downtown

A used car firm -- which gained reluctant approval to relocate to a highly visible site in downtown Bettendorf -- has moved to the new location without completing any of the landscaping which was part of the development's site plan.

Premier Picks Auto Sales was forced to leave its location in the 1400 block of State Street because of the new Interstate 74 Bridge and related downtown street improvements.

A downtown Bettendorf used car dealer -- forced to relocate because of the planned reconstruction of Interstate 74 -- wants the city to rezone a lot at the opposite end of the downtown corridor to keep the firm downtown.

The city's Planning and Zoning Commission recommended against the zoning change over concerns a used car lot would not fit with the new downtown master plan and streetscaping improvements under way in the downtown corridor.