West Des Moines may extend Valley Junction construction moratorium until March
West Des Moines city officials on Monday will consider extending the moratorium on Valley Junction construction until at least March.
The neighborhood's halt on new builds started this summer and ended Nov. 1. Council members and residents debated extending the moratorium at the city's Nov. 1 meeting.
The moratorium was initially placed to give residents and council members time to clarify and define future development guidelines. A steering committee was created to update the Historic West Des Moines Master Plan, which will guide new development.
If the council is presented with a project proposal that has broad support and is deemed to be significant, officials can put it in front of the steering committee for consideration.
That's what happened with developers Scott Cutler and Tim Rypma's proposal to redevelop 111 5th Street in Valley Junction. Council members approved a resolution to authorize the pair to file a development application, which in turn sparked a conversation on extending the moratorium.
More: West Des Moines approves Valley Junction development plan despite neighborhood opposition
That project would involve tearing down the building currently housing CPR Cell Phone Repair and replacing it with a 3,300-square-foot restaurant and 1,200 square feet of retail space. A patio attached to the restaurant would take up 1,400 square feet.
Community and Economic Development Director Clyde Evans said both the steering committee and the Development and Planning Subcommittee favored the project. Evans said construction on the restaurant would likely start in the spring.
Mayor Steve Gaer said he supports extending the moratorium, but that he wants the steering committee to come up with general guidelines by the end of the year. He said he doesn't want the city to lose momentum with developers because the committee cannot decide on rules guiding construction.
"We all know what we want — I mean, we've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars studying this area over the last 20 years," Gaer said. "We have studied parking, we have studied aesthetics, we have studied housing and we have studied renovation to housing. We have spent $250,000 on studies down there. I mean it's not like these are the first times we've looked at these issues."
Monday's meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall at 4200 Mills Civic Parkway.
Sarah LeBlanc covers the western suburbs for the Register. Reach her at 515-284-8161 or sleblanc@registermedia.com. Follower her on Twitter at @sarahkayleblanc
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: West Des Moines to vote on extending Valley Junction building halt
