Meetings

	Meeting Reports
Return to Homepage Who We Are Annexation Issues Meeting Reports Maps Join Us Donations Contact Us Sensible development through citizen participation	Bicycle path update 1/10/2010 The Johnson County Board of Supervisors is currently building a bicycle path along the East side of North Dubuque Street from West overlook north to North Liberty Road. Bicycle path update 2/29/09 The Johnson County Board of Supervisors and the Secondary Roads Planning Office have held meetings to discuss the extension of a bicycle path up Dubuque street to North Liberty. The discussions came with the possibility of renewed funding through a federal stimulus package. The current consensus appears to be to run the path within existing right of way to the west of Dubuque Street, including land facing the Scanlon Farm property. Coralville City Council Meeting- Appeal Oglesby et Al decision 2/10/09 The Coralville City Council met at its regular meeting time. On the agenda was a decision to appeal the decision by Judge Russell against the City of Coralville. The decision ruled that Coralville had not adequately notified the neighboring residents in its bid to annex properties north of the City, including the Scanlon Farm Properties. The Council voted unanimously to appeal the decision. Local residents, with C.S.D. support, have filed a competitive proposal for annexation to North Liberty. Johnson County Board of Supervisors / Planning and Zoning Meeting 2/9/09 At a joint working group meeting the Planning and Zoning Board for Johnson county presented material on a change in the land use plan for the North corridor. Areas previously labeled Phase 1 and Phase II would now be redesignated into a slightly smaller single phase growth map. The Planning and Zoning Board also presented arguments in favor a a new fringe area agreement between North Liberty, Coralville and the County. The new agreement favored annexation of the Scanlon Farm Property by Coralville because "They (the two cities) should not annex unless they have an immediate need for the land, and will develop at urban densities." and because "The City of Coralville intends to provide services and infrastructure to the area to be annexed immediately and start developing at urban densities." While " the city of North Liberty is not going to provide infrastructure for at least five years, and according to a Resolution passed by the Council (on behalf of residents requesting annexation), is not going to develop at urban densities immediately." C.S.D. supported the Resolution and Annexation by North Liberty because North Liberty has been responsive to the needs of North Corridor Residents. (View the complete presentation here) State Senator Robert Dvorsky and State Representative David Jacoby have asked the CDB to now consider mediation between North Liberty and Coralville over the annexation (Click here to see the letter) The board was assured that, contrary to reports in the Gazette, North Liberty had not declined mediation. The CDB and representatives of both cities agreed that nothing should be done until all parties (cities and county residents) have a chance to consider and discuss mediation. This decision was helped in part by a vigorous response by CSD members. City Development Board Meets in Des Moines, 5/9/07 The CDB had previously decided not to act on competing annexation plans surrounding the North Corridor, until legal issues raised by Citizens for Sensible Development (CSD) are resolved in the courts. These include two plans put forward by Coralville to annex the Scanlon Farm and two competing proposals put forward by C.S.D. to annex properties east of North Liberty to North Liberty. The North Liberty proposals are supported by CSD and by >90% of the residents involved in the annexation. (click here for map) State Senator Robert Dvorsky and State Representative David Jacoby have asked the CDB to now consider mediation between North Liberty and Coralville over the annexation (Click here to see the letter) The board was assured that, contrary to reports in the Gazette, North Liberty had not declined mediation. The CDB and representatives of both cities agreed that nothing should be done until all parties (cities and county residents) have a chance to consider and discuss mediation. This decision was helped in part by a vigorous response by CSD members. Johnson County Board of Supervisors 2/22/2007 The Board of Supervisors voted on a recommendation to the City Development Board. The letter is based largely upon staff recommendations. Important points included: 1) That North Liberty and Coralville should put a self-imposed moritorium on annexing the area of conflict until they agree upon and addopt a new fringe agreement. 2) Neither city should annex unless there is an aimmediate need for the land. 3) A thorough transportation impact study should be completed before development occurs. 4) The City Development Board should hold related meetings in Johnson County. C.S.D. supports the completion of transportation and safety studies as a comprehensive plan for the North corridor. C.S.D. supports holding City Development Board meetings locally to maximize citizen input. Johnson County Board of Supervisors 2/8/2007 The Board of Sup's unveiled a suggested plan for dividing the north corridor and settling the annexation. In effect, they are urging NL and CV to enter into a new fringe agreement. (click here to see the map). The BoS staff reported that both the CV and NL annexation proposals violate certain aspects of current fringe agreements between the cities and the county, although the agreement with CV expired several months ago. The Staff made three recommendations to the Board: 1) NL and CV should put a self-imposed moratorium on any annexations until they agree on a new fringe agreement and new growth areas. 