Supervisors adopt ordinance to rezone historic church to residential use (Ordinance 77-301)

The Black Hawk County Board of Supervisors adopted Ordinance 77-301 to rezone 0.63 acres at 9801 Byrd Avenue from commercial to residential-multiple, clearing the way for the conversion of a historic church into a residential dwelling and proposed short-term rental use.

George Jones Gowman, the county zoning administrator, described the property as "one of the second oldest churches in Black Hawk County," noted the planning and zoning commission’s unanimous recommendation for approval and emphasized that an adjacent cemetery owned by the applicant was not part of the rezoning request. He said that, if rezoned, the property could be used for any residential purpose but changes to business uses would require separate review.

The board waived the usual requirement for two prior readings and adopted the ordinance after closing the public hearing; a roll-call adoption was recorded. Supervisors asked questions about prior stipulations, sewer work and the applicant’s plans for short-term rental operation. The hearing record contained no written public comments.

The ordinance amendment updates the county Agricultural Preservation Zoning Ordinance to reclassify the parcel as RM (residential multiple). County staff said they will file the ordinance and update zoning maps accordingly.

Next steps include filing the ordinance with county records and coordination between planning staff, public works and the applicant to address any required infrastructure modifications for the conversion.