PLAT CHAT: Proposed preliminary plat sees strong public feedback

Aug. 3—Residents living near a proposed 14-lot subdivision in southeast Newton don't like that the preliminary plat could allow construction of multi-family housing units such as duplexes, which some say will negatively impact the surrounding neighborhood and reduce property values of adjacent homes.

Others criticized the development group, Bloomfield Acres LLC, during a public hearing held by the Newton Planning and Zoning Commission on July 20. Several neighbors spoke in opposition to the preliminary plat, which did not receive any support from commission members and was subsequently tabled.

Since the commission works as an advisory board to the Newton City Council, to approve work for the preliminary plat would require official council action. However, the commission is first to review these requests and from there can recommend an action for the council and present its votes.

"If council were to approve a preliminary plat, that is when the public improvements could be constructed," city planner Brian Dunkelberger said. "Then after substantial completion of said public improvements, that's when we go through the same exact process and a final plat would be submitted."

The commission was asked to consider all public feedback. Some neighbors who live near the preliminary plat for Meadow Run — located approximately between the 300 blocks of East 29th Street South and East 30th Street South — requested their comments be read in a staff report to the commission.

Alex Kingery told the city he opposes the construction of duplexes on the subdivision though felt the layout was appropriate. Kaycie Shea told the city she opposes the development entirely, citing negative impacts on traffic as a primary concern but she also wanted to preserve the "quiet and peaceful" atmosphere.

Dana Simbro had concerns about Bloomfield Acres LLC. After researching the company on the Iowa Secretary of State's website, she found a connection between the LLC and Kading Properties. Newton News found both Bloomfield Acres LLC and Kading Properties listed David L. Wetsch as the registered agent.

Simbro was dissatisfied by Kading Properties' past project and felt the Meadow Run preliminary plat would not match the quality of the surrounding neighborhood. According to Kading Properties' website, there are at least five homes available for lease, including Walnut Pointe and Bradford Estates.

"This is something we have seen in Newton regularly," Simbro said at the public hearing. "Mr. (Rick) Kading has several subdivisions around this town under various LLCs. And all of his housing developments have the same appearance, use and quality of construction.

"While information has been circulating around my neighborhood that these are mainly single-family dwellings, none of his other subdivisions operate that way. They don't follow that model. I believe we need to look at his other subdivisions to truly know what he plans to do with this project."

Simbro claimed Kading Properties caters to "low-income housing individuals," which would not match the "flourishing neighborhood" of homes she said are valued between $200,000 to $300,000 or more.

Although Simbro's home is valued above $208,000, the homes owned by the neighbors on her bock are valued between $118,000 and $206,000, according to GIS data collected in Beacon. However, along the abutting East 28th Street South there are homes valued at more closely to Simbro's estimates.

Kading Properties' involvement was later confirmed when a representative introduced herself and clarified some of the complaints, particularly those surrounding the type of housing the company builds. The representative said the type of housing it targets is workforce housing and not low-income housing.

"The housing that Kading builds and maintains is workforce housing," she said. "We do not construct or have anything in our portfolio any low-income housing. Although I do believe a community needs all types of housing in order to support a variety of residents that a community needs to thrive."

Typically, the tenants living in Kading's workforce housing units have an annual salary of $35,000-$75,000 a year. The representative also said Kading Properties was looking to add a single-level, townhome-style unit with three bedrooms, two baths and a two-car attached garage.

Pat Sullivan also opposed the preliminary plat, arguing the surrounding homes are all single-family dwellings and wouldn't mesh well with duplexes.

"We don't need or want multi-family housing in this neighborhood," Sullivan said.

Sullivan also suggested multi-family housing could increase crime in the neighborhood, a sentiment that was also shared by other residents. Dennis Harrelson looked around the room and complimented his fellow residents, saying they're "really good neighbors" that aren't opposed to more single-family houses.

"I don't think any of them would have a problem with new, good neighbors," Harrelson said.

Other homeowners like Marsha Berndt, who has lived in her home for more than 40 years, said the traffic would increase significantly and cause problems in the quiet neighborhood. Kingery, who also attended the hearing in-person, suggested he would move out of Newton if multi-family housing is built nearby.

Even though some members of the planning and zoning commission empathized with residents' complaints about multi-family housing impacting crime rates and property values, some researchers say that may be "overgeneralizing" and in some cases suggests the contrary.

The University of Arkansas of Little Rock Center for Public Collaboration said in a 2017 report studying the effects of multi-family housing on property values, crime and code violations that research determined "condominiums and market-rate apartments have no negative effect on neighborhood property values."

Oftentimes these academic studies focus specifically on the impact of subsidized multi-family housing and thus should be "cautious about generalizing from research about subsidized multi-family housing to market-rate multi-family housing and condominiums," the report stated.

Although studies in the 1970s found evidence of significantly increased levels of crime in nearby neighborhoods of major cities with some forms of subsidized housing, more comprehensive studies have emerged that more "completely examines the relationship between subsidized multi-family housing and crime."

Even in the 1970s research, the consensus emerging is that multi-family housing does not generally increase crime in surrounding neighborhoods. The UALR report also found a 2011 analysis that failed to find evidence of even subsidized housing affected crime rates.

Members of the planning and zoning commission said they received many phone calls from residents who were not happy about the proposed preliminary plat and its multi-family housing classification. All members understood why residents were upset and were generally in favor of the neighbors' complaints.

The matter will likely be addressed again at a future planning and zoning meeting.

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com