Comprehensive Plan Update
Planning Services Department
City Hall
50 West 13th Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4864
(563) 589-4210 office
(563) 589-4221 fax
(563) 690-6678 TOO
planning@cityofdubuque.org
THE CITY OF c'--......."
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L)UBDQUE
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July 27, 2006
The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
City of Dubuque
City Hall - 50 W. 13th Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
RE: July 2006 Report on 2006 Comprehensive Plan Update Process
Dear Mayor and City Council Members:
The Long Range Planning Advisory Commission has provided the following public input
opportunities on the adopted goals and objectives of the 2002 Comprehensive Plan and
the draft 2030 Future Land Use Map since our May 2006 report:
~ A public hearing on June 21, 2006 on the Land Use and Urban Design Element
and the Transportation Element.
~ A public hearing on July 19, 2006 on the Infrastructure Element and the
Environmental Quality Element.
By a vote of 6 to 0, the Long Range Planning Advisory Commission respectfully
recommends approving the Land Use and Urban Design Element and the
Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan as submitted. The Commission's
recommended new language is shown in italics, and recommended deletions are shown
crossed out.
The City Code requires a public hearing prior to adoption of any amendments to the
Comprehensive Plan. A City Council public hearing on the 2006 Comprehensive Plan
update is planned for January 2007. Consequently, this report and the Commission's
recommendations for approving the Land Use and Urban Design Element and the
Transportation Element are submitted for the City Council to receive and file, and to
provide direction to the Commission as needed at this time.
Respectfully submitted,
~~ \)Jl~~/~
)
Charles Winterwood, Chairperson
Long Range Planning Advisory Commission
Enclosures
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F:fUSERSJLCARSTENMfPICOUNCIUComp Plan Monthly ReportlLRPAC July 2006 report - Council Letter.doc
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LAND USE AND URBAN DESIGN GOALS must address interrelated factors
affecting the physical development of a city, including the satisfaction of human needs, the
vitality of the local economy, the protection and enhancement of the natural and built
environment and the efficiency of public infrastructure and service provision. Urban design
establishes a context for development in response to the community's desired image. While new
development is encouraged, short term benefits must be weighed against long term impacts to
the community's quality of life. Land use and urban design decisions will always affect the
future in significant, and sometimes irreversible, ways. It is incumbent that a land use plan
balances the need for growth with the protection of existing community assets.
1. To protect and enhance the viability, livability and atTordability of the city's
residential neighborhoods while integrating multifamily development throughout
the community.
1.1 Promote inclusive and economically integrated neighborhoods that allow a diverse mix of
residents and housing types.
1.2 Provide a range of housing options throughout the community.
1.3 Connect and interrelate neighborhoods with greenbelts or other pathways, commercial
nodes or public facilities.
1.4 Preserve historic and aesthetic character and function of established neighborhoods.
1.5 Protect existing residential areas from encroachment by incompatible development.
1.6 Provide neighborhood amenities throughout the community in an equitable manner.
1.7 Encourage neighborhood identity, planning and pride of place.
1.8 Preserve the environmental quality of residential areas and buffer from noxious or
nuisance impacts.
1.9 Protect historic neighborhoods from inappropriate development, inconsistent with
existing historic development.
1.10 Continue to promote cif.fordable housingfor those who would like to purchase a home,
but do not qualify for assistance.
1.11 Implement the Port of Dubuque Master Plan, which includes residential, commercial,
entertainment and recreational uses, as a catalyst for growth in the Old Main area.
1.12 Provide opportunities for downtown apartments and warehouse lofts.
2. Ensure that opportunities for convenient and concentrated commercial development
are provided to support both the local and regional market.
2.1 Protect downtown commercial core and encourage continued reinvestment and
redevelopment.
2.2 Encourage expansion of commercial opportunities in existing commercial corridors or
nodes where infrastructure can support growth.
2.3 Provide opportunities for neighborhood commercial centers that assure compatibility
with residential property.
