HomeMy WebLinkAbout~Master - Planning & Zoning Minutes 02/01/2012
1
MINUTES
CITY OF AMES
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
Date: February 1, 2012 Debra Lee 2012
Chuck Jons 2012
Call to Order: 7:00 p.m. Elizabeth Beck, Chairperson 2012
Norman Cloud , Vice-Chairperson 2013
Place: Ames City Hall Mark Stenberg 2013
Council Chambers Jeff Johnson 2014
*Troy Siefert 2014
Adjournment: 8:20 p.m.
*Absent
MAJOR TOPICS DISCUSSED:
1. Landscaping Standards Review Process
____________________________________________________________________________
CALL TO ORDER: Elizabeth Beck, Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
MOTION: (JONS/STENBERG) to approve the Agenda for the meeting of February 1, 2012.
MOTION PASSED: 6-0
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JANUARY 18, 2012:
MOTION: (JOHNSON/CLOUD) to approve the Minutes of the meeting of January 18, 2012.
MOTION PASSED: 6-0
____________________________________________________________________________
PUBLIC FORUM: There were no public comments.
____________________________________________________________________________
Landscaping Standards Review Process
Steve Osguthorpe, director, explained that the City Council has referred to staff a review of the
landscaping standards based on a number of comments and complaints received over the
years over the current standards. A PowerPoint presentation was given depicting current
landscaping issues, outlining some of the more common complaints of landscaping standards,
and illustrating various problems and successes in incorporating landscaping into development
sites and streetscapes.
Discussion after the presentation:
Jeff Johnson said he works in an environment that makes landscaping part of their branding and
is a part of the quality of life for their employees and their visitors. Landscaping adds value,
gives a sense of welcome, and says a lot about how we care about what happens; that this is
not just a transactional environment. Some of the pictures shown tonight make it seem that
Ames is more like a transaction, which makes him question what the vision is for our city.
2
Mr. Johnson said he considers art to be a big part of landscaping and was surprised to see that
it is not included as part of the definition for landscaping. Staff mentioned that the definition for
landscaping was not up-to-date and is interested to see if art is included in the updated
definition.
Mr. Johnson referenced the slide shown by the Applebee’s Restaurant. He noted that stepping
stones were artistically done within the landscaped area because they knew people would cross
the street outside of the crosswalks through the landscaped area. He suggested that stepping
stones be considered in places where people tend to walk through the landscaping when trying
to get from point A to point B.
Mr. Johnson said the City needs to be a role model for its own landscaping around the areas for
which it is responsible. Sometimes the best way to have followers is to be seen as a leader to
create the culture for which we are demanding by policy.
Chuck Jons said there are different facets that are handled by different divisions of the City. For
example, the requirement for what kinds of trees can be planted is handled by a different
department than Planning and Housing. The department responsible for the trees should have
known that ash trees should not be planted; however, until about a year ago ash trees were still
on the list. Mr. Jons further stated that the City should be more direct in what kind of
landscaping is needed. Developers will oftentimes seek out the cheapest trees in order to fulfill
their landscaping. If the area to be landscaped is a small area and irrigation is not going to
happen, then we need to require plants that are more tolerant of the dry conditions. He said he
hopes we can streamline things within the City organization, and endorses Jeff’s suggestion that
the City itself be a role model.
Mr. Jons said it was mentioned during the presentation that one of the complaints the City
frequently hears is that student apartments and those kinds of developments are kept in tight
line by the City regulators. He said it surprises him that we haven’t been following the same
enforcement process for the other types of developments.
Mr. Osguthorpe said the big question for him is asking the City Council if it is time to begin an
enforcement program to at least maintain what is required. He said until we get some direction
from the Council, he is hesitant to move forward with enforcement. The problem is so
widespread that it is hard to know where to begin without it looking like the City is picking on one
individual property owner.
Mr. Johnson said a city-wide beautification campaign would come across less about
enforcement. You can take a presentation like the one that was just shown and turn it into a
campaign for beautification to arrive at the standards with enforcement from that point forward.
Mr. Jons said the most dramatic pictures were the ones with color from annual plantings. He
asked if staff could write annuals into the code. Mr. Osguthorpe said annuals are currently not
required in the code, but he would like to find a way to encourage them.
