A design firm has crafted a plan that could make suburban Clive more urban.
At its Thursday meeting, the Clive City Council unanimously approved a contract for $33,900 with Reynolds Urban Design to draft plans for a high-density residential, commercial and civic corridor in the area around Northwest 114th Street, between Hickman Road and University Avenue.
“I do think it’s a terrific and unique opportunity to be able to leverage the land that’s available,” said Dennis Reynolds, a Des Moines-based urban designer, on Friday. The Reynolds firm previously worked to develop the Village of Ponderosa in West Des Moines.
The council’s vote allows Reynolds to move forward with the Clive Town Center Vision Plan. The plan includes six parts.
The first step includes evaluating proposals for market analysis. Reynolds said he would be speaking with development firms about how their business plans might match up with Clive’s proposed town center.
Last September, the Clive City Council approved a 15-year strategic plan that calls for making the area near the aquatic center, library and city administrative offices into the town center.
Tentative plans for a new public safety complex and city hall are already in the works.
Hiring the urban design firm to do a market analysis was a good idea, Mayor Scott Cirksena said during Thursday’s meeting.
The possibility of having higher-density living might be a positive thing for the city as it tries to provide different housing options for people, he said.
Clive faces growth challenges because it is bounded by Urbandale, Waukee, Windsor Heights and West Des Moines. “The rest of our growth, primarily, is in single-family residential homes,” Cirksena said.
Reynolds said his firm would focus on creating realistic sketches and finding developers that might have an interest in bringing apartments to the area between University Avenue and Hickman Road. “Certainly, the emphasis is going to be on residential,” Reynolds said.
Assistant City Manager Matt McQuillen said the plan might help city officials better define what they want to build in the area around the town center.
“If the urban concept works, that’s going to help drive the other conversation we want to have related to facilities, because that drives how we are going to design our own facilities in that area,” he said.
The last step of the design firm’s process, labeled Share the Vision, calls for a City Council workshop to be held sometime between April 29 and May 15. At this point, the design firm will provide information about short-term and long-term public-private partnerships.
Councilman Eric Klein supported the proposal and said it was a good idea to look into public-private partnerships.
Councilman Michael McCoy said he, too, was enthusiastic about the plan. But McCoy said he would want to meet with stakeholders around the town center. “It doesn’t mean that we are going that direction or are not going that direction,” he said.
In other action, the council unanimously approved a legal services fee schedule with Nyemaster Goode law firm, which acts as the city’s attorney. It keeps the same retainer rate of $550 per month.
The council also approved a pay raise of $120 per week for interim library director Nicole Morgan. Former library director Vicki Hibbert retired earlier this month, and Morgan has taken on additional duties. In a memo to the council, City Manager Dennis Henderson said this will allow him to assess the library’s staffing needs.
The council also approved the appointment of Edie Bogaczyk to the library board and Jerry Fleagle to the parks and recreation board. Fleagle applied to fill the council seat filled by McCoy.
At its Thursday meeting, the Clive City Council unanimously approved a contract for $33,900 with Reynolds Urban Design to draft plans for a high-density residential, commercial and civic corridor in the area around Northwest 114th Street, between Hickman Road and University Avenue.
“I do think it’s a terrific and unique opportunity to be able to leverage the land that’s available,” said Dennis Reynolds, a Des Moines-based urban designer, on Friday. The Reynolds firm previously worked to develop the Village of Ponderosa in West Des Moines.
The council’s vote allows Reynolds to move forward with the Clive Town Center Vision Plan. The plan includes six parts.
The first step includes evaluating proposals for market analysis. Reynolds said he would be speaking with development firms about how their business plans might match up with Clive’s proposed town center.
Last September, the Clive City Council approved a 15-year strategic plan that calls for making the area near the aquatic center, library and city administrative offices into the town center.
Tentative plans for a new public safety complex and city hall are already in the works.
Hiring the urban design firm to do a market analysis was a good idea, Mayor Scott Cirksena said during Thursday’s meeting.
The possibility of having higher-density living might be a positive thing for the city as it tries to provide different housing options for people, he said.
Clive faces growth challenges because it is bounded by Urbandale, Waukee, Windsor Heights and West Des Moines. “The rest of our growth, primarily, is in single-family residential homes,” Cirksena said.
Reynolds said his firm would focus on creating realistic sketches and finding developers that might have an interest in bringing apartments to the area between University Avenue and Hickman Road. “Certainly, the emphasis is going to be on residential,” Reynolds said.
Assistant City Manager Matt McQuillen said the plan might help city officials better define what they want to build in the area around the town center.
“If the urban concept works, that’s going to help drive the other conversation we want to have related to facilities, because that drives how we are going to design our own facilities in that area,” he said.
The last step of the design firm’s process, labeled Share the Vision, calls for a City Council workshop to be held sometime between April 29 and May 15. At this point, the design firm will provide information about short-term and long-term public-private partnerships.
Councilman Eric Klein supported the proposal and said it was a good idea to look into public-private partnerships.
Councilman Michael McCoy said he, too, was enthusiastic about the plan. But McCoy said he would want to meet with stakeholders around the town center. “It doesn’t mean that we are going that direction or are not going that direction,” he said.
In other action, the council unanimously approved a legal services fee schedule with Nyemaster Goode law firm, which acts as the city’s attorney. It keeps the same retainer rate of $550 per month.
The council also approved a pay raise of $120 per week for interim library director Nicole Morgan. Former library director Vicki Hibbert retired earlier this month, and Morgan has taken on additional duties. In a memo to the council, City Manager Dennis Henderson said this will allow him to assess the library’s staffing needs.
The council also approved the appointment of Edie Bogaczyk to the library board and Jerry Fleagle to the parks and recreation board. Fleagle applied to fill the council seat filled by McCoy.
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