DAVENPORT, Iowa — Along some Davenport neighborhood streets, small businesses are present, too.
"We found a property that's zoned commercial C-1," said Ryan Kopf, a Davenport small business owner.
Kopf just went through the process to get a special use permit, receiving his in October, he said, to open a bar on 3rd Street and Washington in Davenport.
"The special use permit variance process was, I think, a great compromise in making it that there is a review process for businesses that could have noise problems or impact the community in any way," Kopf said.
But now, the City Council is considering a pause in those special use permits, specifically for bars and minor auto-repair shops for six months in city zoned areas designated as Commercial "C-1."
The proposed resolution also pauses special use permits in residential communities "R-3," "R-3C," "R-4," and "R-4C," with respect to converting homes to two-family homes, according to the resolution sponsored by Alderman Marion Meginnis, who represents Davenport's third ward.
"We'd like to reanimate these as commercial buildings and we'd like them to be commercial but we need to be careful about what goes in, so it doesn't become a nuisance kind of business for the neighborhood," Alderman Meginnis said.
Alderman Meginnis sponsored the resolution, and on Wednesday expressed concern some areas in the city are getting too saturated.
"The concern about more, just because there's one, should there be three, should there be four? That's when it can become a problem," Alderman Meginnis said.
Kopf said he is concerned about limiting opportunities in the city, if a moratorium is passed by the city council for these zoning areas.
"It makes it harder for someone who's actually invested in the community, someone who's local, to start a business in these areas," Kopf said.
Alderman Meginnis said the six-month moratorium on special use permits, specifically for the areas noted in the resolution, would not affect businesses who already have a special use permit in one of those areas.
The Davenport City Council could bring the resolution to a vote at their meeting next week.
Alderman Meginnis said because this is a resolution, and not an ordinance change, the Davenport City Council would only need to vote once to enact the six-month pause on the specific special use permits.
Alderman Meginnis also said the pause would allow for more discussion and transparency with the community before making any permanent decisions on commercial zoning throughout the city.