WAVERLY - Wartburg College's controversial rezoning request received the blessing of most City Council members Monday. Assurances from administrators and city officials, however, failed to quiet some neighboring residents' concerns.

Council members voted 5-1 to rezone property along 12th Street Northwest east of 20th Street Northwest. The 70 acres, owned by Wartburg, will change from agricultural to multifamily residential. The move aligns zoning designations throughout Wartburg's properties and makes way for future development.

Prior to the vote, several people who own adjacent property said without project details on the table, rezoning seemed premature. The long list of allowed uses in a multifamily residential district leaves too much to the imagination, they alleged.

"We've all read it and we're scared to death of what it could be," resident Dave Reznicek said.

He and other residents speaking out Monday stressed the "protesters" are not anti-Wartburg. Still, more than 40 percent of owners living within 200 feet of the land in question - or 28 people - signed a petition early in the process against the college's proposal.

" … It's basically about the process. We are trying to slow things down," Reznicek said.

Gene Drape, a board member for Bartels Lutheran Retirement Community in Waverly, publicly resurrected the idea of using the western half of the property for senior retirement living. He said discussions between Bartels and Wartburg are ongoing but said that no agreement has been reached.

Gary Grace left his seat with the other council members to explain Wartburg's position from behind the lectern. As vice president of administration for Wartburg, he abstained from the vote.

Grace said plans for the eastern portion of the land do not include dormitories. A retirement community, or even athletic fields, are high on the usage list, however.

Wartburg wants to be a good neighbor, he added.

But residents worried that city officials would later face pressure to approve a project that meets district requirements. They wondered how development might affect 20th Street Northwest - and who would pay for potential reconstruction.

Concerns raised about access to roads and about water and sanitary sewers are valid and welcome - but premature, said Jason Passmore, the city's community development and zoning manager. Those details are hashed out during the platting process, he added.

"Zoning is use. Platt is how," he said. "We are going to figure out how. We are going to go through that systematically."

Wartburg would have to apply for a special provisional use from the city before building anything. And residents will have opportunities along the way to address members of the city's Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council, Passmore said.

Such checks and balances and future opportunities for residents' to share their input convinced most voting council members to accept the idea.

"I don't know that we can hold hostage a rezoning request on the basis of a conceptual plan," Councilman Fred Ribich said.

Clarification of the process also helped convince Councilman Gene Lieb to vote yes. He was the only council member to stand against the proposal during the ordinance's second reading.

"I think there's going to be sufficient protection in that," Lieb said.

Councilman Duane Liddle voted no.

"It seems to me they are asking for more than a sketch and that is why they are here," Liddle said.

Contact Karen Heinselman at (319) 291-1581 or karen.heinselman@wcfcourier.com.