Washington to survey, plan potential subdivision land

WASHINGTON — City council members voted unanimously — if hesitantly — to approve a $7,900 conceptual development plan and plat on city-owned land next to Highway 1, south of the county fairgrounds.

The move is the first steps before potentially selling part of the land to an as-yet unannounced entity that City Administrator Deanna McCusker said was interested in developing it.

“The reason we’re moving forward on this now is someone has approached us about possibly buying this land for a project,” she said. “This is the next step to get that moving.”

Some on the council were hesitant about committing the cash, as the $7,900 price tag was not included in the city’s budget plan. Elaine Moore said she was concerned.

“For our budget after July, it was very, very close,” she said. “Since it’s not a budgeted item for 2023, so where are those funds going to come from?”

City Finance Director Kelsey Brown said the money would likely come from the residential development fund.

Others noted that the land was initially planned for affordable housing development. While the city owns close to 20 acres in the area, the approved task order outlines six of those acres as a lot for the potential buyer.

McCusker said the interested buyer would not use it for anything “housing related,” but would leave the rest of the land free for that purpose.

“There will be housing in addition to what this person wants,” she said. “That’s why we’re going to have a conceptual plan, so we’ll have it laid out, what these people are asking for plus housing on the land.”

The caveat didn’t sit well with some. Moore said affordable housing was a priority for the area, which the city had planned for development several years ago before changing tracks to build up the area now around Brava Roof Tile.

“When we first put this together, we were adamant about adding affordable housing by purchasing that property,” she said. “I don’t know what’s going in there and I’m very willing to listen, but the whole goal for this property was to put a lot of different types of housing out there, and I just want to make sure we’re not losing our vision … I’m not saying it’s good or bad, I want to listen to what we have going, but let’s really stay focused on the housing.”

Taxability is another concern. McCusker said the interested party was “not a taxable entity,” something many on the council balked at.

“At a non-taxable base, we just kicked ourselves right in the seat of the pants,” Council Member Steve Gault said.

Still, Mayor Jaron Rosien said other developments could fix the city’s housing shortage, and stressed that any purchase would still have to pass council approval when the time came.

“If this isn’t a good fit, we can still change course,” he said. “I feel a little better about our housing situation with, later in our agenda, a plat for 31 lots. Before this came to us, we have two phases of our other residential development that have been successful. If none of that were true I think I would be also with council on completely pumping the brakes, but before we know more about what this looks like, it’s hard to evaluate it on all of its merits.”

That detail does narrow down the list of possible buyers. Under federal tax code, the list of exempt entities includes charitable groups, churches and religious organizations, 501(c)(3) organizations, political organizations and some other nonprofits.

Council member Illa Earnest said the city should keep public spaces in mind when planning the development.

“I hope when we continue with this development that we keep in mind the little parks, mini parks, pocket parks … so many areas don’t allow for parks,” she said. “I would like to see us traditionally put those in.”

While the task order passed unanimously, city officials said they expected more controversy down the road.

“I think we can tell from the discussion … that there are some reservations about 25% of the acquired land going to a non-taxable entity,” Rosien said. “We’ll look forward to seeing the plat and how that could potentially look for a project.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com