Only months after a 218-unit apartment development was approved for Webster City’s west side, a revised plat and amended Planned Residential Development document, approved by City Council Monday night, will now guide a second large project known as Lynx Development No. 2 on the southeast side.

The Council first approved plans for a mix of single-family homes and duplexes off Edgewood Drive and east of Van Diest Medical Center in 2018. Financing details and then onset of the Covid pandemic delayed build-out of the development by Green Stream Homes of Iowa, based in Waukee. The developer, working closely with city officials, renewed its interest in moving forward earlier this year. The new plat represents its revised plans for the site.

Two weeks ago, the Council elected not to vote on the new plat until a series of questions were worked out by the Planning & Zoning Commission. Among the concerns raised by Planning & Zoning were the number of garages and overall parking capacity in the development, floorplans of both single-family homes and duplexes, and final market prices of each.

Green Stream met with the Commission and the plat was approved by a vote of 6-2.

The Council ratified the new plans unanimously Monday.

Unlike Wilson Estates, which will be 100% rentals, Lynx No. 2 will also have single-family homes. The chief difference in the new plat is that the width of single-family residential lots will be reduced from the usual 60 feet to 40 feet.

Green Stream has used similar tactics in other developments with the result that sales price of the homes can be lower with smaller lots. Many of today’s homeowners are interested in properties requiring less maintenance, so that’s another factor in the growing popularity of smaller yards.

City Development Director Ariel Bertran put into perspective a key change in the revised plat.

“It will allow single-family homes without a shared wall. That appeals to lots of prospective buyers.”

In other action, the Council:

— Voted to set a public hearing for Monday, May 19, at 6:05 p.m. to amend the fiscal year 2024-2025, this year’s budget year which ends June 30, to reflect actual versus forecasted and planned results. Some of these include a shortfall in property taxes estimated to be $38,348, reduced collections of Local Option Sales and Service Taxes (LOSST), a reduction in building permits of $15,620, and an intergovernmental transfer reduction of $310,000. This last item is federal pass-through dollars, in the form of a grant, to pay for the new Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) at Webster City airport.

— Studied feasibility of buying a new truck for the Street Department to replace dump truck No. 27. The new truck will be equipped with both front and side plows for snow removal and a tailgate salt spreader. To address the persistent problem of rust in vehicles handling road salt, the new truck box (body) would be made of aluminum rather than steel. The Street Department uses dump trucks to haul gravel, sand, soil, concrete, asphalt, brush and debris, in addition to snow.

It is expected this measure will come before the Council in future.

— Approved awarding $724,084 to Ft. Dodge Asphalt Company for this summer’s Hot Melt Asphalt (HMA) street repair program. Construction will start in June and wrap-up in mid- September if the project stays on schedule.