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Say yes to more neighbors

momentumdesmoines

The denial of a zoning change request earlier this month for the property at 5702 Grand Ave by the Des Moines Planning and Zoning Commission highlights, yet again, the problematic processes of how our nation has come to grapple with rapidly escalating housing costs, a shortage of affordable places to live, and relatedly, a growing homelessness crisis.


The request to change from single family zoning to multi-family to allow for the development of 9 townhomes (originally 15)  was denied after outcry from neighbors, who claimed the density would destroy neighborhood character, impact traffic counts, and many other often cited responses when new housing is proposed in established neighborhoods. While the neighbor beliefs and complaints may be well intentioned, they are not necessarily based in facts, or the broader context of the housing conversation in our country. Combined with the other recent denials for multi-family rezonings in the city, collectively these stalled projects highlight how we continue to make building abundant new housing in our city difficult, if not impossible. 


The public input process has become a default “vetocracy” that prohibits us from building the housing we so desperately need in this country. Each individual project is denied based on its supposed impact to a specific neighborhood, yet when each subsequent community declares that new housing is “bad” for their neighborhood character, we are left with a city set in amber, where nothing can be modified or added, and with neighborhoods that cannot grow and adapt to changing demographics, preferences, or climate realities. 


While neighbors so often line up to speak out against these developments, the beneficiaries of these projects, namely the people who will live in them, cannot attend and speak up at these public meetings because they don’t exist yet. But they exist if we let them, and will demonstrate their support when they purchase or rent these units. The sharp rise in housing prices, felt even here in Des Moines, highlights a strong demand to live in our community. There are people who want to live in the city of Des Moines. They want to shop here, dine here, and pay taxes here, but they can’t because we deny them a place to live. Instead, 9 more townhomes will be built on the edge of the suburbs, tearing up more farmland, and inducing more sprawl and longer and longer travel times. 


Denying multifamily infill in our city is preventing our city from growing and adapting, and denying us of a more resilient and established tax base. We should be welcoming new neighbors. We should be a city of “Yes”. As the zoning appeal is set to go before the city of Des Moines later this month, we ask our City Councilors in Des Moines to open us up to more residents, neighbors, and taxpayers. We ask them to help us become a city of “Yes”. 


Renderings of the proposed infill development at 5702 Grand Ave in Des Moines.
Renderings of the proposed infill development at 5702 Grand Ave in Des Moines.

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How does a row of $700,000 (each) townhomes solve any problem? There isn't even a house with a yard in the area for half that much and you're telling me that a $700,000 town home is the meet me in the middle point? For half that much you could get a really nice house so how does this help anyone? Is this the Des Moines future plan? Half million dollar plus apartments for all intents and purposes?

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Momentum Des Moines is a registered non-partisan political action committee in the State of Iowa. All memberships and donations are not tax deductible.

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