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Home My WebLink AboutA011 - Council Action Form dated November 22, 2005 ITEM#: 35 DATE: 11/22/05 COUNCIL ACTION FORM SUBJECT: SETTING THE DATE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR DECEMBER 13,2005 TO AMEND THE SOUTH LINCOLN URBAN REVITALIZATION PLAN On April 7, 2005, Mr. Tom Randall requested that the City Council consider his request for tax abatement under the City's Urban Revitalization Program for a new real estate office constructed in 2004 and 2005 at 207 South Third Street, within the South Lincoln Neighborhood. Mr. Randall cites the need for such an incentive to help overcome the difficulties in developing commercial uses here, especially on a single lot. Because the project does not meet the eligibility criteria established by the South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Plan, approving this request would entail revising that Plan. The City Council could do that by resolution after a public hearing on the plan amendments. BACKGROUND: The new real estate office at 207 South Third Street is one of two commercial uses established in the South Lincoln Neighborhood since the area became a mixed-use district. This development follows these City Council actions to establish commercial use in this neighborhood: • August 1997 - approval of the City's Land Use Policy Plan • April 2002 - approval of the Sub-Area Plan for the South Lincoln Neighborhood • May 2003 - approval of zoning text amendment and rezoning to create the South Lincoln Mixed Use District with commercial uses and mandatory design standards • August 2003 - approval of the South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Plan and Area (see map attached) From the time the Land Use Policy Plan was approved, it has been the City Council's goal that this neighborhood offer commercial development opportunities in a way that is compatible with the existing attractive characteristics of that neighborhood. That is to be accomplished through development of a mixture of residential and commercial uses and of attractive and useful public spaces. These are all to incorporate design elements that are consistent with the neighborhood character and that together reinforce the identity of this neighborhood. A set of mandatory design standards is one tool accomplishing this. Physical features built by the City through its on-going capital improvements program are another tool. Tax abatement to encourage the private sector to develop mixed-use projects and/or incorporate certain physical features into redevelopment projects is still another tool. Existing Criteria for Tax Abatement. According to the Sub-Area Plan, the central core area of this neighborhood is generally under utilized and thus qualifies as an Urban Revitalization Area under Section 404 of the Code of Iowa. The attached South Lincoln Criteria Matrix states that a project must meet one of the following criteria to be eligible for tax abatement: • Developing ground floor commercial space along with a residential project. The criteria requires less commercial space in areas the Plan identifies as "Key Redevelopment Sites" because commercial concentration at these locations provides the greatest public benefit. or • Providing space for, constructing, and providing public access to activity nodes or recreation sites at locations identified in the Sub-Area Plan. The criteria also require larger activity nodes in conjunction with larger development projects, because more space should be available and the owner receives a larger tax benefit. Eligible projects can choose from a three-year abatement period, a five-year abatement period, or a ten-year abatement period with different abatement schedules for each time period. Potential Added Criteria for Tax Abatement. Commercial Use without Residential Use, within the Key Redevelopment Sites. Removing the requirement that the commercial space must be in a mixed-use project would make eligible any project where commercial use is the only use provided. The new real estate office is 1600 square feet in size, so the minimum requirement for 2,000 square feet of commercial space could be lowered to 1,500 square feet. • An advantage of this approach is that it might stimulate more commercial development in an area the Sub-Plan identifies as an important location for commercial activity. Although commercial use has been allowed here for two years, few projects have been implemented. This would be similar to the Urban Revitalization Areas in Somerset, where the City Council has identified a need and public benefit to encourage commercial land use in a specific area. • A disadvantage of this approach is that it might be seen as inequitable by owners of other nearby commercial property, in giving an advantage to redevelop in one commercial corridor over another. Development of Single Lots. Make a project eligible for tax abatement if it redevelops a single, originally platted lot for a commercial or mixed-use. • An advantage of this approach is that it might stimulate redevelopment of some of the isolated single lots in the neighborhood. The Sub-Area Plan identifies these 45- to 65-foot wide lots as difficult to develop because meeting commercial parking requirements on lots of their size restricts the feasible amount of floor area,thus limiting return on commercial investment. • A disadvantage of this approach is that it might reduce development of the mixed-use projects that are central to the City's goals for the neighborhood. Projects that have viable commercial and residential uses will require more parking and thus larger land area, such as combining two or three of the originally platted lots. The more single lots are redeveloped, the fewer will be available to combine. 