HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-05-02 TranscriptionPage 1 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
ITEM 2. STUDENT LEADERSHIP AWARDS
ITEM 2a Weber Elementary School
Throgmorton: Item #2 is Student Leadership Awards, and one of our student award winners,
Amy. What's Amy's last name? Let me see. Amy Graf...Ava Graf cannot join
us tonight, but .... Audrey can. So maybe you could step back here, Audrey.
We'll just stand together, lookin' out that way. So here we have Audrey Graf
with us. (talking in background) Parrish! Eh, wouldn't ya know it? (laughter)
Audrey Parrish, I apologize! Yeah, so we talked a little bit out front, didn't we? I
know you have, uh, a statement to read about.....your life at Irving Weber School.
So would you go ahead?
Parrish: Okay. (talking in background) Oh ... thank you! Um, I think I was nominated for
this award (clears throat) Excuse me! Um, because I try to be kind every day at
school and do the right thing, even if it's difficult. For example, last week me and
my friends were playing out on a .... out on the playground at recess and I noticed
that the new girl from Ethiopia who doesn't speak our language was sitting alone
and watching us play, and I knew how it felt to be on the outside looking in on
people having fun, and I decided to suggest that we invite her to play, and um,
even though she doesn't speak our language, um, she .... could understand the
game and she had a lot of fun and so did we. And by the end of recess we were
all really happy and had a lot of fun! So, urn ... I also help my friends settle
disputes and even if I get into an argument, I try hard not to hurt someone else
even if it .... even if it (mumbled) if it would help me win. I want to thank my
awesome (mumbled) Samantha Tilly for nominating me for this award and just
being (mumbled) teacher, even though she's not here. (applause)
Throgmorton: Well done, Audrey. It's tremendously difficult to be an outsider and not be able
to speak the language and, uh, try to fit in, in one way or another. So, good job!
So I want to read this Leadership Award statement for Audrey Parrish. (reads
Leadership Award) ....Weber Elementary.... Weaver, yeah, it's Weaver, isn't it?
Weber. Yeah, wouldn't ya know it? Supposed to be the Mayor; I'm supposed to
know this stuff? (laughter) (continues reading Leadership Award) So, here you
are, Audrey. Bravo! Well done! (applause) So, it's a joy to be able to present
awards like that and very happy to be able to do it. (talking in background)
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ITEM 3. PROCLAMATIONS
ITEM 3a Bike to Work Month
Throgmorton: Unlike last week when we had five reasonably long proclamations ... or last
meeting, we had three reasonably long proclamations to read. Tonight we have
two reasonably brief ones! Uh, the first one concerns Bike to Work Month.
(reads proclamation) Is there anybody who would like to accept this proclamation
named Anne Duggan. Can we (laughs)
Voparil: Anne Duggan, President of Think Bicycles of Johnson County accepting.
(applause)
Throgmorton: Anne, could you come up?
Duggan: Oh, should I come up? (talking in background) ...a pin from the League of
American Bicyclists that, uh, they give out (both talking)
Throgmorton: Look at that. Great! Great, thanks!
Duggan: So, again my name is Anne Duggan. I'm a .... I live at 115 Montrose and I just...
I'm the President of Think Bicycles, which is really, uh (mumbled) like the Bike
Month Maven or something (laughter) cause this has been so much fun. Um, and
I do thank you so much for all your support. I also want to say that staff is always
wonderful too. Um, I'm constantly writing somebody or other with a question
like `What was it you said two weeks ago in that meeting and ... that was about
some road,' or `What's going on with the Bike Share,' or.....I also specialize in
sending in, uh, photos of abandoned bikes that are in the City bike racks to ... onto
icgov, so ... I'm on a first -name basis with the police who have to go (laughs)
(mumbled) so I appreciate that. They're ki.... very kind. Um, and this whole
recognition of bikes and bike month is very important, and I ... I really appreciate
it. Uh, I .... I do want to point out this did used to start out as Bike to Work Week.
Uh, last year it actually just started bursting at the seams. Both weekends were
full of bike events. Uh, this is an example of our... activities two years ago. You
know, fits nicely. I didn't .... I didn't torture my graphic designer too much. This
is what came in this year. This side .... two sides, and there are actually a handful
of additional events that you can find on our Facebook page, uh, Bike Month in
Johnson County, 2017. Um, some of the new ones are .... and I actually, I also
describe myself as a `cat herder' in this event because I don't really decide
anything. I have some money that I can give as grants that the ... that the
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municipalities have... are supporting us with, and so, uh, at the end of January I
sent out a call for ideas, what do you want to do, and I got, uh, the usual stalwarts
like New Pi Ride, which everyone loves, and the Bike Shop breakfast, but I also
heard from two women on the east side of Iowa City who just want to do an easy
ride with kids, just a mile or so, take the trail, have some ice cream, go home.
Um, they are going to start that. It'll be a weekly ride this summer, and they're
starting it next Tuesday. These same women are also doing a litter pickup, a
`rubbish ride,' so they're gonna pick up litter along the trail, and it's just stuff like
that comes in. Um, we will also be doing our first slow roll, which is a, uh, a ... it
was started in Detroit, uh, where, uh, it's just a way to get acquainted with your
community. So you roll, you ride together, whatever size your group is. Uh, in
Detroit they happen to be several thousand, uh, people after seven years, seven...
every week during the, um, about three-quarters of the year, uh, several thousand
people go for a bike ride together, uh, which is cool because they get to see
different parts of the city. Uh, this time this one was, uh, is going to be a
University Heights and Iowa City ride, and it's called `Riders and Writers,' where
we will .... will be touring through neighborhoods, uh, where writers have done
their work, all the .... (mumbled) .... all the writers who have come to Iowa City,
but the interesting ones .... Kurt Vonnegut's house, you know, that kind of thing.
Um, and then end up in University Heights where we get to see their new, um,
Community Center. Uh, there... there'll be food available and there's an airing of
the Dottie Ray documentary so ... it's just stuff like this ... is people just start
bringing in and I just love it. Um, a handful of rides, as I said, didn't make it on.
One of them is tomorrow night at the Senior Center where we're tryin' to get
people who don't ride to figure out how to learn how to ride a bike, and I just....
it's always fun. Uh, and you know, May is as we keep saying the month we
celebrate bicycling and .... but I also want to say, just remind you all very kindly
and gently, that for many people, this is how we get around our town. Um, I ride
year-round, and uh.... it works most of the time. Um, but you know, I ... I buy my
groc... not just me, but many of us buy groceries, we go to school, we go to doctor
appointments, we buy clothes, we buy bikes, we take our bikes to get repaired, we
go to the hardware stores, we go out to eat, we go to hear music, and we can do
that here by bicycle. And we .... we, these people, are really bi-local. We could
bicycle to the mall, but it's much less interesting. If I want something to wear so I
don't embarrass my kids at a family event, I go down to Textiles and I say `dress
me,' and .... and it's .... I love living in a town like that, and so there .... it's not just
Bike to Work. It's not just bike once in awhile. It's not just bike in spandex so
you can learn how to race, but it's also a group of people who just bike to live in a
community.... where you can live your life and .... use a bicycle to get there. Um,
we are partly through a real exciting, uh, Bike Master Plan process. I've ... I'm ... I
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think that it's really going to make a big difference and these are consultants who
wrote the book on how to make ... make a community work for bikes and
pedestrians, and this plan will help us chart the future in a very real way. Uh, at
the same time there's things we can do now, one of which is something you're
going to be discussing later, and that's, uh, looking.... having the consultants look
at a plan for a .... for a three -lane conversion on Gilbert Street, which as Think
Bicycles we endorse and as a .... this is a third party but the Big Grove people are
also .... would also be very excited to have, uh, really safe accommodations down
to their place. Uh, and just to conclude, I have this national study I quote all the
time. Um, Americans who drive make 10, uh, car trips a week of two miles or
less. If all of them, or even part of them, made these rides, these errands done on
foot or by bike, they'd be healthier, our environment would be healthier, and
they'd have more money to spend in their town .... which it just makes it .... a win-
win for everybody. And so that just means that Bike Month, we hope, is the
gateway drug to more bicycling for more people. So, thank you again!
Throgmorton: Thank you, Anne. (applause)
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ITEM 3. PROCLAMATIONS
Item 3b Mildred-Pelzer Mural Appreciation Year
Throgmorton: (reads proclamation) Is there someone who could come accept the proclamation?
Hi, Susan. (applause) (talking in background) Okay.
Craig: I'm very happy to accept this proclamation. I'm doing it on behalf of J. Patrick
White, who I know intended to be here tonight and obviously was not able to
come. Um, he has marshaled this project from day one. It was his baby. The
communications he has been in with the School District. You know, there are lots
of moving parts, lots of bureaucracies in this whole thing, um, but he had the
vision and he has made it happen. I know that the mural that's coming to the
Library and the Senior Center, the School District personnel are bringing it next
Thur .... a week from Thursday. So after that you'll be able to see it at the Library
on the second floor. Um, we are looking forward to hosting it for more than a
year. Thanks to the School District for being so kind to let it be loaned out, and
um, everybody enjoy looking at the works of, uh, this really under -appreciated
Iowa City female artist. Thanks! (applause)
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ITEM 4. SPECIAL PRESENTATION — Iowa City Public Library Friends
Foundation
Throgmorton: Peggy!
Doerge: Yes!
Throgmorton: Yeah.
Doerge: Hi! I'm Peggy Doerge. I'm the current President of the, uh, Public Library
Friends Foundation, and on behalf of the Board, it's my honor to give you this
check for $100,000 from the Library Friends Foundation for the new Library
bookmobile. We're thrilled that we have, uh, a community that loves the Library
and expresses that love through financial contributions to support it, and with the
new, uh, bookmobile we'll be able to reach even more people. This gift is the
result of a significant bequest received from Mary Gilbert. Mary retired to Iowa
City from New Jersey and she spent a lot of time at the Library. Uh, she had
communicated to the Library's Development Director, Patty McCarthy, that she
was including the Library in her estate planning and she wanted her gift to be
used to help everyone, and especially children. After Mary's death these funds
were received and the Library was ... uh, working on the bookmobile plan at that
time and we knew that it was the perfect way to honor Mary's legacy. Mayor
Throgmorton and City Council, it is my pleasure to give you this check and assure
you that we will continue at the Foundation, uh, we'll be continuing our work to
support everyone in this community through the Library. Thank you. (applause)
Throgmorton: Generous donation! (talking in background) (laughter) Maybe I should (several
talking) City Manager. (laughter) Oh, thanks so much! You know, we had a...
many of you don't know this but we had a tour of the bookmobile during .... right
at the start of our work session earlier this afternoon, and uh, it's really pretty
nifty, and I'm certain it's going to have great success as it tours its way
throughout the city and makes its many stops along the way and thanks to Susan
and the Foundation and everybody else affiliated with the, uh, associated with the,
uh, the bookmobile.
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ITEM 5. CONSIDER ADOPTION OF THE CONSENT CALENDAR AS
PRESENTED OR AMENDED
Throgmorton:... and I want to .... before we do that, I want to clarify the date of public hearings
for Items 5e(3) and 5e(4) should read "May the 16th" not "May the 2nd" as
stated, uh, in the text.
Botchway: So moved.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway and seconded by Thomas. Discussion? Hearing none, roll
call. Motion carries 6-0.
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ITEM 6. COMMUNITY COMMENT (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA). [UNTIL 8
PM]
Throgmorton: So, if anybody would like to address any topic that's not on the stated agenda, the
published agenda, please feel free to do so now. I'd like to ask you to keep your
comments to five minutes or less, state your name when you come up, please.
Ah! (laughs) I thought I saw you shaking your head no! (laughs)
Ross: No one wants to be the bad guy! (laughter) Hi, I'm Brandon Ross, uh, from Iowa
City. Uh, just a couple of points, uh, that I would like to bring up. First of all, uh,
it's about a week or so later than, uh, Governor Branstad's signing of the, uh,
Stand Your Ground rule for Iowa. Uh, I .... I just want to bring this up, uh, as a,
something I completely disagree, uh, once he signed that. Uh, you know, it says
that if you feel like your person or your property is in danger, you can.....you can
open fire, um, and I don't .... I don't see how that makes us more secure. He stated
that, uh, we are now one of the biggest supporters in the country of the Second
Amendment, which as I recall, uh, was .... was written so that, uh, people could be
armed in case, uh, of, uh, a military engagement, uh, from say England or France
or .... or Spain, or other such countries back in 1790, uh, I ... and, uh, think we only
had muskets and, uh.... pistols back then. And so I think that even, uh,
mentioning the Second Amendment, uh, shows that he hasn't read any of that, uh,
Amendment, and I don't feel more secure, and I think that a lot of us feel the
same and we're wringing our hands that this could actually be passed, and uh,
whatever Iowa City can do, uh, regarding arms, uh, I suggest that it do, uh,
through the police organization, uh, the police, the Citizen's Policing, uh,
Commission to understand what the ramifications of this are. I can only think that
what would have been the possibilities, uh, for instance, of something like this
being passed where I come from, which was inner-city in Boston, East Boston. It
was a highly urban area and you got kids like me, uh, and .... and friends and
people who are not friends and the only things that we owned were things like
hockey sticks, you know, ice skates, basketball... maybe bicycle, and then all of a
sudden there's firearms in every single apartment. It would have been like the St.
Valentine's Day Massacre, uh, every single week. So, uh, please, uh, do make a
note of this, Council, management, and uh, for the police. I think this is a very
challenging, uh, thing that we have to deal with. Um, two, more related to, uh, to
the Council and its decisions, decisions in the future. Um .... I did want to call
attention to Chauncey Swan Park, um, which is no longer there! Uh.... it's just a
heap of rubble and if you look at the park, uh, like I do, and others, uh, you get
very concerned and you .... you see something that was once very beautiful and
took a lot of years to develop and you basically see a pile of. ... of just construction
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materials, uh.... some, uh, Port -a -Potties and such. This is a place where children
have played. Uh, my daughter, uh, climbed those trees from the time she was
four years old. She's 16 -years -old now. She was heartbroken. Many people
have mentioned, uh, in a heartbreaking way how the park just looks like a
disaster, and, uh, you know, seniors go over there, uh, and sit, uh, the birds and
the .... the environment is beautiful, or was beautiful. There's music that was
played there. Uh, there was also the Farmers Market, which... which comes there.
The park is part and parcel if not .... you know, half...50% of what's great about
that Farmers Market, and I just want to say that we have ... we have destroyed the
park. I know there are plans to rebuild it or make it just about the same ... um .... I
can't see how it'll actuate, um, and a building that's going up there is going to be,
correct me if I'm wrong, is 55 units, uh, consideration for "affordable housing" is
gonna be for about five units. Um, most of Iowa City is working class. That
building benefits a ... a few people, uh, some realtors, some developers, an
architect, um, wealthy people who want to have all the amenities downtown. It
benefits them. Uh, but it doesn't really serve the community as I think it should
serve and people who are working class cannot afford to live in that building .... at
all. So I feel like we have, uh, exchanged a beautiful, wonderful place that .... that
Iowa City had, uh, beautiful foresight to develop, which was the park, uh, for a
project that benefits a few wealthy people at the expense of severals or tens of
thousands of people, uh, who could enjoy the area or even could rent the
apartments, and I think for that... that great transfer, which we gave, I think that
affordable housing units, the number that is given in that building, should be more
highly considered, because 10% or less than 10% doesn't match up with
what ... with what we have here. So there are two issues there. So in order to .... in
order to build something you have to destroy something. I think we need to think
more carefully in the future, and also when you .... when we build in this town,
considering the economy for those who are not in the upper bracket, the upper
20%. The economy's not going well, and we need to be better at serving, uh, the
common people. Thank you so much for your time.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Brandon. Would anybody else like to address us? Seeing no
one. -..we'll move ahead to Item #7, Planning and Zoning Matters.
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ITEM 7. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS
ITEM 7a REZONING LEHMAN AVENUE — ORDINANCE REZONING
38.49 ACRES FROM INTERIM DEVELOPMENT MULTIFAMILY (ID -
RM) ZONE AND 3.52 ACRES FROM RURAL RESIDENTIAL (RR -1) TO
MEDIUM DENSITY MULTIFAMILY (RM -20) ZONE LOCATED SOUTH
OF LEHMAN AVENUE, EAST OF SOCCER PARK ROAD. (REZ15-
00019) (FIRST CONSIDERATION)
a) PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: I should open the public hearing, but first ... we should have ex parti.... ex parte,
um .... revelations. Any conversations with anybody beforehand? Yeah. Okay.
So, open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) John Yapp.
Yapp: Uh, good evening, John Yapp, Development Services. Uh, this item, uh, was
acted on by the Planning and Zoning Commission in October of 2015. Uh, at the
request of the applicant at that time, uh, the item was deferred indefinitely. Uh,
the applicant recently requested it be placed on a Council agenda for
consideration and that's.... that's why we're here tonight. Uh, the property is
located on the south side of Lehman Avenue, north of the, uh, southern waste
water plant, as shown in this overhead. Uh, and the shaded area is this property,
uh, now it is zoned Interim Development, uh, Multi -Family. Uh, some salient
points, uh, about the property. Uh, Interim Development is the default zone for
undeveloped, uh, areas in the city that do not yet have the infrastructure and...
and the ability to provide City services, uh, before those properties are zoned for
development. Uh, the proposed zone for the property is Medium Density Multi -
Family, or RM -20. Uh, the zoning code states that this zone is particularly well
suited to locations adjacent to commercial areas and in areas with good access to
City services and facilities. Uh, under the RM -20 zone, staff estimates that over
600 units could be constructed, uh, on the property. Uh, in October of 2015, uh,
the rezoning request was reviewed under the 1997 South District Plan. The 2015
South District Plan had not quite, uh, been adopted. Uh, but both .... both land use
maps, and I .... I have a slide to show those to you, uh, both land use maps in the
97 plan and the 2015 plan are very similar (noises on mic). I'm getting a little
feedback on the... on the speakers. Uh, the 1997 plan contained guidelines
indicating that large concentrations of multi -family housing should be avoided.
Uh, the future land use scenario in the South District Plan depicted this property
as being appropriate for single-family lots, to the south (noises on mic), small
single-family and duplex lots to the north, and the potential for townhomes, uh, up
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Page 11 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
along the north end, along Lehman Avenue. Under the 2015 plan, uh, which the
Planning and Zoning Commission had recently approved at .... in October of 2015,
but the City Council had not yet approved. Uh.... in that plan, the land use map
depicts a very similar, uh, pattern with low to medium -density single-family and
the possibility of higher densities closer to Lehman Avenue. Uh, on the left-hand
side of your screen is the image from the 1997, uh, South District Plan, uh,
showing single-family, uh, to the south and then single-family and duplex and
then townhomes. Uh, the 2015 plan, very similar, uh, showing low to medium -
density single-family. Then low to medium -density mixed residential, with the
potential for some multi -family, uh, to the north. Uh, again the ... the request from
the applicant is that the entire approximate 40 acres, uh, be rezoned to Medium -
Density Multi -Family, or RM -20. Uh, RM -20 zones are recommended in areas of
the city that have good access to commercial and City services. Uh, the nearest
commercial area's the Iowa City Marketplace, about two miles to the northeast.
Uh, the street network to serve the property is currently limited. Uh, Lehman
Avenue, uh, on the northern end of the property, it is, uh, unimproved road, uh,
currently is the only access, uh, to the property. In addition the .... the IC 2030
Comprehensive Plan states as a policy, uh, and this was something brought up to
the Planning and Zoning Commission back in October of 2015, uh, as a policy to
encourage compact, efficient development that is contiguous and connected to
existing neighborhoods, uh, to reduce the cost of extending infrastructure, uh, and
services. Uh, just some visuals of what the property, uh, looks like. Uh, and as
you can see it is ... it is an .... undeveloped and used for agricultural purposes. Uh,
the other thing I wanted to mention is that the City recently engaged a consultant
to develop, uh, an analysis of the form -based code, uh, missing.... mixed missing
middle housing types in the South District. Uh, that analysis is in the early stages.
Uh, and they will .... but they will be looking at the possibility for developing
what's called a form -based code, or a code for mixed housing types, uh, within...
within the South District area. Uh, that process is ongoing. Uh, staff
recommends, uh, had recommended denial in October of 2015, uh, of this
rezoning request, and the Planning and Zoning Commission also recommended
denial, uh, unanimously. Be glad to take any questions.
Throgmorton: Any questions for John? Thank you, John! Would anybody else like to address
this topic? Good evening!
Bright: Good evening. Uh, good evening, uh, Mr. Mayor, Members of the Council, uh,
staff. My name is David Bright. Uh, I'm here tonight in my individual capacity
as one of the two families, uh, that has, uh, developed and owns the Saddlebrook
development. Urn ... I'd like to speak a little bit to the history of the annexation of
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this property, uh, and how we view this, uh, this application, uh, pending before
the Council. We started to purchase the land, uh, that now makes up Saddlebrook
back in the late 1980s. Uh, in the early 1990s, uh, we began the annexation
process. Originally it was about a 420 -acre parcel that was annexed into the city.
Uh, since that time, uh, we have added additional parcels. Uh, now we have
approximately 500 acres, uh, and the entire Saddlebrook community is home to,
uh, approximately 1,500 residents, has about 700 units. Um, the annexation of
this property presented a lot of advantages to the City. Obviously there were
advantages, uh, to us as the developers, but from the City's perspective, uh, it
allowed for an increase in affordable housing units. Uh, it allowed the City, uh, to
get land that made the new waste water treatment plant contiguous to existing
City property so that the City didn't have to go through condemnation
proceedings or an involuntary annexation process. Uh, when the lowland portion
of the development was identified as wetlands, uh, we started to work with the
City and some consultants in order to define, uh, what constituted the wetlands at
that time, uh, and as a result of that process, uh, approximately 200 acres, uh, was
set aside in conservation, uh, partially City -owned property now. The majority of
it is still privately -owned, uh, property but nevertheless, uh, has been set aside for
conservation. As part of that process, uh, when there was less land coming in for
development, uh, we began discussing with the City staff, um, trading density, uh,
for higher density on other portions. Urn ... and eventually, uh, our proposal for
that was rejected and we elected to pull the application for annexation of that
portion. Uh, thereafter, uh, staff approached us, we worked with, urn .... Tom
Scott and Kann Franklin and other members of the staff at the time, uh, on a
compromise agreement which involved having that property come in largely as
was indicated on the map as IDRM. Um, if that land hadn't been zoned as IDRM,
then we would of just kept it off that annexation application and we would of kept
it in the county and developed it as a separate parcel or under a separate process.
