HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 05/20/2014M INUTE S OF T HE S P ECIAL M EE TING
O F T H E A M E S C IT Y C O U N C IL
A M E S, IO W A M A Y 20, 2014
T h e A m es C ity C o u n c il m e t in sp ecial sessio n at 7 :0 0 p .m . on the 2 0 day of M ay , 2 0 1 4 , in th e C ityth
C o u n cil C h a m b ers in C ity H a ll, 51 5 C lark A v en u e, p u rsu a n t to law w ith M a y o r A n n C a m p b ell
pre siding and the follow ing C ouncil m em be rs pre se nt: G loria B e tc he r, A m be r C orrier i, Tim G artin,
M atth e w G o o d m a n , an d C h ris N elso n . C o u n c il M em b e r P eter O razem arriv e d at 7 :0 2 p .m . E x o fficio
M em b e r L issa n d ra V illa w as ab sen t.
OVERVIEW OF CURREN T LAND US E P OLICY P LAN: P lan n ing an d H o u sin g D irec to r K e lly
D iek m an n stated th at th e p u rpo se o f th e w o rksh o p w as to p rov id e a n o v erv iew o f th e L an d U se
P olicy P lan (L U P P ) to inform the C ou ncil o n the p otential s cop e of up dating it. H e recalled that
a Council ob je c tive set du r ing its G oa l-Se tting Se ssion he ld in Ja nuary 2014 w a s to e xa m ine the
L U P P fo r relev an ce an d effectiv en ess.
D irecto r D iek m a n n ex p lain e d th at lan d u se co n tro ls are a b asic p o lic e po w er o f a c o m m u n ity to
p ro m o te h ealth , sa fe ty, an d g e n e ral w e lfare. T h e U . S . S u p rem e C o u rt reco g n ize d th a t au th o rity
in 1926 . The U . S. D e pa rtm ent of C om m e rce provide d zoning a nd pla nning sta ndards ena bling
acts for state s in 1 926. M r. D iekm a nn sta ted the re a sons w hy A m e s has a LU PP. It conta ins the
C ity’s vision , go als and ob jectives, and po licies. M r . D iekm ann specifically n o t ed that a key
co m p o n en t o f A m es’s P lan is to stre n g th en n eigh b o rho o d s an d m aintain co m m u n ity ch aracter.
I t is a ls o the drive r behind othe r City pla ns, i.e ., Ca pital I mpr ov e ments Progra m, Pa rks and
R ecre a tion M aster Pla n, Public Facility M a ste r Plans , a nd R egional Trans porta tion Plan.
C ity P lann er R ay A nd erson said that the C ity’s C om prehen sive P lan (a/k/a its L and U se P olicy
P lan ) serv es as a g en era l gu id e to fu tu re d e v e lo p m en t o f the co m m u n ity . It w a s first ad o p ted in
1 9 9 7 . O v er th e p a st 1 6 years, th ere h av e b een d o zen s of am en d m en ts to th e tex t an d L an d U se
M ap . M r. A n d erso n ex p lain e d th e “N ew V isio n ” b asis o f th e P lan . U n d e r that, A llo w a b le G ro w th
A r e a s w er e created. It sough t m ore expansion ar e a s w hile lim iting inte nsifica t i on of e xis ting
ar e a s, addres se d existing and ne w de ve lopment are a s diff e rently, a nd provide d for connec tions
f or pe ople, places, and a c tivitie s. The ten princ iples for guiding the goa ls for the Pla n were liste d.
T he six ch apters of the current L U P P w ere sum m arized b y M r . A nd erson . E ach chap ter prov ides
background and highlights of specif ic issues and pre sents op tions for po lic y issues . Four of the
f ive m aps con tained in the L U P P w ere sho w n and exp lained : F utur e L and U se M ap, Fring e Pla n
M ap , O v erlay M ap , an d A llo w ab le G row th A reas.
C ity P l an n er Jeff B enson prov ided a sum m ary o f the m ajor influen ces of the cu rr ent L U P P , as
follo w s:
1.V illage d evelop m ent preferr ed co ncep t to im plem ent V ision - use N ew U r ban ism principles
(w alka b le, m ix o f u ses, d esign fo cu s)
2 .M a n a g e g ro w th to red u c e en v iron m e n tal im p acts an d C ity co sts
3 .A llo w a b le G ro w th A reas: S o u thw est, N o rth w e st, an d N o rth
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4.M a na ge m ent of the 2-M ile Fringe Pla nning A rea through the A m es U rban Fringe Plan a nd
su b d ivisio n au tho rity
5.Se le c t infill op portunitie s to a void mos t neighbo rhood s
6 .E n v iro n m en tal stew ard sh ip
7.M ob ility C hap ter focu s on tho rou gh f ares
8 .O p en sp ace an d p ark s access a t neig h b o rh o o d an d co m m u n ity sc a le
C ity P lan n er C h arlie K uester co n tin u ed th e su m m ary o f m ajor in flu en ces:
9.Pla nning ass um ptions for grow th through 2030
10 .A ssum ption s did no t ho ld; C ity g rew at a f aster pace
1 1 .P ro jectio n s o f po p u latio n g ro w th , ex p ected lan d an d h o u sin g typ e n eed s, a n d h o u sin g un its
proje c tions to 2 030
M r. K uester also d eta iled the se ve n mode ls used to forecas t po pula tion grow th a nd e xplained the
housing unit proje c tions to 2030.
