HomeMy WebLinkAboutA003 - Letter dated October 25, 1991 from John Helmuth to City Council .
Mayor Larry Curtiss
and Members of the
Ames City Council
Ames City Hall
515 Clark Street �
Ames, Iowa 50010 ' Y
LIP-
October 25, 1991 '
Dear Mayor Curtiss
and Members of the
City Council:
After the July 10, 1991 meeting of the Ames Zoning Board of Adjustments (ZBA),
Chair James Merideth sent you a letter detailing a safety problem identified
during the ZBA hearings on the matter of the application of Mr. Rod Monroe,
1311 Grand Avenue, For a variance to allow the widening of a single driveway
by eight feet (Case No. 91-15).
As a result of Ames Municipal Code Section 29.43(3) , residents are not
permitted to construct front yard parking, turnarounds, or in the case of Mr.
Monroe, to widen their driveways unless such widened driveways lead to rear
yard parking or to garages. The practical result of this ordinance, as
determined during the course of the July 10, 1991 ZBA hearing, is that
homeowners who do not already have the capability of turning their vehicles on
their property, may have no choice other than to back out of their property.
For homeowners who do not live on major arterial streets this may not present
a safety problem' However, as the ZBA determined in the case of Mr. Monroe,
the Ames Municipal Code does present a distinct safety problem For homeowners
living on major arterial streets including Duff Avenue, Grand Avenue, and
Lincoln Way.
The case of Mr. Monroe is illustrative of the situation facing homeowners on
major arterial streets who must back into traffic (ZBA Decision Attached).
Because Mr. Monroe and his wife have two vehicles which must be parked one
behind the other in a single driveway, they Frequently have to back both
vehicles onto Grand Avenue in order to drive the lead vehicle' With no
parking on Grand Avenue, with a 35 m'p.h' speed limit, and since the Monroes
live close to the intersection of 13th street and Grand where traffic backs up
because of the light at 13th street, backing onto Grand is particularly
difficult, and concluded by the ZBA to be unsafe' If there is a break in the
traffic to enable them to back out, they must maneuver very quickly because of
the speed of vehicles on Grand. In the opinion of the ZBA this combination of
circuwstances makes it dangerous for citizens and other members of the
motoring public. In addition, Mr. Monroe testified that in the morninq it
often takes him from 15 to 20 minutes to back onto Grand to go to work. This
is totally unacceptable.
As a member of the Ames Zoning Board of Adjustments I am disappointed that the
ZBA has received no response from you regarding this safety issue. When a
Quasz-Judicial Board of Citizens identifies a safety problem and brings it to
the attention of the Mayor and City Council, is it expecting too much to
receive a response or to hope for action? The lack of response and action
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leads me to wonder where your priorities lie.
You recently paid over $35,000 and have authorized an additional $15_500 to be
paid to JBM Consulting Engineers-Snyder & Associates For a "US 69 Traffic
Corridor Analysis. " I, as a citizen and a member of the ZBA, had expectations
that this consulting study would address its stated purpose "to develop
proposed transportation improvements that provide safe, efficient and
economical travel in the US 69 travel corridor. "(Executive Summary: U.S. 69
Traffic Corridor Analysis," Joint Report for the City of Ames and the Iowa
Department of Transportation, July 1991, JBM Consulting Engineers-Snyder &
Associates, p. 2. )
Unfortunately, this study does not address the problem of citizens who have to
back out onto US 69. Since the study uses the statewide average for mid-block
accidents as its criterion for measuring the effects of US 69 traffic on
residents, the study concludes there are no mid-block problems anywhere on
Grand Avenue in Ames. No where does the study justify the statewide average
as an appropriate criteria for safety considerations in Ames. This conclusion
cost the citizens of Ames $35,000 for the study and an additional $15,500 for
the same firm to recommend ways to implement its recommendations to spend
between $2,000,000 and $5,000,000 so that the US 69 corridor might match the
state average without serious regard for safety. I question whether this is
money well spent and whether those citizens who have to back out onto Grand
Avenue would agree with the study's conclusion. '
The inadequacies of the JBM study notwithstanding, it is important that the
safety of Ames citizens living along major arteries who must back vehicles out
of their driveways be addressed by the City Council. The Council needs to
consider the impact of Section 29.43(3) and consider changing the Code to
accommodate these circumstances. Since you have not responded to the letter
from ZBA Chair James Merideth, I am at a loss as to how to stimulate Council
consideration of this important safety issue.
By ignoring the issue, you are taking explicit action which Forces citizens
such as Mr. Monroe who now must back onto major arteries to pay a tax of $60
(ZBA filing fee) for the privilege of bringing their cases before the ZBA.
Given the State of Iowa statutes relevant to ZBA decisions, citizens pay this
Lax with no assurance of the outcome of a IBA hearing. By ignoring this
issue, you are forcing the ZBA into a public policy making role that is the
responsibility of the City Council.
+S- ncerely,
J hn W. Helmuth
Oa ki an d
Ames. Iowa 50010