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Zoning board approves expansion of liquor store at 3420 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, 7-0
Summary
The Des Moines Zoning Board of Adjustment voted unanimously to amend a conditional-use permit to allow a liquor store at 3420 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway to expand into an adjoining tenant bay, increasing its floor area and continuing operating hours; approval was subject to 14 staff conditions.
The Des Moines Zoning Board of Adjustment on Tuesday approved an amendment to a conditional-use permit allowing a liquor store at 3420 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway to expand into an adjoining tenant bay, a motion that carried 7-0.
The board's action grants the applicant permission to increase the liquor store's footprint by about 1,800 square feet for a total of roughly 4,000 square feet and to operate daily from 9 a.m. to midnight, subject to 14 conditions recommended by planning staff and similar to the prior approval granted on April 28, 2021.
Planning staff told the board the proposal would combine two tenant bays (3424 and 3426 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway) so the store could expand its sales of alcoholic liquor, wine, beer for off-premises consumption and tobacco products. Staff said the use is allowed in the site’s MX3 zoning as a conditional use when required separation distances and other criteria are met, and recommended approval under conditions that largely mirror the 2021 approval.
Staff reported that notices were sent to the Prospect Park Neighborhood Association on Feb. 7 and that two property owners returned comment cards; the content of those cards was not specified on the record. Staff also reviewed police reports and said they found no pattern of incidents that could be attributed specifically to this tenant or the prior conditional use. The board was told that the plaza contains multiple businesses and that incident reports may sometimes be logged to the nearest address in the plaza rather than to an individual tenant.
Chris Osco, zoning enforcement officer, told the board he recently inspected the business and found excessive window coverage that the operator removed immediately; he flagged the issue to make sure the applicant was aware of condition No. 5 in the staff report. Applicant Mayer said he will correct any visible signage or window displays to comply with city rules: "Any visible sign, I will take care of this."
No members of the public spoke in opposition during the hearing, and the applicant said a neighborhood meeting he held drew no attendees. After closing public comment the board voted to grant the requested amendment "subject to the conditions as presented in 1 through 14." The chair said the applicant and staff would receive the written decision about a week after the hearing. The board reminded applicants that any approval must be implemented, constructed, or otherwise utilized within two years of the decision or the approval will expire.
Separately, the board approved a consent-item conditional use for the D Mac urban campus (seasonal and special events) by the same 7-0 vote and adopted the minutes from the prior meeting by unanimous vote.
The approval requires the applicant to obtain any necessary building or sign permits and to work with licensed sign contractors for any facade signage changes.
