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Commission approves TID amendments; resident raises flooding concerns
Summary
Planning commissioners approved amendments to two tax increment district project plans — East Anamosa TID #84 and County Road West TID #88 — that expand eligible grading costs and raise projected financing amounts; a nearby homeowner told the panel her property is flooding and staff and project engineers committed to follow up with drainage plans. Commissioners asked about precedent, taxpayer impact and financing assumptions.
The Planning Commission on Aug. 8 approved two project-plan amendments for tax increment financing districts that staff and developers said are needed to align reimbursements with on-the-ground construction costs, but the hearing also included a resident appeal for clearer drainage plans.
Mike Dugan of the Finance Department described Amendment No. 2 to East Anamosa TID No. 84 as a technical change to allow grading work along North Valley Drive beyond an originally specified 300-foot centerline limit to be treated as TID-eligible. Staff said the total reported grading cost for North Valley Drive was about $1,015,434 and that the additional grading outside the 300-foot corridor totaled roughly $344,000; the change, Dugan said, keeps the project within the project-plan cap and does not increase the previously authorized total reimbursement ceiling.
Commissioners asked why the 300-foot limit had been included originally; Sarah Hansel of the Planning Projects Division said the limit was intended to associate grading directly with the public roadway. Hanny Shafi, representing the applicant, said the 300-foot provision may have been a drafting artifact and that grading adjacent to the roadway was necessary because of drainage and topography. Dane Boomsma, project representative, said the revised plan uses a more conservative financing projection and noted private financing choices influence the increase in projected financing costs.
Amendment No. 1 to County Road West TID No. 88 was presented as a roughly 33% increase in the original project cost after construction bids returned higher than 2023 engineer estimates. Staff emphasized that only actually accrued TID-eligible costs — including allowed interest that has been accrued — will be reimbursed under TIF rules. With the amendment, the TID’s projected amortization schedule now estimates payoff in 2031; the East Anamosa amendment’s payoff was presented as roughly 2035.
During the County Road West discussion, resident Zoe Adams said her family’s nearby properties are flooding and asked when the city and developers would provide runoff and drainage plans. Adams: “Our property is getting flooded... we still haven't heard any plans for the water runoff for any of this development.” Planning staff identified Kyle Hibbs of Indigo Design LLC in the audience; Hibbs said he had not prepared the original engineered plans for the development but offered to coordinate with the engineer and city staff to provide details. Staff committed to have the city engineer and project engineer follow up with the resident.
Commissioners also questioned the precedent such amendments could set. Planning staff and the TIF Committee noted prior amendments in practice and said the process includes committee review; staff reiterated they would not reimburse costs that are not actually incurred.
The commission approved both amendments by voice vote and asked staff to return documentation to the TIF Committee and City Council as required. Staff and applicants said they will provide the requested drainage engineering details to the resident and the commission if changes to plans are needed.
Next steps: Staff will update project-plan documentation, coordinate with the county regarding administration fees as discussed, and have the city engineer and applicant-engineer follow up with Zoe Adams and other affected property owners.
