Planning board delays Grace Baptist Church site plan, asks for parking, setback and stormwater details

The Birmingham Planning Board on March 26 postponed consideration of a special land use permit amendment, final site plan and design review for Grace Baptist Church at 280 E. Lincoln, citing unresolved site-planning and engineering issues and asking the applicant to work with staff before the board’s April 9 meeting.

The planning department’s presentation, delivered by Nick Dupuy, planning department staff, said the church — on the site since 1957 and operating under a special land use permit since 1987 — is proposing to remove 2,650 square feet of older building and add a 4,180-square-foot addition, change walkways and restripe and resurface part of the parking lot. The changes will remove a small number of parking spaces and would extend an exterior stair into the side-yard setback, requiring either compliance with the 10-foot side-yard setback or a variance from the Board of Zoning Appeals, Dupuy said.

The planning department recommended that the board recommend approval to the city commission, subject to five conditions including: submission of revised landscaping and streetscape details consistent with department recommendations; securing a variance for minimum open-space reduction; resolving stormwater requirements with city engineering; and exploring a shared-parking agreement with the city for the lot behind the site that serves the nearby YMCA.

Pastor Craig Hurley, who identified himself as pastor of Grace Baptist Church, said the project aims to improve accessibility and building circulation so the congregation can meet while construction is under way. Architect Andrew Iverson and civil engineer Andrew Walters were present for technical questions. Walters told the board the team considered multiple drive and curb-cut layouts and that some options would lose five to 10 parking spaces.

Board members raised circulation and safety concerns about the existing southern parking area: Commissioner Bert (last name not specified in transcript) said arriving late for events could lead to unsafe reversing and limited turnaround options. The applicant and a church member said the church currently manages overflow with volunteers and that interior circulation and the elevator location allow continued use of the auditorium during construction.

On landscaping and streetscape, the planning staff noted the R-2 zoning district is not strictly subject to the city’s parking-lot landscaping standards, but the applicant proposed interior landscaping that approximated those standards; staff suggested tying approval conditions to what is presented on the site plan plus city department conditions.

The board asked staff to prepare the April 9 meeting as a hybrid session to include a study session and site-plan review so members can work with the applicant and city engineering staff to resolve circulation and stormwater questions before a final recommendation to the city commission. The board formally postponed the special land use permit and site-plan/design-review consideration to the April 9 meeting.

Why it matters: the changes increase the building footprint close to residential property, affect on-site parking and touch an area with shared public facilities (the YMCA/city lot). The board framed its questions around public safety, drainage and whether proposed shared-parking arrangements would be documented and enforceable before a final recommendation.

Next steps: the applicant will coordinate with city departments on stormwater and forestry comments, refine parking and circulation drawings and return on April 9 for joint study-session/site-plan review as requested by the board.