Davenport City Council takes on final rezoning vote for Bridge Avenue project

DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - A Davenport non-profit is looking to turn an old adult day service building on Bridge Avenue into affordable ADA-compliant housing units.

Ecumenical Housing Development Group wants to rezone the building from a duplex to a triplex. The move stirred up controversy in the central Davenport neighborhood.

EHDG specializes in working with banks, religious communities, and social services to provide low-income families with affordable housing. The property in question is at 1112 Bridge Ave. The non-profit acquired the building last March.

Plans include turning the building into three ADA-compliant units, two with four bedrooms and one with two.

After the first two readings, the Davenport City Council added amendments to the rezoning ordinance capping the number of units at three.

It also set out a process that would reverse the ordinance in case of the property being demolished or destroyed.

The council will vote on the third and final reading of the rezoning ordinance on Wednesday.

In meetings leading up to the final vote, the non-profit’s executive director, Sam Moyer pledged to be good neighbors.

“It’s part of our mission to provide housing in a way that helps our tenant families fit into the community and become part of the community,” Moyer said.

The city received 12 letters of opposition listing concerns like population density and parking availability if the additional unit was created in the building.

In prior meetings, many neighbors showed up to speak out against the rezoning process.

“I believe it will have negative cascading effects on the surrounding neighborhood and other neighborhoods,” one neighbor said at the Jan 25 city council meeting.

According to the non-profit’s website, if approved, it aims to start renovations in May with a goal of finishing in the fall.

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