HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Letter dated May 2, 2000 from Roseland Architects Roseland Architects
2330 Lincoln Way
Ames, Iowa 50014
515-292-6075 MAY - 2 2000
CITY CLe�?
CITY OF AMES, IOWA
May 2, 2000
Ted Tedesco, Mayor
Members of Ames City Council
515 Clark Avenue
Ames, Iowa 50010
Regarding: Ames New Zoning Ordinance
Dear Mayor and Council:
We recently learned that the new zoning ordinance excludes Architects from
submitting a site plan for consideration by the City of Ames staff. As you probably
know, our architectural firm has in the past routinely submitted site plans for review by
the city staff without controversy. In fact, we think our site plans for AMPC, EAI,
McFarland Clinic, F&M Bank, First National Bank, MGMC-Medical Arts, and the
MGMC-Israel Family Hospice House, and many others, have made a positive
contribution to the quality of the built environment in Ames.
What is the intent of this section [Sec.29.1502, (2), (i)] of the ordinance-to exclude
architects from planning the site that the building will ultimately set on? Wouldn't it be
fair to all professions to prescribe what the site plan should include and evaluate the
submittal on its merits rather than what profession submits it?
As architects, we believe the planning of a building and landscape are planned best
when they are planned together. It is not an assembly line process where first you
plan the building, and then you plan the landscape, then the parking,then traffic flow.
It is rather an iterative process of trial and error,studying the relationship of building to
the site, and ultimately integrating building and all site components into a final site
plan. As architects,we strive for the integrated site plan that ultimately becomes more
than the sum of its parts.
We look forward to your answers to these questions and having a meaningful
dialogue regarding this important matter for Ames.
Sincerely,for Roseland Architects
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Richard J. Roseland,AIA
Principal,Architect