-
IP2 of May 8 Info Packet
CITY CITY MEMORANDUM
OF IOWA [J;J Date: f:O!Pt May 5, 2014 To: Tom Markus From: Ann
Freerks, Chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission
Re: Incorporating a walkability clause into the school district
diversity policy
At our meeting on May 1, the Planning and Zoning Commission
voted to request the City Council to send a recommendation urging
the Iowa City Community School Board to adopt a "walkability
clause" into its diversity policy. The Commission requests that the
City Council forward the following message to the school
district:
The City of Iowa City would like to work collaboratively with
the school district to promote a more sustainable community by
supporting and investing in our core neighborhoods, which exhibit
many of the attributes we are striving for in our new subdivisions:
a mix of housing types that support families of varying incomes; a
highly connected pattern of sidewalk-lined streets; and a layout of
lots and blocks that places as many homes as possible within
walking distance of neighborhood schools, parks, and shopping
areas.
It is well-documented that when a significant number of children
can safely walk to school, it increases the health and welfare of
those families and of the community as a whole. It not only reduces
transportation costs for the school district, it reduces living
costs for families. Unfortunately, not every neighborhood in the
school district is designed in a manner that makes it comfortable,
safe, or even possible for children to walk to school. So when a
family chooses to live in a compact, walkable neighborhood within a
safe walking distance of their child's school, we feel that choice
should be supported.
Since walkability is a key indicator of healthy neighborhoods,
and the City strives to preserve and sustain the long-term value
embodied in our walkable neighborhoods, we urge the school district
to adopt a walkability clause into its diversity policy that
states, "Elementary students that live within Yz mile walking
distance along safe routes of one or more elementary schools are
guaranteed enrollment in one of said elementary schools. Further,
residential areas within Yz mile walking distance along safe routes
of one or more elementary schools shall not be redistricted to
another elementary school outside said Yz mile walkable
distance."
Inserting a walkability clause into the diversity policy will
provide encouragement to all jurisdictions within the district to
build more compact, walkable neighborhoods. The sustainable
development pattern that results will reduce costs to the cities,
to the school district, and to families and will help make our
future neighborhoods more affordable to all families.
-
Planning and Zoning Commission May 1, 2014 Transcript-
discussion of walkability and diversity:
Freerks: I have one other thing under "other" that I would like
to bring up. I know that there has been a lot of talk of the
redistricting or whatever they've called it recently and I would
like to propose that we ask the City Council to send to the school
district a letter or something to request that there be some type
of walkability clause included with the diversity policy so that
(and I'm not here to put parameters on it) the City and the School
District can discuss that every school, not just certain schools,
have an amount of walkability which is supported in our
Comprehensive Plan and everything that we lay out-not competing
against, but making sure that it's a part of that so that we can
support schools and walkability in our schools. I would hope that
is something that people would support here.
Theobald: I think that sounds like a great idea.
Eastham: I would be happy to support the notion of walkability
to neighborhood schools. It is something that we enjoyed when our
kids were young, although sometimes they had to walk longer than
they wanted to. I also would like the City to be a little more
candid in its use of its policies and practices that are trying to
preserve or enhance neighborhood stabilization. City Community
Development people wrote a memo to the City Manager which got to
the School Board that said that the UniverCity program was
increasing stabilization in the Lucas-Governor Street area, which
is perhaps true but that stabilization is achieved by putting
people of higher incomes in that area not people that have kids
that are eligible for FRL status.
Freerks: What I'm asking about though is about walkability and I
think if you want to bring something -
Eastham: Walkability is fine as long as it is walkability for
all households.
Freerks: --and that is what I'm asking is for walkability at
every school. I am not singling out anything.
Eastham: Not for all households at all schools?
Freerks: Weill don't know that every house that goes to every
school is walkable. Windsor Ridge is bussed as an example. What I
am talking about is that every school has an area that is a
walkable area and that's important to our comprehensive plan and to
what we develop in our communities. I don't want to spell out what
it is. I want them to communicate with each other about it and I
want the communication to happen between the two.
Dyer: It seems like in newly developing areas that means that we
also need to have diversity of types of housing.
