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Council Present: Botchway, Cole, Dickens, Mims, Taylor (5:15), Thomas, Throgmorton
Staff Present: Frain, Dilkes, Karr, Andrew, Ralston, O'Brien, Havel, Rackis, Kelsay,
Boothroy, Hightshoe, Bockenstedt, Knoche, Yapp
Others Present: Simpson, Neal (UISG)
Discuss Affordable Housing Action Plan and provide staff direction on various
recommendations lIP # 2 Info Packet of 9/81:
Throgmorton/ Okay, well let's begin our, uh, City Council work session for Tuesday, September
20. Pauline is not here with us at the moment, but I assume she'll be here shortly. We're
still good, Marian? Yeah, okay. So the first topic is to discuss our affordable housing
action plan and provide staff with direction on various recommendations. And, Geoff, I
think you're going to briefly summarize some things that have happened, uh, over the,
you know, last ... three months, since you first presented, uh.... uh, the draft of this. (both
talking) go ahead.
Frain/ Thank you. I'll probably be brief. We presented to the Council on June 21" of this year
and, uh, at that meeting you directed us to get some feedback from, uh, the general
community as well as the HCDC. Um, so, uh, what we did after that meeting is we
created a web site and tried to push that web site out to as many folks as we could. Uh,
that contained a video of the presentation that was provided to the Council, as well as
some summary documents and a way, uh, for the public to .... to just click and submit any
feedback, uh.... uh, that they wished to on the proposal that was before you. Um .... we
followed that up on August 24th with a public open house that was held at the Library and
very well attended. Uh, and we received some, um .... uh, good foo.... feedback and ... and
frankly some encouragement at, uh, at that meeting as well. And then, uh, we had the
HCDC, uh, formally review the plan and you have, uh, their feedback in the packet. So,
um.....in your 9/8 Info Packet, uh, you have, um, after the short cover memo from me a
summary of the 15 recommendations, which we have up on the projector here tonight,
uh, to help with the discussion and you also have the, um .... HCDC, um ..... uh, feedback,
as well as the .... the minutes, so you can see, uh, some of the dialog that they had. And
then in your regular agenda, on .... 3f(7), uh, this came in after the 9/8 Info Packet, but
3f(7) is a letter from the Affordable Homes Coalition, um .... uh, with some thoughts on
the, uh, plan as well. So, uh, that's all we have..... planned in terms of a presentation to
you tonight. Um, hopefully you've had a chance to digest what was presented to you in
June a little bit and we'll follow your lead and offer feedback as you go through, uh, each
of the items. Tracy Hightshoe is going to be joining us for the discussion, uh, from the
staff, uh, point of view. She is, um, taking the lead on this project, so she'll be
responsible for the, uh, implementation of all the items, uh, in the plan, and she'll
coordinate with the other, uh, staff, uh, throughout the City, um .... um, on ensuring that
those are completed. Uh, as I indicated in our memo, uh, our goal will be to complete
everything or make substantial progress on everything by the end of 2017. Uh, so keep
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that in mind as you're discussing, uh, items tonight, and if you're going through any type
of priority process, we'll try to get to everything by the end of 2017. Um, and I think that
will be, urn .... nice to have done by then as you move into, uh, what will be your, um,
next strategic planning, uh, discussion ..... at that time.
Throgmorton/ Great! Thanks, Geoff. So, we have a lot of material to go through and I'd like to
make a suggestion about how to proceed. Let me know if you agree. If you don't, you
know, we'll figure out what else to do instead. So given the process Geoff has followed
over the past three months, and given the fact that we asked the HCDC to provide us with
priorities, and possible modifications. In other words, their recommendations. I think we
should start with the HCDC's recommendations. Uh, by saying that, I don't necessarily
mean we should .... we should necessarily accept their recommendations, but the ones we
can work with, and Geoff should, uh, feel free, of course, to chime in with .... um....uh, a
staff perspective on those recommendations where they differ from the HCDC. Uh, does
that sound reasonable to ya?
Cole/ Sounds good to me!
Throgmorton/ Okay, so we'll do it that way. And one other point, before we dive into the
details, I .... I want to make one further suggestion which we can come back to later on.
Like the Affordable Homes Coalition, I think we will need to define our goals in broad
terms so that the staff will be able to identify ways to measure the effectiveness of our
actions, and we can come back to that after we work our way through the .... the HCDC's
recommendations. You know, I have some ideas about goals. Y'all probably do too, but
that's.... that's my thinking, that we could come back to that particular point. Pretty
much at the end of our discussion about the, uh, the particular recommendations.
So .... HCDC recommends four priority actions, and suggest a few modifications to the
staff s preliminary action plan, beyond, you know, in terms of details. So we should
begin by considering their recommended priorities. The first has to do with Item #4,
which staff defined as `provide staff funding direction heading into the FY 18 budget
process.' The Commission recommended $1 million annually through a regular line item
in the budget, funded with property taxes or revenue... or other revenue streams. So .... I
think the first question is do we think that should be .... the funding amount should be a
key priority, and then do we want the $1 million funding amount or the staff
recommended something between 500 .... 500,000 and a million, depending on
budget..... conditions. So what are your thoughts about that?
Mims/ I think putting something in the budget is fine. I'm not comfortable with the HCDC
recommendation of a million dollars, basically regardless of what the budget looks like.
But it's like the way I read their recommendation was .... they didn't .... they almost didn't
want to give staff and Council flexibility on that. It was like they wanted a commitment
for a million dollars a year, regardless. I think that's a really dangerous precedent to set
for.....virtually any budget item. I mean we're locked in on staff because of bargaining
and union contracts, etc., and .... help me if I'm wrong, but I think on our general fund and
property tax revenue, a million dollars is almost 2% of that, cause that's somewhere
around $50 million. Yeah. So you .... you're talking adding a line item commitment of
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2% a year with almost no flexibility. Um, so I'm not comfortable with that. I .... I think,
you know, one of the questions that was asked of Geoff a while back was what keeps him
up at night, and it was budget and funding because we still haven't seen all the ... the
in ... all the effects of the property tax reform at the State level. I ... I would be comfortable
saying let's .... let's shoot for 500, but .... we've gotta do it in ... in the framework of what
our whole budget, and all of our priorities, look like at the time that we are discussing and
voting on the budget.
Cole/ Geoff, where are we right now in terms of our ... our contribution as it stands right now?
This'd be a million, in addition to what we already spend, um, you know, from federal
and.... resources. What do we actually spend per year now on affordable housing?
Fruin/ I'll defer to Tracy on the ... on the federal sources. Um, anything outside of the federal
sources is .... is really on an ad hoc basis and it's .... I would say it's in .... in a regular, um,
type of funding stream. Uh, so for instance we have $600,000 in the current year budget
to support the Towncrest, uh, project, low-income housing tax credit project, but that's
not an annual (both talking)
Cole/ ...not a year-to-year (both talking)
Fruin/ ....so this year $600,000, plus the federal, which Tracy can (both talking)
Hightshoe/ Yeah, I mean we have federal funds of about.... 800,000 that we get annually. Uh,
that's not just for housing. That's also our community development block grant. You
can use CDBG funds for housing, but it's not limited to housing. We also provide
200,000 a year in, uh, grant .... we take out bonds for 200,000. We have owner -occupied
households that do repairs and they pay that back. So those funds are getting repaid.
Cole/ Well I guess I would agree with Susan that I would like to start at $500,000 per year and
then we can evaluate where we are in terms of budget conditions later on, but I think that
is a significant addition to what we're already doing. It's a major line item commitment.
Um, so that's where I'd like to start is the 500,000 per year.
Botchway/ I would agree, I'm comfortable as well with, um, the 500 too. $1 million, I think for
me, um, the way that I took it was .... maybe a little bit differently was just designating
that, uh, regular line item, and so making, uh, putting some particular emphasis on that
and so every time during budget time we are cognizant of, um, that, you know, line item
in our budget moving forward, and I do think that's an important priority, and so, um, I'm
not as, urn .... you know, obviously I would love the million dollars, but I mean I
could .... I would be okay with the 500,000 to a million dollars, depending on budget
considerations (mumbled) um .... in that slide, but .... um, to me the biggest thing is the,
um, having that regular line item, like knowing that it's going to be there and highlighted
in some particular way that we can have that conversation during each budget year.
Dickens/ Yep, I agree with the 500,000. Where would we .... would there be a place where we
cut or....
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Fruin/ That's... that's the depends on budget conditions (both talking) disclaimer, um, certainly in
a .... in a tight budget year, um, it would .... it would have to be at the sacrifice of some
other, uh, City service. Um .... uh, however, uh, you know, we've had some .... some good
years in .... in recent years, looking back, and in those cases, uh, it could be surplus funds,
uh, where we finished better than we thought we ..... than we thought we would. Um, so
we have some different ideas, and I think from the staff point of view, urn .... we know
this is a top priority for the Council and ..... hearing 500, which is great, certainly if we
feel like we have a little bit more flexibility, I think you'd expect that I'd come forward
and I'd tell you that, that maybe we can do a little bit more this year, but ..... the 500's
good. We'll also .... I think it's important to talk about the revenue source where this....
Where these funds are coming from. Our goal will try to, uh.... our goal will be to try to,
um .... use general fund dollars, that that wouldn't have geographic restrictions like a....
like a TIF, um, revenue source, uh, might have or would have. Um, but it's really hard
for us to.....talk about what that number should be now and what source that should be
until we get into our .... our budget, which you know unfortunately won't happen for a
couple months.
Dickens/ But getting it early enough now (both talking) budget process will .... will put a
placeholder (mumbled)
Fruin/ But just.....just knowing that, you know, the 500 level, 500,000 level, uh, and I know
there's still discussion to be had but ... uh.... is .... is, you know, a good target. That helps
us out quite a bit. One thing I'll point out in the budget, just..... Kingsley, to your point,
is now we do have an affordable housing fund and so we will be talking about that fund
like we do all other funds during budget time, so I don't think there's going to be a cycle
that comes by where we just forget to talk about it or it doesn't get reviewed. The
establishment of the fund was .... was important because it's gonna come up annually
now, and we're gonna have to make an annual decision — do we fund it and how much do
we fund it.
Throgmorton/ John, did you (both talking)
Thomas/ Yeah, I .... I.....I tended to view it a little bit differently. I viewed it more as, um (clears
throat) an expression of what we felt our priority was here, and I'm not saying that
500,000 isn't making it a priority .... uh.... but we're talking about housing and funds in
housing don't go very far, you know, depending on how we utilize them. Um .... I
certainly realize that when we get into budget discussions it's .... you know, that budget
discussion will end up .... refining whatever number we .... we put forward now, but I
was .... I .... I guess I was expecting that Council would say this is a very, very high
priority. I think the, um.....you know, the coalition of advocates for affordable housing
and made a very good case of how this is in effect a public health issue.... effecting every
aspect of life in Iowa City. So frankly I was thinking we would be going into this with a
higher aspiration.
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Cole/ Well and I think we (mumbled) budget conditions, you know, at the appropriate time is my
thought. So we can always increase it, but I think it .... starting at 500,000 is reasonable to
me.
Throgmorton/ So on .... on that point, we need to make sure we're clear. I ... I think Susan and
Rockne and Terry have said basically 500,000. Kingsley, you said aiming at, as the staff
did, aiming at 500 to ..... under 500,000 to a million.
Botchway/ Correct.
Throgmorton/ John, you're suggesting something in that range (both talking)
Thomas/ Yeah.
Throgmorton/ ...if I hear you correctly.
Thomas/ Right.
Throgmorton/ Uh, I would prefer something in that range as well. Uh.....but.... and I'd also like
to make sure we understand that not all of these funds would come from property tax
revenue. The staff in its original recommendation said from, uh.... uh, using district -wide
TIF in the urban core and property tax revenues. Uh, and likewise the, uh.... uh, the
HCDC.... uh, recommended funding with property taxes or other revenue streams. So
there are other possible sources of revenue, which we should not discount, and you know,
there have been conversations with various people in other cities and .... uh, and the
County about possible sources of revenue that could be used in some fashion to support,
perhaps this endeavor, perhaps not. I mean, it's very preliminary kinds of conversations.
So I don't want to go too deeply into that. Uh.....but we .... all we need to do right now is
be clear about whether we want to use 500,000 as the ceiling for the coming fiscal (both
talking)
Mims/ I didn't say ceiling! No, I .... I.....(several talking) I think it's a starting point for me, but I
(several talking) key thing for me is it depends upon budget conditions.
Cole/ Yep!
Mims/ HCDC took out `depending on budget conditions,' and I don't think that's acceptable at
all. I think that .... ties our hand. I think we have a fiduciary responsibility to our
taxpayers and the residents of this community that we have to be looking at that overall
budget every year and to lock in a dollar amount without.....and say we're gonna commit
to that dollar amount, regardless of what our budget looks like (both talking)
Throgmorton/ Yeah, we can't do that.
Mims/ ...and mean that we have to cut other significant services or do ... do some significant
increase in property tax I think is irresponsible for a Council. So my perspective is .... put
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the 500 in as the starting point, as the placeholder, and we could go up or down,
potentially. I would hope not down. Depending upon budget conditions, and as you've
emphasized, Jim, and .... and Geoff said they would get into more later, the revenue
sources. That makes a huge difference, whether it's property tax revenue or some other,
you know, dedicated sources that we could potentially use.
Botchway/ I do want to make one point cause .... in hearing your comment, but also thinking
about John's comment as well. You know, I mean.....this, I mean, this is.....you know, I
think you talked about the public health component, um, you know, we've talked about it
multiple times as far as it being somewhat of an emergency, as far as talking about
affordable housing, being that the first city to step forward and so (clears throat) my point
in saying that is just to ..... I.. A guess as we're having that conversation .... in the event
that, Geoff, we were to say to you, I mean, it's within.....for me it's within the same, you
know, 500,$1 million, I mean .... I .... I would say that I would be, you know, more than
happy to do the $1 million. My ... my question back to you, or .... you know, this is gonna,
you know, it's not something I think you can think of off the top of your head, possibly
you can, but ... what would be, you know, kind of back to Susan's point, what would be
some of the things that we'd have to cut? I mean I think that would a .... a question as far
as, you know, if. ... if we're.... you know that it's a high priority, you know that we'd like
to get to that ultimate limit of. ... or ultimate, um, you know, threshold of a million dollars,
at least for me, and so I would want to know if it is at $500,000, have we considered
other areas that we can move potential funds around, that we could make sure that we
could make up that gap. So that's where.... that's kinds where I'm at, I mean, I'm .... I
like the in between. I think that, you know, having language in there about.... depending
on budget considerations is important, but the biggest thing for me is that if we are going
to start at that $500,000, I do want to have some type of, you know, analysis or reasoning
why we can't do a little bit more, based on (several responding) whatever (several
talking)
Cole/ And I think if we are flush, um, then I think everyone would agree that this would be the
key thing that we would look at inc .... increasing, but this is the starting point, is sort of
how I view it.