D irector D iek m an n e x p lain ed th e p riv ate de v elop m en t ch an g es th at h ad o ccu rred o v er th e p ast
16 years. H e specif ically n ote d the M orte nse n/South Dakota Corr idor, w hic h was a product of the
P lan and design ed as a no de o f m ulti-fam ily h ou sing con centration . P ub lic inv estm ents ov er that
sam e tim e p erio d w e re rep o rted b y M r. D iek m a n n . In ad d ition to the p riv a te a n d p u b lic
dev elop m en t ch ang es that occu rr ed in A m es, nation al and local item s that chan ged w ere listed
as:
1.2008 Recess ion
2.P ub lic scho ol enrollm ent increased for G ilbert and rem ained abo ut the sam e for A m es
3 .Iow a S tate U n iv ersity (IS U ) en rollm en t is up 2 8 % (to o v er 33 ,0 0 0 stu d en ts)
4.D em ographic changes : A m es’s po pulation gre w by 25 % w hile the sta te grew by on ly 4 %, the
n u m b e r o f sc h o o l-ag e ch ild ren (u n d er 1 7 ) m a k e s u p a sig n ifican tly less perc e n tag e o f o v e rall
p o p u latio n an d h asn ’t ch a n g e d m u c h in th e p ast 1 6 y ears, th e re h as b een sig n ific a n t gro w th
in o lder ad u lt po p u latio n , an d th e re is m o re eth n ic d iv e rsity
D irecto r D iek m a n n re p o rted o n w h at h a d ch a n g e d since th e L U P P w as ad o p ted in 19 9 7 ,
specif ically, economi c c ha nge s tha t m ight affect f uture trends; te c hnology and c om m unication,
w hic h im pa c ts ho w the City inte racts w ith the pu blic; a nd access to inform a tion.
P o in ts of co n ten tio n an d ch allen g es o f th e L U P P co m m o n ly h eard or ex p erien ced by staff w ere
describe d, including:
1 .L an g u ag e o f th e P lan allo w s fo r b roa d in terp retatio n w ith o u t prio rities.
2.T here app ears to b e a lack of interest in V illages. F loating S ub urban is an alternative ch oice,
yet the p rim ary d evelop m ent typ e.
3 .In fill in terests v ersu s n eig h b o rh o o d p ro tectio n . E x p a n sio n of ex istin g o r n ew h ig h e r d e n sity
housing is diff icult to accom m odate , w hich causes press ure to e xpand to o utskirts and c ha nge
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o th er lan d use s to resid en tia l.
4.H ou sing need s for all typ es of ho using . T here is no high er den sity land available.
5 .S tu d e n t ho u sin g d e v e lop m e n t.
6 .A n n ex atio n p o licy an d in terest in ru ral larg e lo t sub d iv isio n s.
7 .A llo w ab le G row th A rea d ev elop m en t. T h e S o u th w est an d N o rth w est larg ely u n to u ch ed ; co st
o f sew er an d street ex ten sio n s m ay be a factor.
8.E nv iron m ental protection go als and interest. T here has been no dir ection regarding w hat can
be do ne w ithin Gr e e nw a ys and Envir onmenta lly Se nsitive O ve rla y.
9 .Infrastru cture p lan n in g an d p u b lic serv ice co sts.
10 .C om m ercial retail dev elop m ent op po rtun ities are m ore lim ited b y Internet and regional
com pe tition.
1 1 .U nlocking L inco ln W ay C orrido r’s po tential for redev elop m en t of com m ercial and residen tial
u ses.
