Ordinance to amend the zoning map as adopted by reference in Section 15.02.070, by rezoning the property legally described as being the east 35 feet of Lots 1 through 3 and all of Lots 15 through 22, Block 5, all in Williams First Addition from R-3/Low Density Multifamily Residential District to I-2/General Industrial District as defined in Chapter 15.21. Location:  Lying south of 9th Avenue between South 3rd and South 4th Streets. ZC-18-005

Background

The Community Development Department has received the following requests from Conagra Foods Packaged Foods relative to their food production facility at 1023 South 4th Street:
• CASE #ZC-18-005:  Rezone the East 35 feet of Lots 1 through 3 and all of Lots 15 through 22, Block 5, all in Williams First Addition from R-3/Low Density Multi-Family Residential District to I-2/Industrial District.

• CASE #SAV-18-003:  Vacate and dispose of the north/south alley bisecting Lots 1 through 3, Block 5 along with the east/west alley adjoining the northeast 55 feet of Lot 4 and all of Lots 7 through 22, Block 5, all in Williams First Addition.

The purpose of both requests is to allow the applicant to use the subject property as a future parking lot and/or expansion area for their food production facility.

CASE #ZC-18-005
Land Use and Zoning
The subject property is comprised of 1.23 acres of undeveloped land and is zoned R-3/Low Density Multi-Family Residential District (see Attachment A).  Surrounding zoning includes A-P/Administrative-Professional District and R-3 District to the north; R-3 District to the east; and I-2/General Industrial District to the south and west.  Existing land uses in the general vicinity of the request include residential dwellings to the north and east along with a food production facility (Conagra) to the south and west.

The future land use plan of the Bluffs Tomorrow:  2030 (Comprehensive Plan) designates the subject property as Heavy Industrial.  The proposed I-2/General Industrial District is consistent with the future land use plan of the Bluffs Tomorrow:  2030 (Comprehensive Plan).

The following exhibits show the subject property/alley and the surrounding area:  (see Exhibit Site Photos)

Exhibit A:  Aerial view facing north
Exhibit B:  Aerial view facing east
Exhibit C:  Street level view facing west
 
Public notices were mailed to all property owners within 200 feet of the rezoning request.  One letter was returned as undeliverable to the City.  One property owner, Alicia Brady, 903 South 3rd Street, contacted the Community Development Department and stated she is concerned the rezoning may impact the value of her home.  Mrs. Brady also stated she has concerns with semi-trucks idling/parking and Conagra expanding their industrial plant closer towards her residence.

On April 18, 2018, the City Planning Commission held a public hearing on the proposed rezoning and alley vacation requests.  During this hearing, the Commission was presented one email and three letters from residents of the Gibraltar Neighborhood who are opposed to the rezoning request.  These documents are included with this staff report as Attachments C through F.

All City Departments and local utilities were notified of the proposed rezoning.  No adverse comments have been received for this request as of the date of this report.

CASE #SAV-18-003:
The subject north/south alley measures 20 feet wide by 129.99 feet deep and the east/west alley measures 12 feet wide by 433 feet long.  Both alleys are unimproved and were once used to provide access to residential dwellings that existed on Lots 15 through 22, Block 5, Williams First Addition.

On August 25, 2003, the City Council amended the adopted Policy and Procedures for Alley, Street and Right-of-way Vacations.  The objectives of the amended Policy are as follows:

1. To provide due process and citizen participation in the application and review process for vacations.  
The subject alley abuts three parcels of land that are owned by Conagra and/or an affiliated entity.  All abutting property owners were mailed petitions asking if they are in favor of/opposed to and/or willing to/not willing to acquire their portion of the alley, if vacated.  Responses to these petitions are summarized in Comment #10 below.

2. To ensure that no property owner is deprived of required and reasonable access.  All abutting properties have access to either 9th Avenue and/or South 3rd Street.  Vacating the subject alley will not deprive any adjacent property owner of required access.

