Lincoln Way Corridor Plan Draft
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Bronwyn's Council Preview |
The Ames City Council begins at 6:00. The agenda includes:
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40. Hearing on zoning text amendment relating to solar energy systems in General Industrial zoned areas.
At a recent Council meeting, we directed staff to draft a text amendment to change rules for solar arrays in areas zoned General Industrial. The existing standard only allows for solar installations of a maximum of 6 feet tall in side and rear yards, and 4 ft tall installations w/ receipt of special use permit in front yards. If approved, the new standard will be 20 ft. for all areas, and will no longer require a special use permit for front installations. P&Z reviewed and voted 4-0 to recommend approval. -
45. Staff Report regarding Lincoln Corridor Plan.
The Lincoln Way Corridor Study has been underway for over a year now, and Tuesday's meeting will involve a presentation by consultants Houseal & Lavigne. Council will then be asked to provide direction on finalizing the plan and priorities for implementation. If you remember from the April 2016 workshop, the consultants have worked on recommendations for five key areas:
-Downtown Gateway
-Lincoln Way and Grand Ave.
-Oak to Riverside
-Campustown Transition (West of Campus)
-West Hy-Vee Retail Area
The consultants are back with this draft plan, which has recommendations for traffic improvements, appearance/landscaping, signage, housing density, and land use. Council will not yet be asked to approve the final plan, rather, the draft will be sent back for any modifications and then will return to us at a future meeting for final approval. As always, I welcome any input on this plan draft. Note: Public input will be taken at a future meeting, the purpose of this presentation is to bring everyone up to speed on the draft plan. -
46. Staff Report regarding Landscape Standards.
After much work and consultation with developers, staff are presenting their recommendations for new landscaping standards. (Prior work to develop a points-based system was scrapped by Council in November of 2016, and staff were sent back to the drawing board.) The goal of these new standards is higher quality landscaping and greater sustainability, as opposed to the current standards which focus more on screening than aesthetics or quality. -
47. Staff Report regarding text amendment for definition of pre-existing two-family homes.
Council directed Planning staff to better define "pre-existing" as it relates to two-family homes, as the current interpretation is not clear enough. Apparently, staff are often asked if a potential home buyer could convert a single-family house to a two-family dwelling, for rental purposes. If the house was a "pre-existing" two-family unit, this is allowable, but there was a time when some houses were allowed to be converted even if they didn't meet certain code requirements for two-unit properties. Staff wants to clarify that only those properties meeting code requirements for two-family units are convertible.
Thanks for reading,
Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen
City Council At-Large
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