HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-11-01 TranscriptionPage 1
Council Present: Botchway, Cole, Dickens, Mims, Taylor, Thomas, Throgmorton
Staff Present: Fruin, Dilkes, Karr, Andrew, Yapp, Howard, Bockenstedt, Boothroy,
O'Brien, Rummel, Havel, Ford, Knoche, Nations, Ralston
Others Present: Simpson (UISG)
Discuss North District Plan goals for the N. Dubuque St. / Peninsula area [IP # 3 of 10/27
packet]:
Throgmorton/ Okay, well let's begin the City Council's work session for Tuesday, November the
I". First topic is to discuss the North District Plan's goals for the North Dubuque
Street/Peninsula area, and I think I see John Yapp out there. Hi, John!
Yapp/ Good evening, uh, Mayor and Council Members. Uh, just give me a second to pull up
the, uh, imagery.
Throgmorton/ While you're doing that, I wonder if I could ask the Council Members if anybody
needs to pull an agenda item off of the formal meeting agenda. I know that Terry does,
for one item. Okay, good deal. Thank you.
Yapp/ Okay, I'll start. Uh.... we wanted to give the Council an overview of the, uh, existing
Comprehensive Plan goals, uh, as well as some Strategic Plan goals that affect, uh, the
North District. Uh, there has been some, uh, general community conversation about
potential redevelopment, uh, of this area, west of Dubuque Street, south of Interstate 80,
uh, and we anticipate an application, uh, very soon. Uh, the development team has
scheduled good neighbor meetings, uh, with both, uh, directly affected neighborhoods
and with surrounding neighborhoods, uh, on November 131'. Uh, as such, we wanted to
describe some of the existing Comprehensive Plan goals and Strategic Plan goals.
With .... with tonight's discussion, uh, the goal is not to get into any specific development
prop.... proposal. Uh, we do not yet have an application, uh, before us. Uh, the goal is to
outline and discuss general policy goals, and this also provides you with the opportunity
to comment on the existing Comp Plan and Strategic Plan goals and will help inform the
anticipated, uh, application. First to describe, uh, the North District. Uh, the North
District Plan was adopted in 2001. The, uh, south side of the district is bounded by the
Highway 1, Dodge Street corridor, uh, and the Iowa River. Uh, and then the north side is
bounded by Interstate 80. Uh, as you can see, the yellow color is .... is largely single-
family residential and .... and in a few locations on the east side of the district. Also areas
of, uh, wooded topography, uh, throughout the district. Uh, and then the orange color
indicates, uh, what's called conservation design, or clustering design, uh, where density
can be clustered in order to protect, uh, sensitive environmental areas, and I'll comment
on that in a little more detail. Uh, zooming in on the area south of Interstate 80 and west
of Dubuque Street, uh, the land use plan, uh, identifies, uh, the brown areas as multi-
family. Uh, the wooded areas are of course woodlands. The orange areas is conservation
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or clustered, uh, design. Uh, and the yellow is .... would be largely single-family. Uh,
this is the existing land use plan for the area. Uh, land use plans are illustrative, uh,
they're not regulatory. Uh, but they do help show the intent of future development, uh, in
the area. Some of the, uh, policy goals in the North District Plan. Uh, number one,
affordable housing. Uh, the plan states that if the mobile home park redevelops in the
future, consideration should be given to securing relocation assistance for the current
residents of the park. Uh, staff has consistently reinforced this goal with the owner and
the development team. Uh, number two, sensitive environmental areas. Uh, the North
District Plan states that as infrastructure improvements open up this area for new
development, protection of environmental sensitive areas will become more of a concern.
Uh, then it further says promoting conservation design by clustering the development
away from the headedly.... heavily wooded ravines will protect the wildlife corridors,
preserve the tree canopy, prevent erosion of steep slopes, and reduce storm water run-off.
From a regulatory perspective, uh, the City has a sensitive areas ordinance, uh, that
provides the regulatory framework for regulating these types of sensitive areas. Uh,
some of the .... this is an aerial photo and you can see much of the area is wooded, uh,
with some evidence of some very mature, uh, woodlands on parts of the property. Uh,
there are also some identified wetlands on the property, in approximately this area
where.... where my mouse is. And in the, uh, ravine between Dubuque Street and Laura
Drive. Uh, my next slide shows the, uh, contours or the topography of the area, so there
are some steep slopes and ravines on the, uh, western part of the slide, uh, on the north
side of Foster Road, and the area in between Dubuque Street and Laura Drive, uh, some
steep topography. There are also some relatively flat, uh, parcels of land, particularly, uh,
south of Interstate 80, uh... there's a ... a corridor there that is relatively flat compared to
the remainder of the .... the area. Uh, Dubuque Street entranceway. This is another policy
goal in the North District Plan. Uh, it is a policy in the Comprehensive Plan to create and
maintain attractive entrances to Iowa City. Dubuque Street has long been recognized for
its scenic character, views of the Iowa River, and woodlands and open space transitioning
into the Northside Neighborhood. Discouraging changes in land use that might result in
the degradation of the scenic qualities of the corridor will also protect the Dubuque Street
corridor. And I'll come back to this .... this policy statement when we get into the, uh,
Strategic Plan goals. Uh, Interstate 80 buffer. Uh, the North .... North District Plan states
preserving and enhancing a wooded open space buffer between residential development
and Interstate 80 should also be a key element of any future plans to develop or upgrade
housing in the area. Uh, some of the concept plans that we've seen for this larger
property which were .... were made public, uh, show .... uh, residential development, uh,
encroaching into that 300 -foot buffer, uh, from Interstate 80. The current City code
requires a 300 -foot, uh, buffer. Uh, we have had, uh, inquiries about whether the City
would, uh, amend the code to reduce that buffer in exchange for things like sound-
proofed buildings, enhanced landscaping in the remaining buffer, uh, those types of
things. Uh, so that is something that will be considered when we have an application.
Some additional factors, uh, on the land use map the larger Peninsula area .... is shown as
residential. Uh, primarily with, uh, RS -5, single-family residential and interim
development residential, also with some areas of multi -family zoning. Uh, it also shows
commercial development being encouraged in the Dodge Street, Highway 1 corridor.
Uh, not on the Dubuque Street corridor. Uh, if we have an application for commercial
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development on the Dubuque Street corridor, how that relates with the, uh.... goals to
preserve the scenic qualities of the corridor, uh, will be part of the evaluation, part ... part
of the discussion... what types of methods can be used to preserve the scenic qualities of
the corridor if commercial development is desirable, uh, those types of questions. Many
of the questions I'm saying tonight are rhetorical. Uh, but if you have any questions for
me, feel free to, uh, interrupt. Uh, and again, conservation design is encouraged in the
area north of Foster Road, particularly in those areas of steep topography. Okay,
Strategic Plan goals. We .... we looked through your, uh, Strategic Plan and identified
some goals that would pertain to any redevelopment of this area. Uh, number one,
proactively seek opportunities to facilitate development of our interstate entranceways, in
a manner consistent with the Strategic Plan. Uh, so that's another factor that,
uh.... overlaps with the goal of preserving the scenic qualities of the Dubuque Street, uh,
corridor. Putting the .... the scenic qualities of the corridor goal side by side with this goal
would lead staff to.....uh, be open to opportunities to facilitate development of the
entranceway, in a manner that does not degrade the scenic qualities of the corridor. Uh,
those are the types of, uh, conversations we have and analysis we have when we put these
different policy goals together. Uh, number two, encourage diverse housing types and
price points for a variety of income levels. Uh, I think that one plays right into the goal
to preserve affordable housing, uh, as well as other types of housing, uh, in the area.
Number three, promote neighborhood commercial districts. Uh, there may be an
opportunity to create a neighborhood opp ... commercial district, uh, in this area. Uh,
some of the, uh... concerns we've heard from some Peninsula residents, for example, uh,
they have very few commercial destinations to walk to, unless they walk across the river
into Coralville. Uh, it goes on to say build stronger relations with business owners
throughout the community. Uh, how would a .... a commercial area, uh, in this area, uh,
achieve that goal, and .... and to answer that question, we .... we will have more
conversations with the applicants, uh, once an application is forwarded. Uh, number
four. Significantly improve the ability of Council and staff to engage with diverse
populations on complex or controversial projects. Uh, some of that communication has
occurred, uh, through the City Council listening posts, uh, at the Forest View community.
Uh, staff has met several times with the development team and representatives, uh, from
the neighborhood. Uh, I'll be attending another meeting this Saturday with, uh, Center
for Worker Justice and representatives from the neighborhood. And .... uh, staff learned
today that, uh, the development team has already scheduled good neighbor meetings, uh,
on November 13th with affected and surrounding neighborhoods, uh, in the larger
Peninsula area, and we'll have staff attend those meetings as well. Uh, one thing that
staff has discussed and that we recommend is that the development team also schedules a
good neighbor meeting with groups interested in other aspects of this redevelopment.
Uh, such as the Dubuque Street Corridor; Project Green has .... has significantly invested
in the corridor over the years. Uh, other commercial interests, such as downtown
interests and that this corridor is the main feeder into the downtown from Interstate 80.
Uh, environmental advocates, because of the sensitive environmental features on the
property, uh, etc. That's all I have for tonight, but I'm happy to have any questions or
discussion from Council.
Thomas/ John .... John, how many acres is the, um .... land under consideration?
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Yapp/ I don't have that off the top of my head. 55 acres.
Throgmorton/ Uh, can .... there's been a considerable amount of development in the North
District, at least with regard to the Peninsula...
Yapp/ Yes!
Throgmorton/ Yeah, could you go to that land use map and give us a hint about what's actually
changed from 2001 to the present?
Yapp/ Yeah, in 2001 this was shown as a .... as a confer.... conservation design, uh, area. You
can see some of the street layout ... much of which was ... the existing street layout is fairly
consistent with that, but a little larger than .... than what's on the land use map. Uh, the
entire.... Peninsula area, which includes much of the open space, uh, is at a single-family
density. What they've done is cluster that density, uh, into the built development portion
of the Peninsula, which includes single-family, townhouse, duplexes, uh, small apartment
buildings, but all, including the open space, all at a single-family density.
