Iowa City Devt Board rejects annexation of land for Waterloo coal plant

[Carrie La Seur]

Hello all,

This afternoon the state's planning approval commission (City Development Board) rejected by a 3-2 vote the City of Waterloo's application to annex land of nonconsenting owners for construction of LS Power's 750MW coal plant.  The city had previously annexed and rezoned the site in violation of Iowa Code procedural requirements.  On behalf of nonconsenting landowner Merle Bell, Plains Justice sued in Black Hawk County District Court to overturn this action.  In response the city initiated the CDB approval process that it should have undertaken previously.  A CDB public hearing held in Waterloo on Sep. 12 lasted 5 hours and drew hundreds of opponents of the plant.  Plains Justice represented opponents by filing a detailed brief (attached) in opposition to the annexation and coordinating a joint presentation including 16 local speakers on various relevant issues.

Today's meeting was a normal scheduled meeting of the CDB, and the 5 members of the CDB chose to vote on the Waterloo proposal at today's meeting to give themselves time to review the evidence presented at the 9/12 hearing.  The CDB members were largely critical of the city's behavior and failure to respond to residents' concerns.  One board member spoke at length about government indifference to threats posed by global warming.

We expect an appeal to this decision.  LS Power has said that it can build the plant even without annexation, but not annexing will mean a significant shift in the local politics surrounding the plant.  The City of Waterloo's support is based largely on the alleged tax advantages of having the plant within city limits.  At any rate, we have thrown another large obstacle in LS Power's way. 

Great work everyone!

--
Carrie La Seur, Ph.D., J.D.
President
Plains Justice
100 First Street SW
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404
Work: 319-362-2120
Cell: 319-560-4729
http://www.plainsjustice.org