Cedar Falls neighbors wary of proposed apartment building

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- An apartment complex proposed along University Avenue has some neighbors concerned.

Developers addressed their questions during a Planning and Zoning Commission subcommittee meeting Wednesday. Brent Dahlstrom and Jim Sulentic have partnered to construct a 12-unit building on unused land behind the University Inn, 4711 University Ave.

The complex is similar to one Dahlstrom built at 3834 W. Fourth St. in Waterloo.

Improved storm water detention and access to the complex fueled the discussion. Sulentic assured the residents the apartments would not be considered low-rent housing.

Walter Combes wasn't convinced. His fears centered on increased traffic near his home on Chapman Court.

"I'm against it, I'll tell you that," he said. "I don't think this is a feasible plan."

A private driveway is planned to the west to Orchard Place and onto Orchard Drive, which intersects with Chapman. Tenants also could exit east onto University Avenue by driving through the existing motel lot.

Sulentic said if each two-bedroom apartment has two tenants, that amounts to a maximum of 24 vehicles. He compared the complex to the much larger Mallard Point retirement community across Orchard Drive.

"That thing just keeps going and going and going and going," he said. "We're not talking about 36 units or 48 units. We're talking about 12 units."

Even so, Richard Hanson feels "it's just not a very desirable place to put a nice apartment building."

The facility will require special permission from Planning and Zoning and the City Council, according to City Planner Marty Ryan said. The area is zoned C2 commercial, and the ordinance establishing that district doesn't allow residential uses.

"Our main objective is to make sure we're not sacrificing or giving up commercial properties for residential uses," Ryan advised commissioners.

The 3.6-acre property, which includes the motel and proposed apartment building, would remain zoned C2 commercial and could be transformed into something else in the future, Ryan said.

"If some motel element is preserved, I think we have to recognize that," Ryan said.

But some argued the adjacent motel, the former Vagabond Motel, could be conveyed as an apartment, as the business is transitioning to an extended-stay facility. The JLL Extended Stay Inn on University also has long-term tenants.

Dahlstrom said the University Inn fills a "big demand" for short-term housing. John Deere and construction workers, for example, may stay a few months and can't commit to a yearlong lease.

"It's such a gray area," Commissioner Jim Moody said.

Cedar Falls Fire Battalion Chief Desi Duggan agreed. If occupants stay more than 30 days, code requirements change. The Extended Stay Inn has installed sprinklers and kitchenettes.

However, in some places residents are doing a lot of cooking and washing dishes in a bathtub, making protection difficult, Duggan said.

"It's a real unsafe environment," he said, adding that many are flood victims from North Cedar. "They're paying month to month, but they're not going anywhere. These people can't afford to go anywhere else."

Rent at extended-stay facilities isn't necessarily geared toward low-income people, but rather residents pay the market rate for the square footage, Sulentic said. Even with low interest rates, some still can't afford to buy a house.

"People have to live somewhere," Ryan said. "We can't just say because you're too poor you can't live in Cedar Falls. That's not acceptable."

Dahlstrom receives about three calls daily from people looking for a place to rent and said vacancies are sparse. He owns a couple of hundred units but won't have anything available until 2013.

The preliminary apartment plan will advance to the regular commission meeting Feb. 15.

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Cedar Falls neighbors wary of proposed apartment building