Throgmorton/ But with regard to the .... to the Peninsula... Peninsula, I think there are somewhere
around 350 households out there. Does that sound right?
Yapp/ That sounds about right, yes.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so the land use plan for 2001 ... did it anticipate basically 350 or thereabouts
households?
Yapp/ I can't answer that ... at this point.
Throgmorton/ It kinda looks like it because the plan's laid out there and I know the....
Yapp/ I would say it looks generally consistent, yeah.
Throgmorton/ Okay. Have there been any ... any other significant changes in that....
Yapp/ Um, the Mackinaw Village, uh, development, the land use plan shows a .... a curved, linear
street with clustered development, uh, along it. Mackinaw Village developed, uh, partly
in a more traditional, conventional subdivision style, uh, at least for the western part of
Mackinaw Village, and then the eastern part of Mackinaw Village does
have .... (coughing) Excuse me! Higher density townhouses, uh.... that development also
took advantage of the ability to, uh, cluster density from open space, and in the case of
Mackinaw Village, it was open space along the river, uh, and cluster it into the higher
density townhouses and duplexes they incorporated into their .... into their development.
Those are the two significant changes.... since the 2001 plan.
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Throgmorton/ So does anybody else have any questions? I'll .... I'll bet some more'll come up
here but let's give ourselves a few minutes.
Fruin/ You know, again our .... our hope tonight is ... is kind of two -fold. One, we want to
introduce the .... the plan to you, um, and make sure that .... that if you have any questions,
uh, we can try to answer those or offer any clarifications to you. Um, but also give you a
chance to reinforce any of the, uh, items that you .... that you heard or if you frankly
maybe disagree with some of the .... the content of the plan, this, you know, um,
you .... you could mention that too, but we're trying to ...... um, guide, uh, provide some
guidance to the applicant before they get into this. This isn't a very traditional process,
us....us coming to a ... you in a work session, but ... um, it is a fairly complex, uh, project
here, and we wanted to give you this opportunity. The second purpose is ... is for you to
really be able to comment on some of those strategic plan goals, um, if you feel the need
to. You have the one, um, goal up there that's.... that's first is .... facilitating
development of our interstate entranceways in a manner consistent with the Strategic
Plan. The Council really as a group, after setting that, uh, priority hasn't had a chance to
discuss really what that means to you, so this, again, would be an opportunity for you to,
uh, focus in on that strategic plan objective, and help guide the, uh, applicant and the staff
as we start this process.
Mims/ I think for me as we look at that, I mean, it's one of the things that we've talked about for
quite a while is, you know, we really have not utilized, um, our interstate entryways, um,
into this community. At the same time, I'm not real interested in having our entryways
look like every other entryway as you drive from California to New York on Interstate 80
either. And I think we have, um, have a real opportunity with the topography here and,
um, the woodland and what's already there to see this developed in a way that is, um, a
good economic development project, um, for the community, uh, which means, you
know, more businesses, commercial in, you know, mixed in with residential. We've
talked a lot about mixed use neighborhood, um, increasing the tax base, and I think when
you look at the other pieces here, either under the Strategic Plan or the policy goals, um,
from the Northside, personally I'm supportive of all of those. I mean, I think we've
talked.... there's a .... there's a large residential community there, and it's important that,
you know, good plans are put in place for the relocation of the residents. Hopefully, um,
for all of them that want to stay in the area, right in that same area. Um, I think we've
done a really good job out in that area already in terms of the environmental aspects, in
terms of allowing for clustered housing, so that, you know, the overall density isn't
exceedingly high, um, in some areas it might feel like it, but we're .... we're able to get
that higher density, um, in specialized areas so that we can protect the woodlands and the
steep slopes, and as Geoff mentioned, you know, we've got a sensitive slopes ordinance
already that will, you know, that will have to be dealt with. Um, the other piece for me,
and I .... and I'm sure the developers hopefully are already looking at this and thinking
about it is .... you know, when you don't want this to look like every other, uh, exit off
from Interstate 80, you know, while there might be some amenities that they want there
that are kind of typical of interstate exits, um, hopefully the design and landscaping, etc.,
are of a quality that really enhance this, um, I think it's really important as one of two key
entryways into Iowa City from the north and certainly, uh, probably the main one coming
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for downtown and the University, that we really take that into account, and I think we did
that with the Gateway project, you know, being willing to spend a little bit more on the
Park Road bridge, to have something that's a little more aesthetically pleasing, uh, really
taking into account some of the landscaping and stuff along, uh, Dubuque Street, and so I
think it's really important as the developers, you know, put this plan together that those,
um, aspects are part of it as well.
Taylor/ I think you raise a good point there, Susan. We have invested a lot of money into the
Gateway project and .... and this Dubuque Street area is going to be an entrance right into
that and so it'd be like, you know, doin' somethin' cheap.... instead of something that
goes along with the more expensive route, you know, we need to have something that's
going to blend in with that project that we've spent a lot of time and money on.
Mims/ Needs to be aesthetically pleasing.
Taylor/ Right, exactly (both talking)
Throgmorton/ Well, I completely agree with Susan on the point about the woodlands and making
sure that, uh, the .... the scenic quality of the entryway is preserved, that enough woodland
is preserved, so it's .... the development does not appear to be some.....typical.... interstate
kinda development. Totally agree with those things. Uh, I'd like to introduce a few other
points, uh, the plan is 15 -years -old, and our city's changed demographically quite a bit in
the last 15 years. So I would think .... we should at least have that in mind as we're, uh,
considering what to do with that development. And .... the affordable housing component
of our Strategic Plan is relevant, uh, to this development, I would think as well. So the...
the ambition to develop goals and, you know, achieve those goals and that kind of thing
with regard to affordable housing. I think that... that's a key part of this as well.
Botchway/ Yeah, that was.... actually my first point. Um ... you know, in thinking about
how.... development team and, you know, the City and the community kind of works
together in this, you know, making sure that .... that piece around the relocation assistance
and really looking at significantly improve the ability of Council and staff to engage with
diverse populations on complex or controversial projects, and so I know that obviously
staff is participating in that good neighbor meeting, but again, I think that applies to the
developer as well, ensuring that, you know, the communication, urn .... is air -tight, you
know. There's.... there's communication going out, it's clear communication, um, it
speaks to the interests of the particular populations, especially and when you're talking
about relocation, and so, you know, that's a piece, um, that I would really want to make
sure is, um, addressed in a meaningful way. I mean, especially coming back to Council.
The other pieces I think folks alluded to, um, I mean, again, me kind of using my John or,
uh... um, I was thinking about the trees and ensuring that, you know, again, as everybody
kind of talked about before that we have .... um, a different type of intersection, um, in
this particular place. I think you mentioned briefly about the buffer and some
conversations on whether or not that could be modified a little bit and .... and I wouldn't
necessarily be in ... in time or in line with that at all. I think that, you know, the buffer's
there for a .... a good reason, and so, you know, maybe thinking creatively of how to still
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keep that buffer, but still make something that is, uh, aesthetically pleasing as important.
Um, the other piece, uh, I think that, again, kind of focusing on the Strategic Plan points,
about promoting neighborhood commercial districts, um, you know, I .... I think
there's.... there is an ... there is an idea. I think, Susan, you talked about this as well, as far
as what interstate things usually are there. You know, you may have hotels, you know,
whatever, gas stations, whatever the case may be, and I .... I'm .... I'm thinking
there .... based on the residents living in that particular neighborhood, there is a need for
that, there's a desire for that, but you know, when developing it, I think that there needs
to be some mindfulness of how that is portrayed as well, and so when we think about
aesthetically pleasing as well, how that, you know, encompasses, you know, the entire
landscape of what, you know, the woodland area and other things along those lines, and
I'm just thinking of, you know, thinking of Seattle and like places along those lines that,
you know, have a lot of trees so to speak, more Portland than Seattle, but you know what
I mean, and so um .... I .... I just don't want to see, you know, large, huge buildings. I
know that .... that may be attractive for the fact that people are, you know, driving, um,
down 80, um, and want ... you know, it's kind of an advertisement from that perspective,
but I also want to be in keeping with the neighborhood and that kind of walkability piece.
And.... that's it! For right now.
Dickens/ I agree with most everything that's been said. Also the safety factor with adding an
extra alternative exit out of that area, because with the last flood, Foster Road was under
water and there's no way to get emergency vehicles back in there, so that component
needs to be very important, that we can connect the other areas. So we do have a
second.... we've been talkin' about how we were gonna do it, and I think this plan,
depending on what they come with, that it....it needs to have that component in there,
that offers another way out of the Peninsula area.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, and .... if I'm right, John, the land use plan from 2001 incorporates, what, an
extension of Laura Drive? That bends around? Through the project?
Yapp/ It does. Uh.... oops!
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so what you're sayin' be ... would be consistent with that.
Yapp/ Yeah, right .... this road here, and then back down through Mackinaw Village.
Cole/ John, I understand that this is not regulatory and just sort of a set of principles, but .... at
some point we may have a zoning application in front of us. Is there any part of this
particular plan that would be inconsistent, uh, with the proposed development? I mean I
know earlier you said you didn't want us to bring up a specific development, but it seems
like we have discussed it (both talking)
Yapp/ Yeah, we don't have a .... application in front of us right now (both talking)
Cole/ But we've talked about (both talking)
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Yapp/ We've seen a concept plan.
Cole/ Okay!
Yapp/ Uh, and yes, there are parts of that concept plan that are inconsistent with the current land
use plan. So I think part of why the, uh, development team is having the, uh, good
neighbor meetings is in anticipation of applying for a Comprehensive Plan amendment.
Cole/ Okay.
Yapp/ For (both talking)
Cole/ So what would the most prominent parts that are inconsistent, if it's.... relative short (both
talking)
Yapp/ ....commercial development, uh, along Dubuque Street and south of Interstate 80. Uh,
that is not anticipated in this plan at all, uh, so I think that ... that would be the largest
inconsistency.
Cole/ Okay.
Yapp/ Um .... and depending on .... the rest of it, I ... I .... it depends on more the nuances of...
Cole/ That's fine (both talking)
Yapp/ Yeah.
