Rezoning for homes endorsed
Development would be south of Russell Stover plant

By RICHARD LUKEN
Register Reporter

The Iola Planning Commission has endorsed a plan to rezone about 12 acres of land near the Russell Stover Candies plant in order to build a housing complex, despite objections from the candy plant’s owners.
Now, the issue goes to the Iola City Commission, which will decide whether to rezone the property from industrial to residential land in order for Carlson Gardner, Inc. of Springfield to build 30 rental houses.
Planning Commission members, meeting Thursday evening with representatives from Carlson Gardner and Russell Stover, cited Iola’s overwhelming need for additional housing — exacerbated by last summer’s flood — as they voted to endorse the project.
They agreed that the zoning change meets seven criteria put forth by Jeff Bauer, Iola’s code enforcement officer, including whether the land is compatible with the characteristics of the neighborhood and whether developing the property as housing adheres to Iola’s comprehensive plan.
Carlson Gardner’s mission is to build, own and manage the 30 rental homes geared to those considered to have low or moderate incomes, explained Tammi Creason, project coordinator for development and acquisition at Carlson Gardner.
The housing development firm is using emergency funding allocated by the state because of the 2007 floods, Creason said, which means plans must be in place soon for construction to begin at mid-year. The company hopes to have some of the houses ready for occupancy by early 2009.
Under the plan detailed by Creason, renters would need to fit three of four factors: income (most renters will earn between $10 and $16 an hour), credit ratings, rental history and time at their respective jobs. Carlson Gardner would hire a site manager and maintenance worker to oversee the properties.
After 15 years, renters would be eligible for Carlson Gardner’s home ownership program, Creason said.
Each of the 1,350 square-foot homes would have three bedrooms, two baths and an attached two-car garage. The homes would have similar floor plans but would not be identical.
Creason noted that only a portion of the 12 acres would be necessary for the 30 rental properties. The company is open to discussing selling other plots of land or building other homes for sale. In all, the 12 acres has room for as many as 50 homes, she said.
After inspecting several pieces of land in and near Iola, it was clear the property immediately south of Russell Stover best fit the company’s plans because of the infrastructure — roads, sewer and electric facilities — already in place, Creason said. Building elsewhere would be more costly.
“We’re coming here to be a partner with the city for the next 15 or 20 years,” Creason said.

OBJECTIONS TO the plan were voiced by Lonnie Larson, manager of the Iola Russell Stover plant.
Larson said he was speaking on behalf of Tom and Scott Ward, owners of the candy giant.
“One of the comments Tom made to me was that when he came to Iola and invested millions of dollars, he did so in an industrial zone for a reason,” Larson said.
Larson said Ward recalled other communities that built housing complexes near his candy plants, which led to complaints from folks who moved into those neighborhoods.
Complaints ranged from such things as truck traffic, smell and the commotion created by shift changes at all hours of the night.
“These are things he doesn’t want to deal with,” Larson said.
Larson, speaking as a long-time Iola resident, acknowledged that the city’s housing crunch has impacted the candy plant as it continues to seek qualified employees.
He wondered if an alternative location could be used for the housing complex, or whether Carlson Gardner would consider a plan to scatter rental houses in plots of land throughout Iola.
“I empathize with Iola’s need for more housing, but I feel like this is a Catch-22,” Larson said. “On one hand, this housing likely could be beneficial for some of our employees. On the other hand, it could be detrimental to our future growth.”

THE PLANNING Commission also heard from John McRae and Bill Maness, Iola’s previous and current mayors. Both spoke in favor of seeing the housing complex built.
McRae, president of Iola Industries — which is selling the land to Carlson Gardner — said he was torn because of the city’s long-term relationship with Russell Stover. “I’ll shoulder the responsibility for not getting them involved” with the planning, he said.
However, Carlson Gardner has researched other areas — as recently as earlier in the day — and none carried the appeal of the land near the candy plant, McRae said.
“This proposal targets the very groups of residents we want to see grow,” McRae said, calling Carlson Gardner’s proposal “our first opportunity in years” to stem Iola’s population loss.
Maness noted that Iolans tend to be a realistic bunch, who would understand before they moved the issues involved with living next door to a manufacturing facility.
Maness also pointed to Iola’s ongoing plans for a voluntary buyout for flood victims.
“That buyout money is going to be turned loose soon, and if we don’t have the housing, or the promise of housing here, folks are going to move somewhere else,” Maness said.

IOLAN Ken Shetlar, who has worked with Carlson Gardner with the engineering necessary for the rezoning process, said Thursday’s meeting illustrates the city’s larger problems with developing housing for Iolans.
“There were a lot of people involved with trying to find a site” for the housing complex, Shetlar said. “But now we’re really in trouble with trying to find a next site.”
The city should begin frank discussions promptly to determine where Iola wants to grow to ensure the infrastructure needs are in place, Shetlar said.