8 27 25 City Council Proceedings Official SpecialCITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
CITY COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS
SPECIAL SESSION
OFFICIAL
The Dubuque City Council met in special session at 6:30 p.m. on August 27, 2025, in the second -
floor Council Chambers of the Historic Federal Building, 350 W. 6th Street.
Present: Mayor Cavanagh; Council Members Farber, Jones, Resnick, Roussell, Sprank, Wethal;
City Manager Van Milligen, City Attorney Brumwell.
Mayor Cavanagh read the call and stated this is a special session of the City Council called for the
purpose of considering an irrevocable license and conducting a work session on the Unified Develop-
ment Code update.
ACTION ITEM
1. Irrevocable License - UD Medical School at 500 Main Street: Motion by Jones to receive and file
the documents and approve an irrevocable license for the University of Dubuque at 500 Main Street to
encroach in the public right of way as described in the irrevocable license. Seconded by Wethal. In
response to a question, Van Milligen confirmed that the Engineering Department considers potential
traffic impacts when reviewing licenses. Planning Services Director Wally Wernimont noted that this
went through the site plan review process, where visibility was considered. He indicated that City staff
have no concerns with minor encroachments and added that the wide sidewalk will help minimize any
impact on pedestrians. Motion carried 7-0.
WORK SESSION
Unified Development Code Update
Wernimont and Arista Strungys with Camiros presented the findings of the Unified Development
Code (UDC) Technical Review conducted by Camiros. Wernimont and Strungys addressed a range of
City Council questions on topics including urban farms, condos, lighting standards, electric vehicle (EV)
spaces, minimum lot sizes, traffic studies, and parking requirements. When asked about next steps,
Wernimont and Strungys explained that City staff will draft an ordinance using input from the public
session, this work session, and other feedback. A full UDC draft will then be released for additional
input at public open houses, followed by a public hearing with the Zoning Advisory Commission (ZAC)
and final approval through the City Council public hearing process. Wernimont added that the entire
UDC will be published in the newspaper ahead of the hearing. Strungys and Wernimont clarified that
any zoning map changes must be reviewed by the ZAC and approved by the City Council. Wernimont
concluded by emphasizing that staff are still accepting public input on the UDC update and encouraged
anyone with comments to contact the Planning Services Department.
There being no further business, Mayor Cavanagh declared the meeting adjourned at 8:08 p.m.
/s/Adrienne N. Breitfelder, CMC, City Clerk