * * * * * * * * X X X X Cara 1/1/16 X X O/E X X X X X O/E X X X X Hamann Katie Jones 1/1/18 X X * Lucie 1/1/15 X X O/E O/E X X X X X O/E O/E X X Laurian Paul Roesler 1/1/18 * * * X X X X X O/E O/E X X X Joe Younker 1/1/16 O/E X O/E O/E X X X X X X X X X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM = No meeting LQ = No meeting due to lack of quorum * = Not a member at this time i7- 2b(8) MINUTES APPROVED PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MAY 16, 2016 — 5:00 PM —INFORMAL MEETING HELLING CONFERENCE ROOM — CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Carolyn Dyer, Mike Hensch, Phoebe Martin, Max Parsons, Mark Signs, Jodie Theobald MEMBERS ABSENT: Ann Freerks STAFF PRESENT: Doug Boothroy, Sara Hektoen, Bob Miklo, John Yapp Hensch called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ITEM: A public hearing for discussion of an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for property located north of Benton Street and west of Orchard Street to be included in the Downtown and Riverfront Crossings Master Plan. Miklo stated that the applicant has requested to defer this item until the June 2 meeting. Staff has met with the applicant and gone over the questions and concerns raised at the last meeting. The applicant is revising their plans to address those concerns. At Thursdays meeting the Commission will open the public hearing and then defer this item until the June 2 meeting. CODE AMENDEMENT ITEMS: 1. Discussion of amendments to City Code Section 14-2G to adopt a Riverfront Crossings Inclusionary Housing (IH) Ordinance. Boothroy stated they have been working on this ordinance for a while and noted that when the City adopted the Riverfront Crossings area they created a "Neighborhood of Opportunity" by significantly raising the residential density and by allowing residential where previously it was not allowed. The City is also creating a major city park and doing infrastructure upgrades so the City is taking a significant interest and investment in this area. One of the goals of the Riverfront Crossings area is for it to be a walkable area and an inclusive environment with regards to housing. At the time the Council adopted this overlay there was the conversation regarding inclusionary housing and rather than suggesting affordable housing in this area, make it a mandatory requirement. The Council asked Staff to put together an ad-hoc work committee of various stakeholders to see if there was common ground between these various interests. Staff knew they needed the support of those who work in the housing industry, for-profit and not -for - profits developers, and advocates, to come to an agreement to the principles would be the basis for the inclusionary housing requirement. Boothroy said the committee came up with seven Planning and Zoning Commission May 16, 2016 — Informal Meeting Page 2 of 8 principles (included in the memo that was in the Commissioners packets) that were recommended to the City Council to serve as a basis for the development of a Riverfront Crossings Inclusionary Housing requirement. What was critical to the requirement was that this inclusionary housing requirement only apply to the Riverfront Crossings area which is appropriate because it is the area of the city where there is the most potential for housing growth. The Council was pleased to see that there was unanimous agreement amongst the committee and directed Staff to move forward with the ordinance that is being presented now. Boothroy said the committee spent a lot of time looking at all the parameters and principles and those on the committee have considerable amount of experience in the community producing affordable housing, working with affordable housing, and understanding affordable housing, what works and what doesn't work. Boothroy noted that out of this process came two recommendations: one regarding TIF (tax increment financing) of affordable housing and the committee recommends that on TIF projects the set-aside would be 15% of the number of units being provided be affordable and would have to be so for 20 years. What is important about that recommendation is it is the floor, the Council will have the ability depending on a project to perhaps do a 20% for 30 years TIF if desired. The Council has now adopted the committee's recommendation with regards to financing of public projects, so every project that comes before Council now that has public money in it must provide a minimum of 15% of number of units being affordable for a minimum of 20 years. With regards to the second recommendation for the Riverfront Crossings area, it is that only developments that do not use public financing (TIF) would have a requirement that 10% of the units must be affordable for 10 years. Because of the scale of projects that will be in the Riverfront Crossings area, the City is expecting a number of them to ask for TIF funding and those will be handled by a developer's agreement and approved by the Council and must include the minimum of 15% of affordable housing for 20 years. For other projects that will not be publicly subsidized 10% of the units must be affordable for 10 years, which is a compromise between the developers and the non -for -profits on the committee. One of the concerns was if we set aside too high a percentage of units or too high number of years it could have a chilling effect on development in the Riverfront Crossings area. The committee did not want to discourage development of affordable housing for projects that did not have public funding. The other realization was that a lot of projects will have public funding. Signs discussed the points of contention and wondered about a project that has less than 10 units not being included in the inclusionary housing ordinance. Boothroy said part of the challenge is if the amount is less than 10% it becomes more of a challenge to meet that affordability. In other ordinance situations this formula has worked well. With 10 units, the 10% would be 1 unit, which is reasonable. Having Brad Langguth from Hills Bank on the committee was helpful because he knew the numbers of a project's profitability. Everyone is aware that all projects must make a profit, in the TIF projects the City is financing the affordable housing portion, but in the other projects if the developer can't make a profit, they can't build the units, and then they can't provide the affordable housing. Hensch asked about some of the incentives for the developer, such as the parking requirements being waived. Also if a developer includes inclusionary housing they can get a height bonus up to five stories. Boothroy said the height bonus was already in the Riverfront Crossings zoning. Boothroy said the only significant incentive was the reduction in parking which will allow for greater density and to maximize the cost on the project which will provide for more affordable housing. Hensch noted that while one of the goals of Riverfront Crossings is to make it a Planning and Zoning Commission May 16, 2016—Informal Meeting Page 3 of 8 walkable community but the truth is there is an overabundance of automobiles in Iowa City and not having parking available may be an issue. Boothroy said the reduction in parking is for the affordable units only and the hope is that over time since this is a mixed-use area close the downtown and campus there will be employment opportunities in this neighborhood so the automobile won't be as important for the occupants because they will be able to stay within the area for all their needs. Theobald noted that the grocery stores in this area (Bread Garden, Pioneer Co-op) are not necessarily affordable for someone who is living in this area for the affordable housing. Boothroy agreed they might not be but as the flavor of the neighborhood changes and more mixed-use is in the area there will be more types of uses they can benefit from. Boothroy stated that when the committee made their initial recommendation they were not aware that the State Code prohibits rent control. So the committee had to revise their recommendation (as discussed on page 2 of his memo) and list options for achieving affordable housing. So instead of requiring a rental property, the developer is allowed to choose how they meet the affordable housing requirement at the time of upzoning. By requiring these options the City is not requiring the developer to have rental housing, it is their choice. Not every developer will want to do upzoning, but for those that do they will have to choose how they will achieve affordable housing. There are three options they can do without having to go to the City and ask for a special determination. 