Hightshoe/ You know when Housing and Community Development Commission was looking at
this item, they're not .... they know they're not budget experts, but they thought it was
such an important aspect that they wanted to see a budget line item so that, you know,
we'd be forced into reviewing it every year and funding it, um, and when the Council
recommendation was 500 ... million, so of course they're housing advocates — they chose a
million, um (laughter) but mostly it was like ... it was just important to get that budget line
item, that we look at every year, so we can fund it.
Throgmorton/ So .... so I think I need to bring Pauline up to speed here. So what we decided to
do, Pauline, was start with the HCDC's recommendations and try to work our way
through the way they prioritize things, what they recommended, and then deliberate about
that and then work our way on down the other topics. So....
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Taylor/ (mumbled)
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so we're.... we're.....right now we're talking about dollar amount basically
for that to come .... to focus on affordable housing. On this initiative. Uh, so .... hm,
Geoff?
Fruin/ I have what I need.
Throgmorton/ You think you do. Yeah.
Fruin/ Yeah (both talking) This .... this particular recommendation will.....this discussion will
carry over until January, um.....remember, this.... this fiscal year, that .... you know, this
fiscal year that goes to next, uh, the end of June, we have the million dollars from the
Court/Linn sale. So .... so we're really talking about budgeting for the next fiscal year,
which doesn't even start until July. I think your conversation, um.....this, uh, this
evening's been sufficient for us in terms of our budget planning (both talking)
Throgmorton/ Yeah, there's a lot that's going to happen between now and July, so .... and you're
of course correct on this — we have a fiduciary responsibility to take into account the
situation when we're doin' the budget. Okay, so we're good on that. Uh, the second
item, uh, priority item they mentioned has to do with Item #5 on the list, which is
developing an annual process for distributing the dollars from the City's newly created
affordable housing fund. So the Commission recommended .... 50% .... I'm going to go
through this quickly, recommended 50% to the Johnson County Housing Trust Fund,
with a focus on multi -family projects. It, uh, suggested 25% held in reserve for land
banking, have a .... maximum of 5% for emergent situations determined by the City
Council, uh, and then more detail about that, and another 20% directed through the
HCDC for low-income housing tax credit support or supp.... supple .... supplemental aid
through CDBG and Home funds. Do I have that right (laughs) Yeah, good deal! So
it .... it's really do... do we like that allocation, especially the first part. Let's just start
there. Well .... 50% to the Housing Trust Fund.
Botchway/ (both talking) ....had one question. What was the reasoning behind the 5%? The
split between the 30% and 25 and 5?
Hightshoe/ It costs so much to buy land, so they didn't want to divide that up and they were
afraid, I mean, what is emergent situation. How much would you spend, and they didn't
want to take money away from buying land that could be .... you could put more
affordable housing. So....
Botchway/ Gotcha! Okay. Perfect. Sorry, go ahead!
Throgmorton/ So, do.....do we want to, uh, agree with the Commission, uh, and allocate 50% of
the funds to the Housing Trust Fund, with a focus on multi -family projects?
Botchway/ Yes.
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Mims/ I guess my only concern is.....my..... anything I have heard about the Johnson County
Trust Fund, they do a fantastic job with the projects they do. I'm not sure that I want to
tie this in with the last phrase of `with a focus on multi -family projects.' I think I want to
give that organization that has wide representation from across the entire county, um, the
flexibility to use the money in the best way that they see fit. Um .... I would have to
believe that in many cases it may be multi -family because you may get a bigger bang for
your buck in terms of the number of housing use ... units per cost, for the cost .... but I am
concerned about putting in that last phrase and then feeling, um .... that it's limiting them
when maybe they have some good projects available. So.....
Thomas/ I would .... I would agree with that. I .... I think it's a much more complex landscape
and, uh..... that .... just leaving it without that last phrase would be appropriate. There's...
there's pos... potential with preservation. There's potential with new development.
Whole range of strategies that .... can be employed and .... and so I think open-ended is
better.
Botchway/ I would agree. I mean, I would disagree, excuse me! Because I feel like with the
focus on multi -family projects, you know, it's not necessarily .... for me, at least in my
view of it, you know, hamstringing at all the potential for the Johnson County, um,
Housing Trust Fund to do anything, you know, they would see within their purview to do
with the potential funds, but it does give me as a Council Member, and the public at large
also, um, just the feeling and thought that there's going to be a focus on multi -family
projects, and just so .... we've had some of these conversations before, Tracy. I mean,
what is .... and I'm not .... I'm not discounting some of the things that we just talked about
as far as other areas. I know, John, you mentioned historic preservation and some other
things. But....
Thomas/ No, I just meant the preservation (several talking)
Botchway/ ...the preservation, sorry! What is ... what is the .... you know, in this case, what is the
biggest bang for our buck, so to speak, and that's where I ... I felt like having the multi-
family projects there was so important. I think we've talked about before that, you know,
there's just .... there' s a lack of, um, affordable housing when it comes to multi -family
development and so that's a key area of need and focus, and maybe if I'm leading you
tell me I'm leading you and tell me to stop.
Hightshoe/ One of our largest needs based on the .... housing market analysis we did back in
2007, and then updated in 2015, was affordable rental, mostly for folks under 60% of
median income. So that's one of our largest needs. Um, but all affordable housing is
a .... is a priority. It's just that was one of the .... I think we had over .... 1,300 family cost
burden rental situations and .... back in 2007, and that number has just grown.
Mims/ See my point, Kingsley, though is.....if we were talking about giving this to an agency
that did not have the history and the incredible respect that, I mean, you look at their
Board of Directors and you look at the history of what they've done, if that weren't the
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case, then I would be comfortable with ..... kind of tightening the scope of how they could
use the money, but.... anything I have learned about them since I have been on Council
the last six and a half years .... they do such a good job with the money they get and
leveraging the money they get that to, again, to .... to force them into a certain focus that
they would think that maybe they couldn't do a certain project, that they had to, you
know, do more, uh.... multi -family I think ..... I think potentially does a disservice to
the .... to the use of the money. I think John brought up a great point about, you know,
there's a lot of different kinds of things. We don't want to lose the affordable housing we
have, so maybe it's putting money towards the preservation of, you know, the upgrading,
the maintenance on a particular piece of property so that we don't lose it entirely and
have to completely rebuild it. So .... my comfort level in taking that out is because of the
trust that I have with the Johnson Hou ... Johnson County Housing Trust Fund, um, and I
agree with you! I would think often times we're going to get the biggest bang for our
buck with multi -family housing. I would agree with that, but I think we want them to
have the maximum flexibility, um, to do the best that they see fit and I think they've been
doing a great job.
Taylor/ I .... I agree with that also cause leaving it open ended it could very well be that it's the
multi -family projects and, uh, we would trust them and if it seemed like it was leaning
more towards something else and we were lacking on the multi -family then, uh, we could
probably, uh, make notice of that and .... and, uh, discuss that with them.
Throgmorton/ I agree with the folks on my left (laughs) uh, and .... and maybe .... maybe I need a
little bit of clarification, perhaps from Tracy or .... given your knowledge about the
Commission's discussion. Uh, when they say with a focus on multi -family projects, to a
degree that makes me think, uh.... uh.....low-income, multi -family projects and.....that
raises questions about scale in .... in my mind, and I ... would resist the idea of having
concentrated .... low-income, multi -family projects in a particular area. I think the key is
to be providing, enabling.....providing more housing that's affordable to people at
various income levels, es ... especially the lower, uh, portion of the population that you just
referred to. But I don't think it would, in principle, would be wise to concentrate large...
large numbers in ... low-income housing projects. You know, so what...what was the
Commission's thinking?
Hightshoe/ I think their focus is they wanted multi -family projects and they were going after the
affordable rental, but by the same token they're also recommending to keep the
affordable housing location model and just do some tweaks that looks at the location of
affordable housing by neighborhood. So, they want multi -family but yes, they still
wanted to keep the scattered site location model intact.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so what.....what do you two folks think?
Dickens/ That's .... she answered my question, cause I didn't want to just concentrate it in one
area and I do think that it does tie their hands if we just go with multi -family because
there.... opportunities pop up all over the city that they'll be able to grab and if it's just a
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multi -family you've used up all your money there. I think it's much better to spread it
out.
Cole/ Absolutely, cause I think really what our goal is is to ensure that we have low-income
opportunities throughout the community, not only in one area, and I think if we use this
particular model that can be a little bit of a concern, but by the same token, as Susan
mentioned, if there's an opportunity that .... that presents itself, by all means they would
have the opportunity to do those. So I think this gives them maximum flexibility. So I
would agree with that.
Andrew/ Something to keep in mind here too with the Housing Trust Fund is that flexibility is
key in leveraging outside funds. You know, they often are combining a lot of revenue
sources and the more flexibility that we have with the local match, the more likely they
are to be able to bring in those outside dollars.
Throgmorton/ Okay, so if we decide .... if we agree to 50% (several responding) with.... without
the focus on multi -family housing, uh, there....there's one other topic that comes up and I
can't remember if it was in all the material we were given or somewhere else,
uh.... should we direct the housing trust fund to use this 50% in Iowa City? And .... and
my inclination is to say `yes,' but I see Susan (both talking)
Mims/ I would say no. I ... I think affordable housing, we .... we kept saying this over and over,
this is a regional issue. And so .... you know, we have people who live in one community,
work in another, you know, live in one, go to school, you know, at the University,
whatever it might be, and so ... I think, again, every additional unit that is built and
developed that is affordable helps people .... you know, in this whole area, and so I think
allowing them to use it where they can get the biggest bang for the buck, urn .... makes the
most sense. If we truly care about affordable housing, we're not gonna work just to solve
our "own problem." We're gonna.... because, again, because of the leveraging.
Throgmorton/ I wonder ... Tr ... I know Tracey Achenbach's out in the crowd. Tracey, do you have
a particular view about this or.....would you rather not .... talk? (laughs)
Mims/ Come on up, yes! (several talking)
Botchway/ As she's comin' up (several talking and laughing)
Achenbach/ Well, my view is that, uh, we can do whatever you would like us to do really. I
mean we can .... if. ... whatever, however you want us to use the money, I think it's safe to
say we would be able to work within those parameters. So .... urn .... as a Council I think
you have to make that decision. I don't want to say really .... I don't want to give an
opinion, except that we can work with whatever you decide.
Throgmorton/ Okay, thanks! Geoff, do you have any particular view from staff?
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Fruin/ I think where.....where Susan's going is ultimately where I think we need to end up. I
personally would rather see, um, contributions from all the major municipalities before
we took that string off, uh, so my recommendation would be, um, that we keep it within
Iowa City, and we can revisit that if ...if, you know, down the road or, uh, we determine
those dollars could be better used or leveraged in the community. Um, but I'd say we...
we probably look to reconsider if the other municipalities start contributing, and if there's
a regional stream of funds going into the Trust Fund, then I see it operating more like the
MPO, where projects are determined on a regional level, but right now the funding
stream would be local.
Throgmorton/ On that point, I ... I gotta say I..1 agree with the way Geoff phrased that. Uh, and I
agree with you, as well, Susan. I .... I see good reasons to have funds going elsewhere,
but it might be helpful for us in subsequent conversations with other communities not to
make that.....well, to initially say it's going to remain .... the funds will remain in Iowa
City, but we're open to the possibility of distributing them in a different way.
Botchway/ You know I .... that's a tough one! I don't know if. ... I mean I'll be honest with you, I
don't know if I can have .... I'm prepared to have that conversation tonight.
Um .... because I...I, I mean, obviously I .... I believe that we should be the people, um,
Iowa City being the biggest community to do that, but I can .... I frequently hear from
constituents that as you look at the affordability, and this is just anecdotal. I don't think
this is maybe in any type of data that I've seen. Anecdotally Iowa City's the most
expensive community. Coralville's next, and then North Liberty is next, as you move
out, and so, um, you know, for me I .... I think that it ... tugs at, you know, the piece where I
feel like our .... our fabric is, you know, or our .... our affordable housing is different here
because we don't necessarily have the funds that we're spending towards making it here;
however, this is an opportunity to present an olive branch ahead of time, instead of
waiting to later on to have that discussion, and I'm more in favor at this particular
meeting just because I'm in a good mood I think, um, expressing that olive branch right
now instead of, you know, waiting to later.
Throgmorton/ I gotta say I think.... having stated that we are willing to consider that possibility
is .... is opening up a potential conversation that could be very fruitful, but committing
ahead of time is a mistake. So I ... I would say I would strongly recommend that we
allocate 50% in Iowa City, but be open to subsequent conversations.
Dickens/ Yeah, cause I'd really like to hear.....cause this is first time we really kind of put that
out here for the citizens, cause I'm sure we're gonna hear what their thoughts are on this
too because we'll get a lot more input. You know, I'm not into lots and lots of input, but
I think something of this magnitude that we really need to .... to hear what people say out
there.
Thomas/ I think keeping it in Iowa City is a good starting point.
Taylor/ I think it is too, and I think that that wouldn't, uh, hinder if say a .... a large land piece
opens up in Coralville and ... but they feel they don't have the money, uh, to .... to proceed
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with that and they, um, came to us and said can you help us out, we'd perhaps
could.... could consider it, but I think (both talking)
Cole/ You know, I gotta disagree with you guys! I .... I think that we need to make sure .... I agree
with Kingsley on this. Someone needs to step forward and put our money where his
mouth is to the other communities and say, look, we are going to invest in this, uh, issue
as a region, and with the expectation that, um, we do want to reach out to them and get
that contribution from them as well, so that we build a strong affordable housing policy
as a region. If they don't reciprocate that, um, then I think we do go back to saying, look,
we're only going to focus on Iowa City. Um, I just view that so often we wait for the
other community to step in first and say, well we want to do something about it but well
what ... what are they gonna do. I think this is a great way to show them we're gonna go
first, we're gonna invest in this as a region, and if you guys don't want to contribute to
that, well then we're gonna re-evaluate again in the future, um, and I don't view that as
being negative but just being practical, because I view it as an asset to the community.
So I think we really lose, you know, when we .... when we make that investment in other
communities because I want that money to all go to Iowa City, but I think we need to
start thinking as a region. So I wholeheartedly agree with Susan on this, that I think we
need to have it as a region, with the expectation that if we don't get that regional
cooperation, we have to then say, okay well then we're gonna look at this as our asset,
our issue, and we're gonna, you know, focus on what we've done because we don't have
a partner on the other side. So that's sort of what my thought process is at this point.
Throgmorton/ I need help in interpreting the six responses (laughs) I heard, as well as my own,
uh.....so, um....