Mr. Johnson mentioned that carefree roses and plantings of that nature are hardy and can
accomplish the same thing.
Debra Lee said she would like to know if other cities require annuals or what the motivation is
for those business owners to use annuals as a choice.
Mark Stenberg said what was noticeably striking in the presentation was the width of the
landscaped areas being dramatically larger, which would encourage growth and the ease of
3
maintenance. Anything would have a hard time growing in a parking lot with 20 ends that are
two feet wide; however, it might be easier for things to grow in one large area like what was
depicted in the pictures.
Mr. Osguthorpe said it is the microclimates that are created that we really need to be mindful of.
Sometimes a larger cluster is healthier as a microclimate than smaller things that are
surrounded by hot asphalt.
Mr. Stenberg said maybe there is a way of doing that without having to necessarily change the
percentage of landscaping versus parking stalls. Giving the landscaping a chance to survive
and thrive is definitely going to look better than a bunch of small little islands with landscaping
that didn’t survive.
Mr. Osguthorpe said one of the things we will have to balance is the heat island effect. There
are successful examples of where development has included trees to create a continuous
canopy that were located in numerous small areas; but it was the prep, maintenance, and the
overall design that was really crucial. If they aren’t going to do it at that level, we should
probably look at a more flexible, straight forward approach to clustering and achieving the same
area, which is one of the objectives that we are going to be looking at in this review process.
Mr. Johnson asked what is meant by the automobile light issue when it states reduce the effects
of automobile lights. Mr. Osguthorpe explained that there may be a commercial project next to a
residential area and the screening of automobile lights into a neighboring property is something
that will need to be looked at.
Mr. Jons asked when the landscaping standards that we presently have were adopted. Mr.
Osguthorpe said he doesn’t know how long the current landscaping standards have been in
place, but thinks they have been incrementally changed over time. Mr. Jons said he is
interested in knowing how the present landscaping standards were developed.
Norman Cloud noted that the places that had good quality landscaping looked like it was
designed to have that look. Staff made the statement that a lot of times landscaping is the last
item finished when a development is completed, which means soil prep probably isn’t being
done and there isn’t a plan for that landscaping to canopy. True landscaping is all about setting
out a plan and then it takes about three to five years to come to fruition.
Mr. Osguthorpe said that is correct. Right now our landscaping is largely just the residue. It’s
what is left over on the site where a few trees might be put in without any consideration for how
landscaping might be integral to the project design.
Mr. Cloud said the landscaping shown in the pictures taken at Jordan Creek and in Minnesota
would not have looked like that the first year they were put in. Somebody spent a lot of time
taking care of those initial plantings to bring them to the maturity shown in the pictures.
Elizabeth Beck spoke about the need for consequences for those businesses that installed
landscaping that did not survive and requiring them to go back and make it right. She said this
might be a really tough stand, but we are talking about quality of life and aesthetics and trying to
draw people in. She recalled the site plans that were recently approved for the North Grand
Mall. The City should have required them to show their landscaping design before their project
was allowed to move forward.
Mr. Johnson said he thinks the new normal is that landscaping doesn’t matter. If we suddenly
demand a developer to provide something that the City has not been enforcing, it appears that
4
we are holding them to a different standard. Establishing a campaign will be saying to the
developers that we are setting a new normal. We are going to partner with existing business to
reset the standard, even if it’s a minimum standard. Then as we go forward to change the
standards, at least the minimum standards have been met and we can move the new standards
forward.
Mr. Cloud said normally we call this non-conforming. He gave an example of non-conforming
when a building front that is supposed to be of a certain texture and look is worn away and the
property owner decides to tear it off and paint it instead of replacing it back to the way it is
supposed to be.
Mr. Osguthorpe explained that there is a difference between legally non-conforming and illegal
non-conformities. Illegal non-conformities happen when people are required to do something
and then subsequently didn’t maintain it or took it out altogether.
Mr. Cloud said the difference is there was a standard when the development occurred, which is
very different than stating in the future we are going to have a greater amount of landscaping.
But for that particular site they are not conforming to what they originally agreed to, which is
independent for how we want to move forward with greater emphasis on planning for greater
amounts of landscaping.