It would not have come in. But as a result, uh, of those negotiations with the City,
we reached an agreement, signed the CZA and went forward with developing the
property. Uh, IDRS, uh, was an interim designation zoning classification in
existence at the time. Parties didn't elect to use IDRS. They elected to use IDRM
with the anticipation that this was going to be trading density for density that was
lost, uh, due to the property that was voluntarily set aside for conservation
purposes. The code provides that ID zoning, uh, reflects the intended future use
of the property, according to the Comprehensive Plan as amended. Now this
annexation took place in 1994. There was no South District Plan which is the
relevant district plan for this particular area, until 1997. Um, so essentially there
was no district plan for this district at that time. Now I've taken a look at the
South District Plan for 1997. There were some maps, um, John showed earlier
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that reflected the property. I couldn't tell if the 1997 plan actually contained any
maps because it was amended in 2002, and the 2002 map does have ... I ... I think is
the same one as ... as the one that was on the left in the slide, uh, that John showed,
but I .... but I couldn't say for sure. Urn ... it was amended again in 2015, and each
time, as it's amended, the map for this particular property, that shows single-
family homes, gets bigger and the map that shows multi -family homes gets
smaller. Um, it appears that it just gradually increases over time, despite the fact
the property was zoned as IDRM. Uh, and it appears that the plan was changed in
spite of, and without really any regard for relying on or looking at the existing
zoning to see what was in place at the time. In 15, when the South District Plan
was being amended, um, we were .... we were here and we ... we spoke in
opposition to amending the plan at the time for some of the same reasons that I'm
speaking to tonight. Um, and we were assured that plans don't trump code, but
here .... seems to me that that is what can happen, because the plan can be
amended for a particular piece of property, uh, regardless of how that property is
zoned. Then when you come back and want to seek a rezoning of the property,
you're told, `Well, that doesn't match the plan.' So you get caught in this trap
where you have land that's zoned IDRM. You want to develop it with the
expectations that you had when it was annexed into the City, but you're told that
because the plan has now changed and the plan doesn't trump code, but here it
seems to, you're not able to develop the land in the manner that you had
anticipated, based on the annexation and the arrangements that we made at the
time. We, uh, you know, we .... we think we've acted in good faith. We've
complied with all the obligations that were set forth in the CZA, not just the
conservation easement. We set aside 15 acres for a school. Um, that .... that
option was never exercised by the School District, so the land has reverted back to
us, but we've complied with that. Uh, we've complied with everything else and
now that we're ready to build, um, we're told that we can't build because of the
plan. Uh, as I was preparing for this tonight I ... I was reminded that the City had a
study that it commissioned in 2007 regarding affordable housing in the
community. So I went back and took a look at that to refresh my memory, and
the stud ... the study said that at the time it was done in 2007, the total demand for
affordable housing units for the years 2000 to 2012 was 5,450 units. The total
supply for that same period was estimated to be 2,711 units, leaving an unmet
need of 2,739 affordable housing units. The study recommended among other
things that the City increase the amount of land zoned for multi -family housing.
In 2015 the study was updated and with respect to the public policy section, it
stated in part that `It is worthy to note imple ... implementation of most of these
policies for the benefit of affordable housing has not occurred since 2007.'
Again, recommended increasing the amount of land zoned for multi -family
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housing and noted that the need for more affordable housing is even more evident
now than in 2007. We have a clean development. We have a safe development.
It's affordable. It's privately funded. We don't ask for public funds and it's very
well maintained. The people who live there enjoy it. We think it's a thriving
development, and we'd like to be able to add to it. There's a need for affordable
housing. The.....the studies have said that. We're here tonight to ask you to let
us do that and approve our request for rezoning for this particular property.
Thanks for the time!
Throgmorton: Thanks, David. Who else would like to address this topic? Good evening, Steve!
Uh, I think I forgot to say .... forgot to ask you to keep your comments to five
minutes or less, if. ... if you could.
Gordon: That will not be a problem!
Throgmorton: Thanks!
Gordon: (laughs) Um, good evening, Mr. Mayor and Council Members. Um, thanks for
allowing me to speak here tonight. Uh, I'm Steve Gordon. Um, I'm here to
represent the owners of the property. Back in early 2006, um, a .... which I believe
was before any of you were, um .... uh, part of the City Council, we had a similar
application before this body. Um, as David mentioned, during the annexation
process, uh, there was approximately 75 acres brought into the City, uh, with the
specific designation of IDRM. Not MRS but IDRM. Um, when the City created
the South, uh, Sycamore regional storm water detention management system, um,
it purchased 68 acres of the aforementioned 420 acres of that annexation, um,
including 34 acres of IDRM zoned ground. This split the remaining IDRM zoned
ground into ... into two pieces, um, one that we are discussing here tonight and, uh,
the other, um, piece, and that brings me back to 2006. At that time we brought an
application to the Council, to rezone the north section of the remaining IDRM
ground, which was 1.51 acres, from IDRM to RM -12. Uh, between the time of
annexation and 2006, sewer and water had been made available to that site and we
felt that the ID designation, uh, could be dropped and the site could be developed.
Uh, staff agreed, uh, and the analysis was done, that the site did have the
necessary City services, and our rezoning, uh, passed unanis... unanimously at
both Planning and Zoning and the City Council. Uh, the project was then built,
following, uh, the parameters set forth in, um, the City's zoning code, uh, which is
very detailed and sets forth controls of design, uh, density, scope, and many other
factors that, uh, lead to a good development. This set a precedent, uh, that the
RM designation does mean something, uh, and the analysis used then, uh, should
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be the same analysist.... analysis used today, uh, for this application. So I
appreciate your time. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thanks, Steve. Anyone else? Good evening, Charlie!
Eastham: Good evening. My name's Charlie Eastham. I live at 953 Canton Street in Iowa
City. Uh.... (clears throat) I'm speaking tonight with some trepidation. Since I
was on the Planning and Zoning Commission in 2015, when we considered this,
uh, this application and, uh, I actually voted eventually with the majority of the
Commission in recommending that it .... the, uh, specific application not be
approved. Um, since that time (clears throat) I've convinced myself that I don't
have to be bound by everything I did in the past. Um (clears throat) and I think
the ... I'd like to suggest tonight that the Council consider, uh, some, um ... some
flexibility in proceeding with, uh, this application, or the development of this
particular parcel, or .... and/or both. I realize that .... that in .... interpreting or
applying the zoning code to specific applications is sometimes, uh, difficult to do,
especially when you think the code is not exactly what, uh, what you or the
applicant wants to have done on a particular property. Uh (clears throat) I'm
particularly, um, thinking of the availability of lower priced housing that the
development of this particular parcel, uh, seems to, uh.... uh, to promise. Uh, as
you know, uh.... the Rose Oaks Apartment complex in this same general
geographic area was, um .... uh, redeveloped recen... or being in the process of
being redeveloped and, uh, resulting in considerable increases of prices for those
apartments, um, out .... taking them well out of the affordability range, uh, for
most households. Uh, I think that the, uh, the, uh, the current planning documents
support the notion that this parcel and other places and other parcels around the
new Alexander School in the .... in the Southeast District, uh, can be developed for
multi -family use and ... well, and are needed for, uh, multi -family use in order to
bring down the, uh, or ..... uh... prices of some units in this general area. Again,
I'm not quite sure what, uh, what to recommend the Council do. Just saying no to
the application is one option, saying, `Well, RM -20 may not be the best zoning
for this parcel, but there may be better zone... there may be good zoning that's
available for the developer, and we'd like to explore that option.' I think the
Council has much more, um, flexibility in doing that than the Planning and
Zoning Commission, uh, had, and that's one of the reasons I eventually voted
with the majority of the Commission, cause I didn't see the Commission itself as
having enough flexibility to do something besides what was being proposed. So I
hope you'll, uh, give some consideration as you proceed tonight.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Charlie! Anyone else? Good evening, Mike.
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Pugh: Good evening! Mr. Mayor, Council Members, my name is Mike Pugh. Reside at
43.....4743 Dryden Court. Here representing the, uh, the applicant. We have
been dealing with this project, uh, since sometime in .... in 2015 and .... I just want
to speak to a couple things that haven't been mentioned yet, and one of `em is
that ... this particular parcel is really ideal for some sort of higher density, multi-
family use, uh, particularly for affordable, uh, workforce housing. One of the
things that the Comprehensive Plan says that wasn't mentioned by Mr. Yapp is
that multi -family housing is encouraged in the areas that are adjacent to open
spaces. And we have almost 40 acres here that is virtually surrounded by open
space. In fact I don't think you'll find a ... a larger tract of property that has as
much open space, uh, surrounding it. As Mr. Bright mentioned, back in 1994 his
family, urn .... dedicated a conservation easement to the City of almost 200 acres
to the east of here. It's really a nice wetlands area, has trails running through it.
Subsequent to that, the City purchased some additional land southeast of this site
for their, um, storm water, uh, complex.....um, to the south of this site is the
City's soccer complex, has large open fields for playing, um, to the west is
Pleasant Valley Gold Course, and this property here could connect very easily
into the Sycamore Greenway trail system. That is ideal for a higher density
development. In fact I would submit that I don't think you're gonna find a ... a
better tract of property really anywhere in our city for that type of development,
as it relates to open space, and that's critical. (clears throat) One of the... the... the
primary, urn.... objection to the application, uh, in the staff report, and you heard it
this evening, is a strict analysis of this property and the application as it relates to
the zoning map contained in the South District Plan, and the colors that are
contained on that particular map. We were before, uh, Planning and Zoning and
City Council back in 2015 when that map was adopted, and we argued at the time
that the map itself was inconsistent with the zoning on the property, which is
IDRM and which should have been slated for some sort of multi -family use. The
bulk of the property, as Mr. Yapp stated, with the exception of some property
around Lehman Avenue (clears throat) is for a low to medium -density, single-
family use, which again is inconsistent with the current zoning on the property.
What we were told by members of Planning and Zoning, and specifically by the
Chair of Planning and Zoning, is, `Look! The South District Plan, uh, and
Comprehensive Plans, we cannot get into micro -managing every single parcel
that's located on that South District Plan. We are not here to micro -manage and
decide with specifics how those plans are gonna be designated in the South
District Plan. What color are they? Are they gonna be low to density single-
family? Are they gonna be multi -family? Comprehensive Plans are meant to be
fluid, which is what we were told and which is true! In fact they're changed all
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the time. There's amendments before this body nearly every single Council
meeting with some sort of amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. So they're
meant to be .... they're meant to be fluid. They're meant to be a .... a general
guideline. But one thing is for certain is that the Comprehensive Plan should not
trump the zoning on the property. The zoning on the property is IDRM and that
was.... negotiate... negotiated and agreed to back in ... in 1994. So if you believe
that, then the only really question is whether or not that ID designation should be
dropped and there should be some RM zoning on this particular property. The ID
designation is applicable and appropriate when there aren't particular services or
the necessary services, uh, to the property, which was the case back in 1994.
That's not the case now. There's adequate water and sewer that can service this
property. Sycamore Avenue has been improved, and we have a new elementary
school, uh, located there. Lehman Avenue needs to be improved, but this
developer has said publicly and will say again that they understand that to develop
their piece, they will have to, um, agree and ... or an additional conditional zoning
agreement to improve Lehman Avenue. So the infrastructure is there. This
developer.... has had literally a decade's long history with the City in developing
in this area. That 1994 annexation was the largest annexation in the City's
history. They have a long track record of developing quality affordable housing,
and they would like to do it, uh, in ... in this location. So what you have before you
is you have a developer ready, willing, and able to provide affordable housing
units, uh, for the city and, uh, we respectfully request that they be permitted to do
so. Thank you for your time!
Throgmorton: Thank you, Mike. Could I ask you a question, please?
Pugh: Sure!
Throgmorton: Uh, you said that, urn .... uh, the owners, uh, have a ... agreed that they should,
um... I don't remember the exact language, but agreed that, uh, they should
improve .... pay the cost of improving Lehman Avenue. (both talking)
Pugh: We understand Lehman Avenue needs to be improved.
Throgmorton: Yeah, so ... but, uh.... the .... the language I heard you speak basically indicated that
you would accept responsibility for improving Lehman Avenue and I'm ... from
all, from the written record, I can see that that's not quite what .... (both talking)
Pugh: Well ideally what we would like to see would be some sort of cost contribution
(both talking) adjacent land owners. The ... the Cruise piece, we would expect
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Page 18 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
would come in, which is adjacent to the golf course. I would expect that would be
more of a single-family use, but what we would like to see is some sort of fair
contribution from the adjacent property (both talking)
Throgmorton: Thank you, I was just trying to clarify that.
Pugh: Yep!
Throgmorton: Thank you.
Pugh: Thank you.
Throgmorton: Anyone else? (both talking) Hi, Alicia!
Trimble: My name is Alicia Trimble. I live at 2232 California Avenue, so I'm actually
here tonight to talk to you guys about my own neighborhood. Um .... you're right,
the City does need a lot more affordable housing, but I don't think this is how to
do it. I think the housing needs to be incorporated into our neighborhoods, and I
don't think it needs to be set aside in a farm field. And I can tell ... the honest truth
is my neighborhood's a food desert. There's not really any resources. Lucky's is
near but .... to be honest with you, most of the people in my neighborhood can't
afford to shop at Lucky's. There is no grocery store. There's no restaurants.
There's no really facilities and this is at the far end of the neighborhood where
there's even less, and I really feel like we might be, no matter how good the
intentions are of the developer, really warehousing people when we put them
down there, and I'd really like, you know, the Council to think about the effect it
would have on the people who end up living there, as well as the neighborhood.
We've come so far. We .... you know, are working so hard on the South Side
Plan. We're looking at... at form -based code and all these udder... other
innovative ways to develop our neighborhood and I just don't think that fits into
the reality of good urban planning. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Alicia. Anyone else? Good evening, Mark!
Signs: Good evening! I'm going to try very hard to balance several hats I wear that ... that
cross over this issue, and I'm going to try to, um, address my comments more
generically. Um....
Mims: Excuse me! Could you introduce yourself for those of us who don't know you?
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Signs: I'm sorry! Mark Signs.
Mims: Thank you.
Signs: Um, I live at 1825 Hollywood Boulevard. I, uh, I .... I currently serve as the
President of the Board of the Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition. I
currently serve on the Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission. Uh, I am a
realtor, and I am a .... and I am a resident of the south.... southeast side of town.
Um, I'm speaking now as .... as myself, as an individual, urn .... and I'm going to
try to make my comments carefully (laughs) because of the other roles I play.
One of the things I want to encourage, um .... the Council to ... to think about, um,
as we look at, uh, land use planning, as we look at development, uh, as we look at,
uh, a lot of. ... a lot of these things, we have as a community adopted, um, some...
several wonderful goals around affordable housing. And we recognize the great
need, uh, for affordable housing and .... and some of the numbers were ... were
mentioned earlier and they are, if you read the affordable housing study, they are
some pretty astounding numbers. And I think we as a community, if we truly
believe that affordable housing is important and that affordable housing is
something that adds, uh, to the fabric of our community, we need to be looking
for ways to make that happen, and given the numbers that we see, we need to be
looking for ways to make that happen in larger numbers. Um, and I think ... when
you look at, when you look at plans and you look at maps, uh, I think anyone
who's heard me talks (laughs) heard me talk knows I'm not a big fan of maps,
um, because they ... they don't always reflect, uh, the reality of the situation. Um,
one example, um, the City has a .... an affordable housing location model map,
um, which I have spoke about many times, and on that map one of the .... one of
the large areas that's highlighted as available for development for affordable
housing is the Iowa City Airport. Um, one of the large areas (mumbled) labeled
as available for the development of affordable housing is Hickory Hill Park. So
maps can be a little deceiving and I .... and I encourage you to look deep .... deeper
into those .... into those things as you make these decisions. Um, I was involved in
the South District Planning process also, and I would agree, um, there was ... there
was resistance, uh, by many residents to, um, increased density in the
neighborhood. I would venture to say, and I haven't .... I haven't had the time to
actually go and do this plan by plan, but I would venture to say if you looked at
every district plan in the City of Iowa City, they all would say they would prefer
single-family development. They all would say that .... that there's not room for a
lot of density and a lot of large development, and they all would say it ... it's good
someplace else, and at some point we have to say where is that someplace else.
Where can we do this? When we talk about in -fill, that's a .... that's a common
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Page 20 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
theme we hear, um, as the reason why we don't need, uh, density is we want to do
in -fill. Well, the reality is there ain't much .... there ain't much land to build on
in -fill. Um, there's not a lot of places to build, and definitely not a whole lot of
places to build any number of units. If we expect to achieve anywhere near the
2,000 to 3,000 units we are desperately in need of, um, we've gotta find a way to
do more and we've gotta find a way to build more units and that typically
involves building larger density, uh, developments. And so I hope as you look at
this develop ... this process, and any others that come before you, we keep in mind
as a community how we're gonna .... how we're gonna achieve this goal of..of
reaching the great need we have of affordable housing. Thanks!
Throgmorton: Thanks, Mark. Anyone else? Uh, so I don't see anyone else. I .... Eleanor, help
me make sure I say this correctly, because I need to take the temperature of the
Council, right? So, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial of
this application on a 6-0 vote. So the question for us is whether any of us are
inclined not to concur with the Commission's recommendation. If we are
inclined not to concur with it, as a majority of us anyhow, then .... we should offer
the Planning and Zoning Commission an opportunity to consult. Is that correct?
So, the question to you folks, and you, Pauline. I hope you're still listening.
Taylor: Yes, uh huh!
Throgmorton: Is .... is whether any of you are inclined not to concur with the Commission's
recommended denial. Uh, Pauline.
Taylor: Well I would go with their denial just for a number of reasons. I .... I agree that
yes indeed we ... we do need more affordable housing, uh, in the area and, uh, as
Mark said, the question is where, but I ... I agree with Alicia that, uh, this is just not
the area for that, uh...
Throgmorton: Pauline (both talking)
Taylor: Yes!
Throgmorton: You don't need to go into detail (both talking)
Taylor: Okay! (laughs)
Throgmorton: Okay. (both talking)
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Taylor: (mumbled) ....yes.
Throgmorton: Okay, so....
Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
Taylor: (both talking) ....go along with the, uh..... the Commission.... denial.
Throgmorton: So clear majority of the Council is, uh.... um .... inclined to concur with the
Commission.
Dilkes: It doesn't appear like a consult will be, uh (both talking)
Throgmorton: .... doesn't appear like a consult (both talking)
Dilkes: ...go ahead and close the public hearing. If when you have your discussion that
changes, then you can offer the consult at that point.
Throgmorton: Okay. Thank you. So ... seeing no one else who wants to speak I'm going to close
the public hearing. (bangs gavel) All right, is there a motion?
b) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE
Mims: So moved.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion?
Thomas: Well I ... I tend to agree as just noted, uh, with the staff's, uh.... analysis and the
Planning and Zoning Commission's, uh, recommendation. I too support, uh,
strongly support the ... the need for aff...affordable housing, as I think all of us on
Council do. Uh, as John noted, the, um, in his .... his comments, the City is
currently underway with a form -based code analysis in this area, uh, and I truly
believe that the form -based code approach toward affordable housing is the way
to go. Um .... I believe there would be a much better likelihood that the ... the plan
would develop in such a way that the .... the multi -family development would be
better integrated into the overall design than in our RM zone categories. Um, a
good example of. ... the form -based code, I think one of the better ones that we
have, would be the Peninsula neighborhood. Uh, which ... uh, does integrate multi-
family development into the project. It's roughly the same size as the, um, the,
you know, the property under consideration. Uh, it is at a much lower density. I
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think it's roughly 10 acres per .... or 10 units per acre rather than 20, um, but I
think it reflects the .... the benefit of that approach. Uh, I'm very, uh, supportive
of that approach. I think it creates neighborhoods rather than developments,
and ... and so that's why I feel we should deny the ... the application.
Dilkes: I just want to interject for one minute. Um .... you need to remember that the law
requires.....what you're doing here is determining in large part whether the
request for rezoning is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Um, the plan that
you're looking at right now is the 2015 plan. When the request was made to put
this on the Council agenda, we looked back at those minutes and it was clear
that... regardless of which plan they were looking at, whether it was the one that
they had recommended approval of for 2015 or the earlier 1997 plan that they
would of recommended denial. But I just want to....wanted to remind you that
your focus should be on the 2015 plan.
Throgmorton: Who else would like to, uh, continue this discussion?
Cole: I guess I would like to. Um, can we at least mention the concept .... we brought up
the concept of the form -based code. Is that something (both talking)
Dilkes: I'm not saying .... I just don't want you to forget about that (both talking)
Cole: ...and I .... (both talking) I guess the first thing is is I think it clearly does not
comply with the Comprehensive Plan. Um, but ... I think one of the things I would
take issue is this whole notion of either the community supports single-family or
they're against the multi -family. I think that that whole concept is really going to
be reinvented, I think, with the form -based code, and I would encourage our
community members, we're, you know, close to Washington Street, right? We're
on Washington Street. Um, or close by. Take a walk along there and see how
historically when we adopted the missing middle plan really what it was based
upon was how we develop towns and communities prior to World War II, and
they knew how to do it, and if you walk along some of our historic
neighborhoods, you see incredibly dense type, uh, developments. You see
duplexes. You see all different sites of densities and income levels, and that's
really what we want to, uh, focus on, at least in terms of what I'm concerned of.
So, um, I think in terms of single-family, in terms of this type of development,
that's not something that I'm really supportive of. Um, I'm hoping that the
developers will come back to us again once the form -based code is adopted, and I
think you'll find, hopefully, that we'll have a lot of different types of densities
that will hopefully meet the financial goals of the developer, and I think that
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this .... this whole notion of the, you know, the multi -family versus single-family,
I'm hoping that, you know, eventually it's something we can, you know, go on
the way out when we're evaluating the form -based code on at least two different
parts of our community and I think the community will find that hopefully this
will deal with our density needs, our affordable housing needs, um, but also make
sure that our neighborhoods have multiple levels of income as well. So, um, I'm
supportive, but I think most importantly it doesn't comply with the
Comprehensive Plan.
Throgmorton: Thanks, Rockne. Pauline, I cut you off a few minutes ago, uh, would you like to,
uh, state your view?
Taylor: Well I had a number of concerns and I think what I usually bring up is also the,
um, fact of, uh, City services that go out to that area, as far as City Transit and/or,
uh, concern for our fire and our safety departments, uh, going out that distance,
uh, and the lack of the, um, completion of Lehman Street, uh, for that reason. Uh,
and just the ... the possible size of it. Those are just my concerns.
Throgmorton: Thank you. Susan? Kingsley?