3. To discourage the creation and eliminate or reduce existing dead-end alleys, streets or other rights-of-way.  This request will not create a dead-end right-of-way.

4. To reduce or eliminate hazardous and dangerous traffic conditions.  Not applicable.

5. To protect all existing and proposed public utilities located in the right-of-way and to maintain necessary utility easements.  All City Departments and local utility providers were notified of the proposed alley vacation.  The following responses were received:
• Public Works Departments stated they have no utilities in the subject alleys and support the vacation requests; and
• Council Bluffs Water Works stated they have no utilities in the subject alleys; and
• Mid-American Energy Company stated they have no objection to the alley vacation request.

6. To maintain appropriate right-of-way width to ensure that an adequate pedestrian and vehicular circulation system is retained.  Not applicable.

7. To discourage the vacation of a portion of an existing alley, street or other right-of-way.  This request will result in the full vacation of the full north/south and east/west alleys in Block 5, Williams First Addition.

8. To assist in the implementation of the goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan.  The request is consistent with the local access and circulation objectives stated in Chapter 6, Transportation of the Bluffs Tomorrow:  2030 Plan (comprehensive plan).

9. To reduce the City’s maintenance liability on previously vacated right-of-way parcels from public improvement projects and various lots acquired through delinquent taxes or assessments.  Not applicable.

10. To establish an equitable price for surplus public property.  Abutting property owners may acquire a portion of the subject alley at no cost.  The following responses were received from abutting property owners:
• Blue Star Foods, owners of 1023 South 4th Street, stated they are in favor of the vacation and are willing to acquire the portion of alley that abuts their property at no charge.
• Conagra Foods Packaged Foods, owners of property legally described being the East 35 feet of Lots 1 through 3 and all of Lots 15 through 22, all in Block 5, Williams First Addition, stated they are in favor of the vacation and are willing to acquire the portion of alley that abuts their property at no charge.
• Conagra Inc., owners of property legally described as being the East 16.49 feet of Lot 9 and all of Lots 10 through 15, all in Block 5, Williams First Addition, stated they are in favor of the vacation and are willing to acquire the portion of alley that abuts their property at no charge.

Discussion

1. The subject alleys are unimproved and there are no known utilities located within them.  The alleys are not necessary for any required access to an abutting property.  The Community Development Department supports vacating and disposing of the subject alleys without easements to the abutting property owners.

2. The proposed rezoning request is consistent with the future land use plan of the Bluffs Tomorrow:   2030 (Comprehensive Plan); however the request allows for industrial zoning to encroach closer towards an established residential neighborhood along South 3rd Street and 9th Avenue.  Objective #14 in Chapter 4, Vision, Goals and Objectives, Industrial Areas of the Bluffs Tomorrow:  2030 Plan states the City should “mitigate the impacts of industrial uses on nearby neighborhoods, especially on 9th Avenue (between 28th Street and 3rd Street), 3rd Street (between 9th Avenue and 16th Avenue), and 8th Street/10th Street (between West Broadway and Mynster Springs Road), through the use of buffers, screening and other restrictions”.

The Community Development Departments recommends the City Council consider an unconventional approach to rezone the subject property in order to accommodate the needs the applicant while protecting the interests of the adjacent residential neighborhood.  One option is to “conditionally rezone” the subject property from R-3 District to I-2 District.  This approach allows the City Council to establish minimum landscaping, buffering and architectural standards for any new development that occur on the subject property in the adopted rezoning ordinance.

