Committee of the Whole Meeting

MEETING OF THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE City Hall, 220 Clay Street October 21, 2024 The meeting of the Committee of the Whole met at City Hall at 5:30 p.m. on October 21, 2024, with the following Committee persons in attendance: Mayor Daniel Laudick, Councilmembers Chris Latta, Daryl Kruse, Aaron Hawbaker, Dustin Ganfield, Hannah Crisman, Kelly Dunn, and Gil Schultz. Staff members from various City Departments and members of the community attended in person. Committee of the Whole: Mayor Laudick called the meeting to order and introduced the first item on the Committee of the Whole Agenda, Economic Development Incentives/Development of other TIF areas and introduced Economic Development Coordinator Shane Graham. Graham provided an overview of: current Industrial Park and Technology/Office Park incentive program guidelines and staff’s recommendation to continue with current guidelines; current College Hill and Downtown incentive program guidelines and staff’s recommendation to increase incentive program timeframe from 5 years to 10. Graham provided information on current Urban Renewal for residential tax increment financing (TIF) districts, use of TIF funding, inclusion of Low and Moderate Income (LMI) housing and available assistance, and staff’s recommendation. Graham provided information on Urban Revitalization (UR) and the current College Hill UR district, maximum allowed tax exemptions, and staff’s recommendation. Graham noted that the current UR district plan and ordinance will need to be repealed and the area provided for in a new plan and ordinance approved by Council to increase the time from 5 to 10 years for tax exemption and to allow 10 years for other projects. Councilmembers, Graham, and staff discussed: forms of assistance for LMI; approval of Council for developer agreements; what “starts the clock” for the approved time for tax abatement, exemption, or rebate; why 5 years was originally offered for the College Hill UR area and what other communities are currently offering. Graham provided an overview of staff recommendations: Industrial Park and Technology/Office Park Incentive – continue to use current guidelines; Downtown incentive – change from 5 to 10 year tax rebate; College hill incentive – change from 5 to 10 year tax rebate, including the repeal of the current College Hill UR plan with the option to create and approve the area in a new plan. Mayor Laudick noted that the incentives are guidelines, and developers will be required to get Council approval and asked if Councilmembers would like to discuss and review yearly at Goal Setting. Councilmembers, Mayor, Graham, and staff discussed: repealing the current College Hill UR plan/area and approving a new plan; if 10 years is enough to incentivize developers; LMI housing rebates and lack of definition in Iowa code; developers required to provide proof of LMI builds in agreement for approval; accessibility of LMI designs already approved by the City; advertising information about LMI builds and incentives; and that UR tax exemptions are property-owner specific (developer or home-owner). Mayor asked for a motion to approve staff’s recommendations as outlined; Crisman motioned and Hawkbaker seconded. Councilmembers and Graham further discussed what it would look like to repeal and reapprove the College Hill UR area/plan, timeframe, and if property owners would be negatively impacted by the action. Mayor opened for public comment. Jim Brown of the Cedar Falls Economic Development Corporation, spoke about housing needs in Cedar Falls and encouraged Council to follow the guidelines but consider case-by-case. Bob Manning of Cedar Falls spoke about advertising and marketing [LMI housing] and encouraged attention to timeframes so as to not delay development. Kim Jensen Jordan of Cedar Falls spoke about consideration of school districts with new developments, giving consideration to all taxpayers, infrastructure related to future growth, and incentivizing youth and affordability concerns. Mayor Laudick responded to housing development coordination with the school district, that the sewer is not currently affected by the TIF district, and affordability being a significant consideration. There being no further discussion, Mayor called for a voice vote on the motion. Aye: Schultz, Latta, Kruse, Hawbaker, Ganfield, Crisman, Dunn. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. Mayor Laudick introduced the second item on the Committee of the Whole Agenda, Floodplain Regulations, Environmentally Sensitive Land Survey, Future Land Use Plan, and Resilience Plan and introduced Planner III Thom Weintraut. Weintraut provided an overview and summary of: the Floodplain Regulations utilizing Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) including use in rezoning, land use changes, subdivision processes, new building construction, and existing structure renovation; the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Survey including use of its data in the Comprehensive Plan (2012), Subdivision Code (2012), and Stormwater Management Program (2018); the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map (FLUP) and use in rezoning, subdivision processes, and future development; and the Cedar Falls Resilience Plan including use in rezoning, subdivision, processes, future development, and capital improvements planning. Weintraut provided examples of the documents’ use in recent projects including Terraces at West Glen (2019), Panther West (2012), and Hidden Pines (2023). Councilmembers, Mayor Laudick, Weintraut, and staff discussed: definition of floodway and floodplain; regulations on floodplain set by City and other governing agencies; wetlands banking and mitigation processes and Army Corps determination of jurisdictional or local wetlands; Cedar Falls’ Class 5 ranking by FEMA and its impact on lowering flood insurance rates; steps the City intentionally took after the 2008 flood that impacted the Class 5 rating and current practices. Meeting adjourned at 6:59 p.m. Minutes by Katie Terhune, Administrative Supervisor