The Ames City Council is holding a joint session with the Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday night, giving both groups a chance to hear the first report on the 13th Street Gateway Overlay District, which includes the site for the proposed new mall.

The report will include recommendations for landscaping, traffic, lighting, signage and building design.

The joint meeting will begin at 6 p.m. to accommodate the presentation from the steering committee.

The steering committee will only make recommendations, so public input will not be taken. After receiving the report, the council will refer the recommendations to city staff. Public input will be taken later, once the report is returned to the Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council for action.

Mayor Ted Tedesco said there has been a substantial decrease in public input since the steering committee was formed in July.

“They’ve been working through this committee process, which was the recommendation, and so then [the public will] be back in participation as it goes to Planning and Zoning and comes back to Council,” Tedesco said.

The regular council meeting will immediately follow the joint session, he said.

A request to approve program guidelines for the Housing for Sustainable Neighborhoods Inc. is also on the agenda for Tuesday night. Housing for Sustainable Neighborhoods is a non-profit organization that works to improve neighborhoods around the ISU campus.

The group is working to assist first-time home buyers in purchasing homes in the neighborhoods next to campus. Those areas include the State Avenue, Westside, Oakwood Forest and South Campus Neighborhoods.

According to a report submitted to the council, home buyers would receive financial assistance through the program. According to one clause, these houses could not become rentals for 20 years.

Kyle Krause, Government of the Student Body senator for Frederiksen Court, said he has expressed concern about the actions the group trying to pass through the council.

In a letter to City Council members, Krause wrote: “The goals HSNI are obviously anti-student since students are the primary renters of in the areas neighboring campus.

“The area south of campus is very desirable for student living due to its proximity to campus, wealth of businesses catering to student needs, and social atmosphere.

“This city needs to work for better student-community relations. Groups such as HSNI do not further this cause. I encourage you not to give support to such groups, and would be appalled if the city were to use taxpayer money to help support goals which are against the interests of half its population,” Krause wrote.

The Ames City Council will meet at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 515 Clark Ave.