Johnson County planning and development staff are asking residents living in Windham to participate in a village planning process to help inform future development opportunities. At a July 18 meeting Renee’s Roadhouse, a local bar and restaurant, staff took note of what residents like about Windham, how comfortable they’d be with the community evolving in […]
Johnson County planning and development staff are asking residents living in Windham to participate in a village planning process to help inform future development opportunities.At a July 18 meeting Renee's Roadhouse, a local bar and restaurant, staff took note of what residents like about Windham, how comfortable they'd be with the community evolving in the years to come and how Windham's map boundaries should be drawn. Windham is one of several unincorporated communities in the county, meaning it does not have its own municipal government. Staff hope that by developing a vision statement and setting clear guidelines on future development in Windham, elected bodies like the Johnson County Board of Supervisors will have a better idea of how to effectively manage residents' wishes if a developer wants to build something that doesn’t necessarily mesh with the character of Windham.Hardin Township, which includes Windham, has a population of 539, according to a presentation from county staff.Johnson County Assistant Planning Director Nate Mueller pointed to a developer application in Morse (an unincorporated community in Graham Township) in 2017 that did not align with the village plan, so the Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to deny a rezoning application that would’ve built housing for an agritourism resort, retail orchard and fish farm on 116 acres of land. Without a village plan, it’s possible the board would’ve been persuaded to side with the developer without realizing the extent to which residents disliked the idea of large-scale development plan in a small, quiet community.Overwhelmingly, Windham residents at the meeting favored a village plan that advocates for minimal development, and warned of what future development would mean for peoples’ way of life.“Pretty soon we’re going to be like Tiffin, Coralville and North Liberty,” said one resident. “They’re basically all together now. Now who would’ve thought that would’ve been the case 20 years ago?”Although the general sentiment among those in attendance was to keep the status quo and avoid all development efforts and boundary designations in their tight-knit farming community, Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan said avoiding all development is not realistic, against residents’ best interests and that you can’t protect land that isn’t formally recognized on a map.Under a plan where no future development is allowed, the child of a lifelong resident may not be able to build a house and start a family in Windham.“We’re not comfortable with walking away and having you say ‘just what’s here now and that’s it,’ he told the audience. A second planning meeting will be held in late summer or early fall before a final vision statement, boundary and draft plan lands on the Johnson County Planning & Zoning desk in October.Windham will not incorporate into a new city as a result of these village planning meetings. To be a municipality with taxing authority and elected offices, communities must follow a strict legal process as outlined in Iowa Code, said Mr. Mueller in an email.
