Code of Ordinances Amendment - Title 15 Long Range Planning Advisory Commission Copyrighted
September 5, 2017
City of Dubuque Action Items # 2.
ITEM TITLE: Code of Ordinances Amendment- Title 15 Long Range
Planning Advisory Commission
SUMMARY: City Manager recommending a change in the City's process
for handling amendments to Urban Renewal Plans and
Urban Revitalization Plans in order to better align with State
of Iowa Code.
ORDINANCE Amending City of Dubuque Code of
Ordinances Title 15 Planning and Zoning, Chapter 2 Long
Range Planning Advisory Commission, Section 15-2-13
Powers
SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Motion B; Motion
A
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
Change to City Ordinance 15-2-13-MVM Memo City Manager Memo
Staff Memo Staff Memo
Ordinance Ordinance
Suggested Motion Wording Supporting Documentation
THE CITY OF Dubuque
DT B 11•AmericaCity
Masterpiece on the Mississippi I I I I®
x007.2012•2013•2017
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Request for Process Change/Change in City Ordinance to Align with State
Code for Urban Renewal Plan and Urban Revitalization Plan Amendments
DATE: August 25, 2017
Economic Development Director Maurice Jones, Planning Services Manager Laura
Carstens and Housing and Community Development Department Director Alvin Nash
are recommending a change in the City's process for handling amendments to Urban
Renewal Plans and Urban Revitalization Plans in order to better align with State of Iowa
code.
State law in 2012 made some changes to urban renewal requirements, putting into
place policies that require communities to amend urban renewal plans each time there
are even minor changes, such as the addition of new "projects" (for instance, a new
development agreement with a company adding jobs, or a new sanitary sewer line).
This has resulted in amendments to urban renewal plans that have no effect on the
City's Comprehensive Plan — and yet, our local ordinance requires us to bring the
amendment in front of the Long Range Planning Commission.
Similarly, urban revitalization amendments are made from time to time, but most often
to simply ensure the plan aligns with current state laws and regulations — again, with no
relationship to the City's Comprehensive Plan.
The Long Range Planning Advisory Commission would still review the newly-created
urban renewal and urban revitalization plans to ensure consistency with the City's
Comprehensive Plan, but they would not review routine amendments. This will help to
streamline the process of receiving City Council approval.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
ZlAi4_ k:4 / &Znt-
Michael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
Maurice Jones, Economic Development Director
Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager
Alvin Nash, Housing & Community Development Department Director
2
Dubuque Economic Development
THE CITY OF Department
50 We413°"Street
DUB E AI-IlmericaCity Dubuque Iowa 64
Office(563)589-9393-4393
(563)60-6678
http://www.cityofdubuque.org
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TO: Michael Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Maurice Jones, Economic Development Director
Laura Carstens, Planning Services Manager
Alvin Nash, Housing & Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Request for Process Change/Change in City Ordinance to Align with State
Code for Urban Renewal Plan and Urban Revitalization Plan Amendments
DATE: August 17, 2017
INTRODUCTION
This memorandum presents our collective request for a change in the City's process for
handling amendments to Urban Renewal Plans and Urban Revitalization Plans in order
to better align with State of Iowa code.
BACKGROUND
On February 5, 1990, Ordinance 11-90 provided for a Comprehensive Plan, created a
Long Range Planning Commission (providing for its membership, powers and duties),
and created a separate Zoning Commission.
City Code 15-2-13 currently lists as one of the powers of the Long Range Planning
Commission "to review proposed urban renewal plans, urban renewal plan
amendments, urban revitalization plans, and urban revitalization plan amendments for
consistency with the comprehensive plan".
Iowa Code Section 403.5(2)(a) provides that prior to approval of an urban renewal plan,
"the local governing body shall submit such plan to the planning commission of the
municipality, if any, for review and recommendations as to its conformity with the
general plan for the development of the municipality as a whole." However, Iowa Code
Section 403.5(5)(c) specifically provides that"...the review and recommendation
process conducted by the municipality's planning commission under subsection 2,
paragraph "a", shall not be required when amending or modifying an adopted urban
renewal plan."
Iowa Code Chapter 404 regarding urban revitalization does not require a review by
planning commission for either the creation or amendment of an urban revitalization
plan.
