Kalona City Council discusses Southtown subdivision

KALONA - The Kalona City Council held a public forum and special meeting to discuss items surrounding the Southtown subdivision.

City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh said there were no written or oral comments for the public hearing.

The council did take action on two items. The council discussed rezoning areas of Southtown to be, R1, R2 and R3, meaning the areas are for single family, two family and multifamily residential areas.

The zoning will be discussed for a second reading on Tuesday, Aug. 8.

The other item discussed was an ordinance allowing the city to levy property taxes from future residents of the subdivision.

The levy was previously discussed during the Aug. 17 meeting. The second reading passed, and the council decided to waive the third reading.

The council's action means new houses, condos and apartments in Southtown are closer to construction.

The city annexed 600 acres of property that includes land formerly belonging to Shiloh, a branch of The Living Word Fellowship church. Shiloh has since announced it has left The Living Word Fellowship and is no longer in need of the land.

The land – bordered on the north by 133rd Street and to the east by Nutmeg Avenue – was annexed into city limits. The property includes land owned by Marilyn Farms and Larry and Evelyn Hershberger.

A developer, C.J. Moyna & Sons, has purchased 280 acres of land for a new subdivision, North Ridge.

'When the land was annexed into the city, it came in as ag land,” he said. Tuesday's action by the council changes it to residential.

The proposed plans for Southtown's new subdivision include 64 lots. Schlabaugh said the majority of them will be for single family dwellings, but plans for some condos and apartments have been included as well.

The city has been working with the developer to have the area designated as an urban renewal area.

Schlabaugh said that designation will allow the city to use tax increment financing for infrastructure incentives.

Because the area is so large, Schlabaugh said it will take time before development begins, but C.J. Moyna & Sons is hoping to get onto the property soon.

Activity on home building could begin as early as spring 2021, he said.

'Our goal is that we can get ourselves in a position that the developer will be able to mobilize here in the next month or so to be able to move earth,” he said, explaining the developer would like to get onto the land before it freezes.

In addition to housing, portions of the land will be deeded into the city for recreational use, he said. With ponds and an existing trail system already in place, Schlabaugh said the city is in talks with Washington County Conservation officials to see how a management agreement would benefit both entities.

'The goal would be that we would partner with county conservation to manage some of those large parcel areas,” he said. 'We'd like to make some of those areas publicly accessible fairly quickly.”

At 7 p.m. on Sept. 8, the council will discuss the development agreement and tax increment payments for CJ Moyna and Sons.