Council Hesitant on Housing Action Plan
Oskaloosa City Hall
Oskaloosa, Iowa – The topic of sidewalks and requiring the placement of them became a hot topic once again at the Oskaloosa City Council meeting Monday night.
Aaron Ver Steeg expressed his concerns that inconsistency in requiring some landowners to install sidewalks, while others have the sidewalk requirements waived results in confusion for Oskaloosa citizens. He believes that the city needs to be more flexible in working with landowners on a case by case basis.
The Planning & Zoning Commission recommended to the Council that the site plan for improvements to 132 Pella Avenue include concrete driveway approaches and sidewalks. The site is a planned development of convenience storage units. Many residents may have known the structure as “The Winds” or “Stix”.
It was moved by Ver Steeg, seconded by Caligiuri, to approve the site plan for the property located at 132 Pella Avenue, to allow for a proposed convenience storage facility, with waiver of the requirement for installation of sidewalks and driveway approaches on Pella Avenue, as well as the 10′ landscaping buffer yard adjacent to Pella Avenue and the 25′ front yard setback on Pella Avenue.
That motion was defeated 4-3 with Caligiuri, Van Zetten and Ver Steeg voting in favor, with Jimenez, Moore, Walling and Yates not in favor.
It was moved by Yates, seconded by Jimenez, to approve the site plan for the property located at 132 Pella Avenue, to allow for a proposed convenience storage facility, with waiver of the 10’ landscaping buffer yard adjacent to Pella Avenue and the 25’ front yard setback on Pella Avenue, with the stipulation that sidewalks on Pella Avenue were not immediately required, but could be required to be installed at a future time determined by the city.
That motion was passed on a 6-1 margin with Ver Steeg the dissenting vote.
The 2015 Housing Action Plan was brought before the council for their approval on Monday. Members expressed concern that portions of the plan may be implemented without their final approval.
In an early motion on the plan, Council-member Tom Walling suggested that a couple of options be brought back to the council for approval. Adopting the International Property Maintenance Code and Instituting a Rental Housing Inspection Program were the two items suggested to be brought back to city council for approval before implementation.
That motion was rejected, and Council-member Scottie Moore made a motion to have all items on the plan be brought back to the council for review. That motion passed on a 6-1 vote with Caligiuri being the dissenting vote.
The 2015 Housing Action Plan document includes specific goals, tasks and measures intended to serve as the community’s road map to improving housing in Oskaloosa.
The goals and objectives created by the task force include:
Improve the quality of existing housing stock to improve quality of life.
o Increase the median home value by 20% by 2020.
o Increase Owner-Occupied Housing from 55.8% to 60% by 2020.
Improve the appearance of the community through better maintenance of homes.
o Reduce the number of dilapidated houses along arterial and collector roadways by 50% by 2020.
Improve housing options for current and prospective employees.
o Increase the number of housing units by 250 units between 2012 and 2020.
Reduce barriers for home builders and developers to create new housing.
o Reduce local regulatory hurdles, where appropriate.
o Ensure developers have accurate information
