Don’t rezone our residential area for a McDonalds

Something troubling is happening on my street. We live on 35th Street SE, a quiet residential block now facing a proposal to rezone part of our neighborhood to allow a McDonald’s. To those of us who live here, this isn’t a small change. It raises real concerns about safety, traffic, and the long-term direction of our community.

We worry about increased congestion on a street already used by kids walking to school (we don’t have sidewalks on our block) and neighbors out for evening walks. Late night noise and headlights from a drive-thru would shine directly into nearby homes. And once commercial zoning is introduced into a residential block, it rarely stops with just one business.

We love our little slice of Cedar Rapids because it is stable, quiet, and safe. People know each other. Children can play outside. Turning part of our block into a fast-food drive-thru would change that dynamic immediately — and permanently.

The better option is simple: keep the zoning the way it is. Strengthen residential areas instead of eroding them. There are other locations for fast food. Cedar Rapids benefits when we protect neighborhoods, not when we allow commercial development to creep into places that were never meant for it.

We’re asking the City Council to vote NO on this rezoning request. And we’re asking residents across Cedar Rapids to speak up and tell the council to vote no as well. Your voice matters.

Let’s keep 35th Street SE a neighborhood, not a fast-food corridor.

Joe and Beth Peters

Cedar Rapids