A public hearing regarding the proposed replacement of an aging West Des Moines strip mall and the addition of a convenience store at the intersection of Grand Avenue and Vine Street has been continued indefinitely by the City Council.

M.A.G.R. Investments Ltd., represented by Abe Wolf, Gerard Stanton, Ron Daniels and James Myers, requested the continuance in order to have additional time to address neighboring property owners’ concerns about the redevelopment.

“There is no need for the services (the convenience store) would provide to the neighborhood. These same services are already available within less than one-half mile either direction of this location,” wrote West Des Moines resident Roger Strause in a July 27 letter addressed to council members. “The addition would bring added traffic, congestion and safety concerns,” he stated.

More than a dozen residents signed the letter.

Jessica Clinton, an associate planner for the city, said in an interview that the developer hopes to work through the issues and move the project forward.

At Monday’s meeting, she said, the City Council specified that the hearing must be held prior to the second council meeting in November. Otherwise, the applicant will have to wait until June 2010. A citizen’s concern that M.A.G.R. may try to reconvene the hearing while residents are out of town during the winter months prompted the stipulation, she added.