Mims: Yeah! I would just say that, you know, as I go back and read through the staff
report and their comparison and analysis with the Comprehensive Plan, um, you
know, some of the things I highlighted as I was reading through this was, you
know, comment that plan contains guidelines indicating that large concentrations
of multi -family development should be avoided. Um .... another area, you know,
specifically it's counter to the policy of not creating large concentrations of multi-
family development and the direction to place multi -family development in areas
with adequate infrastructure and access to goods, services and transit. You know,
I totally agree with staff's analysis that this area does not yet have adequate access
to, um, goods, services, and transit. You know, talked about the difficulty of
running the bus routes out there, um, kind of hopscotching over other areas, and I
don't think, um, it's been adequately addressed in terms of the improvement of
Lehman. Um, obviously I think it's the expectation of the developers that the
City would, uh, and/or adjacent property owners would par .... would participate in
some of that improvement. Um ... so I....I do believe that it, you know, at this
point does not, uh, comply with the Comprehensive Plan, and you know, as other
Council Members have mentioned, I think we have potentially as good or better
opportunities going forward, um, with some zoning options that may be in place
in the future, but .... as of right now I do not believe it....it works with the
Comprehensive Plan.
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Throgmorton: Okay. Kingsley?
Botchway: So I would agree. Um, you know my ... the reason I keep cringing and thinking
about this is I really, you know, was moved by Mark's comments at the end there,
just thinking about ... but where, and so I mean when we talk about the form -based
code, and one of my .... my issues with it in general has been the thought that, you
now, are examples of the form based code aren't that affordable, and you know
I'm not disagreeing with you because I.....I understand where we're going with
that and I hope that we can incorporate that within our discussion, um, and as we
plan for the future, but ... you know, as we thunk about how we are truly, uh,
planning for and, you know, putting into action what we want to see as affordable
housing, I mean it's going to take a chunk! I mean it's not gonna .... this piece
meal effort will take, you know, a hundred years almost in that sense if we're
thinking about some of the numbers that were quoted out and I mean they're
correct. It's a huge gap, but I would agree, I mean that's... that's the issue where, I
mean, I .... I hear that concern from the affordable housing part and, you know,
there's a part of me that wants to kind of take that leap and say, you know, well
here's a ... here's a project that could possibly give it to us in one fell swoop, but
you know, as I was hearing, um, the first gentleman, Mr. Bright, talking, urn,
about kind of the area, I mean, Pauline, I know you can hear me, um, my concerns
came up as well. You know, whether or not we have City infrastructure, um, I
mean whether or not ... City infrastructure (mumbled) whether or not we have City
services going down to that location and I would agree with Alicia as well. Even
though it is, you know, two miles or so from, you know, the closest, um, or Iowa
City market or whatever, that's still a .... it's still a far distance when you're
talking about Iowa City. I mean I drive that on a regular basis and when we talk
about affordable housing, affordable housing encompasses so much more than
just the actual structure and how much you're paying for the structure itself, and
so ... yeah, I mean I ... again, I'm gonna follow the recommendation from staff on
this one, but I do think it gives us an opportunity to think about, you know, kind
of what we mean by affordable housing and whether or not we're gonna have
these many opportunities because there's only so much land of Iowa City and,
you know, I think, Susan, I liked your point at the end, where you talked about
kind of not right now, because I think that's where I'm at, um, with this particular
piece of property and, you know, if we see some development and some of the
other things and some of the extension of City services, and I think .... I feel .... I
would feel differently about the particular property, but .... right now, yeah, I just
can't ... I .... I couldn't .... I can't vote against staff's recommendation.
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Page 25 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
Mims: I think there's great potential here, and I think what has been done with
Saddlebrook is to be commended. I think they've done a great job and I think
they.....they have a good development there and it's very well run. So it's not
that at all. It's ... I look at this, and again, looking at it in conjunction with the
Comprehensive Plan and some of the direction there. The incredible size of this,
um, and I think maybe Alicia made the comment of kind .... kind of like
warehousing, um .... when you get this many, um .... multi -family units in one
location, I don't think that's a good way, and I think the Comp Plan addresses
that. That's not a good way to develop .... to develop our city. I think we need
more of a mixture of housing types and ho .... and hopefully housing prices, um, to
allow a more integrated socio-economic, uh, environment... for people. And I
don't think this fits in with that kind of goal if you will that's demonstrated in the
Comp Plan, which I think is really important as we move forward. So ... I see .... I
see great potential for this.....but not .... not doing this whole thing as multi -family
that way.
Cole: Geoff, when are we going to get the form -based code? When is that, uh, rewrite
gonna be done, or that proposed? Do we have a sense of that?
Fruin: Yeah, I might look to John Yapp to help with the timeline (several talking)
Throgmorton: It's a two-phase thing, that's what I remember.
Cole: Two-phase, so it might be a while.
Throgmorton: Yeah.
Yapp: It'll be a while.
Cole: It'll be a while, okay.
Yapp: Uh, first phase, uh, by July or August, then get into the second phase in the
winter, and I don't have a timeline on the second phase yet.
Cole: Okay.
Throgmorton: But we're not talkin' about dozens of years .... to be clear about that.
Fruin: We're hopeful that, you know, we can present a vision on .... on what this form -
based code will .... will produce, um, this summer, and then that .... that second
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phase is the actual code writing phase, more of the .... the details on.....on the
actual language that the City would need to adopt.
Throgmorton: Yeah, so I guess it's my turn to express my view. I find that this proposed
development is inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Moreover, I think it
clearly is an inappropriate site for the proposed density of housing, for all the
reasons stated, uh, by the staff and by the Commission, and ... which are both part
of the, uh, the record with regard to this particular, uh, topic. I also note Ann
Freerks' comment. She's the Chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
During the Planning and Zoning Commission's deliberation where she basically
stated that this is a huge area of RM -20 that could accommodate 600 to 1,000
residential units, which is larger than Hawks Ridge and .... and Lakeside, now
Rose Oaks, combined. So that's a huge concentration, and .... given the, uh, the
location of, uh, of the .... of the site, given the, um, its distance from all the kinds
of things that people who would be living in that, uh, that, uh, kind of, um,
development would need to have access to, I think it's completely inappropriately
located. So, I .... I likewise strongly think that, um, that this.... that the site has
great potential as a major contributor to the area around Alexander Elementary.
And therefore I think it's really crucial to be looking at this form -based code as
it's being developed and try to devise a plan that would be consistent with that
form -based code, as it is being developed. But in the ... in the short run, in terms of
what's before us right now, I will vote no. So, um ..... any further discussion? All
right, so the motion before us is a motion to approve. So if you .... do not agree,
you need to vote no. All right? Okay, so roll call. Uh, motion denied 6-0. Could
I have a motion to accept correspondence, please?
Botchway: So moved.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carries. Thank you all for addressing that topic.
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ITEM 7. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS
ITEM 7b REZONING SCOTT BOULEVARD NORTHWEST OF FIRST
AVENUE — AN ORDINANCE REZONING 12.28 ACRES OF PROPERTY
FROM LOW DENSITY SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL (RS -5) AND
LOW DENSITY MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL (RM -12) TO PLANNED
DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY/LOW DENSITY SINGLE FAMILY
RESIDENTIAL (OPD -5) ZONE AND PLANNED DEVELOPMENT
OVERLAY/LOW DENSITY MULTIFAMILY RESIDENTIAL (OPD/RM-
12) ZONE AND APPROVING A PRELIMINARY SENSITIVE AREAS
DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR THE LARSON SUBDIVISION, A 2 -LOT,
RESIDENTIAL SUBDIVISION LOCATED NORTH OF SCOTT
BOULEVARD BETWEEN HICKORY HEIGHTS LANE AND FIRST
AVENUE. (REZ16-00008/SUB16-00012) (FIRST CONSIDERATION)
a) PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: Uh, I need to know whether anybody's had, uh, conversations that need to be
revealed. All right, uh, me neither. So I'm gonna open the public hearing.
(bangs gavel) John Yapp!
Yapp: Uh, John Yapp, Development Services. That's a very long title.
Throgmorton: Yes it is! (laughter)
Yapp: Uh, essentially .... this .... this property was rezoned to low-density, multi -family,
uh, recently. Several Council meetings ago. Uh, and this .... this is the project, uh,
that was presented and was approved as part of that rezoning. The reason we are
back before you tonight ... is that, uh, a sensitive areas' rezoning, or a sensitive
areas' plan development, is required to be approved, uh, because of the, uh,
proposed storm water management facility at the bottom of a .... of the ravine,
which is the logical place for it, uh, does impact some protected slope buffers, uh,
at the bottom of the ravine and our ordinance requires that ... that that go through
a ... a planned development sensitive areas' plan, uh, process. Everything else
about the project is the same, uh, as you previously considered it. Uh, staff
recommends approval, uh... the City Engineer has reviewed and approved that
storm water management plan to ensure it has as minimal impact on the slopes,
uh, as possible, while still being able to function as storm water management. Uh,
approval does allow a reduction of the protected slope buffer to permit storm
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Page 28 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
water management facilities. Uh, Planning and Zoning Commission
recommended approval unanimously. Be glad to take any questions!
Throgmorton: Any questions for John? Thank you, John! Would anybody like to address this
topic? All right, seeing no one, uh, before I close the public hearing I need to ask,
uh, the same question about whether you're inclined to concur. So are you, uh,
inclined not to cur.... curcur.... (laughs) .....inclined not to concur. Yeah, okay so
I'm gonna close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE
Botchway: Move first consideration.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. Discussion? (both talking)
Thomas: Well I'm gonna.... sorry! (both talking) I'm gonna ... (both talking)
Throgmorton: ... cut you off. Go ahead!
Thomas: I'm .... I'm going to be supportive of this. Uh.....you know, it is a little bit
regrettable, looking at the ... the impacts on the woodlands. It's 18, as I recall I
noted 18.9% of the woodland would ... will be affected by this. Um .... but, um,
you know, in looking at the staff report it's.... the.... the impact, they're trying....
we're trying to minimize the impact. It's regrettable that 18.9% is ... is what that
translates into, but I will be supporting it.
Throgmorton: Anyone else? Uh, hearing nothing, roll call. Motion carries 6-0.
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ITEM 7. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS
ITEM 7c ORCHARD SUBDISTRICT FORM -BASED CODE — AN
ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 14: ZONING, ARTICLE 2G,
RIVERFRONT CROSSINGS AND EASTSIDE MIXED USE DISTRICTS
FORM -BASED DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, TO ADD ZONING
STANDARDS FOR THE NEW ORCHARD SUBDISTRICT. (FIRST
CONSIDERATION)
a) PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Karen Howard.
Howard: Good evening, uh (both talking) Karen Howard, Development Services, um, here
to talk about, uh, new Orchard District, um, form -based zoning standards. Since
we were talking about it before. Here we have one before you tonight. Um ... uh,
why would we want to create this new zoning district? As you recall, um, just last
year, we amended the Riverfront Crossings' plan to include this small area that
was west of the west Riverfront District of Riverfront Crossings, um, to include it
in that part of town, and the reason that we did that, um, is the area's already fully
developed under the current zoning, with a mix of duplexes, multi -family
buildings, and a few, uh, single-family dwellings. The existing development
creates a rather unpleasant environment for walking and biking, which is counter
to our Comprehensive Plan. Uh, the duplexes along Orchard Street have auto -
oriented frontages with large garages and there's several older single-family, um,
development with no street frontage and no pedestrian access. And there's also a
rather abrupt change from the low -scale neighborhood to the west and the new
Riverfront Crossings' development along Riverside Drive that is .... quite a bit
more intense. So the current zoning does not create any kind of incentive for
redevelopment of ...of this rather poorly developed area. Um, and a form -based
zoning district is really a pretty good tool, as you know, to encourage
redevelopment that will create a more walkable neighborhood that creates that
better transition that we're looking for. So here's just a few photos of the existing
neighborhood. As you can see, um, you know, it's rather auto -oriented, um, a lot
of, uh, interruptions of the sidewalk, large driveways, uh, garages facing the
street, and not very good pedestrian access to the units. And here you can see
from this aerial photograph the new development along Riverside Drive, um, with
the Riverfront Crossings, uh.... development and what's occurring here, and the
lower -scale neighborhood to the west. Um, the Orchard District is in this location
right here, and is, um .... uh, would be a good place for that kind of a transition
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from that higher intensity to the lower intensity. Uh, as you know, you adopted
the new Comprehensive Plan and this is the language from the plan. I'm not
going to go through that, but I wanted to just say that this is the language
(mumbled) use then to guide us when we develop the standards for the new zone.
So as you're aware, um, the ... the form -based code has a regulating plan and
subdistrict standards that we create based on that Comprehensive Plan. Um,
frontage types, building types, all these things go into that form -based code. So
the very first thing is we looked at this area, this small district, and needed to
amend the regulating plan for the Riverfront Crossings District to include this
area. Here's a close-up of the little Orchard District, this highlighted in yellow
here, um, .... uh.... so what ... what this sa.... tells us is that, uh, that Orchard Street
and the new... and the cul-de-sac that's Orchard Court right now become a primary
street and there's a .... a proposal to develop a new pedestrian street in this
location, parallel to Orchard Street, and I just want to note that to fully realize
redevelopment potential, a new secondary street then would need to be extended
to the west boundary of the district in the future. So this would create that ... that
framework then that would allow the higher density, um, development to occur.
The building height diagram in the Riverfront Crossings District would .... also
needs to be amended. Um, the proposal here, based on the Comprehensive Plan,
is to keep this fairly low -scale, um, three stories maximum, and since it's so close
to and such a small district, close to the RS -8 zone to the west, no bonus height
would be allowed in this district. Um, there's also would be a step -back after
the ... above the second story in these buildings to keep it generally in scale with
single-family homes. Uh, subdistrict standards, we talked about set -backs, so
basically buildings toward the front, parking in the rear is basically, um, is how
the form -based code works here. That creates that nice pedestrian environment.
Urn .... and as I noted before, we are trying to create a .... there's an additional
standard in this zone to create that buffer between the single-family neighborhood
to the west and the new development that would occur here. So there's a 30 -foot
set -back, both for parking and for .... um, the buildings. A 30 -foot green buffer
then between any new development in that RS -8 zone boundary, um, and in
addition to that there's a nice natural boundary that is occurring here because
there's a .... a drainage, um, a drainageway that occurs on the west boundary here
and some topographical, uh.... uh, the ... the land to the west is higher than this
land. So there's some nice things happening here to sort of create that nice
transition. This is just a slide about the parking once again. Uh, the idea is the
parking is behind the buildings, um, and screened from view of the streets.
Basically, um, this is intended to be residential. It's a small district. It's right up
against another residential neighborhood, but allows a mix of. ... of residential
building types. Um, commercial and industrial uses would not be allowed, except
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Page 31 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
if there was ... if there was opportunity for a live -work units and a developer
wanted to try that building type, um, only along Orchard Street, which is that
inter -face then right across from the commercial area in the River .... in, uh, the
west Riverfront District. Um, residential density is then only controlled by
building height, the set -backs and the parking, um, and the number of three-
bedroom units within the building would not be able to exceed 20%. So that
would .... we would have that better mix, uh, of housing, uh, unit sizes. Um, the
building types in here would be cottage homes, row houses, townhouses,
apartment buildings, some possibility for live -work townhomes, uh, lanyard
buildings, urn .... and, uh, no commercial building types, no mixed-use in this
district. Uh.... other building standards basically are the same as other Riverfront
Crossings Districts. The parking requirements would also be quite similar then to
most of Riverfront Crossings. These are lower parking requirements than, um, we
have in ... in other parts of the city. Urn .... uh, it's about a quarter of parking space
per bedroom. Uh, there is a usable open space requirement in the Riverfront
Crossings' code that would apply here as well, to ensure that there's some private
open space developed in these higher density, um, developments. There's a
couple small adjustments while we were at it and amending the code. Um, there's
a .... a small amendment to our minimum parking set -back for residential
buildings... building types. One thing we've noticed as more develop.... have
come forward, uh, through the process is that the residential building types you
really can get a decent housing, uh, unit in a 20 -foot depth. Um, some of our liner
buildings, the Sabin Townhomes, some of the, uh, develop ... of, uh, that's along
the ... the new park in the south Gilbert District, we've gotten some proposals for,
uh.... uh, narrower and, uh, building types that are less, uh, deep, and so rather
than just keep being administratively adjusting those standards every time they
come in, we thought we should just change the code, so it's clear to developers
that's a possibility. Um, and then just some changes to our frontage type table to
provide a little more flexibility on, uh, the types of, um, entryways and frontages
for the different types of buildings. So with that I'd open it up for questions.... if
you wanted to know any more details I'm happy to answer them.
Throgmorton: Any questions for Karen? Think you're good to go. Thank you! Anyone else
want to address this topic? Good evening, Mark!
Seabold: Mr. Mayor, Council, hi, I'm Mark Seabold. I'm an architect with Shive Hattery.
Um, I was on the team that presented the Comprehensive Plan amendment (clears
throat) Excuse me! Um, earlier to you that was approved, and really I just
wanted to state that really working with, uh, City staff has been a real pleasure
through this and adopting and... and amending the form -based code to get more
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Page 32 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
specific for the Orchard District has .... has been great and a really good process.
Um, we were looking at the initial concepts, of course, that we had presented to
you, just ... just as concepts for this area, uh, during the Comprehensive Plan
amendment, um, and ... and then we will actually .... we .... we're going through the
rezoning process at the, um, at the agenda item just right after this, but I just did
want to say that it's been a real good back and forth. We had a very nice, um,
conversation at...at the Planning and Zoning meeting as well, and it's just been an
enjoyable process. So .... thank you!
Throgmorton: Good deal! Thanks, Mark! Anyone else? Okay, seeing no one else I'm going to
close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE
Mims: Move first consideration.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Thomas. Discussion?
Taylor: This is Pauline. I'm ... I'm really excited about this, uh, development. It's pretty
close to where I live and I think that it's, uh, very consistent with the
neighborhood area, um, and keeping it appropriately scaled down and blends in
with everything, and uh, the one concern I do have is with the increased density as
far as a concern with the ... pedestrian and vehicle traffic, trying to get on to
Benton. Is there ... is there going to be something to help that? Alleviate that?
Throgmorton: Maybe we can get into that with regard to the next item.
Taylor: Oh, okay!
Throgmorton: ... Pauline .... cause here we're just adopting the form -based code (both talking)
Taylor: Oh the form -based code, all right, that's right. Okay! (mumbled) (laughs)
Throgmorton: I'm sorry?
Taylor: (mumbled)
Throgmorton: Okay.
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Page 33 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
Cole: Well I think this is density done right and I'm going to be in favor of it.
Thomas: It is ... I think it's, uh, I think we spoke about this at the .... when we approved the
Comprehensive Plan change. It's, um, I think one of the better examples we have
of transitioning at the... at the edge of an existing neighborhood, which is in this
instance kind of tricky to do, because the buildings are .... are in, you know,
they're low. They're low buildings, so (both talking)
Throgmorton: But it's about developing the form -based code that enables that kind of transition.
So (both talking) that's the thing. It's not the development itself. It's the form -
based code that we're considering, right?
Thomas: Right. But, yeah, applying, you know, you still have to develop that form -
based ... the form -based code doesn't necessarily, um .... address that transition
well. I mean it's ... it can, but it doesn't necessarily. Uh, and I think in this case
it...it does. Uh, as ..... as Pauline mentioned, I think the next item there ... the
circulation, uh, that the regulating plan generates is somewhat problematic, and I
guess we can talk about that on the next item.
Throgmorton: Okay. Anybody else? All right. No further discussion? Roll call. Motion
carries 6-0.
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ITEM 7. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS
ITEM 7d REZONING ORCHARD COURT — AN ORDINANCE
CONDITIONALLY REZONING APPROXIMATELY .705 ACRES OF
PROPERTY LOCATED AT 619 AND 627 ORCHARD COURT FROM
PLANNED DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY—LOW DENSITY SINGLE
FAMILY (OPD -5) ZONE TO RIVERFRONT CROSSINGS - ORCHARD
(RFC -O) ZONE. (REZ17-00003) (FIRST CONSIDERATION)
a) PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: So have there been any ex parte conversations that need to be revealed? Nope?
Okay, so I'm going to open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Good evening
again, Karen!
Howard: Karen Howard, Development Services. Um, here we have the first rezonings for
the new Orchard District, and it's the two parcels, um, along the cul-de-sac, the
Orchard Court cul-de-sac to the north, just immediately west of the new
apartment, uh, building that happened along Riverside Drive. As you can see, the
current zoning is a planned development OPD -5. Um, it's currently developed
with a four-plex and a single-family home. Um ... uh.... and this is the existing
development that there .... that is on the property right now. So the .... I bring up
this concept not ... uh.... uh, because it shows a good example of, uh, from the
developer of how they're trying to use the form -based code to comply with the
new zoning and this is what basically, and I think you've seen this before because
you saw this, um, early plan, um, when you, uh.... uh, issued that resolution of
support for the workforce housing tax credits for this project. So basically it's
a ... it's a three-story multi -dwelling building with upper floor step -backs as the
code would require. Um, it's approximately 45, uh, efficiency units. So quite
dense for these properties. Um..there's a main portico entrance to the south. The
parking's enclosed within the building, so it's all residential frontages along both
Orchard Court and, um, facing Orchard Street. Uh.... the liner units, uh, face the
cul-de-sac bulb, with individual terrace frontages and the upper floor has a shared
open space that's going to face south. So they've incorporated all those elements,
um, into this concept plan for this new building. Urn .... as noted, there is some
concern about traffic circulation, um, as the density increases in this
neighborhood. Um, unfortunately we're dealt a pretty poor hand here, um,
because we don't have some great street connections here. There's some
topography, as I mentioned, and a drainageway to the west. Um, you know, we
have a little bit strange, uh, street network at the moment. Um, for these two
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properties to develop though, um ... uh, basically for this particular rezoning, um,
we looked at the right-of-way width of Orchard Court, which is 50 -feet wide.
Now that was developed at a time when our right-of-way width was 50 -feet and in
19, um, in 2008 we adopted a new subdivision code that widened our right-of-
ways to make it so we had enough right-of-way width to improve our streets
better for pedestrians. So, um, the developer has agreed, uh, the applicant's
agreed to dedicate some additional right-of-way on the north side of that cul-de-
sac bulb, all the way up to the bul.... bulb itself, to widen that, so there's enough
space to put a new 5 -foot sidewalk there and a 10 -foot, uh.... uh, parkway for new
str... street trees, so ... which should help the pedestrian access, um, and improve
that condition along there. Now as far as the traffic circulation, um .... there's not
a lot that can be done here, other than we can say that this will be more pedestrian
and bicycle friendly as time .... as these are developed, um, in the future.
Obviously as more of this property is .... is brought into, uh, is rezoned for
development, we're going to need new street connections here. There's a
proposal to do a pedestrian street to the south, um, so that will be somewhat of an
improvement to some circulation in this neighborhood to the extent that we can...
can do that. So, those would have to be for future, uh, rezoning applications. A
subdivision would be required in order to establish those new streets. So staff is
recommending approval of REZ-17, uh, 00003, a proposal to rezone
approximately .705 acres of property at 619 and 627 Orchard Court from Planned
Development Overlay, Low -Density Single -Family OPD -5 zone to Riverfront
Crossings, Orchard Zone, subject to a Conditional Zoning Agreement requiring
dedication of land along Orchard Court frontage to widen the pedestrian area
within the public right-of-way to a minimum of 15 -feet, measured between the
street curb and the new, uh, front property line. I'd be happy to answer any
questions.
