Bronwyn's Council Preview

The City Council meeting starts at 6:00 p.m. this Tuesday at city hall. The agenda includes (but is not limited to):
 

• 20. Staff Report/Update on Downtown parking items.
  At a recent workshop on Downtown parking, Council directed staff to investigate three things; the cost and scope of a parking study for the area, options to address employee parking needs, and options for meters to accept credit cards. According to the staff report, hiring a consultant to do a study (including outreach, supply/demand analysis, and suggestions) would cost approximately $70,000. Regarding employee parking, staff recommend a hang-tag system (for purchase) which would allow employees to use the 4-hour free spots behind Main St. to the south. On the subject of parking meters accepting credit cards, staff reports the costs of retrofitting the meters themselves too great to fund with the available balance. (Though, it may be that some other solution may work for that, such as a handful of kiosks.) Council will give direction on these three topics related to Downtown parking on Tuesday night.

• 21. Staff Report on Short-Term Rentals.(additional information relative to the Oct 23 staff report).
  We recently discussed short-term rentals (STR for short or "Airbnbs" colloquially), and directed staff to come back with more information on STRs within apartments and condos, as well as how this applies in the hospital-medical zone. To allow STRs in apartments, we could either allow the primary resident (rather than the owner) to operate the STR, or we could restrict it only to owners, which would mostly then be applicable to condos. Regarding the Hospital-Medical zone question, staff report that there are 3 privately owned homes within this zone, and the hospital itself owns four homes, so the effect of STRs on this district should be fairly minimal, if any.

• 22. Alterations to Depot Building at 500 Main Street.
  Merry Bee Properties, LLC (current owner of the Depot) is asking to change some elements of the west and south of the building in order to accommodate their new tenant, Cornbred BBQ. Due to a development agreement from a prior renovation in the 90's, Council has to approve these changes, to ensure the historic nature of the building is maintained. As staff report, the proposed changes include adding seating and a possible fire-pit to the west, in what is now open space, as well as adding a screen to occlude a cooler and smoker behind the building to the south. 
  
  
   

• 24. Proposed Text Amendments for updating nonconforming use and nonconforming structure standards.
  Due to an Iowa Court of Appeals decision regarding how nonconforming uses can be intensified, staff have proposed a few changes to tidy up the language in our code regarding nonconforming uses, structures, etc. These changes include clarifying what is meant by "intensification", better defining "remodeling", and adding some language about abandonment following a calamity. 

• 25. Hearing on Major Site Development Plan for 1404, 1405, and 1410 Buckeye Avenue (formerly K-Mart).
  The old K-Mart site is being redeveloped, the proposal is shown in the image below. The new site includes some mini-storage and several spaces for retail or office tenants.
  
  

• 26. Hearing on Development Agreement with Barilla America, Inc., with tax increment rebate incentives and project development requirements.
  This development agreement was initiated last year, when Council agreed to a TIF incentive for their redevelopment. This agreement represents the City's commitment, with a commitment in turn from Barilla to agree to a minimum property assessment annually of $16.3 million.

Non-Agenda Packet: The following items are requests and communications to the council that are not on the agenda.  This includes staff reports and communications/request from constituents/developers. By tradition the council can ask city staff for more information (a report), put the item on a future agenda for discussion or just accept the communication (taking no further action). This usually takes place at the end of the meeting during council comments.
 

• Hunziker Refund Request.
  When planning the stoplight and lane modifications near Walmart on South Duff, it was arranged that three parties, Hunziker included, would each pay for a third of the related costs. The agreement actually included a dollar figure, though costs ran over that. Hunziker is arguing that they are only responsible for paying up to the dollar amount indicated in the agreement, and not the overage, even though it represents a third of the costs.
• Airport Hangar Proposal from Brian Aukes.
  We have been asked to reconsider our airport hangar rental rates. Staff report that a consultant, Coffman Associates, is currently in the process of an Airport Master Plan, and a rate examination would be part of their work.
   

Thanks for reading,

Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen

At-Large Council Member