The City of Ames Planning and Zoning Commission on a voice vote recommended that City Council approve the preliminary plat for the Bluffs at Dankbauer Farms (Outlot ZZ) at 3220 Cameron School Road. City planning staff presented the proposal and the commission voted to forward the recommendation to council.

The plat would divide the outlot into four parcels: three smaller lots north of a proposed Columbus Street extension intended for small‑scale neighborhood commercial uses, and a larger Lot 4 to the south anticipated for senior living and memory care inside a residential zone. City planning staff said the site is currently zoned agricultural and that a rezoning with a master plan is proceeding through City Council; staff said that rezoning is scheduled for its third reading next week and must be in place before council considers the plat.

City planning staff described associated infrastructure commitments tied to earlier pre‑annexation and subdivision agreements. Those commitments include constructing turn lanes at the intersection of Cameron School Road and George Washington Carver and contributing toward a future traffic signal at that intersection; staff said the developer, Friedrich Land Development Company LLC, has contributed its portion toward the future signal and had paid as of the meeting date. The Columbus Street extension would run roughly 380 feet from Cameron School Road to George Washington Carver and would create lots that take access from Columbus and from Everest; staff said Lot 4 may take access from Everest or from the north Columbus extension and that one access point on the northwest corner of Lot 4 onto Cameron School Road would be allowed.

Staff also described traffic‑calming measures on Everest that the developer must construct, including a raised table pedestrian crossing at the north boundary and a raised table pet crossing at the southern boundary to slow traffic and provide pedestrian access. Staff said the required turn lanes and other roadway improvements were triggered by a traffic study conducted for the larger Bluffs at Dankbauer Farms subdivision and that the study accounted for existing conditions plus traffic from the new subdivision.

No applicant representative spoke at the meeting and no members of the public offered comments during the public‑comment period on this item. After discussion and questions of staff, a commissioner moved the recommendation to approve the preliminary plat; the motion was seconded and carried on a voice vote.

The commission’s recommendation does not itself approve construction or change zoning; City Council action and completion of the rezoning and other conditions identified in the preliminary plat and earlier agreements are required before development proceeds. The commission closed its public comment period on the item and moved on to other agenda business.