q Voluntary Annexation Information

Ø Annexation request brought to the City of North Liberty by the Citizens for Sensible Development (CSD), on behalf of residents of the southern portion of the north corridor.

Ø Total annexation area (excluding roadways) is 1,025.94 acres. Of this area, 969.4 acres are consenting (94.5%). All of the nonconsenting acres (5.5%) are islands that must be included.

Ø There are 168 parcels in the annexation area. Of these parcels, 152 are consenting (95.2%).

q Future of North Liberty

Ø North Liberty’s consideration and acceptance of the annexation request will set the stage for the future of the city. (For more information, see report: Annexation Considerations prepared by CSD.)

Ø North Liberty is not competing against Johnson County or Coralville, but is working to protect its future right of self-determination.

Ø The proposed voluntary annexation will allow development to proceed at a pace and of a nature to be dictated by North Liberty, in cooperation with Coralville, Iowa City, and Johnson County.

q Position of North Corridor Residents

Ø The property owners in the annexation area feel that a voice in local government is extremely important, and that North Liberty officials have demonstrated a willingness to give serious weight to citizen input. (It is a common observation that “North Liberty meets to listen, not only to tell.”)

Ø Citizens who live in the north corridor are in agreement with the position expressed by North Liberty residents in recent elections. The voters have clearly asked North Liberty to exercise greater control over development to assure safe and sensible growth.

Ø The members of CSD feel that the County Board of Supervisors, while taking steps to protect the county south of Iowa City, has ignored the views and desires of north corridor residents.

Ø Insofar as the County Board of Supervisors has declared that the north corridor should be designated for high density urban development, the Board should not interfere with the residents’ efforts to choose into which city they wish to be annexed.

q Concern about “Urban Sprawl”

Ø This annexation will not contribute to urban sprawl. All of the properties in the annexation request are already developed and they already have their own services such as water and sewer. Most of the roads are the private responsibility of the residents and will remain so.

q Development of the Scanlon property

Ø The Scanlon properties are not included in North Liberty’s annexation request. They would remain in the county until such time as the City of North Liberty agrees to annexation. Eventually, these properties would be developed under the guidance and control of North Liberty. If Coralville is allowed to annex these properties, North Liberty would have nothing to say about any development along its eastern border.

q Traffic Issues

Ø Both Dubuque Street and North Liberty Road suffer traffic and safety problems that are well known to everyone living in the area. There are no easy solutions to these problems.

Ø The Johnson County Council of Governments (JCCOG) has recommended a moratorium on all large scale developments in the North Corridor until completion of a comprehensive study of arterial streets and traffic in the area. This study should be used to guide growth and development decisions.

Ø North Liberty will have control over the impact of new developments on traffic and safety only if the annexation is successful.

q Financial Issues

Ø County residents who are requesting annexation into North Liberty already use North Liberty’s parks, library, recreation, and emergency services. They are not requesting any new or additional municipal services.

Ø New tax revenues from the annexed property will be substantial in the first year and will continue growing in the future.

Ø The taxes on the annexed property will not only pay for the services county residents already receive, but will help to finance additional staff and facilities expansions so sorely needed at this time.

Ø Eventual development of the Scanlon Farms should occur under the guidance of North Liberty. Whether annexed by Coralville or North Liberty, future Scanlon residents will freely take advantage of North Liberty public services. Likewise, their property taxes should flow into North Liberty.

q Fringe Agreements

Ø Fringe agreements in the past, negotiated at a time when North Liberty was relatively weaker than Coralville, benefited only Coralville. Over 5,000,000 square feet of commercial property has been surrendered to Coralville, resulting in the annual loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars of tax revenue.