Minutes_Zoning Advisory Commission 05.06.26Dubuque
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MINUTES
ZONING ADVISORY COMMISSION
REGULAR SESSION
6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
City Council Chambers, Historic Federal Building
Commissioners Present: Chairperson Matt Mulligan and Commission Members
Martha Christ, Troy Froistad, Pat Norton, Rich Russell, and Teri Zuccaro.
Commissioners Excused: Carrie Lohrmann.
Commissioners Unexcused: None.
Staff Members Present: Shena Moon, Travis Schrobilgen, and Jason Duba
CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Mulligan at 6:00 p.m.
MINUTES: Motion by Zuccaro, seconded by Froistad, to approve the minutes of the April
1, 2026, meeting. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye — Christ, Froistad, Norton,
Russell, Zuccaro, and Mulligan; Nay — none.
Commissioner Norton recused himself from the first public hearing.
PUBLIC HEARING/REZONING: Application of Patrick Norton, Buesing & Associates to
rezone property located at 1836 Washington Street from R-2A Alternate Two -Family
Residential to C-4 Downtown Commercial zoning district.
Pat Norton, Buesing & Associates, 1212 Locust Street, spoke on behalf of the property
owner, Gary Carner. He stated that he seeks to build a contractor shop adjacent to his
current shop. He clarified that the request is to rezone only the1836 Washington property
and not the adjacent property to the south. He said the new shop will be similar to the one
located at 1800 Washington Street.
There was no public input.
Staff Member Moon detailed the staff report. She displayed the zoning map of the area
and discussed the mixed zoning districts and land uses on the adjacent lots and
surrounding area, including an existing C-4 district across the street. She said the current
land use is a community garden, and the property owner, Mr. Carner desires to construct
a contractor shop on the property. She noted the lot is relatively small, limiting potential
uses and minimizing the scale of development and potential for traffic impacts.
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Chairperson Mulligan noted that it seems strange to get rid of a community garden but
acknowledged there are a variety of land uses in the area. He also said there have been
no public comments. Staff Member Moon noted that the property could be developed
according to the current zoning district.
Motion by Russell, seconded by Zuccaro, to approve the rezoning as submitted. Motion
carried by the following vote: Aye — Christ, Froistad, Russell, Zuccaro, and Mulligan; Nay
— none.
Commissioner Norton returned to the meeting.
PUBLIC HEARING/REZONING: Application of Kenneth Miller to rezone property located
at 101 Airborne Road from County A-1 Agricultural, County R-1 Rural Residential, County
R-2 Single Family Residential and County C-1 Conservancy to City Hlc Heavy Industrial
zoning district with conditions concurrently with annexation to the City of Dubuque.
Kenneth Miller, Administrator of the Dubuque Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Agency
spoke on behalf of the application. He stated they are seeking to rezone to Heavy
Industrial with conditions limiting the uses to landfilling and related uses. He said this is
in conjunction with cell expansion. He noted the landfill currently has capacity for 13 years
and three months of waste, and that these would be the next areas to develop. He said
the landfill infrastructure can be extended here. He said that applying for the rezoning
now will simplify the permitting process at the state level for moving the waterway.
Carissa Trilk, 14847 Lost Canyon Road, spoke on behalf of herself and her husband who
was unable to attend the meeting. She expressed opposition to the rezoning, saying it will
affect the waterway and devalue their property. She said they are considering putting land
into conservation to have additional protection.
Staff Member Duba detailed the staff report. He explained the need DMASWA has
demonstrated to use this land for future landfill capacity, noting they would have 190
years' worth of storage with this additional land. He described the surrounding land uses
and zoning districts. He said the landfill will have additional approvals from IDNR and the
Army Corps of Engineers. He listed the uses that are proposed under the conditions
requested by DMASWA.
Commissioner Froistad asked when the new land would be used. Mr. Miller replied that
the entire rezoning area would not be developed all at one time, but rather it's a phased
development plan. He noted they would likely start development in the next eight (8) to
ten (10) years and that filling would not need to occur until the current cells are full which
will not be for about 13 years. He stated some activities may begin earlier such as removal
of topsoil for coverage.
