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Board approves conditional use for proposed Greenleaf Convenience at 722 Sixth Street SW
Summary
The Board of Adjustment approved a conditional-use permit to allow a level-1 tobacco use at 722 Sixth Street SW (Greenleaf Convenience). Staff and the applicant said tobacco sales are projected at about 13% of gross receipts; nearby business owners objected citing market saturation and public-health concerns.
The Cedar Rapids Board of Adjustment approved a conditional-use permit allowing a level-1 tobacco use at 722 Sixth Street Southwest, which the applicant intends to operate under the proposed name Greenleaf Convenience.
Seth Garrison, the city's Zoning Administrator, told the board the property is in a traditional mixed-use limited zoning district where level-1 tobacco uses (businesses with less than 50% of revenue from regulated products) require a conditional-use permit. Garrison said the applicant projects tobacco-related sales will account for roughly 13% of gross receipts and that the city relies on business self-certification, with audits possible upon reasonable suspicion or during renewal.
"Businesses that have less than 50% of their revenue from regulated products are considered level 1," Garrison said, explaining how the code distinguishes level-1, -2 and -3 uses and noting the city updated its approach in a 2019 code update. Garrison also said Jim's Foods at 812 Sixth Street Southwest is recorded as a legal nonconforming level-3 use because it certified more than 50% of revenue historically.
Applicant Mahmoud Mairib said he plans to stock more grocery and nonregulated items than at his other stores and that he will not sell alcohol at the Sixth Street location. "I'm different than Jim's Foods, and I'm not coming there to compete with Pink Cloud or Jim's Foods or Green Leaf," Mairib said.
Two nearby business owners objected. Frances Sadiq, who said her family runs Jim's Foods, said the neighborhood already has multiple outlets selling tobacco and related products and questioned whether another similar business benefits the community. "I just really don't see how this will be a better situation...I don't want to see us go down because we have competition across the street," Sadiq said.
Surbjit Singh, who said his family recently purchased Jim's Foods, also objected on public-health and saturation grounds and suggested the site might be better used for a different commercial purpose.
Board members asked about access, parking, whether alcohol sales were planned and the property's distance from Taylor (a school). Staff said the site has adequate parking, no alcohol sales were proposed, and the property is more than 300 feet from the school. The board discussed broader concerns about the number of similar uses in the corridor and noted consistency questions that might be best addressed by the City Council.
A board member moved to approve the conditional use "as presented." After a second and brief discussion, the motion carried on a voice vote. The board told the applicant to follow up with Building Services about next steps.
Why it matters: The permit allows a new convenience store that projects relatively low tobacco revenue to operate in a neighborhood already served by multiple sellers of tobacco and vape products. The board and objectors raised questions about neighborhood saturation, public health, and whether broader land-use policy should be considered at the council level.
