Cedar Rapids City Council tables Country Club’s request for tennis court inflatable bubble

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Cedar Rapids City Council tabled a vote Tuesday on allowing an expansion project at the Cedar Rapids Country Club, an issue reviving questions about whether some council members should recuse themselves because of ties to the club.

A proposal for a new indoor tennis facility at the club got the green light last year, but has since been modified to be an outdoor complex. The Country Club is looking to amend conditions of the zoning after deciding it was not feasible to build a permanent building now. It is seeking permission to instead use a temporary, inflatable “bubble” to be used seasonally.

Lydia Brown, speaking on behalf of the Country Club’s board, said the over 200 employees and more than 200 families who use the facility depend on the club’s ability to meet their needs with this expansion project.

“A place like the Cedar Rapids Country Club is critical as we bring in companies to look at this community as a vibrant, best-in-class facility available in Cedar Rapids, Iowa,” Brown said.

The project had to return to the City Planning Commission and the council because of the proposed change in structure. The rezoning, approved in 2022 as a public institutional use, came with specific conditions.

The planning commission, in a 3-3 tie vote last month, recommended denying the changes needed for the facility, 520 27th St. Dr. SE. The recommendation is now before the City Council.

The temporary structure would be opaque and no more than 40 feet in height, or allowed to be seen 30 feet above the street level. Its use would be limited to 180 days a year, from Oct. 15 to April 30. Beyond that time, use would require city approval. Mechanical equipment would have to be located away from neighbors, as the structure requires a fan to remain inflated.

Conditions that remain from the previous zoning approval require screening along the club’s west property line and the parking area to curb light pollution. Motion-based lighting would be used at night.

A petition signed by area residents garnered 58 signatures in opposition to the project.

Resident Mary Tresnak said she wouldn’t object to outdoor tennis courts but did not favor the bubble, which she said did not fit with the neighborhood’s character.

“Would you want this bubble in your neighborhood?” she asked the council.

Todd Barker, a longtime member of the club and resident of the Country Club Heights neighborhood, said people “overwhelmingly” support the project.

Most of the vocal objectors “will not see this in their day-to-day lives unless they go onto the property or are specifically seeking it out,” Barker said.

When the nine-member council considered the project last year, four had to recuse from voting because of conflicts of interest.

This year, council member Marty Hoeger said he is recusing himself because his company is supplying construction materials to the Country Club. He also is a club member, which he had not shared publicly when the project initially came before the council, but he already recused last year because of the financial conflict.

Council member Ann Poe, who lives near the site, said she is recusing herself because of the impact the project may have on her property values. She consulted with the city attorney who advised her to recuse herself.

Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell and council member Tyler Olson, both club members, sought an opinion from the city Board of Ethics to determine whether they should vote before considering the project in 2022.

But since then, through the once-a-decade process of reviewing the city charter that outlines the city’s council-manager form of government, the council narrowed ethics rules to limit a conflict of interest to financial ones. The policy bars elected officials from voting on a matter where they may face personal financial gains or losses.

Resident TL Thousand, who lives in the neighborhood and is opposed to the project, spoke at the meeting Tuesday and filed a letter with the city clerk asking O’Donnell to recuse herself because many of her 2021 mayoral campaign contributions came from club members.

“Logically, any vote you cast in favor of CRCC’s request is either quid pro quo or will directly benefit you financially in any of your future fundraising endeavors,” Thousand wrote in the July 6 letter.

The Gazette examined the club’s 2023 membership directory and compared it to O’Donnell’s campaign records, as reported to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, and found — at least — approximately 48 percent of her $212,839.92 in campaign contributions came from club members.

“There's no scenario where either I or anyone in my family will directly benefit,” O’Donnell said. “I have been a member of this country club since 2001. When I took this job, I knew it wasn't going to be just about ribbon cuttings and parades. You expect me to take a vote on this and I will be voting on this.”

She and Tyler Olson consulted with the city attorney when deciding to vote this year.

Council member Scott Olson was absent Tuesday, meaning it’s possible the council would have had a split 3-3 vote, which would have counted as a vote against rezoning.

Council member Dale Todd said he would support the project.

“I don't play tennis,” Todd said. “I don’t go to the club and I don't play pickleball. … I believe in the ability of an entity to at least maintain some semblance of property rights in terms of their self-determination.”

Council members Scott Overland, Pat Loeffler and Ashley Vanorny said they would not support the project because it conflicts with the neighborhood’s historic character.

Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com