Iowa City residents may have another option for senior and assisted living in western Iowa City. 

The Western Home Communities is proposing to rezone 31.2 acres of vacant land east of Camp Cardinal Road and north of Gathering Place Lane into a building with 32 beds and 20 townhome-style units. A shared alley and parking would also be included.

Other planned additions include multifamily buildings, which would include 38 multi-family units, a clubhouse, and “neighborhood commercial uses.” The proposal is in the Iowa City City Council’s meeting agenda for Tuesday. 

The company, based in Cedar Falls, Iowa, operates several senior homes in the state.

The area would be rezoned from single-family and low-density housing to medium-density, single-family housing, according to an attached City of Iowa City staff report. 

Camp Cardinal Road, the nearby Deer Creek Road, and Gathering Place Lane would also be improved to city standards if the preliminary proposal is approved. The plan would also extend Gathering Place Lane through the property.

The final additions would be two new cul-de-sacs and a loop street added to the extended roads, eight duplex units, single-family homes, and a stormwater retention basin.

The new development would not “overburden existing streets and utilities,” the report states. Nearby sewer and water services could be extended to the property.

The development would also not affect the area’s views, light and air, property value, or the privacy of other properties, the proposal said. 

According to the staff report, the property contains “regulated wetlands, a stream corridor, slopes, and woodlands.” Of these, the wetlands would require the creation of a buffer per the City’s Sensitive Areas Ordinance, although this has been included in the plans.

In the report, city staff recommended approval of the plan. The city council will get the chance to vote on it at its Tuesday formal meeting.