The Osceola City Council approved 4-0 at their Nov. 14 meeting the setting of several public hearings for the Dec. 5 meeting; councilman Jose Vargas was absent. An additional public hearing was also set for Dec. 5 at the Nov. 21 meeting by a 5-0 vote.
The public hearings may not take place in the order in which they are listed here.
Parking
One public hearing will be for the proposed amendment to chapter 69, “Parking Regulations.” The proposed amendment will prohibit parking in the 300-block of S. Main St., in the area that is not currently marked as “no parking.”
City Administrator Ty Wheeler said that several public comments had been received about on-street parking in the area, which is currently allowed from the mid-block alley north to the First Christian Church on the west, and Kale Funeral Home on the east. The block south of that point is labeled as “no parking from here to corner” by the Iowa DOT (Department of Transportation). Wheeler said they had reached out to the DOT, who expressed no concern or support for establishing a “no parking” area in that block.
Staging for funeral processions is not perceived to be an issue, as that would be temporary parking.
Alley vacation
Another public hearing will be about a proposed vacation of the south half of the north/south alley in block five of the North Osceola Subdivision, in the 200-block of West Clay. The alley approach was affected by the sidewalk improvement project over the summer, which included a near-full street replacement in addition to the sidewalks. It was found that the approach was too steep with the appropriate ADA compliances, and the suggestion was made to close that section of alley and convey it to the two adjacent property owners.
Rezoning
Following the ongoing work of the Historic Preservation Commission to develop a zoning ordinance that pertained to the historic downtown district of Osceola to allow those properties to be re-zoned, a meeting was held with planning and zoning of a final plan, which is now ready for council approval.
This rezoning phase will take the commercial historic district and rezone it from B1 to B-1H. There are different guidelines of what is permitted to be built or used in that area. Other areas outside of the downtown area are also being rezoned as part of “housekeeping” efforts. Rezoning does not affect tax class, only the permitted use.
The following are the properties and their proposed zoning changes:
B-1 to B-1H:
101 W Washington 103 W Washington 113 W Washington
115 W Washington 117 W Washington 119 W Washington
121 W Washington 127 W Washington 129 W Washington
102 E Washington
131 W Washington 133 W Washington 100 S Fillmore
104 S Fillmore 110 W Fillmore 114 S Fillmore
118 S Fillmore 120 S Fillmore 124 S Fillmore
130 S Fillmore 200 W Jefferson 148 W Jefferson
144 W Jefferson 140 W Jefferson 136 W Jefferson
134 W Jefferson 130 ½ W Jefferson 128 W Jefferson
124 W Jefferson 122 W Jefferson 118 W Jefferson
116 W Jefferson 202 S Main 208 S Main
205 S Main 201 S Main 108 E Washington
147 S Main 143 S Main 139 S Main
127 S Main 123 S Main 119 S Main
117 S Main 115 S Main 113 S Main
109 S Main 100 S Main 101 S Main
111 E Washington 115 E Washington 101 N Main
115 N Main 117 N Main 123 N Main
From I-1 to R-1
Parcels 12240; 12241 (Osceola Ball Field Complex)
From I-2 to R-1
Parcels 11998, 01855 (Maple Hill Cemetery)
From B-2 to R-2
801 E McLane (Lauren’s Bark Park)
Parcel 13763 (E Lake Trail)
From R-3 to R-1
Parcels 12925, 11814 (Aquatic Center/Soccer Fields)
Parcels 11805, 11997 (Clarke Community School Secondary Campus)
From B-3 to R-1
Parcel 01798 (Marco Properties)
Parcel 13318 (Q Pond)
From Ag to R-1
Parcels 07111, 07112, 07113, 07114, 07103 (Marco Properties)
From Ag to B-3
Parcels 07102, 07107, 07106, 07109 (Marco Properties)
Revenue Loan
Another public hearing will be regarding a proposal for a sewer revenue loan. The city and Osceola Water Works are currently working with the DNR (Department of Natural Resources) on an effluent reuse project; the project is currently under review by the DNR. For funding, the city would like to use state and local recovery funds through the American Rescue Plan, which must be state revolving fund loan eligible. Once the project is greenlit by the DNR, it becomes eligible for those dollars.
Wheeler said that the city’s bond counselor recommended they set themselves up for a planning and design loan for flexibility in the interim while finding an engineer to build the recirculation project. It would be an interest-free loan that could be rolled into a future loan or retired, and will not exceed $1,000,000.
“The million dollars is a complete shot from the hip. I don’t know that it would take a million dollars for a design on this facility. But, we’re just kind of rounding up…if we need it, if it gets approved, it just gives us flexibility with this,” said Wheeler.
Sale of lots
The fifth public hearing that was approved 5-0 following closed session on Nov. 21 is about the proposed sale of city-owned lots, 123 S. Main St., to the Osceola Chamber-Main Street. The empty building is the former site of Robinson’s Department Store.
All public meetings are set for Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. in the City Hall council chambers. The public is invited to make comments at that time, or they may submit their comments to City Hall via phone or email. Copies of the public notices can be found in the Nov. 23 and 30 newspapers, as well as on the city’s website - www.osceolaia.net - or at City Hall.