BZA approves parking-stall width variance for Suncrest Christian Church at 10009 Parrish Ave.

The St. John Board of Zoning Appeals voted 3-0 to approve a request from Suncrest Christian Church to allow nine-foot-wide parking stalls at 10009 Parrish Avenue and to permit an approximately 26-foot westward parking expansion.

The church’s agent, Jenna Lordson, told the board the parking lot currently has about 311 spaces; 60 of those are 10 feet wide (roughly 19 percent). Lordson said the church seeks a variance to re-stripe those 10-foot stalls to match the rest of the lot at nine feet and to extend paving on the west side, which the agent said would add roughly 26 spaces.

“Good evening, gentlemen. Jenna Lordson on behalf of Suncrest Christian Church here. We are requesting a variance from 10 foot wide parking stalls to 9 foot wide to actually match the majority of our lot,” Lordson said. She added that the requested configuration would bring the nonconforming portions of the lot close to the town’s 25 percent threshold for changes to legal nonconforming parking and that the church sought the board’s determination to ensure compliance.

The board opened a public comment period and heard none. After applying the variance criteria the board approved the request by a 3-0 vote. The board’s approval permits the church to restripe the identified stalls and to proceed with the west-side extension as presented in the application materials.

Lordson provided diagrams and a packet included showing which rows are 10-foot and which are 9-foot, and she said the proposed re-striping would gain about six additional stalls in one area and roughly 26 spots from the west extension. The church did not request other variances (for lighting, landscaping, or circulation) during the hearing.