The City Council commission charged with making Campustown more aesthetically pleasing is at an impasse – it cannot find a way to satisfy developers, residents and designers all at the same time.

At the Oct. 25 City Council meeting, the commission could not agree on a suitable set of regulations on what Campustown buildings can look like, but decided it would continue to meet until it reached its goal.

The new buildings in Campustown that received the most concern from the commission were Cyclone Plaza and Legacy Tower, both owned by Ev Cochrane and Associates. The commission said the heights of the buildings are unacceptable.

Building heights weren’t the only concern the commission had.

The current system of tax incentives for building a brick structure has worked well so far, said Russ McCullough, chief economist at Ev Cochrane and Associates. But McCullough cautioned against the commission’s consideration of buildings being required to be made of brick. A regulation requiring buildings to be brick would not be a good idea, he said, because it can cost up to 10 times what siding materials cost.

“I really think it would add unnecessary cost for developers and ultimately lead to higher building costs and higher rents in Campustown,” McCullough said.

Another issue brought up at the council’s roundtable discussion dealt with the issue of open public space requirements for new building lots.

“If we’re required to provide 15 percent open space, it makes building parking structures very difficult,” McCullough said. “Providing efficient parking, especially in Campustown, is very important.”

Past development issues outside Campustown have come under criticism from some who say the city is attempting to over-regulate development.

“I think the commission is there to make some consistency in the area,” said Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco. “I think, though, we have to be careful not to become over-regulated. That would cause the community to become sterile looking. If you look at the variety we have in Campustown now, I think that really adds to the area.”

McCullough said he felt less government regulation was better.

“It is hard to generalize, but I think the private sector has done a good job with the area thus far,” he said.

Some Ames development firms have avoided the area because of cost issues and lack of available land.

“We did some cost projections for building a structure in the Campustown area, regardless of any of the new regulations. It was simply too costly for us,” said Chuck Winkleblack, vice president of Hunziker and Associates. “We don’t hold any of the land there and the people that do are also developers and are not willing to sell.”

John Lott of Benjamin Design Collaborative said there were no incentives with the proposed regulations to build a good-looking building any more than there were to build a bad-looking one.

“So much of the answer to what a building should look like depends on the time frame developers are looking at to turn a profit,” said Bruce Bassler, associate professor of architecture at Iowa State.

Bassler said if developers are looking for a quick return on their investment they are less likely to invest a large amount in both design and construction.

“We’re in a market-driven economy,” he said.

“Developers have experience in this market and understand what is going to give them the best return on their investment. They should consider, though, that what is best for the community is best for them and what is best for the community is good design.”

Bassler said he always tells his students good design does not have to cost more than bad design.

“You may have to be more creative about it, and good, creative design generally takes more time to do, and if it takes more time, designers are going to charge more,” he said. “But the actual construction does not have to cost any more.”

Bassler said in his experience, good design usually pays for itself.

“People are willing to pay more to live in more efficient units that look better,” he said. “Developers need to look at the true value of design rather than looking only at the initial costs.”