The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutA012 - Letter from Goodwin Law Office dated April 20, 2018 GOOD WIN LAW OFFICE, A C. ATTORNEY AT LAW 311 W.LINCOLN WAY,SUITE 1 AMES,IOWA 50010-3317 ROBERT W.GOODWIN TELEPHONE 515-232-7390 FAX 515-232-7396 Email:goodwinlawoflice@fbx.com April 20, 2018 The Honorable John Haila Mr. David Martin Ms. Amber Corrieri Mayor of the City of Ames Councilman, City of Ames Councilwoman, City 2408 Suncrest Drive 339 Hickory Drive of Ames Ames, IA 50014 Ames, IA 50014 2822 Aberdeen Dr. Ames, 1A 50010 Ms. Gloria Betcher Mr. Chris Nelson Councilwoman, City of Ames Councilman, City of Ames Mr. Robert Bingham 531 Hayward Avenue 3210 Tupelo Circle Councilman, City Ames, IA 50014 Ames, IA 50014 of Ames 515 Clark Avenue Mr. Tim Gartin Ms. Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen Ames, 1A 50010 Councilman, City of Ames Councilwoman, City of Ames 2948 Eisenhower Circle 919 Grand Avenue Mr. Steve Schainker Ames, IA 50010 Ames, IA 50010 Ames City Manager 515 Clark Avenue Ames, 1A 50010 Mr. Kelly Diekmann Director, Planning & Housing 515 Clark Avenue Ames, IA 50010 Re: Lincoln Way Corridor Plan Downtown Gateway Commercial Zoning District Dear Mayor Haila, Council Members, Mr. Schainker, and Mr. Diekmann: This letter follows my appearance at the Ames City Council_Meeting on March 6, 2018 concerning "A Hearing On Zoning Text Amendment To Create Lincoln Way/Downtown Gateway Commercial Standards", and again on March 27, 2018. Page 1 of 5 My wife and I own the property and building at 311 Lincoln Way where I have had my law office since September, 1981. We rent the west portion of the building to Mike Dolan, a Shelter Insurance agent. The functionality and desirability of our property is convenient access and on-site parking which allows immediate entrance into the building. There are nine (9) marked parking spaces which are utilized as follows when I have depositions at my office: 1. Myself; 2. My secretary; 3. My client; 4. The stenographer; 5. The opposing party; 6. The opposing party's attorney; 7. My tenant; 8. My tenant's customer. The verbal description that I have been given, and the enclosed drawing from the City's Plan intend to eliminate all on-site parking on our property. Instead,there is to be a parking ramp at least one block from the present location of our building. A one-block walk from a parking ramp to my office is not convenient nor desirable,particularly in cold weather,snow, ice,rain,wind or hot weather. Using a parking ramp at night is not as safe as on-site parking. The Lincoln Way/Downtown Gateway Commercial Zoning Standards puts a cloud and/or blight on our property. It is clear that the City wants our property for the benefit of a developer. That affects the marketability of our property. Who will want to buy our property when the potential buyer knows that the City wants the property for the benefit of a developer? The probable result is that only the developer will be willing to buy our property — at a forced sale price. The Lincoln Way/Downtown Gateway Commercial Zoning Standards has the attributes of an Urban Renewal Project. However, and Urban Renewal Project in the downtown Lincoln Way area cannot lawfully be pursued in this area because this area has not been declared,and is not, a slum or blighted area. Section 403.5(1), Code of Iowa. The Iowa Supreme Court has recognized that the exercise of a City's zoning power that adversely affects the use of a property can be a taking,which requires the City to go through the condemnation process of acquiring the property. When a property is acquired by condemnation, relocation assistance is to be provided. See Section 6B.42, Code of Iowa. Relocation Assistance requires that the acquiring authority not only pay for moving and re- establishment expenses, but to also provide a comparable replacement property. Page 2 of 5 The Iowa Supreme Court in the case of Molo Oil Co. v. The City of Dubuque, 692 N.W.2d 686 (Iowa 2005), dealt with the City adopting a zoning ordinance to change the Ice Harbor area from industrial to a pedestrian-oriented environment. The City had hired an urban designer to create a master plan for the Ice Harbor area. The landowners claimed that the ordinance was arbitrary,capricious, and an unreasonable exercise of the City's police power that resulted in the taking of their properties without just compensation. The Iowa Supreme Court stated as follows: "A government action that does not intrude upon or occupy the property, but affects and limits the use of the property, can also be a taking. Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, 260 U.S. 393, 415, 43 S.Ct. 158, 160, 67 L.Ed. 322, 326 (1922). `[W]hile property may be regulated to certain extent, if regulation goes too far it will be recognized as a taking."' Id. at 692 N.W. 692. The Iowa Supreme Court in the Molo Oil case did not rule whether the zoning ordinance was a taking because it found that the plaintiffs had not yet exhausted their administrative remedy by first presenting the matter to the zoning board of adjusting. The United States Supreme Court in Pennsylvania Coal Co.v.Mahon,260 U.S.393,43 S.Ct. 158, 67 L.Ed. 322 (1922). which is cited by the Molo Oil case, holds as follows: "The protection of private property in the Fifth Amendment presupposes that it is wanted for public use, but provides that it shall not be taken for such use without compensation. When this seemingly absolute protection is found to be qualified by the police power, the natural tendency of human nature is to extend the qualification more and more until at last private property disappears. But that cannot be accomplished in this way under the Constitution of the United States. The general rule at least is that while property may be regulated to a certain extent, if regulation goes too far it will be recognized as a taking." Id. at 260 U.S. 415. "We are in danger of forgetting that a strong public desire to improve the public condition is not enough to warrant achieving the desire by a shorter cut than the constitutional way of paying for the change." Id. at 260 U.S. 416. Page 3 of 5 The Iowa Supreme Court in Harms v. City of Sibley, 702 N.W.2d 91, 98 (Iowa 2005) held that government regulations can be a taking when the economic impact of the regulation"has interfered with the distinct investment-backed expectations." Our investment-backed expectation for our property at 311 Lincoln Way has always been to have a property that is easily accessible with on-site parking available for immediate entrance into the building. The City of Ames,by its Lincoln Way Corridor Plan Downtown Gateway Commercial Zoning District, apparently wants to, and intends to, take it from us. The City of Ames could achieve its goal of having housing in the Lincoln Way/Downtown Area by simply adding residential use to the current HOC zoning. If the new zoning proposal is allowed to proceed,which causes seventy percent(70%)of the properties to be non-conforming, it is so burdensome that it amounts to an inverse condemnation of our property and other properties adversely affected by the proposed zoning. The new zoning ordinance should include a provision for the City to acquire the landowners' properties and to provide relocation assistance to these properties where there is an interference with the owners' investment-backed expectations. The City's Staff Assessment of Non-Conformities released Friday,April 13, 2018, showing our property at 311 Lincoln Way as being non-conforming due to rear setback is not correct. When we bought our property in 1981, it was a gas station that we converted to an office building. The property to the north behind our property was a dirt parking area with a metal building located further north where Ray's Body Shop was located. The larger portion of our building to the west was where the service bays were located. The east portion of our building was where the office and bathrooms were located, and only had a depth of twelve (12) feet. In 1991 we enlarged the building on the east side to have the same depth as the west portion of the building. The 1991 addition is highlighted in pink in the attached Assessor's most recent drawing of our building. I am confident that our building has the legal rear setback. Otherwise, the City of Ames would not have given us a building permit for our 1991 addition to the building. After Ray died, his auto repair building was removed. A new asphalt parking lot was put in with a curb north of our building. The curb of the parking is not parallel with nor does it accurately represent the north lot line of our property. The curb runs diagonally as