West Fargo commissioners approve Hope Lutheran rezoning with condition limiting Sixth Street access

The West Fargo City Commission approved a rezoning and final plat for the Hope Lutheran Addition on Oct. 6, 2025, but imposed a condition in the development agreement to withhold a full access driveway to Sixth Street and allow the developer to request that access later if the area east of the church site is platted.

The decision followed two evenings of public comment, a city-commissioned traffic study by Bolton & Menk, technical testimony from the study’s lead engineer and extended discussion among commissioners about neighborhood safety and connectivity.

Why it matters: Neighbors raised safety and pedestrian concerns about an access driveway onto Sixth Street near Lacey Elementary School. Commissioners and staff said they wanted to preserve neighborhood safety while keeping a pathway for future connectivity if the adjacent property is developed.

Hope Lutheran and project supporters urged approval. Jobe Lickblau, church council president for Hope Lutheran, told the commission the congregation “has followed every step of the city's established processes” and asked commissioners to “vote yes to allow Hope to continue to strengthen West Fargo by allowing us to move forward with all aspects outlined in the proposal.” Brian Berg, the project architect representing Zurburg, said the traffic study showed the proposed church would generate “less daily traffic” than a comparable single-family residential development on most days and that funerals and weddings are infrequent at the West campus.

Several nearby residents urged the commission to restrict or remove the proposed Sixth Street access. Resident Mike Meschewski, who lives on Sixth Street West, said, “I’m here to strongly oppose the proposed full access driveway from Hope Lutheran Development onto Sixth Street,” and pressed that the traffic memorandum’s estimate was too low and that pedestrian safety — especially for children walking to Lacey Elementary School — was not adequately addressed.

Traffic study and recommended mitigations: City staff presented the traffic analysis from Bolton & Menk. Mike Bittner, a Bolton & Menk engineer, described the study data as “big data, anonymized information” and said the firm combined commercial GPS-derived travel data with national church-trip patterns to estimate trip generation and routing. The study concluded the existing roadway network can accommodate the church with “minimal impacts” and no major safety concerns, while recommending two mitigations: construction of a turn lane on Ninth Street into the property (already required in the subdivision agreement) and addition of pedestrian crossing signage at two existing crosswalks at Mulberry Lane and First Avenue (50 First Avenue referenced in materials).

Staff and engineering also noted that Sunday-morning and Wednesday-evening church peaks would produce higher traffic than a single-family subdivision and that the Wednesday evening peak could overlap with evening commuter traffic — the one period of greatest overlap. Bittner said the 16% estimate for traffic using Sixth Street reflected routing assumptions based on observed travel patterns and engineering judgment; he told commissioners that if the distribution shifted to an even split among routes, “from a purely technical standpoint, it probably wouldn't” change the study’s overall conclusion that the corridors are capable of carrying the additional traffic but would increase potential vehicle–pedestrian conflicts on whichever local street carries the traffic.

Deliberations and legal limits: Aaron Nelson, the city’s director of planning, reminded the commission that religious institutions have federal legal protections, and staff recommended that any conditions, restrictions or denials be carefully considered with city staff and the city attorney. City Attorney Katie Schmidt explained that if the city identifies a compelling governmental interest (for example, safety), any restriction must satisfy the federal standard of “least restrictive means.” Commissioners discussed traffic calming tools (speed tables, bump-outs, striping) and the city’s traffic-calming policy, petition thresholds and possibility of city-funded measures or an improvement district for local mitigation.

Council action and vote: After an initial motion to approve second reading and final plat failed for lack of a second, a revised motion passed. Commissioner Anderson moved to approve second reading of the rezoning and the final plat while withholding Sixth Street access, with a condition in the development agreement allowing the developer to request access later if the area to the east is platted or requires infrastructure. Commissioner Zundell seconded. The roll call vote recorded Anderson — yes; Olsen — aye; Zundell — yes; Jorgensen — no. President Dardis recused himself from the vote. The motion passed.

What the condition means: Under the approved condition, the developer will not have a full, routine access driveway onto Sixth Street as part of the initial plat and building permits. The development agreement will include a mechanism to evaluate and potentially grant access later if the adjacent land to the east is formally platted and infrastructure or right-of-way make a connection appropriate. City staff said the Ninth Street access will remain the primary public route to the site; emergency access arrangements and private easements were discussed in the record as possible interim measures.

Next steps: With rezoning and final plat approved, the applicant can proceed with subdivision and permitting under the R-1A single-dwelling-residential designation and the developer must satisfy the subdivision/public-dedication agreements (including the Ninth Street turn lane) and the conditions in the development agreement before building permits are issued.

Speakers quoted in this report spoke at the Oct. 6 meeting; public testimony had concluded during earlier hearings in July and August as noted by staff.

Ending: The commission’s conditional approval resolved a months-long neighborhood debate by allowing the church project to proceed while explicitly limiting through-access to a quiet residential street until the city can reassess connectivity if the area to the east is developed.