DISCUSSION
When the City procedures were put into place several decades ago, the creation and
amendment of urban renewal plans was fairly infrequent. Over the past three years, the
City of Dubuque has adopted four new urban renewal plans establishing four new
housing urban renewal areas and passed seventeen (17) amendments to urban
renewal plans.
State law in 2012 made some changes to urban renewal requirements, putting into
place policies that require communities to amend urban renewal plans each time there
are even minor changes, such as the addition of new "projects" (for instance, a new
development agreement with a company adding jobs, or a new sanitary line). This has
resulted in amendments to urban renewal plans that have no effect on the City's
Comprehensive Plan — and yet, our local ordinance requires us to bring the amendment
in front of the Long Range Planning Commission.
Similarly, urban revitalization amendments are made from time to time, but most often
to simply ensure the plan aligns with current state laws and regulations — again, with no
relationship to the City's Comprehensive Plan.
Our commissioners are being summoned to meetings to review items that they
recognize as having no effect on the Comprehensive Plan, and our staff are spending
precious time preparing materials before and after these meetings to document these
proceedings. In an effort to make the best use of commissioners' and staffs time and
resources, we believe a change is in order.
RECOMMENDATION/ ACTION STEP
We acknowledge and support review by the Long Range Planning Commission of
newly-created urban renewal and urban revitalization plans to ensure consistency with
the City's Comprehensive Plan, and this process would continue.
We recommend revising city code so that amendments to these documents would not
need review. This would mirror state code for urban renewal plans and be slightly more
proactive than state code for urban revitalization plans (which requires no planning
commission review).
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Erica Haugen, Community Development Specialist
David Johnson, Assistant Planner
Prepared by: Crenna M. Brumwell, Esq. 300 Main Street Suite 330 Dubuque IA 52001 563 589-4381
ORDINANCE NO. 41-17
AMENDING CITY OF DUBUQUE CODE OF ORDINANCES TITLE 15 PLANNING
AND ZONING, CHAPTER 2 LONG RANGE PLANNING ADVISORY COMMISSION,
SECTION 15-2-13 POWERS
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
DUBUQUE, IOWA:
Section 1. Section 15-2-13 of the City of Dubuque Code of Ordinances is hereby
amended to read as follows:
15-2-13: POWERS:
The commission has the following powers, duties, and responsibilities:
A. To provide a leadership role in the planning, coordinating, and sponsoring
of a periodic community planning process;
B. To coordinate and supervise the preparation and maintenance of the
comprehensive plan;
C. To provide input to the city manager in the preparation of the city
manager's recommended multiyear capital improvement program;
D. To make comprehensive studies of the present condition and the future
growth of the city to provide input into the community planning process and to
guide and accomplish a coordinated, consistent, and harmonious development in
accordance with the present and future needs thereof to the end that the health,
safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity, and general welfare may be
promoted;
E. To make or cause to be made such surveys, studies, maps, plans, or
charts of the city with due regard to its relation to neighboring territory as may be
determined as necessary to carry out the purposes of the commission;
F. To recommend amendments to all or parts of the comprehensive plan in
response to the community planning process, upon its own initiative or upon
recommendation presented by the zoning advisory commission, but only after a
public hearing;
G. To review proposed urban renewal plans and urban revitalization plans for
consistency with the comprehensive plan;
H. To undertake public information efforts to enhance public understanding of
the community planning process generally and the comprehensive plan
specifically; and
To undertake from time to time other specific long range planning projects
which may be referred to the commission by the city council.
Section 2. This Ordinance shall take effect upon publication.
Passed, approved, and adopted this 5th day of September 2017.
