[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6157139,"mediaKeyId","5467268-06bdc0009412743152890c2e35aa65a0","parentId",5467268,"title","Board denies request to allow liquor sales at Speedy Mart, 926 Lynn Street, after 3‑1 vote","audioSeconds",2606,"startMs",952000,"endMs",3558000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5467268-06bdc0009412743152890c2e35aa65a0&start=952&end=3558","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5467268-06bdc0009412743152890c2e35aa65a0/thumbnail_952000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6157139/Waterloo/Black-Hawk-County/Iowa/Board-denies-request-to-allow-liquor-sales-at-Speedy-Mart-926-Lynn-Street-after-31-vote","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6157139-bc55e7e8d76edc273a56f084b25fba3d/orig.mp4?Expires=1771039637&Signature=BWzU2wAHQf4h4xJMXzq0iWL6J18A0Pxaq5yX8Kj93WWj8qHT5dpBDg38aRouzpgW0AMJwCQzfT6LP6yTkWPCLoR4ai4G08IvMF5NA0wyZatW4GfGENB3syxAv-uktdSGzHpHbk0A4FXmsZZhVyl~-auZePfDfDtdPyRO0Xut0FUK8YSICdQpA0D3BikwENT8yQ3u93wSImjtqp--zlxd~QKIpipzQCEhFaDUwb7gbxQ4ZiDpWrrEsNLUaTseiJ-mJg8MsM0xm7un2vYGMrx7Hp0FzcOc7jbKOnM8o~BT7dFt~hvqscV13xpzONrnxCirVh4MEoxOuaOnW98Lw8vlWA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City of Waterloo","date","2025-07-23T00:00:00Z","article","The Waterloo Board of Adjustments on July 22 denied a request to change conditions on a nonconforming convenience store at 926 Lynn Street so it could sell liquor beyond beer and wine, voting 3‑1 to uphold the existing restriction.
Planning staff summarized the request and recommended denial, saying the property is zoned R2 (two‑family residence), is surrounded by residential uses and is classified as low‑density residential on the city’s future land use map (City of Waterloo Comprehensive Plan, adopted Feb. 3, 2003). Staff cited concerns that allowing full liquor sales could increase traffic and congestion, alter the low‑density residential character of the area, and would not conform to the future land use map. Staff also told the board that the site has a history of calls for police service, including business checks, reports of assaults, shoplifting and a recent tobacco‑sale allegation; the staff packet included Waterloo Police Department records.
Rob Duncan, chief of police, told the board he reviewed roughly a year of calls and said many were minor or “business check” entries but that they included incidents such as an assault, shoplifting and an allegation that a clerk sold tobacco to a minor. Duncan said the records were “pretty much typical on all the other calls that I’ve seen within the last year or 2.”
Dilawar Khan, who identified himself as the owner of Speedy Mart at 926 Lynn Street, and several supporters said the store has been a long‑standing community convenience and produced more than 100 petition signatures in favor of allowing liquor sales. Khan said he sought only a small, conditional liquor selection and asked the board to consider neighborhood needs and his investments in the store. Supporters who spoke described the store as a community anchor and urged the board not to use neighborhood crime levels to deny local business investment.
Board members noted the site’s complicated history: the board approved a one‑year temporary variance in 2016 to reestablish a nonconforming use with conditions (hours 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and beer‑and‑wine only) and in May 2017 approved reestablishing the nonconforming grocery/convenience use with the same beer‑and‑wine restriction. At this meeting the board debated whether to deny the request outright or grant a one‑year temporary liquor permit with conditions and then reevaluate.
A motion by Board member John Beckman to deny the variance — citing negative impacts on the neighborhood, traffic concerns, nonconformance with the future land use map, and the site’s law‑enforcement history — was seconded and carried 3‑1. An amendment to instead grant a temporary one‑year permit with the 11 p.m. closing hour and a requirement to return to the board within a year failed on a tie vote.
Chair Jerry Thornberry called the votes. The denial preserves the board’s prior condition restricting sales to beer and wine and leaves the business’s existing hours and conditions in place.