Cole/ Well it's region versus Iowa City. I mean (both talking)
Throgmorton/ Yeah, yeah.....I.... I think the general... we're sharing, we agree on the general
principle, that we would like to engage in this at a regional scale in a way that's really
increases the supply of affordable housing within the regional housing market. That's
what I'm hearing (several responding) Yeah, um.....the question really is what step to
take first and .... you know, my, like I said, my inclination is to say the 50% stays here,
knowing that there are going to be subsequent conversations with, uh, with other
communities. It's kinda like a negotiating, uh, posture.
Dickens/ I think it's a great starting place that we're gonna try to keep it in Iowa City but we're
reaching out, we're willing to ... to fund other places if. ... you gotta step it up a little bit,
but it's .... it .... it's very tough when you're using our tax dollars, but I....it's such a
regional issue that we do have to look at what other cities are doing as well, so....
Botchway/ My point to that is I don't necessarily think that negotiation .... negotiating tactic has
worked, as .... as, from my time on Council, so that's my, you know, my initial pause to
that was .... one, I need to take more time to think about it cause I want to kind of clearly
vet it cause I didn't think about the location of the funds, but then two .... you know,
having that conversation, waiting on ..... it hasn't happened, and I mean if it has please tell
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me, um, the situation where it's been, you know, it hasn't been fruitful, but urn .... you
know, when it comes to committing funds, I .... I feel like we could do some things here
that, you know, um.....we haven't done before. So.....on.... on such a large scale.
Throgmorton/ I want to remind you that L...I said earlier there have been some promising
conversa.... not promising but.... fruitful preliminary, very preliminary conversations with
some people in other communities, and I .... I don't want to put too much weight on that
but I .... I feel pretty good about that!
Mims/ Would..... would a way to go forward be simply to say that at least for a starting point the
money stays in Iowa City unless there is some reasonable match from another community
for the project.
Dickens/ Compromise.
Throgmorton/ (mumbled) ...project (both talking)
Mims/ Right, no I am saying for the project. I'm saying if. ... if the Johnson County Housing
Trust Fund takes 50% of this money.....and they have a project that they are interested in
doing, and it's not in Iowa City, then their limitation on using Iowa.....these dollars from
Iowa City, would be predicated on some sort of a match from the community in which
that project was going to be undertaken. I'm not prepared to throw out a percentage
match or anything tonight, but just .... I mean, would that be showing that from the get -go,
we're willing to work with other communities, but .... we need them to pony up some
dollars also (several talking)
Fruin/ I think you could even go simpler with that and not even ... you know, uh, speculate on
what a match may be at this point, and just say, you know, for this first year the project
needs to take place in Iowa City and .... uh, if there's another project in the region that
comes forward that the, uh.... uh, Trust Fund Board thinks is a .... a can't -miss
opportunity, they can come back and ask the Council to .... to reconsider that and .... and
you can do so at the time with the project details that are in front of you.
Thomas/ I don't think we should be so fixed (several talking) approach here. If there's
something compelling (several talking)
Mims/ Tracey's here, she's hearing what we're saying so I (several talking)
Fruin/ They can always come back. (several talking) This is probably the hardest one, so it's
okay we're spending enough time on it but, um, the only other, uh, string, uh, so to speak
that .... that I think you need to talk about, um, is .... is whether they need to use the funds
in accordance with our, uh, location model. Um, so .... typically on City -subsidized
projects, the .... the model would come into, um, come into play and there's certain
exceptions but.....this is funds that are going to the .... to the, uh, Trust Fund so it's a little
bit different here. Um, it'd be helpful to get some guidance from you on whether you
expect the Trust Fund to respect and .... adhere to that location model.
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Throgmorton/ Yeah, and that's related to another .... one of the items on our, uh, on the original
draft we got. It's what, Item 13 I guess? (several responding) Um ... which also is
addressed by the HCDC. So are you suggesting that we kind of deal with that right now?
Fruin/ Well I .... I think it's clear that 13 deals with, uh, City controlled funds .... or City funds, uh,
when we're... when we're directly contributing to the project or to an agency. Um, in this
case, there's a third party involved. We're giving the funds to the Trust Fund and we
need to give them instructions on whether or not they need to comply with that.
Throgmorton/ What do y'all think?
Mims/ I think we have to. I mean I ... I think that was the whole reason that we put that in place.
One was because we were really concerned about what was happening with the
concentration of free and reduced lunch and what that was doing to the neighborhood
schools and to the School District. Um .... do .... Geoff, with that model, if. ... if they were
building something that was..... specifically designed for elderly and/or disabled, they can
get around .... can they get around that model?
Fruin/ It's ... Tracy (both talking)
Hightshoe/ There's some exceptions to the model, so any housing that serves the elderly or
persons with disabilities would be exempt from the model.
Mims/ Okay.
Hightshoe/ If you wanted to rehab an existing rental.... property, that would be exempt from the
model. So we're only talking about new (both talking)
Mims/ Adding new....
Hightshoe/ ....adding new family, basically family rental.
Mims/ I think it has to be.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, I .... and if we modify the model as staff has recommended, or even
modified the way the Commission recommends, then .... what you're sayin' is Housing
Trust Fund would have to ply .... uh, comply with that revised version. In the meantime,
before it's revised, they'd have to comply with the existing model, right?
Fruin/ Correct.
Mims/ I just don't think we want to make things any worse for the School District than they
already are (both talking)
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Throgmorton/ Oh, I definitely agree with that (both talking) that's one of the goals that we would
get to later on in this discussion. Yeah.
Simpson/ Does your answer for this question depend on .... your answer to what you want to do
for recommendation 13? If the affordable housing model changes, uin.... is your answer
for this going to be changing?
Throgmorton/ I .... I, my gut feeling is that the answer won't change, but .... the rules that ... that the
Commission would have to follow would change, if in fact the location model itself is
altered .... in, but before it gets altered, they'd have to comply with the existing location
model.
Hightshoe/ Yeah, we're going to get to that recommendation, and staff will ask your input about
how you want it tweaked. We will start tweaking it so that CDBG/Home applications
that go through our cycle in December, that model will be in place for the .... the
upcoming funding round.
Throgmorton/ Right. Okay.
Fruin/ (both talking) I think we're good. Thanks!
Throgmorton/ Okay, so .... the Commission also recommended that 25% be held in reserve for
land banking. Staff had recommended 30%, uh, for land banking, or emergent situations,
determined by the Council. So what the Commission did basically was separate the land
banking from the emergent situation thing and say 25% for land banking and 5% for
emergent situations, right?
Hightshoe/ Yeah, they wanted an amount that you could budget every year that we knew how
much was going for land banking, cause emergent situations, we didn't know how you
wanted to define it. We didn't know how often it would be, how much it would be,
urn .... so they wanted a set amount every year that they could..... budget for and that we
would proceed with land banking with that amount of money.
Cole/ They get into what an "emergent situation" would be or are they thinking of like, for
example, a Rose Oaks type matter, something unforeseen (both talking)
Hightshoe/ Yes, they weren't thinking simple, non-renewable leases because to be honest that
happens for a variety of reasons (both talking)
Cole/ Absolutely! (both talking)
Hightshoe/ ....all throughout the year. Um, but Rose Oaks might only happen once every 40
years so if that's the type of situation you're.... you're gonna define as emergent, we
know it won't happen that often so to reserve a full.....a large amount when it might not
happen for another 30 years or 10 years, um, they wanted that money .... they set aside 5%
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and if it's not used by the end of the fiscal year then it would go back into land banking
(both talking)
Cole/ I think that's a great recommendation.
Throgmorton/ One of the very detailed recommendations was to define emergent situations.
Yeah. (several talking)
Hightshoe/ HCDC didn't get to the level of defining what emergent situation is but (several
talking) ....but since they didn't know what it was or what direction you guys wanted,
um, that's why they divided the money out.
Taylor/ So it would also include disaster kind of situations or fire or natural kinds of things
situations.
Cole/ I think that makes sense.
Throgmorton/ So, just to be clear.....what specifically makes sense?
Cole/ Well I mean in other words (laughter) whether it's 25% and 5, versus staffs
recommendation of 30% for land banking. So I thought that was the discussion we were
having, and so I think it makes sense .... to adopt the HD, um, recommendation of essen...
DC the recommendation of 25% with 5% for the emergent situations.
Throgmorton/ Okay. What do the rest of you think (several talking)
Taylor/ ... separating .... I think (several talking)
Thomas/ I ... I think it's fine for now. Again I .... I think we're .... these are situations where we're
...could be very dynamic that .... that, uh, Affordable Housing Coalition at 40 and 40 for
land banking and 10% for low-income housing tax credits, uh, so you know, I think we're
in the ballpark, uh, but I would, again, allow for flexibility in how we allocate.
Throgmorton/ Okay. I'm on board with that. How (both talking)
Mims/ Yeah, I don't have a real problem. I think, you know, again, like John said, it's pretty
dynamic in terms of, you know .... when a land situation might come up and how much
money, you know, we would want or need for that, or when an emergent situation comes
up and the idea that we're going to roll that emergent money back into the land banking
at the end of the year anyway if we don't use it, giving some flexibility is fine.
Throgmorton/ Okay, I think we're (mumbled) with that. Okay, the last item then was 20%
directed through or to, depending on what the Commission's .... whether we're talking
about the Commission or the staff, HCDC for low-income housing tax credit support or
supplemental aid through CDBG/Home housing application processes. So the only
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difference really is the through versus to, isn't it, or did I miss something? Does it
matter?
Hightshoe/ (both talking) ...doesn't matter. Basically.... for low-income housing tax credit
projects.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so y'all pick a preposition and we'll go with it (laughter)
Mims/ Doesn't matter.
Throgmorton/ All right, so.....all right, so there's.... that part of it. Good deal!
Hightshoe/ For that part of the money we probably would realign.... because the tax credit
project you'd have to apply at a different time than our HCDC, so if that goes through we
would be having a .... earlier funding round just for low-income housing tax credit
projects, and then if (mumbled) award then we just put it with our regular funding pot in
December. If that makes sense!
Throgmorton/ It's a detail .... a detail you know better than some of us do. (laughs)
Mims/ Probably all of us! (laughter)
Throgmorton/ Okay, good deal! All right, so the next, um, priority they .... the Commission
recommended had to do with Item 12, which the staff, uh, in which the staff stated
"create a committee of staff, developers, and other interested stakeholders to determine
the viability and potential parameters of a tax abatement program that would support
affordable housing." Uh, is the one thing the Commission recommended on this .... did
the Commission recommend creating an education program (both talking)
Hightshoe/ Yes.
Throgmorton/ ...to promote benefits of subsidized housing to landlords, developers... was that the
essence of their recommendation, or is that like a subsidiary part...
Hightshoe/ Just subsidiary. They .... they wanted to look at tax abatement, um, to encourage
subsidized housing or affordable housing, but they also thought there was a component,
there's a lot of myths in the community about what affordable housing is, um, the
housing choice voucher program, about the benefits of being a landlord whose accept...
who accepts housing choice voucher. So in addition to the tax abatement, which was
looking at different ways to finance affordable housing, they also wanted an education
component about the benefits of affordable housing.
Throgmorton/ 0 ... okay, good. Thank you. Uh, so what do y'all think about that?
Thomas/ I think that's a great concept and I .... and I know I've spoken to Geoff about it in
conversations. I think there's real serious potential with tax abatement.
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Throgmorton/ Me too!
Simpson/ I have a question. Um...just in the general conversation, has there been any discussion
about, um, locations in I ... Iowa City this tax abatement program would be applicable?
For example, would the University impact area not be a desired place to use something
like this?
Hightshoe/ It'd be anywhere, um, the only problem with, um, a lot of our affordable housing
providers, um (mumbled) 501 C, if they're basically a not-for-profit, they're already tax
exempt. So this is mostly encouraging private developers.
Fruin/ Is Council okay with staff organizing this committee, um ... or do you prefer it to be a
Council -appointed type of deal? I think the affordable.... the Inclusionary Zoning
Committee would be our model and .... we have some ideas for who would be a good fit,
several have volunteered to be on it, so I think we can just run (several responding)
Taylor/ No sense recreating something if there's something that will work.
Throgmorton/ Okay, so we're done with Item 12? (several responding) All right, good deal.
And the last priority item the Commission, uh, addressed .... uh, had to do with Item 13...
where the staff suggested exempting the Riverfront Crossings downtown and University
impact areas from the affordable housing location model, and considering modifications
to reduce size, the size of restricted areas and/or account for neighborhood densities. Uh,
so the, uh, Commission, uh, recommended adoption of a ... a new neighborhood -based, uh,
location model, right?
Hightshoe/ Yeah, the way that location model works, um, 40% of the score, uh, we basically
chart out the whole city. We chart where all subsidized or City -assisted housing is. We
do a bubble around that and that's .... 40% of the score is distanced to existing subsidized
housing. Um, then we add a bunch of other scores, uh, 40% for the School District and,
um, we get a level and then we have areas that are encouraged for affordable housing and
areas that we don't encourage. What .... what the problem with the existing model is that
you have one dot, you have like one specific address. I'm just....I 111 Tracy Street or
something, and you can't put any affordable housing in a bubble around that. Well, if
you have a huge neighborhood and there's only one affordable rental, going a whole
block around that, I mean, is it really detrimental to the neighborhood to have two houses
on that street, then making sure that the whole neighborhood around it doesn't exceed
a.... like 10%, 50% subsidized. So we're looking at what we can do to tweak the model
to be a lot more neighborhood as opposed to .... address -specific. So we would
be.....we'd be tweaking the model and then taking that recommendation to you on
December 6a', I think at your December meeting, because our applications go live after
you meet ..... that first meeting in December. So we'd be ... we would show you like three
or four different models that you could choose from and then you would choose one and
that would be the ..... the model we go with for that funding year.
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Throgmorton/ Oh, good!
Hightshoe/ So we are planning on tweaking it based on the comments we've heard from HCDC,
the comments we've heard from the Affordable Homes Coalition. We believe in
scattered site, so we're still gonna keep that fundamental issue of scattering affordable
housing, based on a lot of the criteria that we already have. We're just making those
bubbles smaller and freeing up more areas of town and making it more neighborhood, as
opposed to address -specific.
Throgmorton/ The clari... the clarification's helpful, Tracy. Thanks! Susan, this relates to your
point about the School District (both talking)
Mims/ Yeah, I .... and I know school boundaries can be dynamic, and I know they're always
challenging (laughs) for the School Board and .... and school staff, but .... when you bring
those models back, Tracy, I would encourage if you can to have an overlay of the
current..... School District boundaries.
Hightshoe/ We update it every year, so if the boundary changes we update the model.
Mims/ Okay.
