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Merle Hay Mall will replace failing masonry panels with 6-foot wood fence for selected sections, council approves
Summary
After staff and mall representatives described failing masonry wall segments and homeowner impacts, Urbandale council approved substituting selected masonry panels with a 6-foot wood stockade fence for 15 sections, subject to permit and utility conditions; mall will reach out to homeowners where trees encroach on the wall.
Urbandale City Council approved a staff-recommended substitution allowing the Merle Hay Mall ownership to replace select failing masonry wall panels with a 6-foot wood stockade fence in the area south of Prairie Avenue to Madison Avenue.
Assistant Community Development Director Christy Bales presented an engineer's conditions report evaluating roughly 60 wall segments; staff recommended focusing first on 15 problematic panels and provided several conditions, including coordination with the water utility and filing the agreed stipulated agreement with Polk County. Bales noted that a 30-day clock will begin for the mall to submit a fence permit application and that landscaping and site-plan monitoring remain in effect.
Liz Holland, representing Merle Hay Investors, told the council that nine of the failing panels are attributable to trees growing on adjacent homeowner property that have encroached the wall and caused structural failure. Holland said the mall would contact affected homeowners to discuss remediation options rather than immediately pursue legal remedies.
Some council members asked about whether the city or mall would remove brick debris from private yards and urged communication with neighbors; staff said the process gives the mall the opportunity to coordinate repairs and notify property owners in advance.
Councilmember Kroll moved approval of council letter 8374 authorizing the substitution; Bode seconded and the motion passed.
Next steps: the mall must submit a fence permit within 30 days for the first sections, coordinate with the water utility on valve locations, and work with staff and homeowners to resolve tree-encroachment issues. The council may revisit additional mitigation or site-plan conditions if subsequent monitoring shows further failures.
