HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-05-07 Transcription Page 1
2. Student Leadership Awards—Grant Wood and Longfellow Elementary
Throgmorton: So we have students from Grant Wood Elementary and Longfellow Elementary,
and I think we have two students from Grant Wood. That's right, huh? Could the
two students from Grant Wood come up please. (speaking away from mic, unable
to hear) Great, thank you! Why don't you all back up a little bit and leave some
space in the center for me. Great, thanks! All right, so Grant Wood's a terrific
school. How long have you been goin'to Grant Wood, how many years?
Flack: Seven years.
Throgmorton: Oops, sorry! (noise on mic)
Flack: Seven years.
Throgmorton: Wow! You?
Tilley: Just two.
Throgmorton: Wow, all right, two years. Did you move here from somewhere?
Tilley: Yes. (laughter) I....I moved here from Wisconsin and I was home-schooled.
Throgmorton: Okay, great! All right, so....we have, you have your....your speeches, right?
Okay, great! So we have two separate awards and they both, they have your
names on them separately, right? So when we get to doing it, I'll read the award,
uh, and you'll just imagine your names being mentioned. Okay? Is that clear?
Probably not! (laughter) Okay so why don't you start, uh,by state your name
so....I gotta help myself out here....Natalia Flack, right? Okay,Natalia, would
you read your speech and then we'll move on!
Flack: Hi, my name is Natalia Flack and I believe I was chosen for this award because
I'm responsible, respectful, and I help others when they need it. I'm in band, I
play the flute. I'm in anthem choir where we sing about peace and believing in
yourself. I'm in art club and I was deemed 'mom' of the group because I show
interest in others and support their art work. I'm also in flag patrol, after-school
program, a writing club where we share original pieces and express ourselves
through writing, composition and drum choir, I'm learning how to write music and
play different rhythms, soccer— I'm on the yellow team, a fitness program called
LifeStar, where we learn about being healthy. In the classroom I'm the banker
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 2
who deals with our class finances and whenever I can I help my classmates with
math, reading, and social studies. Every day after lunch I clean the cafeteria with
a few other people. One of them is standing right next to me. I'd like to thank my
teachers, classmates, coaches, the volunteers, my friends, and the Iowa City City
Council for this award, and my family for their support through everything.
Thank you. (applause)
Throgmorton: Good! (applause continues) Natalia, it's pretty clear you do know how to write!
That was really well crafted. Bravo! Okay, and the next one is...uh....I forgot
your name already! Mason Tilley, right? Okay! And I just met you over there,
right, Mason, with your dad. Okay, so why don't you read your speech.
Tilley: Well I have mine memorized (laughter) I didn't, I left it over there. (laughter and
people talking in background) Can I hold it? Thank you. Hello, everyone, my
name is Mason Wayne Tilley and I'm a sixth grader at Grant Wood Elementary.
First off I'd like to thank the Iowa City City Council for allowing me to come and
speak in front of all of you beautiful, amazing people(laughter) out here. (laughs)
Even though the weather was not permitting at first for this event to happen, thank
you for making time for us. It's really amazing to be here. Second, I would like
to thank my amazing parents who always encourage me to work hard and apply
myself in school. My dad, over there, hello, and my mom right there. You're
amazing! Back to me (laughter) also I'd like to thank my, uh, my....my beautiful,
strong, sisters—Nina and Mara—who are standing right over there. Uh, they're...
I always looked up to them and they're so amazing! And lastly I'd like to thank
my incredibly amazing teacher Mr. Glenn. (laughter) Thank you for choosing me
for this award. It's....it's truly a great honor. (laughs) I try to work hard and
apply myself in everything I do, in and out of school. In school I...am the banker
in my classroom, which means I manage the funds. We have a sort of financial
system in our classroom, which....and I am one of the three bank holder...the key
holders to the bank, and we keep track of all sorts of stuff. I'm also in a group
called ELP, which is an acronym for extended learning program where we do, we
learn about a bunch of different topics, apart from the normal curriculum.
Actually right now in the....in ELP we're doing 3-D modeling, which is fun. I'm
also in orchestra and I play the violin. Outside of school I'm a wrestler for Iowa
City Mat Pack. Nobody...okay(laughter and light applause) (laughs) and, uh,
during the off season I box for ICORE. I also proudly belong to the River
Community Church, where my dad is the pastor. At church I do everything from
making coffee to taking care of kids in the nursery to...generally just helping out
wherever I'm needed and uh, I also just recently started skateboarding, which is a
ton of fun but I have endured a lot of falling and hurting myself and bumps and
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 3
scrapes and bruises of all shapes and sizes and colors. (laughter) (laughs) Uh,
but....I'd just like to...I just want to encourage others to work hard in school and
outside of school, and uh....as my coach says, there are no shortcuts to success.
You have to pay full price. Now I won't waste any more of your time. Thank you
so very much. Good bye! (applause)
Throgmorton: Well done, Mason. That was pretty impressive. So would you like to just take
over back here and just(laughter) (laughs)Yeah,really nicely done! Okay, so I'm
gonna read your awards and again, Mason, yours....your name is on yours and
Natalia, yours is on yours. So, the Student Leadership Award (reads award) So,
Mason, there's yours. Natalia, there's yours. I know there are proud parents. We
just...where did he go? He's right there....no that's....he's out there, and he's out
there. Okay! So, bravo, you're doin' a great job and so....the moms too, so well
done. Keep it up and uh....what's the Matt Hayek joke now, it's about time to go
back and do your homework or(laughs) stay here. So anyhow, thanks for comin'.
Y'all have done beautifully. (applause) (mumbled, away from mic) Okay, now
we have three kids from Longfellow Elementary. So Percy Williams, Bella
VanEtten, and Sydney Geisen. Okay, so Sidney couldn't be here I guess. All
right! So you saw what we did just then, so what I'm gonna ask you to do is read
your speeches and then when you're done I'll read the awards for you too. Okay?
Why don't we start with you. I can hold it.
VanEtten: I think I'm an outstanding student because I help with the (unable to understand)
project, give things to people in need, and help my school stay safe by taking part
in safety patrol. I also help by planning parties for my school's after-school
program. I help my friends and family by encouraging them when they are sad,
helping them when I can, listening to them and asking questions about them, and
always trying to make them laugh and have fun. I live by two rules: live life to
the fullest and treat others the way you want to be treated.
Throgmorton: All right! (applause) Well done. Percy!
Williams: I believe I'm an outstanding student because every year I donate clothes and toys
to the Shelter, to give back to other families in need. I am nice and helpful to
others. My peers always like to play with me at recess and after school. I'm
always helpful at home with my family. I help my parents with chores around the
house and my little brother with playing football and basketball. I believe I am an
outstanding student because I am Percy who is caring, respectful, and responsible.
Thank you. (applause)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 4
Throgmorton: Beautifully done. So both of you go to a terrific elementary school, which was
recently renovated and I had the opportunity to go there when it was, uh, the
grand opening was....was held, and you're both terrific students, and I had two
terrific students go there myself. I had two sons that went through Longfellow, so
it's really a treat to be able to...give....give you your awards. So, with that....open
this thing up (noise on mic) so again I'm gonna read the award and then your
names are on separate ones. So, Student Leadership Award (reads award) So,
Percy, this is yours, and Bella, this should be yours. It is! There you go! So,
where are the proud parents? (applause) Right there! Bravo! You're doin' a great
job. Good job! Well that was fun.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 5
3. Proclamations
3.a. Bike to Work Week
Throgmorton: We have five proclamations to read tonight. I'm gonna read the first and last of
the proclamations, and I'm gonna ask other Council Members to read the second,
third, and fourth. So here's the first one! (reads proclamation) So is Brenda
Linley here to accept this proclamation? (applause) If you want to, Brenda, you
can say something. You don't have to though. (several talking) Sony. (laughter)
(speaking away from mic, unable to hear speaker)
Linley: ...they're so much prettier! (laughter and several talking) That was not for you!
(laughter) Uh, thank you, uh, I am the president of the board of directors for the
Bike Library and we really appreciate, uh, you doing this and I personally got into
bicycling as, uh, after the 2016 election. It was my...uh, thing to do to make
change in the world and, uh, I've kinda taken off from there, literally, on my
bicycle. So, thank you very much! (applause)
3.b. International Day Against Homophobia,Transphobia, and Biphobia
Throgmorton: Bruce!
Teague: All right! (reads proclamation) (applause)
Throgmorton: Is Noemi Ford here to accept this proclamation? (applause)
Hawes: I was asked to be here on behalf of Iowa City PRIDE and we wanted to thank you
for all of this and know I may well say quite a bit,but I just wanted to say it's
been a rough year for transgender people in particular, with a lot of the rulings
that have been coming down. So a day like this is especially meaningful and to
include biphobia is also especially meaningful. Just wanted to share something
that people may not be fully aware of which is, um, bisexual youth and bisexual
adults both suffer even more than gay or lesbian youth and adults do, with
feelings of being rejected and....and the general prejudice that has existed before,
and historically, urn, only 44% of bisexual youth have adult....feel they have
adults they can turn to, compared with 79% of non-LGBTQ respondents in a
recent survey, and 54% of lesbian and gay youth, and uh, this extends into
adulthood where, um,40% of bisexual adults have considered or attempted
suicide, compared to just over a quarter of gay men and lesbians. So as hard as it
is for gay and lesbian people, it's even harder for bisexual people, and all that's
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 6
amplified even more if you're bisexual and transgender. So we really appreciate
this day and thank you for the time. (applause)
Ford: Hi, I also wanted to thank the Iowa City, uh, City government, as well as the
citizens, uh, for appreciating that they, that we're celebrating on May 17th. Urn,
I'm here as a representative of the Human Rights Commission,but I'm also here
as a clinical psychologist, who has been practicing for over 10 years. Um, and I
know firsthand the life-long suffering that individuals who....whose lives have
been unfortunately impacted by discrimination and, um, many forms of prejudice,
who suffer from these, um....um, life-long traumas, and these traumas have been
ruled, uh, not part of a mental disorder, according to the Diagnostic Statistical
Manual of the United States and also the World Health Organization for over 30
years. Um, however, in the state of Iowa, conversion therapy, which is a form of
child abuse, with consenting parents, um, is still legal and allowed, despite the
American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association, the
American Counseling Association advising against the procedures as known to be
actually, uh, traumatic and ineffective. Um, I think that all of us here should be
aware that this is happening in our state and there are things we can do against
these conditions in our lives. Thank you. (applause)
Throgmorton: Thank you so much (applause continues) Okay, the next proclamation is Kids to
Park Day.
3.c. Kids to Park Day
Cole: And that is me! (reads proclamation)
Throgmorton: Juli! (applause)
Seydell-Johnson: Juli Seydell-Johnson, Director of Parks and Recreation. Just thank you for
your support, um, of the parks throughout our city. As we just stated our goals are
that every kid learns basic outdoor recreation skills. You'll notice a number of our
newer park renovations include access to the creeks, so at Riverfront Crossings or
Creekside Park, now we have places for kids to actively get down and play in the
mud again. Um, we're excited about that, and we're excited about this new event
coming up on Mother's Day—the Trueblood 100 Free event, 1:00 to 6:00 out at
Terry Trueblood. There'll be all kinds of information. If you've never ridden a
bike, come out and try it there. Um, if you are out there with your family, it's a
great way to participate together. Thanks!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 7
Throgmorton: Great. Thanks, Juli. (applause) All right, which brings us to National Public
Works Week.
3.d. National Public Works Week
Taylor: (reads proclamation) ....and I hear our own Ron Knoche is going to accept this.
(applause)
Knoche: Uh, Ron Knoche, Public Works Director, uh, I....I thank you for your support of
the Public Works Department, uh, especially with the Streets building that's going
up currently. Uh, it's got a roof on it now so, urn, if you get a chance to drive
down Gilbert Street, uh, take a look at the new building. Urn, it's....it's, uh, it's an
honor to represent the 150 employees that we have in our Public Works
Department. Thank you very much for the proclamation.
3.e. Older Americans Month
Throgmorton: Thanks, Ron. (applause) Okay, the last proclamation is Older Americans Month
and before I read the proclamation, I wanna say this. I know that many agencies
serve older Americans in our community and I understand that representatives,
uh, from many of those organizations are present. Please stand when I read the
name of the organizations and your name as a representative. So, and I'll....I'm
gonna read 'em all. Don't clap for everybody, okay? (laughter) TRAIL of
Johnson County: Susan Shullaw, David Rust, Charlie Anderson, Liz Swanson;
Oaknoll: Kim Bergen-Jackson, Kim Haring; Some of you may be standing back
there(laughs) right? Iowa City Hospice: Jane Dohrmann, Sara Krieger, Barbara
Barrows, Karla Kamal; Senior Center: LaTasha DeLoach; Bird House: Carol
Tippe; Johnson County—Jeff Kellbach; University of Iowa Stanley Museum of
Art—Amanda Lensing; Caring Hands &More—Hannah McDowell;The
Heritage Agency Johnson County Task Force on Aging - Bruce Teague. All right,
I'm gonna read the proclamation and then maybe Susan Shullaw can come up to
accept it. Yeah. (reads proclamation) Susan, could you come up? Oh, there you
are! (applause)
Shullaw: Well on behalf of, uh, all of the great agencies that have joined us here tonight, I
want to thank all of you, and I want to spa...especially say thank you from Trail of
Johnson County. We are, uh, a relative newcomer to the aging services
community here in, uh, Iowa City. We are just two years old. We're celebrating
that anniversary this spring. We have up to 200 members now and I think a much
of our success is due to the fact that we are one of the affiliate organizations that
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 8
are housed in the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center, and so I also wanna
express our gratitude on behalf of the Trail board and staff to the City Manager,
the Mayor, City Council, and to Senior Center leadership and staff for giving us
such a welcome home. We all serve the same older adults community and I know
that this is a....a convergence of caring and community that's really gonna benefit
all of us,because you know none of us are getting any younger(laughter) so
thank you for your investment in aging services. (applause)
Throgmorton: Thanks to all of you for coming!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 9
10. Community Comment (items not on the agenda)
Throgmorton: I'd like to invite anybody who wants to address any topic that is not on the formal
meeting agenda to come up, speak to us, uh, could I get a sense of how many
people want to speak in Community Comment period? If you would, raise your
hand. I see one, two, three, four....five, six....okay. Um, please keep your
comments short, at the max it's five minutes. It'd be better if it was shorter.
Thank you. And state your name when you first begin speaking.
Jaynes: Hi, my name's Allison Jaynes and I live in Iowa City and I'm here to respond
directly to a comment made at the last City Council meeting by the owner of
Petland. I was here at that Council meeting, I saw that comment, and I felt
compelled to respond directly to that. Um, I do have a....presentation to show
you, um, that will hopefully.....give some graphics to my argument. Okay, so I
did hear Ron talk about where Petland in Iowa City sources their puppies, where
they go to breeders to get their puppies and kittens that they sell, and I wanted to
share with you a couple of the breeders that they have sourced from the years
2016 through 2017. The first one here is in Dalton, Wisconsin, and here are some
of the violations that the USDA brought to this breeder over the period of those
two years. They cited, uh, dogs with, uh,matted hair and eye infections, as you
can see there on the left. You can see on the right the kind of conditions that these
dogs are kept in, wire cages, stacked on top of each other, living in their own filth,
um, which is not cleaned, that they have to breathe in daily, and these were taken
by USDA inspectors as part of violations against these facilities. The next here is
from Bloomfield, Iowa. You can see on the left dogs that are outside in cages
where icicles have been formed on their cages. Those are not warm environments
that those dogs are living in, constantly, full time. And the picture on the top right
there is a dog that was cited for having a missing eye and infections of the other
eye, without being treated....without having gone through any treatment. So
these are the kinds of places where Petland gets their dogs, and specifically from
the Iowa City store. Now all commercial..uh, retail pet sales come from facilities
like this. I'm not picking specifically on Petland, but Petland is indeed one of
these facilities. I also wanna point out my most important point here that these
are all USDA licensed facilities. So these are sanctioned by the USDA. The
USDA allows wire cages, no floor on the cages, stacked on top of each other,
cages only six inches longer than the dog's body, and no exercise or socialization.
So when Ron says that he only sources from breeders that are USDA licensed,
he's correct, and this is the kind of conditions you get in those breeding facilities.
Overheard on Iowa River to River segment in December, there was a segment on
puppy mills. You may be able to look it up online, on IPR, and an Iowa State
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 10
USDA inspector actually called into that segment. I heard it on the radio, to say
that they cannot stop the horrible conditions in puppy mills. They get violation
after violation, such as the ones I've shown here, but the places don't get closed
down. The only way that you can close these places down is for regions to stop
the demand by banning commercial sales of dogs and cats. Hundreds of local
communities have passed bans on commercial establishments, including Chicago,
the states—entire states—of California and Maryland, and soon likely New York
state, and a couple of communities here in Iowa. You may all know that Cedar
Rapids is right now considering a retail ban on the sale of cats and dogs within the
city limits. Let's put Iowa City on the map for humane treatment and concern for
our pets. I'd like to urge all of you to make a ban on the retail sale of pets a
priority for this community. I know Preston Moore, the Director of the Humane
Society for Iowa has reached out to you, so if there is anyone who would be,
likely to be sponsors on this Council, please communicate with him and let's see if
we can get a resolution at least discussed within this Council. I would very much
appreciate it.
Throgmorton: Thank you,Allison.
Jaynes: Thank you.
Throgmorton: Please don't forget to sign in too when you come up.
Bowan: I'd've been done sooner if I could write faster, so sorry! My name is Kenn Bowan
and I'm actually here for, um, I'm wearing two hats. One as the President of the
Senior Center Commission, urn, whose membership is appointed by this City
Council. I'd like to report that we recently had an open house, and um, the theme
was something along the lines of'Discover our Secrets.' It was well-attended,
well-received, and we had a real good turnout. So,um, kudos for that. It's, uh,
the Senior Center is always open for people of all ages to stop by during normal
business hours and, uh, take advantage of the facilities and the opportunities
therein. That's one hat. The second hat is, uh, little bit more personal, and I
discussed this with, uh, Geoff the other day, at the Senior Center, and I just
brought it up kind of casually,but from the eastern edge of Iowa City, on
Highway 6, to Riverside, and from Riverside to, uh, Riverside Avenue, Drive, the
street, um, Highway 6 from the eastern edge of Iowa City to Riverside Drive and
Highway 1 from Riverside Drive out to Highway, uh, 27/218,those stop lights
along that route, that entire length, um, the left turn lane is left turn on green
arrow only, in quite a number of those positions, those locations, and several other
locations across the city have a flashing yellow light, that allows drivers to turn
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 11
left if the way is clear. These intersections on Highway 6 and 1 don't allow for
that. A fine example of that is trying to get into the old K-Mart or where the Post
Office is. Another would be down by, uh, Carousel Motors and where the Aldi's
store is. Urn....lot of times find myself sitting there,just waiting, not only for the
green lights that are in the same direction and opposite of me to turn red, so that
the cross traffic can then go so I can then get a green arrow to turn. It would be,
when there's no traffic coming at me, I'm still sitting there at a red light, when I
could be turning left on a flashing yellow. So I encourage the City Council to
look into this matter. I understand that we're dealing with the United States
government and also the State of Iowa, and I'm sure Iowa City has great rapport
with both of those entities, so I'm sure something can be accomplished,but I just
wanted to point it out and call your attention to it and that's really all I have at this
point. I thank you for your kind attention.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Kenn. Good evening.
