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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Letter to Mayor and Council dated November 29, 1977 k -L � � J,2-13 7� LAW OFFICES SMITH, NUTTY, SHARP & R UICH,,,, DONALD L. SMITH 618 DOUGLAS AVENUE - AMES, IOWA 50010 JOHN E. NUTTY DALE E. SHARP 515 232-1471 DALE E. RUIGH 602 MAIN AVENUE - HUXLE Y, IO WA 50124 515 597-2226 Noy Y iw g 0 7 1q November 29 , 1977 Honorable Mayor and Council Members City Administration Building Ames , Iowa 50010 RE : Sunset Rock Second Addition to the City of Ames , Iowa Dear Madam Mayor and Council Members : On February 11, 1977 , H. L. Munn Lumber Company filed with the Ames City Manager , under Section 32-1003 of the Ames Municipal Code, a proposed plat covering a 7-lot subdivision of 6 . 23 acres fronting on the west side of Hickory Drive and designated as "Sunset Rock Second Addition to the City of Ames , Iowa. " On March 11, 1977 , the Ames Planning and Zoning Commis- sion considered the proposed plat of Sunset Rock Second Addi- tion and voiced no objection to it. After the Commission con- cluded its consideration of the proposed plat, the City' s Chief Planner stated that the Commission would be prepared to take up a preliminary plat of this subdivision at its meet- ing in April, 1977. On March 30 , 1977 , H. L. Munn Lumber Company filed with the Ames City Clerk, pursuant to Section 32-1006 of the Ames Municipal Code, a preliminary plat of Sunset Rock Second Ad- dition. On April 15 , 1977 , the Ames Planning and Zoning Commission considered the preliminary plat of Sunset Rock Second Addition and then adopted a motion to table action on the preliminary plat until a proposed plat is presented for "the entire Munn property. " This action by the Commission was received by the Ames City Council as a recommendation at its meeting on April 26 , 1977 , and approved as such by motion of the Council. A second proposed plat, designated "Sunset Rock Subdivi- sion, " has now been prepared covering the entire Munn property, " that is , the 6 . 23 acres previously included in the proposed plat Honorable Mayor and Council Members November 29 , 1977 Page Two of Sunset Rock Second Addition and approximately 42 acres of timber land contiguous to Sunset Rock Second Addition on the north and west. A copy of the new proposed plat is enclosed for each person receiving this letter. n� The 42-acre tract of timber land is merely identified on the proposed plat of Sunset Rock Subdivision as Lot 8. The owner presently has no plans for a future subdivision of Lot 8 and for that reason nothing appears on the proposed plat in AD that regard. The proposed plat does show the topography of Lot 8 by contour lines and the location of Clear Creek and a sanitary sewer trunk line which cross Lot 8 . The subdivision ordinance, at Section 32-1003 of the Ames Municipal Code, requires all proposed plats to be submitted to the office of the City Manager for approval as was done with the proposed plat of Sunset Rock Second Addition. In compli- ance with that section of the Municipal Code, H. L. Munn Lumber Company is herewith submitting to the office of the City Mana- ger 11 copies of the new proposed plat of Sunset Rock Subdivi- sion. This letter, however, is directed to the Mayor and Coun- cil members because the pending matter is actually the prelimin- ary plat of Sunset Rock Second Addition which was last acted upon by the City Council on April 26 , 1977 . We ask, on behalf of H. L. Munn Lumber Company, that the matter of the preliminary plat of Sunset Rock Second Addition be placed on the City Council agenda for its next meeting. It would be our understanding that it would be appropriate for the City Council to now refer the preliminary plat back to the Planning Commission for further consideration and recommendation. The preliminary plat of Sunset Rock Second Addition does not involve the extension of municipal streets or utility lines. Hickory Drive has been paved and sewer lines have been extended by this property and the cost thereof has been paid by special assessments levied against the abutting properties . Water mains are in place and the cost thereof will be recovered by connection fees . There are, however, other questions involving public im- provements which should be answered in connection with the pro- cessing of the preliminary plat of Sunset Rock Second Addition. They are as follows : 1. Will the City require additional right-of-way for Hickory Drive off the fronts of Lots 1, 2 , 3 , 4 and 5? Hickory Drive, with a couple of exceptions , has a 50-foot wide right- of-way. It came into the City as a gravel road with that width in 1962 by annexation. Thereafter the City extended water mains Honorable Mayor and Council Members November 29 , 1977 Page Three and sewer lines and paved it with portland cement concrete curb and gutter and asphaltic concrete driving surface. The distance between curbs , back to back, is 31 feet, the minimum required on minor streets in residential districts . The 31- foot paved street is centered on the 50-foot right-of-way, which appears adequate for that purpose. There is no apparent need for the City to take addition- al right-of-way from H. L. Munn Lumber Company. And if the City did take such right-of-way, it does not appear that it could be used because existing