CEDAR FALLS — Common sense apparently prevailed Monday in the first vote on St. Patrick Catholic Church’s proposed new parking lot.

That was the feeling of several councilmembers who voted 6-1 in favor of amending city code to allow the lot. If the revision is confirmed in two more council votes, it will allow for churches, schools, and other civic and institutional organizations to have parking — an accessory use — across the street from their property’s principal use. That would overrule a previous decision by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Under the current code, parking must be on the same parcel. Councilmember Kelly Dunn dissented and defended that requirement.

In this case, the matter pertains to a vacant half-acre the church recently acquired at 123 W. Seventh St.

“When parking is already an issue anywhere and we’re debating on not allowing parking, it doesn’t make sense (not to allow it),” said Councilmember Gil Schultz.

The code is written to protect pedestrians in mixed use areas through setbacks relative to the principal use. The standard was included in the downtown code adopted in 2021, although the church would have needed a similar revision before the zoning overhaul. Additionally, a goal was to preserve valuable downtown land for other uses.

“Those institutional uses are an important part of the downtown area and the character of those existing neighborhoods,” said Planning and Community Services Manager Karen Howard. “They’ve been in the area for a long time, so they may warrant some different rules, but it’s also important to ensure that surrounding development is respected.”

The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denying the amendment in a 5-2 vote, but the church requested the council take up the matter. Because of the negative review, the council needed five votes to pass it as opposed to the typical four.

“Our downtown zoning code is very new. We’ve been going back and forth on it for about three years, at least, if not before that,” said Dunn.

“To me, there were many, many hands that went into that, including many people who live in Cedar Falls who helped us get to that vision, so I very much hesitate to change that vision when it barely had time to breathe. … I just hate to make exceptions so early on.”

Several members of the church spoke before the vote.

“Since its founding, St. Patrick has experienced many changes to best accommodate our parish and school community. The most recent was the acquisition of the property at Seventh and Washington, which provides an opportunity to build upon our foundation for the future on our campus,” said pastoral council chairperson Laura Schaefer.

She argued it will help address parking and safety concerns.

“If you would drive down Washington Street during any of our four weekend services, you would see parked cars lined up down the street from Sixth to Ninth Streets and the streets in between,” she said.

The church and Catholic school — serving more than 1,500 families — sought the flexibility for itself but also other civic and institutional organizations proposing similar projects downtown.

The amendment will require any parking area to be set back a minimum of 10 feet from any street-side lot line and have landscape buffering and trees within that setback area, among other requirements.

“The Catholic church is very much a great partner of Cedar Falls, and I was actually shocked when Planning and Zoning voted the way they did,” said Councilmember Dave Sires. “I’m hoping that we can move forward and they can build their parking lot as quick as possible.”

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