A request by the First Church of Waterville to rezone its Park Street property is set to go back before the Planning Board following a vote Tuesday by the City Council. The property includes two buildings that the church seeks to raze to make way for more parking and a ramp that is accessible to those with handicaps. The buildings include a duplex at 3 Park St. and a former funeral home at 5 Park St. Amy Calder/Morning Sentinel file

WATERVILLE — The First Church of Waterville is set to appear again before the Planning Board to request a rezoning of its Park Street property, but this time with an amended plan.

The City Council voted 5-0 on Tuesday to refer the matter back to the Planning Board for review and recommendation back to the council.

Councilors voted unanimously Nov. 20 to reject the church’s request to rezone the land so the church could tear down two vacant buildings, expand its parking lot and build a ramp. Councilors recommended the church work with City Solicitor William A. Lee III to reconstruct the contract zone the property is in to meet the needs of the church and its neighbors.

Lee told the council Tuesday he had met with church officials at the council’s request to negotiate an amendment to the contract zone to address a parking plan and screening. Lee said he met with the city engineer, church officials, the police chief, the director of Waterville Public Works and the city planner to discuss an amendment.

All the council needed to do Tuesday, Lee said, was vote to refer the matter to the Planning Board, which is to discuss the plan, make a recommendation and send it back to the City Council. The council makes final decisions on zoning requests.

The church at 1 Park St. is asking the council to rezone 3, 5 and 7 Park St. from Contract Zoned District Commercial-A to Residential-D. Councilors said previously they want to protect the neighbors’ interests, and suggested a restructured contract zone be developed that addresses parking, egress and buffers.

The proposed amendments to the contract zone include that the only permitted uses of the property are a parking lot, a ramp that is accessible to those with handicaps, professional offices, housing or other uses permitted in the Residential-D zone; any new construction will meet the requirements of that zone; and any amendment to the parking lot site plan is subject to review and approval by the Planning Board, and that board will review and approve the site plan for any new use of the property in accordance with city rules.

In addition, screening would be required that includes a minimum 6-foot-tall vinyl stockade fence to be maintained along specific parts of the property, and if a two-bay garage there is removed, a minimum 6-foot-tall fence of the same type would be installed and maintained around the footprint of the former garage.

The Planning Board voted unanimously Oct. 23 against recommending the City Council rezone the property, with members saying they wanted to allow the church property’s current contract zone to be restructured. Such a change would reflect the needs of an abutting property owner who bought his home on neighboring Park Place after the church property was rezoned in 2020, board members said at the time.

Last year, church officials asked the City Council to rezone the parcels so the church could demolish two vacant apartment buildings and expand the parking lot. The city’s zoning ordinance prohibits parking lots in the current zone.

Church officials at the time said the congregation had grown substantially, creating a need for more parking. But since then, they have touted the need to build a ramp at the back of the church that is accessible to those with handicaps, saying the church’s front ramp is difficult for some to get to and use. Building a rear ramp would require removal of buildings, they said.

The buildings include a duplex at 3 Park St. that is within 10 feet of the back wall of the church, and a former funeral home at 5 Park St. that once had three apartments. They had all been renovated, but are now vacant because the tenants were asked to leave and the apartments were gutted.

The zone was changed in 2020 to allow a salon and spa to be built at the building at 5 Park St. Neighbors went before the Planning Board and discussed the need to maintain the historic nature of the neighborhood and to have an adequate buffer between the parking lot and the homes on Park Place. They never got the promised buffer because the salon was never developed. If the property were to be reverted back to Residential-D, the church would not be required to develop a buffer.

Residents of Park Place have said at previous meetings that tearing down former apartment buildings and drawing more vehicles to the area would disrupt the historic and residential nature of the neighborhood. They also said it would eliminate housing when the city needs more places for people to live.