HomeMy WebLinkAboutA045 - Request for a Waiver of City Subdivision Standards within 2-miles of the Ames City Limits in the Urban Fringe at 3500 560th AvenueITEM #:45
DEPT:P&H
September 22, 2026
Staff Report
REQUEST FOR WAIVER OF CITY SUBDIVISION STANDARDS WITHIN TWO MILES OF
CITY LIMITS IN URBAN FRINGE AT 3500 560TH AVENUE
BACKGROUND:
On July 28, City Council asked for a memo from from City staff in regards to a request from
CDA on behalf of land owners Des Moines Heavy Industrial LLC and Ag Land Specialist, LLC
that the City’s subdivision requirements and Urban Fringe Land Use Designation restrictions
as a Natural Area be waived to allow the properties just southeast of Ames at 3500 560th
Avenue in Story County be final platted into five new lots out of two existing parcels (See
attached letter). After reviewing the staff memo on August 25, the City Council directed this
request be placed on a future agenda.
The specific request is to allow for five new lots to be created from two existing parcels
at 3500 560th Avenue. Specifically, four of the five new lots will be designated as
Outlots for transfer of ownership between the two parties and future development. One
lot would be platted and initially developed with County-approved conditional use for a
concrete plant. Under City subdivision standards a division with three or more lots,
regardless of purpose, requires a Preliminary and Final Plat consistent with City
standards of Chapter 23 of the Ames Municipal Code.
The City has subdivision authority combined with Story County within two miles of its
corporate limits. The City's Ames Plan 2040 Urban Reserve overlay designation applies to this
property. The properties are also designed as Open Space and Natural Area reflecting the
general natural and agricultural conditions of the area southeast of the City.
The Urban Reserve policies require that any proposed subdivision must comply with City
subdivision standards and also must annex into the City. If the adjoining properties between
the City and these properties do not consent to be annexed and the property cannot be served
by City infrastructure, then annexation is usually not possible and it is assumed that rural
development would not occur.
The property is also located entirely in the Natural Area Conservation land use designation of
the Fringe. This designation has been in place since Ames Plan 2040’s approval five years
ago. Generally, subdivisions of land in these areas are not supported by Plan 2040 as the
intent of this land use designation is to conserve and maintain existing conditions as well as
maintaining natural undeveloped land.
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PLANNED USE:
The landowners obtained a Story County conditional use permit in late 2025 for CTI to
construct and operate a Concrete Mixing Batch Plant operation at the proposed Lot 1.
The batch plant would be constructed on the portion of the existing property being proposed
for subdivision in this request along 560th Avenue at the far north edge. This is an approved
permit that can proceed without a subdivision as staff understands the approval.
The owners desire to subdivide is not directly related to the batch plant proposal as outlined in
the letter (See attached Letter). It is otherwise unclear to staff why the owners would like to
subdivide the land in such a manner at this time. However, the representative with CDA has
indicated that the owners may choose to pursue mineral extraction on this site to the east in
the future.
The landowner does own land adjacent to this site and has mineral extraction rights on this
land at 3500 560th as well as adjacent land to the north where extraction activities currently
take place.
Future mineral extraction could be a concern to the City in relation to planned new
water wells near this site to the south. City staff consulted with Story County Planning staff
to understand the process for the owners to establish new mineral extraction. New mineral
extraction would require a separate conditional use permit approval from Story County.
County staff indicated they had informed the developer during preliminary review that the
owner would need to consult with Ames and Nevada about potential impacts to the aquifer
related to drinking water wells. The Ames Water & Pollution Control Department has
expressed concern that the mineral extraction will be in the same aquifer as the water
wells and this could negatively affect the wells and their permitting from DNR.
RURAL SUBDIVISION POLICIES:
Ames Plan 2040 states that the minimum lot size within the Urban Fringe is 35 acres (UF3-1
and UF4-3). Restricting the size of parcels serves to facilitate future growth by ensuring that
property lines and ownership do not become so fractured that development and annexation
are inhibited. It is easier to develop a large acreage than to develop, in a piecemeal fashion,
many small parcels. Council has also approved boundary line adjustments and divisions that
result in continued agricultural use as limitation with the division.
If this policy is applied, the proposed five lots would not meet this standard for approval. As
stated in Ames 2040 Plan:
UF3-2: Natural Area Conservation.
Natural areas include sensitive areas of natural habitat, steep slopes, and waterways. Natural
area designations are informational based upon the Environment Element and the 2006
AUFP. Creation of new parcels within these areas for new development is prohibited. Property
divisions only for land conservation purposes is permissible with city approval. Land
conservation is typically for larger areas to be preserved within outlots under common or
private ownership or to transfer ownership to a governmental or non-governmental
organization for its management. Creation of private open space may not be appropriate
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under this designation. Natural Areas adjacent to the city may still require annexation to further
city goals for orderly development patterns and resource conservation.
OPTIONS:
Option 1-
Take no action on the landowner's request to support waiver of City Subdivision standards.
This would mean the applicant would have to proceed with a Preliminary Plat and Final Plat
review subject to meeting City subdivision standards and infrastructure improvement
requirements.
