The request for a super majority vote filed Tuesday as part of a late protest from a landowner has left Ames City Council members wondering whether it could be the wrench needed to halt approval of a new city mall.

The vote was delayed until the Sept. 27 council meeting because of a protest filed by Gerald Johnson, of Gilbert, who owns several acres of land adjacent to the north parcel of property up for rezoning for a proposed new mall at Interstate-35 and E. 13 Street.

Johnson said he waited until the last minute to file the protest because he didn’t want the city to keep him from having an effect.

“It is like a poker game. You don’t want to turn your hand early,” he said. “I threw a big monkey wrench.”

The rezoning issue could come up as soon as the Sept. 27 meeting. Councilman Riad Mahayni said he is not sure how this will change the outcome.

“The implication is that a super majority is now needed to pass,” he said.

Under Iowa Code, Section 414.5, owners of 20 percent or more of the property located within 200 feet of the exterior boundaries of the land under consideration for rezoning can file a protest against the change. Once a protest is filed with the council, approval of rezoning requires at least a three-fourths majority rather than a simple majority.

“The mayor knows that if it does come out to a super majority vote, they will not have enough votes to approve the rezoning,” said Jo Etzel, a member of Ames Smart Growth, an advocacy group that opposes the new mall.

If the protest is upheld, a decision could be delayed until after the upcoming council elections, where hopefully new members will be elected who oppose the mall, Etzel said.

Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco said the council tabled the vote at the request of the developer, who questioned whether Johnson did own enough property within 200 feet of the rezoning area.

“The protest was filed late and we need appropriate time to check the calculations,” he said.

At the meeting, Des Moines-based attorney Bill Bartine, representing Wolford Development, read a letter that said, “There is a complicated factual analysis that needs to be conducted before we can draw a conclusion whether the protesting party in fact owns sufficient property within 200 feet of he rezoning area.”

Tedesco said he was not sure if a vote will occur at the next meeting and the developer could re-file the rezoning request, causing more delay.

“It is a continuous delay of having these facilities available,” he said.

Johnson said he hoped the protest would “cause the developer to give up and go away.”