Gallagher: Hi. My name is Lynn Gallagher. Forcing animals into extreme confinement and
not allowing them to express their natural behaviors is wrong. This is what
happens on factory farms. They aren't really farms. They're factories, and the
animals are treated like objects, not like living beings. Puppy mills are essentially
factory farms for dogs. The female dogs are treated like puppy-producing
machines. They're provided with only what is necessary to keep them alive and
able to reproduce. The priority is profit and the well-being of these dogs is not a
consideration. The puppies produced are cleaned up and sold for big money to
customers that do not understand the horrible industry they are supporting. Pet
store owners fool these customers by saying that the puppies come from USDA
licensed and inspected facilities. What the customers don't know is that the
USDA standards are so inadequate that even if they're followed, they mean very
little about the conditions for these dogs. Reputable,responsible breeders do not
sell puppies at pet stores. I repeat—reputable, responsible breeders do not sell
puppies at pet stores. They care about what happens to their animals. If you
purchase a puppy at a pet store, you are buying a puppy mill puppy. Our State
legislature has had many opportunities to provi....provide better oversight of
puppy mills and better protection and stronger penalties for abuse and neglect of
companion animals, yet they will not act to help the animals. You have the
opportunity to make an impact at the local level by passing a ban on the retail sale
of dogs and cats in Iowa City. I provided you with three photos,two of dogs
rescued from puppy mills and one of a Boston terrier in a cage at a puppy mill in
Iowa. I think the Boston terrier photo speaks for itself. The dog in the photo,
which shows just her head and face,had a serious infection in her mouth that was
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 12
left untreated. This is not uncommon. The other dog is filthy and her coat is
matted. Puppy mills do not receive grooming. I'm sure that some of you have
dogs at home. Imagine how you would feel if your dog was treated this way.
Every one of these dogs in puppy mills is an individual. They're just not treated
as such. Please support a ban on the retail sale of companion animals in Iowa
City. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Lynn. Good evening.
Rash: Hi, I'm Dianne Rash and I'm a resident of Iowa City and I believe Chris from the
Animal Shelter has talked to the Council regarding the, urn,TNR, trap, neuter,
release for cats and I'm just here to say that I support that as a resident. I think
that work is really important and, urn, that's what I'm here for!
Throgmorton: Great. Thanks for coming, Dianne! Good evening.
Miano: Good evening. Must be a trick sticker! (laughter) My name is Tony Miano. I'm
a member of Grace Fellowship Church in Davenport. I'm here with my pastors
and several members from our church family. Uh, good evening, Mayor
Throgmorton and Members of the Council. Thank you for the opportunity to
address you this evening. I....I come tonight recognizing your god-given authority
as government representatives and with respect for the same. As a retired 20-year
law enforcement veteran, I swore an oath to protect and serve the members of my
community. As a Christian, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I am commanded by
God to an even higher standard of service, and that is to love my neighbors as
myself. And who are my neighbors? Well, Mr. Mayor and Members of the
Council, you are my neighbors. Each and every person gathered in this chamber,
within this city, and quite frankly on planet Earth—they are my neighbors. So it
is with love for all of you as my neighbors that I come to address the City Council
this evening. I'm here tonight on behalf of my neighbors who cannot speak for
themselves, people, human beings, who in this city, are not given a voice. I'm
speaking about and on behalf of unborn children. I am here tonight to speak on
behalf of children in the womb. And why would I need to speak for them here in
this chamber? The reason? My unborn neighbors,babies in the womb, are
summarily, wantonly, and under the wicked auspices of legality being murdered in
this city and under your watch, Council Members. The murder of unborn children
is taking place in at least two locations here in Iowa City—the Emma Goldman
Abortuary on Dubuque Street and the Planned Parenthood Abortuary on Orchard
Street. At these two locations unborn children are being poisoned, starved,
decapitated, and dismembered. They are being slaughtered in what is supposed to
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 13
be the safest place on Earth, a mother's womb. On the Emma Goldman web site's
abortion information page, it states, and I quote: "Nature conspires to perpetuate
the species." This is a lie. Nature isn't at work. The conspiracy that exists is not
one engaged by nature. The conspiracy, which by definition is unlawful
enterprise entered into by two or more people is not the perpetuation of the human
race, rather the conspiracy engaged is a conspiracy to destroy human life. It is a
conspiracy and violation of God's law, perpetuated by sinful human beings, who
in the end love themselves more than anyone else. Each and every one of us is
created in the image of God. He does the work of knitting each person together in
their mother's womb. Each and every one of us are fearfully and wonderfully
made by the good God of creation, and every abortion is the murder of one of
God's image-bearers. Yes, God sees abortion as murder, and the word of God
makes it clear that no murderer, nor those who endorse or assist in the murder of
other human beings will enter into the kingdom of heaven,but there is hope in
Jesus Christ. God the Father sent his Son to Earth in the person of Jesus Christ,
truly God and truly man and without sin. He voluntarily shed his innocent blood
and died on the cross, taking upon himself the punishment each and every one of
us rightly deserves for our sins against God. Three days later he forever defeated
sin and death when he rose from the grave and what God commands from all of
us is that by faith we repent of our sin and receive Jesus Chris as our lord and
savior. The good news is that if God causes you to be born again through faith in
his son, he will forgive your sin, reconcile you to himself, and assure you and
grant you eternal life. Now my request, my plea to you, Members of the City
Council, is that you do what is right and just, and end the slaughter of unborn
children in this city. Roe v. Wade is not "the law of the land." It was a court
decision, a wicked one at that. Stop following unjust laws that allow for the
slaughter of unborn children. Instead submit to the authority of God's law and
stand for, and in defense of, every human life in this city. You, the Council
Members of the City of Iowa City, you have the authority and the moral
obligation to ignore the ruling of the Supreme Court, ban abortion, and close the
abortuaries in this city, and render Iowa City a community where every human
being has value, where human life—inside and outside of the womb—matters. As
you consider this evening what you will do about puppies, please consider what
you will do on behalf of people who are being murdered in this city. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you,Tony. Good evening.
Rolland: (mumbled) Good evening. Uh, my name is Nick Rolland. I am one of the
pastors of Grace Fellowship Church in Davenport, Iowa. I am here tonight
because babies are murdered in Iowa City, four days a week, at both Planned
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 14
Parenthood and Emma Goldman,babies are murdered in their mother's wombs.
Immediately upon conception, a baby has its own DNA. The baby starts growing
rapidly and 22 days after conception, the baby's heart starts beating. By the
eighth week of the pregnancy, the baby has a head, a brain, and a spinal cord,
arms and legs, and fingers and toes. A medical abortion is available up to the
eighth week after conception. In a medical abortion, the woman visits an abortion
mill and ingests pills containing Mifepristone, also known as RU-486. This drug
blocks the action of the hormone called progesterone, which is naturally produced
by the mother's body to enable to mother to sustain and nourish the pregnancy.
When RU-486 blocks progesterone, the lining of the mother's uterus breaks down,
cutting off blood and nourishment to the baby, who then dies inside the mother's
womb. So, the baby is murdered by cutting off its blood supply and food. Then
another pill is taken to expel the dead baby from the mother's womb. In Romans
chapter 13, verse 1, God's word says, 'Let every soul be subject to the governing
authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist
are appointed by God.' This Council has been appointed by God. Your
participation in this Council has been appointed by God. God's word goes on to
say in verse 4, 'For he, the governing authority, is God's minister to you for good,
but if you do evil,be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain, for he is God's
minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.' Your job as a
government official, appointed by God, is to do good by protecting the
defenseless and punishing evil-doers. Therefore as a minister of God's word, I
call on you today to submit yourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the
living and the dead, and make the vile practice of abortion illegal in Iowa City.
Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you. Good evening.
Cutlett: Hi. Um, my name's Stephanie Cutlett. Bringin' it back to the animals here
(laughs) urn, wanna thank the Council for, um, considering the community cats
ordinance. Urn, a resident of Iowa City, east side, uh, had a couple of feral cats in
my yard recently and called the Shelter, urn, only to find out that if I did trap and
bring the kitties in that they would be euthanized. So,urn, I was kind of shocked
to hear that that was our city policy, and I'm grateful that you guys are considering
the trap, neuter, release ordinance. I think it's the more humane approach to
animal population control here in our city, so thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 15
Beisker: I'm Alyssa Beisker and I'm here on behalf of Johnson County Humane Society.
Urn, we fully support TNR and we, urn, also have funding to support the spay and
neuter of feral cats in our community. Um, any Johnson Counter, urn, Johnson
County, urn, member of the community can bring in a cat to our local, urn, spay
and neuter clinic and we can fund and support vaccinations and safely release the
animal and control over population in our communities. Thank you very much.
Throgmorton: Thank you! Good evening.
Reid: Hello. Good evening. Honorable Mayor Throgmorton, distinguished Members
of this City Council, thank you for your attention this evening. My name is Mike
Reid. I pastor church in Davenport, Iowa, Grace Fellowship Church. I'm here
today to appeal to your consciences and to your responsibility to protect the
people that God has providentially pac...placed under your care, the God given
obligation you have to punish evil and protect the people you govern. I want to
alert you of a regular,unlawful practice that takes place in Iowa City, one that you
may or may not be fully aware of. The unlawful practice I'm alerting you to is the
systematic practice of murder happening every week in this city. We all know
that murder is wrong. We know that because God gave us a conscience. We
know now that human beings made in the image of God, with the ability to logic,
reason, and love with souls that will live forever are valuable. And ought not be
killed by another human being. The type of murder I am speaking of has been
labeled abortion. What is true is that we were all at one time in our mother's
womb, and we all developed from a very small human being to the size we are
today, and we in God's goodness were not taken to be slaughtered at any time
during that development. That is not true for over 1,000 babies per year in, that
are in Iowa City, that are taken to Planned Parenthood and Emma Goldman, and
put to death. Whether in the first trimester by RU-486, which cuts off the
nutrition supply, or suction curettage, which is where the cervix is dilated by a
group of instruments and then a powerful suction tube with a knife-like edge on
the tip is inserted into the uterus. The suction or vacuum dismembers the unborn
child and sucks their body parts out of the womb. The abortion finished by using
the tool to remove the placenta, blood, and amniotic fluid. In the second and third
trimesters, you have dilation and evacuation, or D&E. It's also known as
'dismembered abortion....dismemberment abortion,'preferred for second
trimester, uh,procedure. The cervix is dilated so grasping forceps can be inserted
into the uterus. At this stage in development, the child's bones have begun
hardening, making dismembering the child through suction or scraping difficult.
The abortionist uses the forceps to tear off parts of the child. First the arms and
legs, followed by the torso. The child's head is often too large to be removed
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 16
from the room....the womb, so the abortionist must crush the skull before
removal. When the procedure is over, the abortion clinic staff will attempt to re-
assemble the body parts to make sure none were left in the uterus. These are
heinous forms of murder. You know it and I know it. We know there's no good
way to kill a baby. We know that because God has given us a conscience and it
informs us thou shalt not murder. You must listen to God and not to the culture
around you. Now if you were listening, you might be thinking even if it is
murder, which I may have convinced myself it isn't, what are we to do about it?
Roe vs. Wade made it against federal law for a state, or by extension a county or
city, to restrict a woman from having an abortion as it will be a violation of her
rights given in the 14th Amendment. So if it is true, what can you do? You can
do the same thing you have already done as City Council. Back in January of
2017 and doubled down on April of 2018, concerning sanctuary city status. You
can practically go against the federal government on a law you see as not to be
followed, the way you did concerning complying with federal immigration laws
by not using City resources to enforce the law concerning illegal immigrants. By
a 7-0 vote, this Council supported the resolution that stated it's not the
responsibility of local police to aid in federal immigration efforts. There's clearly
a precedent that this Council has set. Mayor Throgmorton, you were quoted back
then as saying, "We intend to keep Iowa City a safe and welcoming place for all
its residents and visitors." Maybe you should say the same about helpless,
innocent children, who are being murdered in this city you vow to keep a safe and
welcoming place for all. While I believe it could be argued whether we ought to
protect those who are in the country legally or not, it is...it absolutely cannot be
argued that human beings should be protected from being murdered as a matter of
course in this city. You are accountable for God for the murder that takes place on
your watch. It must end. I have two instructions for you this evening. One,
protect the unborn human beings that will die soon if you do not act. Make a
resolution that goes against the federal law that allows for murder, and make this a
sanctuary city for the unborn. You can do that. You've done that before. Two,
and more importantly, turn away from your sinner denying God's sovereignty, one
of which sins is being culpable of the myrtle....murder of children. Beg God for
mercy. The mercy that is found in Christ alone. Beg for mercy, turn from your
sin, and put your faith and trust in the risen Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you and
good night.
Throgmorton: Thank you. How many peop....uh, other people want to speak? Okay, it's four
minutes till 8:00. We ordinarily stop community comment period at 8:00 and if
anybody wants to speak after that time, we have to work our way through the rest
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 17
of the meeting in order to...to do that. (person speaking from audience) Uh, if the
Council...agrees to do that (several responding)
Biggers: Hello! (several talking in background) Urn, hello!
Throgmorton: I see nodding heads. So we'll extend the period for 15 minutes. Go ahead!
Biggers: Uh, thank...thanks for(both talking)
Throgmorton: Could you state your name please?
Biggers: Oh, sorry! Um, my name is Massimo (mumbled) Biggers and I'm a....I'm a 14-
year-old and I attend Southeast Junior High. I'm into the, this will be the eighth
week of my strike for climate action. Joining students from around the world, I
refuse to go to school on Fridays until adults take real action on climate change. I
agree with student, uh, with Swedish student Greta Thunberg. No more excuses!
My friends and I have asked the School Board to cut CO2 emissions by 50% in
our daily operations, put solar in our schools, and provide all students with a
climate education curriculum. I am here to ask the same from you. Scientists tell
us that we have a climate emergency. If the UN Council of World Scientists tell
....tells us we need to cut CO2 emissions by 50% in the next 11 years, and reach
zero emissions by 2050, in or....in order for my generation to have a livable
planet. Why aren't we doing it? And now...and as we know, our President isn't
really doing much about this. So...so the...so states and cities are, um, stepping up
to the task. If your house is on fire,would you just sit there and thank
MidAmerican Energy for boosting its wind ener...energy and not drop everything
to find a solution? Where are the bike lanes, uh, to any of our schools, except
Alexander. Why aren't any of these new buildings in town required to have zero
emissions with renewable energy. That's what our cities do. That's what other
cities do, sorry! As scientists say we need to capture CO2 emissions that have
been depleted from our soils, so why aren't you paying people to plant millions of
trees? Why don't you pay young farmers to grow food locally? My school took a
field trip to the Global Farm at the Johnson County Poor Farm today. It was great
to see how immigrants are helping Iowa City learn about healthy food. There are
more garden plots at the Global Farm than you have added in all of Iowa City
over the past three years. Can't you do better? Since I've started my strike, there
has been record flooding in eastern Iowa, uh,western Iowa and eastern Iowa. I do
rowing and I haven't been able to get on the water, except for the past two weeks.
There have been two historic cyclones in Mozambique, leaving millions without
homes. Vietnam had a record heat...heat wave, and yesterday the UN released a
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 18
report that one million species are on the verge of distinction, threatening our
entire food system. As our City leaders, do you really think you're doing
everything to save our future? Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you. Good evening.
Biggers: Good evening. Good evening, everybody. My name is Carla Biggers, I'm
Massimo's mother. I'm here speaking as a mother who wants to protect her
offsprings and their future, and I'm here to sincerely ask you for your help. We all
know we have roughly a decade to radically change our ways in order to stem the
worst of climate chaos. The error of delay is over, the error of slow (unable to
understand) plans is over. Adaptation to a failed system is not adaptation. It's
failure. Um, climate change and mass extinctions, as Massimo mentioned, can no
longer be agenda items. They're happening now and increasingly so, and they
must serve as a framework for everything we do in the city. Time is up. We can
no longer champion these ingenuous climate plans,based on volunteer efforts to
recycle, change light bulbs, eat less meat on Mondays, or carpool with coworkers
to willingly cross a bridge to the future that everyone now knows is not...is on the
verge of collapse. We can't support climate plans that have no building...binding
ordinances, no enforcement procedures or accountable partners. Calling for a 45
reduction in carbon emissions by 2030 to avert further catastrophe, the IPCC
climate action accommodation should be a clarion call for every town to halt the
business-as-usual models and envision urban planning for a new era. We can no
longer continue with delusional planning that somehow doing less bad or less
harm is sustainable. Instead we must actively break from our depens...
dependence on fossil fuels and rebuild our local economies in ways that restore
our relationship with nature and regenerate the(unable to understand) systems we
depend on. At this point this is a moral imperative of our times. We cannot
ignore it any longer. We are in the midst of a climate emergency, so the question
here is about you, as our City leaders, that we help support and we help elect. Are
you up to the task? Are you read to do whatever it takes to find solutions and
enact carbon-neutral initiatives for building, energy, transportation, local food
waste, and (unable to understand) Can you look at yourself in the mirror? Can
you look at your children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and any other child
that you encounter on the street, and honestly tell yourself and them that starting
tomorrow you're going to work to drastically change the City's policies and
practices to tackle the climate crisis. It's an honest question. You know, all of you
know we are on the verge of a catastrophe. It's not an(mumbled) point any more.
It's not a political issue. It's the reality of what we are living....our current life.
Are you up to the task? I personally, I'm very, very disappointed on what's
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 19
happened in the last four years. Uh, and I'm really wondering why you haven't
been up to the task. You have the intellectual ability, you have incredible
resources—intellectual, professional resources—to have changed this city.
There's no excuse. How can you find other excuses? I'm personally really
sincerely asking who are you benefiting? You're not benefiting yourself and us,
and our future. I'm really puzzled by the fact that nothing is happening of, urn,
great significance in this city. Um,just to, uh....uh....complete, you know, my
little speech, um, as 17-year-old Greta Thunberg is repeating ad nauseam, telling
us adults over and over our house is on fire and we and you have run out of
excuses. Thank you very much.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Carla. Good evening, Jeff.
