Board of Zoning Appeals approves Rev City Church variance to add parking at 700 Wakarusa Drive

The Lawrence Board of Zoning Appeals on an April evening approved a variance allowing Rev City Church to expand its off-street parking from 229 spaces to 310 spaces at 700 Wakarusa Drive, a change the board said is intended to reduce on-street overflow and safety concerns for church attendees.

Drew Bilby, a planner with the city's Planning and Development Services department, introduced the item as "BZA-twenty five-two, which is a variance request to exceed the existing overage of off street parking amount for a neighborhood religious institution use from the code required 150 spaces to 310 spaces." Bilby summarized staff's analysis of the five variance criteria and concluded staff recommended denial because the property did not meet the first criterion on uniqueness.

The staff report noted the site's history: the church expanded its parking to 229 spaces under a 2008 site plan when no maximum parking limit applied, and a 2020 text amendment to the land development code established a maximum range that effectively sets the code-required amount for the site at 150 spaces. Bilby said the applicant's proposal brings total impervious coverage to 65% (below the RM12…