Des Moines Sun

The Windsor Heights City Council recently held a public hearing on an urban renewal plan.

"Whether or not you adopt this plan, you still have the ability to exercise eminent domain if the council decides it's appropriate," city attorney Matt Brick told the council. "This document itself does not affect your ability for condemnation."

As part of the urban renewal plan, the city has pledged up to $500,000 to help local businesses from 2023 to 2027. The public hearing was held alongside a small amendment to the plan, which is a renewal of the plan that has existed in similar forms for around 15 years. 

One resident came out to speak during the public hearing, concerned about the authority this plan would give the city in taking delinquent property and developing it. He spoke specifically about some property in his neighborhood near his house that had a 30-year-old tree he had planted and held some significance to the area.

Mayor Mike Jones addressed the resident’s concerns by saying that in their discussions on developing a nearby vacant lot, they had never discussed looking to add more property to the parcel. He reassured the resident that the urban development plan did not change any legal authority of the city in that regard.