Biggers: Hey, Jim (both talking)
Throgmorton: Long time, no see(both talking) Yep!
Biggers: And I love the 100 Grannies and Grandpas (laughter) Thank you so much for
coming! Three years ago I said I would never come back here! Because I put
most of you in office. I held your fundraisers. I was the only person who would
knock on doors on election day for you. I wrote campaign speeches for people.
But my kid is doing a climate strike! He refuses to go to school! And we live in
one of the greatest cities in America! And we have a climate plan that sucks, in
his words. So I'm here for Massimo, I'm here for the Grannies. I'm here to ask
you three things in three minutes and two seconds. One, that tonight somehow
you find the wherewithal to discuss among yourselves that you must declare a
climate emergency, like cities across the world are doing. Like the UK Parliament
has done. That you can do it! And we know resolutions are meaningless! Like
our regenerative city resolution, but you can come up with the words that we have
a climate emergency, and you're willing now to move forth in a new era. Number
two, I ask that you vote....to revamp your climate action plan. That it has to meet
new benchmarks! It's already outdated, six months into it! It is not even near
what the IPCC requires us to do. And you know that! And three, we need to hire
new staff who are up to the task, as Carla says. We believe there's a climate
emergency. We believe yesterday's UN study that we are entering a period of
mass distinctions! The IPCC report is clear—we have to cut carbon emissions
within a decade by nearly 50% and zero emissions by 2050, if Massimo is gonna
have a future! There's no question! And New York City just announced they're
doing it. New York City....has put in 17 major laws and ordinances to move
forward, massive fines on buildings. Boulder, hundreds of cities across the
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 20
country are doing this now. They're rising to the challenge. Today the C40 group
that Jim is a part of just agreed to net zero standards for all new buildings by
2030! That is mind-boggling! But the truth is Vancouver has already been doing
that since 2016. All new building, net zero! And we have skyscrapers going up in
this town. We go away for a sabbatical and we come back to another country
here, and it's great and I can just hear those tax revenues clinking and we're
making so much dough off of these high-rises and there's great density, but...do
they meet these incredible net zero standards? Is there renewable energy? Is
there geothermal? It....are you following what Martha Norbeck told you about
energy efficiency? You know four years ago we put together an amazing climate
plan that precisely met the IPCC requirements. Four years ago we did that! And
your staff didn't even return our calls! Or emails! You wouldn't even talk to us!
And so we go and we work in other cities. So this is the truth—your climate plan
is too little and too late. You know that! Your Assistant City Manager told the
committee it was a community failure. Your plan is half of what IPC requires.
It's half of what Dubuque is doing, and 95% of your plan relies on non-City
actions. You're just waiting for Mid America, which is amazing! Mid America
had a record year! Last week, 88%wind. Now it's back down to about 51
tonight. But that's what you're relying on, 99% of your plan is basically Mid
America and shuttin' down the coal fire plant, and you don't even talk about the
fact that the coal fire plant is doubling its natural gas. The truth is greenhouse
gases have increased by 3% in Iowa last year, despite Mid American. It's going
up! Twice as the rest of the nation! Think about where we live! We need to
capture 70% of the carbon stock of our soils that we have lost. This is Iowa for
crying....for Christ's sake. We've lost our native prairie. So what do you need to
do? Dubuque yesterday at their City Council meeting hired a new climate action
person, because the sustainability person was too busy, and now they're moving
forward. Great idea! The problem is your staff is not up to the task, and you
know that! We've known it for years! We're just too nice to say anything! You
know in December of 2016, Rockne, you asked the Sustainability Coordinator,
right here, how does our plan compare to other cities? And she said, 'I don't
know.' She came to a meeting to vote on the climate action plan, and she hadn't
even done her homework, and that week there were three op eds talking about all
these other great programs, in the state of Iowa, that were better than ours. You
need to go to Cedar Rapids, and steal Eric Holthaus. He's our former(mumbled)
from the University of Iowa and he's head of their sustainability in Cedar Rapids,
and he's being unleashed. He would be an amazing kid to run your climate action
plan here. He has the street-smarts, the sense of urgency. He has the hutzpa to
bring us together as a family and a community to know that it's the people who
are the poorest who are going to be affected....with food, with electricity rates,
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 21
with vector borne diseases, with flooding. You need to bring someone like Eric
onboard to do this. And you need to hold your City Manager accountable. That
he has to enact a revamped climate action plan that meets the IPCC standards....
or find someone who can! And this begins with tonight. That deep in your heart,
deep somewhere you realize you have to....look at yourself and say, 'We're in a
climate emergency,' and I can't put on Twitter—it grieves me that we're in a
.....facing mass distinction if I'm not doing everything I can for our children's
future. Thank you so much. It's 11 after, appreciate you giving us extra time.
Thanks, Jim.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Jeff. Okay, I'm assuming no one else wants to speak. All right. So
we can move to Item 11, Planning and Zoning Matters.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 22
11. Planning and Zoning Matters
11.a. Rezoning South of Interstate 80,West of N. Dubuque Street, and East of
Mackinaw Drive, commonly referred to as Forest View—Ordinance
conditionally rezoning approximately 73.15 acres of property located south of
Interstate 80,west of N. Dubuque Street, and north of Foster Road, from
Interim Development Single-Family Residential (ID-RS), Low Density
Single-Family Residential (RS-5), Low Density Multi-Family Residential
(RM-12), and High Density Single-Family Residential with a Planned
Development Overlay (OPD/RS-12) to OPD/RS-12 for 50.82 acres, Highway
Commercial with a Planned Development Overlay (OPD/CH-1) for 20.45
acres, and Neighborhood Public with a Planned Development Overlay
(OPD/P-1) for 1.88 acres (REZ18-00013)
1. Public Hearing (Continued from 4/2 and 4/23 meetings):
Throgmorton: Okay. So....before you speak, at our last meeting on April the 23rd, we continued
the public hearing to tonight. In a minute I will reopen the public hearing and ask
Anne to summarize her, a memo she pre.....presented to us, I think focusing on
changes made to the proposed conditional zoning agreement since our April 23rd
meeting. I will then open the floor to anyone who wants to speak about this
proposed rezoning. So there're two key questions, one has to do whether the
developer has signed the conditional zoning agreement. It's my understanding
that the developer has signed that agreement, and it's my understanding that, uh,
there....there is a petition, but the petition does not rise to the level that requires a
super majority vote. So, after we....uh.....after the last person speaks on this
topic, I'm gonna ask our Council Members whether they are inclined to support,
or agree with, recommendations that came from the Planning and Zoning
Commission,to approve the rezoning. If a majority of the Council says yes we,
uh, we are inclined to agree, I will close the public hearing and we will have a
discussion about what, how to respond and vote. So,Anne, uh, I gotta open the
public hearing though so, okay, I'm gonna open the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
Russett: Okay, uh, good evening,Anne Russett, uh, with Neighborhood and Development
Services. As the Mayor mentioned I'm gonna...I have a few slides, I'd just like to
outline the memo that I, uh, wrote to the City Manager that was in your agenda
packet. First I'd like to go through the changes to lot 1. The map that you see
here on the right of the screen shows the original plans for lot 1,um, right off of
North Dubuque Street, showing the gas station and the market. Um, the applicant
is currently work...working on updating the plans. The updated plans will remu...
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 23
remove the gas station and other...and proposed improvements on this lot, and
identify it as an outlot to be dedicated to the City for public open space. Staff is
also recommending that lot I, as shown here on the map,be rezoned to
Neighborhood Public. Um, that is updated and reflected in the updated
conditional zoning ordinance that's in your agenda packet. The zoning proposed
for outli...outlot A would remain as Highway Commercial. Uh, the City does not
have any specific plans for lot 1 at this time, so at this time the lot will remain un
....unimpacted. As the Mayor mentioned, the applicant has signed the conditional
zoning agreement and there are several additional conditions that are included in
there that I'd like to run through. First is that all exterior lighting,uh, located on
....in the project area will be dark-sky compliant, with full cut-off fixtures. All
exterior lighting will also contain LED or similar light bulbs, and there will be
level 2 electric vehicle charging stations, uh, two off....two off-street parking
spaces per building for lots 6, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, and 15, which is, uh, 24 electric
vehicle charging stations. Each manufactured home must have a foundation
similar in appearance to the foundation of stick-built homes. Um, the applicant
has also agreed to purchase and install no more than four bus shelters for use
within the project area, and then the last thing they've agreed to stripe the on-
street parking area for both sides of Forest View Drive to delineate the parking
lanes from the travel lanes. There were also some concerns raised regarding the
landscaping plan. Uh, staff did meet with the applicant and staff from Parks and
Recreation. Park staff did not recommend any additional changes to the
landscaping plan or in...increasing any of the sizes of the proposed, uh, tree
plantings. Staff did revise the condition related to the approval and monitoring of
the landscaping plan to also address surface parking areas. Um, the applicant has
prepared a presentation tonight that will, uh, address the landscaping plan in
further detail. Um, also as the Mayor mentioned, a super majority is not required
and urn, at this time staff recommends closing the public hearing and pursuing
their first reading.
Throgmorton: Thank you,Anne. Do Council Members have any questions for Anne? I don't
hear any. So thanks! Jimmy, you gonna speak next?
Becker: Good evening(noise on mic) Excuse me! Good evening, Mayor Throginorton,
Members of City Council, City staff; and respective citizens of Iowa City. I'm
Jimmy Becker, serve as the developer on the project and work with Blackbird
Investments, a Des Moines'based company. I'm here to represent the local
owners of North Dubuque LLC and Forest View Tenant Association. And behalf
on the ownership team and the co-applicant, I'm here this evening to request
approval for rezoning of Forest View. In addition, I am here tonight to request for
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 24
further consideration of the Council to consolidate the second and third votes into
one meeting, should a majority approval be reached tonight. There were two
questions, uh, came up out of our last discussion a couple weeks ago, one
pertaining to the cross-sections along North Dubuque Street, and another
regarding the tree canopies, uh, for the....for the landscaping plan. So those are
two items that I wanna discuss and provide some further information on. And
with respect to, uh, what Anne shared, this is an update of the map that has taken
the....taken account of the gas station bein' removed. So the first visual of what
we're looking at here is a cross-section, uh,just for those who were not here last,
uh, couple weeks ago, uh,just to illustrate what....what it is that we're looking at.
If you look over here on the bottom, this is North Dubuque Street. This is headin'
in to Iowa City and out towards 1-80. And this is an elevation map to illustrate
what the landscape is and terrain. Uh, from where North Dubuque Street lies to
where our 40-foot buffer is, of which we've committed to...to where the future
proposed building will be. So with respect to, urn, the terrain and...and tryin' to
find the best way to provide buffer, and a better understanding of visually what
will be shown. Uh, this illustrates what lot 4,uh, will look like, based on the
proposed grading. And then this is just directly south, where lots 2 and 3 are, and
so you have here, again,North Dubuque Street, heading into Iowa City. The
berm, which is a natural buffer, along with the 40-foot tree buffer, and then the
proposed buildings and the represented height of those buildings. Um, we went
ahead and, uh, grabbed a couple images off of Google maps, also to illustrate, uh,
what it looks like today. Uh,this map was captured on September of 2016, and
again, it's to illustrate the current, uh, berm that exists today. And,uh, so dropped
(mumbled) and look to the right, and then I have one here representing, uh,
looking to the left. There's some additional images that were taken by our
consultant, Impact 7G,just to further illustrate the existing berm, as it is today.
That will be unimpacted. So again, what we're...what we were looking at with
those cross-sections is this area right here. This is lot 2, lot 3, and lot 4. Were
there any questions specific to the cross-sections and elevations?
Thomas: So that...that was a...horizontal and vertical scale were the same on that?
Becker: Yeah. Correct. The second item had to do with, um, the tree canopies and as....
as Anne mentioned, uh, City Forestry and City....City staff met with Impact 7G,
uh, last week to discuss this, and it was a consensus, uh, to recommend the one
and a half-inch caliper trees, and the....the reasons being that they are more
readily available, they locally have a higher survivability rate, they become
established more quickly, and ultimately result in larger trees in the landscape, all
of which,uh, we want to be in consideration of as we have looked to maintain that
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 25
Forest View development. It's our shared goal with the residents of Forest View
to commence construction as soon as possible. As Anne mentioned and Mayor
Throgmorton, a big step was accomplished with the execution of the conditional
zoning agreement earlier this week. That document incorporated your feedback,
with respect to the feedback from the citizens of Iowa City, and also demonstrates
our commitment to creating a sustainable Forest View. The next big step we hope
to accomplish this evening is a positive first vote, and I'd like to make myself
available to any further questions that you may have at this time. Thank you.
God bless.
Throgmorton: Jimmy, I do have a question for you. Uh, we have received a fair amount of,uh
......uh, email and the like from members of Project GREEN concerning trees and
other forms of vegetation they have planted along North Dubuque Street, and if I
read the emails correctly, they worry that those....that what they planted would
be, uh, torn down or, you know, demolished by the...by the project. So, uh, can
you, uh, speak to that? Do you know if those plantings will be damaged or...or
not?
Becker: I'm gonna invite (mumbled) the consulting tim....team, Impact 7G, who worked
with Project GREEN.
Throgmorton: Okay. Please state your name when you come back up, please, thanks!
Joyce: Hi, my name is Judy Joyce with Impact 70. I'm the environmental consultant
working with the development team, uh, addressing environmental concerns and
native vegetation. Um....was gonna bring up.....I believe that the vegetation
Project GREEN is talking about is on the side of the berm that faces Dubuque
Street. Let me show some pictures here....the only area that we will be cutting
through that berm or disturbing that berm is where Forest View Drive comes out
to Dubuque Street. The rest of that will remain, and then an additional 40-foot
buffer.
Throgmorton: That's what I thought, but I just wanted to make sure.
Fruin: Can I (clears throat) can I, excuse me,jump in real quick. We do have the, uh,
trail extension plan for that DOT right-of-way. So coming out of Forest View,
heading north to Dubuque, towards the, uh, pedestrian bridge that was built over
the interstate recently, and then,uh, at this time I think it's, um, also....uh,
undetermined whether that southbound turn lane will still be needed with the
removal of the gas station. So southbound Dubuque turning right into Forest
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 26
View. We're moving ahead like it still will be required by the DOT,but certainly
the removal of the gas station, um, prompts us to go back and....and check with
the DOT to see if that's....if that's still gonna be a requirement of the permit. Urn,
the...the trail work will have an impact on that right-of-way. Urn, it's not designed
now, I can't tell you exactly what, uh, impact it'll have, but it could be that some
of those plantings are impacted. So if there's a goal to not touch those at all, we
need to consider removal of that trail segment to the north.
Throgmorton: I...I, speaking for myself, it seems to me it'd be helpful to have some consultation
with Project GREEN, to see what's possible and what's not, and....
Fruin: Yeah, I think as we get into the design of the trail, we would certainly reach out to
them, uh,they've expressed....they've asked that question of me directly, and uh,
I, you know, we just don't have anything to share with them at this time. We're
not that far along with....with the designs of the trail, but absolutely they've been
a great partner. They've invested a lot of money, a lot of hours, up here and uh,
we would consult with them.
Throgmorton: Any other questions for Joyce or, Jimmy, were you finished? Yeah. Yeah. Or for
Jimmy?
Joyce: And I'll be available for questions if you have 'em.
Throgmorton: Thank you. All right, I...I'm sorry, Judy, I called you Joyce, didn't I? (laughter)
(speaking from audience, unable to hear) (laughter) Okay, uh, would anybody
else like to address this topic? Good evening.
Ferrier: Hi! You've had some pretty fancy speakers here tonight. My name is Ursula
Ferrier and I am not one of them. Um, I have lots of really good ideas and I'm
passionate, but I don't talk well! (laughs) Um, so please forgive me. Urn, I
wanted to, um, address this topic because, um, I am currently a graduate student at
the University of Iowa, um, Department of Urban and Regional Planning. My
focus is in housing and, um, community development, and non-profit
management. Recently we worked on ironically enough as was spoken about
earlier tonight the climate action plan. Um, we're working with Brenda Nations
and currently fleshing out the, um....uh, the....the ways to handle it, the ways to
actually work on the climate action plan. This project itself speaks directly to
furthering that plan. Um, in the fourth section of the action plan, um, it speaks
about helping vulnerable communities, and um, providing better housing and
getting ready for climate changes that are up and coming. Um, to take people and
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 27
move them from non-manufactured homing...homes to manufactured homes,
where the manufactured homes are actually subject to government inspection,
you're already upgrading them and helping them considerably. The second part,
urn, of this is, urn, that I would like to say I really, uh, I really hope that this area
actually....this area is actually part of what is considered a food desert. If you
have to walk more than a half mile to get to fresh produce or, urn, groceries, um,
it's considered a food desert. Urn, last semester we had a colleague who actually
worked with a, urn, plan, urn, or, I'm sorry, a report on, urn, the Peninsula
neighborhood, where, urn, we found that there's actually nowhere for people to
get food without driving almost three miles to the nearest, urn, grocery store. So
when you do approve this project, I would really like to kind of plug a....a local
mom and pop or some type of a market for the people who are going to be living
in this area and who are currently living in this area, um,because when it's
extremely cold outside and extremely hot, and they're going to progressively be
getting worse and worse very, very soon, urn, you don't want your children having
to go out onto the highway on their bikes to get to the nearest grocery store. Um,
so if we could possibly put that into some type of stipulation with the mixed-use
rezoning, it would be amazing if they could have access to food. So, that's all I
have to say! (laughs)
Throgmorton: Thank you, Ursula. Anyone else? Good evening.
Thome: Hi, I'm Deb Thome and I'm with Idyllwild, and we've been comin' for over two
years now and we've been in support of this project. The only thing that we have
asked through this whole project is that our water diversion project be finished
before this project starts, and I'm bein'told that our project will probably not even
start until probably late fall. So I would just like that to be considered. Thank
you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Deb.
Baltazar: (speaking through an interpreter) Hello,my name Margarita Baltazar. Uh, Forest
View,uh, President, uh,Association. (unable to understand) we are here today to
continue our dream (unable to understand) we continue the fight to...and to
achieve our dream. We have more heart....so the only thing that we ask is that...
that please, uh....uh, move forward with the project. (unable to understand) in
good shape, they are old houses, and then, uh, you know, we want to have new
home for our kids and families....because kids are asking in the neighborhood,
'When we gonna have our home,' you know and then it been three year waiting
for home. So, and then....(unable to understand) continue with that (unable to
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 28
understand) you know up and,uh, don't, uh, don't kill that dream for the kids to
have a home. (unable to understand) here today just to ask you to support this
project. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Margarita. Good evening.