1. On-site owner occupied affordable housing; 2. On-site rental affordable housing; or 3. Fee -in -lieu contribution to an affordable housing fund Hensch asked if someone wishes to upzone a particular parcel but were unwilling to do any inclusionary housing the zoning would be denied. Boothroy confirmed that was correct. Hektoen noted that which method of affordability the developer chooses to pursue is their option. Boothroy noted that anytime a developer does not comply with the zoning parameters set forth in the Code they are not granted building permits. This inclusionary housing will be a parameter in this zone. He also noted that because of the form -based code of Riverfront Crossings there will be many options for developers as well as since the area was formally zoned for more industrial and commercial uses, the ability now to upzone to high density residential and mixed -uses is a benefit for developers. Dyer asked for the reason for excepting elder apartments regardless of income. Boothroy said just to encourage more elderly housing close to downtown where more services are. Theobald asked for more information on how the 10 years was agreed upon. Boothroy said it was similar to how the 10% was agreed upon, the financial feasibility of the project. The longer the period of time, the more it costs the developer over lost revenue. However near the end of the time frame of the ordinance there is a monitoring clause that will allow the City to see if there is a need for a change in the parameters. Parsons asked if this was the first in the State for requiring inclusionary housing. Boothroy confirmed that it is. Parsons asked if there were other areas of the Country that have done this. Planning and Zoning Commission May 16, 2016— Informal Meeting Page 4 of 8 Boothroy said there are quite a few areas along the east and west coasts that have done it, some areas of Chicago, and in Colorado such as Boulder. Parsons noted he would be interested in learning what these other Cities have learned from putting such ordinances in place. Signs noted he was a member of the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition and is concerned because Iowa City is the most expensive market in the state, and why other communities don't do inclusionary housing is because they have plenty of affordable housing available. Additionally with regards to senior housing, he is aware of several senior housing projects in development right now and they are all high-end senior housing, so where will the affordable senior projects be. Boothroy noted there is an affordable senior housing project being built in Towncrest now. Signs asked about the 60% AMI for rentals and the 110% for the owner -occupied housing will be used versus not having the 30% of income be the threshold. Boothroy said 60% was chosen because 80% doesn't really address the low-income rental housing market in Johnson County. 80% AMI is almost market rate. 60% or less is the standard the committee decided upon to address low-income. The committee did not like the idea of blending, or allowing individuals that were not considered low-income to benefit from this type of housing. With regards to the affordable owner -occupied the Homebuilders Association were adamant about a minimum of 110% as based on experience of affordable housing providers who have had difficulty qualifying low income households with lower than 100% AMI for mortgages. Hensch noted that upkeep to a home can be an issue for low-income homeowners. Boothroy agreed that there can be difficulty maintaining a home as well as paying property taxes, which will go up and incomes may not. Dyer asked about these owner -occupied units, they will likely be condos and therefore have a condo association fee. Boothroy stated that was taken into consideration when the 110% AMI was agreed upon. Parsons asked who would manage these apartments, the non-profit or the City. Hektoen said they would be managed like any other rental, the non-profit may enter into a lease agreement with the apartment management company or landlord and assist with verifying the income qualifications. Boothroy acknowledged that every year the HUD qualifications for income verification are reviewed through tenants income tax returns. Boothroy discussed the Fee -in -Lieu option and pointed out it is an equal option to rental or home ownerships and because it is part of the upzoning the fee would have to be used to subsidize affordable housing only in the Riverfront Crossings area. The consultant that reviews all the City's development projects for TIF agreements created the model for the fee structure. Itis not a replacement cost, but rather the difference between affordable and market. Using that model the fair market value in the Riverfront Crossings area for a Fee -in -Lieu will be $80,872 per unit. The fee is reviewed biennially by the Council. Boothroy explained the rest of the memo discusses some details that state the units must be comparable to those at market rate. There is discussion on the income verification, and how the goal was to make this process similar to how the City administers HOME/CDBG funds with procedures and staffing that is already in place. Planning and Zoning Commission May 16, 2016—Informal Meeting Page 5 of 8 Boothroy noted there is a typo in the memo, City Council amended the Economic Development Policy on May 3 not on May 17. 2. Discussion of amendments to City Code Title 14 to adopt amendments related to establishing a Community Service — Long Term Housing use, and establishing parking, density, and provisional and special exception criteria for said use. Yapp explained that this item came to the City from staff at the Shelter House and for the past year or so they have been pursuing the idea of a project of a FUSE (Frequent User System Engagement) or Housing First project. FUSE refers to people who are chronically homeless (homeless for a year or more and in and out of local institutions frequently). Other parts of the Country have taken a Housing First approach which is instead of trying to deal with these people in the separate institutions (justice system, medical, human service agencies) the philosophy was housing first, provide them with a safe, stable place to live then start to deal with the other aspects that are going on in their life that have caused them to be homeless with the goal that eventually they would be able to move on into their own apartment. What was found was providing the housing first was much more economical than the costs incurred with hospitals, justice systems, and other human service agencies. Therefore, led by the Shelter house, along with other human service agencies and medical fields, they have been developing a project to provide multi -family housing and efficiency apartments for the chronically homeless in Iowa City and Johnson County. One of the struggles with this project was finding a location. When the City Staff began looking through zoning codes and standards, they found that the codes and standards were not appropriate for what Shelter House wanted to do, including density and parking. None of the individuals will have a car upon moving into this facility, and estimate maybe one in five might own a vehicle once their lives stabilize. The other factor was density, currently in the commercial zones there is a one unit per 2,725 square foot of lot area. What Shelter House would like to do is efficiencies, so a higher density than the Code currently allows. Additionally the City did not have a description of this type of use in the Zoning Code. There is a description for standard multi -family development, for a rooming house (but this is not a rooming house), and for assisted living and group housing. This use would be individual efficiency apartments but in a setting with management and security and