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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA015 - Summary of Rezoning Request OVER 100 YEARS OF PROVIDING HOMES FOR AMES' FAMILIES Summary of Our Rezoning Request RECEIVED NOV 29 1999 Bandshell Neighborhood Association CITY OF AMES, IOWA November 28 , 1990 DEPT.OF PLANNING_& HOUSING As we start another round in the Bandshell Neighborhood rezoning deliberations , we wish to again summarize our reasons for the rezoning request , and to also outline three problem areas we see with the Planning and Zoning Commission ' s original recommendation. We will encourage you to change your recommendation this time and support Council Option 1 , as shown in the staff ' s new report to you. Rationale for Rezoning Arguments for an R-2 zoning have been stated at length in previous written material and discussions . I will only restate them briefly here. Statistics show the current character of Bandshell Neighborhood to be low density. The trend in the last few years is toward more owner-occupied homes , with more young families moving into the area and with several homes converted back to single family. Reasons for this trend include the affordability of our homes , the interest in preserving Ames ' historic homes , and the aesthetics of our neighborhood. Affordable housing plays a large part in our reasoning . With an R-2 rezoning, Bandshell Neighborhood can offer the option of affordable homes in a stable neighborhood. Rezoning the area to reflect its current low density residential character gives the area the stability necessary to further rehabilitate and restore housing stock. Bandshell Neighborhood acts as a "window" to several important civic areas . An R-2 zoning will help to stabilize the area and encourage property maintenance, and thus will provide a pleasing community image for Ames . Objections to the Original P&Z Recommendation Bandshell Neighborhood Association has three major points of objection to the original Planning and Zoning Commission recommendation (Council Option 3 ) . 1 . Firstly, one lot fronting on Crawford Avenue remains R-3 . The lot in question is located at 722 Crawford. As you are aware , this is a controversial lot in our neighborhood. In June 1990 , the Ames Zoning Board of Adjustment denied a special use permit to construct a 12-unit apartment building on that lot because they determined such construction would have a detrimental effect on property values and on parking and traffic congestion on that street . That decision is currently in litigation. The purpose behind drawing the zoning line down the alley east of Crawford was to insure that homes on both sides of the street were designated the same . A large development on that lot will drastically change the character of the street. The lot at 722 Crawford is unusually large for our neighborhood, it measures 60 feet by 390 feet , but we disagree that multi-unit development is the only practical use for the lot . First of all , because of its narrow width, it is not very well suited for large development . If the area is zoned R-2 , we feel various options could be explored. A single family home or duplex could be constructed on the existing lot . The large backyard could be used for garden , play area, or orchard. That might be very attractive to some home buyers . The lot could be purchased by the city for cemetery use. For long range planning, that may be a reasonable choice for the city. One city cemetery employee stated that additional area around the maintenance building might be useful . The lot could be divided into two pieces with the city purchasing the back part and the front part used for low density residential development . If the city did not want to purchase the back part , perhaps a trade could be worked out where the city would take the back of the lot and give the lot owner an equal portion of street front lot next to the existing lot . The cemetery would still maintain the same amount of land and the property owner would end up with two normal-sized street front lots. Another option would be for the city to extend the 8th Street alley along the north side of the lot to provide access to the back part, and then divide the large lot into two normal sized lots . Perhaps these lots could be used to construct two of the lower priced new homes the city would like to have built . The point is--there are many options available for that lot . It does not need to be locked into R-3 . We therefore encourage you to include the lot at 722 Crawford Avenue in the R-2 designation . 