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Supervisors reject JDSD Farms rezoning after contested public hearing
Summary
After a lengthy public hearing, the Muscatine County Board of Supervisors declined on first reading to rezone 12.44 acres in Wapsy Township from agricultural to residential, voting 1–4. Neighbors cited traffic, erosion and loss of farm rights; the applicant cited local demand and county scoring guidance.
A divided Muscatine County Board of Supervisors on May 18 declined to approve the first reading of an ordinance to rezone roughly 12.44 acres in Wapsy Township from A1 (agricultural) to R1 (residential).
The proposal, filed by JDSD Farms LLC, would have allowed a four‑lot cul‑de‑sac development of roughly 3–5 acre lots. Applicant Jason Dumont told the board the ground is marginal for high-efficiency row cropping — a weighted CSR near 61 and steep topography with about 50 feet of fall — and argued a county scoring system (LISA) placed the site in a range where conversion can be considered. “There’s a real demand for a few‑acre country lots,” Dumont said, adding that prospective buyers had told him to call if the rezoning cleared.
But neighbors and several nearby landowners urged the board to protect existing agricultural uses. “You take these rights away from people who’ve been operating out here for years,” said nearby landowner Mike Dar, who urged deed restrictions or covenants to preserve hunting and shooting rights and to avoid harassment of farm operations. Other residents raised safety concerns at the Davis Avenue/Highway 6 intersection and said the site’s erosion and soil conditions made it a poor candidate for subdivision.
County staff told the board the LISA evaluation for the parcel fell into a medium range, which allows conversion if the board determines an adequate need is shown. Staff also read from Iowa DNR guidance about discharge of firearms near occupied structures and noted exemptions for landowners, saying those statutory limits constrain what local regulation can accomplish.
Supervisors discussed competing priorities in the county’s comprehensive plan — the need for some large‑lot residential opportunities versus the plan’s goal to minimize conflicts between agriculture and new residential uses. After a motion and roll‑call vote on the first reading of the ordinance, the motion did not carry (vote recorded in the hearing as 1 yes, 4 nays). The board did not adopt the rezoning on first reading.
What happens next: Because the first reading failed, the parcel remains zoned A1. If the applicant wants to refile, further engineering, platting and any required subdivision approvals would be needed before building permits could be issued. The board’s discussion indicated any future proposal would need more explicit protections or clearer evidence of local need for conversion to change the result.
Votes and formal action: The board considered an ordinance to rezone approximately 12.44 acres in Wapsy Township from A1 to R1 on the first of three readings; the motion to approve the first reading failed on roll call (motion did not carry; yes: 1, no: 4).