2) There should be no annexations until a city is ready for immediate development at urban density. 3) No development should be approved until after a traffic impact study is completed. The Board accepted the staff recommendations almost without comment. They will pass a resolution next week to send to the state. Most likely, the resolution will say that the Board opposes both annexation requests. Johnson County Board of Supervisors 2/1/2007 Coralville presented their latest annexation plan to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors (click here for map) Kelly Hayworth and Kevin Olsen made the presentation, which included maps of the area and of the sewer service to be provided (click here for sewer map). CSD President Pro Tem Doug Paul spoke to the board about rights to self determination andrepresentation. He also discussed accusation that residents were "NIMBY's" (Not In My Back Yard), pointing out that none of the supervisors lived in the area in question. Ken Hubbel presented the Southgate concept plan superimposed onto a Google world map of the area and discussed traffic congestion concerns. Bruce Haupert discussed the Iowa Code on annexations, which explicitly states that the will of the residents should be a primary consideration (click here to read the section of the code) . Herb Loops presented Coralville's letter stating that they would not involuntarily annex propertynoting that he is a non-consenting property owner in the Coralville annexation. Concerns were also raise about the inclusion of the North Liberty Cemetery in the plan and effects of encroachment by development on the cemetery hill. A Penn Township Trustee representing the Trustees as a group spoke of their strong opposition to the Coralville annexation specifically citing fire protection services currently provided by Norh Liberty and the likelihood that they would still be provided by North Liberty. Finally, it was noted by area residents that while CSD and many area residents had spoken in opposition to the plan, not one person other than Coralville staff had spoken in favor of it during several hearings. In response to questions about closed meetings between the Board and the cities involved, Terrence Neuzil stated "...we want to try to solve this thing locally...we want people in Johnson County to remain in Johnson County." North Liberty City Council Meeting 2/1/2007 The North Liberty City Council held it's monthly meeting. During the public comment period. CSD representatives led by Daryl Granner thanked the City Council for accepting the CSD sponsored annexation (to North Liberty) request. Numerous residents and CSD members spoke about their desire to be represented by the government of North Liberty. Additionally, Penn Township expressed their support for the CSD sponsored annexation proposal and noted that fire protection services for the area are primarily provided by North Liberty and would continue to be so. The Penn Township Trustees and The Joint Cemetery Board of Penn Township and North Liberty provided an open letter supporting annexation into North Liberty but opposing the Coralville annexation. (click here to read the letter) North Liberty Consultations 1/12/2007 The North Liberty Mayor and City Council met with officials of Penn Township and Johnson County to inform them of their plan to annex county land to the South of the Scanlon Farm (see maps here) Penn township trustees raised no objections to the CSD backed proposal. The Johnson County Board of Supervisors (Supervisors Stutsman, Harney and engineer Dvorack) expressed concerns about the 28E agreement and various budget matters, but we do not know at this time what the Board's position will be as a group. JCCOG meeting December 13, 2006 The Johnson County Council of Governments Urbanized Area Planning Board met to discuss the Forevergreen Road extension. Previous descisions have directed staff to "start the process over", however it has not been clear from staff postings that they plan to start the entire process again. Rather they have chosen to start with an apparrent presumption that the extension is needed and that only the placement is in question. The "start over completely" message has been reinforced. At this meeting Jeff Davidson said that the issue of Forevergreen Rd. should be postponed until the annexation issue was settled. The Board voted a majority for this approach. North Liberty provided documentation that they will help pay for a broadly scoped study to cover regional traffic. Coralville has at this time not offered to provide funding for the new study. Staff indicated that a new study cannot be done without additional funding. This would seem to put the Forevergreen Road extension on hold for the forseable future. CSD supports a regional approach to the road extension. This includes planning of all the interconnecting roads in the area, traaffic levels and effects on existing residents. Johnson County Board of Supervisors Meeting December 7, 2006 The Johnson County Board of Supervisors met in a regular session. They reviewed the Proposed annexation of land south of the Scanlon Farm property to North Liberty. They provide a letter to the City Development Board on all annexations in Johnson County. The proposed letter did not support the North Liberety proposal. Henry Herwig of COralville did state that Coralville is willing to drop land north of Dubuque street from their annexaton. Court developments December 19, 2006 The court held a hearing hearing on Coralville's motion to dismiss the CSD sponsored injunction against Coralvilles annexation of the Scanlon Farm property. CSD attournies attended a hearing, but the attorney for Coralville (Ivan Webber from Des Moines) had presumed that this would be a telephone hearing only. The judge did not agree and the hearing was continued. A date will be set in January 2007. As a result both the motion to dismiss and the hearing on the merits of our case are delayed. The Coralville annexation remains blocked by a temporary injunction pending these hearings. The competing, 100% voluntary, CSD sponsored annexation of property to North Liberty remains pending before the City Development Board. Should this annexation be successful, it would cross to the south of the Scanlon Farm property and block the annexation move by Coralville. North Liberty Planning & Zoning Commission meeting Tuesday, December 5, 2006 The North Liberty P&Z board considered and passed a "Sensitive Areas Ordinance" and a "Good Neighbor Policy Ordinance". This will be forwarded to the city counci. It was made clear that approval of these policies will be a long slow process. Please read the agenda and the Ordinance documents: Click here City Development board update The City Development Board has indicated that they will wait until the Coralville Annexation court case has been resolved before considering the CSD supported annexation of land by North Liberty. Johnson County Board of Supervisors December 5, 2006 The Board of Supervisors met and among other items, reaffirmed their commitment to "high density" development in the North Corridor. This is supported by their staff because it is felt that high density development adjacent to urban areas prevents suburban sprawl. The theory is current among city planners and is based on the idea that there are a finite number of home-buyers in an area and so growth can be regulated by building homes more closely. Data as to whether this applies in the Iowa City area was not supplied. North Liberty Meetings about Annexation Nov. 2006 North Liberty is presenting a competing Annexation South of the Scanlon Farm sponsored by CSD. These meetings clarified North Liberty's position in three key areas: 1) their concern about, and plans to fight the Coralville annexation of Scanlon Farm. 2) Their commitment to addressing transportation issues prior to development. 3) Their commitment to maintain the areas East of North Liberty (including Scanlon Farm) as low density residential with no commercial development. (Read the North Liberty position statement here) North Liberty is offering tax abatements and waivers of street improvements to those who join North Liberty in the CSD supported annexation. (Read the resolution from the city council here) Residents asked how North Liberty's offer differed from that of Coralville. North liberty suggested that they have an already approved comprehensive land use plan that designates the area as low density residential and NO COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT. Please see our upcoming FAQ page for specifics on the comparison between offers. Coralville Meetings about Annexation Coralville held these meetings to clarify their position on annexation of the Scanlon Farm and offers not to annex properties in Spring Valley, Cherry Hill and Forest Gate for ten years. A contract stating that it is not their intent to involuntarily annex property owners in those areas for 10 years was presented. Voluntary was defined under Iowa code and thus could mean an 80% willing/20% unwilling annexation, but Coralville officials stated that they intended voluntary to mean that all property owners would be willing. The ten year limit was stated to be the maximum allowed under Iowa law. Asked "why annex the scanoln land?" City officials replied "Why not?...a biological organism must grow or die." Stating that this was not just growth for the sake of growth, city officials were unable to provide other reasons for the annexation or a growth target other than "bigger than now." Coralville officials also stated that the annexation was to "establish a northern border for Coralville", although what that border would be remained unpecified. A copy of the final draft of the Coralville contract will be posted when it is made available. North Liberty City Council October 30th, 2006 The North Liberty City Council Unanimously adopted resolution number 06-214 "A resolution setting terms and conditions of a voluntary annexation agreement with certain property owners." This is a CSD supported proposal for annexation of specific properties to North Liberty to promote sensible development in the area between North Liberty and Coralville. Click here for North Liberty agenda/minutes JCCOG meeting October 25th, 2006 The JCCOG Urbanized Area Policy Board met to discuss the report from TTAC and the future of the Forevergreen Road extension. Members of CSD spole to remind the board of their descision to start the planning process completely over. CSD members also raised issues on the completion of Oakdale boulevard and the need to consider a comprehensive road plan rather than Forevergreen Road in isolation. JCCOG staff noted that reconsideration of the road without using the previous Earthtech study would cost $135,000 and that substantial savings could be made reusing the old study. The board debated the issue of whether a truly new process could be acheived using the previous engineering study. The board voted that the process must be started completely over with a new request for proposals for a new study. Earthtech would not be barred from presenting an application. There ensued discussion of who would pay for the study. It was decided that as per standard board procedure, those annexing the land would pay for the study. This suggested that Coralville would have to pay for the new study. A broader scope was once again emphasized as was inclusion of completion of Oakdale