This project was first proposed in 2008 and in 2009 community meetings began as well and zoning commission and city council hearings. This issue is what prompted me to run for City Council in 2009. It is a long and convoluted story.
Last fall I was contacted by a student in a Planning Livable Cities class at UI. She had a series of questions about One University Place. The class was doing a project about developments and she was gathering information. Below is what I wrote for her. I believe that other city councilors were likely contacted, but I have no idea what they said. These are my thoughts. I'll start with the request.
Wed, October 24, 2012 1:54 pm
Dear Mike Haverkamp, > Hello! My name is STUDENTNAME. I’m currently a senior at the > University of Iowa enrolled in Richard Funderburg’s class Planning Livable > Cities. Students in this class are working in groups on a presentation > about a local planning project. As you may have already guessed, my group > has chosen to focus on the construction of One University Place, in > University Heights. We have read a good amount of articles from the > Gazette and Press Citizen over the issue but I have a few more questions > for you. Your responses will only be shared with Professor Funderburg and > the rest of the students in this class on the day of the presentation. It > will be very helpful for my group if you could answer as many questions > you are comfortable with. Thank you so much for your time. The questions > are listed below.
My answers:
Fri, October 26, 2012 3:15 pm
STUDENTNAME-My answers follow below. They are in blue to help distinguish them from your questions. There is so much more to this story than what I’ve put down, I’ve deliberately tried to keep my answers short and focused. If you are interested in more of the back story behind the project, please don’t hesitate to contact me, I’d be happy to speak to you and your group. After my answers I’ll give you web links to more information.
STUDENTNAME-My answers follow below. They are in blue to help distinguish them from your questions. There is so much more to this story than what I’ve put down, I’ve deliberately tried to keep my answers short and focused. If you are interested in more of the back story behind the project, please don’t hesitate to contact me, I’d be happy to speak to you and your group. After my answers I’ll give you web links to more information.
Planning Livable
Cities- One University Place
1) I understand
you are in favor of the construction of One University Place. What is your
reasoning?
University
Heights is a small landlocked community, with the decision of St. Andrew Church
to leave, this provides a rare opportunity for
re-development within our borders at a time when municipal finances are a major
concern. To acquire a 5 acre parcel
almost anywhere else within town would require demolishing numerous existing
homes.
What do you
believe will happen to the community financially if it is built?
The long term
financial stability of U-Heights would be greatly strengthened by this project.
We currently have the oldest average aged
housing stock in Johnson County. We have nearly no commercial property within
town, and the largest commercial
property, a private social club formerly known as the University Athletic Club,
was acquired by the University of Iowa in 2008.
That property is still on our tax rolls as a commercial entity, but when the UI
chooses to redevelop that land in some way
we may well lose that income if the new use is part of the UI’s core mission,
which would make it property tax
exempt.
Where will the
money come to construct these two buildings?
These buildings
would be privately financed. There would be no city money committed to this
project up front. The owner has asked that a
TIF (tax increment financing) agreement be in place so that once the buildings
are constructed and paying property
tax, a portion of the tax is rebated back to the developer. In exchange for
that, city office space will be made available in
the front building on the first floor commercial level. The developer would
also agree to make municipal improvements near
the property but not necessitated by the project itself (improve an
intersection, sewer and water)
What will happen
to the property tax?
I’m going to use
very general round numbers here, but basically the tax base (assessed value of
property) in University Heights is about
$100 million dollars. This development in would likely be assessed somewhere in
the neighborhood of $50 million. The
impact that could have on our community would be profound. Since the current
use of the property is a church, there are
no property taxes collected there now. The entire amount would be an increase.
Will it increase
the community’s income in the future?
Absolutely, given
that we are small and contract out many of our municipal services with our neighbors
(water, sewer. bus, etc. to Iowa
City and Fire Protection to Coralville) having a stable financial base will
safeguard against increased costs in
providing basic services over which we have little control.
2) Do you believe
the debate over this issue has segregated the community in anyway?
Segregated? Do
you mean “divided?” If so, the answer sadly is yes. The last two regular city
council elections (November 2009 and November
2011) as well as a special election in between them (January 2011) have shown
the city to be split regarding this
issue. While I certainly am still friendly to all my neighbors, not everyone
has chosen to respond in like kind.
How so?
There are people
who have worked quite hard on both sides of this issue to convince other
citizens regarding their views. In some cases
more effort is spent inciting emotions rather than looking at details of
proposals and implications of decisions.
Do you believe
the majority of the community is in favor for this construction, or not in favor?
I would say that
a majority might favor the project, but their fervor for it is pale in
comparison to the anger of the people opposed to the
project.
