Minutes Downt Plann Comm 6 9 03 MINUTES
Downtown Planning Committee
Long Range Planning Advisory Commission
Monday, June 9, 2003
10:00 a.m.
Conference Room 2, City Hall Annex
1300 Main Street, Dubuque, Iowa
PRESENT:
ABSENT:
Chairperson David Rusk, Committee Members Jim Giesen, Doris
Hingtgen, Bob Felderman, Jim Gibbs, Ann Michalski, John Walsh and
Mike Ironside; Staff Members Laura Carstens, Rich Russell, Bill Baum,
Jerelyn O'Connor and Beth Conlon; Consultants Anne Ricker of Leland
Consulting Group and Bob Kost of SEH and Chris Wand of Durrant.
Committee Members Para Jochum, Dan LoBianco, Steward Sandstrom
and Judy Fjellman; Staff Member David Harris.
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 10:05 a.m.
AFFIDAVIT OF COMPLIANCE: Staff presented an Affidavit of Compliance verifying the
meeting was being held in compliance with the Iowa Open Meetings Law.
MINUTES: Motion by Walsh, seconded by Hingtgen, to approve the minutes of the May
5th, 2003 meeting. Motion carried unanimously.
ACTION ~EMS:
Focus Group Meetin,qs (Review Comments): Anne Ricker of Leland Consulting Group
reviewed comments from the focus group meetings held May 6t~ at 7:30 a.m., 11:30
a.m., and 5:30 p.m. She reported that she and Bob Kost of SEH have involved
downtown area stakeholders in a discussion of the Downtown Master Plan strategy.
There were approximately 37 people in attendance at the three meetings. Discussion
followed.
Council Presentation (Outcome or Fallout, if any): Ms. Ricker and the Committee
discussed the outcome and possible fallout, if any, from the City Council work session
and public presentation on May 5t~. Committee member Walsh suggested a meeting
with the City Manager before the August 11th Downtown Planning Committee meeting.
Consensus of the Committee was that City Manager Mike Van Milligen should be
involved in the process for the Downtown Master Plan. Laura Carstens will ask for a
/meeting with Mr. Van Milligen. Discussion followed as to how to involve the City
Council in an early, informal review of the draft plan prior to formal adoption at a public
heating. Consensus was to ask Mr. Van Milligen for guidance.
Catalyst Concepts (Presentation and Discussion): Bob Kost and Anne Ricker
presented the revisions to the previous catalyst concept plan and discussed the new
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June 9, 2003
Page 2 of 3
handouts. Anne Ricker reviewed the commerce element piece of the map and other
handouts, including the historical aspect of downtown Dubuque and the downtown
living factor in the downtown area. The Committee discussed the concept plan and
catalyst projects for each element. Consensus was to consolidate the employment
catalyst project into the commerce dimension of the plan, and not create a 7th
dimension beyond the six of Vision Downtown. Ms. Ricker suggested the hiring of a
communications and marketing person to promote the success of the Downtown Master
Plan area with the Port of Dubuque and the possibility of establishing a private sector
liaison committee and a community development corporation advocacy entity.
Discussion followed as to the role of Dubuque Main Street, Ltd.
Transit Study: Bob Kost presented a transit study of the downtown area. He
commented on possible ways to link the Port of Dubuque to downtown Dubuque with
parking on Iowa Street, the tie-ins to that parking, right-of-way intersections, and the
possibility of the use of steel wheel and rubber wheel trolleys as transportation.
The Committee also discussed Bob Kost's recommendation for a change in the flow of
traffic downtown from one-way to two-way streets to slow traffc down, to encourage
ease of access to the area and limit truck traffic in the downtown area. Members of the
Committee shared positive and negative opinions regarding the traffc flow. There were
some comments that it might be difficult to make this recommendation work as it would
require a complete redo of the existing traffic area.
Open House (Overview): Ms. Ricker said that Leland and SEH consultants would
discuss the progress of the Downtown Master Plan at a public information meeting on
Monday, June 9th from 5-7 p.m. in the Orpheum Room at Five Flags Center.
Next Steps:
Ms. Ricker commented that she would not be here in July but that the Committee could
expect a draft report from her by July 28th. Consensus was to review this report prior to
the August 11~ meeting. The Committee agree(3 to an August 5th conference call with
Leland and SEH. The Committee reviewed that the Long Range Planning Advisory
Commission will have to hold a public hearing on the draft Downtown Master Plan. To
meet the September completion, the public hearing will have to be held at the August
20t~ LRPAC meeting with recommendations made to the City Council. On August 25t~,
Leland and SEH will provide a final draft of the Downtown Master Plan strategy. The
City Council will be asked on September 2nd to set a public hearing for the September
15t~ meeting to review and adopt the final Downtown Master Plan.
ITEMS FROM THE COMMITTEE: Committee Member Bob Felderman reported that
the Dubuque Main Street, Ltd. Board of Directors would be asking the City Council to
approve the 2020 District Plan on June 16~.
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June 9, 2003
Page 3 of 3
ITEMS FROM STAFF: Information on the downtown banner program was provided by
the Committee.
ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 1:00 p.m. for a trolley tour.
TROLLEY TOUR OF DOWNTOWN PLANNING AREA FROM 1:00 - 3:00 P.M. The
Downtown Planning Committee, consultants and staff, using a preliminary
redevelopment framework map of the downtown planning area to identify important
buildings and areas, took a trolley tour of the downtown planning area and warehouse
district.
Dudng the tour, Committee members offered opinions on the recommendations that
Anne Rickerand Bob Kost had made on the downtown planning area map. Consensus
was that they not include the numbers on the map when used for the public information
meetings and the City Council presentation.
The Committee also felt a focus on vacant lots and vacant buildings should be the first
step, before moving onto parking lots, underutilized buildings and occupied buildings.
There was general agreement that the downtown area planning strategy would likely be
a 20-year project.
There was discussion that the marketing process is important to the success of the
Downtown Master plan. The consultants commented that there are barriers to
development and we must address and eliminate those barriers.
The Committee took a walking tour of the warehouse owned by Tim McNamara. After
completing the tour, the Committee and consultants returned to the City Hall Annex.
Discussion followed on how to best depict the redevelopment framework on a map.
The consultants agreed to provide several options for the Committee's review at the
July 14~ meeting.
ADJOURNMENT: The Trolley Tour adjourned at 3:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Elizabeth Conlon, Assistant Planner Adopted