Oakdale planning panel recommends approval for church at former LA Fitness site

The Oakdale Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of a conditional use permit to allow the Ethiopian Evangelical Church in Minnesota to locate a place of worship in the former LA Fitness building at 7360 3rd Street North.

City staff told the commission the building is in a planned unit development (PUD) and that places of worship are allowed in all zoning districts through the conditional use permit process. A staff presentation noted the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA) requires religious assemblies be treated the same as nonreligious assemblies for land-use purposes.

Staff said the existing building is about 45,000 square feet and the proposed main assembly hall could accommodate up to 915 people; the congregation currently based in Saint Paul has about 700 congregants including children. Based on the size of the assembly hall and ancillary office space, staff said the ordinance’s parking standard requires 247 parking spaces; the site has 300 existing spaces, so the parking requirement is met.

The commission approved the permit with one formal condition: that wayfinding signage be added at the intersection of 30 Third Street North and Hemingway Avenue North and along 30 Third Street North to direct drivers away from making problematic left turns at the Hemingway intersection. Staff recommended — but did not require as a condition — several traffic-study suggestions, including a future sidewalk connection to Hemingway Avenue, developing a shared parking agreement with the adjacent multi-tenant property, conducting follow-up traffic analysis, adjusting internal driveway alignments, and coordinating with Washington County on potential future intersection improvements.

Chuck Beekler, an attorney assisting the church on the property acquisition, told the panel his review of the traffic materials and discussions with engineers suggested Washington County would likely begin with signal retiming. “The church’s use by and large is gonna be pretty minimal,” Beekler said, adding that the congregation typically holds one Sunday service and smaller weekday religious classes that draw about 40 to 50 students.

Commission questions focused on traffic and parking: commissioners asked whether the recommended shared-parking arrangement would be limited to the immediately adjacent multi-tenant building, whether vehicles exiting the site would still be able to turn north on Hemingway and then east on 30 Third Street, and whether any pylon signage remained on site from the building’s prior use. Staff and the applicant’s representatives said the proposed wayfinding signs are intended to encourage drivers to take a safer route (for example, turning right and routing east toward a signalized intersection at Marketplace and 30 Third Street) and that no exterior building expansions are proposed; interior renovations would include a 3,000-square-foot office area, a family room, seven Sunday-school classrooms, an infant and toddler room, restrooms, a gym, a gathering area and a kitchen.

A motion to recommend approval was made, seconded and approved by voice vote; the commission record shows the motion passed without a roll-call tally recorded.

The applicant and staff said they expect to work further with engineers and Washington County on any needed traffic adjustments as the site is used. The commission packet and staff report list the planning commission condition and the nonbinding traffic-study recommendations; the final conditional use permit and any required sign permits will follow city procedures if the city council adopts the commission’s recommendation.