Iowa City staff recommends approval of Newport Road rezoning

IOWA CITY — A rezoning request for a portion of Newport Road that is located in the Iowa City and Johnson County fringe area has received a recommended approval from city staff.

The commission discussed briefly during Monday's informal meeting a recommendation from city staff to send a letter to the Johnson County Planning and Zoning Commission indicating that the rezoning is consistent with the fringe area agreement between the county and city. More in depth discussion on the rezoning will take place at the commission's Thursday meeting.

The property is located within the established fringe area A, which is the only Iowa City fringe area that does not discourage residential growth, said Iowa City Senior Planner Robert Miklo.

'This area is identified as appropriate for suburban, residential type development,' Miklo said.

Officials with MMS Consultants, who are working with property owners Nicholas and M. Kay Colangelo on the rezoning request, have said there are no immediate plans to develop on the site.

The county's planning and zoning commission, which deferred on voting on the rezoning request earlier this month, will discuss the matter further on June 8.

The application for rezoning, filed last month for roughly 28 acres of land at 3022 Newport Road, indicates that the request is to split the Colangelos' property into one lot for the existing home and buildings and a subdivision for potential future development.

As that site, which is located near Newport Road's intersection with Toad Road, falls under the Johnson County/Iowa City Fringe Area Agreement, the city is allowed review of the rezoning.

Subdivisions of fewer than three lots are not subject to city review so the Planning and Zoning Commission only discussed the actual rezoning request and not the proposed subdivision.

Much of the site is woodland and not suitable for crops, according to a staff report on the property.

Last month, the Johnson County Board of Supervisors approved 4-1 — with Supervisor Mike Carberry opposed — the third and final reading to rezone 14.3 acres at 2620 Newport Road from agricultural to residential, amid concerns of urban sprawl and lost farmland raised by a handful of residents.