Board allows First Presbyterian Church to place gazebo in side yard with screening condition

The Middletown Board of Zoning Appeals on July 1 granted an area-and-dimensional variance to First Presbyterian Church to place a 12-by-6-foot gazebo in a sideyard at 2910 Central Avenue, attaching a condition requiring vegetative screening to limit views from the street.

Planning staff explained the church property is unusually configured across 11 parcels with double frontage, making it difficult to identify a conventional rear yard; staff recommended relief because the pergola is accessory, would not alter the building footprint and would provide community benefit. Staff proposed a condition requiring adequate landscaping to screen the structure from Central Avenue.

Sarah Bruning, the church's facility manager, told the board the congregation has an average age of about 78 and that the gazebo would shelter elderly attendees during scattering-of-ashes ceremonies and other outdoor services. "This will allow the elderly to be able to regulate body temperature, allow the area to be dry, and to protect [them] from rain, snow, or UV rays," Bruning said. She said the church will follow building-department requirements for anchoring and footings and will install benches.

A nearby resident said they had not received mailed notice but did not object; staff said the city mails notice to property owners listed on tax records and to contiguous owners as required. Board members cited review criteria supporting relief and approved the variance 4-0, attaching the staff-recommended screening requirement.

Staff will finalize the variance findings and oversee any required permits or inspections for the gazebo installation.