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Saint Francis council approves zoning change to allow convents, rectories and seminaries as special uses in I-1 institutional district
Summary
The Saint Francis Common Council voted Aug. 19 to amend the city's nonresidential use table so a convent, rectory or seminary may be permitted as a special use in the I-1 Institutional District, following a seminary request tied to planned revisions and expansion.
The Saint Francis Common Council on Aug. 19, 2025, voted to repeal and recreate the city's nonresidential use table (Chapter 4-55) to allow a convent, rectory or seminary as a special-use in the I-1 Institutional District, council members said at a meeting in the Saint Francis Civic Center.
The change is a single, targeted amendment to the zoning code intended to accommodate a seminary's request for planned-unit development (PUD) status that would enable revisions and expansion to its property, Paul (role/title not specified) told the council. "The solitary change to the... use table would be to make the use of group residential... make a convent, rectory or monastery a special use in the I-one, in the I-1, institutional district," Paul said.
A public hearing on the proposed ordinance was noticed in advance and copies of the revised table and related ordinance were made available in the office of the city clerk/treasurer during regular business hours. No members of the public spoke during that hearing; the council clerk closed the hearing before the meeting proceeded to other business.
After the presentation, a motion to "repeal and recreate" the use table was made and seconded. The council voted in favor of the ordinance; the meeting record shows the motion carried (the roll-call counts were not specified in the public transcript excerpt). The ordinance amends section 4-55-60 of the City of Saint Francis Code of Ordinances to list a convent, rectory or seminary among uses that may be issued a special-use permit in the I-1 district.
Council members did not record extended debate on other changes to the use table; Paul described the revision as solitary and directly tied to the seminary's PUD request. No amendments to the motion were recorded in the public portion of the meeting.
The ordinance is on file with the city clerk/treasurer. The council moved later in the agenda to closed session on separate matters unrelated to this zoning action.
