Iowa City Council moves ahead with rezoning of former Kirkwood campus

IOWA CITY — The Iowa City Council on Tuesday passed a second consideration of the rezoning of the former Kirkwood Community College campus at 1816 Lower Muscatine Rd., a move that’s been met with resistance from some neighbors.

The council must approve the rezoning a third time before it goes into effect. This week’s second consideration passed in a 5-1 vote with council member Mazahir Salih casting the lone dissenting vote. Council member Laura Bergus was absent from the meeting.

The rezoning would convert the former Kirkwood campus from neighborhood public to general industrial, per the request of Procter & Gamble, which bought the 6.8-acre property in February for $6.4 million.

P&G has not said what it will do with the property, which Kirkwood vacated last year when it closed its Iowa City branch. Last month, Joe Townsend, site engineering leader, told the Iowa City Council the company will demolish the Kirkwood buildings and turn the property into a green space until its plan is finalized.

Several Iowa City residents spoke Tuesday in opposition to the rezoning. They said they were worried a new P&G plant could adversely affect air quality in the area, and subsequently, the health of residents.

The Environmental Protection Agency has reported that fine particulate matter in the air, lead paint, traffic and hazardous materials storage in the one-mile area around the P&G plant on Lower Muscatine Road all are above the 80th percentile.

Council member Megan Alter said she felt the rezoning decision was a difficult one.

“I do think that we need to look at urban air pollution in the area,” Alter said. “I'm also a southeast side resident and so it is something that we need to look out for.”

But, she added, she had toured the existing P&G plants and had confidence the locations are safe to work at, particularly because many employees are union members.

Salih, who also voted against the rezoning on its first consideration, said she was still concerned about air quality in the area, and was worried that it could worsen if the council approved the rezoning.

Despite pushback from residents, a Mackenzie DeRoo, from Greater Iowa City Inc. said the organization was in favor of the rezoning as a new plant would be the first step in further investment in the surrounding area.

Comments: alejandro.rojas@thegazette.com