A sliver of land, a source of years of disagreement between Tiffin and Coralville, holds the key to completing a street connecting some of the state’s fastest growing cites — Forevergreen Road.
The road — which feeds into Tiffin on the west and to North Liberty and Coralville to the east — has brought increased traffic and development to the communities. A North Liberty city leader in 2019 told The Gazette more traffic will create a “hot area” for housing and commercial development along the road.
The land will connect Forevergreen Road in North Liberty to Tiffin. But who will build the final connection and how it will be done has been delayed by lawsuits dating to 2019 and continuing today.
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The 7.46 acres is now owned by Coralville. The Ruth E. Rarick Trust deeded the land, which was part of its 80-acre tract of farm ground, in August 2019 for Coralville to build an extension of Forevergreen Road within five years.
There is also an ongoing legal battle between Tiffin and the Rarick Trust, with a trial scheduled for later this month.
Coralville, in court filings, says the land is its public property and Tiffin does not have the authority to acquire a portion of it through eminent domain. Eminent domain — also referred to as condemnation — is when the government, for a price, takes private property for public use.
In court filings, Tiffin called the quit claim deed for the land a “sham” and “an effort to thwart” that city’s Forevergreen Road project. Tiffin does not believe Coralville has ownership authority since the land is not within Coralville city limits.
While a district court judge last month ruled in favor of Coralville — granting a permanent injunction against condemnation and saying Tiffin does not have the authority to use eminent domain on it — the legal fight does not appear to be over just yet.
The Iowa Department of Transportation expedited construction on the Forevergreen Road interchange with Interstate 380 as part of its project to re-imagine the larger interstates 80 and 380 intersection to the south. The work on the Forevergreen Road interchange wrapped up in 2019.
With Tiffin and North Liberty being two of the fastest-growing communities in the state, Forevergreen Road is “another gateway into their growing communities,” said Cathy Cutler, Iowa DOT transportation planner in the District 6 office.
The Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County has Forevergreen Road listed as a proposed arterial street in its plan. Forevergreen Road is the next logical arterial street for the community and “hugely important for development,” said Kent Ralston, the organization’s executive director.
Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth said the road “provides very important access to all four of those governmental entities” — Coralville, North Liberty, Tiffin and Johnson County. The road, Ralston said, “closes the gap between those communities.”
Hayworth said it’s important for the Forevergreen Road connection to be done correctly “so that we have a good road that will service the communities and residents for many, many years.”
Cutler would not comment on the dispute between the cities or issues concerning the roadway outside of the department’s Forevergreen Road interchange project limits.
“There was dispute between some of the local cities about where that actual connection would be,” Cutler said. “We said that's up to you to work out. We're going to build our road on land that DOT purchased. We just let the cities work out how to connect that road.”
For the MPO, Ralston said, it doesn’t matter how the final design of the connection gets done or by who. Ralston said this type of dispute isn’t uncommon. But once the connection gets finished, it will benefit the communities, he said.
Forevergreen Road in Tiffin is currently connected to the road in North Liberty only by a temporary road Tiffin constructed in 2019.
Forevergreen Road has been listed as an arterial street in Tiffin’s Long Range Plan since 2009. The city has had plans to extend the road in November 2018 when it held a public hearing and approved construction of the extension, “which could include the use of condemnation.”
Tiffin began to acquire the necessary property — including land owned by Scott Andersen, the developer of Park Place — but was not able to acquire the land from the Rarick Trust.
In Tiffin, right by the Forevergreen Road interchange with I-380, is a 265-acre mixed-use project known as Park Place. The project has been underway and will feature entertainment, restaurants and shopping, as well as apartment units and single-family lots.
This is an area where the city anticipates “a significant amount of growth,” Tiffin City Administrator Doug Boldt told The Gazette last year.
Boldt declined to comment for this article due to the ongoing legal dispute. Lawyers for Tiffin either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.
In July 2019, Tiffin began construction of Forevergreen Road up to the trust property, and the temporary Forevergreen Road connected to Jasper Avenue to go around the disputed land. Work was completed a few months later in November 2019.
The road — which feeds into Tiffin on the west and to North Liberty and Coralville to the east — has brought increased traffic and development to the communities. A North Liberty city leader in 2019 told The Gazette more traffic will create a “hot area” for housing and commercial development along the road.