In 2010, the City Council approved Resolution No. 10-10 which provided Enterprise Zone benefits to the applicant for their “Clean In Place” sanitation system at their 1023 South 4th Street plant facility (see Attachment B).  Section 9.0 of said adopted resolution states “any and all Enterprise Zone benefits is contingent upon Conagra Foods Packaged Foods, LLC meeting all other City codes and ordinances, including but not limited to locally adopted Enterprise Zone requirements and the future installation of a brick and steel fence and landscaping along 9th Avenue from South 3rd Street to 4th Street, similar to what is on South Main Street.  This installation should occur within 12 months after ConAgra completes the acquisition of all of the homes along 9th Avenue”.  The Community Development Department recommends the above language be incorporated into the rezoning ordinance for this request in order to provide a buffer between the applicant’s food production facility and the adjacent residential areas along 9th Avenue and South 3rd Street.

On May 8, 2018, the applicant submitted a fencing/landscaping plan to the Community Development Department to address staff’s comments stated above (see Attachment G).  The proposed fencing/landscaping designs exceed the requirements stated in Section 9.0 of Resolution No. 10-10 and are intended to buffer the industrial use from the residential neighborhood along 9th Avenue and S. 3rd Street.  The Community Development Department recommends approval of the proposed designs and said plans should be incorporated into the ordinance to rezone the subject property from R-3 District to I-2 District. The Community Development Department also recommends that the rezoning become effective upon the construction and installation of the proposed fencing and landscaping. 

On May 10, 2018, the Community Development received a letter of support from Michael Alley, AIA, with Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture for Conagra’s proposed fencing/landscaping designs along 9th Avenue and S. 3rd Street.  This letter and associated attachments are included with this report as Attachment H.

The Community Development Department recommends the following:
• Approval to vacate and dispose of the north/south alley bisecting Lots 1 through 3, Block 5 along with the east/west alley adjoining the northeast 55 feet of Lot 4 and all of Lots 7 through 22, Block 5, all in Williams First Addition; and
• Approval to “conditionally rezone” the East 35 feet of Lots 1 through 3 and all of Lots 15 through 22, Block 5, all in Williams First Addition from R-3/Low Density Multi-Family Residential District to I-2/General Industrial District subject to the conditions stated in Section 9.0 of Resolution No. 10-10 and submittal of a landscaping plan that adequately buffers the applicant’s food production facility from the residential areas along 9th Avenue and South 3rd Street.

Public Hearing
Speakers in favor:
1.  Bob Griffin, Ehrhart Griffin and Associates, 142 West Broadway, Suite 136, Council Bluffs, IA  51503
2.  John Lewandowski, Conagra, 11 Conagra Drive, Omaha, NE  68102
Speakers against:
1.  Alicia Brady, 903 South 3rd Street, Council Bluffs, IA  51503
2.  Steve Gorman, 203 5th Avenue, Council Bluffs, IA 51503
3.  James Brady, 903 South 3rd Street, Council Bluffs, IA  51503
4.  Ann Walters, 220 5th Avenue, Council Bluffs, IA  51503
5.  Rita Dodge, 8 Grenville Court, Council Bluffs, IA  51503
6.  Evelyn Carlson, 328 9th Avenue, Council Bluffs, IA  51503
7.  Tallie Washburn, 439 Glen Avenue Council Bluffs, IA  51503
8.  Benjamin Washburn, 439 Glen Avenue, Council Bluffs, IA  51503

Planning Commission Recommendation
The Planning Commission recommends:
• Approval to vacate and dispose of the north/south alley bisecting Lots 1 through 3, Block 5 along with the east/west alley adjoining the northeast 55 feet of Lot 4 and all of Lots 7 through 22, Block 5, all in Williams First Addition; and
• Approval to “conditionally rezone” the East 35 feet of Lots 1 through 3 and all of Lots 15 through 22, Block 5, all in Williams First Addition from R-3/Low Density Multi-Family Residential District to I-2/General Industrial District subject to the conditions stated in Section 9.0 of Resolution No. 10-10 and submittal of a landscaping plan that adequately buffers the applicant’s food production facility from the residential areas along 9th Avenue and South 3rd Street.

VOTE:  AYE   8      NAY   0      ABSTAIN   0    ABSENT   1     VACANCY:  2     Motion:  Carried