The city has formally received the request for the rezoning of the Northeast Gateway Overlay District.

Matt Flynn, director of planning and housing for Ames, announced at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting that the Wolford Development Corporation submitted the request earlier in the day. This is the official announcement that Wolford intends to use the annexed land east of Interstate 35 on 13th Street for a regional shopping mall.

Until the request was filed, the possibility of the land’s use as a mall was speculation.

Now that the city has received the request, it will go through the Planning and Zoning Commission for review, before coming to the City Council for approval.

“We’re hopeful that that project is going to be at a final contingent point some time approximately in February,” Flynn said.

The design standards for the mall should appear on the next meeting’s agenda for approval.

“We’re just in the process of fine-tuning the design standards that were drafted by the steering committee,” Flynn said. “Some refinements are being made by staff with some final decisions on how we move forward with processing before going back to the planning and zoning commission at next meeting.”

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Councilman Matthew Goodman issued a statement endorsing Democratic candidate John Kerry for president.

“My father might have been lost in the Vietnam War, like so many other fathers, if nothing was to change,” Goodman said.

Goodman said he supported Kerry for speaking out against the Vietnam War, without which he said the war may not have ended.

“Many tried to incite change by speaking out, but many were ignored, ignored for the very reason some might ignore my words today,” Goodman said. “My words and others are viewed as less because we were not there and we did not fight.”

Goodman expressed his thanks to those who would vote Tuesday for Kerry because, “for among many things, [Kerry] said that which needed saying, no matter the consequences.”

Goodman was the only council member to endorse a candidate.

“If John Kerry had not chosen to be a soldier, a courageous thinker and a leader, I would not be nearly as proud of my country,” Goodman said. “I don’t ask that my country be always right, just that it be always honest when it’s not right.”

Mayor Ted Tedesco responded to Goodman’s statement immediately after, denouncing the endorsement.

“I believe that this statement this evening is inappropriate for this body,” Tedesco said. “This body is a nonpartisan body that is elected by the public on a nonpartisan basis to deal with the business in this community, and not as a political platform.”