Grace Fellowship Church's petition for special-use approval to add a parish hall in the R-2 district was discussed at the Lee County Board meeting on July 15, with staff saying the zoning hearing officer's written findings were not yet available and could delay final action. Alice, a zoning and building staff member, told the board the church must obtain a special use under the current code to add the parish hall and to bring proposed improvements into compliance.

The petition, identified in the agenda as 25P1646, was heard by the zoning hearing officer on July 3; Alice said no one attended to oppose the petition at that hearing and she had no zoning concerns. "We had a hearing. No one showed up, to contest this. I don't have any concerns from it from a zoning perspective," Alice said. She also said the improvements include added Americans with Disabilities Act facilities: "They're not changing the use. It's gonna be continued. The improvements they're proposing will add ADA facilities to their property."

The hearing officer requires a minimum of two weeks to issue a written report, Alice said, and the staff had not yet received that report in a form she could present to the board. She asked the board whether it wanted the item to remain on the agenda for the upcoming meeting or be pushed to the next month to allow the hearing officer's report to be completed and reviewed. County staff indicated they would forward the hearing officer's report by email if it arrived before the board meeting so members could review it individually.

Board members discussed calendar and logistics for zoning hearings, including possibly moving zoning hearing dates later in the month or changing the start time from 7 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. so staff and hearing officers could avoid late nights and allow sufficient time for reports to be prepared and circulated. The board agreed to keep the item on the agenda for the upcoming meeting with the plan to table it if the written findings were not received in time.

The county clerk (Becky) had placed the petition on the county board agenda; staff emphasized that approving an item without the hearing officer's written findings would be "a big ask." No formal vote on the petition itself was taken at the meeting. The transcript records that staff would send the hearing officer's report to board members by email if it arrived before the meeting; otherwise the item will be postponed to the next month so the board can review the proper documentation before taking a final action.