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TO:

Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council

FROM:

Kelly Nieforth, Director of Community Development

DATE:

January 28, 2025

SUBJECT:

Res 25-25 Approve Conditional Use Permit Request for an Adaptive Reuse at 322 Church Avenue (Plan Commission Recommends Approval)

BACKGROUND

The subject site is located at the northeast corner of Church Avenue and Jackson Street. The subject parcel is approximately 6,920 square feet (0.16 acres) in area and is developed with an existing 2,580 square foot two-story building constructed in 1913. According to the Polk Directories, this property was originally used as a single-family home until 1974. In 1975, the building was changed to a commercial land use (Manpower Inc). Since that time, the property has been used primarily as commercial office space. The general area has a wide variety of uses including governmental, institutional, and low to high density residential and commercial.

ANALYSIS

The applicant is requesting Conditional Use Permit (CUP) approval for an adaptive reuse of the property to convert the existing commercial use to a single-family use. Single-family uses are not permitted in the UMU Zoning District. However, because the structure was constructed and used as a single-family home, the single-family use may be reestablished through approval of an adaptive reuse. According to the applicant, the existing footprint of the building will not be changed and there are no external design modifications planned.

Staff is in support of the Conditional Use Permit for the adaptive reuse as the conversion will not have a detrimental impact on the surrounding area and will not result in increased traffic to the site. Also, the property has sufficient parking and meets the residential parking standards. Architecturally, the building fits the character of the neighborhood and the single-family use is compatible with residential uses in the surrounding area. Staff also feel the proposed use of the site will align with the design of the building itself, as the exterior appearance is consistent with that of a single-family home.

FISCAL IMPACT

The conversion of the existing office use to residential should have a minimal impact on overall assessed value.

RECOMMENDATION

The Plan Commission recommended approval of the requested conditional use permit with findings on January 21, 2025. Please see the attached staff report and meeting minutes for more information.

Attachments

RES 25-25

CUP - 322 Church Ave