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Council approves several land‑use map amendments and a Jordan Creek plan change
Summary
The council approved amendments including a Jordan Creek Crossing specific‑plan change to allow boutique residential development, and two comprehensive‑plan map updates to permit mixed‑use designations at I‑35/Grand Avenue and 801 Ashworth Road.
The West Des Moines City Council on July 14 approved multiple land‑use and zoning actions, including a specific‑plan amendment for the Jordan Creek Crossing area to clarify parking and buffering rules and several comprehensive‑plan map changes that reclassify properties for mixed‑use development.
The council held and closed public hearings on the Jordan Creek Crossing specific plan amendment (Caliber Iowa, applicant) and voted to approve the first reading of the ordinance amending the Jordan Creek Crossing 1 specific plan to allow boutique residential uses on a remaining lot. Nick Jensen, representing the applicant, described the change as a minor clarification to allow the proposed residential use to proceed.
Separately, the council approved a comprehensive‑plan amendment and rezoning initiated by the city for property at the southeast corner of I‑35 and Grand Avenue (Clark Properties/Iowa DOT) to a “multi‑use medium” designation; the Plan and Zoning Commission recommended approval 7–0. Judy Gear, a nearby resident, spoke at the hearing asking whether a nearby single‑family lot in the Grand Trace plat (Lot 3) would remain single‑family; planning staff said the lot is still zoned residential‑estate and would need a separate rezoning application to change.
The council also approved a comprehensive‑plan amendment designating 801 Ashworth Road as “multi‑use low” after a public comment from the property’s resident, Paul Martin, who asked the council to approve the change. The Plan and Zoning Commission recommended approval 7–0; the council approved the corresponding resolution.
Planning staff said there were no outstanding issues on these items and noted that public notice was published in the Des Moines Register. The Jordan Creek amendment was advanced on first reading; the other two items were adopted as resolutions approving the plan map amendments. Council members thanked residents for engagement and emphasized that specific development proposals on rezoned lots would require separate submittals and approvals.
The approvals mark a step toward additional housing and mixed‑use development in several parts of the city; however, neighbors were reminded that rezoning and site plan approvals are separate processes and that individual lots still retain zoning protections until a formal rezoning application is approved.
