Iowa City church requests judicial review of Chauncey rezoning

IOWA CITY - The local battle between Iowa City's Trinity Episcopal Church and a 15-story tower planned for construction next door is far from over.

Officials with the more than 140-year-old Trinity Episcopal Church, 320 E. College St., on Monday filed a petition for writ of certiorari in the Sixth District Court against the city's June approval of the Chauncey, which is planned for the corner of College and Gilbert streets. The petition requests a judicial review of the city's approval of CB-10 zoning for the land where the tower will sit.

'The Church reluctantly took this step, only after a great deal of thought and deliberation,” said Ann Holton, a member Trinity's elected governing body, in a news release. 'We feel we have no choice but to step forward as representatives of the community and ensure that this project complies with the law.”

In the release, Christopher Warnock, local attorney representing Trinity, argues that CB-10 zoning violates the Iowa City Comprehensive Plan and the city failed to give Trinity appropriate consideration to protest against the zoning change submitted by the church.

Officials with the Iowa City Attorney's Office were not immediately available Wednesday, but City Attorney Eleanor Dilkes has said in the past that state law provides city councils a level of authority when it comes to rezoning matters.

Iowa law allows citizens to challenge the legality of any municipal action by filing a petition, such as Trinity has done, according to the news release. The release states that the city will provide documentation and argument to support the rezoning and a district court will either affirm or reverse the council's decision. Damages cannot be awarded.

The council voted 4-2 last month, with council members Jim Throgmorton and Kingsley Botchway opposed and Michelle Payne recused for a conflict of interest.

The Chauncey discussion has been a hotbed of debate over more than two years, with opponents questioning the project's size and location, while supporters applaud the building's progressive design and economic impact.

Officials with Trinity have been some of the most vocal opponents and filed a formal objection to the tower in April.

Another group, the Iowa Coalition Against the Shadow, filed a petition in 2013 against the council's denial of the group's request to rezone the Chauncey site to allow structures no taller than 75 feet. 6th District Court Judge Paul Miller sided with the city in his April ruling and the matter was dismissed. However, Chauncey opponents had indicated that they planned to appeal that decision.