2020.10.20 Planning Commission - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Special Use Permit – Emmanuel Covenant Church Planning Commission Report; 10-20-20 Page 4 Notable Code Definitions:  none Applicable Codes:  Chapter 6, Article 1, I-1District. Allows any use except residential and I-2 permitted uses in the I-1 district via special use permit.  Chapter 8, Article 2, Special Use Permit and Variance. Identifies the process by which a special use request is to be reviewed and decided. Applicant’s Narrative: Proposed Special Use Permit for Emmanuel Covenant Church Rush Lake Business Center Suite 111 1775 Old Highway 8 New Brighton, MN 55112 Emmanuel Covenant Church was founded in 2007 and has offices at 513 Tanglewood Dr. in Shoreview, MN. We meet for Sunday morning worship and Wednesday night youth group at the Shoreview Community Center and have been meeting there for about 10 years. We have a great relationship with the city and Community Center and plan to continue utilizing that space for our primary worship services indefinitely. Beginning in March of 2020, the Covid 19 pandemic closed churches forcing us to film our worship music and sermons remotely in advance for broadcast via our website. This process involved only a small band, a teaching pastor, and a few technicians for sounds and video. No audience or congregation. For a while we were able to borrow space from other churches. We have currently been filming in one of our member’s workshops for the past few months. Surprisingly, attendance at our church has actually grown over the past months and we plan to continue filming our services in advance beyond the pandemic as this has become a new and effective delivery system for our services. We are seeking a more “permanent’ home for filming by utilizing the end cap unit of the property at 1775 Old Highway 8 in the Rush Lake Business complex. There we can film our music (the band and a few techs) and our sermons (the preacher and a few techs) starting as soon as possible. We believe that this use would all fall into current Class C flex code for the space. Additionally, we want to consider other possible future uses for the space including staff offices, conference rooms, and small classroom space for classes such as small group Bible studies, a Membership Class on a Saturday morning or a parenting workshop. A portion of our youth could meet there on Wednesday nights as an example of use. Virtually all use of the space would be for smaller-sized groups and would occur outside of regular business hours. It’s a great space but it’s limited in capacity and we would use it accordingly as an auxiliary space for offices, filming, and