Perry council rezones JBS site to heavy industrial, adds water‑drainage and odor mitigation conditions

Perry City Council voted on final reading to rezone a parcel southeast of the industrial park from an agricultural/edge classification to heavy industrial, a move staff said is intended to clear the way for the JBS (operating under Swift) facility. The council suspended its rules to take a third reading and approved the ordinance with stipulations including a ban on rendering and requirements for odor mitigation.

The vote clears a key zoning hurdle for the JBS/Swift site but drew public comment about subsurface drainage. At the open forum, resident 'Sued' asked the council to require in the development contract that JBS “preserve and do no harm to existing water drainages or when needed mitigate those drainages” and to address both known and unknown farmer-installed tile systems. “If they are going to cap the [tile], the clause needs to require mitigation and rerouting of those water flows,” the commenter said.

City staff and JBS representatives responded during the meeting. Planning and zoning member Matt McDivet reminded the public that the city requires a certified engineered site plan and that the development agreement will contain construction and mitigation conditions. Josh Warren, representing JBS's architecture and engineering team, told the council the developer has commissioned a site survey and geotechnical work and that the intent is “no more water leave the site or enter the site than it is today.” He said any tiles found during grading will be evaluated and addressed so neighbors are not harmed.

The council also approved a resolution to set a public hearing on an expanded urban renewal area and urban renewal plan amendment that staff said is needed to enable potential TIF financing for projects in the industrial park, including JBS. Staff said final development agreements with prospective tenants (ADR axles, JBS/Swift and M&R Properties LLC) will be completed before the public hearing.

What the ordinance and next steps mean

The zoning change authorizes heavy industrial uses on the specified parcel, subject to the conditions the council recorded at the reading: no on‑site rendering and a requirement that the developer implement odor mitigation measures that align with city desires and applicable law. Staff emphasized that specific construction and drainage mitigation requirements will be set out in the development agreement the city negotiates with JBS; those requirements will govern how the contractor handles any discovered tiles or undocumented drains.

Council procedure and vote

Councilors voted to suspend the rules to hold a third reading and then passed the ordinance on final reading. The council recorded affirmative roll-call votes on the final reading; staff said additional review and negotiation on the development agreement (including drainage mitigation language requested by commenters) will happen before final contract approval.

What remains open

Public commenters asked the city to require the developer to preserve both known and unknown drainage tile and to commit to rerouting or otherwise mitigating flows rather than simply capping tile. JBS's engineer committed to surveying, geotechnical work and handling discovered tile to maintain existing flow rates; the exact language of mitigation obligations will be set in the development agreement that the council will consider later. The city also noted that county drainage district records are incomplete and further investigation through county engineering records will be necessary.

The council set a public hearing on an urban renewal plan amendment to a future meeting to enable possible TIF support for industrial-park projects, and staff said development agreements for the named projects will be finalized before that hearing.