2 ALTERNATIVES: 1. The City Council can approve the motion setting the date of public hearing for December 13, 2005 to amend the South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Plan to add optional eligibility criteria for projects that provide commercial space within a "Key Redevelopment Site" in the South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Area and reducing the minimum square footage required to 1,500 square feet. 2. The City Council can approve the motion setting the date of public hearing for December 13, 2005 to amend the South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Plan to add an optional eligibility criterion for projects that provide commercial uses or mixed commercial and residential uses on single, originally platted lots the South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Area. 3. The City Council can approve the motion setting the date of public hearing for December 13, 2005 and specify other amendments to the South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Plan. 4. The City Council can deny approval of the motion setting the date of the public hearing. This action would in essence deny approval of any amendment to the South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Plan and would not extend tax abatement benefits to the real estate office constructed at 207 South Third Street. 5. The City Council can refer this request back to staff and/or the applicant for additional information. MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION: In the context of the request made by Mr. Randall, it should be noted that he was an active participant in the development of the sub-area plan and his knowledge and ideas were valuable in the planning process. During this time and in the planning of his new project, staff worked with Mr. Randall to illustrate different ways his property could be developed. Combining the 207 South Third Street propertywith another property directlywest, in which Mr. Randall also has interest, would have accommodated a larger, mixed-use project that would have qualified for tax abatement under the current South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Plan. Providing an activity node on the corner of South Kellogg Avenue and South Third Street would also have qualified a project on that western property for the abatement. At the time he developed the 207 Sherman project, Mr. Randall decided that these other projects were not his best choices. That being said, it should be remembered that the vision behind the sub-area plan for the South Lincoln Neighborhood is an area with the vitality of integrated land uses, lively spaces that encourage social activity and strong connections to the rest of the community. The City's land use policy encourages redevelopment with diverse and more intense land uses, while encouraging a sense of place. Such an area just a few steps away from the Main Street Cultural District can certainly enhance our urban core. 3 Encouraging commercial development in concentrated locations near key intersections of cars, busses, bicycles, and pedestrians is one way to achieve that vision. The mandatory development standards, well illustrated by the new real estate office, combined with other elements of the sub-area plan may perhaps make developing in the South Lincoln Neighborhood somewhat of a challenge for some. As was true in Somerset, early success is important in order to attract commercial businesses. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative #1. This would approve the motion setting the date of public hearing for December 13, 2005 to amend the South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Plan to add an optional eligibility criteria for projects that provide commercial space within a "Key Redevelopment Site" in the South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Area and reducing the minimum square footage required to 1,500 square feet. Attachment 4 Urban Revitalization Plan South Lincoln Neighborhood u_ uDGSC' S-GA W a Zr--r%l K L 77 HO g "_ T HOC N L %AIAV S-GA EIFHOC HOC S=SMD S-GA � 3 S 4TH ST i i i / RH a LL f N HOC A South Lincoln Urban Revitalization Area I ® Key Redevelopment Sites Key Redevelopment Sites, Activity Nodes and W E Recreation Sites locations shown are approximate. Activity Nodes See South Lincoln Sub-Area Plan for location S information. Recreation Sites Map prepared August 20, 2003 by the Department of Planning and Housing cad v, O y U Q 0.) O O Q� *"y U Q) — n U, O ,0 O p d v� O Vj U -2 .2 =u � cUd U U 0 .." O � U U b O 'Goa � c"a " = r.. U � � cad O rO O U C) O y O u w Q. cz M. O U '" o ^" >, ^ "o W � 7,. O O �,O cad O U S� c2" - q g O RS O �:. o W .ti w b ts, C. a' Q y � vOi >oU. V � C Oo "a . O " _ O Q = o u. j �' . � ow O a� U) > ! CY v >5�. • a Cd W SSr�. CO in LIZNw _ f1. Wa R. 4ZL07 cu o .._ c� y Q O a) O '" O > O w C U d0 � O t—. "" a� `" o w' a� a0i O a> Q" � � p U i1,•� a� � � M � w a� _ .. cz Z U) co �" vUi °' U N v C Oy y 'd N O cz N a. .may. U cz >, d ocz O ai C 3 it o > b�0cz w -vOi LZ .- - y U O y O ,. ccz O O U �-. cd � UHU «t40r U O O t O y Li .C—) .� CU cc M ., ce a ct Qr o� r. O C,3 r dall207 S. Third St. Office: (515 232-57 randall.com P L E STATE TEAM Ames, IA 50010 Fax:(515)2 �32-0505 info@tomrandall.com if if [A7PR1 I LU 5 it April 7,2005 CITY CLEp1K _C12OFAMES,IOWA Dear Ames City Council Members I'm writing this letter in reference to the new building we are just completing at 207 S Third Street. We are asking that this property be included with the tax abatement program that is available through the new mixed use zoning. We understand that this building does not meet all the initial criteria necessary,but we were very limited by the lot size. For us to meet the required square footage and mix of commercial/residential,it would have been impossible to provide sufficient parking for all the separate entities. This particular property is land locked on all sides. We are proud to be the first to develop in this new area and hope to do even more to help revitalize this neighborhood. We've built a building that we believe the neighborhood, city Ames,and we can be proud of. We're asking that we could be included in the abatement program. Because of the size limitations of the lot,we were not able to achieve all the required elements necessary, but feel that we most definitely fit into the intent of the abatement. We certainly appreciate the Councils consideration of our request. Sincerel Owl-, Tom Randall Broker/Owner Tom Randall Real Estate Team 207 S Third Street Ames, Iowa 50010