A group of Ames citizens hope to change plans for the development of a new Target store in the Ames floodway fringe.

The Alliance for Good Land Use in Ames is supporting “reexamination of city flood plain development policy and redevelopment of Target on its current property,” according to an e-mail by Joe Lynch, spokesman for the Alliance for Good Land Use.

The Dayton Hudson corporation, which will build the new Target, is currently planning to build the store east of Duff Avenue, between what would be East Third Street and Fifth Street, said Brian O’Connell, director of Planning and Housing for Ames.

O’Connell said Third Street would be extended under the plans for the new Target. He said the new street would run for about one-fourth of a mile past Duff Avenue.

The proposed location for the new store is in the “floodway fringe,” O’Connell said. He said the flood plain in Ames is divided into two parts — the floodway and the floodway fringe.

He said buildings are allowed to be built in the floodway fringe if officials take the proper steps.

“It is and has been for years the law of the city that if landowners fill in the floodway fringe to an elevation that is above the base flood elevation, the city issues permits for that building to occur,” O’Connell said.

Filling includes bringing in soil to elevate the site, O’Connell said. Filling occurs frequently in the floodway fringe, where the new Target would be located, but is not allowed in the floodway.

O’Connell said builders must elevate the site to a level that would not be affected by a “hundred-year flood.” A hundred-year flood is a statistical measure used by state and federal governments to define a flood event that would likely occur once in 100 years. A hundred-year flood also has a one percent chance of occurring in a single year, he said.

O’Connell said people should understand that the hundred-year flood is simply a statistical prediction.

“The flood experiences that the city has had in 1993 and 1996 have greatly exceeded the previous floods of record,” he said. “The floods of 1993 and ’96 were very large, infrequent flood occurrences. They far exceed what the projected would be for a hundred-year flood.”

The Alliance for Good Land Use in Ames has proposed that Target develop on its existing site and consider a multi-story building facing Lincoln Way, with a parking garage for both Target and Hy-Vee customers.

Lynch said he sees two major problems if Target is built in the floodway fringe — increased flooding and loss of farm land.

He said because Target will use filling in building the new store it will push flooding down to other area businesses.

In addition, Lynch said the development will result in the loss of least 10 acres of greenery used for agricultural production.

“The current Target location is the most valuable area in Ames, but it’s also the ugliest,” Lynch said.

Lynch said the Alliance wants a building the community can be proud of and utilize 50 years from now. “We want a building that we can use after Target leaves,” he said.

O’Connell said the city has received an example of how Target might develop on its existing location and a list of names signing the letter from the Alliance. He said Dayton Hudson was not planning to develop on the current location.

“It’s something that the Alliance is suggesting, but Dayton Hudson is not pursuing it,” O’Connell said.

Target does not currently own the land where its store is located, but it would own the new location.

The Alliance also plans to seek support from not only Ames residents, but also Ames conservation and environmental groups and the Ames City Council.

Lynch encourages residents to talk to their city council members about the issue.

It is planned that the Ames City Council will vote on the conceptual design of the new Target store at its March 12 meeting.