Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-10-02 Bd Comm minutesItem Number: 4.a. tr 'cmgz�l CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org October 2, 2018 ATTACHMENTS: Description Historic Preservation Commission: August 9 MINUTES APPROVED HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION EMMA J. HARVAT HALL AUGUST 9, 2018 MEMBERS PRESENT: Thomas Agran, Kevin Boyd, Zach Builta, Helen Burford, G. T. Karr, Quentin Pitzen, Lee Shope MEMBERS ABSENT Gosia Clore, Sharon DeGraw, Cecile Kuenzli STAFF PRESENT Jessica Bristow OTHERS PRESENT: Kevin Hanick RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action) CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Boyd called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none. CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS - CONSENT AGENDA: 706 East College Street. Bristow said there did not need to be discussion for this item. She showed a photograph of the property. Bristow said the consent agenda works by having Commission members read the material and then vote on a motion. She asked if anyone had questions about the project. Burford asked what the window was for. Bristow said staff doesn't really know. She said there is one on each side. Bristow said the window is metal -framed. She said staff doesn't know when it was installed, although it is not in the historic photograph, which has a wide-ranging date possibility of 1920 through 1966. Pitzen asked if the window was operable. Bristow responded that it once was operable but is not any longer. Burford said she was not present for the original discussion of the changes to this building. She asked if anything was said about restoring the palladium window and the fenestration details. Bristow said that with the overall project, the owner removed all of the synthetic siding. She said that some of the trim details above the palladium window will be put back. Bristow said the owner is being very faithful to what he sees as the scars of the removed trim that are on the house, and that is being replaced. MOTION: Builta moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the casement window removal at 706 East College Street as presented in the application. Karr seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0 (Clore, DeGraw, and Kuenzli absent). HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 9, 2018 Nage 2 (it'] I CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS 1154 East Court Street Bristow said this property is in the Longfellow Historic District. She said the Commission has never reviewed any work for this property Bristow said this house is a foursquare that is covered in what is probably asbestos siding. Bristow stated that there are multiple parts to this project. She said that the first part involves the front step condition and treatment. Bristow said one can see that the front steps were pre- cast concrete steps that were just put in, so they are not the original stairs for this property at all. Bristow said, given that this is a wooden porch, it may have had a wooden set of stairs, She said that there are some potential examples of similar houses and similar piers with concrete stairs and block sidewalls that match the piers on the house, Bristow showed an example from Ronalds Street. She pointed out that even though these are concrete and block, they do deteriorate. Bristow said it is not known what was originally on the Court Street house, because these do deteriorate as well. Bristow said it is not something that can be determined by the Sanborn maps, as they do not show the steps or stoops. Bristow showed an example from Iowa Avenue. She said that they all follow the similar idea where the sidewalls come off flush with the inside of the piers. Bristow said that is what is proposed. Bristow pointed out the new drawings to Commission members. She said they were just updated with a little bit thicker sidewalls - more constructible. Bristow said that the slide images also show the new drawings, as the old ones were in the packet. Bristow said this therefore involves two steps of a sidewall with limestone caps and a black metal handrail that will be mounted to the steps themselves. She said staff finds this to be an acceptable way to put on new steps that would be more compatible than the existing, non - historic stairs. Bristow said that another element of the project involves replacement of the rear stairs as well, with a handrail that meets the guidelines. She said that the bigger part of this, on the back, is converting the sleeping porch, which appears to be original, on the second floor to a bathroom, which would mean enclosing it a little bit more than it already is. Bristow said that it is an enclosed part of the house She said that it probably had an open porch below it, based on some of the siding, but it is all enclosed now. Bristow said that the plan is to retain the central windows in the sleeping porch but to replace the glass with an obscure glass. She said that the side windows next to that and right around the corner would be replaced with slightly smaller windows. Bristow said it fits within the scaling of the original windows so that It accommodates the bathroom fixtures_ Bristow said that the windows that are closer to the house though would be removed, partly because there is a shower in one corner and to balance it out. She said that since those are against the house anyway, they will not be very visible, so it is an acceptable compromise to HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 9, 2018 Paige 3 oi- make for the bathroom. She said one would still have a lot of the language of the sleeping porch. Bristow said that below the bead board there are three little openings across the bottom from where the original porch was for drainage on the original open porch. Then below that there is some of the newer siding that is not an historic siding. She said that the plan would put a band board across the bottom of the beadboard to clarify that condition a little bit more. Bristow stated that the siding would continue to be bead board like it is now, so this would keep a lot of the same language that is going on with this property. Bristow showed what the exterior would look like on one side. She showed where the window next to the house would be removed and the window at the corner would be a shorter window. Bristow showed the rear elevation of the house. Bristow said that window product information still needs to be approved, so she recommends including that in the motion. She said staff finds that all of the parts of this project are appropriate. Hanick, the owner of the property, referred to the rear elevation of the house. He said he has looked into what windows would be available, including a wood, double hung window for the larger, center ones. Hanick said he thinks he can get it so that just the bottom is obscure and the top would be clear, which he thinks would be better for the interior. He said then the same window would be partly obscure and partly clear. Bristow said that brings up the question of whether or not those are the original windows reused or if the owner plans to replace them. Hanick said they would be replaced. He said that the current windows are rotten. Bristow said she was unsure if, since this was a screened porch originally, they were actually windows or not. She said this house has probably not had much maintenance on it for a long time. Hanick agreed. Hanick said he thinks the new front porch drawing where the sidewall is thickened up will look a lot nicer. He said there will be a limestone cap on that Hanick said he found a company in Indiana that makes what they are calling authentic, rock -faced block, which he'll use. He said he hopes the colors will be compatible. Hanick said the ones on the foundation are slightly different He said he thinks the new block will be more like those, and they will weather together over time and shouldn't be a problem. Bristow said that some people doing this type of project have actually just stained the new block to match, sometimes just a very slight gray stain. Hanick said the only other thing that is not on the application involves an old coal chute that currently exists on the west side of the house along the driveway He said there is currently a piece of plywood over that Hanick said he would like to order enough block to fill that in to make it a consistent rock face foundation. Bristow said that could be added to the application. She said that is the kind of thing the Commission would find acceptable, especially if there is not an original metal chute cover or anything to put in its place. Bristow said that typically one likes to see holes like that repaired with the block toothed in, Karr referred to the window elevation for the porch. He asked about the plan to have the top sash be clear and the bottom will be obscure. Hanick said that more natural light would be HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 9, 2018 P.aeo 4 of 11 better than having it obscure all the way around, and this is for the back yard. He said he would like to do that if possible Hanick said that there is a little 1960s addition on the main level. He said there is one rotten window there that he would like to replace with the same thing that is there. Bristow said that should be pail of the application as well. Bristow said it is up to the Commission whether it wants to add the coal chute and/or the other window to the motion. She said that staff would find that appropriate. Bristow said that the 1960s addition probably has casement windows right now. She said that if all of the windows were going to be replaced, she would say that using something that fit the house would be better Bristow stated that for only one window, making it match the others would be an appropriate way to go. She said that if the Commission did not want to add these items to the motion, they could be addressed as minor reviews to be looked at by staff. MOTION: Agran moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 1154 East Court Street as presented in the application with the following conditions: window product information for the sleeping porch renovation to be approved by staff; the repair of the coal chute as discussed at this meeting to be approved by staff; and the repair to the casement window in the 1960s addition, since it is not for all four windows, to be approved by staff. Karr seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0 (Clore, DeGraw, and Kuenzli absent). REPORT ON CERTIFICATES ISSUED BY CHAIR AND STAFF. Certificate of No Material Effect - Chair and Staff Review. 1424 Center Avenue Bristow said this project involves the replacement of shingles on a non-contributing property in the Longfellow Historic District. 622 North Van Buren Street. Bristow said this project involves the repair of column bases, storm window repair, and a little bit of trim reconstruction. 1036 Woodlawn Avenue Bristow said the carriage house at this address was damaged by a tornado, and most of the foundation walls were replaced at that point in time. She said that now, because of drainage and a collapsing wall issue on the south face, that wall is being replaced as well, as is the concrete apron that goes into the carriage house. 423 Ronalds Street. Bristow said this house has an addition on the back with casement windows that open out that are being repaired and with screen windows that open in, She said the windows had water and air leaking for awhile HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 9, 2018 Pnec i of I I Bristow said that a conference she attended provided a sample of information of the Indow product, which is basically a storm window that is flexible so that one can squeeze it in and put it there and squeeze it out as well. She said that it does not have any fasteners and does not do anything to the window opening itself. Bristow said the owner was having difficulty finding a solution for these windows, because she did not want to put any holes into the frame. Bristow said the owner found these, and so that storm window has been approved as part of the preservation fund for this particular house. She said the new product does not seem to be very expensive, so this will be a kind of test as to how they work. 427 North Dodge Street. Bristow said this house has a carport that had plywood siding all the way to the ground that was wicking up moisture She said that was permanently removed, and a couple of structural members were replaced. 701 East College Street. Bristow said this project is to replace the wood shingles on the house. Minor Review - Staff Review. 15 North Johnson Street. Bristow said the site stairs on this building are being replaced to match the existing, and hopefully the railing will be replaced with a black metal rail instead of the wood rail. She said that will be done if the wood cannot be reused. 737 Grant Street. Bristow said there is an attic window in the front of this bungalow, and the window on the back was enlarged and did not match. She said the owners wanted to replace it and remove the through -wall air conditioner next to it. Bristow said there will be some stucco repair. She said the owners wanted to replace the window with that size but found the original window in the attic, so they are just going to reinstall the original window. 1049 Woodlawn Avenue. Bristow said this project consists of replacing the front wood steps and replacing the handrail with a metal handrail. Intermediate Review - Chair and Staff Review. 