Cole/ And I guess .... in terms of the Strategic Plan goals, and .... and staff bringin' this before us,
I think first of all, Geoff, you had mentioned that's not as typically done, but .... at least
from my perspective I really welcome it. Um, I think that's helpful for development, that
if there's any uncertainty in terms of where Council is, my preference is that it, you
know, when .... when developers want to they can bring so we can weigh in, and I think in
terms of engaging diverse populations, um, we haven't heard anything about this
development for a while, and I think that's a good thing, um, I've heard a lot of good
news on both sides. It looks like there's, um, the developers are really being pro -active,
and I think (both talking)
Yapp/ There have been, yeah (both talking)
Cole/ ...very encouraging and (both talking)
Yapp/ That's our ... that's our impression also.
Cole/ So from what I've seen, I have no concerns with at least what we're seeing so far.
Yapp/ Okay, thank you.
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Throgmorton/ I .... I've heard some concerns about the density of what's being talked about so
far, in .... in terms of, you know, the concepts for development out there.
Yapp/ Uh huh.
Throgmorton/ Uh, does staff have any concerns about.....about that density?
Yapp/ I .... I, since we don't have an application, my understanding is that some of it is changing.
I can't answer that at this point.
Frain/ I think what, you know, the key question when it comes to density, we know there's going
to be clustering. The clustering's anticipated in the plan. Um, but with the, uh, with
the... the relocation plan that's being talked about and which, um, as far as we
understand, the residents of the .... the Forest View, uh, park area will still be able to stay
in this development, um, so you're gonna have a large part of the redevelopment land
committed, um, to .... to that relocation, uh, project, and again, the clustering, you're...
it's likely that there's going to be some significant density requested, and, um, I think
staff's been open to that, but also, urn .... uh, cognizant of how that density transitions into
the existing land uses, and we have some single-family areas, um, around the property,
around to the west, and then as John mentioned earlier, how that density, um, interacts
with the interstate and whether, um, it can be done within that 300 -foot buffer or if we
need to look at a code amendment, um, to perhaps, urn .... adjust that in a way that, um,
may be better off for the entire project, you know, eating into that buffer a little bit,
it's .... it's hard to say, uh, cause we haven't seen the development, but it...it could be that
that's a better solution that provides, um, the developer an ability to .... to transition into
those other neighborhoods in a more appropriate manner, but.....Mayor, I do think that
density's gonna be a .... a question throughout this process.
Tbrogmorton/ Yeah, so I was just thinking about parks, in .... in relation to density. So I'm
thinkin' about residents who live or will live out there, and about how .... assuming they
have children, they'd like to have, uh, immediate access to some... some small, at least
pocket park of some kind, and then, uh, I'm fully aware that the water plant park is just
north of the interstate and the Peninsula.... dog park area, uh, south of the Peninsula
development, is, you know, not terribly far away, but it'd be important to have
connections, I would think, um, I'm thinking especially about bike connections, but ... but
the main thing is some kind of small neighborhood park within .... the development,
assuming residents will be living in that area, and I assume that's right.
Yapp/ I hear ya. I just wanted to mention the ... the big blue line is a, uh, gas pipeline through,
that runs through the city. Uh, that, uh, pipeline easement cannot be developed, uh, so
that does create an opportunity for perhaps a walking corridor. Uh....
Thomas/ When I was looking at the, um, and it was kind of interesting seeing that North District
Plan because the, urn .... I myself before looking at it hadn't appreciated how much
natural area there ... there is in the North District and the, urn .... the site itself is a really
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good example of that. So, my hope in this project is that it ..... conceivably could be
something that, um, might attract national attention. I think we've already set a very
good standard, uh, for the project with the way we've.... we've, the community
and.....and the developer, and staff, have been working with the, um .... Forest V .... Forest
View residents in terms of, um, making sure that that community, that neighborhood
is .... is retained on the site. So I think that's an excellent start. Uh.... some other
comments that I had just on a variety of topics would be, uh, how can we use that
woodland character to ... to, you now, we clearly need at our front door into Iowa City to,
um .... preserve that character, which I think we all identify as an important defining
element to Iowa City as a whole, uh, but I would say that that woodland character, I
would .... I would like to see that inform the .... the site plan as a whole, um, both in terms
of the development of the interior. We've talked about perimeter conditions. Uh, but I
would also add streetscape and open space. Jim, you mentioned the idea of open space.
You know, this is ... this is a large area we're talking about, with a .... a significant number
of residents who will be there. Um, what that brought to my mind, and I always like
thinking in terms of precedent, or .... case studies that .... that might be applicable, one that
came to my mind that I've seen first-hand is Tapiola in Finland. It's a .... a development
that's outside Helsinki, uh, that was developed in an existing pine forest, uh, in the 1950s.
Um, and it.....if you look at that plan and it's larger than our 55 acres, but there is
significant density on that site, but what.... what I think was achieved there was through
integration with the existing woodland, an opportunity to, uh.... nevertheless preserve that
sense of woodland effect with .... with the density inter -penetrating that woodland
character. Uh, so that suggested, for me anyway, a kind of a way of. ... cause I know there
is concern in ... in the community as a whole with .... with losing this significant piece of
natural area, and .... and my hope would be that we can.....we can work with that
woodland character and have it .... you know, integrate it within the community as a
whole. I was.....I was really pleased to hear about the good neighbor concept with the
environmental groups. I think, you know, the .... this project, you know, what has
changed from 2001 when the district plan was first developed, we ... we now are on kind
of the cusp of beginning to develop climate change goals. How can we anticipate those
in this plan, um .... I think, is an important consideration, and ... and that brought to my
mind the .... the value of the woodland. The value of the woodland, uh, there's significant
values with respect to climate change with that existing woodland. Um .... it also
suggested to me that we .... we may want to, on the.... aftermath of Jeff Speck's talk, how
can we, uh, review our development standards to try to have, urn .... with respect to
roadway design and things of that sort, uh, of. ... of smaller footprint basically, so that
that, um, would address the .... the benefit in terms of the walkability of the .... of the
development, but also reduce the amount of storm run .... uh, storm water run-off that
we .... we'd see on site. Um .... urban design is another feature that has kind of...evolved
since 2001, and interestingly enough, the um, the North District has one of our few form -
based code developments. Uh, I would be interested in seeing the development explore
how a form -based code would be applic... applicable to the development. Uh, you often
find in form -based codes, the notion of a .... uh, a center to the development. I think that
speaks to one of our Strategic Plan goals, which had to do with .... I think it was .... it was
referred to there as sort of a commercial core, as I recall, but .... but the idea that, um .... a
neighborhood of this size, um, would benefit from having a center. And...and so that
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then, with the center, then that suggests that there may be some kind of way of addressing
the density in a way that reinforces that center, uh, and overall... for the project overall
that you have a .... a kind of a gradient effect with respect to density, that ... that gives
greater emphasis to the center and acknowledges the transitions at the edges. Um, so I
think there are a number.... basically a number of issues that, you know, I think we're
now 15 years after than plan has been developed where we .... we have a .... a stronger
sense of the impacts of climate change. We have seen the evidence of, uh.....a.... a
different set of principles with respect to urban design, um, we have already the .... the
beginnings of a solution to the, um, mobile home park. So I think on a number of fronts,
if we can ... move forward on all of them that the end result will be something we're
extremely proud of. And that I .... I think given the mix, I .... there, to my I think there's a
really interesting opportunity for this to truly be a project that will attract, um, attention
beyond Iowa City.
Throgmorton/ Okay, is there anything else anybody wants to draw attention to? Geoff, do you
think you've gotten (both talking)
Fruin/ Yeah, appreciated the discussion. (both talking) I think it's helpful.
Throgmorton/ Okay, good deal. Thank you, John! All right, uh, our next topic is to discuss
future actions concerning downtown development, and I want to thank Geoff and Eleanor
for preparing their memos concerning this topic, and I think for the public's purposes and
probably for our .... to refresh our memories, it would be good for, uh, Geoff and Eleanor
to very briefly summarize their memos for us.
Discuss future actions concerning downtown development [1P # 4 and 5 of 10/27 packet]:
Fruin/ Sure. Uh, I'll .... I'll start. Um, one, my first recommendation was that you .... you spend a
little of the time trying to narrowly define, uh, the issues at hand, uh, to the extent that
you can. Um, I think it's important when you're selecting a process to .... to ..... um, to go
down that you ... you get that scope as narrow as you can cause that'll influence the
project. So if this is, you know, this is about reviewing the entire Comprehensive Plan or
is this about building heights, historic preservation, or some very targeted aspects here.
Um, we laid out, uh, five different actions, um, including, uh, the one which would be
take no further action and just rely on the underlying zoning that's there, the CB -10
zoning, and the existing Comprehensive Plan. You can amend your economic
development policies, knowing that, uh.... um, most significant developments downtown,
urn .... uh, rely on some type of City assistance — not all — uh, but certainly our history
tells us that most urban in -fill projects of significant scale, uh, need, uh, some type of
economic development assistance. You've already started the process at the EDC
Committee to amend your economic development policies, and you could rely on those.
Um, if the issues are fairly targeted you could look at amending the underlying CB -10
zoning code, um, and then, um, the fourth option would be to initiate a form -based code.
This is a recommendation that's currently in the Comprehensive Plan, but one that we
have not, uh, pursued to date. And then fifth you can amend the .... the Comprehensive
Plan. Um, and what I ... cautioned in my memo there is you can spend a lot of time
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crafting, uh, some well-chosen language for that Comprehensive Plan, but at the end of
the day if you don't address the underlying zoning, I'm not sure you're going to
accomplish much. Uh, I don't think there'll be much practical effect to that action. So,
that was my memo.
Throgmorton/ Great. Thank you. Eleanor?