Throgmorton: Can you go back to the previous map, please? Uh, maybe it's because I'm
struggling after having traveled to Iraq and back, but uh, I'm not entirely clear
where.... the building or buildings would go in the area at that northern part.
Howard: So the .... the development concepts that they have is for one building that would
be located across both these properties.
Throgmorton: And the area to (both talking)
Howard: ...frontage on ... on both, on the cul-de-sac bulb basically. Urn .... so .... (both
talking)
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Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
Throgmorton: And the area to the west of that cul-de-sac would .... maybe be developed later or
not developed at all?
Howard: Well, obviously, um, that's not being requested for rezoning at this time. What I
was referring to with regard to the street network here is that any further
rezonings would need to involve additional right-of-way dedication,
establishment of a new street pattern here, possibly realigning the cul-de-sac so
that it's straight north and south and would line up with that new pedestrian street.
So I think all those things we will need to do in the future, but this .... these two
properties could develop, urn... without that new street infrastructure, with the
addition of that, uh, small amount of right-of-way.
Throgmorton: Okay. Thank you. That helps! Helps me anyhow, yeah. Any other questions for
Karen (both talking)
Thomas: Karen, do you have a site plan showing the building on the two properties?
Howard: I don't have a site plan. I'm song, um, I just have that one image. Um, because
we're not really talking about .... l mean they haven't developed, this is a concept
at this point. So it'll have to meet all the standards of the form -based code.
Thomas: So what would be the setback from the east property line then?
Howard: The east property line....
Thomas: (both talking) ....abuts the, uh, the apartment building. To the ... to the east.
Howard: This one?
Thomas: No, the .... the property line on the eastern most (both talking)
Howard: Oh, along, uh, the property .... let me bring up a different map here .... might be
helpful. Okay. So you're talking about this property (both talking)
Thomas: So how far back .... how far to the west would the ... would the wall (both talking)
Howard: ...setback, this would be considered a side setback, and it would be required to be
10 -feet from that property line.
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Thomas: Okay. And do you know what ... I know it's on ... it looks like it would be on the...
the property to the east, but do you know how .... how wide that .... that planting
strip is between the parking lot and the property line?
Howard: Urn ... they would have been required to have a 5 -foot planting.... it might be wider
than that, but that would have been the requirement.
Throgmorton: (mumbled) ...what, a minimum of 15 -feet? (both talking)
Thomas: (mumbled)
Throgmorton: (both talking) ...green grass, green space. Okay. Other questions for Karen?
Cole: And this would also be part of the inclusionary zoning requirement as well?
Howard: Yes, they would have to comply with that.
Throgmorton: Yeah, with a 40...40 what units?
Howard: It's 42 proposed here.
Throgmorton: All right, so four units would have to meet the affordability or affordable housing
requirement.
Thomas: I guess I have one ... one additional question and that would be, uh, I ... I see that the
driveway south of that apartment building to the east ... uh.... yeah. Looks like it
could.... someone.... living in this new development could use that as access to
Riverside Drive.
Howard: Undoubtedly.
Thomas: Yeah.
Howard: Yeah. I ... I would guess that that is going to serve as ... as some relief, I mean you
can see that's really kind of a development blocks here, urn ... you know, perhaps it
should have been designated as a street, um, at the time this was developed, but it
will probably function a little bit like a street (both talking)
Thomas: ...like a street.
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Throgmorton: Anybody who's going to walk north to the University or the Law School or
whatever, or ride a bike north, is going to cut through that driveway. It'll just
happen. Okay. Uh, any other questions for Karen? Thank you, Karen. Would
anybody else like to address this .... Mark, are you going to speak also? I don't
know, you don't have to. (talking in background)
Seabold: Hi, Mark Seabold again with Shive Hattery. Um, yeah, really just to say as a
diagram and as a, you know, as the beginning stage working with the form -based
code in the Orchard District, um, we ... we really like, you know, some of the
concepts that we're coming up with for this site. I think it works really well. I
like how it balances and transitions from some of the higher density development
along south Riverside Drive, then into the neighborhood. Um, I guess if you have
any questions, do you have any further questions for me or what ... um, about this
development or about where we're at?
Botchway: Yeah, I had questions related to that affordable housing component. It was asked
by (mumbled) just wasn't sure. So, she'd asked about, um, or they'd asked about
the, um, change in, um, you know, taking away from some of the affordable
housing and then putting this particular structure up. We're losing a substantial
amount and I know this is a .... hot bed for law students, um, you know, having a
lot of interesting shindigs there myself and so my question is is what, um ... you
know, this is .... what are we looking at here? I mean I know that we're gonna
have the affordable units, I mean, is this going to be an affordable housing
property? I know that you had the efficiencies, but there was some discussion as
far as, you know, having that efficiency available.... having those efficiencies
available is gonna provide, um, more of a kind of a diverse network of people that
may be able to access this. I think it was talked about as far as maybe, um,
University, urn .... (mumbled) workforce housing and that kind of a conversation.
What is the feeling of this project, because, you know, it makes me feel like it's
kind of a .... a .... an interesting diversity of who's going to live there but then I
think about it and I look at the ... kind of the concept that was shown and it's like,
well, this is gonna, you know, we're gonna have four affordable units, but then
the rest of it's going to be for, you know, kind of high-priced student housing.
Seabold: Well, I don't think that's the intent. I think, um, you know, they're small units.
They're 5 ... um, 525 to 565- square feet so they're small efficiencies. They do
have like a niche area for, uh, for the bed area to sit in, so it's not like just a one
large room. You know, the intent is for, um, young professionals, for people that
want to live in a smaller footprint, and ... and graduate students. I think that's the
main target market. Um, I was at a, uh, there was recently a "Tiny House"
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Page 39 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
seminar, was a couple months ago in town, and I was really surprised by the
number of people that were at that seminar. Um, it was an individual that lived
in, you know, one of the tiny houses on a trailer for a year or something like that,
talking about his experiences, but then the questions that came up from the
general public were like we want stuff like that. It doesn't have to be on wheels,
you know, we just want a smaller scale apartment that feels good or .... or
just...just being able to, uh, live in a smaller footprint and I'm sitting there
thinking about this project because that's really what this is. Um, you know, it's
smaller, it's more affordable, um, it does have then technically the affordable
units too, but I think just as a size base, you know, it does make this more
accessible for more people. And it's, you know, it's meant to hopefully have
some (mumbled) as well .... from a resident type.
Throgmorton: Any other questions for Mark? Thanks!
Seabold: Thank you!
Throgmorton: Uh, anybody else want to address this topic? All right, seeing no one I need to
ask the same, take the temperature of the Council as before. So, are any of you
not inclined to concur with the Planning and Zoning Commission's 6-0
recommendation to approve? Okay. I'm going to close the public hearing.
(bangs gavel)
b) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE
Mims: Move first consideration.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Thomas. Discussion?
Thomas: It's a nice little project (laughs) uh.... um, I do like the .... the idea of creating more
diversity in terms of housing or unit size, uh.... I ..... I've lived in studio apartments
that size and, you know, they're quite livable actually if they're well designed. So
I'm happy to see that added diversity that we're bringing to the.....to the housing
market.
Cole: I love this project. I know it's just a proposed project, but tome as I said in the
earlier comments, maybe prematurely, I think this is density done right. Um, I
think so much of the traditional zoning had been either huge, single-family or tons
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Page 40 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
of single-family, or ... or multi -family, and I think what this does is really does
density that really transitions well out into the outlying neighborhoods, and I ... I
just love everything about it. So I think it's a good template, um, I think to
Kingsley's affordability issues, I think those are concerns, but we know we are
getting four additional units, and they did qualify for the workforce tax credit as
well, didn't they? We ... we supported that, so units will be under $200,000, is that
my understanding?
Throgmorton: They applied for `em and we supported (both talking)
Cole: We supported those, so that will hopefully make them a little bit more affordable
as well. Urn ... I just love everything about this project, and I'm hoping we'll see
more projects like these, not only in this particular area, um, but in the other areas
after we develop new form -based codes as well, because I think that really is
where the cutting edge is and I think that it really incorporates the lessons learned
from past zoning issues. So I'm gonna support it.
Botchway: Yeah, I would support it as well, I mean I just wanted to ask that question, and I
know ... that our new now person here with, uh, Student, um, Government, um,
well not Gustav but, um, you know, we just let our former UISG rep, um, go but,
um, you know, one of the concerns was just affordability across the, um, across
the different market and I just didn't want to see a situation where even though we
were getting our four affordable units, that that'd be the high price, and I know
that, you know, Mark would ... he's given me some information. There's no
indication that it will be what it is, but, um .... I just want to kind of answer that
question, just because it is in a heavily lived currently student neighborhood, or at
least that section of it, I feel is like, um, mostly students and so I just wanted to
make sure that we're thinking about that affordability as well from that
perspective. So .... I like this project a lot. Looks good!
Throgmorton: Pauline? Susan? Either one of you want to comment?
Mims: Nope!
Taylor: Nope, just....just what I've said before. I'm, uh, anxious to see it be developed!
Throgmorton: All right! Good deal! Urn .... uh, I think we should proceed. I support it. So, uh,
roll call. Motion carries 6-0.
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ITEM 7. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS
ITEM 7e REZONING 202 N. LINN STREET — ORDINANCE REZONING
APPROXIMATELY 4,550 SQUARE FEET OF PROPERTY FROM
CENTRAL BUSINESS SERVICE (CB -2) ZONE TO CENTRAL BUSINESS
SUPPORT (CB -5) ZONE LOCATED AT 202 NORTH LINN STREET
(CORRIDOR STATE BANK PROPERTY). (REZ17-00004) (FIRST
CONSIDERATION)
a) PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: All right, has, uh, does anybody need to reveal ex parte conversations with
anybody?
Botchway: Yes, I mean I ... I did have a conversation with Mr. Nusser about this property, um,
it just pertained to kind of certain elements that, you know, I would like to see,
um, affordable housing, um, senior living, um, envir... I mean, environmental,
some of the..or environmental, whether that be, um, LEED certification or, um...
uh.... some type of solar panels or something along those lines, and so .... really
consistent with some of the things that I continually talk about on the Council as
far as what would be interesting from that project perspective. That was it.
Cole: I talked to Ross as well.
Thomas: And I did as well.
Throgmorton: And you and I have had a conversation but it was before the public hearing was
scheduled. It was just a general conversation. Yeah.
Botchway: Is that enough information, Eleanor? Okay.
Dilkes: Yes!
Throgmorton: Okay, so sounds like we can proceed. Uh... let's see, where are we? Little bit
distracted. Yeah, I need to open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) John!
Yapp: John Yapp, Development Services. Uh, this property is, uh, at the northeast
corner of Market Street and Linn Street. It is currently the Corridor State Bank
property. Uh, used to be the Pearson's, uh, Drug Store. Uh, the property is
currently.... oh, and this is the .... the zoning pattern, and what we're just showing
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here that the property is .... is zoned CB -2, uh, currently. The other corners of the
intersection, uh, and actually many of the properties along Market Street, uh, in
this area are already zoned CB -5, which is a slightly higher density zone, uh, than
CB -2. Uh, the property is currently non -conforming, uh, in several ways. Uh,
both in terms of the building placement along Market Street, in that it's set back,
uh, the fact that there is parking, uh, in the front.... essentially the front yard of the
property, in between the building and the street. Uh.... and in terms of the, uh,
footprint of the building being less than what is desirable in this near -downtown
neighborhood, in that the building takes up a .... a very small percentage, uh,
over ... of the overall site, with so much of the site devoted to, uh, surface parking.
The Central District Plan applies to this property and .... and one of the goals, uh,
in the Central District Plan, uh, is the historic Main Street character in the
Northside Marketplace and trying to maintain that. In terms of, ub, features like
bringing the buildings close to the street, uh, having storefront windows, having
clear.... clearly demarcated entrances, uh, to the buildings. The current property,
uh, does not contribute to any of these goals. Uh, the staff report notes several
other, uh, buildings.... in the Northside Marketplace that have either gone through
a legislative approval or that they are new buildings, and I just have a few of these
images here to show you .... show you tonight. Uh, on the bottom is the ... the
Northside Bistro, uh, building. Older building, now a .... a historic landmark
building, uh, that has some of the features, such as the storefront windows, uh, the
clear entrance at the corner of the ... at the comer of the building and at the corner
of the intersection. Uh, in the top left is a relatively new building, uh, at the
corner of Bloomington Street and Linn Street, again showing those features — the
storefront windows, the ... the main entrance, uh, into the building, bringing the
building close to the sidewalk. And then at the upper right-hand corner, two
smaller structures, uh, on Linn Street, uh (mumbled) showing the same thing.
That type of character, uh, that the Northside Marketplace, uh, is trying to
achieve. Because the current property is .... is so non -conforming, uh, one of the
main rationales for the request for the rezoning is to achieve a higher, uh, density
of development than would currently be allowed in the CB -2 zone, and ... and what
that higher density of development does is facilitates the redevelopment of the
property.... into a property, into a building that can meet many of the goals of the
Northside Marketplace. Uh, the ... these charts, uh, just show some of the
differences between the current CB -2 zone and the proposed CB -5 zone. The
parking requirement for residential in CB -5 is slightly less, uh, than in CB -2. The
commercial parking requirement, this is the most significant change, in the
current CB -2 zone there is a ... a commercial parking requirement. Under CB -5
there would be no...no requirement for commercial uses. Some of the other
differences, uh, building height. Under CB -5 you can have a building height up
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to, uh, 75 -feet. In the current zone it is 45 -feet. And in the CB -5 zone, a greater
nu .... density of. ... of residential units would be allowed, provided the ... the
parking requirement can be met. Uh, in summary, rezoning to CB -5 would allow
the property to redevelop in a manner more in keeping with the goals of the
Comprehensive Plan, uh, by, uh.... bringing a building, and actually our .... our
zoning code requires bringing a building closer to the sidewalk. Uh, with
storefront windows and main entrances as required by code. Uh.... the staff and
the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the building be subject to
Design Review Committee approval. Uh, the images shown to the Planning and
Zoning Commission and... and which you will see tonight, uh, of a proposed
building are conceptual. Uh, and therefore Design Review Committee approval
is .... is recommended. Uh, and the applicant will present those.... those images to
you after I'm done, uh, done talking. Uh, approval would allow redevelopment of
the property in accordance with CB -5 height and parking standards. Again, the
other three comers of the intersection are already CB -5. Uh, Planning and Zoning
Commission recommended approval by a vote of 5-1. Any questions?
Cole: Why is it that the CB -5 is not subject to the parking requirements? That's a more
dense use, whereas the CB -2 is subject to the parking requirements for
commercial use. What ... what's the rationale behind that?
Yapp: It goes back into some Iowa City zoning history, uh, let me try to answer it
quickly (laughs)
Cole: (both talking) ...intuitive.
Yapp: While the CB -5 is a ... is a, it's a more dense zone, but it's also a more walkable
zone. Uh, it's meant to .... the original intent was it was the service zone just
surrounding the main downtown. Still very walkable to and from downtown. Uh,
the CB -2 zone .... uh, historically had more auto -oriented uses, uh.... was meant to
have more fast food type uses, those kinds of things, little bit further away from
downtown. As the downtown has evolved, a lot of those uses .... those types of
auto -oriented uses have been supplemented and we have very little CB -2 property
left .... in the city. Uh, with that, the applicant has some images to present... to you,
if (both talking)
Throgmorton: No other questions for John? Okay. Thanks, John. Ross, you want to speak?
Nusser: First off I'd like to thank you, Mr. Mayor and City Council, for hearing me
tonight. Also thank you to Mr. Yapp, as well as all of City staff. They've been
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very good to work with on this project. Um, as we know the property is located at
202 N. Linn Street, the old Pearson's building, and currently the CB -2 zoning, as
it relates to parking, is ... is very, very prohibitive of any sort of commercial
business on the main floor. If a restaurant were to be incorporated into this space,
and nothing but the restaurant, the City zoning code at CB -2 would require 31
parking spaces, which is very .... it's not possible. Um, one of the things that we
wanted to do here is that we want to make this corner into one of the cornerstones
for the Northside area. It is such a great property and there are many people in the
city who have very great memories on that property. Um, in doing that we've
kept different things in mind. We've kept the historic nature of this neighborhood
in mind. We've ... and we've tried to, and then we've tried to keep the scale of the
buildings surrounding this in mind as well, um, which... which we'll see in just a
minute of how we're trying to achieve that. I also think that density has been
something that's been brought up a few different times tonight and ... and I'll
address how I would like to address a concern of density, as well as, uh, parking
in the area. So with that I think we can move on to the .... (mumbled) don't know
how to do this. There we go! Okay! So .... first off we will have underground
parking. It will be coming off of Market Street, um, and it .... there's a .... I'd like
to note that there's an alleyway in between George's and this property, and it's
about a 10 -foot wide alleyway. Um, the access to the parking here, we will not be
utilizing that alleyway, in .... in anyway here. Urn .... coming off of Market Street
you'll go down into a parking garage and.... currently we have, we're showing
six, we can get seven spaces below, um, should we need to. The first floor, which
would be level one ... during the good neighbor meetings that I've had, and I've
had several, one with the neighborhood businesses in the Northside, and one with
the neighbors of the Northside. It was important that a different mix of businesses
be available here, and so that's why we'd like to show that there are two proposed
commercial spaces here. Um, again, this is conceptual, but this is a very good
idea of what we would like to see on the main floor. Urn .... going to level two,
level two will be the most dense of the units in this building, and its just six one -
bedroom units. Uh, the idea here being that it could appeal to workforce housing,
and it would make it so that .... one -bedroom, it would be easy to live in. It's very
walkable to downtown. The bedroom sizes, or the unit sizes are small enough to
prohibit a party atmosphere. Um .... in the neighborhood. The idea of senior
housing was first brought to me by our City Manager and via our Mayor, and I
became very excited about it. The senior housing on the two floors that I am
proposing, and ... and again, that gets more to design review, but .... I think it's a
fundamentally crucial process here. I ... I think that the senior population is very
well under -served in this community, and I think there's a real opportunity here to
show what good development can do and to really show how we can incorporate
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different housing types in one single structure. Urn ... so with that said there will
be two larger single ... two-bedroom senior housing units. The top floor, which
will be level five, um, we have designated as three, two-bedroom units. They are
larger than the main level, and .... we envision these units to be for sale. Um,
addressing the rooftop here, the rooftop terrace, we would like to have a green
concept of the rooftop, um, as I've spoken to several Council Members here, and
that will be something that we would further address during the design review, but
we would like to have some sort of garden area or grassy area around. Um,
currently the way that the code is written it's difficult to have ... a utilizable, either
commercial space or community space, above that is not for the sole benefit of the
residents. Not to say that impossible, but that's something that we'll work
through during design review. I'd like to highlight.... so this is a ... this is a concept
drawing of this. Um, one of the important things here is that we tried to
differentiate the materials in the building here, so that we could show the scale of
this building as it relates to (mumbled) so that it doesn't seem like such an
imposition on ... on the neighborhood and the historic atmosphere of it. Um, the
glass is meant to be perceived as not as intrusive and ... the lower level here, which
is really quite neat. I'll go back to that slide in just a minute, but .... open concept.
Um, I had a conversation this past weekend, and one of the great things about our
city and why it's great that we're a pedestrian city is ... in the summer and during
these moths, sitting near the window or outside when people are walking by, it
opens conversation and it really creates a very neat concept for our city and for
our community. So I would like to incorporate either large open windows here or,
um, similar to Bread Garden where it can be an open-air experience. Relating to
the scale of this building, you can see that the, um, building right across the street,
which has this (mumbled) and Motley Cow, and RSVP, that ... the scale of the
buildings are similar. I will note that the pitch of the building that has High
Ground, as well as Motley Cow, um, the top of the roof pitch is 65 -feet. The top
point at this proposed structure is 58.6 -feet. And so trying to keep in mind that
with the scale and not being as large of an imposition. Urn .... I am very interested
in continuing the discussion with City Council, as well as this community, uh,
should this go forward with you all tonight and in the next readings. I currently
have a good neighbor meeting set for design review on May 25th at the Public
Library at 5:30 P.M. and I would truly encourage public comment. Parking is ... is
an issue that has come up, as I've been through the good neighbor meetings and
throughout, parking has been one issue that's come up as a concern.
And ... parking has always been an issue for the city and fundamentally for me I
believe that as a city, there is a tipping point there. Um, and .... we can make the
choice as a city to either restrict development and to ... or we can grow with it.
And I believe that in a pedestrian neighborhood, in an area that's so walkable and
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Page 46 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
such a fundamental part to our city, that the parking spaces that are provided are
adequate. Um .... currently, again, and I'll reiterate that the question before you
tonight is whether or not this rezoning would serve this parcel, and .... with that
any sort of commercial business would be so immensely restricted, urn, in the
current zoning, which is CB -2. It just would not likely be possible. So with that I
would like to open it up to Council for any questions, comments, or concerns.
Throgmorton: I understand you've had, uh, conversations with people affiliated with Trail.
Nusser: Yes!
Throgmorton: You know, you referred to it as senior housing but (both talking)
Nusser: Yes!
Throgmorton: Old folks like me (laughter) and I'm wondering, uh, how those conversations
have gone, and whether you are imagining, uh, any kind of firm commitments, uh,
related to the .... uh.... I don't know, the ... the type of residents that would live in
the place, in the sense of...of long term residents who make a firm commitment
to...
Nusser: Um ... absolutely. Um, the conversations have been very productive. I have not
spoken with Trail for a little while now, but I had a few different conversations
with them. I absolutely imagine a long-term commitment here, and that long-term
commitment would come in the form of a covenant on the land from here until
eternity essentially, that would restrict occupants and owners, occupants and
owners of that property from being under the age of 55. So it would be 55 -plus,
and I would absolutely agree to that.
Taylor: In relation to that, um, you talked about the, uh, terrace area and then also just
access to those, uh, upper floors. Would there be, uh, would it be handicap
accessible? Is there planning for like an elevator, etc? For access to those areas?
Nusser: Uh, yes, I would say that's absolutely correct. There would absolutely be an
elevator, and .... I .... I don't think I could very well come up here and, um, say that
I'd like to do senior housing without it being handicap accessible, and I ... I would
like to work further with Trail, as well as with other senior housing organizations
to think of other ideas aside from just that, to make it more accessible.
Taylor: Thank you.
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Page 47 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
Nasser: Thank you.