2 . The second point of objection we have concerns maintaining an R-3 zoning for the area at the east end of East 6th Street . The current character of that part of East 6th Street is very much low density. It contains 18 single family homes, 1 duplex , and only three multi-unit buildings . The current use by land area is 87% low density and 13% medium density. The property owners in that area want to be rezoned. Owners of 16 single family homes or duplexes , out of a possible 19 , signed the rezoning petition. Only two owners of three low density properties and the two owners of the three multi-unit properties did not sign . By land area, the owners of 62% of the property in that area support an R-2 zoning, 35% support an R-3 zoning, and 3% are uncommitted. One major new argument for an R-2 zoning has surfaced since P&Z last considered our request . The City of Ames Affordable Housing Project report identified a shortage of both affordable rental housing and affordable homes to buy. Our research shows that Bandshell Neighborhood, including the East 6th Street area, contains single family homes with an average assessed valuation of $47 , 790 . Our research also shows that the average building permit in the last 9 months for new homes in Ames was over $86 , 000 . This figure does not include the cost of land. This research concludes that the type of homes available in Bandshell Neighborhood are not being built in Ames and in fact cannot be built . The area on East 6th Street does not need redevelopment. It provides a type of housing stock that cannot be replaced or recreated. Leaving this area R-3 is an encouragement to destroy these irreplacable , moderately priced homes. Future R-3 development should occur where important existing housing stock does not need to be destroyed. ( See attachments for additional information. ) Along with the moderately priced homes , this area at the east end of East 6th Street also contains two historic homes that should be preserved. The homes are located at 320 and 324 East 6th Street . These two houses were once the original St. John' s Episcopal Church building located on Clark between 5th and 6th Streets in 1899 . It was later moved around the corner to 5th Street between Clark and Burnett to make room for the new high school (currently Ames City Hall) . It was later bought by the City and used for music classes and temporarily for a library. The church building was later divided and moved to the two lots on East 6th Street . One last major concern about this East 6th Street area deals with traffic. All traffic and activity entering and exiting the area must pass through a low density area. If the area were fully developed as medium density, the amount of traffic passing through the low density area to the west and north would be extreme. See the attachments for a diagram of this situation. We therefore encourage you to include the area at the east end of East 6th Street in the R-2 designation. 3 . The third point of objection we have concerns leaving the one lot of PC zoning at 601 Carroll Avenue . That lot was zoned commercial in the late 60 ' s or early 70 ' s when discussions for the area included thoughts of commercial development completely surrounding Bandshell Park. The current vision is for maintaining low density residential in the area. We feel strongly that this PC incursion should not remain in the neighborhood. The lot currently has a duplex on it, which does fit the neighborhood character. Commercial development brings with it parking and traffic problems. We would like the City of Ames to send a strong message that commercial development and speculation on further commercial development is not appropriate inside this residential neighborhood. We therefore encourage you to include the lot at 601 Carroll Avenue in the R-2 designation. As mentioned above, we have included some attachments that help visualize some of the statements we have made. Thank you very much for your careful consideration. Bandshell Neighborhood Association Attachments A. Character and Trends of Bandshell Neighborhood Attachment 1 : Statistics summary Attachment 2 : Conversions to single family, owner occupied B. Benefits to Community Attachment 3 : Historical preservation Attachments 4 and 5 : Affordable housing C. Traffic Concerns Attachments 6 and 7 D. Newspaper Articles Attachments 8 and 9 Af ck mernt Trends and Character of B•andshell Neiahborhecd Statistics gathered in the rezoning effort confirmed what neighbors had known all along -- the character of Bandshell Neighborhood is load density (R-2 ) residential . Statistics based on the percent of hcusing Hypes by lane' area are= as follows : -- West of Crawford A,ienu_ 69;. single and duple�< 16% multiple units 15% public -- East of Crawforci Avenue, i nc lud i i i-I Eastwood apartments 65% =_ inale family and duple multiple unit-s -- East of Crawford Avenue• e,<c ludira Eastwood apart:mer,r.s 80 single family anc duple-.