HomeMy WebLinkAboutA004 - Staff Report dated July 10, 2001 a�
STAFF REPORT
RE: Establishment of an Urban Revitalization Area for the Campustown Commercial
Area as a result of a Letter from Jensen Design Build
This report is in response to a letter from Jensen Design Build requesting the establishment of an
Urban Revitalization Area for 132 Hayward Avenue and 2517 Chamberlain Street and a letter
from Ev Cochrane and Associates concerning a project at the southeast corner of Chamberlain
and Stanton. The requests indicated they would like to see the City of Ames allow development
in the Campustown area to be considered for the Urban Revitalization Program on a case by case
basis, as is the case in most other areas of Ames.
History
On August 10, 1999 the City Council directed staff to amend the Commercial Criteria Matrix to
exclude Downtown/Campustown Service Center Areas and to create a new matrix pertaining
specifically to those areas. The Downtown Urban Revitalization Area was completed on June 1,
2001, which enabled the City to incorporate the design guidelines developed for the Downtown
area into the criteria matrix. Staff has not taken any action on the possibility of creating a
Campustown Urban Revitalization Area.
Land Use Policy Plan
The inclusion of the Campustown Service Center(commercially zoned) into the Urban
Revitalization Program will need to be evaluated on the basis of what the City Council wants to
accomplish in this area. The Land Use Policy Plan states that planning for the University—
Impacted area involves portions of two goals:
• Intensification of older residential areas
• Compatibility between existing and new development
The Land Use Policy Plan further states that the area has some structures of historical and
architectural significance. The locations of the significant structures are somewhat scattered,
making the concept of a"district"more difficult to achieve.
The Land Use Policy Plan indicates that the area should have associated with it:
• Compatibility standards
• More stringent parking provisions
Compatibility standards, as defined in the Land Use Policy Plan, are where residential
intensification is permitted, compatibility standards should be established to guide the design
integration of new development with existing development. Compatibility standards should
address,but not necessarily be limited to, scale,height, and rhythms. Special emphasis should
be placed on scale and architectural style. Site adaptation should also be considered with the
compatibility standards. There is sufficient topographic change in some areas to permit the
provision of parking under multi-family structures.
It could be interpreted that the policy of compatibility standards for residential intensification
could be used as a policy base for mixed use developments in the Campustown Service Center,
where commercial uses are on the first floor and intensified residential uses are developed above
the commercial use.
Parking availability has been an issue for years in the Campustown area. Curing parking
problems was a directive from City Council when the Urban Revitalization Program was
implemented in 1999.
Campustown Urban Revitalization Options
Several options for City Council's consideration on the possibility of including the Campustown
Service Center into the Urban Revitalization Program are presented below:
• Develop a criteria matrix for the Campustown Service Center that includes,but is not limited
to, the following guidelines:
Compatibility/Design Standards
Parking Standards
Redevelopment Standards
• Develop a criteria matrix, and during the interim period before the criteria matrix is in
place, declare the Campustown Service Center eligible to receive the Urban Revitalization
Program designation if a project qualifies under the current Commercial Criteria Matrix.
• Declare the Campustown Service Center eligible to receive the Urban Revitalization Program
tax incentives if a project qualifies under the current Commercial Criteria Matrix (see
attached). This would be done on a case by case basis.
• Keep the current designation of having the Campustown Service Center ineligible to
participate in the Urban Revitalization Program.
As stated earlier in this report, staff is responding to a request by 2 developers interested in
developing in the Campustown Service Center. Staff is looking for direction from City
Council in providing a response to the developer as to the possibility of including the
Campustown Service Center in the Urban Revitalization Program.
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