The City Council reached a resolution passing a settlement agreement with Breckenridge Group LLC on Tuesday night in front of a large crowd.

Part of the agreement included the southernmost piece of land adjacent to State Road and Mortensen Avenue. Iowa State has agreed to purchase the land for a little more than $1.3 million. The Board of Regents approved the purchase of the 29 acres at its June meeting 

In 2014, the Breckenridge Group filed a lawsuit against the city of Ames after the council designated the parcels of land it purchased a residential-low density zone. Apartment complexes cannot be built on land zoned residential-low density.

The council has been in closed sessions over the lawsuit for months.

A summary of the proposal was released July 22 explaining that of the three parcels of land purchased by Breckenridge Group only the north parcel would be developed by the company.

The south parcel would be purchased by Iowa State no later than Aug. 31, and the middle parcel would be purchased by the city.  

Before the council made a decision on the proposed agreement it heard public input.

Overall, those who spoke approved of the conservation of the south parcel by Iowa State, and the creation of affordable housing by the city on the middle parcel.

The most objection came with the development plans by Breckenridge on the north parcel.

Many of those against or concerned about the agreement live in the neighborhood. There was a concern about traffic and parking, a decrease in property value, tax abatement and increase in rental price.

“Why should taxpayers subsidize tax abatements for Breckenridge?” Michael Peterson of Ames asked.

Citizens who live near the developments were concerned their neighborhood will turn into less of a family neighborhood and more of a college neighborhood.

“The concerns of the neighborhood and the goals of the city were always at the forefront of our discussions,” Councilwoman Amber Corrieri said.

Those who spoke in support for the proposal said the new commercial space would add more walkability to the neighborhood. Supporters also said the proposal will help bring more affordable housing, which has been a concern for many Ames citizens.

“Having this middle parcel available for low income, affordable housing is really a great opportunity,” Ames Rental Association Vice President Dale VanderSchaff said.

VanderSchaff is also president on the board of directors of the Story County Community Housing Corporation (SCCHC). VanderSchaff said the board approved of the proposal in a recent vote.

Brian Torresi, representing Breckenridge, also spoke to the council in support of the proposal.

“We just want this to go away,” Torresi said.

After a break to confer with the legal council, the proposal was passed with a 4-2 vote. Matthew Goodman and Gloria Betcher voted against the agreement.

However, Breckenridge is not in the clear yet. City Attorney Judy Parks said if the residents of the neighbored file a protest against the company, the council would be forced to rezone the north parcel with at least a 5 to 1 margin.

Parks said her legal council expects for a protest to be filed.

Airport Terminal

There was also a 4-2 vote approving the FAA grant for the airport terminal building project.

This approval assures the availability of federal funding. Because the city has approved using the grant money, it must show continuing progress of building a new terminal building.

After the lowest bid to construct a new terminal and hanger came in almost $750,000 more than expected, the council proposed the project be downscaled to reduce $250,000 of the cost. The city and Iowa State plan to evenly split the remaining $500,000.