community and office space for the residents and other community members. Staff is proposing a new use category. Currently the General Code does have a category called Community Service Uses (where shelters are defined in the Zoning Code). Shelters are defined as short-term housing where tenancy may be arranged for periods of less than one month when operated by a public or nonprofit agency. So Staff is proposing adding to the Community Service Uses the following `The use may provide tenancy for long-term housing for persons with disabilities when operated by a public or nonprofit agency." The parking standard and the density standard would only apply when it is a community service use operated by a public or nonprofit agency, in other words this would not apply to any private multi -family apartments. Yapp noted that the phrase "for persons with disabilities" means that the chronically homeless that enter into this facility must have a diagnosed disability, in other words they are not people who are homeless by choice. The name of the use that is proposed would be: Community Service - Long term housing. Staff chose not to call this Housing First because that is just one type of model and other models may come forth in the future that also provide long term housing for homeless or persons with disabilities. Planning and Zoning Commission May 16, 2016—Informal Meeting Page 6 of 8 Yapp explained that regarding density, as he mentioned in commercial zones residential density is currently limited to one unit per 2,275 square feet of lot area regardless of unit size, regardless of number of bedrooms. Yapp referenced the memo in the Commissioner's' packets where there is a table showing the comparisons of densities that currently exist in the community. Staff is recommending one unit per 900 square foot of lot area. For a''/: acre lot that would result in 24 units, which is consistent with rooming house density in the medium multi -family zones. Yapp noted regarding parking, initially people moving into this facility would not have vehicles and discussed exempting residential units from parking all together, but the concern is that the building will likely be there longer than the use and didn't want to create a functionally obsolete building or property if this FUSE/Housing First program fails or is wildly successful and move on to bigger properties. Therefore to ensure there will be some minimum amount of parking on the property they used the guidelines they use for assisted living facilities with one parking spot per three beds. That ensures there is some parking on the property. There is a process in the City Code where a group can request a special exception from the Board of Adjustment to reduce the minimum parking requirement by up to 50% for'unique circumstances.' The use will also have community space and offices and Staff is not recommending any parking reduction for those particular uses and that requirement is one parking space per 300 square feet. Yapp then discussed where such a Community Service — Long Term Housing facility should be permitted. He noted this type of use has elements consistent with community service uses (supportive services, and it has office & community room components); it has elements that are consistent with multi -family uses (the apartments themselves); and it has elements consistent with assisted living in that the occupants must have a disability. In the memo there is a table showing the commercial zones where these types of uses are permitted. Staff is recommending that the Community Service — Long Term Housing facility be allowed as a provisional use in the Commercial Office, Intensive Commercial, and Community Commercial zones as well as the CB - 2 and CB -5 zones. Additionally staff is recommending if the facility is adjacent to or across the street from a single family residential zone, a special exception be required. It was discussed that perhaps a special exception was needed regardless of the zone or zone adjacent but because this use is geared towards people with disabilities, who are a protected class, making the use subject to a public hearing and a Board of Adjustment decision was troublesome. Hensch asked about the definition of disability. Yapp said they must be diagnosis with a disability and they follow the federal definition of disability. Dyar asked if there was an estimate of what number of people would be in need of this service have a diagnosis of a disability. Yapp was uncertain, but said people from Shelter House would be at the meeting on Thursday and could help answer such questions. Yapp next discussed the proposed provisional use criteria, this use (Community Service — Long Term Housing) would be added to the provisional use chapter. It would be stated that in the Commercial Office, Intensive Commercial, and Community Commercial zones a minimum of 900 square feet per lot area and the dwellings must be efficiency or one -bedroom units. For the CB - 2 and CB -5 zones they propose the same density that exists for dwellings currently in those zones. In regards to management plan required, Yapp said this is similar language to what is in the code currently for shelters in that the applicant must submit a site plan and a management plan that addresses potential nuisances such as loitering, noise, lighting, late night operations, odors, outdoor storage and litter. The management plan must include plans for controlling those Planning and Zoning Commission May 16, 2016—Informal Meeting Page 7 of 8 potential nuisances, provisions for onsite 24/7 management and/or security, and a conflict resolution procedure to resolve nuisances if they occur. For example, if a neighbor complains about something, there needs to be a conflict resolution procedure written into their management plan for how to address any concerns. The site plan/management plan must be submitted concurrently to the City or if a special exception is required with the special exception application. A special exception is required if the property is across the street or adjacent to a single family residential zone. With regards to neighborhood meetings, in this situation it is recommended to be required. For other rezoning and special exception situations the City encourages but does not require a good neighbor meeting, but because of the type of project it would be required in this situation and the owner/operator must provide copies of their management plan and contact information for the management team. Yapp stated that the site and building material standards follow what is in the Code now for shelter uses, with the addition that up to 50% of the first floor may be occupied by residential use. The primary use of the first floor should still be office and community space, consistent with the commercial zone. Yapp included some articles in the Commissioner's packets regarding Housing First project for review. Yapp said Staff would be prepared to answer the disability questions on Thursday. Dyer asked if this was being listed as multi -family because that is what is anticipated to being built, because in other parts of the country smaller houses have been used. Yapp confirmed it is multi -family because that is what is proposed at this time, but added that if a small house was owned by a nonprofit agency it could be occupied by this population without having to make any code amendments, it would just be considered a rental house and be required to maintain a rental permit. PLANNING AND ZONING INFORMATION: Yapp noted that Dan Perolek, a form -based code expert, will be here on May 24. When the City developed the South District Plan there was conversation about the "missing middle'. Dan Perolek is the person that coined the term "missing middle". Yapp noted that the public session with Dan Perolek at the library will be videotaped. He will be doing a workshop with Staff and the Homebuilders Association at 1:30 on Tuesday and the public presentation will be at the library at 7:00. ADJOURNMENT: Dyer moved to adjourn. Parsons seconded. A vote was taken and motion carried 6-0. PLANNING 8, ZONING COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2016-2016 FORMAL MEETING INFORMAL MEETING NAME 7/2 7116 816 8/20 913 9/17 10/1 10/15 11/5 11/19 1213 