Thomas: So ... so, Ross, just so I'm clear .... are you expecting by the time .... ifwe were to
approve this, by the third reading that the senior housing would be part of the
Conditional Zoning Agreement as a deed restriction? Because, Eleanor, that's
what I would....
Dilkes: I don't think that's what's being contemplated.
Frain: We're not.... staff's not recommending that, um, senior housing be part of
the ... the, urn .... a Conditional Zoning Agreement. Um, in reality, our code already
allows some parking allowances for .... for deed restricted senior housing, um, and
I think that, uh, Mr. Nasser's probably going to be hard-pressed to .... convert that
to say what he's showin' on level one and... and meet the parking requirements
that would come along with that.
Nusser: I .... I would not be able to allow anything other than senior housing. Um ... thank
you. To ... to meet the parking requirements. The way that the senior housing
parking credit works is .... that for anything that's a two-bedroom .... on the parking
require.... and I'm gonna state this wrong, John, but for anything that is a two-
bedroom in senior housing, that the parking requirement is halved?
Yapp: Uh, the parking requirement for deed restricted senior housing is a half a space a
unit.
Frain: So, uh, Councilman Thomas, what .... in all likelihood what would happen if,
um ... uh, the senior housing component would fall by the wayside, after the zoning
is approved, is that the, uh, owner of the property would have to, uh, scale the
building down, um, or, um, look to add uses that don't require parking, so maybe
do a floor of, uh, office or commercial that wouldn't require parking, that the unit
mix and the scale of the building would have to change dra... from what you're
seein' here tonight.
Cole: Does that require then a shorter building? Okay.
Frain: If ..yeah, because you couldn't park it under the current code.
Cole: Okay.
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Thomas: Unless you, as you said, Geoff, if I understood you, if it were commercial use,
then that.... you.... you could continue....
Frain: Correct!
Thomas: ...with the taller building.
Fruin: Yeah, John, you can verify commercial uses do not require? Yeah.
Throgmorton: I think I heard you say also that having longer-term residents, let's call them
seniors, over 55, uh, would be a big plus for you. (both talking)
Nasser: Absolutely! Yeah. Iowa City currently does not have a very good system in line
for age -in-place. Anything that's different than the traditional, um, retirement
facilities, and we have great ones but we ... we have not truly explored the benefit
and the options as age -in-place for people who've lived in the Northside area for
their entire lives and who don't necessarily want to make the large commitment to
move to the other side of the river. Um, I believe that this would provide an
opportunity there and I think it could be with the low scale of it it could be a very
interesting and good stepping stone to prove the concept to other developers, to
show that this can work. And I do believe that it can work! Um, my grandparents
are 90 years old and 91 years old, and luckily my parents live one block away
from them. That ... that's not a convenience that many people have. And so I think
it's a very important part of development in the city, especially as we're talking
about inclusionary housing, as well as .... developing these new districts. How
does this look in practice, and that's what I'd like to show here.
Throgmorton: Are there other questions for Ross?
Botchway: I do have a question ... sol ....I like what I see, but ... I do have a question as far as
affordability, and even as we're .... even though I like what I hear and see (both
talking)
Nasser: Uh huh.
Botchway: ....relation to senior housing, I'm gonna go into a little bit of that after ... after we
get done with questions, but .... you know, my issue is who is gonna live here.
Um, I was gonna make a comment and I'll make it now that, you know, I
remember a while back my professor, um, talking about, you know, wanting
more, um, housing (mumbled) downsizing where they're currently living to move
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Page 49 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
closer to the downtown, I mean this would be the absolute perfect property for
her, um, to move into. However, you know, she's (mumbled) Law School salary,
teaching there for a long time, and so I think that this would be probably in an
affordable range for her, but would it be an affordable range for somebody else.
Nusser: I ... and I am not specifically able to answer that as of right now, just because that
would be something as we work through the design review process. Um, and as a
covenant myself, to the senior housing, that that would be something that would
be explored. Um, currently it's a concept that I intend on sticking very, very close
to. Um, but again the, one of my purposes for the May 25a' meeting is to hear...
your comments as well as other citizens in our community, to see what ... what
could be changed, and what is missing. Um, so I ... I fully intend on addressing
that but I am not able to as of right now.
Mims: I guess I would have a question, maybe this is with Eleanor. It .... from a process
standpoint as ... as we're talking about a rezoning and .... the developer is not in
front of us asking for money .... is it even ... to me it's not even relevant to the
decision of rezoning as to what the cost of the units might be and who might live
in them. Is that .... an appropriate assessment?
Dilkes: I think it's informational to the Council Member who asked, but it is not,
uh... really relevant to the land use issue.
Mims: Thank you.
Botchway: I mean I think I've asked that for every property, so I mean ... even if it's not
necessarily germane to why we're deciding, I mean I think it's important to know
where we're putting affordable housing and where we're not.
Mims: But I think it's important for the public, I think it's important for the developer, I
think it's important for the public and even in Council discussion that while that
may be information that is of interest to us ... from a process and I think legal
standpoint it is not information that we should be considering in determining
whether we may .... whether we agree with the rezoning or not.
Botchway: I guess, Eleanor, my question from process standpoint would be then when would
we have a public discussion with ..... when would we have a public discussion
with the developer as far as, you know, whether or not something would be
affordable, except at this opportunity right now?
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Dilkes: You can have those discussions any time you want. I think the iss... the question
being asked is what ... what is the question before you and that is is the rezoning
consistent with your land use Comprehensive Plans. Um, when we have imposed,
um, inclusionary zoning requirements, we've done that by code, like we've done
in the Riverfront Crossings area. Um, and that's a code requirement, but it's not,
um, it's not a question of. ... land use and density and .... parking and traffic
and ... and all those kinds of things. I understand your interest in knowing, but
it ... it, if you were gonna tell me I'm gonna vote against it for that reason, I would
tell you that (both talking) you really can't .... or shouldn't.
Throgmorton: Are there ot... any other questions for Ross?
Nusser: Thank you all very much.
Throgmorton: Thanks, Ross. Anybody else want to address this topic? Good evening, Joe.
Holland: My name's Joe Holland. I didn't come to the meeting to comment on this, but... I
did write a letter to Planning and Zoning about the parking issues. I'd like to talk
a little bit about process in part, urn .... my office, uh, has been in the Brewery
Square building for 25 years. I watched a lot of things happen in this
neighborhood. The land use has become more intense. (mumbled) I've had client
(mumbled) participate in and I've advocated for it and .... I'd like to see this
property redeveloped. I think it's underutilized. It's... it's, uh, a building that's
outlived its function. It's obsolescent. I think it's appropriate, urn .... uh, for ... one
concern I have about process is ... I ... I walk by this building at least twice a day,
probably six or seven days a week, and sometimes more than that. I don't ever
recall seeing a rezoning sign posted on the property. Um, I also.....leamed about
this purely by accident. Urn .... a colleague of mine saw it online and forwarded it
to me. Uh, I don't know who's involved in good neighbor meetings, but ... it may
be only property owners. Uh.... (mumbled) have a stake in this neighborhood
having been there 25 years and I ... I hadn't contemplated leaving the
neighborhood, uh, but I do have concerns about, uh.....the neighborhood as a
whole. I....I.....I am the one who coined the term Northside Marketplace. That
has its origins ... Mercy Medical Plaza was platted as a marketplace. There were
three marketplaces in Iowa City, and there was a plat of Iowa City and that was
the Northside Marketplace. So I have a long-term, uh, investment in that part of
town, and by and large I've been pretty pleased with what has happened there.
Urn .... I think the City's gonna have to look at putting a parking ramp where the
Market Street lot is though. Uh, parking demands have become increasingly
intense, and one thing I noted in, uh, the letter I sent to Planning and Zoning, it
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was just sheer coincidence, but the ... the day I wrote that letter I had a meeting
with some clients and, uh, and appraiser. My clients circled the block for about
10 minutes because there was no parking available. That's with all those spaces
in the Market Street lot and on -street parking, they were completely full, and
that's not an uncommon occurrence. Twenty-five years ago there were plenty of
spaces available in the Market Street lot. Uh, there are no parking permits
available. I .... I've had a permit since 1992. Now there's a waiting list of
approximately 65 people waiting for parking spaces. I don't know where the
occupants of this building are going to park. Um, people bring cars. That's a
fundamental law of, uh, development in Iowa City. The ... I remember having a
discussion years ago with Karin Franklin and Steve Atkins about, um ... the
parking requirements and the theory that was advanced is you don't allow
parking. You're not even permitted to have parking, even if you wanted to,
because it was going to be so painful to bring a car downtown, nobody would do
it. Well .... I don't think it's worked that way. What it's done is it's pushed the
parking out into the fringes because there simply isn't parking. Uh, I hadn't heard
until tonight, uh, the idea is going to be a two-way entry in and out of this
building to below -grade parking off of Market Street. If you ..... if you're familiar
with Market Street, often you take your life in your hands trying to cross that as a
pedestrian. And I ... I have some concerns about, uh, dumping additional traffic,
even ... even if there's only seven parking spaces, people are entering and exiting.
I'm assuming some of these senior citizens are gonna want to have a parking
space in the building. Uh, there is no grocery store in the area, other than John's,
and, uh, it has a fairly good selection. There are ... there are a lot of restaurants
and that's partly what's caused all the park it load ... parking loading, and
I .... there's mention that if you put a restaurant on the first floor that you'd have to
have 31 parking spaces. There's a reason for that. People drive to that area. Yes
they will walk, people in the neighborhood, but .... in the time that I've been there,
uh (mumbled) become Blue Bird Diner. Uh, Motley Cow didn't exist. Uh, the
High Ground Coffee didn't exist. Uh, Bricks didn't exist. There've been more
and more restaurants in the neighborhood. The Northside Bistro was a TV store,
before it was a bookstore. And I think the City is going to have to look at what's
going on, parking in that area really, I think, probably are going to have to look
seriously at building another parking ramp. There's... there is very limited parking
available in that neighborhood. Um, see I ... I kind of like the design of the
building. I think that corner's really underutilized. I think it's ... it's a little bit out
of scale with buildings to the north, but generally it's not that far out of scale.
Three stories might be better than five stories, but, uh, I .... I think it works, and
I'm not opposed to this, but I think, uh, you need to look long and hard at that,
and ... and there really is no alley behind that building. Uh, there are obstructions
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built into it north of this property. Oasis parks two, three vehicles in that alley,
uh, all day long. I don't think I've ever seen in 25 years that alley passable by a
vehicle, so I think you need to .... I think there's some thought needs to be given to
this. Uh, I think if done right it'll be a great asset to the neighborhood, but uh, I
think, um, some of the questions and things that need to be thought about a little
more thoughtfully, uh, need to be .... those questions need to be asked and
answered, and something done before there's any final approval. So .... I
would .... I would encourage you to approve CB -5 zoning, but I think you have to
put some kind of conditions with that to make it an asset to the neighborhood and
it's just another, uh, problem in ... in the traffic it generates. That's all I have to
say.
Throgmorton: Thanks, Joe. Anyone else? Uh, seeing no one, I want to, uh, take the temperature
of the Council and find out whether any of you are inclined not to concur with the
Commission's 5-1 vote, recommending approval of rezoning.
Cole: I have a process question relating to the conditions. Um, this is one of my first
rezonings with conditions being mentioned in terms of the process. Is that a
process that Council thinks about? Is that a staff issue? Where ... where do those
conditions come in in terms of the decision making point of it?
Dilkes: Well any time you see a Conditional Zoning Agreement, um, that's because staff
is recommending that the .... there are needs created by the rezoning that it's
necessary to address those by additional conditions being put on the .... on the
property. Um, any conditions have to be a .... have to be included and agreed to,
um, prior to the close of the public hearing. So if there was any interest in
exploring additional conditions, uh, you would want to, uh, continue the public
hearing.
Throgmorton: Uh, is that a topic we can discuss right now? Given the question I first asked?
Okay, so if...if there were conditions someone might want to recommend, what
would they be? Do you have something in mind? John, do you? Susan?
Mims: No!
Thomas: I .... I would like to better understand (clears throat) you know, what it is we're
approving in terms of the building, and uh, it ... as .... as it stands right now, it's...
it's still not clear, uh, what the building is, in part because the .... the parking
related component of the project is .... is tied to the ... could impact the size of the
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building. I like the direction the project's going, uh, quite a bit. Um, but I'm not
certain what I'm approving in terms of the actual size of the building.
Fruin: You're really approving a land use. You're not approving a building. This is,
you know, this is a concept to .... to show the intent of the developer at this stage.
Um, but you're bein' asked to ... to consider whether CB -5 is appropriate and (both
talking)
Thomas: In other words this would come back....
Fruin: Not in ... no! No, not necessarily. That's why we .... that's why we have a subject
to design review, so that staff could go through, um, that particular process with
the developer and ensure that it is compatible and consistent with the
Comprehensive Plan. I think the fundamental question is whether that CB -5
zoning is appropriate on this particular parcel, and at least for me, how .... how I
looked at it and I think how, uh, staff looks at it is, uh, a large part of that is driven
by the parking requirements in the CB -2. Um, you know, if you take the ... the
High Ground building across the street, and if you think about that same property
being developed with CB -2 standards, and havin' to park the commercial spaces
for High Ground and some of those restaurants, what does that do to the form of
that building? Well it starts to look like what this property does and starts to have
that more suburban type of feel because you have to park that commercial piece
of it. So ... when I'm just looking at the land use piece, that's.... that's the tipping
point for me. I don't think it makes any sense in this urban area to park the
commercial uses.
Throgmorton: (mumbled) ...but conversely there are other questions about where the parking for
this.... proposed structure and its the ... the users of the structure would actually go,
and so there's seven parking spaces inside the building and then there are ... other
people or if they're drivin' they gotta find someplace else to park. So, uh, that's a
concern.
Taylor: That's my concern too and also along with what John had said, not really being
able to visualize truly how it would be placed on that corner, um .... but .... and so
what you're saying is we wouldn't be approving the design (mumbled) approving
that it could be put there.
Throgmorton: We do have this, uh, preliminary rendering, uh, that Ross provided and showed to
us during the, uh, during the meeting just now, Pauline, so you weren't able (both
talking)
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Taylor: ....wasn't able to see that... okay.
Throgmorton: It's not firm, uh, it's a preliminary concept that's pretty close to what you have in
mind. Is that right, Ross? Yeah. Uh, but it's not a final design. Uh, yeah, so
when, you know, I think about.....well, with regard to parking, these considera...
considerations of parking inevitably have to be part of our thinking about whether
it's appropriate to rezone from CB -2 to CB -10. (several talking) I'm sorry! CB -
5, thank you (several talking)
Dilkes: Those are different in each of those zones, that's part of the consideration.
Throgmorton: Yeah.
Cole: Would it be possible to delay the first reading by two weeks? I ... I guess what I'm
thinking of is that Ross is gonna have the good neighbor meeting on May 25a',
um, you know.... frankly, why .... why wasn't the zoning, rezoning sign posted,
cause I guess I didn't really see one there either. Um ... or was there one?
Fruin: I ... I'd have to ... to check with staff. It's not like most properties where there's a
big grassy area (both talking)
Yapp: I mean we do post them.
Cole: There was .... okay!
Yapp: They are sometimes stolen.
Cole: So this is a major area of, uh, Northside, to allow a little bit more opportunity for
the ... for the public to weigh in. Is that possible? Can we delay for two weeks, to
get additional information and have the good ma ... neighbor meeting? I would say
preliminarily, there's a lot I really like about the process, the approach the
developer's taken, reaching out to the community, um, we can ... if there is an
overwhelming opposition, you know, we could, you know, consider people's
points of view. Just to give us a little bit more time of two weeks. Is that ... is that
possible?
Mims: (several talking) My preference would be to go ahead, I mean we have three
readings.
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Cole: Yeah, I understand that. Yeah.
Mims: So .... keep it, go ahead and keep it on track at this point. We've got three
readings. If. ... by the second or third reading for some reason we need to defer
one of those readings or the Council decides to turn it down at that point, you still
have that option.
Cole: Yeah.
Mims: Um, for me when I look at it, the other three corners, if I recall correctly, those are
already CB -5. Um, I think... the... the parking restrictions on a CB -2 basically
preclude this property from ever being developed in any really constructive or
meaningful way.
Cole: I agree.
Mims: Um ... and so I think to get more density in the area in terms of housing, in terms of
some kind of a commercial. I realize there's parking issues. Um, but I ... I don't
think they are that extensive to .... to deny this rezoning. Um, and certainly some
parking is being provided on-site. Um, I .... I mean, I (both talking) in that area
enough that I .... I've never found it that bad in terms of parking when I've gone
there and I typically am driving when I'm going there. Um, so I'd prefer to go
ahead, have the first vote tonight. I will support it, um, but that still gives us
another four to five weeks between second and third readings for, you know, the
other good neighbor meeting and... for people to reconsider how they want to vote
on it.
Botchway: Yeah, I mean I would agree as well and I .... now I kind of can more appreciate
where you're going at it from a process standpoint, cause that was more ... kind of
along the lines of, you know, I'm in favor of this project and I kind of see what
you mean there as far as in relation to what we're adding, I mean asking for
tonight, and I would agree. I mean I know that .... I understand the parking issue.
Um .... and honestly, you know.....there's a couple things I think about that. One,
um, you know, I really appreciate, um, Mr. Nusser's, you know, conversation
around the fact that if we .... at the current zoning level, you know, that's
ridiculous! And you know .... this is my problem! Maybe, and again I don't mean
to talk about other situations that we've talked about but .... you know, I guess
my ... my issue is is I .... are we a walkable community? Because when we .... we
talk about, you know, making sure we have adequate parking and making sure
we're walkable, I mean there is that kind of theory around we as a Council, if
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we're truly talking about walkability, have to educate the community, but also
look for projects that guide our community in being more walkable, and so, you
know, I see this project. Yes, I mean, there could be some issues with parking. I
think ... I like the fact that it's parking underneath. I'm .... I mean would frankly
like all .... a lot of our buildings to have that parking underneath, in general, just
because I think, um, you know .... Dave from, uh, the University's parking
management would say that there's too much parking. If you took an aerial view
of our entire community and thinking about how that takes up a lot of the land of
what we have, but .... I .... I'm in favor of this project. I think that it incorporates
some of the parking. I .... I do know there's obviously questions there, but I like
the building and what it's speaking to, as far as, you know, I think there's a
question as far as, you know, if you're able to incorporate senior living in the
covenant, whether or not that will be additional parking, um, what .... what was it,
like one or ... what .... what is it again? John?
Yapp: Uh, for senior housing it's half a parking space per unit.
Botchway: Okay. I would be in favor, and again I .... I mean if you just look at the property
that's currently there, it's .... I'm just in favor of it. I mean....
Throgmorton: You're inclined to concur with the Commission.
Botchway: Yes, I'm inclined to agree with the Commission and also kind of back to
Rockne's point, I totally understand where you're coming from and I even wrote
down, I think you did as well, you know, good ma .... good neighbor meeting
would occur after the second consideration or before, and be after the
consec... cause you said the 25a'?
Fruin: ....22nd.
Botchway: So it'd be after the second consideration (both talking)
Fruin: ...second and third readings.
Botchway: I mean I hear that and it .... made me pause and think about that, but also .... he's
had good neighbor meetings before, I mean, he talked about multiple meetings,
one with .... at least two meetings, one with business owners and one with people
in the community. I mean one more meeting, obviously you know, to discuss is
always a good thing, but I ... you know, like I said, I would be inclined. If anything
came out of that good neighbor meeting and people were like banging down my
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Page 57 Iowa City City Council Formal Meering
door, talking about why'd you vote for the project I may feel differently but I'm
supportive of this project as it currently is.
Throgmorton: You're inclined to concur. John, where .... where do you stand?
Thomas: I'm willing to, um, support it now. I .... I think, you know, there .... there are a lot
of things going on in the Northside with the ... the Horace Mann meeting tonight,
uh, that ... has, you know, taken away the opportunity for people to really focus on
this project, um, but I'll support it tonight and ... and um, you know, look forward
to see how things develop .... as we move forward.
Throgmorton: Pauline, do you have an opinion about, uh, concurrence with the ... with the
Commission?
Taylor: Yeah, I ... I think I would support it. I, um, I'm one of these that, uh, they mention
that, um, has fond memories of that corner and I ... I do, urn .... uh, egg salad
sandwich and coffee there at that drugstore and uh, we talk about preserving,
enhancing character of the neighborhood, but I think once we lost that, uh, corner
drugstore and soda fountain and turned into a bank, we kinda lost that, uh, some
of that character on that corner, and be....be great to see new development there
that might, uh, enhance that again.
Throgmorton: Okay, so it's very clear that, uh, a majority of the Council would .... would not,
well, would concur with the Commission. So I'm gonna close the public hearing,
unless somebody else really needs to speak here. (bangs gavel) Close the public
hearing. Is there a motion?
b) CONSIDER AN ORDINANCE
Mims: Move first consideration.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? I haven't said anything
yet so I think I probably should speak up. Uh, I spent half of my life at this
intersection (laughs) I'm exaggerating, of course, but uh.... I know it very well.
It's an extremely important part of our city. It's thriving and we need a
development in ... at that corner that will add to it, will enhance what's already
there, and I remember having my first milkshake at Pearson's in 1986 with Andy
McKeon. Who knows who Andy McKeon is? Representative from, uh, north
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Page 58 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
(mumbled) Republican representative. Anyhow.....I guess the milkshake doesn't
have much to do with the rezoning (mumbled) Anyhow, it's an extremely
important intersection. It's very successful, both the site and the neighborhood
would benefit from redevelopment, and I think Ross is exactly right — it cannot be
viably redeveloped commercially on the first floor under CB -2. Moreover, CB -5
zoning would be consistent with the Comp Plan, so I do not object to, um, to, uh,
rezoning it to CB -5. I think it's a perfect... perfect location for older Iowa City
residents who want to age in place, and I am extremely hopeful that that can be
arranged as a part of this, uh, as a part of this development effort. I'm very
concerned about the comments that Joe Holland made about parking and about
the posting of signs. Uh, I hope signs were posted and that they got ripped off or
whatever, um, but it ... it, people need to know when... redevelopments, or
rezonings are taking place. But with regard to the parking, I think there are
problems, but a very large number of people walk to that area or ride their bikes
to that area. I know that because I encounter them all the time, uh, and I do it all
the time. So, almost literally all the time. So moreover, you know, uh,
autonomous vehicles are a coming thing. We don't know how they're really
going to affect us, but .... if they.... literally emerge as .... as a ... a prominent feature
of our environment, then parking structures might soon become completely out-
moded, and then we're stuck with a lot of concrete. What are we going to do with
it? But that ... that's a little bit downstream. The last thing I want to say is I think
Ross has demonstrated by what he said tonight that he is corn... completely
committed to this concept of developing a really good project at this intersection,
or at this corner, and especially with regard to the longer term residents in the way
that we described. So I'm .... really confident that he's gonna succeed on that, and
I really look forward to see him succeeding because if he does, he's gonna send a
clear signal to other developers around here that this is how it can be done, and
that'll be a big asset for us. So I'm gonna vote in favor. Others? Okay, well we
have a motion on the floor. Roll call. Motion carries 6-0.
