1. business and industrial
2. construction

North Liberty
Planning
Commission
Meeting Information
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
6:30 PM
City Council Chambers
If you would like additional information, larger-scale
maps, or other information before the meeting,
please contact Dean Wheatley at 626-5747 or at
dwheatley@ci.north-liberty.ia.us
NORTH LIBERTY PLANNING COMMISSION
MEETING NOTICE AND AGENDA
Tuesday, April 7, 2015, 6:30 PM
1. ROLL CALL
2. AGENDA APPROVAL
3. PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA
4. REZONING: Request of Hodge Construction Company to approve a rezoning of:
• 15.09 acres, ID (Interim Development district) to RD-10 (Residential Duplex),
• .01 acres, RS-4 (Single-family Residential) to RD-10, and
• .16 acres, ID to RS-4,
For property located at the northwest corner of Jones Boulevard and Forevergreen Road.
a. Staff Presentation
b. Applicants Presentation
c. Public Comments
d. Questions and Comments
e. Recommendation to the City Council
5. APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES
6. OLD BUSINESS
7. NEW BUSINESS
8. ADJOURNMENT
Agenda version: 3/23/2015
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North Liberty
Planning Commission
April 2015
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2012 Aerial Photography
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Hodge Rezoning Request
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March 23, 2015
Memo
To: North Liberty Planning Commission
From: Dean Wheatley, Planning Director
Subject: Request of Hodge Construction Company to approve a rezoning of:
15.09 acres, ID (Interim Development district) to RD-10 (Residential Duplex),
.01 acres, RS-4 (Single-family Residential) to RD-10, and
.16 acres, ID to RS-4,
for property owned by Carolyn Matousek and David Smigel, generally located at the northwest corner of
Jones Boulevard and Forevergreen Road.
(Legal: Smigel First Addition)
Your North Liberty city staff has reviewed the subject submission, and offer comments presented in this
memo. The staff review team includes the following personnel:
Ryan Heiar, City Administrator
Tracey Mulcahey, Assistant City Administrator
Tom Palmer, City Building Official
Scott Peterson, City Attorney
Kevin Trom, City Engineer
Dean Wheatley, Planning Director
Background and Statistics
This request is to rezone property to permit the development of duplex lots. A Good Neighbor meeting
was held on February 24 to allow any interested party an opportunity to comment on this rezoning prior
to submission. About 12 residents as well as the applicant's agent Kevin Digman and engineer Paul
Anderson (MMS) attended the meeting. Most residents were opposed to duplex zoning based on concerns
that a precedent of duplex zoning would be set for the area as it develops further, and that the units have a
potential to become rentals and run down. The owner who lives immediately west of the proposal is very
concerned that she would now have 7 families' back yards along the side of her large rural lot. Two of the
attendees voiced support for the potential application. As can be seen on the zoning map inset, zoning
surrounding and in the vicinity of the site includes ID, RS-4, RM-12, and C-1-B. Both Jones Boulevard
and Forevergreen Road are major arterials in the major street system. Development of this site will
require payment to the City of substantial fees for sanitary sewer and roadway improvements, totaling
$750 per acre for the West Trunk Sewer fee, $127 per foot for Jones Boulevard improvements, and $158
per foot for Forevergreen Road improvements.
The property is shown as
“residential” on the Land Use
Plan, and so the request is
consistent with that policy.
Under the proposed concept
plan, 26 duplex lots would be
created around two short culde-sac streets, which would
permit the construction of 52
housing units. One existing
single-family home would
remain, with access provided
over a new street. Currently
there is only substandard
access to this lot through the
farmyard of the larger lot.
Existing housing unit counts
within North Liberty are
approximately:
Single-family: 2,738 (37.6%)
Multi-family: 2,536 (34.8%)
Duplex: 1,271 (17.4%)
Res/Commercial: 213 (3%)
Mobile Home: 531(7.3%)
The RD-10 zone requested permits the lot for each unit to be as small as 4,500 square feet in size. The
only other duplex zone, RD-8, requires not less than 5,000 square feet per lot.
Subdivision Ordinance Provisions Affecting This Development
The owner will need to ensure that required setbacks are met in establishing new lot lines, which should
not be difficult. Proposed corner lots are larger than others, as recommended by the City to provide
somewhat larger yards. Storm water management is proposed to be created at the southeast corner of the
site, the most logical location. As stated earlier, there will be substantial development fees associated with
this development, for sanitary sewer connections and for roadway improvements.
Zoning Ordinance Provisions Affecting This Development
No Zoning Ordinance provisions are out of the ordinary.
Staff Comments Regarding the Proposed Zoning
Storm water impacts. Storm water from this site will need to be managed on the site with detention
and/or retention. Ponds are shown on the concept plan.
Street/Traffic impacts. Both Jones Boulevard and Forevergreen Road are classified as arterial streets.
Jones Boulevard was recently upgraded and Forevergreen Road will likely be improved within the next
several years. Locations proposed for the intersections with internal roadways are appropriate for
development.
Land use impacts and adjacent properties. The general location of higher-density zoning is consistent
with the City’s policy of establishing higher density near the major arterial streets, especially near their
intersections. Other large-lot single-family property owners in the vicinity are concerned about precedentsetting, but realistically this general area near the intersection is logically best-suited for higher density
development, with a transition to single-family moving away from the intersection. The question might be
at what point should that transition take place? Should it be within this property, at its border, or beyond?