N atio n al tren d s in P lan n in g w ere ex p laine d b y D irector D iek m an n . H e p o in ted ou t th at th o se
n atio n al tren d s m ay or m ay no t affect plan n in g fo r A m es’s fu tu re. F o u r to p ics o f in terest
nation ally w ere listed as
1 .H o w to co m p ete in th e ch an g in g eco n o m ic clim ate - em p lo y e rs lo c a tin g w h e re th e re is talen t,
the future of com m ercial retail in the ag e of e-com m erce
2 .C reatin g h ig h -qu ality an d in terestin g p lace s - fo cu s is on q u ality , ex p erien ce, “th ird p lace s”
th at are liv ely an d attract in terest
3.D igita l age and c om m unic a tion
4.sustaining g ov ernm ent services
5 .C o o rdin atio n o f lan d u se w ith tran sp o rtatio n in v estm en t - co n n ectio n s an d acce ss to
des tination w ith 5 - to 15-m inute w alks
6 .Integ rate p lan n in g w ith pu b lic h ealth an d w elln ess
7.R e siliency to em erge nc y and ha z a rds
8 .A ffo rda b le h o u sin g need s fo r lo w -in co m e co n tin u e to g row in ch o ice, qu ality , an d co st
9 .L o c a l go v ern m en t is re sp o n sib le fo r g re a ter sh a re o f tran sp o rtation c o sts fo r n e w inv estm e n ts
an d m aintaining in frastru cture
T h e C o u n cil m em b ers w ere ask ed b y D irector D iek m an n to v o ice th eir co m m en ts an d co n cern s.
C ou ncil M em ber G artin no ted that A m es no t on ly need s to loo k at itself, bu t also to co m m un ities
around A m es. H e asked how m uch c om m unities such as A nkeny and D es M oines influen ce
A m es. D irector D iekm ann no ted that bo th D es M oines and A nk eny hav e a stron g co m m ercial
and residen tial influen ce.
C ou ncil M em ber O razem stated his preference for a “b ullet-po int” version of the L U P P , w hich
w o u ld m ak e it easier th an lo o k in g th rou g h six ch ap ters.
M r. O r a z e m als o sha red h is op inion tha t it is a bsolute ly cr uc ial to atte m pt to pinpoint w here the
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cente rs of em ployment a re go ing to b e . Transporta tion to and from w ork and home m ust be
co n sid ered as it is a “m o re tran sit w o rld n o w .” H e reiterated th at w h ere th e jo b s are lo cated is a
critical elem ent. C ou ncil M em ber B etcher con curred w ith M r. O razem and no ted the co nflict
b etw e e n the g o al o f b ein g a w alk a b le c o m m u n ity an d ex p an d in g the co m m erc ial areas o n S o u th
D u ff, w h ich en co u ra g e s a c c e ss b y au to m o b ile .
D irector D iekm a nn pointe d o ut tha t ther e are other ar e a s in Am es bes ides Somerset tha t could b e
conside red v illages, e.g., the D ow ntow n. City M a na ge r Sc ha inke r provided the history behind the
v illag e d ev elo p m en t. H e n o ted th at th e v illag e co n cep t w a s on ce m an d ato ry fo r d e v e lo p m en t in
th e N ew L an d s c a teg o ry ; ho w ev er, it is n o w o p tio n al.
C ouncil M e m ber O razem s a id tha t A m es has to look at the plaus ibility tha t on e fraction of the
A m e s c om m unity wi ll w a lk to the re tail e sta blis hm ent to make a pu r c ha se . H ow ever , the
su cce sses are th o se w h ich are draw in g in cu sto m ers from o th er lo catio n s.
P lann er K uester no ted that S om erset V illage w as an incen tivized g row th areas. C ou ncil M em ber
Ora z e m sh are d th a t he did n o t feel in c e n tiv iz i n g g ro wth ar e a s h a d wo rk ed all th a t well. He
preferred that practice no lon ger be do ne.
I t w a s sha red b y Counc il M e m ber O ra z e m tha t anothe r item tha t had c ha nged sinc e 1997 w as the
role o f R u ral W ater D istricts.
C o u n cil M e m b er G o o d m an p o in ted o u t th at th e C o u n c il h a d h e ld n o d isc u ssio n o n h o w the C ity
w ill serv e th e N o rth G ro w th A rea, an d m o st sp ecifically Q u arry E states.
M ayo r C am pb ell add ed that w hen the C ity is deci ding o n w hich w ay it sho uld grow , it w as crucial
to ascertain if th ere are w illin g sellers.
C ou ncil M em ber O razem said it w as no t clear to h im w hy the co st of infrastructure w as such an
issue w hen d e c iding on the T argeted G row th Areas. H e s a id tha t the Council needs to look
log ically at the total value o f prop erty, w hich sho uld m ore than o f fset the co st of infrastructure.
C ouncil M e m ber N elson pointe d out tha t it w a s im porta nt for the C ouncil to d e c ide on the scope
o f L U P P rev isio n s th a t it w a s lo o k ing fo r an d the tim e fram e that it ex p e c ts it to tak e . In h is
op inion, the L U P P sho uld be “tw eaked ;” it sh o uld no t be com pletely redon e. C ou ncil M em ber
G oo dm an shared that he w as com fortable w ith the cu rrent G oals and O bjectives. C ity M anag er
Sc ha inke r sta ted o ut tha t he be lieves the biggest philosophic a l issue is inte nsification.