Davis: Hi. Hi, my name's Donna Davis, um....hi again, my name's Donna Davis. My
husband and I live at Forest View trailer court. My friend Margarita asked if I
would speak tonight and I said I didn't know what I could say that I haven't
already said several times. So bear with me! You already know that we're all
wonderful people and our kids are great too and we're hard-working and
everything good you could say about us. But basically we're afraid that if we
don't stand up and speak, you'll only be hearing from the people who are against
this. So we feel compelled to come here every time and say what we have to say.
So again, thank you for bearing with us. We've been working hard on this for
three years and we hope you'll vote for it. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Donna. Good evening.
Nixon: Good evening. Urn, my name is Wilf Nixon. I'm a resident of Iowa City, and uh,
I live in the general area, uh, up north of Foster Road, uh,just off Mackinaw
Drive. Um, I've expressed to you before some of my concerns and I'm deeply
gratified that you listened. You didn't always do what I hoped you would do,but
you've always listened and taken it into account, and I greatly appreciate that. I
do understand, urn, in the words of Jagger and Richards, that you can't always get
what you want. But....uh, I've also been very impressed by the discussion we've
had in these open meetings. Uh, the strength and commitment of the Forest View
Association has been quite wonderful to see, and clearly they've achieved a very
great level of self-actualization, which is good and speaks well to the strength of
their community, and hopefully, uh, a wider community going forward. I still
have two concerns. I'm not sure you can do anything about them,but I'm going to
share them. Uh, the first concerns the trees. We heard speaking earlier tonight,
uh, some very passionate about concerns relating to climate change. I know that
there are limits to what you can do when you are redeveloping an area. But I am
concerned that mature trees will be cut down and replaced with young or
immature trees. That's a step backwards for us. If there is a way in the process of
development to not clear-cut things, and I appreciate that's difficult,but if there is
a way, it will be marvelous if that can be done. Uh,the second relates to this
somewhat. I still have a concern about the proposed single-family housing. I'll
be honest and say it's...it really just looks very regimented. It's a series of...what
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 29
was the song? Little boxes, little boxes, and they all look just the same. There are
other ways in which....we could have planned that area. They needn't have been
crammed together as closely as they are and I think part of the limitation that we
ran into there, we collectively, was the zoning regulations. There are zoning
solutions, things called pocket neighborhoods. I don't know if that's an option for
us here in Iowa City. But if they aren't, if our zoning regulations led us to this
solution, then we find ourselves in a situation where we are ruled by the zoning,
instead of the zoning meeting our needs. No one more than I wants to see the
people who are currently in Forest View relocated into good homes that they can
one day own. I would rather they were homes with a basement. I would rather
they were modular rather than manufactured or whatever the right terms are. I
think we know that some people are concerned they look a little bit like mobile
homes, even though they're not. There are better solutions out there and I think
we've been constrained away from those by the zoning solutions. I don't expect
you to be able to address or deal with those tonight,but in the spirit of sharing and
thanking you for taking part in what I know has been a somewhat bruising
process, thank you for listening to us and for taking these things into account.
Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you,Wil£ Anyone else?
Flores: (speaking through an interpreter) (mumbled,unable to understand) Good
evening.
Throgmorton: Good evening.
Flores: (mumbled)
Throguiorton: Please speak into the microphone, okay?
Flores: Okay. My name is Zulay Flores (mumbled) Forest View. (speaking through an
interpreter) I live in Forest View and um, I, um....(unable to understand) the...
the Association and (mumbled) support from the City and then from the
Association as well. So we wanna make sure the....the, uh, all the players been,
uh, their voice been listen. So the (mumbled) in the conversation is (mumbled)
this issue. All the (mumbled) been talkin' and then the....the, you as a City
Council, the Association, the....the, even the neighborhood and the resident has
been (mumbled) expressed their suggestion. So they have provide, uh, suggested
for the rain, for the water, for the sewer, and....and you have considered those
suggestions as well. She saying(unable to understand) economic and socio, uh,
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 30
and prosperity. So we want to say thank you for....for the, for this, for listen to us
and uh, in the hope that we can get the approval. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you. Good evening.
Murphy: Hi, my name is Quenby Murphy and I live off of Foster Road, and I wanted to
start by, urn, applauding the decision to take the gas station out of the proposal.
That is a huge relief to me and, um, lots of people that I know. Um, I think it's
fairly likely that the proposal might pass. Um, and I'm really excited about the
fact that the affordable housing....is going to be a solution for people who need it.
My two biggest concerns at this point still remain the loss of the woodland and
the trees, and just the general aesthetic and feel of the neighborhood that will be
so impacted with the commercialism especially of the neighborhood. I don't
know if it's too late at this point, but I would just really urge you to....to consider
if there is a way to....to still address those concerns and continue forward with the
proposal. Um,particularly with just thinking about what the character of the
neighborhood and the feel is going to be going forward, because so much of that
will be irreversible once it goes into place. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Quenby. Good evening.
Nixon: Good evening. My name is, uh, Katherine Nixon and I have, uh, written to all of
you. Urn, I'd like to...sure would like to say thank you that you have removed the
gas station. That is a huge relief, particularly for our neighbors who have children
who are concerned just generally about interstate traffic coming into a gas station.
Gas stations on interstates don't have very good reputations (mumbled) Urn, I
know we came into this really cause we moved into the area only in October, so
we are really late into this, and I....I'm sorry that we could not be involved really
in the planning earlier, like three years ago, because I think there was an
opportunity here to really look at affordable housing so that it could be blended
with any kind of neighborhood. There are inexpensive modular housings, built in
Iowa, that go on basement, or even looking at the Paddocks in the southeast of
Iowa City, which is all manufactured homes. They don't have basements. I don't
think they do, at least the one my daughter looked at didn't. Uh,but they are
designed in such a way that they look like a neighborhood. And you don't know
that they are manufactured homes. And I feel that this...project could have really
been, uh, an example of how you can bring affordable housing into any kind of
development, and unfortunately the plans that we have seen, it is going to look
like a trailer home park. I know that it's not, and I'm sorry about that,but it's
going to look like that, and so that's my first thing, and the second thing is, I do
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 31
feel that the neighbors, particularly on Algonquin and Flint and Mission Point
would like some guarantee from the Council that there will be,um....some kind
of rules put in place on the....does not deteriorate as the current, uh, residence...
residences have deteriorated. Some of them are going to remain rental, not
everyone's going to buy it. What guarantees have the existing neighborhood
where it's going to be moved, what guarantees are they going to have that this is
not going to deterior...deteriorate and these houses are not going to become
dilapidated and neglected, 15-20 years down the road. So those are my only two
concerns,but I'm very glad that the project is moving forward. I think that's a
good thing, and I think maybe,um, I don't know! Maybe think a bit wider in a
more creative way for affordable housing, because there are options out there that
don't look like trailers, um, on concrete slabs. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Katherine. Good evening.
Rodriguez: (mumbled) My name is Margarita Rodriguez and I'm more than sure you all
know me, good evening! Uh, first of all I wanna say Happy Mother's Day to
everybody that's mothers. Uh, it's gonna be Sunday the 12th. Anyway,uh, wanna
say, um, I know we been here before and I'm more than sure you guys, you all
know me by now. Um.....I was trying to say...I wanna say that, uh, I know a lot
of people are concerned about the trees and stuff like that,but you all know about
the weather, you know, how bad it is and stuff like that and some of the trees
that....that you'll see if you walk through it, their branches are....are (mumbled)
already down. So if some of the trees will be eliminated, they'll probably be
taking the old ones and putting new ones. I mean I don't know too much about,
um, things like this,but I know that there are a lot of trees there that are knocked
down. Like I said before, if I had a USB, I will plug it in your computer and show
some of trees out there. But anyway, like I said also if I was a cop I'd stop a lot of
people going through the....through the street there, coming off the interstate and
going about 40 miles down and, um,braking real good, real fast on the...on the
light right there, or maybe people coming from the Peninsula or from the golf
course and they wanna turn right, they turn right and they don't even acknowledge
the....the, uh, sign saying 'no right turn on red light.' And if I was a cop, like I
said before, I would go after them, but I'm not(laughs) so I'm gonna stay out of
that. Anyway, urn, you all know that it's me now, what three years, a little bit
more of the three years, and I think a lot of people in our neighborhood are really
anxious to get,uh, their place. I know I am. I really would like to have a washer
and dryer and not go out on the bad weather to go to the laundry mat or, you
know, and....um (mumbled) future, you know, with my grandkids, my GG kids,
you know, but um....like I said before, you know, it depends on you all, how you
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 32
guys are gonna vote, and I know that you guys will vote and I'm very(mumbled)
and everything else. I really appreciate this moment and to get up here, to see you
all again, and uh....and I hope you all make a good decision. Thank you very
much!
Throgmorton: Thank you, Margarita. Anyone else? Okay, I don't see anybody else. So I'm
gonna ask our Council Members if, uh, you are inclined to vote in accordance
with the Planning and Zoning Commission's recommendation? (mumbled) All
right, so I'm gonna close the public hearing. (bangs gavel)
2. Consider an Ordinance (First Consideration) (Deferred from 4/2 and
4/23 meetings) Ordinance and Conditional Zoning Agreements have
been revised due to changes in the project to address City Council
concerns.
Mims: Move first consideration.
Cole: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Cole. Discussion?
Mims: I'd just like to start out, I think I first met with Eddie Cole about four years ago
probably. Um, maybe longer. When he called me and wanted me to come out
and kind of look at what he....what his vision was, um, for this area out here, and
he had spent years, urn,basically putting together this large parcel of land to make
it possible to do what's encompassed in this entire project. And I think it's even
more critical, uh, when we look at this in today's environment, with what is
happening with trailer parks around the country and even in this area. Um, so he's
worked hard and everything that I have seen and heard, he has been one of those
people who's really cared about and taken care of the residents in his parks, and
really envisioned something better for them. You don't do that without putting
together a project that entails a lot of other things, because it takes money to do
that, and it takes a substantial amount of money. Some people have talked about
the fact that they....they don't think that we should do any commercial
development, urn, at the intersection of the interstate and Dubuque Street. And I
disagree with that, and I think what I'm really pleased with is when we look at this
project, and maybe we're just really fortunate that berm has been there for so long
as you come down Dubuque Street, that what we're gonna be able to have is a
project that as you come down Dubuque Street, we are still going to have the
aesthetics that are there now, with the woodlands and the trees, that berm helps
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 33
shield an awful lot of that. Um, we'll have the 40-foot buffer with the trees, etc. I
would also say that I'm sure nobody in this process has probably gotten
everything that they wanted. Urn, some people have commented about the new
residential area and wishing that, urn, you know, maybe the houses were spread
out a little bit more, had a little more space, had a basement. I totally agree! I
totally agree, but it also comes down to the money, and....and how you put all of
these pieces together, and I think what Mr. Cole has managed to do is bring
together a development team with the expertise and....and the finances, etc., to
put those....to bring the money in, to provide those residential spaces, urn, and
yes there has....there's compromises in terms of the trees that are coming out. Uh,
obviously putting new trees in,but I think when you look at the whole project, I
think it's a project that we'll be able to look at, you know, in 10 or 20 years and
say, you know what, this is a good project for Iowa City, a good project, uh, for
the residents of not only that area, but for the whole community. So I will
definitely support this.
Throgmorton: Who's next?
Salih: I can go next. I just wanna say that I'm really, urn, I am very pleased to see this
project is finally coming to the point that we can vote for it and move forward. I
also (mumbled) impressed by the cooperation between the developer and the
Forest View residents, uh, like over three years, and I know that they have
monthly meeting, every month they meet together and discuss every single
details. That's really, to me, is really setting the standard and the bar very high for
another developer to come and do the same thing. I definitely supporting this and
urn, happy to see that happening. I know that....the design for the affordable
housing will come separately by us,maybe at that moment we can talk about the
....the design more and maybe we can please some people in the, surrounding the
community that they ask about many things, and also...I....I have a question for I
guess our City Attorney. I never saw this on the....I know this is coming any
rezoning....uh, item. Where is it? (noise on mic) Yeah....I know any time we do
a rezoning, there is a legal piece that have the description of every single detail,
like legal....legal.....long legal document that you have it on the (mumbled)
letters. Like when you read through this, you know, maybe because this project's
very interesting to me, that's why I go through the whole thing, and I just figure
out that you want us to approve this and to make sure it's accurate,but...if I voted
for it today, how I know that....how can I know this is ac...is accurate? And do I
have to be, is this really, am I really like, uh,be held accountable if it not being
accurate?
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 34
Dilkes: In the legal description, you mean?
Salih: Yeah, yeah, you know I really don't understand that, to tell you the truth, you
know!
Dilkes: The legal description is accurate. If there is some small....minor inaccuracy that's
not going to be a problem. If there's a big inaccuracy,we would have to redo it,
but I don't think that's gonna be the case.
Salih: But that's not....you mean that's a standard thing, you just plug in there and (both
talking)
Dilkes: Yeah,this is what every zoning ordinance looks like. It's a description of the...the
real estate that's being rezoned.
Salih: Yes. Yeah(unable to understand)really had no idea what they are but....
Mims: None of us do! (laughter)
Salih: (laughing) like oh my gosh, I need to learn something here(laughing)but(both
talking)
Mims: (laughing)we rely on the attorneys for that! (laughing)
Salih: All right! That's all I have and I'm glad to support this hundred million
percentage! Okay.
Taylor: This project has taken a really,really long time and it seems that,uh, I'm
impressed because each time it comes before us, uh,positive changes have been
made, uh, entirely over the three years. There's always been something very
positive,uh, that changed and uh, with that the plan improves each time too, uh,
and becomes more thoughtful as time passes, and I think that's really evident. I
know there are still a lot of concerns and some things, as Mazahir mentioned, and
someone in the audience mentioned, uh, with the design of those modular homes.
I would hope maybe we could have some input,because I too would like...like to
see a little variety. Uh, from the photos we saw,they all kinda seemed the mirror
image of each other. Would be nice to see a little bit variety, uh,but other than
that, urn, and I....I think it's going to be a good project!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 35
Cole: Why I love this project so much is that I think that this demonstrates is growth
with dignity. This demonstrates participatory economics. So often when we try
to live up to our ideals, someone will sort of take you aside and say, 'You know
what, that may sound nice in theory,but get real. This cannot really happen. You
cannot make a project like this actually work in the real world. ' And that's why I
wanna thank the Blackbird team, Mr. Cole, and also the Forest View residents,
because we are having a happy ending,but it's not because of what we did. It's
because of what you did through three years of hard work, negotiation. I know it
was not easy. I know it was difficult at times. I know you had to make those
numbers work and I know you're still probably trying to figure out(mumbled)
how you're gonna make that work,but I'm confident you guys can. Urn, and I
think what it does do is it sets a precedent that when we develop in this
community, we are not gonna develop to displace or,um,where some people win
and other people lose. We're gonna have growth with dignity and the residents
themselves are gonna be the co-applicant on the rezoning application. We cannot
take that for granted that that happened. The residents themselves are the co-
applicant, and I think that's just a testament to all of you, and in terms of the, I
think some of the other residents,the Nixons for example, I wanna thank you too.
I know sometimes your....your concerns were not that you didn't support the
residents. You had some valid concerns. We didn't get all of them. We were able
to do the gas station, and I....and I thank you for that participation. I think
throughout this process, perhaps we were a little too laser-focused sometimes,urn,
on....on certain residents, for obvious reasons, um, but I think you brought a
focus to the surrounding area as well, and in terms of the trees,we all love trees.
We want an absolute minimum impact. We have wonderful staff that's gonna
make that happen,but I'm confident that we can get that done. You know, it is
near an interstate, so it is an area that is more likely to be developed, and of
course as Susan points out with that commercial growth,that is what allows us to
develop a lot of that housing for the residents,to the tune of I think$310 a month,
am I getting that right? I mean, wow! That's just incredible. I wish we could do
that all the time. So,urn,needless to say I'm going to be supporting it. Thank
you.
Thomas: Yeah,this....this is really a very interesting project. Uh, you know, in its
complexity and...and how it, I believe,this relocation of Forest View is an
unprecedented aspect to such a development project of such a, you know,
significant scale and so I think many of us have, you know,that's...that's the most
tangible aspect of this project(mumbled) actually met the neighbors who (laughs)
will be moving into their new homes. Uh,the rest of the project's a little more in-
tangible, in my view. It's more difficult for me to get a grasp of it. Uh, and there
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 36
are a number of issues associated with the rest of the project. Uh, I think we've
made just in the period it's been before us on Council some great strides on the
commercial frontage along Dubuque Street,uh,with the elimination of the gas
station and the convenience store, um, and the possibility of what that lot may
become. It's all somewhat vague right now, uh, we know it will be public space,
but it's a public space, uh, at the gateway into Iowa City. I think there may be
opportunities for developing that into what I might call a'wayside' where we
might be able to introduce anyone who....who should visit that spot, uh, of what
is just down the road. Uh, so I think it....there may be some interesting,uh,
challenges and opportunities with....with how that space developed. You know,
we....we came....we come very late in the process. This is has been a very long
process,uh,you know, if...if those of you who attended our last meeting, I....I
raised a number of concerns. Uh, one of them being the fact that with this project,
we're losing I believe something like 19.5 acres of woodland, I mean that's a
significant loss of natural area and so one of my concerns was, you know, we're
losing all the value that that has and with the development we're creating a
significant amount of impervious surfaces with the development and the parking
lots. So that was why I was so focused on, you know,how can we, uh, with the
development areas, get better canopy cover in those areas which will generate the
most runoff, and also generate the most,uh, significant heat island affects with the
developments. So,in my view looking forward,there may be changes to the lot
developments. They are somewhat, in my view, um....uh, speculative, if that's the
right word. You know, we don't know what the buildings will look like,uh,
there's....there's lots of, uh, issues there that make, at least in subtle ways, change,
which may provide opportunities for....for changes to those lots as they develop.
Uh, I've also, I won't go into the details of it,but raised concerns about, uh, traffic
safety. There will be an extension at Algonquin that will affect the Mackinaw
neighbors, uh, and the residents along Algonquin, I wanna make sure that their
experience now,which is a relatively safe street because it doesn't run through,
will be retained through the project,as well as with Forest View,that....that the
new residents in their new location...or the residents in their new location will also
live, uh, along a safe street. So,you know,there are a number of extraordinary
accomplishments. I think....I'm hoping as we move forward there may be some
refinements to address some of the issues which I was just describing, but as....as
someone stated in the public, or in the comments,uh,we're moving forward and
that in itself I think is....is a great accomplishment with a project of this
complexity.
Teague: I ditto everything that the Councilors have said. I think the biggest thing that I
want to,um,just express is the appreciation for all the different voices comin'
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 37
together and expressin'their concerns and support, and I think on a...on a level for
everybody, it was on a....you have both support and concern, and so I think a lot
of that was, uh, thoughtfully,um,processed with all parties involved, and I think
for Iowa City in....in 10 years, as Susan states,we're gonna look back and really
appreciate this project.
