(Spirit Lake)– A public hearing on a rezoning request for a town house development proposed for an area near the Spirit Lake schools’ former administrative offices on Jackson Avenue drew considerable discussion at Tuesday’s Spirit Lake City Council meeting.
One woman who spoke, Beth Kramme, lives diagonally across the street from the proposed development. She wanted assurrance that town houses would be the only thing allowed there, adding “I’m afraid if it’s rezoned R-5 God knows what we will be going up there. And I don’t want anymore apartments like I got south of me. We have all kinds of weird people walking back and forth right now.”
Brad Beck, an engineer representing the developer of the proposed project, told the council there are no plans to put up anything other than townhouses, saying they aren’t requesting anything that would go above a requested 35 foot height limit.
Following further discussion, a motion to approve the R-5 high density zoning request was defeated on a two-to-three vote, with councilman Clyde Ihrke and Jeff Thee voting in favor and Jerry Harbst, Kevin Bice and Steve Balm no.
After further discussion, a motion was made to adopt the zoning change with a condition limiting the height of any building in that area to more than 35 feet. That motion passed unanimously. A motion to waive the second and third readings to adopt the rezoning also passed unanimously.
Plans call for 19 townhouses to be constructed in that area.
Beck told the council the project is on a fast track. He says the developer wants to break ground soon in order to get the units constructed and enclosed by winter.
