College District Open House 1 Results Summary, 1-31-18

College District Area Action Plan Open House #1 Results SummaryOverview An Open House was held on November 14th, 2017 at Coe College’s Clark Alumni Hall with the following purpose:  Sha

College District Area Action Plan Open House #1 Results Summary

Overview

An Open House was held on November 14th, 2017 at Coe College’s Clark Alumni Hall with the following

purpose:

 Share and gather feedback on draft goals

 Share and gather feedback on draft action steps

 Gather feedback on land use and zoning

 Share feedback from the July Workshop

To accomplish this, the Open House was divided into four stations The first was comprised of boards

showing the results of the Workshop Present/Future Exercise, a funded project to improve pedestrian

and bicycle connections to Cedar Lake, and planned stormwater management improvements adjacent

to the Plaster Athletic Complex The second and third stations showed the draft goals and action steps

organized by the topics Connectivity, Land Use, Character and Placemaking, and Streetscapes The

fourth and final station was a visual preference exercise about future land use

Citizen participation at the Open House was as follows:

 60+ attended

 42 participated in the action step prioritization

 36 participated in the land use exercise

 5 comments on the goals

 52 comments on land use

 16 completed comment sheets

Results

Draft Goals

Attendees were asked to view the 11 draft goals, organized by topic, and provide feedback on missing

goals The five following comments were received:

 Connectivity: a map recommending eight improvements to bicycle connectivity and

2

Draft Action Steps

The 19 draft action steps were organized by topic and included their associated goals Attendees were

given three dot stickers per topic and asked to place them next to the action step or steps that were

most important to them They could place all three dots on one action step or on three individual ones

for each topic 42 persons participated and the following tables and images show the number of dots

each action step received

CONNECTIVITYDraft Action Step Dots Received

Initiate engineering analysis for vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian, and gateway

improvements at the Coe Rd./Center Pt Rd./College Dr./Oakland Rd./E Ave

intersection

54

Perform analysis to identify locations to improve safety or for sidewalk infill as part of

LAND USEDraft Action Step Dots Received

Promote walkability as part of the update to the zoning code 33

Update zoning for 1st Avenue corridor through the study area to promote

neighborhood friendly mixed-use development consistent with historic development

patterns

31

Implement zoning changes for locations identified for preservation, enhancement, and

Prioritize projects from the Stormwater Master Plan to mitigate the impacts of flash

Create developer resource to share information on adopted plans and economic and

Evaluate zoning for industrial and commercial areas at the heart of the study area 9

4

STREETSCAPESDraft Action Step Dots Received

Identify aesthetic streetscape improvements, including street lighting, as part of

Examine current street lighting for issues and potential improvements 32

Develop wayfinding signage to identify amenities within the area 30

CHARACTER AND PLACEMAKING Draft Action Step Dots Received

Analyze current city programs and expand, as necessary, to promote home repair 32

Develop and promote marketing materials to share with college students and residents

about the activities available at the schools and citywide 27

Develop and promote a property maintenance manual for homeowners, landlords, and

Develop a list of additional historical sites in the Mound View Neighborhood to include

Include education and information about SAFE-CRE and reporting criminal activity in

the Mound View Neighborhood Association newsletter (paper and electronically) 13

Identify gaps in neighborhood activities and create additional programs to fill gaps 7

6

Land Use Exercise

For the November Open House, the College District study area was divided into 8 areas (lettered A-H

and shown on the next page) For each area, three images, along with a brief description, was shown

The first image showed either the current condition in this area or an anticipated future condition The

next two images showed different options for future development

Participants were asked to rate each image on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being strongly dislike and 5 being

strongly like For the results shown on the following pages, a score of 1 and 2 was interpreted as

“disliked” and a score of 4 or 5 was interpreted as “liked” A score of 3 was interpreted as “neutral” or

“no opinion” The average score of all votes is also shown

At the end of each area there is a section called “What this tells us”, where we explain how we are

interpreting the results These explain the thoughts that will go into drafting the College District Area