Dilkes/ Um, so my memo just addressed, uh, what a comprehensive plan is, uh, under Iowa law
and what the Council's zoning authority is under la ... Iowa law. Um, the Iowa code
requires that the zoning, urn... authority of the City Council be exercised in accordance
with the comprehensive plan. Um, and there've been a number of cases in front of the
Supreme Court where various land use decisions have been challenged (unable to hear
person speaking away from mic) as not in ... as not in accordance with the comprehensive
plan, and that body of case law tells us that, um, the comprehensive plan is to be looked
at in its entirety, that to focus on any specific language or element in that plan can
actually undermine its purpose, um, that a comprehensive plan is essentially a statement
of the community's goals and aspirations, and .... the quintessential piece of a
comprehensive plan is the land use plan. I mean historically that's what comprehensive
plans do is they identify, urn .... areas of land use, residential, commercial, and industrial,
etc. So as John was talking about the North District Plan, that land use plan there, um, if
it .... there was going to be a desire for commercial zoning in the area of the plan that is
identified as residential, then that would require a comp plan amendment, cause it would
be very hard to read that plan in its entirety and say, um, commercial zoning in that
corridor would be consistent with the comprehensive plan. Um, so when you think about
that, that ... what a comprehensive plan means in Iowa is very consistent with how ... how
the Court has defined, um, a city council zoning authority, which is very broad. And, um,
I think I gave you one of the statements that the purpose of the comprehensive plan is to
prevent the council for acting arbitrarily and capriciously, and you all know that... that....
when reasonable minds can differ, that's not acting arbitrarily and capriciously. Um, so
the Court is not going to box in a council to a particular zoning based on specific
language of a comprehensive plan. Um, and ... and frankly, courts don't want to be in the
business of setting land use policy, and they're in the business of. ... of, uh, zoning.
Um ... and I gave you the example, not because I wanted to raise old (laughs) old issues,
but simply because the Chauncey is a building that people are familiar with, and we
ha .... I gave you the Court's statement about, um, why they rejected the challenge that the
Chauncey was not consistent with the comprehensive plan. I think that's a good example
of the applications of those principles that I have just talked about. Um, with respect to
the downtown, um, I ... I think, and I ... I gave you a couple of specific examples in terms
of. ... I thought to help you decide what .... what your goals are with the downtown and
how you want to pursue those goals, but for instance the Coun.... the .... the, uh, the
downtown plan says recommends councils should, um, pursue a form -based code. Um,
council may or may not pursue a form -based code, and either of those avenues is
consistent with the comprehensive plan, the .... the council is never obligated by a
comprehensive plan to .... to rezone property. Um, similarly, if the Council went through
a form -based zoning process, that ended up with a code that didn't have the specific
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heights of the buildings identified in the comprehensive plan, that would be a valid
exercise of the Council's zoning authority.
Throgmorton/ Thanks. So, uh, would I be correct in saying the courts are strongly inclined to
defer to the judgment of the city council, so long as the action of the council's not
arbitrary or capricious?
Dilkes/ Yep, that's it in a nutshell.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, okay. Thank you. All right, um, well we have five options in front of us. I
wonder if any of you would like to start off by responding.
Thomas/ Well, I ... I'll kick things off here. Um, my inclination is .... is actually kind of a two-
part, um, inclination. Uh, I would first say that of the five options, uh, in the short-term, I
would .... I would support amending the economic development policies. Uh, I think
that ... that kind of speaks to what Geoff was referring to. I think in the short-term, uh,
the ... the economic development policies, uh, which are .... have gone through an extensive
process through .... I think it's about to wind up in terms of the, urn ... the meetings with
the .... the various groups, uh, it's had a wide range of participation. I think roughly 60
participants. So there'll be a great deal of information coming to Council, um, through
that process, and I think it addresses an area where, urn ..... you know, defining the City's
policies is particularly important in the short-term. Um, in the long-term, uh, I would
advocate for initiating form -based code, urn.... change.... changing as .... as recommended
by the Comprehensive Plan to a form -based code. And .... and I think a number of things,
urn .... would be helpful to have in hand when doing that. So I'm .... I'm not, um, I'm not
troubled by the fact that it may have to come .... you know, some .... you know, a couple of
years down the road, or wherever we want to define that. Uh, we have, uh, the historic
properties inventory, which is underway. We have our parking policy, which is
underway. Um .... what else do we have, oh, the market, housing market study, uh, that's
underway. All of these things, uh, in my view, especially if we .... if we go the route of a
form -based code, which I .... I do think would be the most effective, especially if we have
that information at hand, because it will give us as the current, um, Riverfront Crossings
Plan has done, a way of basing the form -based on that information. So we'll have an idea
of what that market is that we're anticipating development to give form to, uh, along a
form -based code concept. So .... my feeling is that ... that some of the issues that we .... are
the most controversial and .... and in need of. ... of definition, um, would be addressed
effectively with amending the economic development policies, uh, but I do think the
form -based code in the long run would allow us to integrate all that complexity, uh,
which goes into making, uh, land use decisions in the downtown.
Throgmorton/ How bout the rest of you?
Cole/ Well I guess I'll jump in. I guess for my purposes, I would like to look at, uh, the
community engaging on five, amend the Comprehensive Plan. Um, just like we're doing
with the North District Plan, where we've identified a portion of that plan that's
inconsistent with a possible development, at least as far as what I'm trying to accomplish,
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I don't think we need to entirely rework the Comprehensive Plan. What I'm looking at is
whether we need to make a modification to the Comp Plan to address building heights.
Now, I understand that the Comp Plan is not regulatory. However, um, I believe that it's
a covenant between us and the community, that we should try to honor it to the best that
we can and to interpret it to the best that we can, and I do not believe that it's so
ambiguous that two people are always going to be able to disagree, in particular, our
current downtown plan calls for taller buildings at corners and discourages taller
buildings between those .... those corners. Him ... I am amenable to changing that, but I
think that in order to change that guidance, um, which I'm gonna exercise my discretion
consistently with, I want to engage in the process of amending the Comprehensive Plan.
Um, but I'm not looking at it as entirely revisiting it, at least the process that I'm
envisioning is very similar to what we just heard with the North District Plan, um, which
I'm anticipating is not gonna be a very significant, time-consuming process. So that's
what I'm gonna try to focus on. Um, I think we understand it's not regulatory. Um, but
we are exercising, at least four or more are exercising their discretion consistent with
what they interpret the guidance is, which I believe is specifically clear, and so I think
consequently, we need to look at, um, if the community feels we need to change that, um,
I'm not dogmatic about building heights. Um, but if we're called to ask for our
discretion, and that's what it means, uh, in terms of whether it's a TIF or anything that
comes before us over which we have discretion and for people that want to build, uh, at
height and can finance it independently without City action, they're currently able to do
that right now. Um, so that's sort of the position that I would like to focus on is .... is five.
Dickens/ When was the last Comp Plan for the downtown district done? Is it relatively new?
Fruin/ Yeah, it was the, uh, it was done along with Riverfront Crossings. So adopted in 13?
Throgmorton/ 13 (several responding) Well, I guess I have views, uh, if you don't mind I'll
share them with you. Um .... first of all I'm very happy we're having the discussion, this
discussion. So, we could take no action, but it seems to me that would leave us stuck
where we are. So I don't think that's a viable thing to do. Second, we could amend the
downtown part of the Comp Plan, even in modest ways like you've recommended,
Rockne, but Geoff's memo, and our discussion during the October 18a' meeting, persuade
me that the amendment process would consume time, not generate consensus, and have
minor practical effects. Third, we could amend the CB -10 code, which in my judgment is
out of sync with the downtown portion of the Comprehensive Plan, but that would surely
run into a super -majority hurdle, which'd be mighty difficult to overcome. Fourth, we
could initiate rezoning to, uh, the form -based code thing, but uh, I agree with John. Uh,
it'd be better to defer action on that for a couple years or thereabouts, until we get this
information from these... at least three other processes, uh, come into us, uh, so we could
anticipate that the staff will be looking toward beginning that form -based code process in
another year or two, uh, and .... then I also notice that, uh, Geoff s excellent memo does
not address historic preservation concerns, at least I didn't see any, and I don't recall it
addressing parking, uh, the parking provisions of the CB -10 code and spill-over effects
into surrounding neighborhoods and that kind of thing. And those two elements are part
of the conundrum we're wrapped up in. So I think they need to be, uh, taken into account
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somehow. Uh, but .... (laughs) for what it's worth, I've thought about this a lot, and
everything leads me to TIF. It leads me to our TIF policy. So .... as I indicated in my
August l la' memo, I think it was the 11 fl, to you, I think we need to state clearly what
kinds of downtown.... what kinds of projects downtown the Council will support with
TIF, and the best way to do that, I think, is ... to have it emerge from the, uh, as you
suggested, Susan. I'd like to have it emerge from the Economic Development Council's,
uh, deliberative process, which is almost (laughs) you know, we've almost done the focus
group stuff. I think.....you're goin'to the meeting tomorrow, right, and that's the last
one?
Dilkes/ Mayor, to clarify, you're not just talking about TIF. You're talking about .... any
economic development incentive I assume.
Throgmorton/ Uh, well I'm referring explicitly to, uh, TIF as an .... an, the key economic
development incentive for projects downtown. That's what I was referring to, if I'm
somehow....
Dilkes/ Well you recently had a project (both talking) involved a different (both talking)
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so, yeah....
Mims/ That's what I was going to bring up too (both talking)
Dilkes/ ....incentive, so .... assuming you're talking about any financial incentive by the City
would be included in that process.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, well may .... it may well have to be (both talking)
Dilkes/ ...(mumbled)
Tbrogmorton/ Yeah. So .... that .... that's where all this leads me, to think we ought to be focusing
on the, um, if you will the economic development incentive policies, pertaining to
development in the downtown area. I don't .... I don't know if...Kingsley, Terry, Pauline
have things you want to say or .... or not.