Throgmorton: Okay well (clears throat) I'll take an opportunity to express my own views about
this. This is a very important and very complicated rezoning involving a number
of major issues, and those of you who were here three years ago remember
precisely how contentious the meeting was when we first discussed this. It was a
really hostile meeting. So it's really pleasing to be in a situation where, uh, the
hostility seems to have evaporated for good reasons and,uh,those good reasons
have to do with the, uh,the energy and attention that the....co-applicants and
Blackbird and the neighbors and so on put into this project,tryin'to make it as
good as it can possibly be. So some of the issues that pertain to t his site that
make it so important are, uh, in....in no necessarily special order,housing
assistance and relocation for the residents at the trailer court. That's a very big
deal. Storm water runoff and its potential affects on Idyllwild just down the hill
from this development. Secondary access to the Peninsula development and other
neighborhoods west of Forest View. That's been a huge issue because, uh,they...
when the river floods, they can't get into their neighborhoods, and that's,uh, if
they're....if they can't get in for long enough period of time,that's a....puts their
property at risk. The effects of the proposed project,uh, on existing woodland,
wildlife, and the scenic entryway to Iowa City. Uh, when we were....when we
discussed the Gateway project,meaning the elevation of Dubuque Street, several
years ago, we emphasized how important that gateway is to the city. It is
probably the scenic,the most important gateway to the city. So what happens to
that woodland just on the edge of North Dubuque Street matters. Uh, another
issues has to do with the effects of increased traffic on North Dubuque Street,the
I-80/Dubuque Street interchange, and the neighborhoods,uh, that are immediately
surrounding Forest View, and then there are concerns expressed by single-family
neighbors who live to the west of the project, and concerns by neighbors who live
on the southeast edge of the project. All this stuff comes together into a
tremendously complicated project,which people have worked on very hard,
including our City staff, uh, large number of people on this project! So,uh, it's
really impressive what they've been able to accomplish. I've supported the project
ever since we first discussed it during a work session in November, three years
ago, and....and since we subsequently amended the comprehensive plan in August
of 2017. However, the project ca...changed considerably from the, from what we
were initially looking at to what it became as it worked its way through the
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City Cite Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 38
rezoning process, and that's....that's a challenging thing for it to go through the
process. During this 18-month period,details about the prop....proposed project
and rezoning emerged. I personally grew especially concerned that the projects
pro...projected traffic volumes would significantly increase traffic congestion
along North Dubuque and at the, uh, the interchange with I-80. The uses intended
for lots 1, 2, 3, and 4 would also signal to drivers that Iowa City is just another
stop on the interstate....rather than a city with a very unique sense of place and a
project would depend very heavily on fossil fuel powered motor vehicles which
would undermine our efforts to make a transition to a sustainable,post-carbon
future. Now I think some of you were here during the public comment period
when we got,uh, slammed,uh,pretty vigorously by three people,who are good
people, good residents of the city,but they're really upset about the lack of
progress we've made on our...with regard to climate action. I think there's merit,
not full merit,but there's merit in their critique,but here we had an opportunity to
make an alteration to a project that would respond to the climate action needs that
we have. So I'm very pleased to have been able to do that. So these concerns that
I just mentioned led me to recommend specific changes pertaining to lighting,
electric vehicle recharging stations,public transit service, and especially removing
the gas station. The gas station constitutes something like one-third of all the
traffic that would have been coming in to the project. So given all this, and given
what other people have said up here,uh, at the table, I'm very pleased that the
revised c...uh, conditional zoning agreement responds positively to most of those
proposed changes and I will therefore eagerly vote in favor of the rezoning. Any
further discussion? Hearing none,roll call please. Motion carries 7-0. Could I
have a motion to accept correspondence please?
Cole: So moved.
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Cole, seconded by Mims. All in favor say aye. Opposed. Motion
carries. Thank you, everybody, for coming(mumbled)those of you who are
interested in this(applause) (several talking in background)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 39
11.d. 28 S. Linn Street rezoning: Local Historic Landmark Rezoning,Old
Post Office—Ordinance rezoning property located at 28 S. Linn Street from
Neighborhood Public (P-1)to P-1 with a Historic District Overlay (P1/OHD)
(REZ19-3) (Second Consideration)
Throgmorton: This is second consideration, but staff is requesting expedited action.
Mims: I move that the rule requiring that ordinances must be considered and voted on for
passage at two Council meetings prior to the meeting at which it is to be finally
passed be suspended, that the second consideration and vote be waived, and that
the ordinance be voted on for final passage at this time.
Taylor: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Taylor. Discussion? So in our last meeting, uh,
Jay Honohan, uh, raised some questions about the, uh....I don't know,the....
something that happened, I don't know, 20 or more years ago about havin'to do
with historic landmark status, and I thought maybe he would be submitting some
kind of statement or appeal or request or something like that. Did that ever
happen?
Fruin: I don't think he's followed up in this venue. We did,uh, the Planning staff did
follow up with LaTasha DeLoach, the Director over at the Senior Center, and she
was gonna push the information out on what this means for future, uh,building
alterations, and as...as you know, urn, it does add a layer of oversight to exterior,
um, remodeling or....or renovations that may take place,but it does not impact
what they do within the walls of the Senior Center. So I don't sense there's much
concern at all there.
Throgmorton: And I don't see anybody in the audience that wants to address this topic, so....um,
roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
Mims: Move final adoption.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Thomas. Discussion?
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 40
Thomas: I just wanna mention one thing I was reading on this and that was the....the
concept of the 'civic corridor'that occurred along Linn Street(several talking)
City Hall, uh, the old Carnegie Library, and the Post Office along Linn. It was
kind of interesting to read that(several talking)
Throgmorton: I was hopin'to see photographs lookin'down the street(both talking)
Thomas: Yeah.
Throgmorton: ...or up the street, you know, depending, urn, but....they were head-on shots but
not....
Thomas: Yeah.
Throgmorton: ....not those kind of things. Okay,any further discussion? Hearing none,roll call
please. Motion carries 7-0.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 41
12. Utility Rate Ordinance—Ordinance amending title 3, entitled "finances,
taxation and fees," chapter 4,entitled "schedule of fees, rates, charges,
bonds,fines and penalties" of the city code to increase water service charges
and storm water service charges. (Second Consideration)
Mims: Move second consideration.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Thomas. Discussion? Was anybody gonna make a
presentation? I don't know if(both talking)
Fruin: Only if you have questions. Uh, we have the slides from the first reading that we
can go through again. At your work session you requested a list of the top 10
water fund customers. That's up on the screen. If you have questions, we have
staff to help you through those.
Salih: The increase is 5%,right?
Fruin: 5%(both talking) for the water 5%this coming July 1st and then 5%again the
following July 1st of 2020.
Salih: But for the storm water it will be just 50-cent(both talking)
Fruin: 50-cents (both talking) It's equivalent residential units. So for the single-family
home it would be 50-cents a month.
Salih: Okay. Starting July 1st(mumbled)
Fruin: Yes.
Throgmorton: Okay, so we have a motion on the floor, do we not? Any further discussion?
Cole: No one likes to raise fees but this is essential city service and,um, Iowa City used
to not have great water, like 15,20 years ago. Now we do. So....
Salih: Best water, yeah(both talking)
Cole: ...wasn't always that way.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 42
Salih: I like the water(both talking)they do great job over there.
Mims: Well I think....maybe an important reminder too is a lot of this is driven by the
fact that Procter and Gamble has changed what they're doing and moving out a lot
of their wet production. So they're not using as much water,but we still have the
same overhead, so....
Salih: Yeah, and we(unable to understand)buy water to drink and we don't buy water
(unable to understand)drink from the(unable to understand) I don't buy water.
Cole: It's good stuff!
Throgmorton: Yeah, so this,uh,table is pretty hard to read, but I....if I am reading it correctly,
it's like Procter and Gamble currently accounts for about 8%of our water usage.
Bockenstedt: That's correct.
Throgmorton: The second largest consumer accounts for about 1.2%.
Bockenstedt: Yeah, they are by far our largest end user.
Throgmorton: Yeah. Yeah,that's interesting. All right. Thank you for havin'that table(laughs)
available. It's kinda....I.....I was kinda, yeah,never mind(laughs) (several
talking) Thank you. Okay,uh, any further discussion? Hearing none,roll call
please. Motion carries 7-0.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 43
13. Moratorium on rental permits—Ordinance amending Title 17 of the City
Code (Building and Housing)to establish a moratorium until March 7,2020
on the issuance of new rental permits for single-family and duplex units in
RS-5,RS-8 and RNS-12 zones within certain rental permit districts in the
Rental Impact Area shown in Figure 17-1 of the City Code. (Second
Consideration)
Mims: Move second consideration.
Cole: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Cole. Discussion? Tracy!
Hightshoe: Oh I'm not here. I'm just(laughter and several talking)
Throgmorton: Pay no attention to that woman! (laughs) Uh, is this a good time for you to
provide us with that,uh,background information, uh, concerning the rental cap
and possible....
Dilkes: Legality of it(both talking) I certainly can. Urn, you...I think you've gotten a
couple pieces of correspondence, urn, arguing that the,uh,that the moratorium
violates the recently passed legislation that prohibits rental permit caps. Urn, as I
think a lot of you know,when I think you can't do something I tell you pretty
clearly that you can't. Um, I don't think that's the case here. Urn....r think that,
and I can give you a couple reasons I think there are additional ones but...but kind
of at the top of the list. Number one is the State legislation was clearly, and at the
last minute, directed at the rental permit caps that were put in place by Ames and
the City of Iowa City. Urn.....secondly if you look, um, at both Merriam-Webster
and Black's Law Dictionary, if you look at the definition of'cap,'it is defined as
an 'upper limit,to set an upper limit on.' Urn, an upper limit, such as a limit on
the amount of damages, uh,the interest a bank can charge. When you look at the
definition of a moratorium, it is quite different. It is defined 'as a pause or a
suspension of an activity, or a waiting period,or a period of delay.' Urn, a
postponement. Urn, secondarily,the moratorium, or the temp....people refer to it
as a temporary moratorium,but moratorium means a temporary pause, or delay,
or suspension. Urn, it is a time-honored and found to be constitutional approach,
um,that is often used by local entities to, um,press pause to....to protect the
decision making process and give them time to contemplate a change to codes.
Urn,had the legislature wanted to prohibit moratoriums,there would have been a
much, uh, different way of saying that than prohibiting rental permit caps. Urn,
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 44
finally, I think if there is ambiguity in the statute,the legisla....or the court will
look at,uh,legislative history and I think the legislative history and the
negotiations that went on, or didn't go on at the time,um, this legislation was
proposed,urn, will make it quite clear that a moratorium was not contemplated.
Throgmorton: Okee doke. Thank you. Any discussion?
Cole: Were you gonna let people speak first or....before we (both talking)
Throgmorton: Sony! I should have done that. Thank you. Would anybody like to address this
topic? Hey,Austin.
Wu: Hi. Urn,hi, uh, I'm Austin Wu, City Liaison for University of Iowa Student
Government. Uh, I just wanted to bring attention an editorial in the Daily Iowan,
published last Thursday, that commented on this item and asked for renters to
have a more salient space to provide input on matters such as this. Urn,many
students at the University see actions like rental caps and the permit moratorium,
um, it makes them feel unwelcome or not, you know,not...uh....they feel like
their presence isn't welcomed in the city, even if that is not the intention of actions
such as these. Uh,renters are not just transient students. At this point nearly 40%
of Americans now rent rather than own their own home, especially young people
of all sorts, including young professionals, and this is the highest point since the
mid-1960s. Um,beyond regulating density,present challenges,urn, such as State
actions could be used for future opportunities. Um,perhaps decisions such as
legalizing accessory dwelling units or granny flats could increase density and
housing supply in, um, areas within the impact zone,without substantial changes
to the built form. Um, and concerns such as parking could be used as an impetus
to take direct action of reducing car usage in accordance with the City's climate
action plan. Urn,we recognize that the reasoning behind City actions is due to,
urn.....(mumbled)due to reasons beyond your immediate control,but ultimately
you believe that going forward more permanent solutions must involve a
willingness to modify the built environment beyond policy modifications on the
edge. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you,Austin. Good evening.
Magalhaes: Good evening. You guys still look really fresh!
Throgmorton: We are! (laughter) We're good to go!
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 45
Magalhaes: I couldn't do your job! No way! (laughs)
Cole: (mumbled) see us in two hours! (laughs)
Magalhaes: You're usually here till midnight (laughter)
Throgmorton: Yeah, this is a breeze! (laughter)
Thomas: (mumbled) swing shift!
Magalhaes: My name is Shaner Magalhaes. I'm a realtor with Skogman Realty in Coralville.
Urn, so don't boo me off the stage or anything cause I'm not an Iowa City resident,
but, uh, I do a lot of work in Iowa City. Uh, first of all,thank you for giving us
the opportunity to speak with you about this again. Uh,lot of us were here, uh,
last week,uh, talking about it,uh, and I know you probably get tired of hearing
the same thing over and over again. Uh,hopefully I'll have some new input. Uh,
first of all I wanna say it's pretty rare that I agree with anything in the Press-
Citizen,uh,but I did agree with an article they had today that talked about the
language in the resolution being full of hyperbole. I mean if you read that thing, I
mean it sounds like the sky is really falling in Iowa City in regard to rentals,uh,
and I really don't think that's the case. Uh, I think we all get it that this is a very
complicated issue. As realtors, obviously,we're protecting private property rights,
and that includes people that own rental properties, people that own their own
homes,uh, so we understand the complexities there. But ultimately, I think a lot
of us feel like the market can and is addressing the situation. The first....first of
all using familial status in the rental caps, I would argue wasn't necessary to begin
with,because of that reason,because the market can figure these things out.
Furthermore, the City has existing ordinances in place to deal with the issues that
apparently are the main concerns that the staff and the Council are stating for the
impetus behind(mumbled) familial status, uh,rule and the rental cap rule, and
now the moratorium, such as dealing with parking, disorderly properties,
irresponsible landlords, and the like. I mean if....if.....if you need to work on
those ordinances to change'em or approve 'em or whatever,that seems like where
you should concentrate your effort and the staffs effort,rather than an arbitrary
moratorium. I give you two examples of what I see as being the market working
this out, and one of'em is very personal. Uh,my son and several friends live on
Johnson Street,which as you know is probably 90%rentals. They rent a five-
bedroom home there. They're currently this year paying$3,000 a month. Their
landlord at....at their(laughs)uh, proaction and this is the biggest landlord in
Iowa City, is lowering the rent from $3,000 a month to $2,100 a month next year.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 46
That is unprecedented that somebody would lower rent and by that amount,but
that tells me is even the big boys know that because of all the multi-family that's
been built and is being built, there's not as much incentive, and there's not as
much, uh,pressure on having,uh, as many rental properties downtown. Similarly,
um, I don't know how many people in the audience here, the real...my fellow
realtors,uh,have had this experience,but um....investors that I work with, even
before all this came down were basically saying, 'I don't want to touch downtown
anymore." I mean there's already plenty of people down there. The prices are
inflated when you go to try to buy a rental property downtown as an investor. So
again, I think the market is figuring this out,that,you know, may... maybe we
need to put our money elsewhere. Um, so I....I just think it's not necessary to
begin with. That's kinda my argument. So I would ask that you not support the
moratorium on new rental permits being issued for the next 10 months, as been
proposed, and the bottom line is that I urge the City Council and staff to work
with the realtor community and other people affected by this, uh,and let's....let's
figure it out as well. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Shane. Good evening.
Goeke: Hi! Uh, I'm....I'm Dale Goeke,uh, I graduated from the University of Iowa,but
it's been a few years ago. Um, a number of years ago. We recently purchased a
home on the....on the College Green. I'm not really familiar with all this. The
College Green area,which has the rental caps. Today I applied for a ren...uh, a
rental permit. I was told that the moratorium may place a hold on that, at least
temporarily. I tried to look at this. Had a discussion with the City Attorney, and
my opinion about this is that the moratorium would be a violation of State law.
Now I understand the argument that a moratorium might put a pause on....a City
ordinance or City law,but a City ordinance cannot overrule and veto a State law,
and that's what this moratorium would do. Uh, it simply, as I read the proposed
ordinance it says, 'No rental permits.' That means it's a limitation. A limitation is
a cap, and the State law says'shall not adopt or enforce any rental cap.' So the
moratorium is a cap! And that would be a direct violation of the State law. Now,
if you believe you have authority to have this moratorium, you must have
authority to have the next moratorium,the next one,the next one, ad infinitum.
And I don't think that possibly could exist. What it would do it would make the
State law basically a nullity. Absolutely overrule a State law! I don't think there's
any authority for that. If there is some authority for that, I think we are entitled
to....have it. What is it? What legal authority is there to say that you can have a
rental cap when the State law says you can't? So unless there's some specific
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 47
legal authority,that allows the City Council....to overrule the State law, I think
you have to reject this ordinance.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Dale. Good evening.
Hayes: (mumbled) My name is Monica Hayes and Pm the current President of the Iowa
City Association of Realtors and I just wanted to give a little bit of information on
the real estate market. Uh, last week we talked a lot about the difference in
property value for people were able to sell their home with a rental...or with a
rental permit, compared to those that don't, and just taking into consideration the
(mumbled)nature of this market place, which is very different from any market
place around us because of the University of Iowa and people coming and going
throughout the year. It not only affects people coming and going,but that in turn
affects the rental market and as you know, most rental, or most leases run from
August 1st through the end of July. So....the spring market here starts very early
and is very robust, and many people moving only at that time of year compared to
other markets. So...in considering your timing of the moratorium too and the
length of it,please understand that we're doing market analysis to figure out
values of homes into early winter,preparing for that spring market, and so that's
difficult to be able to plan and give value when we're not gonna know for sure,
urn, different situations with...what, when houses are gonna be able to come on
the market. The other thing is that....knowing, urn,the investors are going to
want to be spending their money by the end of the year, sometimes to help with
taxes. Um, it's also going to affect some of those houses,urn,with investors not
knowing the true situation of rental permits and how,um,those are going to be
affected. So just taking into consideration when you're talking about, you know,
10 months, that those time periods of end of the year and into the beginning of
next year are going to affect the market as well.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Monica. Anyone else? Good evening, Mark.
Kamps: Good evening, sir! Good evening. (clears throat) My name is Mark Kamps. I
also am a realtor here in town. Before I get started, after sitting here for two and a
half hours, thank you for your service to the community. We greatly appreciate
the time that you give. I've got in my hand....our code of ethics. It's a 28-page
document and it's been in effect for over 100 years. By our code of ethics, I mean
the National Association of Realtors. It spells out our duties as realtors, to our
customers and clients, our duties to the public, as well as our duties to other
realtors. It's updated on a yearly basis by the National Association of Realtors.
