The Pella City Council passed the first of three readings of a zoning request ordinance made by Casey’s General Store at their meeting Tuesday.<!–more–
The vote was 4-1 in favor, with Councilmember Bruce Schiebout voting against the proposal and Councilmember Dan Vander Beek abstaining from all discussion and votes related to the matter due to his relation to owners of the land Dennis and Joyce Vander Beek.
Citizens living in the adjacent neighborhood to the proposed site at the corner of Main and Union Streets continued to raise objections, as they have since December at various city board meetings, including traffic safety, environmental impacts, possible decline in adjacent property value, and the nature of how Casey’s attorneys and representatives are getting their goals accomplished.
Because it’s an ordinance, the Pella City Council will have to approve the zoning change two more times in order for it to be approved, barring a waiver of the third reading at their September 20th meeting. The city council responded to the crowd of 120-plus citizens, including those in an overflow area, following over an hour of public comment mostly against the planned unit development.