Iowa City Council approves levee study

The City Council voted Tuesday night to commission a study of the proposed levee on Taft Speedway Street.

The $84,550 study will be conducted by HDR Engineering Inc. and is to look at the impact of a levee on Taft Speedway homes, including property values, accessibility, insurance coverage and relocation of utilities. It also is to consider the effects of the levee on the Parkview Terrace neighborhood upstream.

Nine homes remain on Taft Speedway, and those residents have objected to the $10 million project because it will put them between the levee and the Iowa River.

The $10 million levee has been a priority for the city since the neighborhood was struck by the 2008 flood. City Council members have said while they regretted homes being on the river side of the levee, they felt it was important to protect as many homes as possible, and a 92-unit condominium complex is nearby.

Connie Champion cast the lone vote against moving ahead with the study, according to voting results distributed by the city.

Also Tuesday night:

• The Council voted 7-0 to create permit parking for mopeds downtown. The ordinance bans mopeds from parking at bicycle racks on sidewalks, where they had been allowed. Permits will cost $45 annually and there will be 142 designated parking spaces for mopeds and motorcycles. Violators will be fined $15.

• The council also unanimously adopted new voting precincts and City Council districts required because of population shifts found in the 2010 Census. The changes are minimal and will take effect in January.