T-R photo by Noah Rohlfing Housing and Community Development director Michelle Spohnheimer discusses a number of proposed resolutions during Monday night’s City Council meeting.

The final plat and master plan for a proposed Merle Hibbs West subdivision at Glenwood Park were carried unanimously by the Marshalltown City Council members during a meeting Monday night.

The proposal is an expansion of Merle Hibbs West with four new duplex buildings at the south side of its existing property and the addition of space for eight new residents.

The area is subject to flood area restrictions. No additional service roads would have to be planned, according to a document from the master plan amendment provided by owners Bedrock Development Group, LLC.

The lots on which the buildings will be built are not on a floodplain, but the owners are requesting plats since there are three or more parcels – which the city passed.

The General Contractor for Merle Hibbs West is Blum Group, based in Grimes. A Blue Group representative said the estimate for the units is $229,000 per unit.

The project garnered public support from members of the Merle Hibbs West community who were in attendance, but residents hoped that the project would consider adding a Homeowners Association. The community members said they were happy to see a low-density residential project happening near the neighborhood.

Michelle Spohnheimer, Director of Housing and Community Development, said the PUD designation allows the city to set the guidelines for a number of important factors pertaining to the lot and how it is used. PUDs have to go through a concept plan, a preliminary plan and a final plan.

Spohnheimer said the amendment they voted on was not a huge change but a change to the final master plan. She said the tracts will still be connected to the lots, but it will not have an impact on the development.

“It won’t be built upon, the building lot would be where the structure is,” Spohnheimer said. “That would then not be in the flood area.”

She added that the change would help with insurance.

Marshalltown resident Mark Eaton argued that the special dispensation the owner of the project was asking for was a workaround of EPA and DNR regulations.

Spohnheimer closed her statement to the council by explaining the plat process, and adding the preliminary and final plats for the project would be done concurrently.

“Before you have what creates the lots, which can then be sold off to individual owners, it’s creating the eight lots and the corresponding tract,” Spohnheimer said

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Contact Noah Rohlfing at 641-753-6611 or nrohlfing@timesrepublican.com