Chairperson Mulligan asked about the potential impacts on the local water. Mr. Miller
explained that DMASWA is consulting with HDR Engineering to prepare their plans and
application to the Army Corps of Engineers and Iowa Department of Natural Resources
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(IDNR) regarding the relocation of the existing stream channel. He said there is likely to
be mitigation required off site. He said they will construct a new stream channel to handle
the capacity of the current one.
Will Nicholson, the environmental engineer of record with HDR Engineering for
DMASWA, stated they are currently working through the early stages of mitigation for the
project. He noted there are wetlands and the stream which will require Army Corps review
for both and it would be a multi -year review and permitting process. The IDNR regulators
will review the flow of the stream and watershed through a separate multi -year review
and permitting process. He noted that the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) will also review for work in the floodplain.
Chairperson Mulligan asked about the landfill liners. Mr. Nicholson stated that he is a solid
waste engineer and provided a detailed explanation of how the liners worked to prevent
any leachate from entering the ground, stating it is all collected and transported by sewer
pipe to the Water and Resource Recovery Center for treatment. He noted the regulations
governing this are the same around the country.
Motion by Norton, seconded by Russell, to approve the rezoning with the following
conditions:
1. The principal permitted uses for this Heavy Industrial District shall be limited to
the following:
a. Automated gas station
b. Freight transfer facility
c. Resource recovery/recycling center (indoor only)
d. Railroad or public or quasi -public utility, including substation
e. Sanitary landfill
2. The conditional uses for this Heavy Industrial District shall be limited to the
following:
a. Wind energy conversion system
Motion carried by the following vote: Aye — Christ, Froistad, Norton, Russell, Zuccaro,
and Mulligan; Nay — none.
PUBLIC HEARING/TEXT AMENDMENT: Application of City of Dubuque text
amendment to list Community Garden as a permitted use in all office, commercial, and
industrial zoning districts.
Staff Member Schrobilgen presented the proposed text amendment noting that the
intention is to list community gardens as a permitted use in all office, commercial, and
industrial zoning districts. He stated that community gardens are already allowed in all
residential zoning districts including the office residential zoning district. He noted the
Washington Neighborhood Community Garden's search for a new location highlighted
that numerous properties throughout the city have potential as garden sites but are
currently unusable because the underlying zoning district does not permit community
gardens as a principal permitted use.
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Staff Member Schrobilgen stated that text amendments are city-wide changes that are
not specific to any one property, person, or group. He noted that community gardens are
increasing in popularity and are beneficial to neighborhoods as they provide access to
fresh foods throughout the community including within neighborhoods considered food
deserts.
There was no public input.
The Commissioners questioned whether staff had received a letter from the public for the
proposed amendment. Staff Member Schrobilgen clarified that a letter had not been
submitted to staff but staff did field general inquiries pertaining to the relocation of the
community gardens located on Washington Street.
Motion by Christ, seconded by Zuccaro, to approve the text amendment as submitted.
Motion carried by the following vote: Aye — Christ, Froistad, Norton, Russell, Zuccaro,
and Mulligan; Nay — none.
ITEMS FROM PUBLIC: None.
ITEMS FROM COMMISSION: Commissioner Christ announced that this would be her
last meeting as she will be absent from the June meeting and her term is set to expire at
the end of June. Planning Services Director Wernimont presented Commissioner Christ
with a certificate of appreciation and expressed gratitude for Christ's 32 years of service
to the commission and the city.
ITEMS FROM STAFF: Staff Member Moon presented the City of Dubuque Goal Setting
for Fiscal Year 2027 and invited commissioners to share their input.
Chairperson Mulligan asked if there were two vacancies now. Staff Member Moon stated
that Commissioner Zuccaro had also shared that she will not be reapplying when her term
expires in June, and that this would leave the Commission with two vacant seats.
ADJOURNMENT: Motion by Russell, seconded by Christ to adjourn the May 6, 2026
Commission meeting. Motion carried by the following vote: Aye — Christ, Froistad, Norton,
Russell, Zuccaro, and Mulligan; Nay — none.
The meeting adjourned at 6:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
June 3, 2026
Sh a Moon, Associate Planner Adopted
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