Commission recommends rezoning near Sunset Road for Iowa Pacific Processors with added height review and limits

The Des Moines City Plan and Zoning Commission on April 17 recommended rezoning multiple parcels near 2606 Sunset Road from EX (mixed use) to I‑1 (industrial) to allow Iowa Pacific Processors to expand its meat‑processing operation and build adjacent cold storage. The commission modified staff’s initial height recommendation and added a review requirement for any requested deviation.

Planning staff explained the proposal and the site's context: the parcels abut Des Moines Waterworks Park, lie within a tree buffer close to an existing regional trail, and include an existing processing building and gravel parking. Swayoshi Chakraborty, planning staff, told commissioners the applicant’s prior site plan had proposed an 18‑foot below‑grade component and a 75‑foot building height; the site’s Superfund designation and environmental constraints now preclude below‑grade storage, so the applicant requested a taller above‑grade structure. Staff said the applicant initially proposed a roughly 110‑foot tall cold‑storage building, and staff revised its position to support up to 93 feet to account for the loss of below‑grade space.

Pat Shepherd of Véil Engineering Consultants, speaking for the applicant, said the cold‑storage design uses automated racking and retrieval systems that require vertical space and that earlier approvals anticipated an 18‑foot below‑grade component. Shepherd described a compromise height of 93 feet as balancing operational needs and neighborhood context.

Nearby business owners spoke in opposition, saying the proposed building would be substantially taller than existing one‑ and two‑story industrial buildings in the area and would alter views from adjacent properties and from the park trail. A business owner who has operated on Sunset Road since 1997 said the block is largely one story and asked how truck staging and the use of the current gravel lot would be managed when site work proceeds. The applicant and staff said a loading drive will loop around the south side of the property to keep truck maneuvering off Sunset Road and that an approved parking lot on a nearby parcel would provide additional off‑street stalls.

Commissioners raised concerns about character and scale. One commissioner said the proposal, as presented, "wouldn't be allowed in a residential neighborhood" and urged the applicant to expand horizontally rather than vertically if possible; staff and the applicant noted the site is constrained between existing structures and rights‑of‑way and that city‑owned lots to the west have been discussed as potential purchase options for expansion.

The commission voted to recommend rezoning to I‑1 with modified conditions: any future building or building addition must not exceed the height permitted in the EX District for the relevant building type, and any request for a design alternative to exceed that height shall be considered by the commission rather than being approved administratively. Staff said the EX District maximum without discretionary design alternatives equates to approximately three stories (about 48 feet) and that administrative allowances could otherwise raise the height; the commission’s amendment preserves planning commission review for larger departures.

The rezoning recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council; subsequent site‑plan review will be required for the building design, tree impacts and operational details such as loading configuration, staging and stormwater measures.

Key unresolved items for later review include final building elevations, the tree‑mitigation plan for the south drive, truck staging logistics during operations and the acquisition or development of adjacent parcels to accommodate surface parking and circulation.