IOWA CITY

The path toward establishing a Johnson County-approved plan for Windham Village has not been a smooth one.

The process began with a pair of somewhat heated meetings over the summer at Renee’s Roadhouse on Black Diamond Road SW in Windham and continued with a public hearing in front of the Johnson County Planning & Zoning Commission on Nov. 14. More than 10 at the November session objected to the plan.

Planning and Zoning Commission members voted in favor of a revised village boundary that has been proposed by Pat Mougin, a resident. Phil Hemingway, a Republican Board of Supervisors candidate who lost in the Nov. 8 election, was among those supporting the revision.

It will all come to a boil at the Board of Supervisors formal session at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 8 in Iowa City. At its Nov. 22 session, the board scheduled a public hearing on the village plan for the regularly scheduled evening session Dec. 8.

The Windham Village rural area is located north of Frytown and southwest of Iowa City. The main highway through town is Black Diamond Road SW.

Windham Village is the last of nine small towns, or villages, in Johnson County that were targeted by the Board of Supervisors to develop official growth and vision plans in a process that has taken years to complete. Other villages with adopted plans include River Junction (2019), Joetown (2014), Sharon Center (2014) and Frytown (2008).

Nate Mueller, Assistant Director, Johnson County Planning, Development and Sustainability, said a recommended motion will be prepared in advance of the Dec. 8 meeting using one of the proposed village boundaries, but he did not specify which specific boundary when presenting to the board at its Nov. 22 meeting.

The original plan, submitted by county staff, covers 196 acres. The alternative plan covers about 155 acres. The Board of Supervisors will determine which one is used.

Jon Green, a Supervisor and former Lone Tree Mayor, said he will likely support the original boundary plan depending on what is said at the Dec. 8 public hearing.

“We need to do better communicating what these village plans are for,” Green told The News. “If the desire is to keep the place as it is, and it sounds like that in Windham, we can use the village plan to inform land-use decisions down the line.”

Supervisor Pat Heiden complimented Mueller for his work on the plan during the Nov. 22 board meeting.

“Sometimes those meetings at Renee’s were difficult,” Heiden said. “I just thought you did a fantastic job of leading that and keeping your cool.”

To view the proposed Windham Village plan, go to: johnsoncountyiowa.gov/windham-village-planning.

Board Action

The board approved a site plan, allowing a warehouse building to be built behind Stringtown Grocery on 540 Street SW in Kalona.

The proposal, requested by Twin County Produce Auction, was made so that an additional warehouse building would be built behind an existing warehouse and auction building that already sits behind Stringtown Grocery.