Boulevard. Minutes are not yet available. Read the agenda here Coralville City Council Public Hearing October 24th, 2006 The City Council of Coralville met to take public comments on the Scanlon Farms annexation, and to vote on the annexation. North Liberty Council Member Ferry Kuhl spoke on the fringe agreements between North Liberty and Coralville, suggesting that the scope of the current annexation was not anticipated in those agreements. He further stated "When scores of citizens are to be affected, it is in all our best interests that all have a seat at the table at the beginning of the process, not at the end of it." Scott Peterson aked Coralville to slow the process. Attornies representing CSD and parties along North Liberty Road cited an injunction file October 24th, to redress notification issues surrounding the annexation and asked the City Council to slow the process to allow legal issues to be sorted out. CSD President Dr. Charles Swenson reviewed the lack of citizen input into the process and reiterated a call for sensible development in keeping with the other housing in the area. Coralville Manager Kelly Hayworth presented maps of the annexation area (see map here) , fringe agreements (See fringe agreements here) , and noted that the Scanlon Family had been working with Coralville "for many many months, even years on this annexation". Coralville Council member Jean Schnake, noted that teh current fringe agreement would expire on November 27th and stated that delaying action would "inconvenience the petitioners.." and urged passage of the annexaton. Annexation was approved unanimously. North Liberty City Council Meeting October 24th, 2006 The North Liberty City Council met to discuss a broad agenda. Item 25 included discussion of the proposed annexation by Coralville. This item was discussed in closed session. The meeting was then adjourned. Johnson County Board of Supervisors October 19, 2006 The J.C. Board of Supervisors met on October 19th, 2006 to receive a presentation by Kelly Hayworth on the proposed annexation of Scanlon Farms to Coralville. The "lollipop annexation". Representatives from the city of North Liberty stated that "North Liberty opposes this annexation and will continue to resist it with all available means." Paul Morf from CSD presented both procedural and substantive objections to the annexation and urged the board to send a letter opposing the annexation to the state development board. There was much discussion between the board members about sending a such a letter. The board noted that the letter is advisory at best and that the JC Board of Supervisors does not have authority to block annexation. The staff noted that they favor high density development as an alternative to sprawl as it consumes less land. The board was not unanimoous in opposition although many concerns were raised. It was also unclear whether the board will send a letter disapproving of annexation. This will be decided at the next meeting depending in part on the traffic presentation at JCCOG. Minutes are pending, click here North Liberty City Council Meeting October 17th, 2006 The City Council of North Liberty Met concerning the annexation of Scanlon Farms. About 50 CSD members were present. CSD President Charles Swenson spoke to the board about citizen concerns. The board discussed the issue and then adopted a resolution opposing the annexation by Coralville. TTAC Meeting October 10, 2006" The JCCOG Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) met on Tuesday, October 10, 2006. Item #6 was a discussion of the Forevergreen Road issue, and was led by Jeff Davidson, administrator for JCCOG. Jeff noted that a.) JCCOG had unanimously rejected the amendment to add the Forevergreen Road extension to the arterial street plan, and b.) JCCOG had further requested that the staff start again, as the original process was flawed. Mr. Davidson interpreted these flaws as being (1.) the recommended corridor for Forevergreen Road was too narrow; (2.) there was a lack of public input into the process; (3.) there were traffic and safety concerns on Dubuque Street and North Liberty Road; (4.) there had been opposition to the annexation and development of the Scanlon property; and (5.) there would be impacts to private property owned by people in the area who do not want to develop. Mr. Davidson then noted that his staff did not have time to implement these directives from JCCOG before the next JCCOG meeting on October 25th, and that to address these directives would delay other higher priority projects which required Federal funding. After discussion, it was recommended and decided that the Earth Tech report would be retained as a basis for future study. Note: CSD needs to continue to be vigilant and to be in touch with JCCOG members as the October 25th meeting approaches. CSD planning is underway and reports to CSD members will be forthcoming as the news breaks. (Click here to See the memo accompanying the agenda from Jeff Davidson) JCCOG Meeting August 30, 2006. A little over 200 citizens turned out for the public hearing. The Johnson County Council of Governments decided unanimously Wednesday defeat the planned extension of Forevergreen Road. JCCOG directed the staff to "start the process completely over" with more public input and new engineering reports. Staff was directed to consider a broader scope for the road placement including options outside of the narrow half mile corridor initially selected. JCCOG Meeting June 28, 2006. Johnson County Council of Governments (JCCOG) met June 28 to approve extension of Forevergreen Rd. to Dubuque Street A crowd of 200 citizens spoke up about the lack of input during the planning process. We were heard. The plan was deferred until the August 30th meeting.

