September Council Meeting Summary

I'm doing a little clean up here, I neglected to post this to the blog earlier:

City Council held their monthly September meeting tonight below are some highlights. See more at September Agenda and attachments Police Chief Hired Kenneth Stanley, currently chief of the Village of Centuria, Wisconsin, has been selected by the University Heights City Council as Police Chief of University Heights, to replace the retiring Chief, Ron Fort.   Prior to his position in Wisconsin, Chief Stanley had a 30 year career with the California Highway Patrol. From 2003 to 2013 he served as a Sergeant and supervised in offices containing over 100 uniformed officers, as well as in an administrative capacity supervising a team of uniformed and non-uniformed personnel. Before that he worked in regional offices, public affairs, and the research and planning section of the patrol. ln the spring of 2013,he graduated from the School of Police Staff and Command at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he was elected class president. He holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from San Francisco University in Public Administration and Public Policy. Stanley is expected to begin his term on November 1. 2014.. Development Proposal Presented Thomas Galuski of GG Land Group presented an initial concept for an apartment development at 901 Melrose Ave. extrememe eastern edge of town) this would be a residential complex with 158 units housing 500 residents. Council directed him to hold open community meetings to present information to all interested citizens. Go here to see the proposal Building Moratorium Proposed Council will hold a special meeting on September 24th to continue discussing the possibility of a 90 day building permit moratorium to allow the zoning commission to discuss amending ordinance 79. Go here to read more about this.

Follow University Heights on Twitter Consider contributing to the University Heights Community Fund I also write a blog covering U-H and other timely topics, with my opinions expressed UHForward.blogspot.com As always it is a pleasure to serve as your city councilor. -Mike

August Council Meeting Summary

I'm doing a little clean up here, I neglected to post this to the blog earlier:

City Council held their monthly August meeting tonight below are some highlights. See more at August Agenda and attachments National Development Council Presentation Tom Jackson who is working for City of U-Heights shared information about the National Developoment Council, and his role as an outside third party evaluator of the One University Place project. He shared that has has worked with the City team as well as the developer's to assess the viabilty of the project and whether or not City financial participation is necessary. See his Powerpoint presentation here. New PUD Submitted That presentation was followed by a summary of a new Planned Unit Development (PUD) proposal submitted last  week. Major changes include a rear building only four stories tall with 44 residential units, and an increase of about 15 surface parking spots. See the new proposal here. Local Option Sales Tax Council approved LOST language for the November ballot . We will contribute 10% of revenue to retiring the courthouse annex bond, if passed. The other 90% would be earmarked for acquiring community center space, street repairs or any othter lawful purpose. Other Good Things Happening: Fourth Room Theatre presents William Shakespeare’s romantic comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, at 901 Melrose Avenue, a beautiful, secluded outdoor space near Kinnick Stadium, on August 15-17 (Fri-Sun) & 21-23 (Thu-Sat) at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are FREE. Fourth Room Theatre requests you make a reservation by calling or texting 319-214-3375 or emailing info@fourthroomtheatre.com with your name, preferred date, the number in your group, and number of vehicles in your party. August 23rd meet at Tower Court Park (adjacent to U-Hieghts) to discuss possible improvements. City of Iowa City has money to renovate but won't do so until community members come and take the lead. That day we will gather ideas and form committees for specific parts of the update plan, such as landscaping, play structures, etc. Please attend if you are interested in providing ideas or serving on a committee, or feel free to submit ideas and feedback to Silvia or I in advance of the meeting. Our main goal for this update is to expand the appeal of this park to a wider range of ages of children and adults. Contact Virginia Miller or Silvia Quezada.

Follow University Heights on Twitter Consider contributing to the University Heights Community Fund I also write a blog covering U-H and other timely topics, with my opinions expressed UHForward.blogspot.com As always it is a pleasure to serve as your city councilor. -Mike

October Council Meeting Summary

Dear U-Heights neighbors,

City Council held the regular October meeting on Tuesday. See the agenda and supporting documents here. Here are some highlights:

Presentation to residents: GG Land Group OCTOBER 16 7:00 PM University Club
It was brought up at council meeting that a mailing went out to residents Tuesday for a public meeting this Thursday evening. (I didn't see the letter until after the meeting) I strongly encourage anyone who can attend Thursday do so. City Council HAS NOT approved any plans. When GG group came to council last month we suggested they hold a public meeting.
Want a Street Tree?
Councilor Virginia Miller will submit  a 2015 Trees Please Grant. If you would like to receive a tree for planting in the city right of way at your property contact her at virginia@university-heights.org. She has lots of interest already so don't delay.
Farewell to Chief Ron Fort
Tonight was Chief Fort's final meeting as head of the University Heights police. Council and the public wished him well, and Mayor From presented him with a key to the city. Ron's final official day will be October 24th.

Two Other Items to Pass Along:

1.     LITTLE FREE LIBRARY is running low, please return books you've borrowed and read, or consider donating extra books. Adult and Children's boxes both would benefit from more material!

2.     Open House for newly appointed Police Chief Ken Stanley.  An Open House will be held, Sunday, Nov. 2^nd from 2:00-5:00pm at the City office next to Stella.  Chief Stanley will be sworn-in as chief at 4:00 pm.

Since you've got your calendars out here are a few more upcoming events:
Oct. 22nd – Zoning Commission Meeting 7:00- 9:00 PM City Office, 1004 Melrose
Oct. 27th – Leaf Vacuuming If your leaves are raked to the curb early, trucks may pick them up as they pass through to the city landfill.
Oct. 30th – Zoning Commission Meeting 7:00- 9:00 PM City Office, 1004 Melrose
Oct. 31st – Halloween Trick or Treating will be from Dusk until 8:30 PM
Nov. 4th – Election Day 7:00 AM- 9:00 PM St. Andrew Church MORE INFO HERE LOST Info HERE
Nov. 11th – City Council Meeting 7:00 PM site TBD
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. 20th – Leaf Bag Pickup Leaf bags are picked up free of charge.

GG Land Group

GG Land Group made a presentation last night regarding a development they are proposing for eastern University Heights. The Press Citizen covered it here:


U-Heights Residents Speak Out About Proposed Housing Complex

I was teaching class last night until 8 PM and was only able to attend the last 30 minutes of the meeting. GG Land Group presented at the September City Council meeting and we suggested that they hold a city-wide informational meeting.

In a nutshell this project would be a 158 unit (508 bed) apartment building catering to upper level and professional students. The property site is just west of the bridge on the south side of Melrose Ave. The parcel is a right triangle shape with the hypotenuse running along the railroad tracks. Since the land comes to a point at Melrose, most of the property is nearly invisible to a casual observer.

I have some fairly large concerns about the scale and impact of this project. If you notice the large gap between the number of units and number of beds listed above, one easily sees that nearly 40% of the units would contain 4 bedrooms. As a point of interest, Iowa City no longer allows 4 bedroom units in their multi-family buildings. And while I appreciate GG Land Group's statement that most of the residents of this project would be pedestrians or bicyclists, access remains a major issue as well.

I'm certain the a majority of city council does not think this project, as proposed, is a good fit for the property or our town. Personally I don't think it could be "tweaked" to make it one either.

If you've read this far, let me also say that despite what the Press Citizen said, we DO NOT have a council meeting on October 23rd!

And let me also say I need to update this site with council meeting summaries and will do that as well as talk more about LOST in the next few days.