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ITEM 7. PLANNING AND ZONING MATTERS
ITEM 7f CODE AMENDMENT OFF-STREET PARKING — ORDINANCE
AMENDING TITLE 14, CHAPTER 5, SITE DEVELOPMENT
STANDARDS, ARTICLE A: OFF-STREET PARKING AND LOADING,
TO ELIMINATE THE PARKING REQUIREMENT FOR PROPERTIES
IN THE DOWNTOWN PLANNING DISTRICT, ZONED CB -5 AND, IN
PART, HISTORIC DISTRICT OVERLAY, AND TO INCREASE THE
REQUIRED BICYCLE PARKING AND TO INCLUDE A REFERENCE
TO THE CB -5 FORM BASED CODE EXEMPTION WHICH ALLOWS
MODIFICATION OF PARKING PLACEMENT STANDARDS. (SECOND
CONSIDERATION)
Throgmorton: This is second consideration, but staff has requested expedited action.
Mims: I move that the rule requiring that ordinances must be considered and voted on for
passage at two Council meetings prior to the meeting at which it is to be finally
passed be suspended, that the second consideration and vote be waived, and that
the ordinance be voted on for final passage at this time.
Thomas: Second.
Botchway:
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
Motion carries 6-0.
Mims: Move final adoption at this time.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Thomas. Discussion? Roll call. Motion carries 6-
0.
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ITEM 8. CITY PARK CABIN RESTORATION — RESOLUTION APPROVING
PLANS, SPECIFICATIONS, FORM OF AGREEMENT, AND ESTIMATE
OF COST FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE CABIN PROJECT,
ESTABLISHING AMOUNT OF BID SECURITY TO ACCOMPANY
EACH BID, DIRECTING CITY CLERK TO POST NOTICE TO
BIDDERS, AND FIXING TIME AND PLACE FOR RECEIPT OF BIDS.
a) PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
Fruin: The Council has seen this item before, so we didn't plan a formal presentation.
It's.... it's really the same project, we just changed some of the construction
timelines and techniques, uh, hopin' to, uh, attract a bidder or multiple bidders.
Throgmorton: Okay. Anybody else like to speak to this topic? Seeing no one I'll close the
public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Botchway: Move resolution.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
Motion carries 6-0.
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ITEM 9. BURLINGTON CLINTON STREET INTERSECTION IMPROVEMENTS
— RESOLUTION APPROVING PLANS, SPECIFICATIONS, FORM OF
AGREEMENT, AND ESTIMATE OF COST FOR THE CONSTRUCTION
OF THE BURLINGTON CLINTON STREET INTERSECTION
IMPROVEMENTS PROJECT, ESTABLISHING AMOUNT OF BID
SECURITY TO ACCOMPANY EACH BID, DIRECTING CITY CLERK
TO POST NOTICE TO BIDDERS, AND FIXING TIME AND PLACE FOR
RECEIPT OF BIDS
a) PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Good evening, Jason!
Reichart: Good evening, Jason Reichart, Engineering. Um, I'm gonna talk a little bit about
the Burlington Clinton Street intersection improvements project. Uh, kind of a
general project overview — there's three main components to this project, uh, new
water main. The existing water main in this area is six-inch, which is very under-
sized for the downtown area and for the improvements goin' in with the new, uh,
Hilton Hotel and potential Hieronymus development on the corner of Burlington
and Clinton. Um, intersection improvements to the Burlington and Clinton
intersection itself, with the addition of right turn lanes, um, new traffic and
pedestrian signals. This includes, uh, accessible pedestrian signals that will have
the audible, urn.... communication to let visually impaired know of walk and don't
walk intervals. Um, and then ADA curb ramp and sidewalk improvements, and
the water main and intersection improvements, uh, kind of cover a similar area
from Court Street to Burlington Street, uh, and then the third, uh, component,
which is a little more, uh, little lengthy I guess, is the pavement marking or road
diet portion of the project. Uh, it's kind of fitting, considering the, urn .... uh, the
Bike to Work Month, uh, that we have now that we're incorporating bicycle
facilities into a corridor that doesn't have them currently. Um, and then a three,
or four -lane to three -lane conversion from Jefferson Street to Court Street. So,
uh, that third portion, goin' into a little bit more detail. Um, as you can see from
here, uh, existing conditions. We have, uh, two lanes of traffic with parking from
Church Street to Jefferson Street, and from Court Street to Benton Street. And
then in the middle in the downtown area we have a four -lane section that we are
proposing to convert to a three -lane section. Um, right now, like I said, the
existing four -lane section, with parking, uh, similar to the exhibit on top there,
runs from Jefferson Street to Court Street. The proposed three -lane section would
include, uh, bike lanes. We're calling for a 5 -foot minimum, uh, 8 -foot parking,
and the preferred width for, uh, the travel lanes is 11 -feet. Um, if there's any
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additional room, because the .... the street widths vary, that would go to the bike
lanes themselves. Uh, we are setting a maximum of 11 -feet and we have said that
it is preferred because the large number of bus, the two-way bus traffic and
delivery trucks in this area, uh, you get any more narrow and that starts to get a
little bit restrictive. Urn .... and then the two-lane, uh.... this kind of fits into the
road diet. We're not exactly removing a reduce .... or we're not removing lanes,
we're reducing them, um .... again this section, the existing two-lane from Church,
Jefferson and Court to Benton, we're sticking with the 5 -foot bike lane minimum,
uh, 8 -foot parking, and 11 -foot lanes preferred, and then any additional would go
into the bike lanes, again. Uh, project schedule, uh, you'll be approving the plans
and specs, um, hopefully tonight. Uh, we would have a bid letting on June 2nd,
award on June 20a', and we have a start date of July l0a', with 75 working days,
which would put completion sometime arou ... sometime around September of
2017. So ... there any questions?
Throgmorton: I'm wondering about one thing, uh, regard to the Clinton Burlington intersection.
How would these bike lanes work, I mean, how would they stripe their way
through?
Reichart: So with the ... the shared right turn lanes, um, we've had recommendations from,
uh, Alta, uh, about, uh, kind of ...navigating them to the left side of the right turn
lane, with dashed lines, and I'm sorry I don't have an exhibit kind of showing the
...the plan sheets themselves are a little messy to view, so I just tried to give you
an example, um, of the exhibits, but that doesn't really display kind of with the
right turn lane, but yeah, essentially a dashed line, um, moving then to the left
side of that right turn lane so they're not in conflict with the vehicle traffic going
through the intersection, if they are to go straight. So....
Throgmorton: Okay. Thanks! Any other questions for Jason?
Cole: I'm thrilled with the four to three conversion. I'm wondering, was it ever
considered that the cars would be closer to the lane and then the bike lane would
be closer to the curb? Was that ever evaluated? Is that possible? See what I'm
saying ... so essentially the lane would be inside the ... the parked cars, in between
the parked car and the curb. Was that ever considered?
Reichart: I don't think I'm following you. (laughs)
Cole: Well in other words the lane is between the car and the curb, the bike lane.
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Reichart: Oh! Okay, so .... oh, I see.
Cole: Was that ever considered? I mean I'm gonna support this, but I just wanted to
know is that something that ... I know for example Cedar Rapids has that, where
essentially the parked car is closest to the lane of traffic, so that in essence is a
protected bike lane along... that's close to the curb.
Reichart: Uh huh.
Cole: Is that something that was considered or is that not feasible given the traffic flow,
um, in this area?
Reichart: I don't know if that was ever considered. Um, just kind of cursory, thinking about
it right now with the .... the bus stop there, um, kind of shuttling them back and
forth and keeping the bus out of the .... the travel and parking lane might get a little
weird, um, but like I said, Alta did review these and, uh, it kind of provided their
comments and we incorporated them into the striping plan and this is what we've
arrived with, so.....
Cole: Okay, thanks!
Throgmorton: Okay, anything else? Thanks, Jason!
Reichart: Thanks.
Throgmorton: Anybody else want to address this topic? All right, seeing no one I'm going to
close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Botchway: Move resolution.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway and seconded by Thomas. Discussion? I'm very happy to
see this and I know Charlie Funk at Midwest One will be too cause he's harassed
me now for several years about the intersection. (laughs)
Cole: Go bike lanes!
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Throgmorton: Yeah, exactly! Go bike lanes!
Mims: Well, certainly going to be a big improvement for that intersection cause that can
be a very dangerous intersection. I mean.... pedestrians and bikes and even cars.
So....
Thomas: I think it's one of the worst in Johnson County actually. (several talking and
laughing)
Throgmorton: Not the worst? (several talking and laughing)
Botchway: There could be others (laughs) we don't know for sure! (several talking and
laughing)
Thomas: Historically anyway! I don't know the current situation. (laughter)
Botchway: So I mean I .... I'm gonna be in favor of it. You know.... stomach starts to churn a
little bit, when you go down from four to three, um leaning on John a little bit
here (laughs) um, you know, cause that's a lot of traffic right there (several
talking) lot of traffic, and so I mean I'm assuming Jason and them did the kind of
analysis as far as, you know, through traffic and everything else and....
Mims: Well I think some of the stuff we've seen or heard before, there .... there is the
probability that this is going to slow down traffic on Clinton Street.
Fruin: Yeah, we went through the (several talking) Yeah, we went through the
downtown modeling process and .... modeled all that out, and there... there's...
there'll be some additional congestion, particularly around the .... the parking ramp
area, where we got a lot of folks coming in and out of that parking ramp.
Mims: (several talking) Let me rephrase that, I'm not saying slowing it down as in
speed. I'm talking about congestion. Yeah. So .... it'll be interesting to see.
Botchway: Yeah, I mean I'm happy to try it out, but yeah, that's.....you know, even now,
Susan, I think you make a good point. Like I remember trying to go into the
parking ramp and literally like a four .... four car kind of pull into the parking ramp
and it was kind of annoying cause the person cause you're just gone, but my point
was was that, you know, that backed up traffic substantially, and when you have
Cambus and City bus going through there, right?
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Fruin: Yeah. It's... it's a congested corridor. It's heavy bus traffic, heavy ... heavy
delivery traffic, every vick... vehicular traffic, every pedestrian, I mean it's ... it's a
complicated street. Um, obviously we wouldn't be recommending it if we didn't
think it...it could work. Uh, we do think it could work. And at the end of the day
if it doesn't, as .... as Tom used to always preach to ya, um, it's paint on the street
and it's not a capital improvement project necessarily to ... to go back or ... or to try
to tweak things if. ... if the community rejects it.
Throgmorton: Any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call. Motion carries 6-0.
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ITEM 10. RIVERFRONT CROSSINGS PARK, PHASE 1 — RESOLUTION
APPROVING PLANS, SPECIFICATIONS, FORM OF AGREEMENT,
AND ESTIMATE OF COST FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE
RIVERFRONT CROSSINGS PARK, PHASE 1 PROJECT,
ESTABLISHING AMOUNT OF BID SECURITY TO ACCOMPANY
EACH BID, DIRECTING CITY CLERK TO POST NOTICE TO
BIDDERS, AND FIXING TIME AND PLACE FOR RECEIPT OF BIDS.
a) PUBLIC HEARING
Botchway: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Go ahead!
Seydell Johnson: So Juli Seydell Johnson, Parks and Recreation, uh, very excited to have
Riverfron .... Riverfront Crossing Phase 1 ready for bid. Um, I have the map up
here that shows, um, this is the master plan for the entire site. The map to the
right shows exactly what's included in Phase 1. So Phase 1 is primarily creating
the wetlands and that's a .... a part of the grant money that we received from the
State flood, uh, flood mitigation fund. Um, it will reconnect the trail, so the trail,
if you follow my arrow, will still go up through the park. A the end of the project,
a little bit different configuration than what it is today, and it will include the trail
along Highway 6, um, crossing the creek over the box ... box culvert here, and
going all the way over to Gilbert. We will have the bridge crossing at .... lines up
with Second Street, which is right here. That's what's included in the base bid of
Phase 1. Um, in your packet it lists a number of alternates that are also being bid
with the project. Part 1 of the alternate is a second part of the trail, which would
be this portion along the western side of the park. We are also doing an alternate
for the circle drive and the parking area. Your packet states that we're doing an
alternate for the nature playground area, um, we have removed that at this point,
uh, for a good reason (laughs) um, we are likely getting a federal grant for at least
half the cost of the playground, um, which necessitates that becoming its own
separate project. So we'll be bidding that separately, um, later on in about a
month or so. Um, and then the final alternate bid is for the second bridge crossing
that lines up with First Street. Okay. Timeline, um, bid letting will be May 301i,
award date, um, hopefully June 61i, with construction starting mid-July and lasting
through September or October of this fall. Once again that's primarily to recreate
the wetlands, redirect Ralston Creek, the bridge crossing here at Second Street,
the trail re -alignment, and the trail along Highway 6. Urn ... just a reminder of
what it looked like a few years ago. What it looks like now, it's being cleared,
ready to go. Uh, what the creek looks like now. At the end of Phase 1, the creek
is, uh, hopefully going to be in a state where kids will want to go down and play
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Page 67 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
in it, so (laughs) that's a long .... a long way from what it looks like right now. Is
there any questions?
Throgmorton: Yeah, any questions for Juli?
Thomas: Juli, does it .... there's that interesting, the ... the creek takes a real .... you know,
strong meander, um, there and ... and there's a bridge crossing the....
Seydell Johnson: That's shown in the master plan. That is not actually part of Phase 1. We took
that out in exchange for, uh, using the money for the bridge crossing across
Ralston Creek....
Thomas: Okay!
Seydell Johnson: .... connect over to the new development happening on the other side.
Throgmorton: Other questions?
Fruin: Uh, one of the things I'd like to ... to point out. The project also includes the ... the
grading of the areas, urn ... uh, throughout the entire .... the entire park area. So
while there may not be the, uh, kind of the terraced... or the improvements of an
amphitheater or other called -for amenities up there, um, the ... the grading and the
seeding will .... will help it feel like a ... more of a usable open space as well.
Throgmorton: Okay. Good deal! It's a good start. Uh, no other questions? Thank you, Juli.
Anybody else want to discuss this, address us on this point? Uh, seeing no one,
I'll close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Mims: Move the resolution.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion?
Mims: I would just say it's really exciting ... to see this moving forward. Um, the 2008
flood was a long time ago and just the process that we have gone through to
decommission the north waste water treatment plant and get all that capacity
moved, to the south, um .... just those visuals. It looks a whole lot different and
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give us another .... two to five to 10 years, however long it takes (laughs) to get the
money, um, it's gonna look even better and just be so useful and be a real ... a real
amenity to everybody in the community, but I think especially to those businesses
that are developing, um, on Gilbert, um, as well. It's going to be fantastic.
Botchway: I'm excited as well (both talking)
Taylor: (mumbled) really nice from Highway 6 too, which is gonna be a good visual.
Botchway: That's exactly what I was going to say, Pauline! (laughter) I was gonna use the
term `eye candy' though so (both talking)
Taylor: Okay, that's good! (laughter)
Botchway: But yeah, I think it's going to be eye candy from Highway 6, I mean, I'm excited,
and I'm not even the outdoors kind of person, so I mean that's.... that's pretty
exciting from that standpoint (both talking)
Mims: ...don't like trees!
Botchway: Yeah! That's true! (laughter)
Cole: This will also include the bridge over the creek, right, so....
Botchway: Correct.
Cole: I can't wait to take the bridge to a certain establishment (several talking and
laughing)
Throgmorton: All right! Further discussion? Hearing none, roll call. Motion carries 6-0.
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ITEM 11. DAVENPORT BRICK STREET RECONSTRUCTION — RESOLUTION
APPROVING PLANS, SPECIFICATIONS, FORM OF AGREEMENT,
AND ESTIMATE OF COST FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE
DAVENPORT BRICK STREET RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT,
AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF A TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION
EASEMENT AGREEMENT WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA,
ESTABLISHING AMOUNT OF BID SECURITY TO ACCOMPANY
EACH BID, DIRECTING CITY CLERK TO POST NOTICE TO
BIDDERS, AND FIXING TIME AND PLACE FOR RECEIPT OF BIDS
a) PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Good evening!
Panos: Good evening, Council. Dave Panos with, uh, Iowa City Engineering. Like to
discuss the, uh, give an overview of the summary improvements that we're doing
with Davenport, uh, Street with the brick reconstruction project. Just provide you
with an overview of the area we're looking at here. We're looking at
reconstruction of Davenport from Clinton Street to Linn Street, uh, that will skip
over Dubuque Street, uh, essentially the brick sections in between Linn Street and
Clinton Street. As you can see here, this is the existing current condition of the
road. Uh, the base is in very poor condition, uh, the sub -grade is .... is gone, and
uh, there's very.... surfaces.... it's.... very poor shape and it needs to be
reconstructed, due to that base inconsistency. So the new plans will include, uh,
reconstruction, as I said, essentially of the street, which will include, uh, 12 -inch
sub -grade preparation, uh (mumbled) sub -base, uh, 7 -inch PCC slab. So we're
essentially we're .... we're reconstructing the road and building a new road in
place with a 7 -inch concrete ..... 7 -inch concrete structure, uh, with new PCC curb
and gutter, uh, and then that will be overlaid or the .... the existing brick will be
removed and placed on that street surface, on that concrete street surface. This is
an overview of the section from Linn Street to Davenpor... or Dubuque, excuse
me. Um, you can see in blue we're doing a ... some minor, uh, water main repair
work. Uh, we're also replacing or actually reconstruction of the storm sewer,
from Linn Street to Dubuque Street, uh, as shown in green. Uh, the ... the brick can
be seen lightly in red. Uh, we're essentially redoing Linn Street. We're redoing
that intersection as well as, uh, the concrete section up to Dubuque Street. Um,
this section will also include, uh, curb and gutter, excuse me, um, as I said, curb
and gutter, which'll be a two and a half -foot wide curb and gutter section, and
we're also doing, uh, new ADA curb ramps at each intersection, Linn Street and
Dubuque Street. And then jumping over to, uh, Dubuque, from Dubuque to, uh,
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Clinton Street. Essentially the same section we're looking at in the previous...
previous view. Um, in this section we are replacing the water main. The water
main is around a 1900's era water main, so we found it, uh, that it's suitable or...
uh, at this time we needed to move forward with the replacement of that water
main. Uh, and then also that will include ner.... new services, of course, um, new
curb ramps at, uh, Dubuque and Clinton, uh, as well as, uh, new driveway aprons
and cases that we had to make grade adjustments. Um, as you'll note to the ... the
Council agenda item also included a temporary easement. Um, that is mainly for
reconstruction of the curb ramps on the west side of Clinton Street. There is, um,
restricted right ... right-of-way on that ... on that ... on that, uh, on that side, which
requires us to get into the University property, which, uh, I have coordinated with
them to .... to develop an easement agreement for us, uh, to move forward with
reconstruction of those ... of those ramps as well. Um, project schedule includes,
uh, as I indicated, uh, approval of plans and cost estimate today, uh, authorization
for bids, um, and as I indicated, approval of that temporary construction easement,
uh, with the University of Iowa, um, the bid letting schedule will be, uh, bid
letting will be made the 24h. Uh, we're looking at award on June 2"d, and start
date of June 9....19'', excuse me. Uh, with completion of August 111h . Any
questions?
Mims: Yeah, can you give us .... I hate to put you on the spot. I don't like to do this,
but...
Panos: Sure!
Mims: Can you give us any idea of how much of that estimated cost of $990,000 is for
the brick and the recon ... the reconstruction of the road and putting down brick
versus like putting in the new water mains (both talking)
Panos: I thought about this before the meeting and I thought it might be asked.
Mims: (laughs)
Panos: Urn .... L. A would estimate, you know, the full reconstruction of the road, uh,
probably $250,000, you know, per block, approximately. I mean I can go back
and give you better, more accurate numbers if you need those numbers. Um...
but that's... that might be fairly close to what we ... what we may be looking at for a
full reconstruction of, uh, of...of just a block.
Mims: Okay. Thank you!
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Throgmorton: (several talking) ...so half the cost is for the ... the water lines, sewer lines,
whatever (both talking)
Panos: Right, and that... that's based on, you know, what infrastructures are needed, you
know, with the street reconstruction, so that might vary, um, so that does include
water main reconstruction and the storm sewer improvements, which, uh, which
are a vast improvement to this ... to this street section. Okay?
Thomas: Do you have any idea when.... when, uh, Davenport was .... any major work was
last done on Davenport?
Panos: I don't know that answer. No, I don't.
Throgmorton: Long time ago! (laughter)
Botchway: So do we put .... do we add this correspondence to our ... after the meeting, right?
Panos: I believe this'll be included.
Botchway: There's a typo change on there. On that one right there, project schedule. Maybe
not. Maybe I'm .... maybe it's just late.
Thomas: You're tired!
Botchway: Yeah, could be. Let's just double-check though! (laughter)
Panos: We can check it!
Botchway: I think it was like June 6a', and you said June 2"a, and then it said 2107 instead of,
um, 2017.
Panos: So June 6a' is the award date, Council award date, uh, and June 19 (several
talking)
Throgmorton:.... says 2107 (several talking and laughing)
Panos: Oh! I got ya! (several talking)
Mims: Second.....second bullet up!
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Page 72
Panos: Gotcha! Okay!
Throgmorton: Good eyes!
Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
Botchway: That's what I'm here for! (laughter)
Throgmorton: Thanks, Jay.
Panes: Thank you.
Throgmorton: Okay, anybody else want to address this topic? Seeing no one else, I'll close the
public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Mims: Move the resolution.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion?
Thomas: Well I did drive this one block between Linn and Dubuque the other day, and it is
a wild ride (laughs) It's like the earth .... it was an earth quake, you know, you're
driving through on that (both talking)
Mims: I've driven it from Clinton to Dubuque and it's bad!
Throgmorton: Try ridin' it on a bike! (laughs)
Mims: I will .... I will raise one issue. Um, a few years ago, we had .... at the Council
level, we had a pretty major discussion about brick streets. Um, and whether we
were going to continue to maintain our brick streets, or whether because of the
cost, um, or whether we were gonna basically pull the brick and pour concrete,
because of the extensive cost, and that was one of the reasons for my question
about this. Part of the discussion at that time was the historic nature of some of
these streets, and I .... I guess the real history is, way back in the day they put in
the brick streets so they could get the carriages to the cemetery in the muddy
weather in the spring, etc. Um .... I .... I think there's certain ones that I ... I truly
believe we need to maintain, but I think it's something, at some point, we need to
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Page 73 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
have that discussion again. Urn .... we're doing them differently now. I mean
they're putting down basically, if I'm recalling our last discussions right, they're
basically putting down a concrete street and laying the brick on top. So we've got
a much better base, so hopefully they'll last a lot longer. They're not just putting
them on sand and gravel, etc., like they used to be done. Um, the bricks still wear
out, crack, chip, etc., with veh.... vehicular traffic. So, I'm not saying we do it
now, but I think at some point we need to come back and have that discussion
again with really up-to-date numbers of what it's costing us and which ones we
have not yet done and do we want to continue to put that kind of money into all of
our remaining brick streets, or do we want to focus on certain.... certain areas to
maintain? So.....