1/7 1/21 2/19 313 3117 417 4/21 515 DYER, CAROLYN X X X X X X X X X X X X X X I X X X X X EASTHAM, CHARLIE O/E X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X — FREERKS, ANN X O/E X X X X X X O/E X X X O/E X X X X X X HENSCH, MIKE X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X MARTIN, PHOEBE X X X X X O/E O/E X O/E X X X X X X X X X X PARSONS, MAX X I X I X X X X X X X O/E X X X X X O/E X X X SIGNS, MARK— — - — -- -- - — — -- LX -- - - - -- X THEOBALD, JODIE X X O/E X X X X X X XI X I X X X I X I X I X X INFORMAL MEETING NAME TERM EXPIRES 5/16 DYER, CAROLYN 05/21 X FREERKS, ANN 05/18 O/E HENSCH, MIKE 05/20 X MARTIN, PHOEBE 05/17 X PARSONS, MAX 05/20 X SIGNS, MARK 05/21 X THEOBALD, JODIE 05/18 X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused --- = Not a Member r d, CITY OF IOWA CITY 2b(9) MEMORANDUM _ Date: June 17, 2016 To: Mayor and City Council From: John Yapp, Planning & Zoning Commission Re: Recommendations from Planning & Zoning Commission At their June 2, 2016 meeting the Planning & Zoning Commission approved the May 19th minutes with the following recommendations to the City Council: 1. By a vote of 6-0 the Commission recommended adoption of amendments to City Code Section 14-2G to adopt a Riverfront Crossings Inclusionary Housing (IH) Ordinance. 2. By a vote of 6-0 the Commission recommended amendments to City Code Title 14 to adopt amendments related to establishing a Community Service — Long Term Housing use, and establishing parking, density, and provisional and special exception criteria for said use. Additional action (check one) No further action needed Board or Commission is requesting Council direction _X_ Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action - Done MINUTES APPROVED PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MAY 19, 2016 — 7:00 PM — FORMAL MEETING EMMA HARVAT HALL — CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Carolyn Dyer, Mike Hensch, Phoebe Martin, Max Parsons, Mark Signs, Jodie Theobald MEMBERS ABSENT: Ann Freerks STAFF PRESENT: Doug Boothroy, Sara Hektoen, Bob Miklo, John Yapp OTHERS PRESENT: Cheryl Cruise, Charlie Eastham, Maryann Dennis, Crissy Canganelli RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: By a vote of 6-0 the Commission recommended adoption of amendments to City Code Section 14- 2G to adopt a Riverfront Crossings Inclusionary Housing (IH) Ordinance. By a vote of 6-0 the Commission recommended amendments to City Code Title 14 to adopt amendments related to establishing a Community Service — Long Term Housing use, and establishing parking, density, and provisional and special exception criteria for said use. CALL TO ORDER: Hensch called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There were none COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ITEM: A public hearing for discussion of an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for property located north of Benton Street and west of Orchard Street to be included in the Downtown and Riverfront Crossings Master Plan. Hensch stated that the applicant has requested this item be deferred until June 2. Theobald moved to defer this item until the June 2 meeting. Signs seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 6-0. CODE AMENDEMENT ITEMS: 1. Discussion of amendments to City Code Section 114-2G to adopt a Riverfront Crossings Inclusionary Housing (IH) Ordinance. MINUTES APPROVED PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION MAY 19, 2016 — 7:00 PM — FORMAL MEETING EMMA HARVAT HALL — CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Carolyn Dyer, Mike Hensch, Phoebe Martin, Max Parsons, Mark Signs, Jodie Theobald MEMBERS ABSENT: Ann Freerks STAFF PRESENT: Doug Boothroy, Sara Hektoen, Bob Miklo, John Yapp OTHERS PRESENT: Cheryl Cruise, Charlie Eastham, Maryann Dennis, Crissy Canganelli RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: By a vote of 6-0 the Commission recommended adoption of amendments to City Code Section 14- 2G to adopt a Riverfront Crossings Inclusionary Housing (IH) Ordinance. By a vote of 6-0 the Commission recommended amendments to City Code Title 14 to adopt amendments related to establishing a Community Service — Long Term Housing use, and establishing parking, density, and provisional and special exception criteria for said use. CALL TO ORDER: Hensch called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: There were none COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ITEM: A public hearing for discussion of an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan for property located north of Benton Street and west of Orchard Street to be included in the Downtown and Riverfront Crossings Master Plan. Hensch stated that the applicant has requested this item be deferred until June 2. Theobald moved to defer this Item until the June 2 meeting. Signs seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 6-0. CODE AMENDEMENT ITEMS: 1. Discussion of amendments to City Code Section 14-2G to adopt a Riverfront Crossings Inclusionary Housing (IH) Ordinance. Planning and Zoning Commission May 19, 2016 — Formal Meeting Page 2 of 10 Boothroy began with some history of how this amendment proposal came to be. This amendment would apply Inclusionary Housing only to the area of Riverfront Crossings, no other areas of the City. When the City adopted the Riverfront Crossings District several years ago there was some discussion at the Council of having a requirement for affordable housing that would be required as a part of proposed developments. So as developments come before the City for approval, they would be responsible as part of the upzoning to include some affordable housing. Each development of 10 units or more would be required to provide some affordable housing. At the Council meeting there was discussion on whether there was support in the community for this. Therefore an ad-hoc work committee was created made up of stakeholders that are involved in the development process and affordable housing advocates and providers. The committee consisted of a couple of representatives from the Homebuilders Association, a member from Hills Bank for a financial perspective, affordable housing advocates from the Housing Fellowship and the Housing Trust Fund. All these parties were brought together to use their knowledge to see if common ground could be found and it was important from the Council's point of view that all decisions were unanimous regarding an affordable housing inclusionary ordinance. This group met over a period of six months and did reach a unanimous position of seven principles everyone felt the affordable housing ordinance should be based on. The seven principles were shared with City Council who accepted the recommended seven principles and unanimously directed Staff to proceed with developing an affordable housing ordinance based on those seven principals only for the Riverfront Crossings District. Boothroy explained that in the area that became the Riverfront Crossings District, what the City did was change the capacity potential of this area. The area is central to the City, close to downtown, and is designated to develop under a form -based code as a walkable, mixed-use and (if the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance is adopted) a mixed -income area. Therefore one of the provisions was that in the Riverfront Crossings area when property is upzoned to a Riverfront Crossings zoning designation the potential development capacity is greater. This area is now allowing residential uses where they were once not permitted. This area will also include a new park and improvements of streets in the area to make the area more attractive to development. Because the City believes this area has such growth potential they want to tap into that potential and capacity and provide affordable housing. Boothroy stated the other thing that has happened in this area is land values have gone up so it is important to have some housing that is affordable because otherwise it would all be more expensive. Boothroy then discussed the seven principles guiding this proposed ordinance. The first is provision of inclusionary housingshould bemandatory, notvoluntary noting that when a property is upzoned to the Riverfront