Perry council approves JBS site plan, allows barbed‑wire fencing at industrial park

The Perry City Council on Nov. 10 approved a site plan for a JBS sausage processing facility at 192 Sumas Avenue and granted the company limited permission to use barbed‑wire fencing on portions of the site.

Planner Molly (staff member) reviewed the approvals already completed for the project, including rezoning to heavy industrial under ordinance 9 22 and variances granted by the Board of Adjustment. That board approved front‑yard fencing with a maximum height contingency, approved an 8‑foot fence where the code allows 6 feet provided the fence is set back at least 5 feet from the property line, and denied a blanket omission of required landscaping while allowing the applicant to show landscaping elsewhere on site. The board approved a modified approach to required parking islands, insisting on raised curbs rather than mere pavement striping.

Molly described the site layout: the entrance on the northwest corner of the parcel, separate guarded entrances for incoming livestock and outbound product trucks, nine dock doors (eight for product pickup, one for refuse), visitor and staff parking, berming and screening along Sumas Avenue, a mix of ornamental fencing along the frontage and chain link with barbed wire in the working yard, and proposed sidewalk/trail connectivity tied to the city’s DOT RISE grant.

An applicant representative said JBS will pretreat all process wastewater on site using an MBR (membrane bioreactor) system before discharge and will provide a small on‑site sampling building so city staff can test outgoing flows to meet Iowa DNR requirements. The representative said the company is coordinating remaining wastewater calculations with its engineering team and the city and is awaiting final state review. “We’re providing all the treatment at the facility before it gets released out,” the applicant representative said.

Council members asked for clarification on pretreatment and how the city will conduct sampling; the applicant confirmed the facility will connect to the city sanitary system but perform process treatment on site and provide access points for city testing. Council also discussed the potential for a Guthrie substation to be part of a later site phase; staff said that would be a separate design/plan if it moves forward.

A motion to approve the site plan for the JBS facility and to provide written consent to allow barbed‑wire fencing in specified areas carried on roll call.

The council’s approval included the contingencies and conditions described by the Board of Adjustment (setback and landscaping conditions, raised parking islands) and continued coordination with city staff on wastewater calculations and final state approvals. The council did not alter the board’s decisions on landscaping but required the applicant to show compliance or acceptable alternatives where the board allowed it.

Next steps: the applicant and city staff will finalize wastewater calculations, record required documents with Dallas County if not already recorded, and complete any remaining engineering approvals with state agencies before construction proceeds.