Mill Church zoning advances

Planning commission votes to allow churches in commercial zones

The Edgar Planning Commission last week Wednesday voted to recommend to the village board to permit houses of worship to be built in a commercial zoning district, opening the door for Mill Church to build a 4,000 square foot building on a vacant lot located at the intersection of Third Ave. and Redwood Street.

The planning commission voted unanimously for the change but only after some persuasion.

Village president Terry Lepak, a commission member, said he was hesitant to allow the church to erect a nontaxable building on a valuable commercial spot in the village.

“I am struggling with the best way to go,” he said. “This is a prime spot for commercial, one of the last on Main Street.”

Lepak wondered aloud whether the village should try and reserve that vacant lot for a medical clinic.

Nick Bancuk, Mill Church pastor, said the village should welcome the church construction project. He said the proposed church would not have a traditional church look, but would be attractive and, if the church offered a coffee shop or counseling center in the building, at least part of the structure would generate property taxes for the village.

“You are not going to get a red brick church with a spire,” he said. “It will look more up to date, but we will keep it in an Edgar feel.”

Bancuk said the building could outlive its use as a house of worship. “It could be perfect for an office space in 50 years,” he said.

The pastor noted, too, that neighboring businesses, including Edgar IGA and Stark’s Floral, supported the Mill Church building project. He said the church would be willing to allow Chad’s Auto to continue to park cars on a portion of the one and one-half acre lot.

Bancuk said the church was looking at initially building a 4,000 square foot building but that the lot they will purchase could easily accept a 10,000 square foot building sometime in the future.

Members of the planning commission asked why the church picked the lot in the first place.

“We looked all over the village,” Bancuk explained. “Different lots had different hurdles. Why we were excited about this property is that we didn’t have to modify it and it was available.”

The pastor said his congregation all supported purchase of the lot. “It was a unanimous vote to buy the property,” he said. “There were zero no votes.”

Village administrator Jennifer Lopez told Bancuk that the village would continue to tax the corner property until the time when the church would erect a building. At that point, the lot and the church would be tax exempt.

In other planning commission business:

_ Village administrator Lopez said she held a Zoom meeting with representatives of S.C. Swiderski and reported that the company remains “very interested” in acquiring a four acre parcel in the village business park for a 16-unit apartment building and other acreage for townhouses, single family houses and other dwellings.

She said a first step in discussions with the company is to delineate wetlands on the business park property. That can be done in the spring, she said.

Lots in the business park are currently service with industrial-sized four and six inch water service, Lopez said.

_ Commission members directed Lopez and office staff to assemble a revised village comprehensive plan based on comments to be submitted by the members. The members hoped to update a plan chapter each month through the rest of the year.