Curious Iowa: Why is University Heights surrounded by Iowa City?

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — There’s a place in Iowa City, just west of Kinnick Stadium and University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where drivers unfamiliar with the area may not realize they’ve crossed into another town.

University Heights is a small town — covering 0.27 square miles with a population of about 1,300 — that is entirely encapsulated within Iowa City. It’s what’s known as an enclave: a city within a city.

There are only two enclaves in Iowa — University Heights and the city of Panorama Park, which is surrounded by Bettendorf. Windsor Heights is similar, according to Alan Kemp, executive director of the Iowa League of Cities, but it’s surrounded by several cities: Des Moines, Urbandale, Clive and West Des Moines.

How did the city of University Heights come to be surrounded by Iowa City? And what is it like to live in a city within a city?

In this week’s installment of Curious Iowa ― a Gazette series that answers readers’ questions about our state, its people and the culture ― we dive into the history of University Heights, its relationship with Iowa City, and how residents feel about living there.

How did University Heights become a city?

When Pat Yeggy was city clerk in the 1990s, she spent years compiling old newspaper clippings and other records about the history of University Heights. That work earned her the title of “unofficial historian,” and her house acts as a filing cabinet for historical city documents.

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The land that is now University Heights was originally private property and farm land until George and Lee Koser — known as the Koser brothers — began developing and subdividing the land in 1924, according to Yeggy’s research.

It was the Koser brothers who coined the name “University Heights,” which can be seen in various newspaper advertisements for the subdivisions at the time.

“(George Koser) was a wheeler, dealer realtor. All kinds of ads, every paper you pick up there’s a lot of ads,” Yeggy said. “So they sold a lot of real estate, they were big real estate people.

People began moving into the University Heights development, which was mostly single family homes and did not include many retail or commercial buildings, if any at all, Yeggy said.

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Eventually, conflict arose between Iowa City and the University Heights development

Many people in the University Heights development were wealthy, and most sent their children to private schools transported by taxi cab, Yeggy said. In the early 1930s, the Iowa City school district decided to include University Heights in its boundaries. This meant University Heights residents, most of whom sent their children to private school, now would have to pay school district taxes on top of private school tuition.

According to the records compiled by Yeggy, one year after University Heights was annexed into the school district, its residents voted to incorporate. University Heights became a city in 1935.

By incorporating, University Heights residents were able to avoid other higher property tax rates. According to a September 1938 article in The Daily Iowan, Iowa City’s tax rate was $14.94 per $1,000 of assessed value, while University Heights’ rate was $6.

Today, Iowa City’s property tax levy still is higher. For Fiscal Year 2024, Iowa City’s property tax levy is $15.63 per $1,000 of assessed value, while University Heights’ rate is $11.79.

After incorporating, University Heights went on to establish its first city council, with Lee Koser named the first mayor. The city also then set its first sewer, electric and water rates.

How did University Heights become enclosed within Iowa City?

Since its start, University Heights has fiercely stuck to its small-town, residential feel.

The Koser brothers and the original University Heights residents envisioned the town as being made up of family homes, not a business district, Yeggy said.

The people of University Heights wanted the city to stay small and had no interest in annexing new land around it, she said.

Over the years, Iowa City began to annex the land around University Heights, thus trapping the city within another city, Yeggy said.

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The sentiment of resisting growth carried through the city’s history. Yeggy said Emery Rhodes, the city’s mayor from 1986 to 1992, also was opposed to development.

However, the city has recently started to warm to the idea of commercial development. In 2015, the city built One University Place, which is home to city hall, retail stores and condominium housing.

In the early 2010s, when the development was being discussed at city council meetings, the issue split the community into two sides: those who wanted to see the development to increase revenue in a town unable to expand outward, and those who saw the project as not fitting into the single-family residential character of the city.

The contentious project ultimately received city council approval and now is one of the only commercial areas in University Heights.

What is the relationship between Iowa City and University Heights?

University Heights and Iowa City have had a somewhat contentious relationship in the past.

A newspaper clipping collected by Yeggy dated July 12, 1935, described University Heights as a “victim” in the school district tax ordeal with Iowa City, as the city was “taxed without its consent.”

As the years went on, there was talk in the 1960s about University Heights merging with Iowa City. When the issue went up to public vote of the two municipalities in 1965, Iowa City voters approved the merger while University Heights voters turned it down, according to a December 1965 news article from The Daily Iowan.

There also has been controversy over whether Iowa City should provide certain public services to University Heights.

A September 1976 news article from The Daily Iowan outlined that University Heights officials wanted to be able to choose which public services — such as transit and utilities — they were provided by Iowa City. However, Iowa City officials did not see this agreement as fair because Iowa City residents have to pay for all services, not just the select ones they use.

Now, University Heights is independent from Iowa City, complete with its own police force and city hall, Yeggy said. The city contracts out for the public services it needs, such as its city attorney and engineer, she said.

University Heights does have some agreements for shared services with Iowa City, such as water, sewer, transit, and fire protection services.

It appears that in recent years, relations between the two cities have grown friendlier. For example, Yeggy said the two cities will help each other plow snow off residential streets shared by the two municipalities in the winter.

What is it like to live in University Heights?

When Mike Haverkamp moved into his home in University Heights in 2005, he found historic documents about the city in his attic.

Haverkamp’s home on Golfview Avenue was built in 1928 by Bess Fox, who was the only woman on University Heights’ first city council. Next door to the former Fox home is the home of the city’s first mayor, Lee Koser.

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Fox and her family had stored dozens of documents about the city in their attic. When Fox’s daughter sold the house to Haverkamp, she left the documents in the attic.

After moving to University Heights from Iowa City, Haverkamp was elected to the city council and served from 2009 to 2017. Three years later, he became the city clerk and has held the position ever since.

Haverkamp’s move to University Heights was inspired by his fascination with the Fox home. Now that he has lived in University Heights for nearly two decades, Haverkamp said the town is a perfect mix of rural and urban.

“It is small town living in the middle of, for Iowa, a relatively urban area, so kind of the best of both worlds,” he said.

The small town feel of the city also makes residents feel closer to their elected officials and city government, often resulting in increased participation in municipal elections, Haverkamp said. The city elections in November 2023 saw 42 percent voter turnout in University Heights. That ranked third for turnout in Johnson County, behind Swisher and West Branch.

While it is common for people in the area to not know that University Heights is its own independent city, that usually doesn’t bother its residents, Haverkamp said.

“A lot of University Heights residents are fiercely independent and happy they’re a separate city at times,” he said.

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