Marion OK’s later hours for Tower Terrace district

MARION - The Marion City Council again voted 5-2 Thursday to extend the hours of operation in a commercial district along Tower Terrace Road.

The council first voted on the issue in August, though one more vote was required to amend the city code.

Because council member Paul Draper was not present for the previous vote, he moved to reconsider the issue.

The commercial district, south of Tower Terrace Road and between Third Street and Irish Drive, is owned by developer Mooney-Engle Land Co.

The city code previously required businesses there to close by 11 p.m., which the developer said was hurting his chances of bringing in new businesses, including a restaurant and movie theater.

Neighbors told the council in July they were worried extended hours would bring in bars and restaurants that would stay open late. Other concerns were potential decreases in property values and the district's proximity to Linn-Mar High School.

At the council's request, the Planning and Zoning Department drafted an amendment to the current city code that would allow businesses in the district, which is already zoned commercial, to stay open until midnight Monday through Friday and until 1 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

The amendment also will not allow a bar to locate in the district, and it defines the difference between a restaurant and a bar - a bar is a business that garners more than half of its revenue from alcohol sales.

Council members Will Brandt and Mary Lou Pazour opposed the change to city code, which Pazour lamented.

'I really feel this is just a whim of somebody that can just go in and change an ordinance because it's not for their benefit,” she said at Thursday's meeting. 'I think it opens up too many other possibilities.”

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