Crossings Zone that is when a developer would have to choose how they would meet the affordable housing requirement. The second principle, which was already adopted by the Council at their May 3 meeting, a percentage of units ina development should beset aside for housing that is affordable for an established period of time. When the City participates financially in a development, 15% of the residential units must be affordable for a minimum term of 20 years, or the life of the TIF, or term of developer's agreement, whichever is longer. This policy is in effect for any development in the City where TIF funds are used. This is the floor, the percentage or years can be greater. When the City is not participating financially in a development, 10% of the residential units must be affordable for a minimum term of 10 years. This recommendation by the committee seemed fair because the higher the number of years, or the percentage, the more difficulty it would to finance the project. Planning and Zoning Commission May 19, 2016—Formal Meeting Page 3 of 10 Boothroy noted that most of the development in Riverfront Crossings will be more expensive larger buildings with more units. The third principle project size should be considered and a threshold established for a set- aside requirement. The Committee decided upon a development size threshold that developments that include 10 or more residential units are subject to the set-aside requirement. Again due to the development forecast of Riverfront Crossings it is expected that most developments will be larger than 10 units. If a development is below 10 units it is more difficult to meet an affordable housing requirement because the project is just too small to support that kind of requirement. Boothroy noted that at the time of upzoning the developer will have three options that are defined in the fourth principle the method used to meet the affordability requirement is the developers option. The options are: Option one is on-site rental affordable housing, option two is on-site affordable owner -occupied affordable housing, or option three is to pay a fee in lieu of offering on-site affordable housing for the purposes of providing affordable housing support elsewhere in the Riverfront Crossings area. Boothroy explained that these options are necessary due to the State's preemption of rent control. Boothroy said the fifth option is Alternatives to on-site affordable housing and/or fee -in - lieu should be provided. If the developer can show that on-site affordable housing cannot be accommodated, there are alternatives including donation of land or provision of affordable housing at another location in the Riverfront Crossings District. The sixth principle is funds created from'fee-in-lieu'contributionsshould be used to create an Affordable Housing Fund for the sole purpose of supporting affordable housing in the Riverfront Crossings area). The fee -in -lieu can be used for down payment assistance, or other grants/low interestlor forgivable loans to local nonprofit affordable housing agencies to assist with affordable housing in Riverfront Crossings. Finally, the seventh principle discusses qualifying income levels (affordable housing should be provided to households of a qualifying income level). It was decided upon that Income Target would be: Renters: Not to exceed 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). With a TIF project, the City may negotiate affordability level (i.e. some units at a lower percentage than 60% AMI). Owners: Not to exceed 110% AMI. With a TI F project, the City may negotiate affordability level (i.e. some units at a lower percentage than 110%AMI). Elderly/Disabled: Developments designed and utilized for elderly/disabled are not required to provide an affordable housing set-aside. Boothroy explained inclusionary housing must be comparable in style and size of other housing in the area. It must also be distributed throughout a development, not clustered in one area or floor. An incentive that is also included in the ordinance is that for the affordable units there will be no parking requirement would be required under the Code. Parsons asked about rental units and if the existing tenants would be grandfathered in once their affordable housing term expires (at year 10). Boothroy said that there is no control on that so after the 10 year affordable term the rents could then go up to market value. Theobald asked about the no parking requirement, and if after 10 years there is a number of units that become market rate housing what impact with the no parking have. Boothroy said because the Riverfront Crossings is a planned area that hopefully will be sustainable with commercial mixed in with residential there won't be a need for vehicles. Yapp confirmed that the goal is for this to be a walkable neighborhood where people do not rely on their vehicles. However if someone is in a unit without a parking space, and desires storage for a Planning and Zoning Commission May 19, 2016 — Formal Meeting Page 4 of 10 vehicle, there is a City parking facility in Riverfront Crossings already and another is being constructed. Theobald asked about the fee -in -lieu and if a developer chooses a fee -in -lieu why the fees must be used in Riverfront Crossings. Boothroy explained it is much like park land dedication fees, the fee is being generated for that particular area. The fee is for affordable housing and a goal of that particular zoning classification. Theobald feels that the fee could be used to encourage more development of affordable housing in other parts of town. Boothroy said there are other funds that can be used within the City to encourage affordable housing throughout, this ordinance is to keep the affordable housing in this District. Hektoen confirmed that one of the functions of the Riverfront Crossings Zone is to create affordable housing so the monies need to be reinvested in that neighborhood. Boothroy did note that the fee piece would be a resolution approved by Council and reviewed on a regular basis. Dyer asked for an example of an inability of a developer to provide affordable housing. Boothroy said it is set up to be a tough standard to meet. Yapp said there could be a developer that will not request TIF financing and can show through their financials that they just cannot make the project work with that affordable housing requirement — in that case the ordinance provides alternatives. Signs asked why high-end senior living is excluded from this ordinance. Boothroy said the Riverfront Crossings Code already encourages affordable senior housing. Hensch opened the public hearing. Cheryl Cruise (905 Bluffwood Drive) is a retired child psychiatric nurse practitioner but is also involved in a small family business that rents apartments. She has been around rental housing in Iowa City since the 1970's. She started reading extensively about affordable housing and inclusionary housing and what is the AMI and where does it come from. When reading Census.gov she became alarmed they are only getting 1.5% of people surveyed. Cruise shared with the Commission data that shows the Johnson County medium income is $55,000 to $65,000 and there is a range with a margin of error. HUD gets median family incomes from separating out the people that are related to each other, families, and that is why the number is so high. HUD takes the family number from two years ago for a family of four and adds a cost of living escalator. HUD then says 90% of that number is a family of three, 80% is a family of two and 70% is a family of one. However there really are no families of one, they are all non -families. Cruise feels when setting policies it is important to note how few numbers are available in which to use to set the policy. Cruise also shared with the Commission the Cost Burden data because cost burden is important to inclusionary and affordable housing. The definition of affordable housing is to not pay more than 30% of your income for housing. From this data it shows that almost half of the people of Johnson County are 18-24 years old. Another 27% are graduate students, young professions, and young people just starting out and about 27% of them are cost burden. The numbers are skewed by the large