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Board approves Apostolic Church expansion with sidewalk variance after staff finds drainage constraints
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Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals approved a conditional use permit and development-standards variance allowing a 14,000 sq ft addition to the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ at 1100 E. Miller Drive, citing drainage and topography constraints on Highland Avenue and subject to plan-limited conditions.
The City of Bloomington Board of Zoning Appeals on Nov. 20 approved a conditional use permit and a variance that will allow the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ to expand its building footprint on a residentially zoned lot.
Joe Patterson, a zoning and long-range planner, told the board the property at 1100 East Miller Drive houses a roughly 4,500-square-foot church and that the congregation seeks to add about 14,000 square feet for a multipurpose gymnasium, offices and meeting space. Staff said engineering constraints and existing drainage along Highland Avenue make the Unified Development Ordinance’s sidewalk and tree-plot standard impractical there; the petitioner proposed replacing a five-foot sidewalk with a six-foot monolithic sidewalk and relocating street trees to the back side of the walk to avoid substantial earthwork and drainage impacts.
Patterson said the expansion triggers limited compliance with the UDO because it enlarges the structure by more than 10 percent, but the department found the proposal meets dimensional standards and that mitigation measures—landscaping buffers and fencing between the church and adjacent dwellings—address potential impacts. Staff recommended approval with conditions limited to the design shown in the packet and a required staff-level minor site plan and site development permit before any site disturbance.
The petitioner’s representative acknowledged the drainage and design difficulties the staff described and said the project team had worked extensively with city engineers to craft the alternate Highland Avenue frontage. With no public comment and no additional board questions, a motion to approve the conditional use and variance (including the fourth staff-added condition that the approval supersedes the prior hearing officer decision) passed unanimously.
The approvals are conditioned on conformance to the site and landscape plans submitted to the board and on compliance with utility and construction review requirements. Any future construction beyond the approved design will require compliance with the UDO or additional approvals.