Freerks: Yes. And that is something that we support.
Thomas: I think Charlie is only saying that this walkability
concept be integrated with a diversity policy.
Freerks: That's what I'm asking- for it to be part of it. I want
to make sure that it's a part of the discussion. Is that something
that people agree on?
Commissioners: Yes.
Eastham: As long we are clear that what we are suggesting
exactly what Thomas said.
-
Planning and Zoning Commission May 1, 2014 2 of2
Freerks: I don't know that is. What are you saying?
Theobald: My concern is that the walkability trumps
diversity.
Page
Freerks: I'm not saying one trumps the other. I am saying that
at the heart of our Comprehensive Plan-and it is supported by our
Comprehensive Plan-that we have neighborhoods that have walkability
and that neighborhood schools are part of that- schools and
neighborhoods. And I want us to support that and I want our school
district to support that as well. That's all. Would you do that
then, Bob? Talk to them.
Bob: Sure. We can draft something. It might be helpful to maybe
have an outline or something.
Freerks: Sure. Yeah. I'll do it quickly.
-
To: Mayor Matt Hayek and City Manager Tom Markus
From: Jim Throgmorton
Subject: Diversity and walkable neighborhoods
Date: May 13,2014
Item #2 in the City Council's May 8 information packet includes
a March 5 memo from Ann Freerks. Her memo involves an important and
substantively challenging problem: how to help the School District
comply with its Diversity Policy without undermining the city's
efforts to preserve and sustain the long-term value embodied in our
walkable neighborhoods.
Posed that way, it sounds as if we face an Either/Or choice
between walkability and diversity.
It's not an Either/Or choice. We can marshal our creativity to
achieve both walkability and diversity.
Freerks' memo states, "At our meeting on May 1, the Planning and
Zoning Commission voted to request the City Council to send a
recommendation urging the Iowa City Community School Board to adopt
a "walkability clause" into its diversity policy." The clause would
read, "Elementary students that live within % mile walking distance
along safe routes of one or more elementary schools are guaranteed
enrollment in one of said elementary schools. Further, residential
areas within mile walking distance along safe routes of one or more
elementary schools shall not be redistricted to another elementary
school outside mile walkable distance." Freerks' memo further
states, "Inserting a walkability clause into the diversity policy
will provide encouragement to all jurisdictions within the district
to build more compact, walkable neighborhoods."
Tom's May 8 email to Superintendent Murley indicates our Council
is likely to consider the proposed recommendation at our May 20
meeting. Tom copied us on that email so that we could be thinking
about how to respond to the commission's recommendation.
I have two preliminary responses, one procedural and the other
substantive. In offering these responses, I fully recognize that
our staff has far more detailed knowledge about specific programs
than I do.
With regard to procedure, I have two questions. First, is the
commission legally empowered to make recommendations concerning
School District policies? And, second, is the commission authorized
to vote on recommendations without giving the public an opportunity
to comment subsequent to due public notice that the topic would be
considered? (I understand the commission "voted" on the general
intent of the clause in its last meeting, despite the fact the
topic was not included on its published agenda.
-
Moreover, I understand that the commissioners did not see the
actual language of Freerks' memo until after it had been sent to
Tom.)
With regard to substance, I agree with much of the language
contained in Freerks' memo. Most of it is fully consistent with my
long-term advocacy of more compact, walkable neighborhoods.
But her memo is silent about economic diversity within
neighborhoods and about city policies concerning the distribution
of affordable housing within the city. (So too was my April25 email
to Steve Murley, which appeared in one of our info packets.) This
is a crucial omission.
Not all Iowa City neighborhoods are economically diverse enough
to achieve the School District's Diversity Policy solely on the
basis of the school-aged population that lives within safe walking
distance of the neighborhoods' schools.
Moreover, sustainable neighborhoods are not just compact and
walkable; they also contain a diverse mix of housing types and
costs, which permit economic diversity within each neighborhood's
population.
Furthermore, many parts oflowa City, especially those built
after 1970, are not "walkable" in a strong sense; that is, they are
not neighborhoods in which it is easy and safe for residents to
walk to elementary school, grocery stores, neighborhood parks,
places of employment, and other activities. In these post-1970s
developments, it is simply not possible for many elementary school
children to walk to school, at least not safely. In some cases, a
substantial fraction of these children come from lower-income
families.