houses to the south of Sunset Rock Second Addition are in such close proximity to the 50- foot right-of-way as to preclude the extension of a wider right-of-way line across those lots . The street right-of-way question also affects the avail- ability of sanitary sewer service to Lots 1, 2 , 3 , 4 and 5. These lots have paid for their share of the sanitary sewer line on Hickory Drive but may not receive the full benefit of it. The sewer line was not installed deep enough. The house on Lot 6 existed when the sewer was installed and it cannot be served. It appears that some houses built on Lots 1, 2 , 3, 4 and 5 will not be able to have full basement ser- vice and the others will require special architectural design to permit full basement service. In any event, the taking of additional right-of-way off of the front of these lots would push the building line back an equivalent distance on each lot and thereby aggrevate the problem of sewer service. 2 . Will the City waive its standard requirement for pub- lic sidewalks in new subdivisions? Properties to the north and south of Sunset Rock Second Addition, which are developed with residential housing, do not have any public sidewalks with which to connect. In the case of the houses to the south, their proximity to the street right-of-way and the high eleva- tion of their front yards probably precludes the construction of a public sidewalk on those lots . There is an existing pub- lic sidewalk available to pedestrians on the opposite side of Hickory Drive. If the sidewalk requirement is not waived, Munn Lumber Company requests that Council initiate a program for the construction of new sidewalks on the west side of Hickory Drive and the north side of Woodland Avenue which would connect sidewalks in Sunset Rock Second Addition to the existing sidewalk system. 3 . Will the City require street lighting in addition to that which already exists? 4 . Will the City require that Lot 8 on the new proposed plat of Sunset Rock Subdivision be included in the platting of Honorable Mayor and Council Members November 29 , 1977 Page Four Sunset Rock Second Addition? If Lot 8 is to be included, it is imperative that this decision be made promptly because the required survey work for this timber land can only be accomp- lished during the winter months when the leaves are off of the trees. The subject of this letter to this point has been the subdividing of private property and the construction of mun- icipal improvements on public property, all of which is gov- erned by standards and procedures prescribed by the zoning and subdivision ordinances of the City of Ames . The prelim- inary plat of Sunset Rock Second Addition complies with the requirements of those ordinances and Munn Lumber Company asks that the City Council approve such preliminary plat and re- solve the pending questions concerning street right-of-way and municipal improvements . There is a second subject which we will now cover: the future use of the 42-acre tract designated as Lot 8 on the new proposed plat of Sunset Rock Subdivision. This subject is not necessarily relevant to the platting of Sunset Rock Second Addition but it obviously generates more interest on the part of Ames city officials than the platting process as is indicated by the refusal of the Planning Commission and the City Council to take any further action on the pre- liminary plat "until a proposed plat is presented for the entire Munn property. " Lot 8 is the balance of "the entire Munn property. " It consists of 42 acres of timber land maintained as a forest preserve. Generally speaking, its future use will be a matter of choice by the owner, within the limitations of the City zoning ordinance and subject to legal restrictions for the benefit of public health and safety, such as nuisance laws . That answer is not, however, responsive to the current inter- est of the City in this property. We will, therefore, attempt to define the future of Lot 8 in more specific terms and do so in a forthright and candid manner. The City covets Lot 8 for park purposes but is presently without the funds with which to purchase it. If the funds were available, it would only be necessary to determine the fair market value of the property and then acquire it either by negotiated purchase or by condemnation under the power of eminent domain. The problem, therefore, is one of funding and the concern of city officials that when and if funding should become available Lot 8 will not then be available in its present natural state as a forest preserve. H. L. Munn Lumber Company and members of the Munn family have owned Lot 8 and the larger tract of which it is a part • • Honorable Mayor and Council Members November 29 , 1977 Page Five since 1930. They have seen this land annexed to the City of Ames and encroached upon on all sides by residential subdivi- sions. They have paid several thousand dollars in special assessments levied against this property .for the cost of a sanitary sewer trunk line up the Clear Creek valley and sewer and paving on Hickory Drive. Some 40 years of paying taxes and assessments passed with no return on investment being realized. During that period and up to the present time, Lot 8 has effectively been utilized by neighboring residents as a free park. In 1976 , Munn Lumber Company laid out a residential