Throgmorton: Yeah, I think it'd be helpful to have, uh, a mapped inventory of our brick .... brick
streets. I know some of `em are located in unexpected locations, so you think.. a
half block long stretch of brick street.
Mims: Doesn't make sense (both talking)
Throgmorton:... doesn't make sense, yeah. And it'd be helpful to have some pretty good
estimate about how long a brick street would last relative to an asphalt...
Mims: Or concrete. Yeah.
Throgmorton: (both talking) ....concrete street. Yeah, so, yeah it'd be good to .... uh, have that
kind of information and a discussion about that. I agree.
Botchway: Susan, so you have concerns in general but not to this particular project?
Mims: I ... I guess my point is from a ..... from a timing standpoint, um, this section of
street is so bad. It definitely needs to be reconstructed. Um .... and we haven't
had that discussion up until this point and I don't necessarily want to delay this.
That was one of my que... one of the reasons for my questions of how much of this
$990,000 projected cost is the road versus the other infrastructure. So ... we're
about half is ... is .... is the road cost, uh, which of course you're going to have some
of that anyways if you don't put the brick down. So it's not like $500,000 is just
because of brick. I'm willing to go ahead and do this one now, but before we put
any more money into redoing brick streets, I would like us to have that more
comprehensive conversation again with updated costs and like Jim suggested, a
map of what brick streets we have left, urn .... and kind of what repair, or disrepair,
they are in.
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Page 74 Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
Botchway: I guess I ask is it ... is it worth a delay because, you know, my thinking is that, you
know, we have this brick street, but maybe we do decide that it's not cost
effective for the others and so we don't do, or we just.....you're kind of shaking
your head.
Mims: This street has to be .... something has to be done. So I think it ... I mean it would
require .... to me it would require a very quick decision of brick or no brick,
because this is bad!
Botchway: Right.
Mims: And I don't think we necessarily have the time for that full discussion so....
Throgmorton: Last year we pulled a street, uh, I don't know if it was Bloomington or Fairchild.
We pulled a brick street out of the (both talking)
Frain: Fairchild.
Throgmorton: Yeah, Fairchild, yeah. Yeah, so we'll have to have that discussion. Uh, okay,
speaking of discussion, uh, anybody else want to ... have anything to say about
this? Roll call, please. All right, folks, we have another 10 items to go so....
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ITEM 12. TRANSIT FUNDING APPLICATION — RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING
THE FILING OF AN APPLICATION WITH THE IOWA DEPARTMENT
OF TRANSPORTATION FOR FY2018 IOWA DOT STATE TRANSIT
ASSISTANCE AND FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION FUNDING
a) PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Good evening, Chris!
O'Brien: Good evening, uh, Chris O'Brien, Director of Transportation and Resource
Management. Very brief. This is something we come to you every year with it.
It's just a .... a summary application we end up having to put in that ... that really
summarizes our operating and capital requests, uh, to both federal and DOT. Um,
if there's any questions I'm here, but otherwise that's .... this is something we
come to you every year with, um, so no...no surprises here.
Throgmorton: Nice to see you! I assume there are no questions for Chris?
Mims: That's why I told him to leave earlier! (laughs)
Throgmorton: Close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Botchway: Move resolution.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Thomas. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
Motion carries 6-0.
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ITEM 13. OPEN CONTAINER AMENDMENT — ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE
4, ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, CHAPTER 5, PROHIBITIONS AND
RESTRICTIONS, SECTION 5 OPEN CONTAINERS, TO ALLOW OPEN
CONTAINERS TO BE CARRIED FROM ONE LICENSED PREMISES
DIRECTLY INTO ANOTHER (SECOND CONSIDERATION)
Botchway: Move second consideration.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Uh, moved by, uh, Botchway and seconded by Mims. Discussion? Uh, could
someone briefly and concisely restate.... the, um ... the business about carrying...
stuff...
Andrew: Sure!
Throgmorton: ... from one premise to another.
Andrew: Absolutely! Simon Andrew, Assistant to the City Manager. Uh, we've had a
couple of events downtown recently where, um, alcohol was allowed in the street,
uh, outside of what we typically think of beverage gardens like for Summer of the
Arts. So, uh, Hundred Plus, uh, men and women who care, uh, they were able to
serve wine and, uh, beet out in the street and people could carry it around, uh,
within that defined area. Uh, this amendment would allow people to, uh, go in
and out of existing establishments, uh, downtown with an open container. So, uh,
like at the Hundred Plus event, uh, you wouldn't have been able to, uh, fill your
cup inside a restaurant and then carry that same cup out into the street, even
though they were both, uh, legally licensed areas, uh, you couldn't move in
between those two areas, even if there was no gap in between them. So this
would allow for the, uh, downtown block party event on June 24"i for, uh, people
to fill their cups with wine or beer, uh, in a bar or restaurant and carry that out into
the street, into the temporary service area. Uh, so this amendment would, um, it
does, uh, change the requirement, uh, citywide, but each of these events has to
come before you, uh, with a specific agreement for that event to, uh, get that
temporary service area in the street. Uh, so it could potentially ply .... apply to
other events, but that would be up to the Council's discretion as those events are
proposed.
Throgmorton: Okay. So people aren't just going to be wondering around the streets with, uh,
open containers or whatever.
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Page 77
Andrew:
Correct!
Throgmorton: (mumbled) whatever.
Iowa City City Council Formal Meeting
Andrew: Exactly! With no further action in assuming that the agreement for the block
party is approved. Right now this would only apply between 5:00 and 11:00 P.M.
on June 24°i.
Throgmorton: Okay.
Taylor: Oh (mumbled) questions, Simon?
Andrew: Yeah, sure!
Taylor: Um, would it be, uh, you talk about the cups. They will be plastic. There would
not be any like glass bottles or glasses allowed?
Andrew: (both talking) Correct. Uh, there will be a specially designated cup for the event,
uh, that has to be approved by the City, uh, that is not glass.
Taylor: Okay, good! Thank you.
Throgmorton: Any other questions for Simon? Okay, thanks, Simon.
UTII �illif.Ti1N
Throgmorton: Discussion? Hearing none, roll call. Could I have a motion to accept
correspondence, please?
Botchway: So ... so moved.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. All in favor say aye. Opposed.
Motion carries. Did I say that the earlier motion carried, passed 6-0?
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ITEM 14. DIRECTING SALE — RESOLUTION DIRECTING SALE OF $9,765,000
(AMOUNT SUBJECT TO CHANGE) GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS,
SERIES 2017A
Mims: Move the resolution.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by, uh, Mims, seconded by Botchway. Good evening.
Bockenstedt: Good evening. Uh, Dennis Bockenstedt, Finance Director for the City. Uh, today
we received bids for three separate bond sales, and ... uh, tonight on your agenda,
Items 14 through 19 pertain to the closing, or I should say the sales of those
bonds, um, three of the resolutions are to award the sale of the bonds, and then
there's three separate resolutions to call the 2009 bonds, and ... uh, this year we, uh,
have a new financial advisor (mumbled) Larry Burger is with us from Speer
Financial and he is going to present the results from those three sales this
morning.
Burger: Thank you, Dennis. Mr. Mayor! Members of the Council. Uh, Larry Burger
from Speer Financial. We are ... we acted today as your municipal advisor in the
bond issue, and we did take bids in Dennis' office on the three bonds. So, Mayor,
would you like me to go through all three results and then you take your action?
Throgmorton: Sure!
Burger: Okay. So the first one is your general obligation bonds. We took bids on
$9,765,000 in general obligation bonds. We did receive two bids today. One,
which we will be recommending, from Robert W. Baird, but the unique thing
was, we only got two bids, but on the other hand, Robert W. Baird had 31 partners
in it. Thirty-one underwriting firms and formed the syndicate, so that happens
once in a while, where they all join together because of the size of the issue, and
so what we will be recommending is a very, very low bid of 1.98% on the $9
million. This is a 10 -year bond and, uh, so we would strongly recommend that
you accept this bid from Robert W. Baird and his 31 partners, uh, for, uh,
$9,765,000. They did bid what we call a `premium,' meaning they wanted a little
bit higher interest rate, so they're willing to pay extra. They actually paid the City
$120,000 in a premium, and so basically we're selling $9,765,000 in general
obligation bonds, for a price of $9,885,000, uh, because you add the premium
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into, uh, the, uh, purchase price. So, with that I would make that recommendation
that we accept that bid. Then, do you want me to go on?
Throgmorton: Go ahead!
Burger: Okay. Then we took bids. It even gets better, Mayor! We took bids on a sewer
refunding bond. Now the sewer refunding bond was totally just refunding a 2009
A bond that you had outstanding. And so we did get a premium on that. So we
were able to actually downsize the issue. So we took bids on a, uh, sewer revenue
bond refunding for $5,235,000, but by .... by receiving the premium and
downsizing the ... the issue, which we have to do in a refunding, we actually are
only issuing $4,550,000 in bonds. This developed a savings to the City, a
nominal savings, of $1,030,980.56.
Throgmorton: Could you repeat that, please?
Burger: Yes I can! $1,030,980.56. Now we do have to report this in present value
savings also, and what the present value is, is the aging of money by the time you
pay the bonds off, and so the present value savings is $723,184.20, or a 13.78% of
refunded principle. Our goal at Speer Financial is we always like to do at least
2% (laughs) to do a refunding. You just blew the ... the lid off our 2% today, with
the 13 -plus, uh, percent in the bonds. So I would recommend the same
(mumbled) he had the same 31 partners in the ... in the deal, so I would recommend
that we issue these bonds to Robert W. Baird, uh, for a true interest rate of
1.5652%. Any questions on that one?
Tbrogmorton: (mumbled)
Burger: My .... my third bid that we took today in Dennis' office is a water revenue bond
and this had a combination of a ... of a refunding from the 2009 B bond, and some
new money for the, uh, water system. So we did receive, again, we were issuing,
or we were taking bids on $5,910,000. We did receive, uh, $64,783 premium on
these bonds, and so basically what that did, that allowed us to buy -down the
refunding, but also have some of the premium in the new money that we issued
today. So all of that said, we would recommend that we award the bid to Robert
W. Baird and his 31 partners, uh, for a, um, true interest rate of 1.8434. This
produces a savings in the water fund of $1,137,664.17. Everybody with me?
Want ane to repeat that?
Throgmorton: You could repeat it.
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Burger: Okay! (laughter) $1,137,664.17, net present value savings is $1,033,306.21, and
the, uh, percentage of refunded principle is 18.049. So what you have seen is the
bond market continues to be very, very low. We are very happy for that, because
that helps our clients out a lot. Um, and uh, these are excellent, excellent bids
today. I would also like to, uh, thank you for your courtesy in Dennis' office and
the staff around his office, uh, for the hospitality today. So, I would answer any
questions you have about these three issues.
Throgmorton: Sounds like work well done!
Burger: It was a wonderful day in the market, Mayor! (laughter)
Throgmorton: Susan, you're our financial expert. What do you want to say? Or do you have
any questions you want to ask?
Mims: I would just ... you know, by .... we talked a little bit in the work session, I think,
but I would just reiterate how important the triple-A bond rating is, that we have
as a city. Um, I think we found out we are now one of three in the state of Iowa.
We used to be one of two, and ... it just makes such a huge difference in the interest
rates that we pay when we sell these bonds, and one of the things that we talked
about and I'll work with Dennis on is, you know, doing some public education,
and I think even educating ourselves, on what that means to us, I mean if...if we
didn't have that triple-A bond rating and so if we weren't getting these kinds of
interest rates, we wouldn't have the savings. I mean, you know, on this last one, I
mean, the present value of the savings, over a million dollars in terms of that
refunding. It's just ... the amount of things that we are able to do or the way we
can keep our tax rate down because of the savings, and again, it...it goes back
years and decades even to previous Councils, previous staff members, etc., on
making good financial decisions. We've started building our emergency fund
over the last few years, building up our reserves, urn ... cause as I said the other
day, said earlier, you know, we are not .... as Moody's looks at us, we are not a
typical triple-A bond rated city, and so we have to do some other things to make
sure we keep that triple-A bond rating, and it's just critically important, and I
think the numbers that we see tonight just demonstrate that, so.....
Burger: Let me just add, Dennis does an excellent job on the Moody's rating call. This is
our first time with Dennis. He did an excellent job, um, during the Moody's
rating. Uh, when you get a copy of the report, read the report. They've got a lot
of good information into it, uh, telling you kind of the.... shooting the, you know,
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over the bow what you need to do to make sure that you .... you keep that triple-A
and so that's a very important report to keep reading, and we'll keep working with
Dennis to, uh, make sure that, uh, we all work towards that triple-A.
Mims: Thank you.
Burger: Thank you.
Throgtnorton: Excellent! Well done, Dennis! All right so, uh, discussion?
Mims: I've said mine! (laughs)
Throgmorton: Yep! (several talking) That's pretty much it! Roll call. Motion carnes 6-0.
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ITEM 20. AUGUSTA PLACE TIF ORDINANCE — AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING
THAT GENERAL PROPERTY TAXES LEVIED AND COLLECTED
EACH YEAR ON ALL PROPERTY LOCATED WITHIN THAT AREA
ADDED TO THE CITY -UNIVERSITY PROJECT 1 URBAN RENEWAL
AREA PURSUANT TO THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT THERETO
IN THE CITY OF IOWA CITY, COUNTY OF JOHNSON, STATE OF
IOWA, BY AND FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE STATE OF IOWA, CITY
OF IOWA CITY, COUNTY OF JOHNSON, IOWA CITY COMMUNITY
SCHOOL DISTRICT AND OTHER TAXING DISTRICTS, BE PAID TO A
SPECIAL FUND FOR PAYMENT OF PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST ON
LOANS, REBATES, GRANTS, MONIES ADVANCED TO AND
INDEBTEDNESS, INCLUDING BONDS ISSUED OR TO BE ISSUED,
INCURRED BY SAID CITY IN CONNECTION WITH THE CITY -
UNIVERSITY PROJECT 1 URBAN RENEWAL PLAN (SECOND
CONSIDERATION)
Throgmorton: This is second consideration, but staff requests expedited action.
Mims: I move that the rule requiring that ordinances must be considered and voted on for
passage at two Council meetings, prior to the meeting at which it is to be finally
passed be suspended, that the second consideration and vote be waived, and that
the ordinance be voted on for final passage at this time.
Botchway: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? Hearing none, roll call.
Motion carnes 6-0. Are you going to want to address this particular topic or the
next one?
Ford: The next one.
Throgmorton: Yeah.
Ford: I had the map up that will ... that shows you where this TIF ordinance is, if you
wanted it. It's the yellow -shaded area up here but....
Throgmorton: Okay, I was on a roll here, reading words (laughter)
Ford: Roll away! (laughter)
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Mims: I move that the ordinance be finally adopted at this time.
Botchway: Second. Wait....
Throgmorton: That's right. She made the motion. I didn't have to ask for it. So...did you just
second it?
Mims: Yes, he did.
Throgmorton: Here we are. We're down here.
Mims: We've moved to collapse and we voted on collapse (both talking)
Botchway: Oh, yes. Yes. Okay.
Mims: Now we're voting on final adoption (both talking)
Botchway: ...I was lookin' at the next one.
Throgmorton: Okay, moved by Mims, seconded by Botchway. Discussion? Hearing none...
Mims: I just knew because I have the blue sheet in front of me (laughs) so (laughter)
Throgmorton: So .... any discussion about this? All right, hearing none, roll call. Motion carries
6-0.
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ITEM 21. AMEND URBAN RENEWAL PLAN —RESOLUTION APPROVING
AMENDMENT NO. 15 TO THE CITY -UNIVERSITY PROJECT 1 URBAN
RENEWAL PLAN TO ADD PROJECTS TO THE URBAN RENEWAL
AREA
a) PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: I'm going to open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Good evening, Wendy!
Ford: Hi, I'm Wendy Ford, Economic Development Coordinator, and I've got a map up
here that shows not only the, uh, ordinance, the area for the TIF ordinance that
you just passed in, uh, yellow in the top -right corner of the map, but it also shows
the greater area of the City -University Project I Urban Renewal Area. Basically
the downtown urban renewal area, and as you probably know by now that every
time you want to consider a new urban renewal project, it has to first be amended
into the urban renewal plan, and uh, in fact we are considering, you are
considering, amendment no. 15 to the downtown, uh... um, urban renewal plan,
and in that plan, there are, uh, there is the potential to discuss, uh, several different
projects in the future. The urban renewal amendment does not give your approval
for those projects, uh, but it....it sets the stage for you to consider those in the
future, and I just wanted to make sure that was clear. Um, the .... the projects
listed in this plan for private redevelopment that you may be considering, one for
sure, would be first the redevelopment of the City Hall parking lot, the August
Place project you'll be considering soon. Um, a redevelopment of the comer of
Burlington and Clinton Streets. Uh, possible renovations to the historic buildings
the, uh, Englert Theater and Film Scene are housed in, and a workforce housing
tax credit matching source for the project at 1201 S. Gilbert. Those are all in the
urban renewal area and if you should decide to use TIF to fund those, finance
those activities, then, uh, you would be able to because they'd be amended in.
There are also three public improvements listed in this amendment. Again, for
potential consideration for using TIF to finance. The Kirkwood Avenue to
Capital Street connection down in the Riverfront Crossings Park area. The
Gilbert Street intersection improvements, and the pedestrian mall reconstruction.
Throgmorton: Okay! Any questions for Wendy? Okay, I don't hear any. Anybody else want to
address this topic? Seeing no one I'll close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Botchway: Move the resolution.
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Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Mims. Discussion? Moving along! Roll call.
Motion carries 6-0.
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ITEM 22. AUGUSTA PLACE (PROPERTY NORTH OF CITY HALL) —
RESOLUTION APPROVING A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT,
INCLUDING THE TRANSFER OF LAND, BY AND BETWEEN THE
CITY OF IOWA CITY AND AUGUSTA PLACE, LLC
a) PUBLIC HEARING
Throgmorton: I'll open the public hearing. (bangs gavel) Wendy again!
Ford: Hi, Wendy Ford, Economic Development Coordinator. Um, I'm here tonight to
talk about Augusta Place. Allen Homes is proposing a project, Augusta Place, to
be built on land that is currently the parking lot for City Hall. This $35 million
project will accomplish sevra.... several goals, including preservation and
rehabilitation of a historic church, for comun... for commercial use, and for the
provision of more affordable housing units. About a year and a half ago, Jesse
Allen approached the City with a proposal for redevelopment of a portion of the
block occupied by City Hall. He had recently purchased the historic Unitarian
Church on the corner of Iowa Avenue and Gilbert Street, and he also knew that
the City had an interest in finding a way to save the church from demolition. He,
uh.... said he could save the church if he could purchase the City's north parking
lot for the project that he envisioned. So in late 2015, he presented an initial
concept to Council that.... among other things, included, um, three new fire truck
bays that fire trucks'll be able to drive through, two stories of office, uh, lots of
apartments, and, uh, it was determined that the cost for the City's portion of that
project, uh, would exceed $15 million and thus be too expensive. So he was
encouraged to head back to the drawing board and come back with a new project,
the one that you'll be considering today. So in his proposed project, uh,
residential components include 100 apartments and 26 townhomes. Six of the
apartments will be new City -owned affordable apartment units, um, and he will
also provide 12 more affordable units at another site, and I'll give some details on
that in just a sec. The development will also include a moderate-sized parking
structure, providing a City covered parking sery ... uh, surface parking lot, with a
total of 60 spaces to serve our public safety operations, and then 57 parking spots
on level two for residents. Development agreements always stipulate the
minimum improvements required by a developer, and in this case there are nine of
them. Um, the parking structure is a key component of that. It will have, as I
mentioned, 60 spaces on grade, in a condominium unit that the City would
purchase back from the developer. Uh, 50 .... and 57 spaces on the second level
for the, uh, residential uses in the project. There will be, urn .... uh, it will be
necessary to modify the north side of the City Hall building so the entrances to the
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Fire Station and also a loading dock area will require some upgrading, and
changing somewhat to be able to accommodate the ... what will now be quite a
near, uh, quite a close building. And I'll have some renderings to show you of
those as well. Um, that will, uh, also include the rebuilding of the balcony that is
used for the Fire Station residence, and their, uh, on their off -time. There will
also be 26 two-story, uh, stacked upon each other for force... for a four-story liner
building, um, that will, uh, screen essentially the parking structure within. (clears
throat) Um, the ... as I said, the apartments, um, there will be 100 of them. There
will be six one -bedrooms that will ultimately be sold back to the Housing
Authority for affordable housing. There will be 67 two -bedrooms and 18 three -
bedrooms. (clears throat) The six on-site affordable units will be complemented
by 12 that he will provide in an off-site location, with a ... which will be at 104
Westside Drive (clears throat) um, the ... the six on-site and the 12 off-site will then
total 15% of the units that he would ultimately end up reta... retaining. The 15%
being the requirement for affordable housing if TIF is going to be used in the
project. There will also be a terrace in the project and I'll, again, show you that
on the site plan. The terrace will be actually on top of the parking structure, and
will be accessible for all residents of the (clears throat) excuse me, of the
development, um, and, uh, have doorway access from townhomes, from some of
the townhomes, uh, directly onto the terrace, and we've asked for the terrace to
be, uh, finished off with amenities that you might expect on .... on any private
patio area. Um, the developer will also be responsible for all utility connections
and any, uh, fixing back any disruptions that may happen due to the construction
of the project. There are, I believe, storm water and electric, and electronic, uh,
utility connections throughout this site, as you may imagine, and they will be
responsible for ensuring that (clears throat) ser ... that those services, uh, remain
operational and are .... are, uh, put back... any.... any corrections that need to
happen are made. They will also be doing some streetscape enhancements along
Iowa Avenue, where the liner buildings, uh, will face. Um, they'll be required to
put a certain good size of tree in, uh, yes, trees are good, Kingsley. Um (laughter)
and, uh, to .... to ensure that we'll have a fair amount of green space and that it will
be, um, that it will be pleasing for the entire community, not just the folks there in
the townhomes. The developer will also be exploring, uh, solar power
possibilities. We don't have the final word on this yet. They are still working on
...on this pro ... on that part of the project, um, which is still in concept. Probably
the highlight of the project is that it will be preserving the... preserving the church.