C o u n cil M em b e r B e tch e r sa id that sh e ag reed w ith D irec tor D iek m an n in that th e C ity sh o u ld
pursue intens ific a tion of the Linc oln W ay Corridor. It s hould also look at po ssible cha nges to la nd
use in that area to see w hat w orks and w ha t do esn’t. C ou ncil M em ber G oo dm an said h e agreed
w ith th at; h o w ev er, w o u ld in sist th at it h eav ily in v olv e th e n eigh b o rho o d s alo n g th e C o rrid o r.
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C ou ncil M em ber G artin ag reed w ith C ou ncil M em ber O razem that econ om ic dev elop m ent is an
imp o rta n t co mp o n e n t o f th e P lan . He also b elie v e s th at th e City mu s t h a v e co n v er sa tio n with Io wa
Sta te U nive rsity, Story County, and B oone County.
C ou ncil M em ber C orrieri w ou ld like to k no w if there are other c on cepts (besides the v illage) that
co u ld be e x p lo red fo r resid en tial d ev elop m en t. S h e ask ed to kn o w h o w oth er co m m u n ities are
developing r e side ntially.
C ouncil M em be r O razem reite rated that it w oul d b e im porta nt to p roje c t w he re reta il a nd
em ployment w e re go ing to occur and w ha t the age m ix was go ing to b e. D ire c tor D ie km ann
ex p re sse d sk e p ticism ab o u t m ak in g ag e p ro jec tio n s.
C o u n cil M em b e r G o o d m a n su g g e ste d th a t th e P lan n e e d e d to ad d re ss: (1 ) th e n eed fo r affo rd a b le
ho using , (2) the scale of new ann exat ion , and (3) the d iversity o f ho using typ e.
C ouncil M e m ber Betc he r ac knowl e dge d tha t the City is exper iencing unprecedented pressure due
to the grow th o f the Iow a State student po pulation. As a pa rt of that, neighbo r hood preserva tion
and typ es of ho using m ust also be con sidered. M s. B etcher s hared that she w as also con cerned
ab o u t S ch o o l D istrict lan d s th at are go in g to b e on th e m ark et in th e co u rse of th e n ex t few y ears.
A t the inquiry o f Council M e m ber G a rtin, D irector D ie km ann advised tha t the pla nning horiz on
sh o u ld b e 2 0 to 3 0 years.
C ity M anager Steve Sc ha inke r state d that a nothe r w orks hop w ould be he ld on June 17, 2014 , for
fu rth e r d isc u ssio n o n th is to p ic.
C O U N C IL C O M M E N T S: C o u n c il M em b e r B e tch er no ted that C a m p u sto w n S u m m e rfe st w ill
occur on June 14, 2014. Counc il m em be rs w e re enc ouraged to v olunte e r or pa rtic ipate in the
ev en ts.
C ouncil M e m be r O razem re fere nc e d a le tter the Counc il ha d re c e ived from G a ry and K athy M a y,
2978 S. Riverside D rive , A m es, regar ding being included in the annexa tion of property ar ound
th e IS U R esearc h P a rk . M r. O razem n o ted th a t th e M ay s’ letter h ad stated th e y w o u ld co n se n t to
the an nex ation if the C ity o f A m es gav e them the op tion to con nect to sew er and /or w ater services
at s om e po int in the future.
M o v ed b y O ra z e m , se co n d ed b y G o o d m an , to refe r to sta ff for a m e m o o n w h a t is trad itio n a lly
d o n e reg ard ing ac c o m m o d a tin g ex istin g p ro p erty o w n ers p ertain in g to an n e x a tio n .
V ote on M otion: 6-0. M otion de c lare d carried u na nim ously.
M o v ed by O razem , seco n d ed b y C o rrieri, to d irect staff to p lace th e C o p p er B eec h sig n req u est
on a f uture agend a.
V ote on M otion: 6-0. M otion de c lare d carried u na nim ously.
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M ov ed by G oo dm an, secon ded by C orrieri, to refer to staff for a m em o regarding th e p o t en tial
o f an d fees fo r p roh ib itio n o f p lastic b ag s.
V ote on M otion: 3-3. V oting aye: Betc he r, Corrie ri, G oodman. V oting na y: G a rtin, N e lson,
O r azem . M ayo r vo ted ay e to b reak the tie.
ADJOURNMENT: Moved by Corrieri to adjourn the meeting at 9:18 p.m.
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D ian e R . V o ss, C ity C lerk A n n H . C am p b ell, M ay o r