So we're always current in how it reads and what it says. Prior to the code itself is
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 48
a seven paragraph preamble, of which I wanna read a few paragraphs. It starts
out: Under all is the land; upon its wise utilization and widely allocated
ownership, depend the survival and growth of free institutions and a modern
civilization. Realtors should recognize that the interest of the nation and its
citizens require the highest and best use of the land, and the widest distribution of
land ownership. They require the creation of adequate housing,the building of
functioning cities, the development of productive industries and farms, and the
preservation of a helpful environment. Such interests impose obligations beyond
those of ordinary commerce. They impose grave social responsibility and a
patriotic duty to which realtors should dedicate themselves and for which they
should be diligent in preparing themselves. Realtors therefore are zealous to
maintain and improve the standards of their calling and share with their fellow
realtors a common responsibility for its integrity and honor. In recognition and
appreciation of their obligation to clients, customers, the public, and each other,
realtors continuously strive to become and remain informed on issues affecting
real estate and as knowledgeable professo...professionals they willingly share the
fruit of their experience and study with others. They identify and take steps
through enforcement of this code of ethics and by insisting appropriate regulatory
bodies to eliminate practices which may damage the public. So I feel I had to be
here tonight. It's my obligation and our obligation to defend the property rights of
the citizens of Iowa City. Last Wednesday I believe it was Miss Mims asked,
'Why didn't we bring our concerns to you before taking it to the State?' I ask the
same of you. Why didn't you include us in discussions before it went into effect?
As I like to say when talking to agents about why they should be involved in
legislative issues. If you aren't at the table, you're on the menu. I feel as though
we as the citizens of the community were on the menu when this was being
discussed almost two years ago. We as realtors live it every day. We have to
explain it to both people wanting to purchase a home or sell a home in our
community. Whether it's parents wanting to make life a little less complicated for
their children to attend the University of Iowa by purchasing a home or a long-
time citizen of the community ready to move on to the next stage of their life.
People should be able to do what they want to do with their home as long as it's
within zoning regulations and the law. Speaking of the law, since our meeting last
Wednesday,the Governor of our state signed into law....Section 414.1, subsection
1, code 2019. 'A city shall not adopt or enforce any regulation, restriction, or
other ordinance related to residential property rental permit cap on single-family
homes or duplexes.' The effective date: 'This act being deemed of immediate
importance takes effect upon enactment." I leave you with the question: Isn't a
policy of no rental permits being issued for 10 months considered a rental cap?
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 49
It's a zero cap! It's a cap! I believe you're attempting to cap rentals for the next
10 months at 0%. Thank you.
Throgmorton: Thank you, Mark. Good evening.
McCubbin: Good evening. (mumbled) Hello, uh,my name is Andrew McCubbin, urn, and
I'm a resident of Iowa City. Um, I'm here mainly because it seems like this was a
rush. Um, obviously,urn, there's been talk that the Council was blindsided by the
legislature's decision to do this,uh, but it seems like the Council's kinda rushing
into this as well. Urn, the City of Iowa City had in a place a previous limitation of
rentals,urn,based on familial status, as has been previously brought up. Urn,this
was explicitly prohibited by the State legislature and urn, and I think in a lot of
cases, um....uh, some people would argue,uh, a federal housing law potentially.
Uh, the City of Iowa City then instituted rental caps, which are now prohibited,
um,as of May 2nd. They now....you now intend to implement a rental permit
moratorium in areas ple...previously covered by the cap,but not elsewhere, urn,
and I....I know that people have brought up the....the fact that, urn,there's some
legal disputes about what mato...moratorium means versus an actual rental cap,
but it seems like, um, your....your moratorium is still specifically capping only
specific parts of the city. Um, and it's still enforcing that 30% cap by de facto,
um, language that you're using, at least in the arguments for the moratorium
ordinance,the description of why you're going through with it. Urn....this seems
like a regulation related to permit caps. Urn,this is exactly the thing that's
prohibited by the legislature now in Iowa. Urn,no Iowa City resident should be
expected to fund the almost certain litigation given the deliberate and knowing
manner in which you intend to violate State law. Urn, and I think even at bigger
issue is potentially some, uh, inconsistencies and some sloppy legislature on the
part of the City,urn, over attem....in overt attempts to discriminate against
residents based on their identity and socioeconomic,um, class. Urn,before
getting a permit for owner-occupied dwelling,the current City,urn, code,uh,
indicates that you must have an intent to vacate within 180 days,most intend to
vacate for at least 180 days and if you don't vacate within 180 days,the permit is
terminated. And this is for,um,owner-occupied, um....uh.....uh, dwellings where
in the interpretation of the code,the, uh,having two tenants or more who are then
required to have a permit based on, uh,ordinance changes last year. Um, if you
vacate properties in exactly owner-occupied,do you now need a different permit
if you do as you intended, urn, can you ever get a permit if renting to two or more
tenants as seemingly required? Urn, in an overg...over...excuse me, in an owner-
occupied dwelling if you intend to remain. Urn, also,urn, there seems to be an
inconsistency with respect accessory apartments. Before establishing an
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 50
accessory apartment, you must have a rental permit. You must have an inspection
of property prior to gaining a rental permit, and you cannot get a permit with an
open building permit. Those seem to be, urn,mutually exclusive. Urn,
applications for rental permits have,um,have a scheduled inspection time and
day, and says the payment is due before the scheduled inspection. Uin....uh,the
clerk indicated today, when I applied for a rental permit,that they were going to
cancel the inspection if payment wasn't made right away. The clerk also indicated
that inspections are always scheduled 30 days out, which implies that it's not
because of a certain volume of applications. Rental permit look-up tool
(mumbled) I should say,has had issues....went....went to internet archived today,
um, and it seems like the rental permit issue,urn, came to fruition and all of a
sudden the permit look-up seemed to have issues on Iowa City's web site. Um, so
I don't know if that's coincidence or there's technical difficulties,but think that
needs some explanation. Urn,we also need to look at what happens when
(mumbled)rental properties are violated. The short answer seems to be in Iowa
City is nothing. Of 21 complaints in 2018, five never were investigated and 10
remain open. Only one citation was issued in all of 2018 based on City records
available online. Uh, so let's deal with the nuisances (mumbled)parking, noise,
or maintenance and appearance. Why is attempting to keep college students
living in certain neighborhoods any different in attempting to,urn,prevent
minorities from trying to live there. If you want to get rid of college students or
limit their numbers,pass an ordinance to that fact and defend your basis and
rationale. Bigotry isn't good in...um,with any rationale. More personally as I
start graduate school, I'd like to invest in a house in Iowa City. That investment
was a place for me to live and a place to prove on. But knowing that plans after
graduate school are uncertain, I bought knowing that I can rent in a thriving
college town,or to sell someone either to live in or sub...subsequently rent, and
obviously that now has changed with this proposal. If you want people like me to
call Iowa City home and take investment risks here in improving it, you have to
leave open the possibilities for me to get a return on my investment, and that
includes being able to rent how I wish. Urn, obviously you have building
standards and barring that,um,there's no reason why someone shouldn't be able
to do with their property as they wish. Um,had a moratorium or cap been in
effect, I might not have made the investment,urn, in....in improvements to my
home,and that includes installing 7.2 kilowatts of solar, um,hopefully, uh....in
accordance with the Iowa's...City's climate change plan. As a result of
researching my options on this issue(mumbled) I now know that I should
(mumbled) some or all of my house I can do it. I don't even need to go to the
hassle of rental permit. First I can easily add tenants as owners of the property.
Instead of$209 every year...every two years that Iowa City expects for rental
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 51
permit,um, inspections, I can record a deed for$12 with Johnson County. I can
set up something a little more complex,maybe an LLC or similar,to do even
more. No inspections, no impermit...no permit, 'cuse me, no risk of future rental
regulations. But for all the complaints about rentals not having rental permits,
etc., you only issued one citation and it's unclear if you prevailed in court. So
simply renting and ignoring your process may very well be the cheapest option
yet. Thanks.
Throgmorton: Thank you,Andrew. Anyone else? Okay, I don't see anybody else. Uh....could
we have a motion, let's see now, where are we? We already did(several talking)
Council discussion?
Cole: Well I just hope that we do have this opportunity now for 10 months. I'm still
gonna support it. I hope you reach out to the City staff, um,to have a shared
discussion. Urn, you know we've talked a lot about micro-economics and the
Council's lack of understanding of micro-economics. You know I've read my
(can't hear) as well. I'm fully aware of micro-economics. I think that the struggle
in our neighborhoods is how do we balance commercial activity in the
neighborhoods. What we're tryin'to do is have balance. We're tryin'to have a...
neighborhoods where we can have a mix of families,rentals. Urn, we've added
hundreds of rental units over the past several years. We are very pro-renter. Urn,
but I think what we're trying to do is...is keep our neighborhoods with a mix of
housing types and options available. So...if people want to reach out and
collaborate, I think you will have an open ear,urn, on this Council, and um, I
would certainly love to hear any additional proposals that you would like to make,
uh,but I'm going to be supportive of this because we need to have the time to
come up with a solution and here's the thing....is that you guys want, I mean, it's'
going to come into effect. Um,we're going to have a little bit of time to come to a
policy solution. I hope you join us and....and we welcome you at that table. Uh,
but I think for...for my point of view,we need the time to be able to develop a
solution that will work, for everyone.
Salih: I just wanna ask our City Attorney. I think(unable to understand)really, uh,
important question. By doing this 10 months, is this really not a cap? He...he's
really raised a....like a good question,that....
Dilkes: That's what I responded to when the Mayor asked. In my opinion it is not a cap.
Caps refer to limits. They allow a certain number of things,whether it's damages
or permits, and then they put a cap.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 52
Salih: What about zero cap? That's also....
Dilkes: I don't think this is a cap. I think it's a....it's a moratorium to allow for a pause,to
allow the decision making process. Reasonable minds can differ,but in....in my,
I wouldn't have signed this ordinance if I didn't think it was defensible.
Salih: I know even if we....I.....I try my best, Bruce and I last time, and I know that we
need maybe we just have to go what we....the 10 months,even though I think this
is really long time to do so,to figure out what to do,but you know my
understanding,we doing this 10 months not to come up with a cap,to come up
with a solution,and....that said, I really want the City to focus on like finding
why....to beginning with we had the cap, and if we have like reasoning for the
cap, we have to focus on how we can solve the reason that made us do the cap in
order like just go ahead and putting a cap. Uh, I....I.....I think there many people
are looking for renters, apartment or houses, in the area that's really capped, and
they couldn't find any. Uh, I been helping lot people. I gonna repeat what I said
last time, but uh....I think we driving the market by increasing the price when we
have limited renter permit and uh,more renter permit it will make more houses.
It means somehow the rent will go down. Uh, that my understanding, but I....we
....we don't have support for like increasing the time from 10 months, and I will
go ahead and support it(mumbled)gonna be like, you know, I will support it for
the 10 months, even though I really not....I think you know it should be less than
that, but....hopefully during this 10 months, we don't have to think about a way to
do another cap. We just have to think about how we can solve the problem and
open the permit for everybody,like to have a permit.
Teague: I guess for me, again,urn, the timin'is a long time when you're talkin' about 10
months, and...and you mentioned, you know, solvin'the problem, a part of it is the
problem that we're talkin' about is, you know, cappin'rental permits. I'm not sure
what the new problem becomes if(laughs)if the...you know,if we have no
authority over the permits. Um, I think...we do need time to figure this out. I am
not in support of the 10 months,but I'm....I'm gonna support it because...the
Council, fellow Councilors,urn, we couldn't get a majority. I do think that it is
our duty to not just switch, urn, from one thing and then, you know,have it
without any type of thought to put into it. Uh,retrospect I do think that we have
the opportunity while we....when we learned that it was,you know, at the State
level potentially not gonna move forward. Then at that point maybe we should
have been submitted with some options of what else can be done. At this point,
um....and maybe I should be a little more aggressive, but at this point I will
support it. I think lookin' at what staff is doing, urn, with the current applications
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 53
that are comin'through, I don't know,that's somethin'we need to talk about
because I wanna make sure that,urn, there is consistency in the language of
what's happenin'if people are coming to,urn, apply and I also wanna make sure
that if someone does apply, is the date of the application the date that we're going
to go by until the, uh,until this moratorium is finally voted upon.
Salih: (mumbled)
Fruin: Do you want me to respond to that?
Teague: Please!
Fruin: Uh(clears throat) my instructions to staff is now that the....now that the Governor
has signed the legislation is you do things the exact way that you normally would.
You don't change your practice one bit, uh,we're not delayin'inspections,we're
not speedin'up inspections, we're not,urn, delaying payments on rental permit
applications or anything like that. We're following the same protocol that we
always have. And,uh, if a...an application is made and that initial inspection
takes place before the moratorium goes into place and there's not significant
issues with that inspection,then they'll get the rental permit, even if it's in one of
these capped areas.
Salih: And is this(mumbled) if we approve it next meeting,which is the 21st. (unable
to understand) any application file after the 21st, and everything that file before
21st will be granted?
Fruin: It's not....it's not the application date. It's once we complete that initial inspection
and determine that it is ready for rental,or very clo....you know,if there's some
minor issues that need to be corrected, we'll allow that to go through because
that's our....that's our normal protocol.
Salih: You mean like if you are in the middle of inspection and on the 21st we approve
it, automatically you will (unable to understand)
Teague: I think, I mean, I think the reality is is, cause I....I have rental permits,urn, no
....the likelihood of anyone really getting a rental permit during this period is very
low. Um, and it is what it is,um.....I really do wish the Councilors would
consider....makin'this shorter term. I understand that our staff is busy and I love
our staff, I respect our staff,but if our toolbox is so small, why are we waitin'until
March 7th, 2020 to....do this?
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 54
Fruin: I....I could take a crack at that one as well. The.....the 10 months is not a hard
date. I mean we put out a number that we think gives us sufficient time to do it.
If it happens in six months, great! If it happens in eight months, great! Urn,we're
not going to, um, design a process that necessarily takes 10 months, okay? We're
gonna design a process where we can get some ideas on the table. We can invite
those, uh, stakeholders that are interested in vetting those ideas or bringing their
own ideas, uh,to the table. Urn, give us all opportunity to speak and then we
work through those issues. It could be that we throw out some ideas and some
folks in this room, and others that are interested, come together and say, 'You
know what, I think that is....I think that's a good approach and we could agree
with that,' and we could be back here this summer,or fall, with a new set of
ordinances and the moratorium ends sooner, urn,than....than that 10 months. We
just don't know, urn, how long that....that process, uh, is....is going to take. Urn,
we don't wanna be....we didn't wanna sell, uh, our.....ourselves short and say it's
gonna take three months or four months when there might be more robust
discussions in the community that need to take place before we arrive at that
solution. So, 10 months was....was a safe number for us. I felt like we could get,
urn, I felt like we could develop a process that allowed for the input,that allowed
for the appropriate vetting of ideas, um, while also carrying on the other lists of
projects that that department is currently working on without causing a whole
bunch of delay to those. Um, again, I hope I'm here before March....14th or
whatever that date was,um,with a solution that folks can all support. That's our
goal!
Teague: I don't plan to get into the details cause I don't think that's appropriate here,but
you know I do wish that....sittin' here we had like....(mumbled) first item or...or
your first date approximate would be a month or two to have stakeholders at the
table so that we know that there is something, you know, that will take place,but
I'm not gonna ask you to give a response to that, but....
Fruin: Well I, you know, when we did the rental cap,when we were adjusting after the
familial status,we had a few work sessions with the Council before we brought
you an ordinance. We had check-in points. We had probably six or so public
meetings in a span of....that six or seven months to talk about this issue, and we
can certainly do that. We can...we can engage with folks, we can share some
initial ideas, and we can come to you and say here's....here's what we're jugglin'
with now. Do you wanna weigh...do you wanna put us in a....in a, you know, do
you wanna, uh, steer us in a certain direction or not. We're happy to give you, you
know, as frequent updates as....as you want.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 55
Throgiiiorton: Okay, is there any further discussion?
Taylor: I just wanna say I appreciated Eleanor's, uh, clarification and definition of cap
versus moratorium. I think that's very helpful to delineate whether it,uh,we're
breaking the law as such, uh, it just basically is allowing us,uh,time and I would
say not to solve a problem. I don't want it defined as a problem. It's just that we
want to see what can be done to help distribute, uh, like owner-occupied homes or
just the rentals, and uh, come to a good agreement on that. Uh, but the City has
been, uh, very good about finding innovative ways. That UniverCity program is a
good example of that, of....of mixing, uh, owner-occupied versus the rental
properties, or even converting the rentals to owner-occupied. So,uh, I....I'm in
favor of this.
Mims: I'm gonna support it, I mean I agree, I hope we're not 10 months out,but you
know, I didn't agree with the five or six months or whatever that was proposed last
time. I think it's also important for everybody who's listening to this to remember
that this is....applies only to single-family and duplexes. There's a lot of
apartment buildings in this area that this has absolutely no effect on. Um, I
understand and agree with the idea of....of property owners being able to do what
they want with their properties. We also have an overriding issue,urn, that this
whole thing started with neighborhood stabilization. That means making these
neighborhoods, uh, accessible and attractive for families so that our neighborhood
schools have kids in those locations to go to those schools, along with a lot of
other issues and....and dealing with nuisances,which we'll probably be doing
more things like that,that are gonna make some people unhappy,but that's maybe
where we have to go. So....I just certainly hope we're done with this in less than
10 months, but....and I don't say that to put pressure on staff, because I say that
because this is what the sta....this Council has done to our staff. Urn, I mean we
sat here just a few weeks ago and added on a form based code for the Northside,
after a year ago said we weren't gonna do it, and Geoff clearly said at that time
that's gonna delay other things for that Planning Department, and so, um....we
need to make sure they've got the time, and we need to make sure we get it done
right. So, and I...the last thing I would say is, I have the utmost respect for our
City Attorney and the judgment that she has on legal matters, and so
I....(mumbled) with that.
Throgmorton: Susan, I think you would also want to mention that....the proposed moratorium
does not apply to existing rental permits.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 56
Mims: True!
Throgmorton: Those rental permits in....in all those districts in the city continue to be in effect.
They're not bein'taken away or anything(both talking)
Mims: They can be renewed, correct.
