Blairsferry townhomes project denied in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - Calling the project out of context with the area, Cedar Rapids leaders on Tuesday rejected a rezoning request to allow development of a townhome rental complex on farmland neighbors believed was destined to become a church.

City Council members unanimously agreed not to rezone agricultural land for The Commons on Blairsferry, at 4480 Blairs Ferry Road, also saying it wasn't a good fit.

'This development, the way it was designed, isn't in context with the rest of the area,” City Council member Kris Gulick said. 'And, there's not really a transitional area.”

Genesis Equities proposed building the 50-unit, $9 million complex of market rate rentals. The plan called for four, three-story buildings of townhomes and additional duplexes.

Hannah Kustes, with Genesis, said they added a berm to create a buffer between the townhomes and surrounding neighbors, and disputed the notion the buildings would tower over neighboring homes.

Still, she called it 'highly doubtful” she'd continue pursuing the project after the vote came up short, but said 'we will look at it.” She had no further comment about the council's decision.

The City Planning Commission initially rejected the pitch by a 6-1 vote, but a few weeks later voted 4-3 to recommend a slightly altered proposal, including incorporating additional land reserved for future development into green space to lessen the density of the project. City staff also recommended approval, saying it meshed with the city's development vision.

More than 20 people - 17 against and three for - spoke at a public hearing Tuesday before City Council members voted down the plan. The rezoning would have needed a three-quarter majority to pass because of a city rule triggered by neighbor opposition, but it hardly mattered.

Those opposed cited a string of concerns from density, loss of privacy, loss of property value, safety concerns on an already busy Blairs Ferry Road, and the fact the original owners of the land had a 'gentleman's agreement” it would be used for a church.

'The elevation of a church is not the same as a three-story building,” City Council member Ann Poe said before voting against the project.

The rejection is the second time in a few weeks city leaders blocked a contentious housing development. In October, the City Council rejected CommonBond Communities rezoning request to build a 45-unit, low-income housing project with five units set aside for the chronically homeless at the corner of Edgewood Road NW and Crestwood Drive NW.

l Comments: (319) 339-3177; brian.morelli@thegazette.com