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Home My WebLink AboutA001 - Council Action Form dated April 27, 2004 ITEM # 3l DATE 04/27/04 COUNCIL ACTION FORM SUBJECT: TEXT AMENDMENT TO THE SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE PERTAINING TO CONFLICTS WITH LOT LINES AND SCHOOL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES. BACKGROUND: Currently the Subdivision Ordinance is silent with regard to the creation of lots and the location of school district boundaries. In the past, there have been lots created through the subdivision process that are divided by school district boundaries. One recent example occurred with Cochrane's 2nd Subdivision, generally located at the northeast corner of South Dakota Avenue and U.S. Highway 30, which was approved in 1994. These occurrences have created problems for the City Assessor (See Attached Memo). When one lot is bisected by a school district boundary line, there must be two tax parcels and two accounts created forthe collection of taxes. This is further complicated when a multi-family structure on a lot is converted into (or constructed as)condominium units. Again, separate tax parcels and accounts must be created for each condominium unit created. On February 24, 2004, the City Council, at the request of the Ames City Assessor and Ames Conference Board, directed staff to amend the City's Subdivision Ordinance pertaining to conflicts with lot lines and school district boundaries. Therefore, staff is recommending the following text amendment to the Subdivision Ordinance (changes are noted in bold italics or Str;GkeR thrG cA: 23.401(3)(h) In the instance that a school district boundary line is present, lots shall be created with lot lines consistent with the school district boundary lines so that no lots are divided by a school district boundary line. ALTERNATIVES: 1. The City Council can approve the text amendment to the Subdivision Ordinance pertaining to conflicts with lot lines and school district boundaries. 2. The City Council can deny the text amendment to the Subdivision Ordinance pertaining to conflicts with lot lines and school district boundaries. 3. The City Council can approve the text amendment to the Subdivision Ordinance pertaining to conflicts with lot lines and school district boundaries, with modifications. 4. The City Council can refer the text amendment to the Subdivision Ordinance back to staff for further review and comment. CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION: It is recommended that Alternative #1 be adopted. Alternative #1 recommends that the proposed text amendment to the Subdivision Ordinance pertaining to conflicts with lot lines and school district boundaries be approved. COUNCIL ACTION: Attachment 515 Clark Avenue Ames,Iowa 50010 Phone (515)239-537 Fax (515)239-5376 RECERIEC)" f DATE: February 20, 2004 TO: Ames Conference Board MAR 112004 i FROM: Richard Horn,Assessor CI�fY OF AME.�, i("ItVVA DEBT OF PLANNING & liMS"i'NG RE: School District Boundary Conflicts Cochrane's 2nd subdivision was in the preliminary approval stage in 1994 when I noticed that a school district boundary divided two lots into four tax parcels. I contacted Brian O'Connell at City Planning and suggested the lot lines could be aligned with the school district boundaries. He said his department had no authority to consider school district lines or to ask a developer to change a subdivision plat because of those lines. The two lots east of the South Dakota—Highway 30 interchange on Coconino Rd. and Maricopa Dr. were subdivided in 1994 with no consideration of the school district boundaries. Meadow Wood Associates' apartment complex was built on Lot 3 of Cochrane's 2»d Addition in 1995. The northern portion is in the Ames Community School District. The bulk of the project is in the United Community School District. The attached map shows how the school district boundary divides the lots and buildings. Land and building areas in each district were estimated and two accounts were created to collect taxes. This single parcel receives two assessment rolls and two tax statements. School busses from both districts make daily trips to the complex, according to the manager. The adjacent lot has a similar situation except the major portion is in the Ames Community School District. Three buildings containing 96 apartments are under construction. The owner recorded a declaration of condominium effective for 2004. We are faced with having to pro- rate a small amount of the land and parking and create 96 ownership accounts in the United district plus 96 accounts for the major portion in the Ames district. This unfortunate situation affects the owners, the assessor,the County Auditor, and the County Treasurer. Ideally, the landowners and the two districts would agree to adjust the boundary lines to eliminate the current conflicts. However,there is no motivation for anyone to make an effort to correct the problem, or to prevent it from occurring again. I am bringing this up now because of the potential boundary conflicts on a parcel of land that the university recently sold. This approximately 53-acre site includes about 14 acres on the south that is located in the United district. Annexation and rezoning are underway. The location of Maricopa Drive makes it likely that more divided lots will be proposed. I request the Conference Board's support in asking the Ames City Council to consider amending their subdivision ordinance. It should prohibit new subdivision lot lines from conflicting with school district boundaries, and provide that site plans including parcels in more than one school district will not be approved until the boundary is adjusted to place the entire parcel in one school district. SchoolDi sts20F62004.doc • i 96 � CO�I(�OS • • �`��` Ames Community ��. � School District v Wood �` United Community '��7<� School District • z ..vim,, , Legend M cnv um�- = Lot Line / School District s School a' Ames City Assessor School Dtstrtct Boundary ■ s n�Co� n� Boundary Conflicts btl.a.IMr bw Y..nrrrb MNp bN ov.w.lio a uw. I " 240 360 480Fea[ mbr,..rp.rro banier.•IMy•d•ba ror e.crrti e.b Inch egJala 400 feel Ywtl.bov..Far tlr nm wr•t.bbn�bon,prr m,btl Yi.•udol.of