-4 20% multiple units The current trends In the neighborhood are obvious to the residents . No new .apartment structures have been built in this area since 190-0. Instead , seven properties have been converted from 2 or more units back" to shale gamily, owner occupied homes in that time . Young families are drawn to the affordable housing and aesthetics of our neinhborhood . In the last 3 vears- the area east of Guff Avenue had enough hildren for `heir own - - kindercarten . Our school-age youth . who once were easy ; ✓ absorbed in the Roose,.elt School population. now are bused to Meeker Elementary School . As one long time neighborhood resident stated , "What a pleasure to see all the school buses in the morning . " A f 4-a eh m en nz � � o 1 O � ti F mar six r N, f„,�f3„� f`3 k�1.Y�a ,wx k 5 5vbd` mgg- W , v 3rw3AV s! r3 f' w w r w •.w . I = O Yl wa rt .0 .0 0110JAVlp —.-u-—3fY13AV •i . ^r 1 ;, #s �.; s ^�; �:C �k ��,��a /�P y E (n�t 1 � !^ILS �.6 s �"� � ✓� •s 1 .. i .. —�.--I t' ' :. � .: �Y., k T R�� �V $3�"; 'F..� �: '`WI �^Vf�V' v✓�.�� i 1 ^ [I � /..// •r Y y ✓�.xs>qY.. ! ,.frt.' E � y,. e:. i r � I 3nx3nr.. 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U <1 U N © 0 � •eL ri i ` p o � M I � 7 nr- C`r/ 7nnon /7 TT04 n m en 7` t Affordable Housing Supplemental Statement 11/02/90 " I think there are several families that cannot afford a house here . " "Since Ames does not want a large blue collar population , it offers very little in the way of nicer mid-to-lower cost housing. Anything in that category is usually purchased by someone as rental property. " Affordable Housing Project City of Ames , Iowa As a supplement to previously written material , Bandshell Neighborhood Association presents the following information relating to the City of Ames ' report on affordable housing. The report identified a real need for affordable housing in Ames for low and moderate income individuals and families . By surveying the neighborhood, we have calculated an average assessed value for single family homes in Bandshell Neighborhood. The area contains 91 single family homes with an average value of $47 , 790 . The following table shows the number of homes in the various assessed value catagories . Assessed value Number of houses < $30 , 000 1 $30 , 000-39 , 999 11 $40 , 000-49 , 999 46 $50 , 000-59 , 999 20 $60 , 000-69 , 999 9 $70 , 000-79 , 999 3 > $80 , 000 0 As most people would readily agree , new homes of reasonable size and quality cannot be constructed in today' s economic market for $48 , 000 . A look at building permits issued in Ames for single family homes in the last 9 months (January to September, 1990 ) shows an average building cost of $86 , 505 . 59 . Land costs are NOT included in building permit costs and would add at least an additional $10 , 000 to the cost of the home . Building permits Number of permits < $30 , 000 0 $30 , 000-39 , 999 0 $40 , 000-49 ,999 1 $50 , 000-59 , 999 3 $60 , 000-69 , 999 9 $70 , 000-79 , 999 12 $80 , 000-165 , 000 23 Since Ames has a significant housing affordability problem and since new homes are not being constructed in the lower price range , we suggest that Ames would be better served by encouraging the preservation , rehabilitation, and enhancement of its older , moderately priced neighborhoods . Low density zoning would be a big step towards that goal . Iowa's housing shortage hurts' eco nomic recovery By DAVW YEPSEN 1«We Can build as R.91sMr ShN WrtfK many houses as anybody wants. But we can't build them so the working man can afford them.» —Ben Selzer Iowa Homebuilders Association Ken Selzer of Fairfax , an official with the Iowa Homebuilders Association, said the problem is cost . "We can build as many houses an anybody wants , " he said . "But we can' t build them so the working man can afford them. Lumber is high . . .and we' ve got tremendously higher energy costs . Nothing consumes energy like constructing a new home . " With the Persian Gulf crisis pushing energy prices higher , " the cost of a new house next year is just going to go out of sight , " he said . "There 's just nothing to stop it . Every one of the component parts of a house takes a tremendous amount of energy . " Des Moines Register September 30, 1990 New Construction Existing Structure 1102 Wilson 607 Carroll ( historically significant architecture ) Building Permit : $42 , 310 .00 Assessed Land : $10,000 .00 Total : $52 . 310 .00 Assessed Value : $53 ,000 Lot Size: 4 , 122 square feet Lot Size: 10 ,800 square feet Building : e64 square feet Building : 1472 square feet ( finished ) 624 square feet (unfinished ) The solution? The preservation , rehabilitation , and enhancement of older , moderately priced neighborhoods . Low density zoning makes that possible . 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