IOWA CITY

An event center that has been proposed for farmland northeast of Windham Village and Cosgrove ran into rezoning troubles at the Johnson County Board of Supervisors’ monthly zoning and platting meeting last Thursday.

An agritourism rezoning proposal ran into a split vote before it reached the Board of Supervisors: the county’s Planning & Zoning Commission rejected the proposal; county staff from the Planning, Development and Sustainability office recommended passage, based on current county codes.

After hearing from five residents speaking out against the proposal, the Board itself was split 2-2 on the proposal. Supervisors Lisa Green-Douglass and V Fixmer-Oraiz voted in favor, while Supervisor Chair Rod Sullivan and Vice Chair Jon Green voted against.

A final decision came five days later when Supervisor Royceann Porter cast a third vote against the rezoning.

The proposal was requested by Casey Maxted and Matt Tobin of Worthington, or 64 Farms, LLC. They were not present at the meeting.

Their plans had called for an event venue, along with a 5-acre vineyard, 5-acre orchard and a barrel house that would produce whiskey from corn grown on the property of more than 38 acres.

The property is located on the north side of IWV Road SW.

Neighbors of the property spoke against the proposal, citing unwanted additional noise and lights in an agricultural area.

Farm Rezoning

The Board approved a rezoning, from agricultural to residential, for a farmstead split west of Hills. The rezoning, consisting of 1.75 acres and requested by Dale and Edith Marlene Schrock, is on a property located north of 520th Street SW and west of James Avenue SW.

The Board approved a rezoning from agricultural to residential, for a farmstead split located on 520th Street SW between Joetown and Frytown. The rezoning consists of 1.43 acres and was requested by Austin and Elizabeth MIller.

The Board approved the preliminary and final plats for Balestrini Subdivision, a one-lot farmstead split on a property located on 540th Street SW, southwest of Hills.  

City Liaisons

Jon Green, a supervisor who is a former mayor of Lone Tree, will be the Board’s liaison to Lone Tree in the coming year. Green will also become chair of the Board of Supervisors in January.

Longtime supervisor Rod Sullivan, the current chair, will be the liaison for Hills in 2025.

Those assignments were among the committee and liaison spots that Board members discussed during the December 11 work session.

Board Action

The Board approved a resolution calling for a number of Johnson County cities, including Hills, and the University of Iowa to indicate their preferences for the CRANDIC transportation system that would link communities with Iowa City and the University. The county is in favor of installing a pilot project proposal by Pop-Up Metro, which would link North Liberty and Coralville with Iowa City via train service. Original CRANDIC plans called for train service going from Cedar Rapids to Hills.

The Board approved resolutions approving loan agreements and general obligation bonds totaling $17.7 million for a number of projects.

Next meeting:

The Board’s next formal session is at 9 a.m. December 26.