Zoning board and commission approve temporary tent variance for Wambliska community events on Haines Avenue

The Zoning Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission approved a temporary‑use variance June 26 allowing Wambliska Community Development to keep a 2,400‑square‑foot tent on a Haines Avenue property for intermittent Saturday community events through Aug. 19, exceeding the standard 200‑square‑foot and 14‑day limits.

Annie Bachand, chief financial officer for Wambliska Community Development, described the nonprofit’s 20‑year work in north Rapid City and said the Haines Avenue site aims to provide a community gathering place, jobs and cultural programming. “Our goal as 1 of the only nonprofit community development organizations in the city is to improve the North Side. That's it,” Bachand said.

Planning staff told commissioners the underlying retail and community uses are permitted in the General Commercial district; the variance request concerns only the tent’s size and duration. Staff described the tent as used intermittently on Saturdays, with licensed security, the applicant’s food truck on site, four picnic tables and seating for roughly 24 people. Staff also noted the tent has a mean height of about 13.5 feet and that sidewalls would remain unattached for airflow and visibility. The applicant offered to remove the awning after each event to reduce visual and spatial impact.

Staff noted they brought the item forward without a recommendation because, while the temporary use aligns with the code’s purpose to accommodate short‑term community activities, it did not clearly demonstrate a special circumstance. Commissioners and several public commenters supported approval, praising the nonprofit’s neighborhood work and plans for parking and shuttling between an existing Wambliska site on Anamosa.

The motion to approve included two stipulations: that the tent awning be removed after each event and that the applicant finalize outstanding building‑permit items for the meat retail outlet on the property. The motion carried; one commissioner, Eric Hiekis, recorded an abstention. Staff recorded no formal vote tally in the minutes beyond the voice vote outcome.

Why it matters: The approval allows the nonprofit to run community events at a larger temporary structure than typically allowed under the temporary‑use rules, subject to conditions intended to limit neighborhood impacts. Commissioners emphasized that the approval covers only the temporary tent and does not change the permanent land‑use permissions for the property.

Next steps: Staff will monitor compliance with the two stipulations and the applicant’s completion of building‑permit requirements.