Windham Village Plan 2022 was adopted March 8, 2023
The final Windham Village Plan 2022 is available online.
Paper copies of the plan and documents linked below are accessible during normal business hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Planning, Development and Sustainability (PDS) Department located in the Administration Building, 913 S. Dubuque Street, Iowa City.
Village plans help villages balance preservation goals and growth opportunities, as well as guide decision-making by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors (Board) and the Planning and Zoning (PZ) Commission. The Board has directed PDS to guide Windham through the planning process.
The planning process as well as any adopted plan and defined village boundary do not require anyone to change how they use their property or its current zoning. The plan and village boundary also have no effect on anyone's taxes. What a plan and boundary help with is to provide the opportunity for appropriate development for those who might want to pursue it.
This webpage provides
- VILLAGE PLANNING RESOURCES
- HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF THE PLANNING PROCESS
During the project, information on "Next Steps," "How to Share Comments" and "Participate or Attend Meetings" was provided.
Village Planning Resources
Learn about the public input process and what a village plan does and doesn't do here
Access other village plans and the comprehensive plan here
Access economic development planning information here
Or visit our office at in the County Administration Building (second-floor) at 913 S. Dubuque Street in Iowa City to access these documents in person.
For more information, contact Nate Mueller, PDS Assistant Director, at (319) 356-6083 or by email at [email protected]
Completed Steps
RECAP: Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on March 8, 2023 (This comment period is closed.)
The Board of Supervisors (Board) continued discussion from December 2022, held the public hearing and took action on the Windham Village Plan at the board meeting at 5:30 p.m. CT, Wednesday, March 8, 2023. The meeting was also broadcast online and audio provided by phone as well. The Board voted 4-0 to adopted the plan (Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz was absent.) The plan is now part of the overall Johnson County Comprehensive Plan 2018. The Comprehensive and other village plans are available here.
The meeting allowed all interested parties the opportunity to address the Board. The notice of public hearing for the March 8 meeting was sent to the project mailing list via email and USPS on Feb. 22, 2023.
At the meeting, the Board considered the following documents
The same Public Hearing Draft that had been considered at the Dec. 8, 2022, board meeting. This file mentions an Oct. 24th mailing and the Nov. 14th PZ Commission Hearing; however, it is the same document.
The memo, boundary, and plan changes proposed by the local group that identified themselves at the December 2022 meeting.
PDS staff response to the local group's proposed changes to the draft plan.
RECAP: Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on Dec. 8, 2022 (This comment period is closed.)
The draft Windham Village Plan was considered by the Johnson County Board of Supervisors at the 5:30 p.m.Thursday, Dec. 8, public hearing, which was held in person and also accessible live online and by phone.
During public comments, several speakers indicated that there was an ad-hoc group or committee of local residents who would like more time to provide some potential changes to the draft for the Board to consider. This group was self-formed by residents; it was not created by the Board or by PDS staff. Following the close of the Dec. 8th public hearing, the Board voted 3-1 (one Supervisor was absent) to defer action on the proposed Windham Village Plan for 90 days to allow residents time to propose potential changes for the Board to consider.
The “Public Hearing Draft” of the proposed plan and related files that were discussed on Dec. 8 are at the links provided a, and hard copies were accessible (and continue to be) during business hours at the PDS Department
In addition to official public notice sent to all addresses on the mailing list, a news release dated Nov. 21, 2022 (available here) was sent to area media and posted at the County website to announce the meeting. Comments received by Dec. 6 were included in the official Board of Supervisors agenda packet.
RECAP: Public Hearing Input Opportunity and PZ Commission Hearing on Nov. 14, 2022 (This comment period is closed.)
The Public Hearing Draft was shared Oct. 24 online and sent by postal mail and/or email to those who live or own property within the village planning contact area. The hearing was announced via social media, website and a news release (available here). The draft was then heard by the Planning and Zoning Commission at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, 2022.