shown in the attached assessor's website aerial photograph. The attached Assessor's website aerial photograph uses the west end of the curb line,which is closest to our building,to incorrectly Page 4 of 5 show the location of our lot line. The attached Assessor's website aerial photograph aptly says"The solid parcel boundary lines represent the legal description as recorded and are not necessarily the official platted lot lines." (Emphasis Added.) Again, the City of Ames would not have allowed the remodeling of our building if our building did not have the legal rear setback. Sincerely, GOODWIN LAW OFFICE, P.C. R d*�Y%4x�- - Robert W. Goodwin Attorney at Law RWG:nla Enclosures Page 5 of 5 OWN GATEWAY FOCUS AREA esents an opportunity to transform several underutilized properties and strengthen Lin- mes.This Focus Area Plan establishes a vision that integrates strategic land acquisition Tents,and land uses that build upon the activities along historic Main Street.The Plan x]structured parking,entertainment and event spaces,professional office spaces,resi- aged in a number of ways depending on market conditions and the availability of property 41` �I DOWNTOWN GATEWAY PRIORITIES REDEVELOPMENT COI Provide a dear link Make Lincoln Way safer to ` �S (physical and character) walk along and across to Downtown Ames d Encourage a variety of uses ' �• Support the development of Down- that complement Downtown such town housing for young profession- as boutique hotels,entertainment, als and the local workforce and assembly space Encourage the assembly of larger redevelopment lots Support more intense development Beacon- Story County, IA/City of Ames 4/1018, i 33 AM +1' Beac a n Story County, IA / City of Ames Summary Ames City Assessor Sec-Twp-Rng 02-83-24 Brief Tax Description LEE&MUNN'S SD S100'LOT 14&S100'LOT 15 Primary Class COMMERCIAL Primary Zoning HOC I Secondary Zoning N/A Zoning Overlay N/A Secondary Zoning Overlay N/A Gross Acres 0.00 Net Acres 0.00 Last Transfer S/2/19 Recording Date Deed Book/Page 247-25 ?� (Instr.Date) Contract Book/Page N/A (Instr.Date)Taxing District AMES 1 S School District AMES TIF/UR District N/A - Drainage District N/A Fire District AMES Neighborhood C/I:Lin 12 Owner Deed Holder GOODWIN,ROBERT W&JUDITH 311 LINCOLN WAY `I-I AMES IA 500 10-3 3 17 Site Description(Ames) Topography Level Public Utilities Street or Road Paved Neigh.Life Cycle Static Legal Acres 0.2755 Legal Scl Ft 12,000 Farm Land Computations(Ames) Parcel Acreage 0.2755 81 Legal Drain NV[-] 0 I_I 82 Public Roads NV[-] 0 83 UT Towers NV[-I 0 9 Homesite(s)[-] 0 Total Acres Farmland 0 True Tax Value 0.00 Measured Acres 0 Average True Tax Value/Acre 0.00 True Tax Value Farmland 0.00 Classified Land Total 0 Homesite(s)Value(+) 0.00 Total Land Value 0.00 Commercial(Ames) Card 01 Commercial Building Primary Use General Office Year Built 1959 Above Grade Area 2,354 Apartment Units 0 Above Grade Floors 1 Roofing Built-up 50% Shingle 50% Porches and Decks https://beacon.schneidercorp.com/Application.aspx?ApplD=165&Lay...2145&PageTypelD=4&PagelD=1108&Q=1221804621&KeyValue=0902358090 Page I of 1 f, Beacon Story County, IA / City of Ames Overview •< - f Legend i ❑ Parcels - -- Lots t OTownships M Ai j S ❑ Corporate Limits Road Centerlines Y S y 11307 Lincoln Wa W 8e' e5 An 315 . . �. LINCOLN WAY 3!R Parcel ID 0902358090 Alternate ID 0902358090 Owner Address GOODWIN,ROBERT W&JUDITH Sec/Twp/Rng 02-83-24 Class C-COMMERCIAL 311LINCOLNWAY Property Address 311LINCOLNWAY Acreage n/a AMES IA 50010-3317 AM ES District 01001-AM ES C ITY/AM ES SC Brief Tax Description LEE&MUNN'SSDS100'LOT14&S100'LOT15 (Note:Not to be used on legal documents; Concerning Assessment Parcels and Platted Lots Within the City of Ames Jurisdiction: The solid parcel boundary lines represent the legal description as recorded and are not necessarily the official platted lot lines. Dashed lines are official platted lots. If a parcel contains dashed lines,please contact the Ames Planning&Housing Department IS15-239-5400)to determine which lines can be recognized for building permit or zoning purposes.If you have questions regarding the legal description or parcel measurements,please contact the Story County Auditor's office(515-382-7210). Date created:4/14/2018 Last Data Uploaded:4/13/201811:09:31 PM Developed by�� Schneider The Schneider Corporation