12/21/09

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To hasten a proposed development, project planners are asking Iowa City to annex land and allow them to pay for construction of a new road.

A local family, along with ECO-4 Partners of Des Moines, are developing Moss Farms, an area north of Interstate 80 and west of North Dodge Street behind Pearson.

The project, known as Moss Green Urban Development, is expected to be a research park with a mix of residential and commercial space constructed along the proposed Oakdale Boulevard extension connecting Coralville and Iowa City.

Members of ECO-4 Partners were in Iowa City Dec. 14 for an Iowa City planning and zoning commission meeting that addressed their request. The group is asking for a voluntary annexation of several acres of the proposed 132-acre project.

Annexation would allow the property to be incorporated into the city’s future development plans. If approved, a future extension of Oakdale Boulevard would be controlled by the city. The extension would provide access to the property from Highway 1 and connect to Coralville.

The extension is not listed as a priority in the city’s five-year capital improvement program, so the developer is offering to pay for construction. One proposal discussed briefly at the meeting was to provide tax-increment financing to the developer to help pay for the road construction.

For the developer’s request to be granted, the city needs to amend its comprehensive plan. A public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 7 on the matter.

The developer will need to secure permission from at least one of the landowners for the annexation to take place.

“Part of the property the road has to go through is owned by a trust and we do not have the consent yet of that trust to annex their land,” said Bob Miklo, the city’s senior planner.

Since the project is in the preliminary stages and subject to change, city staff recommended the parcel be zoned from County Agricultural to Interim Development-Research Park, consistent with zoning for adjacent Pearson land, as well as ACT’s property down the road.

Mr. Miklo said annexation would be in the city’s best interests for several reasons. The property is within the city’s long-range growth boundary. It would also fill a city need without imposing an undue expense and would likely increase the city’s tax base, he said.

Utility infrastructure will need to be extended to the parcel. A recent study showed that the sewer system will be able to handle the project’s capacity, Mr. Miklo said.

The project is 16 proposed lots on 170 acres. Five of the lots would be commercial, with 396 residential units housed in the upper stories; 10 lots would be office and commercial space, and the final lot would be a transit center with potential bus stops. It could include medical research tenants and companies involved in developing environmentally-friendly technologies.

Geothermal energy, green roofs, daylighting, roof vegetation, rainwater recycling and porous concrete are a few of the elements that will be installed in the development.

The area will include tennis courts, an amphitheater and trails. CBJ