number of 18-24 year olds. The committee thought the 60% AMI was a better number because it was lower and that is true and it is the number low-income tax projects use. Cruise believes that 30% of income is the better number to use rather than fair -market rent. Fair - market rents are calculated from about 100 units in any given year, and only two-bedroom units, it doesn't represent any one -bedroom or studio units. Charlie Eastham (953 Canton Street) suggests to the Commission to approve the recommendation for this ordinance. He has a lot of respect for the members of the ad-hoc committee that created this recommendation. He also agrees with Cruise regarding the proper way to calculate an Planning and Zoning Commission May 19, 2016— Formal Meeting Page 5 of 10 affordable rent. Eastham is concerned about the period of time for the non -subsidized developments, feeling it should be a permanent term of affordability. Cruise wanted to clarify using the 30% versus fair -market rent and stated this needs to be set up to be a model for other parts of the City and the County. The University of Iowa Institute for Sustainable Communities is working with Council now as well and having consistency amongst all constituencies would make sense. Maryann Dennis (1307 Rochester Avenue) works for the Housing Fellowship and was on the ad- hoc committee that created this proposed ordinance. Dennis appreciates what Cruise is saying and agrees they don't want anyone to pay more than 30% of their income for housing costs. For affordable homeownership that is figured into mortgage and lending policies. As a landlord, if they don't know what the income is then it is hard to cash-flow a rental project. The Housing Fellowship owns a 171 units scattered around Johnson County and tenants must be under a certain income level depending on funding source (some are 80% some are 60% and some are 40%) last year the average for incomes for all of their tenants in 2015 was $22,019 per year. Now if those folks pay only 30% of their income for rent they cannot cash-flow the project. So in order to do her proforma she needs to know how much rent she will get. Dennis closed by saying she appreciates the work her colleagues and Staff have done on this proposal and hopes the Commission will support the ordinance. Hensch closed the public hearing Dyer moved to recommend adoption of amendments to City Code Section 14-213 to adopt a Riverfront Crossings Inclusionary Housing (IH) Ordinance. Parsons seconded the motion. Dyer noted that she feels this is something that has been needed in Iowa City for quite some time and this is a great beginning. Perhaps some point in the future the discussion of extending the duration of affordability can happen, but permanent affordably might just be too big of a bite to take at this time. Dyer also stated that the 30% issues seems to have to do with the occupant of a property and specific rental rates are what the landlord or owner deals with. Theobald is happy to see this proposal but also shares concern about what will happen after 10 years. However agrees this is a start and the committee has put in a lot of hard work. She also hopes this will someday expand to the entire community. Martin shared her concern about possible subpar or cheaper built projects due to this ordinance, but does support it. Hensch said he is a big fan of Riverfront Crossings and form -based zoning of mixed-use and walkability. Adding in this mixed -income just rounds out the area and hope it does become a model for other areas and cities. Signs noted his appreciation of all the data provided but perhaps has a different interpretation. He feels the data shows the need for housing at the 30% or below level of AMI. Looking specifically at the age householder by rent chart and looking at the 30 to 30.9 group and the 35+ group are the largest in each group of rents paid. That just reinforces the need to address the 60% group. Parsons agreed this is a great starting point and because it is the first in the State it will need to be Planning and Zoning Commission May 19, 2016— Formal Meeting Page 6 of 10 open for changes and adjustments. He is ready to support this and thanks City Staff and the ad- hoc committee for their work on this proposal. A vote was taken and the motion carried 6-0. 2. Discussion of amendments to City Code Title 14 to adopt amendments related to establishing a Community Service — Long Term Housing use, and establishing parking, density, and provisional and special exception criteria for said use. Yapp explained that over the past year or so there have been a group in the community meeting to put together what is called a Housing First project for FUSE (Frequent Users System Engagement) clients. FUSE refers to chronically homeless individuals who are frequent uses of local institutions, including the justice system, human service agencies, and medical services including emergency rooms. Housing First refers to a model that has started in other parts of the country where instead of treatment model that emphasizes treating the symptoms and moving individuals from being homeless to a housing shelter and then eventually to transitional housing and then hopefully to independent housing, Housing First emphasizes as a very first step providing safe and secure housing for these individuals. One of the things the local human service agencies have struggled with is trying to find an appropriate location for such a use. In meeting with those agencies and looking through the Iowa City Zoning Code it became clear that there is not a clear use classification for such a use and that the density and parking requirements are designed more for typical households not for FUSE clients. So Staff has been working to develop a Code Amendment. FUSE clients are the chronically homeless. The Department of Housing and Urban Development defines the chronically homeless as someone who has a disability and has been living in a place not meant for human habitation, in an emergency shelter or safe haven for the last 12 months continuously or at least on four occasions in the last three years totally 12 months. Yapp addressed of the questions the Commission had at the work session Monday which was the definition of disability. Federal laws define a person with a disability as "any person that has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more life activities, has a record of such impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment". Yapp noted the definition goes on to say that these impairments include hearing, mobility, visual impairments, chronic alcoholism, chronic mental illness, AIDS or AIDS related complex, and mental retardation. He explained that the HUD definition of a chronic homeless person does note that the person has a disability. Yapp next discussed the proposal. What Staff is proposing is establishing a new use category called Community Service — Long Term Housing. The Zoning Code currently has a broad category called Community Service Uses and refers to a typical community service use like a community center or a housing center, which is defined as short-term housing. So Staff proposes adding a definition for Community Service — Long Term Housing which would be "long term housing for persons with a disability operated by a public or nonprofit agency". So a private multi -family housing complex would not be able to take advantage of the density or parking exceptions, it would have to be owned by a nonprofit agency and serve persons with disabilities. Yapp explained with regards to density, currently in commercial zones residential density is limited to one unit per 2,725 square feet of lot area regardless of the size of the unit. Staff reviewed densities in other Iowa City Zones and is recommending a density of one unit per 900 square feet of lot area and that the units be efficiency and/or one -bedroom units. The one unit per 900 square feet lot area is consistent with rooming house density in a medium -density multi -family zone. So this would not be the highest density residential uses the City has nor is it the lowest. Yapp explained that with regards to parking Staff recommends one parking space per three units, or three beds. That is consistent with the parking