Representatives of Mary Greeley Medical Center told the Ames City Council on Aug. 5 that they seek two zoning amendments to the Hospital Medical District to allow a development that would add a nurse-training facility and four townhome-style residential units at the southwest corner of their campus.
Gary Boteen, chief financial officer for Mary Greeley, and Tenfold Architecture representatives described a proposed complex with a 60-foot training building adjacent to existing single-family residences to the south and a separate row of four townhomes fronting Kellogg Avenue. The hospital asked council to allow household living as a principal use in the district (to permit the townhomes) and to reduce the extra setback that currently applies to buildings taller than 50 feet where they abut residential zoning. Under the existing code adopted in 2011 to preserve neighborhood compatibility amid requests for increased height, a building taller than 50 feet in the hospital district must set back 50 feet from an adjacent residential lot; the applicant requested the 12-foot setback that otherwise applies to shorter buildings.
City staff told council that the Hospital Medical District’s additional setback was created in 2011 as a compromise that allowed increases in interior height while maintaining a larger buffer where hospital buildings meet single-family areas. Staff also noted other districts often require a roughly 20-foot setback for taller structures next to residential zoning, and they presented options including limiting any text amendment to the hospital’s property or requiring a site-development (major) review to give council discretion over design and compatibility.
Neighbors and speakers at a public input session stressed concerns about height, setback, and parking. Two residents whose properties share rear lot lines with the proposed training building said a 60-foot structure 12 feet from their property line would be imposing and could reduce enjoyment and property values. Another neighbor urged council to decline changes that would affect the district broadly, and several speakers argued the training facility could be reduced in height or relocated to preserve neighborhood character.
Mary Greeley’s rationale and neighborhood response
Gary Boteen said the training facility will support nursing education and local workforce needs, that the proposed building could house medical office and training space efficiently near the hospital campus, and that townhomes are intended to provide temporary housing for incoming physicians and staff. He added that design revisions have been offered and that the medical center is willing to consider architectural standards to help fit new construction into the adjacent conservation overlay.
Neighbors said the district was rezoned in previous decades to preserve the residential edge of the neighborhood and that reverting hospital-owned land to residential use raised questions about long-term planning. Several residents urged council to avoid broadly changing the district because such a change could allow taller buildings elsewhere in the zone.
Council decisions
After debate, council first rejected an initiation motion that would have allowed a broad text amendment to the entire district; then council approved directing staff to pursue a narrower amendment pathway. The council ultimately approved a motion to initiate amendments limited to properties with hospitals as the principal use and asked staff to prepare an amendment that would reduce the special buffer from 50 feet to a 20-foot setback for taller buildings (rather than the 12-foot setback requested by the applicant). The council also requested that any approval process include a major site-development review so the council and public could review detailed design and compatibility matters at a public hearing.
Why it matters
The nursing workforce shortage was central to applicant testimony: Mary Greeley said additional training capacity and proximate housing would help attract staff and support neighboring hospitals. For residents, the issue was neighborhood compatibility, building scale, and whether a district-wide zoning amendment would change rules beyond the single site under discussion.
What’s next
Staff will prepare a limited text-amendment application and ordinance language that would be applied only to properties where ‘hospital’ is the principal use, and will present a version that sets the minimum setback for taller structures (60-foot example) at 20 feet and routes approval through the major site-development process, with public hearings to follow.