Attest:
Kevi6 S. Firnstahl; City Clerk
Roy D. Buol, Mayor
EFFECT OF AMENDMENT
15-2-13: POWERS:
The commission has the following powers, duties, and responsibilities:
A. To provide a leadership role in the planning, coordinating, and sponsoring
of a periodic community planning process;
B. To coordinate and supervise the preparation and maintenance of the
comprehensive plan;
C. To provide input to the city manager in the preparation of the city
manager's recommended multiyear capital improvement program;
D. To make comprehensive studies of the present condition and the future
growth of the city to provide input into the community planning process and to
guide and accomplish a coordinated, consistent, and harmonious development in
accordance with the present and future needs thereof to the end that the health,
safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity, and general welfare may be
promoted;
E. To make or cause to be made such surveys, studies, maps, plans, or
charts of the city with due regard to its relation to neighboring territory as may be
determined as necessary to carry out the purposes of the commission;
F. To recommend amendments to all or parts of the comprehensive plan in
response to the community planning process, upon its own initiative or upon
recommendation presented by the zoning advisory commission, but only after a
public hearing;
G. To review proposed urban renewal plans and, "a^ % a' ^'�^
ameRdmeRtG, urban revitalization plans, anduFbaR Fevitat*zatio„ paa
pito for consistency with the comprehensive plan;
H. To undertake public information efforts to enhance public understanding of
the community planning process generally and the comprehensive plan
specifically; and
I. To undertake from time to time other specific long range planning projects
which may be referred to the commission by the city council.
STATE OF IOWA {SS:
DUBUQUE COUNTY
CERTIFICATION OF PUBLICATION
I, Suzanne Pike, a Billing Clerk for Woodward Communications, Inc., an Iowa corporation, publisher
of the Telegraph Herald,a newspaper of general circulation published in the City of Dubuque, County
of Dubuque and State of Iowa; hereby certify that the attached notice was published in said newspaper
on the following dates: September 8, 2017, and for which the charge is $28.77.
Subscribed to before me, a
this day o
P(te
(r
tary Public in an
for Dubuque County, Iowa,
,20/7 .
otary Public in and for Du•uque County, Iowa.
MARY K WESTERMEYER
Commission Number 154885
My Commission Exp. Feb. 1, 2020
OFFICIAL
PUBLICATION
ORDINANCE NO. 41-17
AMENDING CITY OF
DUBUQUE CODE OF
ORDINANCES TITLE
15 PLANNING AND
ZONING,, CHAPTER 2
LONG RANGE PLAN-
NING ADVISORY
COMMISSION, SEC-
TION 15-2-13 POW-
ERS
NOW, THEREFORE, BE
IT ORDAINED BY THE
CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF DUBUQUE,
IOWA:
Section 1. Section 15-
2-13 of the City of
Dubuque Code of
Ordinances is hereby
amended to read as
follows: •
15-2-13: POWERS:
The commission has
the following powers,
duties, and respon-
sibilities:
A. TO provide a
leadership role in the
planning, coordinating,
and sponsoring of a
.periodic community
planning process;
B. To coordinate and
supervise the prepa-
ration ' and mainte-
nance of the compre-
hensive plan;
C. To provide input to
the city manager in the
preparation of the city
manager's recom-
mended multiyear cap-
ital improvement pro-
gram;
D. To make compre-
hensive studies of the
present condition and
the future growth of
the city to provide
input into the corn-
munity planning pro-
cess and to guide and
accomplish' a coor-
dinated,- consistent,
and harmonious devel-
opment in accordance
with the present and
future needs thereof to
the end that the health,
safety, morals, order,
convenience, 'prosper-
ity, and . general wel-
fare may be promoted;
E• To make or cause
to be made such
surveys, studies, maps,
plans, or charts of the
city with due regard to,
its relation to neigh-
boring 'territory as may
be determined as
necessary to carry out
thepurposes of the
commission;
F. To recommend
amendments' to all or
parts of the compre-
hensive plan in re-
sponse to the com-
munity planning pro-
cess, upon its own
initiative or upon
recommendation pre-
sented by the zoning
advisory commission,
but only after a public
hearing;
G. To review pro-
posed urban renewal
plans and urban
revitalization plans for
consistency with the
comprehensive plan;
H. To ,undertake
public information ef-
forts to enhance public
understanding of the
community planning
process generally and
the comprehensive
plan specifically; and
I. To undertake from
time to time other
specific long range
planning projects
which may be referred
to the commission by
the city council. ,
Section 2. This Ordi-
nance shall take effect
upon publication.
Passed, approved,
and adopted this 5th
day of September,
2017.
/s/Roy D. Buol, Mayor
Attest: /s/Kevin 5.
Firnstahl, City, Clerk
Published officially in
the Telegraph Herald
newspaper on the 8th
day of September,
2017.
/s/Kevin S. Firnstahl,
City Clerk
1t 9/8