City of Sioux City to buy houses in Riverside as part of Riverside Flood Improvement Project

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SIOUX CITY (KTIV) – In the wake of summer flooding, which saw floodwaters inundate homes in Sioux City’s Riverside neighborhood, city leaders took a step, Monday night, to extend the flood protection in that area.

Monday, city council members voted to buy the properties at 1627 River Drive, and 1635 River Drive, as a part of the city’s Riverside Flood Improvement Project.

The two homeowners agreed to sell their homes to the city. One sold for $141,000, and the other for $150,000. The Big Sioux River sits just behind those properties. The city hopes the newly constructed levees will reduce the risk of future flooding in the Riverside area.

“When it flooded, we had noticed that there was about 300 or 400 feet of dike that never got finished,” said Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott. “Unfortunately, we have to acquire these houses from these people in order to extend that dike to hopefully make it more flood-proof than what it was; I’ll never guarantee it’s flood-proof out there.”

The city will also pay the homeowners’ closing costs and moving expenses.

Automotive Dealer Moratorium

At Monday’s council meeting, Sioux City City Council also passed a moratorium on the establishment of new car dealerships in Sioux City.

Sioux City has 67 car dealerships, and mayor Bob Scott says that while the Planning and Zoning Commission compares Sioux City to other cities across Iowa in terms of their number of car dealerships compared to the number of citizens, no other dealerships will be able to come into town.

“We’re not going to allow any new licenses in town,” said Mayor Bob Scott. “We have to write the letter to the DOT to allow that to happen.”

Planning and Zoning will have a year to bring back their findings and propose changes to the city.

“In that year they’ll be able to bring back changes as it relates to new car lots, car lots under roofs. They’re going to tier it so that it’s not a one size fits all,” said Mayor Bob Scott. “The moratorium is in effect, but they’re going to work on ‘What does it take to be a new car dealer? What does it take to be a car dealer when all of your cars are under one roof?’ And as they get that how they want it in the zoning ordinance they’ll bring those individuals forward at that time.”