sub- division along the north boundary of this area and platted it as Sunset Rock First Addition. The land platted was high ground fronting on the planned extension of Phoenix Street. In planning this first subdivision, Munn Lumber Company took into account the potential of this property for park purposes and the interest of the City in it. The lots were held to the high ground and their rear boundaries were generally aligned with a common contour line. Access to Lot 8 from the north was deliberately eliminated so as to effectively preclude any development of that part of Lot 8 lying north of Clear Creek. Sunset Rock Second Addition is the second portion of this e area to be laid out by Plunn Lumber Company for a residential subdivision. The planning for this subdivision again takes into account the potential use of Lot 8 for park purposes. The lots have been held to the high ground abutting on Hickory Drive. A natural access to the low land has been preserved at the juncture of Hickory Drive and Woodland Avenue where the 35-foot frontage is indicated. (On the north side of the 35- foot tract is an unimproved 33-foot tract which could also be utilized for access and thereby allow for a full-width exten- sion of Woodland Avenue. ) There is a third tract of high ground in this area which has a potential for residential development. It is a ridge of land that starts at the southwest corner of Lot 8 and runs northeasterly. Access to that ridge would logically be off of Trail Ridge Road although it is conceivable that it could come from an extension of Woodland Avenue. When Westbrook Subdivi- sion was platted by Bliss and Coy in 1975 , the cul-de-sac was squared off to allow for the extension of Trail Ridge Road northeasterly through Lot 8 in Westbrook Subdivision, which Munn Lumber Company now owns. An engineering study will be required before it can be determined whether a residential subdivision on that ridge is feasible or advisable. Munn Lumber Company has no plans to initiate such an engineering study at this time and has no time table for making a decision on the future use of that portion of Lot 8. Honorable Mayor and Council Members November 29 , 1977 Page Six Munn Lumber Company is willing, within reasonable limits , to cooperate with the City in any plans it may have to acquire the lowland portion of Lot 8. In order to bring some certain- ty to this matter and to permit the City to do some budgetary planning, Munn Lumber Company is now prepared to give the City a five-year option on approximately one-half of Lot 8 . The essential terms of the option would be as follows : 1. The option would be in favor of the City of Ames . 2 . The option would run for a term of 5 years. 3. There would be no cost for the option. 4. Land covered by the option would include all of Lot 8 lying north of Clear Creek and that part of Lot 8 from Clear Creek south to the 120-foot elevation line as shown on the proposed plat of Sunset Rock Subdivision prepared by Civil Engin- eering Consultants dated June, 1977 . 5. The purchase price for the land would be its pre- sent fair market value as determined by an M.A. I. appraisal to be obtained by Munn Lumber Company at its expense. 6 . There would be reserved to Munn Lumber Company a perpetual easement across the option property for connecting to the sanitary sewer trunk line in the Clear Creek valley and for discharging storm water into Clear Creek. 7 . Use of the option property would be restricted to a forest preserve and nature conservancy. Vehicu- lar access by the public and construction of park- type improvements would be prohibited. Public access would be limited to walking trails . 8. The option property would be identified as the "Ann Munn Forest Preserve. " 9 . Munn Lumber Company would furnish an abstract of title and convey the property by warranty deed upon the exercise of the option by the City. The proposed option provides the City with several bene- fits and at no cost. It guarantees the availability of this property for a period of five years and at a purchase price based on today ' s value which will , in all likelihood, be sub- stantially below its market value five years from now. During Honorable Mayor and Council Members November 29 , 1977 Page Seven the interim Munn Lumber Company will continue to hold this property as a nonproductive asset and will forego any appre- ciation in value realized over the five-year term. This is no small consideration in view of the fact that long term money costs a business corporation 9 percent or more per annum. If it should happen that the City could not arrange its finances to purchase the option property five years from now, it would have cost the City nothing. Because of related interests , I am sending a copy of this letter and the new proposed plat to each member of the Parks and Recreation Commission and the Planning and Zoning Commis- sion as well as the City Council. Very truly yours, SM , NUTTY, SHARP & RUIGH 1 4 DONALD L. SMITH Attorney at Law DLS :daw Enclosure cc : Mayor Council Members Planning and Zoning Commission Members Parks and Recreation Commission Members City Manager City Clerk City Attorney Department of Community Development Department of Parks and Recreation Superintendent of Public Works Municipal Engineer Norman L. Jacobson H. L. Munn Lumber Company