This is a photo of it from the Historic Society from 1908, um, essentially, uh, this
project will allow, um, allow the community to continue and enjoy the 109 -year-
old Unitarian Universalist Church. Um, the ... the City will be requiring that, uh, in
order for this project to go through that he must also, um, rezone the property as a
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historic landmark, uh, the .... the, interestingly the name of the project — Augusta
Place — honors, uh, Augusta Jane Chapin who was an early Iowa City Universalist
minister. Um, and .... and lastly on the exterior, we have asked that they, um, re,
um, repair the building and rehab the exterior of the building where they took off
the, um, the former education, administrative offices, back to the point where it's
seamless and you don't see the big, uh, scars that you do, um, now when you
drive by. This is an interior shot of, uh, from 1908 as well, and interestingly it
looks almost identical these days as it did back in 1908. I wanted to show this
because this is slated to become new commercial space for, uh, for Iowa City.
Um, the other things going on in the, uh, inside the building are ... urn, they will be
providing an elevator that'll give, uh, full accessibility to both levels of the
building. They'll be installing, uh, accessible bathrooms, which there are not
now, and they'll be replacing an ancient heating system with a new HVAC
system. I don't think there's actually ever been air conditioning in that building.
So quickly then through the site here, I just wanted to point out a couple of things.
This is the ground level, and I'm using my cursor here, with the ... about 55
covered spots that will be used for, uh, our public safety vehicles. An additional
five spots over here, tucked in behind... these are ... these are townhomes, the
yellow, uh, boxes are the townhomes here that ring the, uh, and screen the, uh,
interior parking structure from view of Iowa Avenue here at the top, and Van
Buren Street with the Co -Op over here, to the, uh, east. Urn .... the entrance to the
parking will be in through an alley here, in the middle of the block where people
enter now to park for visiting City Hall, and um, and they'll go in through the
building here and then circulation will take them, uh, up if they're going up to the
residential, or around if they're parking, um, if they're the ... the City fleet parking,
um, under the parking structure here. This gives also an idea, see these little black
squares here are piers that support the building above, support the whole structure,
and you can see how close in proximity they are to the north side of the City Hall.
Um, that's why the .... the reconfiguration of the entrance to the Fire, uh, Station is
required. It'll actually be ... improve substantially with a ... a sidewalk that comes
out to Gilbert Street, with some signage that actually, uh, gives the entrance to the
Fire Station some .... some prominence. Then the second endry over.... entry over
here is where a loading dock currently is and that will still serve the same purpose
with ramping and entry from, uh... uh, or an access I should say to the loading
dock, uh, here, where, uh, where trucks or .... or what have you, that is unloading
anything would .... would be able to .... to do so right here. That's ground floor.
This is the next floor up, so you're looking at the, uh, residential level of the
parking ramp, and then everything above is, um, exactly as it was, as it is on the
floor below. So this'd be the second level of the two-story townhomes in the first
tier .... that you're seeing. And they would have a door that would, uh, open out
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onto, um, their parking. This is the third level and the area here is above the, uh,
parking below, and this is the terrace I was talking about. Again, still lined by
now we're at the third level of the building or the first level of the second tier of
townhomes, and it did take us a while to figure this out. I can finally do it without
three dimensions. Um, this is also where the, uh, the floors of apartments begin,
floors 3 through 7 are apartments that are all in the same configuration here, and
you can see that they stretch from Gilbert Street on the west side, all the way back
to Van Buren, uh, Street on the east side. And each floor above is ... is very
similar. Moving along, um, you can see here are the five floors of apartments
over the two floors of townhomes on the Gilbert Street side. Uh, the Unitarian
Church is, uh, is hugged closely by the townhomes on the Iowa Avenue side. The
parking, uh, structure, which is screened by, um, by these townhome units here,
behind, and then the apartments stretch all the way back to, and so do the
townhu... townhomes all the way back to the Van Buren Street side. This is a
view of the townhomes from the Iowa Avenue, uh, side. This I think is, uh, is
good. It gives a perspective of how dense the development will actually be on
this block. You can see the improvements right away with the, um, the signing to
the Fire Department. Right now people have to kind of find their way back to, uh,
a door with a sign that is ... that is hard to find. So this will give the Fire
Department a little more prominence. Their entry here is, um, in...what appears to
be more like a breezeway. You can enter it from either side. Urn ... and above is
the, uh, Fire Station employees', uh, balcony where they, uh, have a grill and have
a place to relax as well. One change that the developer will be doing is moving,
uh, what is a big electrical transformer that is somewhere on this side of the
building, uh, to, uh, above, to the back of the, um, I believe to the back of the area
of the balcony that the Fire Station, uh, folks will have. That, uh, putting that
transformer up there, um, is required obviously because of the tight site
constraints, um, and the developer's required to maintain at least as much patio
space for the Fire Station employees as they have now. And that's all part of the
minimum, uh, the minimum improvements I was talking about earlier. Here's a
view from the other side of that breezeway, um, so again you can see how the,
um, the parking structure, um, comes ... or actually the apartments come over
the ... the alleyway that, um, will provide access to the public safety vehicles
to ... straight west to Gilbert Street there. And then this stairway here is the one
that leads up to the loading dock and comes around to the back of the building,
um, here, which is not too dissimilar from the way that it is now. In this image it
shows some screening, um, of the loading dock area, um, there are dumpsters and,
uh, a place to, um, to load things. So, those are the images that I have and ... I'm
not gonna be too abol ...apologetic for going quickly through those cause I know
it's a late night, but I want to ... I want to get into the numbers because I think
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that's what everybody is ... is waiting for. Um, the City contracts with the, um,
non-profit National Development Council to review and assist in the financial
analysis of pro ... of proposed TIF projects. With their nationwide experience and
consulting for municipalities, NDC's role, among others, is to help staff determine
if expenses, constructions costs, and fees are reasonable. So the uses column over
here, this is uses of dollars and sources of dollars, uh, the uses column shows the
costs of the projects ... of the project, and how the dollars are actually used. And
NDC, while these are the top line number, NDC dives into these, into the weeds,
below ground even, to make sure that every quote from, uh, or every estimate
from the contractor, that every price for a piece of land, that every, um, piece of
this project is actually, uh, priced at a ... within reason range. So then, um, after...
after NDC, uh, and the representative there helps us go through all the costs of the
project, we, uh, we ask for the sources and how those costs are going to get
covered, and as we've always tried to do in the City, um, we ... we are requiring
always that the developer come to us with their financial package, so that we can
see just everything possible that they have put together, so that the City's dollar, if
requested, can be the last dollars in. And that's what we've done here. Um, the,
uh, developer came to us, um, and ... and we've confirmed that, um, they can ... they
can get a bank loan of $23.5 million. Um, parts of this project will be purchased
back from the developer, such as the City purchase of the firing ... of the parking
and the Fire entry for $602,000. Such as the City's purchase of six affordable
housing units at $180,000 each for $1.08 million total. Um, we also have a
requirement that the developer put in, um, cash that, uh, either matches or exceeds
the request that they're making from the City, and that's the $5.3 million you have
there. So, um, that left a $4.6 million gap in this particular project, and I want to
point out that that gap is made up of a couple of different things. Um, $3.8
million worth of actual, uh, an actual financial gap in the project, and then the
insurance to, or ... insurance! The interest, um, to cover the financing of that, and
let me go into that a little bit here with you as well. Okay, so ... the financial gap
on the whole project, as I mentioned, is $3.8 million. That's ... that $3.8 million
there. But interestingly in this, um, urban renewal area, uh... this particular little
square in the northwest corner... northeast corner of it is ... was founded on
economic development, uh, on an economic development basis, and that means
that TIF dollars cannot be used for market -rate housing among other things.
There ... uh, and in this project, um, there were a couple of parts of it, um, that were
eligible for TIF, and that was the, uh, the gap that's due to the church acquisition,
its rehab, and the soft costs around that. And the gap due to the affordable
housing component of the project. Um, so if you take the original project gap of
$3.8 million, and subtract out the ... the TIF eligible portions of that, you're still
left with a $650,000 gap that needs to be filled somehow. So in working with,
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um .... uh, the developer, City staff, our NDC consultants, um, we determined that,
um, that would be a good amount to discount the sales price of the City land, um,
the $3.33 million is the price tag on the City's, uh, basically half a block, um,
minus the...the church, that would be selling to them and that was based on an
appraisal that was done in, I believe it was January of 16, um, and ... and represents
about a 20% discount. So the developer would pay the City then $2.6 million.
This ... and they would owe us back the $650,000 if..if they did not meet all of the
minimum requirements and .... and things did not happen the way they're designed
to happen in the development agreement. So the City would receive $2.6 million,
uh, and then the City would turn around and purchase back the, uh, the surface
parking under the, uh, under the second level of ..of parking for our, um, safety,
uh.... vehicles, for $602,843, and that's... dollars, and that's based purely on a
contractor's, um, best estimate at the, uh, a price on the conceptual designs. The
other costs for the City would be, uh, the Housing Authority purchase of the six
affordable housing units, uh, as well, for $1,080,000. So ... um, seeing, uh, seeing
how the financial, uh, gap can be filled in this manner, uh, we ... we need to go a
little bit further in the explanation. So .... so back up here, where we have the $3.8
million, uh, project gap, but only $3 point, uh, 014 and $149,000 were eligible for
TIF. That's a total of $3.163 million. Now what the developer has to do, cause
we say we're only going to provide rebates, the developer has to go out and get a
loan, another loan, uh, from their, uh, financing, uh, or from their lender, uh, for
the $3.16 million, and then they'll promise the rebates to repay the loan. The
interest on the TIF loan, the interest on the $3.1 million then is $856,819, which
brings the total then of the TIF to $4.02 million. When you add the $650,000
discount off the price of the land, to the $4.02 million, you come up with a total
City subsidy of $4.6 million. And I know that's really awful at five minutes to
11:00 (laughter) on a Tuesday night (laughter) Sorry! (laughs) But ... but that's,
um, that's the financial, uh, out, uh, overview, sorry, of the ... of the project. One
last slide, um ... um, this is the next step slide for the project. They're looking to
have a ... an August, or I mean the development agreement states they have an
August Ise deadline, uh, for construction plans to be submitted to the City. Um,
also the rezoning of the church property has to, as a historic landmark, has to
happen before the City even sells the ... the back, uh, parking lot there. We also
have to have approval of the developer's staging and phasing plan. That is all the
contractor equipment that has to assemble and get in everybody's way, while the
project goes on. All that has to be approved, as well as the preliminary plans and
specs for the City parking condo unit, the part that we'll actually be buying back,
the parking lot on that first level. Um, and we'll have to figure out what the, uh,
impact on our current, uh, employees, staff and, um, safety vehicle, uh, use is, and
that ... those plans are underway right now. Um, construction then ... would then
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begin in the fall of 17 and take abut 18 months to complete. So .... there you have
it. I'll stick us on that and, uh, I would entertain any questions if you have them.
Throgmorton: Very concise, Wendy! Seriously!
Ford: Oh, thanks!
Throgmorton: That's a lot of material to cover and you did it very.... concisely and precisely.
Thank you ... for doing that. But where's the multi -varied equation? (laughter)
All right, any questions for Wendy?
Botchway: I would just agree. I ... I appreciate that. I know it's late but you really kind of
walked us through and you know kind of helped... helped me at least remember
kind of the prior discussions that we've had and kind of, um, walking through
kind of new analysis. I would just say in my kind of response to the previous
project, maybe eight items ago, that 2107 on the last slide again. Which is kinda
awkward but (several talking) Urn .... it was cool, I guess. (laughter)
Throgmorton: Well there you go! (laughter and several talking) Any other comments? Any
other typos? Thank you, Wendy. Would anybody else like to address us? Jesse?
Tom? Uh, Joe? (laughs) You don't have to, I mean, just... opportunity. (unable
to hear person speaking from audience) Yeah, okay. All right, well I'm going to
close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
b) CONSIDER A RESOLUTION
Botchway: Move resolution.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Botchway, seconded by Thomas. Discussion? (mumbled) we've had a
long road to hoe here. There's been a lot of work done over, what, 18 months or
whatever the figure is, uh, I think, uh, I would like to praise the ... the staff, praise
our .... uh, what's the name of the develop .... no, the development committee for,
uh, consultant.
Mims: NDC.
Throgmorton: NDC ... for their assistance, praise Jesse, Tom, uh, Joe, I assume you've had
something to do with this. Uh, thanks for your really good work, uh, it's really
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been a long road to hoe. (unable to hear person speaking from audience)
(laughter) I'll bet! (unable to hear person speaking from audience) So many
good things have been brought together on this and people have worked very hard
to make sure it will really be an asset to the City and .... meet our criteria as, uh, as
a public body and .... very proud of that. Thanks to you all for your efforts. So,
anyhow, the rest of you, do you want to say anything?
Thomas: I would just want to add that, um (clears throat) you know, in addition to I think
all the praises that need to be extended on this that, uh, there was strong
community support for the project. Um, we're saving not only an historic
building, but an historic church. Uh, so there're lots of ways you can look at this
project and I think be very pleased with the outcome.
Botchway: Yeah, I mean I would echo those comments. I think that, you know, I know it's
late so we're not going to say too much, but you know I just say thanks. You
know, a lot of...I remember Joe coming up before us, however long ago, and you
know, just being able to work with us on this particular project and you know I
think it's outstanding. I ... I'm not able to give my full enthusiasm as I would of at
probably 8:00 but, um (laughter) I ... I think it's, I mean, it's just an amazing
building and you know, it just checks off a lot of boxes for me, I mean, even kind
of the parking thing we had just discussed in a previous item. It's covered from
(mumbled) kind of with the building structures and so ... this is one ... I just, you
know, we're not doing enough praise on this because I think this is one of those
signature projects that I think that when you're talking about community input,
when you're talking about being creative from a development standpoint, there's
so many different projects I wish from a Council standpoint we may have been
able to push, and spend more time on, to get to this place and so I really
appreciate, you know, both the community, but also the time that you put in and
the money you put in to make this project work, so .... thank you and I'm gonna
tweet about it as soon as we get out of here, so (laughter)
Throgmorton: Tweet about it while we're talkin' !
Botchway: That's true!
Cole: I'll make it super quick, promise! Um, so much of the conversation
to ... sometimes is we either have historic preservation or economic growth. Well I
think this really demonstrates both and ... and I really like the process that went...
that everyone went about to get where we are now. Um, I know it wasn't easy to
make all the numbers work, and so I really commend staff and the developer to
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sort of achieve what our goals are, but also at the same time get that growth that
we want. So it was just a great project all around.
Thomas: I just want to say, uh (noises on mic) what you just said, Rockne. Was it
Wendy ... Wendy, did you say that, you know, the project started with the ... the idea
of Jesse having a vision for saving the church. Now I .... suggested this was a
project that really had its, you know, the catalyst for the project was in part saving
the church.
Cole: The Augusta was really cool. I didn't know that. I knew it was called Augusta
Place, but not the origin. So I thought that was really good!
Throgmorton: Pauline, do you want to say anything?
Taylor: Oh I'm just really impressed with all the cooperation and ... and you know, how we
got from like Plan A to what was the last one, F or G, it just ... it's just amazing the
cooperation and how well it went and ... and it's going to be a great project!
Throgmorton: Okay, any further discussion? Hearing none, roll call. Motion carries 6-0.
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ITEM 24. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES
Botchway: We have an Airport Commission, one vacancy to fill a four-year term.
Community Police Review Board, two vacancies to fill four-year terms. Historic
Preservation Commission, one vacancy for a Longfellow representative. One
vacancy for a Northside representative, and two vacancies for at -large
representatives. Housing and Community Development Commission, three
vacancies to fill three-year terms. Library Board of Trustees, two vacancies to fill
six-year terms. Planning and Zoning, one vacancy to fill a five-year term.
Telecommunication, two vacancies to fill three-year terms. Airport Commission,
one vacancy to fill an unexpired term. Um, Airport Zoning Board of Adjustment,
one vacancy to fill an unexpired term. Airport Zoning Board of Adjustment
again, one vacancy to fill an unexpired term, and Historic Preservation
Commission, one vacancy for the infamous Jefferson Street, and one more, um,
Senior Center Commission, one vacancy to fill an unexpired term.
Voparil: (mumbled) accept correspondence.
Botchway: Yeah, motion to accept correspondence.
Mims: So moved.
Thomas: Second.
Botchway: Moved by Mims, seconded by Thomas. All in favor say aye. All opposed same
sign. Uh, motion carries.
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ITEM 25. COMMUNITY COMMENT
Botchway: Use this time to come? (laughter) I knew that they wanted to....
Nelson: Yeah, I .... I mean, in the work session, uh, Mayor Throgmorton, uh, introduced
Gustay. So I mean I can formally introduce him. I'm excited to start workin'
with him. Um, and I also kind of want to take this opportunity to thank
everybody in this room for kind of like welcoming me and, you know, like being
cordial and I'm lookin' over .... or I'm lookin' forward to the next year, like at the
helm and, you know, Jake's president too, so he's not out of the picture yet either.
Um, but with that said, I mean, Gustav can come introduce himself.
Stewart: So I'm Gustav, like, uh, Ben said. Um, I'm originally from Iowa City and I go to
the University of Iowa right now, and I'm a second year, um (mumbled) political
science and economics. Yeah!
Mims: Welcome! (several talking)
Throgmorton: Where'd you go to high school?
Stewart: What?
Throgmorton: Where did you go to high school?
Stewart: I went to West High.
Taylor: West High!
Throgmorton: Good man! (several talking and laughing)
Stewart: I look forward to working with you guys!
Throgmorton: Welcome aboard! All right, where are we?
Botchway: We're at Item 26, City Council information, and I (laughs) at first I thought it was
a blank so (laughter) it's really that cold! So I'll let you go ahead!
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ITEM 26. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION
Throgmorton: So, well as you can see, I have been to Baghdad and have come back. (several
talking and laughing) And, uh, this is a gift that, uh.... well, was given to me by
Mayor .... Thikra Alwash of Baghdad, who treated us with enormous generosity
and warmth, us being Chris Merrill and me, while we were in Baghdad, and as did
all of her staff, as did, uh, a sheik that we met, Ibrahim Howash. He was
extraordinary. Made two huge feasts that he, uh, provided to us, and we also met
delegations from Kuwait and, uh, Iran, and had lots of conversations with them
(noises on mic, difficult to hear speaker) Went to the Iraq National Museum and
saw all these artifacts dating back 5,000 years and ... what else? Uh.... went on a
boat on the Tigris River. Good grief, the Tigris and Euphrates, you know, the
center of, uh, the birthplace of civilization basically. So anyhow this is one of the
gifts that they provided us, or me, and .... and I need to talk to you about gifts
(laughter)
Dilkes: I don't think they're, uh (several talking)
Cole: ...qualified donor? (laughter)
Dilkes: Yeah, they're (several talking and laughing) You'll be fine (several talking and
laughing)
Throgmorton: This is another gift that came from `em. It's a hand -made leather fan .... uh, that...
it was the kind of thing we saw in the Baghdad City Museum, where a lot of
traditional objects were hand -made. So I think this is something that, um, City
Hall might benefit from having, because it says, uh, "More than 7,000 years of
civilization — Iraq." And there's a map of Iraq in the bottom so .... give this to
you, Geoff. (noises on mic) I could go on and on about this trip, but uh.... I'll
leave it at that because it is after all 11:07 ... or 11:08. Uh.... there are other things
I could say. I think I .... I want to mention one other thing that has nothing to do
with Iraq, but..uh, it has to do with Sanctuary City stuff. I shared, uh, with Geoff
earlier today, and Eleanor earlier today, an email from Tom Cochran at the U.S.
Conference of Mayors concerning a may .... a meeting that mayors had with the...
the Director of ICE and staff, and the U.S. Attorney General and staff, which
resulted in a much narrower definition of what is needed for cities to be either in
compliance or out of compliance with federal laws pertaining to the executive
order concerning sanctuary cities. They were spot-on as best I can tell. I'm not a
lawyer, but it was really great to see cause it just kind of went to the heart of that
resolution that we passed with Eleanor's great help. So I was very pleased to see
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that. Could say other things, but that's enough! How bout, uh, Elea ... uh, Pauline,
you're not down at the far left, but could you, uh, go next?
Taylor: Oh, I'll go next? Uh, don't have much to say. I don't know whether John, uh,
mentioned in the work session that we had a very successful, I felt, um, listening
post at the Broadway Neighborhood Center. It was a great group of people came
and had a lot of different topics to talk about and most of `em stayed the whole
two hours, which was pretty amazing! That's all!
Throgmorton: Okay! John?
Thomas: Just in addition to, uh, the listening post, I was part of a panel at Zion Lutheran,
along with, um, a University employee (mumbled) Dean I want to say, of the
Graduate Studies at the University. Forgetting his name at the moment.
Mims: John Keller?
Thomas: Yeah! And, uh, Julie Robinson who's the Principal at ... Mann Elementary, and it
was, uh, you know, Zion Lutheran is kind of. ... relooking at its mission and so
they .... they invited the three of us and that was really.... really an interesting
conversation. And Zion's doing great work, as well. They .... in terms of their
service to the community, it's very impressive.
Throgmorton: Susan?
Mims: Uh, couple of upcoming events. I think that ... I think most of us probably have on
our calendars. I think there's the Unity Dinner, Saturday the Oh at 6:00 P.M. at
the Robert A. Lee Rec Center. I think that's a potluck, is that right....
Cole: Yep! Potluck.
Mims: Okay! And then the Human Rights Youth Awards, Wednesday the 106, at 7:00
P.M. at the Englert and, Jim, I think you'll be speaking at that!
Botchway: Farmers Market and then the Flyover Fashion Fest is this weekend, so it's gonna
be excitin'!
Cole: I was just gonna say that. Una ... you know, CB -2 and parking, I think at some
point we should address that. I, you know, um, it just seems like ... it's sort of tail
is wagging the dog, you know, in terms of going from CB -2 to CB -5. It seems
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like ..... we need to have like a downtown CB -2 in terms of parking, as opposed to
the suburban standards. So .... I just bring that up as somethin' I think at some
point we should address, because just the .... the differences in parking between a
much more intense use and a less intense use just doesn't seem to make a ton of
sense to me, and so, urn ... I think that's somethin' we should consider. So I'll just
sort of drop that, and (both talking)
Throgmorton: Maybe not right now.
Cole: Not right now (laughter) but I'm just putting that out there, since everyone takes
my announcements away from me! (laughter)
Throgmorton: Good deal!
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ITEM 27. REPORT ON ITEMS FROM CITY STAFF
a) City Manager
Throgmorton: Geoff?
Fruin: Nothing.
Throgmorton: Ashley?
Monroe: I would say there's nothing else I need to say, but I did hear from a resident that
really enjoyed the listening post and was very pleased that Council does that.
So...
Throgmorton: Excellent! (several talking)
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