The owner and his supporters said they may pursue other avenues, but no board direction to staff to issue a temporary permit was adopted at the meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","City of Waterloo Board of Adjustment Meeting - Tuesday, July 22, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","The Waterloo Board of Adjustments denied a request to lift a beer‑and‑wine restriction and allow full liquor sales at Speedy Mart (926 Lynn Street) after hearing staff concerns about neighborhood impacts and police call history; an amendment to grant a one‑year temporary permit failed.","taxTitle","Waterloo, Black Hawk County, Iowa","taxId",3694,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6157147,"Board of Adjustments approves variance for shrimp‑nursery addition at 2625 Falls Avenue",759,188000,947000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5467268-06bdc0009412743152890c2e35aa65a0&start=188&end=947","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5467268-06bdc0009412743152890c2e35aa65a0/thumbnail_188000.jpg","/articles/6157147/Waterloo/Black-Hawk-County/Iowa/Board-of-Adjustments-approves-variance-for-shrimpnursery-addition-at-2625-Falls-Avenue","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6157147-8dff5478ead0fe5a46d97cb9798806c5/orig.mp4?Expires=1771039637&Signature=TJZtvZVH4DiIAacyg9lGPgAE3hYMQvuj7ci1xwl-h6BPHQ1tAdZE78qgo6IN-1Jp68VdIVuEHDXtVTr9T492JKDBsw2Sh253QuHsfy7j3OgSHInE5SriouT3zIH6j~mRYCNbJPj~n6K70HL3tzbUwDz8nPE6JVyh3BLJT9p6GLa3K2LGEN17E11iN2tKVBUnLIKNPeM6GRSoWdwQu42FObq8AsY2ehkC92hVgXsuOkK7rqwukx4DBcX73re71O2YHm8hCsWRmfwtWeAzJrVQL9DqpkiuKohTzvE6ZGH9x2siKrLDedUim~zhCaOJHFmM5IBp9xpKkCfyHlA3vZAzBw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Waterloo Board of Adjustments on July 22 approved a variance allowing a 3‑foot rear yard setback and a 3‑foot side yard setback at 2625 Falls Avenue so the property owner can build an addition and operate a wholesale aquaculture (shrimp nursery) business.
Staff told the board the property is in the C‑2 Commercial District and has been zoned C‑2 since 1969, and that the requested setbacks — 3 feet instead of the 35 feet required in the rear and 3 feet instead of the 5 feet required in the side — would not appear to have a negative impact on the surrounding neighborhood or traffic. A staff report noted adjacent properties have similar nonconforming setbacks and that a rezoning to allow wholesale aquaculture will be required; the rezoning request was unanimously recommended for approval by the Planning, Programming and Zoning Commission on July 8 and is scheduled for the Aug. 4 city council meeting.
Malcolm Cleopee, who identified himself as the building owner and operator of an accounting practice at the site, told the board he plans to extend the building “to operate an aquaculture, shrimp farming, nursery wholesale business, for wholesale purposes.” Cleopee described a recirculating aquaculture system “using the RAS, meaning we recycle the same water,” and said no process water will be discharged to the sewer system; he estimated about a 10% loss of water to evaporation during cycles and said the first commercial harvest would take about three months after production begins. Cleopee said he expects to fund construction with personal resources and a pending Small Business Administration loan application.
Staff recommended approval, citing the property’s long history of commercial zoning, a lack of apparent negative impacts to traffic or neighborhood character, and precedent variances in the area. Board member Craig Holdemann moved to approve the variance and a second was made; the motion carried.
The variance approval allows the building addition to proceed but does not itself change the property’s zoning. The owner and staff noted the site still needs to be rezoned to allow wholesale aquaculture operations; that rezoning was recommended by the planning commission and will be heard by city council on Aug. 4, 2025.
Board Chair Jerry Thornberry handled the motion and called for the vote. The board did not direct additional conditions beyond the variance findings recommended in the staff report.
Planning staff and the owner discussed the siting of the addition (on the south and east sides of the building), the similarity of nearby setbacks, and the commercial nature of the immediate area. No public opposition was reported in the staff packet.
The owner may proceed with building permit and financing steps subject to the city’s zoning and permitting requirements and the pending council rezoning decision.","The Waterloo Board of Adjustments approved a variance allowing a three‑foot rear and side setback for a building addition at 2625 Falls Avenue so the owner can operate a wholesale aquaculture (shrimp nursery) operation; the site will also require rezoning and a city council hearing is scheduled.","actionData","errors"]

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Board denies request to allow liquor sales at Speedy Mart, 926 Lynn Street, after 3‑1 vote

Board of Adjustments approves variance for shrimp‑nursery addition at 2625 Falls Avenue