The Ames City Council begins at 6:00 PM.  The agenda includes:

• 19. 2016-2021 Capital Improvements Plan (public input).
  
  See last week’s Preview and Review for a synopsis of the CIP. This meeting is the time for public input on the CIP, so any groups or individuals who have comments about proposed (or lacking) projects should come and speak. Council did receive fairly extensive feedback from the Ames Bicycle Coalition about several topics on the CIP, as well as a request from the Chamber of Commerce to include the extension of water and sewer beyond interstate 35 to 590th to the east along Lincoln Way for a potential future industrial area.

• 20. Resolution approving Agreement with Central Iowa Water Authority for water service transfer east of Interstate 35.
  
  This is a whole lot of land. What will it mean for you water costs, sewer costs and property taxes? If you want to learn more about leap frog development, see my short video, "Give it away, Give it away, Give it Away, Give it Away Now!". While the details and the numbers have changed, its always the same story.
  
  There is great news however, as the City of Ames seems like they will be able to have control over water in our future industrial lands. Having control over the water in this area is essential to our future growth. The 1600 acres to the east of Ames along Lincoln Way are targeted for future industrial growth.  In order to eventually serve this area, Council directed staff in 2014 to begin negotiating a buy-out of water rights from Central Iowa Rural Water. The resulting agreement allows for future developers to have a locked-in buy-out rate. (When a developer wants to build something in the area, they’ll have to pay the cost of these water rights to CIRW, then get hooked up to Ames water in order to have sufficient fire protection.)
  
  Also outlined in the staff’s report are the obvious implied next steps; revise the fringe map to show more industrial land to the east, annex said land, and extend sewer and water to the area.
  
  Some important questions to consider regarding this eastern growth area: How many years of development does 1600 acres represent? (Will infrastructure get used soon enough to justify the cost?) If we are going to grow our industrial sector, we should have a community dialog about what types of industrial users we want to encourage as neighbors. (Some industries use large amounts of water, power, and may produce undesirable outputs in the form of air or water pollution.)
  
  

• 21. 803 Lincoln Way (Haynes Kenton Subdivision).
  
  The property owner wants to split this into two lots, one w/ the Cenex gas station, and a lot to the east. They also want to put a driveway on the eastern lot. This requires a waiver, because city policy doesn’t allow for new accesses to major arterial streets upon subdivision. Due to some tanks and other installations at the Cenex station which might get in the way of traffic between the two lots, the property owner is requesting a waiver.

• 22. Staff Report on request for a Zoning Text Amendment for exemption to minimum Floor-to-AreaRatio (FAR) in the Downtown Service Center Zone.
  
  The United Church of Christ wants to add a covered walkway connecting several of the structures on their lot. To do so would require rezoning because of floor area ratio (FAR) and minimum height requirement standards. There are a few options presented by staff:

  1. Allow exceptions to religious institutions regarding floor area ratio
  2. Allow exceptions to a handful of special-use institutions (breweries, religious institutions, child care)
  3. Allow nonconforming uses to add to existing structures
  4. Modify the exception process for all users
  
  The staff report states:
  
  "DSC (Downtown Service Center) standards were crafted with the purpose of promoting Downtown as an urban district that continued the feel and look of a traditional Main Street downtown area.  Most of the  historic  buildings  in  Downtown  are  two  stories  and  have  an  FAR  that  is greater than 1.0. These standards were written to ensure that new development would  be of similar character  as  existing  buildings ..."
  
  If there are exceptions to the DSC FAR they should be narrowly crafted to maintain the downtown's character.

• 23. Staff Report on request to apply for airplane display at Ames Municipal Airport.
  
  Hunziker Development wants to work with the Ames Foundation to place a retired aircraft on display at the Ames Airport. They want to ask the United States Armed Forces what type/cost of plane might be available, but only authorized agents (like Cities, VFWs, American Legions) can request that information. The City is investing a significant amount in the airport renovations, and it is arguably a gateway to Ames. Given this status, perhaps we should consider what types of art might be best for the area. Another option involves asking the Ames Public Art Commission for input.  

Thanks for reading,

Matthew Goodman

Ex City Council At-Large

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