Bicycle path update 1/10/2010

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors is currently building a bicycle path along the East side of North Dubuque Street from West overlook north to North Liberty Road.

Bicycle path update 2/29/09

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors and the Secondary Roads Planning Office have held meetings to discuss the extension of a bicycle path up Dubuque street to North Liberty. The discussions came with the possibility of renewed funding through a federal stimulus package. The current consensus appears to be to run the path within existing right of way to the west of Dubuque Street, including land facing the Scanlon Farm property.

Coralville City Council Meeting- Appeal Oglesby et Al decision 2/10/09

The Coralville City Council met at its regular meeting time. On the agenda was a decision to appeal the decision by Judge Russell against the City of Coralville. The decision ruled that Coralville had not adequately notified the neighboring residents in its bid to annex properties north of the City, including the Scanlon Farm Properties. The Council voted unanimously to appeal the decision. Local residents, with C.S.D. support, have filed a competitive proposal for annexation to North Liberty.

Johnson County Board of Supervisors / Planning and Zoning Meeting 2/9/09

At a joint working group meeting the Planning and Zoning Board for Johnson county presented material on a change in the land use plan for the North corridor. Areas previously labeled Phase 1 and Phase II would now be redesignated into a slightly smaller single phase growth map. The Planning and Zoning Board also presented arguments in favor a a new fringe area agreement between North Liberty, Coralville and the County. The new agreement favored annexation of the Scanlon Farm Property by Coralville because "They (the two cities) should not annex unless they have an immediate need for the land, and will develop at urban densities." and because "The City of Coralville intends to provide services and infrastructure to the area to be annexed immediately and start developing at urban densities." While " the city of North Liberty is not going to provide infrastructure for at least five years, and according to a Resolution passed by the Council (on behalf of residents requesting annexation), is not going to develop at urban densities immediately." C.S.D. supported the Resolution and Annexation by North Liberty because North Liberty has been responsive to the needs of North Corridor Residents. (View the complete presentation here)

State Senator Robert Dvorsky and State Representative David Jacoby have asked the CDB to now consider mediation between North Liberty and Coralville over the annexation (Click here to see the letter) The board was assured that, contrary to reports in the Gazette, North Liberty had not declined mediation. The CDB and representatives of both cities agreed that nothing should be done until all parties (cities and county residents) have a chance to consider and discuss mediation. This decision was helped in part by a vigorous response by CSD members.

City Development Board Meets in Des Moines, 5/9/07

The CDB had previously decided not to act on competing annexation plans surrounding the North Corridor, until legal issues raised by Citizens for Sensible Development (CSD) are resolved in the courts. These include two plans put forward by Coralville to annex the Scanlon Farm and two competing proposals put forward by C.S.D. to annex properties east of North Liberty to North Liberty. The North Liberty proposals are supported by CSD and by >90% of the residents involved in the annexation. (click here for map)

State Senator Robert Dvorsky and State Representative David Jacoby have asked the CDB to now consider mediation between North Liberty and Coralville over the annexation (Click here to see the letter) The board was assured that, contrary to reports in the Gazette, North Liberty had not declined mediation. The CDB and representatives of both cities agreed that nothing should be done until all parties (cities and county residents) have a chance to consider and discuss mediation. This decision was helped in part by a vigorous response by CSD members.

Johnson County Board of Supervisors 2/22/2007

The Board of Supervisors voted on a recommendation to the City Development Board. The letter is based largely upon staff recommendations. Important points included: 1) That North Liberty and Coralville should put a self-imposed moritorium on annexing the area of conflict until they agree upon and addopt a new fringe agreement. 2) Neither city should annex unless there is an aimmediate need for the land. 3) A thorough transportation impact study should be completed before development occurs. 4) The City Development Board should hold related meetings in Johnson County.

C.S.D. supports the completion of transportation and safety studies as a comprehensive plan for the North corridor. C.S.D. supports holding City Development Board meetings locally to maximize citizen input.