requirement for assisted living facilities. The use would also have some office Planning and Zoning Commission May 19, 2016— Formal Meeting Page 7 of 10 space and community room space in the building. Staff does not recommend any parking reduction for that part of the use. The parking requirement for office space and community room space is one parking space per 300 square feet. Staff did not want to recommend reducing the parking requirement too much due to concerns that it would make the property functionally obsolete for other uses in the future. Yapp noted that because the proposed use would have qualities in it of multi -family residential housing, community room and office space, and similar to an assisted living facility Staff recommends this use be allowed in certain commercial zones. It is recommended to be allowed as a provisional use in the Commercial Office, Intensive Commercial, and Community Commercial zones as well as the CB -2 and CB -5 zones. Originally staff was recommending if the facility is adjacent to or across the street from a single family residential zone, a special exception be required. After some conversations with Staff they are now proposing a special exception be required if it is within 200 feet of a single family zone. The 200 feet is more consistent with other similar uses in the Code and it is also consistent with the minimum distance under State Code for notification requirements. Yapp explained that as proposed it would be a provisional use meaning that certain provisions would need to be met before the use could be established. Those provisions include a requirement for a management plan that is consistent with management plans that are required for shelter uses. The management plan would need to include a plan to address any potential nuisances such as loitering, littering, noise, etc. Staff is also recommending that a neighborhood meeting be required prior to the site plan being approved. He explained that with most rezoning applications and special exception applications the City encourages but does not require a neighborhood meeting. Due to the particular unique use of this living they are recommending a neighborhood meeting be required both to share the management plan and to set up the lines of communication. Yapp stated that the facility must maintain a rental permit, as it would be considered rental housing. With the rental permit it would be subject to periodic inspections by City Staff. Staff also recommends that up to 50% of the first floor be able to be occupied by residential uses. That gives the managers of the facility a little more flexibility of where they put residential uses and then can have some residential uses adjacent to the community space and office spaces. Martin asked about the definition of disability and that it states chronic alcoholism but no other substances. Hektoen said for the Commission to not get distracted by the definition, that will be a decision that the operator of this type of facility will make and if tenants qualify for their services. Yapp noted there was a question at the work session Monday night regarding the percentage of the homeless population that may have a disability and the Human Agency Staff will be able to address that question. Hensch opened the public hearing Crissy Canganelli (2307 E. Washington Street) is the Executive Director of Shelter House wanted to be available to answer any questions the Commission had. Dyer asked if there was a specific plan for developing such a facility. Canganelli said that they have been working on a plan for about two years. They took a site visit of a facility in Charlotte South Carolina and were positively impacted by the facility there. They have met with Neumann Monson who have agreed to donate 100% of the architectural services for the project. HBK will be providing the civil engineering services. They are still developing a design for the project, but are anticipating a two-story building that will include the efficiency apartments. Canganelli said they had to wait until the Commission and Council approve this amendment before they could confirm the number of units because they need to know their ability to develop the piece of Planning and Zoning Commission May 19, 2016— Formal Meeting Page 8 of 10 property they are looking at. The facility would include community spaces, a library, a computer room, meeting room, offices spaces, a nurse's station, and accommodations like that. Canganelli also noted it would be a secure facility; their intention is to have onsite security as a safe guard for the residents. Hensch asked if there are other facilities in Iowa that are similar to this. Canganelli said there may be facilities because this is a model of supportive housing, what is different about this project and what would be unique for the State of Iowa is that it is made available on a Housing First approach. The Housing First approach represents a paradigm shift that is slow to appear in the Midwest and has not been implemented in the State of Iowa, we would be the first and a model for the State. Dyer asked about families, would studios and one -bedroom units be adequate to house a family. Canganelli said they are not intending to make these units or building available to families. With this being the first foray into Housing First the Housing Coalition providers agreed to prioritize chronically homeless and specifically people who are qualifying in that cohort known as frequent users of public services as jail or emergency rooms only to end up back on the street. Canganelli said they did a case study of four individuals and that they are averaging about $139,000 in unreimbursed expenditures to live and die on the streets of our community. Theobald noted that it was presented that the individuals have to have an actual diagnosis and wondered if it was known how many people are out on the streets that wouldn't have a diagnosis. Canganelli said she does not have an exact percentage but it is substantial and they have the resources to help establish the diagnosis. Yapp added that overall about 40% of the adult clients at Shelter House suffer from a disability; about 26% of the adult clients were chronically homeless. Martin asked what those number actually look like. 40% is how many people. Canganelli said the 40% of adults that Shelter House has served is 40% of about 650 people. Hensch asked if there was an estimate of how many chronically homeless there are in this area. Canganelli said she knows there are 20-25 people living on the streets at any point in time, the low barrier shelter in the winter averaged 32 people per night, and almost without exception those people are chronically homeless. It can be a moving target. Hensch asked how many units are in their proposed project. Canganelli said they hope to have up to 24 units. Hensch closed the public hearing. Parsons moved to approve the amendments to City Code Title 14 to adopt amendments related to establishing a Community Service — Long Term Housing use, and establishing parking, density, and provisional and special exception criteria for said use. Theobald seconded the motion. Theobald expressed her gratitude to see a possibility of such a project. Signs agreed, noting that he once worked with the homeless youth center in Des Moines and providing that initial stability is very important. Dyer noted she has followed report from other communities where this approach has been taken and they seem to be almost universally successful. Hensch echoed Dyer's comments and sees the need for this dramatically A vote was taken and the motion carried 6-0. Planning and Zoning Commission May 19, 2016—Formal Meeting Page 9 of 10 CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: MAY 5. 