Thomas: You know I (clears throat)this is one of the first issues that I....became engaged
with,uh,when coming to Iowa City back in 2009. And you know
I....immediately read our Central District plan, which really is....it's a little bit
larger than the areas affected by the rental cap, but it's....much of the Central
District is....is within it. And,uh, if not all of the Central District, and it,the
language in the Central District talked about achieving balance between owner
occupancy and rental properties. And, you know, that was always, I thought well
what....what is meant by 'balance,' what...what are we talking about? Urn,you
know I live in the area that's the north town....Northside Goosetown area, and it
wasn't until I saw a report by a student, in I think 2011 or 2012, which talked
about the fact that....in that particular area, and it was by Census tract,that if you
include the multi-family with....as part of the dwelling units, uh, along with the
single-family and duplex properties,uh, 75%of the units in that area are rental.
So that began to tell me this question of balance is really a challenging issue in
Iowa City, and it also began to, as I began to look at the problem further, we say
rental but they're really sub-markets within the rental....market. You have, uh,
rentals which are occupied by students, where they're renting by the room. Then
you have families, you know,households who would like to rent in a more
conventional way, as well as owner occupants,uh, you know, so you have several
classes,uh, all....in my mind I would want to all be able to reside in Iowa City in
the downtown core area. Uh,but achieving a balance is extremely difficult. I...I
think you understand the....the economics that are at play here. So it is a
challenging problem. It's a challen...it's a problem worldwide in college towns.
You know,there...there, I discovered papers in the law school regarding this issue.
So we do need time to sort it out, and I hope we can work together in my mind
with the vision of how can we achieve a balance of both those who would like to
live over the long-term in a neighborhood, whether they're owner-occupied
residences or rental units, and those....we are in a university town, so obviously a
significant percentage of the properties are gonna be rented by students. How can
we co-habit, uh, within the neighborhood and achieve some kind of equilibrium.
And that's...that's what I hope we can do over the moratorium.
Throgmorton: Further discussion? Has everybody spoke, 'cept me? (mumbled)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 57
Fruin: If I could have one more, urn, and maybe this is something for you to think about,
uh,before the...the third reading. Urn, circling back to what we were trying to
accomplish with the rental caps, um, and the other changes that we made. Urn, in
hearing some of your comments I'm going to simplify what was a pretty lengthy
discussion back then or multiple discussions. We really have two goals, and...and
if you need to course correct us with these goals, please think about that before
the next meeting,but we want those diverse housing options in the neighborhoods
and...and John just touched on that, and then there's the second piece, which is
the, uh, the....to prevent overburdening the City infrastructure and operational
resources. And if you'll recall when we went through the....the rental caps,we
spent a lot of time looking at....at heat maps of nuisances and where we were
deploying our....our, uh, our resources, urn, and trying to limit,urn, those hot
spots where we had....where we had nuisances. So, that's where we hired
another,uh, you know, enforcement officer,urn, and we made some of those other
changes. As we put the rental caps to bed now, and we look for another set of
solutions,that's what's in my mind, as I look to guide this discussion at the staff
level. If.....if we're off on those, if we're missing something or again if you need
to course correct us, maybe for the next reading,urn, let us know what your goals
are too for those discussions. That'll help us get off to a quick start.
Dilkes: And....and one clarification, talking about the effective date of the moratorium
ordinance, is the date of publication. It will not be the 21st. It will be the date of
publication, which is typically the Thu....the second Thursday after the Tuesday
meeting, which....is the 30th, I think. Um, but we can get...(mumbled) or
Memorial Day may mess that up a little bit, but we can give you that exact date,
urn, at the next meeting.
Throgmorton: Okay. Okay, so....uh, I haven't had a chance to say anything, and I do want to.
Uh,the question at hand, obviously, is whether we should adopt a 10-month
moratorium on rental conversions in defined neighborhoods. But I do want to
respond to a couple claims that several speakers made during our public comment
period on May the 1st and also a bit tonight, and I do so in the spirit of dialogue
(laughs) I really do mean this cause if....if I don't express how I'm thinking about
things, you'll never know how I think about things. So....I hope you understand
that. So, first several speakers claimed that the rental cap intruded on the rights of
private property owners. In my judgment this claim misunderstands the
relationship between private markets and governmental entities like ours. It's a
mistake to think that there is a'free market'into which the government'intrudes.'
Rules create markets, and government generates the rules. This is how it always
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 58
has been and how it always will be. So, you can have a minimalist government,
you can have a maximalist government,but there's judgment in between. With
that in mind, the important question becomes how should those rules be generated
and changed. I believe in a well-functioning democracy every citizen and
stakeholder should have an equal opportunity to influence....the content of those
rules. Therefore, it's misleading to claim our rental cap ordinance intruded in the
rental housing market. The rental cap set the rules and context within which the
local rental market would operate. Attention should have been focused, therefore,
on the merits of the proposed rules and on ensuring that people have adequate....
had adequate notice and opportunity to influence the content of those rules. Our
rental cap ordinance was developed through a lengthy process, which provided
ample public notice and ample opportunity for a variety of people with a variety
of interests to influence the content of rules by participating in our rule-making
process. One major consequence of that process was that the final version of that
rental cap ordinance included several significant exceptions to the general ban,
and several of the people who spoke on...at, on May the 1st were completely
unaware of those exceptions, including the first person who spoke. He drew
attention to two particular,uh,things that worried him most. Both of'em had
exceptions built into the....the rental cap ordinance as it existed. So in my
judgment, as an elected official of the City, the final version of our rental cap
ordinance reflected the values of most Iowa Citians. The second claim we heard
from some speakers in our May 1st meeting, and tonight, was that they had not
been able to sell their houses at prices they had expected. Those expectations
assumed there would be no rental cap. I take this to be a misguided expectation,
which ignored the many public values and concerns that had led us to adopt a
rental cap in neighborhoods located close to the University. The main concern
was that treating single-family detached houses and duplexes as maximum
revenue generators drives housing prices up in those neighborhoods and makes it
far less likely that owner occupants could afford to buy them. It drove...it drove
particular kinds of buyers out. Very quickly the whole affected area could flip to
rentals, if we....if we don't have some rules in place. So who would benefit from
that? A....a process that sort of leaves it to the market or no,basically no rules.
Well,property owners who want to sell for a no rental, uh, no rental cap price
would benefit. Realtors would benefit from commissions. But who would not
benefit, and in fact be harmed? People who want to live in thriving,mixed-
income neighborhoods close to the University. There are a lot of'em! They teach
at the University. They're staff at the University. And....and other, uh, locations
near down...uh, other businesses near downtown. Who else? Families that want
their children to walk to nearby elementary schools, and of course we just, School
District's just spent a ton of money,uh,renovating Horace Mann Elementary.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 59
Who else? Non-student renters who are looking for affordable rental units for
their families. Who else? Anybody who cares about the economic health of our
downtown and wants to attract a diverse mix of resid...uh,of customers to it. In
brief,anybody who cares about the overall health of the city would, uh...um....uh,
would in a sense be harmed. They would understand the damaging effects of
having entire neighborhoods be converted, like what is collogo....colloquial
known as the'student ghetto.' Entire neighborhoods that would be completely
transformed or largely transformed into rental districts, filled with temporary
residents, who have no long-term interest in the neighborhood. That's not healthy
for the city. It's not healthy for the neighborhoods. It's not a good thing for us to,
uh....uh.....uh, enable to happen. So, looking ahead, uh,to the next few months
as we develop a new set of rules to ensure the health and vitality of close-in
neighborhoods, I....I have a couple suggestions that I would like to, uh, ask our,
uh, staff and Council Members to think about. One is that we should analyze the
effects of new multi-unit housing,uh, under construction, or recently constructed,
on the demand for rental housing and single-family and duplex structures located
in neighborhoods close to the University. I've had innumerable conversations
including just yesterday from a person who owns some rental property who's
worrying that the new,uh, multi-unit structures that we've been permitting, uh, are
going to undermine the rental market in the....the close-in neighborhoods and
drive prices down! So I mean I....I don't know what the truth is! I think we need
to look carefully at that. Uh,the other thing I think,uh,would be worthwhile
doing is consider the potential effects, hopefully beneficial, of enabling the
construction of"missing middle housing" in the residential neighborhoods
throughout the city. Uh, I think those two things could be part of our discussion
as we,uh, go through this process of trying to invent, uh, an alternative to the
rental cap. So I'd be happy to talk with anybody in the rental, uh,realtor
community about this. I...I'm sure we would disagree in all sorts of ways,but we
might agree in all sorts of ways, so I mean it seriously about,uh,engaging in
dialogue about this. Thank you. Okay, any further discussion? Hearing none,uh,
so we have a motion on the floor. Roll call please. Motion carries 7-0. Could,
uh,we have a motion to accept correspondence please?
Mims: So moved.
Cole: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Cole. All in favor say aye. Opposed. Motion
carries.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 60
14. Alcohol Sales in City Parks at City-Sponsored Events—Ordinance amending
Title 4,Alcoholic Beverages,Chapter 5, Prohibitions and Restrictions,
Section 5, Open Containers; and Title 10,Public Ways and Property,
Chapter 9, Parks and Recreation Regulations, Section 2, Prohibited Actions
in Parks,to allow alcohol to be sold in City parks at City-sponsored events
pursuant to permits issued by the City. (First Consideration)
Throgmorton: Could I have a motion please?
Mims: So moved.
Thomas: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by Thomas. Discussion? Juli!
Seydell-Johnson: Hi, Juli Seydell-Johnson, Parks and Recreation Director. Um, I'll be really
brief. I don't actually have a presentation. Um,most of the information is in the
memo in your packet. We are requesting,um,to be allowed to serve alcohol
specifically at Parks and Recreation-sponsored events in our parks. Um,plans for
Riverfront Crossing Park includes an event lawn with a concert stage. We felt
like that would a great location, urn,to have adult, urn, events or events that have
alcohol to attract more adults to them. Urn, the other idea is to have Yappy Hour •
(laughs) at the off-leash dog parks(laughter) a much smaller event,but just an
adult social time,urn, specifically at the dog parks.
Throgmorton: Any questions for Juli? (both talking)
Salih: What you mean by(both talking) ...sell alcohol on the City park? You mean...
and now you just said allow alcohol in the park.
Seydell-Johnson: Only during City-sponsored, only during specific City-sponsored events as we
get a permit to do so. So it would be(both talking)
Salih: ...sponsor event.
Seydell-Johnson: Correct! So a Parks and Recreation(both talking)
Salih: ...a regular event where people from the community having an event.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 61
Seydell-Johnson: No, so only....only our special events, similar to the Block Party having
alcohol outside downtown, this would allow us to do the same, similar thing in
Riverfront Crossing Park or specific parks with an event.
Cole: Are there any limitations on hours, urn, of these City-sponsored events in which
alcohol is served?
Seydell-Johnson: Urn...I don't know specifically.....park hours are until 11. So....I can imagine,
unless it was maybe....(both talking) I guess we don't....l don't have the exact
answer for the opening of Riverfront Crossing Park, I should say, cause we have
fireworks scheduled at the end. So....
Cole: Reason why I ask it, I think of like for example, you know, Oktoberfest it seems
like there were some hour limitations. I know that's not a park but,urn, other
events that we've had, it seems like the hours have been a little bit more limited.
We didn't allow them to go late into the evening, and I just had wondered if that
was a....
Seydell-Johnson: Our intent would be like 10 or 11:00. These are not late, late night events. It's
just one extra amenity to our regular larger events.
Throgmorton: I need to be persuaded about the Yappy Hour(laughter)uh, when I go to the dog
park, you know,the Thomberry Dog Park, urn, and....and now when I try to
imagine going there with other people drinking beer and whatever, I don't feel so
good about that. So....
Seydell-Johnson: Sure!
Throgmorton: ...persuade me it's a good idea.
Seydell-Johnson: Sure! So it's actually, it's an idea we floated with people out at the dog parks.
They think it would be a fun way to just add an additional amenity to the dog
park,not all the time. This is probably once each summer, um,just meant as a
different way to....for adults to socialize within the dog park. Uh, we got the idea
from some other cities that have done it very successfully. Urn, it's just more of
(both talking)
Cole: ....how would that work?
Seydell-Johnson: I'm sorry, what?
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 62
Cole: Would they be pay events or....
Seydell-Johnson: Urn.....
Cole: ....insurance be pretty expensive?
Seydell-Johnson: Urn, we needed to find out if you had an appetite to let us do it first before we
figured out all the details. It's pretty limited. So we're thinking something like
you would pay to get in and get two tickets for probably two cans of beer or, you
know, so this is not an open bar type event. It's a very limited, um....alcohol
provision for this event. Yeah.
Teague: Can you tell me what the current reason is for not allowin'alcohol at all?
Seydell-Johnson: Urn,we discussed this issue probably a little over a year ago,urn, and there
was some concerns,um, from the Council at that time just to not have it available
throughout the parks. There's some history, and I don't know if I'm the best
person to describe the full history of....of why it's not allowed.
Teague: Okay. I....I guess I do have concern that....whatever that rationale is, you know,
to not have it, and then the City wants to have an event and sell alcohol, I do have
concerns about that. Urn,personally(laughs) I think people should be allowed to
have alcohol in....in parks. Personally. Urn....so if we're gonna....so if we're
gonna, you know, make an allow..or make it allowable for the City, I....I think I
would be more than willin'to look at the whole, which I know has already been
decided upon. So.....I'm not sure about this one.
Fruin: I think....I think the big reason, uh, Councilor Teague, is just the....the frequency
and supervision. When we looked at allowing them in the shelters, we don't
supervise what goes on in the shelters and there was a....a lack of control,plus
just the...um, how the usage may impact other kind of freelancing park users, if
you will. When we have a specific concert or an event like a Yappy Hour, and
again we're talking a....a, one or two off events,uh,per year,we can...it's a
controlled environment, we can set security, we....we review fencing plans,
we....we go through all those protocol to make sure that, urn, it's a safe
environment and that whatever's happening within the confines of the liquor
license area is not impacting other users of the park to a great degree. So it's....
it's the control versus lack of control.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City, Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 63
Teague: So a family who is currently havin' like a family reunion, alcohol would not be
allowed at their event.
Fruin: Not at a....not at a park shelter. They could do the Ashton House or the...or the
Lodge, an event center like that that we offer,but not at say a City park shelter.
Teague: Okay.
Throgmorton: Other discussion?
Mims: I'm willing to support it. I mean I think the idea of, like(mumbled) said, it's very
few events. You've got the planning,the security if needed, urn, I think it's worth
giving it a try.
Thomas: Seems like a pretty conservative,uh, concept and with significant control over the
events, so I think it's fine.
Taylor: And maybe too alleviate the Mayor's concern,uh,prior to the event in the dog
parks you could put signs up or post that next Saturday is going to be(several
talking)the party in the park there.
Seydell-Johnson: Definitely, I mean(both talking)
Taylor: So people know.....they don't come there with their dogs and (both talking)
Seydell-Johnson: ...two or three-hour event,probably once this summer, so....
Throgmorton: Okay, well I'm gonna support it,but you know, historically we've had
considerable difficult with excessive drinking. This is a fact,and....and uh, we
can't just kind of ignore the fact, and I'm co-chair of the Partnership for Alcohol
Safety at the University, and we discussed(laughs) everything the University's
tryin'to do to keep....uh, their students from getting harmed as a result of
excessive drinking. So that's the....the underlying concern has to do with that, it
seems to me. So if....if this is designed in such a way as to be limited in scale,
limited in frequency and that kind of thing, and monitored in a reasonable way,
then, uh, I....I can support it. I....I just don't want it to become somethin' else, ya
know? Okay, any further discussion? Hearing none,roll call please. Motion
carries 7-0. Where'd Juli go? Thank you,Juli.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 64
15. 2019 Bond Resolution—Resolution directing sale of$12,535,000 (amount
subject to change) General Obligation Bonds,Series 2019.
Throgmorton: Could I have a motion to approve please?
Salih: (several talking) Move.
Teague: (several talking) Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Mims, seconded by....who? (several talking) I'm sorry(several
talking) Seconded by Teague. Dennis! Hi.
Bockenstedt: Urn, I'm gonna try and be brief(both talking) We know it's late. Urn, I'm Dennis
Bockenstedt. I'm the Finance Director for the City, and today we took bids on
$12.5 million of General Obligation Bonds. Uh, Larry Berger is here from Spear
Financial,uh,the City's financial adviser, and he's gonna give you a summary of
what happened this morning and also I gave a handout there that he's gonna go
through.
Throgmorton: Admirable patience! (laughs)
Berger: Thank you, Dennis. Uh, Mayor and Members of the City Council, again Larry
Berger from Spear Financial. We had a great day in the market today. Uh, as you
can see from the cover letter that, uh, we're passing out,uh, we did receive two
bids today, and I'll come back to that cover letter, uh, because we will recommend
the low bid of Robert W. Baird from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, at a very low interest
rate of 2.0204%. If you just turn the page though, let me quickly just,uh,run
through that you have maintained your triple-A rating with Moody's. That is the
highest rating that you can get as a city, and so congratulations. Dennis and his
staff did a very fine job with the interview with Moody's. I did highlight just a
few areas. There's not a lot of negative areas that I can warn you about in a triple-
A rating,but I did highlight a couple of areas. Uh, one of the areas is that your
bonds will all be paid for within 10 years,that Moody's likes short bonds. They,
uh, give a higher rating for short bonds, and those are about,probably the shortest
bonds you can, uh, come up with is a 10-year period. Also they are very,urn,
complimentary on your staff and the financial condition. Uh, your reserves are,
uh, very fine,uh, very high and that's what they like. They like cash, uh, so that
you can operate, should there be some shortfalls in tax collections and different
things. Uh, if you turn the page though to a page that we summarized the two
bids that came in. Looks like this. If you will notice, you did only receive two
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 65
bids today,but you had an additional 26 underwriters that were interested in your
bonds. What they do a lot of times in a large sale of$12 million, they will put
together what is called the'syndicate,'and Robert W. Baird put together a
syndicate, not only their company but an....an additional 26 other companies that
will probably share in some of these bonds. So what they do is they then
distribute some of the bonds to the other 26,uh, companies. Although the bids
were,uh, 2.2,or 2.02 and 2.09,which is very close, uh, that does mean,uh,
almost$50,000 difference in the interest costs, and so, uh, you notice when it's
$12 million those fractions really add up. If you turn to the last page then, that is
your final debt service schedule. And the right-hand column is your annual
payments of principal and interest. These interest rates are locked in for the 10-
years. If you'll notice there is a call provision in the final debt service schedule.
Call (mumbled)provision protects the City, should the market go down, which
I'm...doubt that it probably will go below 2%,but if it goes down, or if you have
cash ahead after the call provision of 2025,you can....you have the option, the
City has the option,to pay off the bonds early,refinance,or whatever you choose
to do after the 2025 call. We always protect the City with a call provision, uh, to
make sure that you,urn, have that option. And you have taken advantage of some
refinancing, and paying off bonds early, after the call on previous bonds issues.
