A project to increase parking for Our Savior Lutheran Church is drawing objections from neighbors who say the church's plan will create traffic problems and upset the aesthetics of a historic neighborhood on Aurora's west side.
Randy Schneider, building committee chairman for the church, said plans call for an addition to the church that would add classrooms, a kitchen, an elevator, a disabled-accessible entrance and accessible bathrooms to the 63-year-old building.
To make it easier for congregants to access the building, Schneider said a circle drive with a covered drop-off area and a new parking lot also are planned.
But a group called The Boulevard District Neighbors feels the church's current parking facility is underused. The group sent a letter to Mayor Tom Weisner and Aurora aldermen asking them to reject the church's proposal.
At the heart of the issue is the Copley Mansion, built in 1917, that lies just west of the church property.
Col. Ira Copley was a six-term U.S. representative and a newspaper owner. The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The church bought land behind of and west of the mansion in 2003, said Bill Wiet, director of community development for Aurora.
Schneider said the church might relocate out of town if its plan is rejected, because of continued clashes with residents, as well as the increased need for disabled-accessibility for its aging congregation.
More than 200 people attended a City Council meeting June 28. City attorney Alayne Weingartz told aldermen they could not vote to change zoning on land around the home from retail to residential with a special use -- as the church requests -- because the church and city had not exchanged the land.