The Public Hearing Draft included all plan components, including the community’s goals and vision, and a proposed boundary. No changes were suggested by the public to the text of the plan. Supported by input received to date at that point, PDS staff recommended Boundary Option E from the First Draft. (This option appears on page 9 of the Public Hearing Draft.) An alternative boundary suggested by some members of the community in early October (after the two community meetings) was also shared for consideration. The PZC voted 4-1 to recommend approval of the plan, including a village boundary that encompasses 155 acres.
There were 12 people who spoke at the PZC public hearing (10 in person, 2 via zoom or phone). The recording of the Commission meeting is available on the website, with the staff presentation on the plan starting at 33:20, Commission questions start at 52:30, and public comment starting at 1:07:55.
RECAP: First Draft Input Opportunity (This comment period is closed.)
NOTE: This comment period closed on October 14. The links below are to documents that are outdated. Please access the links above for current files.
Following up on meeting discussions and comments received to date in the Windham Village Planning process, on Sept. 22, PDS shared online two documents on which public input was welcome by October 14. (These documents were also sent by postal mail and/or email to those who live or own property within the village planning contact area.) The comment period was announced via website, social media and news release dated Sept. 29 (available here). Comments received on the "First Draft" pertained only to the boundary; no one suggested changes to the First Draft text.
- The First Draft of the proposed Windham Village Plan (available here) included a brief introduction about the value of planning, the vision statement and goals that were discussed, and a profile of the village’s historical and current features. (Note - as of October 24, this is no longer the most current draft. See the Public Hearing Draft linked above on this page)
- The Potential Village Boundaries for Windham document showed five potential boundaries. The public was asked to show which they preferred by referring to the letter (A, B, C, D, or E) or ranking them 1-2-3-4-5 with 1 being the most preferred. (As noted above, area residents proposed a 6th boundary during this comment period). (Note - as of October 24, this document is no longer the most current. See the Public Hearing Draft and Alternative Boundary documents linked above on this page)
RECAP: August 29, 2022 Community Meeting 2
Nearly 24 people attended this second meeting at Renee’s Roadhouse. Assistant Director Nate Mueller reviewed outcomes of the first meeting and explained the intent of village planning. Next, he presented the draft goals and vision statement, which were based on the strengths and challenges identified in Meeting 1 and other input. There was one comment on the vision statement (that it seemed appropriate for Windham) and a suggestion to remove one draft goal. The final portion of the meeting involved discussion of the boundary. Four boundary options were provided for review. One attendee suggested that the eastern edge of any proposed boundary remain west of Orval Yoder Turnpike SW and north of Black Diamond Road due to contour and water drainage concerns. Beyond this feedback, the proposed boundaries generated little comment, with attendees preferring to have more time to consider the proposed boundaries and provide feedback directly to PDS staff outside of a public meeting setting.
As with Meeting 1, individuals who live or own property within the village planning contact area were invited to the meeting via postal mail and those who had provided emails at meeting 2 were also sent information. Announcements were also shared via the County website (available here) and social media, posters at Renee's Roadhouse and a news release. Please see the meeting 2 summary here for a detailed recap of the August 29th meeting.
RECAP: July 18, 2022 Community Meeting 1
Individuals who live or own property within the village planning contact area were invited to the meeting via postal mail. Announcements were also made via the County website (available here) and social media, posters at Renee's Roadhouse and a news release. The County thanks the dozens of area residents who attended the first planning meeting on July 18 at Renee’s Roadhouse and/or later gave input. At that meeting, Supervisors Pat Heiden and Rod Sullivan and County staff outlined the importance of village planning and answered questions about the purpose and process. Participants shared thoughts on the village’s strengths and challenges, which help form the basis for the village vision and goals, and staff introduced ideas for a possible boundary. In addition, comments were sent directly to the PDS office.
Please see the meeting 1 summary here for a detailed recap of the July 18th meeting.