Hightshoe/ So every year it's going to have the new boundaries on it.
Mims/ Okay. Thank (both talking)
Hightshoe/ It's not a static model, so every year we're updating.
Mims/ Okay. No, I ... I think, you know, making some changes, tweaks, to that to ..... open up
some areas, but still not have a detrimental impact on the School District, um, is fine.
From my perspective.
Thomas/ Yeah, I like the, um .... insertion there, the idea of a neighborhood -based concept. I
think the, uh.....I.... I know for me the issue is .... is the integration issue. It's one of the
reasons I'm so supportive of the missing middle concept that (coughing, difficult to hear
speaker) and what we see, for example, out on the Peninsula in terms of the integration.
Um .... so I think the neighborhood -based concept makes a lot of sense.
Throgmorton/ I ... I .... I'm inclined to agree with that. I think the key has to do, for me, has to do
with helping the School.... doing what we can to help the School District by ach....by
achieving better socioeconomic balance among our neighborhoods. If we do that, then
there can be better socioeco.... socioeconomic balance within the school attendance
zones, and that helps the School District, uh, over the long run, so .... I .... I think that
would be a good idea. So, but I .... but I don't want to just kind of completely reinvent the
location model from the get -go, but instead tweak it and (both talking)
Hightshoe/ We will tweak it and bring it back to you in December.
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Throgmorton/ But I don't know ... I don't know how, Rockne (both talking)
Cole/ Do we have a colleague over at the School Board then that has weighed in on this
particular recommendation? I mean, what's the status of that?
Hightshoe/ We haven't had a School Board member provide any input since the model first was
approved.
Cole/ Okay.
Hightshoe/ (both talking) They provide us the data every year to update the model, but they've
not commented for or against since then.
Fruin/ At .... at a staff level, we can get some feedback (both talking)
Cole/ ....good idea.
Frain/ ...the administration before we come back to you in December.
Cole/ No, and I agree. The bubbles need to be shr... shrunk. Um ... I think there's no question that
the scattered site housing is a good policy, but I think in terms of the way that it was
originally developed, it was sort of, um, over -ambitious in terms of how they actually
develop that, so I think those bubbles need to shrink to allow more affordable housing in
different neighborhoods.
Dickens/ I agree with the explanation that we got about the neighborhoods. That makes all the
sense.
Botchway/ Yeah, I'm in favor of the .... the proposal, and the, uh, neighborhood sounds great,
um.....the.... the reason why I'm just sittin' here pondering over and over again is just the
exempt the Riverfront Coss.... Crossings downtown and University impact areas, urn ... I
still have to do some thinking on that, and since you're going to be looking at the model,
maybe I'll just follow up later on. I just....
Hightshoe/ The reason why we're exempting the Riverfront Crossings, cause inclusionary
housing works against, it opposes the model, I mean .... the model's basically telling you
you have to scatter. Inclusionary housing's basically telling you all new housing has to
have a certain percentage. So they don't work well together. So that's why we're
exempting that Riverfront Crossings from the affordable housing location model.
Botchway/ But that would (both talking)
Hightshoe/ ....rest of the city doesn't have inclusionary housing.
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Botchway/ But that would just be Riverfront Crossings, not downtown and University impact
areas.
Frain/ Correct.
Botchway/ Yeah, so that's.... that's where, I mean, I get that point and I'm totally in agreement
with that. I just ... there's some questions I have and there's some things I've seen in
different cities where they've actually incorporated, um, affordable housing in the
downtown locations, Atlanta in particular actually, that I thought was really cool and
really interesting. So, anyways (both talking)
Hightshoe/ I think why we ... we looked up the downtown and University impacted areas cause
it's so dense, um, and our model doesn't really address dense neighborhoods.
Botchway/ Right
Hightshoe/ It's a great model for suburban development and outside the inner-city core, but
when you have that dense of units, doing three units here, four units there when you're
talking about a building with a hundred units (both talking)
Botchway/ No, I .... yep!
Throgmorton/ So we can probe your point more carefully (several talking) December, right,
when we (both talking)
Botchway/ Correct!
Throgmorton/ Okay, Geoff, are you good with that? You understand what we're after?
Frain/ We're good. Yep.
Throgmorton/ Great! Okay, uh, before we move on to the .... the other recommendations, I want
to note that the, uh, Affordable Housing Coalition .... uh, combines several items into a
second, if I understood correctly, where's Sally Scott, but if I understood correctly, you...
the Coalition combined several items into a .... another priority, which would be
integrating affordable and market rate housing. Is that a .... a fair way to restate that? So,
uh, I don't know that we need to do anything explicit about that now, given the
conversation that we've already had .... uh, but that seems to me to be a wise thing to be
trying to achieve. It's consistent with what we just said about the location model. Yeah.
Okay. All right, let's see .... um .... then there are .... the remaining recommended
actions... and the HCDC did not kind of revamp them in any significant way. There are
little tweaks on like four of them, if I read them correctly (laughs) So maybe we can just
go through them one by one and see if we want to emphasize any of `em, but otherwise
we'll just say we agree or we don't, I guess. I mean that sounds like a reasonable way to
proceed anyhow.
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Botchway/ Well .... agree or we don't (mumbled) I think that we were all in favor of the summary
of the recommended actions, and that ... so that's where ... that's where the process was a
little bit problematic for me because (mumbled) my particular list and I think that, you
know, from what I'm understand from Geoff is that we went from the HCDC.... or
ACDC recommendations, but um .... you know, all the actions will take place before
2017.
Throgmorton/ Right.
Botchway/ Okay.
Fruin/ By the end of 2017 (both talking)
Botchway/ I thought when you said agree or don't, I didn't think that we were saying that any of
these things would not be agreed upon. It's just prioritization as far as which things
(several talking)
Mims/ ....Kingsley is, I mean ... I think we've got a .... we've gotta prioritize some of this stuff to
give staff some direction on where to head, and some things I think have some obvious
prioritization. I think #4 does because we're coming up on budget, I mean, we're
working on budget now. So that needs to be .... um.....so....
Throgmorton/ Yeah well .... of course what I understood, uh, from the process we've already
been following is that we were agreeing with the HCDC's recommendation that those
four items were high priority items.
Cole/ Yep!
Throgmorton/ And the others are not high priority, but we want to do `em! (laughs) I mean,
that's the way I understood it, but maybe (several talking)
Botchway/ ....say agree or don't agree, I just got it confused, that's all! (several talking and
laughing)
Throgmorton/ Right. Okay. So then I'll just kind of go through the list one by one, uh, knowing
that we've already addressed four of `em. All right, so continue to .... #1, continue to fund
existing local programs, including GRIP and UniverCity. Somebody remind me, like
Tracy, what GRIP stands for.
Cole/ I was going to ask the same thing.
Hightshoe/ General Rehabilitation Improvement Program.
Throgmorton/ Thanks!
Hightshoe/ It's for homeowners up to 110% of median income.
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Throgmorton/ Yeah, and the Commission made a recommendation about that, did they not?
Hightshoe/ What ... they made a recommendation is that they were talking about the CDBG and
Home owner -occupied housing program, um, right now in your budget there's a set-aside
amount every year that we fund for owner -occupied rehab, with CDBG and Home funds.
Um, due to the cut in funding over the last 10 years, they thought maybe we should revise
the budget, or they wanted to look at it, um, that was their recommendation. Is not to
tweak GRIP or UniverCity, but to look at the set-aside for CDBG and Home owner -
occupied rehab.
Fruin/ Tracy, do you want to mention the challenge with that, in .... in having fluctuating revenue
from year to year.
Hightshoe/ As a staff person, to run a ... an effective program I need qualified staff every year,
um, it can't go up for reallocation every year cause I can't .... let go people, hire people, so
I need a set amount to run the program every year, plus you need the expertise and our
CDBG and rehab staff also help us with GRIP, UniverCity, the flood buyouts, the historic
preservation, um .... situations that we get into. So we need the staff, and so .... you can
tweak the amount. I just need a consistent amount every year that I can run the program.
So right now we get 235,000 in CDBG funds and 90,000 in Home funds .... to owner -
occupied rehab.
Throgmorton/ I .... I don't see any reason to deviate from what staff recommended.
Mims/ I don't either (several responding) I think these are really important programs that .... I
mean, if I were prioritizing this, #1 would be very near the top of my list. I mean, it's not
something that's going to take staff time. We're already doing it, but continuing to do it,
I think, is really, really important.
Botchway/ I think the only question I had when I was thinking about #1, I agree is that will this
be taken into account in respect to other budgetary items and so as we're walk ... or, we
already walked through `em, but I was thinking about when we're talking about the
shifting of the 500, $1 million, you know, how that applies to that. It was just my overall
question to staff.
Hightshoe/ Regarding the CDBG, Home budget, we set the consolidated plan every five years,
so you're gonna review it every five years those set-aside amounts. Um, and you can
always by a .... you can always do amendment at any time, if there's sufficient input or
you want to switch the budget amount. So that's in your pur.... purview every year, that
you can do that.
Fruin/ Kingsley, regarding competition with the .... the other funds that we were talking about,
uh, when we kicked off this work session, um ... the .... there's no real competition with
the.... with the federal funds. Um, when you get into UniverCity those are general fund
dollars, so you would see competition I suppose there, um .... those UniverCity dollars
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could be reallocated to other affordable housing efforts, but .... our recommendation to
you in the budget's gonna be to continue the UniverCity and to have a set-aside to
contribute to the affordable housing fund. So I ... I wouldn't get too .... worried about that.
Botchway/ Well in ... so I appreciate that comment. What, um, are we ... is the University still
involved in UniverCity?
Mims/ No.
Fruin/ No.
Botchway/ ...make sure. I thought not but I just wanted to make sure. Okay.
Hightshoe/ Now the UniverCity program, even though it's not affordable housing, it's for
neighborhood stabilization. There is a certain percentage that we do for affordable
housing. So out of the 54 that we've done so far, I think 16 have been to homeowners
under 80%. So when we buy houses, you know, each year when you set aside certain
money, we're looking at a .... I try to find houses that some will be for affordable housing.
Others are .... we're buying down occupancy. We're .... we're addressing a problem
property in that neighborhood. So there's a lot of decisions that go into which houses we
buy every year, but we do try to make sure every year we're buying so many that would
be ... qualify for affordable housing.
Taylor/ Seems to me like the UniverCity program has been very successful and turn around on
those properties has been very, uh.... productive.
Throgmorton/ Tremendously beneficial for those, the neighborhoods in which University City,
uh, UniverCity houses have been located. Okay, so, we're good with #1. Items 2 and 3
we've already done. So shall we not really talk about `em right now. Item 4 we've just
discussed. Item 5 we discussed, which leads us to Item 6, hold the 1.9 million in Housing
Authority funds for an opportunity to leverage significant private investment, and/or to
develop, acquire low-income replacement housing. Sounds like a pretty high priority to
me but, uh, I don't know what y'all (both talking)
Mims/ Tracy, can you remind us, and .... and the audience as well, where that 1.9 million came
from.
Hightshoe/ It came from the sale of Broadway, urn .... housing and ad hoc funds. Now ... there're
certain .... (both talking) restrictions in that that has to be under the control of the City, so
it's not like we can give it to a private developer to develop. I mean we could buy condos
or different units from a private developer to market, to get some public housing units in
market -rate development, but we have to have main control of it, and when we say 1.9
million, we do need to set some back for (both talking)
Botchway/ ...that's what I was going to ask....
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Hightshoe/ ...um, in case we need capital, or just for maintenance and .... so reserves, so maybe
that's, what, 1.5 million. So probably have 1.5 million available.
Botchway/ Isn't some of that money already spoken for?
Hightshoe/ No ... no, the Chauncey is a ... is a different.... we already have that budgeted for.
Botchway/ Gotcha.
Hightshoe/ So I think our intent was to wait for the .... the opportunity, um, prior Councils did not
want an increase in public housing, so that money sat in the fund, um .... now we're just
waiting for the opportunities that we can basically get mixed housing, um, use our pro...
to use it as situations develop, that would be great. For public housing. Or City -assisted
housing, however you want to call it (laughs)
Throgmorton/ Okay, so we're good to go with Item 6.
Cole/ Yep!
Throgmorton/ Item 7 ... consider an annex.... consider an annexation policy that provides for
affordable housing contributions.
Mims/ I would say.....if.... if we're ... if we were prioritizing, I would put this near the bottom of
the priority list, and the reason is.....one of the reasons, is I think this is something that's
going to take a significant amount of staff time, and I think with some of the things that
we've got going already with the form -based code that's in here that we've, I mean, we
already talked about and we've already agreed to, I mean, we saw the RFP that's in the
packet or in one of the Information Packets, etc., urn .... I would look at this and think this
is a pretty time-consuming type of activity, so it's one that I would tend to push out into
the latter part of 17.
Dickens/ When was the last time we .... did any annexation of any .... big scale? I don't (several
talking)
Frain/ Probably Churchill (several talking) Yeah, uh, on ... off of Herbert Hoover, north of St.
Pat's Church, probably a couple years ago.
Thomas/ Could .... could I, I'm not exactly clear what that (clears throat) what that's talking
about. Could you provide a little more information, in terms of the .... the annexation as it
relates to affordable housing contributions.
Hightshoe/ That's in general. I mean, you could tailor it a lot of different ways. You could look
at affordable housing by design, so that when you annex in so many houses, you know,
you have to have diversity of housing types. Um, you have to have modest housing.
You could put that you have to do a fee in lieu of or .... or you have to commit so much
land for affordable housing. So it's really vague right now. It's just do we consider
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annexation policy so when land comes in, does it have to have a component, does it have
to have affordable housing by design. We can consider a lot of options.
Throgmorton/ It's .... it's helpful to be clear that we currently have an annexation policy, and it
directs staff, requires staff and us, to consider three particular elements. I don't
remember what those three elements are, but .... the basic idea in this .... item is to include
affordable housing, to say that in order to be annexed, in order for a voluntary annexation
to take place, a .... another, a fourth element that would have to be, uh.... uh, agreed to by
the, um, by the developer would be to include some minimum percentage of affordable
units, or .... a fee in lieu of, or, I mean, the details can be worked out, and one of the things
I think about when I consider Item 7 is that it might be, um .... a very useful ..... uh, point
at which tax abatement could be used, but I don't know that we've talked about that
directly with the staff. So, um .... I ... I'm fully on board with the idea of including this on
the list. The ... for me the only real question is .... should we give it a higher priority or a
lower one.
Cole/ I actually think it's a pretty important issue because I think about our newer developments,
um, as they impact especially our schools, this is absolutely related to one of our central
concerns is to make sure that that new development has affordable housing built into it. I
think as a practical matter it's going to take a while to get the policy probably developed.
