Iowa City commission recommends rezoning of small triangular parcel at 691 East Foster Road

Iowa City planning staff recommended and the Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously recommended rezoning a 0.06-acre triangular parcel at 691 East Foster Road from OPD RS 12 to RS 5, a change intended to allow a boundary line adjustment that will enlarge Lot 25 of Conway Subdivision and make that lot eligible for duplex or attached single-family development.

Madison Connolly, associate planner, told the commission the triangular parcel adjoins Lot 25 in Conway Subdivision and is currently subject to a conservation easement that prevents development on that specific 0.06-acre piece. Staff said adding the parcel to Lot 25 would square up and increase the lot to 11,369 square feet, meeting minimum lot-size requirements for a duplex or attached single-family home that Lot 25 previously would not have met.

Staff recommended approval of rezoning case REZ25-0003 with conditions, including that no building permit be issued for Lot 25 until the city approves a boundary line adjustment conforming to the rezoning boundaries and that the owner install pavement at the intersection of Saint Anne's Drive and Burresh (Burash) Avenue, matching the pavement at the other end of the block (addresses cited: 840–852 Saint Anne's Drive), before a certificate of occupancy is issued. Staff also recommended that construction drawings for the improvements be submitted and approved by the city engineer and that any property acquisition required be completed by the owner prior to permit issuance.

Connolly summarized the planning analysis: the IC 2030 comprehensive plan and the North District plan identify the area for open space and single-family/duplex residential; the subject triangular parcel sits in a conservation easement that disallows development on that 0.06-acre piece; surrounding development includes single-family homes along Saint Anne's Drive, duplexes at the corner of Saint Anne's and Prairie Du Chien Road, and multifamily development in Lot 5 of Forest Hill Estates. Connolly told the commission a final sensitive areas plan for Lot 5 identified protected slopes, wetlands and wooded areas and that a 2017 rezoning and a 2018 final plat included the subject property in earlier approvals.

The applicant, Ron Amelon of MMS Consultants, spoke briefly to answer commission questions and said he had no substantive additions to staff’s presentation. Commissioners asked questions about why the street had not been extended when the subdivision was platted (staff said the subdivision dates to 1953 and was laid out differently at that time), whether a good-neighbor meeting had been held (staff said such meetings are optional and none was held because staff considered the rezoning minor), and to confirm that while Lot 25 can be built upon, the triangular 0.06-acre piece itself cannot because of the conservation easement.

A motion to recommend approval was moved, seconded and carried by voice vote. The commission chair announced, “motion passes, 6 to 0.” Following the Planning & Zoning Commission recommendation, staff said the next steps were a City Council public hearing: the council would set the public hearing on April 1 and would hold the public hearing and first consideration in May.

No written public correspondence on the rezoning was reported to staff. Connolly told the commission no “good neighbor” meeting occurred and staff characterized the change as minor in its review.

The commission’s recommendation is advisory to City Council; final approval will require council action and the boundary line adjustment and required pavement improvements before any building permits for Lot 25 would be issued.

The Planning & Zoning Commission record and staff presentation identified the parcel as part of Lot 5, Forest Hill Estates Subdivision, and the receiving lot as Lot 25, Conway Subdivision. Staff referenced prior rezoning case number 1700000017 (February 2017) and a final plat established in February 2018 that included the subject property.