Public hearing opened on Mosaic Church conditional use permit; Planning & Zoning recommended approval with screening and size limits

The Rolla City Council opened a public hearing over a proposed conditional use permit (CUP) for a church on a parcel at the southeast corner of Forum Drive and the planned extension of Eighteenth Street.

Dawn, city planning staff, said a CUP is required because the site sits in an R‑1 suburban residential district and the lot exceeds one acre. “Churches are allowed in R‑1,” Dawn said, “but a CUP is required on lots greater than 1 acre to evaluate potential impacts of a larger use.” She told the council that Planning and Zoning recommended approval, 6–0, with conditions: initial construction limited to 10,000 square feet; any expansion of 5% or more (500 sq. ft.) would require an amended CUP; submittal of a landscape plan that retains large trees; and a seven‑foot privacy fence to screen adjacent homes.

Property owner Robert (Bob) Davis told the council he purchased the land as an investment and offered to build the Eighteenth Street connector as part of the church sale. Davis said the developer would extend Eighteenth Street to the collector standard and that the city had agreed in the past to contribute roughly 10–15% to upgrade a residential street to a collector where needed. He also told the council that construction costs for the street have risen substantially — he cited a prior price quote of about $292,000 and a recent estimate of $574,000 — and urged the council to consider the timing if the council approves the CUP.

Residents who live along the lot’s southern border spoke against approving the CUP as presented. Brandy Carr, who lives at 1303 Eastwood Drive, told the council she and neighbors want single‑family housing there and that traffic and runoff are primary concerns. “When it rains, our road becomes a river,” Carr said, describing repeated flooding in a cul‑de‑sac downhill from the site and asking how runoff from a new parking area would be handled.

Planning staff said the site will be required to meet the city’s stormwater standards and that detention can be either on‑site or achieved via a regional facility; because the projected traffic did not exceed the city’s thresholds a traffic study was not required for the CUP application. Staff also noted that Eighteenth Street is a planned collector and that, under the proposed development agreement, the developer would build the full extension rather than only the portion directly adjacent to the church site.

The council received questions about whether driveways would be allowed on Forum Drive (staff said proximity to the roundabout makes that unlikely), where fencing and easements fall, and how the planned sidewalk and roundabouts would work to control speeds on the new collector.

What happened: the council opened the public hearing, heard the applicant and multiple neighboring residents, and recorded that Planning and Zoning had recommended approval with conditions. The transcript does not show a final council vote on the CUP at this meeting.

Next steps: the council will consider the ordinance and CUP at a later vote; if approved, any future building expansion exceeding 5% will require returning to the city for an amended CUP as required by the recommended conditions.