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):
 

• 17. Resolution accepting donation of five acres of land on Woodland Street (Old Edwards Elementary School) from Ames Community School District for use as a City neighborhood park.

  • This transfer of land from the School District to the City is the final step in a very successful process for the Old Edwards neighborhood. Not only was the School District willing to consider this use for their property, neighbors and supporters of the park raised a substantial sum of money to secure this park.
    
    
     

• 25. Discussion with ASSET volunteers regarding 2020/21 ASSET Priorities.

  • Many of the ASSET funding priorities remain unchanged, though this year's changes include ordering the sub-points in rank of priority, and adding some clarification regarding the 'youth development' priority. 

• 26. Community Solar Project.

  • This project has been a long time in the works, and staff are now recommending approval. The original goal set for this community solar field was to have 80% of the project funded by citizen/business/institutional pledges, and staff are satisfied with our current standing at or above 70%. 

• 27. Retail Solar Net Metering Update.

  • This item relates to personal (or business/industrial) installations of solar, and how customers are paid for energy when their consumption is less than their production. Council changed our method to that of "net metering" beginning in 2017. At the time, we directed staff to bring this topic back for Council review after some duration, to see its impact on solar installations in Ames. Staff are recommending no change to the net metering system. 

• 28. Discussion of proposed Rental Housing Code changes.

  • After the State passed legislation negating our rental cap, Council directed staff to explore several options for modifications to the rental code. The options to be discussed  include the following; holding landlords fiscally responsible for nuisance issues at their properties, making illegal rentals ineligible for a rental permit, rent abatement (if a landlord is in non-compliance with certain codes, a renter could withhold payment), removing the clause that allows children to live in a house owned by a parent without a rental permit, and freezing the number of bedrooms registered to each property in near campus neighborhoods. 
     

• 29. Staff Report on Vacation Lodging.
  • Vacation lodging refers to short-term lodging without the owner occupying the home, such as an Airbnb where the house is unoccupied unless it is being rented. Currently this class of short-term lodging is not allowed in residential zones. Staff have a number of suggestions for ways to limit the number of such homes, if we do decide to allow them. Suggestions include separation distances, or limiting this use to medium or high density zones, among other suggestions.
     
• 30. Hearing on proposed amendments to the Zoning Code (Chapter 29) and the Rental Code (Chapter 13) and the creation of a new Chapter 35 to establish zoning definitions, standards, and enforcement procedures for permitting/licensing of guest lodging in specified zoning district.
  • This item would create a system for 'guest lodging' in certain zones, allowing for owner-occupied Airbnbs (and others). This is an item Council has been discussing over the past few months, though we separated out 'vacation lodging' (see previous agenda item) to discuss on its own. 
• 36. Hearing on South Grand Avenue, South 5th Street to Squaw Creek Drive, and South 5th Street, South Grand Avenue to 600' west of South Duff Avenue.
  • This item is mostly routine, but it's a good reminder that progress IS actually happening on the South Grand extension. 
     
• 37. Resolution approving Agreement with JCorp and authorizing payment to JCorp of Ames, Iowa in the amount of $57,339.05 from unobligated General Obligation Bond funds regarding Tripp Street Extension project.
  • This item would repay JCorp for work done to prepare for the Tripp St. extension through the old Middle School property.
     
• 38. Flood Mitigation - River Flooding Land Acquisition (Tom Carney property on South Duff Avenue).
  • This item was tabled at our last regular meeting, in order to determine if we could commit to buying or securing an easement for this property using FEMA grant money contingent upon eventual completion of the river channel modifications. Staff have researched this, and are reporting back that we could commit at this point without jeopardizing our ability to use federal funds.
    
    

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.
 

• Heartland Senior Services Request 
• Memo Rapid Flashing Beacons  
• K Friedrich Res And Comm Dev  
• COA Memo Inclusion Crosswalk Update 7-19-2019 
   

Thanks for reading,

Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen

At-Large Council Member