Minutes Downtown Plan 8 18 03MINUTES
DOWNTOWN PLANNING COMMITTEE
Long Range Planning Advisory Commission
Monday, August 18, 2003
10:00 a.m.
Conference Room 2, City Hall Annex
1300 Main Street, Dubuque, Iowa
PRESENT:
Chairperson Dave Rusk; Committee Members Jim Giesen, Bob
Felderman, Jim Gibbs, Pam Jochum, Dan LoBianco, Ann Michalski, John
Walsh, Mike Ironside and Judie Fjellman; Staff Members Bill Baum,
Laura Carstens, Beth Conlon, David Harris, Jerelyn O’Connor and Rich
Russell. Also present: Jim Holz of MSA, and via conference call Anne
Ricker of Leland Consulting Group and Bob Kost of SEH.
ABSENT:
Committee Members Doris Hingtgen and Steward Sandstrom.
CALL TO ORDER:
The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Rusk 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 Giesen, seconded by Fjellman, to approve the minutes of the August
5, 2003 meeting with a correction to the minutes of the July 14, 2003 meeting, and
corrections as noted in the August 5, 2003 minutes. Motion carried unanimously.
ACTION ITEM/REVIEW OF THE DRAFT DOWNTOWN MASTER PLAN:
Chairperson
Rusk stated prior to the conference call that he wanted to discuss a table of contents,
the reference to Dubuque Main Street Ltd. and City plans, the reconciliation with the
Vision Downtown document and to reconfirm the list of draft plan changes with Ms.
Ricker and Mr. Kost from the August 5, 2003 minutes.
Committee Members discussed whether the Downtown Master Plan strategy should
contain a breakdown of square footage of developable property in the downtown area.
Anne Ricker and Bob Kost were contacted via conference call at 10:20 a.m. to discuss
the draft Downtown Master Plan.
The Committee discussed the changes for the draft with Anne Ricker. Ms. Ricker
explained that she had not yet received all of the information she needed until the last
two weeks, and she felt that there had been a communication breakdown in the
process. She also commented that she used information in the draft plan from her prior
work with the City of Dubuque. Committee members asked Ms. Ricker if she needed
any other documents from the Committee for the final plan.
Chairperson Rusk asked Ms. Ricker to summarize the changes that she will be making
in the draft. Ms. Ricker summarized the revisions with the Committee.
Minutes – Downtown Planning Committee
August 18, 2003
Page 2
Committee members discussed including a reference to prior successful redevelopment
projects be used in the final draft of the Downtown Master Plan as an inspirational tool,
to give momentum to the process, and to make the connection between existing and
future projects.
The Committee moved on to discuss and revise the concepts and priority projects on
pages 12 and 13 of Section 1. The Committee discussed the importance of Dubuque
Main Street Ltd., Dubuque Initiatives, the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation,
the Dubuque Area Chamber of Commerce/CVB, and the City of Dubuque as players in
the redevelopment of the downtown area. Committee members discussed the role of
Dubuque Initiatives in downtown redevelopment. The consensus of the Committee was
to designate Dubuque Main Street, Ltd. as the most likely established organization to
oversee the process of redevelopment in the downtown area. The Committee
recommended that Ms. Ricker insert a clause into the text in the “tool bag” information
on pages 14 and 15 by stating that Dubuque Main Street, Ltd. is the most likely
organization to implement downtown redevelopment. The Committee also discussed
the implementation strategy framework’s guiding principles, and suggested changes.
The Committee also asked Ms. Ricker to add bullets to all action steps through the
plan.
Following a lengthy discussion on the text and body changes made in the first section,
the Committee moved on to review Section 2, Commerce. Changes on Section 2 were:
To add the outdoor concert facility at the Diamond Jo Casino on page 23.
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That the first bullet on page 27 in the left column begin with “Perception of…”
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That Ms. Ricker replace “no organization promoting growth of industry
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downtown” which appears under the “Barriers to locating and expanding regional
industries” header on page 27 with an appropriate sentence relative to
inadequate promotion of growth of commerce downtown.
To replace the word “industry” on page 27 with “commerce.”
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To replace the word “business” with “commerce” on page 28 in the Work with the
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Chamber key target industry sentence.
To use an explanation and heading for the chart on page 28.
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To reference all five entities in the third bullet on page 28 and the 9 bullet on
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page 29.
To embellish “Support (regulations…)” in the first bullet on page 29.
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To embellish the information on policies on page 29 under “Shopping and
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Entertainment.”
Minutes – Downtown Planning Committee
August 18, 2003
Page 3
The Committee discussion of Section 2, Commerce, was interrupted at approximately
12:30 p.m., and the Committee took a short lunch break. The Committee and staff
discussed what levels of specificity was appropriate. The Committee reconnected with
Ms. Ricker and Mr. Kost at 1:10 p.m.
Chairperson Rusk noted that the Committee consensus was that the level of specificity
would depend on the element of the plan and the wording of the action steps. He noted
this would be discussed as the Committee reviewed the draft, and some sections of the
draft plan will require more specificity than others.
The Committee discussed the second bullet on page 30 of Section 2, and commented
on the information in relation to Section 7,Transportation, of the draft plan. Mr. Kost
and Ms. Ricker stated that their intent in the draft was to keep the Parking Division
under Economic Development and establish parking districts as a development tool.
The Committee asked that this language be clarified to reflect that was the intent.
Committee members discussed the need for a parking strategy. Ms. Ricker suggested
assembling a public-private team to look at the 1996-1997 Downtown Circulation Study
in relation to the Downtown Master Plan. The consensus of the Committee was to add
Ms. Ricker’s suggestion to the Master Plan. There were other suggestions by the
Committee to work with Dubuque Main Street, Ltd. on the parking issue and to include
Dubuque Main Street Ltd. policies in the Transportation Element.
The Committee discussed the recommendation on page 30 regarding “commercial
boxes.” Ms. Ricker suggested that she participate in a conference call with a small
sub-committee to discuss developing a turnkey facility for a mid-sized commercial box
downtown. The Committee discussed that a team be appointed to come up with local
design standards and incorporation of those standards into any new construction
downtown. There was a discussion by the Committee of what those standards might
include.
The Committee moved on to review Section 3, Culture, Education and Entertainment.
Changes made to Section 3 were:
To delete Wartburg Theological Seminary and Brownstone Gallery from the
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listing of Significant Cultural Venues and Education section on page 33.
Committee members Mike Ironside, Dan LoBianco and Dave Rusk agreed to
work on a list of downtown venues to send to Anne Ricker.
To include information under Catalyst Opportunities on page 34 to describe the
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NICC curriculum for continuing education in the downtown Dubuque area
Minutes – Downtown Planning Committee
August 18, 2003
Page 4
To make a footnote of the information on page 36 regarding the “Contact Arts
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Space, Inc. of Minneapolis” sentence, and remove this as a specific reference in
the action step.
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To change the 6 bullet on page 36 to read, “City” instead of parks department.
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To change the 8 bullet on page 36 to reference Dubuque Cultural Alliance and
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the other entities involved in downtown cultural events.
The Committee also discussed the possibility of an arts district with Anne Ricker.
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The consensus of the Committee was to call a meeting for Monday, August 25 from
8-11 a.m. to complete the review of Sections 4-7 of the draft. Members who cannot
attend the August 25 meeting may submit their written comments to the Planning
Services Department staff.
The draft appendices from Anne Ricker were handed out to the Committee after the
meeting.
ADJOURNMENT:
The meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
_____________________________ _________________________
Elizabeth Conlon, Assistant Planner Adopted