Kalona nears rezoning decision

The city of Kalona has entered the final steps of a plan to rezone 45 lots in its Northridge and Incline Grove subdivisions.

The City Council held its first reading and public hearing for the plans at its regular meeting Monday night. While the process conventionally requires three readings, City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh said the council could pass the ordinances after only two if there are no comments at the next meeting’s public hearing.

Schlabaugh said the ordinance would change nine lots of the Northridge subdivision from R1 to R2 zoning, making them available for multifamily residencies like zero lots, condos and duplexes.

Another ordinance heard at the meeting would rezone an over 21-acre stretch of lots north of Vista Drive on the east side of Nutmeg Avenue from agricultural to R1 (single-family) residential lots for the Incline Grove subdivision.

“When you annex in land, that land is zoned as ag, so it’s kind of a blank canvas,” Schlabaugh said. “It’s an area that lends itself to some larger lots, that’s what the developer is feeling confident on.”

While short-term demand for the change is high in the current housing market, Schlabaugh said the rezoning would meet Kalona’s long-term community needs as well.

“One of the benefits we’re going to have is the creation of additional inventory,” he said. “A family might have wanted to build their dream home or wanted to make that jump into a larger home, but that inventory might not have been available to meet their wants … I think it will help bring some of those medium-price-point units online for people to move up in.”

Schlabaugh said the rezoning would meet the city’s plans for diverse neighborhoods.

“The biggest thing is to have a real mixed-use area,” he said. “You have different price points, you have different entry levels, and not just straight single families across the board, and it will accommodate that.”