HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Special Meeting of the Ames City Council 10/05/1998MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL
AMES, IOWA OCTOBER 5, 1998
The Ames City Council met in special session at 5:00 p.m. on the 5th day of October, 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, Cross, Hoffman, Parks,
Quirmbach, and Wirth.
CALL TO ORDER: 5:10 P.M.
1. Moved by Hoffman, seconded by Cross, to adopt RESOLUTION NO. 98-489 approving change
order for the Fifth Street Streetscape Improvement Project.
Engineering Plus, Inc., miscalculated the numbers of pavers needed to complete the project
design. Paul Popelka (of Engineering Plus) indicated that transposing numbers from a plan
sheet to a list caused the underestimatation. City Attorney John Klaus indicated that legal
action would arise only if the cost of the pavers would be greater now than they were under
the contract that was awarded. In that situation, the City could have a claim for damages.
However, since the cost of the pavers remains the same, there is no damage to the City;
therefore, there is no cause of action. Mr. Popelka indicated that the project would be
substantially completed in 10 days to two weeks.
Roll Call Vote: 6-0. Resolution declared adopted unanimously, signed by the Mayor, and hereby
made a portion of these minutes.
2. Unresolved issues related to Proposed Zoning Ordinance:
2(a). Site Coverage and Landscape Requirements in the residential medium density (R-M) and
residential high density (R-H) zones.
Staff’s recommendation: In the residential medium density (R-M), eliminate the site coverage
standard and lower the landscaping requirement from the proposed 40% to 35%. In the
residential high density (R-H), eliminate the site coverage standard and maintain the proposed
30% landscape standard.
After discussion, Planning & Housing Director Brian O’Connell suggested that Council choices
included accepting the staff recommendation, adjusting the percentages, or doing away with the
percentages altogether.
Moved by Parks, seconded by Cross, to eliminate the site coverage standard as proposed
by staff, but to also do away with the percentages suggested by staff, thereby eliminating
the minimum landscaping requirements from the proposed zoning ordinance (going back
to original setbacks and original buffering requirements).
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Moved by Wirth, seconded by Cross, to ask staff to develop a landscaping standard for
minimum tree and shrub plantings in front yards in residential areas.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
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2(b). Village Residential/Suburban Residential:
Staff had an opportunity to meet with representatives from the Chamber of Commerce Planning
Task Force and representatives from the Neighborhood Coalition. There was general agreement
that the option of either Village Residential or Suburban Residential for development in new
lands areas should be the choice of the property owner. In either case, fundamental goals of the
Land Use Policy Plan (LUPP) should be accomplished: increased density, improved pedestrian
and vehicular connectivity, increased open space and areas for social interaction, and improved
landscape buffers between different land uses.
Staff Recommendation: That the Suburban Residential regulation be revised to include an
average minimum density requirement of 4.0 dwellings per net acre for one and two-family
housing, 7.0 dwelling units per net acre for manufactured housing, and 10.0 dwelling units per
net acre for multiple family housing. This recommendation will require a change to the Land
Use Policy Plan (LUPP) to reflect these averages as “standards” and not merely “goals.”
After considerable discussion on this issue, staff was asked to survey several of the
neighborhoods mentioned in the discussion so as to provide some concept of scale
concerning density.
No action was taken on this issue.
2(c). Capital Investment Strategy
Staff recommends that the policies of the Capital Investment Strategy in the Land Use Policy
Plan (LUPP) be changed by adding new criteria and that this incentive should only be offered
when the developer would select the village concept.
Council was not asked to approve this issue at this time.
2(d): Campustown as a Community Commercial Node or Service Center Zone
Staff recommends that the Land Use Policy Plan be changed to designate the Campustown area
as a Service Center Zone and that the proposed zoning regulations for the Downtown area be
amended to apply to both the Downtown and Campustown.
Moved by Hoffman, seconded by Campbell, that the regulations for the Downtown Service
Area be amended to apply to both Downtown and Campustown.
Vote on Motion: 5-1. Voting aye: Campbell, Hoffman, Parks, Quirmbach, Wirth. Voting
nay: Cross. Motion carried.
2(e). Modification to Community Commercial Node Standards
Staff recommends two amendments to the proposed regulations to correct an inconsistency with
respect to the maximum lot area standards in the regulations and the maximum building size
policy in the Land Use Policy Plan.
Moved by Wirth, seconded by Hoffman, to approve staff’s recommendation.
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Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
COMMENTS: Council member Hoffman will be absent from the October 13th Council meeting.
She will be on a trip to Slovakia.
Council member Parks received a letter from Ken McLaughlin (2616 Pierce) requesting that the City
look at making 24th Street a four lane.
Moved by Parks, seconded by Quirmbach, to refer the McLaughlin letter to staff for an
opinion.
Council members noted that a report had already been prepared on this subject.
Councilman Parks withdrew the motion, but asked that the report be made available to him
to send to Mr. McLaughlin.
Council member Quirmbach noted that Iowa State has announced a new housing policy and expects
that policy will have potentially significant implications for the City’s attempts at managing housing,
land use, and transportation.
Moved by Quirmbach, seconded by Hoffman, to invite the appropriate housing officials
from Iowa State University to come give the Council a presentation on their plans.
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
Council member Quirmbach referred to a letter received from Fred Miller regarding the issue of
under grounding power lines (utility lines) in existing areas. Wanted to know if this issue merited
further discussion
Councilman Parks noted that he also received a copy of Mr. Miller’s letter and felt that the way the
letter was written, he believed it was not intended that the Council embark on a long-range plan, but
perhaps develop a policy that over time the City could accommodate. Several other Council
members remarked that the subject had been previously discussed (most recently pertaining to the
South Duff renovation, which would have cost over a million dollars). Mayor Tedesco noted that
Mr. Miller was coming in for a visit with him about the letter. Councilman Quirmbach asked for
previous information on this subject to bring him and Councilman Cross up to date. City Manager
Schainker indicated that the only area costed out would have been the South Duff area.
Moved by Parks, seconded by Quirmbach, to ask staff to meet with Mr. Miller to
investigate his idea further to see if there is any kind of opportunity there (rather than
conducting a large study).
Vote on Motion: 5-1. Voting aye: Campbell, Cross, Hoffman, Parks, Quirmbach. Voting
nay: Wirth. Motion carried.
The Council’s annual retreat is scheduled for Saturday, January 23, at the Parks & Recreation
Conference Room. Tim Shields, Institute of Public Affairs, will be the facilitator for this all-day
retreat.
Moved by Parks, seconded by Campbell, to set Saturday, November 14, as the date to
review the non-mandated boards and commissions (8 a.m. to noon, Council Chambers).
Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion declared carried unanimously.
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ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned 8:35 p.m.
_______________________________________________________________________
Lynette Windsor, Recording Secretary Ted Tedesco, Mayor