November 2014 City Council Meeting Summary

November 11, 2014
 
Dear fellow U-Heights citizens,

City Council held their regular November meeting tonight. Here are some highlights:

Building Permit Moratorium extended.
Council voted to extend the current building permit moratorium through February. The Zoning Commission has met 5 times since council implemented the moratorium in September. The Commission has focused so far on accessory buildings and will also be addressing yard definitions and look at building size in relation to the lot size, known as floor area ratio. Please look at the Zoning Commission Page. Agendas and minutes so far are listed there. If you have comments or questions, all the zoning commission members emails are listed on the above link. Zoning Commission will meet 11/12/14 at 7 PM in the City Office, 1004 Melrose Ave.
U-Heights/Iowa City Boundary Issues Discussed
Council discussed a request from the City of Iowa City to allow them to enforce lawn care and snow removal on Iowa City property adjacent to U-Heights homes. More discussion with City of Iowa City will be held, but citizens and council both stressed tonight that U-Heights needs to help protect the rights of property owners.
Safety Concerns
New Police Chief, Ken Stanley reminded residents to keep their property secure. Unlocked cars have been entered this month, and about 6 unlocked, unattended bicycles have been stolen this fall from open garages or other open areas.

For more information about tonight's meeting read Nov. 11th Agenda and attachments

Upcoming Events:
Nov. 12th– Zoning Commission 7:00 PM City Office
Nov. 13th – Leaf Vacuuming If your leaves are raked to the curb early, trucks may pick them up as they pass through to the city landfill.
Nov. 16th– Tower Court Park renovation meeting 2:00 PM at the park
Nov. 20th – Leaf Bag Pickup Leaf bags are picked up free of charge.
Nov. 20th – Zoning Commission 7:00 PM City Office
Dec. 9th – City Council Meeting 7:00 PM Horn Elementary Library

Thank You

Despite LOST being defeated in the 5 contiguous cities, U-Heights did its share by voting 64% "yes." That was the highest "yes" vote in any precinct in the 5 contiguous. U-Heights also once again supported the Courthouse bond despite it not passing either. I truly appreciate my fellow citizens continuing to step up and participate in our local government.

What this defeat means for us, as a city, is that we have fewer options on how to possibly fund a community center. We won't see an immediate impact, but it will have long term implications.

From a regional perspective, I'm concerned about North Liberty, as their plan was to use LOST revenue to help pay for infrastructure (roads, sidewalks, sewer) for the new Liberty High School. Without this, NL could be quite stressed to meet those needs.

It is also interesting to note that in the partisan elections, Johnson County was the only county carried by Jack Hatch. Take a look at this google election map:

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=Iowa+Governor+map

VOTE 11/4!

University Heights Polling Site: St. Andrew Church, 1300 Melrose Ave.
Polls open 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM

Well, if you're one of the 64% of U-Heights registered voters who hasn't already cast a ballot, Tuesday is the day. One thing that seems to define our town is great participation in exercising our right to vote.

Here are the latest statistics from the Johnson County Auditor:

Requests by Precinct	ALL	% of reg	DEM	% of reg	REP	% of reg	NONE	%
University Heights	311	36.4%	206	48.9%	51	28.7%	54	21.5%
Returned by precinct	ALL	% of reg	DEM	% of reg	REP	% of reg	NONE	%
University Heights	272	31.8%	186	44.2%	43	24.2%	43	17.1%

 

Democrats hold a sizable majority in town, comprising 67% of the early voters. Republicans requested 16% of early ballots, and those declaring no party requested 17% of early ballots.

• Democratic early voters have returned 90% of ballots requested.
• Republican early voters have returned 84% of ballots requested. 
• No Party early voters have returned  80% of ballots requested.

Those not yet returned ballots could be turned in tomorrow in person, or if they arrive with a postmark of 11/3 or earlier they will be valid.

Regardless of your party affiliation, please flip your ballot over and support Local Option Sales Tax.