2.4 Preserve historic and aesthetic character and function of established commercial districts.
2.5 Encourage mixed use development in the downtown area.
2.6 Promote retail and service-oriented businesses on first floor to keep streets active, with
non-service/office uses on secondfloor, and residential uses on upper floors in the
downtown area.
3. Provide sufficient opportunities for industrial development sites within the
community.
3.1 Promote the retention and expansion of existing, and attraction of new, industrial
development opportunities in suitable locations, including airport environs.
3.2 Protect existing industrial and airport development from encroachment by incompatible
development.
3.3 Encourage annexation of land suitable for industrial usage if necessary.
3.4 Lessen negative impacts to residential areas which are located near industrial areas.
3.5 Provide areas for locally unwanted land uses (LULU's), such as scrap reprocessing, junk
and salvage yards, quarries, recycling industries, and concrete batch plants, to relocate
and expand in the near future, while not reducing the marketability of adjoining sites and
while getting the appropriate return on the significant City investments.
4. To balance open space and environmental preservation with the community's
development needs.
4.1 Protect and preserve existing open space and park land to meet the community's needs.
4.2 Encourage expansion of urban green spaces in suitable locations to encourage livability
and enhance aesthetics.
4.3 Provide and encourage SileR Sjlll6e parks, green space, trails and similar park/open
space uses easily accessible to residents at neighborhood level.
4.4 IReeFflsrate Encourage and develop incentives for providing common open/green space
and landscaping inte all new development wherever possible.
4.5 bimitManage development along bluff lines and protect scenic vistas.
4.6 Create a bluff overlay district with appropriate building height restrictions for bluff-top,
bluff-line, and bluff-base development to maintain bluffs as scenic attractions.
4. 7 Protect undeveloped and underdeveloped remaining land along bluff-lines and riverfront.
4.8 Protect and enhance riverfront and related wetlands, waterway corridors and other
sensitive land areas.
4.9 Encourage the State of Iowa to acquire open space/agricultural preserve around the
Mines of Spain State Recreation Area as a buffer to protect the park's natural and
historical features and the Mississippi River blu.fflands.
5. Encourage that the physical character and form of the city reflects its historic
setting and that the built enviroument is compatible with the city's natural
environment.
5.1 Define and enhance city gateways and focal points to create a sense of place.
5.2 Protect and preserve the city's historic buildings, urban pattern and natural environment.
5.3 Protect natural vistas from the clutter of inappropriate physical development.
5.4 Promote quality in the design and construction of new public and private development.
5.5 Maintain Dubuque's status as a 'Masterpiece on the Mississippi' with design standards
to protect significant landscapes and structures.
5.6 Create a "checks and balances" approach to development, including bluff preservation
and development, based on some of the same concepts used in the Historic Preservation
Ordinance; e.g. historic and cultural significance, and also develop a scale to measure
whether a structure is "in proportion".
6. Encourage the concept of mixed use development to create diverse and self-
sufficient neighborhoods.
6.1 Promote a compatible mix ofland uses that create a diversified urban environment that
mixes shopping, employment, recreation and residential opportunities where appropriate.
6.2 Buffer and protect incompatible uses from each other.
6.3 Limit sprawl and aggregate travel time through use of mixed use developments.
6.4 Provide incentives to bring mixed use to the downtown and warehouse districts.
6.5 Create a mixed-use zoning district of residential, commercial and retail uses for new
developments that does not demarcate boundaries between residential and those
commercial/retail uses that provide less intense, basic services for the neighborhood.
6.6 Use design review to address how mixed use developments are treated and to require
quality development so they become more acceptable to developers and business owners
and more sensitive to neighborhood concerns/impacts.
6. 7 Involve developers in creating mixed use developments and mixed use regulations,
including architectural designs for new commercial uses (buildings, signs, parking) that
are indistinguishable from surrounding residential uses; don't allow franchises to dictate
architecture, signs, and parking lot designs.
7. To encourage redevelopment opportunities within the city in an effort to revitalize
unused or underused property while promoting the preservation of viable and
affordable housing stock.
