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Home My WebLink About~Master - September 16, 2026, Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting Minutes1 MINUTES PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION Council Chambers 515 Clark Avenue September 16, 2026 Call to Order Chairperson Mike Sullivan called the meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission to order at 7:00 p.m. In attendance were Julie Winter, Scott Huffman, Mike Sullivan, Matthew Voss, Kyle Hauswirth and Jim Blickensdorf. Cheryl Moss was absent. Staff in attendance were Kelly Diekmann and Benjamin Campbell. Approval of Agenda Moved by Hauswirth, seconded by Winter, to approve the September 16, 2026 agenda. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion carried unanimously. Approval of Minutes Moved by Voss, seconded by Hauswirth, to approve the minutes of September 2, 2026. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion carried unanimously. Public Forum Chairperson Sullivan opened and closed Public Forum when no one came forward to speak. Preliminary Plat for Ontario Development (Ontario Townes and Ontario Park) on Ontario Street at Scholl Road Planner Benjamin Campbell presented the Preliminary Plat for Ontario Park on the east side of the development, which will have 26 detached single-family homes. The lots reflect the PUD deviation request with widths of 43 feet rather than the standard 50 feet. Applicant Justin Dodge with Hunziker Companies addressed the Commission; there were no questions for him. Chairperson Sullivan opened Public Comment. Max Porter of 1707 Amherst Drive stated he is very concerned about the traffic problem being created with the proposed development. He noted when the Commission made the condition for a traffic study at the previous meeting there were no stipulations or conditions attached to it. Mr. Porter emphasized that 90 some additional homes are too much for Ontario as the surrounding residents have trouble getting on to Ontario now, and he cannot imagine what having all the additional houses would do. Mr. Porter said he believes the neighbors would not be against the project if it were all single-family 2 dwellings, which would match with the rest of the neighborhood, and he asked the Commission to add that stipulation. He added he would like to see Scholl Road extended up to Kingman Road for a second means of egress. Royce Quinn of 3230 Kingman Road questioned how many of the dwellings will be for sale versus for rent. She asked if anyone could speak to the numerous test wells in the east section of the proposed development and if they are related to the monitoring that Iowa State has been doing for contaminated runoff water from thorium and uranium. Chairperson Sullivan closed Public Comment. Justin Dodge stated Scholl Road north of the railroad tracks was not part of the land they acquired from the University; it is still an institutional road and the University would have to make any improvements to that area. He said their intent for the east side is to sell every lot to Destiny Homes who then plans to sell all the homes; some of them could be turned into rentals after that point, but it is unknown if or how many that would be. Mr. Dodge concluded by stating the University did not disclose anything about any particular wells or contamination of wells. They sold the land with the intent that it would be turned into a residential subdivision. Matthew Voss discussed an email forwarded to the Commission regarding the suggestion of native plant bioretention cells for the development . He asked if that was within the purview of the Commission. Director Kelly Diekmann said they could not require something in the right-of-way that is not the City’s specifications. He added there is no room for them on Ontario and there is no practice of doing them in front of single-family homes. Mr. Diekmann said the Commission could make a recommendation, but not a condition as a feature of the subdivision. Discussion was held about street parking in and around the development. Director Diekmann pointed out the developer is asking for incentives for the cost of reconstructing Scholl Road. He said City Council has not made a final decision on it, but when it was proposed, there was discussion about a maximum number of rental properties that would be in the development, so it might end up as a condition of getting the incentive to have some limit on rental versus owner occupied. Scott Huffman addressed the landscaping plan for the east side pointing out the wildflower and native seeding. He encouraged the developer to consider tall grasses for the area. He said he appreciated that the landscape plan reflect ed keeping some native plantings involved on the site. 3 Moved by Hauswirth, seconded by Huffman, to recommend that the City Council approve the Preliminary Plat for Ontario Development with a condition for final street tree planting plan and for coordination of tree planting with driveway permit approvals subject to staff review with Final Plat. Vote on Motion: 6-0. Motion passed unanimously. Ordinance to Establish a Downtown Social District Director Kelly Diekmann explained the boundaries for the district which include the corner of 6th Street and Grand Avenue and Time Out bar on Kellogg Avenue south of the railroad tracks; public properties were intentionally excluded (City Hall, City Hall Parking Lot, Schainker Plaza, the Library property). Kyle Hauswirth asked what the mechanisms are on the district. Director Diekmann gave an overview of the draft ordinance. Matthew Voss asked if the Commission was able to consider changes to the proposed ordinance or only the boundaries. Mr. Diekmann said if the Commission had concerns, Council would want to hear what they are and recommendations could be offered. Mr. Voss said he was considering limits in terms of number of hours or number of events per year. Jim Blickensdorf inquired about the property on the south side and asked if it was worth expanding the boundaries to include the future anticipated development in that area. Mr. Diekmann said staff was not comfortable supporting such a large district that had no establishments in it and was concerned about how it would be policed . He added the ordinance could be amended at any time to include the area later. Mike Sullivan expressed concern about the boundary extending across the railroad tracks. Mr. Blickensdorf suggested omitting both the credit union in the northwest corner since it does not make sense and the Time Out property considering it is dangerous to cross the railroad tracks. Kyle Hauswirth stated he was concerned about excluding a business like Time Out. Applicant Ronnie Bartmess, Executive Director of Ames Main Street, stated there are other cities implementing this change and she took recommendations from them, read their ordinances, and talked with city staff to develop an ordinance for Ames. She assured the Sip and Stroll will not be all the time ; it will only be during select events during select hours and there will be proper signage on all intersections and light poles , and every event applicant is required to add additional signage. She said an Ames Police Officer will 4 be hired to be on site for the first event to make sure things run smoothly. She concluded by saying Main Street is an inclusive community and they do not want to see a business left out. Chairperson Sullivan opened and closed Public Comment when no one came forward to speak. Discussion was held about business participation and the boundaries. Moved by Hauswirth, seconded by Winter, to recommend Alternative #1. Vote on Motion: 3-3. Motion failed. Discussion was held about putting limits on the number of events. Moved by Voss, seconded by Winter, to recommend Alternative #2 and add that Council consider limits around the number of events approved in a year and limits as to the days and hours of those events, with the boundaries as drawn. Vote on Motion: 3-3. Motion failed. Scott Huffman suggested the Commission look at the boundaries and let City Council handle the other aspects of the ordinance relying on Legal and Police to inform them on the other items. Moved by Winter, seconded by Huffman, to approve the boundary as it is shown on the map that was presented. Vote on Motion: 5-1. Sullivan voted Nay. Motion Passed. Discussion was held on restricting recurring events. Moved by Blickensdorf, seconded by Voss, to recommend that City Council consider the following topics including but not limited to the length of multi-day events, the frequency of recurring events, the days and times and hours of service of alcohol, and the total number of events authorized per year along with the requirement to file separate applications for events. Vote on Motion: 5-1. Hauswirth voted Nay. Motion passed. Commission Comments Mr. Hauswirth suggested moving the starting time of the meetings to 6:00 p.m. to be in line with other Commissions. Director Diekmann said the Bylaws say it is to begin at 7:00 p.m., but they can be changed. He recalled that it was discussed previously approximately ten years ago and the Commission at that time chose to keep it at 7:00 because they thought it was a more available time for participation. Commissioners noted for people who work in Des Moines, it would be difficult to make it by 6:00 p.m. 5 Staff Comments None Adjournment Moved by Hauswirth to adjourn at 8:49 p.m. Mike Sullivan Eileen Carter Chairperson Recording Secretary