833 Rundell Street. Bristow said that because of budgetary constraints, the screened -in porch on the back is being replaced with a simple entry stoop and entry canopy with stairs. She included the drawing which is marked -up, because there were some other changes that are under the Commission's HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 9, 2018 Paeo G o I I Purview such as making the dormer the same height as the roof, which is not appropriate so it will be lower like it is supposed to be. 727 Dearborn Street Bristow stated that this house is not really contributing, because it has been remodeled. She said it is unknown what is original on this house and what is not. Bristow said the Commission approved an addition on the back, and the approval was conditioned on matching the foundation material, rock -faced concrete block. She said the owners :;ame back with asking to just use smooth, concrete block. Bristow said that typically, one wants this to match, but it is also a factor to be able to tell what is original and what is not. She said that chair and staff decided that using the smooth concrete would be fine in this instance. because then it would be forever known that this is an addition. Bristow said that as the owners got into the project, they removed the aluminum siding on the house and were able to get in and realized that most of the windows had been replaced and all of the sills had been cut down. She said that hopefully this will add some general clarity to this house. Karr asked about the application regarding the flexible from the inside storm windows. Bristow confirmed that storm windows, even on the outside, do not require Commission approval. They were reviewed because the project was using the Historic Preservation Fund. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES FOR JULY 12 2018: MOTION Agran moved to approve the minutes of the Historic Preservation Commission's July 12, 2018 meeting, as written. Shope seconded the motion. The motion carried on a vote of 7-0 Clore. DeGraw. and Kuenzli absent). COMMISSION INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION: Commissioner vacancies Bristow stated that the City Council has asked that staff and the Communications Department work together to try to recruit someone for the Jefferson Street District, which staff has always thought might be an empty seat, and for the East College Street Historic District. She asked Commission members who know someone who resides in either district to find out if he/she would be interested in serving on the Commission. Bristow said the City will be putting out a mailing shortly that will go directly to every resident. She said that a Commission member must be a resident of the district, someone who is an owner of property in the district but does not live in the district would not be eligible. 727 North Lucas Street Garage Demolition. Bristow said this is not coming before the Commission, because there is not currently a plan to build a new garage. She said that the building official determined that the garage had to come down. Bristow said she just wanted to let the Commission know about the situation. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 9, 2018 Pe, -,c 7 of 11 owa Citv-Hosted Preserve Iowa Summit Postponement Bristow said there was a lot of debate last calendar year about the Preserve Iowa Summit and holding off until 2020 or holding off until 2021, She said the decision was made to have it in 2020.. and staff was starting to compile information to apply for the grant that is due September 1 to start planning for that. Bristow said that department directors and upper level staff decided that this should be postponed, because of the fact that it will take more planning than just the Commission and herself can complete. She said it will take assistance from some of the other urban planners, who are all very new, so that the decision was made to postpone this. Bristow said the State was caught off guard a little bit, because of the late notice to them as well, She said this is being worked through, and staff will try to do this again at the next available opportunity. Bristow said it may be 2021, although she assumes the State may try again for a location in Western Iowa. She said staff will coordinate with the State on when the next available tinie will be. Iowa City Public Library Historical Iowa Citv Newspapers Website Boyd said that the Iowa City Public Library added a really great feature - a searchable database of all the Iowa City newspapers from the 1870s to 1925. He said it is searchable by words and phrases and is a good resource for people looking into older homes. Boyd referred to the two pages he found that were worthwhile for the Commission to know about. He said that part of the Commission's job is to help people understand the shared history of Iowa City. Boyd said the Library does a lot of that work also, and he wanted to make sure people knew about the resource. Clinton Street and Railroad Depot Historic District Update. Boyd said that some of the City staff would like this to go to the City Council very soon. He said that the Commission moved kind of quickly on this once the report came back. Boyd said that often, for something like this, the proposed district boundary would go to the State Historic Preservation Office, which would review the boundary because it would also be a boundary for a National Register nomination. Bi istow said that typically, not for every district but for many of the districts, they have been National Register districts before being local districts. She said that means that the National Register nomination goes to the State for review prior to the local process. Boyd said the State had reviewed a previous iteration of this district and said that it would be acceptable but has not had a chance to review the current district. He said that being on the National Register is an additional benefit to the property owners. Boyd said that what staff and the Commission wanted to do was to get feedback from the State Historic Preservation Commission Office (SHPO) to make sure the proposed boundary would also be an acceptable boundary for the National Historic Register. Bristow said there is actually a grant to do that revised boundary National Register nomination for this district. She said the consultants are working on creating their contract now so that HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 9, 2018 ♦'d°C 8 of 11 revised nomination will probably be reviewed by the State in December. Bristow said it won't go to their review committee until June, but they will review a draft in December, Boyd said then there would be some sense and feedback as to whether this is on the right track, He sad he would recommend that the Commission hold off on moving this nomination forward to the City Council. Boyd said it is his understanding that the only way to do that is to withdraw the nomination and then have it go through the process again. Boyd said the Commission is trying to be responsive to making sure the owners have maximum benefits and making sure the Commission is being thoughtful to the concerns raised before the Planning and Zoning Commission. He said the timing of taking this to the City Council sometime in the late fall or winter might be better. Boyd said there is a lot going on at the City Council right now He said there will be a full City Council on October 6. Boyd said this is being done because of the boundary issue. He said he thinks the Commission should try to be sensitive to any concerns and work out as many of them as possible before moving this to the City Council. Boyd said that the upcoming grant will help move the potential district to the National Register. He sa d that SHPO will kind of weigh in on the front end as to whether this is on the right track. Boyd said that if SHPO says this is headed the right way, by the time it gets to City Council, the Comm,ssion will be able to say that this is eligible to be on the National Register. He said the Commission is really trying to tie those two things together, because there has been confusion about rahy they are separate. Burford asked when the Planning and Zoning Commission discussed this. Bristow said she thought it happened in June or July. Karr said that in this situation there is a property owner who owns a large portion of the properties that is against this and asked if there is still a moratorium. Boyd replied that there is not one currently. He said the moratorium starts when the City Council sets the public hearing. Boyd said that what staff and the Commission are trying to do is to take care of this before that starts. He said it would be communicated to the property owner what the timeline is and what the Commission is trying to do. Boyd said it should also be made clear that the maximum number of benefits are available to him, which would include a National Register nomination, Karr said the downside, if one were in favor of having this as a district, is that there would be several months with the possibility that buildings could be altered and changes could be made. Boyd confirmed this. He said that all of the properties appear to be rented at the moment. Bristow said that if the nomination is withdrawn, the Commission will have to start over. She said there would be an owner meeting, an Historic Preservation Commission meeting, and a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting again. Bristow said that the Commission could start the process as soon as comments are received from SHPO. 2018 National Alliance of Preservation Commissions Forum - Des Moines. Boyd said he and Bristow both went to this conference in Des Moines a few weeks ago HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 9, 2018 Ps�e,c 9 0l' I I Boyd discussed a presentation by Karcher, which is actually a power washing company. He said that the company clears cultural resources for free. Boyd said the company has done a lot of big projects and is now working on more and smaller projects to try to move into more places. They clean historic stone with steam and a low-pressure sprayer. The steam kills organic materials like moss and lichens. Boyd said he e-mailed the University Facilities Department and Geoff Fruir to share this information, as well as JUli Seydell-Johnson, the Parks and Recreation Director He said this may or may not be an opportunity, but he thought it was very interesting and wanted to share the information Boyd said the City of Ottumwa has, through a public/private partnership between the City, Wapello County, and private development, really restored a lot of its historic storefronts. He said the work done there is really driving a lot in the community in terms of engaging in downtown. a lot of community events, pop-up stores - some of which have become permanent stores, etc. Boyd said they have added a lot of housing diversity to the community. He said it was a great example of how historic preservation can help both build community and help with economic development in a community like Ottumwa, Boyd discussed the Dubuque Heart Program. He said that the non-profit Four Mounds in Dubuque, through the Heart Program, works with the Dubuque School District to identify mostly high-risk students Boyd said they attend a half day of learning techniques that are not taught as much anymore to use on older homes, such as window restoration and plaster repair. Boyd said they have been doing this long enough that some graduates of the program have taken the knowledge and have businesses to provide these types of services. He said that the neighborhood north of downtown has been historically troubled, but this program has taken sometimes a whole block at once and rehabilitated it. Boyd said that a lot of these students in the program are residents of the neighborhood, and this is reshaping the neighborhood and reshaping the lives of these people. Boyd said that at the conference there was a lot of discussion with other commission members and people from around the country about the work they are doing to make sure historic properties are celebrated. He said that Iowa City's Historic Preservation Commission is doing that with the grant for the Tate Arms Building and the Iowa Federation Home. Boyd said that some of the recognition consists of plaques, some is social -media driven, and some of it uses mapping software, He said it involves the democratization of historic preservation in that it gives people somewhere to share their own stories about places that add to a richer history. Bristow agreed that the mapping is an interesting concept. She discussed the Lucas Farms Neighborhood, where neighbors are very active and engaged Bristow said that in some cases, we have historic resources that we know nothing about. She said the first step for that is a kind of windshield survey of what is there, what the ages are of the houses, and what the styles are. Bristow said that volunteers ceuld do that type of work, with mapping applications that can be done on a phone. