City Council received a memo from staff on August 21st in response to a letter from representatives of Manatt's regarding potential annexation of approximately 50 acres of land at 1901 South Dayton Avenue. City Council asked to have the item put on a future agenda for discussion of how to proceed with the request. The original Manatt's letter is attached.
The request was in response to Manatt's 2025 rezoning request to Story County to change zoning for the subject site to allow permanent industrial use of a laydown area instead of its use as a temporary use. The temporary use approval has expired by County standards and Manatt's needed to either discontinue the use or receive a zone change to Industrial to make the use permanent.
The City of Ames staff provided comments about the proposed rezoning to the Board of Supervisors noting the site abutted the City and that joint planning of the area for annexation was part of the County’s Comprehensive Plan when new development is proposed. The intent originally for the City comments about the rezoning was to fulfill the vision for this area as a gateway to the City and have the area developed with commercial uses rather than industrial.
As a result, the Supervisors deferred a final decision on the rezoning request until Manatt's had approached the City about a timeline for being annexed to the City, either immediately or at deferred date.
Staff has met with representatives of Manatt's a handful of times over the past year to discuss annexation and their proposed use. Based upon recent experiences with deferred annexation, staff urged Manatt's to look at it as an immediate request rather than a deferred request.
Manatt's indicated that their desire is to continue with industrial use on the site indefinitely and they have no plans for commercial. Manatt's finds the laydown area beneficial to their operations in relation to the Hallett's quarry to the east, which has many years of permitted use remaining.
The quarry is also in the County. Long term, Story County and the City envision that the quarry area could become public open space administered by Story County Conservation when the mining operations ceases. Hallett's Quarry east of this site is approved for extraction through 2035 by Story County.
The purpose of annexation for Manatt's is to ensure that the current laydown use would be approved since they do not know if the County would approve the use indefinitely if there is no plan for annexation.
If no agreement regarding annexation is reached with the City, staff does not know how the Supervisors would proceed regarding their rezoning request to the County. If the County approves the rezoning the use would be administered consistent with County requirements. If the rezoning is denied, Manatt's would have to cease the laydown operations and conform to current County zoning for the site of Commercial/Light Industrial.
The majority of the subject site is within the Ames Plan 2040 General Commercial (GC) designation with some area represented as Natural Area, reflecting the flood plain and vegetation that exists on the westside of the site. The GC designation reflects the City's ability to serve the site with urban services, water and sanitary sewer are adjacent to the site. However, the GC designation is not intended for industrial uses.
If the Council intends to support a permanent use of the site upon annexation as industrial, the Plan 2040 designation would need to be modified to Employment with a concurrent rezoning to General Industrial. If the use is not intended to be permanent, other zoning options consistent with Plan 2040 can be considered.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Staff is aware that the property owner of the former Cyclone Truck Stop, Dave Jensen, has expressed concerns to the Board of Supervisors and to staff about perpetuating an industrial use adjacent to his land, which he desires to develop with commercial uses. Mr. Jensen has indicated that supporting industrial use in this area would make commercial uses unlikely and that he would also want to consider industrial use options.
Option 1: Remain in the County
Take no action on the landowner’s request to initiate an annexation. If the City has no interest in the request the applicant can then proceed with their rezoning request to Story County.
Option 2: Proceed with Developing a Pre-annexation Agreement
Direct staff to evaluate options and consult with Manatt's regarding conditions related to annexation that may be beneficial to the City and the continued use of the property as laydown area. An agreement could include conditions related to:
- Use restrictions/zoning limitations
- Site enhancements for landscaping buffering
- Sunset date to discontinue the use
- Minimum taxable valuation or payment in lieu of taxes comparable to City industrial use/commercial use valuations
- Other operational controls or requirements
Staff would then provide a report to Council to then determine whether to initiate an annexation with or without any specific conditions for a pre-annexation agreement based upon Manatt's willingness to enter into a pre-annexation agreement with specific terms.
Note that Manatt's has met with staff and indicated that they do not desire to limit the duration of the use.
Option 3: Proceed with an Annexation Request with no Conditions
City Council would direct Manatt's to file and annexation application with no specific requirements for a pre-annexation agreement.
Story County's initial approval of the use to support local road projects was considered temporary. The use has reached the end of its temporary approval status with the County, which is the reason for Manatt's request.
The site is partially in the flood plain with a limited area of approximately 10 acres used for the laydown yard. The laydown yard is used for storage of materials and for temporary batch plant operations. No permanent building improvements are planned for the site that would add taxable value. The site includes county level buffering with a wall and minor landscaping, compared to City standards for front yard setbacks with landscaping and buffering.
The City has long held an interest in improving the image of the community at this southeast gateway to the City. Development north of the Hwy 30 has fulfilled this vision over the past 15 years. Development opportunities to the south have been more limited and the former Cyclone Truck stop site that is vacant has not been commercially redeveloped. The overall area to the south of HWY 30 has reasonably good visibility and regional access, but does not currently have momentum to transition to commercial development with the surrounding quarry, laydown yard, and vehicle storage/repair facility.
Ultimately, if Council agrees to annexation with no limits on future use the area would likely need a comprehensive plan amendment to industrial/employment to acknowledge the use pattern of the area. The owner of the former truck stop property has previously urged that the Manatt's site revert to open space and not a laydown yard to help market the site for commercial. They recently indicated that if Manatt's continues with industrial use they feel that industrial zoning would be the best use for their site as well.
The site has unique considerations for the City. The site abuts the City and can reasonably be served by City waster and utilities and the site is already served by a City roadways of Dayton and S 17th. Development of the site consistent with urban standards is feasible. However, the applicant desires to continue to operate an industrial use as a laydown facility for construction and extraction activities that can occur in a county or a city due to limited resources needs.
Despite the desired use by Manatt's, annexation of the land could still be in the City's interest for long term planning of the area. At this time staff believes that Option 2 is worth investigating over the next few months to determined what is in the best interest of the City. With Option 2, City Council would need to provide direction on any issues they want to prioritize in an agreement with Manatt's.