The Ames City Planning and Zoning Commission on Aug. 6 recommended that City Council approve rezoning and a companion master plan for 3220 Cameron School Road, changing the site from agricultural zoning to Convenience General Service (CGS) and floating Suburban Medium‑Density Residential (FSRM). The commission’s recommendation included the assisted‑living and memory‑care use proposed for part of the 21‑acre parcel.

The rezoning would place about 6.79 acres in CGS for neighborhood‑scale commercial uses and about 14.23 acres in FSRM for residential uses, according to the staff presentation. The applicant proposes an 87‑unit assisted‑living and memory‑care facility, a potential later phase of cottages on a 12‑acre parcel, and a master plan that staff said must be updated with building orientation, interconnectivity, access points, landscaping and a zoning agreement prior to council consideration.

Staff told the commission that sewer capacity is sufficient to serve the proposed mix of uses. "So we're able to serve this with sewer," Justin, city planning staff, said during the presentation. Staff also identified required roadway improvements, including turn lanes at the intersection of George Washington Carver (GW Carver) and Cameron School Road, and a future street extension and east–west connection through the site. Water service is provided by Xenia Rural Water and electric service by Midland Power, staff said and corrected in the record.

The developer representatives said the project would add housing variety and local jobs. Kurt Friedrich of the Friedrich Companies described the parcel’s history and said he hopes the commission will forward approval. "I am hopeful that, the result tonight would be that you would, forward, a recommendation of approval of our rezoning request as well as the assisted living element, onto council for their consideration," Friedrich said. Nick Dwyer of Door Development, the proposed operator and developer for the assisted‑living facility, said the company expects an approximately $31,000,000 investment, about $16,000,000 or more in construction value for phase 1, 50+ permanent jobs and roughly an 18–20 month construction period followed by another period to reach full occupancy. "We don't see ourselves as an added burden on, fire and EMS," Dwyer said, describing on‑site staffing and medical personnel the operator plans to provide.

Commission discussion focused heavily on emergency response. Staff and the commission noted that growth in north Ames has increased average response times and that the city’s Plan 2040 analysis identified the area as likely to need an additional fire station. Staff said construction of a new station would be "approximately 4 years away" at the earliest if council chose to program it, and emphasized that a new station is not currently in the five‑year Capital Improvements Program (CIP). The commission debated three alternatives presented by staff: (1) recommend approval as proposed including assisted living, (2) recommend approval but exclude assisted living, or (3) recommend approval of the land‑use change while abstaining from a recommendation on service levels and staffing.

Several commissioners said they were comfortable advancing the rezoning with the assisted‑living use given the projected timeline for the facility to reach full operation and the city's ongoing conversations about a north‑side fire station. Others expressed concern about approving a high‑demand medical facility before a station is programmed in the CIP. Staff clarified the fire‑related data in the packet: the city's fire department response statistics show roughly 3,000 medical calls annually and that a concentrated share of medical calls originates from a couple dozen licensed care facilities across the city; those figures were drawn from the fire department’s budget presentation earlier in the year.

The commission ultimately passed a motion recommending Alternative 1 — approval of the master plan and rezoning (CGS and FSRM) including the assisted‑living component — and asked staff to ensure the master plan narrative and a zoning agreement are finalized before Council consideration. The motion passed by voice vote; individual roll‑call tallies were not recorded in the meeting minutes.

Next steps: the commission’s recommendation will be forwarded to Ames City Council for final action; staff said the rezoning is expected to appear on the City Council agenda on Aug. 26. If Council approves the rezoning, site‑level approvals and any required special‑use permits or zoning board actions would follow, and the developer would need to submit site plans that meet the updated master plan and zoning agreement requirements.

Details and clarifications recorded at the meeting include the site area (about 21 acres), the commercial and residential acreage split (approximately 6.79 acres CGS; 14.23 acres FSRM), the proposed assisted‑living program (87 units), an estimated project investment (~$31 million), projected permanent jobs (50+), construction timing (18–20 months build; additional months to achieve stabilized occupancy), infrastructure responsibilities (turn lanes and frontage improvements by the developer; signal timing contingent on Sang Road forming a four‑leg intersection), and utility service providers (Xenia Rural Water for water; Midland Power for electric). Staff also noted a pre‑annexation agreement that contains prior design expectations for development in The Bluffs at Dankbar subdivision.