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HomeMy WebLinkAboutA018 - Letter from Attorney dated September 22, 1983 LAW OFFICES OF s PASLEY, SINGER, PASLEY, HOLM,TIMMONS 8 MATHISON 323 SIXTH STREET W.A.5INCER P.O.BOX 664 R.G.PASLEY C.A.PASLEY OF WUNSEL S.A.HOLM AMES, IOWA 50010 JOHN L.TIMMONS TELEPHONE:(515) 232-4732 JANE M.MATH150N MARK S.LAGOMARCINO September 22 , 1983 RECEIVED Steven L. Schainker �j ,. City Manager SEP f' 19H3 City of Ames , IA 50010 GUA OF AmES Re: Thies ' Subdivision Dear Mr. Schainker: On this date, I have filed the final plat of Thies' Subdivi- sion and associated documents with the City Clerk. A copy of my letter of transmittal is enclosed herewith. The error in the dimension along the South boundary to which you refer in paragraph number 1 of your letter to me under date of September 6, 1983 , has been corrected. You will note, however, that the owners of the property (Earl Thies , Robert Watson and Food Energy Systems Limited Partnership) have not submitted requests for a street assess- ment program and waivers of potential deficiencies for the paving of Bell Avenue. As you know, Bell Avenue is not located within the area to be platted, but rather runs North and South adjacent to the West boundary of the proposed sub- division. It is the position of the owners that the City does not have the authority to require them to pave a street outside of the platted area where the street already exists and provides a safe and convenient access to the proposed subdivision. Furthermore, the owners feel that conditioning the approval of their subdivision upon the paving of Bell Avenue is unfair and inappropriate under the circumstances existing here. This Subdivision is a replat of a part of Lot 1 of Spencer 's First Industrial Addition. When that subdivision was platted in 1974, the City did not require the paving of Bell Avenue (then known as Ford Street) . The subdivision was approved with only a provision for street grading, gravel and culvert pipes, which has been accomplished. Page Two Steven L. Schainker September 22 , 1983 In 1978, Mr. and Mrs . Thies first submitted their proposed plat for Thies' Subdivision. While the land contained in that proposed subdivision was the same as in the subdivision under consideration, the original plat contained 8 lots rather than 3 and a public street with a cul-de-sac running east and west within the subdivision. Mr. and Mrs . Thies proceeded through all of the steps required by the City Ordinance pertaining to platting, up to and including the filing of the final plat and related documents on May 2 , 1978. Among these related documents was an Agreement to install certain public improvements and a Performance Bond for $32, 200, all as specified by the City in a letter dated March 29, 1978 . Before the final plat was considered by the City Council, the City Staff amended its requirements for public improvements by requiring the construction of sidewalks and the paving of the cul-de-sac within the subdivi- sion. The bonding requirements jumped from $32,200 to $91, 200 . Mr. and Mrs . Thies were financially unable to undertake this additional cost, and they withdrew their plat. At no time during this platting procedure, however, did the City ever insist upon the paving of Ford Street as condition for ap- proval of the plat. Furthermore, approval of the plat of Thies ' Subdivision currently under consideration was never tied to the paving of Bell Avenue until announced in your letter of September 6, 1983. While the staff of the Department of Planning and Housing did, at the time the Conceptual Development Plan was under consideration, suggest that it would be appropriate that the portion of Bell Avenue fronting Thies ' Subdivision be paved, or at least the curb and gutter installed, approval of the CDP by both the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council was, to our knowledge, never made subject to any requirement to pave Bell Avenue. Accordingly, the owners take issue with not only the City 's authority to require the paving of Bell Avenue as a condition of approval of Thies ' Subdivision, but also with the existence of any firm, established "policy" of requiring the paving in front of lots occupied in industrial subdivisions . The owners find it hard to imagine that such a policy which, in this case, would result in estimated costs of $48, 555. 83 plus interest thereon to them, would not be clearly defined and made a specific condition of approval of the plat from the very beginning of the platting procedure. They feel it is most unfair to have allowed this proposed Subdivision to proceed to these final stages before this requirement was established. Page Three • . Steven L. Schainker September 22 , 1983 The owners also point out that the City 's requirement for paving calls for them to request it by special assessment and to waive any deficiencies . However, over half of the estimated cost of the paving project (which incidentally would not result in the paving of all of the unpaved portion of Bell Avenue) would be assessed to Hach Chemical Company which is not a party to this platting procedure. It is highly doubtful that Hach would agree to waive any deficien- cies and therefore a substantial portion of its assessment would have to be absorbed by the City. Back in 1978 when the City Council included the paving of the North-South portion of Ford Street in its 1978 Street Program #1, all affected property owners (Earl and Ada Thies, Hach Chemical Company, and J T & S Development Co. ) opposed the project. The City removed Ford Street from the project, and it has , to our knowledge, never been included in any subsequent street assessment program. None of the owners of the land within Thies ' Subdivision would today consider a waiver of deficiencies if this project were a part of a regular assessment program. Therefore, the owners of the land within the proposed Sub- division ask that the plat, as filed, be placed before the City Council so that it may be considered by the Council in its present form. There appears to be an obvious disagree- ment between the City Staff and the owners over the require- ment for the paving of Bell Avenue which should be considered by the Council. Very truly yours, PASLEY, SINGER, PASLEY, HOLM, TIMMONS & MATHISON S A. Holm tls enc. LAW OFFICES OF PASLEY, SINGER, PASLEY, HOLM, TIMMONS 6 MATHISON 323 SIXTH STREET • W A.SINGER P.O.BOX 664 R.G.PASLEY C.A.PASLEY or co SEL S.A.HOLM AMES, iowA 5ooio IOHN L.TIMMONS TELEPHONE!(515) 232-4732 )ANE M.MATHISON MARK S.LAGOMARCINO September 22, 1983 City Clerk City of Ames Ames, IA 50010 Re: Thies Subdivision Dear Madam: Pursuant to Sections 23. 15 and . 16 of the ordinance of the City of Ames , the following documents are transmitted here- with for filing in connection with the above subdivision: 1. 16 copies of the final plat; 2 . 3 copies of the right-of-way permit �rru and easement for utilities ; 3 . 4 copies of a proposed resolution to be adopted by the City Council approving the final plat; 4 . 1 copy of a consent to plat exe- cuted by the owners of the prop- erty within the subdivision; 5. 1 copy of a consent to plat exe- cuted by all parties holding liens on all or any portion of the prop- erty within the subdivision; and 6 . 1 copy of a partial release of lien by the aforesaid lienholders as to the easement rights to be granted to the City of Ames . I trust that you will see that these documents are transmitted to the appropriate offices for comment and approval . If you have any questions , please advise. Very truly yours , S. A. Holm tls enc.