116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Blairs Ferry housing development goes before City Council Tuesday
CEDAR RAPIDS — A rezoning request for a contested housing development is expected to pack Cedar Rapids City Council chambers for the second time in three weeks.
In this case, the Cedar Rapids City Council holds a public hearing Tuesday to consider the first of three votes to rezone land at 4480 Blairs Ferry Road NE. Genesis Equities hopes to build a 50-unit, $9 million complex of market rate townhomes called The Commons on Blairsferry, which neighbors say doesn't fit among all the single-family homes.
'We are anticipating a strong turnout from people in northeast Cedar Rapids,' said Ryan Koester, whose backyard abuts the proposed development. 'The primary thing we as neighbors want to convey is the density and scale of the project is out of context for the area, and the developer hasn't taken that into consideration as we try to meet the developers in the middle.'
The public hearing is the eighth item on the agenda for the meeting, which begins at 4 p.m., at City Hall, 101 First St. SE.
Koester cites concerns with traffic, density and the three-story structures towering above many of the homes that have just one story at ground level.
Also, the family that owned the land sold it at a discount and with a gentleman's agreement it would be used for a church, but Calvary Community Church intends to sell it to Genesis.
The rezoning request comes just a few weeks after residents and low income housing advocates packed City Council chambers. The City Council rejected a bid by CommonBond Communities, a non-profit focused on affordable housing, to rezone land on Edgewood Road NW for a low income housing project called Crestwood Ridge Apartments.
In both the CommonBond and Blairsferry cases, the measure required a three-quarters majority to pass due to neighborhood objections. The CommonBond request had a 5-3 vote in favor, but still fell short.
A petition has been signed by more than 200 people who oppose the Blairsferry project. The City Planning Commission backed the project several weeks ago after initially rejecting a slightly different proposal.
Koester said he disagrees with the public perception the two projects are similar.
'The projects are so different,' Koester said. 'The (CommonBond project) is affordable housing for a very specific need. Blairsferry has none of those elements. It's simply a higher-end rental property creating revenue for the developer.'
The Boyson Commons town house complex was built by Genesis Equities and resembles the Genesis proposal for The Commons on Blairsferry. The Cedar Rapids Planning Commission, after initially rejecting rezoning for the complex, has OK'd a revised plan, sending it to the Cedar Rapids City Council. Because a petition objects to the plan, a council supermajority is required before building can commence. (Photo courtesy Genesis Equities)
Ryan Koester looks in the direction of Blairsferry Rd. NE as he walks along a berm separating houses along Casey Lane NE from farmland where an eight building, 50 unit residential apartment complex is proposed to be built in northeast Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016. Marge Morris and her late husband sold the farmland to a church which planned to build a worship hall at the site. The land passed through several church organizations before current development proposal by Genesis Equities, LLC which plans to build the complex. Morris and residents who live along Casey Lane NE oppose the development. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)
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