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HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Regular Meeting of the Ames City Council 10/22/1992MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE AMES CITY COUNCIL AMES, IOWA OCTOBER 22, 1992 The Ames City Council met in special session at 5:00 p.m., October 22, 1992, in the City Council Chambers in the City Hall, 515 Clark Avenue, pursuant to law with Mayor Curtis presiding and the following Council Members present: Campbell, Hertz, Hoffman, Parks, and Wirth. Council Member Brown arrived late. CODE REVISION FOR LICENSED ESTABLISHMENTS: Moved by Campbell, seconded by Hoffman, to refer to Staff a request from Dan Heuertz, owner of People's Bar and Grill, revising Section 17.16 of the Municipal Code to allow licensed establishments to set restaurant and bar hours. Vote on Motion: 5-0. Motion declared carried unanimously. CAMPUSTOWN REDEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS: City Manager Steve Schainker reintroduced urban design expert Michael Freedman of Freedman, Tung & Bottomley, San Francisco, California. Mr. Freedman was invited to Ames in August of this year to develop design concepts for physical improvements to the Campustown area. He is back at this time in order to present those concepts to the Council and interested attendees. Mr. Freedman gave a slide presentation regarding his concepts for revitalizing the area. Council Member Brown arrived at 5:20 p.m. Mr. Freedman stated that Campustown has very good visibility with excellent connections to the ISU campus, and because of its assets, the area should be a huge success. However, there is a clear pattern of disinvestment in Campustown. The current image of Welch Avenue does not seem like a "campustown". There needs to an ambiance created which will draw people to the area. The entrances on both ends of Welch Avenue need to advertise Campustown, which will make people want to linger. Mr. Freedman indicated that the City needs to create a design manual which would lead the way for business owners to develop avenues in which to make people want to be there. The area needs to add types of businesses and design features which make it "quirky", such as shingle signs and colorful facades. He further indicated that the public funds spent towards the redevelopment of Campustown need to be seen as "priming the pump", and private investment will be needed in order to make the revitalization happen. In addressing the parking situation, Mr. Freedman stressed that the number of spaces is very compatible with the amount of businesses located in Campustown. He again referred to parking management of available spaces as the key to a working solution for parking problems. At this time, Mr. Freedman recommended that trees be planted on the curb line along the first block of Welch Avenue, as well as placing antique-type street lights with banners attached within the parking zone. He explained that since there is no seating area, benches should also be placed every 100 feet between the trees. Parallel parking on both sides of Welch Avenue was recommended for the first block south of Lincoln Way. In regards to the Welch Avenue block south of Chamberlain Street, he stated that one side of Welch would hold parallel parking while the other side would allow angle parking. Within the two-block span on Welch Avenue, 24 additional parking spaces would be created. Because the businesses located within the second block are set back further from Welch Avenue, Mr. Freedman stated that five-foot easements on the east side of the street will need to be vacated by the private business owners in order redevelop this portion of Campustown. He also stated that in this block, his plan would incorporate the opposite placement of the trees and lighting, with the trees in the parking zone and the street lighting back on the curb. There will also be "bow out" sections added to the street crossing corners of Welch Avenue. These sections will add to the sense of security for pedestrians crossing the street. Mr. Freedman reported that the bow-out's would be a good area in which to display public art competitions as well. It was recommended that trees and lighting also be placed along the south side of Lincoln Way. Mr. Freedman's final recommendation for the Campustown redevelopment project would be to construct a clock tower in the middle of Welch Avenue just south of the Chamberlain Street intersection. The clock tower would harmonize with the same type of architecture that is found on the ISU campus, thereby making more of a connection between Welch Avenue and the university. Conversation was again directed to parking. Mr. Freedman explained that leased parking needs to be done away with in order to use high turnover parking for customers. He re-emphasized that shared parking in privately-owned lots needed to be implemented in order to better utilize existing parking areas. He recommended that the City improve the signage which would greatly enhance the visibility of existing parking lots. Mr. Freedman suggested that the ISU campus lot on Hayward Avenue be explored for more parking spaces. Mr. Freedman explained that the best use of the City's dollar investment for the redevelopment of Campustown would be to spend it towards helping the area market itself as a "campustown". He estimated that the improvement costs for construction would be approximately $839,000. The City should also set aside around $200,000 for street grading and striping and an additional $200,000 for business recruitment and technical assistance. He recommended that Staff develop City zoning standards as well as design guidelines. The guidelines would offer suggestions for building improvements for the private business owners. City Manager Schainker informed those present that Michael Freedman would be speaking at the Park Inn on Friday, October 23, in order to address improvement concepts for South Duff Avenue. COMMENTS: There were no comments. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m. _____________________________________ _____________________________________ Jill Ripperger, Acting City Clerk Larry R. Curtis, Mayor