Johnson County Board of Supervisors 2/8/2007

The Board of Sup's unveiled a suggested plan for dividing the north corridor and settling the annexation. In effect, they are urging NL and CV to enter into a new fringe agreement. (click here to see the map). The BoS staff reported that both the CV and NL annexation proposals violate certain aspects of current fringe agreements between the cities and the county, although the agreement with CV expired several months ago. The Staff made three recommendations to the Board:
1) NL and CV should put a self-imposed moratorium on any annexations until they agree on a new fringe agreement and new growth areas.
2) There should be no annexations until a city is ready for immediate development at urban density.
3) No development should be approved until after a traffic impact study is completed.
The Board accepted the staff recommendations almost without comment. They will pass a resolution next week to send to the state. Most likely, the resolution will say that the Board opposes both annexation requests.
Johnson County Board of Supervisors 2/1/2007

Coralville presented their latest annexation plan to the Johnson County Board of Supervisors (click here for map) Kelly Hayworth and Kevin Olsen made the presentation, which included maps of the area and of the sewer service to be provided (click here for sewer map). CSD President Pro Tem Doug Paul spoke to the board about rights to self determination andrepresentation. He also discussed accusation that residents were "NIMBY's" (Not In My Back Yard), pointing out that none of the supervisors lived in the area in question. Ken Hubbel presented the Southgate concept plan superimposed onto a Google world map of the area and discussed traffic congestion concerns. Bruce Haupert discussed the Iowa Code on annexations, which explicitly states that the will of the residents should be a primary consideration (click here to read the section of the code) . Herb Loops presented Coralville's letter stating that they would not involuntarily annex propertynoting that he is a non-consenting property owner in the Coralville annexation. Concerns were also raise about the inclusion of the North Liberty Cemetery in the plan and effects of encroachment by development on the cemetery hill. A Penn Township Trustee representing the Trustees as a group spoke of their strong opposition to the Coralville annexation specifically citing fire protection services currently provided by Norh Liberty and the likelihood that they would still be provided by North Liberty. Finally, it was noted by area residents that while CSD and many area residents had spoken in opposition to the plan, not one person other than Coralville staff had spoken in favor of it during several hearings. In response to questions about closed meetings between the Board and the cities involved, Terrence Neuzil stated "...we want to try to solve this thing locally...we want people in Johnson County to remain in Johnson County."

North Liberty City Council Meeting 2/1/2007

The North Liberty City Council held it's monthly meeting. During the public comment period. CSD representatives led by Daryl Granner thanked the City Council for accepting the CSD sponsored annexation (to North Liberty) request. Numerous residents and CSD members spoke about their desire to be represented by the government of North Liberty. Additionally, Penn Township expressed their support for the CSD sponsored annexation proposal and noted that fire protection services for the area are primarily provided by North Liberty and would continue to be so. The Penn Township Trustees and The Joint Cemetery Board of Penn Township and North Liberty provided an open letter supporting annexation into North Liberty but opposing the Coralville annexation. (click here to read the letter)

North Liberty Consultations 1/12/2007

The North Liberty Mayor and City Council met with officials of Penn Township and Johnson County to inform them of their plan to annex county land to the South of the Scanlon Farm (see maps here) Penn township trustees raised no objections to the CSD backed proposal. The Johnson County Board of Supervisors (Supervisors Stutsman, Harney and engineer Dvorack) expressed concerns about the 28E agreement and various budget matters, but we do not know at this time what the Board's position will be as a group.

JCCOG meeting December 13, 2006

The Johnson County Council of Governments Urbanized Area Planning Board met to discuss the Forevergreen Road extension. Previous descisions have directed staff to "start the process over", however it has not been clear from staff postings that they plan to start the entire process again. Rather they have chosen to start with an apparrent presumption that the extension is needed and that only the placement is in question. The "start over completely" message has been reinforced. At this meeting Jeff Davidson said that the issue of Forevergreen Rd. should be postponed until the annexation issue was settled. The Board voted a majority for this approach. North Liberty provided documentation that they will help pay for a broadly scoped study to cover regional traffic. Coralville has at this time not offered to provide funding for the new study. Staff indicated that a new study cannot be done without additional funding. This would seem to put the Forevergreen Road extension on hold for the forseable future. CSD supports a regional approach to the road extension. This includes planning of all the interconnecting roads in the area, traaffic levels and effects on existing residents.

Johnson County Board of Supervisors Meeting December 7, 2006

The Johnson County Board of Supervisors met in a regular session. They reviewed the Proposed annexation of land south of the Scanlon Farm property to North Liberty. They provide a letter to the City Development Board on all annexations in Johnson County. The proposed letter did not support the North Liberety proposal. Henry Herwig of COralville did state that Coralville is willing to drop land north of Dubuque street from their annexaton.