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 9, 2018 Price 10 of 11 Bristow said there is also potential for tying together sustainability and historic preservation. She said they work together well, and adding a little bit of sustainability to each section of the guidelines could help a lot with that. Bristow said there are also some opportunities for education. She said there could be sessions for design reviews and other things. Boyd said that one city appointed a high school student who was interested in historic preservation to its commission. Bristow stated that there is a potential for an emergency project on a local landmark building that is downtown. She said that it is a signage issue, which comes to the Commission automatically, Bristow asked if Commission members would be able to attend a special meeting if it is called for this project. Boyd said the Commission is technically scheduled to potentially meet on the fourth Thursdays of the month but has not needed to historically, He said this business is a downtown historic landmark, and the Commission should try to be as responsive as possible. Bristow agreed but added that an application has to be submitted at least 24 hours before a meeting to allow time for it to be reviewed and to get it on the agenda. Bristow said she will give the date of the 23rd as a potential option and let the applicant know that consideration will be based on being able to have a scheduled meeting. Agran said he has been asked about the status of the downtown survey and about whether facade funds could be available from the City. Bristow said there have been some delays. She said that the Commission's project creates a multi -property document, which is the long story of downtown. Bristow said that it will create a report and site inventory forms. Bristow said that part of the story is the City's urban renewal. She said this was submitted to the State for comments, but it turns out that the State will not even be able to review it until October 3 Bristow said that the City has therefore pulled back and decided not to do that. Bristow said that now it's a matter of figuring out the timing for a public meeting and having a review of it coming to the Commission. She said the Commission will read the report and review the documents to some degree. Bristow said then the Commission will make some determination on a National Register as soon as possible, partly because that makes funding available to people, although that process takes at least a year, Bristow said then it would be up to the Commission or a Commission subcommittee to determine local district designation and the timing for that. She said that it would probably happen soon but likely after national designation process has begun. Bristow said there is a potential for the report to come to the Commission for the September meeting, but it may not be until October. She said the public meeting will also happen in this time period from early September through mid-October. ADJOURNMENT. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2017-2018 KEY X = Present O = Absent OlE = Absent/Excused -- = Not a Mec ber TERM I 9714 16112 1V9 12114 1111 218 3(8 4112 5110 6174 I 7112 819 NAME EXP -- ASEAN, THOMAS 6!30120 X X X X X X X X x X 1 SHE X BAKER, ESTHER 6130118X x X X X X X X X X — — BOYD. KEVIN 6/30/20 �� 01E '.. X x X X X X X X X X '.. X BUILTA, ZACH 6730119 X X X X X01E X X X X BURFORD, HELEN 61302-1 CLORE, GOSIA 6730120 X X X 01Ek'XX X O!E DEGRAW,SHARON 6730119 X X X O/E X '.. X O!E KARR,G. T. 6130120 X X X X JX X O!E X KUENZLI. CECILE 6130119 '. X CE ! X X X '.. O!E DIE MICHAUD, PAM 6130118 X X ( X X X '�.. --PITZEN, QUENTIN 6130127 -- X X SHOPE, LEE 613m21 -- -- -- --X X SWAIM, GINALIE 6130118 X X O!E X X X XWAGNER, FRANK 6!30118 O/E X X 01E X X X — — KEY X = Present O = Absent OlE = Absent/Excused -- = Not a Mec ber Item Number: 4.b. tr 'cmgz�l CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org October 2, 2018 ATTACHMENTS: Description Historic Preservation Commission: August 23 MINUTES HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION HELLING CONFERENCE ROOM AUGUST 23, 2018 APPROVED MEMBERS PRESENT Thomas Agran, Kevin Boyd, Zach Builta, Sharon DeGraw, G. T. Karr, Cecile KuenZh, Quentin Pitzen, Lee Shope MEMBERS ABSENT: Helen Burford, Gosia Clore STAFF PRESENT Jessica Bristow OTHERS PRESENT RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL: (become effective only after separate Council action) CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Boyd called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANYTHING NOT ON THE AGENDA: There was none CERTIFICATE OF APPROPRIATENESS: 115 South Dubuque Street - Franklin Printing House. Bristow said this building is both listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a local landmark. She showed where it is located in the downtown area Bristow showed a corner shot of the building. She said it is a pre -Civil War Building, built in 1856. Bristow said the site inventory form discusses its Victorian/Renaissance style. She said there is a metal cornice and there are metal hoods and little brackets above the windows. Bristow said there are even metal sills on the windows. Bristow said that back in 1984, the storefront was rehabilitated. She said that some cast iron storefront was uncovered. Bristow said that this does not feel like any of it is cast iron, but the owners apparently at least took cues from that cast iron storefront when they did the work. She said that some of the detail on the pillars probably mimics what was there on the cast iron storefront. Bristow said the project is to add a sign. She said that the vinyl lettering on the window does not really count as a sign, unless the owner were to block a certain square footage of the glass. Bristow said the owner wants to have a projecting and illuminated sign to help draw in the public. She said the guidelines do not really talk about signs at all, so both are referred to the Secretary of the Interior Standards, which discusses maintaining historic signs, new signs on historic buildings, the placement and where signs would be historically, taking cues from the building for the design, and not damaging the building when the sign is installed. Bristow stated that the Downtown District created its own storefront and signage guidelines. She said that because preservation practices were taken into consideration to develop those, staff has looked at those as well. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 23, 2018 Patic 2 ora Bristow said staff sent the guidelines, as shown in the packet, to the signage designers, who came back with a second version of a design. She said the previous design was very modern, but the new one has a frame element to it. Bristow said it is painted on, but the black portion around frames out the sign itself. She said this is different from the company's other signs in that it takes cues from the building. Bristow said that because this storefront really frames the opening with the plasters and the sign board, it is really all about framing. She said that adding a frame element to the sign does speak a little to the architecture itself. Bristow discussed the size that the sign would be and the location. She said that it needs to be eight feet off the pavement, and that is met here. Bristow showed some photographs of some other downtown signs. She said that it was originally recommended to put the sign in the sign band on the building. Bristow said the letters would end up very square, instead of linear and thin, so it didn't really fit proportionally within the sign band. Bristow showed some other downtown signs that are very creative and reflect the type of business. She showed the signs at Dumpling Darling, Daydream Comics, Prairie Lights Bookstore, Moonrakers, the Rise, Moss, Ginsburgs, and Pancheres. Bristow said the downtown is really going toward having these projecting signs. She said it was seen historically as well, and it catches the pedestrian traffic. Bristow said this really fits with what is going on downtown and said it is not out of scale. Bristow stated that the only thing that came close to being objectionable with the building officials was that signs are not allowed to be just a plastic box with letters painted on it that the whole box is illuminated. She said that by covering the whole surface with the metal and cutting out the letters, it is a step away from that. Bristow said they are therefore following the guidelines Bristow said, given the fact the owner is putting the sign in a recommended location and it meets the guidelines for size and location and an effort was made to look at the building a little more, staff recommends approval. Kuenzli asked if the Dumpling Darling projecting sign is also electrified. Agran said that it is. Kuenzli asked if all of that wiring would also be on the new sign. Bristow responded that it may be possible for them to go through from the inside for the wiring on this one. She said that what is there for the pillars does not seem original, and she guessed that it is not backed up with brick. Kuenzli asked if electrified signs are being encouraged, as none of the others seem to be. Bristow said she believes it is something that has been okayed. Pitzen asked if it wouldn't be dependent on the business hours, Bristow said that the representative of the store told her that for their business, it is really mandatory that they have an illuminated sign. Kuenzli asked if anyone else finds a lit sign to be objectionable. Agran said that he works for the Downtown District, and although he is not speaking for them, he does have some perspective. He said the perspective is that if a business is not illuminated - if the store windows are not left on or the sign is not illuminated - the impression on people walking by drops precipitously. Agran said that if one looks at the health of downtown and preserving downtown as a retail environment, illuminated signs are something that the Downtown District advocates for. HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION August 23, 2018 Page 3 L)1'4 Karr asked if there is actually a code enforcement regarding signs through the Building Department. Bristow answered that there is a square footage limit. Karr asked for clarification regarding the plastic part. Agran said that if one thinks of an older sign where the plastic is clear and the letters are vinyl, essentially backlit, that is the kind of sign that is not allowed. Karr said he gets the lighting motivation, but was unsure about the plastic. Agran said he believes it is about the quality of the light. He said it has to do with how much ambient light is moving through it and how generic the sign is. Karr asked if the overall intent is for the sign to be seen and look decent. Agran said that all of it is to encourage higher quality and more innovative signage. Bristow said on the round shape, it is only the letters that will glow, because it is actually a metal that is covering the face. She said that the gray and the black is metal, with the letters cut out of it. She said that it would only be the letters that would have the glow. Bristow said that the lights above the sign band are actually just part of the building. Boyd said that the preservation brief says that they kind of default to local ordinances and local things He said that his take on it is that the default would be the Downtown District Guidelines. MOTION: Agran moved to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the project at 115 South Dubuque Street as presented in the application. Shope seconded the motion. Shope said this is a low-key sign. He said it isn't ostentatious or out of place. Shope said he does not object to the lighting the way it is done. DeGraw said she believes it fits the guideline criteria. The motion carried on a vote of 8-0 (Burford and Clore absent am►�nrar���e� Bristow said the City is looking for a new minute taker, and she hopes to have someone in place before the September meeting. MAILING, Bristow said that the City Council has directed staff to work with Communications to send out a mailing for the Jefferson Street and East College Street Historic Districts, because there is not a representative from either of them. She said that mailing was completed earlier In the day. Bristow said that for the East College Street Historic District, there were 31 letters that went out for 26 properties. and for the Jefferson Street District.. there were 37 properties but 111 letters that went out, because so many of those houses are divided into apartments. She said that a letter was sent to every occupant, in the hopes of finding someone to be a representative for that district. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 5 51 p m. Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2018 KEY: X = Present O = Absent CIE = AbsentnExcused -- = Not a Member TERM NAME EXP 10112 1119 12114 1171 2Bt3/8 k112 5110 6114 7112 815 8123 AGRAN, THOMAS 613720 x x X X X X X X CIE X X BAKER,ESTHER 6/30116 x x x x X X X X BOYD, KEVIN 6130120 X X X X X X X X X XXBUILTA, EACH 6130119 X X X x OIE X X x X ix XXBURFORD, HELEN 6130121x WE CLORE, GOSIA 613020 X X OIE OIE X DIE X X X X CIE OtE DEGRAW, SHARON 6130/19 X X 01E X X X X x ( X x CIE x KARR, G. T. 6130120 X X X X x x X X X CIE X x KUENZLI, CECILE 6130119 CIE X X x x X X X X CIE X MICHAUD, PAM 6130118 X X X % X X X X -- -- -- PITZEN, C]UENTIN 6130121 -- -- -- — '', -- -- !. .. _ _ X X X SHORE, LEE sfa0121 -- -- — -. -- -- -- -- __ X X X AIM, GINALIE bWVAAG 6130178 XOlE X X X x XNER, FRANK 6130118 X X CIE CIE X X X X X — — -- KEY: X = Present O = Absent CIE = AbsentnExcused -- = Not a Member Item Number: 4.c. tr 'cmgz�, CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org October 2, 2018 ATTACHMENTS: Description Housing & Community Development Commission: July 10 r CITY OF IOWA CITY � ViOF�`HNr"UM Date: September 21, 2018 To: Mayor and City Council From: Kirk Lehmann, Community Development Planner Re: Recommendations from Housing and Community Development Commission At their September 20th meeting, the Housing and Community Development Commission approved the July 10, 2018 meeting with the following recommendations to the City Council: 1. By a vote of 8-0 the Commission recommends that the final recommendations for the Aid to Agencies process discussed in the meeting and summarized prior to the motion be sent to Council for review and approval. 