MARSHALL — Menards has plans to build mini storage units near their Marshall store location, Marshall City Council members learned Tuesday. Council members heard a request for a conditional use permit for a total of 558 enclosed storage units and 78 parking stalls for recreational vehicles on property along Clarice Avenue.

The council granted the request, with conditions including that the storage area be separated from surrounding areas, and that Menards follows city landscaping ordinances.

Menards was one of two businesses seeking permits Tuesday. The city council also heard and approved a request from Shri Gayatri LLC to have a shipping container as storage outside the Quality Inn in Marshall.

The Marshall Planning Commission heard the permit request from Menards on March 9. The commission recommended the city grant Menards a conditional use permit for mini storage at 1211 Clarice Avenue. That lot is currently empty, and is located down the street from the Menards location, and behind Walmart.

On Tuesday, a representative of Menards said the company currently has around seven or eight storage centers in operation, and is planning to build several more. The storage area planned in Marshall would have a secure gate that customers could access with a code 24 hours a day, he said.

According to the Planning Commission’s recommendations, the mini-storage permit would have conditions. The conditions included that the storage property be paved, and that the storage area follow Marshall’s zoning and landscaping ordinances. The property would also need to be separated from surrounding areas either by storage units or an opaque fence at least six feet high.

Council members voted to approve the permit for Menards.

On Tuesday the council also heard a request for an interim use permit to place a shipping container on the Quality Inn property at 1511 East College Drive. Last spring, the city amended its ordinances to allow a limited number of containers on property in a general business district, with a permit.

Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes said there were members of the public present when the Marshall Planning Commission considered the permit request. Byrnes said they discussed the city’s requirements for shipping containers to be used as storage as well as why the property owner needed storage. In this case, ongoing supply chain issues meant there was a need to over-order some supplies needed for the business, Byrnes said.

The Planning Commission recommended granting the permit request.

The interim use permit would expire if the Quality Inn property changes ownership. The container would also need to meet city ordinances, including being painted a neutral color and being screened with fencing or landscaping.

Council members voted to approve the permit.