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 zoning district maximum of 75%) and includes a proposed bioretention basin to mitigate stormwater impacts.

Corby Rust of Land Plan Engineering, representing the applicant, told the board the church has "a present tense need" for more parking and that the proposed expansion would place new stalls on the southwest corner of the property, away from adjacent residences, with no new access points and added landscaping and stormwater controls. Rust said photographs in the application document persistent overflow parking in grassy areas, along curbs, and on adjacent streets.

Thomas Humphreys, pastor of Rev City Church, said the congregation experiences overflow conditions at the busiest service and during occasional events. Humphreys said attendance during those conditions has been "approximately 400–450 adults in the room that is built to occupy 600 adults," and that the church prefers to invest in programming rather than pavement but needs additional stalls to reduce unsafe on-street parking.

A member of the public, Andy Kraszmowski, who said he attends Rev City, described congregation members with young children and mobility needs who currently cross Harvard and Wakarusa and called the existing situation "dangerous, inconvenient." He told the board the additional spaces would help accommodate attendees and reduce neighborhood impacts.

Board members questioned staff about code history, the site plan review status, and whether parking on grass violated code. Bilby confirmed the site plan is under review and that by code parking must occur on an improved, paved surface; parking on grass is a code violation. Staff and board members also discussed that the new land development code (effective April 1) carries forward substantially the same parking language and that a text amendment would be the other pathway to change citywide standards.

After deliberation, a motion to approve the variance passed on a vote of 6 in favor and 1 opposed. The board's approval included findings that the five variance criteria were met.

Votes at a glance - Motion: Approve variance BZA25-002 (request to increase off-street parking to 310 spaces at 700 Wakarusa Drive). Tally: Yes 6, No 1. (Names for individual votes were not specified in the transcript.)

Why it matters The decision allows Rev City Church to expand parking on-site, a change the applicant and supporters say will reduce on-street parking and related pedestrian safety risks on Wakarusa Drive and West Harvard Road. Staff had recommended denial because it concluded the property did not meet one of the five statutory variance criteria (uniqueness in planning/zoning), though staff found the other criteria were satisfied and documented required stormwater and landscaping measures to mitigate impacts.

What's next The expansion still requires completion of the site's plan review and compliance with stormwater best-management practices and accessible-parking requirements; those details are part of the ongoing site-plan review process, not resolved by the variance vote.

Additional context City staff noted the 2008 site plan permitted the church to expand parking to 229 stalls before the parking maximum was adopted. The city's land development code provisions cited in the staff report include section 20-901(d)(2)(c) (parking ranges/limits) and the variance process criteria in section 20-1309 (variance findings). The applicant's site plan proposes 83 additional stalls beyond the existing 229, new landscaping (18 trees, 153 shrubs), and a bioretention basin to address runoff.