Bronwyn's Council Preview

At the last council meeting (August 27, 2019) the Ames City Council unanimously passed a resolution in support for the "Healthy Life Center".  The resolution's final paragraph reads:

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Ames City Council is unanimous in its support of the Healthy Life Center and encourages our citizens to vote YES on September 10th!

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

• 17. Staff Report on Vacation Lodging Standards.

  • This item has been on recent agendas, and now staff are asking for clarification on separation distance and zoning districts for which this would apply. To recap, this proposed language allows property owners in residential zones to use a house solely for short-term rental, as long as they secure a rental letter of compliance, a special use permit, and are a minimum distance from other short-term rentals of the same type.

  • If the property owner lives in the house and only rents out a room for short-term lodging, the 'vacation lodging' term does not apply, and these cases are covered by the next agenda item.

  • The major item requiring Council clarification is how to measure the separation distance (1000 ft), and what to do if properties within this distance apply at the same time during the initial application phase. 

• 18. 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 specific zoning districts(Continued from July 23, 2019, August 13, 2019, and August 27, 2019).

  • These amendments are the ones necessary to define and regulate guest lodging (otherwise known as short-term lodging or Airbnbs) in Ames. This item has been delayed several times, as Council had been refining the "Vacation Lodging" concept (as seen in the above agenda item) before finalizing all other short-term lodging definitions. 

  • Most short-term lodging falls in this category. For example, a homeowner may rent out a spare room or two while still occupying the house, or rent out their house while on vacation or sabbatical. If these amendments are approved, this type of accessory use will be allowed in residential zoning districts. 

• 19. Hearing on 415 Stanton Avenue Contract Rezoning Agreement: (Continued from August 27, 2019).

  • This item was tabled at our last meeting, but is back now for consideration. The developer wishes to modify the age requirements in their contract rezoning of the old Crawford building. They are proposing that 80% of the units have at least one resident over age 55, as opposed to the original requirement of 100% of the units. (6 of 30 housing units) Planning and Zoning voted 5-0 to recommend approval.

• 21. Hearing on proposed amendment to Zoning Code related to bicycle parking incentives in commercial and industrial areas.
  • Currently, bicycle parking is not required in most commercial zoning districts. This proposal would allow existing and new businesses/developers in commercial zones to swap out a handful of car parking spaces if they create bike parking in its place. This does not create a requirement for bicycle parking, but allows flexibility in parking requirements to encourage the installation of more of it. Planning and zoning voted 6-0 to recommend approval.
• 22. Hearing on request to approve a Major Site Development Plan for 3413 Aurora Avenue and 3425 Aurora Avenue.
  • This request is for the last two lots of the Village Park Subdivision, located at 3413 and 3425 Aurora Ave. The developer is proposing one apartment building on each lot, both 2-story and with 8 units each. These apartments will serve as a transition between larger, 36-unit apartments to the east and future single-family housing to the west. Planning and Zoning voted 7-0 to recommend approval.
    
    
    
     
• 23. Rental Code, first passage of ordinance amending Chapter 13 to add rent abatement as an enforcement tool, to add one year Letter of Compliance prohibition as an enforcement tool, and to freeze  the bedroom counts for all properties in the Near Campus Neighborhoods to what would have been allowed on January 1, 2018.
  • At our last meeting, we directed staff to modify the rental code in a few ways.
    • First, we added the option for staff to use rent abatement as a tool for enforcement of serious infractions of the rental code.
    • Second, we added an option for staff to deny a letter of compliance request for a year upon discovery of a blatant illegal rental.
    • Finally, we asked for language to freeze the number of bedrooms for houses in near-campus neighborhoods. (For example, if someone owns a 3-bedroom house near campus, they can only ever rent it as a 3-bedroom house. As an owner, they'd be allowed to physically add a bedroom, but any future rental letter of compliance would only recognize 3 bedrooms.)

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.
 

• Potential City Council Field Trips.
   

Thanks for reading,

Bronwyn Beatty-Hansen

At-Large Council Member