To be walkable in this strong sense, neighborhoods have to be
dense enough for people to walk to desired destinations, and they
have to be designed well enough to make them want to walk. As
architect-planner Peter Calthorpe puts it, "a well-designed city is
... a place where your destinations are close enough to walk to and
where you feel safe enough to walk. And it's a place that is
interesting enough socially to make you feel that walking is
perhaps something more than just getting from point A to point
B."
In order to consider Freerks' recommendation wisely, therefore,
we need to assess the fairness of the proposed "walkability
clause." Put simply, the question is: who can walk safely to
school? To answer this question, we need to generate/obtain factual
information about the diversity of the school-aged populations that
live within Y2 mile safe walking distance from each of Iowa City's
elementary schools. Perhaps this question could be answered using
the District's FRL data.
We also need to explicitly state or improve policies that
promote economic diversity within Iowa City neighborhoods. The most
important step would be to adopt policies that distribute new
affordable housing units throughout the city, partly though
inclusionary zoning and partly through economic incentives.
-
We need to ensure that all new neighborhoods built in Iowa City
are designed to be walkable in the strong sense. This is especially
important for the areas surrounding the new elementary schools.
And we need to enhance the (srong sense) walkability of existing
post-1970s neighborhoods, especially ones that currently have a
disproportionately high concentration of very low-income
households.
This is a complicated and politically challenging issue. I look
forward to learning how you and the five other members of the City
Council think we should respond.
-
Marian Karr
From: Sent: To: Cc:
Subject:
Tom Markus Tuesday, May 13, 2014 8:14AM 'Charles Eastham' Tuyet
Dorau; Patti Fields; Sally Hoelscher; Brian Kirschling; Chris
Lynch; Jeff McGinness; Marla Swesey; Stephen Murley; Council; Ann
Freerks; John Thomas; Jodie Theobald ([email protected]); Paula
Swygard; Phoebe Martin ([email protected]); Carolyn Dyer
([email protected]) RE: Incorporating a walkability clause
into the Iowa City Community School District diversity policy
Thanks for sharing your perspective. I will take it up with the
city staff and share with the city council.
From: Charles Eastham [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Monday,
May 12, 2014 10:17 PM To: Tom Markus Cc: Tuyet Dorau; Patti Fields;
Sally Hoelscher; Brian Kirschling; Chris Lynch; Jeff McGinness;
Marla Swesey; Stephen Murley; Council; Ann Freerks; John Thomas;
Jodie Theobald ([email protected]); Paula Swygard; Phoebe Martin
([email protected]); Carolyn Dyer ([email protected])
Subject: Incorporating a walkability clause into the Iowa City
Community School District diversity policy
Date: May 12, 2014
To: Tom Markus, City Manager
From: Charlie Eastham and John Thomas, members, Iowa City
Planning and Zoning Commission
CC: Iowa City Community School District Board of Education,
Stephen Murley, Superintendent of Schools, Iowa City Council, Iowa
City Planning and Zoning Commission
Subj.: Incorporating a walkability clause into the Iowa City
Community School District diversity policy
We are writing as members of the Planning and Zoning Commission
to inform you that we do not agree with the "walkability clause"
contained in a memo to you sent on behalf of the Planning and
Zoning Commission dated May 5, 2014. The clause calls for
guaranteeing attendance assignments to all elementary schools to
elementary students living within a specified distance from each
school.
Purpose of the ICCSD Diversity Policy
The ICCSD adopted a diversity policy in February, 2013. The
policy's purpose is to "provide equitable learning environments for
the students attending ICCSD" and states that "enhanced learning
will be the result" of establishing the diversity goals of the
policy. Prior to adopting the diversity policy the District
received research reports demonstrating improvements in student
learning for all students resulting from reducing socioeconomic
concentrations in schools, The District is now engaged in
developing attendance zones necessary to put the
1
-
policy into practice. The District proposes that altering
attendance zones will result in improved student learning for all
students.
