Residents Protest; Salvage Yard Plan Scrapped

Developers of a proposed 18-acre auto salvage yard in Des Moines have forever shelved their plans after watching a live broadcast of a plan and zoning meeting where more than 80 angry residents attended in protest.

“I was blown away," said Carl Guiffre, a spokesman for Pick N Payless Auto Dismantlers. "I feel sick."

Pick N Payless Auto Dismantlers of Jasper County had asked the city to rezone land near the Des Moines River and a Target department store to allow for a salvage yard.

The city's plan and zoning commission held a public hearing March 4 to consider the request. The session in City Hall's council chambers attracted so many people in opposition that only standing room was available. Nobody spoke in support of the plan.

Guiffre faxed a letter to city staff about two hours before the hearing that said the person who would present the project to zoning commissioners was unable to attend.

No one representing the group attended the meeting. The zoning commission agreed to delay a decision until its April 1 meeting to allow the group an opportunity to present its plan, which the commission said could prevent future lawsuits against the city.

The decision will never reach a final vote if Guiffre pulls his zoning application, which he said he will do.

"I'm glad I didn't go down there because I would have just gone berserk," said Guiffre, who watched the meeting on television.

The group's application stressed that the proposal was "not another junkyard," but rather an auto recycling business with workshops and steel fences. The business would have been a $4 million operation that would have added as many as 30 jobs, Guiffre said.

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

Sponsored Content

SENNEBOGEN 340G telehandler improves the view in Macon County, NC

An elevated cab is one of several features improving operational efficiency at the Macon County Solid Waste Management agency in North Carolina. When it comes to waste management, efficiency, safety and reliability are priorities driving decisions from day one, according to staff members of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department in western North Carolina. The agency operates a recycling plant in a facility originally designed to bale incoming materials. More recently, the building has undergone significant transformations centered around one machine: a SENNEBOGEN telehandler (telescopic handler).

The business sent letters to 32 families who live within 250 feet of the proposed site and met with some residents in December. Guiffre said he thought the salvage yard would have been welcomed into the community.

The land is owned by Iowa Heartland RC&D Urban Trees Project of Runnells, according to public records.