Um, but I actually think this is pretty important so this would be a high priority item
for ... for me.
Thomas/ Well I'm expecting it to be folded into the, um .... form -based code around the
Alexander School, and so that's why I was asking. It sounded like, you know, some of
the ways this can be developed, uh, or applied would be through form -based coding,
which is one reason I'm so supportive of it. It's .... it's affordability by design. It's not
necessarily subsidized in any way. ... sol ...I'm....I'm a strong proponent of it. At the
same time I see it folded into some of the initiatives we're already taking, which have
their own kind of duration, uh, that I.....I believe we're capturing it. It may, you know,
uh....
Fruin/ I think the key difference would be, um, that .... that there would actually be checks on
income levels and qualifications and, uh, as opposed to just .... um, constructing units
that .... that may be affordable by design but would still be sold at a .... a market, um, rate.
Sol....I do think the form -based code helps, but .... we're not gonna have income checks
and qualifications and requirements for subdivisions to be affordable through the form -
based code. That would have to be done through the annexation policy in those new
areas.
Botchway/ So for me, um, I .... I would, you know, from my recent wranglings the past two years,
um, about this annexation policy, I would say was a high priority but I think for right
now, just based on some of the other things we're working on, I think that for me, kind of
going back to Susan's point, it's more of a low priority. Again, with that caveat, I wrote
it down, and you know, um, asterisked it and everything, was the goal is to, you know,
have everything completed by, substantially completed by 217, and so I .... I agree
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(several talking) by the end of 2017, I agree that I think it's .... it's just gonna take some
time. There's.... there's a lot of questions that I have as far as that's concerned as well,
and so, um, for me it's still a priority. Again, all these are very important to me. If you
(both talking)
Mims/ That's the problem!
Botchway/ ....have to do it in a week but .... um, for on a scale, I'd put it closer to the bottom.
Hightshoe/ You know a lot of these recommendations work well with each other. I mean while
we might not have a formal annexation policy, if we're doing land banking and we're
buying land as we annex, um, affordable housing by design puts a lot of housing diff
...different variety of housing types, affordability levels, that allows our non -profits to use
CDBG and Home money to buy different units. So, it all works together. I mean, we're
after modest units that we can use, um, in case we have the money that .... we're providing
money to developers or affordable housing providers to buy these units, um, there's no
chance for affordable housing if the unit is $350,000 and it's a single-family. It's not
likely but with the form -based code, with land banking, we're gonna get to a lot of these,
urn .... so, they don't work independently, I mean, they don't work all by themselves.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so, uh, we're gonna have to exercise some judgment as the staff in terms of
when to get to this. I .... I definitely think in terms of socioeconomic balance at the
elementary school level, it's a big deal, so for me that's very important.
Taylor/ And I think that's important because, uh, we've been talking about the Alexander School
area. That's going to develop very quickly and so I think we need to move quickly
on ... on things that might affect the property and the land...
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so (both talking)
Taylor/ ....develop there.
Throgmorton/ I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off. So you're gonna have to exercise some
judgment here, uh, Geoff, but you know, maybe in late winter, whatever, I mean, you
gotta figure it out...
Fruin/ Sure.
Throgmorton/ ...staff load and all that. Can we move to Item 8? Okay, Item 8, consider use of
tax increment financing on a case-by-case basis to support residential development and/or
annexation through the provision of public infrastructure and capture the required low to
moderate income set-aside for use throughout the community. I gotta say, I don't fully
understand how this would work, especially the low to moderate income set-aside, so
maybe somebody could help me? (laughs)
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Fruin/ Well, um ... actually, Tracy, I think there's a slide, um, that .... that helps to illustrate this.
Essentially, um, what we're suggesting is there may be opportunities in the community...
in the community to use, um, tax increment financing to support residential development,
um, and we haven't done that, uh, in the past, but, um, what the State law, urn... requires
is that when you, uh, use tax inc ... increment financing to build infrastructure that supports
residential property, you have to set aside an amount of the increment and .... and this case
it's, um, 45% so .... as houses are being built in this neighborhood, this is the Alexander
School neighborhood and we're .... we're talking about extending McCollister Boulevard
there. Um, as houses are built and .... uh, increment is produced, we have to set aside
45% of that increment for, uh, low to moderate income households. Um ... and what's...
what's nice about this, urn .... is not only is it a financing, additional financing mechanism
for the infrastructure, but because we're required to set aside that, we now have funds for,
urn... affordable housing projects, and those projects, um, do not necessarily have to be
located in that same urban renewal area. So in this instance, um, you may find there's
good reason to take that low to moderate income set-aside that was generated from the
TIF and use that in another part of the community, uh, where the lo .... location model
would say it's more appropriate, um, in other location.... other locations in the
community you may .... you may say, nope, we can....we can push that, um, LMI set-
aside right back into the neighborhood. So .... again, it's .... it's the .... it's an additional
funding source, um, for the infrastructure, urn .... uh, but it's also a revenue stream for
affordable housing and revenue stream that has great flexibility.
Dickens/ So when are you ... we required to keep it in the neighborhood that it's produced?
Fruin/ You don't have to. That's .... that would be at the City's discretion.
Botchway/ So I felt like, um, as we discuss this one in relation to .... I just hit my iPad and I can't
pull it up .... 7, 8, and 10 I felt were .... maybe not similar but talked about, um, somewhat
similar things, and again, my priority standpoint, they're relatively low. I mean, high
priority, I mean this is such a weird discussion to have (several talking) high priority, but
low as far as, you know, if you're gonna come back to us in October, I ... I wouldn't say
that'd be something I'd want to see, but you know later on next year, I think that would
be appropriate.
Fruin/ You know, these.....these are going to be driven, um.....not based on when staff wants to
push forward but ... in this case we have McCollister Boulevard budgeted for 2019, and
that's really a placeholder, uh, you know, we're gonna do that when we feel that
neighborhood is .... ready and able to develop. That .... much of this property, other than
the school piece, has not been annexed into the City. So, um, I'm not sure that we'll
extend McCollister if there's not a willingness on the property owner's part to annex in
and .... work with us on the ... on the neighborhood, but our hope is that in these next
couple years we work on the form -based code, the property owner becomes ready, we
have some funding in the budget, and then we can consider utilizing something like this.
So, I don't know that this is really something the Council needs to say high or low
priority to now. It's just something we wanted to point out as a new strategy we may
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take, urn .... when there are residential subdivisions planned. Um ... particularly ones that
require City infrastructure.
Thomas/ You know I tend to view this as (clears throat) I'm .... I'm having trouble with the whole
notion of the priorities. It seems because .... the need that we will .... we are trying to
fulfill is so great, it seems to me much of this is .... is strategic planning that, you know,
we have a toolkit and when a situation presents itself where one of those.... opportunities
arise that we can apply, you know, in this case the use of tax increment financing with
development. So ... that's the way I view it. I .... I get .... I get troubled when I think of,
well, we're just gonna put this on the shelf in .... in (several talking and laughing) yeah,
just forget about it for a while. I don't know that we can forget about any of these, um,
we ... we need .... we need to be aware of them and use them, you know, when the situation
arises.
Cole/ Well I gotta say, of all the recommendations I love this one because what I think what it
does is .... is that it encourages growth, but at the same time, it hardwires in a connection
to .... benefit throughout the community for some of our low and mid -income residents.
Um, so it takes the politics out of it and it just makes it sort of a normal part of growth in
the community. So .... yet it's a very technical and creative, um, use of TIF, um, so I
think budget is an issue and as I understand this proposal, Geoff, is that this will allow
that, um, that budget to arise from .... new growth, new expanded tax base that we're
getting that we're then channeling, by policy, low and moderate income. So I just gotta
say this is fantastic, and I really like this one. Back to Kingsley's point, I know Kingsley
likes it too, um, it's a question of priorities, um, I really like it and I think this is
something if we could get it sooner rather than later would be a .... would be a good thing.
As John mentions, this is strategic planning. I think hopefully if there's things that we
absolutely don't like, it's still good to go through this so you can get a sense of sort of
where we are, but .... kudos to Geoff and staff on this particular proposal, because I think
it really addresses the budget issue too.
Throgmorton/ Geoff, I think you've heard enough to .... yeah, have a sense of how to proceed on
it. Item 9 .... pursue regulatory changes to the City code. Um .... there are like five .... five
elements here — waive parking requirements for affordable units in the Riverfront
Crossings District and downtown, several others. I don't want to read `em all. Uh, the
only one I had some concern about was that the HCDC.... Tracy, tell me if I'm wrong.
Uh, I think they added.... urn.... the words `and non -affordable units' to the parking
waiver part. So in other words it would say waive parking requirements for affordable
and non -affordable units in Riverfront Crossings and downtown, and I don't understand
that. So.....
Hightshoe/ They're after density. They're incr.... they're trying to increase supply or anything
that they could to increase supply of housing. I think that was their logic.
Throgmorton/ Ah! Yeah. I'm (several talking)
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Thomas/ At this moment I'm okay with it on Riverfront Crossings. I'm not on the downtown. ]
think .... uh.... development in the downtown, there are lots of moving parts in terms of
how we develop there. I know there're concerns with how waiving the parking
requirements could affect historic preservation, for example. So .... I guess I would want
to say that applying it to the downtown is something I would want to have, uh, further
consideration by other commissions in terms of how we move forward on the parking
requirement.
Taylor/ I had some concerns about that aspect also because we've heard from neighborhoods and
folks in the neighborhoods about their concerns for the parking and I think, uh, doing...
doing... including the downtown area would, uh, increase the amount of parking in those
neighborhoods and, uh, we've talked about, uh, adding permits for side streets, etc., and I
think that would be something we'd have to look at. So, I'm okay with Riverfront
Crossing area but I .... I do have concerns like John with adding the downtown.
Cole/ Geoff, when is our parking study going to be completed? Do we have a .... a timeline on
that?
Fruin/ It's proposed to be completed as part of the form -based code process and, um.....uh, that
RFPs in the packet but I'd .... I want to say that was supposed to wrap up around July or
August of next year.
Cole/ Okay. Yeah, I guess I would concur. I don't really want to touch parking policy until we
get the study, is my view. Um, Riverfront Crossings I suppose is fine, but the rest of
it .... and by the way, if we get the parking analysis, then I .... then I would like to revisit
this, but I just want to get that study in place before we look at doing that.
Throgmorton/ I guess I'd say I'm .... I am, uh, I don't object to waiving parking requirements for
affordable units in Riverfront Crossings. And downtown, but I do not want to include
non -affordable units, uh, because there are also .... there are already ample .... incentives
for higher density development in the Riverfront Crossings District, uh, there ... there are
really quite a few (laughs)
Fruin/ I'm going to look at staff as I'm saying this and .... maybe they'll shake their head no but I
believe that we've already waived, um .... parking requirements for affordable units in the
Riverfront Crossings. So that ... there's a check mark there (several talking) um, the
question here is .... whether you want to extend that to the downtown and I .... and I .... I
think, urn ... uh, it's prudent to wait until that study's complete to understand what some of
the neighborhood parking dynamics are. That seems to make sense, so .... we can hold
that till the, urn ... kind of the end of this process.
Throgmorton/ Are we okay with that? (several responding) All right. Then there are these
other, uh, do I need to read the others, um (laughs) I hope not, uh, for .... for Item 9,
pursuing regulatory changes.
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Thomas/ Um .... the, eliminate the minimum size requirements on (mumbled) initially thought
that was a good idea, uh, and I still think it's a good idea, except, um.....I think it's really
important to tie that to design standards because, uh, I was watching the, um, presentation
in the Library when Geoff made his presentation and.....uh, Mary Murphy was at that
meeting and she mentioned, you know, um.....what could happen, you know, when we
reduced the PUD size. You could end up with a very large apartment building, you
know, this is .... this is something, a scenario we've seen on many occasions and I know
I've expressed my concerns regarding that. So .... you know, I .... I support the idea of
reducing minimum size for our planned development overlay or PUD; however, uh,
depending on the context, I think it's extremely important to have design controls in
place so that that design is consistent with the character, uh, of..of the neighborhood, and
I .... that's the, again, the missing middle does that. It's integral to the concept, but if
you .... if you separate them and just simply say, well we're just reducing the size
requirements without tying that to a design standard, it....it could go in the wrong
direction.
Fruin/ Yeah, you know, those .... in those cases, urn ..... you know, they'll come back to Council
for a review and .... and we do consider, um .... you know, design more so in a .... in a PUD
process than.....and neighborhood context, than we would in, um ... the non -PUD
instances. So .... understand the concern. I think that the checks and balances are in
place.
Throgmorton/ The thing I like about this is that it...it is designed to .... reduce construction costs,
and thereby increase, improve the affordability of housing in general. I like that. My
worry is precisely the one that John articulated. So I think we do need to .... come
back .... (both talking)
Fruin/ ....you know on several of these bullet points, staff doesn't have all the answers yet. You
know, I'll use the second one as an example. Um, reviewing changes to multi -family
design standards — I'm not prepared to tell you tonight whether we're gonna ultimately
support any changes to those multi -family design standards, but I think it's good that we
spend some time and review `em, and .... and the same goes for this PUD size
requirement. We'll have to talk internally a little bit and .... and make sure it makes sense
to do that, you know, and these were presented in June. These were kind of, hey, here's
some things we could investigate, so .... um ..... we would come back to you through the
code, uh.... uh, amendment process and go through the pros and cons of each (both
talking)
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so I'd suggest one minor tech .... uh, textual change and that is instead of..
Pursue regulatory changes just consider regulatory changes. Just to acknowledge what
you just said, Geoff.
Thomas/ Yeah, I ... I would .... I would support that. I think there .... there are issues related to
more than just multi -family design standards. Street design standards, even single-family
design standards in terms of lot size and set -backs and so forth that .... there are
opportunities there.
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Throgmorton/ Okay. I think (both talking)
Mims/ Yeah, I mean I think the idea that staff was getting at with this, and I think what you just
said, Jim, is the idea that any .... code changes like this that can help us reduce the cost of
development, and hopefully increase affordability, but at the same time making sure that
we're protecting our neighborhoods, um, and getting, you know, if it's a new
neighborhood, getting a variety of housing. If it's in our older neighborhoods, protecting
that existing housing and the context, etc., um, is really important along with what the
parking elements do. So there's.....yeah, lot of things that need to fit together here.
Throgmorton/ Okay.
Thomas/ The only other comment I would have is increase allowable bedrooms from three to
four outside the University impact area. I'm assuming the parentheses `keep unrelated
occupancy at three,' um sounds like a good idea. I'm not confident of the enforcement,
um, I ... I sense we have a lot of over -occupied units and .... (both talking)
Mims/ ...but I think we have families that have some problems finding places, don't we, Tracy?