Role oflowa City in pursuing its Comprehensive Plan goals and
supporting the ICCSD Diversity Policy
Iowa City has legitimate interests in establishing sustainable
neighborhoods. Achieving walkable distances to common destinations
is important to creating and maintaining such neighborhoods. The
City also has interests in achieving actual income diversity in
neighborhoods. Indeed, the lack of such economic diversity in
certain neighborhoods is contributing to the need for the ICCSD to
adopt a diversity policy in the first place. So we wholeheartedly
support walkable, mixed income neighborhoods and agree walkability
should be considered by the ICCSD within its Diversity Policy.
However, attempts by the City to have the District guarantee
enrollment in elementary schools for students living a specified
distance from schools places the interest of the City in walkable
neighborhoods above the District's responsibility for creating
equitable learning environments for all students and risks
hampering the flexibility the District may need to fulfill its
responsibility. We urge the City to instead develop robust programs
to address imbalances in economic diversity and thereby achieve the
ICCSD's diversity policy goals and the City's comprehensive plan
goals by providing a mix of housing and incomes within all
neighborhoods and school attendance areas.
Planning and Zoning procedures leading up to the May 5 memo
At the Commission meeting ofMay 1, under the "Other" part of the
meeting agenda, a member of the Commission proposed that the
Commission ask the Council to communicate with the ICCSD for the
purpose of including a walkability provision in the District's
diversity policy. During the discussion that followed we voiced the
viewpoint that any walkability concept should be compatible with
the District diversity policy. Other Commission members talked
about various other issues, including a concern that walkability
not trump diversity. No motion was made so there was no vote on the
proposal to communicate to the Council. The discussion ended with
the staff agreeing to draft a possible memo to Council. The
"walkability clause" proposed in the May 5 memo to you was not
introduced at the meeting and in our view the clause is not
consistent with the tone and content ofthe discussion at the
meeting. We say again, we do not support the clause as it appears
in the May 5 memo and we would not have voted for the clause had it
been put before us.
Respectfully,
Charlie Eastham
John Thomas 2
-
Marian Karr
From: Sent: To: Cc:
Subject:
May 13,2014 To: Tom Markus
[email protected] Tuesday, May 13, 2014 12:49 PM Tom Markus
[email protected]; Tuyet Dorau; Patti Fields; Sally Hoelscher;
Brian Kirschling; Chris Lynch; Jeff McGinness; Marla Swesey;
Stephen Murley; Council; Ann Freerks; John Thomas; Paula Swygard;
Phoebe Martin ([email protected]); Carolyn Dyer
([email protected]) Re: Incorporating a walkability clause
into the Iowa City Community $chool District diversity
,
From: Jodie Barry Theobald, Planning and Zoning Commission
member Re: Walkability clause
I am writing to add support and agree with the concerns
expressed in the memo sent by Charlie and John. While walkability
should be one ofthe goals ofthe district, it should not be
privileged over diversity in our schools and neighborhoods. I would
not have supported the walkability clause as written in the memo.
Respectfully, Jodie Barry Theobald
-----Original Message-----From: Charles Eastham To: Tom Markus
Cc: Tuyet Dorau , Patti Fields , Sally Hoelscher , Brian Kirschling
, Chris Lynch , Jeff McGinness , Marla Swesey , Stephen Murley ,
council , Ann Freerks , John Thomas , Jodie Theobald
{[email protected]) , Paula Swygard , Phoebe Martin
([email protected]) , Carolyn Dyer ([email protected]) Sent:
Mon, 12 May 2014 22:16:39 -0500 {CDT) Subject: Incorporating a
walkability clause into the Iowa City Community School District
diversity policy
Date: May 12, 2014 To: Tom Markus, City Manager From: Charlie
Eastham and John Thomas, members, Iowa City Planning and Zoning
Commission CC: Iowa City Community School District Board of
Education, Stephen Murley, Superintendent of Schools, Iowa City
Council, Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission Subj.:
Incorporating a walkability clause into the Iowa City Community
School District diversity policy
We are writing as members of the Planning and Zoning Commission
to inform you that we do not agree with the "walkability clause"
contained in a memo to you sent on behalf of the Planning and
Zoning Commission dated May 5, 2014. The clause calls for
guaranteeing attendance assignments to all elementary schools to
elementary students living within a specified distance from each
school.
