IOWA CITY – At last night’s formal meeting, the Iowa City City Council voted five to one in favor of passing a package of amendments to the city’s Title 14 Zoning code in first consideration. Councilor Thomas made the lone nay vote and Councilor Alter was absent. The proposal will now move to second consideration and full adoption at the next council meeting on October 3rd. The components of Change 3 in the proposed amendments regarding accessory dwelling units will be considered separately after a motion made by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
See the full meeting materials.
The council consideration drew an active public comment session with residents speaking in support and opposition of the proposed amendments. Supporters included State Senator Janice Weiner and students from the University of Iowa Department of Economics. Echoing city staff’s presentation of the proposal, many comments argued for the potential for the amendments to increase housing supply, promote sustainability, and provide more choice for residents. One speaker pointed to an emerging evidence-base of similar reforms made in other jurisdictions.
The opposition, bolstered by former mayor Jim Throgmorton, voiced concern over potential impacts to close-in neighborhoods and that city staff did not seek enough public participation in the amendment planning process. One commenter contested that the changes became publicly available in July and neighborhood associations were not consulted on the proposal. Rod Sullivan of Iowa City argued that affordable housing only comes from directly requiring developers to produce affordable units.
Senior Planner Anne Russett defended the staff’s process for developing the proposal, which began with Iowa City’s 2016 Affordable Housing Action Plan culminating with the city’s Strategic Plan adopted in December 2022. Russett and staff believe the extensive public input behind the prior city efforts provided an appropriate impetus for the current proposal.
Councilor Dunn initiated council discussion with questions regarding state law preemptions of affordable housing measures. City Attorney Goers clarified that Iowa law forbids enforcement of affordable housing requirements on developers and that any incentives must be on a voluntary basis. Hence, Part 4 of the proposed amendments offers a density bonus for affordable units if developers choose to exercise it; however, the amendments do not include mandatory affordable housing requirements.
Though several councilors expressed understanding for public participation concerns and the uncertainty inherent to zoning changes, Councilors Dunn, Bergus, Harmsen and Mayor Teague decisively supported the amendments. Bergus argued that the growing shortage of housing in Iowa City identified in the 2022 Iowa City Affordable Housing Action Plan is too critical to delay any potential solution. In voicing his support, Harmsen discussed the dangers of predatory developers, yet explained that he believes doing nothing is not a tenable solution.
Councilor Thomas felt that city staff did not take adequate steps to protect neighborhoods within the University Impact Area, which includes special regulations for areas subject to unique market forces near the University of Iowa campus. He believes the reduced regulations of the amendments paired with the density bonus incentive will allow the intense market forces of this area to incrementally displace owner-occupied homes, “a death by a thousand cuts.” Ultimately, Thomas, who represents several close-in neighborhoods in District C, was the lone nay vote on the first consideration.
If adopted after second consideration at the October 3rd council meeting, the amendments (minus the ADU component) would take effect immediately. The Planning and Zoning Commission will consider Change 3c regarding ADUs at their October 4th meeting. City staff hosted public open house sessions for Change 3c on September 13th and 14th. All together the zoning amendments represent the largest change to Iowa City’s citywide land use policy in decades.
Stay tuned for our upcoming editorial analysis of the Title 14 Zoning amendments.