The land will connect Forevergreen Road in North Liberty to Tiffin. But who will build the final connection and how it will be done has been delayed by lawsuits dating to 2019 and continuing today.
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The 7.46 acres is now owned by Coralville. The Ruth E. Rarick Trust deeded the land, which was part of its 80-acre tract of farm ground, in August 2019 for Coralville to build an extension of Forevergreen Road within five years.
There is also an ongoing legal battle between Tiffin and the Rarick Trust, with a trial scheduled for later this month.
Coralville, in court filings, says the land is its public property and Tiffin does not have the authority to acquire a portion of it through eminent domain. Eminent domain — also referred to as condemnation — is when the government, for a price, takes private property for public use.
In court filings, Tiffin called the quit claim deed for the land a “sham” and “an effort to thwart” that city’s Forevergreen Road project. Tiffin does not believe Coralville has ownership authority since the land is not within Coralville city limits.
While a district court judge last month ruled in favor of Coralville — granting a permanent injunction against condemnation and saying Tiffin does not have the authority to use eminent domain on it — the legal fight does not appear to be over just yet.
Growth near Forevergreen Road
The Iowa Department of Transportation expedited construction on the Forevergreen Road interchange with Interstate 380 as part of its project to re-imagine the larger interstates 80 and 380 intersection to the south. The work on the Forevergreen Road interchange wrapped up in 2019.
With Tiffin and North Liberty being two of the fastest-growing communities in the state, Forevergreen Road is “another gateway into their growing communities,” said Cathy Cutler, Iowa DOT transportation planner in the District 6 office.
The Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County has Forevergreen Road listed as a proposed arterial street in its plan. Forevergreen Road is the next logical arterial street for the community and “hugely important for development,” said Kent Ralston, the organization’s executive director.
Coralville City Administrator Kelly Hayworth said the road “provides very important access to all four of those governmental entities” — Coralville, North Liberty, Tiffin and Johnson County. The road, Ralston said, “closes the gap between those communities.”
Hayworth said it’s important for the Forevergreen Road connection to be done correctly “so that we have a good road that will service the communities and residents for many, many years.”
IDOT: ‘That’s up to you to work out’
Cutler would not comment on the dispute between the cities or issues concerning the roadway outside of the department’s Forevergreen Road interchange project limits.
“There was dispute between some of the local cities about where that actual connection would be,” Cutler said. “We said that's up to you to work out. We're going to build our road on land that DOT purchased. We just let the cities work out how to connect that road.”
For the MPO, Ralston said, it doesn’t matter how the final design of the connection gets done or by who. Ralston said this type of dispute isn’t uncommon. But once the connection gets finished, it will benefit the communities, he said.
Forevergreen Road in Tiffin is currently connected to the road in North Liberty only by a temporary road Tiffin constructed in 2019.
Forevergreen Road has been listed as an arterial street in Tiffin’s Long Range Plan since 2009. The city has had plans to extend the road in November 2018 when it held a public hearing and approved construction of the extension, “which could include the use of condemnation.”
Tiffin began to acquire the necessary property — including land owned by Scott Andersen, the developer of Park Place — but was not able to acquire the land from the Rarick Trust.
In Tiffin, right by the Forevergreen Road interchange with I-380, is a 265-acre mixed-use project known as Park Place. The project has been underway and will feature entertainment, restaurants and shopping, as well as apartment units and single-family lots.
This is an area where the city anticipates “a significant amount of growth,” Tiffin City Administrator Doug Boldt told The Gazette last year.
Boldt declined to comment for this article due to the ongoing legal dispute. Lawyers for Tiffin either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.
In July 2019, Tiffin began construction of Forevergreen Road up to the trust property, and the temporary Forevergreen Road connected to Jasper Avenue to go around the disputed land. Work was completed a few months later in November 2019.
Ongoing dispute between Coralville, Tiffin on connecting Forevergreen Road
The land in dispute is key to connecting Forevergreen Road in North Liberty to Tiffin but who will build the final connection and how has been delayed due to a legal fight dating back to 2019. A District Court judge ruled last month Coralville has authority but Tiffin does have the possibility...
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