2. By a vote of 8-0 the Commission recommends the FY19 Round 2 HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds be allocated as follows: $4,000 to The Housing Fellowship for operating expenses, $87,034 to The Housing Fellowship for rental rehabilitation, and $93,966 to Shelter House for the Fairweather Lodge project. 3. By a vote of 8-0 the Commission recommends to modify the sentence in the Annexation Comprehensive Plan Amendment beginning "In determining the most desirable option" to conclude with "preference shall be weighted toward options that support economic, educational, and community building opportunities for all residents and help achieve better socioeconomic balance among Iowa City neighborhoods and among schools in the Iowa City Community School District." Additional action (check one) No further action needed Board or Commission is requesting Council direction _x_ Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action - Done MINUTES APPROVED HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION JULY 10, 2018 — 6:30 PM EMMA J. HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Megan Alter, Mitch Brouse, Charlie Eastham, Vanessa Fixmer-Oraiz, Christine Harms, John McKinstry, Maria Padron and Paula Vaughan MEMBERS ABSENT: Bob Lamkins STAFF PRESENT: Kirk Lehmann, Erika Kubly, Tracy Hightshoe OTHERS PRESENT: Sara Barron, Kari Wilken, Roger Lusala, Vicki Rush, Crissy Canganelli, Erin Sullivan, Heath Brewer, Tracey Achenbach, Maryann Dennis RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: By a vote of 8-0 the Commission recommends that the final recommendations for the Aid to Agencies process discussed in the meeting and summarized prior to the motion be sent to Council for review and approval By a vote of 8-0 the Commission recommends the FY19 Round 2 HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds be allocated as follows$4,000 to The Housing Fellowship for operating expenses, $87,034 to The Housing Fellowship for rental rehabilitation, and $93,966 to Shelter House for the Fairweather Lodge project. By a vote of 8-0 the Commission recommends to modify the sentence in the Annexation Comprehensive Plan Amendment beginning ''In determining the most desirable option" to conclude with ''preference shall be weighted toward options that support economic, educational, and community building opportunities for all residents and help achieve better socioeconomic balance among Iowa City neighborhoods and among schools in the Iowa City Community School District," CALL MEETING TO ORDER: Vaughn called the meeting to order at 6'30 PM and welcomed the new members Alter and Brouse. APPROVAL OF THE JUNE 21, 2018 MINUTES: Eastham moved to approve the minutes of June 21, 2018 with corrections, Fixmer-Oraiz seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 8-0 PUBLIC COMMENT FOR TOPICS NOT ON THE AGENDA: Sara Barron (Executive Director, Johnson County Affordable Housing Coalition) first welcomed Alter and Brouse to HCDC, second she wanted to announce that the Affordable Housing Coalition is starting its membership drive, July through September, and wanted to extend the invitation to members of HCDC. I HCDC members are worried about quorum issues, they can become a nonvoting member to avoid any conflicts. Finally Barron stated she came today straight from a meeting in Des Moines where they were Housing and Community Development Commission July 10, 2018 Page 2 of 8 having a meeting for a coalition that is forming across the state that is called The Iowa Housing Partnership and they provide a summary of housing costs across the state. Barron shared that right now in Johnson County the average hourly wage necessary to afford an honest fair -market rate two-bedroom apartment is $18.32 per hour. Barron closed by saying thank you to the Commission for the work they are doing to create reasonable affordable housing options in Iowa City, NOMINATE AND ELECT OFFICERS: McKinstry moved that Paula Vaughn be nominated chair and Vanessa Fixmer-Oraiz be nominated as vice chair, Harms seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 8-0. OVERVIEW OF HCDC PURPOSE, FUNDING SOURCES, AND SCHEDULE Kubly and Lehmann gave an overview of the purpose and funding sources for HCDC. Kubly began reviewing the City's Neighborhood Services Division, which is part of the Neighborhood and Development Services. The Neighborhood Services Division in made up for four groups (1) Community Development (2) Housing Authority (3) Housing Inspection Services and (4) Neighborhood Outreach. Most of the items HCDC sees are through Community Development which administers CDBG, HOME and other similar funding sources and policies (i.e. inclusionary housing, fee in lieu of, low income tax credits, etc.). They also have housing rehab programs and the UniverCity Neighborhood Partnership. The Housing Authority assists over 1200 low income families to acquire and maintain affordable housing with rental and home ownership programs. They have Housing Choice Vouchers, Veteran's Housing Choice Vouchers, 81 Public Housing units, and also offer homeownership and family self-sufficiency programs. Housing Inspection Services oversees rental permits and the Housing Code, inspecting over 4500 rental properties and over 19,000 units. They also deal with complaints and nuisance issues (i e. tall grass or snow removal) Finally, Neighborhood Outreach coordinates 30 -some neighborhood associations and the Neighborhood Council program that seeks to improve neighborhoods. Kubly explained that the CDBG program started with the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, the goals include providing safety and sanitary housing, provide a suitable living environment and expand economic opportunities, Iowa City receives these funds as an entitlement community because we have a population greater than 50,000, so it receives annual grants from HUD One key with CDBG is that recipients must meet one of the three national objectives (1) benefit low- and moderate -income persons (2) prevent or eliminate slums or blight and (3) assist with an urgent need (disaster situation). The HOME Investment Partnership is the other main source of funding and it developed out of the Cranston -Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 and it also provides formula grants to affordable housing activities such as rental and/or homeownership acquisition, rehabilitation, or construction, in addition to direct rental assistance, Households that receive HUD assistance must be at or below 80% of the area medium income and 90% of those must below 60% of the area medium income. There are also numerous other requirements. Regarding this year's funding, the City received around $685,000 in CDBG and $585,000 in HOME funding, The City also contributes about $280,000 to Aid to Agencies, which is enhance with CDBG funds, and they also contribute $200,000 to the GRIP rehab program and $180,000 to the UniverCity program, While that is not all the City does, it provides a few highlights. Kubly next shared the income and rent limits. Currently, a household of four in Iowa City would have to make less than $69,600 to qualify for CDBG or HOME and a three bedroom home maximum rent would be about $1400 per month, Kubly noted they do a lot of planning and reporting related to the Federal funding, including the Consolidated Plan (CITY STEPS) which is updated every five years, The most recent is CITY STEPS 2016-2020, and the City will begin updating that next year. It is a framework for community wide dialogue to identify housing and community development priorities and is used to determine where the City will allocate their federal entitlement funds. The priorities the Commission sees when they get applications for funding (high, medium, low priorities) all come from Consolidated Plan, Kubly stated the Annual Action Plan, which was just completed, is a summary of actions, resources and activities to address priorities and goals in the Consolidated Plan each year, typically done 45 days before the start of the program Housing and Community Development Commission July 10, 2018 Page 3 of 8 year. The City is also required to do a CAPER which is a report at the end of the fiscal year that assesses progress made towards achieving strategic plan goals and it is due 90 days after June 3D. A couple additional documents Staff will be working on are the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing, which reviews laws, regulations and administration of policies, procedures and practices and how those may affect the location availability and accessibility of housing. This is done every five years. It also assesses conditions, both public and private, affecting fair housing choice for all protected classes and assesses the availability of affordable, accessible housing in a range of unit sizes. The other document is the Citizen Participation Plan which lays out public hearing requirements, amendments and adoption procedures, and public comment periods to assure the City allows residents, particularly low income residents, an opportunity to participate in the planning of how the City uses the funds. Lehmann stated this review of policies and procedures is important to understand all the factors that go into the allocation decisions. He then reviewed the FY19 Commission calendar which was included in the agenda packet. Eastham requested that during the Analysis of Impediments process the Commission be kept informed of what the Staff is discovering and including as they go through the process and perhaps have some chance for input on the final report. Lehmann agreed and noted his plan is to involved a steering committee for the process and include some members of HCDC on that committee to help direct the process. Hightshoe added that in the past consultants have been hired to help with the process, five years ago the City hired The University of Iowa to assist, this is the first time they will be doing it all in- house so they are working out the process. REVIEW AND CONSIDER FINAL RECOMMENDATION FOR THE AID TO AGENCIES PROCESS Lehmann note the subcommittee drafted a memo to City Council (included in the agenda packet) that HCDC can use to clarify any final items before the memo is ready to be sent to Council. In the memo, highlighted items still need to be addressed. Some questions remaining include a discussion of emerging agency funding and the size its set-aside, what the funding minimums will be, the criteria needed for application materials, and finally what percentage to dedicate to high, medium, and low priorities. Eastham stated the subcommittee recommended a set-aside for emerging agencies of $15,000 per year, and he personally would be comfortable with that. Padron asked how many of last year's applicants were emerging versus legacy. Lehmann said six of the applicants last year were new. Vaughn noted if they do the $15,000 that is divided as $5,000 minimum then they would be able to fund three agencies. She added they should perhaps put in a contingency that if there are not three emerging applicants in a year than the leftover funds should be allocated to legacy agencies. Eastham agreed noting any set -asides that are not used should go back to the main allocation purposes. Fixmer-Oraiz stated HCDC could also recommend allocating more than $5,000 to an emerging agency if the application deemed appropriate and funding was available. Padron suggested it should be a percentage rather than set dollar amount for the set-aside because if the federal allocations could go up or down significantly. Lehmann noted if using a percentage, $15,000 would have been around 3.8% of this year's funding allocation. Eastham agrees that a percentage might be better. Fixmer-Oraiz said stating 5% would be fine, they just want to make sure they are not taking a huge amount of funding away from the other agencies. Eastham noted it is important to fund the emerging agencies so the community of agencies can keep growing. The Commission next discussed if emerging agencies should have to have been funded for two years of a five year period prior to being able to be considered for legacy funding. Or perhaps an agency must have been in business for five years prior to being considered for legacy funding. Eastham feels it would be hard for a new organization to maintain existence with unknown funding over a five year period. Fixmer-Oraiz noted that the funding amounts for emerging agencies is not enough to make or break an agency, it is just enough to help with a small project or simple things like office supplies, equipment, etc. HCDC agreed on a 5% set-aside for emerging agencies, with minimum application amount of $5,000. If not all set-aside funding is not used it will be used in legacy funding allocations. Emerging agencies must be funded from emerging funds for two years prior to being able to apply for legacy funding. Housing and Community Development Commission July 10, 2018 Page 4 of 8 Additionally the legacy funding will be guaranteed for a two-year period moving forward so they can plan accordingly. Hightshoe noted that if funding is decreased significantly in year two, the allocations to each legacy agency would be adjusted accordingly, that disclaimer would be made known to the agencies. Eastham noted the amounts of federal funding haven't changed drastically over the past few years. Fixmer-Oraiz stated that when the subcommittee met with the agencies it was noted that these funds they receive from the City are unrestricted and very beneficial to the agencies, even in the smaller amounts, so the overall good of what HCDC is doing is important and with the updated application process it is more streamlined and she feels the overall process is improved and beneficial for the agencies and not a burden on