The City of Iowa City chose to move forward with the hotly contested rezoning to make way for a pair of new apartment buildings in the Northside neighborhood.
The city council voted 6-1 to convert a portion of land sandwiched between Governor Street and North Dodge Street. The council had twice previously delayed a vote, but moved forward during their regular meeting Tuesday, May 6.
The land in question − 5.5 acres in the 900 block of North Dodge and North Governor Street − is currently zoned for several single- and multi-family homes. Under the proposed rezoning, a vast majority of the land would be zoned as medium-density multi-family residential. The rezoning would make way for a pair of 42-unit, multi-family apartment buildings developed by TSB Holdings, LLC, a company owned and operated by Tracy Barkalow.
Barkalow and TSB Holdings, LLC, have owned the property for more than a decade, stewarding it through two legal battles with the city. He even drafted a proposal and a few days before the May 6 vote, suggesting the city purchase the land at a “fair market rate.”
Barkalow, the owner of TSB Holdings, attached an online listing to the correspondence to the city that lists 902-906 Dodge Street, an apartment complex on the west side of the property, for $9 million.
The city did not address Barkalow’s proposal during their meeting.
Before the rezoning takes effect, a six-member supermajority of the council must again vote to approve it at its subsequent two meetings. The third and final vote is scheduled for the June 3 council meeting.
Iowa City city councilor Mazahir Salih was the lone “no” vote on May 6. The council needed a supermajority to pass the zoning change because at least 25 area residents signed and delivered protest petitions to the city in April.
Council, staff did not discuss sale offer
Iowa City Planning and Zoning vice chair Susan Craig and a public commenter each made passing mentions of Barkalow’s proposal, but the council and staff did not at any point throughout their work session or formal meeting discussions.
The council did hold a special, closed formal meeting before the council’s work session, usually reserved for internal personnel discussions or, discussions about the purchase or sale of real estate.
For real estate purchases, private discussions are held “where premature disclosure could be reasonably expected to increase the price” of a property desired by the city, according to the agenda. This message is displayed in all instances involving closed real estate discussions.
The Press-Citizen could not confirm whether the closed session was to discuss Barkalow’s proposal.
Sidewalks, trails and traffic raise concerns
Several councilors were concerned about several small portions of Barkalow’s apartment project. Councilors were largely not able to make broad changes to the “conditional zoning agreement,” an already-signed document that outlines specific requirements.
Namely, they wanted to discuss a potential new “sidewalk to nowhere.” They said the proposed sidewalk does not connect to an already built sidewalk, but would be on a public right-of-way owned by the city.
The councilors asked staff to consider developing another sidewalk on city-owned property so the path leads somewhere, possibly to the nearby Happy Hollow Park to the south.
Discussions also included conversations about traffic along Governor Street and a new trail from Happy Hollow tto the property.
Planning & Zoning emphasizes affordable housing need
During a consultation with the Planning & Zoning Commission before the formal meeting on May 6, the seven-member board emphasized the need for housing in Iowa City.
The board voted 6-1 to approve the rezoning, passing it to the council. Commissioner Billie Townsend was the lone “no” vote and said, as a Northside Neighborhood resident, traffic already frequently “goes the wrong way” along Governor and North Dodge Streets.
She is concerned with driver and pedestrian safety. Later, the council expressed an interest in ensuring that any new traffic is directed to correctly use the northbound one-way Governor Street.
Planning and Zoning Chair Michael Hensch, a nearly 10-year commission veteran, said projects should expect some “predictability” of passage when they come to the council because he said developers make sure to follow the city’s rules when creating the projects.
“I’m not sure how, by turning down the opportunity to add to the housing supply, we are addressing the affordability of housing in Iowa City,” Hensch said. “Certainly, it’s multi-pronged, but every chance we have to add to supply for a good project, we should really endorse that and jump on that.”
The council will address the zoning again during their next meeting on May 20.
Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.
This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Council moves forward with Governor Street rezoning, does not address Barkalow’s sale offer
Reporting by Ryan Hansen, Iowa City Press-Citizen / Iowa City Press-Citizen
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