City Council OKs revised land-use plan
By LAURA PIEPERREGISTER STAFF WRITER
Ankeny's land-use plan now includes the updated Prairie Trail development proposals as officials move forward with the 1,000-acre project.
Prairie Trail is north of Des Moines Area Community College on the former Iowa State University dairy farm. The area is generally located north of Southwest Oralabor Road between South Ankeny Boulevard and Northwest Irvinedale Drive.
Council members approved the revised land-use plan at their Monday meeting.
"We're ready to get started," said Tedd Rapp with DRA Associates, the developer of the project.
There are few major revisions to the Prairie Trail development. The amendment simply recognizes the master plan developed by Urban Design Associates over the plans first outlined by William Ludwig and Associates.
The biggest changes between the Ludwig plan and the newer master plan include:
-Noting the location of the new police station planned on the northeast side of the development.
-More variety of residential housing types and sizes.
-Light industrial as well as commercial development south of John Deere.
-Mixed residential and commercial areas, instead of solid commercial development, on the edges of Prairie Trail.
Both plans feature a civic area in the center of Prairie Trail that will serve as a town center, and also a potential school site.
John Peterson, director of the Planning and Building Department, said there were a few comments made when the Plan and Zoning Commission held a public hearing on traffic speed and density on streets adjacent to Prairie Trail.
He said the city is working with the design team's traffic consultant and the Iowa Department of Transportation to address traffic issues. Currently, two pedestrian underpasses are planned, beneath State Street and Oralabor Road.
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