staff. Lehmann suggested there be staggering of legacy allocations in the first two years of this process so that all legacy funding is not on the same cycle. Additionally legacy funding could be prorated accordingly if funding has significant increase or decrease. Agencies must exist for a two-year period and have received Aid to Agency funding in the past five-year period to be eligible for legacy funding. HCDC agreed. The next highlighted area to discuss concerned the dedication of percentages to high, medium and low priorities to spread funding throughout the groups. Lehmann said the subcommittee suggested 60% to high, 30% to medium and 10% to low and he looked at what the allocations in the past had been and it came out to be around 63% to high priorities, 36% to medium and 1% to low, so perhaps low and medium priorities should be together in one percentage group and just do a 60140 split. Eastham suggested 70% for high priority, there is a reason why they are listed in the high priority category. McKinstry agrees and supports that suggestion. Fixmer-Oraiz also supports the 70% but would like to keep medium and low priorities separated. Hightshoe raised the concern regarding setting these percentages and pigeonholing allocations, perhaps there would not be a low priority application the Commission would deem appropriate to fund in a given year, then what. Eastham said those percentages can be treated as set - asides and if not used for medium or low priorities, could be used for high priorities. Brouse noted that the historical allocations show this approximate percentage split so is there a need to set it. Fixmer-Oraiz said the feeling was low priority applications would never get funded due to all the high and medium priority applications and this was a way to acknowledge the low priorities are still priorities and should be considered. McKinstry doesn't feel these need to be hard and fast percentages, but rather just guidelines of what HCDC is trying to accomplish and have some flexibility to follow the vision of the citizens and community needs. Padron noted that one of the comments from meeting with the agencies was it seemed as if HCDC was just funding agencies that all do the same work, so by splitting up the allocation it may help give funding opportunities to other types of agencies. Lehmann noted that when reviewing applications staff will make a first blush on what category each application falls into and HCDC can agree or move around the priority categories. By using language that these percentages are a guideline, then they would not need the language regarding the number of points an application must have to be in consideration. HCDC agreed on setting a goal of an allocation split of 70% of funds to high priorities, and set- aside 25% to medium and 5% to low priorities. If not all set-aside funding is not used it can be used in other priority funding allocations. The final area to discuss is the ranking criteria to be used. Eastham noted one change is Staff will be making an initial recommendation of rankings of priority levels. Vaughn asked about "project will be sustained after CDBG funds end", if the funds are used for a repair project, it is a one-time project. Hightshoe said that would be a public facility project (such as a rehab) and these are just for public service funding (staff, utilities, etc.). Other points on the application were discussed and reviewed by the Commission for clarification. There was discussion on whether leveraging should be a deciding factor for the legacy agencies. Eastham noted he is not in favor of keeping leveraging as part of the scoring criteria, all agencies will be applying and receiving funds from multiple sources, no agency can exist on the City funding alone. Harms thinks it is good to ask what other funding sources an agency has and expect to receive any given year. Fixmer-Oraiz stated as agencies move from emerging to legacy it may be informative to have this information and could be helpful in decision making. Vaughn said that is often something HCDC asks of the agencies when they come to present their applications. Housing and Community Development Commission July 10, 2018 Page 5 of 8 HCDC agreed the funding criteria questions will be answered as such: number 2.1 will remain, number 2.3 will be sustained and number 3.1 be clarified as it is the area medium income amount Additionally the language will be changed from project to agency in the legacy application. Eastham moved that the final recommendations for the Aid to Agencies process discussed in the meeting and summarized prior to the motion be sent to Council for review and approval. Fixmer- Oraiz seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 8-0. RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL REGARDING APPLICATIONS FOR THE FY19 ROUND 2 HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM (HOME) FUNDING — applications available online at http://www.icgov.oro/actionplan : Lehmann noted they had received two letters in advance, Habitat for Humanity as well as Mayor's Youth responded. He said when reviewing the applications it might be easiest to start where there are federal requirements, and in this care there is a requirement that at least $87,034 go to a community housing development organization, and that in this round, the only eligible housing development organization is The Housing Fellowship. The $87,034 allocation cannot be for operation expenses, it has to be for the production of units, which would include rental rehabilitation. Eastham stated he would support allocating $87,034 to The Housing Fellowship for rental rehabilitation. All other Commissioners agreed. Vaughn then asked about the operating grant. Lehmann said there is a maximum for that, but The Housing Fellowship's request for the $8,000 for salary support is within that limit, This will be in addition the funds already allocated to them for CHDO operating expenses. Maryann Dennis (Executive Director, The Housing Fellowship) stated when discussing scoring the application she thinks the CHDO operating score is used in the leveraging of the funds and for this project The Housing Fellowship is putting in almost half a million dollars of their own money for operations. The request for salary support for the CFO is because they have five separate audits each year to complete each year and she doesn't believe there is any other agency in Johnson County that does what they do and any other agency that receives HOME funds and has five separate audits each year. Having so many audits means the financial officer has be skilled. Alter noted her question was to understand how to apply the application criteria to a situation where the funds were not going directly for a project and rather a salary. Dennis agreed that scoring these applications can be very difficult. Eastham recommends funding for two projects. One is The Housing Fellowships rehab and the other is the Shelter House Fairweather Lodge project. He recommends an allocation of $97,966 to the Shelter House, as the Shelter House program as a clearly established purpose and fits in very well with the needs of the community for group living. With regards to The Housing Fellowships CHDO operating application, it is meritorious but this is supplemental funding and The Housing Fellowship received $21,000 in operation funding in the earlier funding round. Harms agrees and feels the Shelter House should be allocated the remaining funds. Padron and Brouse also agree. Fixmer-Oraiz agrees the Shelter House project has great merit and deserves the funding, however would like to allocate some funding, not necessarily the entire $8,000 to The Housing Fellowship operating costs. McKinstry agrees and suggests to fill in the additional $4,000 that wasn't part of the allocation in the previous funding round. Brouse moved that the FY19 Round 2 HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds be allocated as follows: $4,000 to The Housing Fellowship for operating expenses, $87,034 to The Housing Fellowship for rental rehabilitation, and $93,966 to Shelter House for the Fairweather Lodge project, Harms seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 8-0. Housing and Community Development Commission July 10, 2018 Page 6 of 8 CLARIFY REVIEW OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING LOCATION MODEL INTENT Hightshoe stated as the subcommittee drafts the memo to Council they need clarification from the Commission on the specific questions being asked, The Commission indicated a need for racial equity analysis or tool kit for the Affordable Housing Location Model, but is there a specific question to be answered. Eastham noted he wrote a brief memo that he circulated to the Commission and the question he is interested in having answered is with the population currently within the Affordable Housing Location Model current map areas, are those areas disproportionately black, Hispanic, and Asian resident. He pointed out in his memo the equity tool kit application that Stephanie Bowers describes in her memo could answer his question and go a step further to identify the impact and to ensure any negative impacts are mitigated. Fixmer-Oraiz was on the subcommittee as well and noted it became apparent there are overlays of policy that are contradictory and impact where affordable housing is being located. Lehmann said that has some clarity that he was unaware of earlier, because the Affordable Housing Location Model only affects new general rental properties (it doesn't affect projects for those with disabilities), there is also a fee in lieu that developers can take for inclusionary zoning polices. This is in place because there is a lot of land in southeast Iowa City that may be developed soon, but it is already heavily populated with low income areas and the Affordable Housing Location Model won't allow new general purpose rental units in that location. Eastham noted that census data does not show that the southern part of Iowa City is predominately low income, it shows it is a bit different than the rest of Iowa City, but not drastically different. Eastham feels if there was a more in-depth analysis of distribution of lower income students within currently established school attendance areas, is actually less than percentage of students in those schools, The Superintendent of Schools has directed the School Board to change the school's enrollment policies so families cannot so readily move from one attendance area to another attendance area. If that was done then the free lunch program numbers at the schools would actually decrease, Eastham believes the relationships between lower income residents and students in free lunch programs is not as straightforward as it is portraying. Hightshoe noted as staff that is not something they can change, the Council's directive is to look at the free lunch program in attendance areas as an indicator for the Affordable Housing Location Model. Hightshoe also noted the fee in lieu policy is only for the inclusionary zoning in the Riverfront Crossings District, If a fee in lieu of is proposed in an annexation it has to be approved by Council and then the fees go into the affordable housing fund. REIVEW ANNEXATION POLICY COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT: Hightshoe noted staff took this amendment to Council at the last meeting with regards to the annexation policy and affordable housing goals. It was brought up in HCDC last month that perhaps the statement should be noting there was a sentence the should be revised to have a positive tone and not negative (removing the word burden). Mayor Throgmorton suggested the following amendment to modify the sentence to "In determining the most desirable option preference shall be weighted toward options that help achieve better socioeconomic balance among Iowa City neighborhoods and among schools in the Iowa City Community School District." Eastham suggested an edit to the Mayors sentence and stated he feels it is important the wording recognizes opportunities for people to live across the community as one and doesn't divide it into neighborhoods, Eastham moved to modify the sentence beginning "In determining the most desirable option" to conclude with "preference shall be weighted toward options that support economic, educational, and community building opportunities for all residents and help achieve better socioeconomic balance among Iowa City neighborhoods and among schools in the Iowa City Community School District." McKinstry seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 8-0. Housing and Community Development Commission July 10, 2018 Page 7 of 8 STAFFICOM MISSION COMMENT: Lehmann noted there is no meeting in August Hightshoe announced the Best Health Symposium went well. ADJOURNMENT: McKinstry moved to adjourn. Alter seconded. Passed 8-0 Housing and Community Development Commission Attendance Record Name Terns Exp. 8117 9121 10130 11116 12118 1123 2115 3115 4119 5124 6121 7110 Alter, Megan 6130121 -- -- -- -- -- — — -- -- — -- X Brouse, Mitch 6130121 -- -- -- -- -- — — -- -- — -- X Conger, Syndy 6130118 X X X CIE X X X X X X X -- Eastham, Charlie 6130/20 X X X X X X X X X X X X Fixmer-Oraiz, Vanessa 6130720 X X X X X X OKE X CIE X X X Harms, Christine 6!3jXX X X X X X X X X X X Lamkins, Bob 613 X OIE X X CIE X OIE X O(E O1E alcKinstry, John 613 X X X X X X X X OIE X Olmstead, Harry 613OIE X X X X X X X X — Padron, Maria 613 X X X X OIE OKE X X X X X OKE X X X X X X X X Key: X = Present O =Absent OIE =Absent/Excused -- = Vacant tr 'cmgz�l CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org October 2, 2018 ATTACHMENTS: Description Human Rights Commission: August 21 Item Number: 4.d. Minutes Human Rights Commission August 21, 2018 Helping Conference Room APPROVED Members Present: Leff Falk, Cathy McGinnis, Eliza Willis, Barbara Kutzko, Tahuanty Perna, Bijou Maliabo, Joe Coulter. Members Absent: Adil Adams, Jonathon Munoz, Staff Present: Stefanie Bova-ers. Others Present: Debra Briggs. Call to Order: \\-'illis called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM. Approval of JuIv 17, 2018 Meeting Minutes: Coulter moved to approve the minutes with one amendment; the motion was seconded by Pena. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0, Correspondence: Staff will send out a pdF of the social justice and racial equity awardccs horn fiscal year 2017. Staff will also send out the link to the Council Work Session featti-ino Dr. Barnum discussing Disproportionate Minority Contact and police traffic stops from 2016-2017. The work session was held on August 21, 2018. Iowa Finance Authority: Affordable housing programs offered by the Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) include mortgage and down payment assistance as well as programs that assist in the development and preservation of affordable rental properties. Debra Briggs is a Compliance Officer with the IFA and formerly "Orked for the Iowa City Housing Authority. Strategic Planning Subcommittees: McGinnis`, Coulter. Maliabo (Public Safety); Adams*, Falk, Munoz (Community Outreach/Support); Falk, Willis*, Kutzko, Pena (Education); Falk*, Coulter, Adams, Pena (Housing). Asterisks note subcommittee chairs. Public Safety: is working on arranging a walk through at the Police Substation. Community Outreach: visited with the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, Director and Youth Director. The nonprofit organization is strapped for cash and has had to cease evening activity unless events are funded by an outside organization or agency. Education: to build trust between students, parents, and administrators, a junior high will be selected to work on regaining this needed factor in student achievement. The end goal is to improve relationships and to create a model that can be implemented at other schools. Minutes Human Rights Commission August 21, 2018 Helling Conference Room APPROVED Housing: staff will work with Falk on arranging meetings with Habitat for Humanity and other providers of affordable housing including Neighborhood and Development Services at the City. Request for Fundin4: Roll Bounce: is a fundraising and skating event for the entire community. All funds raised at the event go to an Iowa non-profit that is making strides in helping underrepresented and underprivileged communities in the state of Iowa. McGinnis moved to decline the request, the motion was seconded by Coulter. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. Empowerment Summit: will bring in diverse voices from all areas of campus and in the community to present to students on campus to empower them with their own autonomy_ and identity. Coulter moved to decline the request, the motion was seconded by Maliabo. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. Staff will add a clause to the funding form to ask specifically about how the event supports human rights in Iowa City. Coulter moved to approve the amendment, the motion was seconded by Kutzko. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. University of Iowa Lecture Series: will bring rapper, actor, poet, Common to campus for a cultural event. Coulter moved to decline, the motion was seconded by Falk. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. Back to School Summer Jam: a community event with free food and school supplies for area Youth. Coulter moved to fund in the amount of $350, this was seconded by Pena. A vote was taken and the motion passed 7-0. Proclamations: Pena will accept the National Hispanic Heritage Month proclamation at the Council meeting of September 18 on behalf of the Commission. Coulter will accept the Indigenous Peoples proclamation in October on behalf of the Commission. Social Justice and Racial Equity Grant: The Commission wilt hold two informational sessions on the grant on Tuesday, November 13. There will be a session over the noon hour and another in the evening. Commissioners will assist in spreading the word on the grant and these sessions to communities that they belong to. hhc Council has asked that the Commission intentionally reach out to organizations that assist persons with a disability or who serve an immigrant population. McGinnis, Coulter, Willis and Maliabo will be available to assist at the sessions. Minutes APPROVED Human Rights Commission August 21, 2018 Helling Conference Room ADA Celebration Report: Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon spoke at the annual event. Human Rights Breakfast: The event will be held on October 24. The keynote will be Tammy Nyden, a professor at Grinnell College and an advocate for persons with mental illness. The commission would like her to discuss the role mental illness plays in the school to prison pipeline. Reports of Commissioners: McGinnis noted the IIarm Reduction Summit is being held September 24-28, 2018 on the University of Iowa campus. Some of the events are offered at no cost to attend. Kutzko is on the University of Iowa's school of Social Work Diversity & Social .Justice Committee. The Committee is working on doing more hands-on community events. Palk is teaching a class at the Oakdale Medical and Classification Center on probability and statistics. Reports of Staff: An Implicit Bias trainin, will he held in September that is open to all City board and commission members as well as staff to those boards. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn at 7:29 PM. 1 -he next Commission meeting will be on Tuesday, September 18, 2018. Member Attendance Sheet Item Number: 4.e. tr 'cmgz�, CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org October 2, 2018 ATTACHMENTS: Description Planning & Zoning Commission: August 16 r = 1 CITY O F IOWA C1TY `5 MEMORANDUM Date: September 11, 2018 To: Mayor and City Council From: Anne Russett, Senior Planner Re: Recommendations from Planning & Zoning Commission At their September 6, 2018 meeting the Planning & Zoning Commission approved the August 16 minutes with the following recommendation to the City Council: By a vote of 6-0 the Commission recommend adoption of the following proposed amendment to 14 -2G -3B -2d of the Iowa City Municipal Code by the Iowa City Council d. Residential uses are not allowed within required retail storefronts, as specified in the riverfront crossings regulating plan, except in the Central Crossings subdistrict for housing subsidized by a federal or state program that requires at least 60 percent of the units to be rent and income restricted. Additional action (check one) No further action needed Board or Commission is requesting Council direction _X_ Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action - Done MINUTES APPROVED PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION AUGUST 16,2018-7:00 PM—FORMAL MEETING EMMA J. HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Larry Baker, Mike Hensch, Phoebe Martin, Max Parsons, Mark Signs, Billie Townsend MEMBERS ABSENT: Carolyn Dyer STAFF PRESENT: Sue Dulek, Anne Russett OTHERS PRESENT: Mary Ann Dennis, Sara Barron RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: By a vote of 6-0 the Commission recommend adoption of the following proposed amendment to 14 -2G -3B -2d of the Iowa City Municipal Code by the Iowa City Council: d. Residential uses are not allowed within required retail storefronts, as specified in the riverfront crossings regulating plan, except in the Central Crossings subdistrict for housing subsidized by a federal or state program that requires at least 60 percent of the units to be rent and income restricted. Hensch called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA: None. ZONING CODE AMENDMENT ITEM (ZCA18-00001): Discussion of Amendments to Title 14, Zoning of the Iowa City Municipal Code related to Required Retail Storefronts in the Riverfront Crossings Central Crossings Subdistrict. Russett noted this is specifically an amendment to the Riverfront Crossings Form Based Code to allow affordable housing in areas identified as required retail storefronts on the Riverfront Crossings regulating plan within the Central Crossings subdistrict. The City adopted the Riverfront Crossings Master Plan in 2014. The master plan identifies areas of the district for ground floor retail with the intention of creating a vibrant, active, and pedestrian- friendly environment. These key retail nodes were selected due to existing or future conditions that would enhance the streetscape. Furthermore, the plan recognizes that the ground floor in these areas would initially be utilized for residential uses until the market demand for retail increases. Riverfront Crossings Form Based Plan includes a regulating plan that identifies locations where ground floor retail is required. Russett noted that unlike the Master Plan there is no flexibility in the Form Based Code for residential uses in these areas. Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2018 Page 2 of 6 The Riverfront Crossings' form-based code includes an affordable housing obligation. Projects that contain at least 10 dwelling units must provide affordable housing units in an amount equal to or greater than 10% of the total number of dwelling units in the project. Currently there is a City-supported housing project that is located within one of these areas where ground floor retail is required. Russett highlighted several properties in the area, the first is 620 South Dubuque Street. The project includes 36 residential units and received a height bonus to five stories due to the owner's commitment to providing 15% of the units as affordable housing. The same developer is proposing a future project at 225 East Prentiss Street and 10% of those units will be required to be affordable. The developer would like to would like to transfer the affordable housing obligation of these two sites to the property at 628 South Dubuque Street, the site of the future Del Ray Ridge Affordable housing project. The developer is working with The Housing Fellowship who will manage the affordable housing project. 620 and 628 South Dubuque Street are both in the required ground floor store front retail area. Russett gave some background on the Del Ray Ridge project. They are proposing 33 units total, 29 of which would be affordable. 4 units affordable to households at or below 30% area median income (AMI), 5 units affordable to households at or below 40% AMI and 20 units affordable to households at or below 60% AMI. The affordability period would be for a minimum of 30 years. The City has committed $330,000 to this project and the project was also awarded low-income housing tax credits from the Iowa Finance Authority. Staff is proposing an amendment to the Riverfront Crossings' form-based code to allow ground floor residential uses within the Central Crossings Subdistrict in areas identified as required retail storefront when they are part of an affordable housing project. More specifically, to qualify for this exemption projects must be subsidized by a federal or state program that requires at least 60 percent of the units to be rent and income restricted. Russett stated this amendment would provide market flexibility for affordable housing projects and Staff is proposing it is only limited to the Central Crossings Subdistrict. The South Downtown Subdistrict, the West Riverfront and South Gilbert subdistricts have key commercial corridors and this flexibility may not be appropriate as those corridor areas need to have a vibrant commercial presence and streetscape. The Park subdistrict has one small node of required retail that is important to maintain for the convenience of future residents. There are no required retail storefront requirements in the University, Orchard, and Gilbert Subdistricts or the East Side Mixed-Use District. Russett noted this proposal aligns with the Master Plan's vision of these areas originally being residential and perhaps transitioning to retail in the future. Staff recommends that the Planning and Zoning Commission recommend adoption of the following proposed amendment to 14-2G-3B-2d of the Iowa City Municipal Code by the Iowa City Council: d. Residential uses are not allowed within required retail storefronts, as specified in the riverfront crossings regulating plan, except in the Central Crossings subdistrict for housing subsidized by a federal or state program that requires at least 60 percent of the units to be rent and income restricted. Parsons asked how Staff came to the 60% requirement. Russett replied that was discussed with the affordable housing experts on staff and all projects that are State or Federal funded require at least 60%. Hensch asked about the number of units that will be at 225 East Prentiss Street. Russett noted that project is currently in a preliminary stage but the developer is proposing 45 units on that site. Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2018 Page 3 of 6 Townsend inquired what would happen to the tenants that may be in the ground floor residential spaces that may transition to retail space in the future. Russett noted the market is always fluctuating and while there might be a demand for residential at one point and then for retail in the future. The idea is not to convert the area into retail if there are residential needs. Baker noted that all of the affordable housing obligations from three buildings are being transferred to one site where units will have a 30 -year guarantee to stay affordable. Russett confirmed if the affordable housing is transferred to 628 South Dubuque Street. Baker asked then if those units could not convert to retail space then for 30 years. Russett confirmed that would be correct. Hensch opened the public hearing. Mary Ann Dennis (Executive Director, The Housing Fellowship) wanted to comment on the 30 year guarantee for affordable housing. Dennis noted The Housing Fellowship is a non-profit and they enter into these types of partnerships and try to get the low-income housing tax credits is because the investors get the tax credits for 10 years, they are required to stay with the project for 15 years, but the units are required to be affordable for 30 years. This is based on the IRS low-income housing tax credit, which also states a qualifying non-profit has the right of first refusal to buy the project (for the cost of $1 per unit plus any debt) from the investor at the end of the investors 15 year requirement. Once The Housing Fellowship is the sole owner of the building their intention is to keep the units as affordable for the life of the building. Dennis noted if this amendment doesn't pass this project will not move forward. Townsend asked if this has been done with other projects. Dennis stated this is the fifth such project The Housing Fellowship has been part of, they now own or manage 174 affordable housing units (houses, duplexes, condos or apartments) in Johnson County. They have been in business for 28 years. Sara Barron (Affordable Housing Coalition) noted this amendment change is another step in the City's process of facilitating the building of this project. This project will create 20 new affordable housing units and contribute to the overall quality of the neighborhood. The City has already informally acknowledged its willingness to participate in this project with the proposed residential top to bottom, and therefore the Affordable Housing Coalition strongly supports the Planning & Zoning Commission passage of this amendment Hensch closed the public hearing. Parson moved to recommend adoption of the following proposed amendment to 14 -2G - 31B -2d of the Iowa City Municipal Code by the Iowa City Council: d. Residential uses are not allowed within required retail storefronts, as specified in the riverfront crossings regulating plan, except in the Central Crossings subdistrict for housing subsidized by a federal or state program that requires at least 60 percent of the units to be rent and income restricted. Martin seconded the motion. Baker noted this is a very specific amendment for a very specific small zone, is there any chance this will ever be applicable anywhere else in the district. Russett noted there are some areas elsewhere in the subdistrict where it could be used if the need was presented. Planning and Zoning Commission August 16, 2018 Page 4 of 6 Signs agrees with the proposed change, he noted the reality is there is a lot of vacant retail space on the ground floor of some of the developments. Adding this flexibility is nice especially since it is tied to affordable housing which is needed. A vote was taken and the motion passed 6-0 CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: JULY 5, 2018 Signs moved to approve the meeting minutes of July 5, 2018. Martin seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 6-0. PLANNING AND ZONING INFORMATION: Russett gave two updates. She spoke with the chair and they discussed amending the bylaws so that will be coming before the Commission in the next few months. Also there is an implicit bias training coming up and Russett distributed a flyer for the event. Hensch noted the bylaws were last amended in 2004 so it is a good time for a review. Signs noted there is a question regarding the impact of the decisions of zoning and code on the affordability of constructing housing. He would like at some point for the Commission to have a deeper conversation about that and perhaps establish some guidelines or expectations. Signs stated the reality is there are things the Code requires or that Planning & Zoning require that do directly impact the cost of construction. He has heard that anywhere from 25% to 30% of the cost of a new home is due to Federal, State and Local regulations. Hensch agreed. Martin noted it is not the purview of the Commission to worry about costs. Baker suggested having the Building Association present to the Commission regarding costs. Signs presented an example of a recent Commission decision, a project proposed off Camp Cardinal Road, Because of the Commission requests and requirements the developer/applicant had to redesign their plans three times which is thousands of dollars of work that will be added into the total cost of the project. The developer works with Staff to meet City guidelines. Martin noted in that case the applicant was asking for variances and therefore were not meeting the zone or code guidelines. Hensch stated this item should be tabled until set as an agenda item Adjournment: Signs moved to adjourn. Townsend seconded. A vote was taken and the motion passed 6-0. PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2018 KEY: X = Present O = Absent OtE = Absent/Excused --- = Not a Member Item Number: 4.f. tr 'cmgz�, CITY OF IOWA CITY www.icgov.org October 2, 2018 ATTACHMENTS: Description Planning & Zoning Commission: September 6 r �.®r CITY OF IOWA CITY ' M E IVl ° IN�J U U M Date: September 21, 2018 To: Mayor and City Council From: Anne Russett, Senior Planner Re: Recommendations from Planning & Zoning Commission At their September 20, 2018 meeting the Planning & Zoning Commission approved the September 6 minutes with the following recommendation to the City Council: By a vote of 4-1 (Baker dissenting) the Commission recommend adoption of the following proposed amendment to 14 -2G -7G-6 of the Iowa City Code by the Iowa City City Council. The proposed text would be: Height Bonus For Public Art: One additional floor of building height may be granted for a contribution to the city's public art program equal to one percent (?%) of threshold value of the project. Threshold value is the sum of all construction costs shown on all building permits associated with the project, including site preparation. For alterations to existing development, the threshold value is the sum of all construction costs as defined above plus the value of existing improvements to the property, as listed in the city assessor's records. Funds contributed shall be used by the city for public art within the riverfront crossings district subjest b-Adi is - lee, afed as approved by the public art committee. Additional action (check one) No further action needed Board or Commission is requesting Council direction _X_ Agenda item will be prepared by staff for Council action - Done MINUTES APPROVED PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 6,2018-7:OOPM—FORMAL MEETING EMMA J. HARVAT HALL, CITY HALL MEMBERS PRESENT: Larry Baker, Mike Hensch, Phoebe Martin, Mark Signs, Billie Townsend MEMBERS ABSENT: Carolyn Dyer, Max Parsons STAFF PRESENT: Sara Hektoen, Anne Russett OTHERS PRESENT: Thomas Agran RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL: By a vote of 4-1 (Baker dissenting) the Commission recommend adoption of the following proposed amendment to 14 -2G -7G-6 of the Iowa City Code by the Iowa City City Council. The proposed text would be: Height Bonus For Public Art: One additional floor of building height may be granted for a contribution to the city's public art program equal to one percent (1%) of threshold value of the project. Threshold value is the sum of all construction costs shown on all building permits associated with the project, including site preparation. For alterations to existing development, the threshold value is the sum of all construction costs as defined above plus the value of existing improvements to the property, as listed in the city assessor's records. Funds contributed shall be used by the city for public art within the riverfront crossings district subd+strsFs augers -the as approved by the public art committee. Hensch called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. PUBLIC DISCUSSION OF ANY ITEM NOT ON THE AGENDA None. ZONING CODE AMENDMENT ITEM (ZCA18-00002): Discussion of Amendments to Title 14, Zoning of the Iowa City Code related to Public Art In - Lieu Fees in Riverfront Crossings. Russett noted this is a proposed amendment to the zoning code related to Public Art Fees in the Riverfront Crossing District. When the Riverfront Crossings Master Plan was adopted it included a public art framework element and identifies several locations throughout the Riverfront Crossings District as possible Public Art locations. After the Master Plan was adopted the City developed a form -based code to implement the Plan and included in the Code Planning and Zoning Commission September 6, 2018 Page 2 of 7 a bonus height provision for projects that provide various public benefits, one of which is Public Art. Development projects that provide one percent of their project cost to the City's Public Art Fund receive an additional story in height on their development projects. The Code requires the funds to be spent within the same subdistrict as the subject building, Russett stated that to date the City has had one project that has utilized this Public Art bonus provision (at 707 S- Dubuque Street) That project contributed one percent of the project costs to public art to receive a height bonus of one story. The total amount contributed to the City's Public Art Fund was approximately $73,000. Currently the Public Arts Committee is working to relocate the Snelson sculpture which is located on N. Dubuque Street to the Riverfront Crossings Park and the Public Arts Fund would help with this relocation. Russett pointed out on the map the proposed new location of the Snelson sculpture. The proposed amendment is to amend the form -based code to allow public art funds received for height bonuses to be spent anywhere in the district, including the park, as opposed to only within the same subdistrict as the project that requests the bonus. The Riverfront Crossings Master Plan identifies areas within the district appropriate for public art. The largest area identified is the Riverfront Crossings Park, which is identified as "public parks and open space" on the regulating plan — not a subdistrict and therefore excluded from public art bonus provisions. The amendment would keep the funds within a defined area, but provides more flexibility in the use of the funds for the benefit of the entire district. Russett stated the Public Art Committee discussed this amendment at their meeting this afternoon and unanimously recommended approval of the amendment. Staff recommends that the Planning and Zoning Commission recommend adoption of the following proposed amendment to 14 -2G -7G-6 of the Iowa City Code by the Iowa City City Council. The proposed text would be: Height Bonus For Public Art: One additional floor of building height may be granted for a contribution to the city's public art program equal to one percent (1%) of threshold value of the project. Threshold value is the sum of all construction costs shown on all building permits associated with the project, including site preparation. For alterations to existing development, the threshold value is the sum of all construction costs as defined above plus the value of existing improvements to the property, as listed in the city assessor's records. Funds contributed shall be used by the city for public art within the riverfront crossings district subdist,,ieis; where thesubject b uliding is 10 Gate as approved by the public art committee. Baker stated he has some misgivings about this proposed amendment. He asked if no public arts funds could be spend in the park or just the funds generated by the height bonus. Russett confirmed the funds generated by the height bonus provisions in the subdistricts cannot be spent in the park. Baker asked if there were any other funds available to use for artwork in the park. Russett stated she understands the City allocates a flat amount every year in the budget for public art but is unsure of the exact amount but it would not be enough to move the Snelson sculpture. Baker asked how much it will cost to move the sculpture and Russett replied there is an estimate from a consulting firm for relocation at around $90,000. Baker asked the value of the art piece and again Russett was unsure of the exact amount but knows it is one of the more valuable pieces in the City's collection. Baker said in his research he does not find any high figures for any of Snelson's art. Baker also inquired about the repair needed for the sculpture Planning and Zoning Commission September 6, 2018 Page 3 of 7 and who has been responsible for the maintenance of the art. Russett stated it is the City's responsibility for the maintenance of the art pieces and the repair is due to the exposure to the elements, Baker asked why the amendment now. Russett explained that often regulations are adopted when creating new Code and Districts and it isn't until those regulations are used that it is understood it will not work very well and changes are needed. In this case, money was generated from a project and the regulation says the money must be spent within a very defined area and at this time there are no locations within that defined area to provide public art. Baker questioned the idea that there is no location for any art within that subdistrict, yes the Snelson sculpture may not fit but other art could be installed. Russett said the public art would need to be located on public lands and there is no public lands currently in this subdistrict. Baker asked if the Public Art Committee