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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 07/30/1998MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL AMES, IOWA JULY 30, 1998 The Ames City Council met in special session at 6:30 p.m. on the 30th day of July, 1998, in the City Council Chambers in City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue, pursuant to law with Mayor Ted Tedesco presiding and the following Council members present: Campbell, Hoffman, Quirmbach, and Wirth. Council Members Cross and Parks were absent. CALL TO ORDER: 6:33 p.m. APPROVAL OF RENEWAL LIQUOR LICENSES: Moved by Hoffman, seconded by Campbell, to approve renewal of the following liquor licenses: 1.Class C Liquor and Outdoor Service Area - Iowa State Center (Hilton Coliseum) 2.Class C Liquor - Iowa State Center (Scheman Building) 3.Class C Liquor - Iowa State Center (C.Y. Stephens) 4.Special Class C Liquor - Iowa State Center (Fisher Theater) Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. SUBMITTAL OF A PRE-APPLICATION FOR LOCAL HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM FUNDS: Moved by Wirth, seconded by Hoffman, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 98- 392 approving the submittal of a pre-application for Local Housing Assistance Program (LHAP) funds which includes a letter of support and financial commitment from the City of Ames. Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Resolution declared adopted, signed by the Mayor, and hereby made a portion of these minutes. RELEASE OF REAL ESTATE MORTGAGE FOR 5433 FROST DRIVE: Moved by Campbell, seconded by Wirth, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 98-393 approving the release of real estate mortgage for property located at 5433 Frost Drive in connection with the City’s Phase III Affordable Housing Program. Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Resolution declared adopted, signed by the Mayor, and hereby made a portion of these minutes. AUTOMATED TRAIN HORN AGREEMENT WITH UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD: Moved by Campbell, seconded by Hoffman, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 98-394 approving an agreement with the Union Pacific Railroad for the automated train horns. Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Resolution declared adopted, signed by the Mayor, and hereby made a portion of these minutes. AUTOMATED TRAIN HORN AGREEMENT WITH AUTOMATED HORN SYSTEMS, INC.: Moved by Campbell, seconded by Hoffman, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 98-395 approving an agreement with Automated Horn Systems, Inc., and waiving the purchasing policy for purchase of the horns from the company. Roll Call Vote: 4-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby made a portion of these minutes. PUBLIC INPUT ON ZONING ORDINANCES: Mayor Tedesco welcomed everyone to the special public input meeting on the zoning ordinance. Because of time limitations, he asked those wishing to address the Council that they summarize their remarks in order to allow 2 everyone the opportunity to speak. Dick Roseland, 315 Hickory Drive, spoke on behalf of the Ames Chamber and Ames Economic Development Commission (AEDC) Task Force. He thanked the City Council and Mayor for modifying earlier versions based on suggested changes. He stated concerns that “vested rights” were unclear in residential developments, and the size of the parcels required for village residential was vague. Mr. Roseland recommended that developers be given the choice between suburban and village developments. He pointed out that the required landscaping would increase apartment costs. Mr. Roseland stated that he would like approval of a new map with the new ordinance. Weldon Walsh, 220 S. Maple, proposed that the Hammer Amendment criteria on adverse affects on infrastructure for City services, traffic, and parking be retained as a benchmark for special use permits, exceptions, and variances. Michael Patula, 1319 Jefferson Street, stated his concern with the suburban vs. village concept choice. Providing developers with a choice undercuts citizens choices and makes them make decisions as consumers. He preferred to keep the decisions about how the City will be developed democratic rather than up to the developers. Norman Rudi, 2012 Pinehurst Drive, said that the original committee from 1994 has not had any input to this document. He was concerned with parking and would like three different types related to commercial, fraternities and sororities, grocery stores and malls. It was impossible to meet current code. Once a building was non-conforming for 25 years, it should be made conforming. It was the City’s responsibility to make the site plan review user-friendly. He did not agree with more responsibility being placed on Staff and preferred to see the Council taking more responsibility. He stated that the current ordinance would make it difficult for professional designers to accomplish anything. Cindy Hildebrand, 57439 - 250th Street, explained that suburban developments would gobble up land faster than village developments. She was concerned that the land use policy plan would be revised if parcels less than 40 acres were submitted. Jack Nordyke, 3908 Stone Brooke Circle, stated his concerned that upper level, larger lots would not be available for executives to relocate to Ames, and that our City would be losing many people to other cities because of this. Holly Fuchs, 806 Brookridge Avenue, said she was concerned with the 8-foot setback for residential low-density as opposed to the medium-density side yard setback and urban core density of 10 feet. Jim Popken, 920 Clark Avenue, stated his concern regarding the shift in responsibility for Special Use Districts from the Council to the Zoning Board of Adjustment. The Floating Plan Residential District has the same sort of problems as special use permits. He suggested an increase in training regarding the law and what their responsibilities would be in relation to City code. Mr. Popken said that village development would increase social interaction, reduce sprawl, increase mass transit and recreation opportunities. It would also save taxpayers money and lower infrastructure costs. John Haskell, 701 Ash Avenue, explained that the Ames Neighborhood Coalition