The Scott County Board of Supervisors on June 19 approved the first of two readings to rezone a 21.6-acre parcel in Section 1 of Buffalo Township from AG (agricultural general) to C‑2 (commercial and light industrial).

The item was considered during a public hearing at which neighbor Roger Kirkpatrick said he did not oppose the rezoning but asked the board to note stormwater that flows off Interstate 280 onto the site and across adjacent properties. "I do not object to the zoning," Kirkpatrick said. He described water that "comes off Interstate 280" and crosses under 118th Avenue into his property and downstream to Donaldson Creek.

An engineer representing the applicant, Brian Belk of Acxiom Consultants, told the board the developer has not finalized uses for the property. "It has not yet been determined," Belk said, adding the owner has discussed contractor-type users and a possible division into four lots with four access points to 118th Avenue.

County staff summarized the nine evaluation factors the office uses for rezoning decisions. Greg (staff member) said the site "meets a preponderance of the criteria in our opinion," noting the county's future land use map anticipates commercial designation at this location. He told the board there is currently no public sewer at the site and that water is nearby on Highway 61 but not yet serving the parcel. He said existing nearby commercial uses rely on private wells and septic systems and that heavier water or sewer users would be required to connect to Iowa American Water or pursue packaged-treatment solutions if necessary.

Board members questioned road capacity and traffic. Staff said 118th Avenue fronts the property and is a two-lane city road; depending on the eventual use, a traffic study and roadway improvements could be required. The board also discussed how the county applies its solar ordinance — which uses a corn-soil-rating (CSR) cutoff of 60 — differently from a conventional rezoning, because the future land use map guides typical commercial, residential, and industrial rezoning decisions while solar is treated as a floating district.

After public comment and staff discussion, the board voted on the first of two required readings to rezone the property. Roll call: Dixon, Aye; Maxwell, Aye; Kostian, Aye; Rubieszka, Nay. The motion carried.

The rezoning vote does not approve parcel subdivision, site plans, access points or any specific development. Those matters would be reviewed at subsequent permitting stages, where public utilities, traffic studies, and site-specific engineering would be evaluated.