Columbus Plan Commission members will consider a request by a local church to waive a one-year waiting period to refile a denied rezoning application to build a parking lot.
The request, from St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, 719 Fifth St., centers around three properties it owns at 903, 911 and 915 Fourth St. that cover roughly 18,000 square feet and up to recently had unoccupied houses on the lots.
At the request of church officials, the Columbus City Council tabled the church’s application to rezone the properties from residential to public/semi-public facilities on April 2 after officials in the city’s planning department raised concerns about demolishing “needed and valued near-downtown housing,” according to public records.
Church officials, however, demolished the houses about three weeks ago and are now seeking to lift the city-mandated, one-year waiting period to refile their rezoning application to put in the parking lot. The church was granted demolition permits for all the properties on June 18, according to county officials.
“The houses have already been demolished,” said Scott Schumacher, director of development at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. “It’s a vacant lot right now. We’re seeking approval to make that vacant lot into parking space for LifeWorks and other activities at St. Peter’s.”
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
