Perry council approves boundary adjustment with Willard, assigns initial zoning to incoming parcels

Perry City Council voted unanimously on Dec. 22 to approve Ordinance 25‑X, a boundary adjustment with Willard City that brings several properties into Perry and sets initial zoning for those parcels.

At a public hearing before the vote, city staff member Bob summarized the proposal and the administrative steps required if the council adopted the ordinance, including recording plats and coordinating with Willard. Bob said the ordinance reflects a developer request from Link Construction and that some exhibits and exhibit dates still needed confirmation with Willard.

The council’s final motion, moved by Council member Tueller and seconded by Council member Walker, assigned the Settlemyer, Brager and Barker parcels to R‑1A (an agricultural/residential hybrid). The Link Construction parcel was assigned R‑1 half as a baseline, with an allowance of eight multifamily units in the mapped quadrant. The motion included directions to complete the packet attachments and correct highlighted exhibit information before finalization.

Residents who live along the boundary spoke during the hearing. Property owner James Suttlemeyer told the council he supports the boundary change but asked that his 1.9‑acre lot retain the ability to keep animals, saying, "We'd love to have a zoning to where we can have some animals." Chad Brager, another property owner, asked that portions be zoned R‑1A so owners could maintain a small number of animals; Janine Jensen urged the council to consider lot sizes and the nearby approval of 75 townhomes, saying she did not want the area’s rural character to disappear.

Council members debated zoning choices — R‑1A, R‑1 third and R‑1 half — and discussed animal allowances tied to particular zones (e.g., R‑1A’s animal rules). Bob reminded the council that property‑level adjustments, land swaps and future developer agreements could lead to later rezoning requests.

The council conducted a roll‑call vote. Council members Young, Walker, Osler and Tueller voted "Yes," and the motion passed. The ordinance takes effect after Willard City completes its corresponding action and the cities record the plats and related documents.

The council’s action sets the baseline land‑use expectations for the annexed area but preserves pathways for property owners to seek alternate zoning or developer agreements in the future.