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Board continues vote on repurposing Calvary Temple office building for commercial offices
Summary
A request to allow commercial office use in a building on the Calvary Temple campus at 9045 East 30th Street (zoned SU-1) was continued after a split board vote; staff recommended rezoning instead and raised concerns about unrelated outdoor storage on the campus.
The Metropolitan Board of Zoning Appeals, Division 3, continued a petition by Calvary Temple Assembly of God to allow commercial offices within an existing building at 9045 East 30th Street (Warren Township), after board members recorded an indecisive vote.
Attorney David Gilman and Jason Patterson of Helix Development presented the petition. They said the church-owned building is vacant, that Helix seeks to lease it for 7–12 employees and to perform interior tenant improvements, and that the church cannot sell the parcel now because of mortgage obligations. The petitioner emphasized a short-term lease, commitments not to use the site for outdoor storage tied to Helix operations, and the economic benefit of activating a vacant building on the east side.
Staff recommended denial and advised the petitioner to pursue rezoning rather than a use variance. Staff said commercial offices are not a permitted use in SU-1, and that the surrounding property has evidence of outdoor storage of modular homes and construction material tied to a related party (Volumod/renew/Helix activity). Staff said that the storage appears to be outside the parcel and on the broader church campus, and that separate filings filed for the modular homes/storage should be considered on their own merits.
Petitioners said they will file a separate petition for Volumod storage and that Helix's office use would not result in outdoor storage or other disallowed activities; they committed to no outdoor storage on the leased parcel. The board's vote was split: Brian Hannon voted yes, Joanna Taft voted yes, and Rhianna Binder voted no. Because the panel requires unanimous action, the petition was continued to the July 15 hearing for indecisive vote and further documentation.
Staff noted rezoning to C1 would cover both religious use and commercial office uses and remains the staff-preferred route; the petitioner said selling or carving the parcel is not feasible now given owners' mortgage commitments.