Hightshoe/ We're having a growing immigrant community that need large, um, a number of
bedrooms and it's hard for them to find housing for all their family members when we
only have .... when all our new construction is just three bedrooms (both talking)
Thomas/ Right, so I support it. I just .... there on the other side of this is ... is the potential for
over -occupancy of unrelateds.
Throgmorton/ Agreed. Uh, let's recognize we're going to have to revisit this, uh, at some point,
uh, in the future. (several responding)
Simpson/ Jim, can I ask a question real quick?
Throgmorton/ Sure!
Simpson/ Why .... why are, what's the justification for exempting, um, the University impact area
from bumping up to four bedrooms?
Hightshoe/ That's usually where we have the problem with over -occupancy, um, is student
housing, um .... typically you don't see it as much in the outlying areas, but for the
neighborhoods in the downtown, that has been a problem in those areas. So they limit
unrelated individuals to three.
Dilkes/ That's where the enforcement issue arises that John was just talking about (several
talking) where it's concentrated.
Simpson/ ...the more bedrooms we have the more unrelateds typically live there?
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Mims/ Right. We have more students packing in. And of course they want to live as close to
campus as possible.
Simpson/ Right.
Mims/ So that's.....why we say outside of that area.
Thomas/ You know, I would quickly say, and it's not on the list, but um .... I am interested, uh,
particularly for the student population with, uh, in certain areas of Iowa City considering
what I've heard, uh, described as congregate housing or board .... a boarding house
basically. Um, I think under the right circumstances in terms of management and
location, that that could be a viable model for affordable student housing.
Dickens/ We talked about that in Riverfront Crossing, have an area for fraternities, sororities,
boarding house (several talking) Yeah. But nothing ... I don't know (both talking)
Hightshoe/ We allow boarding houses. Right? Already by code.
Thomas/ Okay.
Simpson/ I ask the question just because.... when people are .... when we have higher
occupants... occupancy than we're supposed to have, it's typically because students are
looking for more affordable housing, and so the more housing stock we can develop, the
more bedrooms we can have. As prices go down, I think our unrelated issue would go
down as well, so that's why I'm skeptical of eliminating, um, the University impact area.
Throgmorton/ Well we will have to revisit that. Item 10, pursue a form -based code for the
Alexander Elementary neighborhood, and .... and the downtown core. Uh, I take that
downtown core to mean the Northside neighborhood, given, uh, the other, uh, memo we
got. Uh....
Mims/ It's already in the works basically.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, it's already in process. Item 11, strategically seek low income housing tax
credit projects through an RFP process overseen by the Housing and Community
Development Commission, ties to the use of the affordable housing fund.
Botchway/ So I move that to pretty high just because, and again, pretty high in relation of time I
guess is more appropriately how I'm thinking about it, because we already talked about it
in regards to the annual process for the, urn.... distributing dollars for City's newly
created affordable housing fund, and so I think it even said it within the link that it was
tied to it but maybe I'm wrong.
Fruin/ I think in this case, Tracy, and .... and correct me if I'm wrong, the.... the.... the litech
window, um, for this fiscal year is ... is passing, if not passed, and so, um, we would
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probably take the, wherever we ended up, 20%, put it through the CDBG process this
year, and then look to do the litech RFP, um, in 2017.
Hightshoe/ Yeah, we're probably too late for this year. Um ... I mean, we're close. The
application, I think, is due in November. We would have to have control of land. You
have to do your market analysis, and you're gettin' too close for this year.
Throgmorton/ Okay, so we can move on to Item 12? (several talking) 14, sorry! Thank you,
cause we already did 12 and 13. Uh, Item 14 was .... has to do with tenant displacement.
Uh, yeah, uh.... if. ... if I read correctly, the staff recommended Council approval of major
site plans when 12 or more households will be displaced and there is no accompanying
rezoning, but the Commission recommends Council notification instead of approval, and
it adds an additional element, doesn't it, Tracy? About developing a displacement
policy?
Hightshoe/ Yeah. Yes.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so this all stems from Rose Oaks. Uh, and is, uh, and Eleanor's memo, uh,
to us back in June. I .... I'd say .... we should ask, um .... staff to prepare a draft ordinance
based on what Ele... Eleanor gave us back in June.
Botchway/ Yeah, I would agree and I think that, as we're talking about ranking, I mean, just for
the public's interest, I mean (mumbled) 14, 12, 5, 11, and 4 were my top five. Um, 14
was my highest one, I mean I feel like, you know, from a timing perspective, we need to
get this, you know, as expedil.... expeditiously as possible, and so, um, I don't know how
other Councilors feel, but....Yrn.....I feel pretty strongly about, you know, doing what
we can. I mean I was kind of waiting on this meeting to happen to have this discussion. 1
think we talked about it, um, to move forward on a draft ordinance as quickly as possible.
Cole/ And I do not want it only to be noticed.....I like the concept of giving Council the
opportunity to weigh in, so .... I feel very strongly about that. I think we're the elected
representatives and we need to have oversight of that process. Um, so I want to leave it
as is. I do not want that changed. (several talking)
Frain/ Just want to remind the Council, and .... and I think Eleanor's memo touched on this, we
talked about it in June, your level of discretion with the site plan approval is very, very
limited, and so really the intent of this is to provide notice, um, and information above
and beyond what's provided through the current process right now. Um ... but it is still
very much an administrative review process, uh, so your discretion is .... very tight.
Cole/ But the point is is though we would be able to have technical voting authority over it is my
understanding.
Frain/ Correct.
Cole/ That's fine.
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Mims/ I guess I think the notice ... if we don't really have much flexibility, in terms of approving
or not approving it. If it meets the .... the technical specs, then I don't think it makes sense
for the Council to go through the actual voting on it when it's, I mean, we have certain
things that come before us that are almost a done deal, and I think the notification, um,
and then the .... the staff approval, I think the additional notification to .... to Council and
to residents and the transition plan give us what we need to get a better handle on these
situations, to say that we're gonna vote when really .... all we're doing is kind of rubber
stamping something that we have to rubber stamp, uh, I think gives a .... I think it gives
the public a false sense of. ... of discretion and ability that we have as a Council.
Botchway/ Well, Eleanor, I guess to .... or I'll let somebody else go ahead. I didn't (both talking)
Taylor/ ...I was just thinking as far as that... approval does sound like a really strong word and I
was thinking more something like, uh, Council review, uh.... of a proposed major site
plan when households are going to be displaced. That ... that would be (both talking)
Throgmorton/ I ... I felt back when .... back when we were discussing Rose Oaks, that the key
thing was advance notification. (several responding) And .... and also there.... there's a
second element to what staff initially recommended, if I remember correctly anyhow, and
that is that.... applications for major site plan approval would require a transition plan ... to
better inform residents and the general public.
Dilkes/ There were three elements to it. It was to increase the notice requirements, it was
to ... um, add a Council role, and Geoffs right, the ... the risk of that comes with an
expectation by members of the public that you have more authority than you really do,
and .... we've had situations like that before, for instance with our sensitive areas
ordinance where it's a technical.... it's a rezoning, but it's a technical issue and that can
cause a lot of frustration, so.....that was .... that's a caveat. And then the third item, which
would require a Comp Plan amendment would too require, um, a transition plan, knowing
that you couldn't impose lease terms or, you know, extend lease terms, but you could,
urn .... time the approval to correspond with the conclusion of the leases, for instance.
Something to that effect.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so I ... again, I think it would be helpful for us to ask .... ask the City Attorney
to work with other staff to develop a .... a policy, or not a policy, an ordinance pertaining
to this topic, along the lines you just indicated, and then we'll judge what we want to do
once we see the draft.
Taylor/ I think ... what I'm sensing is, uh, some of the group would like to see something that has
just a little more teeth in it, and I ... and I saw that in the last one that said about the
neighbor meetings would be encouraged and I thought it should maybe say would be
necessary rather than encouraged to give it a little more.... strength.
Botchway/ Those are .... aren't those already happening? Wouldn't those already happen?
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Dilkes/ We .... we, our neighborhood meetings are not mandatory for rezonings. Currently.
So ... so I think you would want to be consistent about whether a neighborhood meeting
was mandatory or.....not.
Cole/ Well I ... I guess I'd like the ordinance to be consistent with Eleanor's original memo.
Botchway/ I agree!
Throgmorton/ Yeah and that particular point, Pauline, is one we could revisit (several talking)
when the draft is before us.
Botchway/ Well just to be clear though, but the Council approval part isn't a part of your original
memo.
Cole/ Yes it was.
Mims/ Yes it was.
Botchway/ So I would agree that we move forward, but with Susan's caveat. I mean, how do we
work out from a wordsmithing standpoint to remove that approval piece, cause I don't...
I do think that's problematic. I don't .... I don't understand.... go ahead.
Dilkes/ Well .... you don't understand why (several talking)
Botchway/ ...potentially approving a major site plan.
Dilkes/ ...where no rezoning was required.
Botchway/ Correct. But we wouldn't be approving anything.
Dilkes/ Yes you would be approving the site plan, but the scope of your review would be limited.
It's not a discretionary matter like it is with the rezoning. Essentially the purpose of a site
plan is to .... show what you're gonna do and so.....the staff or the Council, if the Council
is the one that's going to make that decision, can determine that all the existing codes
have been satisfied.
Botchway/ Okay. I guess I'm more interested in the part where .... I don't know if we can
explicitly put in the ordinance or something along the lines as far as making sure that our
scope is that limited. I know that we're gonna have that discussion each time it may
come up but.....I guess I'm interested, I mean, Susan's point...
Dilkes/ The ordinance will, as it does with staff, will ... will say what ... what the scope of the
review is.
Botchway/ Okay.
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Dilkes/ Yeah.
Throgmorton/ Yeah. Okay (both talking)
Dilkes/ We can do it .... you can take a look at it when it's (several talking)
Throgmorton/ Okay, I think .... I think you have direction there.
Botchway/ But my point as far as direction is this being something that, again, for me, and I
know we didn't talk about it from our priority sense, would be, you know, top priority as
far as moving forward (several talking) Okay! I just wanted to make sure. I
didn't.... okay!
Throgmorton/ Okay, the last item is rent abatement for emergency orders when vacation of
property is not necessary, and the Commission recommends using simpler language for
ease of understanding, and boy, I'd have to agree! (laughter) So .... okay, so I think we're
agreed about that. Uh, we are really out of time, but I want to mention something about
goals here. Uh, so we can mull it over and we'll have to come back to this when we re...
revisit our work session after the formal meeting's over. The Affordable Housing
Coalition also stressed the importance of, uh, establishing quantitative affordable housing
goals. You probably have your own thoughts — I wanna tell you mine. There are three.
Uh, the first is, uh, to increase the supply of housing that is affordable by lower income
residents. The second is to improve the overall affordability of housing in Iowa City, and
the third is to achieve better socio... socioeconomic balance among neighborhoods or
elementary school attendance areas, you know, to help the School District. Uh, and
what... whatever we do, if we, you know, define goals that will help the staff determine
how they can measure ... how well we're .... we are achieving those goals. So I think we're
gonna have to come back to that, uh, when we reconvene. Okay! Good deal, so we're
gonna stop here. Thank you, Tracy. Thanks, Geoff. Thanks, Jay. Thanks, Simon.
Thank you everybody! What's the right verb here?
Karr/ Recess!
Throgmorton/ We're going to recess until after the formal meeting.
(RECESS FOR FORMAL MEETING)
Throgmorton/ Okay!
Mims/ I think we can skip the second bullet questions on agenda items. (laughter and several
talking)
Throgmorton/ Yeah, the goals part of it though, I mean, the affordable housing stuff. We need to
revisit that. But that ... that's where we left off.
Mims/ Okay.
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Throgmorton/ So .... you remember right at the end of that discussion I said, uh, it would be
worthwhile, uh, following basically the Affordable Housing Coalition's suggestion that
we try to be clear about our .... our goals for the, uh, for our affordable housing initiative,
and I mentioned three that make sense to me, uh, but I don't know if they make sense to
you. So, uh, just to repeat them and then y'all can express whatever you need to say. Uh,
one goal I think should be to increase the supply of housing that is affordable by lower
income residents. A second would be to improve the overall affordability of housing in
Iowa City, and a third would be to achieve better socioeconomic balance among our
neighborhoods or elementary school attendance areas ... to .... to help the School District.
So, I want to put those out there and .... so that the staff would be able to develop ways of
measuring our effectiveness in achieving goals. But I ... I don't know what y'all think
so....
Cole/ I guess I would agree with all three, in particular socioeconomic balance, um, in the
various school dis.... uh, zones. So, uh, I fully agree with that, and I think the key thing is
we want to quantify that so we can review that from year to year, but I think that
absolutely should be a goal of the affordable housing policy.
Botchway/ Yeah, I think for me I would be .... agree with Rockne. I would be interested in, um,
how we quantify it, and then you know, how we .... how we receive those quarterly or by
annual updates, but I'm more interested in the .... yeah, I think the goals are great, and so
I'd be more interested in the measuring.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, I just, to respond briefly, I figured we'd delegate the responsibility to the
staff to figure out what measures to use.
Simpson/ On goal #1, I'd just like very clear explanation of what we mean by .... in the past
we've clearly defined low income and what not, but a clear definition on resident and
whether it's short-term, long-term, um, that kind of ...that kind of qualification.
Botchway/ I don't, I mean, I don't necessarily know that we need to have a .... have some type of
qualification, I mean for me it....it would be short-term, long-term. Anybody?
Throgmorton/ I think it's pretty clear where you're coming from in the question, Jake, so....
Thomas/ (both talking) ...Jake's comment during the community comment period, you know,
is ... I was happy that you brought that issue up because I think that .... the, urn ... you know,
two things. One the aff.... the housing of students who represent over 40% of the student
population, or I mean of the population of Iowa City are very important constituency and
part of the community, and two, how we effectively manage.... the... the relationship of
the student housing to the larger.....demographic of Iowa City is ... is also critical, so that
the .... all of the, you know, those ... those outcomes, those negative outcomes that you
were describing, um, will not be effectively addressed unless we, you know, manage
those two .... those two components of our housing.
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Mims/ I think it also speaks to the need, and we've talked about this a little bit, is .... increasing
our discussion and communication with the University of Iowa. I mean when you look at
the number of housing units that the University of Iowa, net number that they have now
versus say 10 or 15 years ago, versus what Iowa State has done, and you also look at
changes in enrollment, um, it's my understanding that the University of Iowa is
significantly behind what Iowa State has done in terms of increasing, uh, dormitory
space, you know, for their students, and so I think particularly if you talk about, um,
using tax dollars for student housing, um, and I totally agree they're huge and important
part of this community. The University also has a certain responsibility there, and I think
that's a discussion that we need to .... and I know recently they have been pretty vocal
about the fact that they've taken the west side dormitory, um, out of the active category,
and I think there's actually a number of different reasons for that having happened, um...
but I think that's an important part of our overall discussion when we start looking at, um,
the student housing.