Botchway/ Yeah and so I'll be.....I'll be a little bit honest here. Um (several laughing and
talking) Oh, sorry! (several talking) I'll be honest, but um, I'm kind of taking back
some of the comments, just based on what I've heard, um, you know, I think that
Jim's ... er, Geoff s memo, excuse me, um, pointed to somewhat of a issue that I was
having around, you know, the clearly defined issues, and so I'm hearing a lot of different
things. I'm hearing, you know, be it, uh, a very comprehensive thing or something that
we need to talk about, multiple different things, um, I hear height. You know, I .... I ... I
would just, you know, if I'm not clear, than I'm no ... and I know that a lot of other people
that I've talked to aren't necessarily clear as, you know, I think we've had this discussion
or maybe I've brought it up, as to why, like what is the reason why and being clear about
that. I do agree that, you know, um, if we're talking about, um, clearly defining how we
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can, um, let the developers know, let the community know how we're going to, uh, spend
our financial resources in regards to TIF, or any other, um, financial incentive, I would
like to be clear on that front because I think we have run into some issues, um, that I
mean I ... I publicly, you know, that I .... I disagreed with I guess the majority of Council
about that, um, we need to make sure that we are, um, being clear from that standpoint. I
will say though, as I have, you know.....kind of back and forth in my mind, and again I
think I'm falling in line with kind of moving towards the EDC route, I am interested in
more of a .... and this can ... this will come up when I guess we hear some of the feedback,
a more deliberative process from a public perspective. Because I ... this was great, cause
I ... I appreciated us having this conversation because it gave me some time to talk to
different folks about, you know, how they're feeling about different things and, you
know, I would say that the majority of people I've talked to, and I know that I .... I may
talk to a younger group than many of you, um.....there's, um, there's some, uh.... there's
some concern about, you know, not knowing, and this being a substantial piece,
especially as it pertains to, uh, economic development, and I'll be honest with you, I
mean, some of the conversation was biased. I mean I talked about the fact that the recent
project, where I think it was about $70,000, Council voted down, and I spoke from that
particular bias as far as why I thought that it was something that should be moved
forward. Um, and so I think that may have played a role in some of the conversations I
was having, so I want to be clear from that standpoint, you know, a little bit honest, but
urn .... I do think that, you know, and I know that we've had some type of deliberative
process with the 60 individuals that have been a part of the EDC conversation, but I ... I
just want to make sure that whatever discussion that we have, based on whatever comes
back, you know, that be ..... I wouldn't say, you know, drawn out in some type of long,
um, elongated type of discussion, but you know ..... have some type of, um, marketing or,
um .... something to ensure that we're getting, um, a large group of the public here. I
mean, Jacob, I'm, you know, if students are interested in participating in something that I
think is central to our core, to the University and the downtown interplay with the
University, they need to step up and I think that ensuring that we have that
communication, I think is going to be important because, again, I think that for me a lot
of people just weren't even (mumbled) some of that's my fault for not talking to them
about that prior, about some of the conversations we're having about the downtown and
what this means and all those different things, whether it be about height, and whether it
be about historic preservation and such, and so ... um, you know .... I think for me it was...,
regardless of what we chose, and if the majority of Council was interested in, you know,
maybe doing a .... a Comprehensive Plan standpoint or something along those lines it
would be focusing on that public process and ensuring some of the concerns that I shared
last time about who would be engaged in that deliberative process and making sure that
it's diverse, um, demographically as much as possible, and so again, I say all this to say,
um, I'm in favor or supportive of the, you know, the economic development process, but
as we bring that back, I mean, I would be interested in having somewhat of a larger
conversation, um, or again marketing that out to the communities, um, as far as what that
will look like and having them, um, come in as well.
Mims/ Well, I think we've got.....kind of a two -fold process or problem here. When ... when the
EDC started these focus group meetings, the .... the charge on that was to look at our TIF
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policies, and only our TIF policies. That's the only discussion that we have been having
with the focus groups. Okay? Um .... and.....you know, I mean as Eleanor just
mentioned, and I was going to anyways, you know, if we're talking about economic
incentives besides TIF, then we've ... we've got a whole new starting place, folks. We
haven't even started to address that. So these focus groups that we've been doing
through EDC have not talked about any other economic development incentives. And,
you know, and as I said last time, you know, my belief is the reason that we've ... that this
Council voted down Kevin Munson's project was about height. And so if height is the
real driving issue here, let's get it out on the table! Okay? And for right now, and .... and
this has been said repeatedly, until you change the code, you follow the code. Okay?
Kevin Munson's project was on a CB -10 piece of property. Which allows unlimited
height. And yet there was not a good reason given at this Council to vote that down that
we had .... really authority to be thinking about that night. Parking was going to Board of
Adjustment. Doesn't matter whether students live in it or not. But it was voted down, not
based, I don't believe, based on $72,000. It was based on height, and yet that is a CB -10
parcel. So if height is really the issue for this Council, let's get it out on the table!
Taylor/ Well I (both talking)
Throgmorton/ So, um, go ahead, Pauline! Sony.
Taylor/ I was just going to say, um, Geoff had mentioned when he started out, is it ... is this truly
something, uh, that's more about targeted areas and he mentioned building height, but I
think it's ... it's more than the building height, also, cause other things have been
mentioned too, uh, the historic nature of the buildings, uh, parking has been brought up
and that's a really, really big issue that I think we really do need to focus on and ... and
think about, um, and also just the, uh, and the environmental impact of the buildings, the
facade, the design of the building, uh, and, uh, it's affect on surrounding neighborhoods
and how .... how it transitions into the surrounding neighborhoods, I mean, there's a lot of
those factors that .... that I think need to be considered and maybe that falls more under
the form -based code, urn .... uh, title, uh, as well as perhaps the economic, uh, cause I
don't think, uh, yes maybe you just talked about TIF, but I don't think whether the
developers looking for $10 or $10,000, I don't think it, uh, matters whether it's tax credit
or TIF. It's ... they're still coming before us to ask for some ... some financial assistance
and we would need to consider, uh, those kinds of things.
Dickens/ I'd agree with Pauline that basically we do have to wait for this economic development
policy to come through before we even look at any of this. Until that's done, this means
nothing. We just did a Comp Plan in 2013. The city hasn't changed that much in four,
three years, almost four now. Um, so I'm not interested in going through another long
Comprehensive initi.... uh, Plan ..... the form -based code, we haven't really given that a
whole lot of time to see how it's working. It's....it appears to be working very well, but
we .... we're only a couple three or four years into that in the .... the Riverfront Crossing
area. I am interested in initiating the form -based code eventually. But, uh, I think we're
jumping ahead here a little bit until we .... we define what our policies are and ... and .... I
think we're scaring people away from developing in Iowa City because we .... we can't
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come to a .... an agreement on what we're .... we're going to give money to or what we're
not to, so I think before we do anything else, that needs to be decided. And if all we've
done is the TIF, as Jim said there's other financial, uh, opportunities that the City gives
that if that's part of the case, that needs to be included in our economic development
policies. So I think we do need to have a little more time there and a little more
discussion with the .... the focus groups. If we have to go back to `em, you know, I'm not
into delaying things a long time but you .... you gotta get it right to begin with.
Throgmorton/ Yeah, so, um.....I.... trying to count here (laughs) I think I heard four people
supporting this Economic Development Committee process, and I know Susan said, well,
other factors are involved, it's not just TIF, and Rockne, you wanted to go toward the
Comprehensive Plan route, uh.....
Cole/ I.....yeah, and it doesn't look like I have the votes for that. Um, so I will then support the
TIF, or the economic development (both talking)
Throgmorton/ So .... so let .... let me say a little bit in response to what Susan has said. I'll speak
entirely for myself here. Uh, for myself I'd say you are absolutely correct, that I was
inspired to initiate this downtown development review as a result of, uh.... the outcome of
our vote with regard to the Munson proj.... project on Linn Street, and the public
discussion that occurred after that. So you're absolutely right about that. Uh, but I think,
uh.... there are .... I, the more I thought about it the more I thought there are multiple
elements involved in that, the review of that particular project that were not clearly
enough articulated during our meeting, so it left us all in this kind of ambiguous world
about why this Council voted 4 to 3 against that project. So I thought we needed to
revisit it and come to a clear .... uh, indication about what this Council would support in
terms of developments downtown. That's why I initiated this process. So, here's the
way I see this situation. I think what we have before us are two divergent visions of
development for the downtown of Iowa City. One is something that could be called `it's
all about the money,' meaning .... uh.....getting the most tax revenue possible out of
specific projects. And we've had at least one prominent member of our community come
before the Council and say, "It's all about the money." And the other, uh, could be called
something like `preserve our history and preserve our neighborhoods.' So these, um....
are not communicating very well with one another, and I think we need to find a way
to... to bring them together in a constructive way. I think we need to develop a policy
that closes the gap between these two visions and clearly signals our policy toward
downtown development. And the nub of it .... and right now, anybody, as you said,
Susan, can develop a piece of property downtown in accord with the CB -10 code, and
there are only two things, as I understand it, keeping `em from doing it. One is the
parking code, and the other is our TIF policy. So, the parking code, we need to do some
things about that. I have some ideas, but .... the most important thing it seems to me is our
TIF policy. So, that's why, uh, you know, that's my rationale for starting this process,
and uh, why I think we need to be focusing on TIF, at this particular moment.
Cole/ And I'd actually think our downtown plan .... Jim, actually currently does a good job of
trying to mix those two concepts (both talking)
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Throgmorton/ I do too.
Cole/ And so I think if there's any uncertainty, I think read our plan, um, I want to follow it
closely and I want, you know, if there's a proposal, just as we cite our Strategic Plan,
there should be textual support with that downtown plan. Now, as to the Linn Street
project, the reason why I voted for it was I did not feel it complied with the
Comprehensive Plan, again I know it's not regulatory, but we're asked to exercise our
discretion, and I don't think there's anything improper exercising our discretion
consistently with what we view the clear recommendations are. So, I think in the
meantime if we're not going to amend it, and we want to seek City assistance, I guess my
recommendation is we follow the downtown plan, until it's changed.
Mims/ I say we follow the zoning.
Cole/ Well to ... we don't have, for purposes of exercising our discretion, we can follow the
Comprehensive Plan to do something more (both talking)
Throgmorton/ We are following our zoning. We've not, uh, we've done, we've blocked no
development solely by sort of changing the CB -10 code or something. We haven't done
anything like that.
Mims/ You get my point! It was CB -10. The reason why it wasn't approved was height. That's
my point.
Thomas/ Well, and actually, you know, there were a number of issues, and ... and I would want to
emphasize cause we have been kind of. ... maybe fetisizing.... fetishizing the, uh, the
question of building height. The other .... the other important thing that the
Comprehensive Plan, the downtown portion of that, uh, covered was parking, and if you
look at the parking....
Mims/ And that was going to the Board of Adjustment. That was not in front of the Council.
