Seeking public input on proposed mountain bike park and related re-zoning.

Polk County Conservation is the landowner of a 42-acre piece of timbered property located north of Copper Creek Park. Conservation intends to develop this property into a park which includes a system of trails designed for mountain bikes and trail runners.

Recently, staff has been presenting the project at local neighborhood meetings, providing residents the opportunity to offer public comment. Staff presented at the Edgewater Home Owner's Association meeting on July 25. A presentation was also offered on August 2 at the Gray's Woods Neighborhood Association meeting. Thank you to everyone who participated.

The official application to rezone the property will soon be reviewed by Des Moines’ Planning and Zoning Commission. Conservation is requesting the property be rezoned from “F” Flood and “N3a” Neighborhood Districts to a “P1” Public, Civic and Institutional District. This will allow for the development of trails and other public park amenities.

As part of the rezoning process, Conservation held a third public comment meeting, as is required under City Code Chapter 134-6.1.6. This meeting was hosted virtually via Zoom on Tuesday, September 6 at 6:00 p.m.

A full recording of the meeting is now available to view on Conservation's YouTube channel. Click here to watch.

There have been several letters of input regarding the proposed project. With permission from the authors, those are also available for review:

• Opposition letter from citizen dated Sept 6, 2022. (Author names redacted at request of submitter.)
• Letter of support from Central Iowa Trails Association

If you have any questions or would like to submit comment on the project, you may call the Polk County Conservation main line at 515-323-5300. Please ask to speak to Adam or Jessica.