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Mar. 31, 2010
By Lori Lindner
NORTH LIBERTY LEADER
lori@northlibertyleader.com
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A citizens' group requesting to annex into North Liberty made a formal presentation to the North Liberty City Council last Tuesday, March 23. Included in the presentation was a copy of this map, created by North Liberty as a possible resolution to competing annexation applications filed by North Liberty and Coralville three years ago.
(Map provided by Citizens for Sensible Development.) |
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NORTH LIBERTY- Harkening back to a 2007 request, a group of citizens returned before the North Liberty City Council last week to ask once again to be annexed into town.
Members of Citizens for Sensible Development (CSD) presented an organized appeal at the March 23 council meeting on behalf of property owners located near North Liberty's eastern border. Ninety percent of the property owners are asking to be voluntarily annexed from the county into North Liberty's city limits, rather than leave themselves open to possible involuntary annexation into Coralville.
"We have every expectation that the North Corridor will be developed between Coralville and Cedar Rapids," said CSD representative Doug Paul. "It's more an issue of how (it will be developed), and who will be developing"
CSD formed as concerns over increased traffic and safety arose in 2006, when a Coralville development firm proposed plans for the currently unincorporated Scanlon farmland-which abuts North Liberty's eastern edge- to be built out with residential and commercial properties. When Coralville filed an annexation request for the Scanlon Farm land and a connecting stretch of land along North Liberty Road, CSD responded with a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the annexation. CSD also prepared two petitions requesting to join North Liberty; the first, a 100 percent voluntary annexation in October, 2006; and a second, an 80/20 percent annexation request in January, 2007. Both of those petitions were supported by unanimous council votes and formally filed with the City Development Board, the state's governor-appointed commission responsible for approving or denying municipal annexations.
However, both Coralville's and North Liberty's annexation applications were tabled at the state level until the lawsuit against Coralville could be settled. When the Iowa Supreme Court handed down its December, 2009, ruling against Coralville's initial annexation request (based on Coralville's failure to provide proper notice to adjoining residents along North Liberty Road), Coralville withdrew its application. Rather than decide on North Liberty's standing 100 percent voluntary annexation request, the City Development Board asked both cities to return to the table to seek a mutual agreement on the competing annexations.
According to North Liberty Mayor Tom Salm, officials from North Liberty began working on such an agreement after hiring City Administrator Ryan Heiar two years ago.
"I told Ryan when he came on board that this annexation dispute would be one of his biggest challenges," Salm said in a telephone interview earlier this week. "I told him and our staff to wipe the slate clean and try to come up with a resolution that would benefit everybody. We wanted to stay ahead of the issue"
As a result, North Liberty staff and Salm created a new map that proposes to grant Coralville the Scanlon Farm property, by accessing it from a different route and leaving many of the opposing residents in the unincorporated county.
"This map didn't just come about by the flip of a coin," Salm said at last week's council meeting. "We started with a blank map, with no lines, and started overlaying topography, roads, sewer locations and other things. We had people looking at this with no bias and no emotions"
The map was presented at various times to North Liberty council members during closed session while Coralville's case was still in litigation, Salm said. Eventually, council members gave North Liberty staff the nod to enter into new discussions with Coralville, and use the map as an initial talking point.
Included in the discussions with Coralville was a stipulation that Coralville would agree not to annex any properties outside the lines shown on the map for at least 10 years.
"The important part of this drawing was to try to protect the county folks that don't really want to be in either city," Salm told the Leader.
Indeed, he added, the map is intended to "give everybody something," Salm said. "In this scenario, North Liberty essentially gains all the property to the North, Coralville gets the piece in the middle and the residents get to stay in the county"
It also serves as a precursor to renewing the fringe area agreement between Coralville and North Liberty, which expired in 2006 and has not been addressed since. It is important to note, Salm added, the map is not a formal agreement and has not been openly discussed or approved by either council.
Still, Doug Paul countered, there are serious problems with the proposal.
"It reverses the three year annexation effort and completely dismisses the input of residents in the area," said Paul. "It also assures Coralville's potential annexation of the area south of the Scanlon Farm. These areas will be permanently severed from North Liberty, and when the day comes that they leave the county, they will be leaving for Coralville and not North Liberty"
Last week, Paul was joined by about 20 additional Penn Township residents, some of whom stood at the podium to make their cases for joining North Liberty.
"Annexing our land would help ease financial pressures for North Liberty," said Pam Wurster of County Down Lane. "It would increase North Liberty's population by about three percent, but the tax base would increase by about seven percent"
According to figures provided by CSD, the 168 parcels included in the requested annexation have an approximate assessed value of $67 million, and a taxable value of around $30 million (excluding agricultural land). Annexing the 955 acres would result in a property tax collection of $346,500 per year, assuming a tax levy rate of $11.55 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Further, Wurster noted, the increased tax revenue would come "at absolutely no up-front costs to the City of North Liberty"
In 2006, the residents proposing the annexation signed a contractual agreement protecting the City of North Liberty from infrastructure costs, agreeing to clear and maintain their own roads, maintain their current septic and water systems and ask builders to bear the cost of any public utility improvements as the area develops. A graduated tax abatement for the residents was included in that agreement, but Paul said several property owners have verbally agreed to waive the abatement if North Liberty would agree to annex them into the city.
If it sounds like free money for North Liberty, Salm argues there is no such thing.
"Those property tax funds would be phased in over a period of 10 or 11 years," he said. "We would get minimal tax income in the first few years, and we would have to increase some essential personnel, like police department and streets department staff," said Salm.
In addition, Salm said, the agreements with residents would eventually expire, and North Liberty would incur big infrastructure costs of development, such as putting in water lines, sewer services and lift stations.
Other residents who addressed the council last week recited the ways in which they felt personally connected to North Liberty, through use of its library, recreation center and parks, participation in its community betterment projects and patronage of its businesses.
Barbara Beaumont said another reason the residents favored annexation into North Liberty is because of North Liberty's history of promoting orderly, responsible development, and because they trusted North Liberty's government to listen and respond to public input.
"I've been impressed in recent years with the city council's responsiveness to citizens' concerns," said Beaumont. "That's what sets North Liberty apart from other municipalities. Now we have 138 families who have petitioned to be annexed into North Liberty, and you've not included us in your negotiations with Coralville"
It amounts to the city reneging on the council vote of three years ago, Beaumont concluded.
Council member Chris Hoffman said the current council intended to include citizen input after gaining an "understanding of what was in our best interest, without influence of anyone else's opinion"
Salm told audience members last Tuesday that North Liberty has no intention of acting on any agreement with Coralville at this time.
"We are in no hurry," Salm said, "We have no time table and we will keep you involved as we go along"
At some point, Salm acknowledged, North Liberty will get together with Coralville and CSD members to talk over details; but, he added, "we want to take our time and make the right decisions"
But township resident Daryl Granner, who lives next to the Scanlon Farm, urged North Liberty to take at least one action now.
"We think you should ask the City Development Board to un-table the 100 percent annexation, and act on it, up or down," Granner said. "They're obliged to do that by (Iowa) Code 368. They can't leave it on the table forever. If you were to go in and enthusiastically say 'we want it done,' they would have to act on it"
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