Developers Afraid If Measure C Passes, City Council Won’t Be Able to Give TIFs to Millionaires

Caption: Martha Hampel, co-founder of Measure C, which lowers the number of signatures required to bring an initiative to the Iowa City Council's attention.

Hilariously, one of the chief reasons that developers like the Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Association oppose Measure C, which lowers the absurdly high number of signatures required to get an initiative on the ballot, is that they’re afraid they will no longer be able to influence the Iowa City Council to give Tax Incremental Financing (TIFs) of $14.2 million to millionaire developers like Marc Moen to build skyscrapers in transitional areas of Iowa City, skyscrapers that block the sun on Trinity Church and the Ped Mall, making solar power on the Ped Mall impossible.

Read the following:

“Good morning, Martha [Hampel, one of the co-founders of Measure C],

Thank you for your email. Our Board was aware of the exception you note below when we adopted our position statement.

Subdivision plats, site plans, TIF Agreements, building permits, etc., do not fall under the narrow exception. Your statement that “Public Measure C does NOT affect the …development code in any way” is not correct. In fact, everything in the Development Code may be affected, except for amendments affecting the City Zoning Ordinance or land use map.

We continue to strongly oppose Public Measure C.

Karyl Bohnsack

Executive Officer

Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Association”

Without the current Iowa City mandate of 3,600 valid signatures of eligible electors to bring an initiative to the council’s attention, which requires about 4,500 signatures to get 3,600 valid signatures – far in excess of what is required by Iowa Code – you might have something like democracy break out in Iowa City.

It takes hours of time and more than a little money to collect 3,600 valid signatures to bring an initiative to the city council’s attention. People with money and time can hire people to get it done, especially people with deep pockets like developers have. Little people with full-time jobs, three part-time jobs, school work, and kids don’t have the deep pockets or the time to pound the streets looking for signatures.

Iowa Code (Section 362.4) requires 10% of the number of people who voted in the last election. Ten percent is often a far lower number than the 3,600 valid signatures the City of Iowa City requires today.

Gosh, wouldn’t it be tragic if developers were no longer the greatest influence on the Iowa City Council and the majority of the Iowa City Community School District board, which is supporting Supt. Steve Murley in closing neighborhood schools in Iowa City and building schools out in remote cornfields, where developers can build houses around the new schools?

Vote yes for Measure C if you’d like to see democracy break out against the classist, elitist, closed circles of power in Iowa City.