SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
February 28, 2014
Sullivan’s
Salvos 3/4/14
In this edition:
*Prairie Preview
*Crisis Center Pancake Breakfast
*Health Care Enrollment
*Planning and Zoning Stats
*Lake MacBride Development
*Lake MacBride History
*Did You Know?
*Prairie Preview
The
31st Annual Prairie Preview is Thursday, March 13 at Parkview
Church.
Doors
open at 6:30; at 7:30, Lon Drake and Judy Joyce will speak about small
conservation properties.
*Crisis Center Pancake Breakfast
Join
The Crisis Center on Saturday, March 8, from 7:00am to 1:00pm to enjoy
delicious pancakes and good company. We are partnering with Our Redeemer
Lutheran Church again this year for its annual pancake breakfast.
Tickets
are $6.00 for adults and $3.00 for children 10 & under. Tickets will be
sold at the door from 7:00 am to 12:45 pm on March 8. Tickets can also be
purchased in advance at the church, 319-338-5626, or at The Crisis Center,
319-351-2726.
*Health Care Enrollment
We are quickly reaching
the deadline (March 31) for households earning between 138% - 400% federal
poverty ($32,499 -$94,200) to enroll for healthcare subsidies! We need your
help to get the word out!
The Johnson County Healthcare Outreach Coalition is
hosting a Healthcare Enrollment Fair at the Iowa City Public Library on
Wednesday March 12, 5:30 – 8:30. Experts will be on hand to assist individuals
in enrolling for a healthcare plan that is just right for them. Please spread
the word!
*Planning and Zoning Stats
Supervisors
were recently treated to the Annual Report of the Planning and Zoning (P&Z)
Department. I always find these reports to be full of interesting information.
If you would like to take a look for yourself, see: http://www.johnson-county.com/dept_zoning.aspx?id=4839
Here
are a few of the interesting stats, along with my thoughts on the data:
*Johnson
County permitted 72 single-family homes in 2013 (up from 65 in 2012) worth an
average of $362,135 (up from $340,901 in ’12).
The
thing that really jumps out there is the average home price. It makes sense;
lots in the country are large and expensive, and there is great demand. When
folks get one of those lots, they are going to build an expensive home.
*153
acres were rezoned in 2013. About 100 of those acres went from Ag to
Residential; about 28 acres Residential to Ag. While this can be viewed as
concerning, all of the rezoning took place in the designated growth areas. So
the areas designated for farming remain.
*2013
saw 27 farmstead splits, totaling 95 acres – a 31% decrease from 2012.
Farmstead splits allow farms that existed prior to December 2001 to split off
one residential lot. Farmstead splits were negotiated in as a compromise
ordinance, ostensibly to allow a second generation to join in the family
farming operation. However many of the splits are simply sold off. Once every
pre-2001 farm has split off a lot, splits will cease.
*While
this is very difficult to determine, it appears our vacancy rate is at 24.5%.
Vacancy refers to the percentage of platted but unbuilt lots in the county.
There are several problems with this measure. For one, many of these unbuilt
lots are actually unbuildable. They can lack access, or be too small and/or
oddly shaped. In some cases, they are filled by septic systems. In still other
cases, our Sensitive Areas Ordinance protects them from being built upon.
Finally, often people own more than one lot just to protect their privacy. Many
folks own adjoining lots, with no intention of selling. Given all these
variables, there are likely far fewer than 24% of our lots available for sale.
*233
acres were annexed, up from 129 in 2012. This number is controlled by the
cities, not the county, and can vary wildly. Most of the 2013 total is due to
North Liberty annexing the future site of the new high school.
Please
let me know if you have questions regarding these (or any) Planning and Zoning
matters!
*Lake MacBride Development
Johnson
County recently approved a plat for an 8 home subdivision near Lake MacBride.
The staff had recommended approval, and both the P&Z Commission and Board
of Supervisors voted 5-0 for approval.
There
were some concerns from the public about this development. I would like to
address them here.
Zoning: The
land is already zoned Residential, and has been for years. It is also within
the county’s designated Growth Area. This is where growth is supposed to occur.
It is only ¾ mile from the City of Solon, and over 100 houses are already
within half a mile.
Water quality:
The land that will be developed is currently row cropped, and farmed using
“conventional” practices. Currently, a great deal of topsoil (and much Nitrogen
and Phosphorus) flows directly into the lake. Because Johnson County has a
strict Storm Water Management Ordinance, the quality of the water running into
the lake will be greatly improved, while the quantity of water will be greatly
reduced. This will actually improve the lake’s water quality. I didn’t make
this up… experts with years of experience in water quality agree. Science is on
our side here.
Animals: The
US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources both
reviewed the application, and neither saw any threat to wildlife. I didn’t make
this up… experts with years of experience in wildlife agree. Science is on our
side here.
Wells and
septic systems: Both the wells and septic systems have been reviewed, and both
comply with Johnson County’s standards. Because the developer will be using
shared wells and septic systems, both will have management agreements that
include testing and monitoring. This gives residents and their neighbors a MUCH
higher level of protection than one gets from individual systems. I didn’t make
this up… experts with years of experience in water quality and sanitation
agree. Science is on our side here.
I
sincerely believe that most of the trepidation that was voiced was from people
who harbored legitimate concerns. I appreciate their willingness to bring these
issues to our attention. I have no doubt that this development will be better
because of their actions.
Unfortunately, there are also a few NIMBYs whose complaints about
this development simply do not hold water (pun intended). These folks got their
piece of the pie, but do not want any others to follow. They claim to oppose
things on environmental grounds, even though their environmental qualifications
are less than nil. They often suck in folks with well-intentioned environmental
concerns who have not learned all the facts.
It is sad, but we frequently face this type of opposition. We set
very strict rules for development. When developers meet those standards, they
deserve to be able to build.
So
take what you read in the letters to the editor with a grain of salt. If
someone wants to challenge the way we do planning and zoning, I’d LOVE to
challenge that guy to a debate! Name the time and place. We’ll record it for
posterity.
There is much more to the story than you might see on Facebook. Please
do your homework. As always, feel free to contact me with questions regarding
issues of growth and development in Johnson County.
*Lake MacBride History
Since
I mentioned Lake MacBride, I thought it might be worthwhile to share a bit of
its history.
In
the 1930s, an effort to establish the wooded valleys of Mill and Jordan Creeks
as a state park was initiated by the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce (back when they
used to work with government) and J.N. "Ding" Darling, a noted Iowa
Conservationist. To raise funds to purchase additional land for the park, lots
were sold in the area. (Now the Cottage Reserve area.)
The
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) constructed a number of facilities at Lake
MacBride in the 1930's including the beautiful stone shelter and beach
building.
In
June 1937 the park opened to the public. The name for the park was selected
from hundreds of contest entries. Thomas MacBride had a distinguished 40-year
career as professor of botany and President of the University of Iowa. He has
been called the "father" of conservation in Iowa. In 1895 he
addressed the members of the Iowa Academy of Science on the need to establish a
statewide system of "country" or "rural" parks.
In 1955, the lake
was enlarged. A portion of the park borders Coralville Lake, one of Iowa's
largest artificial lakes, constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
*DID YOU KNOW?
The lake itself in Lake MacBride State Park covers over 812 acres.
Anyone
interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the
County website-
"Sullivan’s
Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a
brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
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As always,
feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to
serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 2:12 PM
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