was concerned 3 that the maximum floor area ratio was unnecessary. He would like to see all parts of the Hammer Amendment in the new zoning ordinance. The City should take efforts to give extra training to members on the Zoning Board of Adjustment. Mr. Haskell said that dictating for all lands to be developed as villages may be a mistake. Mike Despard, 3302 Emerald Drive, stated that villages were good, but maybe not necessary for a town of this size. He considered his neighborhood a village right now. The current ordinance has many rules in place in the spirit of the law. He was concerned that the City was not ready to hire more Staff to address and assist with the new zoning ordinance changes. Deborah Krauth, 612 Kellogg Avenue, explained that there were currently great hurdles in place concerning affordable housing in the City which would be raised significantly with this new ordinance. She would like to see grandfathering in developments that were currently underway. Ms. Krauth stressed the importance of the zoning map. Bob Friedrich, Jr., 2004 Greeley, said that he was representing the Friedrich Company, Hunziker & Associates, and the Furman Corporation, developers of the Somerset Subdivision. He reported that this was the first village design for any community under 200,000 in population. Six homes have been sold, and some row houses and assisted living were currently being built. Mr. Friedrich explained that costs were three to four times higher than the normal suburban development. Because of the many more details, civil engineering was higher, developer administration was much higher and has taken much more time. Commercial development there has had many objections. It was the developers’ goal to keep the market below that of Northridge in order to make it more affordable; however, there was a need for sales to cover costs. They would prefer to have additional incentives in place to take care of the up-front costs. He indicated that increased density was present, but developers need help in the beginning, and still need to have a choice. Mark Jensen, 1107 North 2 Street, indicated his concern with the need to protect the public’snd health and welfare, and that it was a struggle to understand this document. He said the language was very difficult to understand and suggested clarification and simplification of the language. Robert Carp, 917 Burnett Avenue, stated there were many citizens who were concerned with how Ames grows and that there were more development options other than the village concept. Mr. Carp said he was concerned with the unity of the City, and that everyone should be concerned with the “bigger picture.” There was much demand for affordable housing, but that was not being built. Dean Hunziker, 105 S. 16 Street, indicated his concern regarding costs being passed on to theth consumer with the implementation of this proposed ordinance. He had performed a study which revealed that rents would increase $200 per year. Jim Cornwell, 315 Clark Avenue, said he was concerned with the village concept as seen by a retailer. He said that small neighborhood stores would have a difficult time surviving. He further said that the need was to provide good clean, safe housing. Mr. Cornwell stated that additional parking and landscaping standards would be cost prohibitive. Dickson Jensen, 2025 Prairie View East, explained that Ames has been developed extremely well in the past, and he could not understand why the City needed to change what was not broken. The goals of the land use plan need to be more practical. If the goal was clearer, the 4 ordinance could be also. The complexity of the Code made it very difficult for the average person to understand. Mr. Dickson indicated that there was an immediate need for more Staff to implement this in a more timely matter. There should be a study to analyze the costs. The Somerset Subdivision has more than $500,000 invested in the village compared to the Dauntless Subdivision at $40,000. He explained that costs would be passed on to the consumer. He stated that since the City did not as yet have one proven village, it was too soon to require village development as the standard. Bob Buck, 217 22 Street, stated that with the changes being considered, housing would be morend expensive at all levels. He explained that if there was the need for more density, it could be done in any type of development. Many things in a village are good, but they could be done other ways. Kevin Geis, 311 Maplewood Road, said that two areas of concern were: the cost of housing and the financial side of developments. He stated that this Code would have a negative impact on both multi-family and individual housing, and would be a high-risk venture. A successful development has the ability to sell units and lots at a sufficient pace to cover costs. If these developments were not profitable, they would not occur in a way to be appreciated in 10 to 20 years. Mr. Geis explained that options were needed and, that if the City wanted to see the village concept become a reality, there needed to be incentives for developers. Michael Patula stated that suburban sprawl benefitted a few at a cost to many, and that we don’t know how to conceptualize people-centered areas. He said that we must look at alternative ways to minimize costs and environmental issues. John Haskell said that the $200 per year in increased rents amounts to $17 per month, and the best way to obtain affordable housing was to make it possible to own one less car. COMMENTS: Moved by Hoffman, seconded by Wirth, to refer to Staff the setting of one free collection day for yard waste and brush for the upcoming fall season. Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. Moved by Hoffman, seconded Campbell, to place on an upcoming Council agenda the review of the City’s Boards and Commissions Handbook prior to holding joint meetings with the various commissions. Vote on Motion: 4-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. Mayor Tedesco announced that the next regular Council meeting will be held on August 25. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 8:25 p.m. _________________________________________________________________ Jill Ripperger, City Clerk Ted Tedesco, Mayor ________________________________ Joan Ingwersen, Recording Secretary