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Midway council approves Michie Lane LDS stake center with conditions, adopts ordinance making churches conditional in RA-1-43
Summary
Midway City Council approved a conditional use permit for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to build a stake center at 171 E. Michie Lane, imposing engineering, access and a required steeple height reduction to 70 feet; the council also adopted Ordinance 2026-08 to clarify churches are conditional uses in the RA-1-43 zone.
Midway City Council voted March 3 to approve a conditional use permit for a stake center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 171 East Michie Lane and to adopt Ordinance 2026-08, which clarifies that churches are conditional uses in the RA-1-43 residential agricultural zone.
Planning Director Michael Henke presented the permit application, describing the site plan, elevations, parking, setback compliance and required modifications to Michie Lane for safe access. He told the council the proposed steeple as drawn measured 71 feet 2 inches and directed that construction drawings show the steeple lowered to 70 feet, said all lighting must meet Midway’s dark-sky requirements, and said Michie Lane changes must be approved by the City Engineer and paid for by the applicant.
Andrew Wealing of Uncommon Architecture, representing the applicant, said the church footprint had been shifted 100 feet west to move it away from an adjacent home and that the applicant declined to include Swiss-style architecture citing cost and local leadership preference. Neighbor Doug Jones urged Swiss architecture, saying “It would outlast the local leader who opposed such architecture.” David Scott, who identified himself as a member of the church, said he supported the project and that “people would be blessed by the building.”
Council members expressed concerns about access and the site’s proximity to an elementary school but ultimately approved the conditional use permit subject to engineering approval and the conditions Henke outlined: compliance with R-1-15 setbacks and parking, lowering the steeple to 70 feet measured from natural grade, lighting compliant with the dark-sky ordinance, applicant-funded Michie Lane modifications approved by the City Engineer, and opaque fencing to mitigate headlights. Swiss architecture was recommended by staff and some council members but not required. The motion to approve the CUP passed unanimously (Council Members Andy Garland, Lisa Orme, Andrew Osborne, Kevin Payne and J.C. Simonsen voted Aye).
Separately, the council unanimously adopted Ordinance 2026-08 to remove internally contradictory code language and make churches conditional uses in the RA-1-43 zone. Planning Director Henke said the amendment aligns RA-1-43 with other residential zones by subjecting churches to conditional-use review by the Planning Commission and City Council. Council Member Kevin Payne suggested sending a letter to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints requesting Swiss architecture for the Michie Lane building; Mayor Craig Simons said he planned to write the letter and Council Member Orme asked that council members sign it.
The council’s action settles the land-use approvals needed for the Michie Lane church to proceed, but engineering sign-off and the requirement to lower the steeple remain outstanding. The council did not set a date for building permits; staff indicated the City Engineer must first approve access modifications and final construction drawings.
