Johnson County supervisors deadlock on agritourism rezoning near Hebble Avenue

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors failed to approve a request on Dec. 12 to rezone 38.27 acres west of Iowa City from agricultural to an Ag Tourism district after public safety and neighbor concerns and a split vote.

The board opened a public hearing on PCC‑24‑28581, the rezoning application filed in the names of Casey Maxbit and Matt Tobin. Maya, a PDS planner, told the board the site lies at the intersection of IWB Road and Hebble Avenue and that staff “recommend approval of this application,” noting that a commercial access opposite Hebble could be approved by the county engineer but that a western access would require a traffic‑impact study. She also said the Planning & Zoning Commission had voted 3–0 to recommend denial.

Neighbors who live adjacent to the site urged the board to reject the rezoning. Dennis Hebold told the board the access there faces a blind spot and that “that road cannot handle that much traffic, night or day.” Kathy Holton Neuschel said residents worried about noise and lights, asking, “Are they gonna be open till midnight? Are they gonna be open until 02:00?” Lisa Veil said the applicants had not appeared at meetings or presented firm plans and recalled being told the applicants expected to spend “something like 7,000,000, 4 million … to prepare the land,” and she raised concerns about impacts to a creek used to water cattle.

Board members debated the underlying policy and enforcement questions. Several supervisors said the Ag Tourism district was intended to encourage farm‑based activities but questioned rezoning where agricultural production was not already established. One supervisor said successful agritourism sites had existing agricultural operations before event facilities were added, calling this request an attempt to “create something out of thin air” on row‑crop land. Staff and the zoning administrator noted the ordinance requires the primary use remain agricultural and described code enforcement and citation steps if a property used in violation of the zoning district.

The board discussed procedural options, including a motion to lay the ordinance on the table (which would effectively deny the application). After debate, a motion to approve the rezoning was put to a roll call and resulted in a 2–2 deadlock; the chair declared the motion failed and the rezoning did not pass.

Why it matters: The vote leaves the property in its current agricultural zoning and preserves local residents’ immediate objections about traffic safety, noise and lighting until any future subdivision or site‑plan proposals are filed. If the applicants pursue future development, they would still need subdivision approval, a site plan, appropriate access permits and any required public‑health and environmental approvals.

What’s next: Because the rezoning failed on a tie, the applicants may revise plans, address drainage and traffic‑impact concerns, and return for reconsideration, or pursue development paths that do not require rezoning. The county emphasized that any future construction would require separate subdivision and site‑plan approvals and that access across IWB/Hebble is subject to county engineer and Iowa DOT review as applicable.