City Hall-funded survey of Vinton Ditch area removes about 50 homes from the 100-year flood plain

CEDAR RAPIDS - A call to City Hall has worked out for most in an energized group of about 50 northwest Cedar Rapids homeowners whose homes are close to a section of waterway known as the Vinton Ditch.

In response to the neighborhood request, the city brought in a surveyor to reexamine the elevations in the area, an exercise that has taken nearly all of the 50 or so homes out of the 100-year flood plain in the new city flood maps, which took effect on Monday.

The new survey will mean most homes on William Court NW, 24th Street NW, 26th Street Court NW and on E Avenue NW in the area won't be required to have flood insurance nor will new owners should current owners sell their homes.

“It's a classic example of a neighborhood getting organized and getting all their facts and figures and reaching out to elected leaders and city staff,” Mayor Ron Corbett said on Tuesday. “In the end, it worked out for just about everybody.”

Bob Short, who held a series of neighborhood gatherings in recent weeks at his house at 2336 William Ct. NW, said on Tuesday, “We have a very good thing going and have the city and mayor working on our behalf.”

Corbett said the city has worked to improve the flow of water in the Vinton Ditch and intends to do more work on that issue.