The Cedar Falls City Council has rejected a rezoning request for a disabled Afghanistan war veteran who wants to build a "smart home" in a remote area to accommodate his disabilities.

The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reports that the council voted against the request Monday. Taylor Morris and his wife had asked the city to rezone 1.55 acres of land from agricultural to residential so they could construct the home, which would be controlled by an iPad.

Morris, a U.S. Navy explosive ordnance disposal expert, lost portions of all four of his limbs in a May 2012 bomb blast in Afghanistan.

The city's department of community development suggested alternative sites to where Morris wanted to build his new home, and the possibility of rezoning the entire area - not just a small chunk - with a concept plan for future development.

City council member John Runchey said the Morris family's request to rezone only an acre and a half section of the land was an unusual one. He said doing so could break up the rest of the land into small segments, causing problems for the city if it ever decides to develop that area in the future.

"If he wants to build, he can buy 20 acres, and can put it wherever he wants," Runchey told us. "We'd give him a permit today. But for an acre and a half, we want a more orderly fashion."

2 members of the council voted in favor of Morris's rezoning request, 4 against.

In a statement over the phone on Tuesday, Morris told TV-9 "we had every intention of playing by the rules," and that he and his wife are trying to decide what their next step will be.