Action Plan document

The College District Plan is an Action Plan It is meant to be the start of the process of change and

growth within the district It will identify a variety of Action Steps that can be completed by the City to

enable and encourage growth and redevelopment Specific recommendations may range from

identifying the need to change the zoning to identifying future road connections or intersection

improvements that will help serve the area

The second open house will share more specific recommendations based on the results shown on the

following pages

Need Work on 1st Avenue

Prefer Urban District

While 1st Ave still carries a large volume of traffic it is no longer the primary linkage Promoting this

area may require some slowing of traffic

Strongly prefers Urban District

I very much like the aim of the urban district I believe that CR-Iowa City have potential to become

more vibrant and appealing and this is a good way to start

Prefers Urban District and Auto Corridor

Need places to walk/bike away from cars

Prefers Auto Corridor

The area around Coe's Campus from Riley's/Grey's Pub to HyVee/Pizza Daddy's needs revamped

There is a lack of luster or charm and the strip feels unwalkable, even though it's right next to campus

Strongly Prefers Urban District or Current Trend

Can we effectively and affordably transition? Who owns the land now? The incentives for developers

will be key

Strongly prefers Urban District

1st Ave may be too busy and wide to support "Urban District" but too many people need to cross it for

urban corridor to work

Prefers Urban District

Pedestrian comfort is a top priority for me I love the idea of 1st avenue being more (of a) destination

location, but not if it makes housing unaffordable

Strongly Prefers Urban District

Find a pod area where more "walk friendly" business can be located, create events that utilize this area

to draw participation

Strongly Prefers Urban District

If I'm required to choose one other than "Urban District" I would sparingly choose the photo shown for

(Auto Corridor) (New Wendy’s)`

What this tells us:

Responses showed a very clear preference for the “Urban District” concept for 1st Avenue This scenario

was the highest rated out of the 24 presented at the open house The feedback on 1st Avenue tells us

that the zoning along this corridor needs to be updated to ensure that redevelopment is walkable and

serves residents of the Wellington Heights and Mound View Neighborhoods

1st Avenue will remain an important auto corridor and new auto-oriented businesses would not be

prohibited Drive-thru and other auto-oriented features should rely on alley access with limited curb

cuts Buildings should be placed near the sidewalk to promote a more urban feel

The results from the open house suggest that form-based zoning should be considered along 1st Avenue,

which will encourage urban development

Additional Public Comments:

Likes all options

Campus: Attempt to connect with neighborhood

Residential Buffer: Remove some on-street parking to narrow street and widen sidewalk on one side

Mixed Use Buffer: Promote senior living structures, close to colleges and hospitals

Prefers Campus or Mixed-Use Buffer

I feel that the mixed use buffer may provide opportunities to accommodate low-income housing

Likes all options

Connectivity & Safety & Lighting are paramount

Neighborhood watch programs

Prefers College Campus

The colleges can also buyout houses in Urban Districts for students

Strongly Prefers College Campus

The city can't really change the campus, but the houses around campus would be an interesting

investment as options for student housing An opportunity to help Coe build its population, which in

turn brings more to CR

Strongly prefers Campus

The colleges will more successfully anchor a long term redevelopment As long as it is done well and

with some oversight

Likes all options

College campus depends on Coe's readiness to execute other options Allow spillover from Downtown

and MedQ development but (unintelligible)

What This Tells Us:

The results indicate that the community is generally satisfied with a variety of outcomes for this

property It is assumed that the area will develop as part of the Coe College campus, but other

outcomes, including the development of housing and mixed-use development along 15th Street would

be supported by the plan

Current Trend: Better than last year

Preservation: Some good work on some buildings

Strongly prefers development

To keep college grads here CR needs more modern housing environment options

Neutral

The capacity of population is there and once the trail is completed more people will come by How do

we encourage businesses to grow, develop, and expand?

Neutral

I personally have never explored this area of CR I believe a big part of that is because it seems only

residential with maybe a grocery store/convenience store But the housing seems 1950's-ish

Strongly prefers Preservation

For this area neither (of the other options) will maintain the appeal of Mound View/College District

(Preservation) the future after appeal is maintained and is a selling point (Development) might work!