Throgmorton/ On that point, uh, Jake, I don't know if you heard this earlier, but Geoff and I had
extensive conversation with President Harreld about collaborating on the development of
a, um .... uh, a housing market analysis that would include student demand for off -campus
housing, uh, and therefore would give us a better handle on what the demand is and how
students fit into that and what kind of response is appropriate, uh.... uh, given that
demand.
Simpson/ I appreciate you all hearing my concerns. (several talking)
Cole/ And I think he ... he did bring up a really good topic, and I think at some point in the future,
um, I wouldn't mind havin' a work session on it. Probably we're not there yet but I .... I
think it's a complicated issue. It's a conversation the community's been having pretty
much for the last 50 years. As I understand it that was .... it's been a .... it's been an issue.
The students are incredibly valuable, um, we love the students, um, you know as Jim
points out though, it's trying to work all those variables into the neighborhoods, um,
sometimes the expectations can be a little different with students than some of the longer
term residents, so that's the balance we're tryin' to get, and I think that hopefully, um, at
some point in the future when we feel it's the right time we can do a work session on that.
I think it's an important topic. Um, bring up a good point, Jim.
Thomas/ Yeah, I .... I agree on the work session and ... and I don't know what the status is on that
housing market analysis, but I think it's hard to, uh, really move forward on the action
plan without having that as a baseline.
Fruin/ We're still discussing the scope of the project with the University.
Throgmorton/ Okay. Uh, anybody else want to comment on ... on goals, either propose additional
goals or modifying anything that's already been put out there?
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Mims/ I think those three work fine. I think it's just .... you know, getting to quantifying and do
we put certain aspirational numbers with these at some point. So .... but as a starting point
I think it's great.
Fruin/ Our plan will be to .... um, return to you in the next month or two, um, with really a .... a
plan format of all these activities, um, something we'll move off the Power Point that we
used tonight, and what we'll attempt to do is give a .... a three or a five-year projection on
the number of additional units, um, that .... that we think will be created because of all
these different actions. There's so many variables. You all know it's going to be kind of
a .... a guesstimate but I do think it's important that we put that out there. Then over the
next few years we can track and see, you know, what type of impact these had. So, um,
you'll see that, uh, come forward again in the next couple of months and then every few
months or every quarter we'll report back to you, urn .... and the first few times it'll just be
`here's where we are on all these activities,' cause it's going to take a while to try to
move the needle on this issue. You know, if you want to look at, you know, the impact
of these actions on the FRI, distribution .... (laughs) there's some other variables
that'll.... that'll move those numbers a lot more so than our actions. It's... doesn't mean
it's not important to track but .... um, it's going to be hard for us to say four months from
now, hey look, we've created 30 units or we've achieved this balance. It just doesn't
move that quickly.
Ouestions from Council re Agenda Items:
ITEM 3d(1) POLITICAL PARTY IC EVENT - RESOLUTION APPROVING AN
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND SUMMER OF THE ARTS,
INC. TO ALLOW THE TEMPORARY AND LIMITED SALE,
CONSUMPTION, AND POSSESSION OF BEER DURING POLITICAL
PARTY IC EVENT.
Throgmorton/ Okay! So we can move on. Uh, I do want to ask one question about agenda
items, which is our next topic, but we've already done (laughs) the formal meeting so we
shouldn't belabor this. Uh, my question is this, with regard to Item 3d(1), the political
party, I .... Iowa City event on October the 7s'. Uh, the text said it's going to be on
Dubuque Street between Jefferson and Iowa, and .... I asked myself could that possibly be
right, between Jefferson and Iowa Avenue?
Andrew/ Yeah, that's correct.
Throgmorton/ Is that right?
Andrew/ (both talking) It'll be a similar set-up to, uh, A Hundred Plus Men and Women, when
they had that on Dubuque Street, but it'll be a block farther north based on the
Washington Street construction project.
Throgmorton/ Okay, it was intentional. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a....
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Andrew/ That is correct.
Throgmorton/ ....typo or something.
Andrew/ They had originally asked for the, uh, other block of Dubuque Street, but with the
project that'd cut off the newly reopened hundred block of Washington so....
Information Packet Discussion [September 8, 151:
Throgmorton/ Okay! Uh.... I'm guessin' nobody has any other questions about agenda items,
so .... Info Packet, September 8. I'll mention one thing briefly about IP 47, the sustainable
Iowa City newsletter for September. There are lots of terrific stories in that newsletter, so
if...if Brenda's writing .... I don't know if Brenda is writing it but whoever is writing these
things is doing great. September 15 packet. Uh, so like four ... IN is the RFP to hire a
form -based code consultant. Anybody want to say anything about that? Ask any
questions about it?
Thomas/ I thought it looked pretty good. Um .... there were, I didn't.... gosh, I didn't bring that
with me! There were couple of things.... maybe I'll just follow up with Geoff on in terms
of, uh, the .... the language, minor .... minor things.
Fruin/ Sure.
Throgmorton/ I did have one question about it that .... has to do with the, um, the boundaries of
the Northside .... uh, District. Uh, and when I looked at the map, I found myself
wondering.... why we chose not to include the area encompassed by Van Buren,
Burlington, Dodge, and Jefferson. But instead stopped at Jefferson Street. So
I .... (unable to hear response from audience) (several talking and laughing)
Dickens/ That's never happened before! (laughs)
Throgmorton/ Sorry, Siri. (several talking)
Froin/ Um .... it's .... it's one of those things we had to cut it off somewhere. We felt that that was
a .... a manageable area. (noises on recording, unable to hear speaker) ....uncomfortable
that the scope was going to get too big.
Throgmorton/ Okay.
Fruin/ There was no other reason.
Throgmorton/ Kinda figured that was the answer but .... I wanted to ask it anyhow. Okay, so....
anything else on that .... in that Info Packet?
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Frain/ Real quick on that form -based code, we are ready to go out with that, so .... um, I'll hold
off until I hear from you, John, but urn .... as soon as, uh, we ... uh, incorporated whatever
you have, um, we'll hit the streets with that.
Dickens/ So that's supposed to go out the 26s'?
Frain/ Uh, yeah. (both talking)
Throgmorton/ So, John, I saw a couple typos. Is that what you're referring to?
Thomas/ (both talking) ....changing the content. It's just....
Frain/ Thank you!
Botchway/ Yeah, so IP7. So, um, this started from somewhat of a Facebook discussion around
the recent, uh, for lack of a better word rash of, um, bicycle/car related incidents, and so,
um, did a little research as far as some of the things that other cities have been doing and
so I put some of that research in, um, in the Council packet, and so what I'm proposing is,
um, an ordinance that speaks to the, um, the feet distance that cars, a passing zone that
cars are allowed to, urn .... uh, have when moving around a bicycle. I know that it's ... it
would be somewhat tough in some of our smaller streets and in that case even to the
comment, the Facebook comments that were discussed, um, you know, you would just
have to wait, like any other, um, vehicle, um, or ... um, on the road so, um, just throwing it
out there as a possible ordinance. Again it .... it, I don't necessarily know if it speaks to
some of the situations that have occurred, um, because I think those violations that have
occurred have ended up in, uh, one individual in the hospital. I think it was in the Des
Moines' Register where, um, he's lost the, um, ability to .... to walk, as of right now, um
(several talking) Sioux City? Okay. Um, but for me those would be, uh, or would be an
important ordinance to .... to do something around those lines, and again, other cities are
adopting similar things.
Cole/ I would support looking at that, and I ... and I think along those lines, I know that Think
Bicycles routinely meets with staff, um, so I'm wondering whether there are those sort of,
um, for lack of a better term low hanging fruit that maybe you could get an update from
Think Bicycles, cause I know that that obviously has been a huge issue in terms of biker
safety, so I think that's a great idea for possible consideration.
Throgmorton/ Is this the kind of thing that would be addressed in the bicycle master plan update?
Frain/ Um, I don't know that it would have to wait for the bicycle master plan. It probably
would come up in that process, um.....but.... we talked about it at a staff level and .... and,
um, I'm not sure that (noises on recording, unable to hear speaker) I guess I don't know if
there's a reason to hesitate. If...if there ... if you want to define, um, a distance as opposed
to what we have right now. What we have right now basically says you have to pass at a
safe distance. Um, so moving to five feet (mumbled) saying five feet is what we consider
a safe distance, that's okay. It's still difficult to enforce. You know, our current
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ordinance is difficult to enforce and .... even having five feet, maybe it makes it a little
easier but you're still requiring an officer to have the right vantage point to see five feet,
you know, what is five feet around a cyclist? It's....
Thomas/ It's almost more an educational .... effort in some ways.
Fruin/ The other item that was brought up in .... in your articles, um, Kingsley, was .... you know,
whether our signs, urn.... should be changed, some of the text on our signs should be
changed and I think that's more appropriate to be vetted through a master plan, um,
they'll look at signage throughout the community related to bikes. We have, um, about a
hundred share the road signs in the community right now, so to change out those signs is
a pretty big undertaking. I ... I'd wait and let that process go, but ... if the Council would
like to see an ordinance on a .... a safe distance, we can do that, and ... and we would work
with Think Bicycles and the Iowa Bicycle Coalition to inform us as we put together that
ordinance.
Cole/ I guess I would like them at least to evaluate that and any other, um, issues that may pop
Up.
Throgmorton/ I.....I'd like to know whether they advocate it.
Fruin/ Okay.
Mims/ So obviously State law would allow us to do that?
Dilkes/ Pardon me?
Mims/ Obviously State law would allow us to do that. Okay. (several talking)
Taylor/ ....and we could even have those signs that say `may use full lane.' We .... we (several
talking)
Cole/ There's the votes, aren't there, to at least consider it?
Throgmorton/ It seems that way. Uh, anything else on the September 15a' packet?
Karr/ The KXIC show. IP8.
Throgmorton/ Yeah. What do we need?
Karr/ I just, uh, double checking this is going to be okay, cause we had some conflicts. (several
talking)
Botchway/ Yeah. John?
Thomas/ Oh, yeah!
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Botchway/ Uh, IP7.
Dickens/ It is his birthday remember! (several talking and laughing)
Botchway/ I wasn't even trying to say that! (laughs) Just a quick note to John. Um, IP7, I just
want to, you know, I know Stefanie's gone now, um, but this is, you know, this is one of
those things that it's not .... it's not, you know, um, I was going to say another word but
it's not exciting. Um, but um, I think it can do a lot of things as far as us looking at our
policies on a consistent basis and just making sure that we are looking at things in terms
of equity and understanding, you know, different populations have different needs and so
I .... I just want to, you know, thank staff for the work they're doing on that and .... keep it
UP.
Fruin/ (mumbled) IP 17? (several talking)
Botchway/ Oops! Sorry, I wasn't looking.... yeah, IP 17. Sorry! (several talking) Yeah, IP 17.
Yep.
Throgmorton/ Agreed! (several talking) Okay, hearing nothing else, Council time.
Council Time:
Mims/ Nothing more for me!
Botchway/ I did want to bring up one thing. I'll be somewhat brief. Um, you know, and I think
Susan almost alluded to it, I mean, almost.... alluded to it a little bit in the conversation
you had during Council time. You know there's a recent shooting that happened this
weekend, uh, you know .... I worry that our .... our nation, um, .... are becoming somewhat
numb to, you know, the things that are happening from that perspective. Um, again it's
littered throughout my timeline, at times I'm sure it's littered throughout yours and....
you know, I'll be honest with you, I mean, when I make ... I make jokes about my
birthday, but you know, recently.... even last night as I was looking through some of the
Facebook comments and some of the news reports, it did make me think a lot about, you
know, my mortality and, you know, being in an awkward situation and, uh, you know, I
was headed home, um, not too long ago, I was speeding, obviously, and got caught for
speeding. Um, and uh, you know, it was just a weird altercation where the, uh,
officer .... I think he did everything he was supposed to do, was ... it was early morning, I
was trying to get to a flight. Um, he asked me, you know, to get out of the car, um,
come ... it was dark so ... (mumbled) out of the car, come with him into the car and sit and
just wait so he goes through the process. Um, you know, and I'll be honest with ya, I
just .... it was a freaky situation to me, just with everything that's been going on, it being
dark, you know, my son being in the car, urn .... and again, I think he was doing it for his
own safety, it being dark. I ... it made sense to me after you think about it logically from
that standpoint, um, but it...it just makes me think about, um, you know, some of the
concerns, so I do want to make two points. One I want to highlight the .... our Police
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Department and what they've done. I think there's been a number of different things that
have come out, um, recently, um, some even hitting the national level that I think our
Police Department has responded incredibly towards. Um, I think, Rockne, you
mentioned, urn .... the, uh, the hi .... the highly racially charged situation that happened
with the University student. Um, I think recently, um, you know, you also mentioned
that the....I forgot about it as well, you know, an individual that had, um, had priorly
been, um .... I don't want to say charged but it was mentioned in the police report that
there was a thought there was a gun and the person was running through the ped mall and
police were chasing after him. I feel like in some of the situations that have happened in
a national context that might have ended in, um, a shooting and it didn't, and so I mean I
really want to, you know, commend our Police Department and there's many other
opportunities we can talk about that I'm not necessarily clarifying or bringing up right
now. That being said, um, I do think, um ... we do need to do a little bit more. I do think
there's, you know, I don't want to play on the national climate at all but it....it makes me
think about it more when it happens that I want to make sure that I'm doing enough in my
role as a City Council Member to bring up some of these issues. Um, so one of the things
that does go back to the packet is, um, wondering whether or not, again, I'll say two
things and then I'll be done. The first thing, um, I want to discuss with y'all and I have to
put a proposal together and so it'll take me some time around, you know, looking at some
committee, and it could currently be what we are constructing right now as far as looking
at some of the policies of the Police Department. I know that the, um, CPRB does that
currently now and in some ways annually. Um, but there's some different models out
there as far as committee, um, organizations. I'm thinking about the diversity roundtable
as well. As far as, um, groups that could be modified just a little bit that are already
currently constructed that could look at particular things in a little bit more in depth, in
conjunction with the Police Department. Um, the other thing I was gonna.... mentioning,
or was gonna think about, was, um, the disproportionality, um, it's on our agenda, our
work session. I think it's #5, as far as moving that up, um, in our conversations. I don't
necessarily know if we need... I don't necessarily know, Geoff, and I'm kind of asking
you this question and also making a statement, that we need, um .... I don't know what
was thought of as far as bringing that information back. I think we have some of that
information from the studies that were done and so from a Council standpoint, I think
that, you know, we can, and again, help me out, Geoff, if I'm not thinking about
something, we can make policy, um, to, you know, bring about that goal that I think is
talked about in item 5, and then kind of work out the details from that, but .... I would feel
like that's a huge step or a major step that we can move towards relatively quickly, and I
was even thinkin' for the next meeting. I know that we have the strategic plan status
update that, um, will take a considerable amount of time, but .... again, I feel like, you
know, coming together and talking about a goal around disproportionality, um, wouldn't
be too tough, but again I could be wrong and if it moved into the next work session I
think .... I think that'd be fine as well. And I did not preface this to staff ahead of time
and so I do apologize.
