Board of Adjustment approves ground‑floor residences and full parking waiver for 17–23 S. Gilbert St.

The Iowa City Board of Adjustment on July 9 approved two special exceptions so the owner of 17 and 23 South Gilbert Street can convert vacant ground‑floor space into two residential units and receive a 100% parking reduction for the property.

Anne Russett of Neighborhood and Development Services told the board the request is for “2 special exceptions” — one to allow ground‑floor residential uses in a CB10 central business district and the second for a parking reduction. Russett said the structure was built in 1899, is a contributing property to the Iowa City Downtown Historic District (listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2021) and that “accommodating parking would require significant alterations to this historically significant structure, which would diminish or remove all historic integrity.”

Russett said the building currently contains 12 bedrooms and the proposed conversion would add four ground‑floor bedrooms. Under the city’s parking rules for properties constructed before Dec. 31, 2008, parking is required for residential bedrooms after the first 10; the proposed four new bedrooms would require two additional parking spaces. The applicant requested a reduction of those two spaces to zero to avoid structural changes and to make use of a commercial storefront that has been largely vacant for about 10 years.

Applicant Jeff Clark told the board the property has been “vacant over the last 10 years about 95% of the time” and that prior short‑term uses had not produced stable long‑term tenants. Clark said the building has lower ceilings and faces Gilbert Street rather than the Washington Street commercial frontage, which limited its appeal for commercial tenants.

Board members asked about precedent and vacancy history. One board member noted the city’s standard to determine approval is whether the “proposed dwellings will not significantly alter the overall commercial character of the subject zone.” Russett told the board the corner storefront on East Washington would remain commercial, and staff recommended approval on the basis that the conversion would fill long‑vacant space without impairing the pedestrian streetscape along Washington.

After discussion the board voted to approve the two special exceptions (application EXC25‑0003). The motion to approve was moved and seconded (mover/second not specified in the public record). Vote recorded: Tallman — yes; Baker — no; Carlson — yes; Swaggart — yes. The motion passed with a tally of 3 yes and 1 no.

The board’s decision document and the staff report note that anyone desiring to appeal the decision may do so to a court of record within 30 days after the decision is filed with the city clerk’s office.

Why it matters: The waiver lets the owner reuse a long‑vacant ground‑floor space without adding surface parking that staff said would damage the building’s historic fabric. The approval converts underused commercial square footage into housing in the downtown central business district while preserving the Washington Street corner commercial frontage.

Details and next steps: The staff report and board findings, adopted as part of the approval, state that all work will be interior renovations and that no changes are proposed to sidewalks, driveways or the street. The decision is effective when the board’s findings are filed with the city clerk and is subject to the 30‑day appeal period.