Purpose of the ICCSD Diversity Policy
The ICCSD adopted a diversity policy in February, 2013. The
policy's purpose is to "provide equitable learning environments for
the students attending ICCSD" and states that "enhanced learning
will be the result" of establishing the diversity goals of the
policy. Prior to adopting the diversity policy the District
received research reports demonstrating improvements in student
learning for all students resulting from reducing socioeconomic
concentrations in schools, The District is now engaged in
developing attendance zones necessary to put the policy into
practice. The District proposes that altering attendance zones will
result in improved student learning for all students.
1
-
Role of Iowa City in pursuing its Comprehensive Plan goals and
supporting the ICCSD Diversity Policy
Iowa City has legitimate interests in establishing sustainable
neighborhoods. Achieving walkable distances to common destinations
is important to creating and maintaining such neighborhoods. The
City also has interests in achieving actual income diversity in
neighborhoods. Indeed, the lack of such economic diversity in
certain neighborhoods is contributing to the need for the ICCSD to
adopt a diversity policy in the first place. So we wholeheartedly
support walkable, mixed income neighborhoods and agree walkability
should be considered by the ICCSD within its Diversity Policy.
However, attempts by the City to have the District guarantee
enrollment in elementary schools for students living a specified
distance from schools places the interest of the City in walkable
neighborhoods above the District's responsibility for creating
equitable learning environments for all students and risks
hampering the flexibility the District may need to fulfill its
responsibility. We urge the City to instead develop robust programs
to address imbalances in economic diversity and thereby achieve the
ICCSD's diversity policy goals and the City's comprehensive plan
goals by providing a mix of housing and incomes within all
neighborhoods and school attendance areas.
Planning and Zoning procedures leading up to the May 5 memo
At the Commission meeting of May 1, under the "Other" part of
the meeting agenda, a member of the Commission proposed that the
Commission ask the Council to communicate with the ICCSD for the
purpose of including a walkability provision in the District's
diversity policy. During the discussion that followed we voiced the
viewpoint that any walkability concept should be compatible with
the District diversity policy. Other Commission members talked
about various other issues, including a concern that walkability
not trump diversity. No motion was made so there was no vote on the
proposal to communicate to the Council. The discussion ended with
the staff agreeing to draft a possible memo to Council. The
"walkability clause" proposed in the May 5 memo to you was not
introduced at the meeting and in our view the clause is not
consistent with the tone and content of the discussion at the
meeting. We say again, we do not support the clause as it appears
in the May 5 memo and we would not have voted for the clause had it
been put before us.
Respectfully,
Charlie Eastham
John Thomas
2
Information Packet Cover SheetIP1 Council Tentative Meeting
ScheduleIP2 Work Session AgendaIP3 Memo from the Asst. City
Manager: Proposal for Food Truck I Cart Pilot ProgramIP4
Incorporating a walkability clause into the school district
diversity policy: Memo fromPlanning and Zoning Chair; transcription
of May 1 Planning and Zoning Commissionmeeting; letter from Council
Member Throgmorton; Email from Planning and ZoningMembers Charlie
Eastham and John Thomas; Email from Planning and ZoningCommission
Member Jodie Barry TheobaldIP5 Pending Work Session TopicsIP6 Memo
from City Clerk: KXIC Radio ShowIP7 Email to City Council from
Erica Bried: Longfellow Walking StudentsIP8 Memo from
Transportation Services Director: ALDI Bus StopIP9 Copy of letter
from FEMA: Increase to Class 7 in the National Flood Insurance
Program(NFIP) Community Rating System (CRS)IP10 Email to City
Manager form Executive Director of Iowa City Downtown District:
National PollDispels Popular AssumptionsIP11 Police Department Bar
Check- April 2014IP12 Invitation: Dream Center benefit at the
EnglertIP13 Invitation: Open House Housing Trust Fund of Johnson
CountyIP14 Airport Zoning Commission: May 1IP15 Planning and Zoning
Commission: April 3 (formal)