Hunter
11/05/21
The Iowa City Planning and Zoning Commission gave unanimous approval Thursday night to an updated proposal for a development in the Hickory Hill Park area.
Hickory Trail Estates would be built on 8.85 acres at the southeast corner of a 48.5 acre plot northeast of Hickory Hill Park, and would devote nearly three times more land to the city park than previous versions. The proposed facility would have 120 continuing care retirement community units and a total of 134 beds.
The proposal has the backing of the Friends of Hickory Hill group.
Three previous versions were rejected, with the third getting Planning and Zoning approval and City Council support for its first two readings. However, pushback from residents caused some council members to change their minds, and it too was rejected at its third reading.
Original plans for single-family housing were scrapped.
The Gazette reports P&Z Vice Chair Mark Signs said that the developers had bent over backwards to satisfy all the parties involved, and had a warning. He said, “There’s a reason builders are not building in Iowa City, and they’re building in all the communities around us. I think we as a commission, we as a council, we as a community, have to understand that there are ramifications. And if we don’t grow, our taxes will grow to maintain the services that we are asked to do today.”
Pending City Council approval, the development would be constructed and fully occupied by 2025.