initiated this proposed amendment or City Staff. Russett stated the Committee has been working on identifying funds to move the Snelson sculpture and that is when it became apparent to City Staff on the Public Art Committee that there were Public Arts Funds that had to be spend in the specific defined area. The Committee wanted to relocated the Snelson sculpture to the Riverfront Crossings Park and but could not use the funds available to do so due to the current Code language. Russett added the Public Art Committee has stated they do not like the current location the Snelson sculpture is located, ii is not in a prominent location and in the new location it would be more visible. Martin acknowledged the area where the sculpture is currently located is very overgrown. Hektoen reminded the Commission this particular sculpture and location is one specific situation, the ordinance and proposed amendment is to acknowledge the City has this park district and the Code was inadvertently drafted with the bonus height provision excluding the park from being the beneficiary of those funds. Baker asked if there was a location along N. Dubuque Street that the Snelson sculpture could be given more prominence. He feels the N. Dubuque Street entrance to the City is to be a highly prominent location and the artwork should be there. Russett reiterated that the Public Art Committee feels this particular piece should be moved to the Riverfront Crossings Park. Baker asked if there was any other discussion about having other art along N. Dubuque Street. Russett can look into that question. Baker asked when the original resolution was made, was it intended that the funds created by the bonus provision were to be used for new art pieces to increase the art stock of Iowa City. Russett said the ordinance does not state the art has to be new. Baker noted the City used to have a fund based on a certain percentage of bonds sold to generate money for art purchases, has that fund disappeared. Russett noted her understanding is the only money available for public art is money generated from this height bonus provision and the annual allocation from the City Council. Hensch opened the public hearing. Thomas Agran (512 N. Van Buren Street) is an artist and also works for the Iowa City Downtown District as the Public Art Director for that district. Agran noted he was intimately involved in a lot of the conversations with the Public Art Advisory Committee and can speak to how the Committee came to this proposed amendment. He stated the Snelson sculpture is the most Planning and Zoning Commission September 6, 2018 Page 4 of 7 valuable piece of public art in the City's collection, that may not be evident based on the current location, especially now that Dubuque Street has been raised, and that is part of the reason the conversation to have the sculpture moved began. When the sculpture was bought in 1975 it was a joint effort with Project Art, the City and private donations and in today's dollars would have cost $500,000. The sculpture is literally sitting in mud right now and appears to be neglected and there has not been any funds established to maintain the art pieces. Baker agreed the sculpture does appear to currently be neglected and asked if the Public Arts Committee has approached the City to try to get funds for the repair. Agran is unsure, he does not sit on the Public Arts Committee. Agran notes there are spots designated in Riverfront Crossings for public art, one of which is in the park, however the City allocated no funding for that location. Because there is no funding allocated for the park the Public Arts Committee saw an opportunity to move a piece of art from a location where it is being neglected and put it in a more visible location and celebrates the piece. More so Agran wanted to use his time in front of the Commission to talk about public art funding. From 1999-2001 the budget for the City's Public Art Fund was $100,000 per year, in today's dollars adjusted for inflation that would be $147,000 per year. The population in 1999 was approximately 61,000 which averages out $1.97 spend on art per person in the City. Today we have a population of almost $75,000 and a budget of $25,000 (which is actually a recent increase, it has been lower) and that averages to $0.33 per person. He feels as the city flourishes this is time to invest more in art and the community and public art returns tangible and intangible values into quality of life which increases the tax base ultimately. Agran stated when looking at the Zoning Code he sees bonuses as significant trade-offs and in every district there is an agreed upon level of appropriate building size to encourage healthy communities, healthy and productive development, reduces speculation of property values, and through bonuses we trade away elements of those standards for something else. It is essentially a bride whereby community assets (whether they be public art or historic properties) are held hostage and now beg for those things not from the City but from developers, things we value as a community. The wealth is given to the developers in the currency of square footage. The Code is to be the rules and incentives are setup to break those rules. For some pittance we will forgo the rules. Agran noted in this situation for $72,000 a developer could buy their way out of the rule of five stories and get six stories increasing the square footage of a property by 20% - 20% rentable every year for the life of that building. All of that said, Agran requested the Commission approve the proposed amendment for flexibility of public art into Riverfront Crossings District and also encourages the City to spread the wealth throughout the City to create a more robust art program that can reach more people. Agran stated as the Code is currently written it is basically a regressive art program, where the areas of highest investment and highest wealth reap the benefits of the investment. Seattle is a city that a while back divorced it's one percent for the arts program from the geographic requirement and as a result they can direct the funding to areas of the city that are often overlooked and under resourced rather than as in this instance the most resourced part of the city. All areas of the city are appropriate for public art. Agran noted that lots of programs use a one percent of the capital improvements fund for public art and if the City looked at fiscal year 19 capital improvement budget of $28.5 million in projects, even at half a percent the Public Arts Fund would receive over $142,000. Agran noted the Commission does not write the City budgets or fund the Public Arts but wanted to say those types of changes can be started here in Planning and Zoning and they will use this moment as a catalyst to a broader conversation of how public art contributes value to the community, if Planning and Zoning provides the outlines of how best a city should develop to be healthy, a place people want to be, then he encourages the Commission to draft one percent rules that Planning and Zoning Commission September 6, 2018 Page 5 of 7 benefit all districts in the City. Agran understands that untying funding from its original geography may be a complex thing to implement, but rather than shrug at the established law, he hopes the bureaucratic challenge galvanizes this Commission and City Staff and Council as a way to approach public art in a way equability. If one looks at what is proposed for the Pentacrest Apartments, would send a million dollars into the Public Art Fund but only in this district and if this proposal is not approved, only in this subdistrict. A million dollars could be set up as an endowment to the Public Arts Fund. There are 171 potential development sites at the time the Riverfront Crossings Code was written so there is going to be a lot that happens in this area and could amount to an unbelievable windfall for public art funding. Baker clarified he is not hostile to this amendment, in fact he also questions why not spend this money anywhere, not just in the Riverfront Crossings Park He feels we should not be robbing Peter to pay Paul for art. He also feels there should be more art throughout the City, not just one area. He agrees the City is underfunding art in this community. He does not understand why we are taking money to move old art when it could be used to purchase new art. Agran said the sentiment from the Public Art Committee is to not spend more money on new art when we cannot maintain the current art we have. Martin asked why the Public Art Committee specifically chose this language for this district and not all of Iowa City. Russett is not aware if the Public Art Committee was involved in the writing of the language in the Riverfront Crossings Master Plan. Hensch closed the public hearing. Martin moved to approve adoption of the proposed amendment to 14 -2G -7G-6 as written in the September 6, 2018 staff report. Signs seconded the motion Hensch remembers the Snelson sculpture being downtown at one time. He feels it was simply an oversight during the draft of the original ordinance that parks and recreation areas were not included in the subdistricts and therefore the money cannot be spent for them. He feels it is reasonable to clean up that language for the one percent raised for art with the bonus height because there is a serious need for art in the community, there does need to be greater public funding of art, but this is a method to at least get some money. However, he does agree with the idea of keeping it within the district because they are trying to focus improvements in certain areas, his fear would be if it were allowed to be spent outside the district there may be some preferred areas that would get all the art. He agreed there is definitely a problem in this community that some areas do not get the attention that others do, Martin agreed with Hensch and supports the amendment as written in the Staff Report Signs is intrigued by the notion that the City is potentially generating a huge amount of money to be spent in this one relatively small district but does see the risk of the other extreme and all public art is put someplace else. He feels it is a bigger discussion than this Commission and encourages those discussions to happen. He also agrees that the height bonuses appear to be a bribe for money, the City spends a lot of time making plans and codes and then come up with ways to get around them. Hensch agrees and said they need to vote on the question at hand, all government progress is incremental and this is a step in the right direction. Signs also stated he likes the Snelson sculpture and does feel it is not in a great location Planning and Zoning Commission September 6, 2018 Page 6 of 7 currently and supports moving it. Hensch noted the location is not the question at hand. Townsend asked if moving this sculpture to the Riverfront Crossings Park would leave enough space for other functions of the park. Russett showed some diagrams of the park and how everything is able to fit. Townsend's other concern is kids climbing on the sculpture since it will be in a park space. Hensch doesn't feel it will be harmed and perhaps it was designed as interactive art. Hektoen noted those are concerns that will be addressed by the Public Art Committee and the Parks and Recreation Division. Baker noted he will be voting no against this amendment, he does not want the vote to be unanimous as he wants the Council to understand there is an underlying larger issue about funding art. He also prefers that art piece stay somewhere more visible then this park and this is a problem created by limited resources. A vote was taken and the motion passed 4-1 (Baker dissenting) CONSIDERATION OF MEETING MINUTES: AUGUST 16, 2018 Signs moved to approve the meeting minutes of August 16, 2018. Townsend seconded the motion. A vote was taken and the motion passed 5-0. PLANNING AND ZONING INFORMATION: Russett gave one update regarding the discussion at the last meeting regarding the impact of zoning regulations on the development community, financial impacts in particular, and she informed the Commission this topic is something of interest to the City Council, the City Council approved an affordable housing action plan and one of the items staff is tasked to look into is regulatory barriers. Russett said the Neighborhood Services department is working with the City Manager's office and she will bring any updates back to the Commission. Baker invited the Commission to Prairie Lights next Tuesday to listen to a writer of a biography of Leonardo DiVinci. Baker also mentioned the movie reviews inside the planning magazine the Commission receives, recently they reviewed a movie called The Little Pink House, which is a movie regarding the controversy around imminent domain and he rented the movie and it was a good dramatization of all the issues within planning and zoning of cities. Adiournment: Signs moved to adjourn Martin seconded, A vote was taken and the motion passed 5-0 PLANNING & ZONING COMMISSION ATTENDANCE RECORD 2018 KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused -- = Not a Member 1/18 2115 3/1 (W.S) 3112 3115 (W.S.) 4/2 415 (W. S) 4116 4119 513 5117 617 6121 715 8/16 9/6 BAKER, LARRY X O/E X DYER, CAROLYN X X X X OlE X O/E X X X X X O/E X O O/E FREERKS,ANN OlE X X X X X X X X O/E X X X --- ---- --- HENSCH, MIKE X X X OlE O/E X X X X X X X X X X X MARTIN, PHOEBE PARSONS, MAX SIGNS, MARK X X X X O/E X X X X O/E X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X O/E X THEOBALD, JODIE X 01E X X X X X X X X X X O/E -- ---- ---- TOW NSEND, BILLIE X X X KEY: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused -- = Not a Member