Option 2-
Direct staff to inform the landowner that the City Council supports allowing for a waiver of
Preliminary Plat with Public Improvements as well as a waiver of the Natural Area Land Use
designation rules and allow for a Final Plat to be submitted for City approval for 3500 560th
Avenue.
This option would waive the Preliminary Plat requirements and Ames Plan 2040 Land Use
designation policies in order to allow a subdivision as the landowner has proposed within two
miles of the City. This would allow creation of a new lot and additional outlots that the
landowner is requesting to subdivide. The applicant and owner have requested this action to
allow the owner to sell and purchase land with the ability to subdivide for the owner's future
plans.
Option 3-
Direct staff to inform the landowner that they can pursue a boundary line adjustment to
reconfigure the boundary lines of the existing properties. This option would allow the
landowner to adjust the property lines between both properties to pursue creating area on the
property that they desire to put a mineral extraction operation on and concrete plant, if it can
be done, based on the current property ownership.
This option would only allow for a boundary line adjustment but would not allow for a split and
creation of the lot and outlots proposed in the sketch that was submitted to City staff.
Boundary line adjustments do not require waivers of Plan 2040 Policies as no new
development lots are created.
STAFF COMMENTS:
The Ames Development Review Committee (DRC) has had one initial meeting with
representatives with CDA and consultations with Story County Planning staff by way of a
Sketch Plan meeting. Staff has concerns about creating additional development lots in
an area that does not have urban infrastructure, but connects directly to City roads at
the HWY 30 interchange.
Based upon the City's Plan 2040 policies for management of rural division, staff can
recommend either Option #1 or #3. Staff does not support the request to fully waive City
standards (Option #2) for the creation of a subdivision at this location as it would be
inconsistent with Plan 2040.
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While the approval of a subdivision does not directly lead to approval of an additional
mining operation, staff from the Water & Pollution Control Department believes mineral
extraction could impact the aquifer planned to be used for the City's new wells to the
south. Therefore, staff will be opposing the issuance of a Conditional Use Permit from
Story County to extract minerals on the property.
ATTACHMENT(S):
City of Ames Subdivision Split Waiver Request_2026-07-24 (002).pdf
560th Avenue CTI Overall Location.pdf
560th Avenue CTI Closeup Location.pdf
CTI Plat 1.pdf
CTI Plat 2.pdf
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4 1 2 1 NW UR B A N DA L E D R I V E , UR B AN D AL E , I OW A 5 0 3 2 2 • P 5 1 5 + 3 6 9+ 4 4 0 0 • W W W . C D A- E NG . CO M
July 24, 2026
Honorable Mayor & City Council
City of Ames
c/o Justin Moore, Planner
515 Clark Avenue
Ames, Iowa 50010
RE: 3500 360th Street – Story County
Parcels 1019100105 & 1019100210
Waiver – City Subdivision Requirements
Honorable Mayor & City Council;
On behalf of Des Moines Heavy Industrial LLC and Ag Land Specialist, LLC, we respectively request
that the Ames City Council grant a waiver from the City’s subdivision requirements and Urban Fringe
Land Use designation of Natural Area to allow the properties listed above to be final platted. We
understand that the City’s policies generally discourage land divisions resulting in parcels smaller than
35 acres and the city has subdivision jurisdiction over properties with a two-mile radius of city limits on
parcels less than 35 acres. Our request to waive these requirements is based on the unique
circumstances of this property and the development that has occurred between this property and the
city of Ames corporate boundaries.
Properties along the eastern side of the 560th Avenue corridor have been developed into mineral
extraction operations that are used in conjunction with concrete and HMA paving companies. In
October of 2025, CTI Ready Mix had a site plan approved by Story County to allow for the construction
of a concrete batch facility located on property owned by Des Moines Heavy Industrial LLC. For CTI
Ready Mix to purchase the property for construction a final plat is needed to split off 3.6 acres of
property. CTI Ready Mix is owned by the same individual that owns the property to the east which is
under the ownership of Ag Land Specialist, LLC. In lieu of purchasing the property the property owners
have agreed to a land swap which necessitates the creation of a second final plat to create the second
parcel which is the same size for the land swap. Future plans for the property owned by Ag Land
Specialist, LLC would include mineral extraction similar to the two adjacent properties to the north.
There is currently an agreement in place between Des Moines Heavy Industrial LLC and Ag Land
Specialist, LLC to allow CTI Ready Mix to utilize materials out of the current extraction occurring to the
north. These uses would be complimentary businesses to what is already in place along the corridor.
Before the site plan was approved, city staff indicated that the properties along this roadway are not
expected to be annexed into the City of Ames in the foreseeable future, if ever, and that city utilities are
not expected to be available for connection. Based on that guidance, CTI Ready Mix proceeded
through Story County to obtain approval of a site plan with private utility improvements.
For the reasons outlined above we would like to request that the Ames City Council grant a waiver from
the City’s subdivision requirements to allow the proposed final plats to proceed without requiring
compliance with the City’s full subdivision improvement standards. We appreciate your consideration of
this request and would be available for any questions you might have. Thank you.
Sincerely,
CIVIL DESIGN ADVANTAGE, LLC
Erin K. Ollendike, P.E.
5
KEN MARIL RD
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