Iowa State is set to sell 122 acres of land that the Ames Community School District failed to purchase after two attempts, and school officials will now be forced to bid on the land in Friday’s auction.

The land, located in southwest Ames near the Holiday Inn Gateway Center, will be auctioned off by Rogers and Associates of Urbandale at the Holiday Inn at 2 p.m.

ISU students will be the potential beneficiaries from the sale of the land, receiving money through scholarship endowments.

The Ames Community School District had attempted to acquire the land because of its central location, which would be used to build a new middle school. The district’s offers, however, were rejected by ISU administrators, who believed they weren’t offered fair market value for the land.

Although the Ames Community School District had attempted to keep the land only available for government use, the city attorney said that wasn’t legally possible.

“You can’t use zoning to acquire property for a site for governmental purpose, governmental use,” said city attorney John Klaus.

“The police power, the zoning regulations, the regulatory power of government regulates the use of land, but it is not to be a means by which people are prohibited from doing anything with the land except let government use it. That’s called regulatory taking, and that’s not legal,” he said.

City Council member Herman Quirmbach said two important points came out at Tuesday’s city council meeting, in which the zoning issue was addressed.

“One is that as far as our ability to use zoning to affect the outcome of the auction, that basically is nonexistent.

“Legally, our city attorney was advising us that if those properties came in the hands of a private entity, then that private entity would have essentially a legal right to rezoning of an appropriate nature. We couldn’t keep a government-only zoning on that. So that option is not available,” he said.

The second point that council members made was a provision in its land use and zoning plans for the district to site schools in residential neighborhoods.

“That allows the school district a great range of flexibility as far as choosing sites within the context of our zoning policy. So we have been very facilitating of their ability to choose school sites,” Quirmbach said.

Warren Madden, ISU vice president for Business and Finance, said he was disappointed that school district officials tried to use zoning as a means to obtain the land.

“I believe that they have not sat down and communicated with the university,” he said. “Their effort to have the city get engaged in the zoning of this land that is supposed to be sold, basically at the eleventh hour, before this auction on Friday was disappointing to me.”

Madden said the university is trying to receive the market value of the land, and if the university doesn’t receive it for the land, it won’t be sold.

“This is a reserve auction, which means we have a minimum price that we have not disclosed, that will have to be met and if that isn’t met, the land won’t be sold,” he said. “Additionally, the sale will be subject to approval by the Board of Regents and the ISU Foundation for the portion of the land that they own and for the university portions or parcels by the executive council and that’s following the Iowa law.”

Quirmbach said the nationwide competition for recruiting young faculty is something ISU officials should consider before the auction.

“I think that if ISU is going to exercise some intelligent leadership here and some far-sighted leadership, it will recognize that it has in its own interest a direct stake in the health and well being of the Ames Public Schools,” he said.

The land will be auctioned as a whole and also as three separate parcels, Madden said. The acreage totals 122.75 acres. The ISU Foundation’s parcel, #1, is 39.37 acres.

Parcel #2 and #3 are owned by the university and are 26.94 and 56.44 acres, respectively. Iowa State reserves the right to take the offer or offers that brings it the maximum value, Madden said.

School board member Mary Jane Bastiaans said potential school-size sites are difficult to obtain.

“School-size sites, if you are looking at a secondary school, are very few and far between in terms of availability except at the periphery of the school district,” she said.

School board members also want the land for its future possibilities, Bastiaans said.

“We don’t know, maybe in 20 years that site will be needed for a second high school or something that we as a board right now can’t even imagine,” she said. “If we don’t set aside property, then the property is going to be gone, and we’re not going to have the flexibility of the school district that we need.”

Bastiaans refused to speculate on how high the school board would bid but said the district “does not have deep pockets.” She also refused to comment on what action the school board would take if it fails to obtain the land Friday.

Even if the district does acquire the land, it still has to be approved by the Board of Regents and the Iowa Executive Council.