New Parking Lot Proposed For College Church In Wheaton

WHEATON, IL — Wheaton's planning and zoning board will review a proposal from College Church for a special use permit to build a parking lot with 70 spaces on the northeast corner of Seminary Avenue and Scott Street.

The project has met with resistance from residents in the nearby Union Corridor neighborhood, who have expressed concerns about the projects impact on property value, light pollution, noise pollution and quality of life.

The petitioners aim to build the new lot on the same side of Seminary as their church building to "better accommodate their disabled and special needs population," city documents state. To facilitate this, the proposed lot will include 17 spaces that are ADA-accessible.

The College Church complex currently has four parking lots with 281 parking spaces, 18 of which are ADA-compliant. According to city documents, the church has agreements to use 100 parking spaces at Edman Chapel, Blanchard Hall and Billy Graham Center when the school year is in session.

The proposed site of the lot is currently zoned as an R4 residential district. The petitioners are requesting it be rezoned to I-1 for institutional usage. The site had previously been home to a single-family home and multi-unit buildings. These were demolished in spring to accommodate the lot proposal.

They are additionally requesting a zoning variation to shorten the lot's pavement setbacks from 15 feet to five feet.

Residents in the Union Corridor neighborhood have opposed the project on the grounds that the rezoning is inappropriate and the parking lot will result in diminished property values. They also cited the loss of housing as a negative impact of the parking lot development.

Staff has recommended approval of the proposal under the conditions that the landscaping plan is revised to "include a mix of shade, ornamental and evergreen trees along the north and west property lines."

Other conditions include turning down parking lot lights between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. or installing glare shields.

The preliminary engineering plan must also be reviewed by staff before a development permit is issued.

The planning and zoning meeting is scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Wheaton City Hall.