The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutA006 - Council Action Form dated August 26, 2003 ITEM # R3 Q'G DATE: August 26, 2003 COUNCIL ACTION FORM SUBJECT: URBAN REVITALIZATION PLAN FOR A PORTION OF THE SOUTH LINCOLN NEIGHBORHOOD. BACKGROUND: In April 2002 the Ames City Council approved the Sub-Area Plan for the South Lincoln Neighborhood and have since incorporated the policies of that Sub-Area Plan into the LUPP. In January 2003 the City Council approved the basic purposes of an Urban Revitalization Plan for this neighborhood. On June 24, 2003, the City Council reviewed the proposed criteria, guidelines for physical features, and sample cases. The Council directed staff to prepare the Urban Revitalization Plan and set a public hearing for August 26, 2003. The attached Urban Revitalization Plan is intended to help the community implement redevelopment with the South Lincoln Neighborhood that follows the Sub-Area Plan and particularly to create mixed-use buildings and exterior spaces with specific physical features that will promote activity, identity, and sense of place. URBAN REVITALIZATION AREA: The property covered by the Urban Revitalization Plan would generally be the Development Management Area described in the Sub-Area Plan, which is the same area that is zoned Mixed Use (S-SMD). The attached Urban Revitalization Plan includes a map showing the boundary of this area and a listing of all properties within it. CRITERIA MATRIX Criteria Required for all Properties The designation of Urban Revitalization Areas enables the owners of property, who invest in the area and make improvements, to receive an abatement of real estate taxes on the added value for a period of time as established by any one of three abatement schedules specified in the Code of Iowa. These schedules include a three-year abatement period, a five-year abatement period, or a ten-year abatement period with different abatement schedules for each time period. According to the Sub-Area Plan, the central core area of this neighborhood is generally under utilized and thus the proposed Urban Revitalization Area is consistent with requirements in Section 404 of the Code of Iowa. Optional Criteria For property that is within this Urban Revitalization Area, by approving the Urban Revitalization Plan, the City Council will also be establishing other criteria to be met, as described in the Criteria Matrix that is part of the Urban Revitalization Plan. These criteria include either developing ground floor commercial space along with a residential project or providing space for, constructing and providing public access to activity nodes or recreation sites at locations identified in the Sub-Area Plan. Activity nodes are places for informal social activity or more organized small-scale commercial and social events. Recreation sites are intended to accommodate small-scale active recreation, such as half- court basketball and children playing. Both of these would be developed in conjunction with buildings, but available for public use. The criteria require less commercial space in areas the Plan identifies as providing the greatest public benefit from stimulating activity. 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. As stated at the end of the Criteria Matrix, the property owner must maintain the improvements for the life of the tax abatement, be that three, five, or ten years. At the end of that period, the property remains private property, which is still the property owner's responsibility to maintain. As part of the Urban Revitalization Plan, this Criteria Matrix can only be changed by City Council action. As this Plan would create an Urban Revitalization Area, the City Council would not review and approve individual project applications for this program. If approved by staff as meeting the criteria, these projects would only come to Council annually with the package of all Urban Revitalization projects in the city. GUIDELINES FOR FEATURES IN ACTIVITY NODES AND RECREATION SITES The Urban Revitalization Plan refers to "Guidelines," which are not a part of the Plan itself. The Guidelines for features in activity nodes and recreation sites should guide developers and staff in determining whether the proposal meets the objectives of the Urban Revitalization Plan and are consistent with the Sub-Area Plan. Particularly for activity nodes and recreation sites, the guidelines describe the size, type, and quality of features to be provided. Some features, such as the fences, arbors, trellises and Japanese Tree Lilacs, are meant to be consistent throughout the neighborhood, in order to reinforce identity. Other features, such as the paving materials and overall design of the area, can be designed to fit with the building and other site improvements. As the size of the public use area increases with the size of the development, the amount and type of improvements also increases. This is consistent with the scale of the project and the total amount of property taxes abated. Although the City Council does not approve each individual Urban Revitalization project, there is still an approval process. Property owners must submit an application and staff determines that the proposed project meets the criteria for the Urban Revitalization Program. If it does, staff confirms this in writing to the applicant and sends a copy of this confirmation to the City Assessor, who determines the property value prior to the date of construction. Construction may then begin. In February of each year, this application is included when the City Council considers approving Urban Revitalization projects as a group. This City Council action authorizes the property tax abatement. -2- Use of these guidelines by developers and the staff is intended to provide some flexibility, in that they give staff a basis to use judgment in determining whether a proposal meets the Plan objectives. In that sense they are not Design Standards to be rigidly applied, inviting developers and designers to create places that benefit the development as well as meet public needs. ALTERNATIVES: 1 . The City Council can approve the Urban Revitalization Plan and the Guidelines for a portion of the South Lincoln Neighborhood. 2. The City Council can deny the Urban Revitalization Plan and the Guidelines for a portion of the South Lincoln Neighborhood. 3. The City Council can refer this issue back to staff for additional information. MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION: The Urban Revitalization Plan is the last piece of the planning process for the South Lincoln Neighborhood. 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. Encouraging, not requiring, the private sector to develop mixed-use projects and/or incorporate certain physical features into redevelopment projects is still another tool. Approving this Urban Revitalization Plan will make that technique available to developers. Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manager that the City Council adopt Alternative #1, which would approve the Urban Revitalization Plan for a portion of the South Lincoln Neighborhood. -3-