7.1 Encourage redevelopment or adaptive reuse of vacant or underutilized buildings and
sites.
7.2 Promote in fill development, where appropriate, to encourage more compact urban form
and avoid needless and costly sprawl while providing appropriate parking levels.
7.3 Promote redevelopment that maximizes existing infrastructure.
7.4 Strive to eliminate slum and blight.
7.5 Promote affordoble commercial space for small start-up, new or growing businesses.
7.6 Provide incentives to utilize, promote, and protect appropriate development in the
warehouse district.
7. 7 Provide incentives to maximize existing infrastructure.
7.8 Encourage reinvestment in our existing neighborhoods (i.e., smart growth).
8. To provide physical accessibility throughout the city.
8.1 Encourage and facilitate urban accessibility by walking, cycling and/or public transit as
well as by auto.
8.2 Encourage new development concepts that by design enable people to walk to work,
school, day care, shopping and recreation.
8.3 Facilitate, where possible, enhanced accessibility within existing development.
8.4 Encourage the development of pathways that link the community together in a cohesive
manner.
8.5 Encourage the provision of access to persons with disabilities.
8.6 Repair and enhance use of public stairways or create acceptable alternatives for
pedestrian access to connect bluff neighborhoods with downtown.
8. 7 Install sidewalks or alternate pedestrian access on all roadways where possible.
9. To promote principles of good urban design as part of all development.
9.1 Enhance the aesthetics of new and existing development -- design, landscaping, parking,
signage -- with special sensitivity to the historic character and building materials found in
the community.
9.2 !.veid negative imllaets en established develellmeBt It8d Ensure new development is
appropriate for existing street system.
9.3 Encourage environmentally compatible and sensitive design that fits the development
site.
9.4 Promote energy conservation efforts in building design, materials and orientation.
9.5 Reflect land conservation practices in density and building patterns to encourage compact
urban form versus sprawl.
9.6 Provide for flexible development that promotes commercial development to meet
community design standards instead of developers dictating design.
9.7 Adapt land use controls to fit the various historic development patterns and
neighborhoods that reflect urban, suburban and rural characteristics.
9.8 Compliment the human scale and historic bulk and mass of existing structures when
designing new or redeveloped structures.
9.9 Develop a policy for relocated businesses to work with public and the City to develop exit
planfor redevelopment or rebuild on same site.
6.2 Buffer and protect incompatible uses from each other.
6.3 Limit sprawl and aggregate travel time through use of mixed use developments.
6.4 Provide incentives to bring mixed use to the dawntown and warehouse districts.
6.5 Create a mixed-use zoning district of residential, commercial and retail uses for new
developments that does not demarcate boundaries between residential and those
commercial/retail uses that provide less intense, basic services for the neighborhood.
6.6 Use design review to address haw mixed use developments are treated and to require
quality development so they become more acceptable to developers and business owners
and more sensitive to neighborhood concerns/impacts.
6. 7 Involve developers in creating mixed use developments and mixed use regulations,
including architectural designs for new commercial uses (buildings, signs, parking) that
are indistinguishable from surrounding residential uses; don't allaw franchises to dictate
architecture, signs, and parking lot designs.
7. To encourage redevelopment opportunities within the city in an effort to revitalize
unused or underused property while promoting the preservation of viable and
affordable housing stock.
7.1 Encourage redevelopment or adaptive reuse of vacant or underutilized buildings and
sites.
7.2 Promote in fill development, where appropriate, to encourage more compact urban form
and avoid needless and costly sprawl while providing appropriate parking levels.
7.3 Promote redevelopment that maximizes existing infrastructure.
7.4 Strive to eliminate slum and blight.
7.5 Promote affordable commercial space for small start-up, new or growing businesses.
7.6 Provide incentives to utilize, promote, and protect appropriate development in the
warehouse district.
7.7 Provide incentives to maximize existing infrastructure.
7.8 Encourage reinvestment in our existing neighborhoods (i.e., smart growth).
8. To provide physical accessibility throughout the city.
8.1 Encourage and facilitate urban accessibility by walking, cycling and/or public transit as
well as by auto.
