Decorah Council Moves Amazon Hub Plan Forward, Adds Alley Access Requirement and Permit Cap

Decorah Vikings win, City Council votes, New Referenda on the ballot — we're the one telling Decorah's story. Donate now. DECORAH — After months of debate in Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council meetings, the Decorah City Council voted 6-1 Monday night to send a revised Amazon Hub ordinance back to the Planning and Zoning Commission with significant new conditions attached. The move brings the city closer to establishing a legal framework for "last mile delivery" facilities but stops short of adopting the ordinance previously recommended by Planning and Zoning. By drafting its own language and returning it to Planning and Zoning, the council extended the process while allowing the commission to review the proposed changes. Under the motion approved, Planning and Zoning will review an amended ordinance that would make several significant changes: In the C3 commercial district, which includes the historic Water Street corridor, businesses could obtain a conditional use permit to operate an Amazon Hub only if all deliveries and package pickups occur through rear alley access or off-street parking. On-street loading and pickups along Water Street would be prohibited. The permits would be limited to four businesses downtown and would expire after five years. At that point, the Board of Adjustment would review each permit as a new application. Outside the downtown C3 district, last mile delivery facilities would be allowed by right in C1, C2, M1, and M2 zones, eliminating the need for conditional use permits or Board of Adjustment review. Council Member Steve Zittergruen said the distinction between downtown and other commercial areas was important. "I haven't heard anyone say we shouldn't have these hubs anywhere in town except for the C3 on Water Street and the adjoining zero-setback side streets," he said. The issue emerged when city staff determined that several downtown businesses had been operating as Amazon Hub locations, accepting daily package deliveries for local customers. Because the use was not addressed in Decorah's zoning code, those businesses occupied a regulatory gray area. Planning and Zoning spent months developing an ordinance that included conditional use permits and a cap on the number of downtown hubs. The council rejected that proposal at its May 18 meeting. Two council members later requested additional discussion. On Monday, the council considered three options: take no action and begin enforcement against existing hubs, reconsider the May vote, or draft new language and send it back to Planning and Zoning. City Manager Travis Goedken explained that because the council's proposed changes substantially altered the commission's recommendation, the city was effectively pursuing the third option. If Planning and Zoning approves the revised ordinance, it can be adopted by a simple majority of four council votes after three readings. If the commission rejects it, adoption would require a five-vote supermajority. The council spent roughly an hour debating the issue, focusing on a familiar tension: how to preserve Water Street's pedestrian-oriented character while avoiding penalties for businesses that adopted hub operations in good faith. Zittergruen voiced concerns about hub operations on Water Street itself, arguing that the city should be cautious about uses that generate vehicle traffic without encouraging broader downtown activity. "What isn't convenient is four or five cars parking in front of a few different businesses almost every day of the year, and drivers who only park, go in, get boxes, get back in their cars, and drive away," Zittergruen said. "That doesn't create a vibrant downtown. That creates traffic, noise, congestion." He went on to say that he could support hubs if alley access were required, so long as permits were capped as protection against unintended long-term impacts. Council Member Emily Neal questioned several aspects of the proposal, including how the city would handle more than four applicants and whether permit criteria should prioritize businesses with return services or rear-alley access. She also questioned whether the cap effectively protected current operators while limiting future opportunities. "It does seem like we're saying we're going to have four because that's how many businesses currently have it," Neal said. "So essentially we're going to make an ordinance to help those four businesses, at perhaps the detriment to businesses who don't want it downtown. This feels a little bit like we're picking and choosing businesses." Several members also suggested a longer-term solution: reevaluating whether Water Street and the historic downtown core should remain in the same C3 district as other commercial areas. If a future rezoning occurs, existing hub operators could become legally nonconforming uses, allowing them to continue until they cease operations or their permits expire. Neal described that possibility as "the ultimate compromise." Council Member Cody Whittle, a former small-business owner, expressed broader concerns about Amazon's role in local commerce. "It makes me shudder that we are now looking to them as a solution to this problem, having been one of the biggest drivers of this problem to begin with," he said. Council Member Johanna Bergan, who voted against the motion, raised questions about whether Water Street should eventually be separated from the broader C3 district. She suggested that future rezoning could make existing hubs legally nonconforming uses, allowing them to continue while gradually phasing out the practice in the most sensitive parts of downtown. "I would encourage council to come to a decision that would let us determine what our code says or doesn't say, and enforce it about delivery hubs; and that might mean no C3 until that district gets split, in which case, P&Z could recommend a new use to C...'pick a new number,'" she said. The revised ordinance now returns to Planning and Zoning, which must hold a public hearing before voting on the council's amendments. Council members acknowledged that enforcement against existing hub operations remains on hold while the city works toward a permanent regulatory framework. Your inbox, upgraded! 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