Prefers Preservation or Current Trend

Main problem with current trend is the code, fixing that would help evolution

Strongly prefers preservation

I don't dislike the idea of some business development, again affordable housing is a concern for me

Prefers preservation

The development could work but needs to be in defined areas - important to know (unintelligible)

flavor for most

Prefers Development

Townhouse/condos along E Ave

What This Tells Us:

With this question there was an even split in preference between Preservation and Development

The responses do not have to be mutually exclusive Zoning in this area should largely react to existing

conditions New Traditional Residential zone districts should eliminate non-conformities with existing

homes and ensure any new or remodeled structures are of comparable size and scale to single-family

homes

The plan document should support the idea of redevelopment within the neighborhood Individual

projects which differ somewhat from existing development may apply for a rezoning and be considered

on a case-by-case basis The rezoning process, along with the creation of more traditionally focused

residential districts, can be used to ensure new development is diverse, but still of a scale similar to

existing homes

Current Trend: People are trying

Prefers Creative District or Mixed-Use Core

The creative district reminds me of home I'm from Denver metro area which is fast growing for young

professionals They have many things CR should emulate

Prefers Creative District or Mixed-Use Core

Variety is the Spice of Life, young and old inhabit this area - amenities for both

Parks playgrounds coffee, shops, (unintelligible), art shops, photography shops, yoga studio…

Strongly prefers Creative District

Again (Mixed-Use Core) after solidifying appeal of the area

Strongly prefers Creative District or Mixed Use Core

Permit residential - creates more options

Strongly prefers Creative District or Mixed Use Core

Love the creative district - can CR sustain two neighborhoods like this? Could be nice to offer

something different

Likes all

Must have mixed use to work in my opinion - commercial businesses and residential above

What This Tells Us:

Responses showed a very strong preference for change in the “Neighborhood Core”, with a shift

towards being a mixed-use hub of activity The redevelopment of the Terex site and continued

improvements to the CEMAR trail will make the Mound View Neighborhood more of a crossroads and a

destination in coming years

This portion of the neighborhood offers a number of opportunities for the type of imaginative reuse of

existing structures described in the “Creative District” concept, along with new construction along the

lines of a “Mixed-Use Core” Both of these concepts would be served by the implementation of a

Form-Based code, which deemphasizes the classic separation of uses into residential, commercial or industrial

zones, and instead focuses on the scale and form of new buildings that come into the district

Additional Public Comments:

Strongly prefers urban mixed use

College friendly focused business development

Prefers Urban Mixed Use and Residential

Must (unintelligible) and need housing to act this ????

Strongly prefers Mixed Use or Residential

E Ave, along with 16th and 17th Streets need to become areas that attract businesses serving walk-in

customers

Strongly prefers Mixed Use or Residential

Non-alcoholic businesses

Dislike Urban Mixed use

Because a picture of the NewBo-area Raygun store was used to characterize

Neutral

I think we need the mixed-use concept Places where people live + walk + hangout

Prefers Urban Mixed Use

Time to redevelop/move heavy industrial Honor the history with some display/open space

Prefer Urban Residential

Mt Mercy is cleaning up

What This Tells Us:

With 0 percent of respondents liking the existing development along E Avenue, there was an obvious

preference for urban redevelopment of E Avenue The location of the corridor, with new development

backing up to the Plaster Athletics Complex and the CEMAR Trail, makes it an inviting location for new

housing

The question for this area in particular was whether or not mixed use development with commercial

would make sense here, or if the neighborhood felt this was not an appropriate location for more active

uses The responses indicate this type of development would be favored

Additional Public Comments:

Prefers Current Trend or Campus Link

It's part of history of Cedar Rapids Need to capitalize on the historical value of the area

Prefers Campus Link

I think enhancing the walkability & connections is a great goal Safety is 1st, College students and

parents want safety and lighting and kept-up housing and a strong police force or presence and their

ability to build relationships is a necessary good

Strongly prefers Neighborhood or Campus Link

Again, Non-alcoholic businesses

Strongly prefers Campus Link

I'd like (Current Trend) if there were jobs to be had