10. To plan for the city's future and orderly development within a regional context.
10.1 Consider the community's regional setting and economy when assessing the opportunities
and constraints for land development.
10.2 Encourage intergovernmental partnerships to minimize the negative impact of city-
county urban fringe development on regional watersheds, ecosystems and rural
infrastructure through compact and contiguous development with storm water
management.
10.3 Encourage city c01lllty intergovernmental cooperation to develop policies for
development of fringe areas, to enhance development and avoid unregulated sprawl.
10.4 Limit Illldeflaedllf".eall spra"...1 by dearly detillillg the city's edge with 0pell spaee,
brillgillg Bring corridors of green into the city along natural and roadway corridors.
10.5 Encourage cooperative regional planning with all levels of government, to develop a
strategic plan for fringe area development that may include annexation.
10.6 Balance farmland and critical area preservation with the need to annex developable land
for urban expansion.
10. 7 Recognize that transportation and land use are directly related and encourage land use
and transportation planning appropriately.
F:/USERSILCARSTENIWPICOUNCIUComp Plan Monthly Report/LAND USE AND URBAN DESIGN GOALS
comments LRPAC final rec.doc
TRANSPORTATION GOALS must address a safe, efficient and aesthetically appealing
transportation system, which is essential to tie the community together and to link the
community to the region. Transportation networks to the nation are important for economic
growth because they provide needed access for the import and export of goods and services, as
well as for visitors to Dubuque. The circulation pattern and condition of the local street system
should not only provide safe, reliable access to work, schools, shopping. hospitals, churches, and
residences but also will have a major influence on where future growth is likely to occur. The
location and quality of other means of transportation, including an airport, public transit,
pathways, railroads, highways and navigable water, in addition to providing accessibility to all
parts of the community, are important factors for new and expanding business, industry and
residential development.
1. To provide, maintain and improve safe and efficient movement on the City's street
system.
1.1 Continue the ongoing street construction program, providing for timely maintenance,
repair and reconstruction of the City street system.
1.2 Implement sound safety engineering principles and practices in the area of street lighting,
street layout, speed limits, street signage, street pavement striping, and traffic signals.
1.3 Maintain the street system's continuity and safety.
1. 4 Provide adequate street lighting which minimizes light pollution, maximizes energy
efficiency, and ensures compatibility with neighborhoods.
2. To plan long-range for both local and regional street and highway systems to ensure
safe, efficient access into and through the city and to support urban growth in an
appropriate development pattern.
2.1 Coordinate with regional transportation agencies to maintain and update a long-range
transportation plan.
2.2 Coordinate with regional transportation agencies involved with highway planning and
construction.
2.3 Improve the existing street network to reduce traffic capacity restraints and improve
safety.
2.4 Involve the public in the transportation planning process.
2.5 Plan for aesthetically appealing streets and highways, with particular focus on gateway
opportunities and street tree plantings.
2.6 Utilize signage to identifY historic neighborhoods and gateways, and actual physical
entrances to other neighborhoods to provide identity of neighborhoods and districts.
3. To facilitate improved four-lane access for surface transportation from Dubuque to
major cities in tbe region.
3.1 Continue public/private partnerships to plan and promote Plaft-future transportation
facilities with local, regional, state and federal agencies.
3.2 Work with regional transportation agencies in the development of an improved highway
system to serve the City.
3.3 Strive for a street and highway system which meets current and future traffic needs.
4. To encourage an efficient, affordable and accessible transit system in the city for the
transit-dependent population and as an alternative means of transportation.
4.1 Work toward meeting the changing needs of the transit dependent.
4.2 Strive to meet the needs of both existing and new housing developments, as well as
service to medical centers and care centers, as demand arises.
4.3 Obtain federal and state capital and operating assistance grants to the maximum extent
possible.
4.4 Work toward providing a safe, clean, timely, affordable and comfortable mode of public
transportation.