3) How will the
church’s decision to sell and eventually move to a farther location affect your
community?
I’m not sure. In
talking with a member of the Session (St. Andrew leadership group in charge of
mapping the church’s future and
holding congregational vote) we were able to determine that roughly 20
University Heights citizens were also members of the congregation. That is almost exactly 2% of the city, and 2% of St. Andrew’s
members. Their numbers aren’t large in
either group. However in other ways the church’s vote now solidifies the issue.
It was “hypothetical” prior to their decision,
now it is a reality that something else will be there.
4) In the article
by the Gazette, a journalist reported, “In December 2010, the council voted to
rezone the church property to accommodate the project. That happened just
before a special election to fill a council seat, which saw council appointee
and project supporter Lane defeated by project opponent Hopson.” (Here is the
link to the article if you’d like,
http://thegazette.com/2011/09/29/condo-project-is-no-1-if-not-only-issue-in-university-heights/).
This confuses me, as they are still both members of city council. Can you please
explain the importance of choosing council members and how it affects projects such
as these?
Want to do
another even bigger project? Study our last several elections! Here is a short
answer, (honestly, it could be much longer!)
In a very short
nutshell: U-Heights council terms are two years long. Elections are only held
in odd numbered years. Hence EVERY
council seat is up for re-election at every general election. The mayor is also
a two year term but only presides at
council meetings and does not vote.
In June 2009 the
council defeated the request for One University Place rezoning by a 3-2
affirmative vote. Since the zoning commission
recommended against the re-zoning it need a supermajority of 4-1 to pass.
In November 2009
there were 10 council candidates for election, 5 pro development and 5 opposed.
The sitting council at the time held 3
pro and 2 anti. All 5 incumbents ran as did 2 pro challengers and 3 anti
challengers. I was one of the pro challengers. 2
pro incumbents were re-elected, 2 pro challengers were elected, one pro
incumbent was defeated, one anti
incumbent was
re-elected the other was defeated. The pro candidates finished 1-4. The anti
incumbent came out 5th in voting. The
incumbent mayor won re-election over the anti challenger as well.
One of the pro
incumbents resigned in June as her family was moving. Council appointed Jim
Lane to fill out the seat, which angered the
anti-forces, as they thought the next person down in ballot order should be
selected to fill the seat. (Jim Lane had not run
in that election) There was a challenge to the appointment and a special
election was held in January 2011. Rosanne
Hopson (who had not run before either) won that election. So at that point pro
held a 3-2 majority.
In the 2011
election there were 8 candidates for 5 seats. (4 pro, 4 anti) The current
council sits at 3-2 opposed to development.
In December of
2010 we voted to approve the zoning change (which required a 4-1 supermajority)
but the project still needs to have its
detailed Planned Unit Development (PUD) approved as well. That has not yet
happened.
Despite this
history I do believe in my answer in #2 above is correct that a majority of
town does favor the development, but are not as
energized to vote as those opposed are.
When is the next
election for University Heights City Council members?
2013
Who will be
running for seats and how will the next election affect the debate to construct
One University Place?
That’s the $64
dollar question. Who will run again, and what will happen between now and then
for the project.
5) Overall, what
is your future projection for this issue?
I remain a
cockeyed optimist that we can come through with a development. The looming
figure in all this, that I haven’t mentioned is,
what happens if we don’t approve a PUD? My guess is that the developer turns
around and sells to the only other buyer
likely interested in the parcel, which is the University of Iowa, who already
owns all the land to the north and west.
In order to get a
better feel of the entire project and the controversy I’d recommend you at
least glance through these web links
The page we
created for all information about the One University Place project as council
dealt with it. This is truly the motherlode:
All the details
of the PUD and changes are documented.
While the above
link has everything it can be a bit overwhelming. Here are some more selected
links
Here is the city
comprehensive plan, which was amended after the 2009 election:
The process that
we went through to amend the plan is here:
The candidates
running in 2011 who were in favor of development created a blog site to educate
voters. That site is here. There is a
lot of information about the project:
Those opposed
also had a web site, but apparently they have let the license expire:
Another website
for the opposition is here, but they have also removed old content:
Rosanne Hopson
had a website during the special election of 2011:
One University
Place was initially brought up to council and the zoning commission in late
2008. Here is a link to zoning documents from
the city website:
In June 2009 the
council defeated the request for rezoning by a 3-2 affirmative vote. Since the
zoning commission recommended
against the re-zoning it need a supermajority of 4-1 to pass.
After the
election of 2009 the entire process started again.
Zoning documents
2010:
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