The Sioux City Council on Monday heard more than an hour of public comment on a proposal to rezone property near 3700 Jefferson Street from general commercial to industrial, then approved an amendment requiring future businesses to submit a site plan for Planning & Zoning review and city council approval.

Ron Coke, principal of Leeds Elementary School, told the council the rezoning would put nearly 600 students at risk. "Turning that land into industrial would introduce heavy-duty trucks, large machinery, constant traffic into an area designed for families, not freight," he said, urging the council to deny or reconsider the request.

Residents and neighborhood leaders echoed Coke's safety concerns, citing the site's proximity to a popular community bike trail, the Leeds Fire Station and nearby homes. One speaker provided what she said were Iowa Department of Natural Resources enforcement records showing a $10,000 air-quality fine levied against a firm named Knife River; residents raised that example to argue against opening the area to open-ended industrial uses.

Property owner Dolph, who spoke in favor of rezoning, said the parcel is difficult to develop without industrial designation and that rezoning would allow him to court potential businesses. "I don't think it would matter what I said I was gonna do to that property," he told the council, adding that site review would still be required for specific proposals.

City planning staff confirmed the parcel's zoning history: it was listed as industrial or heavy manufacturing under older codes but changed to general commercial in the 2015 code update. Staff also said site-plan approval, use restrictions and setback requirements could be added as conditions.

Councilor [speaker 9] moved an amendment to require that "should a business come forward" it present a site plan that would go first to Planning & Zoning and then to the city council; the amendment passed on a roll call, Moore No; O'Kane Aye; Shaner Aye; Scott No; Waters Aye (3-2). The ordinance will return for additional readings; staff said the council could conduct the second and third readings on a subsequent Monday. No final rezoning adoption occurred at the meeting.

What's next: The rezoning ordinance will appear on the council agenda again for further readings. With the newly added site-plan condition, any prospective industrial user would be required to present specific plans to Planning & Zoning and the council before development proceeds.