Vet Med Trail grant, Storm H20
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Bronwyn's Council Preview |
The City Council meeting starts at 6 p.m. this Tuesday. The agenda includes (but is not limited to):
- 13. Resolution supporting submission of State of Iowa Recreational Trail Grant Application for Grand Avenue Extension project.
At this stage, the City is applying for grant funding that would facilitate the paving of a separate bike facility along the currently gravel "Vet Med Trail". The Grand Ave. extension itself will have a concurrent shared use path, and the stand-alone bike trail would split from Grand just South of the creek.
- 36. First passage of ordinance pertaining to exceptions and hardships to Rental Concentration Cap.
Two hardship/exception options are included in the first draft of this ordinance. One allows for those who purchased their homes before the moratorium (late 2017) to apply for an LOC (aka rental permit) before September 1st. They would then need to bring the home into rental compliance within another limited time frame, and be using the home as a rental within a year to maintain their LOC. 2nd, Council directed staff to draft a hardship option which requires the property be surrounded by a number of rentals, and in which a homeowner would need to show proof of the home being on the market and not selling. Under this hardship option, this property owner could submit a request to be granted a hardship exception. - 38. Third passage and adoption of Downtown/Gateway Zoning District ORDINANCE NO. 4355 pertaining to standards (tabled from June 12, 2018).
This is the third reading of an ordinance creating a new zoning district in the area from Grand to Duff along Lincoln Way. It was tabled at a prior meeting as we changed the status of current business owners from "nonconforming" to "preexisting", a semantic change that allows for the expansion of current businesses in the area, while still requiring any new businesses/properties to meet Downtown Gateway zoning. - 41. Discussion of request to exclude Westside Neighborhood from Rental Concentration Cap.
Council has gone back and forth on whether or not to include this neighborhood from the Rental cap. Those in favor say it retains affordable homes for purchase, and aren't convinced more rental conversions are needed. Those opposed say Westside should be allowed more rentals because of its close proximity to ISU, and feedback from owners in the area requesting no cap. -
45. Follow-up Staff Report on Post-Construction Storm water Management Ordinance.
This item relates to how and when storm-water drainage requirements kick in for development. This staff report addresses a few situations. One proposal is to change how we define parking lot "redevelopment". For example, if a business wants to remove their old paving and replace it with the same amount of new paving, they currently are required to bring this new lot up to the new standard. Instead, businesses/developers would prefer that replacing THE SAME AMOUNT of old paving with new be considered "maintenance", and not "redevelopment", and thus not trigger the storm-water improvements currently required. This is a timely issue with the large rainfalls we have seen this year. As always, Council needs to balance any requests for a change in our standards with our goal for flood mitigation. -
49. Staff Report on request to initiate Land Use Police Plan Map Amendment at 113 North Dakota Avenue.
Staff are reporting on a request to change this parcel of land from low-density residential to HOC (highway oriented commercial). Even if a 'minor' amendment is undertaken, staff recommend having at least one public input meeting on this topic. During our recent Downtown Gateway zoning discussion, we heard from several business owners that HOC property is in short supply in the city. However, the surrounding neighborhood has historically been opposed to changing the zoning in this area. -
Thanks for reading,
Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen
City Council At-Large
