Failure of Comprehensive Plan amendments causes roadblocks for Iowa City downtown development projects

IOWA CITY - The amendment to the Iowa City Comprehensive Plan denied by council earlier this week has caused roadblocks for a few potential projects.

The two biggest projects affected are the Chauncey high-rise building planned for the corner of Gilbert and College streets and a building involving New Pioneer Food Co-op that's being discussed for property a block away.

'The significant thing is, as it stands right now, neither one of those projects could proceed because they don't have the zoning,” Iowa City Economic Development Administrator Jeff Davidson said. 'We've got to go back to square one now.”

On Monday, the Iowa City Council voted down a resolution to add three blocks along Gilbert Street bounded roughly by Iowa Avenue and Burlington Street - blocks largely owned by the city - into the Downtown District and Riverfront Crossings District master plan.

The final vote was 5-2 among the council, but the resolution needed supermajority approval to pass following a 1-5 vote by the city's Planning and Zoning Commission to deny the amendment.

The move ultimately would have made the three blocks - mostly zoned as public property - acceptable for multiuse development and civic uses, allowing future buildings to go from seven to 15 stories tall on corner lots, with buildings limited to two to four stories along Iowa Avenue.

For the Chauncey, deemed the preferred development for that site, the project will need to pass rezoning votes in both the Planning and Zoning Commission and full council before construction can start. That process could begin as soon as next month, Davidson said.

A comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning also will be needed to move forward with plans for a project under discussion for the Robert A. Lee Recreation Center's parking lot. The project would involve building a six-story building above the existing parking area.

The unnamed project has involved two years of discussion between New Pioneer officials and representatives with MODUS Engineering and Christensen Development, Building plans include New Pioneer as the first floor anchor tenant with office space and housing above.

'We can't do it without the property zoned from public to something that allows for mixed use, so we have to go through some sort of zoning effort, whether that's single block or multiple block,” said Jake Christensen, founder of Christensen Development, one of the parties involved with the project. 'We've spent a lot of time to get this done and aren't giving up now, but we're waiting to see how this shakes out.”

The Unitarian Universalist Society church property, 10 S. Gilbert St., also was impacted.

Church officials said earlier this month they plan to apply for a demolition permit to avoid historic preservation of their property and sell the site for its highest value.

Historic preservationists have expressed a desire to save the building, possibly by taking advantage of bonus densities offered in exchange for building preservation.

However, the site is zoned to allow construction up to roughly five floors in height and doesn't offer historic preservation density bonuses. A density bonus offers added height or reduced parking requirements in exchange for preservation of properties deemed historic, such as the church.

Davidson said the site's small size makes it unrealistic to preserve and redevelop nearby with current zoning unless it involved a public-private partnership, as all adjacent property is city-owned. Such discussions have not taken place, he added.

The comprehensive plan amendment would have allowed a three-story building with up to six floors in height with a density bonus for preservation, thus increasing the potential value to developers.

The society's board will vote Thursday on the recommendation to pursue demolition permits.