The Walnut Grove City Council spent the bulk of a work session reviewing a conditional-use application for 2610 Leon Avenue, where an applicant seeks to convert an R-1 house and an adjacent C-1 lot into a small place of worship with on-site parking.

Joe (staff) introduced the project, saying the request covers two parcels across from City Hall and that the applicant’s site plan proposes using the C-1 parcel for parking while the house would host worship services. "I think their congregation is no more than 30," Joe said, describing the group as an elderly congregation that currently expects modest weekday and Sunday activity.

Council members raised multiple concerns they want addressed at the required public hearings. Traffic and driveway access topped the list: staff noted a potential deceleration lane and said most driving would be routed via Park Street to avoid expensive GDOT driveway work on Highway 81. Several council members asked for a traffic study and potential coordination with the state Department of Transportation to evaluate left-turn and peak arrival risks.

Stormwater and impervious-surface calculations were also flagged. Staff said the applicant's engineer had not provided full impervious-surface figures; the plan shows gravel parking and a small pond that staff said could be sized later to mitigate runoff. Council members asked staff to require drainage information demonstrating compliance with city stormwater rules.

Accessibility and parking standards drew questions about compliance with ADA rules. The applicant’s site plan shows roughly 15 parking spots on the newly configured parcel plus existing spaces at the house; council members asked whether gravel parking would meet accessible-parking requirements and were told by staff that gravel would not provide safe access for mobility-impaired users and that designated paved, striped accessible stalls would be required and enforced by zoning and the fire marshal.

Councilors also discussed zoning permanence and future uses. Planner/attorney staff said conditional-use permits can be structured with conditions — limited to a specific owner or time period — or the council could consider rezoning both parcels to C-1 or R-1 with tailored permitted uses. "You can condition it to the user or to a time period," a planner said, noting that conditioning the permit is an available tool to limit unintended long-term commercial uses at the downtown gateway.

Procedure and next steps: staff advised the council that the planning commission must hold a public hearing before council action and that notice requirements (posted signs and newspaper advertisement) operate on statutory timelines. Staff recommended not combining the planning commission and council hearings on the same day so the council could request additional information if needed. Council members asked staff to notify immediate neighbors and to post the required signage (15–45 days before the hearing). The earliest planning commission meeting staff identified was Dec. 11; if timing prevents council action before December, the item would move to the January council meeting for final action.

The council did not take a final vote on the conditional-use application during this session; staff was directed to schedule public hearings, request scaled site plans and traffic/ drainage information, and provide notice to adjacent property owners.

Next procedural steps listed by staff included a planning commission public hearing, a subsequent council hearing, and engineering follow-up from the applicant to demonstrate compliance with parking, ADA and stormwater requirements.