If nearly 300 planned new housing units are built in the Wilson Estates and Lynx 2 developments in Webster City, it’s certain “they” will come.

In this case, “they” are cars and more traffic, the inevitable result of a growth in population. The City Council of Webster City voted unanimously Monday to update the city’s parking regulations to begin planning for that expected growth.

The regulations, which will apply only to new construction and changes or improvement to existing parking, were reviewed and approved by the Planning & Zoning Commission, which recommended the Council adopt them. The measure will now be subject to a first reading at a public hearing set for 6:05 pm July 7 at City Hall.

Chapter 50, section 50-184 sets forth conditions which require off-street parking. It mandates that all off-street parking must be paved with Portland Cement Concrete (PCC), bituminous concrete, asphalt (HMA), or a combination of these. This in itself is not new.

The revised code then delineates off-street parking requirements for one- or two-family homes: two parking spaces for each unit. Multiple unit residential buildings must also provide two off-street parking spaces for each unit. It further stipulates the parking “shall not be located in the front yard.”

Finally, the proposed new code lists off-street parking that must be supplied for 28 further classes of buildings and businesses as diverse as automatic car washes (three spaces per bay); warehouses or factories (one space for each two employees on the largest working shift, plus extra room for trucks and other vehicles); retail stores (one space per each 200 square feet of floor space); and hospitals (one space for each four beds plus one space for each two employees).

Paved parking is superior to unpaved for improved drainage, reduced dust and mud, improved appearance, ease of maintenance, and to prevent toxic liquids from draining from engines and radiators into groundwater.

The need for adequate off-street parking exists in every city. Look at almost any street in town and you’ll quickly discover on-street parking is already heavy in many neighborhoods. Statistics tell part of the story. In 1960, at the peak of the booming postwar U.S. economy, 22% of American households didn’t own automobiles. Today that’s below 10%. In 2023, Iowa’s population was 2.3 million. In the same year, 3.7 million vehicles were registered in the state, more than one per person. All those vehicles have to be parked someplace.

Recreational vehicles, trucks for farm work, pick-ups or big SUVs to pull boats or camping trailers, older cars, trucks or tractors, kept for sentimental value, or restoration: they all must be stored somewhere when not in use. Since nearly all Americans feel the street space in front of their homes is “theirs” (in reality, its public property), neighborhoods fill up quickly.

In a related matter, the Council approved setting a public hearing, also for July 7, for the first hearing of a proposal that would change article VII of the Code of the City of Webster City, rules for controlling access to city streets. As with the Chapter 50 changes, above, there’s no history of recent City Council action to change provisions of Article VII.

As stated in the agenda statement from Community Development Director Ariel Bertran, “Article VII of the City Code, related to Controlled Access Facilities, governs access limitations along designated corridors in the city. As development patterns and transportation priorities evolve, an update to this section of the Code is necessary to ensure alignment with current planning practices, infrastructure goals, and safety standards.”

The policy contains numerous references to “entrances,” what many would call “driveways.”

A section of the proposed code revision pertains specifically to industrial or commercial property, a major concern as Webster City develops and certifies its 600-acre industrial park.

It reads as follows: “For commercial-zoned and industrial-zoned districts, all entrances shall be in accordance with Iowa Statewide Urban Design and Specifications requirements and shall at all times be constructed of approved paving.”

In this clause, reference is made to the Iowa Statewide Urban Design and Specifications (SUDAS), a compendium of best practices put together by the City of Des Moines and Snyder & Associates. It’s used by many Iowa cities.

Webster City has presently adopted and uses the 2022 version of SUDAS, but according to Bertran: “We may look at adopting the 2024 version soon.”

SUDAS has been shown to reduce errors in construction, reduce materials cost, and speed up completion of projects. Importantly, it ensures design and construction in Webster City is aligned with that of Ames, Boone and Nevada, the principal cities in the Ames Regional Economic Alliance, of which Webster City is now a part.

“These changes are part of a necessary code clean-up and clarification effort,” Bertan said. “Over the past year, we’ve encountered several situations where the existing code was ambiguous or difficult to interpret consistently, particularly regarding access points for residential, commercial, and industrial properties. These revisions aim to clarify intent, streamline the permitting process, and improve consistency in enforcement.”