The Board of Zoning Appeals approved variances May 22 allowing Cornerstone Church to expand on‑site parking at 2655 South Adams Street but granted partial relief from the Unified Development Ordinance requirement to install electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

Staff described three requested variances: relief from the UDO’s 20‑foot front parking setback to allow new parking between the building and the street, a request to reduce or alter the buffer yard landscaping required where the church abuts single‑family homes to the east, and a request to waive the UDO requirement for EV charging stations that applies when a site has more than 50 parking spaces. Staff recommended approval of the parking setback variance and a limited buffer yard modification (requiring buffer only where new parking would be installed), but recommended denial of the EV‑charger variance because the ordinance’s EV requirement is intended to advance community EV infrastructure goals.

Petitioners — including engineer Daniel Butler and Pastor David Wigginton — said the church needed roughly 70 additional spaces (bringing total on‑site parking to about 154) to reduce on‑street congestion and to serve a congregation that provides community services. Butler described a landscape plan that places perimeter plantings at the edge of the new parking area rather than planting down in the lower drainage corridor; pastor Wigginton emphasized the church’s neighborhood services and said the church has distributed substantial groceries and aid during the pandemic and afterward.

Neighbors and nearby homeowners opposed the parking expansion and the proposed location, saying the project would remove a green buffer and expose parked cars and maneuvering to houses across Adams Street. Several neighbors said they bought property with an expectation of existing green space and expressed safety concerns about increased vehicle movement. Business and neighborhood commenters also spoke about EV chargers: some said adding chargers there would fill a gap in the southwest part of the city, while others — and the petitioner — worried about cost, potential misuse, and building electrical capacity.

During deliberations a board member moved amended findings that recognized the church’s community‑serving mission and unique site conditions and proposed approval of the requested variances with conditions. The motion as adopted approved the variances for the parking setback and the buffer landscaping (with the city’s recommended geographic limitation) and granted the petitioner relief from the EV charging requirement; the board voted 4‑0 on the motion. Board members required the standard conditions listed in staff’s report (permits, engineered plans, and compliance with stormwater regulations) and permitted staff and the petitioner to finalize the exact landscaping plan.

Petitioners must submit final engineered plans and obtain building and stormwater permits. The board’s action relieves the church of the EV charger requirement that otherwise would have applied because the parking expansion brings the lot over the 50‑space threshold; buffer landscaping will be required only along the portions of the east property line adjacent to the new parking area, and the parking setback variance applies as approved.