Commission recommends denial of Cedar Rapids Country Club’s tennis proposal

The Cedar Rapids Planning Commission has voted to recommend denial of the Cedar Rapids Country Club’s proposal to build a new outdoor tennis court complex. The decision came at the commission’s regular meeting Thursday afternoon. The commission voted 3-3 on the proposal, and officials said the tie vote comprised a recommendation to deny the country club’s request. Three of the commission’s nine members were absent. The country club’s latest proposal is a revision of its previous plan to construct an indoor tennis facility and reconfigure parking areas and the club’s driving range onto 185 acres along Fairway Terrace and Country Club Parkway SE, on property already owned by the club, along with a separate proposal to vacate a portion of Fairway Terrace SE.

That plan was approved by the city council in June 2022 after a series of contentious meetings. However, the country club has since withdrawn the indoor facility plan, indicating it wasn’t financially feasible. The new proposal presented to the planning commission Thursday comprises eight outdoor tennis courts. It would also include a temporary inflatable bubble structure to enclose the courts for up to six months per year, from October through April, to facilitate year-round play. A neighborhood meeting to review the new plan was held May 16 and attended by about a dozen neighborhood residents. Several commenters spoke at Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting, some in support and others in opposition to the plan. Cedar Rapids Country Club general manager Tom Feller said the proposal, including the temporary inflatable bubble, is similar to facilities at the Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids and across the Midwest. He said he’s aware of neighbors’ lighting, sound and safety concerns, but said he felt the project will be beneficial to the club and the city overall. “I feel like the whole neighborhood will be improved with this project,” he said. “It's been in the plans for over 20 years. And when we bought our first house over there, I feel like the neighbors have known about it. We want to work with them. We want to make it right.” Several neighbors, however, said the new project would cover a larger area than the original plan, and that among other concerns, the inflatable structure wouldn’t conform to the neighborhood’s historic character. Neighborhood resident Mary Tresnak said she was supportive of the indoor facility approved by the city in 2022, but not the current proposal. "I have as much interest in the country club being a vital part of our community and our neighborhood as as anybody,” she said. “But the city council really set the standard that they need to be within the character of the existing neighborhood. They pushed back and and sent the country club back to the proverbial drawing board to come up with something that met that character. I don't think a bubble meets that character.” “This is a tough one,” added neighborhood resident Paul Esker, who said he generally tended to favor the project, but had some concerns. “I feel that the club is trying to be good neighbors and trying to provide recreational opportunities for its members. But this board has to consider the extent to which those recreational activities are in conflict with the reliance that homeowners have on the neighborhood that they bought into, the character of a neighborhood that’s enjoyed by everybody that lives there. You're dealing with two competing important interests.”

He also contrasted the plan, which primarily benefits a private club’s members, with other potential commercial developments. “When you're dealing with a zoning request, say from a restaurant, you know the private property owners around the restaurant have an interest, but that interest is counterbalanced by the fact that they might actually be able to use the restaurant,” he said. “The scrutiny that this board provides to this application should be at its peak, because the country club is explicitly an entirely private enterprise. Unlike a restaurant that is making a rezoning request, we get zero benefit from anything that the club does, which means that this board should hype up the scrutiny and say you’ve got to try harder than an average applicant, because you are so private and so exclusive.” Commissioners asked several questions, including whether the project could be moved further from neighboring homes, before ultimately voting to recommend denial of the country club’s request. Cedar Rapids zoning administrator Seth Gunnerson said the commission’s recommendation will go to the city council council for consideration at their June 27 meeting, unless the country club decides to withdraw or make changes to their application.