Home>Economic Development>Comprehensive Plan Update>Full Text of the Comprehensive Plan>Issues: Comm. Facilities

COMMUNITY FACILITIES ISSUES

Parks and Recreation

A vast array of regional park and recreation areas and activities are found in close proximity to the City of North Liberty. Five parks are located within the City of North Liberty. Three of these parks are located east of the CRANDIC Railroad (near the original town center) and the new Quail Ridge Park is located west of Highway 965. A 10 acre passive park is located south of the City by the waste water treatment plant. While most existing parks were recognized as having adequate facilities, there is concern of distribution of parks and recreational opportunities for residents in the western portion of the community and areas of new development.

The amount of City parks are small in number but large in size. The City has plans to strategically locate parks to the west and south. This would result in increased acquisition costs for the City. North Liberty is exploring all possible avenues allowed by state law for dedication and acquisition of park land and/or cash contributions.

Many community representatives also noted a lack of diversity in the City's parks. Specifically, there was concern voiced over a lack of facilities for the very young as well as the elderly.

Trails were a major subject of comment relative to recreational amenities. The growing population associated with the popularity of recreation activities, requiring trails immediate attention. A need for both internal City and regional trails were identified. As such, the Comprehensive Plan should fully address both present and future park and trail needs of the community.

Community Center Project

The new Community Center project is considered highly positive within the community and received significant attention in the community survey. This facility is seen as providing a highly needed service and as a major step forward in enhancing City identity and sense of overall community.

A recreational facility identified as being needed is a municipal pool to be located adjacent to the new Community Center. While acknowledging the desirability of a pool, concern arises with the cost of a City pool, not only relative to construction, but also ongoing maintenance and staffing. The Center's proposed location within the Central Commercial Area is also viewed as positive. Such a location is accessible to all of the community and provides an element which enhances community focus, image, and identity.

The purpose of the Community Center, library, historic CBD, and the future bicycle trailway make it imperative that pedestrian routes and crossing locations are established to the Central Commercial Area, particularly at locations along Highway 965.


Schools

North Liberty residents are served by two independent school districts (Clear Creek and Iowa City). A new elementary school has been constructed which serves North Liberty. Although this new school reduces the congestion from Penn Elementary, it raises issues regarding its service jurisdiction. The new elementary school draws from the area west of Highway 965, while the eastern portion of the City continues to be served by Penn Elementary. The service boundaries which have been established enhance the problem of a physical east/west split of the North Liberty community. For reasons of convenience, separation of the City via School District boundaries, and community identity, a desire for the City and School District borders to correspond has been expressed. As such, this issue should be investigated within the Comprehensive Plan.


Utilities

The City Engineer has prepared a Water Systems Facilities Report to address some of the issues of the City’s water system. Whereas many of the past issues have been resolved, there still remains some concern regarding the dead-end water mains. The findings of the report must be incorporated in the Policy Plan and Development Framework sections of the Comprehensive Plan. Strong considerations of this issue must be given by the City in order to determine the best plan of action.

Currently, the City has an area-wide drainage plan. However, in the older areas, the City has experienced drainage problems in regard to surface water runoff during heavy rainfalls, which result in back flow of water into foundations. This back flow has often filtered into the sanitary sewer system. In the Spring of 1997, the City began an inflo and infiltration program that helped address this problem.

Yet another issue which has been identified with the present sewer and water system is the long extension of these utilities across undeveloped land in order to service residential development on the west side of the golf course. This type of scattered development results in costly and inefficient service. Future development should avoid this type of scattered “leap frog” arrangement, unless the benefits of extensions are understood. Services should be extended outwardly in a planned manner that address future land use and capacity of the system.

An additional issue related to utility extension is the potential servicing of land adjacent to the interstate interchange. Utility extensions into this area are essential to allow commercial and industrial development. As previously stated, the City Engineer is currently studying the system’s capabilities. The findings of this report will be fully considered in the preparation of the Development Framework.

The City is constructing a sewer treatment facility in the southeast corner of the City, which will provide additional sewer capacity to the City. As the City’s sewer system has aged, there have been instances of sewer system back up due to small pipe sizing and areas of inflow and infiltration which take away capacity of the system. The City has an ongoing program of sealing and replacing older, small-sized pipe to provide relief to the system. This program should continue and the City should review the sewer system in a comprehensive manner on an annual basis.

Previous Issue                Back to Table of Contents                Next Issue