Council approves ordinance to change off-street parking requirements

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Under a new ordinance approved by the Charles City Council Monday, requirements for off-street parking just got a little more clear in Charles City.

The council held a third reading and approved an ordinance that amended parking paving requirements, which have been discussed over multiple meetings.

City Engineer John Fallis explained that after a number of discussions regarding paving parking lots, the ordinance was essentially a compromise between no paving required and 100% paving required.

Fallis said that 38 feet from the property line would require hard surface paving, but beyond that, the surface could be determined by the property owner.

“It could be hard surface, or it could be rock,” Fallis said. “Realtors are looking for direction here.”

Fallis said that Planning and Zoning recommended the ordinance.

According the the ordinance, off-street parking areas will essentially require Portland cement concrete, hot mix asphalt, or permeable pavement, for a distance of 38 feet from the right-of-way line. Beyond the 38 feet (about two car lengths), the parking lot can be surfaced either with concrete, asphalt, permeable pavement, asphalt millings, or crushed rock.

The 38 feet of pavement allows two cars to park at the property line on hard surface to minimize the potential of tracking rock on to the sidewalk and street pavements.

Pavement design, materials, and other requirements were amended in June 2019 to make the off-street parking requirement less burdensome. The 2019 ordinance eliminated pavement thickness requirements and allowed the use of asphalt millings adjacent to local streets.

At a recent planning and zoning meeting, the committee met with the planning consultant for an initial review of a portion of the new requirements. Dean Stewart, proprietor of Stewart Realty, asked the commission to consider new paving requirements as soon as possible, since the current ordinance’s paving requirement is a hindrance to potential projects, due to cost prohibitive nature of requiring all surfaces to be hard surfaced.

In other action Monday, after receiving no comments at a public hearing, the council approved final plans and specifications for the Grove Street South Illinois Street Intersection Improvement Project, awarded the bid to Heartland Asphalt of Mason City for $134,646.25, and approved the contract and bond.

The estimated cost for the project was $136,500. The city will be responsible for approximately 80% of the project cost or approximately $109,000. Paul Rottinghaus, who recently purchased the property of the former Sherman Nursery along the intersection, has agreed to share in the cost, contributing an estimated $26,000

The project will include removing the existing pavement and storm sewer at the intersection, placing new storm sewer and additional intakes to collect stormwater runoff and direct it to Sherman Creek, rebuild the riprap embankment adjacent to Sherman Creek, remove existing guard rail and replace with new guard rail, replace the pavement with new grades to direct the storm water runoff to the storm sewer intakes.

The council approved the preliminary plans and specifications for this project at the March 15 meeting and authorized taking bids for the construction work at that time. The city had also received bids from Cole Excavating in Greene for $159,036 and Boulder Contracting in Grundy Center for $186,516.

Also Monday, the council heard the first reading of an ordinance that amends the zoning classification of property located at 808 North Jackson Street, owned by The Laundry Depot, from service business district to light manufacturing district. The council also set May 3 at 6 p.m. as the date and time for a public hearing prior to a second reading.

John Newton with the Laundry Depot requested a building permit to construct another mini-warehouse building on the location at 808 North Jackson. Mini-warehouse storage is not a permitted use in the current zoning. The existing storage buildings predate the city’s zoning ordinance.

This parcel encompasses the half block from Lane Street to Richings Streets on the easterly side of North Jackson. The property currently has mini-warehouse storage units and a small distribution warehouse for Frito-Lay.

The Planning and Zoning Commission has met and has forwarded a recommendation to the council to approve the rezoning request.

In other action on Monday, the council:
• Approved funding for a pickle ball courts resurfacing project. Parks and Rec director Tyler Mitchell told the council that he has applied for a $20,000 grant to resurface and expand the current courts, which are in “rough shape” with several cracks. As part of the grant, the courts would be expanded to regulation size and be eligible to host sanctioned tournaments. Mitchell has received an estimate for the work from Heartland Asphalt, which comes to over $36,000. Mitchell explained that the grant would cut the city’s cost to just over $16,000, which he plans on paying through the one-day borrowing fund.
• Approved moving forward with obtaining bids for those who may be interested in purchasing the city owned property at 312 15th Avenue. Consideration of bids would be the following Monday Council meeting on May 17. This property was a nuisance duplex structure that was recently acquired and demolished by the city.
• Approved an insurance renewal package from Sisson and Associates for general liability and workman’s comp insurance packages. The new package shows an increase from $378,718 to $406,341.