Thomas/ No, no, I'm talking about .... (both talking) I'm talking about the Comprehensive Plan
had language in there which looked at the parking requirements, and the .... the plan called
for, uh, a 250 -stall parking ramp, uh, in the downtown for itself. Um, the estimates for
the parking need that was being generated by that plan, which was not an ambitious plan,
was a thousand cars. Uh, the ... so the .... the, satisfying that demand was falling far short,
even with the 250, uh, 250, uh, stall parking garage. So .... so it seems to me we've....
we've, what .... what the Linn Street project suggested to me was we could magically....
put away any concern whatsoever with respect to how do we meet the parking demand.
And ... in this town, I felt the Comprehensive Plan made an awful lot of sense. Unless we
are really planning to .... to basically, uh, decouple any development in the downtown
from the parking requirement, we have to be ... you know, we have to go through that
process very carefully.
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Mims/ Well, and I don't disagree with that, but again my point is parking was not in front of us
that .... that night. That was going to the Board of Adjustment to determine whether or
not they would allow, uh, them to not do the parking on-site. So....
Throgmorton/ There was also built in to that a waiver of the $26,000 per stall fee that's
associated with not putting parking on-site.
Mims/ But that wasn't in front of us that night.
Throgmorton/ But we would have been signaling to the Board of Adjustment what our policy
was.
Botchway/ Yeah, but I .... I guess .... (both talking)
Throgmorton/ ....I'm conscious of the time. I mean, I'm serious. I don't mean to cut anybody
off, but...uh, we could go till quarter till and then we'd have to stop in order to .... make
sure people get .... get ready for the formal meeting. So, please, uh, continue whoever
wants to say anything.
Cole/ Kingsley, are you going to say something?
Throgmorton/ Well we have five minutes. (laughter)
Cole/ Everyone's silent! (laughs)
Throgmorton/ (mumbled) ...four and a hal£
Botchway/ I think .... I think we've .... kind of clearly shown the gap that you're talking about, and
so I mean, again.....I just think we need to be clear about our why, urn .... you know, if
it's about parking, say it's about parking. Um, I will disagree just a little bit because I
remember that conversation as well and, you know, this is another situation where I get
confused because we're talking about walkability, we're talking about, you know.....you
know, you have Jacob talking about how we're introducing more bicycles, students aren't
coming to, um, campus with, um, with cars, we had, uh, Mr. Munson talking about the
fact that people were wanting to walk, um, from, um, the place where they live to the,
uh.... to the .... to work. I .... we just need to be clear. That's, I mean, I .... I feel very
unclear, and maybe I'm the only person in this boat, but ... and that's fine, but ... um, at least
for the people I was talking to as well, it seems very unclear and so .... you know, if
it's .... if it's focused on, you know, having these conversations, um, within kind of the
EDC framework, again I agree with that. I just ... I also worry .... I'm .... I'm being
redundant but I guess I .... I'm trying to be clear as well. I also worry, and you've kind of
alluded to it, Susan, a little bit that, you know, is this, I mean, and I think everybody did,
if this is about all financial assistance, if this is about some, you know, how ... and my
other question that kind of came up as we were talking about it is, you know, how much
detail are we getting into, um, with our policy in respect to .... to buildings, cause as I was
just kind of listening to some of the conversation I was thinkin', man, I mean, we're
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gonna get .... we're gonna get pretty detailed here. Are we even gonna have the
opportunity to make any type of discretion, um, about what ... what building we would like
to see, I mean, there may be a building, for example, as I was thinking about this that,
you know, the developer could say, and this is strictly hypothetical, that the entire
building is affordable housing. You know, we're going to subsidize the entire building,
but we wouldn't necessarily be, um, interested in that particular building because we've
clearly defined, you know, rules around building height, rules around, um, some of the
aesthetic appeal, I mean one of the things I do like about some of the .... the process that
we're currently in, I'm not saying it's perfect, was that we were able to kind of see what a
developer was, uh, thinking about, what elements that they had to provide, and then from
that, you know, making our own judgments using that discretion that Rockne talked
about, to .... to bring forth what we felt like the community wants to see, but .... again, I
just ... more and more I think about it I wanted .... I think that the EDC policy is a great
place to put it. I just worry about, again, you know, clearly what the issue is or if we've
kind of communicated what that issue really is, and then beyond that, you know, having
that discussion as far as how limiting are we .... are we trying to be or not trying to be. I
think that's, again, the parking issue — if that's a legitimate concern, cause that honestly
was like the first time that I .... I felt that I've ever .... ever talked about parking, any type
of large.... meaningful way when it comes to the downtown, and so if that's really a
concern, we need to put parking on the table as far as being a communication point in
discussion moving forward.
Thomas/ And that's, you know, what we covered (several talking in background) under that
study we .... we will be doing.
Botchway/ Right, correct (both talking)
Thomas/ ....I think that's an extremely important piece of ...of the picture.
Throgmorton/ Geoff, I had the sense that you were on the verge of saying something.
Frain/ Well, I was going to try to wrap up the conversation (laughter) and ... and kind of try to
provide what I think is ... is the .... is the path forward here and I think we've all touched on
it, so nothing new here, but ..... we are in the process of doing our economic
dev... development policies. Let's .... let's continue to .... to push that forward, let's wait
for the parking study to ... to be complete. To be clear, that parking study is not really
looking at demand in the downtown. It's more looking at the neighborhoods and how
parking, uh, plays a role in those neighborhoods. That's one important piece of this
downtown discussion, but um, I think it's wise to, um, to let that carry out and see where
we come away with uh„ that next year, and then as, uh, a few mentioned that we've got
the historic preservation survey underway. So, uh, we'll be better informed in.....in
several months about, um, some of our historic assets there. And so I .... I just feel in
listening, um, to you all that, uh.... um, maybe we're a few months ahead, uh, with this
discussion. We need to let some of these processes play out. Um, unfortunately there is
a project in limbo right now, um, and I don't have a good answer, um, for, um, the
developer on the Linn Street project, other than we've got to let some of these processes
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play out. Um... but I don't see....I don't see a way forward with the approvals on that
particular project until we can solve a couple of these other things, um, when you look at
that it involves economic development incentives, it involves parking, it .... even involves
historic preservation because of the adjacent land use. So .... um ..... I.....I never liked the
answer. We just have to wait and let those things play out, but .... in this particular case, I
think that's what needs to be done.
Throgmorton/ Okay. We're gonna have to stop there, but I want to alert the public about what's
gonna happen next, you know, our formal meeting convenes at 7:00. We're gonna take a
15 -minute break, uh.... after the formal meeting ends, we're gonna return to our work
session, and at that time we'll discuss the Climate Change Task Force. We'll also discuss
the food truck topic, so Kyle and others, uh.....that's what's gonna happen, and .... and
we'll do the rest of our clean-up with regard to our work session at the end of that, uh,
that activity. So, um .... we'll adjourn to, what? What.... recess.... recess the work
session.
(RECESS WORK SESSION)
(RECONVENE WORK SESSION)
Discuss Climate Change Task Force RP # 6 of 10/27 packet]:
Throgmorton/ So, uh, what's the right verb? We're gonna reconvene the work session .... uh, for
the evening of November the I'`. And the topic, uh, on, uh, next coming up is to discuss
Climate Change Task Force. Geoff, I wonder if you and/or Brenda could (both talking)
Fruin/ I'll introduce it and then I'll .... I'll turn it over to Brenda to kind of walk you through
her... her memo. You know we went through the Strategic Plan with you a couple
meetings ago and ... um, I felt at the time, and I still feel that we're makin' really good
progress on a lot of the initiatives. Um, this is one admittedly where I think
we've .... we've stalled a little bit and we need to have a quick discussion tonight and...
just make sure that, urn .... uh, we're all on the same page moving forward. So, when we
first approached you about this, uh, I think it was in June or July, um, we recommended a
process that, um, past Councils had used with ad hoc committees, and so we've had the
Ad Hoc Diversity Committee, we had the Ad Hoc Senior Center Committee, and we
really wanted to, uh, or at that time thought that we could (clears throat) emulate that
process and am .... and .... and come away with something, a good product. Um .... we also
included, um, in the budget $25,000 for a facilitator and that was really to help, um,
relieve some of the admin.... administrative burden from staff. Um, but also we
recognized that this was a little bit of a larger issue and we needed some, probably some
help from a skilled facilitator, just to corral the discussion and keep things going forward.
Uh, and so we .... we've moved down that path. We presented that to you in June. We
said we think this is the right way to go. You said .... okay, go for it, and um .... uh, we
started to develop the RFP and that's when second thoughts started to creep in and, um,
Brenda's been doin' a lot of, uh, work looking at other plans and talking with other
sustainability coordinators, and um, she can talk to you tonight about, um, some of the
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concerns that we....we now have with that path that we originally set forth, but I think it
boils down to, um, the .... the real, the need for some technical analysis, um, that, um, will
support, uh, this plan and give it the foundation, um, to .... to really be meaningful for a
number of years, and we're just not quite sure that our original recomen...
recommendation to you in terms of process will produce, um, a report that has the
technical backing. So, with that I'll tum it over to Brenda.
Nations/ Um, we looked into, uh, hiring a facilitator and, um, a facilitator would do some of the
same things as a consultant would do, but a consultant would, uh, coordinate a lot of the
things that would have to be coordinated, and it's pretty large scale because it would
involve a lot of the community. It's gonna be, um, because it's not regulatory, a lot of,
um, what people to commit to is of course voluntary. We're gonna have to involve the
University, uh, industry, businesses, uh, residents, and um, most importantly, uh, if
we .... if we do have a target that we're gonna really achieve, we're gonna need some
calculations to really, um, figure out how we're gonna get there. So, say industry, a
certain industry, decides to, um, make certain changes, um, we can calculate that and
calculate what the University's gonna do, and calculate, um, what we could do in
transportation and put all that together into a plan that, um, would be something that we
could really use as a guide to move forward for several years and that we could, um,
monitor and really look and see if we were making progress, and so it's that .... it's the
calculations and the, um, writing the report and trying to get, uh, somebody to work with
the community that has more expertise and has been through climate action planning
before. Um, and this is what a lot of other cities have done, um, that I've spoken to. Uh,
they've hired somebody to coordinate, um, the multitude of, uh, effort that has to go into
it. So....
