Council approves duplexes for Kading development

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Council amended a city ordinance to facilitate the upcoming Kading Development housing project during its regular meeting on Monday, June 2.

The council held a public hearing for the third and final reading of an ordinance to amend the city’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) that would allow the construction of more than one duplex on a single lot of land.

Currently, the UDO does not define duplexes as multiple-family dwelling, restricting their construction to an individual lot. While this is common where individually constructed duplexes are concerned, it creates a complication for the upcoming Kading Development, which will be building a variety of multi-family dwellings, duplexes included, on a single large parcel.

With the third reading of the ordinance completed without comment, the council approved the change to the UDO.

In other business, Todd Smith, representing Elks Lodge No. 418, offered information about the history of Flag Day and thanked the council for its support of the upcoming Flag Day ceremony, scheduled at the Elks Lodge on Saturday, June 14, at 1 p.m.

“I want to thank the city and the council for helping us continue to educate the youth on what the flag means,” said Smith.

In regular business, the council approved the final payment of the 2024 Permeable Paving Project.

Coming in at $770,373.10, the project used sponsored project funding to reconstruct Howard Street with permeable pavers from Kelly Street to Ferguson Street. The project came in nearly 5% more than bid due to the addition of two sewer manholes and conflicts with the storm sewer and sanitary sewer.

The council also held the second reading of an ordinance to vacate a small portion of land that was once planned to be used for 13th Avenue but has since become an unused right-of-way. No records can be found for the city vacating the right-of-way so the city is doing so now to avoid potential titles issues in the future. A public hearing was set for the June 16 meeting.

Public hearing dates were also set for the July 7 meeting for a series of amendments to the city’s urban renewal areas.

The Riverside, Southwest Bypass, and South Grand Urban Renewal Areas create funding for economic development projects, the Charles City Area Development Corp. and, in Riverside’s case, Main Street Charles City.

Amendments to the plans will renew funding for these programs for the next three fiscal years along with facilitating the tentatively named Economic Development Local Business Support Program, a new grant program designed to mirror Main Street’s Façade & Culture and Entertainment grant program for businesses beyond Main Street’s limits.

Finally, the council approved a motion to post and advertise for an interim city administrator. With City Administrator Steve Diers planning to leave that position on June 20, the city will be seeking candidates to temporarily handle his duties until a permanent administrator can be hired.