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Angola council approves rezoning to allow apartment in former church at 1207 S. Wayne St.
Summary
The Angola City Common Council voted to adopt a zoning change allowing a three-bedroom apartment to be created inside a former church at 1207 South Wayne Street; a separate variance for first-floor residential remains pending before the Board of Zoning Appeals.
The Angola City Common Council voted Sept. 15 to adopt a zoning map amendment that will allow an existing church at 1207 S. Wayne St. to be converted to a three-bedroom, one-bath apartment.
The change was approved by voice vote after a motion to adopt the proposed zoning change; no council member registered opposition. The council conducted the action during its regular meeting after the applicant’s representative described plans for the building and parking.
The applicant’s representative, identified in the meeting as Mr. Zank, said the conversion will keep the building’s existing footprint and “gutted inside” to create a single-family dwelling unit with a separate entrance on the south side. He said the sanctuary area will be repurposed to provide 10 parking stalls. “They are simply going to diminish. . . . The membership now is down to about 7 parishioners total,” Zank said, explaining why the congregation was selling the property.
Council members noted that the council is not required to hold a public hearing for a rezoning but that the body typically allows public comment. The council’s approval of the rezoning does not resolve all required reviews: Zank and the council said the proposed first-floor residential use must still be considered by the Board of Zoning Appeals for a variance because first-floor residential is not allowed in the neighborhood commercial zone. That variance hearing is scheduled for next Monday, and the variance had not been approved as of the Sept. 15 meeting.
The council’s action reclassifies the parcel under the city’s zoning map to permit the planned residential conversion. No conditions or amendments to the motion were recorded in the meeting minutes.
With housing cited as one objective for the neighborhood, council members repeated that the council sought uses compatible with the surrounding area. The applicant representative said the owners do not plan to change the building footprint or add new structures.
The council’s approval completes the city-level rezoning step but leaves the BZA variance and any building-permit reviews to determine the project’s final scope.
The council also discussed other matters on the Sept. 15 agenda, including budget scheduling and other ordinances.