Court developments December 19, 2006

The court held a hearing hearing on Coralville's motion to dismiss the CSD sponsored injunction against Coralvilles annexation of the Scanlon Farm property. CSD attournies attended a hearing, but the attorney for Coralville (Ivan Webber from Des Moines) had presumed that this would be a telephone hearing only. The judge did not agree and the hearing was continued. A date will be set in January 2007. As a result both the motion to dismiss and the hearing on the merits of our case are delayed. The Coralville annexation remains blocked by a temporary injunction pending these hearings. The competing, 100% voluntary, CSD sponsored annexation of property to North Liberty remains pending before the City Development Board. Should this annexation be successful, it would cross to the south of the Scanlon Farm property and block the annexation move by Coralville.

North Liberty Planning & Zoning Commission meeting Tuesday, December 5, 2006

The North Liberty P&Z board considered and passed a "Sensitive Areas Ordinance" and a "Good Neighbor Policy Ordinance". This will be forwarded to the city counci. It was made clear that approval of these policies will be a long slow process. Please read the agenda and the Ordinance documents: Click here

City Development board update

The City Development Board has indicated that they will wait until the Coralville Annexation court case has been resolved before considering the CSD supported annexation of land by North Liberty.

Johnson County Board of Supervisors December 5, 2006

The Board of Supervisors met and among other items, reaffirmed their commitment to "high density" development in the North Corridor. This is supported by their staff because it is felt that high density development adjacent to urban areas prevents suburban sprawl. The theory is current among city planners and is based on the idea that there are a finite number of home-buyers in an area and so growth can be regulated by building homes more closely. Data as to whether this applies in the Iowa City area was not supplied.

North Liberty Meetings about Annexation Nov. 2006

North Liberty is presenting a competing Annexation South of the Scanlon Farm sponsored by CSD. These meetings clarified North Liberty's position in three key areas: 1) their concern about, and plans to fight the Coralville annexation of Scanlon Farm. 2) Their commitment to addressing transportation issues prior to development. 3) Their commitment to maintain the areas East of North Liberty (including Scanlon Farm) as low density residential with no commercial development. (Read the North Liberty position statement here) North Liberty is offering tax abatements and waivers of street improvements to those who join North Liberty in the CSD supported annexation. (Read the resolution from the city council here) Residents asked how North Liberty's offer differed from that of Coralville. North liberty suggested that they have an already approved comprehensive land use plan that designates the area as low density residential and NO COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT. Please see our upcoming FAQ page for specifics on the comparison between offers.

Coralville Meetings about Annexation

Coralville held these meetings to clarify their position on annexation of the Scanlon Farm and offers not to annex properties in Spring Valley, Cherry Hill and Forest Gate for ten years. A contract stating that it is not their intent to involuntarily annex property owners in those areas for 10 years was presented. Voluntary was defined under Iowa code and thus could mean an 80% willing/20% unwilling annexation, but Coralville officials stated that they intended voluntary to mean that all property owners would be willing. The ten year limit was stated to be the maximum allowed under Iowa law. Asked "why annex the scanoln land?" City officials replied "Why not?...a biological organism must grow or die." Stating that this was not just growth for the sake of growth, city officials were unable to provide other reasons for the annexation or a growth target other than "bigger than now." Coralville officials also stated that the annexation was to "establish a northern border for Coralville", although what that border would be remained unpecified. A copy of the final draft of the Coralville contract will be posted when it is made available.

North Liberty City Council October 30th, 2006

The North Liberty City Council Unanimously adopted resolution number 06-214 "A resolution setting terms and conditions of a voluntary annexation agreement with certain property owners." This is a CSD supported proposal for annexation of specific properties to North Liberty to promote sensible development in the area between North Liberty and Coralville. Click here for North Liberty agenda/minutes

JCCOG meeting October 25th, 2006

The JCCOG Urbanized Area Policy Board met to discuss the report from TTAC and the future of the Forevergreen Road extension. Members of CSD spole to remind the board of their descision to start the planning process completely over. CSD members also raised issues on the completion of Oakdale boulevard and the need to consider a comprehensive road plan rather than Forevergreen Road in isolation. JCCOG staff noted that reconsideration of the road without using the previous Earthtech study would cost $135,000 and that substantial savings could be made reusing the old study. The board debated the issue of whether a truly new process could be acheived using the previous engineering study. The board voted that the process must be started completely over with a new request for proposals for a new study. Earthtech would not be barred from presenting an application. There ensued discussion of who would pay for the study. It was decided that as per standard board procedure, those annexing the land would pay for the study. This suggested that Coralville would have to pay for the new study. A broader scope was once again emphasized as was inclusion of completion of Oakdale Boulevard. Minutes are not yet available. Read the agenda here