Land use and zoning recommendation. In rezoning considerations, suitability and compatibility are
key issues in addition to land use policy. In this case, the site is physically suitable for the development
proposed, and duplex development proposed is almost always considered compatible with single-family
development; however, the neighbor immediately west of the site makes a good case that her existing
one-acre lot would be in the back yards of seven families based on the concept plan presented and there
seems to be no good alternatives to the layout proposed. While normally large-lot property owners at the
edge of a growing city should not expect the city to force new development to match theirs, this
privacy/yard issue merits special consideration because of the number of potential units. The general
concern expressed by neighbors that duplexes here might be rentals and not well-kept is not fact-based or
quantifiable.
Staff recommends approval of the rezoning request subject to the following:
1. That the southwestern-most lots are configured to maximize their depth by moving the street as far
east as possible at the time of platting. This can be made more feasible by extending the lots east of
the street closer to the proposed private storm water feature. In addition, a substantial landscape
buffer and/or wall shall be designed, approved by the City as part of the plat, and established prior to
issuance of building permits for lots adjacent to existing lot 6, Chipmans Third Subdivision. This
buffer should be designed to achieve a mostly uniform height and density of 5’-6’ within 5 years of
planting.
2. That a substantial landscape buffer is designed, approved by the City as part of the plat, and
established prior to issuance of building permits for the areas between Jones Boulevard and concept
lots 8-13, 20-22, and 27 to provide enhanced privacy for those lots. This buffer should be designed to
achieve a varying height and density with trees and shrubs to provide not a solid wall but a substantial
screen/landscape area within 5 years of planting.
3. That the landscape areas are identified on the final plat with a note indicating that ongoing
maintenance is required, by the owners of the westerly lots and by the association for the Jones
Boulevard frontage.
4. That a note limiting the building heights on lots 1 and 2, backing up to existing lot 6, Chipmans Third
Addition be included on the plat, to ranch-style homes.
Concept,
for
reference
only.
Planning Commission
Minutes
February 3, 2015
Roll Call
At 6:30 p.m., Detlefsen called the February 3, 2015 North Liberty Planning Commission to
order. Commission members present: Bleil, Heisler, Sayre, Covert, Pentecost, Gebhart,
Detlefsen.
Others present: Dean Wheatley, Kevin Trom, Scott Peterson, Ryan Heiar, David Dude, Kelly
Beckler, Vitus Bering, Annie Sexton and other interested parties.
Agenda Approval
Covert moved, Bleil seconded to approve the agenda. The vote was all ayes. The agenda
was approved.
Public Comment on Items not on the Agenda
No public comment was offered.
Liberty High School Site Plan
Staff Presentation
Wheatley presented the request of Scanlon Family Farms LC / Iowa City Community School
District to approve a site plan for the new high school at the northeast corner of Dubuque
Street and North Liberty Road. The school will be a phased project. Phase 1 will be the
building and Phase 2 will be the athletic complex and accessory buildings. Staff
recommends approval with notes.
Applicants Presentation
Vitus Bering, SVPA Architects, presented detailed information on the high school facility,
building and grounds. The first phase is designed to accommodate 1,000 students with
expansion capacity to 1,500 students. Kelly Beckler, MMS Consultants presented
information regarding the site plan. The Commission discussed the plan with the
consultants including the traffic study, parking, road improvements, expansion, trails, and
traffic issues during special events.
Public Comments
No public comments were offered.
City of North Liberty – 2015
Page: 1
Questions and Comments from the Commission
The Commission discussed the application with the applicant’s consultants. David Dude
from the Iowa City Community School District offered to answer questions regarding the
project.
Recommendation to the City Council
Covert moved to recommend approval to the City Council with the following notes:
• A Site Plan Agreement is being developed for execution by the school district and
approval by City Council with site plan approval.
• An agreement between the district and the City establishing fees for hookups and
roadway improvements, as well as other associated issues, will be required prior to
issuance of a building permit.
• Actual fire lane markings and signs will be determined by the fire department and
school officials at a future time.
• Zoning Ordinance lighting requirements must be met or a variance obtained prior to
installation of field lighting that results in more than one foot candle of light at the
property boundary.
Bleil seconded. The vote was: ayes – Pentecost, Covert, Bleil, Gebhart, Heisler, Detlefsen,
Sayre; nays – none. Motion carried.
Approval of previous minutes
Covert moved, Sayre seconded to approve the minutes from the January 6, 2015 Planning
Commission meeting. The vote was all ayes. Minutes approved.
Old Business
Wheatley reported that the Keystone Place at Forevergreen project is out to bid.
New Business
Wheatley reported that the one case next month is the preliminary plat right across the
road from the high school development.
Election of officers
Sayre nominated Detlefsen for Chair, Heisler seconded. The vote was all ayes. Motion
approved. Detlefsen nominated Sayre for Vice Chair, Covert seconded. The vote was all
ayes. Motion approved.
Adjournment
At 7:15 p.m., Bleil moved, Gebhart seconded to adjourn. All ayes. Meeting adjourned.
City of North Liberty – 2015
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