Chauncey opponents lose round in court

IOWA CITY - The lawsuit filed by opponents of the Chauncey high-rise against the Iowa City Council was dismissed Wednesday.

'I wouldn't say it's surprising,” said Iowa City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes. 'I think it's very consistent with the law in Iowa on council authority for rezoning decisions.”

Iowa Coalition Against the Shadow, a citizen group that formed while debate over the project picked up in 2013, filed a petition in Johnson County District Court appealing the council's denial of the coalition's request to rezone land where the Chauncey is to be located.

Lawyer Rockne Cole, a member of the coalition, said in a Wednesday news release that members of the group 'respectfully disagree” with 6th District Court Judge Paul Miller's affirmation of the city's denial of rezoning the proposed site as central business district to allow buildings no taller than 75 feet.

'In our view, this decision effectively means that only those with a financial, or property interest can seek judicial review of a properly filed zoning application,” he said in the release. 'This decision deprives residents of their access to the courts.”

However, Dilkes said Iowa law provides an elected council a level of weight on such matters.

'Considerable discretion is given to the City Council in making zoning decisions,” she said.

Cole said Christopher Warnock, attorney for the coalition, will file an appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court.

Marc Moen, the Chauncey's developer, said in an email the dismissal was a positive step for the project.

'The ruling is important to us,” he said. 'A pending lawsuit challenging the right to build is problematic, regardless of the merits ... Projects of this size are incredibly time consuming and there are many moving parts. We try to stay focused and we take it a day at a time. Having this lawsuit resolved is a very positive step forward.”

In other Chauncey news, the council is likely to vote in May on the city's request to rezone the site to allow for the 15-story tower's construction.

Members of the nearby Trinity Episcopal Church have filed a formal objection to the proposed rezoning and if the owners of 20 percent of the land located within 200 feet of the property, it will force the council to pass the rezoning with a supermajority vote.

City staff are determining if the church's land represents enough space to force the supermajority vote.

John Yapp, development services coordinator, said preliminary numbers show that the church site only represents seven percent of the land within the necessary boundary.

A large chunk of that property is city-owned.

'Three sides of the property are owned by the city,” Yapp said.

Cole argues that city-owned property should not be counted in the assessment.

'The main issue there is going to be whether they are going to count the city land as part of the property owners in the area to be calculated,” Cole said Wednesday. 'The statute is not clear on that point, we are of the opinion that the city does not count.”