Highlights from the Ames City Council: ADUs versus Air B&Bs and junked vehicles

Home shares, junked vehicles and flooring options for the new aquatic center were a few of the most pressing issues at the latest Ames City Council meeting on Dec. 19.

Here's what you may have missed:

Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance moves forward

The second reading for an ordinance allowing Accessory Dwelling Units in residential neighborhoods was passed while the council considered a 30-day parking limit on out-of-service vehicles.

The first reading of the ADU code was passed during the council's last meeting on Dec. 12. A third approval is needed for the code to become active.

The city hopes loosened secondary unit restrictions will expand Ames's housing opportunities.

More: Ames school board awards nearly $6 million in contract bids for AMES Center

ADUs vs. Airbnbs

The council addressed short-term rentals like Airbnb and whether they are acceptable under the ADU code.

According to Ames Planning and Housing Director Kelly Diekmann, an Airbnb would be classified as a "home share." He said the primary residence could still be used as a home share if the ADU is licensed as a rental.

A home share must be the primary residence, and it can be used for up to 90 days a year. Diekmann said residence should not be confused with presence, meaning the owner does not have to physically be at the property for all 90 days.

"It has to be their primary residence, they don't have to be present all the time," Diekmann said. "I can go on vacation for 60 days and I'm not there, but it's my primary residence."

The proposed standards for ADUs would restrict the secondary structures to one bedroom and a maximum of 900 square feet in addition to a single required parking space. The ordinance would also require a paved driveway and a sidewalk connected to the parking space.

Ward 2 City Councilman Tim Gartin favored giving the ADU ordinance a try, and the council could always revisit it if problems present themselves. Based on data received from other cities, he wasn't concerned there would be rental problems.

"We have data from Cedar Rapids and Des Moines who have had this for a while, and there aren't a ton of them being built," Gartin said. "I'm not losing sleep that the sky is falling on this. We'll try it out and see how it works."

More: Ames City Council considers letting homeowners build 900 square foot secondary units

New vehicle parking ordinance

The council also addressed an initiative to resolve inconsistencies with dismantled or inoperable vehicle storage. They are considering an amendment to a zoning ordinance to allow only one "junked" vehicle to be "kept" for a maximum of 30 days.

A junked vehicle is never considered "parked"; instead, it is counted as storage. Current city code defines storage "as keeping of a vehicle for over 72 hours."

More: Ames school board awards nearly $6 million in contract bids for AMES Center

The new ordinance would limit property owners to a single "junked" vehicle that can be stored in a paved parking space for no more than 30 days. The current code does not specify how many "junked" cars are allowed to be kept on private property.

"It's going to have to be on a paved surface, it won't be able to just be on your backyard on the grass," Diekmann said. "Whether it's there for 30 days or not, we can't use a required parking space for it."

The city defines "keeping" a vehicle for residential use as "parking and permissible, and is not storage."

The first reading of the proposed ordinance was passed by the council on Tuesday.

Diekmann said the ordinance was drafted because the inoperable vehicles are "considered unsightly" and are not a "traditional residential use of property."

More: Ames council upholds decision to demolish downtown brick pillars

Alternative added to aquatic center bid

The council approved plans to build an indoor aquatic center in the city of Ames in November. Construction for the Fitch Family Aquatic Center is estimated to cost $20.5 million, and the total project cost is estimated to be about $32.1 million.

Plans for the almost 39,000-square-foot recreation and wellness facility include a water slide, three different pool areas and a lazy river. The designs were made with RDG Planning and Design.

Flooring for the facility's walking area and multi-purpose room was not included in the original design. The city eventually determined the best option was Taraflex flooring, a product commonly used for sports and multi-purpose flooring.

The flooring has a lifespan of 20 years and is estimated to cost almost $13 per square foot to install, which would add roughly $52,000 to construction costs. The city recently installed Taraflex flooring into its arboretum floor, which cost $25 per square foot.

Brad Rodenburg, project manager for RDG, suggested the price difference could be due to the size difference. The room in the arboretum where the Taraflex flooring was added is 1,500 feet, while the aquatic center space will be just over 4,000.

"The room that was $25 a square foot was quite smaller than the walking area," Rodenburg said. "Just to show up on site mobilized there's a fixed cost, and if you can spread that out over a large area the cost goes down. Also, this project was to an existing building to a new building, so there's probably something that plays into that as well."

The city added the flooring option as an additional bid alternate to the indoor aquatic center. Bids are expected to come in on Jan. 11.

More: $32 million aquatic center moves one step closer to reality with state grant

Celia Brocker is a government, crime, political and education reporter for the Ames Tribune. She can be reached at CBrocker@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Three takeaways from the latest Ames City Council meeting