With that, I would turn back to the cover sheet and recommend that we sell two...
or 12,535,000 General Obligation Bonds, Series 2019 to Robert W. Baird of
Milwaukee,Wisconsin, for an interest rate of 2.0204 at a price of 12,565,847.
Now what they're doing is they're paying you actually$30,000 to buy these
bonds, and so what they wanted to do is they wanted to tweak the interest rates
just a little higher,but in order to win the bid,because this is a competitive bid,
they give you back that additional money that they receive for a little bit higher
interest rate. So it all works out for a 2.02%of true interest rate and plus
approximately$30,000 principle,uh,to buy the bonds from you. With that, I
would answer any questions that you may have about today's sale.
Teague: (mumbled)Hutchinson's do the same thing, give us 35,000 or....
Berger: Yeah, actually the....the premium is figured into the, uh, sale price and so if you'll
notice, going back to the bid and bidder sheet,this one,the 30,000 under the
price, it says that under Robert W. Baird, uh, 100.246%. That means they're
bidding more than what the bonds, the face value of the bonds are, and under
Hutchinson, it's 100-plus,or.96....(laughs) 969%but if you'll look at the interest
rates,the second column from the right,uh,the low bid is 2% from 20 to 27, and
2.25 from 2028 to 2029. Look down below the 20 to 27,the 2.25 higher interest
rate, and then a 250 in the last two years. So what that did was drive up the
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 66
Hutchinson bid, although they gave you a premium also, the higher interest rates
calculated into not having the low bid(mumbled) and so that's how it's all
calculated,uh, Wisconsin premiums are calculated into the winning bid.
Teague: Thank you.
Thrognnorton: All right. Any other questions for Larry? Thanks so much for your help.
Berger: Thank you very much!
Throgmorton: Yeah, and your patience too! Okay, we have a motion on the floor. Anybody else
wanna address this topic? Seeing no one, any Council discussion? Hearing none,
roll call please.
Fruehling: Who moved and seconded? I....either I didn't catch it or(several talking)
Throgmorton: Susan moved(several talking)Teague seconded it. Motion carnes 7-0.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 67
16. Retail Recruitment Services Contract—Resolution authorizing the award of
a contract to provide Retail Recruitment Services for the City of Iowa City.
Throginorton: Could I have a motion to approve please?
Teague: So moved.
Salih: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Teague, seconded by Salih. Discussion? Hi,Wendy.
Ford: Good evening, Council. I'm Wendy Ford, Economic Development Coordinator.
Urn, the item you have before you is to consider a retail recruiter who would
come in to Iowa City and help us fill some of our vacant retail spaces in
commercial neighborhoods around....around town. As you'll remember in budget
deliberations for FY19, Councilman Botchway at the time,uh, brought up the
idea because at the time also the old Kmart.building was still vacant. While that's
been filled,urn, there are still a number of vacancies around town, and we
pursued,uh,talking with retail recruiters,uh,by putting out an RFP towards the
end of last year. Had two responses to that proposal and uh, a committee of staff
and a couple of people from outside staff reviewed proposals and we determined
that Retail Strategies, who,uh, whose price was $45,000 for a one-year contract,
renewable for two additional years at the same price would, uh, would be the right
firm to go with. What the Retail,uh, what Retail Strategies does is basically two
things. They....they conduct a market analysis, um, that takes,oh, usually the
first couple of months of their work with the City and with input from community
leaders, the business community, and neighborhoods will,um,use that
information to determine,uh, what retail opportunities we should pursue and
which ones are not worth pursuing, and they do that with a retail demand analysis,
which you're probably familiar with. The other thing they do is, urn, interact, urn,
with the regional and national retail communities through,uh, conferences and
conventions, where,uh,recruiters and also retailers meet together in hopes of
building relationships that would,uh,ultimately end up in our being able to fill
some of our empty retail spaces here in Iowa City. So, urn, there are three
deliverables that they bring to us in the first year and....and the first, as I said, is a
market analysis report. Urn,the second is a retail,uh, strategy plan for, um, the
types of retailers that would be most,uh,that would benefit most from being in
Iowa City...in Iowa City and vice versa, and um, lastly they would, uh,put
together marketing and recruitment terials....materials that we could use in
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 68
partnership with them or that they will use when they're out on the road, so to
speak, at their conferences and conventions.
Throgmorton: Okay,thanks,Wendy. Any questions for Wendy?
Teague: I'm excited for this opportunity for our community. Um, now....is the Downtown
District a part of this, all of Iowa City?
Ford: It would be for all of Iowa City.
Teague: And I'm excited that it's really goin'to, you know, is includin'downtown and the
rest of the city so Pm very excited just to see what,uh, will happen as a result of,
um, takin'this step.
Salih: Can you just remind me again what did you say about like how they decide which
retail that we want on the community? Who will, like they are the ones who will
come up with it or....
Ford: It's a....it's a combination, urn, there's a....there's a marketed ana...a market
analysis which,uh, through credit card data that comes from national databases,
they're able to tell what retail categories are being satisfied in commercial
neighborhoods in town, and what retail categories are not. In other words, uh,
perhaps on the east side of town there's no place to buy shoes. Well this data
somehow comes up with those kinds of facts and figures, and uh,they report back
to us where some of those needs are, and then also with input from the
community. We're a community that largely likes our,uh, local retailers,um,
especially in certain places, they will,uh, try to help make matches that would fit
the retail vacancies in the various retail neighborhoods around town.
Salih: So how they get that input from the community?
Ford: I'm sorry,what?
Salih: How they get the input from the community?
Ford: They'll, part of our....the first two month's worth of work will be identifying, uh,
leadership and....and we haven't,we haven't determined this path yet, but it will
likely be contacting leadership in neighborhood associations, uh,existing business
communities around town,uh,property owners, and uh, perhaps even developers.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 69
We're....it's not limited to a certain, uh, a certain group of people or business
people at all. (several talking)
Salih: Yeah, I think that what we wanna see.
Cole: I was gonna say I think you bring up a really good point in the sense that I
understand that there are certain national retailers that we have to recruit, and
(mumbled)bunch of home-grown retailers that we can just, you know, create out
of thin air. That said, I do think there....some of our most dynamic businesses
have been home-grown retail, second-hand clothing stores, those sorts of things,
so I am hopeful that we are cognizant of how we stimulate the home-grown retail
to the extent that we can.
Taylor: I agree. I think it's money well spent, cause I think...I mean we have ICAD and
it's a wonderful group, uh, for highlighting things in the area and trying to draw,
uh,retailers, etc., to the area,but I think to have this company,whose primary
focus is,uh,to evaluate strategies and....and determine, and analyze, you know,
what the needs are,uh, will be a very positive thing for us.
Throgmorton: Any further discussion? Thank you,Wendy. Roll call please. Motion carries 7-0.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 70
17. Council Appointments
17.a.Airport Zoning Board of Adjustment—One vacancy to fill a five-year
term, January 1, 2019—December 31, 2023 (New full term)
Throgmorton: Uh, there's no gender requirement, we have one application from Heath Flynn.
What's your preference, folks?
Mims: Looks good to me!
Taylor: I was glad to see a female applicant, even though there's no gender requirement.
Uh, she's young(coughing, unable to hear speaker) community,but uh, she has
significant experience with aviation (several talking)perfect fit.
Throgmorton: Yeah, uh, I wish it was, you know, a slightly different commission, but yeah, she
applied and there we are. So, without objection we will appoint (several talking)
Heather Flynn. Okay! We need a motion for that,right? Could I have a motion to
appoint Heather Flynn?
Salih: So moved. (several talking)
Mims: Second.
Throgmorton: Moved by Salih, seconded by Mims. All in favor say aye. Opposed. Motion
carries.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 71
19. Community Comment
Throgmorton: I, Roger, I have a feeling you were hopin'to be able to speak. Why don't ya come
on up,haven't seen ya for a long time!
Knight: (mumbled) Hi,um, my name's Roger Knight. It's been a while. Ur....first of all
I was gonna say somethin' on Item 14, um....but it went too quick was.....you
guys are flirtin'with a very fine line with somethin'that the City was really
pushin' for was to make sure that this is not a party town. It's really gettin' close
to, well let's just have alcohol everywhere all the time. And having this be
somethin'that was pushed for is gettin' closer to all-out drinking,in my opinion.
Um....Wednesday night I got to deal with it and I don't have....and do not want a
police badge to deal with it. But straight up with the parties or shows or whatever
that Gabe's puts out or allows there. In my opinion, Gabe's needs to be stopped.
They don't own this town. They will never own this town, and if they wanna
continue to allow rappers of certain kinds that have.....identities of bad fans that
like to get rowdy and smoke things that are illegal here in Iowa, then we need to
put 10,000, 20,000, $30,000 fine and if it doesn't stop,just pull their liquor
license. That's how you stop this stuff from happening. I'm glad to see that the
City is starting to learn how to use their muscle. It's time that they learn that they
can also stomp their foot down on certain items. I...called the Police Department.
They came out, told'em to move their cars because they were smokin'marijuana
right out by their car. They just circled the block, came right back. Where's the
police then? Well, your guess is as good as mine. I don't have a badge. I don't
want a badge, but....you need to know what's going on downtown with these wild
bars and how they think that they can get around rules or whatever continuously.
I know the Union has....tried to argue around the, uh, 21 and above rules that the
City has had. Well, if you don't like it, get out of Iowa City. You guys are the
governing body of this city. They don't own Iowa City. Neither does the
University. Too many drunks causin' fights, getting drunk, dyin'. I'm sorry but I
grew up around the fire station. One death is unacceptable. Just one is
unacceptable, and I am here to, if I need to, get louder and more obnoxious on
this, cause it wasn't even in this town but I have a friend that just got hit by a
drunk driver and is fightin'for their life and I'm not going to allow it to happen in
this city, and I hope this City Council will (mumbled)join in on that with me, and
then the next thing I've already brought up before is a noise ordinance, city wide.
Doesn't affect....it affects every business. There's no exceptions. There's no
reason why bars or whatever are allowed to have loud music, obnoxious music,
after 10:00. That should be a given. I don't care if it's....for, uh,the Jazz Fest or
whatever. No suct...no absuc...um, sorry, tongue tied. No(mumbled) Man, I
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 72
give up! (laughs) You know what I'm sayin. Urn....so hopefully....the City can
really get on that,because with this noise ordinance, if you get after the
motorcycles and the cars that play really loud music, that'd make it so the fire
trucks, police cars, and ambulances don't have to have their sirens so loud, which
affects everybody's ears just walkin' outside. So I hope these things can be
thought, you know, given good thought and....come up as some kind of solution.
Thank you.
Throgrnorton: Thank you, Roger. Austin, did you want to say anything? (unable to hear
response, away from mic)
Wu: Hello, uh, I'm back,Austin Wu, City Liaison for the University of Iowa Student
Government. Uh, I'd just like to congratulate Charlotte Lenkaitis as the new
Deputy. She is studying abroad in Chile right now and won't be back in Iowa City
until August, but I'm sure she'll do a great job. Uh, I just wanna say happy Bike
Month. Uh, May is bike month. I encourage everyone to ride as much as they
can, if they have a bicycle. Uh, consider swapping a few car rides for a bike ride.
I know there's lots of great events put on. Urn, so just wanna say that, and urn,
finally congratulations to all graduating seniors of the University and good luck to
everyone with finals, including me(laughter)
Throgmorton: You don't have finals tomorrow, do ya?
Wu: Uh, yeah, I do. (several talking and laughing) Thank you, and that's all I have to
say!
Throgmorton: Okay. Thank you.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.
Page 73
20. City Council Information
Throgmorton: Why don't we start with John and move to the right, and here I'm gonna suggest
we conflate the....the two kinds of things we do, you know, we do somethin' in
the work session, we do somethin' in this. Just tie'em together.
Thomas: Yeah I,urn, in line with what you were just saying, I....I did attend the last....I
attended the last, uh, Iowa City area, ICAD,meeting,Area Development meeting,
and uh, saw an interesting presentation by the Iowa Business Council. It's....it's
sort of shocking to me how ma....maybe shocking isn't the right word, but I'm
always impressed with the number of organizations that are focused on economic
and business development in the region, urn, and the business council being yet
another. So, um....lots of people working on that issue,although(laughs) I then
saw, I don't know if many of you subscribe or read the....this was from the
Sunday Gazette, and it had a piece on the economic development in Stanton,
Iowa,which is a town of 700 people, a little....little town with Swedish heritage.
Uh,most famous for its....Sw....Swedish...artistic rendering of the water tower
and now I think there's a coffee cup as well, but this....this place has seen over
$30 million in economic development over the last 10 years, and you know, they
don't have economic development teams working, you know, day and night,but
um, they seem to be successful. It's sort of interesting how, you know, the success
or failure of a place is to some degree,uh, a matter of just good luck(laughs) I
think.
Throgmorton: Susan?
Mims: Nothing!
Taylor: I don't have any,uh,meeting information, and uh, lot of events over the past
week,but for the sake of time I won't go over each one of them. Urn,but I would
be remiss if I didn't mention that,uh, May 6th through 12th is actually National
Nurses Week. It didn't make it to the proclamations list,but we have a lengthy list
anyway,but uh, it is a time that's celebrated nationally,uh, as a time to recognize
nurses and all they do to help their patients and people that are in,uh, a time
of....of need, so....happy Nurses Week!
Throgmorton: Great. Bruce?
Teague: So I was able to attend the Senior Center open house on Thursday the 2nd and the
Senior Center has....it's a happenin' place. So I encourage anyone(mumbled)
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 74
check out the Senior Center. I even got to look in the,um, the commercial
kitchen there,but urn,there's a lot of things happenin'(mumbled) Senior Center
was very vibrant, um, and um, full of life. So I really enjoyed that. Urn,just a
point, urn,of.....all the wonderful activities happenin' in the Iowa City area. On
Friday night at 10:00 P.M.....10:10 P.M., I went to Film Scene and I didn't even
realize they started so late,but I got to see Aretha Franklin "Amazing Grace," and
I would encourage anyone to get out and do that. Urn, on Saturday the 4th, um,
just wanted to, you know, give a shout-out to the family of,urn, Isiah Waspond,
who actually died, urn,here loc...um,recently by a train and so just to let them
know that we're definitely praying for them in their loss. Other than that,that's all
I have for today!
Salih: Uh, yeah today the second day of the fasting months (unable to understand) and I
would like to wish all the Muslim community in Iowa City a peaceful, inspiring,
and blessed Ramadan. I was fasting today and I break my fast with a cup of soup
and half of it split while on the middle of discussion of Forest View. Thank you,
Geoff and Bruce, for helping me(laughter) clean the mess(laughs) without
(laughing)noticing and uh,just am very hungry now. (laughter) Just can't wait to
go home. I attend,uh, Labor Center separation. It was great and I guess, uh, we
all happy that,uh, you know, the Labor Center is still existing for the next five
years. Hopefully it will continue. Uh, other than that, I don't have anything.
Thank you.
Throgmorton: Great. Thanks.
Cole: Ditto. I attended the Labor celebration as well as you know we've had a lot of bad
news as a state recently,but it's nice to have those sort of little rays of sunshine. It
was a really great celebratory event. Um, and speaking of labor, urn, Maz,
Pauline, and I met with Royce Peterson and the Union 1260 and they expressed
concerns about, continuing concerns, about misclassification in (mumbled) and
also looked at some of the interesting things that Des Moines is doing in response
to some of the restrictions to the legislature has taken on. So it was an engaging
discussion, um,probably stay tuned for....for further discussion on that particular
issue to sort of utilize the tools that we have,which may be gettin'into a little
work session topic later. Um,but it was a really enjoyable event and,um, that's
pretty much it!
Throgmorton: Okay, great. I'm just gonna mention a couple things. Uh, the first was just fun.
On the 24th of April I read a proclamation,uh, an event at Carver Hawkeye Arena
celebrating the University of Iowa's women's basketball team, and coach, and
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 75
Meghan Gustafson. There was a big crowd there and they were very enthusiastic.
So it was fun to get into the mood and kinda pump 'em up. Uh, the other thing I
wanna mention, uh,has to do with a group that Geoff and I have been meeting
with, and I've been meaning to give you background information about this now
for, I don't know, the last three meetings or somethin'but it's just not really been
possible because of the way things have unfolded. Anyhow, it's a group called the
University of Iowa Community Futures Steering Committee. And it's a very
informal group, so don't put too much weight on the title. Uh, it's an informal
group, uh,that has met five or maybe six times over the past year and a half. It
was initially convened informally by President Harreld and has involved, uh,
three or four staff members from the University,the mayors and city managers
from Coralville, North Liberty, and Iowa City,the directors of the Chamber of
Commerce, ICAD, the Downtown District,the Englert, and Film Scene, and
Johnson County initially but I think they weren't at our most recent meeting. And
we met with them again this morning and had a....a very stimulating conversation
for about 75 minutes or so. Uh, and....I can't give you details about that, at least
none that are firm and locked into place, but the whole idea was....has been
basically to get these people together, engage in some dialogue,maybe come up
with some focused vision for.....um.....and that's undefined, for....for the region
in which we're located and which is influenced by the University's presence. Uh,
a lot of that's still in flux. I think you should expect to see something in writing
coming from that informal group within the next, I don't know, Geoff, two, three
months—I don't know. But I....I've been wanting to tell you about it and just
thought I'd better bite the bullet and do it right now. So...Geoff, I don't know if,
can you think of anything I should add to this that would really help people
understand well enough?
Fruin: I would think of it was a town-gown advisory committee,urn,just a commitment
from all those partners to come together and have dialogue, where maybe, uh, we
haven't had, uh, intentional dialogue on issues facing the community and the....in
the past,but I think it's good. We don't really know what the purpose, exact
purpose and mission is right now. We just, I think, collectively know that it's good
to get around the same table and talk about these issues,but I think we envision it
becoming one of those many, uh....uh,committees Council assigns someone to at
the start of...at the start of your terms and, um,that....that could very well, at least
our recommendation, could very well be that that's a staff person to....to that
committee and then we could report back to you on the issues of interest that that
community takes up,but it could be things like economic development strategy
for the region and how a university's assets can help fuel those types of things.
So....more....more information(mumbled) information.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7, 2019.
Page 76
Throgmorton: Yeah there's not...really uncertainty at this moment about the mission, if people
agree,uh, to participate in this. There's uncertainty about the mission. There's
uncertainty about the structure. There's uncertainty about specific actions that this
group might take. So....it.....it might sound a bit amorphous at the moment,
because it is. But I wanted you to know about it. Any other things people wanted
to say about that? Okay, at some point, and I'm sure t his is gonna happen, we
need to get an update about the legislation that was passed during the last session.
Doesn't have to happen right now cause it's pretty late but....at some point we
need to get that.
Fruin: Okay.
This represents only a reasonably accurate transcription of the Iowa City City Council
regular formal meeting of May 7,2019.