Council approves revised conditional-use and parking plan for Naples Community Church

Naples City Council unanimously approved an amendment to the conditional-use approval for Naples Community Church, allowing the congregation to redevelop its property at 849 Seventh Avenue South and expand its sanctuary to 316 seats while meeting parking requirements through on-site, off-site and city-lot arrangements.

City planning staff and the church’s project team told council the plan replaces existing restaurant and office uses on the parcel with a raised sanctuary, additional fellowship and support spaces and upgraded stormwater and landscape systems. “The plan is to redevelop the building in phases to create a beautiful, resilient FEMA and code compliant sanctuary with increased seating,” attorney Clay Brooker said during the presentation. Architect David Corbin described a design that lifts the sanctuary over parking to improve resiliency, provide covered drop-off and increase green, usable outdoor space.

Why it matters: the church’s expansion triggered a code requirement to address parking for the larger sanctuary. City code requires one parking space per four seats; the 316-seat sanctuary requires 79 spaces. The petitioner proposed 35 on-site spaces, 29 spaces in a church-owned satellite lot about 250 feet east of the site, and continued use of 15 spaces in a nearby city lot for Sunday mornings under a recorded agreement.

Petition and review: The city granted conditional-use approval for the church in February 2010. The church’s revised application sought to amend that resolution because the number of seats would increase and parking must be addressed. The Planning Advisory Board unanimously recommended approval with conditions; staff’s analysis affirmed the application met conditional-use standards and recommended the city impose nine standard conditions including final Design Review Board approval and recorded parking agreements.

Parking and operations: Traffic and parking experts for the petitioner said the redeveloped, church-only site would reduce weekday traffic compared with the current mixed-use arrangement and that weekday parking demand would be satisfied by the 64 combined on-site and church-owned off-site spaces. For Sunday peak demand the church will continue to use 15 spaces in the city lot under a right-of-way agreement, and would operate a shuttle or similar service when the city lot is used. Traffic consultant Norm Trebilcock said the church’s peak demand is Sunday morning and that weekday demand would be lower.

Council deliberations focused on the city-lot dependency and long-term parking security. Vice Mayor Hutchison asked staff to craft language to require the church to address parking if the city lot spaces become unavailable; City Attorney Matthew McConnell confirmed a condition can require the petitioner to remedy parking should the city parcel no longer be available. Staff also noted the petitioner recorded the off-site parking agreement for the church-owned lot, restricting future sale or use that would eliminate the parking.

Phasing, resiliency and community amenities: The church described a two-stage construction approach so it could remain on-site during construction—first building the western portion and then moving services before replacing the existing sanctuary. The design raises the primary worship level above current grade to reduce flood exposure, increases pervious surface and installs upgraded stormwater facilities; the planning staff included a condition requiring a licensed engineer to certify stormwater systems every three years and after significant hydraulic events.

Council action and conditions: Councilmember Bill Kramer moved approval and Councilmember Beth Petronoff seconded. The motion adopted the Planning Advisory Board recommendations and the conditions recommended by staff with added language to address the city-lot contingency. The clerk recorded a unanimous vote in favor. Council and staff noted final design-review board approval and any building permits will be required before construction begins.

What’s next: The recorded off-site parking agreement will be finalized and recorded in the public record; final design review board approval and building permits must follow. Staff said they will refine the contingency language tying the church’s obligations to the continued availability of the 15 city-lot spaces and return any needed formal amendments to the resolution if required by legal review.