2016 Parsons moved to approve the meeting minutes of May 5, 2016. Martin seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 6-0. PLANNING AND ZONING INFORMATION: Yapp noted that Dan Perolek, a form -based code expert, and will be here on May 24. When the City developed the South District Plan there was conversation about the "missing middle". Dan Perolek is the person that coined the term "missing middle". Yapp noted that the public session with Dan Perolek at the library will be videotaped. He will be doing a workshop with Staff and the Homebuilders Association at 1:30 on Tuesday and the public presentation will be at the library at 7:00. ADJOURNMENT: Parsons moved to adjourn. Theobald seconded. A vote was taken and motion carried 6-0. PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2015-2016 FORMAL MEETING INFORMAL MEETING NAME 7/2 7/16 816 8120 9/3 9117 10/1 10/15 11/5 11/19 12/3 1/7 1121 2119 313 3/17 417 4121 515 5119 DYER, CAROLYN X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X EASTHAM, CHARLIE O/E X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X — — FREERKS, ANN X O/E X X X X X X O/E X X X O/E X X X X X X O/E HENSCH, MIKE X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X MARTIN, PHOEBE X X X X X O/E O/E X O/E X X X X X X X X X X X PARSONS, MAX X X X X X X X X X O/E X X X X X O/E X X X X SIGNS, MARK — — — — — — — X X I THEOBALD, JODIE X X 01E X X I X I X I X X X I X I X I X I X I X I X I X X I X X INFORMAL MEETING NAME TERM EXPIRES 5/16 DYER, CAROLYN 05/21 X FREERKS, ANN 05/18 O/E HENSCH, MIKE 05/20 X MARTIN, PHOEBE 05/17 X PARSONS, MAX 05/20 X SIGNS, MARK 05/21 X THEOBALD, JODIE 05/18 X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused --- = Not a Member Approved Minutes March 17, 2016 MINUTES SENIOR CENTER COMMISSION March 17, 2016 ROOM 205, IOWA CITY/JOHNSON COUNTY SENIOR CENTER Members Present: Jay Honohan, Margaret Reese, Cheryl Clamon, Mark Holbrook, Kathy Mitchell, Joy Beadleston Members Absent: Jack Hobbs Staff Present: Linda Kopping, Kristin Kromray, Michelle Buhman Others Present: None CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Honohan at 4:00 PM. RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM FEBRUARY 18.2016 MEETING: Motion: To accept the minutes as amended from the February 18, 2016 meeting. Motion carried on a vote of 6/0. Reece/Mitchell PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. COMMISSION ASSIGNMENTS: Honohan will attend an upcoming City Council meeting and Board of Supervisors REVIEW OF ALCHOHOL POLICY: Kopping reported that the alcohol policy had been approved by the city attorney's office. She said while the plan is to move forward with the remodel of the lobby, assembly room and kitchen it will be some time (at least 18 months) before it is completed due to the budget cycle. The senior center will need an interim plan. She asked the commission to consider a number of options for between now and when the remodel is finished. She distributed a document that described various options. 2b(10) W� Approved Minutes March 17, 2016 Option one is to have the staff manage alcohol rentals and maintain current programs in the AR. This option may bring in more rentals but with the current programming, availability would be limited to Friday nights and one Saturday per month. Senior Center staff would have to be onsite during alcohol rentals and the Senior Center does not currently have the correct equipment (tables and chairs) to hold large events. There is concern that due to lack of knowledge and training of staff in this area there is some risk that a renter would not have a good experience. Option two would be that staff manage the alcohol rentals and modify current programming. This would require eliminating Saturday classes and dances to increase rental opportunities. There are the same staffing and equipment concerns here — and they would likely become more complex. While this may increase the rent ability of the space, is the time and effort worth it for the limited duration before the area goes under construction? Option three would have a management company oversee the weekend AR rentals with the possibility of alcohol. This option would eliminate the staffing concerns and increase the rent ability, but would likely necessitate the need to cancel Senior Center sponsored programming. The last option is to postpone allowing alcohol rentals until after the remodel is complete. Renting the AR would continue as it has now — on a very limited basis. In addition to planning the remodel and procurement of appropriate equipment (tables and chairs) this additional time could be used to develop protocols and a marketing plan for the space. Honohan stated that he thought the Senior Center should not put current staff in the position of handling alcohol rentals. He suggested that AvaCenter be approached to give a bid on the current room with its limitations before they should move forward with a plan. Clamon said she thought reputation was very important and that if someone were to have a bad rental experience the word of mouth could be damaging to future rentals. Beadleston asked if the rotating art work on the walls would be allowed to be taken down. Kopping said that staff has talked about this and that art would not be moved for events. Mitchell noted that there are many public programs such as Gallery Walks and City of Literature events that bring many community members into the building and that she thinks it is important to continue some of these programs. Holbrook asked if it would be possible for Friends of the Center fundraising events at the Senior Center that served alcohol, but not have the policy in place for any other rental. Kopping answered that that would be a possibility. Motion: To seek a bid from AvaCenter on the cost of managing the Assembly Room during the interim period before remodeling. Motion carried on a vote of 610. Holbrook/Clamon. 2 Approved Minutes March 17, 2016 Kopping asked for a recommendation on how much the Assembly Room should be rented for during this time. The commission discussed various fee and deposit options. Motion: To have staff set fees and policies that are comparative to the Recreation Department. Motion carried on a vote of 6/0. Holbrook/Clamon Kopping reported that the current policy states members received a 40% discount on room rental fees. Commissioners wanted to know how often this member benefit was used. Kromray answered that it has only been used a handful of times over the last 5 years. Beadleston wondered if a smaller discount would be reasonable. Commissioners discussed the pros and cons of this. Motion: To discontinue membership discounts for room rentals as of July 15t, 2016. Motion carried on a vote of 6/0. Mitchell/Holbrook Honohan questioned number 9 on the alcohol policy. He was concerned that a specific dollar amount was not listed on the amount of insurance that is required. He suggested that it the dollar amount ($1,000,000) should be listed in this item as it is in item number 10. Kopping reported that the RFP for the assembly room and kitchen have yet to be sent out. Operational Overview Commissioners are invited to a May 7th strategic planning meeting from 9am- 3pm. Kopping said she was hoping to have this meeting at the Eastside Recycling Center. More details will be forthcoming. A lunch and learn program for volunteer committee groups will be held on April 6m at city hall. Invitations will be sent out shortly. Kopping and Honohan met with Linda Wastyn to discuss the restructuring of the Friends of the Center. Also discussed was a new website for Friends of the Center. Kromray noted that the Senior Center's annual meeting will be held on May 18th in the afternoon. COMMISSION DISCUSSION: Mitchell reported that she spoke with commissioner Hobbs and their officer nominations are: Approved Minutes March 17, 2016 Chair: Jay Honohan Vice Chair: Mark Holbrook Secretary: Kathy Mitchell Motion: To accept the slate of officers as nominated. Motion carried on a vote of 610. Reese/Clamon. ADJOURNMENT: Motion: To Adjourn. Motion carried on a vote of 6/0. Mitchell/Clamon. 4 Approved Minutes March 17, 2016 Senior Center Commission Attendance Record Year2015 Name Term Ex fires 4/16/15 5/21/15 6/11/15 7/16/15 10/15/15 11/19/15 12/17/15 1/14/16 2/18/16 3/17/16 Joy Beadleston 12131/19 -- -- — — — — — X X X Cheryll Clamon 12/31/18 NM X X X X X NM X X X Chuck Felling 12/31/15 NM X X X X X NM — — — Jack Hobbs 12/31/16 NM X X X X X NM X X O/E Mark Holbrook 12/31/18 NM X X X X X NM X X X Jay Honohan 12/31/16 NM X X X X O/E NM O/E X X Kathy Mitchell 12/31/19 NM X O/E X X X NM X X X Margaret Reese 12/31/15 NM X X X X X NM X X X Key: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused NM= No meeting —= Not a member