Fruin/ So there's a little bit of trade-off and this is where we really struggled, you know, with the
ad hoe committees that we've created, it's a really bottom-up approach. It's got the, um,
a committee that comes together as sort of an organic process and you get a....ultimately
a set of recommendations at the end of the day that are well grounded in public input and
participation. Sometimes when you go with the consulting process, you lose a little bit of
that. You know, a consultant may come in and ..... and, um, you know, hold a couple of
public meetings and .... and gather public input, but it's .... it's not the same as if it's a
committee diving into it. So that's a little bit of the .... of the trade-off. You get that kind
o£....benefrts of that grassroot, citizen input, urn .... with one, but you lack the technical
and vice versa on the other end of the spectrum, and I think where .... where we've landed
is that, um, we'd like to suggest moving to, uh, the consultant route where we get that
technical, uh, aspect, urn .... uh, secured and then work with the consultant to ensure that
it's a very robust process, and frankly we can still, and the Council can still, um, create a
steering committee, uh, for this so we're not just having one or two or more public
meetings where there's actually a working committee that can... consist of staff,
community members, whoever you may feel would be appropriate. So, I think we can
bridge those two gaps a little bit. Um, we did only budget $25,000 in the FYI budget
for this because we originally had .... had thought that that facilitator route was the best
way to go, and um, based on what Brenda's found with other plans, we're lookin' at two
to three times that cost going with the, urn .... uh, the consultant route. So 50,000 to
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75,000. I think at the end of the day, it'll pro.... it'll produce a report that will, urn ... uh,
have some longevity to it. Um, I think with the ad hoc reports you typically can get a
year or two out of those sets of recommendations, but this will set us up for some more
long-term change and we have the budget flexibility to.....to add to ... to this particular
initiative if you see fit.
Dickens/ Kind of a hybrid basically using the consultant and the steering committee (both
talking) little bit of best of both.
Fruin/ That's what we're hopin' for, yeah.
Nations/ And I think that the steering comm... committee could still have a lot of input in that,
um, if ...even if a consultant would come in, I think they'd listen to the needs of the
community and the people on the steering committee, and so, um, they would have input
about, um, what sort of things Iowa City needs and wouldn't come in with a prescriptive
thing is that you have to X, Y, and Z. I think that, uh, we'll need to look into, uh, what' [s
possible, what, uh, what costs there are, what the community priorities are, and I think
that a consultant would help with that, but also I think it's gonna be really important to
listen to the community and all different factors of the community, um .... uh, and I think
that's how a consultant could help, uh, intertwine, you know, with the ..... the public
things, along with the industry and .... and University and tie all of those together into a
report that has actionable items in it.
Throgmorton/ So I'd like to say a few words about this. Uh, Geoff, Brenda, and I have had
extensive discussions back and forth about which route to take, and those discussions
have basically led to this point where Geoff and Brenda are recommending kind of a
hybrid approach, and I .... I support their recommendation. Uh, but I want to draw
attention to a few other factors here, uh, part of your memo, Brenda, suggest, um, that we
set a .... a ..... a goal for the year 2025 of, uh, 26 to 28% reduction in greenhouse gas
emissions, right? And, A .... if I understand correctly, that percentage comes from the
Pans agreement, uh, they suggested that that's.... should be the interim goal and then in
some .... for 2050 or 2055 there's a.....much larger (both talking)
Nations/ For 2050 the .... it was previously 80% by 2050, but since that's so far out and such a
large number, um, the ... the U.S. adopted the 26 to 28% by 2025, and so that's like a
national, uh,k adopted reduction. So I know that in your, uh, Strategic Plan that you
wanted a reduction target by 2030, and um, this goes in line with, um, it's.... it's sooner
and it also goes in line with the .... the national, what's going on nationally and what
Obama signed. So it's pretty aggressive, I mean it's no small amount. So .... um, I think
that's one of the other reasons that it would be helpful to have a consultant to, uh, really
find ways that we can meet that target, because if you're gonna set a target, you really
want to achieve it, and that's a pretty, um, strong target for just .... that would be nine
years, right?
Throgmorton/ Yeah. So I agree, it's a really important and challenging target, uh, but that's why
we have to have our act together, both technically and in terms of public commitment.
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So, uh, I .... I support that, and I think that's the recommendation you're giving to us,
right, to adopt that as a goal for the year 2025.
Fruin/ Yes it is.
Throgmorton/ And we'd have to follow up with a resolution I suppose for that (several
responding) Uh, I'd like to mention maybe one or two other things, uh.... uh, Geoff,
Brenda, and I also spoke with Dean Alec Scranton in the College of Engineering, uh, and
then Brenda and I talked on the phone with Professor Jerry Schnoor at length about... this,
kind of working through the .... the complexity of the issue with them, but also .... asking
whether it might be possible to obtain some assistance from maybe at least one graduate
student and maybe an undergraduate course taught by Jerry, if I remember rightly. Uh,
and my understanding is that they're pretty eager to do that. So .... I think the odds are
pretty good that we could dovetail, or intertwine the .... the College of Engineering's
support with the technical consultant's work, and I ... I would hope we can do that. Uh,
one other .... no, wait a minute. Do I want to do that? No, I guess that's all I wanted to
say, so .... do the rest of you have, um, you know, reactions or.....
Cole/ So we're not .... just to clarify, we're not necessarily looking for regulatory
recommendations. We're looking for a plan that will be optional?
Nations/ Well, we can also .... in our plan we can also have policies, you know, we could have
City policies, but as far as like .... as far as I know, no other city like regulates, you know,
how much energy residents can use or .... or industry. Um, the .... what some cities,
especially bigger cities, have done is that, um, they begin, um, to have people report if
they have a.....a building of a certain size, like 25 -square feet, start reporting their energy
use to the City, but still there's no city that I know that regulates people within it to, um,
have a limited use. But, that being said, um, we can have policies that like we up our, uh,
building code or we can have policies that, you know, change our transportation and, um,
I don't .... to my knowledge, we can't say, you know, you industries can .... you must
reduce. Um, but we can certainly, um, look at things to, um, to, uh, encourage that and,
um, no other city I know sets limits on their residents or commercial or industry.
Throgmorton/ But we would get it from this, uh, plan a clear indication of a strategy for
achieving the goal (several responding)
Cole/ And I guess I'm not looking at regulation of maxim ... of the amount of energy people can
use, but in terms of requirements for example for on-site solar production. If I'm not
mistaken, I think that the City of San Francisco has required that, unless I'm mistaken, so
those are the sorts of regulatory .... (both talking)
Nations/ Right. Those .... yes (both talking)
Cole/ ..."policies ...... okay.
Nations/ Right. That's... that's what I'm ... the way I'm thinking (both talking)
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Cole/ Okay.
Nations/ So, you know, we could have policies that would have to do with energy.
Cole/ Yes, cause we don't want (mumbled)
Nations/ Yeah.
Throgmorton/ Okay, other questions for Brenda or Geoff?
Fruin/ Okay, we'll proceed down the path. Brenda has some example RFPs that she can begin
to, um, work on and .... uh, we'll get that ready as soon as we can. Um .... uh, for .... when
we were going down the facilitator process, Pauline and Rockne were going to help us
with the evaluation of the facilitators and, um, I think we just continue that unless there's
another direction but they can help us evaluate the consultants as well.
Throgmorton/ Sounds okay to me.
Cole/ So it sounds like really we're gonna proceed down both paths in some respects, which I
really like (several talking) Yeah.
Thomas/ I guess one question I would ask is, um ..... Brenda, could you refer me if not others to,
uh, a ... a city's climate action document that you think would kind of reflect where
we .... where you think this process would go.
Nations/ Sure. Yes. I have, uh, several examples and I'll look through, uh, some of the best
examples and I .... I can provide that, yeah. Um, I think the best ones are the ones that
really spell out, um, what actions are going to be taken and by what time, and usually if
you also have by whom that's really going to be much more effective than, um, you
know, have .... have a statement on, you know, goals that aren't necessarily defined in ... in
how they're going to be met, so.....
Mims/ Are a lot of those things online, Brenda?
Nations/ Um, yeah, I can send you links from other cities (both talking)
Mims/ That'd be great, if you ... maybe just give it to Marian for the packet. That sounds
reasonable.
Nations/ Yep! Yeah.
Mims/ Thank you.
Nations/ I'll do that.
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Throgmorton/ Super! Thank you, Brenda.
Nations/ Oh, one last thing. Should I then go ahead and start, um, with University starting
to .... to think about next semester, I can go ahead and start working with the University
and lining up, um, work .... work with them, so .... okay. Great.
Throgmorton/ I think so, yeah. (several talking) Okay! Excellent! So we can turn to our next
topic, which is to discuss food vending truck provisions. I guess Kyle's not here.
Andrew's not here. Are .... (several talking) so, uh.... how do you want to proceed on this,
Geoff?
Fruin/ Well, we had a background memo that Simon can walk you through, but it really just
provided you the history of how we got to where we're at today.
Throgmorton/ Yeah. Okay. Simon!