4.5 Continue to provide the best possible transit system in the most cost-efficient manner.
4.6 Work with proper agencies to continue to receive adequate funding.
4.7 Promote use of appropriately sized vehicles for needs of community to meet demand.
4.8 Extend and expand public transportation to ensure service is available for transit-
dependent people to get to and from work on all shifts and to meet demands of business
hours.
4.9 Tie in youth and recreation opportunities with public transportation.
4.10 Encourage mass transit through partnership with businesses.
4.11 Create loop system that comes to specific transfer points to encourage shorter routes, to
improve routes for efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and to make sure transportation goes
to neighborhoods where the need is.
4.12 Provide bike racks on buses to encourage multimodal transportation.
4.13 Maintain the City Para-transit systems to serve these HlUlSit suemarkets citizens with
special needs as appropriate.
4.13 Utilize Para-transit vehicles to provide service to eligible elderly and disabled citizens of
Dubuque.
S. To meet the speeial transportation needs of the elderly and disahled. [Combined
with goal 4]
5.1 Maint!lill the City PaFa tflHlilit systems to sef'l'e these tr!lllsit suemarkets cifizens with
special :'Jeeds as lljlflfOpriate.
5.2 Utilize Para trlHlilit 'tehieleil te proyide serviee te eligiBle ekleFty and disallled eitizells ef
DueHtjlle.
56. To maintain safe and efficient utilization of the riverfront for both land and water
based commercial, industrial and recreational traffic.
5.1 H Coordinate the implementation of the four planning components of the Riverfront Plan
with other public and private organizations.
5.264 Promote adequate harbor, channel and dock depths.
5.36,3. Encourage development and maintenance of riverfront facilities.
5.4 Strive to ensure compatibility of riverfront redevelopment with historically existing
businesses located at the river because of transportation needs (i.e. barge).
6 '1-. To provide safe and efficient airport services to the community and the region, in
coordination with the Airport Master Plan.
6.1+4 Establish the Dubuque Regional Airport as the center of airline passenger activity for
northeast Iowa, northwest Illinois and southwest Wisconsin.
6.2~ Expand the air cargo services provided at the Dubuque Regional Airport.
6. 3+?t Develop portions of the Dubuque Regional Airport for industrial uses, both aviation and
non-aviation related.
6.414 Promote airport z0ningplanning, regulations, and standards to control conflicts in and
around airport facilities.
6.5H Implement the Airport Master Plan, through various funding resources, as available.
6. 6 Work with private businesses to promote transportation between city and airport.
6.7 Continue to work with regional business partners to expand the "Fly Dubuque' program.
6.8 Expand commercial air service through new terminal complex.
6.9 Expand corporate and general aviation services andfacilities.
78. To support rail opportunities for both commerciaVindustrial and passenger service.
7.1&+ Develop cooperatively rail, river and trucking appropriate multi-modal access, which will
promote an efficient system throughout the region.
7.2~ Work with railroads and other private concerns to develop mutually acceptable
arrangements for the locations of terminal facilities.
7. 3&.;t Reduce auto-train conflicts during the peak travel demand hours.
7. 4&4 Encourage the reintroduction of passenger rail service into the region.
7.5 Provide alternate route into port not affected by train traffic for truckfreight.
89. To establish improved hike and bike routes in the city to encourage alternative
modes of transportation.
8.19,-1. Develop a comprehensive regional system of bikeways and/or multi-purpose trails which
minimize conflicts between motor vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians.
8.2~ Provide a more bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly transportation network.
8.3~ Consider relevant bicycle and pedestrian elements in all new transportation projects.
8. 49-4 Encourage development patterns more compatible with non-motorized travel.
8.5 Provide bike trails along arterials wherever possible.
8.6 Encourage pedestrian/bike routes as part of new subdivision development wherever
possible.
8. 7 Promote bicycles as a viable alternative mode of transportation, using signs, striped
lanes, and safe crossings.
F:USERSILCARSTENfWP/COUNCILlComp Plan Monthly ReportlTRANSPORTATION GOALS comments LRPAC final rec.doc