Coralville City Council Public Hearing October 24th, 2006

The City Council of Coralville met to take public comments on the Scanlon Farms annexation, and to vote on the annexation. North Liberty Council Member Ferry Kuhl spoke on the fringe agreements between North Liberty and Coralville, suggesting that the scope of the current annexation was not anticipated in those agreements. He further stated "When scores of citizens are to be affected, it is in all our best interests that all have a seat at the table at the beginning of the process, not at the end of it." Scott Peterson aked Coralville to slow the process. Attornies representing CSD and parties along North Liberty Road cited an injunction file October 24th, to redress notification issues surrounding the annexation and asked the City Council to slow the process to allow legal issues to be sorted out. CSD President Dr. Charles Swenson reviewed the lack of citizen input into the process and reiterated a call for sensible development in keeping with the other housing in the area. Coralville Manager Kelly Hayworth presented maps of the annexation area (see map here) , fringe agreements (See fringe agreements here) , and noted that the Scanlon Family had been working with Coralville "for many many months, even years on this annexation". Coralville Council member Jean Schnake, noted that teh current fringe agreement would expire on November 27th and stated that delaying action would "inconvenience the petitioners.." and urged passage of the annexaton. Annexation was approved unanimously.

North Liberty City Council Meeting October 24th, 2006

The North Liberty City Council met to discuss a broad agenda. Item 25 included discussion of the proposed annexation by Coralville. This item was discussed in closed session. The meeting was then adjourned.

Johnson County Board of Supervisors October 19, 2006

The J.C. Board of Supervisors met on October 19th, 2006 to receive a presentation by Kelly Hayworth on the proposed annexation of Scanlon Farms to Coralville. The "lollipop annexation". Representatives from the city of North Liberty stated that "North Liberty opposes this annexation and will continue to resist it with all available means." Paul Morf from CSD presented both procedural and substantive objections to the annexation and urged the board to send a letter opposing the annexation to the state development board. There was much discussion between the board members about sending a such a letter. The board noted that the letter is advisory at best and that the JC Board of Supervisors does not have authority to block annexation. The staff noted that they favor high density development as an alternative to sprawl as it consumes less land. The board was not unanimoous in opposition although many concerns were raised. It was also unclear whether the board will send a letter disapproving of annexation. This will be decided at the next meeting depending in part on the traffic presentation at JCCOG. Minutes are pending, click here

North Liberty City Council Meeting October 17th, 2006

The City Council of North Liberty Met concerning the annexation of Scanlon Farms. About 50 CSD members were present. CSD President Charles Swenson spoke to the board about citizen concerns. The board discussed the issue and then adopted a resolution opposing the annexation by Coralville.

TTAC Meeting October 10, 2006"

The JCCOG Transportation Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) met on Tuesday, October 10, 2006. Item #6 was a discussion of the Forevergreen Road issue, and was led by Jeff Davidson, administrator for JCCOG. Jeff noted that a.) JCCOG had unanimously rejected the amendment to add the Forevergreen Road extension to the arterial street plan, and b.) JCCOG had further requested that the staff start again, as the original process was flawed. Mr. Davidson interpreted these flaws as being (1.) the recommended corridor for Forevergreen Road was too narrow; (2.) there was a lack of public input into the process; (3.) there were traffic and safety concerns on Dubuque Street and North Liberty Road; (4.) there had been opposition to the annexation and development of the Scanlon property; and (5.) there would be impacts to private property owned by people in the area who do not want to develop. Mr. Davidson then noted that his staff did not have time to implement these directives from JCCOG before the next JCCOG meeting on October 25th, and that to address these directives would delay other higher priority projects which required Federal funding. After discussion, it was recommended and decided that the Earth Tech report would be retained as a basis for future study.

Note: CSD needs to continue to be vigilant and to be in touch with JCCOG members as the October 25th meeting approaches. CSD planning is underway and reports to CSD members will be forthcoming as the news breaks.

(Click here to See the memo accompanying the agenda from Jeff Davidson)

JCCOG Meeting August 30, 2006.

A little over 200 citizens turned out for the public hearing. The Johnson County Council of Governments decided unanimously Wednesday defeat the planned extension of Forevergreen Road. JCCOG directed the staff to "start the process completely over" with more public input and new engineering reports. Staff was directed to consider a broader scope for the road placement including options outside of the narrow half mile corridor initially selected.

JCCOG Meeting June 28, 2006.

Johnson County Council of Governments (JCCOG) met June 28 to approve extension of Forevergreen Rd. to Dubuque Street A crowd of 200 citizens spoke up about the lack of input during the planning process. We were heard. The plan was deferred until the August 30th meeting.

Meeting Reports