Discuss food vending truck provisions IIP # 7 of 10/27 packet]:
Andrew/ Yes, um, so .... our efforts to construct the current ordinance started in 2014. Prior to
2014, essentially food trucks operating from public parking spaces weren't permitted in
the city. Um, we have been getting a lot of feedback and, um ... uh, you know, witnessing
operations in other cities ourselves that made us think that maybe we wanted to look at
that ordinance. Uh, Council at the time asked us to look at it. Um, so from there we, uh,
crafted a pilot project, uh, to operate food trucks in three different locations in the city,
uh, it ended up, uh, due to flooding and due to a lack of demand at one of the locations
that the entire, uh, pilot project took place across the street in Chauncey Swan Park. Um,
that wasn't an ideal location for vendors, so the feedback we got from the vendors that
participated in that pro ... pilot, uh, was that the location wasn't visible enough, didn't have
the foot traffic necessary to, uh, support the business that they were looking for. Um, so
from there, uh, City staff worked with, uh, mobile vending association, largely with Kyle,
to put together, um, our current ordinance, reached out to the Downtown District too, um,
obviously they're one of the most affected stakeholders. Um, and put together the current
ordinance. Uh, so where we are now is that they are, uh, allowed to operate from, uh,
public city street parking spaces, um, they can .... there are some hours restrictions in
terms of the duration in the spot and they also can operate only between 7:00 A.M. and
9:00 P.M. Uh, and there's the 150 -foot buffer from brick and mortar restaurants and, uh,
the downtown zone is eliminated completely, but enough restaurants downtown that the
150 -foot buffer essentially eliminates all the downtown anyway. Um, so that's where we
stand with the current ordinance. Um, as ... you read in the memo, it's our belief that if we
were to try a .... another pilot project to look at relaxing, especially the hours, I think are
the .... is the main, uh, question here, um, it seems as though that would make the most
sense, uh, next spring, as the weather warms up and students are here. Um, if we do find
that, um .... that .... the pilot, if we started it say in December, uh, December 6"' would be
the soonest we could start it. Students will be gone shortly after that. Weather's getting
colder. If we find from that pilot that, um, other stakeholders aren't particularly affected,
that doesn't provide us with a whole lot of information, because that could be just by the
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fact that there weren't a whole lot of customers here for the food trucks. So, it does make
the most sense that if we were to go this route that we'd want to do it next spring, but um,
certainly we're open to look at this, um, you know, I do think that the logic of the
restrictions that are currently in place is good logic. I ... I think that it stands, but um,
certainly there are, um, plenty of examples from other cities that, uh, you know, this is
operated successfully and we want to do our best to support new business models and
new businesses as well, not, uh, detracting too much from our existing businesses that
have made, uh, significant investments in their, uh, downtown businesses. So, um, that's
where we stand with the current ordinance. Uh, Downtown District also asked me to add,
uh, the matrix that's in the Info Packet with the closing times of, uh, current restaurants
downtown, uh, doesn't list, uh, Dumpling Darlings or Zombie Burger, um, which
are ... will be late-night additions to the downtown too, so they asked me to pass that on
verbally at tonight's meeting. Uh, certainly the .... willing to answer any questions that
we can and ... um, look forward to the discussion!
Cole/ Well I would really like to support the pilot project, and I think really it's giving you guys
the authority to come up with a pilot project, and I think with the expectation that one,
I .... I didn't realize that the ordinance, um, did not allow you to do the pilot. So really
what I would attempt to do is get modification to give you guys the authority, not give
you any details about how to do that. I think the expectation, hopefully, is that we'd be
able to experiment with the late night. Do it with the 90 days, and then review after that,
I mean, it seems like to me the .... the current problem I see with the current model is that
they're competing directly during restaurant hours. Now there are a lot of late-night
businesses, or ... there are a few late-night businesses that could be affected by this. Um,
but I think let's see and let's evaluate that. So that's why I'm supportive of that, and I
think the other thing too is bricks and mortars are incredibly important, but I think we
talk about competition. You know we just had the Uber discussion, which wanted to
bring more competition. We had taxi cab companies that also had investments for long-
term frames. So I think if we're going to encourage competition, we have to do it in a
way that is encouraging of all types of competition, especially where a lot of the food
trucks aren't starting with tons of money to start in the first place. So that's why I would
ask the Council to authorize the, um, staff to be able to do the pilot, um, with the
expectation that if there's a substantial drop-off in business and they're.....they don't
behave well, they don't clean up after their garbage, these sorts of things, then I think
really we go back to where we were before. Um .... that's what I would like to be able to
do.
Dickens/ I agree. I would like to see the pilot program at least be tried. Uh, brick and mortar are
very important of course to our tax base and everything else, and .... but, uh, you know, if
they're.... they're providing a service that is not happening at other times or that can
improve the service that is there without hurting those businesses, I think we need to at
least give it a pilot project and ... and limit it to the 90 days and see what happens.
Taylor/ I wish that Kyle was still here cause I'd like to ask him whether he thinks the market
would be there in the winter, I mean they all sound like they're really anxious to get
going on this and....
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Cole/ Spring.
Taylor/ What's that? No, I mean if we said now, ub, but looking at the spring, they might think
that's quite a long ways to wait but I ... it sounds as though we're all in favor of that, but I
also think it's a little bit ironic that the downtown businesses, the brick and mortar ones,
would talk about competition when .... I just heard there's over a hundred restaurant kinds
of food businesses downtown, and they don't seem to have any qualms about when say
another new Mexican restaurant, uh, opens up. Uh, I .... I don't understand how one ... the
mobile could be as much competition or less competition than .... than another brick and
mortar building.
Mims/ Well it's because of the difference in overhead costs. I mean that's a huge difference in
the business model when you're talking about the overhead costs and property taxes and
utilities and everything that a bricks and mortar, um, business has versus a mobile, um,
vending truck. So that's.... that's a huge difference, just a totally different business model
yet competing for kind of the same food at the same price type of thing so.....
Thomas/ Yeah, I think .... and I was just looking at this article on Dumpling Darling. What
I ... what I like about the food truck concept is it's kind of a minor league for bricks and
mortar, so it .... uh, and now Dumpling Darling, you know, there's a quote in here that I
love: we just wanted to make sure the customers were out there first. So this is a way
that, you know, someone who has a .... has a vision, but maybe not the capital, can
develop that business model, see if in fact the .... the community will support it, and then,
uh, based on that outcome, decide whether they want to go into a building. So I think it's
a great way of actually the bricks and mortar becoming those.....those.... those businesses
we know are stronger if we have people who are interested in running a business in Iowa
City go through that opportunity of. ... of testing their own business model.
Mims/ No, I'm supportive of the pilot but I would agree, I think spring makes way more sense
for everybody in terms of getting.... getting good data for everybody.
Cole/ ...cause January's not going to be too viable!
Botchway/ Nope! I would agree. I appreciate (several talking and laughing) I appreciate
(mumbled) when these businesses were open (several talking) everything, so thank you
for this, but uh, yeah, no I would agree (several talking) supportive of the pilot. Um, you
know I think there .... I think that, you know, and you'll delve into the details, you know,
there's location issues and some things that I think need to be worked out that I think we
can come to some general consensus, um, about and um, you know I will say that, you
know, I think Kyle has done a lot of work, and you know it's .... it's been a little bit
awkward because I felt like, you know, at least for me when, um, we talked about this
last time, I made a pretty pointed message that, you know, um, they should have some
type of conversation, discussion, and you know, I .... I haven't talked with Kyle, but he
did send me an email and, you know, that hadn't happened, so that to me rubs me the
wrong way. I don't necessarily need to go into too much detail about that, but I think
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there is an opportunity to have some type of collaboration, discussion about it. I think the
young man that came from Cedar Rapids and discussed, um, you know, having people sit
at the table and have some more conversations, which had done .... which have been done
previously in the background and some of those things I think is important, but you know
I would love to see it be tried out, and I'd be interested, I mean, I'll partake and be a part
of the testing process, as well. Um, but um (laughter) verify whether it works(several
talking and laughing) But I do think, you know, and I really want to key in on John's
point, you know, I really feel like, again, ICAD has a wonderful model as far as being
kind of an entrepreneurial, um, hub or um, of addressing different things. I think there's
a lot of different things you can do, food being one of `em. There's some other things
that we've kind of talked about, and I think that again, Dumpling Darling, which I love,
um, is a, kind of a great business that has done that, and I'm excited about them opening
up and all these other types of wonderful things, and so it's really good. Excited!
Clarification of Agenda Items:
None.
Information Packet Discussion [October 20, 271:
Throgmorton/ I think you know what you need to know, right? Okay, good deal. Thank you.
All right, uh, we're supposed to turn to clarification of agenda items, but .... gosh (several
talking and laughing) Day late and a dollar short, yeah! So.....so maybe we'll just skip
that. Turn to Info Packet discussion for the October 20`h packet. Anything? (several
talking and laughing)
Fruin/ Sorry, no! I was jotting down some notes. (several talking and laughing)
Throgmorton/ I'm not hearing anything, so ..... October 27`h packet? (several talking)
Botchway/ The matrix is huge (mumbled) This is gonna help me! (several talking) Yeah,
tremendously! (laughter)
Fruin/ I didn't know you were such a late-night owl there!
Botchway/ (mumbled)
Dickens/ He only sleeps three hours.
Throgmorton/ Well, with regard to IP8, pending work session topics. I'll just note that at our
next meeting on the 15`h, uh, the work session will focus on the Airport Master Plan, uh,
and determining, uh, legislative priorities for .... for the 2017 session.
Fruin/ Yeah, and just so you now what to expect with that, um .... uh, we will present to you kind
of our traditional slate of, um, legislative priorities. I don't think you'll see any huge
shifts from us. Um, this is an opportunity for you to, uh.....add anything new that you
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want to our legislative agenda or take something away, you know, what you want us to
advocate for at the .... at the State level. Um, and then we typically will follow that up
with a resolution at your next meeting. So our goal would be able to ... to bring a
resolution on December 6'h, and then, uh, would also like to have a discussion, and with
the Mayor not being there we'll have to, uh, talk to you off-line, but how the Council
wants to engage our elected officials, because we've done that in a couple of different
ways. The Council as a whole meeting with the, uh, State delegation or just the Mayor as
a representative of the Council meeting with the delegation, so you .... between now and
the 15'h you can think about that a little bit.
Throgmorton/ Since I won't be here, I .... I prefer the latter. The whole Council meeting with the
legislative delegation. I want to mention one other thing with regard to legislative
priorities, again because I won't be here on the 15'h. It has to do with the School Board
and their legislative priorities. I .... I would think we would want to reinforce their key
priorities, assuming the ... the Council agrees with what ... how they state their priorities, so
that the delegation and legislatures getting it from two different sources. Okay, uh,
anything else in .... that, um, Info Packet? IP 15, the bar check report. I'd like to thank the
staff for providing the summary, uh, at the beginning. (several responding) Right! And
IP 17, the.... about Council listening post at the Senior Center on .... the 15 . I don't know
who .... who's going to attend.
Mims/ We don't normally.... yeah, she does (several talking)
Karr/ We don't normally say that to allow for .... at least two will be there.
Throgmorton/ Right, okay. So ... and it won't be me. (several talking)
Mims/ We won't announce it but everybody goes down the line and says it's not me (several
talking and laughing) Wait till after the meeting, I mean don't you get the point?
(laughter)
Throgmorton/ Okay! I think that's it! Anything else has to be brought up? If not, we're done!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council work
session of November 1, 2016.