Marion development moratorium passes first City Council reading

Seeking a strategic pause on new projects in some of Marion’s fastest-growing areas, the Marion City Council Oct. 5 approved the first reading of an ordinance that would impose a one-year development moratorium on most commercial developments in those areas. Broadly speaking, the moratorium would apply to portions of Tower Terrace Road, Highway 13, and the Central Corridor business district in Marion, and according to the council’s agenda, “aims to strike a balance between economic progress and safeguarding the well-being of communities and the environment, ultimately promoting responsible and sustainable development practices.”  

The Marion commercial development moratorium would affect a total of 361 properties in the three development areas, city officials said, and would automatically expire after a year unless specifically renewed by the council. Several types of commercial development are specifically mentioned in the moratorium, ranging from auto service and repair shops, gas stations, car washes, pawn shops, liquor and tobacco shops, deep discount stores, and commercial and residential storage units. Several area residents expressed written concerns about the moratorium’s provisions, and two residents spoke at the Oct. 5 public hearing, including Mike Bates, owner of the Marion Guns & Gold pawn shop in Uptown Marion, who requested that pawn shops be excluded from the moratorium. “I understand the misconception a lot of people seem to have about my type of business,” he said. “However, I do my best to stay away from those stereotypes.” He also asked if a moratorium would prevent him from rebuilding his business at its current Seventh Avenue location if it sustained severe damage from a fire, tornado or other incident.

Mike Marak, who owns several storage units near the Marion Wal-Mart, also said the provisions of the moratorium, prohibiting development within a specified distance from Highway 13, would encompass portions of his property by just a few feet, halting his expansion plans. “You're trying to take my whole piece of property and put in an amendment that I can't build another storage garage, that I can't do what I originally bought this property for,” he said. In response, several city council members said they didn’t want the moratorium to impact existing businesses, including any plans they might have to expand on their current sites, and the council approved an amendment to that effect, indicating that “nothing in this ordinance is intended to create a new legal non-conforming use from any currently existing use.” City officials also noted that exceptions could be made to the moratorium under certain circumstances. After discussion, the council also approved an amendment to include grocery stores in the moratorium, though several council members expressed differing opinions on that specific use. Assistant Marion city manager Kim Downs said the discussion of the proposed moratorium is beneficial for all involved, and stressed that the move is not intended to signal the city’s resistance to commercial development. “Moratoriums are always tricky,” she said. “The conversations we’re having today happened in many communities that put a moratorium in place. But with those moratoriums, it does help us take a broad look at what the future looks like. And we are never going to want to have a building sit open due to being damaged and not being able to move forward. We want to keep those existing businesses vital.” “The idea is that we get one chance to do this right, and we want to be thoughtful about it,” Marion Mayor Nick AbouAssaly added. “We want to be proactive, so as development happens, everyone understands exactly what potential uses will be, even though the land around them has not yet been developed. That's the whole purpose of the comprehensive plan. When you develop a parcel, you have some understanding of what could potentially happen around you, so no one's really surprised and we're not being reactive – everyone's on the same page, and everyone has a better (idea) of how the big picture looks.” The amended moratorium faces two more council considerations before it’s officially enacted.