The Planning and Zoning Commission on July 22 voted 2-6 to deny a rezoning request (zone case 2993A) that would have changed a parcel east of Upland Avenue and south of 80 Second Street from Neighborhood Commercial to Auto Urban Commercial. The applicant said the change was required to construct a paved commercial parking lot to support the Worship Center; neighbors said the congregation already uses multiple parking areas and that added pavement and events would increase hazardous crossings and traffic congestion.
Tommy Harms, project engineer with Mount Top Engineering representing the Worship Center, told the commission: "Currently, those current zoning designation does not allow for a parking lot to be constructed here. That's why we're switching from NC to AC." Harms said the church had coordinated with traffic engineering and planned to locate access points on 80 Second Street and to install a pedestrian crossing.
Keith Sumner, a resident who said he has lived near 80 Second and Saratoga for 23 years, described repeated traffic and pedestrian conflicts during services and other church events. "It is very chaotic," Sumner said, adding that churchgoers now park in several off-site lots and cross 80 Second Street at multiple points. Sumner warned that larger, formalized parking could encourage larger events and more frequent crossings, and said law enforcement cannot prevent all unsafe crossings during peak activity.
City staff told the commission that the parcel is designated for commercial use on the future land-use map and that staff had no objection to the rezoning. The department clarified that a commercial parking lot as a primary use requires AC zoning; the applicant said the lot would provide safer, coordinated pedestrian crossings to the church and would be screened on the south side by a masonry wall.
Commissioners who opposed the rezoning voiced concerns about the parcel's proximity to residential lots, high traffic volumes on 80 Second Street and the risk of informal crossings despite a marked pedestrian crossing. One commissioner said that allowing a standalone paved parking lot at that location risked creating an open-use space that could be used for outdoor events, food trucks and similar activities.
The commission's denial means the current zoning remains in place; the case record will go to City Council on July 22 for consideration, per the commission's regular transmittal process.