Mr. Johnson said it will be unpleasant if we come out with enforcement when we have never
had enforcement. A campaign will emphasize that this is a partnership and that we are not
picking on one particular business.
Mr. Stenberg said he agrees that we not initially begin with enforcement, but work together to
develop a campaign for how to beautify our areas that might be easier for people to respond to
and then build on that. It may put pressure on those other businesses to follow if a few
businesses start doing something.
Mr. Osguthorpe said it just may need to come down to public awareness. People are becoming
so used to what they are seeing that they don’t realize what it could be until they see a contrast.
They sort of lose sight that there is an issue and become numb to it.
Ms. Lee said a picture speaks a thousand words, which is why she suggested that it would be
valuable for the Planning and Zoning Commission to see the presentation.
Mr. Johnson said landscaping seems to be treated as an afterthought and then as neglect from
that point on.
Mr. Jons asked about the status of the businesses that will soon be under construction on the
former bowling alley site on South Duff. Mr. Osguthorpe said we have received site plans and
landscape plans that have been reviewed and approved for that site, which is the part of the
process that we assure compliance. The difficulties occur after the fact if over time the
landscaping is not maintained.
Mr. Jons asked if staff envisions that they would request a greater percentage of landscaping for
developments in the future. Mr. Osguthorpe explained that he is putting together a workgroup of
several people each with a different level of expertise to help staff study the existing
landscaping standards. The Commission will be kept informed and have a chance to participate
in this process.
5
Mr. Johnson said he likes that Steve has stated what the requirements are and what the reality
is. The bigger question now is, are we happy with the way things look and how can we get to
where we need to be.
Ms. Lee said she is pleased that this item falls under areas of the code that might be barriers to
better sustainability, which is one of the items the Commission looked at during its discussion on
priorities. She said she is also pleased to see that the City Council also seems to be using this
project as an opportunity to look at the regulations. Mr. Osguthorpe said this could be an
exciting opportunity to address things like green infrastructure, which a lot of the sustainable
conscious communities are implementing in some very innovative ways.
Ms. Beck said landscaping standards also enhances the quality of life with bike paths, people
walking, coming to an area, and connectivity. The pieces of a larger picture have been
identified, but there is connectivity in a way to make this city more livable and a larger place
between districts, which is part of what the landscaping standards are supposed to help do. It
isn’t just pavement or a dirt path between one place and another; there is some sort of a pattern
and a plan. However, in order to get that and to maintain that, you have to include the
enforcement and consequences that are appropriate and doable.
Mr. Osguthorpe mentioned the issue that came before the City Council dealing with an
individual on enforcing landscaping. He said the individual was questioning why they were being
required to do something that others all around them were not. He said this placed staff in a
very difficult situation and it makes it difficult to move forward in a positive way.
Mr. Johnson said that is why we have to set the new normal. There are studies that show traffic
slowing down in beautifully landscaped areas because people take into account the
environment they are travelling through. It has the ability to lower stress. There are a lot of
psychological things that occur with landscaping that sends a message of a safe, engaged
community. He said his word for Ames is that we are heavily transactional; people are coming in
to spend their dollar and then leaving.
Mr. Osguthorpe said that works well for what he calls impulse-type businesses where you are
there for a reason and can quickly get in and out. But it is not as effective for a destination-type
place where some of the big boys want to be. You will likely find the larger, more upscale
department stores in an environment like Jordan Creek where there is high attention to detail.
That is not to guarantee they will come, but it is easy to see that pattern where those kinds of
developments are in locations where there is a higher aesthetic.
Mr. Johnson noted that we treat Main Street aesthetically different than South Duff, which is a
choice that the City has made.
Mr. Cloud said we need to find a balance in trying to get people to consider spending a little
more money on landscaping up front and then maintaining it.
Mr. Jons said he would like the committee to consider that there will be a point down the road
that our design standards are going to be upgraded.
Mr. Osguthorpe said one of the tasks of the workgroup is to consider if we want to have different
standards in different zones.
Ms. Beck said we are often dealing with large corporations where decisions are not locally
made. If you have a Lowe’s in one location looking different than a Lowe’s in another location, it