Fruin/ Um, just a couple of quick reactions. I think if I were in your shoes, um, you know, we
presented you with the Barnum study, but the Barnum study's a pretty limited focus to
traffic stops so, urn .... when you get into dispropor .... disproportionality and arrests, you
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know, that's even beyond the scope of the Barnum study. Um, so I would want some
data from the Police Department, and I'm not sure that we can pull it together for October
4"'. I'd have to talk with our....Police staff and .... and really see what kind of, uh,
information and trend reports that we could .... we could provide you, if you're gonna, uh,
set a goal. Um, and the other thing to keep in mind is the Police Department is in a
transition period, and uh, within a couple of months hopefully we'll have a new Chief
and, uh, that person, urn .... is going to bring, uh, his or her own views into the department
and .... and want to get to know the officers and learn the, uh.... uh, learn the history, uh,
you know, of the department and really engage, um .... uh, the department in a discussion
about the future, knowing where the Council is with your strategic plan. So, um, I'd just
be careful. I think discussing statistics, setting goal, I don't really have any,
urn .... problems with or hesitation with you doing that, but in terns of setting new
policies and directions, uh, before a new Chief, um .... uh, is .... is appointed, I do have
some hesitation there. I think, urn .... I think that person's going to need some time.
Dickens/ Where are we at in the application process right now on that?
Fruin/ Applications have been received and we're, um, reviewing those and .... and vetting the
candidates right now.
Cole/ I guess I don't think it's unreasonable, maybe not for October 4a', but for the follow-up,
just to get an update about where we are from the .... the study up through today, urn ... I
mean I guess we .... I think we do have to have a degree of urgency. We can't make
policy immediately, but I think in terms of communicating clearly to the public where we
are, I think that's an extremely important do, so would that be reasonable to maybe have
a .... an update in terms of (several talking) Well but in other words, they made a series of
statistical analysis, like for example ... um, consent, um, how frequently those were
accurate in terms of whether they actually found any contraband. Um, my interpretation
of the .... of why we did the study is that we wanted follow-up from that. Isn't that
what ... and the department would respond to the statistical findings in the study, unless
I'm incorrect about that. Um, so I think an update in terms of the response or any policy
changes since the study I don't think is unreasonable. Unless....
Mims/ What were we planning on originally in terms of update? Was that going to be more of
an annual thing?
Fruin/ It ... yeah, I don't recall if we landed on annual or every two years, because we're not, uh,
St. Ambrose isn't, you know, updating that data every week or every month even, uh, you
know, we're .... we're revisiting with them every .... again year or two, I don't remember
exactly what it was, and then presenting back to the Council. Uh, you also get an update
in the equity report that the Human Rights office, uh, puts together. And that focuses,
again, um .... has a little bit of a broader scope, not just on traffic stops and searches and...
and what not, um, but ... but looks at some of the, um, bigger picture statistics in the
department, so....
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Mims/ My concern is you start looking at that too frequently.... you're.... you're making
assumptions about trends that really aren't trends. They're blips up or down that may
make things look good and you think you're doing better. I mean I think ..... I think we
need to figure out whatever that is every 12 months. I think two years is maybe a little
too long, urn .... but I think we need to get something so we're not .... oh gee, this is on our
radar today so we want a report next month. I ... I don't (both talking)
Cole/ But it's not ... I wouldn't say that we'd get new data. What I'm saying is I thought we did
the study to be able to determine whether we need any policy responses so that when we
did the study again we could hopefully lower some of those unfavorable findings, unless
I'm wrong on that. I mean (both talking)
Mims/ But you said something about update on the study, and that's (both talking)
Cole/ Update on the policy in response to this, I mean I thought we wanted to develop (several
talking)
Tbrogmorton/ I think we need to wait till we have a Police Chief (both talking)
Mims/ I do too.
Throgmorton/ ....in, uh... you know, here (laughs) But I do agree that we ... I believe we need to
make progress on that particular strategic plan item, and what you said about arrests,
Geoff, makes me think it would be good to .... for the staff to begin accumulating data,
and the Police Department, begin accumulating data that relates to the arrests and about
disproportionality in arrests, not just traffic stops, searches and arrests, with regard to
response I think we need to have a Police Chief at hand cause we can't ask Troy to .... to
provide a clear indication of how the .... the staff, uh, of the Police Department thinks it is
capable of responding and so on. Think we need to be in, uh, have an interaction with the
new Police Chief and the Council about what .... what our goals, uh, should be with regard
to that particular item.
Andrew/ And in the strategic plan update, uh, there will be some items for department activities
in terms of unconscious bias training and, uh, public outreach, so it'll have some, uh,
details of activities in the interim, but .... um, certainly not the, you know, data focus
the... uh, the study is.
Botchway/ Yeah, I mean .... yeah. Okay. I'll, like I said, there's another part of this that I'll have
to come back and bring before you as far as some of the other, um, thoughts and
comments that I was working through as far as a proposal. So it's a little more
substantiated as far as, you know, what I'm thinking about, but ... you know (mumbled) I
thought long and hard about that last night as far as the new Police Chief, you know, it is
policy direction and you know I do agree with, you know, waiting for a new Police Chief
and I do understand that piece, but .... you know.... there's a lot of situations that are
happening in a lot of communities where you know, um, I don't know the nature of their
organizations but they could have waited on whatever the case may be and so I don't
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want to .... I don't want that to be the community thought or feeling that we're waiting,
um, in regards to that, but.....
Throgmorton/ Yeah. All right. I think we get the point, and it's clearly an important strategic
objective, so we need to make progress on it. Let's begin accumulating information, and
uh.... proceed, uh, at .... you know, at a proper moment. I get your point, so we'll have to
talk about that further. Uh, anything else on that, uh, Info Packet? If not, Council time
stuff. That's where we were though, wasn't it? (several talking) We'd already moved
into that. All right, I wanted to mention a few topics. I'll be ..... incredibly brief as I can,
uh, one is, uh.... uh, John, Geoff and I joined Governor Branstad and others on September
the 16`" to help Meta Communications celebrate, uh.... uh, its success and .... did that with
the leadership of ICAD. I was very pleased to be there. Also, let's see .... was it
yesterday I attended the Iowa Women's Foundation luncheon. Uh, they're doin' terrific
work. I don't ... Susan, I don't know if you were there (both talking)
Mims/ I was out of town.
Throgmorton/ Yeah. It .... they're doin' terrific work so it was a real pleasure bein' there. Uh,
with 900 other people, probably 80 to 90% of whom were women. It was good to be in a
minority. Uh, but the ... one other thing I wanted to mention under Council time has to do
with communications I've received, and I'm sure some others of you have as well in one
way or another. Communications I've received about the cost of construction delays to
businesses on the 100 block of Washington Street. At least one business owner has
indicated to me that he thinks the City should compensate his and other businesses for
those ... for those costs, and I told him I would seek your advice about that. And I simply
want to know whether you want the Council to discuss it further .... uh, so that, you know,
we can respond more knowledgeably or .... or what, I don't know what you think.
Mims/ My recollection is we had some discussion of this a long time ago and really determined
that that was not something that we could do.
Dickens/ We talked about it with the First Avenue, uh, construction of the bridge there that, uh, it
was kind of opening a can of worms and .... being on the hundred block of Washington
Street I would have to recuse myself anyway (laughs) but, ub.... I've heard it from
some .... some people too and it's just .... it's a necessary evil that we had to do, and .... it,
you know, I can give you stats on what it did to our business. We were down 40% in
May and June. We're not gonna make that up, you know, it ... it's.....but it's.....that's
where we're located and it could happen anywhere in the city and .... and it's just part of
doing business as much as I hated it. You just have to go on.
Botchway/ Yeah, I would agree with Susan. I think we had a discussion about it.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, we did and let me add one bit of information. The .... the thing that's new,
according to this ... the business people I've talked to, is the delay. And I'm not staking
out a position here at all, I'm just trying to convey what I've heard (several talking) delay
or thereabouts.
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Mims/ But again, I think you get into construction projects like this and .... it's not that unusual
that you end up with delays, particularly when you have a project as big as this and as old
as that infrastructure was, urn ... you know, they dig down and they find things, or don't
find things, that are totally unexpected, um, connections to the buildings, I think, were...
were a huge problem that hadn't been thought about or looked at in terms of some of the
utilities, etc. Um .... so, yeah, there were delays but it's all part of, um, a very, very major
construction project that you're talkin' what, a hundred year old water mains and water,
sewage, I mean, it was ... it needed to be done and .... you know, like Terry said, it's .... it's
one of those things that .... is incredibly unfortunate, uh, I don't doubt that it's an
incredible.... has been an incredible hardship on a number of those businesses, um, some
more than others, but I don't see given.... particularly given the discussion that we had
previously, and we spent quite a bit of time talking about it with First Avenue in terms of
what we could or could not do and what .... you know, what that opened up and .... etc.,
and really determined at that time that that was not, uh, a path which the City should go
down, and I would continue to support that.
Cole/ Well I guess I would at least to have liked to evaluate a city-wide policy as to how we deal
with these sorts of issues, because I think the main .... the first question is where do you
draw the line, so I think if you would grant it here, well then how do you not grant it to
First Avenue. Um, I think that's an absolute legitimate question, but I guess I'm not
willing to give up at least on the discussion as to whether it's fair that a small number of
business owners have to bear the cost of community development that will benefit the
community as a whole. So .... I would like to see a city-wide policy, um, at least
evaluated and where we could have a public hearing, we could get their feedback on a
proposal, um, I don't think this is just people in the middle of a process sort of, you
know, having some difficulty. I think there are certain businesses that were concerned
might go out of business and I think that is a concern of mine. So, I would at least like to
see us come back with at least an evaluation as to whether it's feasible to have a city-
wide policy, um, and also back to our discussion we had in January .... I think our
expectation was too that we would try to get the individual businesses to talk with their
landlords as to whether their landlords could give some sort of ad hoc rent relief. I think
people have had various levels of success with that, and so I think the delay coupled with
the various levels of success in terms of getting that rent relief, I think we should at least
look at it and if we decide that it's not feasible as a whole, we can, you know, maintain
the existing policy, but I think we need to at least evaluate it.
Dilkes/ Well I think you're at the point of deciding whether you want to put it on a subsequent
work session or not.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, I didn't want to kind of discuss it (both talking)
Dilkes/ Right.
Throgmorton/ ....in great detail now. I just wanted to know if you wanted to discuss it (several
responding)
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Cole/ Yes!
Throgmorton/ ....some future work session.
Mims/ I would say no. We've (both talking) I mean I would say no. We have discussed it in the
past. I think in great detail.
Throgmorton/ John?
Thomas/ Are we talking about general policy as opposed to.
Throgmorton/ No, Rockne's introducing a different topic there that's directly related, but the real
question at hand is (both talking)
Thomas/ No, I think we've come up with a number of valid concerns about relief in this
particular instance that would rule against it.
Taylor/ Against having a work session to talk about it, or against giving them relief?
Thomas/ Well we had .... as had been noted, we did talk about it earlier on in the process and,
urn ... the question of delay, I don't even know if the question of delay has been .... there
has been an extension in the ... in the duration of the project, that the delays may all be
warranted. I don't know that we've had a resolution on that. So, um, you know, as
Susan said that's often the case on projects where you're dealing with existing conditions,
unforeseen conditions, uh, contract extensions are often given in situations like that. So,
I ... I think it's a very difficult thing to assess and accurately capture in this instance.
Taylor/ Just had a question on that. When the City enters into contracts with some of these
contractors, is there any sort of a clause in there about any penalties (both talking)
Throgmorton/ Yes.
Taylor/ Do they receive penalties and then would we be able to reimburse some of the businesses
from that penalty (both talking)
Fruin/ There are liquidated damages, um, if they do not meet the, uh, prescribed deadlines.
However, it's not safe to assume that because there was a delay in the project that there
will be liquidated damages. Um ... often times the delays are attributable.... are
attributable to things that were not contemplated by the City, were not in the plans, and
uh, that's often the case, especially in these older urban areas where they lift up the
sidewalk, they get into the vaults, and they say, oh, well we didn't know this was here,
you know, on this Washington Street project for example, we found a vault that we didn't
know existed. The contractor then has to deal with that, um, which .... can delay a project.
So .... urn .... halfway through the project like this, we don't really get into calculating
what liquidated damages may or may not be. You tend to sort that out at the end of the
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projects and ... um ... we .... this came up in the discussion months back, I don't think you
want to get into a situation where the liquidated damages are then.... funneled through to
businesses. I don't even think that .... we could do that, um .... but.....
Dilkes/ Liquidated damages are very tricky thing just under normal circumstances and I think
that would be very tough.
Fruin/ And just so the Council knows, or if you recall, uh, when this came up before, um ... the
district, Downtown District did put forward a proposal asking for us to fund various
initiatives, um, you decided at staff s recommendation to ... to fund certain initiatives,
discounted passes and things of that nature, marketing dollars, um, since that time I have
authorized, uh, three additional, um, free parking days in our....in our decks, um .... as a
way to, uh, try to bring folks downtown, and the Downtown District is, um .... uh,
working those events. I think there's going to be one in October, one in November, and
one in December, to try to, um, bring more community members downtown to support
the businesses. So staff continues to work with the District as a whole, and my
recommendation is that continues to remain our focus is how can we support the, um,
the .... the business community as a whole down there and not look at individual payments
to businesses.
Meeting Schedule:
Throgmorton/ Well I heard at least four people who think we should not, uh, schedule a work
session on this topic. Okay. Next, uh, item meeting schedule. Anything on that anybody
wants to mention? Guess not. Pending work session topics. On October the 4`s we're
gonna review the strategic plan progress report, right, Simon?
Pending Work Session Topics IIP # 3 Info Packet of 9/151:
Andrew/ Absolutely! Lookin' forward to it!
Throgmorton/ All right, good deal. We addressed a lot of the other items tonight. Anything
needs ... need to be mentioned.... does anybody need to mention anything about upcoming
community events? Cause we've already sort of done that already.
Upcoming Community Events/Council Invitations:
Dickens/ It's my bed time!
Throgmorton/ Yep! Okay, it feels like bed time! What was it Matt used to say, for the good of
the order or something like that. We're done! Thank you!
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