The Indianola City Council declined to send a referral request to the Planning and Zoning Commission regarding allowing storage units in commercial zoning districts. City Manager Ben Reeves tells KNIA News the request came to council, and after a discussion they decided to keep the allowable zoning uses consistent.

“In every community there is limited commercial space. Especially along your corridors and main highways, that is your prime commercial space that brings a taxbase and creates jobs, and is the main engine for the community to offset property taxes. So one of the questions that came up was do we allow storage units on the main thoroughfare, something that was discussed several years ago and was removed. There was a request for us to reconsider, and the council held to the decisions made in the past that we need to preserve commercial grounds for commercial purposes that create true long-term benefit.”

Reeves also said there is a need for storage operations in the city, and they have zoning where they are allowed.