More information will be needed before an alley at South Division Street can be vacated by the Creston Planning and Zoning Commission.
Mark O’Riley submitted a request for the commission to close the alley so an addition to the O’Riley Center, which houses the Creston Area Food Pantry among other uses, can be built.
Commission member Joe Williamson raised concerns over the safety of the intersection at South Division Street and Wyoming Avenue and whether a new building located where the alley is currently would block the visibility for motorists approaching the intersection on South Division from the south.
“You know how Wyoming and Division meet, and if you visualize that addition ... the only thing you will be able to see is the yield sign until you get clear to the parking lot,” Williamson, who lives in the area, said, “I’m concerned about the way the traffic meets at that intersection if we allow that to block part of the view.”
The intersection is a narrow “Y” with limited visibility until motorists pass the O’Riley Center building that sits there now.
Trudy LaRosee echoed the concern and added that if the alley is vacated and an addition built, new signage might be needed to make the intersection safer.
Public Works Director Kevin Kruse said he does not believe the addition will block visibility due to its location on the east side of the building toward the south.
Jesse Bolinger said he trusts Mark and Mary O’Riley would have taken safety into consideration in their plans for the building.
“They’re not going to do anything that is going to cause harm to people,” Bolinger said. “They are going to be thinking about traffic flow coming in and out of there, too.”
Bolinger moved to vacate the alley, but the motion died for lack of a second. LaRosee then moved to table the issue until more information could be obtained regarding the size and placement of the proposed building. Williamson seconded the motion.
Commission members Keith Post and Jerry White were not present.
Comprehensive plan
The commission began their overview of the draft for the 20-year comprehensive plan for the city of Creston. This was the commission’s second attempt to discuss the plan. At a planned meeting two weeks ago, there was no quorum with only LaRosee and Williamson present.
The city council commissioned Southern Iowa Council of Governments to create a plan to give Creston boards and commissions a road map to follow when making decisions about changes to or variances from current city codes.
Commission members discussed the introduction to the plan and specific language they would like to see added. LaRosee suggested more focus on bringing Uptown Creston back to life and the possibility of using beautifying the railroad corridor, beginning with the parking lot on the south side of West Adams Street across from the movie theater.
Bolinger said this suggestion was in line with the recommendations made in the Healthy Hometown study recently completed.
The commission will meet again in two weeks to discuss chapters three and four of the plan — Current Conditions and Neighborhoods.
The Planning and Zoning Commission is currently holding its meetings via the digital platform Zoom due to the COVID-19 restrictions. The Zoom address will be made available in the Creston News Advertiser one to two days before the next meeting.